Now I know some if you are saying “But Z you said you two were using the Starter Boxes”. Well turns out Privateer Press knew we were gonna play Khador and Menoth and added some units to their starter boxes, glued the boxes together and called it a Two Player Battlebox. So this will let us both add a unit to our armies and all I have to buy is a box of plastic Shocktroopers.

Each system will be ran with starter sized armies this will allow for Hexter to learn the systems. Then we will build up our armies escalation style for each time one of us visits the other.

The rules are as follows :

Warhammer 40,000
500 Point Limit
Combat Patrol Restrictions
No vehicles with more then AV 33 (counting the side armor only once)
No models with more than 2 wounds.

Warmachine
Starter Box Armies

Infinity
For this we also agreed that the starter boxes we bought when Corvus Belli had their sale would be sufficient.

Posts from each of us will follow the development of our armies.

So my current focus is to pre-build three 50 & three 35 point lists with character restrictions in mind, also considering the miniatures I can have painted in the next four months. This is with a view of playing all the lists constantly over the coming months, before attending these tournaments at the end of the year. Also every game I play will be with a Steamroller scenario. Hopefully this will improve my tournament playing performance!

So what needs painting? Of course the Exemplar Errants are nearing completion, so after those its the Daughters of the Flame, Nicia, Tear of Vengeance, Exemplar Vengers, Holy Zealots, Monolith Bearer and High Exemplar Gravus. This is a lot of painting to complete in four months, so had better crack on!

]]> http://mywargaming.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/april-update/ Tue, 01 May 2012 08:46:13 +0000 Mark Evans http://mywargaming.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/april-update/ Compared to March when I played twenty six games, I only played a lowly eight games during April. However I did win half of those games.

The painting of the Exemplar Errant is progressing. I should just be able to hit my ten week target for painting this unit.

On the playing side I have built three 50 point lists and three 35 point lists for character restricted Steamroller. These are the lists which I will be playing in tournaments later in the year. I will post these lists in the next couple of weeks.

The big three tournaments (Welsh, Masters and ETC) are coming up over the next couple of months, all of which I am not attending. This has seen a fall in the number of smaller one day tournaments over the next couple of months, so can’t see me attending a tournament any time soon.

I have seen myself rise in the UK rankings for Hordes and Warmachine to 74th. This has been due to the York Grand Slam tournaments being added. However because I am may not be attending any tournaments in the coming months, then I will probably drop down the rankings a little.

]]> http://neverendinggaming.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/warmachine-cryx-necrotech-scrap-thrall/ Tue, 01 May 2012 04:31:17 +0000 Matt http://neverendinggaming.wordpress.com/2012/04/30/warmachine-cryx-necrotech-scrap-thrall/ Sorry for the lighting in the pictures. I’m still working on a better setup for taking photos.

These are the first models that I have painted for my Cryx force. Now that they are done, maybe I should finish the Exemplar Cinerators that I started last week.

Today is the Manhunter. I had the variant ready for paint for the tournament that started this last Saturday but suddenly this model fell on my hands and decided it was going to be easier to paint (speed painting him alongside the Bears) and also a bit more stunning for the tourney.

As said before, this past Saturday a weirdly amazing tourney started. 25 points random couples. So 50 points of awesome on each side of the table with the weirdest combinations. Being ten players we made 5 couples and one did not play each round. I didn’t on the first one so only took one battle on the first day. I was paired with Trollbloods with eGrissel and I honestly think it’s the most balanced couple (I brought eSorscha with all weapon master infantry and two Devastators), even though we lost to a sneaky move by my favorite (most hated too) Circle player after killing almost all of his army (eKrueger if I recall?) and his partner’s (some epic Legion warlock girl, I can’t remember who).

Other combinations have been Retribution + Skorne, Cryx (pAshpy) + Retribution, and Khador (Strakhov) with Cryx (Terminus I think). All battles were incredibly fun and with my Troll partner we decided to go straight to ass kicking. That we did, but Circle + Legion could sneak a caster kill victory from us in the middle of our face smashing. We’ll be better prepared next weekend.

