Progress Report - Ogre Tyrant Karnov WIP.

Karnov! Ahhhhhh!!

I have been putting off finishing this big guy for a while now but I thought it was time to share a WIP picture of my Tyrant. I have only applied a base coat with a few highlights, need to work on the details and finishing touch(ups) before I seal the model. He is quite big. Large and in charge as they say...

Speaking of large, here is a review of one big beer from my favorite brewery Stone!

Stone Brewing Company - Stone Levitation Ale

Beer Type: American Amber / Red Ale

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle with a hovering silver devil on it, plus a bunch of awards (2007 Gold Medal Winner at the Great American Beer Festival). Poured reddish ambler color with a thin off-white head.

Smell: A lot of hops, some citrus, and lots of sweet malt.

First Drink: Sweet and not too bitter with hints of citrus and a sort of cereal/grain flavor.

Mouthfeel: Smooth and full-bodied like most Stone brews.

Last Drink: A lot more of the malts with a lingering sweetness and a bitter finish.

Drinkability: A good beer but not my favorite Stone brew.

Notes: This beer is good and well crafted but I think I may not like Red Ale that much if this is any indicator of the style.

Verdict: 4 out of 5

Links: Beer Advocate and Stone Brewing Company.

Progress Report - 2/22/09.

Has it really been twenty days since my last update?! My poor neglected Warhammer and drinking blog! Let us rectify this situation with a quick update (with more to come I promise).

In the past twenty days I have been fairly busy with modeling and the hobby in general. I completed the assembly of my Vampire Counts battalion (with the exception of the Corpse Cart as I was saving that for last), as well as a box of Dire Wolves I received for Christmas. This was done just in time as I have a slew of additional VC models on the way from some cheap eBay auctions I won. I will soon be awash in Skeletons, Ghouls, and Zombies! It is a variable undead cornucopia around here I swear.

I also received my Tyrant model in the mail from one Mr. Warplock Monkey. He is just as big and glorious as I had hoped, even with a few broken bits from the dirty post office workers pitching his box around. I have already completed the necessary repairs and I am hoping to have him based and primed this week.

Played a bit of Warhammer as well, getting in a few 1000 point games with my VC, two "Paradigm" games for the Beer Gut Tribe,more WoC TROLLS, and some practice games with Dwarfs for an upcoming tournament at BattleForge here in Austin.

I had planned on taking Dwarfs to the tournament next weekend, but I have decided to go back to the Ogres in the hopes of at least having fun while I lose to the myriad of Elves, Vampires, Chaos, and Daemons I am sure to face.

And that is about the long and the short of it! I promised (oh so long ago) better pictures of my painted models posted here, but I am still working out the kinks in my photo taking setup. Here are two (mostly not blurry) photos of my Bangstick Butcher to ease the pain.

He is more or less done. This was the fourth model I have ever painted so I feel pretty good about the final product. The gore on his cleaver looks a bit more layered and filthy on the table, but you can't really see it in these two pictures. Once I sort through the blurry pictures of my Ironguts I will add more pictures here. Look for those later this week.

In the meantime here is a review of a beer I had recently after my trip to Fort Collins, Colorado.

---

Deschutes Brewery - Black Butte Porter

Beer Type: American Porter

Appearance: 12 oz. brown bottle with basic Deshutes label (painted art in the center of a plain looking wrapper). Beer poured a dark reddish brown with a thin white head which faded with little lacing.

Smell: Roasted malt and just a hint of coffee.

First Drink: A little more of the "dark" flavors in the taste, a bit of coffee and chocolate. A nice hoppy finish and a little sweetness as well.

Mouthfeel: Very smooth finish and just the right amount of carbonation.

Last Drink: A lot more roasted malt now and the floral hops are coming through stronger.

Drinkability: This is a damn fine porter.

Notes: We have just recently gotten the Deschutes brews in the Austin area and this is one of the three I have seen locally. I don't often think of myself as a Porter fan but I really haven't tried a Porter I didn't like. Something about the faint "dirty" taste just gets my taste buds going. Makes me want some kettle chips or a sandwich.

Verdict: 4 out of 5. Really well done and a great example of the style.

Links: Beer Advocate and Deschutes Brewery.

The life and times of Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander – Part I

Here is a little "fluff" (aka story, fiction, a random string of letters and words that may pertain to something) for my Ogre Kingdoms army the Beer Gut Tribe. I had a hard time just jumping into the "now" for the BGT so I thought I would start at the beginning, with the life and times of the Beer Gut's Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander. Yeah it is a long name but that is just how the ogres do it!

