Colossal Squig and Giant Squig Painting

Colossal and Giant Squig Painting

 

Hello again and I just wanted to post a finished picture of my three squigs.  I primed these guys black and work up a basecoat with several layers.  First I do a heavy drybrush, Blood Red/Sandstone/desert yellow), then a Black Wash(secret weapon miniature but any black wash could work).  Next I do another heavy drybrush followed by a brown wash(maybe GW's Mud color or Agrax Earthshade).  I then do another drybrush of the same color.  After that I then highlight all the high spots with a solid color of the same tone.  After these layers I start doing 50/50 mixes with the basecoat and white or a off white color line bone white.  I followed all the same steps with teeth, and mushrooms.  Teeth starting with Kehmri brown, bleached bone and then skull white.  The mushrooms are coated with several layers, not highlighted and then just white dots added.  Pictures below.

Giant Squig 1 with Desert Yellow basecoat

Giant squig 2 with blood red base.

Colossal Squig in its glory

Orcs being eaten! Oh I see you there!

Some goblins added to the top.

Hump Day Heroes: 40K Kill Team League

This battle report was from my first game for the 40k Kill Team league that I am running at the Wandering Dragon.  My opponent for the game was Doug and his very cool space marine team.  The mission for the game was Forward Push from the Kill Team supplement.  For this mission, I had modified the objective rules so that each player placed one and the third was at the center of the board.

As you can see from the pictures, we set-up the board using a large number of LOS blocking terrain pieces.  I am a firm believer that Kill Teams is best when there is a lot of terrain on the board as it encourages movement and prevents static gunlines.  When it came to deployment, I won the roll, so deployed my forces across the board with a few models held back to infiltrate.

Genestealer Brood

10 Genestealers – 140 points

1 Broodlord – 60 points

Doug’s Space Marines

10 Tactical Squad w/ Heavy Bolter & Flamer

1 Attack Bike w/ multi-melta

I was not expecting Doug to seize, so when he did, I knew I was in trouble.  His attack bike and heavy bolter made quick work of my broodlord and one of his companion stealers.  In response, I tried to assault the bike with the remaining stealers nearby, but failed to wound it and in return got a stealer killed for the attempt.

In the second round, I moved the other larger group of stealers towards the center objective.  My hope was I could break off one or two models from the pack to deal with marines as needed.  Doug had range with his outflanking marines, so bolter fire quickly diminished the pack down to a couple of models. 

In the late turns, I tried to hide what I had remaining near two of the objectives, but the marines closed ranks.  In short order the last of my brood was killed at range with the exception of one stealer who got past a marine with a flamer before being brought down by a shot to the head. 

Overall it was a fun game that taught me a couple of good lessons about how to deploy my team going forward.  I should have kept all of them close together and just chained my assaults.  By spreading out, Doug was able to easily pick-off individual models before they could make it to assault.  I do debate whether or not I should include some type of shooting element to the list, but figure that would break from the narrative I am forging.

Collosal Squig and Giant Squig Modeling

Colossal and Giant Squig Tutorial

Purchased some squigs awhile ago, over 2 years ago, and finally started getting around back to them.  I just wanted to make a couple posts on here to any gamer out there.  First, after un-packaging your miniature clean your models.  I have here pictured several squigs made from finecast, but the same applies to any model(resin, rubber, finecrap).  I used soap and water and scrubbed each model for about 20 min each, let dry, and then assemble/green stuff. 

 Here I have pinned each large joint twice with 1/16 inch copper wire.  Then used copper wire for all add ons to the top of the squigs (horns and mushrooms).  Holes for the wire are drilled about 1/4 inch deep. 

The last picture here is before when all the horns and mushrooms were completed.  Typical 2 part green stuff was used for everything.  Bases are 40mm bases with 1/2" cork glued to the top.  all joints were glued with medium bond super glue and tightbond III was used for all basing material.

Hump Day Heroics - Battlefleet Gothic

My friend recently finished converting up some Dark Eldar ships for BFG, so we just had to play a game (I'll never complain about that!). Here's what we used:

Ultramarines

Battle Barge - Master of the Fleet

Strike Cruiser - extra shield

Strike Cruiser - extra shield

Strike Cruiser - extra shield

Strike Cruiser - extra shield

6 Gladius Frigates

2 Sword Frigates

Dark Eldar

2 Torture Cruisers - launch bays

15 Corsair Escorts - 5 w/ torpedoes, 5 w/ Impalers, 5 w/ lances

Deployment

Noticing an irregularity in the sensor returns, the canny Space Marine commander ordered Thunderhawks into the void as a picket line. 

