Progress Report 12/27/13 - The cold hands of December.

December! A month of holiday-hectic-centric shenanigans. While I spent some of it painting minis and playing games the majority of this month was spent feeding folks, working, or attending various social such and such. In the meantime here are a few things I painted. Been doing a bad job of tracking such things. 

A herd of goblins painted for a goblin RPG adventure where the PCs are goblins!

Xmas gift to family - a mini of their D&D character.

This mini had a ton of tiny detail for a Bones casting I thought.

Another D&D character mini for Xmas.

Some slight conversions but overall straight out of the box.

Speaking of boxes - Deadzone arrived! Kinda looked this in the box too.

A pile of minis but I am still missing a couple bags from the KS pledge.

Hoping to spend time in the last few remaining days of the year painting some minis and possibly assembling some of that pile of Deadzone restic. Time will tell! I also need to sketch out my first oil painting on canvas for a class I will be taking this winter. Hoping to bring some oil painting methods and materials to the world of miniature painting! Wish me luck.

Happy Holidaze and a Merry Gutmass.

Busy here in the DnM household. Visiting family with dogs, babies, and a love of craft beers has kept me away from any significant hobby work (except for the minis I painted as gifts). Sorry for the reuse of this image... but tis the season! Happy holidaze and a  merry gutmass to all!

Beer Review - Sixpoint Brewery 3Beans

 
Sixpoint Brewery - 3Beans

Beer Type: Baltic Porter - 10.00% ABV

Appearance: Super limited edition beer in a skinny 12oz can! Out of the fancy limited edition can the beer is a dark brown. Can't see through it!! Nice big tan colored head on top.       

Smell: Coffee and dried fruits first followed by roasted malt and a hint of "spice". Can't smell the booze?!   

First Drink: Some coffee flavors followed by roasted malts. Something kinda woody and metallic coming through too?      

Mouthfeel: Not super carbonated but my tongue feels fuzzy. Seems very smooth.     

Last Drink: More malt and some chocolate and raisin flavors coming in now. The sweetness is nicely balanced. Getting a bit of booze now too.            

Drinkability: Very interesting and I would certainly drink this again... if it was ever made again!             

Notes: First beer I have had from Sixpoint and they set the bar high for me on this one.         

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5. Hope to see more unique collaborations like this one in the future (this one was between Sixpoint, Mast Brothers, and Stumptown).   

New blog header!

You may have noticed a new blog header up there! I got tired of the old one... it was time for a change! This one comes courtesy of Dario J who I worked with on the Bellower webzine and have been following ever since. He makes some great fantasy art and you can see it here on his Facebook page!

I've posted a few examples of his work below. Thanks for the fantastic artwork Dario!

2013 Hobby Resolutions check-in.

Well I meant to get to this earlier in the year. Time flies when you buy a new house, change your job, and start having a social life with friends and playing games!? Since we are 31 days from the end of this year I thought it would be useful to see how I have fared in the "Hobby Resolutions" department.


Here is the list I came up with for this year way back in January:

• Update this blog at least twice a week all year: Did pretty dreadful at this. I updated at least twice a month!! Does that count? Part of the lack of updates comes from me spending time on my radio show(s) and the blog I run for that. Part of it is just not getting around to it. 

• Finish painting all of the Blood Bowl teams I have started: Hah! Nice one. Actually I did okay at first - got my Orc team painted, still haven't finished my Lizardman team, then went and added a Halfling team, some Elves, some Skaven, and got minis for an Underworld or Chaos Pact or something team down the road. In short. Nope.
  

• Play some WHFB somewhere, somehow: Even the new WoC book couldn't help me with this one. I did make a new space in my new home for playing games like this!! Does that count?

• Attend as many Blood Bowl tournaments as possible: Again not so great here. Missed out on Zlurpee Bowl and a few other close by events I had planned on attending (including the second Jingle Bowl coming up this weekend). I think my count for the year is... 3. Terrible!! 

• Win an award in Blood Bowl league or tournament play: While I still haven't won any awards at a BB tournament I did manage to take the 3 season Chaos juggernaut the Khorne R'Backs to the KUBBL 5 championship and win. It was a close fought thing at times but the powers of Khorne paved the way in blood.
  
• Complete 12 monthly painting pledges at the Ogre Stronghold: I have managed to do this quite nicely! Except I didn't post my pledge in Novemeber I did complete it.

