The 25mm Warrior

!!! I WON !!!

2011-11-30T19:33:00.000-08:00

There it is, up there on the top left hand corner, right above last years :)

WOOT!!!

This one was hard as you can see from my stats. I stalled after about eight thousand words. It became very real what I was doing, reliving the stuff that disabled me. Words came out thick, me pausing through sentences, going "umm" and such.

Was a hard write in places.

But usually,

a hard write is the right thing to do.

I text messaged the novel to a very good friend of mine. An abuse advocate who without her help, this thing wouldn't have gotten done the way it did, if at all.

Was over eight hundred texts I think (eyes are kinda blurry. Been starring at a phone for hours on end for a month)

Now onto the re write, get this thing ready for publication.

The add a link thing isn't working for some reason. Just copy and paste it to see. Go to stats to see the progress :)

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/rukavin

Thanks for all the looks and words of encouragement!

See you guys around the warp,

-The 25mm Warrior :)

!!!Almost Done!!!

2011-11-26T14:02:00.000-08:00

Sup Guys!

Thank you all for the look see's and nudges of support. The Minions and Papa JJ rock as always and welcome to the new guy who stopped by, decided to keep on stopping by :)

Right on man

About to cross the 35k mark here in a little bit. I'm behind on the word count "officially" but we don't like "officially" here at The 25mm Warrior.

Not like I'm writing the thing traditionally anyway.

So far I've sent 748 texts that make up it's word count. Within those texts have been a back that's gone out 3 times, the stomach flu, my phone breaking and the usual pain and suffering here at the happy house

Really, when your "LG Ally" touchscreen gets screwed up to the point it looks like I'm trying to get free porn in the 80's off a cable box I'm not supposed to have...

well,

it's one of the most stomach twisting "...I've lost R2" moments from Star Wars Episode 1: A New Hope I've ever had (no... it is no longer Episode 4 thanks to disaster of the new trilogy I'm sorry to say).

So it, like everything else, has been a challenge.

You guys can see me cross the finish here in a few days here.

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/rukavin

Also, where to go with this dusty old blog. Can't really do it like I used to. Might need to make some mid course corrections.

More on that after the event however :)

Cheers!

Here We Go Again...

2011-10-31T22:57:00.000-07:00

Hello all my old blogging Brothers...

how's it been hangin?

If you haven't been stopping in periodically, the divorce is final, the custody secure (the reason for my continued absence... this thing turned into a mind screw of a custody struggle over my boy)

However happy to report, everything is cool.

For now (my fellow divorced Elites know what i'm talking about).

So, it's November again and National Novel Writing Month starts in fifty nine minutes and while my miniatures, my Guard and Bike marine armies lay in shambles...

it's time for me to pen my military memoir,

"The Road To Nowhere."

Hope you guys stop by to check on my progress and I'll be giving updates as well as I go.

You can see it all, and review a sample chapter here

http://www.nanowrimo.org/en/participants/rukavin

Thanks Brothers and a very special thanks to The Minions of the Monster Master for checking in on me from time to time, see how I'm hangin and offer words of encouragement to a struggling gamer.

Cheers :)

WONTON!!! (pist, I'll give you a hint who Wonton is... it's me :)

2011-04-27T18:25:00.000-07:00

Where I've Been

2011-04-10T23:57:00.000-07:00

I was going to do a separate post for just my blog but seeing how there really is no way to address this in a way that is comfortable I'll just say it...

My wife left me.

Below is a letter I just sent to my boys over at "Minions of the Monster Master" (see that sick banner to your right? Click it, you wont be sorry... oh and make sure you follow them. They'll lead you in the right direction. These green tentacles? Nah, nothing, part of the uniform. Don't worry, the change doesn't hurt too bad :). Still, after the incredibly touching response to the crippled post, I would like to share this with everyone.

Understand this is not a gaming post. This is a life post and as such it's pretty uncensored. Maybe I can use this as a launch point into ordering me some "Paincakes."

Lord knows I've been eating em by the thick stack anyway.

So if you want to know the reason for my mysterious absence, read on.

-Wow, it's been a hot minute hasn't it.

I am very sorry for my absence (I tried to have a bit of fun with it on Mik's page) but I think you'll all accept my excuse.

Ready? It's a doozy...

...

my wife left me.

...

No?

Not good enough?

Man, you Minions have gotten hard since you got all popular since I last saw you.

Dog ate my homework?

I was rescuing babies from barn fires?

Ok, my lame attempt at humor has at last beat around the bush to the life altering point, an edge sharp enough to soulslice.

My wife really did leave me.

For a guitar player none the less. Man, if only I had learned to play the guitar instead of game...

Damn.

She told me on November 28th, the day before my birthday.

Lets just say this Christmas season was cold and very, very dark.

While the world fattened itself on commercial neon lighting and pecan pie, my grieving ate away pound after pound of my marriage fat. My night sweats pooled in the cracks of the couch. I shivered. I ached. I was spun. This was something where everyone was shocked. Now my marriage sucked. Details don't matter at this point except to say I wanted to try and work on the marriage,

she wanted to go learn the guitar.

I can't fight for something that doesn't want to be won.

JubieX (my best friend Scott, I've mentioned him on my blog before) and I moved out. He's awesome. A great friend, helping me pick up the pieces.

Even though my ex is a spawn from the warp now we do co-parent our son pretty well (by that I mean we don't get in each others way. Never know when she is going to "pic" a fight... ok I'll stop poking fun at the guitar player who moved in on my wife. I'm sorry :).

The hardest thing though has been my son. This has been very difficult for him. He adores us both. I will never hear anything more icy in my life than when my boy said to me "daddy, I'm sorry mommy is divorcing you."

The kid's smart. He knows what's up.

However I do have some good news to report sirs. Wonton, your minion auxiliary trooper, has brought honor upon the chapter (I cost 35 points. You can see all my upgrades and further details in Codex: Minions of the Monster Master).

I was a winner of the 2010 National Novel Writing Month.

50,000 words in a month was the challenge.

I did it it 22 days (I'll be expecting my purity seal and commendation in the mail).

Serious though, I knocked out a novel in a month. The cool thing was in early December we were informed they are going to be publishing our work (createspace.com) and we have the option to sell it on amazon.com. So now I'm in the middle of a rewrite, fighting the clock for my mid June publication deadline (even if I don't make it it's no biggie. Independent publishing and digital novels are the future baby... and the future is now!).

So, not all bad here on the western front.

That was a saving grace through all of this. To have that accomplishment tucked under my arm, knowing I'm going to be holding my own paperback someday was a pretty elating feeling after the hit I just took.

Now I just got to get the thing done. My winners banner from the event is up on my blog. Here is the link to my winner page and writers profile. I have my position on your guys show listed in the author info (love writing those. I get to put whatever quirky, obscure info about myself on there and I'm sorry, being an minion auxiliary is something to be proud of :). Also the stats tab is cool to see. You can see my word count total progress there :) .http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/720195

Oh and my author pic is up there too (no more hair Biscuit, I'm a baldy now. I figure it should be easy to draw bald with an eraser :).

My miniature collection has become a mirror of sorts, a reflection of just how scattered and broken things are at the moment (really? How does a ruined city get more "ruinender?"). I didn't even crack a game book for months. Really, this is like dealing with a sudden, unexpected death. The death of a dream, the death of my family as I knew it, the death of life as I knew it.

For a chronic pain patient, it's torture.

I think five months is good enough idle time from a wreck like that, what do you think?

I don't know when I'll be back with any regularity. I do miss blogging and my blogging buddy and idol Mik (not surprised to see the blog grow man. You really do have one of the best gaming blogs on the web. It's just a fact) Sometimes I'm like "yeah, lets game!" only to feel moments later like doing nothing, just drifting in a chemical haze as it takes my pain and turns it into a whisper. I'm learning grieving and gaming don't mix well, like beer before the liqueur, I'm truly never sicker. My taste for food, miniatures, painting, hell just about anything really rides the swings of my grief as I just let this pass over me (hell yeah that's a "Dune" drop... fear is the fuckin mindkiller baby! :)

Glad to see you guys didn't kick me to the curb...

you can always count on your gaming buddies.

Really, after the hell I continue to live though, seeing the Minions still around, Miks blog grow... it was nice something stayed the same, even if only appears as a little something.

Trust me, to me, it might as well be a statue, a marker, a guidestone to better days and happier times. While I work my way out of this cooze induced funk, these blogs and my own offer a bandage in the midst of suffering. I need to be reminded there can be still be fun if you spill enough paint, run the risk of gluing your fingers together, take out a second or third mortgage to swing the interest payments on that new Forgeworld army you always wanted...

and if you just simply look hard enough.

Thanks for the open ear fellas.

Now, can you guys please dispatch that busty new apothecary to come over here and attend to my wounds?

Big boobed, female apothecaries rock.

-Wonton

...

2011-03-16T10:16:00.001-07:00

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#10)

2010-08-01T02:08:00.000-07:00

It's Back! My little effort to get more people to follow other peoples blogs has returned with another helping. I can only show you the door, you have to take the time out and click follow. I do this for one reason...

BLOGGERS ARE THRILLED TO SEE THEIR FOLLOWER LIST GROW!!!

Hopefully the more followers someone gets the more they will post. With more postings comes more time spent delving deeper and deeper into the hobby thus promoting the hobby.

So every time you take the time out to click "FOLLOW THIS BLOG" you are promoting our hobby!!!

So here they are peeps...

THE FALLEN PRINCES
There aren't enough Eldar blogs in the world. However the ones I've seen have been outstanding and this one is no exception. What we got here is a nice looking blog with a force that has some beautifully painted Harlequins. That's on top of a very nice piece where this blogger has written a cool back story to his army. Oh and the walker conversion is mega rad... THATS RIGHT I SAID RAD!!!

PAINT YOUR TOYS
Awesome Mordheim figs and an even more outstanding built city for them to play in. With Warhammer Fantasy out in a brand spanking new and shiney edition I figured it's time to branch out to this other game and this blog does a brilliant job representing that.

MIGHTY MINIS
Ok this is appalling... 2 FOLLOWERS? THIS GUY ONLY HAS 2 FOLLOWERS??? Damn that seems like a sin when you look at his figs. The dark, gritty way he paints adds a unique layer of depth and realism to his figures. Trust me you'll drool over these. Hopefully he'll do some tutorials in the future so we can see just how he does it.

INDEPENDENT PAINTERS
Sorry but your about to drool again. These guys are clearly professionals. Really this is PROFESSIONAL work here and right now they have a post where they are painting some Space Marine Terminators that are just, well... go take a look.

23 LINES
If Eldar blogs are rare then Daemon Hunter blogs are damn near scarce. This blog has absolutely kick ass looking Daemon Hunters along with a very impressive Dreadnought. Couple that with Codex Civilians that he has featured and you have a nice unique blog.

That's it for this week. Remember if you have a blog or you know of one and would like it featured here just send me a message at the25mmwarrior@gmail.com and I'll get em posted on the next edition.

Until then keep rolling FTW!

Confessions Of A Crippled Gamer

2010-07-27T07:55:00.000-07:00

Last night was hard.

After dinner I had retreated into the bedroom leaving my family to enjoy themselves. The pain was damn near unbearable. Everywhere I went I limped my way there. Like a wounded animal I need some solitude, a black corner to lick my wounds. The plan as always would be to beat the pain with sleep. Most of the time it doesn't work. Pain has been known to keep me up for in excess of 24 hours before the exhaustion caves in on me forcing me to sleep.

As I lay there in hot summer night I felt ripped. A vast tug of war pulled inside of me.

I didn't want to sleep. I wanted to game, to paint, to model. It had been a long time since I had done any of that and I really, really wanted to do it. Problem was my body was recovering from a grocery trip I took with my wife and son. Did you hear that? I'm recovering from a grocery trip? The prolonged walking caused me to lean heavily on my cane which only transfered a bit of my foot pain into a lot of shoulder pain in my right arm. Even playing World of Warcraft in the wake of the outing was uncomfortable.

My back began to throb and stiffen on the bed. My mind was juggling between staying in the darkness or braving the increased pain my hobby activities would bring. What the hell? Years after my injury began I still have a hard time believing just what it cost me. The orders I obeyed carried with them the unknown reward of suffering. Pain in walking, pain in laying down, pain in painting a friggin miniature.

Just as I began to feel sorry for myself in the pitch blackness of my bedroom I was welcomed by a relativity new companion. Numbness began creeping up my thigh. My shoulder joined in concert. I moved around, rubbed my leg, tossed and turned to shake the swarm of numbness that was assaulting me. It only served to increase the pain with a burning that crescendo into a blaze then was snuffed by a rainfall of pins and needles.

I sat up, the gaussy moonlight that beamed through the window casted an eerie haze in the room. My eyes felt heavy, weighted by purple bags that hung beneath them. I wanted so bad to shake off the wanting. Wanting to paint, wanting to game, wanting life to be normal again. Everyone tells me to push through it. Well, what happens when I can't? What happens when this really does get the best of me? What happens when I'm just to damn weakened to fight anymore?

Luckily I fell asleep somewhere within all that torment only to awake to it all again. When I moved to my computer I was met by my homepage which is my blog. I felt even worse. The best part of my blog are the people that follow it and my damn injury keeps me from doing anything worth writing about. I don't want to just disappear, abandoning my blog, my hobby in despondency but really, right now, I don't know how to recover from this.

I guess there is no recovering from this. Just to take it day by day, hoping and knowing some days are better than others.

Just An Update...

2010-07-05T23:28:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the lack of posts as of late. JubieX's son is visiting us and well, it's hard to game with two kids in the house. As a matter of fact in nearly three weeks the only game we got to play was Pirates from the post below.

Just this morning it hit me. I missed my Top 5 Blogs and Storm Wardens Charity posts. Very sorry. The 4th of July weekend just added to the flurry of other stuff going on.

Once the visit is over and life gets back to normal a bit hopefully my blog will turn to normal and even more importantly, our game life. I had to drop you all a line though and wish all my fellow yanks out there a very happy 4th of July and don't worry, we're not going anywhere.

In fact we're just getting started :)

GETTING MY HANDS ON SOME BOOTY!!!

2010-07-01T03:34:00.000-07:00

I'm a sucker for discounted games. It's a thrill to walk into a store and see a game that you we're interested in practically being given away for free. Adding to it all is my love of gaming. Really, I'll try and play anything. Nearly no game in a game store is off limits.

So you can imagine my thrill when I walked into Target and saw the Pirates Constructible Strategy Game by Wizkids on a big time sale.

Here is a close up of that price

That is just the tip of the iceberg of the treasure trove of packs I bought. With the packs being only a dollar it was easy to get a sizable collection of this game for dirt stinkin cheep. The game is simple too. All you do is go around getting more booty than your buddy.

It reminded me of college :)

Since my best buddy lives with me now it was even easier to dive right in to the high seas.

JubieX and I each formed a fleet of 40 points (a standard game). We were off and set sail in less than 10 minutes. It wasn't stated really well in the rules but we found a 4X4 area with the aid of a blue bed sheet did the trick for a game table. Check out the pics below and see just who has the better booty grabin skills!

The table mid game.

Nearly right away JubieX set a destroyer to interrupt my treasure hunting activities. He found out the hard way of what happens when you go up against a 5 mast ship.

My Schoener racing his Junk ship to get the last of the gold on an island.

Near the end of the game you can see my gold count was 15. In order to win you have to have 16, which is more than half of the starting gold that is randomly distributed to the islands face down so we can't see em. I had no choice but to hunt down the rest of JubieX's fleet. With my 5 mast ship fully repaired I set out to sink the scurvy dog!

With JubieX down to one ship I set up a blockade in front of his home island. I was prepared to chase him down but the bloody pirate did something brave...

HE RUSHED THE BLOCKADE!!!

In a desperate attempted to tie up the game he went toe to toe with my 5 mast. I knew he was hoping a bad round of rolling would save him...

It didn't.

I blew him right out of the water, sending him to meet Davy Jones!

The game was fun and just after one session you can see all the different ways to play it. The tactical approaches a player can take are nearly limitless and what's most important, the game only took about an hour which my feet really appreciated.

So if you have a Target around you go check out their collectible card section. You may be surprised what booty you find for dirt cheep :)

THE STORM WARDENS CHARITY CONTEST CONTINUES!!!

2010-06-28T10:49:00.000-07:00

It's Monday and you know what that means?

IT'S TIME FOR YOUR WEEKLY REMINDER TO GO GIVE YOUR MONEY TO A GREAT CAUSE AND YOU JUST MIGHT WALK AWAY WITH A GRIP LOAD OF COOL ASS SWAG YO!!!

Just giving a shout out to Mik's Minis and Minions Of The Monster Master to help spread the word on a very cool project they have going on.

They are holding a raffle in July to win an entire Space Marine army! This force has some serious big names humping the painting haul to deliver what promises to be an exquisite looking force. What's even cooler is this is going to be The Storm Wardens... a never before seen chapter of the Emperors finest.

It's only a dollar a raffle ticket with the proceeds going to Doctors Without Boarders.

So what are you waiting for? Go toss em a few bucks and you may just get tossed a heap of painted minis right back!

I'll be posting this every Monday to remind everyone out there until it draws to a close.

Good luck all and be generous!!!

You can see the contest here

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#9)

2010-06-27T02:10:00.000-07:00

I always struggle what to write before I post the links. Since I got nothing maybe I should just shut up and post em eh?

REVENANT AUTUMN
Here is a nicely laid out blog with some nice posts on this guy giving himself the motivation to paint. We can all use a little kick in the ass to get our armies done (me especially). To see another hobbyist and his ability to pick himself up by the bootstraps and get em done is truly inspirational. Oh yeah, and the minis look fantastic too.

DA GREEN SKINS
There are not enough Epic posts out there and even fewer Epic blogs. Well here is one that is not only epic but is a damn outstanding one to boot! The Epic Necron conversion is especially cool.

A LITTLE PAINT HERE... A LITTLE PAINT THERE...
Scroll down and see his Champion of Tzeentch motivational poster... priceless. Oh his followers are at the bottom of the page and as you scroll down to get there you'll see some nice paint jobs along the way.

CRUSADING THE WARP
You've heard me say before that I don't have an artistic bone in my body right? So it's cool when I see someones green-stuff work and think "hey I can do that!" Very cool and simple custom bases.

STEVE SMITH MINIATURES
Wow... just wow... NUFF SAID!!!

Again if you know someones blog that needs some extra exposure and is a cool ass blog drop me a line at the25mmwarrior@gmail.com and if you pay me a large sum of money in un-marked bills in a large bag and leave it someplace where you now I'll find it then sure I'll get em up on the post!