 Game One:

first match up was against pBaldur with a Woldwyrd, Woldwarden, Shifting stones and maybe a Woldwatcher but I honestly cant remember.  The game started off ok I moved forward at speed with the Shocktroopers and Black Ivan  and opened fire at the Circle forces, it was at this point that I realisd I had no idea how hordes works and that the Shifting stones were managing to repair max damage to the Woldwarden every turn.  The outcome of the game was that my shocktroopers were taking out one by one and Black Ivan was wrecked rather fast.  This left Hark on his own so he destroyed the Wold warden in one wound of combat since I knew he wasn’t going to survive the following round, this was the only kill I achieved as Hark went down the next turn.

Circle 1

Khador 0

Game 2:

So this time I was up against a fairly new Warmachine player who was running a Mercs rhulic list with Gorten and a couple of lights with a Driller and Thor.  I had played rhulic once before but not Gorten, I learned two things in this game first of all that Gortens feat let my opponent get a turn 3 single turn caster kill and that new players sometimes are so much better than I am.

Rhulic 1

Khador 0

Game 3:

The final game was against a mates Legion force, now going into this game I had some reservations as I have played his legion force on many different occasions and each time I have had my army handed to me on a plate after it had been destroyed.  This game was no different the fury management ability of legion is insane there was fury appearing everywhere.

 Legion: 1

Khador: 0

Used without permission.

Today I was able to dedicate some time to getting my Trollbloods army complete. In taking one step closer to completion, I finished up the Troll Axer and Troll Impaler, both light warbeasts for the Trolbloods army. CTK and I are going through a campaign that involves 3 of us and we are looking to start this upcoming Tuesday so it has gotten me interested / motivated to start working on the Trollbloods again. We are doing a hex-based campaign called the Warmachine Conquest Campaign and it will be very short but we are just looking for an opportunity to play some games and put the armies to good use. I’ll also be using my blog to give updates each week that we make our moves. The standard format is that the campaign is turn-based and we each have options of fortifying our hexes and generating Resource Points. After 20 rounds, whoever has the most… wins… Pretty simple and straightforward! So here’s a picture of the quickly put-together campaign board:

As for the models that were painted, the Axer and the Impaler, I went with the standard look that I chose on my Dire Troll Mauler because I didn’t want to use the normal blue color for them. I like the brownish look to them that I chose and so kept in line while painting these guys. I noticed there’s a lot of small details on each of these models like the small Trollblood Whelp that is peekin his head out of the Axer’s bag and the 2 chickens that are attached to the Impaler’s belt. Both really help to make the models stand out and I think it really drives home the nature of the Trollbloods theme. Here’s a pic of both the Axer and Impaler:

As for gaming terms, I usually use both of these guys in just about every list I use… the Impaler being very effective at taking down big things with his critical strike (shooting attack) and the Axer being able to take on buku’s of light infantry with his Thresher attack. As far as I’m concerned, both of these guys are auto-includes in the Trollbloods army and now this adds the base battlegroup for my army… A Troll Axer, Troll Impaler, and a Dire Troll Mauler. Here’s another pic of both of them:

And a single of the Impaler:

Another of the Impaler (side view – notice the chickens!):

And of the Axer:

And a side view of the Axer (Trollblood Whelp in the bag!)

I believe I’m going to work on both Borka Kegslayer and Madrak Ironhide – both warlocks – next because I tend to switch between the two when playing this army. They both have some very good benefits and they work well… it’s hard to tell who’s actually better. At any rate, I was able to get the paintbrushes going and got some models knocked out… I’ll have an update when I’m on to the next ones… As always, thanks for reading/looking!

