A year turns

Well, it certainly seems that long since I last posted anything. In fact it's a quarter of a year already.

I've not been lax in that time. My uni course is going strongly with a good 2:1 and a good 1st so far this year. That has in truth taken up a great deal of my time as I have done a great deal of research in addition to the actual assignment writing, and in order to give myself a decent amount of experience of different genres, I have read extensively to compensate for the fact that I've spent too many years reading only Black Library literature. I have another blog where I collate some of my writing, which can be found here.

In terms of my gaming, I have been a busy bee as well. Unfortunately I have not been able to play Warmachine and Hordes at all this year, a matter that I hope to address soon, nor (I think) have I played Dystopian Wars. With two sizeable fleets in the KoB and the Russian Coalition, the dream is to give this game some attention soon.

However, this section is supposed to be about what I have been doing, so, with my gaming time this year, I have entirely been corrupted by Chaos. In 40k, I have done what I have been claiming I will do for years. I have stuck to one army, my Red Corsair Chaos Space Marines. It didn't start well, with Huron's first battle seeing him turn in to a spawn. The Tyrant wasn't too pleased at this, and has refused to win most of the time since (I think I managed a single win, but I'm not certain on that). Though I must say I think I've gone for too slight a list as the main weakness time and time a gain is attrition. In truth there have been a few times where Huron alone has stood in the path of too quick a loss. I suspect tactics also play a role, but, then they always have.

The aim now is to build a secondary CSM list with a mainly Tzeentch theme. I do intend to go for quite a lot of Daemons with this, so Tzeentch will improve their Invulnerable saves handsomely. Whether it will work, I do not know.

Warhammer fantasy battles has, as always, been my first love in gaming. Where possible I have persuaded opponents to play this rather than 40k. And again, the Mortal followers have been in favour. Kalaghar is currently on sabbatical, replaced for the moment with Belloq The Evershade, Daemon Prince of Tzeentch. Named after the French Archaeologist in Raiders of the Lost Ark, Belloq is a champion of Tzeentch who ascended when he opened a forbidden casket. Currently the fluff is work in progress to ensure it doesn't include any renowned adventurers that name themselves after dogs. This army, while being mainly Tzeentch, does often include other marks. Apparently alone, I did like the freedom of mixing marks fluff wise from the last book as it struck me as more apt for the Norse/Kurgan belief system to worship the whole Pantheon rather than a single one of the four gods. However, I can see the reasoning to not permitting multiple marks in a single unit.

As the Evershade army is being honed, I am also looking at a secondary Nurgle single god list. The idea here is to allow some decisive theming as well as giving a nice unified feel. This is early days yet,  but the second battle went reasonably well for a first draft list. The first battle went dismally, but a mix of bad luck on dice rolls and trying to apply exactly the same tactics from the Evershade list meant that even despite Ben being a strong opponent with a decent list, I was already on the back foot. I would say though that the second game did give me some particularly good luck points too, so the list drafting continues. By the way, not a single Daemon Prince of Nurgle in sight here.

The next project is Daemons. Some strong eBay sales have meant I can replace the core/troops choices that I sold (as they were all old metal ones). The plan had always been to sell my old ones to finance new ones, make a profit and so be able to make additional purchases. However, I sold the old items without replacing them, but now I have rectified this and so intend to get the Daemons up and running.

Regrettably this was too late to take part in the club's badlands campaign and as such there is now no immediate rush to get them sorted.

So, that is what I have been up to lately, maybe next time I shall have some pictures, even if they aren't painted.

As a final note, I have written my first commission background story for Matt Walker at the club. If you would like anything writing, please let me know.

Cheers

Progress (of sorts) so far.

Still not painted anything yet. Been building the scouts and the Aegis line (I have one for my Chaos and one for my Loyalists).

Sorry about the rubbish picture, even for me it is a bad one, but since it isn't of anything painted I figured it wasn't the end of the world.

The Scouts for my Blood Angels are Sniper Rifle and Missile Launcher armed so I didn't really want to repeat that with their Dark Angels counterparts. After talking with Ben I decided to go with Bolters. My intention here is to use them to either outflank as a full unit or combat squad them as infiltrators (in the main), but I suspect that other options and ideas shall present themselves once I've used them a couple of times.

