Hell week over...

So, my long-ass week is now over. Supposedly, I get next Saturday off, so I may get a chance to play some games of something if I get can enough stuff built to make something that resembles a decent list.

Also, the bits I ordered from bitspudlo arrived at some point this week, so I've been fiddling with them   a little. I have almost finished off one of the Hydras that I'm making out of a Hellhound and some bits. Once I'm done, I'll post some pictures up...

For now, sleep...

Progress-ish

So, since I last wrote several things have happened. I have a new job, working in a factory, of all places. So, I quit my old job and started my new one. But, for a week, my jobs are overlapping... So, I'm working 75-80 hours this week.

This is awesome for my wallet and bad for my sanity. Fortunately, I gave myself something to look forward to. I bought myself a few more things to add to the 40k stable.

I ended up getting 2 Predators, 2 Helldrakes, 2 boxes of Raptors and my 3rd (and final) Storm Talon. So, yeah... I will be picking up more Raptors. The models rock really hard. They can be Assault Marines as loyalist or Raptors for CSM. The helmets fit well with my existing forces, meaning I don't need to buy any additional heads (good), and they add more special weapons to my bits box.

I really want to write up the background to the Plutonium Bastards for everyone, but I just don't have as much energy as I'd like when doing something that requires any level of imagination... But, as a sneak peak, I will mention that the Plutonium Bastards are well known for their unoriginality. While many Space Marine chapters are slavish adherents to the Codex Astartes, continually copying the strategies that brought the Ultramarines success, the Plutonium Bastards have taken a more... imaginative approach. Instead of copying the Ultramarines, the Plutonium Bastards are well known for copying the strategies that bring ANYONE success. This has led to bizarre company restructurings and odd task-force organizations.

Ok. More than that will have to wait ;]

Also, I'm looking into an airbrush for ease of basecoating. Anyone have a suggestion? It will see quite a bit of use (due to the number of models I have), but once they're done, I won't be using it as much until I acquire new things. Also, any helpful links to airbrushing techniques would be vastly appreciated... Not that I'll have time to do any reading or painting or assembly or anything until next week ;]

Planning...

Aw yeah, old school power point clip art style. I love it. Brings me back to the beginning of this blog. I'm really going to have to bring back some more of that flavor.

In the spirit of that, I thought I'd share how I'm planning out my purchases. It's not the most organized way to do it, but it's the way I've always managed to get enough stuff to construct an entire army.

Usually, I start off with a specific list. Then, I compile a second list of the number of each model in the list. For example:

25 Regular bolter guys
4 Plasma
4 Melta

I think that probably explains it. Then, I figure out how many boxes I need to get what I need.

Of course, this time around I'm not necessarily building towards any one particular army list, so my list of stuff seems really long... Also things are complicated by the stuff that I already have. So, I get 2 lists.

What I have:


IG infantry
29 lasgunners
4 sarges
12 plasma gunners
3 melta gunners
2 sword bolt pistol guys

IG vehicles
4 Chimeras
1 Vendetta

Space Marine infantry
5 Assault Terminators
21 regular bolter guys
3 sarges
6 melta guys

Space Marine vehicles
4 Rhino/Razorbacks
1 Landspeeder
1 Stormtalon
1 Dreadnought

What I have on the sprue:
11 bikes
2 Hellhounds (which will be converted into Hydras once I have the appropriate platforms)
30ish space marines

What I plan on making:

Space Marine infantry
11 more regular bolter guys
15 missile launcher guys
2 flamer guys
2 multi-melta guys
2 lascannon guys
4 plasma guys
5 Thunderwolves
an assortment of HQ choice-esque guys

Space Marine vehicles
2 more Rhino/Razorbacks
1 more Dreadnought
2 more Stormtalons
2 more Landspeeders
2 Predators
1 Vindicator

Imperial Guard vehicles
2 more Vendettas
2 Leman Russ demolishers

So... Yeah. This should give me plenty of options to field lots of different versions of a couple of armies. At this point, that's what I really want. Lots of options = less chance of all of my choices being invalidated by codex or edition change. I'd also like to try and make one of those Thunderhawk conversions that I've seen floating around out there. Perhaps I'll make that a reality, or perhaps not. I suppose we'll see as I move forward.

Landspeeder and Geckos

Landspeeder...

