tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83166179686188970832024-03-05T00:21:30.949-08:00ChrisLS's Motivational Painting BenchThis is my way of tracking my progress on army building projects. Hopefully I can keep myself accountable and current using it.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.comBlogger74125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-57348608675783462992016-02-27T18:20:00.000-08:002016-02-27T18:20:29.416-08:00Hunting the Bantha<div class="MsoNormal">
Hunting Banthas<o:p></o:p></div>
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Well, the Bantha Rider has arrived for Imperial Assault and
we are now experiencing just how rough something like this fast-moving lump of
fur can be. The real key to this beast is the two methods of direct damage that
they bring to the table: Stampede, where they just step on any figure that
happens to be in their way at the end of their movement for 1 damage, and
Trample, where they use an action to roll a red die and do that much damage to
up to three adjacent models.<o:p></o:p></div>
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These abilities are rough, but would be easily dealt with if
not for support cards. The first is Beast Tamer. This card allows the Bantha to
get in a free move, and this works even if the Bantha is stunned (the Tamer
grants 5 movement points to the Bantha, which then clears the Stun and then spends
the points – you do cost the Bantha one action with that Stun, though). This
allows the Bantha to just truck across the board: 15 spaces with a triple move,
17 if they have Gideon as well and use him first. Or, once the guy has gotten
close to your people, Tamer allows the Bantha to 1) move for Stampede, 2)
Trample, then 3) attack whoever is left standing after all that. Ow ow ow. And
you have to expect that if they are playing Devious Scheme, which they
absolutely should, they will do that last once none of your people can react,
and then do it all again with their first activation of the second turn.<o:p></o:p></div>
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That’s bad enough. But wait, there’s more. Gideon, remember
him? He can move anything in his line of sight. And what is that special rule
about Line of Sight? Figures do not block line of sight to or from Massive
figures. So even if there is another Bantha Rider in between Gideon and the
forward Bantha, he can still make the furry beastie move two spaces and tap
dance on your figures feet some more. Pull a command card like Field Tactician?
That’s another opportunity. Opportunist? There is another 3 movement points to
stomp around on. Close the Gap? Yep, the Bantha is a Brawler. Up to two more
figures can get smushed. Single Purpose allows the Bantha to Trample twice
(remember, they could still have the Tamer move the guy first). To The Limit
can allow an attack after a Trample. And none of that includes the purpose
built Jundland Terror cards that can be brought, allowing more stompy and
tramply action at the end of a round. There are probably other nasty things in
command cards that I haven’t seen or thought of. But you get the picture:
command cards and support characters are awesome for Mr. Fluffy.<o:p></o:p></div>
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So what they heck do you do about such a beastie? Well, the
first thing should be pretty obvious. DON’T BUNCH UP. Yeah, I know you like
hanging out with C-3PO, and getting Royal Guard protection is a fine thing, but
none of that means squat when a Bantha steps on your face. And we’re not
talking about separating like you did when Elite Rebel Saboteurs could put a
Blast 5 on your butt, I mean really spread out. The Bantha’s base is 3x2
squares, and they can Trample anyone adjacent.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Your safest bet is to have no figure within 4 spaces of another: that
will prevent the giant tap-dancer from hitting more than one figure. When you
can’t do that, make sure that everyone is at least 2 spaces away from each
other, so that at least you can’t get more than one figure both Stampeded and
then Trampled. But since Trample is the real killer, 4 spaces is safest.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Second, deny the Bantha player command cards. Do whatever
you can to prevent him from holding terminals. Put Strain on his weaker
characters (don’t bother with the Bantha, they’ll just take damage). If you
have a mechanic like Mak’s to discard cards from his hand, do it. Without those
boosts, the Bantha isn’t quite as scary. And shoot that twit Gideon between the
eyes if you can get to him.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Then, just pour fire onto those Banthas. They are beefy, but
with no defense die, they do go down pretty quick. Putting Stun on them is also
great to prevent them from being moved outside of their activation and to deny
them an action. But remember: Trample isn’t an attack, nor is it leaving their
space. Stun will NOT stop it.<o:p></o:p></div>
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Finally, the Banthas are going to change the meta
drastically. The clumps of Stormtroopers and Rebels around Leia and C-3PO are
going to be at a serious disadvantage. But that doesn’t mean such models are
useless. Look for Deployment groups with Surges for damage. Pierce is nice but
it does exactly squat against a Bantha. Elite Stormtroopers, on the other hand?
Using Squad Training I was able to consistently put 14-15 damage on Banthas
with one activation of a full group. And remember, 4 distance between each other
is just enough to run over to another member of the squad and get that reroll.