So there you have it. Not too shabby. In between the lines there I did pick up Necromunda and started assembling and painting a Goliath gang. Also worked on a bit of Streetbowl stuff. Also bought a house, moved, and changed jobs. Also started 3 different RPG groups/campaigns! And started doing my radio show twice a week! So it has been a busy time for sure.

Progress Report 11/30/13 - Gettin' gingy.

Errr. Feel like I am getting into a rut here on the old Drinkin' and Modelin' blog. No real posts of content and then WHAM-O the month is over!! To be fair I haven't spent much time painting due to work and a back injury which put me out of commission for a couple weeks. The one thing I did manage to sneak in is a commission for a deathroller driven by a gingerbread man for a local Blood Bowl tournament coming up next week. Here it is in photos (from WIP to mostly finished). 

 

Beer Review - Arcadia Brewing Company Jaw-Jacker.

Arcadia Brewing Company - Jaw-Jacker

Beer Type: Herbed/Spiced Ale - 6.00% ABV

Appearance: 12oz brown bottle with the spooky man eating pumpkin in a field with a scarecrow and bats! Very Halloween. Beer pours a pumpkiny-orange color with a thin beige head.  

Smell: Spices! Something sour! No "pumpkin" exactly but lots of assertive spice and malt aromas.        

First Drink: Cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and a bunch of spices with some bitter hops and malt coming through.   

Mouthfeel: Kinda thin but also sharply carbonated? If that makes sense?        

Last Drink: The spices are still dominating but I get the hints of pumpkin pie too.           

Drinkability: I don't love this beer by itself but I do like it mixed with other dark beers. 

Notes: Not a bad pumpkin/fall brew and it's great mixed with Loch Down (Loch-Jacker) from Arcadia or Old Chub from Oskar Blues (Chub-Jacker).             

Verdict: 3 out of 5. Good enough to get you in the mood. 

Beer Review - Arbor Brewing Company Violin Monster.

Ann Arbor Brewing Company - Violin Monster Autumn Ale

Beer Type: Belgian Strong Dark Ale - 9.50% ABV

Appearance: 12 brown bottle with a freakin' VIOLIN MONSTER on it!! Some kinda werewolf looking dude playing a violin under a dark red moon. Awesome. Beer pours a dark pitch brown with hints of red (like the red moon AROOOWWWW) with a thin light brown head.

Smell: All kinds of sweet spices. A melange of autumn beer smells. Sweet brown sugar, malt, and all kinds of warming spices.          

First Drink: Nutmeg and clove come through strong with a nice brown sugar malted backbone. A little bit of booze on the finish. 

Mouthfeel: Not as sticky as you might expect from the sweet nose and flavor. A nice full bodied big beer.      

Last Drink: A bit more yeast and alcohol coming through now. Still plenty of spice. Where is the pumpkin!!?            

Drinkability: Not sure if this is a new seasonal brew or not. Never seen it until this fall but I dig it! A nice change of pace from the pumpkin ales.            

Notes: I really love this label and this is a great selection from the ABC catalog of brews. Now to try it on tap!              

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Big spice, dark flavors, and a kick ass werewolf on the label.  

Progress Report 10/28/13 - Halloweenies.

Yowza! It's almost the end of October and I haven't managed to paint much at all. Let's see what this nerd tally says about my productivity:

• Started a Streetbowl pitch.
• Lost my first Streetbowl league game. 
• Saw Obituary play live. 
• Spent a week recording new SEPLOPHOBIA stuff. 
• Played a live show.
• Painted a commission piece.
• Played an Arena of Death scenario in the D&D 3.5 campaign and killed 7 of 9 PCs.
• Played another Pathfinder Society module and saved the party from a couple ugly situations. 
• Painted up a cool They Live mask for Halloween. 
• Drank a lot of beer. 
• Started working on two more commission pieces.

There you have it. Very little in the way of proper "miniatures" painting but plenty of gaming and other nerd related stuff. Between my games and radio shows I find less time to paint all the damn time! Working hard to give myself at least 15-30 minutes each day. Here are a few photos of my progress from the last few weeks:

Started off with this mask made of two masks, paper mache, and a bit of sculpty.

Blocked out the main colors.

Added some washes and layers (stuck on the eyes here for a quick look)

Highlights on the exposed areas and mouth/jaw.

