More Posts are Coming, I Promise!

That photo about says it all. Lately it feels like my motivation for Warhammer 40K has gone. I have enjoyed the few games of 6th Edition that I have played, but for what ever reason I just don't have any desire to actively seek out a game. Maybe it's the commission work I've been doing (need to post up a few photos of that stuff before it gets sent off to the painter), or helping out with our local tournaments and the ATC (see the ATC photos here). What ever it is, I'm sure it will pass. At least I hope so. I have way too many unbuilt and unpainted figures sitting around!

With my 40K motivation lacking, I have found something else to focus on. Flames of War. If you notice, I updated the blog list this morning and included a few Flames of War blogs as well as a few for Super Dungeon Explore (still have to get going on that as well). I've looked at FoW off and on, but never bit the bullet because of time, money, and a lack of players. Last week when fellow blogger Bossman sent me an email about FoW, I started digging into the game and watching the Boot Camp videos on YouTube.

So far I have been very impressed by Battlefront and gladly dropped $60 on the new Version 3 rulebook. I've decided to play Allies, the U.S. in particular. I was thinking about starting with a tank army first, but now I am leaning toward a more balanced mechanized infantry with tank and air support. Bossman and I are hoping to get in a few demo games this weekend at the FLGS.... while we are running the Feasts of Blades qualifier event along with another blogger AirmanG.

Along with Boltergeists previous post, the Istvaanians are still here. Just like the Inquisition, you'll never know when or where we'll show our faces. But we always around, lurking, watching, and rolling a few dice.......

Painting a Night Goblin Horde Step by Step Part 2

It's been a little while since I posted the first part of this tutorial, but since then real life has been keeping me busy over the last two months. Things are starting to get back to normal now, so lets finish these Night Goblins!

Here is where we left off last time, freshly coated in Badab Black.

From where we left off, there really isn't much left to do to these little guys. We're going to add a few more colors to give the models some depth and then paint the bases and call them done. Here are the colors that I used, and I still haven't switched over to the new paint range yet.

• Blood Red
• Ultramarines Blue
• Reaper Brand Lighter Blue (Sorry, can't remember the name!)
• Mythril Silver
• Goblin Green
• Skorched Brown
• Adeptus Grey

Step 8

Now that the Badab Black wash has had time to dry (let's hope so since it's been over a month!), we can bring out some of the details. I painted the shaft with Blood Red, leaving some areas untouched to create shadows. I also painted the wrapping on the spear, the belt, and the shield in Ultramarines Blue.

Step 9

Using Goblin Green I highlighted the raised areas of flesh. Make sure to leave the darker colors in the recesses. I then used the Reaper Brand lighter blue color to highlight the shield, belt, and spear wrapping.

Step 10

Now I highlight the spear tip along the edges with Mythril Silver. Concentrate on just the edges and the sharper areas of the blade. I also base coated the base with Skorched brown. This may take two coats.

Step 11

And the last step. Drybrush the base with Adeptus Grey and if you want add a little flock to the base.

Da Blurry Horde!

And here is a very, very, bad shot of the finished horde. I added a little more detail to the front rank since they will be seen the easiest. Fifty down, two hundred and fifty to go!

Painting a Night Goblin Horde Step by Step

Up until now, I've only played Fantasy a few times a year, and I think that I've only played about 10 games total since the release of 8th edition. As much as I would love to do a new army for our FLGS's Warhammer Fantasy campaign I simply don't play enough to make the purchases worth it. Instead, I've decided to finish my all Goblin army. Last fall I ordered enough magnets to magnetize all of these little guys to there movement trays. I also made a few custom trays for the war machines so that the crew will have a place to go once they get charged. You'll see more of those as I go along.