Still more Landspeeder...

Gecko #1 (the jumpy one)

Gecko #2 (the not quite so jumpy one)

Ok. So, just a little bit of hobby progress this week. I managed to find an unused Landspeeder that I had sitting around on the sprue, and I played around with it a bit. I wanted to get something that looked a bit like the Forgeworld Landspeeder Tempest. Whether or not I actually succeeded... Well... I'm not sure yet.

 I've always been partial to Landspeeders just due to their speed and firepower. However, I've always disliked the open crew compartment (especially with the "it's not open topped because POWER ARMOR, YO!" rule...), so I may do a few more of these if this one turns out well after painting.

In another fortuitous discovery, I found a bunch of guys I built a while back with Red Scorpion Upgrade Kits and Chaos Marine parts, so I managed to get a jumpstart on my army build. I had to shave off a few extremely Chaosy sigils to make them slightly more generic, but in the end I was extremely pleased that I hadn't painted those guys yet.

I've been playing with a bunch of different army builds right now, and a bunch of them look interesting and fun. I've got a basic framework of what I want to play in my mind, but the particulars haven't been mapped out yet. Allies are allowing me some freedom to think about army construction in a totally new way, and I'm interested to see where it will take me. Of course, using allies means you have to have 2 HQs and 3 Troops, basically, but it allows you 4 Heavy Support, Fast Attack and Elites. So far, this hasn't been a huge stumbling block for me. But, then again, I've always been a fan of 4 units of Troops anyways ;]

I'm still waiting on some remaining custom bits as well as some resin bases to arrive in the mail, and my local store ordered me the last few things I need today, so I should actually have everything by Thursday or Friday according to shipping estimates.

It's odd. Despite the fact that I still have some real problems with the way GW writes their games and prices their miniatures, I actually feel enthusiastic about returning to the game. I guess this is why they haven't gone out of business yet, right? ;] I'm still hoping that I'll eventually be able to trot out some of my other armies again, but I think that approaching the army building aspect with a "I want lots of options for when they break the books I'm using" may be a better approach than what I've used in the past. And it helps when you are using models that let you pick and choose from several different books...

As per SinSynn's request, we have gecko pictures. These are our (the "us" being me and my gf) crested geckos. Neither of them have tails due to unfortunate run-ins with an older, meaner gecko at some point before we got them. Crested geckos don't grow back their tails, so they will look this way for their entire life. Geckos are not the only exotic animals that I now live with, but that story will have to wait for another day ;]

Beginnings, beginnings...

So, I know absolutely nothing about how well this new edition functions. Sure, I've read the rules, and I've scanned some various blog posts. But until I've actually played a game, I have no handle on how things actually flow.

Now, as of right now, that's not really so much of a problem.

Why is this? I'm trying to turn over a new leaf. Usually, I build pretty much a single list and play that (with a few modifications) for an entire edition. Then, when a new edition comes out, I have to build a new army because whatever I have ceases to be effective or fun or something. This time I want to do something different.

I've said before that I wanted to build a collection that has enough flexibility to weather editions and keep my attention. Unfortunately, I've never actually done so. This time, however, I'm actually setting out with that intent, so maybe it'll happen. Sure, I've written up a few army lists, but I haven't settled on one to the extent that I'm going to commit to just that. Instead, I've set myself up with a fairly set goal in terms of allies and then an unfortunately large shopping list of Space Marine items to give myself some flexibility.

What allies? For right now, Imperial Guard. They seem to shore up some of the weaknesses that any other list can have. Right now, I plan on the following with them: a company command with an autocannon, a veteran squad with an autocannon, a Vendetta and 2 Hydras. Cheap and solid shooty is what I think this gives me, along with a relatively immobile troops unit to camp home objectives.

As far as what I want in Marines... Well, lots of regular guys with an assortment of special and heavy weapons. I bought a bunch of Mark IV heads to give my guys some character. Several Razorbacks/Rhinos to provide whatever mobility I need. A couple of Dreadnoughts to give me some firepower (also, I love Dreadnoughts). Maybe some Assault Terminators? Yeah, that sounds fun. Also, I have some secret hidden plans that I'll only reveal once I've actually decided to do it, as it'll make for some nice modelling and painting entries.