The Dark Eldar closed quickly, eager to capture some prime space marine subjects for the haemonculus. Many of the Gladius frigates were left without crew as Impaler modules poured Dark Eldar warriors within. On the left flank, the Sword frigates bravely move to intercept the Corsairs, but despite bracing for impact they broke apart under the furious shadow lance fire. Having shown their true colors, the Thunderhawks engaged, and managed to find and destroy two Corsairs.

While they'd been dealt a hefty blow losing many of their fleet escorts, the bulk of the Space Marine fleet was untouched and angry. Turning into their enemy, they unleashed hell. Bombardment cannon and weapons batteries let fly, taking a terrible toll on the Dark Eldar fleet. Thunderhawks rearmed and soared once more into the fight.

Seeing their plans turn to ash, the spiteful Dark Eldar attempted to circle the fleet and take the commander as a slave. However, the durable shields and massed turret fire kept the Space Marines safe.

Arresting their momentum with retro thrusters, the Strike Cruisers kept hugged the stern quarters on the Torture cruisers, blasting one to pieces in a vengeful bombardment and damaging the other. With the Dark Eldar right where they wanted them, the port and starboard batteries thundered death into escorts and the remaining cruiser, destroying and crippling each.

The remaining Dark Eldar disengaged, tails between their legs.

Miniature Monday - 04/13/2015

Whoopsie, I almost forgot it was Miniature Monday! For this one, I have a pair that I painted together, and it was only fitting that I showed them both at the same time. I did some extensive observations at the local gym, so it was both a physical workout and a mental exercise that both benefited me. (nudge nudge wink wink)

Episode 45 - Khorne Daemonkin

The End Times may have come to a conclusion, but the rage of Khorne continues to spread across the mutliverse.  In this episode, Andrew and John share their first impressions of the new Khorne Daemonkin codex.  We discuss the new formations, the Blood Tithe and a few army ideas John has using the codex.  Before we get into the main topic, the guys talk about the End Times tournament at Adepticon, Andrew talks about his game with Andy Chambers, John plays with his nids, and we talk about our sponsors.  This episode also contains a bonus segment with John Ontto at Adepticon.

 

Download: Direct Download | iTunes | RSS


Episode Timeline
00:00:15 - Sponsors
00:05:30 - End Times @ Adepticon 2015
00:32:00 - Marshaling the Host
01:03:30 - Khorne Daemonkin
01:39:30 - Plugs (Waste Wars XV, 40K Kill Teams)
01:43:00 - Bonus Content (John Ontto at Adepticon 2015)

The Show Email - unstabledice@gmail.com

Show Links

Player2Cast

Sponsors

Heroes Haven Comics & Games: Website | Facebook
A Gathering of Might: Website | Facebook
Scatter Shot Painting: Facebook

Miniature Monday - 04/06/2015

I call him Mr. Pud. This is an Ultraforge plague demon kit, stuck to a 60mm round with some metal Nurglings in attendance. Love how the icky gooey parts meshed with the rusting bits and dry, diseased skin.

Miniature Monday - 04/06/2015

Since the release of the new Khorne Daemonkin book, I have been playing around with painting a couple more Khorne models. Finally broke last week and painted a bloodletter to see if I recall the original painting scheme.  I also decided with this one to change the color scheme of the horns and claws from black to bone to see if I liked the results.

When it came to my daemon army, the original intention was for it to be a quick paint army with minimal effort as I tend to put too much time into individual models (~14 hours per infantry size model).  This fellow took me approximately 6 hours with the obvious bulk of the time spent on the green areas. 

When it came to the horns, I decided to experiment with using layers of wash to gradually go from bone to the black/brown towards the end.  The overall result was ok, but I will need to touch-up some spots where I felt the layering was uneven (notice the streak on the horn in the first picture?). 

Comparing the new model against an older one, I found my most recent attempt to be brighter and to pop slightly better because of the highlighting.  In the picture above, the green appears to be glossy, but I believe that is due to my lack of skills at taking pictures and not the actual model.  I also like the color scheme of the older model's tongue better than what I did with the newer one.  I'll need to dig through my notes and see if I wrote down what I did in the past for it.

Episode 44 - Player2Cast

In this episode, I sit down and talk with Ian and Nikki from the Player2Cast.  We talk about gaming in the UK, discuss the state of WFB, explore John's obsession with his Japanese listener and most importantly, find out about the Player2Cast that started in March.

WARNING: There were sound quality issues on my end that were not picked up until I began editing the show.  I apologize to Ian and Nikki as they sound fantastic in this episode and hope to have them on again soon to talk more about their show and gaming in the UK.