Heh, just kidding yo!

Or am I...

The Best Miniature I've Ever Made

2010-06-22T03:08:00.000-07:00

What do you get when you cross a little boy, season one of "G.I. Joe" and temporary tattoos... all near fathers day?

Gold, that's what!

How could I resist? Oh we didn't stop there. The boy had to be turned into a double agent!

Man, being a parent friggen rocks!

In case you were wondering my son is the best miniature I've ever made and he and my babies mommy did their best to make my fathers day awesome! My boy gave me this...

Of course as a parent I love anything he makes me. This one is right at daddy's work station :)

My wife continued to spoil me by letting me run amuck at the Games Workshop site! (within reason of course). Since I had been eying the new templates for Warhammer Fantasy I decided to get a set of Counters, Range Finder and Blast Templates. I almost pre-ordered the book but Opie-Wan's Jedi like wisdom prevented me. While the book looks awesome it's also bloody HUGE! Really, it's like a friggin weapon itself! Big tomes like that are unwieldy during game play. I'll just hold out for the boxed game when I get my hands on a nice miniaturized version of the rules... Oh who am I kidding. I'll eventually buy the big stupid rule book too cuz I'm that gamer ya know?

My fathers day didn't stop there though...

When I went over to my parents house to drop off my dad's gift and pay him a visit my folks gave me a gift of my own...

This one surprised me. My parents don't even know what Warhammer 40k is. They took my Uncle with them and he picked em out. That was really sweet of them to do that and it taught me a lesson too; No matter what your kids are into, at any age, you have to support them in what they're interested in and love. I hope my boy becomes a gamer and dread the day he becomes involved in sports but if that's what he decided to do, then I'm now a sports fan.

I'm truly spoiled. Thanks babe for a great day. Mom, Dad, I love you and I try to live up to the example of parenting that you taught me. And to my Mr. Boo's who made me the best picture frame ever! Thanks you boy! I love you and am so proud of you... YO JOE!!!

Surely goodness and mercy have followed me all the days of my life.

THE STORM WARDENS CHARITY CONTEST CONTINUES!!!

2010-06-21T02:06:00.000-07:00

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#8)

2010-06-19T23:28:00.000-07:00

Miss me? Well after a week off we're back with more blogs that need followers! In the two months this has been going on your support has been unprecedented in giving people the attention we all like to receive for our own work. It's your attention that really gives this a sense of community and for that you all friggin rock!

Ok enough of the mushy stuff... on to some blogs!

DAVES MINIATURES WARGAMES
It can't be all bolters and heretics all the time right? Ok well maybe it can but if it is we're missing out on something great. We owe all our games to the rich and terrible history of warfare and without historical wargaming we wouldn't have games like Warhammer 40k. This is one blog that keeps that historical beacon shining with some great painted minis and an eclectic love for history. This guy gives homage to all eras of history and if you stop to take a look you'll see inspiration found in the past that game designers use as a template for future games. It's important to remember the past!

13TH CADIAN
With the cool ass camo job here I'm really hoping for a tutorial. The camo job is damn near seemless and oh yeah, it's a Guard blog so major props!

HIDDEN IN THE WARP
Cool tactica blips on Dark Angels. Only thing missing is some pics. Hopefully this changes that considering this blog isn't HIDDEN IN THE WARP any longer :)

TECH BAY FOUR
Nice battle reports and Pop Pods... nuff said. What's that? You don't know about Pop Pods? Well get on over to this blog for some serious schooling in how to porxy in taste and style!

SHOOT TAU THRILL
A very well laid out and in depth Tau blog. Really a great and insightful read.

Well that closes out yet another installment! Again if you know a blog or if you have a blog that you want featured here just send me a message at the25mmwarrior@gmail.com and we'll get em up!

Oh and to all you fathers out there... HAPPY FATHERS DAY! For everything you dads do may the beer flow, the dice roll and may you never roll ones on your dangerous terrain tests!

Cheers all!!!

Epic, Planetary Empires And Other Announcements Small But Huge!!!

2010-06-18T02:14:00.000-07:00

My mailbox was invaded today by nearly two hundred Imperial Guard troops ready to be mustered for war. What's that you say? How do two hundred Imperial Guard troops fit into a mailbox?

Well it's easy when the force is 6mm!

I've always eyed Epic. While my fingers modeled in the 25mm scale my vision would wander over to the 6mm world. Who involved in this hobby doesn't like the idea of having a hugely massed army which is a complete combined arms force? An army complete with scores of infantry, tanks, air support and of course big !%$#@* war machines? It's always caught my attention and it's catching the attention of my com-padres JubieX and Opie-Wan. Our dream would be to have a multi faceted Warhammer 40k campaign that began in spacde with Battlefleet Gothic, continued into the planetary atmosphere with Aronautica Imperialis, decended into a planetfall with Epic battkles and closed out with some good 'ol 40k small battles.

A lofty dream but a friggin sweet ass one. It seems only fitting to start dreaming on a planet big enough to hold it all.

Planetary Empires offers just such a template.

Mine is all primed up, just waiting to be drybrushed into reality. This supplement is really nice. The detail is outstanding, especially with the spaceport tiles.

Now what happens when you take Epic and mash it with Planetary Empires? You get a really nifty way to chart your armies progress as you move to take over the planet and smash you friends, I mean enemies, forces.

Now those are just some of the things that are going on here at The 25mm Warrior but it's not the biggest. My gut has got butterflies swimming in it with what i'm about to type. I hope your ready cuz here it comes!

WE'RE DOING A PODCAST!!!

That's right! As I write this I'm working the bugs out and within the coming weeks we will be proud to introduce you to...

CRITICAL MISS RADIO!!!

More to come...

P.S.: Sorry about the pics being too big. Something is up with photobuckets sizing matrix. Hopefully they'll have it fixed soon. The silly thing is if you click on the pics they are the right size on photobucket. Stupid technology :(

The Storm Wardens Charity Project Contest Continues!!!

2010-06-13T23:51:00.000-07:00

Radio Killed The Blogging Star

2010-06-12T23:34:00.000-07:00

We're gonna take a break from SUNDAYS TOP FIVE BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS to bring you this special announcement!!!

I WAS ON MINIONS OF THE MONSTER MASTER!

What a great group of guys! They had me on for a thirty minute interview about 40k, my blog, what's to come and a bit about myself. The only problems we ran into was a few initial mic problems and an issue with Skype dropping the calls. However their professionalism shined through it all and they delivered on an absolutely awesome interview!

They also were gracious enough to let me make a HUGE announcement on their show. What is it? Your just gonna have to go listen to episode 19 to find out :)

Again, a huge heartfelt thank you to the MINIONS team for a great and unique experience!

A Cadians Progress

2010-06-10T00:46:00.000-07:00

Man I love this scheme!

Man I hate how bloody long it's taking! The Army Painter is working brilliantly, it's the Catachan Green that's being a bitch. It needs more than a few coats to go on even and that is putting a monkey wrench in my painting quick motif. It's even discouraging me to paint these guys at all. If it weren't for the finished look below I would have gone with something like the Cadian 85th "Firedrakes" army. Spray red, dip... done. Only I don;t want all red Guardsmen. I want Cadian 8th looking Guardsmen. I guess there is always a price for what you want.

Anyway here is a little bit of progress. I only have over a hundred dudes or so to go

Ugg.

I obviously haven't dull coated this team yet. I'm holding out until I drag my lazy ass to go track down some Testors Dull Coat. From my understanding it's supposed to be the best. Since this is gonna be the army I take my time with I might as well do everything as right as I can make it.

I did manage to basecoat a commander and three snipers. They aren't dipped yet but this gives you an idea of what I'm doing to basecoat.

Remember the story of the Tortoise and the Hare? Don't for one minute tell me that the Tortoise wouldn't go faster if he was givin half the chance.

Slow and surely = slow and annoying.

But damn do they look good...

My Armies Are Now Mechanized

2010-06-09T02:06:00.000-07:00

A huge box showed up on my doorstep yesterday and as I franticly opened it up I was excited to see this...

There was a big struggle for me in choosing between Sabol Designs Army Transport and Battlefoam cases. I settled on the above for three reasons. First, Battlefoam is extremely expensive for what it does and The Army transport is really the better value. Second, the above configuration completely holds my 1000+ point Imperial Guard force (which is sizable, as you'll see below). Battlefoam, for the same price would not have held it. Now third, and most important, The Army Transport above has a handle and wheels. Nowhere in the Battlefoam product line do they have a transport that offers that kind of convenience and what a much needed convenience it is. I walk with a cane and it's awkward to lug around a huge bag. This bag makes it easier for me to get out and game at the game store if I want to.

Sabol Designs Army Transport won hands down (and the black is cooler looking too).

I haven't done a muster pic of my Imperial Guard yet (I'd like to save that for when the whole thing is painted) but you'll get an idea of just how much this Army Transport holds. Not to mention that if it can hold an Imperial Guard army it will hold any other as well. Here it is in action.

Two inch foam trays for infantry.

Three inch foam trays for walkers and light tanks.

Four inch foam trays for big ass tanks.

Now my armies are comfortably mechanized and I can go anywhere with them. I can even load up my paints in the trays and paint wherever I want. The added space for storage is welcome and compared to Battlefoam it didn't break the bank. To top it all off it shipped quick too!

It's awesome when you get a great buy with a great product from a great company. I even got this at a discount because they have new deals every month!

You can see Sabol Designs The Army Transport website here.

Diamonds In The Rough

2010-06-07T23:50:00.000-07:00

It's amazing what you'll find in junk bins.

Our local game store has these miniature bins that are full of unwanted miniatures. The bins are apart of their second hand resale venture where gamers can dump their unwanted swag for store credit. The miniatures run seventy five cents for plastic minis and a dollar seventy five for metal minis.

Well my latest venture in mini dumpster diving unearthed a few nice buys.

First is this Cadian legs and body I stumbled across.

Now I have more than enough bitz to flesh him out. The boxed set of troops alone is twenty five bucks for ten Cadians. Simple math is all that's needed to show this is a steal at seventy five cents.

As I dug further I found my second treasure... a Space Marine Scout

According to the Games Workshop site three of these bad boys run fifteen bucks. A scout for a buck seventy five is a no brainer.

Now I saved the best for last. The pic say it all...

Thats right! Your looking at a 1987 Eldar in all it's hideous glory! Now I'm really gonna try to salvage this one and see what The Army Painter can do to fix him up a bit. You have to wonder while looking at this pic just how Games Workshop became what it is today. This mini stands as a testimony that success can really happen from meager beginnings and at a hundred and seventy five pennies this little piece of history was a must have.

With how expensive Games Workshop is now (especially with the price increase) it's cool to get some minis at a discount.

The Storm Wardens Charity Project Contest!!!

2010-06-07T01:31:00.000-07:00

Just giving a shout out to Mik's Minis and Minions Of The Monster Master to help spread the word on a very cool project they have going on.

They are holding a raffle in July to win an entire Space Marine army! This force has some serious big names humping the painting haul to deliver what promises to be an exquisite looking force. What's even cooler is this is going to be The Storm Wardens... a never before seen chapter of the Emperors finest.

It's only a dollar a raffle ticket with the proceeds going to Doctors Without Boarders.

So what are you waiting for? Go toss em a few bucks and you may just get tossed a heap of painted minis right back!

I'll be posting this every Monday to remind everyone out there until it draws to a close.

Good luck all and be generous!!!

You can see the contest here

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#7)

2010-06-05T23:50:00.001-07:00

Here we are again! Man, Sunday sneaks up on ya doesn't it? Another week, another TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!!

ALL THINGS FETT
A Tau blog is cool enough but a tau blog that has HALO Mega Blocks... gold! I also dig his paint scheme for his Tau using the Tau Army Painter program. Good stuff.

DELETED FROM IMPERIAL RECORDS
Titans, titans and more titans! Need I say more? Ok some interesting terrain pieces for Apocalypse games as well. Nice.

NEXT BIG THING
You have to admire someone that attempts sculpting minis. You have to stand in awe of someone who makes it look good! His Chaos Prince isn't done yet but you can tell it's gonna be mega tits!

BOLTERS N' BEER
The name should say it all but the content is even more enticing. Battle reports and enough Dreadnoughts to choke a camel! His Dreadnought rifleman conversion is especially cool.

TRUDDENIA
If I was ever on the receiving end of all those drop pods I would be screaming like a little girl! A really nice Ultra Marines blog here yo!

Thanks for everyones time in supporting these blogs that really do deserve more attention then their getting. If you know of a blog that needs some follower lovin just send me a message at the25mmwarrior@gmail.com and we'll get em right up on the following post.

Here's to another great week of dice rollin, mini painting, blog filled fun!

Peace!

A Big Announcement...

2010-06-05T00:43:00.000-07:00

The details are being worked out but I'm going to be interviewed on the coolest podcast out there... Minions Of The Monster Master on Saturday June 12th!!!

I'm so excited! Not only am I a fan of the podcast but to be interviewed By Gyro of Miks Minis is a true honor. He is the blog I look up to when I think of how to do my own. Really, in the blog world, he would be my hero.

So you can imagine my thrill at the email I got asking me to come on the show for a few minutes.

Also they are letting me make an announcement of my own about my blog and the direction JubieX, Opie-Wan and I are going in. Really it's gonna be cool.

So mark your calenders! The 25mm Warrior is going radio!

The Storm Wardens Charity Project Contest!!!

2010-06-01T05:51:00.000-07:00

Just giving a shout out to Mik's Minis and Minions Of The Monster Master to help spread the word on a very cool project they have going on.

They are holding a raffle in July to win an entire Space Marine force! This force has some serious big names humping the painting haul to deliver what promises to be an exquisite looking force. What's even cooler is this is going to be The Storm wardens... a never before seen chapter of the Emperors finest.

It's only a dollar a raffle ticket with the proceeds going to Doctors Without Boarders.

So what are you waiting for? Go toss em a few bucks and you may just get tossed a heap of painted minis back!

I'll be posting this every Monday to remind everyone out there until it draws to a close.

Good luck all and be generous!!!

You can see the contest here

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#6)

2010-05-30T23:28:00.000-07:00

Ooopps I almost forgot about this. Stupid holiday weekend, has me all turned upside down. I got 20 minutes to get it posted so lets get a going yo!

DRGABE'S MINIATURES
We all know how hard camo can be and we all hate people that can make camo look not only good but easy to do. Well here is another guy to hate! Really some of the best camo work I'm ever seen. Not only that but this guy is a DOCTOR! Damnit now I really have no excuse to not paint my minis. A big shout out to Big Papa JJ of Dicerolla for the heads up on this guy!

Cadian 77th Expeditionary Force
Awesome looking Guard is one thing... but a comprehensive tutorial on how to do em too? How does this not have more followers? Good luck trying to get them to look as good though :)

Anything But Ones
It can't be all paint and primer all the time. Sometimes content is enough to turn heads and this blogs "History of..." feature is really great. Go have a look fool, schools in sucka!

Fantasy Games
This blog has a cool feature... a nice list to guide you through getting your army painted! Go and join em and get your name up there.... hell I should do it too.

40K Battle Report Blog
I like battle reports, you like battle reports... how about a blog that has nearly nothing but battle reports? Nuff said yo!

Whew, still got 10 minutes to spare. Now I have to go show Opie-Wan the might of Cadia! See ya next sunday and until then...

Don't be a leader,

BE A FOLLOWER!!!

The 25mm Warriors Memorial Day Game Fest!!!

2010-05-30T00:18:00.000-07:00

Can't wait for tomorrow. Me , Opie-Wan and JubieX are gonna spend the holiday doing what we do best... GAME!!!

Talisman, Magic The Gathering, painting and of course 40k will all be crammed into over 24 hours of gaming!!! (with the obligatory pass out time once Opie-Wan has drunk himself silly).

Junk food, booze, soda, movies with boobies... it's gonna be high school all over again!

However at 3 pm on Monday we will pause for the National Moment of Silence. According to one news station, "At 3 p.m. local time on Memorial Day, May 31, Americans are asked to pause, reflect, and observe the Moment, and commit to Live Honoring America’s Fallen."

After the moment were gonna toast those fallen. Because the only reason we're gaming in a free country this Memorial Day is because someones son or daughter decided to serve and bled freedom into this country. Which is the greatest country on earth!

I hope yours is as fun and as meaningful as ours is gonna be.

GOD BLESS THE U.S.A.!!!

The Things I Do For Miniatures...

2010-05-29T02:22:00.000-07:00

I have no shame.

See when your married you have to do the 'ol give and take. Since I just dropped umm about five hundred bucks on minis (and I'm in no way finished... see the post below) I figured I'd be cool and see "Sex and the City 2" with my wife.

"Wow, you'll really see it with me?"

"Sure baby. You were cool about the minis, your always cool about it. I can be cool too and cancel our tickets to go see Star Wars in concert and go with you to see if Carrie cheats on Mr. Big with Aden."

She then kissed me, "Your so sweet baby"... (this part has been blurred out by the censor).

So there I am, in the middle of the movie and it's torturous. I'll I will say is the opening "wedding" scene had my mouth just drop open.

"You owe me." I whispered.

Then the horrifing happened. Liza Minnelli comes onto the screen and starts dancing... in sexy pantyhose! She old yo! Ewww. I couldn't look away. The train wreck had my jaw on the floor.

My wife, chuckling, leans over and says "Your right... I do owe you. We'll go to the game store after."

So I'm all set to go get more miniatures when all of a sudden my stomach starts doing back flips in my gut. I go to the bathroom and puke my 40 dollar popcorn all over a toilet seat that is littered with gang art. '

Needless to say I didn't make it to the game store tonight.

So why am I telling you this? What's the moral of this story?

Well here it is...

If you go see "Sex and the City 2" you will be horrified, get more miniatures and then throw up.

Anything for miniatures! No price is to high, no chick flick too lame, no...

Yep, I have no shame :)

Ugg I don't feel too good.

Imperial Fists Bike Army... Go!!!

2010-05-28T02:27:00.000-07:00

I had fun tonight.

The game store here offers a 10% discount to Veterans and I figured tonight was a good night to head over and see about squeezing a 1000 points out of my wallet.

I decided to go with Imperial Fists. But not just any 'ol Imperial Fists army. I wanted a calvary army. I mean really? How often do you see an entire bike army of Space Marines? Now how often do you see Imperial Fists? With the way The Army Painter works on yellow with their Soft Tone Dip it seems I'll have a rare army in appearance and composition.

Hey... everyone wants to be an individual right?

