The 25mm Warrior

Ok... don't really go out and burn your Codices and Rulebooks... but it got your attention didn't it?

This little installment of The 25mm Warrior is gonna show you how our gaming group put together Quick Reference Binders to speed up our game play. Lets face it, Codex's and Rulebooks slow us down and rob us of precious playing time. Unless you got one of those rockin photographic memory thingys (or you've been playing a ton of 40K for a long time) your gonna run into a lot of situations where your thumbing through the rule book or your armies codex to look stuff up. With the links below and a look at my own Quick Reference Binder you can see how fast and simple it really is to put this invaluable tool together.

Full props goes out to Opie-Wan for the idea.

First go out and get yourself a thin see-through binder where you can slide paper in the front and back covers. Your also going to need sheet protectors for the inside. I got all this stuff at a local drug store for about ten bucks...cheep.


Next head on over to the Games Workshop site for downloads. Now I'm linking them because they were a bitch for me to find. Maybe I'm just dumb but they tucked all the references and quick play coolness at the bottom of the Gaming drop down. I found it on accident.

Army Roster Sheets

5th Edition and Army Reference Sheets

Now just print away and slide the paper where you want it to go in your binder. We stick the 5th edition reference sheets on the outside of the binder since those get looked at the most.


Heres an inside look at my own.





Now I know this might seem as a "duh" and I'm sure there are tons of people out their that do this already but if your anything like me you may have missed the download section on the website. Lame they put it out of the way like that.

Now don't forget that our very own From The Warp site has a download section with tons of goodness for speeding up your game. Ron has stuffed it with all kinds of treats. Thanks Ron!

From The Warp Reference Sheets and Play Aids

Hopefully this points you in the right direction to speed up your games and save your thumbs from paper cuts.

Cheers Mates!

I was stunned.

Carl Macek, the man responsible for bringing us the timeless master piece of "Robotech" passed away on Saturday April 10th. The shame of it is he was the victim of a sudden heart attack, while at a play...

in front of his wife.

Damn, that sucks so bad.

"Robotech" captivated me as a child. I watched it with my mom. Yep, even my mom watched it because when you get past the transformable robots and space battles you find a riveting story of love and peace. The show tackled such topics as war, love, incest, alcohol abuse, racism...the list could go on and on. For it's time, to see topics like that present in an after school cartoon was amazing and controversial.

The action in the show was stunning as well. Absent were the "Good Guy, Bad Guy Bullets" of the likes of "G.I. Joe." People actually died in this show. War was shown for what it really is, costly and insane.

I can't thank Mr. Macek enough for bringing that kind of realism and honesty to a cartoon and making me interested in some very important issues as a child. He connected the west to the east and brought us all to an awareness of just how unrivaled Japan is at telling stories through pictures.

Now my son watches it... and he digs it.

In Junior High the "Robotech" saga got even more epic for me with the advent of The Role Playing Game. Man those were good times and the books themselves were exhaustive on "Robotech" fluff and filler.

I hate it when someone who did something cool and visionary dies like this. A violent death for a great guy... friggin lame.

So, in honor of Carl Macek please watch the opening credits of "Robotech" here and have a moment of silence for a man that influenced television, comics and gaming with a powerful force all his own. His work will live on as he has now risen "To The Stars."

Rest In Peace: Carl Macek (1951-2010).

You know I'm all about speed if I can get away with it.

I would have thought my Cadians would paint up pretty quick since I was knocking out a lot of the job with The Army Painter Bone basecoat. Sadly I was wrong. It is quicker but not as fast as I would have liked. Catachan Green needs a couple of coats for a smooth finish which really bummed me out.

Thinking about my tanks was down right frightening.

Until I found this...


Flames Of War Soviet Armor Green is just about the same as Catachan Green. It seems to be a shade lighter but it's pretty close. After it's highlighted with Camo Green and a touch of Bleached Bone I imagine it should be just about spot on.



The really awesome thing about this was the coverage. You can see for yourself just how even it went on. I don't think it's a primer (the spray smelled different from other spray cans) and that may be it's biggest strength. The coverage was effortless.

So if your looking for a fast way to cover your tanks and you don't want to spend the time brushing on Catachan Green or spending tons of money and time on that Citadel Spray Gun thingy... this is a great alternative.

You can be jealous... it's cool.

I'd be jealous too if someone found one of these puppies sealed.

That's right... I said SEALED! For a mere sixty bones I scored this incredibly rare find. Every now and again you'll find a copy on Ebay but usually it's missing pieces, someone spilled their coffee on the rule book etc. Not this one. I had the pleasure of tearing off the shrink wrap that had entombed this gem for over twenty three years! Check it...

