Saturday, December 22, 2012

Update: Dropzone Commander magnetized

I received my order from K&J Magnetics, and finally had a chance to finish off the work on my existing models.  All the vehicles are now magnetized to the drop ships, and stay on there pretty well.  The Scout walkers will a little harder, but I got it done.

I also picked up a couple regular model kits for 75% off from a closeout at my local HobbyTownUSA.  I missed most of it though, sucks.  They had a stack of HO scale building kits..oh man I wish they were N scale because that's what I need for DZC.

In a couple months with taxes I plan on building a DZC table.  My new place has more then enough room to set up a full sized gaming table, so that is also on the list.

Anyway, pics..



Now I need to figure out a color scheme..

Monday, December 3, 2012

Dropzone Commander!

First, the good news: I found a new place with just 3 days to spare!  Everything is moved in but still have a lot to do. I also went to storage tonight and grabbed most of my hobby stuff.

Bad news: well, there is no bad news! 

Best news: I was finally able to pick up some Dropzone Commander, specifically a PHR starter army to go along with the other 2 blisters I have


I have put together the first unit, magnets and all.  I found I need more magnets of the right size, and the models I have don't actually make a legal list...but that's easy to fix.



The walkers are magnetized to the connection points and the dropship is magnetized onto the flying stand.  The walkers would be awesome on 25mm bases but that would look silly dangling in the air..

Anyway I have a lot to comment on the models themselves, but will do that in an upcoming video.

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Blood Axe Dakkajet almost done


Just about finished it up.  I need to do some pin washing on the panel lines and weathering but that's going to be on hold for a while. 

Pretty much loving the Blood Axe look, and they don't seem very common so I'll be using this color scheme on all my models moving forward.

I am planning on getting a new set of Tau models and painting/basing to match the Orks for Bay Area Open.

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

Blood Axe Dakkajet work in progress.

With depression setting in from my impending homelessness, getting passion for the hobby has been hard.  But I made a commitment to continue the Freebootaz challenge for another month, and this time I picked my Dakkajet. Needs to be finished by midnight on the 15th..3 color minimum + based.

Blood Axe, of course.  I think this is the way my army will trend over time. Blood Axes are so under represented.

Anyway last night I build the base, pretty standard cracked desert.    Tonight I primed the base, and finished the airbrush work on the plane.


I absolutely love how it came out!



Colors used are Badger Model Flex Camouflage Grey base with Roof Brown and Earth used for the camo pattern. The bottom is Tamiya Acrylic aircraft grey.  I picked up the Tamiya paint a while ago and have been wanting to try it out. Pretty good stuff, it is. Will be used on the ME-262 if I ever finish it.

Oh, and it was all done with my $15 Harbor Freight airbrush.

Monday, November 5, 2012

Real quick: My latest conversion.

Just finished this guy tonight, a new loota. Need to replace one of the guys I'm not happy with.

The heavy psycannon was given to me after I mentioned how awesome it would be as a loota.  It is.  Awesome, that is.







He might become my new favorite loota over the hurricane bolter guy.  Maybe.  Either that or I'll make a full unit of 10 from just heavy psycannons.  Maybe.

Friday, November 2, 2012

Iron Warriros Rhino complete!

Finished up my second model for Toys for Tots this year, a Rhino.  Lots of weathering.  Really, really like how it turned out.  The Havoc launcher is magnetized, and I have hidden magnets for the front.  The rear hatch opens and is magnetized, but the inside isn't painted..it's for storage.

Thanks for looking!






Saturday, October 27, 2012

Army all done and ready to go!

I actually finished everything I needed to do.  Surprised myself, really.

Built 2 big shootas and 1 extra shootaboy for the 30man nobless squad
Built and magnetized base for quad gun
Primed above

Drilled barrels and did mold lines on 22 sets of shoota arms. Pulled off slugga arms, cleaned up the model and glued on the shootas.

Farewell, slugga boys. It's been fun.
So for the lobbas I pulled the kannons off their bases and just glued on some tubes. Crude, but effective.  Someday I'll go back and magnetize everything.