It only seem fitting that a Space Marine calvary unit be yellow. I've become really interested in the American Civil War over the past year or so and the calvary of both Union and Confederate forces was devastating. Not to mention that for some reason both used the color yellow to identify their calvary regiments. Now I would love to do a historical civil war game however my two battle buddies JubieX and Opie-Wan really don't share the same interest. The Imperial Fists offer me a unique opportunity to do a unique army that to me meshes with my passion for the Civil War. It's a win, win.

So here is what I bought... I'll get the army list up soon.

Now this box set is awesome. I'm not doing Ravenguard so I'm stuck with a bunch of Dark Angels bitz however the six bikes alone if bought seperate is 90 bucks... which is the cost of the battalion boxed set. If you compare it I got an attack bike, land speeder and bitz for free. Wonder when GW will put an end to this.

Since I was a few bikes over I grabbed a command squad for later when I take these Marines beyond 1000 points.

Now as long as these guys don't act like Col. Stewarts calvary during the battle of Gettysburg I think I'll do just fine.

The Dicepool Quiz!!!

2010-05-24T23:36:00.001-07:00

Take the quiz at dicepool.com

You are a d8: You are the true adventurer! Dragons rescued, princesses slayed, and all that business while O Fortuna plays in the background. Your social calender is crammed with heroic deeds, and you've personally saved the world from ultimate destruction at least twice. You are reliable, perhaps a bit predictable, but overall a shining example of what happens when courage meets determination.

So what are you???

Big thanks to Imaginary Lives for this one. Looks like we have more than just dip in common :)

SUNDAYS TOP 5 BLOGS THAT NEED FOLLOWERS!!! (#5)

2010-05-23T03:44:00.000-07:00

25mm Warrior here, Warpin it in style yo!

Another week gone, five more blogs that you need to be followin or lets face it, your just not hip.

I know you want to be hip and you can start by cruising over to these awesome blogs!

IMAGINARY LIVES
Another self proclaimed slow painter and a guy dedicated to the dip. Oh you know he gets the top slot just for that. What's an added bonus is he is a Minion! Pack that with some nice 15mm swag and I'm in hot anticipation to see his 40K work. It's obvious we aint seen nothin yet from this guy!

BIG BOX OF ELDAR
Their just aren't enough Eldar blogs out there. Maybe it's because the little buggers are hard as hell to get to look right. Well this blog doesn't have that problem. Awesome, friggin awesome paint jobs. The Bonesinger post is especially impressive.

A TAU BEGINNING
Out of all the 40k armies out there players really seem to shine at coming up with cool color schemes for the Tau and this blog is no exception. The white, gray and orange armor is quite sharp and well painted. Hell, anyone that paints white has instant props in my book. Nice work!

SONS OF PROSPERO
It's cool when blogs step out of just showcasing what armies they got and actually show you how to do stuff. Tutorials are always cool and this guy has quite an extensive post on how to do custom basing for your minis. What's even cooler is he shows you how to make really good looking bases. Thanks bro!

ADEPTUS ALCOHOLICUS
I've said it once, I'll say it again... I love this paint scheme for Tyranids. I love it even more when they look as sharp as this guy makes em look. Oh yeah, and the blog name is priceless.

If you want your blog featured here or you know of one that should be just send me an email at the25mmwarrior@gmail.com and we'll get em the exposure they deserve.

So until next week...

GO BE A FOLLOWER!!!

Wargaming Distractions: Torch Light

2010-05-23T03:34:00.000-07:00

It can't be dice and dip all the time...

Ok, well maybe for you it can but I have gamer ADD like a mother @!#&%#.

Chances are if you read my blog (or any other in the From The Warp family for that matter) than you are a GAMER. It doesn't matter what the game, table top, RPG, video games, hell even reindeer games would be cool if I knew just what reindeer games were.

In this case it's video games.

A new Diablo clone just came out not to long ago called Torch Light and i'm in love! Imagine Diablo meets World Of Warcraft. Now take out all the BS from both games, wrap it up in a nice, stylistic package and market it for twenty bucks and you have a game that is a welcome distraction from the drudgery that our hobby can be at certain times. Everything from the art to game play is top notch along with a nice unique world and storyline.

What's really cool about this game is the commitment each player can put into it. With four different difficulty settings (from casual to friggin insane) this game offers either passive entertainment or a real challenge. What I personnally love about Torch Light is that you can play it for 10 minute or 10 hours and walk away. Say your painting and your minis are pissing you off or your just not feeling the mojo of your hobby at that moment. You can go over and fire up Torch Light, play it for a bit, leave the game at any moment and go back to painting. With the game constantly saving your progress you can come and go as you please.

So if your in a rut with painting or your just looking for a cool game to screw with, Torch Light will guide you to hours of dungeon crawling fun.

PAC-MAN TURNS 30!!!

2010-05-21T11:11:00.000-07:00

If you haven't heard yet, today is Pac-Man's 30th birthday!

If anyone remembers I used to have Pac-Man up on my blog so people could play it. Alas someone changed something and it didn't fit right anymore and looked really weird so I had to take it down *sniff*

However to celebrate Google has the game up on their main search page. Just wait a sec and the classic music springs to life and you too can guide Pac-Man through the dangers of, well... you'll see.

You can see it here

It's just for today so hurry on up and go play! Don't worry, you don't need any quarters *wink*.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAC-MAN!!!

A Review Of The Army Painters Bright Yellow Primer

2010-05-17T04:30:00.000-07:00

I was stoked when I discovered that The Army Painter came out with a bright yellow primer. Finally my dreams of doing either an Iyanden or Imperial Fists army seemed within reach. Yellow armies have always looked sharp to me. In a game where most things are dark or mid tone colors, seeing something bright is a welcome change. Not to mention almost no one ever does yellow because of the complexity. Out of all the colors a painter can do, yellow seems to be the one that is the most difficult. I've tried it and it never comes out looking right. Sure there are tutorials out there (done by master painters... who have artistic tallent... of which I don't) but who wants to spend that kind of time painting a mini?

However the primer is not without its own tricks as you journey towards the reality of having a good painted yellow army.

Take a look at the Marine on the left. Now look at the one on the right. See the difference? The one of the left was just an initial one coat spray. I about had a fit. The damned mini looked like it had a green tint. Where was the bright yellow? I continued to spray, two, three coats until I got the effect on the right. Then it came to me. The gray plastic of the mini was showing through!

Crap!

If I continue this way I'll be spending a small fortune on Army Painter primer trying to get the solid, bright yellow tone that the lid claimed was in the bottle. This way is problematic anyway because you really run the risk of caking the primer on the mini and burying the detail. I had figured since the primer is "highly pigmented" one coat would have been enough. All the other Army Painter primers I had used in the past didn't run into this problem.

It became clear I need to help this primer out a bit to unlock the color that was hidden in the can.

I first gave the mini a light undercoat of white primer, then I hit it with the yellow. I got a little nervous as I had never undercoated a mini twice to get the right look but it worked like a damn charm.

Using the Soft Tone dip I took a Marine and applied the splash on technique (which is nothing more than painting the dip on instead of having the mini go for a swim in it) just to see what it would look like.

It didn't disappoint...

The shading is perfect and doesn't darken up the yellow to the point of making it look dirty. The mini isn't nearly as bright as a lot of the Games Workshop pics of yellow figures but this does give it a more realistic look.

I then got brave and pulled out an Eldar to see if this stuff would bring out Craftworld Iyanden...

It did.

This mini really attested to the quickness The Army Painter provides. The whole job took twenty minutes. I even tried to highlight the mini with a Bleached Bone drybrush before splashing on the dip. I don't know if it came out well in the pics but as you can see the product allows anyone to field a respectable looking Iyanden force with extremely minimal effort.

This exceeded my expectations. Now I just have to figure out what I'm going to do. Since I want to do all the armies in 40k but not with all the same paint schemes I'm going to have to make a hard choice between Iyanden or the Imperial Fists.

It's cool to be torn this way :)

Sundays Top Five Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#4)

2010-05-16T03:52:00.000-07:00

Some great blogs out there this week and plenty that have next to no one keeping an eye on them. Join me as we try to change that for these five that have caught my attention this week...

KenStorm 989's Work In Progress
Think what you will about 40K Radio but it's no argument that Freebootaz are some of the most dedicated and talented gamers 40K has and this blog is no exception. This blog has answered the call to do the May Motivational Challenge and has some impressive looking Eldar and Orks models up along with a magnet tutorial. So get on over there and cheer this guy on and maybe as you take a peek you'll find some motivation to get some painting done yourselves.

Oh and P.S.

JOIN "FROM THE WARP" KENNY!

The Lost Chapter: Dino Riders In Spaaaaace!
What do you get when you take the Emperor's finest and mix em up with dinosaurs? You get one of the most original and well painted armies that's what! I think you'll agree with me that the four followers this blog has does not do this awesome work justice! I particularly like the SM shoulder knee pads on the something-a-sauraus.

Colorcrayon's Workshop and Exhibit
It was bound to happen. This blog has taken Imperial Guard and meshed them with the movie "Aliens." There is even a "Aliens" mission book this guy has made if you want to join him in taking 40K into the "Aliens" movies. Really very well done!

40kneophyte
This blog has one of the nicest layouts I've seen yet. Combine that with some nice painted Orks and you got a blog you should be checking out. Oh and the printable terrain mat is pretty cool too.

Code40k
Battle reports, Orks, IG and old school Space Wolves models. Nuff said!

I'll leave you with some follower "zen."

“Leaders don't create followers, they create more leaders.”

Hmmm...

Have a great week guys!

Opie-Wans "Tau-riffic" Tau

2010-05-15T00:00:00.000-07:00

Sup kiddies; the infamous Opiewan at your service, drinking all the wine and hitting on the bridesmaids.

So y'all have gotten a look at 25mm's shiny new Skynet wana-bees, as well as heard how he plans on keep us Gaussing (ug... I apologize for that one). So I figured I would follow suit, show off some of my works in progress (their all works in progress, more on that later), and expound on how the good will be greater.

HQ: XV8 Shas'el w/ Plasma Rifle, Missile Pod, Targeting array, HW Multi Tracker, (97 points)
-Running a pretty standard Fireknife here, and as a Monat as well (mostly because I don't have any more XV8's) That said he can toss a couple of high power shots from decent range, threatening light vehicles and small groups of heavy infantry. Might toss a Shield drone on him, as he is vulnerable to high Str weapons

Troops 1: Firewarriors: 5 Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles, 1 Shas'ui w/ Pulse Rifle & Bonding Knife (75 points)
-These guys have 1 job and 1 job only, get me an objective. They probably wont get out of the Devilfish the whole game.

Troops 2: Kroot Carnivores: 9 Kroot, 1 Shaper, 2 Kroot Hounds (103 points)
-Again, flanking objective grabbers. As much as I would love to infiltrate 'em in some woods and see what bounces off with a +2 cover save... we don't have any woods. Gotta do something about that.

Elite 1: Stealth Team: 2 XV25 Shas'ui w/ Targeting arrays, 1 XV25 Sha'ui Team Leader w/ Targeting Array, HW Drone Controller, Markerlight, 1 Markerlight Drone (173 points)
-I love markerlights. You have a +3 cover save? Oh, thats nice. This squad will be getting another marker drone as soon as it gets here in the mail.

Fast Attack 1: Pathfinder Team: 4 Shas'la w/ Pulse carbines (whoopde$#!+), Markerlight (48 points)
-Did I mention I love markerlights? Only problem is my opponents seem to not like them. generally these poor 'la end up poorly deployed. and running around in circles while being shot to bits. Live and learn. Well... I live. They die horribly. Oh, and lets not forget they come with...
Dedicated Transport (which they will never use): Devilfish w/ Disruption Pod (85 Points)
-Hopefully this will be full of firewarriors, then staying the #3!! away from the Necrons, crashing (probably) into an objective come turn 5.

Fast Attack 2: Piranha: Fusion Blaster, 2 Seeker missiles, Disruption Pod (90 Points)
-I fully expect this to burn and die in a torrent of Gauss blasts. As an open topped skimmer, glances can destroy me. But I just painted it, I love the model, so +^&% it, it's going in the list.

Heavy Support 1: XV88 Shas'ui Team Leader w/ twin Linked Plasma Rifles, Advanced Stabilization System, HW Multi-tracker, HW Drone Controller, Shield Drone (115 points)
-Past few times I have used this unit it was without the ASS (too easy to make a joke here), as a result, like the Pathfinders he spends the game angling for a shot, and never actually shooting. So my Broadside went out and got himself some... wait for it... Advanced Stabilization System. Hopefully he will keep it covered. Or it will get shot off. Which would be a pain in the... ok, I will stop now.

Heavy Support 2: Hammerhead Gunship w/ Rail Gun, Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod,Target Lock, Multi-tracker, Targeting Array (180 points)

Army Total:966

So I still have some points to play with, which will probably be a Shield drone for the Shas'el, perhaps a few more vehical upgrades. I know this list is not optimized for taking on Necrons (tho it kicks Grey knights shiny, over priced backsides) and those 3 squads of Warriors are gonna give me fits, but it's what I have, so on the table it goes.

As for painting I tend to have a dozen projects going at once, all in various stages of completion, which is why only about half my Firewarriors and Kroot are done-ish, my Hammerhead still needs some lovein, and my Broadside has patches of greenstuff all over him.

But hey. Least I stick to one army.

UPDATE TO 40K RADIO FIRES SCOTT AND CHIPLEY

2010-05-13T13:40:00.000-07:00

My main post is just below and if you have missed the drama you can click here to get up on the dirt.

You all up to speed now? Great here we go...

Spencer has taken it upon himself to delete all the objections to his obviously jerky move of firing Scott and Chipley. I love the spin put on this...

"I have shut down the comments and deleted them. I am doing this in an attempt to let cooler heads prevail."

Hmmm...

Let me translate that for you.

"Oh crap! I just made a huge friggin mistake and now I have to scramble to do damage control on my own mess! Now that I have deleted the comments I can ensure I WILL PREVAIL!!!"

With the damage done he needs to just man up, ask for forgiveness from his friends and let down audience members and get on with the show.

Yeah, like that's gonna happen from a guy that answers objections and complaints to his move with "Someone has to make the tough decisions. If you don't like it I'm sorry but that's the way it is."

Oh wait... he deleted that comment he made. It's like it never happened right?

I don't see how anyone can enjoy a single show this guy puts out knowing he did this to people who have helped him.

Unbelievable.

You can see the censored 40k Radio forums here

40K Radio Fires Scott and Chipley

2010-05-13T04:18:00.001-07:00

The gaming world was stunned today as 40k Radio has announced that Scott and Chipley have been kicked off the show.

Evidently Spencer is the boss over at 40k Radio and according to the forums it was his decision to kick them off the show for not playing enough 40K. His argument was that the two had not played a game of 40K in six months and he wants hosts on the show that play the game regularly. Spencer slammed them with an ultimatum. In his words...

"Shit or get off the pot."

Ouch.

I got one question though...

Since when do you have to actually "play" a game to be knowledgeable or experienced at it?

I'll use myself as an example.

I think I've played a total of twenty or so games of 40k in my entire life over a span of about fourteen years. My first game was at a mall in Phoenix Arizona back when second edition was around. After that I bought the boxed set when third edition hit, played it once and didn't play again until 3 years later when fourth was out. I bought a Necron Army, played about fives games with it and sold the army on ebay for more than I bought it for (I had painted the army). A few years after that I got into it again with Tau at the tail end of forth and...

See the trend?

Now during that span I had always kept up with rules changes, watched games at game stores, got into conversations with players, read forums and kept a watchful eye on the Games Workshop website. Just because I wasn't playing the game regularly did that ever mean I wasn't able to talk intelligently about it?

Lets face it. 40K is a hard thing to get into in the first place and it's an even harder thing to maintain. This is not just a game, it's a hobby and to a lot of peeps, a way of life. The headway to get into this game alone is enough to scare off most people from playing it. When I'm on full blast with 40k I don't really do anything else hobby wise because putting models together, painting em up and reading rules and codices takes a ton of time.

I don't get it. Scott and Chipley obviously had the experience to do what they were doing. Chipley even had his "Newbie Corner" segment that was informative and entertaining. This move seems like cutting your nose off to spite your buddies.

That's right I said buddies!

I always got the impression when I listened to the show that this was a tight nit gaming group that had decided to do a podcast cuz it would be fun. They appeared to enjoy one another, riff on each other in good fun and produced an awesome, informative and funny show. Now because you want to be "the best" you kick two guys off the team that had helped you get the show to where it is now? You just don't do that to your buddies. Some things are way more important than a blog or podcast or (dare I say it) your gaming.

What Spencer just did is like if I told Opie-Wan and JubieX that I didn't want them on my blog for whatever reason. Who gives a damn if they've been my friends for fifteen years. These jerks are getting in the way of my blogs vision!

See just how ridiculous that sounds?

Now there is this whole mess Spencer has to clean up right before his audience. Instead of hearing about gaming in the next show we probably get to hear the whole thing played out again, a ton of justifiable claims and Spencer saying that this move is for the best for his vision or direction or whatever.

You know what? There isn't going to be a "next" show for me. I'm done. I was endorsing 40K radio on my blog but after I got wind of this I removed it. I'm so tired of gamers, GAMERS, acting like jerks to each other and this has jerk stink all over it.

You never roll over on people just because you want to be "the best." Much less your friends. Geeze, Scott just had a kid for crying out loud. Nice going Spencer, you kicked off a guy who hasn't played 40K in six months, who just had a kid. Doesn't take a rocket scientist to see he's been a tad busy over the past, um... nine months.

Thank goodness for "Minions Of The Monster Master." These are some good guys right there.

Hell, maybe Me, Opie-Wan and JubieX will start up our own podcast.

I feel bad for Scott and Chipley. For them to just decline everything in the face of Spencers "ultimatum" just tells you that this went over bad.

At least Spencer is willing to say that "He is the problem" in the whole FUBAR situation. Only I wonder what this will do to their listeners?

Do you really want to listen to a show that dumps on people like this?

Now as a way of disclaimer I could be totally off and if I am I offer my sincerest apologies to Spencer and 40K radio. However when you go and read the forums about all this gamer drama I think you'll find I'm not far off the mark.

Frank Frazetta Died

2010-05-13T01:01:00.000-07:00

What the heck? First Carl Macek and now Frank Frazetta?

Sigh.

Opie-Wan told me about it. At first I was like "Frank who?"

"Go look him up man, you'll KNOW who he is."

Sure enough I absolutely did.