I carefully pulled back on the price sticker to reveal something truly amazing. This alone was the final evidence that I had my hands on an actual unopened copy of the game.

See in the top left? The nine is mostly blurred out but that is a price sticker from 1987! I wonder (with the changes in the dollar) what twenty bucks back in 1987 is equivalent to today? Even the back of the box spoke in concert to the price sticker, singing a song that is over twenty years old.

Man I'm never tossing that wrap... EVER!

Opening that box was nothing short of awesome! The box had within in it the ancient sent of an old library as I carefully removed the lid. The box had been dented over the years and has no rips or tears except for a minor fray on the upper left corner.

The inner box had a bit of warping on the side showing how the years have folded it inward slightly.


It was plain to see this sturdy box (it feels thicker than most modern game boxes) had done it's job as all the contents are preserved damn near perfectly (the only problem I saw was a tiny tear in the map at one of the fold lines... damn entropy). Everything is still vibrant and crisp and looks brand stinkin new.



The West End Games send away card made me sad. That company truly did the Star Wars licence justice back in the day. Their D6 System is still one of the best RPG systems... period. Shame they are nothing like they once were.



I don't think I can bring myself to use the components of this game. With the advent of pre-painted mini Star Wars ships from WOTC it's not going to be hard to make this into a rockin table top experience (especially sice WOTC Star Wars Starship battle suck ballz) while preserving the components for all time!

At least until my six year old gets his hands on it...

Sup Warp junkies!

So I was thinking about my earlier post about followers and I've decided to do something about it! While we can't always comment or even have anything worthwhile to add to the conversation at someone blog, we can still follow em. You remember the thrill of having a new blog and having someones name pop up under your "followers." It's a buzz, a literary high and encourages all of us as we blog on about our hobby.

Every Sunday I'm going to post the top five blogs I've found during the week that I think should have more followers but (for some reason) don't. Everyone out there loves getting new followers and these blogs should get a dose of From The Warp lovin too.

So here they are... the first batch of SUNDAYS TOP FIVE BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!!

MY SECOND JOB
Some really cool green stuff work going on here.

SUPPORT BY FIRE
Really nice looking Black Templars and some historical bi planes to boot.

MORDIAN 95TH RIFLES
Wow! An entire Mordian IG army! Why does that only have 25 followers? The dough this guy has to shell out alone for his troops warrants some serious attention!

AND A NOOB RUNS THROUGH IT
A brand new blog and this guy is holding his own "Pay It Forward" contest. Nice going Noob!

INEPTUS ASTARTES
Blood Angels and Blood Bowl... with nice looking paint jobs.

Thanks for looking at the post and taking the time to show your fellow bloggers in Warp country that you care. This blog will be back next week with five more blogs that deserve more attention than their getting... Cheers!

If blood makes you squeamish, feel sick, or freaks you out please go look at some other blog RIGHT NOW!

Ok... you've been warned!




Boy, am I stupid.

While reworking a mini to do some converting I jabbed my middle finger with an x-acto knife. A half an inch over just a bit more and it would have gone through a lot deeper.

This has been a public service announcement brought in part to you by The 25mm Warrior to remind you to always cut away from you. However if you don't you have a good excuse for some blog time.

Anyone got a band-aid I can borrow?

So I grabbed a Space Marine Scout Bike and went to town. Most the the scout parts themselves lent to a bike rider look.


The bigger shoulder pads, wrist guards, extra stuff on the boots all add to what you would think a bike rider would have... a bit of extra armor. The skulls were perfect since the Cadian regiment of my 147th Imperial Legion is identified by a skull. The only real change to the model is the Cadian torso and head used to make this model seem Guard-ish rather than Marine-ish.



Now the model did require some tweaking. The arms had to be just right in proportion to how the torso bit fits on the legs. Not impossible but it is a bit messy. The end look though is pretty right on I think.


The lance was the big thing here. I scoured Warhammer minis looking for one but there weren't any I liked. So I ended up hacking a ladder from the Imperial Sector I got The tip and wiring is from the light posts. Then there was the issue of where it was going to go on the mini. Holding it looked a bit awkward with the arms bitz I had. Since these minis are assaulty and the likely hood of these guys surviving is minimum, fixing the lance on the bike itself seemed like a good route to go. A finishing touch of hacking off the front light and replacing it with an eagle and stowage to cover up the hack job was all this piece needed to finish it off.


I'm sure there are more detail orientated converters our there that will take more time with it but you all know me... I'm about speed. I'm stoked that with a minimum amount of effort my Rough Riders now fit into my Cadian army.

