Three partition walls later....

Seriously. How can something so simple be so fucking difficult? Apparently being able to measure worth a damn is a skill I lack. The two layers of the first partition in my prior post were crooked as hell, so out they came. I measured up a much more symmetrical one, measured off of the first, glued it in as well of both sides and all was good! Well, it was until...I test fit the roof and found an eight inch gap. 

Fuck.

An architect I am not.

My Beloved Wolfy suggested using my mortal enemy (greenstuff) to fill said gap, but the the doors wouldn't fit either (not that they'll be closed). Furious, out it came as well which left me scrambling and scraping thru the dregs of my supplies so find something that would work. I did find an actual partition (ironically) left over from our X-Wing case that sort of fit after trimming the corners, though there's a gap above and below. No worries on those, they'll just ensure ample room for the rodentia/creepy crawlies to scurry back and forth. That and once filled with equipment they won't be all that noticeable. The gunked glue and what not will be painted as the detritus that collects in the corners of...well, everywhere.

The primed bitz. The container's exterior will be primed green,
requiring some masking to protect the interior. 

Munitorum Metal Bawks WIP

o/

Due to Imperial Munitorum efficiency, your Munitorum cargo
container is cast out of  reconstituted baby poo!

I've wanted just one of these for awhile rather than a box of three, and finally found one on ebay for a decent price, so: IMPULSE BUY! (I've had several of those lately actually...but let's not get into that just yet). 

Anyways...I'm partitioning mine, so one side will be a pseudo-command post...or something, and the other will be storage. Both ends will be open necessitating an eventual base so I don't break the doors/ramps off. Sadly there's been quite a bit of adulting this week, so I haven't had a whole lot of time to work on it yet, but here it is thus far:

...and already I'm thinking of popping off that console and going
in a different direction. So much for forward progress...

My Tyranid Warrior leader for KT is complete!

o/

The title says it all really. I'm quite pleased with how it turned out, and even found an old sabol tray in which to transport it (in a space that once held a space marine dreadnought).

I had hoped to pop one of my last 40k cherries by fielding Tyranids for the 1st time ever in my gaming career on Saturday. However that plan was thwarted by a lack of KT opponents despite a good turn out. Oh well, it'll happen soon enough I guess. Anyways, here it is:

The last thing that anyone wants to come face-to-face with!

Profile view

The ass-end (if such a term applies to the Nids)

I wanted the snow to look as though it had only just started again
and was beginning to accumulate on/in the surfaces of the pod.

Escape Pod close up.

Here's a better look at the pod's former occupant, now only a
partial skeleton, half buried in the snow. 

0-hr Games' maps and ships for Starfinder

o/

A few months back we gave the Starfinder RPG a try. My Beloved Wolfy is a RPGer far more than a mini gamer, and was thrilled to try out a new RPG for the first time in years. I've missed RPGing as well and was happy to give it a go. Unfortunately, we only managed 2 game sessions before it all fell apart (but that's a rant for another day).

Wolfy and I, were intrigued nonetheless and we'd like to give it another go...someday. Prior to our meeting, My Beloved Wolfy was a longtime WHFRP DM and in hopes she'd take up the mantle again, I got her the Starfinder core rulebook for Christmas. To go with that I got her a map and accompanying ships from 0-Hour Games. Just a small map to see if we liked 'em. Sadly, my package was lost in shipping meaning it didn't arrive for Christmas. Eventually giving up on it I contacted the 0-hr games and got a replacement which arrived yesterday. Our preliminary thoughts on them: its good! Very good!

Having played Dark Heresy for years, we usually had an empty grid with 'maps' temporarily drawn in dry erase marker. Well, now we have ship maps with a 1" grid subtly printed in the interiors. There's a discount if you buy 'em in pairs so you have access to both sides at once, but I went on the cheap as I wasn't sure if I'd like it, and was already well over budget on my Christmas spending. 

Additionally, the map came with resin ship miniatures whose casting quality is flawless, and will work just fine on our X-Wing space mats. Stay tuned, as there will be more on this in the future as we look to giving Starfinder another eventual go.

Side 1, the Remora shuttle.