Also had to adjust the list..realized that I had not paid for the targeting arrays.  Dropped a couple boys and a blacksun to get me back to 1999pts.

So off to bed, 5hrs of sleep and then time to go play with my little plastic toy soldiers all day.

Thursday, October 25, 2012

Yay a tournament!

So I get to play in a 2k Nova-style tournament on Saturday (the boss gave me permission lol).  I have a lot of work to do between now and then however. I am going to take the slugga/choppa arms off my main unit and change them over to shootas (won't be painted obviously), build 3 more lobbas and then build a base for the quad gun.  In 2 days.

So this is the list. Very, very happy with it..which does not happen often lol.

Primary Detachment
HQ: Big Mek, KFF, Bosspole

Troop: 27 Shootas, 2x big shoota, Nob w/ PK&BP
Troop: 30 Shootas, 3x big shoota, Nob w/PK&BP
Troop: 30 Shootas, 3x big shoota

Elite: 10 Lootas
Elite: 10 Lootas
Elite: 10 Lootas

Fast: 3 deffkoptas, 3x TL Big shoota, 1x Buzzsaw
Fast: Dakkajet, extra supashootas, fighta ace

Heavy: 3 lobbas, 3x ammo runt
Heavy: 3 lobbas, 3x ammo runt

Fortification:
Aegis defense line: quad gun

Allied Detachment:
HQ: Sash'el, TL missile pods, target lock, HW blacksun filter

Troop: 6 Firewarriors

Heavy: 2x Broadside, team leader, targeting array, HW blacksun filter

1999pts

If I don't get the boys done I'll just have to run them as sluggas. We'll see.

Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Where the hell are the posts?

Sorry for not keeping up on the blog. Basically I have not been doing much at all. I am in the process of finishing an Iron Warriors Rhino for the toys for tots auctions this year, and I am working on the chaos lord from DV for a client.  I hope to get pics/video of the rhino up soon.

Basically life is kinda crappy, got 'asked to vacate' my apartment, so I've been trying to find a new place. Turns out being 'asked to vacate' means I can't get approved for most places.  Sucks.  We did get approved for SSDI for my Autistic son, so that helps a lot.

So goes my hobby, goes my blog.

I did get a dropzone commander rulebook however!  Very happy about that, and my first model. 


I love the models. The game seems pretty simple to play after a full read through of the rules.  Can't wait to give it a try.  Expect video(s) of the rulebook soon. Just need motivation, which is the hard part lately..

The only thing keeping me from going hog wild on DzC is both money and the move. Don't want to get a bunch of stuff just to have to move it again :)  Probably wait for taxes then buy an army deal.

So that's about it for now. Need the weather to cooperate long enough to dul-cote the rhino, plus some pigments then it's all done.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Quick 6th ed tactics notes.

A pickup game this weekend got me thinking about a couple things in 6th that can be really important.

The first is the warlord traits. I am still amazed at how actually random they really are. Sometimes they are totally useless, and others can single handedly break a game in your favor. Case in point was this game where I got the re-roll reserves trait.


What this allowed me to do is delay the dakkajet until the Icarus was dead, as well as delay the firewarriors so I didn't have to worry about them being shot up too early.  It was a big contributing factor to the outcome.

Being able to take advantage of night fight is also something to consider when building a list.  I love having NF first turn, as it gives me an improved cover save for that all-important first turn along with reducing the range of incoming fire.  I would prefer to go first every game, but that can't always happen.  Now I combine that with Blacksun filter on my broadside unit, I can take out a high-priority target without any negative effects.

Lastly, is just in general target priority. This takes really knowing your opponent's army so don't be afraid to read and learn about other armies.  In this case, the cover-ignoring 4 blast thunderfire was the highest priority, with the Icarus 2nd. so why did I shoot the LR first? Dunno. Because it was fun I guess.  However night fight reduced the range of the thunderfire so it wasn't a threat, and then the next turn I was able to open up with loota fire and take it out. 