So, I'm going to have to paint these things now.

I've also converted a quad gun for my Chaos Space Marines so that the Imperium and the Traitors don't have to share.

I have no idea why, but blogger doesn't want to show this the correct way up. Even though the picture is saved as such on the computer.

Stupid thing!

Rise of the Unforgiven

Well, after nearly a month of not painting anything for my painting pledge, I have decided that Chaos Space Marines will not be the force of choice for this.

I've very much enjoyed playing my Huron led Red Corsairs army and I shall continue to do so for pick up and play games, however if I wish to use a painted army for any given event, then the Dark Angels stand the stronger chance of being painted in time.

At present I have a little over 2250 points of painted Dark Angels, but typically my newest list has very little by way of my originally painted units. Furthermore, I think it about time I actually painted some of these Dark Angels myself.

So this means that I have a little over a month to paint a few models, but at this stage I have no idea which ones I intend to paint.

The first problem I have is that if I choose a Tactical squad to paint, then I need to paint a Rhino with it, though as I have already said, I am hoping that someone will be able to help me out with airbrush painting my vehicles (hint).

So for now, I've just got to decide which units I need painting the most and then find a reasonable painting guide so that this time I can have a unified colour scheme.

Intermission

So guys, I've been making a lot of changes this year and in order to continue to do so next year then something has got to give.

I've pretty much had a hand in the hobby since I was thirteen and I am now thirty one. More than ever this year I have written at an increasing rate and next year I wish to do so even more. In order to do that I need to allow more time to concentrate on it and as such the obvious element that needs to go is the gaming.

Now, I'm not going all 1 Corinthians 13:11 (go on, look it up) on you all. I've written a 1800 point 40k list, a 2,400 point fantasy list and as for the Kingdom of Britannia and Russian Coalition for Dystopian Wars and Trollbloods for Hordes/Warmachine, I still have plenty of lists for those. But the difference now will mean that it will be much more sporadic. I won't have time to interact with people's blogs, forums, Facebook groups etc. To that end I've changed certain preferences on Facebook to filter out the gaming elements, so if you want me to pay attention to any of it, tag me in a post.

I also intend to radically downsize my collections to just two or three armies for Fantasy and 40k and shall be considering carefully those that are headed for the chop over the next month or so. It is my preference that the armies I do eventually sell go to friends locally rather than eBay, even at the expense of a better price (though I do wish to make enough money to fund a couple of projects that will improve my craft) so please keep your eyes peeled.

Despite this, as you know, I'm a sucker for a bargain and a nice book especially, so if any limited edition items appear for any of the above mentioned systems, please let me know.

As many of you are aware, I've got many alter egos. Some I make known to the masses, some I keep to myself. One of them, the writer, is the Shadow Scribe. Please feel free to pop over there, read and comment as the intention of that blog isn't just for me to show off my work, but to receive C&C. Another thing I wanted to mention about that site is that the original intention for it was for me to use as a means to write up my Army Background for my forces. To that end, I shall actually do some writing for them and place it on there. Should you see anything you like and would like any help writing something for your own army, please let me know. I will need a few details and such about your forces and unless you are one of the early ones that I use for showcasing, then I may well start making a small charge!

I'm nearly finished now, but before I do go, I'd like to state categorically to you Shane that I've not given up yet, I'm still in the painting challenge.

Well then friends, I shall see you on the other side, if not before, but until then, enjoy yourselves in the last hours of 2012 and the first days of  2013!

Love you all,

Mark/Drax/Vanguard/Shadow Scribe/Tzeentch/Forlorn/Jinx/Kalaghar/many, many more

My god, what have I done?

It seems that I have entered a painting competition.

Finished falling about laughing? Good.

Yeah, I know! 'Why' you may ask 'have you, you entered a painting competition?' Well, the main reason is that I want a 40k army that is painted but isn't Deathwing mainly so that I can go to an event at Warhammer World (probably Planetary Empires) with a none Imperial force at some point in the future. So to that end I've put forward the Red Corsairs as my army of choice in the hope I'll actually get something done.

