So lets break that at the very end and sneak in another one. So....what's up brother G? Well let me tell you...
Gaming:
Nope...not doing it. I don't know when the last time I rolled a die. Okay, that's a lie. I did roll a d20 when I played MtG with my wife and daughter while on vacation. So I guess that counts. But in terms of pushing models around the table and rolling dice, that would be a big fat NO!
I am trying to organize a little something soon with Dystopian Wars. Also, Firestorm Armada is looming and just waiting for me to jump in. I have created the perfect excuse though. You see the models don't really fit in the stands very well, so that means I'd need to glue them in. However, the fleet I chose looks really fragile sitting on those thin posts. So I'm waiting for my CorSec mounts to come in. The kicker is, I haven't ordered them yet. Cuz I'm broke. Cuz I keep spending my money on other things. Cuz I'm dumb like that.
Purchasing:
Now here, we have lots to talk about. The very first game store I ever went to in the Portland metro area is closing its doors. The building was sold that they reside in and they weren't really able to find a new location that worked for them. So they decided to sell everything. Started off at 27% off, then eventually 50% off, and now finally 75% off in the final days.
Suffice to say, I stopped by there way too much in the last couple of weeks. On the good side...I picked up the new two player starter for Dystopian Wars! I also then got various box sets for DW to fill out the Federated States. I also picked up a couple of boxes for the Aquan fleet for Firestorm Armada...sadly though, they didn't have the patrol fleet so I'm missing the core of the force.
I also bought several boxes of various GW 40K and fantasy units too ... because I like to buy stuff I don't need apparently. Yeah, apparently I have no willpower when the words "sale" and "games workshop" come together. I really hate them, but I can't resist their cool minis.
Now I nearly bought Warmachine stuff. They had a few items that I really wanted. But...I'm not playing WM right now at all...not even close, so that part of my brain that can't resist GW has no problem resisting WM for some reason.
So in the last month, I've picked up DW 2.0 which added more ships to my Blazing Sun fleet, and now I've got a whole new Federated States fleet with tons of air power, and a smattering of land forces.
I've got a new core faction for Firestorm, but still need the patrol fleet.
And then got some odds and ends in GW products and Flames of War.
Oh yeah, and I also bought that new Stormclaw box set in order to get the rulebook, and now I'm apparently collecting Space Wolves.
Modeling:
Yes, I do have a small bit here to talk about...I think. I finally fixed the Kedorian carrier. Using sticky putty, I was able to assemble the dome & struts together so that they will fit in the slots on the main body. I then discovered that I totally F'd up by gluing on the clear fins on the cruisers. I could have gotten this really cool effect by painting the inside edge first, but I was impatient and glued them on already. Oh well, maybe next time.
Well that's it. I have a meeting I must run off to. Until next time (which hopefully will be sooner than last time), keep gaming....or at least buying stuff and thinking about gaming. :)
Thursday, July 31, 2014
Thursday, July 10, 2014
Is that a blip on the horizon?
Howdy Sports Fans,
So what has been happening in the wonderful world of hobby minis for Brother G? Well, the biggest news is that my local game store is closing its doors. They were the first store I visited since moving here and it is a shame they are closing down. It has given me the opportunity to add to my collection though as they are having a decent sale on all the stuff.
The big purchase of the sale was the new Shadow Hunter box set from Spartan Games. It has two decent sized fleets for Dystopian Wars and the new 2.0 rulebook. The models are fantastic. The jury is still out on the rules. I'm not sure I like the format they chose with bolding certain text. It can make it very hard to read at times. I'm still plowing through it though.
I've also picked up some various GW kits, things that filled gaps in my collection for my armies. Noting too exciting though. I did get the new Ork codex though. I really love the orks. They are such a great characterful army. I don't really mind if they aren't competitive though. One of these days I might actually assemble all the models I have for them. :)
Later this Summer, I'll be going on vacation for a week, and will hopefully have time to make some progress on a fleet for either DW, or FA. Right now though, the Summer schedule is pretty brutal and my health has not been great.
I also took inventory of my Tyrannid army in the hopes of selling it off soon. But not in a huge rush and don't want to give it away. Seems people expect to pay less than 50% these days for a used army. I'm too cheap of a bastard to agree to that nonsense. :)
So what has been happening in the wonderful world of hobby minis for Brother G? Well, the biggest news is that my local game store is closing its doors. They were the first store I visited since moving here and it is a shame they are closing down. It has given me the opportunity to add to my collection though as they are having a decent sale on all the stuff.