This guys obituary credits him with defining the look of "Sword and Sorcery" with his Conan renderings. Man did he. I love his gritty take on Conan and his signature shapely women. You really felt like you were staring off into another world when you gazed upon his art. What impressed me all the more is he did covers for EC. You know EC Comics right? The guys who brought us 'Tales From The Crypt?"

As I did research into this little posting I felt really bad about the guy. During his last days his own son broke in to his art museum and stole his own fathers paintings!

WTF!

How do you rip off your old, ailing, dementia suffering dad of the work that made him famous and provided you with a living for your whole damn life (probably)? Dude, that is despicable. That sucks Frank Frazetta had to deal with that kind of bullshit so close to his death.

I've posted a bunch of links to his stuff below. Lets all pause for a moment of silence while we check out this guys amazing work.

So long Frank Frazetta. Thanks for being a pioneer that not only envisioned just what "Sword and Sorcery" is but for working to shape all our minds to picture our own fantasy endevors with your images.

Rest In Peace

Frank Frazetta... February 9, 1928 – May 10, 2010

Frank Frazetta Wiki Page

Story Of Frank Frazetta Son Breaking Into His Dads Museum

Collection Of Frank Frazetta Images

Naked Necrons

2010-05-12T03:14:00.000-07:00

Opie-Wan went out with me the other day to help me decide on a new army. Now I'm not giving up on my Imperial Guard and I'm not selling anything (except the Eldar... more on that in a future post. Man did I screw them up). Since I'm about top make a vow not to play 40K again with an unpainted army (a vow I will take only after one more game or JubieX and Opie-Wan will kill me) I needed an army that painted up quick and fast. My Guard unfortunately are not painting up as quick as I would have liked. I could have changed their color scheme only I really like the classic Cadian uniform. They look fantastic and I've decided to really take my time with em.

So that leaves me with no choice but to go get a new army.

We tossed around Tyranids and Space Marines. We even thought about me doing an entire mechanized list for the Guard. Any one of those choices would have painted up quick (minus the Guard which is why we ruled em out early). My standard for this project was my old Blood Angels Army since I knocked out a 1000 points of them in just three days time.

With the Tyranids out since I really have no idea how to play em and Space Marines out because we could really benefit from a non Imperial army, we settled on the very first army I ever did...

NECRONS!

When I did Necrons the first time around I did the whole black primer, drybrush metal thing. I even gave em a nice flesh wash to make em look dirty with another drybrush coat of metal on top of that. They painted up quick, looked fantastic and were the perfect army to get me into 40K.

Now I have The Army Painter.

I got their Plate Mail Metal spray on the way from the good 'ol War Store and I can't wait to get at em. I'm not too sure if I'm gonna go for the clean new look or if I'm going to dip them in strong tone to see if that is a good way to make them look dirty like they do in the codex.

Either way I have no doubt I should be able to get them done in about three days time (maybe even quicker).

Below is my Necron army list thus far. JubieX wanted us to do a 1030 point battle (poor dude has to do some serious point kung-fu to get his force just right... damned old Daemonhunter codex).

HQ: Necron Lord with a Destroyer Body and a Phylactery- 145 points

TROOPS: Necron Warriors x30- 540 points

FAST ATTACK: Destroyers x3- 150 points

Scarab Swarms x8 with Disruption Fields- 128 points

HEAVY SUPPORT: Heavy Destroyer- 65 points

Army Total: 1028 points

With everything in the army contributing to the Phase Out rule (minus the Scarab Swarms) I'm pretty confident I'm not going to have to worry about that. 25% of my 35 troops is 8.75 and since I have to round up my opponent has to get rid of 26 Necrons to force Phase Out. Each of those 26 troops gets to use the We'll Be Back rule on top of that. Now unless they get doinked by a close combat weapon that denies armor saves or they get smacked with a strength 8 to 10 weapon (8 for troops, 10 for the everything else, minus the Scarabs again of course) their going to get their attempt. I'm bound to role a 4,5 or 6 in 21 dice. They should be just fine.

My force is lacking some really nice anti-armor punch though. The Heavy Destroyer is the only model capable of dealing any kind of penetrating hit on something truly nasty (like a Land Raider or a Hammerhead. Guess who he'll be chasing after?). However everything is capable of causing glancing hits which is enough to put a kink in anyones slinky. The Scarab Swarms have been outfitted with Disruption Fields which makes them jetbiking Gauss Flayers. I can even break em up into two squads and send em out tank hunting. It's a good bet I'll be able to get at least one 6 in the 16 dice they'll roll against the armor.

Man it feels good to be playing these undead robots again. Their simplicity and ease of painting is pretty cool and damned refreshing.

Say a prayer for Opie-Wan and JubieX...

The dead are about to walk!

Sundays Top 5 Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#3)

2010-05-09T19:40:00.000-07:00

Heya Warp Fiends!

Sorry for the late posting. Mothers day and all.

So without any more futher excuses here are your Top 5 Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#3)

The Ravens Claw
This guys work is amazing! Clearly this is a hobbyist that has artistic talent. It's also cool to see someone do Orks (and do em right). This is all on top of a beautifully designed blog.

Stahley's Paint Station
Here is another painter that is just that... a painter. His Eldar are outstanding. The straight lines on the grav tank is evident of the high standards this gamer works to achieve.

Kabal Of The Sixth Circle
Woah! Someone doing a Dark Eldar blog! Woah! Someone doing a Dark Eldar Blog where the DE looks really nice as well! I really dig how he nails soft colors(the pick look really nice).

FishyPride
Here is a gamer that is after my own heart. He's got tons of armies, a lot of vision and has a hard time painting!

FOR RUSS AND THE ALLFATHER
If you dig battle reports this guys has a bunch of em. As you can guess from the name, we got Space Wolves here!

So that closes out yet another week of blogs that you really should be looking at (but for some reason, aren't). I gotta jet. Sorry for the quick one this week but I got my wife yelling at me to hurry up (I'm doomed tonight to watch a chick flick).

Sigh... Mother's Day.

REMEMBER...

DON'T BE A LEADER,

BE A FOLLOWER!!!

The Battle For Illegal Immigration: Game Night 5/3/2010

2010-05-04T22:16:00.000-07:00

Opie-Wan's Tau force and Jubie-X's Daemonhunters converged last night to fight a very unique game of 40K. Since I was gonna sit this one out (I was in a ton of pain last night) they grabbed my Imperial Guard Sergeants to use as objective tokens in a game that proved the battle for illegal immigration has even reached itself into the 41st millennium!

The back story is simple...

Imperial Guard troops are trying to defect over to the Tau. However their journey towards the greater good is met with the ire of the Imperium's Inquisition who are hell bent on making examples of these traitors!

It proves to be a no-holds-bard match up. Will the Imperial Guard Sergeants easily migrate over to the Tau or will their former comrades eradicate them for their treachery? We got Dawn of War in the scenario as an added monkey wrench to both sides plans.

Only some skill, tactics and dice will determine. With me as the photo bitch we will begin!

Props goes to Opie-Wan for witting up this battle report for the25mmwarrior.com

First up we got Opie-Wan's Tau 1000 pt list... The Sho'caor Sept

•Shas'o Pwan: XV8 Plasma rifle, Missile pod, Multi-tracker
•Fire Warrior Squad: 11 Shas'la w/ Pulse Rifles, 1 Shas'ui w/ Pulse
Rifle, Markerlight, Bonding Knife
•Kroot Carnivore Squad: 10 Kroot, 2 Kroot Hounds
•Pathfinder Squad: 5 Shas'la w/ Pulse Carbines & Markerlight, 1
Shas'ui w/ PC+ML & Bonding Knife
•Pathfinder Devilfish: 2 Seeker Missiles, Disruption Pod, Multi-
tracker
•Shas'ui Team Leader: XV88, TL Plasma, Multi-tracker, HW Drone
Controller, Sheild Drone
•Stealth Team: 2 Shas'ui w/ Targeting Array, 1 Shas'ui Team Leader w/
Targeting Array, Marker Light, HW Drone Controller, Black-Sun filter,
Bonding Knife, 1 Marker Drone
•Hammerhead Gunship: Railgun, Smart Missile System, Disruption Pod,
Target Lock, Multi-tracker

Now Jubie X's Daemonhunters (or heretic hunters in this case)

•Brother Captain Jubei X: Terminator armor, Nemisis sword, storm
bolter
•Stormtrooper squad 1: 4 w/ hellguns, 2 w/ grenade launchers
•Stormtrooper squad 2: 4 w/ hellguns, 2 w/ grenade launchers
•Grey Knight squad: 3 Grey Knights w/ stormbolters & nemisis weapons,
1 Grey Knights w/ incinerator, 1 Grey Knight Justicar w/ stormbolter &
nemisis power weapon
•Land Raider Crusader
•Dreadnought 1: "John McLain" w/ multi-melta, storm bolter, close
combat weapon
•Dreadnought 2: w/ lascannon, missile launcher
•Sisters Seraphim: 5 w/ TL Bolt pistols

•Turn 1. Game begins with night fight rules in effect.

Tau: Devilfish, Hammerhead, Broadside, pathfinders arrive, few scattered shot with no effect. "Hey, we have beer! Awesome!"

(Devilfish, Hammerhead, Broadside, pathfinders arrive under cover of darkness.)

Grey Knights: Lascannon dreadnought can not see the hammerhead, Jubie X wonders why he didn't take a searchlight. Brother Captain and Stormtrooper squad open fire on Shas'o, stormtrooper puts a wound on Shas'o. First blood to the Grey Knights.

(The stormtrooper squad blasts the Tau leader showing their suped up lasguns are no laughing matter)

Table at the end of turn 1

•Turn 2. Opie Wan first beer. Sun comes up!

Tau: The hammerhead fires Railgun at Lascannon dreadnought, shaking it. Shas'o and Devilfish unload on Brother-captain with stormtroopers, killing 5 troopers, they pass their morale.

(Opie Wans Tau makes the stormtrooper squad pay for that last wound to their leader)

Grey Knights: Stormtroopers lauch a grenade at Pathfinder squad, killing 2, Landraider puts a wound on Broadside Shas'vre

(Jubie X's Landraider unleashes on the heretics position)

Table at the end of Turn 2

•Turn 3. Opie's 2nd & 3rd beer

Tau: stealh team deep strikes, but scatters too bloody close to the grey knights, and I forgot that I could reroll it due to the Pathfinder Devilfish being in LOS. Hammerhead kills remaining stormtrooper with the Brother-captain with smart missiles, 12 man fire warrior squad rapid firing puts 1 wound on the brother captain, but
that's all he has. We all agree that that is silly, but rules is rules, so the brother be dead. The Shas'o reaches out with plasma and missiles, droping 2 stormtroopers from the other squad. Knowing they are in trouble, the stealth team opens up on the grey knights, downing 1 (not enough)

(The desperate firefight of the Stealth Team)

Grey Knights: Still no Serephim. Land raider brings the Broadside down, and another pathfinder. Grey Knights fire at the stealth team, doing 5 wounds, but only 1 failed save. Unfortunately for the stealth team the one failed save was not the guy who put them in charge reach of the grey knights. The grey knights charge, killing another stealth suit, causing the stealth remaining Shas'ui team leader and marker drone to flee, jumping 11 inches away from the knights.

(The Grey Knight are having trouble inflicting the kind of casualties the Tau have been hammering on them)

Table at the end of turn 3

•Turn 4. Dang, that's alot of beer, I better slow down, I work in the morning.

Tau: Flanking kroot arrive and move into cover near one of the objectives. Stealth suit regroups and runs for cover along with the remaining pathfinders, trying to get clear of the Landraider. The Hammerhead immobilizes the Lascannon dreadnought, and the Shas'o continues to send anti-tank fire into the stormtroopers, blowing another 2 to bits.

(Tau Fire warriors enjoy the tactical advantage of being in an elevated position)

Grey Knights: Seraphim will show on a 2+! No problem, right? Of course not, when do women ever do what you want? Next the Land raider moves to melta range of the devil fish; and rolls a 1. So the Melta-dread(John Mclain... named this because he never dies) fires at the devilfish... and rolls a 1. Stormtroopers launch a grenade into the firewarriors moving to claim the central objective, killing 1, the Las-dread repays the Hammerhead, immobilising it. The Grey knights take the free 6 inch move and assault the gundrones, easly killing them, consolidating into the central ruins. I need a beer.

(Just one of Jubie X's many "Ones" that he rolled)

Table at the end of Turn 4

•Turn 5, beer 4... you can still fight when your drunk!

Tau: Stealth suit pops out and calls in a seeker strike against the GK, killing 1. Shas'o Pwan Kanopie jumps in close, plasma cutting through armor, killing 2 more. Then the smart missles from the Hammerhead bring down the Justicar. Fire warriors scramble up the ruins as fast as possible to get to the objective.

(Tau Warriors desperately climb up the ruined building to their prize while their tanks give some much need suppressive fire below)

Grey Knights: Serephim finaly show, and pull a perfect deep strike to contest the objective, knights can now pull a draw if they can kill the fire warriors holding the central objective. The las-dread fries a couple of kroot, every thing else in range opens up on the Fire warriors, who are fairly exposed, killing 7. They make their morale check however, and stay true to the greater good.

(The Sisters show up right next to their target)

Table at the end of turn 5

•Turn 6... beer 5... The 25mm Warrior rolls to see if he game continues and rolls a 4. The battle rages on!

Tau: Devilfish downs one of the remaining stormtroopers. The Hammerhead fires at the landraider, immobilising it, but not stopping it from unleashing hell on the remaining firewarriors. It also reaches out with it's smart missles dropping a serephim, along with the Shas'o frying another, leaving 3 for the Kroot to deal with. 10 Kroot vs 3 girls, no problem right? These are the kroot who went toe to toe with
a dreadnought for 3 rounds! These are the kroot who got charged by a unit of Terminators and cracked them like a tin of sardines! Yea. The girls kicked their stripey backsides. Out of 24 attacks hitting on 4 and wounding on 3 I got 1 lousy unsaved wound. Mathhammer can suck it till it turns purple. Anyways, kroot fail their morale save, and get killed by the 2 remaining seraphim, leaving me only in control of 1 objective, not looking so good all of the sudden.

(Confindent of their numbers, Tiger Kroot engage the Women of The Emperor)

(...and get their asses handed to em)

Grey Knights: with nothing else much to shoot at the Las-dread unloads on the Shas'o, a krack missile finding it's mark and insta-killing the Shas. The landraider fires everything at the 6 shas'la holding the objective, killing 5. The last shot, a multi-melta, hit the last remaining model, the Shas'ui team leader, and needed a 1 to fry him, and draw the game... and Scott rolls another 1. The doughy Shas'ui makes him morale check, and stands his ground, keeping controll of the
objective.

(A lone Tau stands victorious in the face of some heavy fire and claims the traitor guardsmen for THE GREATER GOOD!)

(The die that decided the game... tough break Jubie X)

•Game ends. Tau 1 objective, Grey Knights 0 objectives.

Analisis (Opie-Wan): Amazing how the game can turn on a dime. I went from being in a very strong position at the top of turn 5, controlling 2 of the 3 objectives, with most of his troops melted into mooshy piles of super- heated ceremite, to 1 guy barely holding the middle objective and nothing else, at the bottom of turn 6. While I had some pretty bad luck with rolling, Jubie X had worse, so I can't complain too much there. I once again blew the deployment of my pathfinders and broadsides, and then later the stealth marker team, practacly giving the knights free shots.Broadsides need to deploy centrally, with clear lines of sight. Not. Behind. A. Frelling. Building. He did soak a fair amound of fire tho. Same story with the pathfinders, I ran them around a bunch and acomplished exatly squat, except catch bullets. If the game had gone to turn 7 it would of at least been a draw, with possibly even the knights squeaking a win (he had a single stormtrooper left)

Analisis (The 25mm Warrior): Man Jubie X had a rough time with all those damn one's he rolled. Amazing how you can have a good force with good deployment and yet loose due to the dies. I love it when games come down to just one decisive action and as fate would have it Opie-Wan walked away with the win

Jubie X's army really shines in the end game. In the past two games it has happened where he pulls from a seemingly smashing defeat to where he is only allowing the enemy to walk away with a marginal victory. I think this is awesome since he is a new player. If the dice had been just a bit different or the game went on for another turn the battle would have been much different.

I dread the day his dice line up with the Emperors Will

Painting My Zuzzy Textured Terrain Game Mat/ Product Review

2010-05-03T00:05:00.000-07:00

I got to admit I'm in a bit of a painting rut. My Guard army looks daunting and since I can do any army I want I tend to want to do all of em. Right now I'm just sitting on Guard, Orks, Eldar and Space Marines and it feels like the sheer numbers are sucking the drive to paint right out of me.

So I'm gonna paint some terrain, bide my time while I figure out what to do.

And man... do I have a lot of terrain too.

I bought the Zuzzy Textured Terrain Game Mat a bit ago. Zuzzy had some flubs with their shipping so I got a free 11x14 inch mat along with my 4x6 game mat. In retrospect I'm glad they screwed up the ordering because the good peeps at Zuzzy provided me with a small piece of the larger whole as a way of an apology. Thats just perfect for testing the paint scheme out.

I'm kicking myself that I didn't order that myself.

So I got everything laid out here. The mat I chose was the "The Ruined Land." Just looking at this mat is a bit intimidating as well. The mat is covered with multiple sections of cracked mud, broken trees, rocks and something that looks like mulch on top of the mass broken ground that covers the majority of the mat.

How the hell am I supposed to paint all that and make it look good?

I jetted over to a local art/ craft shop for some acrylic paint. Since I wanted this thing to look like a ripped up battlefield (kinda like the fields of WWI) I decided to really keep to strong earth tones. Brown highlighted with a lighter brown followed up with an even lighter brush of Bleached Bone seemed like a good idea.

I started slopping on brown...

Then I ran into a problem.

What was I gonna paint the mulch like sections?

Crap.

With nothing left to do I just took the brown and mixed it with the dark gray one to one and hoped.

Ok, ok... not bad. At this point I'm not really sure about this choice. Thanks Zuzzy for the screw around mat :)

Next I picked out the rocks with gray to give a bit of contrast.

Then I grabbed some Bubonic Brown for the trees. I'm not even sure why I have Bubonic Brown to tell you the truth.

Ack! Too yellow. Now I'm really starting to doubt myself. I only got one shot to get it close to right here. I'm gonna be bummed if I mess up my 80 dollar game mat.

Nothing left to do but drybrush that light brown I got...

And thats when it all came together.

Wow! What a difference drybrushing makes! I spent some extra time trying to blend in the broken ground sections with the mulch whatever that stuff is sections.

In the end I got this...