This is also a great opportunity for Provoke. Put a Trooper adjacent to a
non-Bantha to force that other group to activate next, and that will allow
another big group of Troopers to pour fire into the furball.<o:p></o:p></div>
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And this could easily bring in some models that we have
previously seen almost completely ignored in competitive play: other Massive
figures. Remember, a Massive figure can’t enter a space occupied by another
Massive figure. So suddenly putting out that Repulsor means that is one avenue
of approach that a Bantha won’t be taking, and you can still shoot through it
to hit the Bantha, assuming the twin blasts of the tank don’t finish it off
first. General Weiss, with his ability to bring back lots of Elite
Stormtroopers, is looking mighty tempting as the world’s scariest Bantha road
block.<o:p></o:p></div>
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No question, the Bantha is changing a ton about the way we
play this game. But Mr. Fluffy is not ending the game, and the dual Bantha
Rider list is certainly not another 4x4.<o:p></o:p></div>
ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-76502800490123586132011-07-07T16:38:00.001-07:002011-07-07T16:45:34.757-07:00Tonight we paint!This is it. Tomorrow is the big event I've been getting ready for, and naturally I still have painting to do. I did forget to bring a larger drybrush, so I bought one from the War Store in the vendors' hall. I'm ready to roll!<br /><br />I did get in a game as a warm up, against a fellow named Jim and his French Tank Company. I now see why French Tank Companies are such a pain in the ass - most of my anti-tank is AT6, and almost all of his tanks had either 3 or 4 armor, and those that didn't had 6 armor! Mind you, my Bunkerflaks were FEARSOME, so much so that he hid his Char-Bs behind hills rather than face them. But the rest of the match was a chess match of pre-positioning, since the only thing that could move and still do any kind of decent shooting were my own tanks with their mere 3 shots for the whole platoon (when moving) of AT6 junk. It was a great game, though, and a much needed warm-up.<br /><br />So that's enough jabbering - tomorrow we face the foe, but tonight we PAINT!ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-1763605750016788492011-07-05T05:39:00.001-07:002011-07-05T05:51:13.330-07:00On my way<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here we are! There are stil some details left to do, and the transports and Buflas aren't completed, but the army is otherwise done. To be fair, the static grass isn't on in these pictures, but it is now. I must thank my wonderful wife, Laura, who was an ENORMOUS help, basing half the army and gluing on all the static grass. This way I was able to still attend family events during the holiday AND be ready to travel this morning. She is so wonderful! I'll miss her dearly while I'm gone.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I got the shoulder tabs and collar tabs done, and while often just a blot of paint, the effect is great. I'm going to work a little more on the NCOs rank insignia, and MAY try to get the collar piping done on them, but the collars are often slightly undefined or just plain hard to reach.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />The basing material worked pretty well, though it isn't as durable as I'd like. I had one model fall out of the basing material, and it remains a little crumbly. I'm not sure if this is just a fact of life with concrete patch or if it is a problem of adding the paint to the mixture. We cut wedges into most of the bases to give the patch something more to grip onto, so hopefully that helps avoid any problems with models falling out. I did bring super glue just in case.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040004.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7040004.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />As always, I still have some work to do. It wouldn't be a tournament if I wasn't painting up until the starting gun! Next steps, in priority order:<br /><br />- Transports and Buflas to basic level<br />- Detailing on vehicles, including shoulder and collar tabs for the drivers<br />- Highlighting helmets and tunics<br />- Enlisted rank insigniaChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-16905209647787852202011-07-03T09:58:00.001-07:002011-07-03T10:07:59.055-07:00Crunch day 2.0<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7030001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7030001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />Here we go - all infantry done to a basic standard, all vehicles drybrushed to a basic standard, vehicle crew still need work, guns need some drybrushing, and everything but one platoon needs to be based. <br /><br />Today turns out to be more open than originally thought (I went to the 8 am mass instead of the longer 10 am), so I'm setting a deadline of 5 pm for basing. Basing will be easier than I originally thought, since the complete lack of texture means I really only need the concrete patch to be even with the bases of the infantry, though I'd like them to be painted a color close to the dried basing material. In the mean time I'll get as much detail done on the infantry as possible. Once that is done and they are based, I'll finish the vehicles.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-70409065374224308542011-07-02T09:48:00.000-07:002011-07-02T10:03:23.043-07:00Crunch dayToday will make or break me. I've got obligations all day long, but one I basically just have to be available at a place, so I can paint while I'm there. This does mean I have to leave my full painting station, but if I can carry a little with me I can get stuff done.<br /><br />So my plan is to get my infantry as complete as possible. If I can get detailing done, great. I am currently with all of my non-based infantry (all but the one platoon I already had completed) at the tunics and pants base painted. Since tomorrow I'll have more time, but I need my bases to dry for about 24 hours, I'm going to see if I can base my infantry tomorrow morning, then put static grass on them on the 4th. While the base material is drying tomorrow, I'll finish my vehicles.