Download: Direct Download | iTunes | RSS


Episode Timeline
00:00:15 - Sponsors
00:01:40 - State of Gaming
00:34:00 - Player2Cast

The Show Email - unstabledice@gmail.com

Show Links

Player2Cast

Sponsors

Heroes Haven Comics & Games: Website | Facebook
A Gathering of Might: Website | Facebook
Scatter Shot Painting: Facebook

Star Trek: Attack Wing Tournament

Last Saturday I participated in a Star Trek Attack Wing tournament at the Wandering Dragon.  It had been close to a year since I last played, so I was curious to give it another try and see how the meta had developed.  

I was interested in trying the blind booster format that Wizkids has been pushing for the past six months.  The blind booster format works by having each player build a 90 point fleet and than adding a 30 point ship via a blind booster purchased as entry into the tournament.   

One of the first things that I noticed once the tournament started was that the ideal of faction pure fleets was a thing of the past.  The few players in attendance all used mixed fleets that maximized the best combinations for the scenario being played that day.  The Scimitar (from Star Trek: Nemesis) was the default choice for every fleet but mine.  A ship with a forward movement of 6, a large number of hull points/shields, and 2 for evading is nothing to sneeze at and may be a little under-costed.  Clearly it was the choice for trying to attempt to reach the transwarp token on the far side of the board.

As for the scenario itself, it was a poorly conceived one provided by Wizkids.  With nothing between fleets and ½ the board being a deathtrap for most ships, it encouraged players to bring ships that just moved straight ahead and had high damage output.  Granted, the scenario was published in advance so players could plan around it, but again this just went back to players bring the best ships and charging at each other. 

As for the atmosphere, the Warhammer community has spoiled me when it comes to player interaction and sense of community.  A year ago, I was raving about how the Attack Wing community was very open and friendly.  It seems since that time, the competitive element has pushed out the casual one and it now has become a hollow shell of a community.  This may explain why the turnout was so low for an afternoon event with some pretty good prize support.  

Given my recent experience, I am left wondering what my future is when it comes to Attack Wing.  I love the game mechanics and the frequent updates, but dislike the overly competitive focus I experienced and lack of purity when it comes to fleets.  I believe moving forward I will only attend events that promote themselves as faction pure as I like experiencing battles that remind me of my favorite Star Trek episodes.   In the end, the game looks to remain a casual option for me and not something I will pursue on a more frequent basis.

Hump Day Heroics - Battlefleet Gothic

So, I finally got my friends to start bringing their BFG again, and even convinced another to start this week, woot!

Last week we threw a game together, 2v1. Since they had smaller fleets it was them who allied up against my Chaos fleet. I got to bust out my swank swag that I won from last year: the space board! Without further adieu...

IN/Eldar
Mars Battlecruiser - Admiral
Tyrant Cruiser
Lunar Cruiser
Dauntless Light Cruiser
Dauntless Light Cruiser - torpedoes

Void Stalker Battleship - Prince
2 Hellebore Frigates
4 Hemlock Destroyers
6 Nightshade Destroyers

Chaos
Hades Heavy Cruiser - Warmaster
Hades Heavy Cruiser
Dauntless Cruiser - Chaos Lord
Dauntless Cruiser
Carnage Cruiser - Chaos Lord
Carnage Cruiser
Slaughter Cruiser - Chaos Lord
Slaughter Cruiser
Slaughter Cruiser
Slaughter Cruiser

We played the fleet engagement scenario, wedge vs wedge. My wedge was more wedgy!

First couple turns resulted in sporadic damage; the most amusing was a Nightshade going splat in the gas cloud. Also notable was the Slaughters rocketing up 46cm to get right in their face turn 1.

They then promptly braced for impact.

The Carnage squadron and Hades squadron stayed locked on for the first few turns, forcing brace checks left and right and suppressing the right flank until I was able to close the distance. Even the Eldar stayed away.

You'll notice on the lower right that there's a maelstrom of sorts; we treated that as a warp rift, and I totally forgot about it, resulting in one of the Devastations being lost in the warp.

As the fleets really started to mingle, a couple teleport attacks and a boarding action happened, and I also butt-rammed the Mars with a Slaughter! Unfortunately, it caused only one damage to him and two to me...d'oh!


Near the end, I boxed in the Void Stalker with nearly the entire remaining fleet. With nowhere to run, he tried to run the blockade, but with a successful burn retros check, the Carnages checked their long sweep around the asteroids and came about directly in front of it. Despite all the penalties, I still had 11 dice to throw his way, and he critically failed to BFI. The resulting broadside tore away all the defenses and maneuverability, leaving it dangerously vulnerable for the other ships to engage at range with no undue penalties, who subsequently pummeled the battleship to space dust.

Victory went to Chaos! And quite convincingly so, after the drubbing my other ships took. Gotta love being set on fire...