Upcoming North Carolina Tournaments





Friday, April 30, 2010

Bar Bar Bar Barian!



Sometimes you'll just see a miniature that you want to paint, which is the case here.  This is a Reaper Miniature, but I have no idea what the name of it is.  I just knew that I wanted to try painting it when I got the chance.  The detail was fun, and the pose is pretty classic.  I used layers of washes over highlights to get it done. 

Thursday, April 29, 2010

So You Want to Wargame in North Carolina: Sci Fi Genre Review

For the past few days, I've been without the cord to upload pictures from my camera to my computer, which has made updates a little tricky.  Instead, I'm going to start up a little feature I was planning:  So You Want to Wargame in North Carolina!

There are quite a few of us who crisscross the state for tournaments of the Warhammer Fantasy variety, and there are people who do so for 40K as well, among other games I'm sure.  What I wanted to do was to share my experiences from each of the venues that I've traveled to while playing Warhammer.  Let's give this a go, starting with the home store, Sci Fi Genre.



Name:  Sci Fi Genre

Location:  3215 Old Chapel Hill Rd. Durham, NC 27707

Phone:  919-490-7900

Website:  www.scifigenre.com/store

Forums:  http://z6.invisionfree.com/Scifi_Genre_Forums/index.php

The Store:  Sci Fi Genre is one of the largest stores I've been in for this market, and they carry the stock to fill their space.  There's a little bit of everything in the store, but there is specifically a ton of wargaming stuff.  Games Workshop and Privateer Press stuff get a lot of attention, but smaller ranges like Malifaux, Anima Tactics, Flames of War, and Confrontation, among others, all have shelf space.  Painting supplies are plentiful, and even products that you'd normally have to order online such as the Army Painter line are represented.  If SFG doesn't have something, they can order it for you, usually at a pretty significant discount.  The staff is friendly and helpful.

Gaming:  Wargaming night is Tuesday night at Sci Fi Genre, and there are typically about ten tables worth of folks playing various games.  40K and Privateer Press games are represented, as well as Malifaux, and there is a particularly active Warhammer Fantasy group there.  Tournaments for 40K and Fantasy alternate months, with announcements as to upcoming events listed on the forums (and on the top of this site).  Tournaments are well run, but do not factor in soft scores. 

Nearby:  Piper's Deli is in the building next to Sci Fi Genre, and is one of my favorite places to eat.  Try the burgers, as they have been voted top in the Triangle for good reason. 

Overall:  It's great to have a stable, successful store such as Sci Fi Genre nearby.  Tournaments are regular around here and a lot of fun, and the crowd is great.  Come on by!

Tuesday, April 27, 2010

The Bellower Issue #2 is Out!


Issue two off The Bellower is out now.  It's one of the best webzines out there for Warhammer Fantasy, and if you like Ogre Kingdomes (and I do), I highly suggest checking it out. 

http://drinkinandmodelin.blogspot.com/2010/04/bellower-issue-2-now-available.html

Monday, April 26, 2010

The Great Debate: Playing Non-GW Models in Tournaments



Saturday's tournament went well.  Twenty-four people attended, and I ended up tied for second overall with my Beastmen, and missed first by two points out of 121.  I had two big wins and a loss, with great comp, sports, and painting scores. 

There was apparently some discussion among some players about my army having non-GW models.  Some players thought that because my army contains some non-GW models, that my painting score should be docked.  It wasn't an official GW tournament or anything similar, and GW models weren't part of the tournament requirements or suggestions, so I was a bit confused.  This is the first army I've ever run with any non-GW stuff, and it has five different models in it, such as Privateer Press' Lug model, to represent Heroes and differentiate them from things like the standard Minotaur model.  Everything was WYSIWYG and explained.  I didn't want to use the exact same GW Minotaur Hero model over and over.  The goal is to make my army different and fun, and make it stand out. 

So my question to my readers is, because I'm unfamiliar with using non-GW models, is whether it is common to have painting scores docked a little for not having GW models in non-GW tournaments?  I'm not offended, but if this is standard practice, I'm going to have to change my army to only be GW.

Here are my non-GW models in total:

Privateer Press' Snapjaw - Gorebull
Privateer Press' Lug - Gorebull
Privateer Press' Brine - Razorgor
Privateer Press' Wrong Eye - Bray Shaman
Anima Tactics Beast Lady Nahimana - Beast Lord

Friday, April 23, 2010

Friday Daily Challenge 4/23/10: Beast Week, Finished!