Tonight though, I think it has finally been posted up.  The list we had to supply, was to include one 30mm, one 40mm and one 50mm based model that we would like.  We could also include 2 additional models of any size base, which would mean a choice of 3 – 5 models we had to look out for.  The models I chose were:

• 30mm – Warwitch Siren
• 40mm – eGrissel
• 50mm – Malice

I also added in eSkarre and Dire Troll Mauler.  For the last few weeks, there has been an eSkarre painted by Meg Maples; painter for Privateer Press; posting up WIP.  Now whoever is getting this, is getting an awesome model; which Meg has turned into a diorama.  There was a few times, my excitement built; thinking “Could this be for me?”.

However, there was an eGrissel posted up tonight, that I think will be winging its way across Europe.  From the skin colour to the tartan, it matches everything I was looking for.  It’s that good, that even if I isn’t for me; I’ll be asking the painter how he did the skin tones; as it looks fantastic.

I might try again, to organise an Exchange in our LGS; as it is great fun to do and not just limited to WM/H.  You only get what you ask for, so I could paint tanks for someone who plays Flames of War, but still get WM/H models from whoever paints for me.

Ok so Tiger tanks weren’t actually painted with tiger stripes; but you have to admit it looks different. Hopefully I can have them finished in time for Carronade, where I have been asked to demo WM/H as a member of Livingston Battleground. They are bound to make people stop, even if it is just to admire the paint job.

If that wasn’t incentive enough, I have been in contact with Florian Stitz; who has kindly donated some prints to the event.  For those that don’t know his work, he has done many pieces for Privateer Press over the years; as well as several other gaming companies (Paizo, AEG, Catalyst Game Labs and more).  Certainly with his WM/H pieces, there is an energy about them that makes them appealing.  So a big thank you to Florian, for his donation.

I’ve also just had an email from Privateer Press in the UK, who are sending up some items to be used in the event; so more details of that will follow soon.  Hopefully, there will be other things on offer; but this is looking to be fantastic event.

I have no intention of playing Khador, other than using them in demo’s; so I decided to have a little fun with them.

If that isn’t cheesy enough for you all, then I guess I will have to come up with something else.

Any constructive C&C is gladly welcomed.

Well, after a bit of focused painting time, I think I’ve knocked this project out. All that’s left now is to tidy up the black base trim and get these guys sealed.
- I did paint the black a bit earlier, but it’s rubbed off while handling the minis; as was to be expected.

Oh, and once it’s sealed I think I’ll try do something to make the blood look fresher and more wet – probably a glosh varnish and red paint mix.

It had been my original intention to have dropped cloak and ceremonial sword, with a bit more blood, some of which would be running into the steel channels which (in the presence of blood) were beginning to glow; but I felt it would be a bit much … and a bit of a pain to try pull off well. And I’m quite happy with the simple dark dungeon look which I think I’ve pulled off.

Here’s a shot of each of the separate minis. I’m really happy with how nicely the Scavenger came out; Versh, not quite so much, but it’s an old and semi-busy model, so whatchagonnado.

I should have some fully completed pictures up (after varnish and sealant, etc) in the next few days.

Comments and criticisms are more than welcome.

So I am pleased to announce Frontlines, a 35 points Steamroller taking place the 19th May at The Outpost in Sheffield! Click on the image above for the rules pack. Entry is £15 and the day includes 4 games with prizes! Tickets are available in store. Feel free to contact me or the store directly with any questions!

My first event woooo! hope to see you guys there!

I am a 30 something guy who grew up playing video games. I never really played tabletop games (wargames, role playing games, etc.). But 2 years ago or so, I started playing in a D&D group with some co-workers. We had a lot of fun, but eventually some real-life stuff caught up with one of the members, so we discontinued the game.

As the DM of the group, I got into buying metal miniatures (Reapers primarily) and learned to paint them at my local comic/gaming store. The shop holds a miniature painting clinic every Friday evening, which also happens to be the shop’s Warmachine & Hordes night. Watching some of the guys there playing with their fully painted armies got me interested in learning more about the game.

After a few demo games, I was hooked. I chose Cygnar as my army, and dove off the deep end.

My Cygnar Collection

I’ve been playing Warmachine since July, 2011.