<br /><br />My goals in order:<br /><br />- Metal and wood on the guns<br />- All skin<br />- Canteens and bread bags<br />- Wash (this is the trickiest - I'm not sure what I'll do while waiting for this to dry)<br />- Webbing and suspenders painted black (where I had to paint over it), plus cleaning up boots <br />- Collars and tabs painted green<br />- Collar and tab details (rank insignia, <i>Waffenfarbe</i>, collar stripes)<br />- Highlight tunics<br />- Highlight helmets<br />- Highlight skin<br />- Helmet decals (very low chance of getting here, and lowest historical priority)<br /><br />I'll be ecstatic if I get through the collar details, and most of the rest can be handled once they're on their bases and I'm in Pennsylvania.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-69666233741393255112011-07-01T21:43:00.000-07:002011-07-01T21:50:25.196-07:00Basing<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7010001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P7010001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I tried my basing experiment tonight, and it went pretty well, though it certainly wasn't the silver bullet I was looking for. I still think it will save me a lot of time in the long run.<br /><br />I had heard that concrete patch was some pretty good stuff, so I tried that out. I used the unmixed, dry stuff, since I wanted to add house paint I had left over from some terrain I had been working on. I used the recommended mix of 4 parts powder to 1 part liquid, in this case half water and half brown paint. This mixed with the grey patch and created a very nice, smooth slurry in a medium brown color.<br /><br />I put the concrete patch on the plastic bases and then placed the figures into the patch. I used my sculpting tool to slightly cover the bases from the patch on the base, or if there wasn't enough I got more from the bucket. I usually put too much on, which meant I was cleaning it up with my fingers as it went over the edges of the base.<br /><br />In the end it took me about 40 minutes to base 9 stands, which wasn't bad, particularly if you consider I won't need to paint these and I didn't have to glue them all down first. There is very little texture - I really prefer the Vallejo pumice putty for that, but it dried pretty quickly and I'll be covering the bases with grass anyway. So all in all, not bad, and I'll see what paint I have that matches the base color and start painting the bases of the models in that color.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-70113149299816776872011-06-30T10:38:00.000-07:002011-06-30T10:41:40.947-07:00Tank platoon almost done<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6300001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6300001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />All right! I've got my Czech Tank Platoon done with the exception of markings on the three Panzer 38(t)s. I'm pretty happy with how they turned out - I needed to use a light Bleached Bone highlight on the brown areas of the camo for the detail to really come through the wash, but I think this will do quite nicely! Next up - the trucks and motor cycles.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-50581355976683274452011-06-29T11:11:00.000-07:002011-06-29T11:17:41.075-07:00Test tank doneWell, I decided to get one tank done to the level I'd like them all to be at, and here it is:<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290001.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br /><a href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290002-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290002-1.jpg" border="0" alt=""></a><br />I've gotten the German cross painted on two sides (the door on the other side isn't quite right and has a big latch in the middle - I figured I wouldn't bother), the symbol of the 2nd Panzer Division on the back, and the commander detailed including highlighted face, insignia, and pink <i>Waffenfarbe</i>. All in all, I'm pretty happy. I'll get more weathering onto them if I have more time.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-66550244111859049762011-06-29T08:38:00.000-07:002011-06-29T08:44:21.070-07:00Experimenting with CamouflageI decided to try to get some work on the tanks done since it really will be the easiest to get looking good. Last night I drybrushed the grey up to a final highlight of white, and this morning tried some camouflage on the Panzer Is. Here are the results:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6290003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br />I based the paint scheme on <a href="http://www.flamesofwar.com/hobby.aspx?art_id=2184">this article</a> from the Flames of War website. After highlighting the camo, I washed the models with Devlan Mud, which definitely toned down the brightness. I may actually go over them once more with the highlight color very lightly to bring out the edges a little more. Detail work will be next.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-69360756654546434752011-06-28T20:09:00.001-07:002011-06-28T20:16:20.159-07:00Halfway to D-Day<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6280002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6280002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />We're halfway there - and here is my army. From blisters to ready to paint in about a week, plus one platoon basically painted. Now it's time to get serious.<br /><br />I tried out Devlan Mud and Badaab Black, and the result was pretty much identical. The brown went a little better on the khaki, so I figure I'll go with that. I'll post pics when I've gotten the platoon done.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-15415288805926702842011-06-27T19:20:00.000-07:002011-06-27T19:39:48.107-07:00Them are some BIG gunsThe Buflas (Bunkerflaks) are built, and DAMN are they big. I'm not sure why, but I just didn't really understand how big these beasts are. Apparently they were built on a 12-ton(!?!) halftrack chassis. Keep in mind that tonnage ratings for transport vehicles are based upon what they can carry - the actual loaded weight according to the FoW website was 22 tons. That's a monster any way you slice it.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270003.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270003.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I've included a Panzer I and two Panzer 38(t)s for a sense of scale.