Monday, October 8, 2012

Librarian Turmiel

Second commission model completed.

This guy was a lot easier to do then the Chaplain, no where near as much detail...though I really enjoyed the smoke on the chaplain.

Spent most of the effort on the cloth, and I really like how it turned out.  I did the sword like I did my BA libby's sword, I switched out the shoulder pad from a black wash to a blue wash to make it match the "stock" paint job.  Again, this is a great figure, love it!

I didn't know yet if the client wanted it based or not when I took these pics.




Client does not care what I do with the Chaos lord, so he's going to be Iron Warriors.  Going to be looking at the GW site a lot on him to figure out what's going on lol.  I really hurt my left thumb this weekend so I couldn't get started like I wanted.

oh, and GO HAWKS!

Tuesday, October 2, 2012

What does Wargaming mean to me?

If you have not seen this video yet, please watch it. It's an amazingly well made, high-quality look into the wargaming subculture.   The father and son building and playing together was really touching. 


What does wargaming mean to me? A lot, that is for sure.  Sitting in the quiet painting or whatever after work and/or after the kids have gone to bed is my time. My chance to relax, recharge and escape all the problems I have in reality for just a little bit.

Now my son is starting to show interest in modeling and painting.  It's hard right at this moment because of having to move this month, but I'll deal with it.  I hope to get him involved as much as I am someday.

Beyond that it's also my chance to get out of the house. Sure a lot of guys go out to the bar or whatever, not me. I just want to hang with my friends and throw some dice.  It keeps me out of trouble with the lady-unit, which is good for everyone!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Interrogator Chaplain Seraphicus

First commission model completed.








I had a lot of trouble getting the symbol on the cloak to look right, and after 3 tries it's still not perfect, but it's good for the quality promised.   Everything else went pretty quick.

Monday, September 17, 2012

Hobby update; first commission.

Happily I picked up my first commission this week, 3 of the characters from Dark Vengeance which may eventually turn into the whole thing. Working on the chaplain. I'm liking the cloak and tabbard, and there isn't much armor so that won't take long at all. Just have to do the weapons, gold and smoke.



I also built a Chaos Rhino for Toys for Tots.  Since it's Iron Warriors it really won't take long (yay black tanks!).  Not doing the inside, but I have the rear door magnetized to hold the havoc launcher and dozer blade just like last year's Chimera.


I also have all the chaos models from DV for myself. They are to the point of mostly primed, but ran out of primer (see Rhino above LOL).   I plan on doing the Chosen as nurgle-themed, eventually running them as proxies for plague marines as allies.

That's it for now.

Thursday, September 13, 2012

Games Workshop has changed, for the better, and we should all celebrate.

How much change has GW gone through in such a short time?  For someone who borders on a GW fanboy even I had to admit that last year at this time it didn't look good for GW in the long haul.

Codex creep GK was domination the tournament scene.  Finecast continued with quality issues with GW apparently indifferent to the consumer about it.  No support for events/tournaments.  It's like they were rolling along on past success with complete apathy. Units in books without models.  Oh, and the international sales embargo.

Oh what 12 months can bring.

What sparked this post? Today's announcement of a brand-new White Dwarf.  The final bad apple has been plucked and a whole new life has been brought to the Games Workshop hobby.

Check it out here: http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/wnt/blog.jsp?pid=4200016

A whole new team. A whole new approach including featuring models painted by the community from email and Flickr. How cool is that?  Only time will tell if WD will return to past glory, but I'm hopeful.

So what else has happened to completely turn around my attitude towards GW?  A lot. Necrons brought non-power armor into the forefront of the competitive environment.  Timely and useful faq updates. More and more attendance by GW at events such as Adepticon and GenCon.

Then came 6th edition.  A whole new approach to 40k that to me is a wonderful game. With the latest round of faq and errata eliminating the deathstars and bringing the last little bit of balance to the game.  I always thought 5th edition was wonderful. It was, but 6th eclipses it by far.  Other then the challenge rules, I have no complaints about 6th. It is fast, fluid, cinematic and a whole lot of fun.  I think the challenge can be fixed really easy too, make it just like fantasy where unit champions can decline without penalty.