So yeah, everything is now painted.  One Beastlord, Three Minotaurs, a Ghorgon, Three Razorgors, and one Cygor.  Basing these guys with grass and snow almost wiped me out at the end.  I'll be taking some painting time off for a while, and enjoying the High Point tournament tomorrow.   See you Monday!

Friday Daily Challenge 4/23/10: Beast Week, Part II


One P.M. - Washes Applied, Beastlord finished.

I've applied the washes, and put some detail work into the Beastlord.  Full disclosure, her base was done yesterday with the display board.  Next step, more washes and highlights for the rest of the crew.

Friday Daily Challenge 4/23/10: Beast Week!

Tomorrow, I have a 2,250 Warhammer Fantasy Tournament, and if you've been keeping up, you'll know that I plan on taking Beastmen.  In addition, I'm in the 24-hour Paint-A-Thon Challenge today at Librarium Online, which really fits into the fact that I need to get just about 1,000 points of Beastmen done for tomorrow!

I got up this morning around six and starting working on painting.  I'll put up pictures of my progress as I go throughout the day.  Luckily, my 1,000 points equals roughly nine models.  Sorry about the picture quality, as I'm stuck with the IPhone Camera today.

Six A.M.  - Primed:


Seven A.M.  - Flesh Base Coat Done


Eight Thirty A.M. - Grays On

Ten A.M.  - Base Coats Done 



At this point, I've run out of wash, which is the next step I need to take to finish.  I have about half an hour until the paint store opens.  I'll keep this updated during the day. 

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Wintery Display Board (with River o' Blood!)


Beast Week Continues!

The Bestigor are painted, which we'll save for another day, and now the winter / River of Blood display board is done. 

I used a glue/baking soda/ and static grass combination to make the winter, along with some Christmas display trees I bought a few years ago.  The River of Blood is made with red food coloring and clear caulk, and I'll have to get a post up about that experience down the road.  Let's just say it's a much more difficult process than I thought it would be.  After this bad boy dries, I'm going to run some more red paint over the river to flesh it out more. 

I still have a Ghorgon, Cygor, three Minos, three Razorgors, and a Beastlord to paint, which will hopefully happen tomorrow. 

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Doubles Tournament!


We're having a Warhammer Fantasy Doubles Tournament here in the next couple months, and it brings up a lot of interesting possibilities.  We'll have 2,250 points per side, with each person providing 1,125 each.   I love the idea, and think it will be a lot of fun to play in a team against other pairs.  It sure has raised a lot of rules questions, though.  Here are some of the good ones:

1.  May characters join allied units?

2.  If an Orc caster Miscasts and on the Miscast rolls a 2, it states in the rules that "All friendly units on the tabletop suffer D6 Str3 hits." I assume that would effect both mine and my allies armies?

3.  What kind of force organization chart needs to be followed?  Can each 1,125 provide up to three characters, but also need two core, or should the combined armies follow a 2,250 chart?

It's a lot of fun, and my hat is off to the guy setting everything up for the tourney!  I'm going to run Beasts, and it should be a ton of fun!

As to Beasts Week, I have the Bestigors primed!  Not a quick start, but I plan on painting everything but the Bestigors and the display board on Friday.  We'll see how it goes!

Monday, April 19, 2010

Beast Week!



It's not as good as Shark Week, but what the heck!  I have a 2,250 Warhammer Fantasy Tournament coming up this Saturday, April 24th.  I'd love to run my Beastmen instead of my Dark Elves, but they need to be fully and decently painted by then, and have a display board.  Here's my list, and what I have done:

Beastlord (Unpainted)
Two Gorebulls (Painted)
One Shaman (Painted)
Thirty Ungor Raiders (Painted)
Ten Warhounds (Painted)
Three Minotaurs (Painted)
Three Minotaurs (Unpainted)
Three Razorgors (Unpainted)
Ten Bestigors (Unpainted)
Ghorgon (Unpainted)
Cygor (Unpainted)

So, can I get a Beastlord, Ten Bestigors, Three Minotaurs, Three Razorgors, a Ghorgon and a Cygor painted in five days?  Let's find out!

