Sunday, July 31, 2011

Kayazy Conversions WIP Progress

Spent the day working on my Kayazy Assassin conversions.  It was a lot of work but I can finally see the end of the tunnel.  Things I did today-- fix some of the masks which involved pulling off some of the old ones and resculpting them.  Added details to hoodies.  Added torn look to cloaks.  Added gas back pack thing, and put them on bases. 

Tomorrow I'll finish up the basing and prime them.  I'll probably stop there and get to painting them during the week.  But who knows, I might start painting them tomorrow ^^

Friday, July 29, 2011

Kayazy Assassins Conversions WIP

Did some work on my Kayazy Assassin Conversions for my Khador army.  I had planned to work on my Kodiak but didn't want to use my dremel at night because of the noise.  I've been putting off my conversion work on the Assassins for the longest time but when I got into it, it felt really good to be working on them again.

Tonight I managed to finish the masks and get the hoods on although I have to tidy up the hoods a bit.  I was also able to put on a few of the gas mask tubes.  I should be able to finish up the conversion work tomorrow or by Saturday morning and then I'm really excited to paint them all.

Monday, July 25, 2011

pButcher 15pts to 25pts

As some of you know, I've decided to slow down a bit, stop buying minis, and get back to painting.  Last week I finished up the first 15pt list that I had and got to celebrate with a great game against Jay.  I loss the game but it was very enjoyable and I learned a lot.

So next up for me is deciding what to paint next.  I had thought about either the Winterguard or the Assassins as I field them the most but a part of me wants to follow the path I took in the beginning-- so next would be the Kodiak.

To make the Kodiak, I bought a heavy Warjack kit and cut one of the axe hands to make another open fist.  He's still unfinished and I still have a lot of conversion work to do.  I have to finish his second hand (I'm making them open fists with fingers out) and work on his heavy boiler.  The idea I have is to cut the top of his chassis to create a sort of hot rod look with the engine sticking out from the top.  After I finish that I have to add all the details to make him look like a Kodiak.  It's going to take a little while to complete all of that.

Once the Kodiak is done I'll convert and paint up a unit of Mechaniks and my 25pt list will be complete!

The one thing that I'm excited about is finishing the units that I had when I first started and playing with them again.  I hardly use the Marauder or Kodiak and these days it seems like I field the Mechaniks less and less.  By going back to those units, I hope to really learn what they can and cannot do and see what their full potential is.  

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Wargaming Table

Spent the day putting together my wargaming table.  It's built for Warmachine and the dimensions are 4' x 4'.  Got all the wood and supplies from Home Depot and they can even cut the wood for you.  Hinges weren't screwed in perfectly so when I fold the table it doesn't line up perfectly but when I put it on the table top it's completely flat so I'm happy with the result.

I want to add some textured paint to this and flock it with static grass but this will be portable and I'm not sure how that will affect the flock.  Very hard to resist the urge though... ><

  In the pic above it's resting on an IKEA table and is pretty sturdy.
Butcher and company surveying the future battlefield.


Friday, July 22, 2011

pButcher 15pts Painted

Finished up the third Great Bear tonight and with that my first 15 pt list is finished!  Learned a lot from painting these minis and will write more later (gotta sleep ^^).  For now, the pics:



Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Warmachine Batrep: eSorscha vs Terminus

Spent the night hanging out in the beginning then got a game in with Coco, one of our resident Cryx players.  He and I have never played before and it was his first time playing 50 pts and Scenario.  We rolled and got Overrun which has a big rectangular control zone in the middle of the board.  You score at the bottom of the second if you control it and your enemy isn't contesting it.  Here are the lists:

50pts

eSorscha
Beast-09
Devastator
Winterguard Infantry
-Officer and Standard Bearer
-Two Rocketeers
Joe
Widowmakers
Great Bears
Kayazy Assassins (max) + UA
eEiryss
Gorman


Terminus (not sure about all the names and sizes)
Deathjack
Tartarus
Bane Thralls (min)
Bane Knights
Mechanithralls
Necrosurgeon & Stitch Thralls
2 Pistol Wraiths
Withershadow Combine
and guy who makes friendlies advance an inch. 


Terrain has three ruins spread out across the middle and a wall on each of our sides of the board to our lefts.  Coco won the roll and let me go first.  I put the Battlegroup in the center with Winterguard on the right and Assassins on the left.  The plan is pretty much to advance everyone up to contest the zone and hopefully get some rockets into his army.