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270001-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270001-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I'm nervous about the crew - I'd prefer to pin them with only the two tiny little feet as contact points, but the thin resin just can't handle any stress. And it would be a pain in the ass to put a pin into their legs. So one of the Buflas has the crew also glued to their guns. We'll see how secure they are.<br /><br />I'm going to get the last of my models primed and sprayed tonight, then get cracking on finishing the paint jobs.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-40210003014478971432011-06-27T10:58:00.000-07:002011-06-27T11:08:57.361-07:00Panzers built, no dipFirst off I decided against the dip. One critical part of dipping is a white primer to give you really bright colors, which are then dulled by the dip. Over a black primed model it would just get too bright. I instead went with an experiment between two of GW's washes, which I've used in the past to good effect. More on that later.<br /><br />I now have built my panzers, the Panzer 38(t)s (which were grabbed from the Czechs after the Germans invaded them back in 1938 to no significant opposition due to the British and French giving the Sudetenland to the Germans, which had all of the Czech defenses in it) and the Panzer Is. They went together with minimal problems, though since I was watching Burn Notice at the time things went slowly.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />One interesting thing was that the Panzer Is were pre-molded for magnetization! How thoughtful! They were even perfectly sized for my large stash of "surplus" disc rare-earth magnets. I just popped them in and ready to go! The only problem was that these are pretty big rare-earth magnets. So it turns out that there was so much force holding them together that I could barely turn the turret or remove it. So I decided to put some spacers made out of the blister packaging in so they are more manageable. Still tough to separate them, though.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The 38(t)s were not pre-molded, so I had to whip out the Dremel and carve out the holes. However, this time I went the same way I went with my American tanks, with the surplus magnet on the hull and a smaller magnet on the turret. This doesn't have nearly the same excessive force as the Panzer Is, but they hold quite nicely. Took me a lot longer, and I had to be careful about the resin dust, but those are much more useable.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270005.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6270005.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Next up: Bunkerflaks! I'm really looking forward to getting home from work.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-54808089426819896992011-06-26T17:30:00.000-07:002011-06-26T17:58:09.498-07:00First Schutzen platoon done to basic standardWell, the first platoon is done to the basic standard - block painted with all main areas covered, but no detail work or highlighting. Here are the results:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260006.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260006.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260008.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6260008.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Paints used, in the order I painted them:<br /><br />Tunics - Vallejo German Uniform 920<br />Pants - Citadel Foundation Adeptus Battlegrey<br />Metal - Vallejo Game Color Gunmetal Metal 054 (yes, it is a redundant name)<br />Wood and bases - Citadel Foundation Calthan Brown<br />Skin - Citadel Foundation Tallarn Flesh<br />Canteen and bread bag - Vallejo FoW Khaki 988<br /><br />First off the popsicle sticks made a HUGE difference. I had to kind of figure out how to use them, but once I did they were awesome. The first stick I did the tunics on I painted each model on all sides and it helped, but not a lot. Then I tried doing one entire side, then shifting my grip on the stick and doing the other side. That was the trick. I cut the time I spent painting the tunics in half. <br /><br />I also quickly decided to not worry about painting over the webbing suspenders. The detail is close to the model, so it was really hard to avoid getting paint on it and it was taking a lot of time. It won't take me nearly as much time to cover the straps with a bit of black paint later. On the other hand, I didn't paint over the pouches and the like. As I love to explain to my students, it is all about opportunity costs. I've got a limited amount of time to paint, so I can use that time painting base coats or detail. In the end, any time I spend on one I can't spend on the other. So if it takes me 30 seconds less to paint a model if I just paint over the straps, but it only takes me 10 seconds to re-paint the straps, then I'm gaining 20 seconds a model. With 150 models, that one change is saving me almost an hour. I can spend that hour painting <i>Waffenfarbe</i> (branch color on their shoulder straps) or rank insignia.<br /><br />A little about my brushes. I have three "go-to" brushes for almost everything I do with 15mm infantry. I have a Citadel Standard Brush and two Vallejo kolinsky sable brushes, a 1 and a 2/0. The kolinsky brushes are amazing - they are incredibly precise, and seem to almost be able to read my mind, getting paint where it needs to be without even trying. On the other hand, this precision can be a bit of a pain when I want coverage. That's when I pull out the Citadel brush. That's made of cheaper squirrel hair, which doesn't have as much spring in it, so it flows around other detail more easily, and tends to get into deeper places that are hard to hit with the more precise kolinsky brushes. So most of this work was done with the Citadel brush, though the skin was with the kolinsky brushes, and I'll pretty much be using them for everything on the infantry but drybrushing from here on out.<br /><br />Oh, and I won't use them for the next step - I'm going to try "the dip" for these guys. For those who don't know, that's using a polyurethane wood stain on them, which gets down into the crevices of the detail in a very even way, creating great faded shading. I'll try it on one stand of these guys, and report on the results. In the mean time, I've got all the infantry built and primed, so I think I'll start building my tanks!ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-49640194952657719642011-06-25T17:51:00.000-07:002011-06-25T17:55:32.215-07:00And the difference is...Not a hell of a lot.