So, there you have it, a bit of rambling on my part and a picture of my almost completely assembled Vendetta on top of my crested geckos' cage. Maybe I'll put out some better posts here in the near future as I get back into the swing. Heh. Maybe I'll even get around to reposting all of my older stuff that I haven't done yet. I suppose we'll see!

Arise, chicken! Chicken arise!

So... Yeah. You may be wondering pretty much what the hell happened to me. Let me go ahead and sate some of that curiosity. Almost immediately after the last time I posted (damn near a year ago), shit hit the fan big time in my life. My grandfather died right before I was due to take the South Carolina Bar. Add that to a number of other crises, and you have a recipe for me not playing, reading about or even looking at miniatures.

However, I'm now kinda back in a much more stable position. I've ended up moving in my girlfriend. I have a temporary job, and I'm looking for something better. So, I decided to go ahead and wade back into the waters that are miniatures gaming and blogging...

Things have kind of changed. With the advent of 6th edition 40k, my interest has been slightly rekindled. One of my buddies called me and put me on alert to all the Heresy Era Marine bits that now exist... And so we have a new project.

I'll be working on the force I always should have built: The Plutonium Bastards. A flexible, neon green Marine Force with questionable ethics and the flexibility to be whatever codex suits my mood. Add in some Guard Allies (now that such things are possible), and we end up with something that I hope will be fun and lasting.

Just as a bit of explanation, The Plutonium Bastards were born when my buddy Rick and I were in college together. During that time, we played quite a bit of Warhammer 40k: Dawn of War and its expansions on our computers. Unfortunately, in the Warhammer 40k world of many dark colors, little men who were also darkly colored tended to become lost and forgotten about the map. Thus, Rick cranked the sliders up as high as he could to give us neon green Marines that we could never lose. Both he and I have talked about making an army based on this concept numerous times, but I have beat him to the punch on it!

Hopefully anyone who still reads this can begin looking forward to my long winded ramblings and blurry ass pictures once again.

Some hobby progress, some gaming pictures...

So, above are some blurry ass photos of my playing a game of Warmachine against one of my buddies who plays Cryx. Right after this picture was taken, he managed to assassinate my caster through judicious use of spells and a trample with his Seether. This was the second game I played on Saturday. The first was against an infantry-heavy Vindictus list. I lost both games. However, I still learned and had fun before I ran off to go out with my new girlfriend ;)

Anyways, the list I used both games was as follows:

Dawnlord Vyros
Manticore
Manticore
Max Halberdiers
Max Invictors + UA
2 Arcanists
Ghost Sniper
Mage Hunter Assassin

Mainly, I wanted to try out the one heavy myrmidon that I hadn't used yet as well as the Halberdiers (which I had just finished) and one of the 'casters I hadn't used yet. I figured out a couple of things as I played. The first is that I generally like Vyros. He has 2 excellent spells, Inviolable Resolve (gives a unit +2 ARM and Fearless) which works well with any of the Dawnguard units or the Halberdiers and Mobility (+2 Speed and Pathfinder for his myrmidons). Vyros is also no slouch in combat. He single-handedly took on a Menoth 'jack and won. The Manticores are not my favorite myrmidon. They have a cool thing going with their covering fire and being the cheapest myrmidon currently available. However, they don't have the focus efficiency abilities of the Hydra or the resilience of the Phoenix, and they want loads of focus to be anything other than crap in close combat. I'm totally going to give them a few more tries, but I feel like I need something punchy in my lists...

Anyways, as for my hobby progress, I have quite a bit done now. For my Retribution army, I have most of it assembled and painted. Here's the list ;)

Ravyn
Ossyan
Vyros
Rahn
Kaelyssa
Garryth
Discordia
2 Phoenixes
2 Hydras/Manticores
Chimera
Griffon
Invictors + UA
Sentinels + UA
Mage Hunter Strike Force + UA
Halberdiers + UA
Stormfall Archers
Battle Mages
Epic Eiryss
Mage Hunter Assassin
2 Arcanists
2 Ghost Snipers
Magister

Now, I have my second Mage Hunter Assassin, 2 Soulless and Skeryth Issyen assembled. I have a second Magister and a second unit of Battle Mages and Stormfall Archers awaiting assembly, so I'm getting close to the point where I have to sit back and wait for new releases ;)