He deploys on my left in a very, very, big infantry ball.  There was a lot of dudes.  Mechanithralls in the front on the left with Bane Knights behind them with Terminus.  On the right is the rest of the army with Pistol Wraiths on the far right. 


Widowmakers advance deploy behind the wall on my left with Eiryss also on the left near a building.  I want to keep her away from those Pistol Wraiths.


Deathjack deploys in front of Tartarus and some Bane Thralls just to the right of center.


I move everyone up, Winterguard getting Desperate Pace from Sorscha along with Iron Flesh to get their DEF to 15 (I forgot to give them the Bob & Weave order to get their DEF to 17...)  Shot with a rocket that scatters and misses.  Joe gives them Tough.  Widowmakers get Shatterstorm and one takes a shot at his front line Mechanithralls but they're out of range.  Can't remember what Eiryss did.  Assassins run around the Widowmakers heading towards the Mechanithralls.  Battlegroup heads for the center.

The Cryx army all move up in formation.

Upkeep Shatterstorm on the Widowmakers and they go to work on the Mechanithralls now in range of their guns.  Can't remember exactly but I box a few and manage to forget the Shatterstorm effect ><.  Eiryss also takes one down and at least one Toughs.  Assassins charge and two manage to reach the front line taking out a pair of Mechanithralls.  The rest run up and try to get into melee.  Over on the right the Winterguard get Desperate Pace again and I forget to activate Joe first (again) to give the Winterguard boosted attack rolls.  So bad.  Rockets take some shots deep into the Cryx army but scattering shots don't do anything significant.  Bears meanwhile continue their advance within the Winterguard formation.  Beast moves up and Dev steps into the zone.  Sorscha heads to the wall to get some cover behind the Widowmakers and I decide to put Iron Flesh on the Assassins because they're going to get into the mix soon.  Gorman pops smoke (more for practice as Coco's army didn't have range).

Cryx slow advances and Necrosurgeon brings back some Mechanithralls.  Terminus puts Malediction on himself and Coco begins his plan to tear through the front Assassins and get Terminus' armor up.  With Iron Flesh the the Assassins are sitting at DEF 17 because of Malediction and Terminus only manages to kill one of them.

Over on the right Deathjack advances and casts Annihilation on a Rocketeer but misses.  Things not going well for Cryx.  Pistol wraiths on the right continue to stream down the flank.

With Terminus open for attack, Sorscha pops feat getting Terminus in her command range; now any damage above armor is doubled.  On the right, Desperate Pace goes on the Winterguard and with boosted attacks (Brad reminded me ^^) advance very close to the Cryx line.  Rockets fire deep into his formation and hit a lot of guys but with Tough rolls only a few get boxed.  The Winterguard then open up with sprays and are able to take down a few of the Bane Thralls and even do one damage to Deathjack.  Bears charge DJ and one fails the charge running into a Winterguard.  One does reach DJ and hits only with his first attack doing something like 6 dmg.  On the left Widowmakers take down more Mechanithralls and Eiryss goes for a lucky shot into melee at Terminus but misses (we both forget that the missed shot should hit my Assassin).

Assassins pop mini feat (allowing them to pass through models) and 5 of them are able to charge Terminus with another already in melee with him.  With Sorscha's feat the Assassin's are doing good damage.  The Underboss attacks third and with his second swing is able to bring Terminus to the ground.

The night had me rolling hot and Coco rolling really cold (not counting those tough rolls hehe).  The attack of Terminus on the Assassins was really unlucky as he had to roll 7s to kill and he only was able to get one.  His plan was to get his armor up, heal him and advance him in a march of death.  The unlucky rolls along with Sorcha's feat allowed the Assassins to hit harder than usual and get the job done.

Speaking of Assassins, after having them face Arcane Tempest Gun Mages for weeks against eHaley or AOEs with Siege, it was refreshing to have the board clear of that kind of stuff.  They had the opportunity to get safely into melee where they can really shine.  <3 my Assassins. 

As for the Winterguard, I was able to get more practice with them and the more I play them the more I like their versatility.  There's a lot of things they can do.  In this game, Joe mainly gave them Tough but he can also give them boosted attack rolls which is a good speech to give on the attack.  Those boosted attack rolls really help the rockets and sprays to hit.  I just have to remember to get my activations right.  Sorscha needs to go before them to give Desperate Pace and Joe needs to go before them as well to give them boosted attack rolls.   