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 412px; height: 409px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The model on the left is one I just painted using the German Uniform color I bought earlier today, along with the pants being the same Adeptus Battlegrey I had used as the basecoat for the other model. There is no highlighting on the left model. And it's kind of hard to tell the difference.<br /><br />So I'll definitely go with the left model's paint scheme. I'll think about some kind of wash or "dip" after I've gotten everything looking decent, but that's getting into the "nice if I can get there" area. But with how easy it was to get this level done, I foresee getting a lot of these guys done to this basic level within a few days.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-33513671932701855652011-06-25T09:55:00.000-07:002011-06-25T10:00:48.544-07:00Testing with mixed paintsNormally I hate mixing paints. It's a huge pain to try to get consistent colors, and if you can't get everything done in the time your paint dries on the palette you're making a new batch. But since the store isn't open and I wanted to see how this would look, I decided to try mixing Feldgrau with Orkhide Shade, the bluish-green I'm using for the collars and shoulder loops, to try to approximate the <i>feldgrau</i> green-grey of the early war. I then added some Grey-Green 886 to the mix for a highlight.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250012.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6250011.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I think it came out pretty good, and I like the overall effect. I'll see how closely it resembles the actual German Uniform color, and I'll still get the German Uniform paint, but it's good to know the look will work.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-73192270251505669982011-06-25T08:41:00.001-07:002011-06-25T08:46:24.730-07:00Reset!OK, I'm already glad I'm on the Interwebz. Thanks to Dave Ripperda, a fine upstanding fellow Finn player from Sac, I now know that Battlefront screwed up its colors in the painting guide in the Blitzkrieg rulebook. I need to buy some paints, specifically Vallejo German Uniform 920, since while the color was called <i>feldgrau</i> the actual composition of it changed over time. It was a fairly deep green in 1940, while by 1943 it had become almost a grey-brown. The Vallejo color of the same name is closer to the latter. So I'll be picking up the actual paint later today. For one thing I like the new color because it is brighter, so my troops will look more interesting on the table. The helmets I'm a little less clear on. I might go with more of a dark grey highlight, like Chardon Granite, but I'll have to see how it turns out with the new uniform color. In the mean time, I'll get started on the pants if I have time while I'm taking care of Maike this morning.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-27403305953155577252011-06-24T22:52:00.000-07:002011-06-24T23:01:41.967-07:00Test painting done on basicsSo I tried it out, and first off, DANG these guys could end up being dark. I definitely want to avoid that. So here they are with just block painting.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240019.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240019.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240020.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240020.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I left the helmet, boots, and webbing the German Grey Armor, painted the tunic Feldgrau, the pants Adeptus Battlegrey, the bread bag and mess kit Vallejo FoW Khaki, the metal Vallejo Gunmetal, and the rifle stock and bases Cathayan Brown. I mostly did the base to contrast the model, since they were so dark.<br /><br />However, they were SO dark I decided to try lightening them up, so I went a step further and did some highlighting and a touch of detail.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240011.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240011.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240012.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240012.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I did the collars Orkhide Shade (they are described as being "bottle green" in the reference materials I've found), and highlighted the tunics with Vallejo FoW Grey Green. The pants were highlighted with Codex Grey.<br /><br />After doing this, I can see a small amount of wash, but I don't think dipping these guys is a good solution. They're so dark already, unless I'm going to really go overboard on the bright colors I'll just end up repainting them. I'll wash the faces and khaki bits, but otherwise some highlighting should be plenty. I'll just leave the darker colors showing for shade effect.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-49424930322777204082011-06-24T20:20:00.000-07:002011-06-24T20:31:22.200-07:00Infantry prepped, ready to start painting<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6240001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />I've got my infantry filed and put on the sticks, and about 2/3 of the models primed and base coated. Boy, the "German Armor" is almost the same as black, but when viewed under a daylight lamp it IS actually a grey instead of black.<br /><br />I still need to build my armored vehicles, but that should go pretty quick. I'm now ready to start doing some painting. I figure I'll do my anti-tank rifle team as a start since I have additional models if I screw it up. Time to get painting!ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-85264404956443936212011-06-23T10:49:00.001-07:002011-06-23T10:55:53.074-07:00Second Schützen platoon done<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6220001-1.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6220001-1.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />My second Schützen platoon is cleaned, along with my MG platoon, and man was that a pain. The trucks were a snap (even if with the resin sculpt you can see where the drivers legs should be, so the entire company will be driven around by dual amputees...), but the casts of the infantry were abysmal. Tons of gloopy flash, semi-lined up molds, just a mess. I also got it all done this morning, which I had slated for priming. Ah, well, I'll probably just prime all of the infantry and the like at the same time, that's not a major time consumer.