The big purchase of the sale was the new Shadow Hunter box set from Spartan Games. It has two decent sized fleets for Dystopian Wars and the new 2.0 rulebook. The models are fantastic. The jury is still out on the rules. I'm not sure I like the format they chose with bolding certain text. It can make it very hard to read at times. I'm still plowing through it though.
I've also picked up some various GW kits, things that filled gaps in my collection for my armies. Noting too exciting though. I did get the new Ork codex though. I really love the orks. They are such a great characterful army. I don't really mind if they aren't competitive though. One of these days I might actually assemble all the models I have for them. :)
Later this Summer, I'll be going on vacation for a week, and will hopefully have time to make some progress on a fleet for either DW, or FA. Right now though, the Summer schedule is pretty brutal and my health has not been great.
I also took inventory of my Tyrannid army in the hopes of selling it off soon. But not in a huge rush and don't want to give it away. Seems people expect to pay less than 50% these days for a used army. I'm too cheap of a bastard to agree to that nonsense. :)
Monday, June 9, 2014
Supply ships have reached the station
So the slow boat from China has finally arrived! Okay, well it was from the UK, but still, my replacement struts have finally gotten here. I was a little disappointed that they did not replace the cap piece as that had gotten a bit damaged, but oh well, the one I have will still work. The real downside to this tale, is that they didn't offer any tips on how to put the darn thing together. So back to the drawing board.
I also need to decide if I'm going to go with 3rd party stands or not. I want to play with these darn things, and have to decide soon so I can base them. I think I said before that I'm looking at Corsec Engineering who makes pretty cool flight bases. They are steel rods so much more durable than the plastic ones you get with the fleets. Plus they screw in and out of the ships, so easy to take apart for transport.
Also, I've been looking over the new Ork releases for 40K. I love the orks for 40K and have a sizable army (unpainted of course). I like some of the stuff that is coming out and am eagerly awaiting the new book. Of course, GW's insane prices will keep me from getting most of it. It always comes down to "well I could sell X to pay for Y" but the problem is that X almost always has more value than Y due to the fact that I already own it, and if its GW's, then it already went up in value since I purchased it.
Oooo ooo ooo. I'm going to play Magic tonight! It is supposed to be D&D night, but our DM backed out even though we played it a freaking month and a half ago! So the rest of us are gathering (heh..gathering) together for a little sealed deck action with the new Journey to Nyx set. I haven't played in a while, and these guys are pretty competitive. Its all for fun and I get shiny new cards!
Till next time.
I also need to decide if I'm going to go with 3rd party stands or not. I want to play with these darn things, and have to decide soon so I can base them. I think I said before that I'm looking at Corsec Engineering who makes pretty cool flight bases. They are steel rods so much more durable than the plastic ones you get with the fleets. Plus they screw in and out of the ships, so easy to take apart for transport.
Also, I've been looking over the new Ork releases for 40K. I love the orks for 40K and have a sizable army (unpainted of course). I like some of the stuff that is coming out and am eagerly awaiting the new book. Of course, GW's insane prices will keep me from getting most of it. It always comes down to "well I could sell X to pay for Y" but the problem is that X almost always has more value than Y due to the fact that I already own it, and if its GW's, then it already went up in value since I purchased it.
Oooo ooo ooo. I'm going to play Magic tonight! It is supposed to be D&D night, but our DM backed out even though we played it a freaking month and a half ago! So the rest of us are gathering (heh..gathering) together for a little sealed deck action with the new Journey to Nyx set. I haven't played in a while, and these guys are pretty competitive. Its all for fun and I get shiny new cards!
Till next time.
Friday, May 23, 2014
Progress and a little bitching
So I was able to assemble the rest of the Kedorian fleet with no hassle. I am still waiting for the replacement parts from Spartan games, but they did say they would send them, so yay Spartan!
I should probably send a follow up email with them just to be sure though.
In that same vein, I am still waiting for Warlord Games to give me instructions on how to build my churchill AVRE. I have sent two emails to them, both times they said they would send me instructions, both times they have not done so and after X many days, closed the case.
I have to say, I hate this. Why the hell can't they simply send me instructions on how to build the god damn tank???? When you send a model with 10+ pieces...instructions are handy.
Because of this issue, I have had zero interest in playing Bolt Action. I love the game too. I think it rocks. But if the company is going to fail with this simple request, then I don't want to play their game. It kills all interest I have in it. Anyone else out there like that?
I should probably send a follow up email with them just to be sure though.