Over the next few posts, I'm going to show you how I'm handling painting an army of about 300 models! These models are not going to be Golden Deamon winners but when ranked up on the table top they will look pretty good. I'm going with a winter theme since the little guys mainly live in the mountains. Well, that, and the fact that their fearless leader some how managed to capture the largest longbeard that any Night Goblin has ever seen.
The campaign I'm in is an escalation campaign that started at 1000 points and we'll add 250 points each week. Since this is week two, and I like to play with painted armies when possible, I've got a little catching up to do. By the time you read this, I should have 50 models done, and be at the halfway point with another 75. And that should be all of my spearmen! So, no more time to waste! Let's get painting! Here is a list of paints that I used:

• Rustoleum Black Primer
• Boltgun Metal
• Mechrite Red
• Knarloc Green
• Midnight Blue
• Thraka Green Wash
• Badab Black Wash

So, go grab your paints and your models, and after the jump we'll get started painting the horde!

A Tale of 6 Gamers - Happy Holidays

A Tale of Gamers - Happy Holidays - 12/29/2011

With the Holidays here all of us will have a lot going on other than working on our armies. So for the next two weeks we won’t be adding anything new to our armies. Instead, use these two weeks to get everything finished in your 1750 point army. The points for these two weeks have also changed and there will be a few other changes coming as well.

Happy Holidays

• Email or give your updated army list to Danny.This should be everything in your army listup to this point, including your “Core Army”. All models need to be WYSIWYG (what you see is what you get).
• The models in your “Core Army” will not change through out the challenge, but you are allowed to change the unit size and wargear as long as the models are WYSIWYG.
• Models can be in any condition for this challenge, but try to have at least at least three colors and the bases finished on everything by the next Challenge on January 12, 2012.
• To count towards your results, all models must have at minimum 3 colors on the figures and 1 color on the base.

Scoring

• 5 points for completing your 1750 list with at least 3 colors on all models
• 5 points for completing your 1750 list with at least 1 color on the bases

Extra Challenge(s)
Sit Back and Relax! - 0 points
This one is so easy, its almost not even worth mentioning! If you’ve gotten everything finished, then pat yourself on the back and take a break. If you still have stuff to do, then you better get to it!

The Change Up! - 0 points
Up to this point we’ve been working with the same “Core Army” and building off of it. Now that you’ve gotten in a few games you might be rethinking about how your plays or maybe something just isn’t working for you. Starting with the next Challenge on January 12, 2012 those restrictions are coming off, so use this time to get some new stuff built and primed, or maybe even painted.

Insane Challenge!
Part Four of “The Devil is in the Details” - The Over Achiever - 3 points
All of the previous “Insane Challenges” and led up this one. Get everything, and I do mean everything, finished from all three of the previous “Insane Challenges” and score an easy three points! In case you’re wondering, those games you got in last time count towards this goal. So, if you only got in one game last time, then you only got one more to go!

More Tournament Terrain Building

Have you ever tried to get things ready for a 50 man tournament? Well, make that 70 players and you know what guys here at the Istvaanians are going through! This year, the Battle for Stones River tournament is going to be on the Games Workshop GT circuit. In addition to that we've decided to move the event to a larger venue and add 20 more players! Last year all 50 spots were filled in just over a month!

In order to support these extra 20 players, that means we have to build and furnish ten more tables complete with terrain. That's 60 square feet of new terrain that has to be built! In Boltergeist's earlier post here, you saw all of the hills that he cut out that still have to be flocked and painted. What you didn't see were all the ruined wall sections that were also built to go with them. But even with all that, there's still more to do! We got about $500 worth of Cities of Death Terrain to build, base, flock, and paint!

5 Imperial Sectors and 2 Basilica Administratums equals one big city of death!

I took on that task and over the last week I managed to get all of the main sections of the building built and glued to the bases. I started out by clipping all the pieces off of the sprues and sorting them into the five big Cities of Death boxes. I made one box for the floors, one for the accessories, and one each for the building pieces except the Basilica Administratum pieces. Since our ten new tables are going to be desert themed, we decided to use as much of the Adeptus Mechanicus pieces as we could for those tables. After clipping and sorting all the parts, I cleared my living room floor and began to lay out the pieces for all of the buildings. Each of the buildings are made from eleven individual pieces from the different Cities of Death kits.

One of the Imperial Sector boxes full of nothing but floor sections.

Once everything was sorted and place into bags, I used a power sander to quickly remove any of the flash and mold lines from the pieces. From there it was just a matter of sitting down with my bag of parts and assembling all 22 of the buildings. With all the pieces prepped and sorted it really didn't take long to get all of them built. In fact I could have done them all in one day if I wanted. The buildings were then each glued to one square foot pieces of hard board and left to dry overnight.