The absolute amazing thing here was this only took about 30 minutes to do. I figure a couple of days painting time and the full game mat should be done.

And after this I'm excited to paint it.

This mat is awesome! Once the ground is painted it really does look like the kind of battlefield we all dream of playing on. Zuzzy is a good company too and I really appreciate their willingness to acknowledge an oops and kick something down to the customer as a "hey sorry bro" gesture.

If you want a cool mat that paints up fast and you don't have to be some expert painter or model builder to get it then Zuzzy is an excellent choice.

Thanks again Zuzzy!

Sundays Top Five Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#2)

2010-05-02T09:42:00.000-07:00

Sup My Fellow 40K Junkies!

First I have to say a very heartfelt thanks for the awesome support from everyone who checked out Sundays Top Five Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#1). All the blogs listed got a nice jump in followers and that is all thanks to you guys! This blog got the number 2 spot on last weeks Top Ten to boot!

Again that is all because of you guys! From The Warp Rocks!

So lets get to it shall we?

Minions Of The Monster Master

Now I have yet to listen to the podcast myself but it has Mik from Mik's Minis (or Gyro as his pic now shows) so I know for a fact it's gonna be friggin awesome! I'm looking forward to putting em on tonight as I get ready to post my 1000 point Imp Army. From the looks of it we got gaming, booze and Cthulhu... seems like a total package. So get on over there and support your fellow Warper as they venture into the realm of podcasting! We can do em better than the 24 followers they have now can't we?

What Makes the Green Grass Grow!?

BLOOD DRILL SERGEANT, BRIGHT RED BLOOD!!!

I've been to basic training too :)

We got a service member here which is always going to get my attention (since I'm a Vet myself). So first things first... Thank you for your service and keeping me, my wife and my six year old safe from people who would wish us harm. There is no amount of thanks for what you sacrifice on a daily basis. I hope you take this little honor as an expression of that gratitude.

Now here we got a nice Chaos blog. So nice in fact it has one of the coolest conversions of a Valkyrie that I have seen so far. Keep up the good work Marine! (when you got the time that is :)

Opps... hold on a sec... got to put some Rush on...

There that's better. Now where was I...

diceRolla

This guys "about me" photo is Tom Servo from Mystery Science Theater 3000!

Friggin awesome!

So why should we give a hoot about this blog? Awesome painted minis, some tactics theory and a review of some classes he took at Adepticon. Nuff said.

Dub-Hammer

Here is a guy that comes to us all the way from Ireland! We got plenty of Warpers from The United States and England but I think he may be the only guy from The Emerald Isle. He's a Tyranid player with an awesome color scheme (the bone and red on these guys is my favorite). His love of Nids extends to some Battlefleet Gothic as well. Good stuff.

E's Painted Minis

Here is a blogger after my own heart.... a guy who struggles with painting his stuff. However the stuff he does have painted is excellent. Can't wait to see what he does with those Space Marines.

So that closes out another week. Remember, don't be a leader...

BE A FOLLOWER!!!

Burn Your Codex's and Rulebooks! (because you don't need em anymore... sort of)

2010-04-30T23:40:00.000-07:00

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!

A Sad Day... The Guy Who Made "Robotech" Died!!!

2010-04-29T23:56:00.000-07:00

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).

Quick Coatin Your Cadian Rides Yo!

2010-04-28T01:08:00.000-07:00

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.

My Rockin Ebay Find: STAR WARRIORS!!!

2010-04-27T00:02:00.000-07:00

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...

Sundays Top Five Blogs That Need Followers!!! (#1)

2010-04-25T03:52:00.000-07:00

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!

Proof You Should Always Cut Away From You

2010-04-24T02:06:00.000-07:00

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?

Cadian Rough Rider Conversion

2010-04-23T10:05:00.000-07:00

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.

Do Blogrolls Screw With Followers?

2010-04-21T11:49:00.000-07:00

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?

War Game Music Playlist!

2010-04-19T16:17:00.000-07:00

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!

Free Chimera!

2010-04-16T01:58:00.000-07:00

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!)

I Got Ripped Off

2010-04-14T02:07:00.000-07:00

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.

First Turn Mayhem: Game Night 4/12/10

2010-04-13T05:47:00.000-07:00

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!

Where I Buy 40K Stuff

2010-04-12T15:16:00.000-07:00

I've decided to let you all know where I've been spending my money. Some are good, some are, well... eh. Hopefully this will help you save some money and sanity.

Ebay
This guys name on ebay is Destroyer 3. I don't think I'll ever buy from another dealer ever again. This guys shipping was lightning fast (got my three Chimeras and Troops in two days time). That's not what impressed me most though. This dealer miscalculated the shipping and he refunded the difference. That blew me away! Ebay is full of sellers that gouge the shipping to make a few extra bucks all the while saying their stuff is discounted. Most of this guys 40K is at 25% off and he wont be looking for the difference in shipping. Awesome seller!

Zuzzy Miniature Terrain
I ordered the Ruined Land mat from these guys over a month ago and I'm still waiting for it. The mat looks cool, the concept looks cool, the waiting forever to get the dang thing is not cool. Now I can understand if they make these mats to order needing time to cast them and such but a heads up would have been nice. A shipping confirmation was sent to my email like five days ago and still my doorstep is barren. I hope the mat is worth the wait.

Armorcast
This item was plagued with some horribly slow shipping. This I didn't understand either. Their in Ohio for crying out loud. I'm in California. Now Destroyer 3 is also in Cali (which may explain the fast shipping) but if I had been elsewhere the items from him would have been there in a couple of extra days. Armorcast? Well it took about a month from ordering. Again, if they make this stuff to order then cool... just friggin let your customers know.

The War Store
Now if you don't know this store and you wargame there is something wrong. This is one of (if not the best) wargame stores on the web. Huge selection, nice prices and your package will show up with the note "Your Reenforcement Have Arrived!" How cool is that huh? Shipping is fast too. I had to replace some brushes and they got here is about four days. Not bad at all. The Army Painter Brushes are nice, really nice and best of all... their cheep.

Hopefully this helps you all out, saves you a buck and dispels the bewilderment if your stuff takes a millennium to show up.

Happy Hunting!

Basilisk Blues

2010-04-11T04:33:00.000-07:00

ARRRRGGGGGHHHHH!!!!!

Ok... I feel better.

No I don't.

This model was a nightmare. None of the pieces fit together. Either the holes were too small or too big. That really caused a problem when assembling the cannon. If I had just left the model as is the cannon would have been loose and unable to have a fixed angle position. Instead I had to do this...

And this...

The glue job took, umm I don't know.... TWO HOURS!!! This model just didn't want to cooperate. The angle I had to glue the cannons sides at caused the glue to unbind time after time again. My fingers were cramped and indented after.

But that wasn't the worst of it.

Anyone see anything wrong with this picture?

The heavy bolter is missing!!!

I looked over the sprues a bunch of times and nothing. Did GW forget to add the bit? It really confused me because the instructions show, you guessed it, a heavy bolter.

Now this is the new Basilisk kit that just came out. The kit had a heavy flamer but no heavy bolter. So I decided to call Games Workshop and was informed that the new Basilisk kit does not come with a heavy bolter!

WHAT THE #@%!

Since when does a kit not come with a slew of weapon options? Not to mention the dang instructions SHOW A HEAVY BOLTER!!! Here's a close up.

The good news is I sweet talked the Games Workshop guy into kicking me down a heavy bolter only this was bitter sweet. He only agreed to do that after I informed him of all the money I've spent on my Imperial Guard army. It did't matter that the instructions showed a heavy bolter or that all the other kits came with weapon options (thus having the customer expect said slew of weapon options) or that the box does not say what comes in the box. Still the guy was cool and reminded me this was a one time thing.

So if your getting the new Basilisk kit don't expect a heavy bolter.

Now I want to know if anyone else out there has any similar nightmare Games Workshop experiences.

Misery truly loves company.

TIGER KROOT!!!

2010-04-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

You guys remember 'ol Opiewan right? You know my old gaming friend who brought us his Sisters of Battle (and the awesome marble effect)? Well he's back and his allegiance seems to be swaying toward the heretical Tau! My Imperial Guardsmen brought back this intelligence indicating the treacherous Tau have enlisted the help of Kroot never before seen.

Many of my own Guardsmen died to bring you this information.

TIGER KROOT!!!

Awesome paint job and scheme Opie!

400pt Imperial Guard Combat Patrol List Vs. Daemonhunters or Tau

2010-04-06T06:00:00.000-07:00

My mates and I are going to be doing some combat patrol. One guy is doing Daemonhunters and the other guy is doing Tau. How is this list vs. those two armies? Thanks!!!

Platoon Command Squad: 30
-Autocannon: 10
-Plasma gun: 15
-Chimera: 55
pts: 115

Infantry Squad: 50
-Lascannon: 20
-Plasma gun: 15
-Genade Launcher: 5
-Chimera: 55
pts: 145

Infantry Squad: 50
-Lascannon: 20
-Plasma gun: 15
-Genade Launcher: 5
-Chimera: 55
pts: 145

Total Points: 400

Obeying Col. Corbanes Orders: An Army Painter Tutorial... Part Four: Finishing Touches

2010-04-03T22:20:00.000-07:00

Before we get into it here they are finished and complete!

First off I am very, very pleased with how these guys turned out. These are quite possibly the best minis I've ever painted!

To finish off the Guardsmen above all that was left to do was anti-shine, base and decal the mini. When using anti-shine to dull up the super shiny Army Painter dip only a few rules need to be followed...

First: Less is more.
Never put a bunch of anti-shine on the mini. YOU WILL CLOUD IT UP!!! Trust me... I know. A few short controlled bursts is all that's needed. If after the anti-shine drys and you notice there are spots where some significant shine is left over then apply some more but only a little each time. I'm serious about this! This stage is critical! If done wrong your mini WILL look like crap. Now in order to make sure we don't have crappy minis were lead right into the second rule...

Second: The Hand Waving method
Ok now I want you to do something. Raise the hand you use spray with and act like your waving goodbye. Are you waving goodbye yet? Good. Now imagine your holding your spray can in your hand as your waving. Now do that exact same motion when applying the anti-shine. If done in conjunction with short controlled bursts you'll be safeguarding yourself from applying too much of it and screwing up your expensive miniature.

Once the mini is good and dry it's time to base.

This is super easy and follows the same easy to paint and get on the table method we've been doing this whole tutorial. Paint the base Graveyard Earth. Then take good 'ol white glue and coat the top of the base. Then dip it into some modeling sand. Once that dries put some more white glue on top and pat static grass on top of the glue. That's it. Some people like to get all crazy painting bases, adding crap to it and such. That's cool and all but we're aiming for speed here. Besides I've never understood the whole painting bases thing. The modeling sand and static grass already has natural highlights and shades to it, saving you the time and trouble.

As far as decals go I used the whole Micro Set, Micro Sol thing that Miks Minis turned me on to. This was a first for me since I've never used the stuff. It's alright. Better than just using water. I was a bit disappointed that the shine on the decal wasn't dulled by the solution. The decals look far better than the job I did on my Blood Angels . I guess I was expecting it to look like it was apart of the paint job itself. Maybe the dip is screwing with it.

So there you have it. A big thanks to Col. Corbane for the comment that inspired me to do this. I hope that when it come to the Imperial Guard I obeyed his orders to do it quick and fast while doing it well!

Drop me some comments to let me know what ya think or have any tips to add to this yourself.

Thanks for reading mates!

A Product Review of www.theterrainguy.com's Textured City Game Mat

2010-04-03T02:49:00.001-07:00

So I shelled out some dough for a game mat to go with my city terrain. I was going to buy the Games Workshop modular game table but I was dissuaded by the whole having to make it myself. What if I screwed it up? Painting is trial and error and dropping a few hundred bucks to broaden my painting skills (which are pretty non-existent) seemed like a huge gamble.

Better to leave it to the professionals.

The Textured City Game Mat from theterrainguy.com is just what the gamer ordered.

Everything about this mat is friggin great. The mat itself appears to be made from a very flexible piece of canvas. The mat is shipped rolled up with a piece of plastic pipping in the middle. It unrolls flat so there are none of those annoying creases that you get with a lot of other game mats.

The actual playing field is very well painted with what feels like a thin rubberized coating that adds to the flexibility of the product. The rubbery texture just serves to make the mat look all the more like the ground of a ruined city.

Now this is probably something that any experienced modeler could do. However if your like me with little to no experience in making terrain (let alone a whole game mat) this kind if thing is awesome for around $70.00 bucks(or maybe it was $80.00... can't remember). The only complaint I had was it took a little bit for the product to arrive at my doorstep but when I opened it up and saw what a great job theterrainguy did with it all was forgiven.

Not much more to say other than it's a good mat that looks like how it is presented on the site and shows that a lot of love and care went into making it. The sturdy construction and ease of storage makes this a convenient game mat that is going to see a lot of battles.

It's clear that with game mats from www.theterrainguy.com you can't really go wrong.

Obeying Col. Corbanes Orders: An Army Painter Tutorial... Part Three: Dipping

2010-04-02T04:06:00.000-07:00

Time for my Guardsmen to take the plunge!

Now dipping is self explanatory however there are a few hints to doing it...

First make sure you have some mean grip pliers. It comes in handy when you start to ring out the excess. Make sure you have an iron grip on them too. There is still a Tyranid somewhere outside that flew off the pliers a long time ago. Also...

BEWARE OF DOUBLE DIPPING!!!

Dipping the mini once will give it all the coverage it needs. It seems that once it have been dipped and re-dipped (like accidentally dropping the poor mini in the Quick Shade) it darkens the color significantly. Now if your looking for a darker brown or some kind of middle between The Army Painters tones of shade then more power to ya. However it is a real bummer once you have been doing this to an entire squad and you double dip the last one and he looks different from the rest now (not that I'm speaking from experience or anything :).

Now after you got em all dipped and have ringed em out (your arm should be hurting at this point. If it's not your doing something wrong!) let em sit for about five minutes. After that its time to clean em up a bit.

The Army Painter website tells us to use a brush to soak up the excess that will pool up in the crevices. However the dip ruins paint brushes and the only way to fix em is to have some Turpentine handy (it breaks up the Quick Shade). I found that a tooth pick works just as well. Just gently roll the tooth pick across any area where there is too much dip and it will stick onto the pick. NEVER EVER USE A Q-TIP!!!. The tiny fibers will get stuck onto the mini and your mini will look like he has a hair problem.

That's pretty much it for dipping pointers. Tune in next time for some Anti-Shine Magic!

Cheers!

Obeying Col. Corbanes Orders: An Army Painter Tutorial... Part Two: Base Coating

2010-04-01T07:57:00.000-07:00

Can you paint by the numbers?

Great! Then The Army Painter is going to be no problem for you!

It's not hard to see what I've done here. Just a simple base coating job. I stayed pretty faithful to the classic Cadian color scheme...

Catachan Green for armor plating and lasgun.

Boltgun Metal for the metal parts of the lasgun.

Skull White for the eagles.

Chaos Black for the boots and knife.

Elf Flesh for, umm... flesh

Pretty simple and straight forward. However if your gonna follow this guide expect the Catachan Green to be a bit of a bother. It took a couple of coats to get it to look even and smooth. Actually it slowed me down quite a bit which was a little discouraging. I was hoping for a fast paint job. Given the small color pallet and The Army Painter primer I used in part one I was a bit shocked at how long the five man team took. Maybe it's the primer or the paint (or just that I paint slow now cuz of my injuries). Never the less it ruined my hopes for a fast paint job.

Since the paint was forcing me to slow down I decided to do a highlight job as well. Now I know the whole deal with "Extreme Highlighting." Problem is I can't paint a straight line to save my life. I do what I call "Drybrush Highlighting.

The picture doesn't do it justice (I suck at taking pictures. Where's my wife when I need her). Still the highlights on the minis were done first by doing a drybrush of Camo Green on the edges. Do this a few time to build up the color. Finish it off with a light drybrush of Bleached Bone over the Camo Green work you just did. Don't sweat it if you spill over the drybrush onto the flat pieces of the model. I ended up doing the whole model with the Bleached Bone drybrush. It looked pretty good. A better example of drybrush highlightging can be seen on this BattleMech I was screwing around with awhile back.

The highlights were done strictly by just drybrushing the whole model with Bleached Bone. It made the edges look sharp and saved me a ton of time trying to paint lines on my mini. It also softened the color which was nice because the purple was way to dark.

It's strange that a sloppy technique like drybrushing ends up making straight highlights on the miniature.

Go figure.

Tune in next time for some dipping action!

Cheers mates!

Some Commentary on Commentary... A Blog Response To Rons "What Should I Post About."

2010-03-26T12:04:00.000-07:00

Now if you have no clue what I'm talking about go check out our fearless leaders blog post What Should I Post About.

I'ts cool I can wait... really go check it yo! I need to put some Rush on anyway.

Back? Right on.

This post really hit home for me. The opening sentence is what did it, "When you decided to start your blog, did you think about it then or were you just hoping it would come to you later on once you got started?"

Rons post may have been some commentary about how to get rid of bloggers block, finding your own voice, etc but it struck a different cord with me. It made me sit back and think about where I've been and where I'm going blogwise. Now this blog is about wargaming and 40k in particular. Because of this Rons post made me stop and look at where my hobby has been and gone to in the time I've been doing it.

I've mentioned before that I'm in pain a lot. The pain stems from injuries I received in the Military and pain glazes over everything I do... including my wargaming. As a matter of fact for a long time I would shy away from it. Pain got the best of me and I gave into it. It became easy to do too. I had lost my job anyway, had to sell my miniatures to make ends meet. Even before that though my buddy would call up, wanting to game, wanting to hang out...

I just made up some excuse.

Here I'll give you an example. Imagine your sitting in a comfortable Lazyboy chair. Your paint tray rests in your lap and a fresh Command Squad from your army lays about it. You start to go to work. Maybe you'll paint, or put some models together or clean em or whatever. The all of a sudden your back hurts. A slight ache that begins to spread down your arm so you stop for a sec, raise you head to see whats on the TV. You go back to it then all of a sudden your foot writhes in pain. You leg jerks from it knocking paints pots around. You take some pain killers and a hour later the edge is gone but now your vision is blurry (damn side effects). Now you can't see what your doing so you get up to get a drink and fall over from the pressure on your foot because you have to walk on your scars from a surgery that was supposed to fix all this mess...

I'm so sore right now from putting model buildings together in a Lazyboy chair. It doesn't help that I lean heavy on a cane with my right hand to walk. I'm right handed thus the arm and back problems when I do this stuff. Not to mention moving around a game table...ugg.

Geeze I'm jacked up from putting models together?

