You wil respect my authoriai!!!

o/

This little guy is my Grymnquisitor. He'll be allied to my Grymn Militarum army, and it will be via his order that my Grymndicare assassin will be deployed! Whilst he looks like a normal 28mm mini in the pic, the top of his armor is only the height of a typical Space Marine's chest Eagle! Still, with an Inquisitor's stat line, power armor, bolt pistol and powerfist, short or not it would be best to keep your distance from him!

The metallic greenish glow represents the energy-field surrounding his powerfist.

Speaking of his (lack of) height...

Aaack! He's even shorter than the grunt infantry!

Like most heroes in the Grim-Dark, he's dumb enough to have removed his helmet before entering the field of battle. Idiot. Whereas his acolytes in power armor (who amusingly are taller than their boss) don't suffer from such stupidity.

Jeez! The only Grymn who's models are shorter than this guy, are the ones that are kneeling or laying down!

TIE Bombers suck! Just saying...

...but they are great places to meet your friends!

If you put Major Rhymer behind the wheel & give him Dead Eye, then yeah, you can go to town and clean house with the TIE bomber! However in all other respects its a waste of points. I've yet to get a TB to be worth a damn w/o using Rhymer! Without him, the TB just goes through the typical target lock and watch the target fly away while getting shot at from all directions motions.

I only managed to get one volley of Flechette torps off the other night with a crummy Scimitar Squadron Bomber. At least it managed to survive my Imperial Scum & Villainy elimination sortie, but (as usual) there was very little return for its use of 21 squadron points (aside from drawing fire).

Is anyone else out there having issues with the TB when not using Rhymer? If not, then do you have any suggestions? (and don't just say buy more of them...)

Codex Craftworlds: A license for abuse...but who's?

Actually this was written 2 years ago alongside the previously released Codex. However as is proper for any finely crafted cheese, they had to keep it in cold storage for 2 years before its release...

I don't normally write posts about rumors, but rather just nerd rage about them on FB, Faeit 212, and BoLS like most folks do. However a thought occuried to me in a conversation (amidst all of the other nerd raging) on BoLS with another commenter named (no pun intended) 'Nameless'.

lol, here it is:

Yeah that's about as inspiring as the average weather forecast in Seattle.

True, there are those who are anything but 'fun' to play against with the soon-to-be obsolete Eldar codex, but the new dex already has an online petition to ban Eldar from all competitive play (I still think this is encouraging GW as they insist 40k isn't a competitive game). Regardless it appears that the 'screaming online minority' (as its called) has come to the general consensus that all Eldar players are suddenly douche-bags! Indeed, more so than the codex writers themselves (funny that...).

However I can easily see the potential of Craftworlds spawning all sorts of douche-baggery, such as I mentioned above: 'well now I can bring the cheesiest thing that I can put on the table, and you can't complain about it because you're playing Eldar...' becoming a common occurrence. In some cases it already did with the current codex.  Craftworlds will in effect be the license/excuse for anyone to abuse army list-building (which I think is already waaaay too commonplace in 40k).

The modern-day-equivalent of 'Bladestorm'?

GW's apparently blind ignorance to the fact that portions of their player base is willing to do what they can, rather than what they ought to do with the rules given to them is really Forging the wrong narrative about what 40k is all about! (...and for those wondering, that narrative should be fun for both players...)

Just my 2 cents on the subject...

Sunday afternoon rim jobs...

...bases, I meant BASES!!! Get your minds out of the gutter! lol, however with a title like that, the page-hit counter ought to spike up just a bit!

The painted chunk of my army (minus the tank)

As I stated previously, the paint I was using for my Quar's Warmahordes bases was the discontinued color of Gretchin Green. Luckily, as one of GW's 'base' paints, it was easily covered with Warboss Green (and please, please, please let that color be in current production!).

With their sudden change to the Soviet side, my Quar Bagpiper has taken a leave of absence. It remains to be seen right now whether or not I'll do a British North African list, or just stick with the Soviets who have quite a bit more variety of forces than I had realized!

Overall I think the painted portion of my army (20 minis if I include the tank) looks good! I need to come up with some other form of squad numbering though as the fugly roman numerals which I used before was (intentionally) covered up. The Soviet army book gives you a squad of up to 12 grunts with all of the options available for free! That will negate all of my recent infantry purchases, and as such I told Kushial to make a 500 point list for our game this weekend.

Behold! The free squad. Made up of survivors from the various units shattered by the German Blitzkrieg! Unfortunately they've not had time to find new, or at least consistent uniforms. Note: The Grunt with the Shotgun will be the LMG's loader for the time being.

I also painted two more Partisans, and these minis are still my favorites of the Quar! The one thing this army needs is some more Sabol trays though, as I have all of the unpainted minis doubled up in their slots.