Waiting for the glue to dry on 22 square feet of Cities of Death terrain. All laid out on my living room floor!

And that brings us to where I'm at now. I still need to make a ruined corner section to go on the opposite side of each piece of hard board to give the illusion of an entire ruined building. Then all that's left to do is add some sand to the bases, prime, and paint!

This still isn't all of it though. There are enough pieces left to make another ten or so buildings. And I've also cut up close to 100 feet of 1/2 inch PVC pipe into 6 inch pieces to make more terrain with. All of it still has to be glued, primed, and painted as well.

And to copy Boltergeist's previous post, here is all the information for this years Battle for Stones River!

Battle For Stones River (BFSR) is now on the GW Tournament circuit, and we have expanded both our venue and player maximum. 70 players can now attend! Registration began January 1st, 2012 through our FLGS Grand Adventures. The complete info is:

• Tournament Date: February 25, 2012; check-in begins at 8:30am CST
• Points Level:  1863  (The year of the Battle of Stones River during the American Civil War)
• Rounds: 4, with a 2 hour time limit per game
• Location: Lane Agri-Park Community Center, Murfreesboro, TN
• 70 players max
• $30 entry fee; lunch is included! 

If you are interested in learning more about the local battle that inspired the tournament, see the following links:

Stones River National Battlefield
Wikipedia

Next time you go to a tournament, take a moment to thank the tournament organizers and store owners for all their hard work. Most of us don't do this for the money, in fact we pay for some of this stuff ourselves. We do this because we want to, and because we enjoy it. And because we're a little crazy, too!

Inquisitor!

Bald and screaming, in 54mm.

A few weeks ago, my friend and co-blogger Bossman started going through his Inquisitor stuff. We had talked before about playing Inquisitor, but due to family, work, and running events at the FLGS we haven't had much time to do it. Well, we finally found time about two weeks ago and Bossman was able run me through my first real game of Inquisitor. I say "real" game, because my old room mate and I had bought a couple of figures and the rulebook back when the game was released. We played a few games, but I don't think we quite played it right!

Well, now I've gotten the itch to start playing Inquisitor, if only once a month. I was lucky enough to score a good size bitz lot off of eBay last week. When I received my box of bitz, there was enough pieces to easily make 5 guys. On top of that, Bossman gave me another figure that he wasn't going to use!

I've managed to get one guy assembled over the last few evenings. These models require a lot of mold line clean up, pinning, and then gap filling with green stuff. I'm now seriously thinking about getting a pot of the new liquid greenstuff just for these models. Here is my first figure, a low level Inquisitor. I want my warband to have strong ties to Mars, so I'm trying to give them all bionics of some type. It's a little hard to tell, but this guy has bionic legs, as they came from the Delphan Gruss figure. There are a other few small conversions, like the sculpted sash and plastic icons. I'm not sure yet how I want to base these guys, but I am open to suggestions!

A Tale of 6 Gamers - The Beginning Army Lists

Now that we've officially gotten things started here at our FLGS, I wanted to keep up with everyone's army as we progressed. If you remember from a few days ago, we went from 5 to 6 people that have decided they are manly enough for the challenges ahead! Here's a closer look at our armies. Since we're doing this for fun, none of us are going to get upset if the other is a little over or under the 1250 points to start with!


AirmanG - Necrons

Anrakyr the Traveller = 165

Command Barge = 165
Praetorians (x5) = 200
Warriors (x13) = 169
Warriors (x13) = 169
Immortals with Tesla Carbines (x5) = 85
Scarabs (x6) = 90
Doomsday Ark = 185
Tomb Spyder (x2) Gloom Prism (15) = 115

Total = 1243



 Pad Guy - Iron Hands (Codex: Space Marines)

Master of the Forge w/ Conversion Beamer = 120
Tactical Squad (x10) w/ flamer, combi-flamer, missile launcher, rhino, dozer blades = 220
Tactical Squad (x10) w/ flamer, combi-flamer, missile launcher, rhino, dozer blades = 220
Dreadnought w/ TLLascannon, Heavy Flamer = 145
Dreadnought w/ TLLascannon, Heavy Flamer = 145