See why I love The Army Painter so much?

This blog has become much more than a wargame hobby journal to me. It is a chronicle of my fight with pain and an ever growing struggle to not let it take anything else away from me. My injuries have consummed too much from me and I'm hellbent to not let it take my beloved hobby as well. Gaming maybe painful for me now but I struggle on, in spite of it. I never would have thought I would grunt, cuss, stiffen and be overcome with pain because of my hobby but thats the hand I was dealt.

and that's what I post about now.

Thanks Ron.

A Ruined City In Two Days

2010-03-26T03:16:00.000-07:00

Rome may not have been built in a day but I razed this bad boy in in about 48 hours...

Man I got my work cut out for me...

My back is killing me.

I bit the bullet and ordered a Ruined Sector, craters and twelve city barricades. At first I was a bit miffed. The Ruined Sector showed up in a box... the shipping box. All the was in there was a bunch of loose sprues. The pretty package that the GW website had displayed wasn't there, just a Fed Ex box with a bunch of stuff in it. I can picture the employee looking at my order and saying something like this...

"Hey Mac... we got another order for a Ruined Imperial Sector again."

"Oh man, you serious? We're all out."

"Well, we do have a bunch of loose sprues laying about. Why don't you go gather a bunch up and throw em in a Fed Ex box. No one needs the exact packaging anyway."

"Um ok."

If I'm gonnna shell out ninety bucks for something, it better come in the package on the site. Not to mention I've seen this item in my local game store IN A PACKAGE! WITH THE PICTURE ON IT AND STUFF! SO I KNOW IT COMES IN A PACKAGE!

I'm not really mad... it just threw me off and made me feel GW didn't really care.

The models on the other hand are awesome! The kits are fully customizable and you can make whatever you want out of em. As per usual I got a grip of bits left over too (which is always a plus).

Some IG boys in the middle of being base coated for part 2 of my Army Painter Cadian tutorial.

Even as I type this I'm pretty racked. Back is stiff, arm is sore. I guess there really is no avoiding it, I'm jacked up and my hobby will always hurt from now on. Maybe I should just cool it, pace myself only I've never been that way. You have to do things in spite of the pain, fight it as you go along. Now when I paint, model, whatever, there is a lot more going on than gluing and dipping.

Man, why can't this crap come painted :(

Obeying Col. Corbanes Orders: An ARMY PAINTER Tutorial... Part One: Primer

2010-03-18T06:03:00.001-07:00

"Whatever you do, don't choose a complicated scheme like me, you'll be painting them for years. Dip and drybrush are the key my friend." -Col. Corbane

Dip and drybrush are my M.O. yo!

I guess the Colonel doesn't know me very well yet:)

For those of you that have been following my blog for a bit you know I hate painting, love playing! Painting gets in the way of me having fun! I bought 40K to play it, not spend a ton of time painting and then maybe in a few years I'll get around to a decent looking game. NO! I want to play damnit!

And I want my force to look decent.

The Army Painter is a Godsend. You still spend some time painting but it cuts about 80% of the time out. With a force like Guardsmen it really is convenient.

I've always digged Cadians. The uniforms, vehicles, models, I mean there really isn't a whole lot not to like with the Imperial Guard range, look and feel. Even the original color of the uniforms is awesome. The dark green meshed with a dark khaki or desert yellow is stunning on a force the size of a Guard army. The uniform reminds me of old WWII color schemes U.S. soldiers used to wear.

Never the less the paint scheme is hard to pull off. I tried it a bit and could never get the models to look even close to how GW had em. It would always look either too dark or too light. In either case the figure came out looking like a failed attempt to emulate the Cadians homeworld color.

Thats when fate intervened...

I had a bit of experience using The Army Painter Primers before but this time I needed something that would be spot on for that tricky Khaki/desert yellow looking fatigues that Cadians are known for. I looked at pic after pic, comparing it to the GW paint line trying to see what would work. GW says to use their Desert yellow paint but if you know anything about how The Army Painter works the last stage of Quick Shading will darken whatever color I decide to go with.

So I took a gamble. The uniform appeared to took like a dark bone color. I went back to The Army Painter website and compared their Skeletons with pic of the Cadians from Gamesworkshop.

Sure enough I think I found a close match for what I wanted.

At least I hope I did or I was out 30 bucks (ahhh the trial and error process of painting).

As you can see the coverage is very nice and it didn't take much of the primer to get complete coverage of the mini. Heed my advice though...

WHEN USING ARMY PAINTER PRIMERS USE SHORT CONTROLLED BURSTS!!!

A steady spray is too much in using this stuff and can quickly cake on the paint on the miniature, covering up detail. The heavy pigmented primer is a little tricky to get used to but as you can see the coverage is awesome. Even the cans top is pretty spot on to what the color will look like on your figure.

So for this tutorial I'll be painting five Guardsmen.

I hope this little tutorial/journal will show you just how easy it is to use this product and get your force on to the tabletop quickly (and looking fantastic to boot!)

Tune in next time for some basecoating action!

Cheers!

An Ungent Message To Col. Corbane!

2010-03-17T21:04:00.000-07:00

-BEGIN TRANSMISSION-

To: Col Corbane, Nobel Servant of the God-Emperor

From: The Administratum Chambers of His Emperors 147th Imperial Legion Command

Re: Warning to the Emperium and an Addendum to The Parade Ground Blog list

Dearest Col. Corbane

It is our most deepest hope that this communique reaches you in time. Our force is now stranded on an unknown, hostile world after responding to a distress signal which appeared to be Imperial in nature. Upon planetfall our deepest nightmares were realized. The signal had been sent by heretical Chaos agents in order to lure an Imperial presence away from support sectors. Their nefarious plan is to take apart the noble servants of our Emperor one at a time as new units respond to the signals.

We tried sending warning attached to the transmission alerting the Emperors servants to stay away however we discovered in horror that the transmission is not one, but countless others. They differ so much from one another that it is impossible to filter out each and every one of them. Some are calls for help, other for routine assistance, some appear to be legitimate orders from Terra herself. Whoever is doing this has a very intimate knowledge of our most Holy workings

Our Fleets High Astropath senses a traitor.

Please warn the Emperium of any incoming transmissions as they my be heretical and traitorous in nature. Please don't do anything rash and try to mount a rescue for us. The warp is especially dangerous here and we nearly lost the fleet when we entered the system. You must do something quickly Col.Corbane. New Guard units and His Most Holy Marines enter this sector daily and most meet a tragic end. However with all the reinforcements coming in it has sustained us as we fight the unholy cohorts of chaos and the disgusting xenos that appear to populate the planet. Since all of the approaching commands have been broken and in disarray the survivors have banded together to form the 147th Imperial Legion.

Please inform Terra of our designation that it may be added to the most Holy roster of men fighting for The Emperor across the galaxy. May the Administratum be pleased to note that the 147th was chosen from the Cadian force that responded to the 147th transmission summoning them to this hell trap. That Cadian force was able to rally the survivors to fight back.

Our commander formally requests that you add www.the25mmwarrior.blogspot.com to your Parade Ground blog list in hopes that the Emperium may be warned to stay away from this unknown, unholy world. Hopefully from the hub of this blog the rest of the realms of mankind will be able to hear and see what is going on with us. We can only hope that this message reaches you from the warp we find ourselves in.

The Emperium is in your hands Colonel

For the Glory of His Mighty Will!

-END TRANSMISSION-

What Do You Do To Pass The Time When Aspects Of Your 40k Hobby Get BORING!!!!

2010-03-16T13:30:00.000-07:00

I've never done it before... and as I do it I'm well aware just WHY I've never done it before.

My Imperial Guard force has well over 30 miniatures in it and I've only just begun the drudgery of scraping off mold lines off my troopers with a razor blade. Luckily I haven't sliced my fingers... yet.

Still with all this time on my hands I figured I might as well do it. When I sold my Blood Angels army Ron himself was interested in buying it until he inquired if I had taken the mold lines off the Marines. Since I hadn't he passed on the buy. Still it was a huge complement for me. It's no mystery that Ron is an accomplished painter and modeler and he thought my work was worth buying? Yeah, my head inflated (thanks Ron!).

Still this whole new aspect to my modeling is boring so I was wondering...

What do you do to pass through the time when aspects of your 40k hobby get boring?

Me?

Well I watch war movies (Saving Private Ryan, Gods and Generals, Glory, Starship Troopers) or listen to talk radio (Coast to Coast AM is always a riot). Lately though as I scrape the evidence of mass production from my figs I've been watching Mystery Science Theater 3000. I find it provides some much needed laughter amid the mind numbing repetition.

Besides, Tom Servo rocks yo!

So what do you do when your scraping, filing, cutting, pinning, gluing, converting (I'm running out ing's here)?

Cheers mates!

My Revised Imperial Guard Army List Yo!

2010-03-14T06:36:00.000-07:00

Man, I really was blessed by Max's response to my original post of the army list. His direction, insight and introduction to the Tactica Imperium really got my mind focused on just what I was doing and what I wanted from this army.

I hope the rambling below shows I was a good study.

I decided I wanted a static gun line type of army. I've always been fascinated by how wars were fought back when gun powder was new (so to speak). I'm a big fan of the Civil War (I tried to get it's autograph one time but it's bodyguard blocked my attempt) and the fighting back then has always captured my attention. Upon first glance it seems suicidal... just line up and shoot. However on a second glance you see the logic behind it. Have your men get into position, line up and shoot all the while having support elements peppering the enemy into bit size chunks for your troopers to take out more easily.

At least thats the plan and here is my list for it's implementation...

HQ Company Command Squad: 50
Vox-caster: 5
Regimental Standard: 15
Bolt Pistol: 2
Sniper Rifle x 3: 15
Carapace Armor: 20
Total: 107

TROOPS Platoon Command: 30
Bolt Pistol: 2
Vox Caster: 5
Grenade Launcher x 3: 15
Total: 52

TROOPS Infantry Squad: 50
Grenade Launcher: 5
Vox Caster: 5
Auto Cannon 10
Commissar: 35
Total: 105

TROOPS Infantry Squad 50
Grenade Launcher: 5
Vox Caster: 5
Auto Cannon 10
Commissar: 35
Total: 105

TROOPS Veteran Squad 70
Vox Caster: 5
Plasma gun x 3: 45
Grenadiers: 30
Total: 150

FAST ATTACK Valkyrie 100
Lascannon 15
Multiple Rocket Pods 30
Sponson Heavy Bolters 10
Total: 155

FAST ATTACK Armored Sentinel 55
Hunter Killer Missle: 10
Total: 65

FAST ATTACK Armored Sentinel 55
Hunter Killer Missle: 10
Total: 65

HEAVY SUPPORT Leman Russ Battle Tank 150
Lascannon 15
Heavy Bolter Sponsons 20
Hunter Killer Missle 10
Total: 185

Army Total: 989

The army really has a more focused feel to it now. The vehicles act as support and harassers to enemy units. Since the Sentinels and Valkyrie move fast and have a bitchen range on em I hope to draw the enemies attention away from my Guard squads as they slowly advance up or get into position to fire themselves. The Hunter Killer Missiles are just too good to pass up at 10 points a piece. The potential to wipe out threats that my harassers would have to deal with on the first turn is to cool a gamble to pass up.

Speaking of gambling, I threw the Plasma Guns onto the vets and heeded Max's advice to toss em into the Valkyrie. One, I like Plasma Guns and Two, I dig the idea of a vet suicide squad acting as a quick reaction force to my enemies big threats. No Guts, No Glory!

The command squad has snipers. I kinda debated this one for a bit. I didn't want a command squad that just sat back and did nothing but issue orders although I didn't want a CS that got too close to the fray and got smeared quickly. Since snipers can pin that won me over. I can pin the enemy if they try to rush my troops or pin the enemy so my squads can close in.

The squads themselves are pretty straight forward. Grenade Launchers, Lasguns, Commissar just in case morale is broken and the leader needs to be executed for his incompetence of command... you know the usual. The Autocannons give the men some much need range so they aren't just chilling in the rear with the gear.

Now this list does have some tweaks I can do to it. I purposely aimed for approx 10 points under the 1000 point limit to be able to switch out to missile launchers if the AC's don't perform to my liking or I just want to try something different. If range becomes an issue and my enemies get savvy and just try to stay out of tickling reach I can switch out 2 snipers for a mortar team for some serious tickling action. Even the idea of putting the Plasma Guns on the command team and throwing em into a Chimera is possible with only a few changes to the list.

However this is war and my plan can easily be shot all to bloody hell. We used to say in the Army that "you can train all you want but when the bullets start flying you do what you have to." You have to be flexible in war. If I can't get the enemy to commit to my gun line I can still break up the line and assign vehicles to provide covering fire while the Vox Casters keep everyone linked up (we got Verizon. They even gave us a sweet monthly plan and discount since we're an army!) In straight up games I think I'll do ok if I can keep the enemy at a distance (I'm friggin fodder in assault!). In objective based games I may be hurting a bit but I imagine that would take a whole other list entirely. Besides if you can't defeat you enemy... hurt him really, really bad. Make him pay for his victory!

My force needs a name, a number designation and a story. Games Workshop has an extensive product line for the IG and I'd like to have a force that has elements of all of em (eventually). Cadian squads fighting next to Praetorians. Steel Legion being supported by Elysians...

"CATS AND DOGS LIVING TOGETHER... MASS HYSTERIA!!!" (come on, who doesn't like Ghostbusters?)

Hmmm

Well I was the 147th blog to join From The Warp...

!!!

The 147th Imperial Legion is born!!!

Now I just got to figure out how to put Pin-Up Girls on my vehicles...

Hey, the mens morale is top priority!

My Army Has Arrived: IMPERIAL GUARD!!!... EMPEROR HELP ME!!! (but I'll settle for your tips).

2010-03-12T01:25:00.000-08:00

So I decided on the Imperial Guard for my new army. I just went out and bought an approximate 1000 point force to get me started. After I assembled my troops I put my list together (I know, I know... it's wiser to make a list, then buy the army but thats not nearly as much fun). Here it is for your scrutiny. Now I have no idea what I'm doing so really lay into me... LET ME HAVE IT!!! BE RUTHLESS!!! (it's for me own good:).

HQ Company Command Squad 50
Power fist 15
Heavy flamer 20
Vox-caster 5
Medi-pack 30
Regimental Standard 15
Krak grenades 5
Total: 140

TROOPS Platoon Command 30
Bolt Pistol 2
Vox Caster 5
Medi-pack 30
Autocannon 10
Total: 77

Infantry Squad 50
Grenade Launcher 5
Vox Caster 5
Total: 60

Infantry Squad 50
Grenade Launcher: 5
Vox Caster: 5
Total: 60

Platoon Command 30
Bolt Pistol 2
Medi-pack 30
Vox Caster 5
Missle Launcher 15
Total: 82

Infantry Squad 50
Flamer 5
Vox-caster 5
Total: 60

Infantry Squad 50
Flamer 5
Vox-caster: 5
Total: 60

Heavy Weapons Squad 60
3 x Lascannons 45
Total: 105

FAST ATTACK Valkyrie Assault Carrier 100
Lascannon 15
Multiple Rocket Pods 30
Sponson Heavy Bolters 10
Total: 155

HEAVY SUPPORT Leman Russ Battle Tank 150
Lascannon 15
Heavy Bolter Sponsons 20
Hunter Killer Missle 10
Total: 185

Army Total: 994

Now I just went in the game store and bought the mins, thinking this looked like a good starting force (I had a little bit of experience from buying an IG army for my uncle a number of years back as a gift). However when I sat down to write the Army List I got discouraged. Putting a list together for Imperial Guard forces is daunting to a beginning player (at least it was to me). So I consulted the all wise, all knowing internet to see if there was someone out there who could give me some direction. I became really encouraged when I stumbled across the page below and found that the models I bought were nearly the same ones in his list...

http://www.games-workshop.com/gws/content/printArticle.jsp aId=13900003&_requestid=487957

Now there are some differences. He seemed more top heavy with heavy weapons in the squads and lighter on the vox casters. Is this a good idea? Do all my troop squads need vox casters? I also got 6 Commissars and 2 Sentinels laying about as well. Should I throw them in somewhere? Should I just stop asking questions? Whats the meaning of life? Anyone know how babies are made? Is there truly a wrong way to eat a Reeses?

This army was extremely fun to put together though. I dig the concept of collecting them as a whole force with tons of axillary troops to add on ( a Cadian/ Elysian joint task force would be friggin awesome). In any case it seems an Imperial Guard army is hard to get bored with.

I'll post pics of em soon as well as my plan to paint em... fast!

Can you say Army Painter?

I knew you could!

There and Back Again

2010-03-03T00:31:00.000-08:00

Yep, the title is a total rip off and if you don't know what from you should really check your credentials as a gamer... (ok, I'll give you a hint... it's the Lord of the Rings).

Still I can't think of anything better.

About six months ago I vanished. No warning other than a few reports that painting had become painful for me. No, I really mean PAINFUL!

Like... ouchy.

I still can't hold a brush for too long without my back and shoulder killing me.

But that wasn't the hard part.

I lost my job. Out of the blue I found myself out of work. With my ass crippled from my military service there really isn't too much work I'm suited too other than what I was doing which amounted to sitting on my ass.

I got fired from sitting on my ass...

go figure.

As money began to dwindle and job prospects looked bleak along with some serious foul ups from unemployment (im still waiting for a check six months later even though I've always done the job looking required for the benefit) I had to sell everything I had ever collected.

Entire armies, test figures,, games, even the bits went up in smoke on ebay. Actually I learned Warhammer 40k mins really are a decent investment. If their painted ok you even make a little bit of a profit (thanks ARMY PAINTER).

Never the less I sank into the blues. I never would have thought my military service would cost me my hobby let alone my professional ambitions (I am a trained Police Officer). Now not only does it hurt to paint I can't paint thanks to the stupid economy.

Imagine if you had to just give up your hobby... wouldn't you get a little blue too?

Even looking on FTW blogs became painful. There everyone was, advancing without me, going along with their hobby while I had to sell mine to keep things stable for me and my wife and son.

I didn't feel much like blogging.

Until now.

As with all things, this bleak time in my life appears to be coming to an end. I got my settlement for being disabled. A doctor looked at me and said "Wow, your crippled."

Needless to say I should be back in a place where I can game once again.

I'm excited. For the first time in a long time I'm excited. What army am I going to do? It's like I'm stepping into 40K for the first time all over again. It will have to be something easy to paint. Still, until a new job comes through (who knows how long thats gonna be) I'll be right on my ass anyway so maybe I should take my time with it.

Nah, still hate painting.