Joe would be a great target for the Pistol Wraiths.  Without him, the Winterguard are very, very average.  Another good target would be the Standard Bearer who gives them their sprays or the Officer who can give them the Bob & Weave order for +2 DEF.  Wow, now that I think about it, I really have to keep those guys safe. 

Windowmakers were able to take a lot of shots in the game but next time I have to remember to do the Shatterstorm result which creates a 3" AOE on a model that's boxed.  That can have good effect on tight infantry formations.

So overall I'm liking eSorscha a lot as I feel she has a nice balance between killing armor (her feat) and killing infantry (Shatterstorm).  She also can give Winterguard +2 movement and let them reroll failed CRAs which is really nice.  So far she is my favorite caster to use. 

Coco and I are set for a rematch next week as we both enjoyed our game and have a better knowledge of what the other's army is like.  I don't think he'll roll as cold as he did today nor I as hot so it should be a good game.

Great to see a lot of the guys enjoying 50pts and Scenario Play too on the other tables.     

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

eSorscha Lists for Game Night

Want to take eSorscha tonight so during my lunch break I'm going to devise some lists.  With all the lists I want to take her Winterguard as she has a few ways to help them-- Deperate Pace gives them +2 movement and she also lets them reroll CRAs.  So lets start small:

eSorscha 15pts

eSorscha +6
Marauder
Winterguard Infantry
-Officer and Standard Bearer
-Two Rocketeers
Joe
Widowmaker Marksman

Marauder is there because I just painted him :P  Two Rockteers will be able to put some AOEs down while my forces advance.  Running Winterguard also because I want to practice with them and for a beginner like me, getting the activations right is tricky. In General, activate Sorscha to give Desperate Pace to the WG along with Iron Flesh.  Then activate Joe to buff them.  Then the WG.

Marksman is there mainly as a target for Sorscha's Shatterstorm spell which creates an AOE when a model is boxed.  Marksman should be good as he can auto damage infantry for 1 point and who knows, chain reaction some Shatterstorm.

eSorscha 25pts

eSorscha +6
Winterguard Infantry
-Officer and Standard Bearer
-One Rocketeer
Joe
Widowmaker Marksman

*Devastator
*Widowmakers
*Great Bears

At 25pts I'm adding in the Widowmakers to be the Shatterstorm unit.  Marksman isn't really necessary here but I'm keeping him in for kicks as he does grant the Widowmakers Swift Hunter.

Also bringing in the Great Bears for added awesomeness and to help with anti-armor duties.  Bears are really anti-anything and can do considerable damage to anything they attack.  With Sorscha's feat, Bears should bring down heavies quick.

Decided to upgrade the Marauder to a Devastator by taking out a Rocket.  ARM 25 is sweet and will be a problem to crack.  Was also considering a Kodiak instead because he's a good, all-around Jack and keeping two Rocketeers.  But want to keep playing the Dev to test it out.

 eSorsch 35pts

eSorscha +6
Winterguard Infantry
-Officer and Standard Bearer
-One Rocketeer

Joe
Widowmakers
Great Bears


*Beast-09
*Kayazy Assassins (max)
-UA

At 35 pts, it's time to bring in another unit. I have Uhlans waiting for Markov but until then I'll go with the tried and true Assassins with Underboss.  I'm also taking out the Marksman and upgrading to Beast-09.

eSorscha 50pts


eSorscha +6
Beast-09
Winterguard Infantry
-Officer and Standard Bearer
-Two Rocketeers

Joe
Widowmakers
Great Bears
Kayazy Assassins (max)
-UA

*eEiryss
*Gorman
*Devastator

At 50pts, I'm bringing in the support units-- Eiryss to help the army with upkeep removal and to be another sniper.  Gorman for his assortment of bombs and clouds.  I'm also bringing back the Devastator to help Beast and contest objectives.

So that's it! :D  I tested the 35 point list against Patrick last week and liked it a lot.  Fairly balanced in the things it can do and look forward to testing it out more.



 

Great Bears Conversion Painted

Well, the first one is almost done :)  I can't count the number of times I wanted to give up or throw the Bear across the room.  Was very frustrating but I stumbled upon a look that I'm happy with.  Couldn't get the shoulder pads to look right in any color I tried but my wife suggested I try some battle damage and rust so I did and I like the result.  Funny thing is through my frustration I painted with a lot of emotion and tried crazy things; not sure if I will be able to duplicate this on the other two bears ><.