I hope you enjoy this first little tale as I had fun writing it. I won't say this post or story has anything to do with the presidential election but I can't say it has nothing to do with it either.

---

The life and times of Tyrant Karnov Beergut, Fangsmasher, the Outlander – Part I

Karnov was furious. That was not terribly unusual as he was often angry about something, but it was rare to see his own blood on the ground. His current source of aggravation stood directly across from him in the bone-strewn maw pit. Pulling against Dorfrog Stonechaser’s massive bulk Karnov strained to throw the other Bull over. “I will rip that shrimpy lump you call a gut right off your sorry frame an eats it!” growled Dorfrog menacingly. “You ain’t fit to be callin’ yor’selfs a true Ogre!” he continued as he threw his bulbous stomach forward, smashing into Karnov’s naked gut.

Dorfrog towered over Karnov, easily twice again as large and half again as wide. Even for an ogre Dorfrog was a bully and used to getting his way by beating down any Bull who might oppose him. Might makes right thought Karnov as he steeled his gut for another thundering attack, blinking the stream of blood out of his eyes. Straining forward against Dorfrog’s bulk Karnov twisted to the left, grabbing a fistful of the other ogre’s filth crusted breeches. Using all his strength he pushed forward, putting his front leg out behind the towering Bull, and quickly lowering himself to half Dorfrog’s height. The Bull was momentarily off balance and Karnov pressed the attack, punching Dorfrog once in the mouth.

“Keep your stupid thoughts to yor’self fore you makes me really mad!” roared Karnov as he thrust forward, crashing against Dorfrog’s gut and forcing him to the ground. “You might be big an’ your’es gut may swell, but I’m tougher an heres da proof!” Karnov rammed his head face first into the Bull’s skull with a loud crack. He continued the assault, repeatedly smashing his scarred face into Dorfrog’s now mangled face until the larger Bull failed to resist against his attacks.

Karnov forced himself up on his feet, the strain of pulling his massive girth shown in his squat muscled legs. Looking down at his now unconscious rival he put his large hand to his left ear, feeling the pulpy mass where it should have been. He would miss the ear, but it could have been much worse. Such was to be expected when two Ogres fought in a ‘guts-out’ contest.

Removing the gut plate and fighting to the death was seen as a badge of honor in ogre society, but there was no honor in this fight. Dorfrog was the younger brother of Reekus Goldmaw, Tyrant and ruler of the Goldmaw tribe. Karnov feared Reekus, but could not bring himself to respect the massive leader. While gold, silver, and jewels were plentiful for Reekus from the many assaults made on nearby traveling merchants, very little of this wealth made it to those ogres doing the fighting.

Karnov had a small gnoblar-hide pouch of his own which contained his meager wealth before Dorfrog had taken it. Such activities were commonplace among the ogre tribe, the large taking from the small, ensuring that only the most massive ogre made it to the top of the tribe. Karnov was not the largest nor the toughest Bull in the camp, but what he lacked in stature he made up for in ruthless cunning.

Waiting until the time was right, Karnov had confronted Dorfrog in front of the assembled tribe for his stolen possessions. The laughing and sneering coming from his rival had simply stopped once Karnov had removed his gut plate, throwing it at the Bull’s feet, and challenging his place in the hierarchy of the tribe. Such a thing could not be left unanswered and Karnov knew his life was the only thing truly at stake in this battle, no matter who was watching.

With a glance up at the engorged glittering beast seated in front of the maw pit Karnov drove his thumbs deep into Dorfrogs eyes. The semi-unconscious Bull struggled feebly against Karnov, grunting as he strained his head away from the savage attack. “You won’t be needin’ deese where you going!” Karnov said between clenched teeth before slamming the Bull’s head against the hard ground.

CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH
CRUNCH

Dorfrog’s head finally burst with a sickening pop, leaking what few brains he had on to the bloodstained mud of the maw pit. There was suddenly a deep foreboding silence in the camp. Karnov pulled himself away from the now unmoving corpse of Dorfrog, his mouth full of the dead Bull’s brains. Where were the cheers and accolades from his fellow Bulls? Where were the knowing grunts from the older Ironguts not wanting to give him too much credit at their own expense?

Looking at the gathered crowd outside the maw pit dug into the center of the camp Karnov saw nothing but downcast eyes. He turned his view towards Reekus Goldmaw before suddenly realizing what he had done. While family was not the most important aspect of ogre tribal life Dorfrog had been the Tyrant’s brother. His twisted sneer of hate told him everything he needed to know. It was time to go.