2 weeks ago, I discovered a new game, Infinity. I’ve played a few demo games, and have decided to go with the Nomads army. The Nomads are a group of space-travelling anarchists, who reject the rest of humanity’s dependance on an all-encompassing artificial intelligence. They are experts of technology-use, including camouflage, hacking, and the use of robots. This weekend I am going to be placing my initial order to start building my Nomads Army.

My initial order will be:

• Nomads Starter Box
• Daktari (Doctor)
• Salyut Zond (set of 2 robotic tanks)
• Sin-Eater Observant (Sniper)
• Spektr (Sneaky Hacker)
• Zero (Sneaky Hacker)
• Tomcat (Engineer)
• Carlota Kowalsky & Moriarty (Human and Robot Hacker/Engineer team)

The main reason I am starting this blog is to chronicle my experiences in Infinity. I plan on posting as I build and paint my miniatures, build gaming terrain, and post information about games I play.

So I hope you enjoy your visit here, and please don’t hesitate to drop me a line with questions or feedback.

Thanks.

Every time I paint something new I like to try a specific style, or idea, etc; and this time is no different. I really want to try and keep this quite a dark and dungeony piece, and I don’t want it to take forever; but I don’t want to default to some quick and dirty drybrushing.

But I do need to get this finished in the next few days, this is part of the recurring PG painting exchange, so I have a hard deadline of finishing at least one mini by Monday.

So I thought I’d try some apex primer highlighting (I think that’s the term); but instead of using a white, I’m going to use purple (I picked some up recently and really like the colour), in the theory that it won’t overly brighten the models, and will give me a consistent shade tone. And then I’d try … I don’t know the word for it … a mix of dry brushing and wet blending – sort of dry brushing/washing with generally well thinned down paints (I suspect this may just be called painting :p).

The apex highlighting, I wasn’t entirely sold on it after seeing it. But I quite like how it’s come out once it has some extra paint on it. See these WIP pictures below.

These pictures without flash are a little dark, the flash one below seems considerably over bright … will try get a really decent progress picture up next time.

These minis are all technically far from finished:

• the base(s) are almost done – just needing the metal steel tones revisted over the rust, and some finishing details on the Diorama part;
• Versh just has his face painted; and
• the Scavenger needs the the grey of its main carapace highlighted/shaded and some necrotite glow.

I think getting it all done in the next day or two should be pretty manageable.

Played a full game today against my friend Sean, and it was a close battle. He won right at the end by sheer luck. Shouldn’t have left my warcaster in the open. Got over-confident, since the rest of his battle force was pooched and he got a lucky charge in with his own warcaster.

Click the images below to enlarge.

This model was painted using Reaper’s brand of paint. I’ll likely be changing back to Citidel paints for the rest though.

Now to get painting…

Having just finished the April Annihilation event, I am now working feverishly on the Worlds Gaming Day event.  As this is a charity event, I have started to look for donations for a raffle or something similar; so we can raise even more money for the chosen charity of the British Legion.  Only just started today, but already we have a donation offer from someone; who we will reveal shortly.

There is still time to get tickets for this event, no matter what system you play; as there is going to be Flames of War, Warmachine/Hordes and WH 40K.  Just head over to the Worlds at War website for more details.

Harlan Versh

The Scavenger

And the Diorama Base

This is a slight redirection from my original plans. I had originally planned on having it look like Versh’s target (currently “out of shot”) had been shot and dropped some scrolls/sword and a cloak, leaving the remainder of the diorama base pretty empty; but I had always known I’d need to do something extra – ruins, rocks, something to get the scavenger looking anything but super-awkward (flying models that run on their feet look stupid imho), and the emptiness I was looking at, didn’t sit right.

So now their in a slightly more ruined ritual something-something … and Versh has interrupted something he probably should(n’t) have, for a price he’s probably not too sure he can pay.

