The futility of camouflage...

o/

This just might work...

More fun with the grim-dark filter...

Rather than continue on with my Vanquisher, and actually complete a project for once, I instead decided to paint that Awesome Mech from my last post. I opted to go super simple  as it is 6mm scaled, meaning finely detailed paint jobs at that size are beyond my patience level. 

Starting with black as a base coat, I just dabbed on splotches of Coat D'arms' Hideous Blue, followed by Wizard Blue, and lastly GW's Administratum Grey. The base is Mechanicum Grey and the over-all light dry-brushing of the rust/grime is my usual mix.

No filters (just like me!).

I then added decals for my merc unit, The Buffet Assault Group (a.k.a. the TBAGerz) to the side torsos. The decals aren't too noticeable in those locations, but given that they're huge (relatively speaking) red logos on an urban camouflaged mech, that's probably not a bad thing I'd guess. Given that the decals were originally intended for 15mm scaled minis, the sides are the only locations where these will fit. As such, all 4 TBAGerz mechs were chosen specifically because they contained areas large enough to squeeze in said decals.

I think I'll just swap this large
laser out for an ER model.

As for the camouflage itself, in hindsight the effort of applying it to an 80-ton, upright walking monster is kind of a laughable notion. Sure, sure...in the smoke filled ruins of a burning city where IR sensors and radar could be all but rendered useless, and most encounters occur at point-blank range, that camo might actually work well enough to give the element of surprise! However this Awesome (along with it's 3 companions) are all long range fire support models. Meaning they're all terribly ill equipped for any sort of close range fire fight, rendering their urban camo into more of a fashion choice rather than a practical one.

This week's round up

o/

For those fearing a sudden exodus of my 40k collection, well...it hasn't happened yet. Patience grasshoppers, patience... 

This really looks weird given the two different types of resin.

This week was Battletech's turn on the ol' auction block: 5 mechs and half a dozen tanks. In exchange I did recently got a new Mechwarrior Online-styled Awesome 8R for less than half the cost of the pewter MWO mechs I got last Christmas. For those not familiar with the Awesome variants, well...let's just say that of all of 'em, the 8r is the worst one. That's alright though, it looks cool and I have a fondness for mediocrity.

All told now I have a mech company, a single tank lance and a reinforced conventional infantry company. Given that we play maybe one or...two games per year at best. This little collection still ought to give me wondrous variety.

Its coming along...

As for my Vanquisher, I've managed to paint the basic camo on the turret, still needs another coat, plus details, decals and dirtying up, but its getting there...slowly. 

Here we see Chapter Master Profanitus, as he slays
the accursed leader of the Fallen!

And finally, I got in a thousand point, 8th 40k game with Bob Saturday evening. It was his first bout of the new edition, and he's only coming around to it begrudgingly, much like I was/still am. He'll be posting his thoughts on the game soon, and I'll add a link to it just as soon as that post arrives.

So what if I just sold all of it?

Or rather, damned near all of it?

Highly recommended.

I recently Started reading This is How by one of my favorite authors - Augusten Burroughs. With this book purchase ($4 at the local used book store, except we had a credit so it was more like free!) I'm pretty sure I have all of his books now. Maybe. I may have to peruse the shelves to be sure.

As self help books go this is anything but the typical sort, especially when in the 1st chapter he remarked that affirmations are total bullshit. I myself have never purchased a self help book previously (and when considering this book, I debatably still haven't). Anyways whilst reading the chapter 'How to be thin' at lunch today (or rather yesterday as you read this), Augusten was hammering on the obsessive need to be thin-or rather whatever need/want that you think you really must have. The word thin itself in this case is really just a euphemism for a desirable but unattainable type/state of happiness.

Being the geek that I am, gaming naturally came to mind (and my frequent obsessing over it in one way or another), along with my endless want to buy MOAR! (well done on the marketing GW/et al.). Considering the vast collection of minis that I have, I had to ask myself which minis really make me feel happy? Not just regular ol' gamer happy (hell, any ol' mini/hobby purchase can achieve that), I mean the warm fuzzy-like a carefree little kid playing with his toys kinda happy. Very quickly the answer sprung to mind: my Grymn.