In that same vein, I am still waiting for Warlord Games to give me instructions on how to build my churchill AVRE. I have sent two emails to them, both times they said they would send me instructions, both times they have not done so and after X many days, closed the case.
I have to say, I hate this. Why the hell can't they simply send me instructions on how to build the god damn tank???? When you send a model with 10+ pieces...instructions are handy.
Because of this issue, I have had zero interest in playing Bolt Action. I love the game too. I think it rocks. But if the company is going to fail with this simple request, then I don't want to play their game. It kills all interest I have in it. Anyone else out there like that?
Thursday, May 15, 2014
Kedorian shipyards report massive problems
So my first fleet are the mighty Kedorians. These are the flying citadel looking ships. I think they look amazing. I bought both box sets and have started to put together the alliance fleet box.
First up was the frigates. Now these are single piece pewter models..so should be really fast. But they have a ton of flash on them...and all on the inside of the ring. Took me about 30 minutes to clean up all four. Two of them had bad peg slots on them, but shouldn't stop a peg from being glued in...or more likely a magnet.
Next up though, is the carrier. It has two main resin pieces (top and bottom), four pewter panels, four plastic struts, and two resin dome pieces. So I start by cleaning the panels, and gluing them to the top resin piece. Everything is lining up great, and securing very nicely. Once I get all four done, it is looking good.
So then I go to attach the bottom resin piece, which should fit into the brackets of the panels. Should being the operative word here.
Unfortunately, it doesn't fit. It doesn't fit anywhere close. For some reason, the bottom section of the ship is too large!! WTF???
So I start shaving down the resin around the whole model to get it to fit in. Not an easy task, nor exactly a safe one. It gets a little better, but there is simply no way to get it inside one of the panels. So I pry off the panel (thankfully without damaging either piece, and am able to get the two halves together...but when I slide in the last panel, due to the mis-fit, it sticks out a bit. Well, not much I can do about it. I fiddle with it a bit more and finally get it all glued together. Thank god that is over.
Now I move on to the dome. Now please keep in mind, there are no instructions in the box. There are no diagrams or labels of the pieces. I am simply figuring this all out as I go.
So I finally figure out that there are two pieces to the dome, and I get them put together in what I think will work. Then I pop out the struts and see that they have to go on the dome first, otherwise you can't get the dome in them later. Also, the holes in the main body for the struts are larger than required, so alignment will be tricky.
So I'm thinking that if I attach them to the dome first, then it should just fall into the slots on the main base just fine. Well that went horribly wrong as well. Gluing the struts to the dome securely is a bit tricky because again, the slots are larger than the struts. But I eyeball it the best I can to have them light up properly and attach flat to the dome.
But then when I move the whole dome set over the main body, you can't even get two struts into the holes designed for them. Trying to remove the struts from the dome results in breakage. It really is unreal. Maybe my battleship will just stay in its box. If it is anything at all like the carrier, I'm going to have an aneurism trying to put it together.
By the way, this model also has four long thin pewter spines that are supposed to hang down from the bottom of the model. Yeah, like those aren't going to break five minutes after assembly. I think I'll skip mine.
First up was the frigates. Now these are single piece pewter models..so should be really fast. But they have a ton of flash on them...and all on the inside of the ring. Took me about 30 minutes to clean up all four. Two of them had bad peg slots on them, but shouldn't stop a peg from being glued in...or more likely a magnet.
Next up though, is the carrier. It has two main resin pieces (top and bottom), four pewter panels, four plastic struts, and two resin dome pieces. So I start by cleaning the panels, and gluing them to the top resin piece. Everything is lining up great, and securing very nicely. Once I get all four done, it is looking good.
So then I go to attach the bottom resin piece, which should fit into the brackets of the panels. Should being the operative word here.
Unfortunately, it doesn't fit. It doesn't fit anywhere close. For some reason, the bottom section of the ship is too large!! WTF???
So I start shaving down the resin around the whole model to get it to fit in. Not an easy task, nor exactly a safe one. It gets a little better, but there is simply no way to get it inside one of the panels. So I pry off the panel (thankfully without damaging either piece, and am able to get the two halves together...but when I slide in the last panel, due to the mis-fit, it sticks out a bit. Well, not much I can do about it. I fiddle with it a bit more and finally get it all glued together. Thank god that is over.
Now I move on to the dome. Now please keep in mind, there are no instructions in the box. There are no diagrams or labels of the pieces. I am simply figuring this all out as I go.
So I finally figure out that there are two pieces to the dome, and I get them put together in what I think will work. Then I pop out the struts and see that they have to go on the dome first, otherwise you can't get the dome in them later. Also, the holes in the main body for the struts are larger than required, so alignment will be tricky.
