My First Game of Warmachine

A fortnight ago I made my way to Wargames Workshop in Kingston, Milton Keynes, on a Monday evening after work to play my first game of Warmachine. I had made contact with a really nicely fellow called Rob (Rangerbob on the Privateer Press forums) and he had agreed to run me through it. I did my level best to get pain to my Protectorate of Menoth miniatures before the game, ignoring the unit since we were going to play the "Mangled Metal" scenario which is a Warjack and Warcaster death-match. Rob and Glenn, who was a helpful observer/guide, giving me advice and clarifying queries I had.

In the end I didn't get everything painted, but there was paint on the models, and that is what matters. I've made a short little YouTube video with some thoughts on the game and on my paint scheme going forward.

In short, it is a really tight game, with a solid community and "scene". The chaps who were teaching me were really nice and are keen to foster a larger community. In fact, I was so enthused by the game that I immediately arranged to teach my local wargaming opponent, Taff, how to play, and last Thursday evening we ran through a quick Mangled Metal game, with Taff taking command of Kommander Sorscha. His impression was positive, so that bodes well. I am hoping to get involved in the Milton Keynes Journeyman league when that begins in September with my Protectorate of Menoth stuff. Whilst I was initially attracted to Khador's Tzarist/Soviet aesthetic, I really like the Protectorate of Menoth playing style. so I think that for now I will continue to build upon those things which are already painted.

Video Update... Hobby Update V: It's Been A While

I filmed a short update this morning. 

My Summer Campaign

This year many wargamers will play a summer campaign. At my local club there is currently a Warhammer 40k summer campaign underway which forms the backbone, the fighting season if you will, of our gaming year. I must confess that my life is far too haphazard to allow for the planning required for such things, hence my predilection for solo wargaming. Frankly, between trips to Cardiff to play with the Dark Pact and painting my Poland 1939 Campaign figures I find myself with precious little time for much else. Life has this way of making itself busy.

I am, however, confronted with a stretch of stability up ahead as the long summer days lull us into that wonderful sense of ease that makes one tend toward leisure. So, I sat myself down and decided that what I really needed to do was make a list of what I aimed to achieve this summer. My campaign is to be fought with the brush against the ever-present foe, unpainted miniatures, and I am hoping to sweep the field.

Ravenwing & Dark Angels Vehicles: I still have a tonne of Dark Angels to paint. The Ravenwing contingent is coming along nicely and I am keen to have a sizable Ravenwing element that has the capacity to be fielded separately. Furthermore, as I have said before, the black scheme makes the painting a real treat and eminently doable.

Additionally, I have a dreadnought and a Vindicator to finish. I've ordered the washes and oil paints I need to achieve this. I have also acquired a Razorback and a Rhino. I feel as though I need to give my Dark Angels greater mobility, especially my command squad. The only snag here is the fact that I would very much like the Dark Angel doors from Forgeworld from my command vehicle, which necessitates an order. Of course, with the imminent release of Horus Heresy Ultramarines I will be placing an order soon, but it is very much a case of trying to consolidate my order and not spend too much on postage costs, which are still off-putting with Forgeworld.

Ultramarines: The Dark Pact Horus Heresy project continues apace. With the release of resin shoulder pads for the various marks of armour I am in a position to push on with it. However, I am in a little bit of a limbo as I wait out a little longer to see what is coming. What is clear, though, is that I need some character figures. Praetors, that sort of thing. Again, this leads into that Forgeworld order I mentioned above, so at this point I must content myself with hurrying-up and waiting.

The aim is to get the Ultramarines playable as a Zone Mortalis force, for small games of combat patrol and that sort of thing. The Dark Pact chaps haven't really achieved much more that our initial push, but I think we should all have enough for small patrols.

15mm American Infantry Company: Lady K is now over from the States for good, and we spent last weekend in London. While over at Waterloo waiting for our Duck Tour (Highly recommended, very entertaining, and doesn't cost a fortune), we were next to Dark Sphere, who were moving and had a 50% sale on. Lady K doesn't really understand "The Hobby", so it was a good way to introduce her. Needless to say, she was affronted when she found out that I didn't collect Americans in 15mm for World War II. Her remedy was to buy me a Rifle Company, insisting that the Company commander be called "Buck", and be from Texas (She is from California, so I think it has more to do with the fact that apparently Texans are often named "Buck"). It was a sweet gesture, and now joins the pile of painting.