Yup, just that one army. 

Immediately thereafter another thought sprung to mind: So what if (barring a few sentimental favorites like the Grot Mega Tank) I just sold everything else? And I mean everything, bits, terrain, cases...the whole nine yards. Leaving me with just my 500-ish points of Grymn.

Well...I'd still have my favorite army which is both 40k/30k compatible. It would still take forever for me to get it all painted. Along with the Grymn, maybe I could buy some more Quar-the one and only sold off army I truly miss. True, my old Beastmen IG army rears its (literally) ugly head once in awhile when it comes to regretful ebay sales, but in all honesty the Quar are the only ones I dearly miss.

So...this is where I am at the moment I guess. Even with 2 miniature kickstarters awaiting completion, I'm pondering a potential mini gaming semi-extinction-level event of a sort.

Time to restart the painting queue...

PAINT! 

I finally have paint!

One of these is not like the others...

...and as you'll no doubt surmise by the unopened bottles, I haven't actually used any of it yet. During the first week of July, Hasslefree Miniatures had a 20% off sale on all items. They carry the Coat D'arms brand of paints, which is the company GW used back when I first got into 40k. As such they carry many of my old favorite colors that GW no longer does. 

Better yet, the have bigger bottles than GW, and lower prices as well (even before the discount). So, despite the larger bottles, the unfavorable exchange rate between the US dollar vs. the British pound, and shipping direct from England, these were approximately 40% cheaper than the GW paints I could have bought at the FLGS. Hasslefree was out of black paint however, hence the locally purchased Vallejo bottle. Additionally, I bought a can of primer so that I can finally finish the turret of my Vanquisher. 

However, I've instead been too busy gluing space marine bitz to my fingers rather than each other (as intended) to restart the paint queue just yet...

Struggling on...

o/

Yes I survived the weekend, but only just. I still ache all over and feel drained (both mentally and physically). Working in that ungodly heat just sucks the life right out of ya! Especially for one such as I, who is no longer acclimatized to the heat. 

But no one really cares about that right? Right.

The weekend before I left for my brief stay in hell, I bought a partial box of tac marines from Micheal (of the amazingly painted Dark Angels fame). Combining them with spares I already had, and a few bitz ordered via ebay to fill in the missing pieces, I ended up with what is essentially a 10 man dev squad for a mere $23. Nice.

Time was short but I was able to assemble a few before leaving:

Pay no attention to the Halfling & Minion loitering in the background...

The two on the left will go to my 30k Blackshields. Still not entirely sold on using the scout arms and heavy bolter on a regular marine, but it fits well with their pariah wargear theme. The other three, along with a previously assembled ML gunner will form the base of Rainbow Warriors dev squad. They'll only have 3 missile launchers, but like the Blackshields, my Rainbows also suffer from having drastically limited resources.

Hopefully I'll have the rest assembled before this week's end. 

Its not the heat, its the humidity...

Those words, so often spoken are of comfort to NO ONE!!!

Yup, I'm in Florida...how'd ya guess?

As you read this, I'm currently fleeing the seventh circle of hell Florida in a Ryder rent-a-truck via I-75. My mom sold her house in Florida, and bought a new one in Knoxville TN. Thus, I flew down to help transfer her stuff from a non-climate controlled storage unit (wtf Mom?), to then put it all into the back of the no doubt even hotter Ryder truck this past weekend. 

Even being former Floridian myself I have to ask:  Why the fuck does everyone decide to move in the summer time??? I mean seriously, what the hell?!?

Actually I'm posting this in advance of my departure, so there's a chance that rather than fleeing in the aforementioned truck, I instead succumbed to the heat, and am instead lying as a sun-scorched and desiccated corpse in a storage unit complex somewhere in central Florida. 

If I post something thursday, you'll know I survived... 