And so, I've joined Nick, Mart, Shane and Chris in their efforts. Now, I don't expect I'll finish, nor that the paint jobs will be brilliant, but if I get something done then it shouldn't be too bad should it? To be honest I half expect the true competition to be whether Shane or I tap out first.

Come on Shane, don't get upset, you know it's true.

From what I understand the rules are to paint 250 points every two months which is feasible for me, so the first step is to paint a squad of Chaos Marines with Rhino.

I'm fine with the painting of the marines, but I may need help with Rhinos and Daemon Engines as I want to use an airbrush to achieve a nice clean finish, so Mart, Nick, you boys are up! Maybe Mart we could even spend the odd Saturday painting whilst you babysit your wife's children? ;)

So, the initial list:


1800 Pts - Chaos Space Marines Roster

HQ: Huron Blackheart (1#, 160 pts)
   1 Huron Blackheart, 160 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 58 & 92); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Sigil of Corruption; Power Axe; The Tyrant's Claw; Champion of Chaos; Fearless; Hatred (Space Marines); Independent Character; Psyker (Mastery Level 1); The Hamadrya; Veterans of the Long War;  Warlord; Master of Deception; 6E Psychic Disciplines: ; Biomancy; Divination; Pyromancy)

Troops: Chaos Cultists (10#, 63 pts)
   9 Chaos Cultists, 63 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 38 & 95); Infantry; Improvised Armour; Autopistol x2; Close Combat Weapon x9; Autogun x6; Heavy Stubber x1)
      1 Cultist Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 46 & 98); Infantry (Character); Improvised Armour; Autopistol; Close Combat Weapon; Shotgun; Champion of Chaos)

Troops: Chaos Cultists (10#, 55 pts)
   9 Chaos Cultists, 55 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 38 & 95); Infantry; Improvised Armour; Autopistol x8; Close Combat Weapon x9; Flamer x1)
      1 Cultist Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 46 & 98); Infantry (Character); Improvised Armour; Autopistol; Close Combat Weapon; Champion of Chaos)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (11#, 268 pts)
   9 Chaos Space Marines, 268 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Boltgun x7; Close Combat Weapon x9; Plasma gun; Plasma gun; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Aspiring Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Gift of Mutation; Bolt Pistol; Boltgun; Power Fist x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Chaos Rhino ((C:CSM, pp. 54 & 99); Vehicle (Tank, Transport); 10 model capacity; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Combi-Boltgun; Repair)

Troops: Chaos Space Marines (11#, 283 pts)
   9 Chaos Space Marines, 283 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol x9; Boltgun x7; Icon of Vengeance; Close Combat Weapon x9; Plasma gun; Plasma gun; Fearless; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Aspiring Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 37 & 95); Infantry (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Power Armour; Gift of Mutation; Bolt Pistol; Boltgun; Lightning Claw x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Chaos Rhino ((C:CSM, pp. 54 & 99); Vehicle (Tank, Transport); 10 model capacity; Searchlight; Smoke Launchers; Combi-Boltgun; Repair)

Fast Attack: Chaos Bikers (5#, 190 pts)
   4 Chaos Bikers, 190 pts ((C:CSM, pg. 27 & 99); Bikes; Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Chaos Bike; Power Armour; Mark of Nurgle; Bolt Pistol x4; Close Combat Weapon x2; Plasma gun x2; Twin-Linked Boltgun x4; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Biker Champion (Bikes (Character); Frag Grenades; Krak Grenades; Chaos Bike; Power Armour; Bolt Pistol; Lightning Claw x1; Twin-Linked Boltgun x1; Champion of Chaos; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)

Fast Attack: Heldrake (1#, 170 pts)
   1 Heldrake, 170 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 52 & 101); Vehicle (Flyer w/ Hover mode); Daemonic Possession; Baleflamer; Fear; Daemon; Daemonforge; It Will Not Die; Meteoric Descent)