So I'm thinking that if I attach them to the dome first, then it should just fall into the slots on the main base just fine. Well that went horribly wrong as well. Gluing the struts to the dome securely is a bit tricky because again, the slots are larger than the struts. But I eyeball it the best I can to have them light up properly and attach flat to the dome.
But then when I move the whole dome set over the main body, you can't even get two struts into the holes designed for them. Trying to remove the struts from the dome results in breakage. It really is unreal. Maybe my battleship will just stay in its box. If it is anything at all like the carrier, I'm going to have an aneurism trying to put it together.
By the way, this model also has four long thin pewter spines that are supposed to hang down from the bottom of the model. Yeah, like those aren't going to break five minutes after assembly. I think I'll skip mine.
Monday, May 5, 2014
Don't even know why I own a wallet...
So apparently, this was "spend all of your money" week instead of "work on your models" week. Thankfully I was able to spend money on my hobbies.
On Saturday, I went to my local game store to watch some folks play Firestorm Armada. It would have gone a lot better had I not stopped for a beer first. Normally, I can hold my alcohol fairly well, but this particular brew was sporting 11.5% and it kicked my ass.
So I got to watch two gents struggle through learning the rules of FA with a big goofy grin on my face. Thankfully, I had purchased my new Wood Elf book for Warhammer just prior to the beer drinking, so no other WE goodies came home. Though to be honest, I'm really only interested in the new cav models. The infantry looks good, but I don't need them right away. So while I'm here, lets talk woodies.
You see the Wood Elves were my very first fantasy army. I got them way back in '95? I was a 40K player before then...and my friends were getting into fantasy. So I, being a good friend, was going to join them. Now at first I wanted to play undead. But you see, I didn't know the rules for fantasy, I did know the rules for 2nd ed 40K though. So looking at the undead stats, I quickly looked for something better. And the Wood Elves had just gotten their first book with a cool looking forest dragon model to boot.
So anyways, here we are, nearly 20 years later, and I still own that army...with the models that came out 19 years ago. I have all of the old metal archers and spearmen, dryads, waywatchers and war dancers. I liked the new plastic stuff....mostly...but couldn't really justify replacing models that worked. So here I am, kind of stuck a bit. I wouldn't mind getting the new units...but will they fit in with my older models? Unless that money tree in the backyard starts blooming, I don't see me buying a whole new army for WE. I really shouldn't worry about it though...can't even remember the last time I played fantasy. But then again I wouldn't have gamer ADD if I didn't think about it. :)
"So buying one book is spending all of your money?"
No...you see then the gaming group I associate with (www.ordofanaticus.com) yanked some dough outta my wallet with this post about a cool airbrush for super cheap on amazon. Well I don't have an airbrush but always wanted one. Well how could I pass up this deal? So $200 late, I have a new airbrush and compressor on its way. But I did save over $300...so not bad. Pretty excited about it actually. A new thing to learn!
And then finally, we end up with me purchasing a new Firestorm Armada fleet. It was going to happen eventually...we all saw that coming. So I went ahead and got it over with. I'll wait till the models show up to reveal the new awesomeness.
Damn...I better spend this next weekend cleaning up my office before it becomes too jammed with gaming stuff all over the place. On the flip side, its constant state of disorder does keep the wife-unit from noticing the new toys. ;)
On Saturday, I went to my local game store to watch some folks play Firestorm Armada. It would have gone a lot better had I not stopped for a beer first. Normally, I can hold my alcohol fairly well, but this particular brew was sporting 11.5% and it kicked my ass.
So I got to watch two gents struggle through learning the rules of FA with a big goofy grin on my face. Thankfully, I had purchased my new Wood Elf book for Warhammer just prior to the beer drinking, so no other WE goodies came home. Though to be honest, I'm really only interested in the new cav models. The infantry looks good, but I don't need them right away. So while I'm here, lets talk woodies.
You see the Wood Elves were my very first fantasy army. I got them way back in '95? I was a 40K player before then...and my friends were getting into fantasy. So I, being a good friend, was going to join them. Now at first I wanted to play undead. But you see, I didn't know the rules for fantasy, I did know the rules for 2nd ed 40K though. So looking at the undead stats, I quickly looked for something better. And the Wood Elves had just gotten their first book with a cool looking forest dragon model to boot.