Still only rumors but the leaked release list includes some very interesting tidbits.  Mainly the idea that they will release small army lists in WD that can't play on their own but can be used as allies.  I consider that the ultimate win-win.  The company gets to sell more models, while the players and hobbyists get to try out new things, new models, new lists without the expense of a full sized army.  Specifically the older gamers with multiple armies that may not be buying as fast or as often as they once did, will be enticed into new purchases.  The final cherry on top is you'll never know for sure what you will come up against.   I honestly think 6th edition eliminates the "meta" entirely.

Oh ya, can't forget to mention the awesomeness that is Dark Vengeance.  For once, GW has put out a REAL starter set.  I've seen Macragge, Black Reach, Island of Blood, and none of them really qualified.  I looked through the book that came with Black Reach and I can't imagine a new player trying to figure out the game (basically it just had arrows pointing and referring to page numbers) and of course the fact that Island of Blood came with no stats at all..they had to release a pdf.

DV changed all that. There are missions that walk you through the rules adding more in each time. Heck there is even a *single player* scenario!!  Nicely made stat cards gives you all the information you need to get stared in 40k.  All this for the same price as Black Reach.  Don't forget the completely amazing models included in the set.  GW is still the king of models, especially plastics.

Did I mention every unit in the Necron codex has a model?  That is something new, and if the rumors hold then from now on every codex will have available every unit in it within a month or two. This may mean that some books are delayed, but that is a compromise I can live with.

There is no way to know what motivated this change.  Ultimately I have have to vote for the idea that sales were slumping, or at least flattening, and they realized the competition was coming on strong and they couldn't sit on their laurels any longer.  It really does come down to making money after all, and I will never berate them for that.

Edit: Totally forgot to mention the digital products!  If only they had them available for general computer use not just iSuck products.  maybe in time..

Not everything is perfect of course. The draconian clamp down on rumors.  Finecast still hasn't reached the quality it needs.  Price increases.   But overall I have to commend Games Workshop for the almost revolutionary way it has responded to complaints by it's customers and fixed a whole big chunk of it's issues, and in such a short amount of time.

I'm really looking forward to years of enjoyment with the current state of Warhammer 40k.  What's even better is the local people and community I play is huge, growing and simply amazing.  The Pacific Northwest is a huge gaming area.  There are about 12 active game stores around the Portland area alone, which means there has to be a lot of gamers out there spending money.

If you want to see what we do here, check out our club Ordo Fanaticus and it's forums.

Well that's enough for now.  I am still planning on hitting up the Bay Area Open next year, so subscribe to get updates on my plans for that over the next 6 months.

Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Jet Battlewagon Complete!

If you haven't see it on youtube, here are pics of the completed battlewagon.

Only took me 2 1/2 years.






That is all.  See you next time.

Sunday, September 9, 2012

Aegis Defense Line completed!

Turned out to be more work then I thought.  The stippling was very annoying, but looks good :)










Base color is my old favorite, Vallejo Model Air black metallic.  I then went through and stippled Vallejo Model Air rust, GW Vermin Brown and lastly Blazing Orange over every single piece. Was extremely tedious.

I then painted the details. The "lights" (that's what they look like to me anyway)  are Ianyden Darksun, then the control boxes and wires were picked out. The green button is like the on switch for the lights. 

After that the whole thing was washed with Nuin Oil, then a very light drybrush of Chainmail to bring out the very edges and not make it quite so dark.

After a spray of Dul-Cote, I put on the ocher ground color pigment and a little black around the blast holes.

All ready to keep the lootas nice and safe!

Saturday, September 8, 2012

The future of nob bikers post-FAQ

So the big faq update hit today and with it came the end of the Paladin/Nob character units.

Still have the harlie-star, but that's a different topic for a different day..

The question then becomes are nob bikers still good?

The answer is, unequivocally, a bit fat green YES.

Are they worth the points? Most likely.

They aren't going anywhere just yet..