30k/40k Rapier Laser Destroyer Conversion

o/

So, I've been working to make my 30k armies cross-compatible with 40k as the latter is played much more frequently here locally. So much so that I've been pondering phasing out the 30k part altogether...

MOAR DAKKA! Isn't needed in this case...

Thus my 30k Imperialis Auxilia Rapier battery needed a refit. Admittedly it looked really cool with its quad-multi-laser, but it didn't really bring anything to the table (so to speak) given that my Auxilia is already festooned with heavy stubbers! True, it could take out a rhino in one volley (theoretically), however Rhinos aren't a problem, Landraiders and other heavily armored tanks are! As such, it has never been used.

So, I decided to refit it with a laser destroyer array, or rather the equivalent thereof which is available in both 30k and 40k unlike its previous weapons fit. I decided on using the Mechanicum's eradicator-beamer as it looks cool, is fairly inexpensive on ebay, and after getting some measurements of said bit from Bob (who has a dunecrawler from which this bit comes), decided it was also just the right size for my Puppetswar weapons mount. So a bit o' glue, a pinch of profanity  as well as a spare radar dish and wallah, its built!

No doubt this gun will move this little guy way up on the target priority list!

Yeah I like that. Now all it needs is a bit of paint. Given the recessed areas and being mostly mechanical gubbinz, I'm thinking that this will be a fairly quick, mostly drybrushing project.

Skaven Rising...

o/

My Skaven haven't made an appearance on the blog since February of 2016, and outside of Mordheim (the game which spawned my little army) they've never seen battle on the table top. Well, this past Saturday that all changed when they made their Olde Hammer battlefield debut! That's right, none of that AoS crap! Instead we went old school with Warhammer Fantasy Battle's 8th edition. 

Bob was amused by the Skaven's request to 'say cheese!'.

As far as I can tell (by scrolling thru the archives of this blog), the last time I played a game of WHFB was in May of 2013 pitting my (now defunct) Stirlander army vs. Bob's Nordlanders. So...needless to say my grasp of the rules was a bit...rusty. This was only magnified by fielding an army I've never used before. Luckily Bob is pretty well up to speed after his recent bout vs. Neverness.

Waaaay too clean, no wonder my Stirlanders and now Skaven see them as enemies...

Recently, My Beloved Wolfy had expressed interest in giving WHFB a try to Bob who was all too happy to oblige in teaching her the game. However she didn't want to go in totally blind and asked if I would team up for her first game. Well of course I would!

My army is relatively small by Skaven standards containing a mere 80ish models and clocking in at 1,000 points. A lord, 3 heroes, 2 regiments of clanrats, 1 of slaves, and lastly 2 poison wind mortar weapon teams. 

The slaves have already been slaughtered by this point.

As for thoughts on their initial run, the mortars were great halving 2 of Bob's regiments and giving severe respiratory distress to the remaining survivors (I'm confident they all died shortly after the battle's end). As is typical of any war machine, one blew up taking 4 rats out of a nearby regiment, but the Skaven care little for casualties.

Wounds from a well placed poison wind  mortar round.
Neverness, this is how you are supposed to roll dice!

My Lord's regiment freight-trained thru a regiment and its detachment cowering to the rear before finally ending up well out of position at game's end. My other, characterless clanrat regiment was predictably mediocre and fled following their charge, being run down in exchange for only a few casualties. 

The slaves are kinda worthless as anything other than a distraction, though amusingly they inflicted more casualties as the fled than they did in combat! Our warped lightning spewing wizard did well, whereas the engineer equipped with the warpmusket was more or less useless. He'll serve as a wizard next go round instead as a free roaming riflerat.

Everyone's positions at game's end.

Whilst we did lose, it was a fun time and Wolfy found the game intriguing. Future purchases for the army aren't planned for at this point but...I do have about 60 or so rats that still need assembly. So that ought to keep me entertained till I can restock some paints from the FLGS (during regular store hours) and return to my Vanquisher.