<br /><br />Next up: mortars and AT guns. I'm kind of dreading the mortars, since they're from the same batch of casts as the Schützen, but my AT guns are all Old Glory, so there shouldn't be the same level of suck. I'll start my tanks once I've gotten my infantry to a basic level painting wise, then once everything is based I'll work on details. With luck and effort, I'll be ready for the tanks next Monday.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-33253252409943433932011-06-22T10:45:00.001-07:002011-06-22T10:58:15.794-07:00First stepsWell, I'm a little behind by not by much. I spent a lot of time last night planning, so ironically I didn't get done what I had planned to do. I figure I've got two times to really get stuff done: before I go to work (I leave around 11:30) and after Maike goes to bed. Anything involving drying or spraying I'm going to do in the mornings and let the summer heat take care of that for me, and building and the like I'm trying to do in the evening.<br /><br />Or that was the plan. Instead, the fiddly bits slowed me down considerably. But as of 10:30 this morning, I have this done:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6220001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6220001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The field cars and motorcycles are built, and the first Schützen platoon is ready to paint. I decided to try a different technique for painting and basing after some research. I'm putting the cleaned infantry models onto popsicle sticks with a dab of superglue, and I'll prime and paint them there. After they're done, I'm going to mix up some concrete patch with some brown house paint I have left over from terrain building I did a while ago. Put that on the bases, stick the models in, cover the bottoms of the models, and there you go! After that dries, I'll cover it with static grass instead of my usual drybrush and bits of grass.<br /><br />The biggest issue I had were the fiddly bits. Specifically, the motorcycle drivers were a PAIN to put together. I'm still probably going to have to clean up around their arms once they've set. It took me a lot longer to get that done than I'd thought. Secondly, I was really disappointed with the quality of the casts of the Schützen platoon. There were a lot of heavy mold lines where the mold clearly didn't completely match up, plus big boogers of flash that would obscure some of the detail. When you've got to file off mold lines that heavy in a scale like this, you're losing detail, period. I actually can't use one of the MG loaders because the entire front of the model is only semi-cast, with no face and the arms melting. I sent an email to customer service about it - they've been good about replacing stuff like that. Sadly, I don't know if it will come in time to do any good.<br /><br />I finally just figured I'd do the obvious and easy stuff like the helmets and the larger glops and leave the small mold lines alone. I had hoped to get all of this primed today, but I'll hold off and prime it tomorrow with more of my infantry. That's it for now! Off to shower and go to work.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-62780624272337533752011-06-21T20:30:00.001-07:002011-06-21T20:45:13.030-07:00Gotta get motivated againIt has been way too long since I've updated this blog, but I figure this is a time to do it. I've got two weeks until I am in Pennsylvania for Historicon 2011 and the Early War Nationals for Flames of War. I figure I'll completely get my butt kicked, but I really want to play, and that means I need to get my army ready! And here it is:<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6210120.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Schutzenkompanie/P6210120.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Yep, it is almost completely in blisters. Nothing is built. It's a German Schützenkompanie, and I want it playable by the time I leave. Time to get cracking! I'll track my progress here.<br /><br />Oh, and here is the list:<br /><br />HQ: <br />CiC SMG, 2iC SMG, 2x Motorcycle and Sidecar<br /><br />Combat Platoons:<br />Schützen Platoon: Cmd MG, 6x MG, Light Mortar, Anti-Tank Rifle, Kfz 15 Field Car, 4x Kfz 70 Truck<br />Schützen Platoon: Cmd MG, 6x MG, Light Mortar, Kfz 15 Field Car, 4x Kfz 70 Truck<br />Schützen Machine-gun Platoon: Cmd SMG, 4x HMG<br /><br />Weapons Platoons:<br />Schützen Mortar Platoon: Cmd SMG, 4x 8cm Mortars<br />Schützen Anti-Tank Gun Platoon: Cmd SMG, 3x 3.7cm PaK36<br /><br />Support Platoons:<br />Anti-Tank Gun Platoon: Cmd SMG, 3x 3.7cm PaK36<br />Czech Panzer Platoon: 3x Panzer 38(t) B, 2x Panzer I<br />Bunkerflak Platoon: 2x 8.8cm FlaK 18 Sfl<br /><br />Points: 1750<br />Platoons: 8ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-67611754907847297392009-10-08T20:39:00.000-07:002009-10-08T20:56:49.277-07:00Review of LOTR in Da Grand Waaagh 2009Last year, the gaming club I belong to, Da Waaagh Mob, decided to put on an Independent Grand Tournament in Alameda, CA on the USS Hornet, an aircraft carrier that has been turned into a museum. Originally, we were planning on running just two systems, Warhammer Fantasy and Warhammer 40,000. But a month ago, I was asked to add Lord of the Rings to the tournament. We’d originally thought to add it next year, but we had the space, so what the heck!<br /><br />With such short notice, I knew we couldn’t get a huge turnout, but I did manage to scare up five players, which made for a very interesting tournament – every player would get to play each other. There was no Swiss system, but instead a pure round robin where the winner would be determined with almost no consideration to pairings or early/late placement. I also knew I’d be playing the ringer, since we had an odd number.<br /><br />I also wanted to make sure that there was a variety of scenarios, and I wanted them to be different than other scenarios they had played. I took some inspiration from the Legions scenarios, changing them around to account for a time constrained environment and the army favoring characteristics of a few of the scenarios. I also hate random scenarios – I’ve lost games just because of a few bad rolls (the number of times I’ve failed to get a Major Victory in Domination because of that stupid “game ends!” roll…) and I know that just sucks. So I tried to limit the randomness. I’ll detail the scenarios in my battle reports.