I took a break from painting my Cadian Company Command Squad because I got a question... Do blog lists screw with followers for your blog?

Now I am not ragging on blog lists. I really appreciate From The Warp, Bell Of Lost Souls and the newly formed Parade Ground for what they do. They promote and display our posts to a larger audience and without them our blogs wouldn't get read nearly as much and for that were all extremely thankful. However there is another way to view this and it's something I am very guilty of myself.

Say your looking down the blog lists, looking for something that catches your interest. You click on someones blog and read it. After your done you go back to the blog list, scrolling up and down looking for the next thing that grabs your attention.

Ok now stop...

Did you make a comment? Did you become a follower of that blog because you saw something cool? Or did you do what I have done on countless occasions? Treat someones blog as if it was just another blog on the list as if it was just apart of the blog list and not someones hard work and effort?

I guess what I'm trying to get at is this... Do blog lists make followers obsolete? Do you follow the blog list more than your followers list? When you do use the blog list do you become someones follower or leave a comment?

Why does someone need to follow your blog? They can just follow the blog list and follow everyones blog. Why make a comment when the blog list itself may just be making blogs nothing more than scattered articles? Do blog lists take the personal touch out of blogs?

The problem with this is everyone gets a kick out of seeing a new face on their followers list. It's cool to see that someone thinks your blog is cool to follow. But this begs another question? Do you really follow your followers list or do you just rely on the blog lists?

I'll use my own blog as an example.

I post something at midnight. Twenty four hours later I see that nearly one hundred and fifty people looked at my blog. On a good day only five people leave comments. Now that means one hundred and forty five people looked at my blog and then went onto another without leaving anything behind but their I.P. address.

Can't tell you how many times I've done that myself.

Another example of this is Club Workshed. Now this blog has been around for awhile and as of late has some awesome Blood Angels stuff. His paint jobs are nice and the writing is interesting and witty...

I can't tell you when, if at all, I have ever left a comment on this guys site even though I'm the first listed blog on his "Who Do I Follow List," and I feel like a jerk for it. Not to mention it shocks me this guy doesn't have more followers. Thirty seven? Seems really small for a blog this good.

I know for myself I thrill at a new comment or seeing a new face on my Followers list (actually I honor my followers with the title "Elites"). A "Do Onto Others" rule should be in effect here.

The flip side could be that people follow too many blogs and their lists are enormous. It would be hard to comment on them all. Except your little icon is on their page. They know you care. They know you give a damn.

Do you give a damn?

Do I?

No one plays war games without some mood music and we here at The 25mm Warrior are no exception (and if you play your games without music then... sigh). You got to be careful though. This is war! Not just any old music will do. You need something that to you personifies in your ears what being played out on the table.

For example...

Opie-Wan and I started playing 40K well over a year ago. At the start of the game we would put on Pandora radio and without fail "Rock Me Like A Hurricane" would come on right when we started playing. Now it's tradition. At the start of a game there the Scorpions are, singing us into the fight. Pandora is cool too cuz all you got to do is type in what band you like or a song and it forms a radio station tailored to that type of music. I usually make a Guns and Roses station and ACDC, Metalica etc pop up. It makes the playlist for you.

So here are some suggestions of bands and song you can input into Pandora and get a station that will carry you through all six turns of table top mayhem.

-Iron Maiden "Trooper"
-Linkin Park "Across This New Divide"
-Metalica "One"
-ACDC "Thunderstruck"
-Guns N' Roses "You Could Be Mine"

I think you get the point.

Cheers Mates!

Remember a little bit ago when I laid the blog down about how the new Basilisk kit didn't come with a heavy bolter? Well the man at the GW said he would send me a heavy bolter as a one time thing. It came in the mail yo! Check these pics...

The box that came in the mail.


Here is the box opened.


!!!

Did you just see what I saw??? Man that needs a closer look...


OH MY GOSH... GAMES WORKSHOP SENT ME A FREE CHIMERA!!!

I was speechless. For years I had been pouring money into all this expensive stuff and always in the back of my mind were thoughts about a company that only cared about padding it's bottom line with the lining of my wallet. The guy I talked to was way cool and I was only expecting the bit. He sent me the bit alright along with the rest of the kit!

Now here is where this guy is just about the one of the best customer service guys ever.

We recently got a new roommate (remember JubieX? Yeah he's been my best friend for going on 15 years now and it's cool to have him here). Opie-Wan and I got him into 40K when he moved in and he's digging it. He came to me the other day and showed me his 400pt combat patrol list and he was shy a Chimera and the funds for a bit to go get it.