I've been mulling over the games I played with nob bikers, and realized that the wound allocation wasn't a big deal.  With Look out sir! of only a 4+ I still lost front models far more often then getting wounds spread out everywhere.  In other words, overall I don't think I gained much benefit from the wound shenanigans.

The other losses, though, are harder to take.

First is the loss of precision shot.  I have to say that was the best part of the whole character thing to me.  The one time in particular where I was able to snipe out the Commissar from an IG blob making them lose stubborn was huge in that game.   However that does not negate the still considerable firepower you get from ork bikes in general.  Oh, and you don't lose P.S. entirely. The painboy is still a character.

The next loss is in challenges. Before you could throw whatever nob you wanted to in a challenge. Now it will take more consideration then before when dealing with this.  Not like the biker boss is any slouch in a challenge, especially with that T6..so knowing what you're up against really matters.

Overall you lost a bit of survivability. Nothing compared to paladins though. lascannons and meltas still blow them off the table. Not so much with nob bikers. That T5 and FNP is still by far the best part of them, and that's still there.

They definitely did not lose much if any killing power, or are any less of a target priority for your opponent if you want to play that way.

Friday, September 7, 2012

Resurgence of the Big Shoota

In 5th edition I always equipped my boyz units with rokkits. Statistically, 3 rokkits and 3 big shootas have the same lethality to MEQ, 1 causality.  However rokkits are actually pretty good against AV11, and there was so much of that in 5th that it was simply silly to take big shootas.

Now that the vehicles have calmed down somewhat in 6th, the big shoota is on it's way back. When I was running 1750pts I knocked one unit from rokkits to big shootas just because of points. The more I played them the more and more the big shootas were awesome and the rokkits did nothing because they were out of range. I've done notable damage to infantry with them.  So much so that I've now equipped both units of shoota boys with big shootas. 

Obsolete?

A lot of that has to do with the nob bikers, and the boys just hung back on objectives most of the game. Even without the nob bikers being able to have that total range of 42" with S5 shots against mostly infantry isn't bad. Heck they can even glance most flyers.

I was thinking about trying out a large unit of deffkoptas as an annoying shooty unit. Having T5 and jink might add to their survivability enough where they can come on and shoot and then survive.  Maybe. I was going to run them with rokkits but now I think all big shootas and a buzzsaw is the way to go, keeping them cheaper.  The changes to morale is a big part of that as well.

If I take 4 koptas with big shootas and 1 buzzsaw, they will always try to rally on their LD7. If I take 5 then with just 1 left he would need snake eyes.  Not great odds, but a whole lot better then 5th!

Returning to a tabletop near you?
The one thing I've noted in my games without the nob bikers is that getting to objectives is hard. My perception is that it's harder then it was in 5th, but that may be the nature of 6th ed armies where there is just more anti-infantry shooting.  Koptas add that outflank harassing ability lost with Snikrot but have more survivability then kommandos.  The other option is a wierdboy trying for 'ere we go!

4 of them with a buzzsaw is 165pts, 30 more then a dakkajet.  Unlike a dakkajet though, they are a denial unit and a scoring unit in The Scouring and have a shot at taking out annoying things like Long Fangs.

Buggies however, still suck.  Don't take them, ever.

If I ever break out the kan wall again, big shootas are definitely an option there as well.  Actually, so is the KMB..




Wednesday, September 5, 2012

Throwing away the Nob Biker crutch

I've been playing nob bikers since 6th came out. They are really freaking awesome lol. 

I've run them very aggressively, and they usually die by turn 4. My opponent has to deal with them, as they will knock out almost every unit in the game.

I've decided to try something a bit different, more of a horde style. I've added 30 more slugga boys (because that's what I have).  I'll be swapping out different units to see what happens. I want to try some reserve stuff (deffkopters), and some wierdboy stuff.




In two games I've played I find mobility an issue.   I never worried about it too much in 5th but it seems more of an issue in 6th. 

