Progress Report 2/18/17 - 52 Minis Week 7... Malal beckons!

It has been a slow week of painting and a busy week for basing and terrain building. But... I promised something special... and it's time to deliver the goods! Behold! The first of what will hopefully be a decent sized force dedicated to Malal!! Building something I can use in AoS28 for fun. 

This Priestess/Sorceress of Malal was a lot of fun to paint. I'm working on a gritty/grimy look with plenty of contrast and I think this mini fits the bill. I've added a larger base (from 25 to 35mm) but otherwise I call it done! More worshippers of Malal are in the works... coming from the shadows near  you soon...

In other Chaos news check out these massive slugs! They will be used as Beasts of Nurgle. 

Coming to eat your cabbages

These guys are really gross looking though it's kind of hard to tell from this photo. I added a few boils/blisters/eyeballs to the back of their heads as well. And while we're talking about Nurgle here are a few Chaos Knights!

Lots of small modifications here mostly in the heads and bodies. I put them on a 40mm base which is probably too small but I like the look of it. If it drives me or my opponents crazy I will stick them on a 50mm base later on. 

And what update with Chaos would be complete without a bit of Khorne?

Two more Heroes join the fray (of unpainted by black shiny primed miniatures for the Bloodbound/Mortal Khorne)! I can't wait to paint up the Lord on Juggernaut. Really cool mini and the Slaughterpriest is a good looking one too. 

Next week expect more Chaos or maybe I'll sneak in a few more Dwarves instead. You can never have too many Dwarfs. 

Progress Report 12/31/16 - Smell you later 2016.

I got in a few more games this year! Actually played a bit of both Blood Bowl and some Age of Sigmar. On top of that I did get a bit of painting done as well. 

First up here are a couple things I painted up for TNT. I've since finished these bloat flies with some additional details and basing but I didn't grab a photo of them yet. 

Buzzz buzzz this is our trash buzz buzz

Also built this Steam Bike from Max Mini which I can't wait to paint up and use on the table!

Furry stopped by during a nice little snow storm earlier this week and we played 3 games of a Path To Glory campaign. We went with Death Rattle (Death) vs Bloodbound (Khorne Chaos) because that is what I had the best minis for right now and we wanted to learn the rules for their respective units. 

We made a couple small alterations in the rules as we went and overall it was fast and furious fun! I started with a Wight King and 10 Skeletons while Furry brought the Mighty Lord of Khorne and 5 Blood Warriors. 

First scenario we played was a "Find The Treasure" scenario with three searchable objectives on the board. First Hero to find the treasure and leave off the table edge or kill all the enemy units won a Major Victory. 

Ragnar the Blackhearted and his small but tenacious horde of Skeledudes 

Blood Warriors lined up and ready to spill... bits of bone!?

After moving toward the near by objective Ragnar spots Blood Warriors sneaking around a wall!

Skulls and bones for the Skulls and bones god!

The Skeledudes managed to get the charge and chop down the warriors.

Meanwhile.... this sneaky guy is trying to come kill Ragnar!

Ragnar tries a tactical retreat but it ultimately charged by the MLoK and slain by his damned axe.

But then the Skeletons come to save the day! Chop chop down goes the MLoK.

After the first game Ragnar gained enough fame to lure in another.... 10 Skeletons! Oh boy. Meanwhile the Bloodbound brought the big guns with some Wrathmongers (played by half built Nurgle Knights this time around). 

The second scenario was to kill the monster in the center of the table and claim his magical weapon stash. It was a very short game with Ragnar's forces taking the initiative and the Chaos Gargant charging at the nearby Bloodbound. In the process it killed almost all of the Blood Warriors and left just one wound on the MLoK who proceeded to slay the monster with his damned axe in one round of combat. Game, set, match!

Giant toilet or crumbling tower? You be the judge. 

For the third and final scenario of the day we completed a "take and hold" type scenario where two comets fell to the battlefield and our warbands had to control them to gain points. It was a close fought and strategic battle but ultimately Ragnar's forces were able to hold out against the Bloodbound and secure a Major Victory. 

Staring down the Wrathmongers on the flank. 

These guys are nasty! 

With freshly devoted followers the MLoK hopes to crush his skeletal nemesis.

With some fancy footwork the Skeletons get the charge and contest the objective!

"It's just Skeletons you dimwits!!"

Meanwhile... the Wrathmongers fall to the Skeleton Warriors. Thanks for the extra attacks!

And Ragnar gets a bit broody.

Path To Glory is not balanced. If you can get over that and are playing with someone who can see the silly it is actually pretty darn fun and a good way to learn the basics of Age of Sigmar. I'm looking forward to painting up these minis and finishing up this campaign with another 2 or 3 games. Not a bad way to wrap up the year - a few more games under our belts with excitement for gaming in our blood! See you in 2017!

Progress Report 12/26/16 - Last tabletop games of the year?