Iron Clad Dreadnought (Heavy Support) w/ Heavy Flamer, Hunter Killer Missile x 2, Drop Pod = 200

Iron Clad Dreadnought (Elites) w/ Heavy Flamer, Hunter Killer Missile x 2, Drop Pod = 200

Total = 1250

Spacewolfcmd - Necrons

Necron Lord = ???
C'Tan = ???
C'Tan = ???
Immortals (x5) = ???
Immortals (x5) = ???
Warriors (x16) = ???
Warriors (x16) = ???

Total = 1250




Asmodai - Orks

Big Mek = 120
Mad Dok Grotsnik = 160
Ork Nobz (x5) Painboy (61) Battlewagon (140) = 441
Ork Boyz (x11) with Nob (56) in a Truk (55) = 242
Ork Boyz (x11) with Nob (56) in a Truk (50) = 237
Deffcopta (x1) = 50

Total = 1250

Bossman - Necrons

Overlord (90) Warscythe (10) Resurrection Orb (30) Phase Shifter (45) = 175
Warriors (x15) = 195
Warriors (x15) = 195
Immortals (x5) = 85
Flayed Ones (x9) = 117
Destroyers (x5) = 200
Scarabs (x5) = 75
Monolith = 200

Total = 1242




Boltergeist - White Scars (Codex: Space Marines)

Kor'sarro Khan = 205
Space Marine Bike Squad (x4) Attack Bike (50) = 190
Space Marine Bike Squad (x4) Attack Bike (50) = 190
Space Marine Bike Squad (x8) Attack Bike (50) = 310
Space Marine Bike Squad (x8) Attack Bike (50) = 310

Space Marine Attack Bike Squad (x1) = 50

Total = 1255

1800pt Tourney Results

Well I didn't place in the top three, but I didn't come in last either! I came in next to last!! Actually the last time I played in a tournament I scored negative battle points with my Ultrawing. That's right, negative. I could have done better by staying at home!! This time around I scored 18 battle points (first was around 50?).

First round I got face of against a great guy at the shop who was running an Iron Hands army fulll of the beautiful Heresy era Forgeworld models. You check out a few of them here at his blog. The mission was to get as many units in table quarters other than your own. Having only eight units in my entire army, this mission was not in my favor! Regardless, the game was great and very well fought. In the end though, he did a much better job of grabbing those table quarters than I did. I should have been a little more aggressive towards the end with my terminators and ran them into the other table quarters. By the time every thing was totaled up, it was a massacre. Oh well, it was a great game either way. I really need to get in more games with this guy!

Round two I had to face off against a marine gun-line backed up by a crusader with null zone librarian and 7 TH / SS terminators. Mission was five objectives, but the deployment zone was half of the table long ways. Another twist to this mission was that troops units that were completely killed could come back on from there table edge. In the end, I got three of the five objectives and managed to score a minor win. Should have been another massacre, but the guy didn't use his heavy hitters at all!

In the final round I got to face off against my usual weekly opponent ans his Space Wolf army. I know his army well, and even helped him finalize his list. This mission was kill points, but with modified points values depending on the units. The first 5 turns saw very little in the way of movement until his 3 thunderwolves with storm shields and a power fist hit my lines. These three guys destroyed a Land Raider, a terminator squad, and finally a venerable dreadnought! When you combine the loss of those three units with my inability to not take out any of his units except a rhino, there was no way I could this one. In the end it was another massacre!

Out of all three games the longest game I had was little over an hour and it went the full 7 turns! The turn out was a little smaller than I expected with only ten people showing up. Hopefully the rest of the touranments this year will be as fun as this one. And, at least I didn't score negative points this time!

In the end though it would be a Dark Eldar vs. Dark Eldar match to decide who took first place. After all the dice were rolled, it was the veteran Dark Eldar taking the win with his 3rd edition figures. Hopefully he'll use some of that store credit to get some new figures, and not more Flames of War stuff!

Tournament Tomorrow!