At 2k I want to try out adding a 2nd force org for a wierdboy, maybe a SAG or 2nd KFF mek.  The idea of getting that 'ere we go! and suddenly dropping 30 shootas all up in my opponent's stuff sounds fun.

I'll give this list a go for a few games, see what happens:

HQ: Mek, KFF, bosspole
HQ: Warboss, PK, squig, cybork, bike, bosspole

Troop: 30 Sluggas, nob w/pk&bp
Troop: 30 shootas, 3x big shootas, nb w/pk&bp
Troop: 30 shootas, 3x big shootas, nb w/pk&bp

Elite: 10 Lootas
Elite: 10 Lootas
Elite: 10 Lootas 

Fast: Dakkajet, extra guns, fighter ace (proxied by a Barracuda)

Heavy: 3 lobbas, 1x extra crew, 3x ammo runts
Heavy: 2 Kannon, 3x ammo runts

Fortification: Aegis

Allies:
HQ: Sash'o: TL missile pod, blacksun

Troop: 6 Firewarriors

Heavy: 2x Broadsides, A.S.S., team leader with hw-blacksun

2000pts exactly

Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Another quick Aegis update

I finished distressing the aegis.  Loved how it came out.

Not going to be making it "orky", it's simply going to be a beat up, abandoned wall that lootas ran up behind and started shooting..other then removing the Imperial Aquila.






Pretty much just going to do it quick. Base of Vallejo model air black, lots of stippling of rust colors, pigments and a black wash.

Friday, August 31, 2012

Quick update: Aegis defense line

Just want to show off the first piece of my aegis.  Took a Dremel and a couple metal bits and just went to town.  Most pieces probably won't be this bad, and one will actually be worse (planning on a whole section blown off).  Need this done.


Tuesday, August 28, 2012

Tournament thoughts..6th edition and competitive play.

Quick reports on my tournament, I did pretty well going 2-1, getting best sports and more importantly getting to fight lists I had not seen before.




So the first thing I have to note is that IG can, in fact, put out enough firepower at 1500pts to kill off the nob bikers.  Having 2 Leman Russ tanks at 1500 is a challenge for me. I did get one to turn around so I could glance it out with Lootas and living lightning, and nobs killed another (different game) in assault.  The one game I lost was due to scoring Vendettas thanks to The Scouring rules. I did take one out, so that bring my flyer total to 8.  Didn't get any razorwings off the DE player though, I was too busy firing at scoring units.

(as it turns out it was Big Guns Never Tire so the flyers were scoring lol, but luckily my win held up due to secondary mission of objectives)

I still like the list, I liked the Space Wolves in there as well.  The Demolisher in the 2nd game really ruined my day, mainly because I read his list wrong and didn't realize it was a demolisher..sigh.  Stuff happens.  Be more through in your list reading boys and girls.

I might someday use a transport for the Space Wolves.

---

General thoughts.

First, I've played in and watched a total of 3 6th ed local tournaments and the turnout has been disappointing.  Half of what usually shows up.  Not sure why.

Could be summer winding down, people getting ready for school and stuff.
Could be people don't like 6th
Could be people don't like the idea of a tournament where they have no idea what's showing up.

I think option c is more likely.  Just my guess.


The book missions provide some interesting twists, especially objectives and terrain that add quite a random factor to the game I'm not sure fits well with competitive play.  Luckily they didn't really effect my games at all.

Another thing, I was the only one there with a fortification, which was a bit of a surprise.

Fixed terrain with fortifications is quite interesting sometimes, having to fight around rocks and stuff to get the line set up.  I can't imagine trying to put a skyshield in some places.

I had a good time, got away from my kids for a couple hours and played 3 people I had never met before. Can't beat that.

Saturday, August 25, 2012

1500pt tournament list

Just finished throwing together some Space Wolves because I'm going to be taking them to a tournament today at Other Worlds Games

Pretty much going to stuff as much cheese in as possible at 1500pts.

I am playing the same Nob Biker unit.  I don't think there are many lists that can put out the required firepower at 1500pts to kill them off, considering how hard they are too kill vs 1750 and 2000pt armies.