As for my Legion of Everblight stuff, that's coming along a bit more slowly. I have 20 points painted: Saeryn, Scythean, Angelius, 2 Shredders, a Forsaken and a Shepherd. I have some more stuff assembled and awaiting priming, but I need some more pieces before I really feel like I can start constructing functional armies that I want to play. I'd like to figure out a good way to push up to 35 with what I have that will be easy to get done, but I haven't gotten anything figured out yet. I've got 2 Carniveans, 2 Seraphs, 2 Teraphs, a Raek, 2 Shredders, 2 Stingers, Typhon, Sorceress on Hellion, 2 units of Striders with UA and 2 Deathstalkers sitting in waiting. I'd like some Swordsmen, Raptors, Legionnaires and maybe some Hex Hunters... Maybe I'm being overly ambitious? I dunno.

Beyond that, hopefully I should be making some additional posts this week. I got kind of behind when shit got crazy last week...

First rambling post of 2012

Well, it's been a rather unfortunately time since my last post. I'll go ahead and chalk that up to a couple of factors: 1) having to prepare for the holidays since they happened here this year, 2) having to hang out in the hospital after my grandfather broke his hip and 3) pure unadulterated laziness.

So, I haven't gotten a lot of blogging done, obviously, but have I gotten any gaming done? Yep, I have. If you even glanced at the picture, you'll probably correctly guess that I've been continuing to play Warmachine and Hordes.

My brain has finally adapted to the point where I think I'm starting to develop actual tactics and battle plans that work. I need to play a lot more games still and continue to re-read the rules so that I can have a high level of rules knowledge, but I'm out of the awkward stage that you enter into early in any game where you know enough to play but not enough to do well.

One major milestone for me was playing a 50 point game. Somebody asked me if I would, and I actually had enough stuff to be able to do so without having to just add in senseless filler. Really kind of awesome to realize I actually had that much stuff and its all painted. Contrary to what I'd heard, Warmachine isn't totally broken and unenjoyable at that points level... as long as you play scenario. I can see straight caster kill being really stupid at that high of a points level.

I've also really been focused on playing 1 caster for the moment: Adeptis Rahn Shyeel. After fiddling around with Ravyn and Kaelyssa, he's actually suited my playstyle best. So I'm working in getting half way competent with him before I start trying to really mix things up. I've kind of hit on what my "core" choices are for him at the moment as well. 2 Phoenixes are excellent with him, they're heavies that don't need that much focus to do damage and they're survivable arcnodes. A full unit of Sentinels with the officer and standard is also a must have for me. Rahn's spell Polarity Shield means they can't be charged by things in their front arc and their Defensive Line makes them ARM 17 against incoming fire. Not too shabby for letting me control when my forces will engage the enemy.

I've also started having some theories about how Retribution works. What I've found so far is that Retribution has plenty of good shooting and good close combat, so the best way to play them is as a mixture of both where your shooting hurts things early before you hit home with a few charges. However, Retribution also has a sneaky side in all of the Mage Hunter stuff, so you can also threaten from multiple angles and approaches. And that is the key to victory. You have to be able to put pressure on the opponent from all ranges and angles so that you can get the most out of your force. Now maybe that's all Warmachine factions, but I don't think so based on how many large synergistic bricks I've seen where things need to be clustered for buffs. Retribution's units and solos don't require the heavy supervision that other forces seem to, and that encourages a slightly different approach.

So, all that long winded rambling out of the way, I really enjoy the Retribution style. You can really vary your army from one game to the next simply by making a few different choices. I've heard other players claim that about other factions, but I've never seen such differences as I have with the Retribution.

As for painting progress... Well, I haven't gotten much done at all, recently, with the exception of painting up 20 points of Legion of Everblight as a test for the rest of my force. I'm hoping to get the remainder of my current Retribution stuff done soon so I can continue to play more with them while I start getting my Legion into a playable shape.

I've also had a couple of thoughts that are germinating into the third "Treating your hobby like a hobby," so I'll be writing that soon.

Anyways, I hope everyone had a good New Years and is off to a running start in 2012... I mean, we only have like 11 more months before space-time transitions into time-space, our pineal glands open to embrace the return of Lord Kromdor and the T-Virus ends the world just like the Mayans predicted ;)