Painting: On the Road

So my wife is thinking that she wants to buy an RV and drive around during the summer while I'm not teaching.

So this week we have rented a 37-foot RV to take out for a week and see if it is agreeable to us.

One of the things we are both worried about is taking enough things to do to keep me occupied for weeks on end. I figured this would be a good time to get some painting done, so I packed up some stuff and we headed out.

Podcasting: 40k Radio

I have been listening to Warhammer (40k and FB) podcasting for a couple years now. I started out with 40k radio as I was mainly interested in 40k at the time. I went from there to Worlds End Radio because they spent a good it of time talking about the 40k universe, if not 40k itself. As I got more into WHFB, I started listening to Podhammer. So here are some of my thoughts on the Games Workshop centered podcasts.

Mathhammer: Predator vs. Dark Eldar

 

So I have a friend of mine that has picked up the new DE book and is making himself an army. He has already warned me that he is looking at bringing 10 or so raider/ravagers. So I got to thinking about what I'm goinng to use to get rid of them. I'll probably take some Long Fangs, but I'm afraid they are going to die quickly to poisoned attacks wyches, so I was considering a Predator, but which one? People have been talking about the destructor as it has so many shots, but then other people have been saying the Autocannon LasCannon is the way to go. So I pulled out my excell spred sheet to check it out.

Have You Checked Out Avatars or War Lately?

I hadn't. I liked the idea of the Dire Wolf as a Fenrisian Wolf for my Space Wolves. The problem has always been price. With the new Space Wolf book, you could possibly run 15-20 wolves easily, and at $15 a pop, there was no way I was going to use the Dire Wolf model, no matter how cool it is, and it doesn't really look like it would mix and match with the sad little wolves I have from GW.

I really liked a couple of their sculpts for the Dwarfs including the Dwarf Berserker and the Dwarf Lord. I was always considering getting the Berserker as a champion for a Slayer Unit, or a Daemon Slayer if I ever choose to run one. I have been slowly collecting Slayers but they seem to be the kind of models that you want ever single one to be Unique. For that reason I have shied away from the box sets from GW. I am bought a few off of eBay but I really don't want to spend $8 a model for guys that I probably wont use that often.

Then I see this on the Avatars of War site! A box of 32-36 individual "Slayers" for about $45 US? Yes please! I can tell you I will be picking these up as soon as they become available!

Oh, and I saw they have a named Berserker model, and a new Standard Bearer!

More Updates? Wolf Banners

I guess this outta be more of a mini update. I finished up my Wolf Banners. I stole this idea from the Iron Wolves blog. These banners are removeable. There is a pin in the base of the banner, and a hole in the backpack. Slot it in at the begining of the fight, and pull them out when you pop your Wolf Banner. My only problem has been killing off the dude holding the banner, before I pop the banner, as the banner belongs to the squad and not to one dude. As I tend to play friendly games, it really isn't much of a big deal. Enjoy!

Finally an Update: Plasma Pistols

So I've had these four guys sitting on my desk 95% done for like 6 weeks. All I had left to do is the backpacks, but for some reason, I was having a hard time just finishing it. I would come home and I'd rather play a video game than do some painting, even if it was only four more backpacks.

Anywho, without further ado, here are four Plasma Pistoleers. These I made two as Grey Hunters, and the other two as Blood Claws.

Finishing up my banners next.

40k Tournaments: What is wrong wtih WAAC?

So over at BoLS, they have posted a little something about tournaments, and essentially, how to make them better.

So what happens is you have a tournament, you get a lot of WAAC (Win at all cost) players come to the tournament. That in and of itself is not bad. I don't believe that the image that name conjurs up (not the one to the right) is accurate of many WAAC players. I believe that most WAAC players will do everything within the rules to win. Yeah, sure there are some people that will cheat or slow-play in order to win, but I believe that those people are in the minority. A WAAC player, in my opinion, will be someone that min-maxes his army, uses current meta-game thinking to build an army that he thinks will tear up the compitition.

Book Review: Giantslayer

So I've had a special place in my heart for Gotrek and Felix from the first time I read about the two. I really enjoyed the second Omnibus, but for some reason I found it hard to start on the third one.

Well this last holiday weekend, my wife and I went to Pennsylvania and I brought this book with me, and boy am I glad I did.