As colorful in character as they are in clothing, my partisans (well, the painted ones anyways)!

lol, As you can see, I also had some help from our kitty Kiya. She was all to happy to make sure my EVE online, afk mining was running  just fine when I was off clear coating minis!

So umm...how do you paint a geodesic dome?

I mean seriously. Usually they're silver, clear, chrome-ish...like this:

Yeaaaah, that'll paint up easy! Lemme just open my paint pot of chrome and...oh, um...or how bout whatever boltgun metal is called these days? I guess that'll work, right?

Doubt it.

Fuck it let's go all earthy, woodsy, and cozy-like this:

Cozy...Battletech terrain (which is what this post is actually about), umm....no I don't think that'll work really (though it would be easier to paint than a chromed dome I guess).

Anyways, here's what I actually got:

I dimmed the photos a bit so they just didn't look like white silhouettes.

 Okay, not all of the pieces are geodesic domes, but a good chunk of them are, or variations thereof.  These are from a little company called Xmarx (I believe they're in Knoxville, TN) so fairly local to me actually, though I got the above from my Noble Knight credit and NK is located in Wisconsin so go figure.

I wouldn't mind getting another set of these actually.

All of the Geodesic sections are separate pieces, so they can be arranged however I want. Whereas the odd looking collection of resin below is...actually something quite neat: armored exit ramp to a subterranean mech bay (the above surface variety is ridiculously expensive for some stupid reason).

Closed...

...and open.

I'm gonna try to  magnetize the armored shutters so I can have the option to position them either open or closed. I'll have to put it on a base or else the piece that the mech is standing on won't have anything to attach to.

One other set that I got, isn't specifically for Battletech, as it will also work for 40k, Bolt Action, WHFB, or whatever...

So cool, and water is such a rare site on most game tables.

Quar Partisans WIP

o/

A weekend of beautiful weather and family obligations means that there was very little hobby progress (and no gaming at the FLGS, aside from making a quick run for supplies as I was out of zap-a-gap and some paints). Earlier in the week though, it rained for the most part in the evenings and I was able to get some work done on my Quar partisans. The Quar at left was painted before I bothered to assemble any of the others. It kind of has that hillbilly feel to it which I find amusing since I live in the heart of Appalachia!

Most assembly for the Quar consists of just drilling out the hole to insert the neck for gluing, and then gluing the mini to its base. However a few of these minis have separate hands and there was a fair bit of cursing, swearing and gluing those little fiddly bitz to my fingers rather than the minis as I had intended.

The one in the back (center) isn't a partisan, but a regular grunt. He will bring another anti-tank rifle to the table as the Soviet list allows me to take up to 3 of those for the price of one (in terms of unit selection) in a reinforced platoon.

Eventually though I prevailed and painting began. I'm totally enamored with these minis! Indeed they're the best of my Quar collection thus far! I changed the base's color (meaning the rest will need to be repainted) after realizing that Gretchin Green is not only discontinued, but I'm down the last sludgy dregs in my bottle of it. No worries though, I was going to revisit them eventually to add some leaf litter anyways.

I still have one AT-gun Quar left to assemble, but I've run out of Warmahordes bases, so that mini will have to wait. Likewise there hasn't been any progress on my 2nd Quar tank either. The bottom needs considerable sanding, however in order for my respirator mask to actually work worth a damn, I have to shave my beard first. However that hasn't reached the long and unruly stage yet, so the tank is currently on the back burner.

Neverness on cardboard...

o/

Now, normally I don't call people out by name, but this time I just couldn't resist. Friday I was chatting with Neverness at the FLGS (where he now works), and he was looking at the store's selection of X-wing and Armada quizzically.

NN: I just don't get it, its cardboard.Why is that fun?  
ME: Well, there are miniatures too...
NN: Yes, but most of it is cardboard. Why spend all that money on just cardboard?

Well...let's tug on Neverness' ol' heart strings a little bit shall we? lol, he's right of course, cardboard sucks! Everybody wants what's inside the cardboard (box). Who the hell plays with cardboard anyways right? Well, all of us actually. We've done it for two decades now. 

Let's take a look back to the Golden Age of GW, the olden days where GW's games, arguably their best games, all relied on vast quantities of...gasp! Cardstock? Meh, really that's just thinner cardboard!

wha...the hell you say?!?

First up: Space Hulk. You know you love this game buddy! The original, the re-release, and the re-re-release, without all of that cardboard, all you really had were some Termies and genestealers. Not much of a game there, right? Hell, I sold I.R.-Voril's re-released Space hulk game WITHOUT minis, all I sold was the cardboard!

Epic? I forgot about Epic, but it popped up in an image search and yeah, buildings, tokens, damage/unit cards...Cardboard everywhere!

Mind you all of this this was back before you youngins' had all the fancy new plastic terrain available for 40k. Speaking of...