Tomorrow at my local game store they are having their first 40K tournament of the year. The point size is 1800, which may seem a little weird for folks not from this area. For the last few years, the middle TN area has been home to a fantastic tournament called "The Battle for Stones River". The tournament is named after the civil war battle that took place in the area in 1863. That also happens to be the points limit for the tournament that is held just a few miles from the actual civil war battlefield.

I have helped out the tournament organizer several times in the past years getting things ready for the tournament, and this year is no exception. The two of us along with a few others have been busy getting terrain and tables together for this huge 50 person event. So far with registration only being open since January 1st, we already have 33 of those spots filled! If you're reading this and want to come out and have a great time at a great event, contact Grand Adventures and reserve your spot for February 26th.

Which brings me back to tomorrows tournament. The 1800 points limit is a primer for the Battle for Stones River. I've decided to bring my Ultrawing and play them for possibly the last time in a tournament. I say possibly because they will also be used as the Battle for Stones River "by" army in case we have an odd number of people show up or someone has to leave. After that, these guys will be getting the simple green bath and returning as a new and improved army (cough,...Howling Griffons,...cough, cough). Well enough rambling, here is my list for tomorrow. You'll notice that it has barely anything in it that got updated in the new FAQ's except the Apothecary and Cyclone Missiles which have been there since I started the army. I would like to add one thunder hammer and storm shield model to each unit, but that can wait until the repaint.

1800 Pts - Dark Angels Roster - '''1800pt Deathwing'''



HQ: Belial, Master of the Deathwing (1#, 130 pts)

:'''1 Belial, Master of the Deathwing''', 130 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Lightning Claws (pair); Fearless; Independent Character; Rites of Battle)



Elite: Venerable Dreadnought (1#, 180 pts)

:'''1 Venerable Dreadnought''', 180 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Walker); Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Extra Armor; Upgrade to Venerable; Dreadnought CCW; Storm Bolter; Twin Linked Lascannon; Venerable)



Troops: Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 270 pts)

:'''4 Upgraded Deathwing Terminator Squad''', 270 pts (Deathwing Company Banner; Narthecium/Reductor; Terminator Armor; Power Fist x2; Storm Bolter x2; Lightning Claws (pair) x2; Apothecary; Standard Bearer)

::'''1 Sergeant''' (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Sword x1; Storm Bolter x1; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)



Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 235 pts)

:'''4 Deathwing Terminator Squad''', 235 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Fist x3; Storm Bolter x3; Lightning Claws (pair) x1; Cyclone Missile Launcher; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

::'''1 Sergeant''' (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Sword x1; Storm Bolter x1; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)



Troops: Deathwing Terminator Squad (5#, 235 pts)

:'''4 Deathwing Terminator Squad''', 235 pts (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Fist x3; Storm Bolter x3; Lightning Claws (pair) x1; Cyclone Missile Launcher; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)

::'''1 Sergeant''' (Unit Type: Infantry; Terminator Armor; Power Sword x1; Storm Bolter x1; Deathwing Assault; Fearless)



Heavy Support: Land Raider Crusader (1#, 250 pts)

:'''1 Land Raider Crusader''', 250 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 16 models; Access Points: 3; Frag Assault Launchers; Multi-Melta; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; 2x Hurricane Bolters; Twin Linked Assault Cannon; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)



Heavy Support: Land Raider (1#, 250 pts)

:'''1 Land Raider''', 250 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 10 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; 2x Twin Linked Lascannons; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)



Heavy Support: Land Raider (1#, 250 pts)

:'''1 Land Raider''', 250 pts (Unit Type: Vehicle (Tank); Transport Capacity: 10 models; Access Points: 3; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; 2x Twin Linked Lascannons; Twin Linked Heavy Bolter; Assault Vehicle; Power of the Machine Spirit)



Validation Report:

c-1. File Version: 1.12.0.0 For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; b-1. Roster Options: Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission; 1. Chapter: Dark Angels

Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules



Composition Report:

HQ: 1 (1 - 2)

Elite: 1 (0 - 3)

Troops: 3 (2 - 6)

Fast: 0 (0 - 3)

Heavy: 3 (0 - 3)



Total Roster Cost: 1800



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