The first book in this omnibus is called Giantslayer. This story starts immediately after Vampireslayer. It was funny as I was saying to myself that Gotrek and Felix had been kicking around with Snorri and Max for quite a long time, and BAM! things get shaken up early in the book.

Book Review: The First Heretic

I was really looking forward to this book, as the Word Bearers were one of the original legions that I know very little about. My only previous experiance was with The Battle For the Abyss, and that wasn't really a Word Bearer book.

I enjoyed this book a great deal. It was different from many of the other Horus books in that we have a main character that isn't a stand out against the fall of his legion like Garro from the Death Guard, or even someone who is convinced he is doing what is good for the Imerium as Ahriman is in A Thousands Sons. Here we have a main characer and a whole legion that are sure that the Emperor is wrong, and they are hell bent on finding the true gods that the Emperor denies, even if those gods are the Chaos Gods that we all know and love.

Review: Bloodstorm

So I finally finished the second book of the Malus Darkblade series. The problem was that so many other good books came out that I kept putting it off and reading other stuff.

That is not to say that this isn't a good book. It is a very fun read, even for an avowed goodie goodie like me. Abnett and Lee do a good job of getting you to root for the bad guy! This book takes place not too long after the first one finishes. Malus is at the gates of Hag Graaf  after returning from the Chaos Wastes, so he steps up to the gates he is set upon yet again, will the guards help him, or will they wait until he is dead, chase off his attackers and then loot his body.

I'll give you a hint, he doesn't die. In fact, Malus, with the "help" of the daemon Tz'arkan not only survive, but thrive. Mainly because of the slick dealings of Malus.

Very Little Work

Well that's not entirely true. I am working, just not on minis. I'm working 50+ hours a week and I'm just too tired to work when I get home. I have four plasma pistol Wolves 95% done. I just have to put their backpacks on and paint the backpacks, but they've been almost done for almost a week. One of these days I'll get to them, but I'm not sure when. I'd like to get them done before Christmas because I'd like to start working on my vehicles over my Christmas break. We'll see.

Review: Blood Pact

So Dan Abnett and written yet another Gaunt's Ghosts book. This on is called Blood Pact. Now I have to admit, after reading Sabbat Worlds, I was a little worried about this one.

Damn you Dan Abnett (I love you Dan Abnett), just when I think I have gotten over you, you prove that I just can't quit you! I read this book in three days, and for me thats pretty quick. I usually sit down to read for about 30 minutes each night before I go to bed, with some books its difficult to plow through one chapter a night, with Blood Pact, I was worried about the lack of sleep I was getting. This book is excellent.

Review: Sabbat Worlds

OMG OMG OMG! Another book about the Sabbat Worlds crusade! Wait, let me back up. So about a year ago, Dan Abnett was writing like 30 books at the same time (the dude writes a BUNCH!), and it turned out he was sick. He wen't to the doctors and found out, in his words, that it was, "just epilepsy" his schedule slipped a bit. Prospero Burns, which was supposed to come out at the same time as A Thousand Sons, is now coming out this coming January. Also, the thirteenth Ghosts book (13, really?!) had its deadline missed. So in order to tide over all the 40k nerds, they decided to put this anthology together, so here it is.

The first story is called Apostle's Creed, by Graham McNeill. This story is an after-story from Double Eagle, which in my opinion is one of the best 40k books out there! We follow a squadron of Thunderbolt pilots that are the best of the best. The story here is not overly complecated, and I had figured out the plot in the first 5-10 pages. That being said, this was an excellent story! The combat was seat-of-your-pants good and the time in between the combat was very well paced. This was pretty much the best kinds of 40k short story. Brutal, fast, and didn't make me think too much (and I totally mean that as a complement).

Review: The Daemon's Curse

I've been into reading Warhammer Fantasy, even though I've had a hard time getting into the actual game (regardless of the fact that I have a fully painted Dwarf Army).

A buddy of mine let be barrow the first couple of Malus Darkblade Omnibus books, and I finished the first book, The Daemon's Curse, a while back.

I don't usually like the evil-oriented books, I'm pretty sure I'm Lawful-Good at heart. There have been some notable exceptions to this (Storm of Iron), but usually I just can't get behind the evil guys.

Newsflash! Ultramarines aren't ALL geriatrics!