Here it is, the boxed set that ruined me financially from then on to the present day...

40K itself! The boxed game was loaded with cardboard terrain! We used it till it disintegrated, and then ya know what? They sold us some more! Boxes and boxes of basically just cardboard, and we ate it up, hell we loved the stuff! Because we were sick of fighting around soda cans and crummy (plain) cardboard boxes...

He has that cardboard Dredd and still threatens to field it...

What else is there...oh, how bout Mordheim? Yup you guess it, cardboard ruins everywhere!

Sadly its hard to find good terrain pics for this game...

Warhammerquest, yes basically it was Fantasy Space hulk, and the same scenario.

I loved this game soooo much!

Necromunda? But wait, that was the age of plastic bulkheads, the grandaddy and forerunner of much of the 40k terrain mentioned above, right? Yes, but without the cardboard in between, all you had was a pile o' useless bulkheads.

The game that turned laser pointers into a required accessory

So, having beaten the horse to a bloody pulp on this little walk down memory lane...yeah, sorry buddy but, that argument isn't valid. So why not give it a try? Come on...ya know ya want to!

What? Ah yes, the canon argument, what wasn't in the movies doesn't count.  Well I fielded 150 points of almost entirely nameless scrubs in all canon ships last weekend, so it can still be done. Sure the Z-95 Headhunter is debatable, but then again, it looks a lot like this fighter right here, so maybe it was all canon after all...

Love ya, mean it!

Playing 40k in a game of X-Wing?

lol, well yes, sort of...

I played a game against Sam this past Friday, and to make things interesting as he put it, we bumped the points up to 150. He fielded 4 TIE interceptors and a lone TIE Defender, and me? Well, I turned the Rebellion into the Orks.

Here's the Purple Squadron at game's end.

Yeah...this guy's kinda ridiculous...

My list was of 7 Rebel fighters, and aside from Tycho Celchu, everything in my list was PS2! Thus, it all moved and shot at the same time, as well as had overwhelming numbers to go with it! Sam put up a good fight, but he honestly didn't see this coming and I walked away with a flawless victory (i.e.: no losses, though one X-Wing was on it's last legs!).

That ship needs to be painted...

The new mat's 1st game!

Additionally the 2nd wave of our Noble Knight goodies arrived with yet more new toys! Since this is an X-Wing post, I just have pics of the X-Wing contingent of that order above: Wolfy's Butterfly ship (StarViper) and a second Gale Force Nine Space mat (that looks a hellova lot like the background space in EVE Online).

I also got more stuff for my Bolt Action Quar (Russian partisans this time), more terrain and an expansion for Cards Against Humanity because that game wasn't wrong enough to begin with...

:-D

Bolt Action Reinforcements!

o/

Lately all of our new gaming acquisitions have come via trade-in credit with Noble Knight Games (with more on the way). However prior to that, I made a small splurge with my income tax return for some more Quar to use with my Bolt Action forces.

A new Lt. for my 'Wylsh Division' (who are about to be deployed to North Africa). As well as a tank, and a squad of Rhyflers with an LMG team. In back, the critter and accompanying pile of parts will serve as a Tachanka for the Partisans.

 Firstly, I'm reorganizing my Quar forces, splitting my Wylsh Division (Dad's Army) into an Operation Lightfoot (North Africa, 1942) force and a Russian partisan force. One or two bases aside, the only repaint will be for my Quar bag-piper. The multi-colored uniforms from the Dad's army Quar will work just as well as partisans. No doubt being survivors from various units which were smashed by the German advance. Likewise, my painted Quar tank will be remain the same in all but name (in the rule books), as the British Vickers 6-ton light tank was sold to the Russians to be built under license (and the Russians built thousands of them!).

My new Lt.

My Wylsh infantry units (which are conveniently unpainted for the most part) will be painted like a proper army (unlike my Partisans). My new Quar tank will be used to represent a Bishop SP howitzer even though like my other tank, it bears little resemblance to the actual British design. However it has a fixed forward gun and is fully enclosed, matching the Bishop's in-game stats, so there are no worries really.With the optional AT rounds, It'll function more like an assault gun anyways (which it more closely resembles).

Pic from: www.zombiesmith.com

The Quar Tachanka is literally just that, a horse (or cadier in the Quar's case) drawn cart with a meduim machine gun mounted in it. Its ridiculously fragile, but equally cheap in points. So if the enemy is shooting at it, I'm not losing much. If they aren't, then it'll easily make up its points in a single round (in theory). The Russian Partisans don't have any access to shotguns, so my Quar that is equipped with one will go on the Tachanka's base. Its no loss really, as that weapon is a 5 point upgrade and its user has yet to actually hit anything! Now I just need to figure out what size warmahordes bases are available for it...