Sunday, April 18, 2010

GW Announces WFB 8th Edition


I just received an email from GW Incoming! announcing the release of 8th Edition in July!  War is coming!  Here is a copy of the email text:


The Warhammer world is a place riven by relentless warfare and the corrupting power of dark magic. It’s a place where vile creatures and titanic monsters roam the lands, where vast armies of evil warriors unleash slaughter upon their victims and only the unceasing valour of the forces of Order prevent the whole world slipping away into chaos and death.
Amidst this tapestry of conflict and carnage are races fair and foul, warriors chivalrous and brutal. These are the combatants who fight for dominance of the world. From the blasted north come warmongering tribes of Chaos Warriors, armour-clad barbarians who have thrown their lot in with the Dark Gods of Chaos. In the Badlands gather the greenskinned marauders known as the Orcs and Goblins, vicious, brutal creatures whose insatiable lust for war grows almost as quickly as their vast numbers. Beneath the cities of the civilised realms nestle the repulsive ratmen, subhuman creatures whose machinations spread disease and distrust – these are the Skaven and they wish only to destroy and dominate all others. Even the forests of the Old World are not safe, for the trees themselves are things of malign presence and the Beastmen dwell within, the children of Chaos – braying beasts who crave slaughter and the chance to enact their savagery on the civilised races.
The Warhammer world is a place where you must bury your dead deeply, for Necromancers and Vampires raise the legions of undeath in their war against the living. Far away in the south the legendary kings of a long-dead kingdom now awaken, leaving their vast tomb cities to wage war upon all under the sun, their skeletal legions a chilling parody of their once glittering majesty.
All these examples of horror are enough to cause weaker hearts to quail, but there are those who resist the darkness, kingdoms and realms that fight for survival. The Empire, greatest of all the nations of Men musters regiments of brave soldiers. Armed with faith in Sigmar, their warrior god, and with tempered steel and black powder weapons they defend their lands. South and east of the Empire lies Bretonnia, a land of chivalry and noble tradition. There, bold knights harken the call of their mighty king and ride out to crusade against the monsters of the Old World. Dwarfs, in their mountain strongholds, are as unyielding as the stone around them as they battle above and below the ground. Loyal allies, but terrible enemies, the Dwarfs are brave-hearted and steadfast as they protect their once-great realm.
In far-off lands the Elves fight out their bitter blood feud against one another – a mighty civilisation that spanned the continents but is now riven with strife and betrayal. Perhaps the greatest warriors in all the world, their numbers are now few and too many of those that remain are lost each day in the unending war between Ulthuan and Naggaroth.
This is a world where victory and death rest upon a knife-edge and the fate of the world, be it damnation or salvation, will soon be decided.
Warhammer, the Game of Fantasy Battles will be released in July. The preparation for this date has been a time of great excitement here in the Studio as we have lavished detail, care and attention onto the rulebook and the fantastic Citadel miniatures range that it accompanies.
Now is the time to gather your regiments, paint your armies and prepare for a battle like never before. If you have a Warhammer army, dust it off and finish up those last few models. If you’ve always been tempted to collect a force there really has never been a better time to start! Warhammer is coming and it’s going to be great.

Friday, April 16, 2010

Friday Daily Challenge 4/16/10: Part 3


So this is probably it for my day.  Unfortunately, a few distractions cost me a lot of time, and so the Minotaurs aren't going to happen.  On the other hand, I managed to finish the dogs (basing will occur along with a bigger batch of models later on).  I did realize I didn't have good dogs movement trays, and so I put a couple together for them.  Note to any new Fantasy players:  movement trays are key!

Anyway, thanks for keeping up!  See you next Friday for another one of these!

Friday Daily Challenge 4/16/10: Part 2


I had a landscaper come by, so that slowed things down considerably.  However, the dogs are painted aside from details, and also have two washes on them so far.  The minotaurs just have a Tallarn Flesh basecoat, and the outlook is grim for them.  We shall see!

Friday Daily Challenge 4/16/10: Part 1


11:00 a.m.  - The errands are run, Survivor is on, and the models have been cleaned, primed, and dried.  We're looking good, and ready to start painting.

Friday Daily Challenge 4/16/10: Introduction



I have the day off today, and aside from some errands I have to run this morning, I'll have intermittent work to do with some grading at home.  I've decided to play with two different things:

1.  Watching reruns of my current obsession, "Survivor".  I've worked my way through the first five seasons, so we're going with Season Six in the Amazon today.  And yeah, it's weird that I like Survivor.  I like camping, competitions, and young ladies in bikinis.  What can I say?