<br /><br />One thing about being the ringer is that you’re there to provide a service only – make sure everyone gets to play every round. After all, that’s what the players are there for, to get in a game. The ringer isn’t supposed to be highly competitive, though they’re not supposed to be a pushover, either. I flatter myself in thinking that I’m a pretty good player, so I decided against going with one of my first string armies. After DundraCon last year with the “Oh, so it’s your turn to get beaten on by Gandalf” comment, I knew that the Errand wouldn’t fly, and I thought that even the Shadow list from Vegas would be pretty nasty. Of course, I haven’t painted a full army of anything else, so I used those armies for my basis.<br /><br />To make things more enjoyable for the players, I decided to come up with multiple armies and let them choose the list they wanted as ringer. I also wanted to try playing with models that I normally wouldn’t consider using in a tournament. My first was pretty simple – I swapped Gandalf for Aragorn on a horse in the Errand, downgrading Ecthelion to a standard captain. The second list I came up with was a variant on the Shadow, where I dropped all of the Morannon Orcs and upgraded the wraith to Khamul the Easterling on an armored horse. I wanted one more option, and decided to go totally goofy. I called it “So Boromir picks a fight with a Balrog…” and took four models; Aragorn, Gandalf the Grey, Legolas, and Gimli. 600 points right there.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Z2J_oijyQApbzQ7nym2Q1mItT7nelXmW7sxn0EEOMWis8Z5H-NfPrLlIsPLM4FGnrKBfWZTzQrJtNefM1F851UGi7-MvH2afsYLe7gjJLoBbg_qbn8A390D_BdouY_jGKI_vZM1Mob8/s1600-h/hornet.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4Z2J_oijyQApbzQ7nym2Q1mItT7nelXmW7sxn0EEOMWis8Z5H-NfPrLlIsPLM4FGnrKBfWZTzQrJtNefM1F851UGi7-MvH2afsYLe7gjJLoBbg_qbn8A390D_BdouY_jGKI_vZM1Mob8/s320/hornet.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5390443793836637762" /></a><br /><br />I arrived at the tournament in the early afternoon of Friday to set up. After my experience at the Necro, I wanted a really interesting skirmish game with LOTS of terrain, and there was a pretty good stash to raid. Only having three tables to fill made it easier. I set up three tables.<br /><br />First was a small highland village, surrounded by small, steep hills. I wanted to use several buildings to get in the rules for fighting inside the fortress – doors, defended obstacles, stuff like that. The effect was that the center could be full of choke points if it was actually defended, otherwise it would be fairly easy to move through.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040110.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040110.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Next up was a pretty typical wooded area, lots of trees and areas of undergrowth with a few hills thrown on. The hills on both this table and the first one were slab sided – no slope at all. I made the call that it was WYSIWIG – lots of jump and climb checks were involved. It made it interesting for cavalry forces, that’s for sure.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040112.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040112.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The last table was inspired by the fact that several large pieces of fortress and the like were ignored by the other systems for being cumbersome and difficult to fit units onto. No units in this game! I tried to go for a kind of “ruined fortress” look with the four large pieces in the middle surrounded by a few large hills and individual trees.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040113.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Grand%20Waaagh%202009/PA040113.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />So with that, I sat back to wait for check ins. As it turned out, we had something like three people actually play a game on the ship Friday night. A few other people checked in early, but apparently some of the ship security people turned some of our players away. That night cost us a lot of money for pretty much nothing. I doubt we’ll do that next year.<br /><br />The next morning, I was raring to go. The five LOTR players showed up with plenty of time, and I presented the briefing and the options for the ringer army. A couple of people immediately said they didn’t want to see the all heroes army (if they drew that force on a couple of scenarios life would be very, very difficult), and the two people who voiced a preference chose Easterlings, so that was my force – Khamul and crew. The list was as follows:<br /><br />Khamul the Easterling on armored horse (I think I forgot about paying the extra points for the armored horse during the games…)<br /><br />Easterling Captain on armored horse with shield<br /><br />6x Kataphracts<br />18x Warrior with shield<br />7x Warrior with shield and spear<br />12x Warrior with bow<br /><br />Total Models: 45<br />Might: 4<br />Bow Armed Warriors: 12/43<br /><br />I knew this was a suboptimal force when I took it. I particularly love Nazgul for their spell casting, and Khamul has the hardest time casting spells of any of the wraiths. With a Fell Beast, at least you have the chance of getting Will back to compensate for the extra dice you have to throw at spells. On a horse, the best you’re getting is usually staying at the same level of Will. I also knew there were no nutcrackers – D6 would be a major problem for me. <br /><br />But hell with it, I wasn’t playing to win anyway! That doesn’t mean I’d try to make it easy for the people I would play…ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-40587222156407117472009-08-01T07:27:00.000-07:002009-08-01T07:40:43.387-07:00That's it for 2009 - now for 2010Well, I've wrapped up all of the tournaments I can play in for 2009 for Lord of the Rings, now it is time to consider 2010. I've definitely decided to go with Mordor - I've got an absolutely huge stash of Mordor models, so I am hoping to create a "buffet" of options I can pick and choose from and use different forces for each tournament. Some of the models I really want to use:<br /><br />- The Witch King<br />- Orc Drummer<br />- Orc Shaman<br />- Mordor War Catapult with Troll Loader<br /><br />I've put together my first list, which I may use for the Gathering, depending upon how it play tests.