Bob, nuking a burrito for dinner in the kitchen area whilst Bucket rummages around the crew quarters. Both of characters are from Rogue Stars, where these maps will doubly work for boarding action games!

Bucket's audio receptors apparently picked up a curious thump, and he goes to the bridge to see if anything is out there...

Bad, bad burrito...and with that Bob heads to the can. 

Meanwhile, just one deck below: Space Ninjas! But where did they come from?

No doubt it was from the appropriately named Jade, on the Remora map's reverse side.

Here they are, prepping for the on-coming ship-to-ship raid...

A close up of the bridge...

...and another of the cargo bay.

Being no match for space ninjas, Bob and Bucket flee to the shuttle! (also on the Jade side of the map). Whilst Bucket pilots them to safety, Bob heads for the can once again...that was a really bad burrito!

Alternate shuttle container layouts.

The resin ship minis themselves.

The Remora, this one kinda reminds me of Battlestar Galactica for some reason.

Underside details (peg hole aside) correspond correctly with the maps.

The Jade.

Two CV225s, though without flight bases and...a looming shadow?

Ack! Astro-Felus-Catus-Extremis! Trying to eat the ships!! Literally, I had to stop him from trying to eat them all...

The Fate of the Lions of Harlech?

All this needs now is it's completed Nid, and then snow flock.

The 3rd part of my Base for a bug series has taken a tragic turn I'm afraid. The Lions of Harlech, a both storied and highly honorable space marine chapter, has been curiously silent for quite sometime now. Indeed, they've been absent from both the blogosphere as well as local gaming tables since the end of last April, and I think I know why. 

As true loyal sons of the Almighty God-Emperor of Mankind, I've discovered a piece of evidence revealing their possible fate. The Lions, were apparently attempting to link up with the Silver Drakes, bringing desperately needed assistance in the Drakes' grueling war against the Tyranid menace. Sadly, the Lions never made it. 

Instead, the only evidence of their valiant attempt to reach their Primaris brethren has been an abandoned escape pod bearing their colors and heraldry. Nearby lay the skeletal remains of what appears to be perhaps a crew member or possibly chapter serf from this now missing in action chapter. On Holy Terra, the Bell of Lost Souls (no, not the clickbait site) has yet to toll for these lost battle brothers in hopes that some survivors may yet be found still fighting the Emperor's enemies!

Yes indeed, those icons match those adorning the Doom of Neverness!

As for the Tyranid warrior who is slated to grace this base, whilst it has been base coated (mostly), the process of painting it has been a bit of a struggle. Mainly because our kitty Baxter has now largely thwarted my last two painting sessions by deciding to sleep in the midst of my desk/painting menagerie. Indeed, its difficult painting anything when you're clinging to a mere 2 inch strip of desk at best, praying the the next kitty-stretch doesn't send everything tumbling into the abyss, again...

...sigh...
Seriously Bax? Isn't there somewhere more comfortable that you would rather sleep?

#WINNING!!!

o/

Lacking Fireworks, the Hive Mind instead brings tooth and talon to every occasion...

My Silver Drakes decided to ring in the new year in the God-Emperor-approved way: Glorious Combat! The FLGS hosted a holiday gaming session, and luckily I was able to attend. With three KT players present but only two of us in our league, Screech and I decided to forgo any sort of scenario opting for a free-for-all instead, as well as not having this game count as league play. In hindsight that decision was a bit of a shame as this turned out to be my Silver Drakes most convincing victory yet. Ah well, at least it started off my gaming year on the right foot!

Silver Drakes deployment. 

Noah's Salamanders' deployment. Noah's a young player and has the tactics to match. As such I've dubbed his Salamanders the Pollywogs. The Tactical Marine and Intercessor were both formerly my own, but along with the other two painted Salamanders 30k tac. marines and an old mini/hobby case, they were donated to Noah's fledgling 40k cause at Christmas.

Screech's Nid deployment. Not pictured is his Lictor which used it's cheese veteran ability to practically advance into Noah's deployment zone following our set up. Having dealt with that infernal beast in the past myself, I was not only pleased it wasn't coming for me, but also thought it would make for an entertaining uh...'learning experience' for the Pollywogs!