Here’s what the whole thing looks like together:

There’s still a tiny little bit of ‘construction’ required: I need to sand back the Green Stuff on the Scavengers foot, to make it look more mechanical; and I should do the same on Versh’s left boot, to smooth it out that final little bit – its hard to notice but I reposed his awful left foot a little.

Those final things should only take a second, and tonight I can get this all primed.

Karchev and Friends

I love playing Warmachine, but when it comes to collecting, I’m several expansions and dozens of models behind.  It occurred to me the other day that I essentially stopped collecting around Superiority.  I don’t own cavalry, plastic ‘jacks, Harkevich, or the upgrade kits.  I don’t even own a Behemoth.  Let’s face it, miniatures are expensive.  I don’t often buy miniatures simply because I can’t afford to.  I’ve made some lucky trades, which is how I acquired the battlegroup up there – the result of trading a bunch of old Warhammer bitz and figures and two Magic the Gathering dual lands.  I think the last miniature I actually bought was Zerkova, sometime last fall.

From that standpoint, when it comes to building lists(and playing games in general) I mostly just try to have fun.  I use the models I like, and if they’re not the most broken ones out there, that’s ok.  Khador is a great infantry faction, but even there I’m a bit lacking.  I have the Winterguard deathstar, with a single rocketeer.  I have minimum Iron Fangs plus UA.  I own the Great Bears(got them a few years ago at 50% off).  I own a full unit of Demo Corps.  But no Kayazy, no Rifle Corps, no Nyss Hunters, no Shocktroopers…. A list for me often does comes down to just a few choices, and many of them look similar.  Eventually I’ll expand what I have, but for now I’m mostly ok.  I haven’t even played a game in ages, because I don’t like going to the LGS when I can’t afford anything.  I feel that if you’re getting to hang out in a game store and play Warmachine for 5 hours you should at least buy a solo or a few cups of coffee or whatever.  (Our LGS has a cafe and does coffee, sandwiches, etc.  It rocks.)  So rather than freeloading, I’d rather stay home and paint some of the bare metal I still have laying around.

Back to lists, though – I play what I like, and that’s totally cool.  I can’t wait to play Karchev some more, even if I don’t have any mechanics as support.  I like playing the Butchers, because they kill stuff dead.  The Old Witch can be ridiculously mean, and even Zerkova has her tricks.  For me, it really is true that switching warcasters changes the entire game.  I’m glad I have that option, and that I own a variety of casters that I can use.  Khador is a really fun faction, and thankfully my LGS isn’t saturated with Khador players like I know some places are.  We have a pretty mix of factions, from what I remember, and a number of good Hordes players as well.  I’m not a hugely competitive player, so I do lose a lot.  Again, that’s ok because I know eventually, once I can get more games in, I’ll become a better player.  And even when I do lose, I still have fun.  My favorite games are the close ones, where it comes down to just a few models left on the board on each side, and it’s literally one die roll that determines the win.  Those are the best.

I think my whole point here(and I did say that it was a ramble) is that for me personally, list-building is often about how much I have in the game, and not necessarily about how many über models I can fit in there.  That’s not to say that I don’t use competitive units, but I also won’t handicap myself deliberately by taking sub-par units.  It’s different for each person.  I don’t take too much time when I make lists – again, limited selection – and I include stuff that I like seeing on the tabletop.  A few fun games last year came down to a Devastator with Rage tokens from eButcher trying to pull off a caster kill(didn’t work).  It’s stuff like that that I really enjoy.

Lastly, on miniatures and transporting them: my homemade carrying case is falling apart, and I could really use a new transport.  I’m looking at Portable Warfare, because they’re the only company so far that I’ve seen making a bright orange transport bag.  You won’t ever misplace that sucker.  It’s bright freaking orange.  So I’m trying to save up for that, and I’ve started a ChipIn for it. It’s a little fundraiser thing, where people can donate.  You can find it here. I’ve got an Etsy shop where I sell dice bags and such, and you can use the coupon code THNXMUCH for 15% off your order. I’d much prefer to sell a few dice bags, so please spread the word, and pass the coupon code along too!