Final highlights on the skin and glossy bits on the exposed areas.

Rawrrr shirtless warriors are go!

Beer Review - Greenbush Dunegras.

Not my image! It is a nice shot of the beer though.

Greenbush Brewing Company - Dunegras

Beer Type: American IPA - 6.70% ABV

Appearance: Another unique looking label in what I now think of as the Greenbush style. 12 oz brown bottle with the beer pouring a cloudy reddish brown. Just a little bit of head but it left some nice lacing.       

Smell: Pine and resinous hops, a bit of grassy smell, something a bit spicy and citrus? Smells good.  

First Drink: Malt up front then a bit of sour citrus followed by a little of the grassy flavor I smelled in the aroma. Not bad!  

Mouthfeel: A little oily and sticky for me, but the overall feel is medium bodied, and the carbonation is nice.   

Last Drink: More of the same just bigger! More sour citrus, more sweet maltness, and a hint of peppery/grassy flavor with a solid bitter finish.          

Drinkability: Oddly drinkable but not particularly memorable. We're spoiled for tasty Michigan IPAs here and this would not be my go to any time soon.           

Notes: Second been I have had from this brewery and I am still not "wowed". It's not bad but I'd take some Short's over this right about now.          

Verdict: 3.75 out of 5. Love the theme and look of this brew but the price is a bit steep for this level of complexity.              

Beer Review - Sierra Nevada Bigfoot Barleywine (2013)

 
Sierra Nevada Brewing Company - Bigfoot Barleywine Style Ale (2013)

Beer Type: American Barleywine - 9.60% ABV

Appearance: 12oz brown bottle with a cartoony bigfoot kinda thing going on. This label needs an update, something more like the Narwhal label which is pure badassery. Beer is a clear copper color with a fizzy biege head.       

Smell: Spicy hops and sweet malt are in the front with something just a bit smokey coming through as well (and then the high ABV).   

First Drink: Malt, hops, yeast, repeat. A very nice balance between the three and you can taste the distinct "cycles" maybe? There is a lingering bitter hops flavor which helps cleanse the palate.     

Mouthfeel: Thick and sticky with nice carbonation. If you like your beer tacky then you'll wanna try this.     

Last Drink: More sweet malt now and something almost a bit "metallic" but not in a bad way? Probably the alcohol? Big flavors all around!            

Drinkability: Barleywine is not an especially drinkable beer type in my experience. That experience has changed with Bigfoot. I have downed multiple of these in one sitting and didn't regret it.             

Notes: Had this beer last year too but I guess I didn't review it? Took me a long time to get ahold of this here in Michigan this year but I am glad I did! Great stuff.           

Verdict: 4.5 out of 5. Want an introduction to Barleywine? Look no further. Get kicked in the arse by a big foot. 

Progress Report 10/2/13 - Taking It To The Streets.

I win KUBBL. Everyone quits playing!? Looks like our league will perhaps be taking a "break". In the meantime I hope to run a small Streetbowl league because... why not!? To that end I started building a Streetbowl pitch. Here is what I got done. 

Step 1: Cut out lots of 25mm squares for spaces/cobblestones/tiles

Step 2: Cuss and cut foamcore, then glue squares to board

Step 3: Cuss when the board starts to bow a bit as it dries

Right now I am flattening the board and working on the street walls which will have a raised stone/brick texture on them. Having a lot of fun working on this and I hope it turns out great! In the meantime... what team should I try running in a Streetbowl league? I am thinking Khemri or Lizardmen would be fun.

Beer Review - Arcadia Cereal Killer Barleywine.

Did you miss my drunken ramblings?

Arcadia Brewing Company - Cereal Killer Barleywine

Beer Type: English Barley Wine - 10.00% ABV

Appearance: 22oz brown bottle with a kinda strange serial killer label thing going on. Neat. Beer poured a hazy reddish/brown. No head to speak of.      

Smell: Sweetness, a lot of sticky sweet aromas of dried fruits, molasses and dark sugars, and just a hint of something else? Can't quite make it out.   

First Drink: A little bit of grain but mostly just sticky sweet raisins and cherries. Not much in the hops department.    

Mouthfeel: Very sticky with what I would call a medium body.    

Last Drink: A little bitterness coming though now and something like tart apples or pineapple? Maybe that's not a good thing...           

Drinkability: Wow this is one heck of a beer. Not for slamming that's for sure. I've had other barley wine I liked better but this one is pretty damn complex.            