Vikings: I now have a largish mob of hairy chaps. The only things missing are bannermen and leaders. I am keen to get some gaming done with them in the near future as I want to try Dux Britanniarum (modded for Vikings) and Saga with them, so the number of figures needed isn't prohibitive. I have also added quite a lot to my collection of terrain so the table is unlikely to be sparsely decked out. I am rather excited. So to that end I have a few character figures that need painting up. I have my Erik Bloodaxe and Haakon the Good miniatures primed and ready for painting. Beyond that I just want a few champions and a banner bearer for each leader, so that they look the business.

Poland 1939: I'm still plugging away at my Poles. With the arrival of Black Tree Design reinforcements and their German counterparts, I am in a position to crack on in earnest. I'm thinking that I could get two small scouting parties done in short order for a few border skirmishes that opened the war.

Warmachine: I still have contents of the starter set to complete, and am quite keen to get them done so that I can learn the rules and get playing. I went so far as to purchase the sleeves for my cards today.

So, clearly I have much to do. However, with my airbrush in hand I am confident that the 40k bits are going to be much expedited. The Dark Pact is keen to meet again, either in July or August, and I would very much like to head over to Cardiff with swollen ranks. I'll be working on these projects a little bit every night, and posting my progress as it happens.

A Wee Update from the Painting Desk

The last few months have been largely unproductive. My painting queue has stalled while I have been all over the place. First California, then Northern Ireland, and it seems that every spare moment in between has been spent with the Army Reserve. I also had a slight health setback in the last week and half that has put me back some.

So, I finally got a chance to sort my life out on the Bank Holiday (first day off in a month, much needed) and have finally got stuck in on the hobby space. I found, amidst the piles of stuff, Black Tree Design Gebirgsjäger, an Artizan German platoon, and more Poles, Black Tree Design again. I am still working away on my first lot of Warlord Games Poles, so the rest of the gang shall have to wait, but at least I know where they are now!

However, I have made some progress. Today I finished off a few more figures, in between cleaning and tidying. Ten more Vikings, and two more 30k Ultramarines, one of whom is a Sergeant. With the release of the Ultramarine specific bits from Forgeworld, I am holding off on any more building on that front until I can gather up the bits I need to make my Ultramarines look their best.

The painted for 2015 tally takes a leap up by Twelve, not a bad show! Hopefully with a more sorted workspace and life settling down a little I may get more done.

A Voice in the Wilderness

Where have I been you might ask?

Well, in truth I simply have not had a moment for the hobby in the last month or so. This is due both to being inordinately busy, but also due to a lack of priority. In the last two months I have been on one hell of a fitness kick, and as a result have lost two stone. So rather than sitting and painting I have been exercising. Furthermore, I've been on courses on my weekends so time hasn't been an abundant commodity.

That said, I haven't given up on the hobby by any means. The Ravenwing miniatures I was working on are still patiently waiting for me, as are my World War II Polish Infantry. I suppose what I really need to do is set aside an hour or two per night to get things done, but competition for my time is only getting fiercer.

What I have been doing, though, is trying to sell some of my old bits and pieces that I have no need for. Firstly to liberate space, and secondly to generate a little money. I'm looking to offload a bunch of classic Eldar stuff over the next while, including some metal Harlequins. If anyone is interested, do let me know.

This weekend I will be delving further into the boxes and trying to shift some Lord of the Rings stuff too, if time allows after a weekend on the ranges, see what I mean? Recently I have been thinking about the viability of "holding on things", and in all honesty, I need to downsize my collection. Obviously we all dream of hoarding all our bits and then one day getting around to doing x, but sometimes the smart thing to do is just cut and run.

I'll be advertising things on here first for a few days before listing them on eBay, so that readers get the opportunity for a bargain first.