Primary Detachment:
HQ: Big Mek, KFF, Bosspole
HQ: Warboss, bike, pk, squig, cybork, bosspole

Troop: 7 Nob Bikers, Cyborks, painboy, 2xpk, 1x Big choppa, waggh! banner, painboy
Troop: 30 Shootaboys, 3x big shoota, Nob w/PK& Bosspole
Troop: 10 grots + Runtherd

Elite: 10 Lootas
Elite: 10 Lootas

Fortification: Aegis Defense Line

Allied Detachment:
HQ: Rune Priest, JoWW, Living lightning
Troop: 5 Grey Hunters, 1x Meltagun

1500pts on the nose.


So we'll see what happens. Last time I went there, I lost all 3 games lol. Hope I can do better this time.

Friday, August 24, 2012

The need for psychic defense

Over the last 2 games I've lost 7 nob bikers and the warboss to psychic powers.

Basically Jaws of the World Wolf lost me this game. all by itself. If I had made even statistical saves on it, my nobs would have had a good shot at killing all my opponent's scoring units. Necrons are scary at range, not so much up close and personal.




I've thought about the need for psychic defense, but now I've played more the need is clear. 

If you run nob bikers that is, if you don't then it isn't anywhere near as bad.  Enfeeble makes nob bikers weak to S8 again.  JoWW of course is just bad news in general.  I'm sure there are more including the totally unneeded Terrify.

I see two valid options for adding defense as allies:

Option 1: Space Wolves

HQ: Rune Priest 100pts
Troop: 5 Grey Hunters, 1 meltagun 80pts

Pros:
stops all powers on a 4+
useful as an offensive unit
Really good powers
I already own the models (no cash needed!)
A bit cheaper in points

Cons:
limited range


Option 2: Eldar

HQ: Farseer, Runes of warding, Doom (95)
Troop: 5 Rangers (95)

Pros:
table-wide
No need to put models in harm's way

Cons:
Not that useful outside the runes
I have to spend money
Depends on opponent's rolling instead of mine

Overall I think the Eldar are better, simply because the farseer can hide and still do it's job.

So for now I'm going to put together the Space Wolves (converting a priest from the space wolves box) and I'll try that out.  Depending on the points level of the Bay Area Open, I'll have to go for some Edlar.

Sunday, August 19, 2012

Jet Wagon progress and special rules! Ludicrous speed!

Working on my jet battlewagon tonight. I finished all the bits for it, so just need to do the main body.

Also might need some way to break up the red a little more. Thinking some decals. Not sure yet.



I put it all together for this pic, and suddenly thought this thing is so awesome it needs it's own rules!


JetWagon

110pts

Type: Vehicle (tank, open topped, transport)
14/12/10, 4HP
Wargear: None
Transport Capacity: 20

Special rules: Ludicrous speed!, Emergency stop!

Ludicrous speed!
The JetWagon is so fast as to be just a blur on the battlefield, frequently flying through the air instead of keeping the wheels on the ground!
-Any turn the JetWagon moves more then 6" in the movement phase, it must move flat-out in the shooting phase.
-If the JetWagon makes a flat-out move, it must move 18", and must do so in a strait line. In addition, when moving flat out it gains the Jink special rule. 
-If the JetWagon fails a dangerous terrain test when moving flat out, it does not stop. Instead it finishes it's move and then is destroyed, but rolls on the ramshackle table to resolve the destruction.
-If a flat-out move moves the JetWagon off the table, it is allowed to leave and enters ongoing reserve.
-If moving flat-out, the JetWagon moves over enemy and friendly models as if it was a skimmer.
-If moving flat out, in the following movement phase the JetWagon is allowed a single turn of up to 90 degrees and then must move 12", but may attempt an emergency stop!

Emergency stop!
Roll a d6, on a 4+ the emergency stop! fails, the JetWagon takes a hull point in damage and follows the rules for Ludicrous speed!  On a 1-3, the JetWagon can act normally, ie move up to 6" and passengers may disembark and assault, etc.