Kicking things off, in the distance the Lictor charged a hapless Pollywog scout, Screech's Tyranid warrior with Venom Cannon readied itself, and the rest of his chitinous horde ran straight at me! I sent one marine forward, my sgt. crashed thru the ruins towards the nids, and the rest of my force readied itself for the on-coming horde, meanwhile the Pollywogs were largely rooted in place, all deciding to ready themselves whilst their battle brother prepared to die a horrible death...

Expending a command point, my AGL gunner used the level 2 Headshot strategem to eliminate the Tyranid warrior's cover, and along with a +1 to hit via my nearby comms specialist, he was able to one-shot-kill Screech's team leader with a krak grenade! Huzzah! An excellent start to my game! All of my other shooting was largely ineffective, but I was pleased nonetheless.

Turn two started with the Pollywogs being thrown into total disarray following the sight of their battle brother being torn to ribbons, as is evidenced by the Intercessor literally running for his life!

Shorn from their connection to the Hive Mind, the gaunts revert to their instinctive behavior, and swarm my closest grunt!

However he (surprisingly) weathered the assault unscathed and my Sergeant came to his rescue soon thereafter...

Panicked and confused by the sudden demise of the tactical marine, the Pollywog scouts charge the lictor enmasse, hoping to bludgeon the beast into submission with their sniper rifles and missile launcher! Unfortunately, none of these scouts had attended the Iron Hands School of Gunnery*  and this suicidal effort proved futile.

Demotion and my AGL gunner try to assist the Pollywogs by firing indiscriminately into their melee, causing armor saves all around but no appreciable damage. Meanwhile my Sgt. and grunt continue to wage their private little war with the hormogaunts...

Disgusted by the cowardice of the Pollywog Intercessor, my marine on point, along with Demotion try to kill him in a crossfire-to no avail. Meanwhile my AGL gunner takes down a scout amidst the swirling melee.

The intercessors engage in a short ranged firefight, dealing me a wound but little else.

Battle scarred and tired yet still unhurt, my Sgt. and grunt begin mopping up the last of the gaunts.

Angered by getting shot at rather than assisted in combating the Lictor, not to mention the disrespectful nick-name for his chapter, the furious Salamander Pollywog intercessor charges my own, but either can hurt one another.

...and this is where the game ended. ThePollywog's Parental unit Chapter Master had arrived ordering an immediate EVAC! Whereas I had to work the next day so a late evening wasn't in the cards for me either. 

Tallying things up, by game's end I had amassed 8 kill points, and had no models out of action! Noah's force was down to two marines and broken, and Screech's nids also down to two but still fighting. I didn't get his KP total, but having killed most of Noah's team, it was considerable as well I'm sure!

At games end, Screech rolled for all of the bugs in his dead pile to see how many would have hypothetically died were this a league game, but alas they all would have survived. Nothing ventured, nothing gained...though at the very least this served as a boost to my chapter's morale!

*The Iron Hands School Of Gunnery is an old, inside joke predictably dating back to my old Iron Hands army. My Iron Hands' devastator squad was all too often, a far more dangerous foe when bludgeoning their opponents to death with their missile launchers, than they ever were when actually firing them!

A base for a bug (Part 2)

Notta whole lot has gone on hobbywise this week. Christmas didn't net me any new toys, though My Beloved Wolfy did get me the novel: Magos, the latest in the Eisenhorn series. True to Abnett's form, its been an excellent read right from the start! Its a fairly thick tome, I'm a slow reader, and do so usually only on my lunch breaks at work, so it ought to keep me entertained for quite awhile. 

On the painting front, I'm chugging along slowly but surely on my Tyranid Warrior's base. Its ready for a decal on the escape pod door, and aside from the final assembly, snow flock. However the latter won't come until I first paint the pile o' parts that is my Tyranid warrior (the bastard took a swan dive off the deck during the priming stage that left me searching thru the grass for bug bitz!). 

Oh well, it'll probably be easily to paint unassembled anyways...

Have a happy and safe New years folks!!!

(oh, and be sure to drink heavily if you're hunkering down instead of going out)