<br /><br />Nazgul<br /><br />The Witch King of Angmar (2/10/0)<br /><br />Cirith Ungol<br /><br />Gorbag with shield<br />Orc Drummer<br /><br />20 Orcs with shields<br />8 Orcs with two handed weapons<br />11 Orcs with bows and spears<br />Mordor War Catapult with Troll Loader and extra crewman<br /><br />Points: 600<br />Models: 47<br />Might: 5<br />Bows: 11/44<br /><br />I'm thinking of this force partly because of the experience at the Gathering last year. There were a lot of horde forces, particularly with high defense. Anthony's Uruks (which have appeared two years in a row, so I think I can count on them being there again) and Sean's Minas Morgul are examples of this. While I can try to go horde as well, I really like playing with models that people don't normally see in tournaments. Yeah, the drummer is becoming de rigour these days, but when was the last time you saw Gorbag, the Witch King, or a Catapult? These guys can definitely be used well, and I can see very bad things being done with all of them.<br /><br />One other thing that I'm doing is modifying all of my plastic archers. I want to be able to use them as both trackers and spear carrying orcs, so I'm adding small magnets to their quivers, which I'll then use to hold paper clip spears. I've only got about 30 orc archers together, so now I can do both without having to buy any more models, and still be able to field a horde of trackers or spear/archers if I want!ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-32734778109264516382009-07-20T23:34:00.000-07:002009-07-20T23:51:24.355-07:00Pulled a win in Contest of ChampionsI played a warmup game with Wyn today - the Errand vs. a Dwarven horde list with Balin (no axe), a Dwarf Captain with shield, and 46 other dwarves, including a few Iron Guard and a scattering of Khazad Guard. The scenario was Contest of Champions, Gandalf vs. Balin. The board was the old pre-molded Fellowship of the Ring demo board that GW gave to stores carrying the very first game - no cover, but a few rocky patches.<br /><br />Things started rough - I killed two dwarves with archery, but Wyn in turn gunned down Ecthelion on TURN 1!!! Remember, always put heroes a couple ranks back, always put heroes a couple ranks back... I caught up quickly once Gandalf was within Blast range, racking up two kills with the wizard in short order. As the lines closed, I also managed to kill a couple more dwarves with archery, picking on the D6 archers. I found the numbers starting to equal out, and more of my troops were in the fight than his due to spear support. The turn the lines hit, I decided to use Gandalf to Immobilize Balin - I threw 1 die and got lucky with a 6! Wyn chose not to resist it and Balin took a little break.<br /><br />The game fell into the lines crashing into each other, with both sides suffering occasional casualties, but nothing amazing. Balin shook off the Immobilize and won a Heroic Fight to kill off one of my Rangers and Gandalf with lots of support was shoved back by a shielding dwarf. We were running out of time, so we decided to just skip everyone else and fight out the champions' combats. Wyn played for the win, with Balin calling a heroic combat with his last point of might against two spear supported rangers and Gandalf blowing his last point of might to bump the die roll of a Blast up to a wound, thus scoring his third kill. Alas, Balin had an attack of the rubber axe syndrome, getting defeated by the rangers, and Galdalf failed to slice up his opponent, so the game ended 3-1 in Gandalf's favor.<br /><br />Main lesson here: Never, EVER put your hero in the front rank of an advance! Being able to be picked out by bowfire SUCKS. Also: Gandalf is the bomb. Boom.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8316617968618897083.post-24180165226965037682009-07-20T06:44:00.000-07:002009-07-20T07:01:47.685-07:00Highlights on EcthelionI finished highlighting Ecthelion, taking a different tack from what I'd done with the Warriors. With the Warriors, I had done some pretty subtle stuff, then washed them, and found that I couldn't actually see the results as much different from a single basecoat and a wash. Too much work for not enough return.<br /><br />So here was Ecthelion before the new work. I had done a similar technique to the Warriors with the cloak, but you can see the rushed single highlight on the black tabard. This picture was taken using my daylight bulbs.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7020022.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7020022.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The first thing I did was go over the top of the cloak's ridges with a straight Blood Red. The cloak was built up from several layers of thinned down Scab Red and Red Gore, then I washed it with a light black wash. The Blood Red highlight really popped out the cloak. The pictures below, taken with my halogen lights, don't show this really well - it has kind of pixelized the paint job.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7200002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7200002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />Next I laid two stark highlights onto the tabard. The first highlight I think was Adeptus Battlegrey, so the second and third highlights were Codex Grey and Fortress Grey respectively. You can see this results in a very stark highlight, almost making the black look striped.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7190002.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7190002.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />While this did make the model pop, it was TOO over the top to fit in with the rest of my force. So I decided to give the black a heavy wash of Badab Black. When I first put it on, I didn't really see any difference. But when I came back and looked at it this morning, it had dried and smoothed out the stark highlight very nicely. So I think I'm going to stick with this method for the Guards of the Fountain Court's cloaks as well.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7200001.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 400px; height: 300px;" src="http://i202.photobucket.com/albums/aa311/ctlanglandshula/Minis/LOTR/Minas%20Tirith/P7200001.jpg" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br />The main thing that this experience is showing me is how much I already miss my daylight bulbs. I need to figure out some way to jury rig my lights for the dining room table area I have to use now.ChrisLShttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10274024369503530738noreply@blogger.com0