And for anyone who wants to see how he looked after the session last night...

Monday, July 18, 2011

Painting Frustration

Sigh.  Stayed up painting my Great Bears last and the colors aren't working...  I strarted by base coating all three, then I took one and wanted to finish him but he wasn't looking so good.  Main problem is finding the color harmony between his armor, cloak, and shoulder pads.  Rigtht now he looks like a Space Wolf (from 40k).  Makes me sad. 

So how do I fix it?  Well, his shoulder pads are yellow.  I'll have to try again making it red.  Cloak is some kind of cool grey and something tells me I either have to make it brown or green like Butcher's.  His yellow armor isn't too bad; there are parts in it that I like.  And the base is working.  So overall, definitely salvagable.  I'll take a picture before I fix him so you can see where he's at.  Back to the palette tonight!

Sunday, July 17, 2011

Khador Great Bears Conversion

Great Bears Conversion all ready for priming.  I've been playing with them without their axes for weeks so it's nice to see them with their weapons back.  Will start some base coating tonight and hopefully finish them up tomorrow before Tuesday Game Night. 





Working on Great Bears Conversion

So I went to Home Depot today and bought some wood to make a 4 x 4 tabletop to play on.  I was all set to build it then realized that I had to charge the power drill that I bought for 12 hours.  So I decided to work on my Great Bears.

Some of you know that I've taken a step back and I'm trying to get my frist 15 point list all painted up.  I've got Butcher done along with the Juggernaut and a Maruader (who could play the role of a Destroyer) and all that's left is the Great Bears.

The only thing I want to covert on them is their heads-- so I'm adding a mask (no tube) and a hoodie.  Think this makes them look a little cooler.  I should be done with the conversion tonight and if I'm really lucky I'll be able to start painting them.  Can't wait to get my 15 points all painted!

Tangent.  So I was researching wargame tables and came about this site:

http://lordashramshouseofwar.blogspot.com/2008/06/updates-wargames-room-and-table.html

What a beautiful wargaming room!  Wish I had a house so I could have a room just for that.  I can dream. 

The guys who collect historical minis are very inspiring.  They are usually older but they are very diligent in taking pictures and showing what they are working on.  I enjoy the blogging and writing about stuff but I wish that uploading pictures was easier. 

Right now I use my Canon Vixia but I have to use a USB to download the photos from the camera to my computer.  Then I have to load it into photoshop to make it a smaller size, then upload it to Blogger.  It's kind of a hassle.  But soon I have a plan that will make the process not only faster but more enjoyable--

I'm going to get an iPhone.  Basically the plan is to use the App called Blogpress which allows you to immediately add a picture you take directly into your blog post.  It'll be so fast.  This will be good for the times that I'm painting or working on conversions but also when I'm playing and want to write a batrep.  I can take notes in the blogpost and then snap pictures after every turn.  Then when the match is over I can tidy up the post a little and then the batrep is done!  So maybe I'll wait until the new iPhone comes out in September...

Anyhoo, tangent done.  Back to the Great Bears. 

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Khador Painting and Conversion: Marauder and Winterguard

Last week I finished the painting for my Marauder.  Worked on him during Tuesday game night and James gave me a lot of great feedback.  Color was a little drab at the time so he suggested pop a lot of highlights and create areas of interest. 

So what I tried to do was lighten the armor to create some contrast and for points of interest I tried various spots of battle damage; some damage on his right front plate and some claw marks on the other side.  I also spent some time painting the furnace to look like light was coming from the inside; very happy with the result. 

This model I like a lot not only for the battle damaged result but also because of the pistons I added to his feet.  The story goes that when the Marauder is ready to used his Combo Smite special ability, the pistons separate from his feet and drive into the ground to give him more stability. 

Arms are also magnetized so he can become a Juggernaut or a Destroyer if he wants to.  Little details I'd like to add-- a number on the front, probably 02 as he was my second Jack after Juggernaut. 








Besides finishing up the Marauder I did a little work on my newly acquired Winterguard Infantry.  Same deal--gas masks and weathered coats.




Now that the Marauder is done my goal to a 15 point army is getting closer.  Next up is the Great Bears and they are going to be a real challenge to convert.  Their heads are really tighly nestled between those gigantuan shoulder pads.  Ideally I want to give them a similar look to my converted Butcher--hood and gask mask with some tubes.  Then I think they'll look really neato.