See what I'm getting at?

This customer service guy not only took care of a long time customer but also showed a great side of the company to a brand new player! JubieX was shocked that a game company would do something like that. Since I got my bit, JubieX got the last piece of his list for freezy yo yo yo!

Nothing like killing two birds with one Chimera

Now my Basilisk is complete.


The coolest thing though was the invoice...




Man, free looks good don't it?

(A special thanks to the GW man! You rock yo!)

They look like a harmless, typical box of Eldar Guardians don't they?


However the contents of this box set reveals the hideous underbelly of modern thievery. See if you can see what's wrong with these pics...





Did you see it?

ALL THE BITS FOR THE GUARDIANS ARE MISSING!!!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!

Now I still have the receipt and the box was bought at my local game store so I'm not too worried about getting it replaced. Really though that's not the issue here. This is about people being crappy, my game store letting it's guard down and the consumer ending up holding the bag when other people decide to be evil.

First, the store needs to check it's returns. I can see how this may have slipped past them since the box was shrink wrapped but that should have tipped me off too. here take a look...


The wrapping was hard and crinkly, not the soft stretchy plastic wrap all the other box sets have come in. When I unwrapped it I just figured that the store had a shrink wrap machine and did the work themselves. So I can only figure that someone took all the bits out, repackaged it, re-shrink wraped it, put a sticker on it that looked like the stores and then returned it.

Unless the person that did this is a person that works there...

Really how could someone replace the sticker and make it look flawless. Usually when you tear off a price sticker it either rips or gets warped a bit. You can see from the price sticker it's neither of those.

In any case the store needs to check all of their returns to make sure this doesn't happen again. I'm a friggin cripple and it's hard for me to get out. Now I have to waist my afternoon dragging my butt another 30+ miles to fix this.

Anyway if you ever buy a box set and the wrapping looks and feels different don't do what I did. Open it up and see if someone has been a jerk.

UPDATE: 4:52 A.M.

So I got the Eldar with JubieX tonight. He wanted to go to get some swag for his Daemonhunters. He decided to get this...


Did you see it? Here's a close up!


OH MY GOSH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This looks like a Games Workshop oops. The guy was on a roll after he put his Ironclad Dreadnought together and moved onto the Land raider only to find it came with the wrong friggin instructions! We scoured the web to see if anyone had em posted and the only thing we could find is a video on youtube. It looks like all the parts are there but without the instructions we can't know for sure.

What is up with my game store?

Sigh... bad shopping night.

It's six in the A.M. and the dust is just about settling.

Me and my two best gaming buds, Opie-Wan and JubieX (more on JubieX in later posts) battled it out all night. My Imperial Guard Vs. Opie's Tau and JubieX's Daemon Hunters. With 500 pts each we all set out to wipe each other off the face of the galaxy.

Here are the intel photos taken by the servitors.

Set up before game one vs. the Tau and just minutes before the unthinkable happened.


Imperial Guard brace themselves from the incoming xenos scum.


Image of a Fire Warrior team, Kroot and Battlesuit sent back from a servitor. Servitors whereabouts unknown.



A Master of Ordinance spys an enemy transport and calls in a direct hit Artillery Ordinance blast. Strength 9, AP 3, Ordinance Barrage goodness rains down upon the Tau like fire pored forth from the Emperors Wrath... all on turn one.


One lone Tau stands defiantly after his entire Fire Warrior Team and transport are laid waste. Opie-Wan was pissed :)


So the kroot and Crisis Suit showed up next turn. The Kroot managed to take out a squad of Guardsmen while the rest of my forces hammered three wounds into the Suit, blowing it up.

Opie-Wan conceded.

The second game against JubieXs Daemon Hunters was the match I was waiting for. My 500 pt list had been fashioned to be against MEQ and I was eager to see how I would hold up.

By turn three JubieX had enough of the MOO (Master of Ordinance) and deep strike'd his Gray Knight right into their position with a bulls eye. That screwed up my movement pretty bad since my squads were moving in to pincer the last remaining Storm Trooper squad. That one move changed the entire pace of the game.


My squads reposition themselves for the coming Gray Knights


The last of the Strom Troopers watch as the Imperial Guard squads scramble to react to the onslaught of the Gray Knights.


By the end of the game JubieX had one kill point to my two causing the win to go to me. I got to say I'm very pleased at how my Guardsmen did matched up to MEQ's and Tau. It defenitly made me look at my list and see some things I need to change. All in all though they did exactly what I wanted them to do.

Good games Opie-Wan and JubieX!