So (hopefully) this is hello again and (hopefully) the first fruits of many other blogs to come.

It's time to rebuild my collection, overcome the pain and find a bit of myself again.

I hope you come along for the ride.

FROM THE WARP always,

The 25mm Warrior

Hurting My Bak-U-Gan

2009-07-28T05:09:00.000-07:00

Heh, get it... Bak-U-Gan... Back-A-Gain. HA!

And yes it hurts like a @$#&!

I got hurt a number of years ago in the military and ever since my body is falling apart. The resent back injury is yet another chapter in a slew of back problems. I original just had injured feet which has lead to injured everything. The pisser of this time is that with my back out it has seriously hampered my painting/ gaming life. I walk with a cane now so my right arm feels like mush at the end of the day.

Hard to paint with a mush arm. Can't seem to hold my brush steady lately and it aggravates my already tender back.

Even simple gaming has become extremely painful. Moving around a table, hunching over, taking measurements... these things are not supposed to hurt... but they do. My pride doesn't help any either which keeps me from going to the game store for any pug games and Opiewan tends to vanish during the summer months (his job keeps him busy. I hope to see him again soon... I hope).

Anyway the past month has been real depressing. I never would have thought my service would ever result in my hobby becoming a chore. Painting becoming painful and moving around a game table so tiring that I'd just rather not.

So in the midst of my despair I rediscovered WOW, spent some time with family and met a gaming savior I never would have imagined...

My son.

He spent his allowance on something called Bakugan. My interest was naturally peaked as I watched him roll the Bakugan balls onto the gate cards to have the ball transform into some mythical creature. I read the rules, taught them to my boy had to leave the action cards out... that will come later) and thoroughly enjoyed getting my butt kicked by my five year old. I rushed to Wal Mart to get my own Bakugan to defeat my son.

I still lost.

Sigh.

I didn't care, I was gaming again with the one person I really want to game with. He cheered me up and got me playing a game that doesn't hurt. Your curses can become blessings sometimes.

Still I'm really sore. Not sure when I'll get back to painting, gaming. Just got to give it time I guess.

You guys really do make me feel like I'm part of a community and it was awesome to see that some of you were concerned about where I went to. I'm still here and I'm not going anywhere.

Just because I'm not painting or modeling right now until I get better doesn't mean I stop being an active member of the community. I'm really looking forward to just wandering from page to page, admiring what you all do best and what you all inspire me to do.

So wish me better and if you have kids go get some Bakugan for em. It really is that good.

"All Gave Some, Some Gave All..." U.S. Paratrooper Army FINISHED!!!

2009-07-04T20:24:00.000-07:00

There is something surreal about painting historical miniatures on the 4th of July. In reality your painting the representation of someones son, husband, friend, dad who went and served in some terrible struggle. It made me thankful that not only is war gaming a great hobby but now it offers an outlet to never forget, to pause and reflect, to stop and say thank you.

On this Independence day I finished my 1000 point Flames of War U.S. Paratrooper force. I wanted to get it done by the 4th so I could do a tribute post to all who served and put their lives on the line for this great country. It is they who have ensured my families and your families independence so we could have cookouts and beer, fireworks and sparklers, independence and freedom. Today is possible and a reality because of their sacrifice and it's important we all pause and remember.

I hope you do as you look over my army

Happy Independence Day and God Bless America!!!

Command Platoon

Paratrooper Platoons

Machine Gunner Team

Sherman Team

"All gave some, some gave all..."
I'll let you decided which is which

Standing Upon a Miniature Crossroad. or A Gaming Pitty Party

2009-06-30T05:14:00.000-07:00

I'm starting over.

I don't want to do Orks. They paint up great but I don't like them. Their just not me. I should have listened to the the 40k rulebook guideline to picking an army... pick one you like. If I had to paint Blood Angels into a collection I would go sick. Dang I picked two armies I didn't really want to do. Got to file them under the was a good idea at a time file and offer em up on ebay.

I don't like to have unfinished stuff around. Just reminders that I didn't finish what I had started, a mirror that shows me I am a fickle gamer. 40k is a bit of a mystery to me. As I mentioned before each and every army attracts me and repulses me at the same time but there are none that really "grab" me.

In a way I feel like I'm dating this game. Playing the fields of war until "the one" comes along. If it's anything like my actual marriage "the one" will come when I'm not looking for it but alas this is a game and it forces you to make a choice and it's not dating either. It's more like having a bunch of mediocre women standing in front of you all in a line. You only want one of them (to court them all would be a one way ticket to loony ville). Only you know nothing about any of them, just how they look.

And I don't know which one to pick

Test driving this game is expensive and making a wrong choice is expensive ergo just like in real life playing the field hurts your wallet and can burn you out (not that I would know "in real life" of course...*wink*).

So I'm selling my stuff, raising a financial pool until I figure out just what The 25mm Warrior really wants.

If anyone wants a go at my Blood Angels army it's at

http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Painted-Warhammer-40K-Space-Marines-Blood-Angels_W0QQitemZ110409137214QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item19b4e5bc3e&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=65%3A1|66%3A2|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A0|293%3A1|294%3A50

My wife put the "Pro-Painted" part in there. She says tag lines like that help it to sell. When I think of "pro" I think of guys like Ron not pro TAP dippers like myself.

So good luck and any advice on armies would be most welcome:)

The 25mm Warrior "Which Blog Do You Admire The Most" Shout Out Post!!

2009-06-24T00:33:00.000-07:00

You know all to often in our lives cool peeps cross our path and we never tell them what we think of them or what they do that makes an impact on us.

This blog is a shout out blog and I want to know which blog in the From The Warp community has influenced you in some positive way. It doesn't have to be just one it can be as many as you like. Anything that has entertained you, improved you as a gamer, made you a better player, influenced your own blog etc. Hopefully we'll get a nice mix that will tell others of the great bogs out there and to check em out!

Now don't be shy. Here I'll start. There are three blogs that have really helped me grow in just about all facets of my hobby. The first being Miks Minis (www.miksminis.blogspot.com). What doesn't this guy do? His blog has everything. From painting tips to conversions to movie reviews to secrets of the universe to the Colonels secret recipe, I mean you name it this guy has it somewhere on his site. The eclectic jumble of games that peppers his posts makes me know there are kindred spirits out there who can't just do one game or one miniature but have a drive and passion to do it all. Not to mention he is a nice guy who goes out of his way to leave great comments. If these is a blog who I aspire for mine to be like the most it's Miks Minis. Thanks Mik, you rock bro!

The second is www.davesminiaturewargames.blogspot.com. With my uncle here I wouldn't even now what gaming is and without his blog I know I wouldn't have one at all. He taught me to paint, taught me to play, always told me games are cool but if you can get a date with a hot chick game night can wait. Ever since I can remember I've been watching him do this stuff and there is no one who has influenced my hobby more. Thank you Uncle Dave!

The third is our HQ, the club hub, the head big leader cheese grand master general of all From The Warp forces. Come on now, Ron is really a given but props and lovin have to be shouted out to the guy who brings us together and gets us noticed the most. Not to mention I really enjoy his emails that keep me up to date on what he's doing and for his collaborative posts that get us all working together on a common topic.

See how easy it is? So come on, which blog influences/ inspires you the most and why. Send some props out today!

My Fathers Day Present!!!

2009-06-21T23:06:00.000-07:00

So my family, knowing of my ailing eyes (along with the rest of me it feel like) and wanting to help my seeming worsening blurry vision, got me one of these...

Man what a difference! My eyes don't hurt while I paint anymore. The white light floods around and is so natural it absolutely eliminates eyestrain. Not to mention the light improves the pictures that my wife so loving takes of all my minis. See for yourself...

Icky light

Nice, good, comfortable white light

Heh yes that Ork is the latest in my bold attempts at conversion. While playing Dawn of War I heard an Ork shout "Up Yours!!!" I wonder if I could make an "Up Yours!!!" Ork.

Looks like I can :)
(Good primer job too)

Nothing beat my sons card to me though. In it he wrote for me to go to the game store and get whatever I wanted. Now what kind of daddy would I be if I didn't listen to my own dear boy?

A huge I love and appreciate you to my Wife, Son, Mom and Dad for being loving and supportive enough to help me along in my hobby (and making it easier on the 'ol eyes)

For you Dads out there I hope your fathers day was filled with love and cool swag like mine was.

And if your not a dad...

"Go find a wench. Raise fat babies, live a good long life." -Porthos

Of course do that so your can get some lovin and cool swag.

Happy Fathers Day!!!

Returning To Your First Love...

2009-06-13T10:08:00.000-07:00

Oh you remember it don't you?

The way your eyes would light up when you saw the object of your affection. How you thoughts would be occupied with it. The excitement you would experience, then way it seemed to soak up all your time. The way tha...

Huh?

Dude, I'm not talking about a girl I'm talking about games. Geeze. This is a gaming blog remember?

My first "gaming" love was Battletech and oh how I was smitten. My twelve year old mind was filled with images of lumbering BattleMechs and stories of great houses vying for control of the universe. I remember how I would look over the rule book trying to wrap my twelve year old mind around things like "line of sight," "terrain modifers," "pluses to hit," and the oh so complicated "death from above." I felt advanced. The rest of the world was playing "regular" games but I was playing a tactical war game.

And as time went on I found other games and more complicated rule set. Battletech became a thing of memory taking its place beside things like He-Man and Captain Power (heh remember that one?). You know the things you did as a kid but rest only in the memory of your childhood?

But what if you could go back?

For my birthday this past year my uncle (who told me I could start playing these games at twelve... never understood why that was the magical age) got me the Classic Battletech boxed set. After tearing that thing open I was quickly reunited with my first love. What a trip it was to see record sheets again, battlemaps and those oh so boxy looking Mechs.

Now I'm not a die hard Battletech fan but it is something I like to breakout every once in awhile and give it a go. The cool thing is the boxed set came with twenty four miniatures which fits in nicely with my painters ADHD I suffer from. This new Battletech is different. Wae website really gave alot of direction in how to paint the minis to be apart of actual units within the game giving the experience more of a context than when I was a kid painting up all the mechs different colors (yes I had a rainbow mech and yes he is in a landfill somewhere).

"Word of Blake religous fanatics from the 7th Division IV-Iota: The Glorious"

Aww... their holding hands. Er guns... er hand in guns. Mech on Mech lovin... umm...

I used a bleached bone basecoat with a light drybrush of white along with metallic highlights around the Mech. The they went for a good dip in TAP

The nice thing about these miniatures is it's kinda hard to screw em up. Any cursory look at the Mechs on the website will tell you that. They come in all different paint schemes. I figured this would be a good time to spread my painting wings a bit and try a color I have never painted before... PURPLE!!!

Again these guys were used with TAP but I took a more detailed approach to painting then is required. Working with Liche Purple I built up the base coat by drybrushing lighter shades made with bleached bone, skull white and a bit of tentacle pink. Then I blacked ink the whole mini and followed up with yet a lighter shade of purple. The highlights are just straight bleached bone.

Then I dipped em.

I followed the Free World League 3rd Marik Militia: Lucky 13th paint scheme. We need some good guys to take down those religious crazies right?

So whatever your first love is I hope you return and find some of the fun I had as a kid (and I do mean games. Please don't call up some girl who broke your heart in high school... that's just creepy).

So Long Blood Angels...

2009-06-10T09:44:00.000-07:00

To start, a pre-script...

When I first started out with the Space Marines I had originally intended to do Ultra Marines. Seeing how well The Army Painter did and their tutorial on how to paint up an Ork I order the red primer. Since I'm an impatient fellow I painted up one of my Orks while waiting for the red primer to show up and realized that I didn't need the red primer. So here I am with a can of red primer, strong tone dip and a bunch of unpainted marines.

Ok, I'll just do Blood Angels.

Then I discovered after I painted them that Blood Angels have their own codex and they are primarily a close assault force. Looking over my list I had just painted up a Blood Angels shooty force.

Sigh.

Now the force I have has been a great training bra. They've taught me the game and they have played decently but I think it's time for me to part with them. I don't want to have to spend more money on more marines and more red primer. It's like I'm doing the army all over again. Besides if I ever really wanted to do them again it only takes a little over a week to get a painted Blood Angels force going again.

Then there is a question of gaming.

I really only play against Opiewan and he has been working on his Sisters for the better part of ten years (and they still arn't fully painted yet!). I mean really, how many Imperium on Imperium games can you play?

Boooooring.

So over the next couple of days I'm just gonna ebay my Blood Angels. They've taught me how to play but I think our time together has come to an end.

Now I got to figure out what army I really want to do... maybe it's back to the Orks for me :) The problem is when I look at the 40k armies they all appeal to me and they all repulse me in some way. I want what every 40k gamer wants though, an army I can really get into and collect for a long time (would be awesome to eventually do an apocalypse game some day).

I guess I just haven't found my niche yet.

Chalk it up to a noobie feeling his way around a vast universe and stubbing his toe.

So long Blood Angels!

A High Elf For A Low, Low Price

2009-06-09T02:07:00.000-07:00

I'm a big fan of test models. After all who wants to put up his expensive force to the whims of a paint scheme that might not end up looking right.

Thankfully my local game store has an extensive bitz/loose miniature bins with plastics for fifty cents and metal ones for a dollar. Now most of the stuff in there is crap but every now and again you'll find nice little gems. The Eldar a couple of posts down was from those bins.

Since 'ol Opie and I are eying Mordheim (a game he has wanted to play for years) I wanted to see what I could pull off here.

The Shadow Warriors list looked really cool so I scoured the bins looking for a High Elf fig. Since these guys are outcasts and are "shadow" guys I wanted to go with a darker look than the traditional High ELf. Not only did I find a High Elf fig but the bottom of his base says "1984!" The sculpt was super easy to paint and cheap too (remember, plastics are only fifty cents!). I mainly used codex gray for the robes instead of the usual white for High Elves to make him "shadowy." This is also the first time I've ever just painted the miniature as it. No primer. The paint seemed to go on smoother this way and it kept the color tone down a bit since this minis base coat is essentially just the plastic. Again this supports the dark tone of the figure I was aiming for.

And of course he's dipped in TAP. I wanted to use the strong tone to make him look dirty (can't imagine an outcast faction would look very clean). After the dull coat was applied TAP works wonders on the gems making them look shiny as if you actually painted em!

He was a fun little mini to paint and I'm looking forward to more of em. Heh it would rock if I could form my whole warband from those bins. I'd save a tone of money!

The 25MM Warrior: Check This Blog Out Follower Call !!!

2009-06-08T01:44:00.000-07:00

Go check this guy blog out especially if your a fellow Guard player

http://blackbagjob.blogspot.com/

Awesome conversions, slick paint jobs and eyes, man can he paint eyes!!!

Join me in bugging him for a tutorial on how to do eyes!!!

Thanks mates!

A Time Saving Tutorial: Painting a Saim-Hann Eldar In About 30 Minutes

2009-06-06T03:18:00.000-07:00

Not bad huh?

I never even painted an Eldar before.

I picked up this mini in a bitz box at the local game shop last night(for a buck at that). With our fearless leader sending out a call for blogs about time saving tips I figured it was the perfect time to show you just how simple and fast The Army Painter dip really is. Not only is it quick but the level of detail is unparalleled for the amount of time you'll put into the mini.

You want to save time?

Here's how I paint a Saim-Hann Eldar. All paints used are from Games Workshop.

1. I primed the miniature white. This a crucial. Unless you want the mini looking really dark after you dip it always use white primer (or The Army Painter primers that are designed for it). We've tried it the other way and believe me, the mini will come out looking far better.

2. Since this is a Saim Hann trooper red is the primary color. I used Blood Red for this. Cover the main body area trying to be careful not to get it onto other area of the mini where you'll be using different colors. It's no big deal if you do but it does save time in it's application. Easier to put colors over white than fighting with a stronger color base coat. This step took 5 minutes. If you have The Army Painter Primer: Red you can just skip this step altogether. Remember though if you use the red primer on the mini as is (plastic or metal) it will look a tad darker than if you just prime white. I found that out with my Blood Angles.

2. Next was the helmet using Fortress Gray. I decided on going with a gray helmet against white considering I'm using the strong tone which is a dark brown color. It looks good on gray but ends up making white surfaces look brown. Took 2 minutes for the helmet. I also went for a lighter shade of gray since the dip will darken it up some. Also this is where I could change it up a bit and add some color variety to the mini. Wraithbone is way cool and is a welcome change to my usual painting (bolters and metal weapons get a bit boring after awhile). I covered the gun and his device thingy in Bleached Bone. Now the strong tone quick shade looks awesome on Bleached Bone. This step took about 7 minutes.

3. With the miniature nearly done it's time to focus on some detail. The weapon tube and gems were the longest step clocking in at about 15 minutes. I never knew just how important gems were to the Eldar mini until I painted one. The model is covered with em. Not to mention you want them to look good (more on that later). I changed up the gem colors. on red I used Enchanted Blue. The gun got Liche Purple gems. I used Goblin Green on the device and the helmet got some more Blood Red.

4. Now your Eldar is done and ready to take the plunge. Go ahead and go back and clean up anything where you made a ooops before you dip though. This will be your longest step, letting the mini dry. Now you don't have to wait the 24 hours The Army Painter website tells you to wait. My patience lasts about 30 mins and then I start to dull coat the the mini. Not only does the anti shine take the shine away but it also smooths out the stickiness from the dip.

5. Remember those gems? Now their all nice and dull from the protective coat you just put on em. Now if you can paint gems more power to ya but were saving time here so scratch that idea. Instead take a toothpick and get just a dab of the dip on the tip. Glaze the point over the gems and just let it dry. The dip with make em shiny. Natural light with give it a gem effect.

That's it fellas, nice and easy. All in all painting time took about 30 minutes. Simple math tells us a squad of 10 is gonna take nearly 6 hours.

A squad in an afternoon?

Now that is saving some time!

A Pizza Box & Popsicle Sticks...

2009-06-03T21:23:00.000-07:00

Opiewan has been a long time fan of Mordheim. Now I believe that part of being a good friend is doing what they want to do from time to time. As a gamer I have my alliances (to say I have games I already play) and money is really the only factor that keeps me from grazing the green pastures of other games out there. I know I put so much effort into one game I don't want those efforts wasted on something that may or may not stick.

But then again who cares?

I'm a gamer and in reality I'll play anything. I already have my 1000 point trainer bra force to learn 40k (a Blood Angel cross your heart support bra at that) so while I figure out what direction I'm gonna go with my main 40k love why not see what else is out there.

Not like I'm married to my Marines...

Ewww.