Options:
May add up to 4 weapons:
Big shoota +5pts
Rokkit Launcha +10pts
TL Shootas +5pts
Skorcha +5pts

May add up to 1 main weapon:
Kannon +10pts
Lobba +15pts
Zzap gun +15pts

May take one of each of the following:
Armor plates +10pts
Grot Riggers +5pts
Red paint job +5pts
Reinforced Ram +5pts

Saturday, August 18, 2012

Where has all the close combat gone?

After posting my latest bat rep, against Tyranids (which I was really worried about btw), a commenter asked if there was just one close combat in the game.

Actually there were 2.

6 turns. 2 charges + 1 failed charge.  From Orks and Tyranids. What. the. hell.


The comment really got me thinking about the way I play my army and 6th ed in general.  It is true I have not played my army as close-combat centric in a very long time, but it was never to the point of avoiding combat. In fact my whole plan was to use shooting to soften up units to get ready for the boys smash phase of the game.  I usually moved the boys up getting ready for charging (except against purifiers of course). 

Not anymore. I've been very content with sitting the boys back and just shooting. Just as a side note, I've actually been using big shootas again, first time in a very, very long time and liking them.  Originally I only took the big shootas in one unit because I have the points for rokkits.  I hated big shootas in 5th, always opting for rokkits in the boys squads or nothing at all.  Against these 'nids, I actually benefited from the range. If we see more infantry-heavy armies in 6th, going with big shootas might not be a bad idea.

But anyway back on topic.  Almost every game of 6th I've played, the boys really have not done much. Only the one game against SM/GK's have they really gotten into combat.  I feel like this is where I need to spend most of my time practicing, is what to do with the boys.  They don't take any fire as long a the nob bikers are alive, giving me a chance to reposition or threaten whatever I want to while the nobs are the focus of my opponent, which I have really yet to take advantage of.   The boys are also good at protecting "da wall of awesum", which is important to my game plan.  Of course not every build out there can threaten the lootas, so it's something to worry about on a game-by-game basis.

Even as I go back over the game and look at what the nob bikers have actually done, it really isn't much.  They simply don't get a chance to kill many units, because so much firepower is being poured into them.  Almost all my damage is done by..lootas.  Which is all the more reason why I need to learn how to use the boys the best way possible.

However, all this lamenting over a lack of close combat might be just hand-wringing.  For now at least, shooting is king of 6th.  Trying to go against that trend might work, might not.

I mean I have yet to lose a 6th ed game, so I guess I must be doing something more or less right (along with a lot of luck as well).

Continuing to work on old projects..return of the Jet Battlewagon

My latest video, showing me working on my jet battlewagon which hasn't been touched in a very long time.




I've been working on it since then, and have most of the chipping done on the tank itself.

Next step was to try a wash. I need to add depth, dirty it up and fill in the panel lines.  All this without getting rid of the color graduations I worked so hard to create.

It did work out using a slightly thinned-down devlan mud.  Of course I might have to do the main body in the new earthshade color as I'm almost out of devlan mud.

I really like how it turned out, getting everything I wanted.

Next step will be a light drybrushing of chainmail on the edges, and maybe some black streaks.







I hope to have this cranked out really soon, really does not have much to do.  Then I need a model for next month's freebootaz challenge.


Wednesday, August 15, 2012

Dark Eldar Venom complete!

Finished the Venom I bought for the Freebootaz 2012 Toys for Tots army.  We are doing both Dark Eldar and Chaos Space Marines this year.

I'm really, really happy about this. Took a while, had not painted any DE before.  I didn't wash the whole model, just pin washed the lines.  That kept the nice airbrushing I did. 

I plan on doing a Chaos Rhino as well. Not 100% sure yet.

Anyway, pics...






Sunday, August 12, 2012

Hobby Update: Dark Eldar Venom

Finished the airbrushing on the Venom. I need to decide if I want to wash the whole model or just black the lines.


Need to finish by Wednesday, so I need to get moving. Really once the cockpit is done, the rest is pretty trivial.