2.  I'm going to paint a whole bunch of models.  Specifically, I have ten Chaos Warhounds and three Minotaurs.  The missus will be home in about six to seven hours.  We'll see how it goes, and update through the day, so stay tuned. 

Thursday, April 15, 2010

Tale of Painters for April (Month 8)



I got a bit of work done this month for the Tale of Painters project on Librarium Online.  I managed to turn something in on all five of my armies in progress, which is always a challenge.  I submitted:

20 Corsairs with Full Command
Six Doom Reavers
Wrong Eye and Snapjaw (also used as Beastmen models)
An Imperial Fists Dreadnought.

For the next month, I'm hoping to finish:

An Imperial Fists Tactical Squad
Khador Mechanics and a Greylord Ternion for Khador.
Rorsch and Brine for Trollbloods (with Brine also being a Beastmen Razorgor)

I'm also entering a contest on Librarium Online to paint 1,000 points in 24 hours, and will do so with Beastmen next week.  So I suppose whatever I manage to finish there will be my entry.

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Varghulf

Well Ben's Tale of Painters is getting close to the end! I signed up for it at the beginning, hoping that the deadlines would motivate me to finish up my VC army. So far so good, I should finish the rest of my unpainted models by the time it's completed.

I thought I'd put up my entry for this week. My brother gave me this model for Xmas, and I just got around to finishing it a couple of weeks ago. Enjoy.

New Orc and Goblins Models!


So GW has some new models up for the Orcs and Goblins.  If you haven't seen them, here is a link:  http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/catalog/armySubUnitCats.jsp?catId=cat1350004&rootCatGameStyle=. 

Now, the O&G riders don't do much for me, but I'll probably pick up some of the River Trolls to do crazy things with my Beasts.  They should make some nice upgrade and conversion parts for Minotaurs and the like. 

Doom Reavers Completed!


Here's a nasty bunch of guys, all painted and ready to go.  From my very little experience in actually playing Khador, I know these can be an absolute terror on the table if used properly, but they were sure a lot of fun to paint.  The swords look darker in the picture than they actually are; I think they have a nice glow to them. 

I'll probably pick up the Greylord Unit Attachment to go with the Doom Reavers, simply because I like Greylord models and I can see how useful he could be.  I'm not sure what I'll be painting next.  I have an Imperial Fist Tactical Squad that I'd like to get finished, but I'm tempted to push hard on my Beasts in order to have a fully painted army for a tournament I'll attend on the 24th.  Temptations, temptations.

Monday, April 12, 2010

Thanks to the Charlotte Folks for a Great Tournament!


Saturday saw me down in Charlotte for a Warhammer Fantasy Tournament at Parker, Banner, Kent and Wayne.  The Charlotte folks are a ton of fun and are gracious hosts, and their tournament was well run and organized.   The scenarios were of a great caliber, as they were good fun without unbalancing any parts of the core game.

Charlie Hand finished first, with Ian Holland second, and Lance Lagroue third.   I finished fourth, just off Lance's total, and since we had played in the second round, that match up really determined where the two of us finished.  I'm pleased with my Beasts and their performance, but still made a few boneheaded moves throughout the day as I continue to learn to play my army and this game.   Even when you've been at it for years, it's nice to know that improvement can still be an achievement at every event.

I'm now looking to High Point's tournament in a couple weeks.  I'm not sure my Beasts will be table ready if there are painting requirements, but hopefully I can put some hard work into them and make it happen.

 

Friday, April 9, 2010

Fantasy Tournament Tomorrow!


Once again, it's time to hit the road and head on down to Charlotte for a little 2,250 Warhammer Fantasy Tournament action.  I'm taking the Beastmen down, and am primed to smash and crash, or at least die trying. 

My list is as follows (with magic items omitted for the time being):

Beastlord (General)
Two Gorebulls
One Shaman

Six Units of  Five Ungor Raiders
Two Units of Five Warhounds

Ten Bestigors
Two Units of Three Minotaurs
Three Razorgors

One Ghorgon
One Cygor

Missions are pretty straightforward, and I'll just have to work on on improving the parts of my game that I'm still working on, like controlling my army and applying force properly.  I've had decent luck in Charlotte in the past, and hope that things continue that way. 