Heavy Support: Forgefiend (1#, 175 pts)
   1 Forgefiend, 175 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 51 & 103); Vehicle (Walker); Daemonic Possession; 2x Hades Autocannon; Fear; Daemon; Daemonforge; Fleet; It Will Not Die)

: Aegis Defence Lines (2#, 100 pts)
   1 Aegis Defence Lines, 100 pts (Battlefield Debris (Defence Lines))
      1 Gun Emplacement (Quad-gun)

Elite: Chaos Terminators (6#, 336 pts)
   5 Chaos Terminators, 336 pts ((C:CSM, pp. 40 & 97); Infantry; Terminator Armour; Mark of Tzeentch; Power Axe x1; Chainfist x1; Power Fist x3; Combi-Plasmagun x4; Reaper Autocannon x1; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)
      1 Terminator Champion ((C:CSM, pp. 40 & 97); Infantry (Character); Terminator Armour; Gift of Mutation; Combi-Plasmagun; Lightning Claw; Hatred (Space Marines); Veterans of the Long War)

Validation Report:
c-1. File Version: 1.11 For Bug Reports/www.ab40k.org; b-1. Roster Options: Named or Special Characters; a-1. Scenario: Normal Mission; b-2. Levels of Alliance: Battle Brothers
Roster satisfies all enforced validation rules

Composition Report:
HQ: 1 (1 - 2)
Elite: 1 (0 - 3)
Troops: 4 (2 - 6)
Fast: 2 (0 - 3)
Heavy: 1 (0 - 3)
Fort: 1 (0 - 1)

Total Roster Cost: 1800

Created with Army Builder® - Try it for free at http://www.wolflair.com

It only needs to be 1500 points from what I understand, though I think that maybe I shall try to squeeze 1800 out since Planetary Empires has been known to include 2500 points games.

Here's hoping, and to my fellow painters, Bon chance.

Iron Kingdoms RPG

Well, it seems I don't play enough systems already and have now dipped my toe in to the new Iron Kingdoms RPG. Now, I will say that I have actually intended to do so for a while as I had pre ordered a copy from the ill fated Maelstrom (who still have my money for this incidentally) only for the release date to come and go and for no book to appear.

As such, I've had to wait to take a look at someone else's copy, and this Friday gone not only did I get to have a look, but I also had a chance to take part in my first ever RPG thanks to Dave.

Typically, I decided to stick with what I know and chose a Trollkin character, and Jarl being my favourite Warlock I also went for a pistolier. Now I appreciate that I won't actually be playing Jarl, but I did like the idea of a Trollkin becoming a gunslinger. Apparently, with the help of some of the other players, I've put together a ruthless combination which will only be muted by my inexperience.

CHALLENGE ACCEPTED!

For now I await my re-order of the book and look forward to the next adventure!

Chaos Decided

Well, I'm nearly done finalising my plans for my Chaos Space Marines and I think I'm settling upon Red Corsairs. I love their background and have often considered going with them in the past, especially having taken part on the secessionist side of the Badab Wars campaign last year. I have also always been drawn to the Huron model being as it is a very strong sculpt and I bought it as soon as it was released intending to use it as a Chaos Lord if not as Huron himself. Sadly however in the previous edition it was a Lash Sorcerer or Lash Daemon Prince every time.

I've gone for a relatively unmarked force in order to fit in with the Red Corsair's background, though I have gone for Nurgle Bikers (I know, I know) and Tzeentch Terminators (I said I know) and I may add in a unit or two of marked CSMs or Legion units from time to time.

For now though it's mainly the same force I used in the last edition but with a couple of the new units such as the new Heldrake and a Forgefiend which may switch with a Defiler from time to time.

I am currently trying to find a second list to give a bit of a varied force, this time edging for a more Legion heavy force, though I suspect that it would be best to focus on the first list for a while to see what works, why how and where.

In other 40k news, I'm nearly there with the Blood Angels army (obviously unpainted) as I just need to assemble a Tactical squad before the intended list is ready. The plan here is to use them as a second force for when I play regularly against other Chaos players to give them an Imperial force to face so they can make best use of the Veterans of the Long War rule from time to time.