So anyways, here we are, nearly 20 years later, and I still own that army...with the models that came out 19 years ago. I have all of the old metal archers and spearmen, dryads, waywatchers and war dancers. I liked the new plastic stuff....mostly...but couldn't really justify replacing models that worked. So here I am, kind of stuck a bit. I wouldn't mind getting the new units...but will they fit in with my older models? Unless that money tree in the backyard starts blooming, I don't see me buying a whole new army for WE. I really shouldn't worry about it though...can't even remember the last time I played fantasy. But then again I wouldn't have gamer ADD if I didn't think about it. :)
"So buying one book is spending all of your money?"
No...you see then the gaming group I associate with (www.ordofanaticus.com) yanked some dough outta my wallet with this post about a cool airbrush for super cheap on amazon. Well I don't have an airbrush but always wanted one. Well how could I pass up this deal? So $200 late, I have a new airbrush and compressor on its way. But I did save over $300...so not bad. Pretty excited about it actually. A new thing to learn!
And then finally, we end up with me purchasing a new Firestorm Armada fleet. It was going to happen eventually...we all saw that coming. So I went ahead and got it over with. I'll wait till the models show up to reveal the new awesomeness.
Damn...I better spend this next weekend cleaning up my office before it becomes too jammed with gaming stuff all over the place. On the flip side, its constant state of disorder does keep the wife-unit from noticing the new toys. ;)
Monday, April 21, 2014
The Invasion is on Hold
Okay, it really isn't on hold, I just haven't had any time this last week to work on it. So a slight bump in the schedule, heck, I haven't even had time to go back and take more pictures yet. That is just the way life gets some times.
What I can tell you, is that I've got all the chaos I need. All of my wheeling and dealing and purchases came flooding in. I am now the proud owner (again) of a full chaos marine force. And it is all in pieces. :(
But don't fret, I'm not. I'll get back to assembling models tonight after work and will continue to churn them out. I will say I'm still looking for some specific pieces though. My army has lots of chaos beasties in it. I have the helldrake, two fiends, and a total of five hellbrutes. But I don't own a warsmith yet. I like the model so I am on the lookout for one.
Also, I'm trying to get my hands on more special weapon sprues for the basic CSM. I only have one for all 25 of my CSM. I could at the very least use one more. I'll see what I can salvage from some of the other units.
The whole army is plastic which is pretty cool. All of it are the latest models as well. So no old stuff. The only down side to that is that I have to put everything....and I mean everything, together. Sometimes I find assembly fun. But when you have to start cranking out the models....then it becomes a chore. At least for me anyways. So I'm trying to figure out how best to do this. I think it would probably work well if I chose a few of any one kind of model at a time....instead of trying to power through all of them. So maybe I'll stick with a "no more than five at a time" rule. For lots of the stuff, I only have five of a kind for a model type (raptors and terminators for example). So that should work okay. For guys like my CSM and cultists, I think it will help me not get sick of them to spread them out.
So, I'm still working on the possessed right now and the rhino. I hope to wrap those up tonight. Then I'll get back to my DV models (which are awesome!) and then start grinding out some CSM again.
Next up: Chaos Sighted!
What I can tell you, is that I've got all the chaos I need. All of my wheeling and dealing and purchases came flooding in. I am now the proud owner (again) of a full chaos marine force. And it is all in pieces. :(
But don't fret, I'm not. I'll get back to assembling models tonight after work and will continue to churn them out. I will say I'm still looking for some specific pieces though. My army has lots of chaos beasties in it. I have the helldrake, two fiends, and a total of five hellbrutes. But I don't own a warsmith yet. I like the model so I am on the lookout for one.
Also, I'm trying to get my hands on more special weapon sprues for the basic CSM. I only have one for all 25 of my CSM. I could at the very least use one more. I'll see what I can salvage from some of the other units.
The whole army is plastic which is pretty cool. All of it are the latest models as well. So no old stuff. The only down side to that is that I have to put everything....and I mean everything, together. Sometimes I find assembly fun. But when you have to start cranking out the models....then it becomes a chore. At least for me anyways. So I'm trying to figure out how best to do this. I think it would probably work well if I chose a few of any one kind of model at a time....instead of trying to power through all of them. So maybe I'll stick with a "no more than five at a time" rule. For lots of the stuff, I only have five of a kind for a model type (raptors and terminators for example). So that should work okay. For guys like my CSM and cultists, I think it will help me not get sick of them to spread them out.
So, I'm still working on the possessed right now and the rhino. I hope to wrap those up tonight. Then I'll get back to my DV models (which are awesome!) and then start grinding out some CSM again.
Next up: Chaos Sighted!
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