Also, the local team will be riding in style.  Our T-Shirts, the product of an odd mix of early mornings and late evenings, arrived yesterday.  Team Caribbean Breeze Women's Lacrosse and Warhammer Club.  If these don't strike fear into the hearts of opponents everywhere, I don't know what will. 


We have yet to actually take up Women's Lacrosse, as we think we'd get beaten every time, but everyone knows that Dolphins and Women's Lacrosse teams are the most intimidating things in the universe.  Shake in your boots, Charlotte!

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Wrong Eye!


What's better than one anthromorphed alligator?  Two, of course!  Especially since this one has a top hat and a bottle of liquor.  Wrong Eye will also be pulling double duty as a Beastmen Shaman.

One of the things you'll notice is the "frosting" on the model.  I got lazy and used Armory Spray Varnish again, and shockingly it killed a ton of detail again!  I have no one to blame but myself, and now poor Wrong Eye's coat is all glazed over.

I now have three of four "heroes" painted for my 2,250 Beastman army, but only one unit of core.  This is bad form, and I hope to have some Ungors and Warhounds running around soon.

Wednesday, April 7, 2010

Snapjaw!


Mmmmmm, Alligator goodness!  Snapjaw will be taking the place of my other Minotaur hero in my Beastman army.   Obviously gifted with sharp claws, tough skin, and well...a snappy jaw, hes going to be one nasty minotaur.  Now to get some actualy Ungors painted. Chomp chomp!

Tuesday, April 6, 2010

Painting Easy, Good Looking Black


This is Scout Sergeant Asad of the Raven Guard.  When I played a lot more 40K, this was the one guy who would always perform crazy feets of dicemanship.  He killed Abaddon once, stabbed a Hive Tyrant to death, and in one game alone killed two squads of three Obliterators after the rest of his squad was wiped out, and then blew up a Chaos Land Raider for good measure.  He's blindfolded in order to give the enemy a chance.

Anyway...

When I was first painting, painting a decent black was something that was a real challenge, and it was one of the first challenges that I wanted to work on as a painter.  I like to paint efficiently and actually finish painted armies to play the game with,  so this isn't an eighteen step method for 'Eavy Metal, but it works really nicely for me.  So, here are the steps:

1.  Prime Black.
2.  Base Coat with Charadon Granite.
3.  Generally highlight with Adeptus Battlegrey.
4.  Extreme highlight with Astronomicon Grey.
5.  Wash with Badab Black to mute the higher greys. 
6.  Pick out the details!

You can get a nice looking batch of models done this way, and do so in good time.  It's a simple technique, but it will get your plastic and primed models painted for the table, and that means that like Sergeant Asad, they'll perform a heck of a lot better!

Monday, April 5, 2010

Easy Downloadable 40K and Fantasy Army List Templates



Whenever I game, I use an Excel spreadsheet to get my army in order.  I like working with my own spreadsheets for a few reasons:

*  They are neat and clean.
*  If programmed, they'll do the math for me without error.
*  I don't have to wait for someone else to program a book for me or pay for said program.

I have previously been asked for copies of my spreadsheet templates, and I decided to go ahead and host them online for download here.  The ones I've linked are for Warhammer 40,000 and Warhammer Fantasy Battles, but can easily be used for other games as well.  I converted them into the older Excel '97-'03 format so that more people could use them.

The templates are set up so that you can enter the names of your units, their base cost, their upgrades, and their upgrade costs.  Each units total cost is then calculated on the side, and the total army base cost, total army upgrade cost, and total army cost are calculated at the bottom.

These are very simple and should streamline and clean up your list making experience.  Please click an ad or two on this blog if you liked the download, to support our further efforts.  Happy list making!

http://www.filefactory.com/file/b0gg7b0/n/Warhammer_Fantasy_Army_List_Template.xls
http://www.filefactory.com/file/b0gg7f3/n/Warhammer_40_000_Army_List_Template.xls

Thursday, April 1, 2010

Out of Town


When that poster promises big laughs, I'm not quite sure I believe it.  Regardless, I'm going to be in Florida today and Friday, and won't be posting up the usual delicious fare.  Maybe we'll get some guest posts, and they will be even more delicious!  Until Monday!