Notes: This beer is from 2007. Been sitting on it for a bit. Not sure how that may have changed the brew?           

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Local beer, aged a while, now given light and air. Tastes pretty good but I'd like a current bottle to compare.

Progress Report 9/23/13 - Alive and kickin' (butts).

Another month almost done and in the books without much to show for it on the hobby front. Spent most of the month away from home.

Attended Chaos Cup 9/7 and 9/8 with the Trailer Orc Boyz. Had six great games against six fun opponents and came away with 3 wins and 3 losses for my first 6 games playing Orcs. Pretty happy with that especially due to some terrible (very bad) dice luck throughout the whole tournament and being quite ill for the duration of the event. Finished 34 out of 75 coaches and beat the coach of my first Orc game loss! Not too shabby. Didn't manage to snag too many pictures but here is one of me on my second to last game of the tourney (and last loss) against Majortusk's Dwarfs. 

Hi Tom.

Now back on the painting train. Working on commissions, gangers, terrain, ratmen, dirty elves, and more. Gotta get back into painting mode!! On the gaming front I had a great KUBBL 5 season going undefeated with the Khorne R'Backs, winning my playoff game, and the championship game will be played today. With any luck I will have my first KUBBL  championship under my belt with more to come. Until next time...

Chaos Cup 2013 Preview - Year of the Trailer Orc Boyz!!

Tomorrow I head towards Chicago for the annual Blood Bowl spectacle known as the Chaos Cup!! I've been for the past two years now and I have to say it has been one of the most fun tournaments I have attended... and that was with me playing Nurgle both years (and losing terribly most of the time)! 

This year I wanted to bring a team that:

A. Wasn't Nurgle (I love em but they are a terrible tourney team, especially at this point value)

B. Was something I needed to finish painting

My hope was to finish a team to a high enough standard that I might feasibly compete in the painting awards, and feel bad ass about myself, even if I lost most of my games. Towards that goal I finished painting the Trailer Orc Boyz a week or so ago. You can see photos of them in my earlier posts. I feel this team represents my strengths and weaknesses as a painter/converter and I am very proud of how they turned out. One small problem though... I have never played Orcs in Blood Bowl!! My first game with Orcs will be my first game of the tournament this weekend! Oh well. Here's hoping my three recent seasons of Chaos pay off with the Orcs. 

Here is the roster I am bringing to the event:

It's your basic "everyone has block" roster. The small tweaks include 2 x Guarding Blitzers to get my assists where I need them when I need them, and one Dodging Blitzer to get me touchdowns and help on offense. 3 x Rerolls should cover too many mistakes and the Sure Hands of the Thrower will work in a pinch against Strip Ball opponents. A little light with 11 and no Apoth but I hope the higher armor will help keep me on the pitch. We'll see how they do! I can't believe that Ricky and Julian would let me down and I am sure I can always count on Bubbles and Randy right?!!

Going to the even alone this year without any KUBBL buddies... which is good and bad. Good because I won't make them listen to my disgusting METAL in the car nor torture them with all of my eating requirements. Bad because I will be alone and won't have anyone to talk about beer with! In memory of my KUBBL friends and our near repeat victory in last year's Skaven-ger hunt I snagged a few photos from the Chaos Cup website. At least we'll have the memories?

Me losing game 2 of the tournament.

Me losing game 6 of the tournament.

Skaven-ger hunt (red shoes I think) with Furry.

It's a monkey and me. Not sure what the clue was here.

I think this was supposed to be G-dub? That's Furry's nipple pinching hand.

I dunno... it made me laugh?

It's a beer. Mmmm beer.

I'll do my best to chronicle my adventures in Blood Bowl at Chaos Cup this weekend so you can live vicariously through me. Wish me luck!!

Progress Report 8/31/13 - And... check.

Today is the day... the last one of August!? What the heck? Where does the time go?

In between work and the atrocities inflicted upon me by my own body (aka summer allergies) I haven't managed to get too much painting done in the last week or so. I did pretty much finish up my Chaos Cup Legacy Team entry (minus the base), got my gaming table finished up, and suddenly a team of RATS appeared in the house and were stuck to bases. Next up... CHAOS CUP 2013. 

In the meantime we have pictures. Last one if my dog Remy having a little allergic freak out of his own. We itch!!!