Happy holidaze are upon us! I spent the last week off from work but got very little accomplished on the modeling or painting fronts. I did go a bit nutty and decided to rearrange my whole first two floors starting with painting setup. Previously it lived in our sun room but I wanted to be able to use that room for my non-mini painting as well as hanging out in (cozy in the fall and winter and fresh in the spring and winter). After many hours of packing up and taking things up and down our treacherous basement stairs I managed this:

New basement dwelling for the basement dweller

Painting table (desk) all set up and ready to go again after carefully moving my entire miniatures collection. New set up has less (basically zero) natural light but I have a combination of about 6 other lights which keep it from being too dank. 

Pros

• No dogs in my painting area (so hopefully no dog hair stuck in my paint)
• Nice and cool year round (not too hot or too cold like the previous set up)
• Right next to my 4x4 gaming table (hopefully netting me more painted terrain!)
• I can talk to myself and not seem to crazy

Cons

• Less human and animal interaction (see last pro)
• A little basement-troll like
• No natural light

Painting with sunlights and plants

My current sun room painting setup is pretty modular (read temporary) with a folding chair and table though overall I am quite pleased with the change. I also rearranged my living and dining rooms to make things more open and easier to have guest over for entertainment (like hopefully playing games!). Speaking of having guest over - earlier last week Furry and I got in a quick Vanguard game of Age of Sigmar. It was his first game of Warhammer (of any kind?) and he did great! 

Table set up - Khorne Bloodbound vs Skaven Pestilence 

Plague Monks and Skrolk hanging out with the Plague Furnace

So many followers of Khorne! The wolves were stand in minis for Flesh Hounds

More rats equals more fun for the Plague Furnace! Shove off!

Line of topless barbarians is not impressed.

Cute little Korgorath wants a hug?

Plague Furnace managed to chew through topless men but got stopped by one with a whip.

This is all going according to plan...

I wanted to give us both a chance to try out some fun synergies with the two lists. Since I had not played either force there was a bit of guessing as to what would work well and what might just be for laughs. Big winners for Khorne and Furry were the Flesh Hounds. Two units of 5 each managed to chew through almost all of my foot slogging Skaven (Plague Monks and Censer Bearers). Add on their ability to shut down a magic phase and I really can't see why you wouldn't make room for them in any Khorne themed list!

For the forces of Pestilence the big winner was (literally) the Great Unclean One. He single handily managed to kill the most units between his magic, shooting, and close combat phases. Of course the Mighty Lord of Khorne probably could have killed him in one turn but Furry realized that a bit too late in the game (and yes I did tell him about his general's fighting skills!). 

Game ended as a draw on objectives but a win for points taken out (with just my Hero units left on the table and running away). It was a lot of fun and I can't wait to get these minis all painted up and more games going! 

Meanwhile in a galaxy far far away... 

Spent one afternoon at the FLGS getting a demo of X-wing from a player who has literally everything that has been released for the game. It was a bit daunting to be honest but I stuck it out and played through a quick tutorial and then short 35 pt game. Ended up just barely winning by taking out the Rebel scum in a desperate strafing run from my star pilot (the either Tie Fighter having been blown away quickly in the game). The game seems like a good time and I can see why it has such a following. The dog fighting and maneuvers are quite cool and the key gameplay of action economy and synergy between ships, pilots, and abilities is well done. Overall I am just not that excited by Star Wars in general and not in love with all the spaceships. A fun game but one I don't intend to dive in to. 

Now that we are living in a post-XMASSSS 2016 world it's time to dive into my basement painting den and get cranking on some minis!

Progress Report 3/28/16 - Magically Nurglicious

Three updates in two weeks!? What madness is this!? Perhaps I have been overcome with a sickness... of gaming!

Did I mention somewhere that I started building and collecting a Nurgle force for AoS? Well I did. It's coming along slowly but surely and I have been spending at least 15 to 30 minutes a day gluing and assembling the kits I have. Take a look!

I have since built some nasty bloated fly riders and added a bunch of gross maggot ridden cess pools to the bases to really amp up the Nurgle love. Still have a few heroes, monsters, and more Plaguebearers to build but so far I am loving the look of these guys. Trying to find the perfect balance of gross, horrific, and funny which I think is key to truly capturing the spirit of Papa Nurgle. 

But don't forget about Khorne! The blood god wouldn't be happy if you did...

Picked up these two to add to the AoS starter set for my Khorne folks. I love the look of both of these minis and can't wait to paint them up! Still have some other Khorny models to assemble and paint but I am not in a rush...

On the other side of the table we have my current non-monster based gaming love - This Is Not A Test. If you haven't already checked out their Kickstarter do it now!!

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/57306923/this-is-not-a-test-post-apocalyptic-skimirsh-ruleb

I decided I wanted to give a tile based table a try and have started a few 1'x1' tiles to get the project going. They are based on foam which I think I need to reinforce the edges of (to help it keep it's shape). Was thinking maybe some thin foam or balsa to build a frame around the edges?

 Next up we have some vehicle madness as I trash these things to add to the table. Yahoo! 

Stay tuned... more to come as I build all kinds of random junk out of trash and building model kits.