Cardiff Challenge

So. I made my way West to Cardiff for a weekend with the Dark Pact on Thursday morning. Apologies for not getting my "mini project" updates up, between work and painting in the evenings, I just didn't get a chance to write up anything, or film it for YouTube. In any event, I didn't achieve everything I set out to do, but I did achieve a lot.

Firstly, I managed to finish the Vindicator and Dreadnought. Well, I say finished. They still need their washes and varnishes and all that other good stuff, but I didn't have the materials to do those processes anyway, so at the moment they are being used in their less fancy guise. Though they are functionally done. I'll get the washes and things done this month. 

Secondly, the Ravenwing are almost complete. What this means is that the bikes are done, but that the riders still quite aren't. For the most part this just means a quick edge highlight in grey, and finally gluing the together with polycement. 

The upshot is that everything on the table "looks" painted. No unsightly plastic or metal for us this weekend! Craig, fellow Dark Pact member Craig painted an entire 2000 points Grey Knights army in two months, and the results are exceptional. 

Jim's already nicely painted Tyranids received further reinforcements, and these were also painted as I showed on a previous post. So it was nice to see beautiful tables, with well painted figures upon them. I think it makes all the difference. 

As I said at the start, I didn't achieve as much as I wanted to, but I certainly got more done than I thought I might. Battle Reports to follow. 

C-17

As the title of this post suggests, I am only seventeen days away from my next epic gaming weekend with the Dark Pact in Cardiff. We will be making use of Firestorm Games' excellent new venue, and enjoying their excellent tables and terrain.

I set myself the task of getting as many Dark Angels reinforcements as I could for that weekend done as it looms, and there is some progress to report. Firstly, I have had to assemble a lot. I suppose since I paint primarily metal historical miniatures, I always find that assembly is a massive chore, but with some thought it can pay enormous dividends. As my the first element of my reinforcements I assembled a squad of six Ravenwing bikers and an attack bike. One of these bikes is already done, and the rest are merrily on their way. 

Bikes awaiting paint.

Work in progress bikers.

I started with the riders first, as you can see above, I have opted to balance the black with a preponderance of bone, and worked some more colour in by including some company markings, since many of these marines would have been in other companies prior to being assigned to the Ravenwing. This squad is going to have a flamer and a meltagun in order to give it some anti-armour and anti-personal capabilities. The attack bike is going to be equipped with a multi-melta to vaporise enemy armour assets. 

I also decided to work on a Vindicator and a Dreadnought. Neither of these figures are Dark Angel specific, but using the Ravenwing vehicle accessory sprues, I have managed to tart them up a little. I also broke out the airbrush to get these done in super quick time. The effect is that the highlighting is much softer than I normally get from using my brush. 

I am far from proficient in the use of my airbrush, but I got the effect I wanted. I am keen to gloss varnish both the miniatures, and then apply some enamel wash to tone the green down, as well as make the rivets and recesses pop once they are painted, I've seen this done a lot on YouTube, and I quite fancy giving it a go. The Vindicator, above, is a very old kit I had lying around. The side panels are metal, as are many of the details, so it is a very heavy kit. I am not enamoured of it, but it will do, and I had it lying around anyway. I added a few Dark Angel bits to make it look like a part of the army. When it is done I'll post some close up shots of those details. 

The Dreadnought above is from the old Black Reach boxed set. It came with a Multi-Melta, which I also have, but I found an assault cannon in my bits box and decided that I liked that more. So I drilled out the barrels and added some iconography and scrolls. I also hacked off the original shin guard pieces, and replaced them with Dark Angel specific ones from the Ravenwing sprue. I also mounted another sarcophagus plate over the moulded on one, since this one is a Dark Angel one, and it bulked the miniature out a little more. I'd quite like to add a Venerable Dreadnought one day, painted in bone, using the Forgeworld figure, but that can wait. 

So there is some movement on the desk. I'm hoping to get these done over the next seventeen days by working on them at night after work. I'm trying to get an hour in a night, which is often not possible. However, I do have next weekend off, so I am hoping to put a dent in the project then. Once Cardiff is behind me I'll be returning to the Poland project. That is all for now. 

+ LOYALTY & HONOUR +