Wednesday 27 March 2013

Convertible

I love the new Warriors of Chaos list. To me, it seems to have a lot more options and flare, particularly addressing the fact that the last list could be a bit slow and ploddy. Chariots are core? Well, yes please, I'll have some of those then.

Now in Colour
Here's the first one. I started work on it three months ago, scratch-building a chassis out of chopped up sprue (you can see a picture in this post). The main body is still that - lengths of plastic sprue cut to size with pliers, then glued next to each other alternating which way up they go so they tessellate flat, then a couple of support beams.

Friday 22 March 2013

Alt Terrain Vehicle

Given that the entire Woffboot happens deep in the echoing caverns of the lost Dwarven hold, I thought that Ben ought to repaint and redesign all the available scenery to relect this. He said no, so I wrote this optional set of terrain rules.

I'm also working out a potential final scenario, that anyone with time or inclination could play out to determine the final fate of Gazarkhame, but it's another optional one. Maybe a tie-breaker if needed?

If both generals so desire, use the following table for instead of the Mysterious Forests one in the rulebook.

The Progress of Works

Well, I've mostly been busy with my other, more important, miniature collection. But in the odd moment when she's been asleep, I've got a few bits and pieces underway. Very little actually done, of course, but I felt I couldn't put any pictures of new stuff up until I had at least something complete to show.

I was so tempted to paint him a non-canon colour, like puce or violet.
Gandalf is certainly not going to be grey when I do him. 
If you banish all thoughts of the film, Radagast here is actually a lovely model. Plenty of tiny details, particularly the base, which bristles with tiny spiders and bracket fungus on logs. Sadly, the film overshadows my every thought whilst painting this, and Radagast's scenes in it were pretty much hands-down the worst.

Thursday 21 March 2013

Gazarkhame

"I'm sorry," Thang said. The King of Karak Norn went from crimson to maroon in a heartbeat.

"You're what? Sorry? Sorry! You false-bearded, shale-choked barren! You axe-less, run-of-mine sampling! I'll winze your forehead with the spikes of my mug, you robbed-out face!"

Thang ducked as a granite flagon sailed over his head, breaking into chunks against the wall behind him.

"I mean, I am as of yet still-grudged, o great King Regen Gravelbeard, long may your seams give hoist," Thang said, correcting himself hurriedly.

"You spend too much time with the thrice-damned humans!" snarled the king, digging his thick-muscled fingers into the arms of his throne. "Now you're starting to talk like them!"

"It's quite true, sire," Thang said, staying in his impromptu bow. "A miserable state of affairs. But you need an emissary in Axe Bite Pass, and as my fathers all did before me, I serve you in this role."

"You're doing it again. Bringing me... what do they call them? Axe users? Pole orgies?"

"Excuses and apologies, my King," Thang said.

The King's left eye jerked closed for a second in an involuntary spasm. "Gnaaarr," he managed, as it popped open again. "Them. Instead of good news!"

"It cannot be helped. And nor is it my fault, I might add."

"That's better. Stop grovelling and explain. What's happened to Thorgnur?"

Tuesday 19 March 2013

Jet lag cure!

So I found a new cure for jetlag...

I got home from India at 1pm on Sunday, and after doing the usual washing, showering, food and unpacking I mulled over the best course of action for my day.

So after a bit of pottering, I picked up 12 undercoated seekers, and set about getting to work.

They are not quite done, but with base coat on steed, and highlight, and skins, metal and washes on the riders means I have black, final highlight and couple of bits of tidying and bases to do. I was initially planning on doing a single unit - but the semi-comatose brain, I ended up factory lining all twelve.

Want to play a game... how about hide and seek!

I see you

Saturday 16 March 2013

FWFB

Balls. I hate it when you can't go to a party for perfectly good reasons, but really wish you could and spend hours mentally picking out what you would have worn. At least this tendency of the modern male has given rise to the sport of Fantasy Football as we know it.

Okay, you can redo the first sentence as 'I hate it when you can't be manager of Chelsea for perfectly good reasons, but really wish you could and spend hours mentally picking out which striker you would have fielded', but I really don't get football. Party frocks were the nearest equivalent I could get my head around.

To this end, I hereby propose Fantasy Warhammer Fantasy Battle.

The rules are simple - you pick out 1000 points from someone else's army list, and you score 1 point for every selection that matches the actual list on the day. You don't have to get the unit sizes right, but they do need to be armed the same, including the inclusion or not of command. Heroes get a point for the correct wizard level and non-magical equipment. Separate 1 point bonuses for magic item selections. If you manage to select something word-for-word accurate, 5 bonus points.

The fact that some of us have more limited selections to pick troops for is part of the fun, I reckon. I'll be selecting a 'what-if' Warriors of Chaos army, and I don't think anyone would struggle to get near the mark, given the entire painted selection is up on my General profile page.

Winner gets an extra can of beer from the fridge.

Sunday 10 March 2013

Da Brave 'Arts

"Dem Orcses is da backbone of the Waaagh!. Dey gets in a big solid mob and fights wiv spear and shield and choppa."

"Also, dey paintz exactly half of their 'eads, which iz symbolic of the Aristotelian principle of excluded middle. Waaagh!"


Savage Orcs

With a little advance painting work by my 19-year old self, the second unit of Savage Orc infantry got turned around a bit faster than the first. This lot are the standard rank-and-file of the army, though still formidable in close combat (in theory...)

They come with shields (not hugely useful: Frenzied troops can't parry; and even if they could, they already get a 6+ ward save from their warpaint, so it wouldn't count) and, in some cases, spears (added for the sake of completeness, although they might be more useful than the shields).

In gaming terms, I suspect they're all going to be proxies for two hand weapons (their shields and spears just being additional bits of wood to batter their opponents).

In addition to the 16 old-style savage orcs I repainted, I needed to do another 9 from scratch...

Sunday 3 March 2013

Savage Orcs Makeover

With one unit of Savage Orcs completed, I started work apace on the second (less than two months to WoffBoot VII).

This one required a different approach. While the first unit comprised of stripped-clean miniatures that I accidentally bought in huge amounts on eBay, the second unit was all painted and ready to go. Unfortunately, I had chosen the painting scheme as a feast of technicolour.

Savage Orc regiment, metals 1993
They are red and yellow and green and brown and scarlet and black and ochre and peach and ruby and olive and violet and fawn and lilac and gold and chocolate and mauve and cream and crimson and silver and rose and azure and lemon and russet and grey and purple and white and pink and orange. And blue.

I honestly don't know where I got the idea to paint them like that.

Savage Orc boyz, 'Eavy Metal
... honestly.