So when Mordheim came up I was immediately intrigued at the setting. A ruined city? I've always wanted to do one of those and an entire game done in a small version of one with a small Warband force seemed like a refreshing change from the overwhelming atmosphere miniature gaming can take on (painting hordes and hordes of troops and all that).

8-12 dudes and your done.

Awesome!

So last night I looked over at a pizza box. Then I grabbed some small Popsicle sticks, white glue, clippers, ruler and a razor and voila!

I'll have do do up a blog showing step by step what I did.

On a bummer note I accidentally erased my visitor tracker and can't find where I got it...

Sigh.

Post, umm post: Found my tracker. Got it from histats.com. Man I was bummed there for a sec. Thought I lost my whole blog traffic history. Thanks for helping out guys!

Jerry Tanks! And A Call For Some Camo Help!!!

2009-06-02T07:23:00.000-07:00

The other half of the Flames of War starter set came with a couple of German tanks.

I had to eyeball these ones for their paint scheme. For the U.S. troops I had picked up there recommended paints at the local swag dealer. I did that before I went out and got the stater set and after the Sherman tanks painted up so quickly I decided to give these guys a go.

The pics of these looked like a desert yellow. Since I didn't have the Vallejo color the paint guide called for I decided to go with GWs Desert Yellow. Problem was in most of the pics I was seeing the base coat either looked darker or greenish. That was no problem really knowing The Army Painter would darken it up some as the dip dried on it.

The Part that really scared me was the camo job on em. I've never been able to pull off camo right. It looks like camo should have a real fluid look to it on the mini with the colors blending into each other. Camo jobs on other miniatures I've seen pull this off nicely. When I would do it however it clearly looked like I just painted stripes on the damn thing. So this time around after I had zebra'd the tank up well I drybrushed a lighter shade of the base coat (Desert Yellow with a drop of Bleached Bone) over the stripes. I tried to take care to do this around the edges of the camo pattern while glazing over the stripes hoping that would blend it all together. While it worked better than any other camo job I had ever done it still feels like it could be better.

Does anyone out there have some good tips for doing up camo or know of a link to someones blog that talks about it?

Proof You Should Never Give Out Your Blogger Login Info...

2009-05-31T07:33:00.000-07:00

A disclaimer first...

The link may be considered "crude." Now if your from my kind of play group this kind of humor is standard fare but I do realize some people are easily offended and if you are please click to a more rated G blog post now. You've been warned...

http://s200.photobucket.com/albums/aa175/Rukavin/?action=view¤t=army25.jpg

Again, my apologies for it not being a direct link but this is what I found posted on my site.

Who is the culprit you ask?

From what I can tell it is the very hot blonde who is the mother of my son! Can you believe she kisses these lips with that sick, twisted sense of humor lumbering around in that sweet head of hers? I would have thought that since we gave each other our lives, our hearts, our very souls in wedded matrimony that I would have been able to trust her to just take the pictures of my stuff and leave it at that but noooooooooo she had to go and...

What's that?

Did I have anything to do with that?

Umm...

Ok, ok... so maybe I thought up the words but I swear she took the pic. This must have been what Adam felt like when God punked him out over Eve.

Just look at this one...

"Look honey their kissing!"

Sigh...

It reminds me of the time I let her pick my Mage Knight army. While my buddy had a coherent force I ended up with a "pretty" one.

Yeah I lost that game... badly.

So fellas this is proof you don't give out your blogger info to ANYONE! Not even your beloved wife/ girlfriend/ whatever you may have these days. They may bat their eyes, pout the lips, lean forward and (you get the idea *wink*) but stay strong my brothers! If you do...

Oh who am I kidding...

I'll eat the apple every time.

(Love ya baby! Thank you so much for always taking the pics for my site and making my minis look awesome. This blog would look like junk without you!)

Don't forget to look below for the real post for my Flames of War minis guys!

From The Skies: My Painted U.S. Paratrooper Starter Force

2009-05-30T23:42:00.000-07:00

I spent some time on these fellas.

I used The Army Painter on em for the shading work but I took a different approach to these miniatures...

I took my time with them.

Perhaps it's their size (a first for me at 15mm) but they took longer just by default. I looked into the Ospray book series, scoured the net and bought their codex (er Intelligence Handbook...) to get a good feel for the uniform. Unlike fantasy/ sci-fi, these guys are representing a force that actually existed. By way of a little history lesson the U.S. Paratrooper had three variations of the jump uniform before the war ended. Since Flames Of War seems preoccupied with mid to late war it made sense to paint them according to the M1943 late version of the G.I. diggs.

That means lots of olive drab.

Now I could have used the standard way TAP is supposed to be used... simple basecoat, dip, varnish, done. However with the olive drab color permeating most of the model I wanted to go for a level of detail I usually don't care to achieve. Seeing others FOW minis spoke volumes to the size of the mini dulling down the detail. Since the mini is so small and most historical uniforms are so single colored in nature the 15mm mini grouped with others like it on the stand can tend to look like un-detailed lumps moving across the battlefield. This fact is so much so that a lot of players forgo accuracy, sacrificing detail for a better, more brilliant look to the mini on the field (go watch TAP tutorials when he uses the splash technique with FOW minis and you'll see what I mean).

So I layered paint, using a darker green and dry brushing the OD green on. The webbing/ backpack was not strictly khaki but also had a "greenish" tint to it and benefited from the technique too. I shyed away from using to shiny a metal color since the weapons were either had a very, almost black color to the metal or the weapons were painted the predominate color of the forces vehicles. The end result made The Army Painters job look all the more spectacular. It seems the more work and detail you put into the mini before it's dipped helps to make the mini look that much better when it is dipped. While the product is designed to do alot with very minimal effort it goes the full nine the more detail you put on the figs. The Army Painter can't shade away the painters hand.

The really big departure from my norm for me here was the basing. Following my simplistic, assembly line approach to the hobby I treat bases like the rest of the mini. However when I saw the FOW picks on the bases they intrigued me. Using filler and a process that is "stupid simple" (for the record I'm coining that... I'll expect a nickel, no a quarter every time someone uses that phrase) I'm gonna blog about how I do em. When You look below I think you'll agree that they look awesome.

Go out and give historical minis a shot. Flames Of War is a great system. Kinda like 40k but backwards. Fact is if you've played one mini games you've played em all really.

The 25MM Warrior: Check This Blog Out Follower Call!!!

2009-05-29T03:54:00.000-07:00

Hey all

Cruise on over to this guys blog

http://madtroll-underthebridge.blogspot.com/

I'm sorry it's not a direct link (that always gives me trouble) so you'll have to do some good 'ol fashioned copy and paste. Great looking paint jobs, conversions and Forge World minis to boot. I think were just see the tip of the iceberg with this fella.

Also I think I'm gonna do this more often when I get the chance. It seems to me From The Warp is a community. It's not just about my blog it's about everyones blog and if I can give a shout out to a great new blog and help that person get some followers and exposure than awesome. It breaks the heart to see someone have some excellent stuff of their site and have next to no one following it.

So from now on If I come across a blog that has great content that the whole community should see I'll be posting "The 25MM Warrior Check This Blog Out Follower Call." I hope it helps some get the attention we all want and hope we get.

Cheers!

The Winner Of The 25MM Warrior Funny Caption Contest Is...

2009-05-26T23:59:00.000-07:00

KEVIN!!!

Man he rocked over 50% of the vote! From the get go when I read that post I thought it might win and here it is in the winners circle for all to admire! Sarcasm wins the day!

Take a bow Kevin... you are victorious!

Everyone shoot Kevin a line and pat him on the back!

Now how in the heck do I get a hold of you to send you your prize?

I've clicked on your icon and it doesn't send me to your blog. Please post here Kevin for a way to get a hold of you so I can put this sweet, molded resin prize in the palm of your funny hands!

As always thanks to all of you who played. It was a lot of fun and one day we will do it again...

Thomas has not seen the last of the 40k universe!

Cheers!

The 25MM Warrior Funny Caption Contest Finalists!!!

2009-05-23T00:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, what a week!

First off a very heartfelt thanks to everyone who came out and flexed their funny bone. They made us laugh, made us cry (we wont tell you who did that)and was a really good time to be apart of From The Warp.

You all deserve a big pat on the back.

But alas there can only be three who rise to the top. Only three that made my wife laugh the hardest and chuckle the longest. So here you have it, the finalists in The 25mm Warrior Funny Caption Contest are...

KEVIN

Blue: The perfect desert camouflage...

MASTER DARKSOL

"They see me rollin... They hatin."

EEK

Reassigned to one of humanity's outer colonies, Thomas's first day on the new job was more eventful than he expected.

These are the three my wife thought were the cleverest and the funniest. Congratulation fellas!!!

Now here's the low down for the final...

Off to the right there on my sidebar is a poll. Go vote for your favorite one out of these three. The From The Warp Community will now pick the winner! The poll will be up for three days and voting will end on Wednesday morning at midnight. Everyone can vote only once (and yes the finalists themselves can vote too, wonder who they'll vote for...). When the poll closes whoever has the most votes will be the winner!!!

I ask that whoever does win that you blog about your victory on your site and also blog about receiving the prize in the mail.

So there you have it From The Warp. Who will be the first even winner of The 25MM Warrior Funny Caption Contest!

The choice is yours!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Less Than 12 Hours To Go... Hurry Before The Contest Ends At Midnight!!!

2009-05-22T12:37:00.000-07:00

Hurry, Hurry, Hurry!!!

Contest is two posts down!!!

Blog with the finalists will be up shortly after!!!

GOOD LUCK!!!

Come Over And Enter The Contest!!! It Ends Saturday Morning At Midnight!!!

2009-05-20T03:48:00.000-07:00

Wow the entries so far have been fantastic! Very, very funny stuff (can't wait for my wife to read em on Saturday!). If you haven't entered the contest yet cruise on over and read the post below for your chance to win a Death Korp Command Squad! If you have entered enter again! There is no limit to how many times you can post your entries. Maybe you've been thinking about what your gonna post. We're halfway done and it ends Saturday morning at midnight. The finalists will be posted in a blog and a poll done up for the community to vote.

The more the better!

Best of Luck!!!

Welcome To The First Ever The 25MM Warrior Funny Caption Contest!!!

2009-05-16T17:38:00.000-07:00

Pretty funny huh?

Ok here's the low down...

Create a funny caption in the comments about the picture above. You can enter as many times as you like. Next Saturday my wife (yep that's right fellas MY WIFE!!!) will read all of them and pick the three most funny captions. After that I'll put up another blog listing the three finalists and then the community will vote on which one they think is the funniest!

So your task is two fold. Create a caption that will make not only your fellow gamers laugh but will make a NON GAMER laugh.

As way of an example think of "The Far Side" comics or ToyFares "Action Figure Theater" and go to town!

Now for the rules...

1. This contest is only for "From The Warp" and "Bell of Lost Souls" community members. If your not a member very sorry (you should become one anyway). If it comes out in the sauce a non member submitted a caption it will not count.

2. No making fun of other captions in submissions.

3 Keep it clean. This contest is in full compliance with the high standards set out in the "From the Warp" web site. If in doubt ask yourself "What Would Ron Do?"

4. If I personally know you your automatically disqualified (sorry Opiewan)

5. Have fun guys!!!

And of course the winner will receive this in the mail...

A Death Korp Command Squad!!!

Hopefully this will inspire someone else to shell out oodles of hard earned cash for extremely expensive miniatures (or you can just hawk em on ebay and get a pretty penny... makes no difference to me). This contest is for everyone regardless of where you are in the world. Where ever the winner is I will ship it him! (as long as shipping is under 20 bucks that is :)

So there you have it guys The First Ever The 25MM Warrior Funny Caption Contest!

Good Luck!!!

I've Changed My Mind So We're Having A Contest!!!

2009-05-15T00:20:00.000-07:00

Elysians?

Did you know about Elysians?

WHY DIDN'T ANYONE TELL ME ABOUT ELYSIANS!!!

So I'm at work flipping through the Forge World catalog that came with the Death Korp Command Squad I just got and my mouth dropped open when I saw these guys. I didn't even know they were there. I was so blinded by the Death Korp that I think I missed em. Anyway I'm ditching the Death Korp idea and doing Elysians Drop Troops now.

Now being a Veteran Air Assault U.S. Army trooper myself these guys totally played into my sentiments. I know I did up the the poll about the Death Korp and one day I will do them but for now I've got to do these guys. When I decided to put up the poll where you guys decided for me to do the Guard I had the idea of a force with pin-up girls on them. Elysians are THE Imperal Guard force for that. With the release of the new Valkyrie... oh man I can't wait to slap pin up girls all over em :)

These is one problem though... I already have the Death Korp Command Squad. Now what am I to do? These guys are just to damn pretty (in a gritty kind of way) to throw into my mini closest only to be filed away under the "I'll get to you later" drawer. You guys have been so awesome with all your comments and help and I really appreciated everyone that came out to vote for the now ill fated Death Korp idea that I've decided to do a contest...

and the prize will be my Death Korp Command Squad.

I'll leave it at that for now while Opiewan and I hammer out the details, rules, hire a firing squad to deal with cheaters etc. I also got to get the idea over to Ron since I guess there is a blog around here that features contests and stuff.

The contest will be up on Saturday night. Holy geeze that's tomorrow night! I better get crackin and oh by the way, sharpen your wit everyone and dust off your funny bones...

Your gonna need it!

Tutorial: How To Speed Up Shipping On Your Miniature Orders

2009-05-14T00:20:00.000-07:00

I have a full proof method that is guaranteed (you read right GUARANTEED!) to have your miniatures shipped faster to you. As a matter of fact if you employ my full proof method chances are they will show up that day!

Here's what you do...

Complain.

That's it, just complain.

Now you have to have waited about two and a half weeks after you initially paid for your order but when you do it's certain to show up that day. Actually you need to contact the company and tell them how you've emailed them three times and how no one has responded (that is another step to The 25MM Warriors full proof method) and how your not happy with them. Also include a very pointed statement about how much money you were going to spend in future purchases. End the email with a threat of asking for a refund if the order does not show up according to The 25MM Warriors full proof method and go to sleep. When you wake up run out to your mailbox... your items that you have been waiting forever for will be there... GUARANTEED!

Thank you Forge World

Getting The Wind Knocked Out Of Your Sails...

2009-05-12T09:04:00.000-07:00

Been a bummer of a week for painting.

I hate writing this because I think The Army Painter products are truly awesome but this past week we've been running into some snags.

I bought a can of white primer at a local game store this past weekend. Upon application of it on a poor unsuspecting space marine I noticed little white dots peppering the entire mini. It looked like snow and appeared raised. Gone was the expectation of a smooth coverage that I am used to with this product and expectation was replaced with a servant of the Emperor being covered with a primer that felt like sand paper when it dried.

That was the second time I used it.

The first time actually ruined one of my Flames of War US Paratrooper stands. As I sprayed the mini thick droplets sprayed out of the nozzle. I tried to work fast to clean the white off and I am sorry to report I wasn't successful. I just got word that the defense department has already sent letters out to the families of these brave soldiers informing them of the incident.

If that wasn't enough this morning I went to use my can of gray primer for some more Confederates and guess what??? The propellant inside the can got used up before all the primer was out of the can. Now I'm stuck with a quarter can of primer that I can't get out! That ever happen to anyone?

I wrote Neal at thewarstore.com to see if I can get an exchange or something.

I've been painting minis for a hot minute now and I've never run into these kinds of problems with primer before. I'm bummed. I totally wanted to paint today and now I'm sitting in my chair not sure what to do.

*Shrug, Sigh...Tear* :(

For Everyone Who Has Kids (or is a kid at heart)... Hmm I think That's Everyone... Go Check This Out!!!

2009-05-10T05:29:00.000-07:00

Check this out!

http://www.ironhands.com/GHrules.htm

Some genius out there created miniature rules for use with the Star Wars Galactic Heroes toy line! From what I can see it appears to be kid orientated too. I'm so going to go buy them, play the game with my boy and do up a battle report :)

Enjoy!!!

How To Play Miniatures WIth Your Five Year Old

2009-05-08T17:50:00.000-07:00

He sees you painting, priming, modeling, basing, playing...(I'm running out of ing's here).

It was only a matter of time until he wanted to play too.

My little boy recently found my stash of D&D miniatures. I had bought them not to play a miniatures game with (I think Wizards minis rules stink) but to play D&D with. As fourth edition hit the shelves I got the idea to do the introductory module all in 3-D. I made a card stock dungeon (an endeavor I don't recommend to anyone), bought all the minis separately to coincide with the encounters in the adventure. I spent a month on this project and guess what...

We never frigging played it!

So here I am with a ton of miniatures for a crappy mini system, an adventure that never got used and a ton off pretty looking card stock. What is a gamer to do? Ebay it? Use it kindle a fire? Toss it out with all the other failed games filing this under the "Well it was a good idea but..." file?

My boy had a better idea.

"Daddy I want to play. Can we play with your miniatures?"

How could I say no.

So we set up a dungeon, grabbing baddies and making a final room with a Green Dragon in it. I got him to play a very simple game too. He was the band of heroes and I was the dungeon monsters. We rolled a D6 for movement. When you move next to a monster we did contested die rolls with a D20 with the higher roller winning. We had a blast.
As time goes on it will be cool to add more rules to the mix... pluses to hit, chances to dodge, multiple wounds etc... and I know one day he'll grow out of the little game he used to play with daddy and start playing Warhammer 40k Twelfth Edition or whatever. But I think the best game I will ever play with him is the one we made up together.

Show me your War Face!!!

The Dungeon

My boy got the idea to set up a secret room with a monster inside guarding treasure. You can imagine my pride :)

The Dreaded Green Dragon!!!

Playing the Game (I love the look on his face).

If you got kids I totally recommend and encourage you to do this with them. We had such a good time and yes I lost... fair and square. Good game My Boy!

(This blog is dedicated to the man who showed me games when I was a boy. Things are truly cyclic. Thanks Uncle Dave... we love you!)

Check This Guy Out!

2009-04-28T10:14:00.000-07:00

To All Warpians!

Dude come over and check out this guys blog at www.clubworkshed.blogspot.com

Not only is he a cool guy but his painting stuff needs to be seen. With the kind of minis he's putting out on his site you got to see it. Not to mention he's got some stuff about The Army painter as well. His Eldar look fantastic dipped in the quickshade.

It breaks my heart to see a fantastic looking blog with great content have only 5 followers. Go check out clubworkshed now! It's a great little stop :)

What In Blazes Does The Civil War Have To Do With Warhammer 40k???

2009-04-28T09:24:00.000-07:00

Well nothing really.

Except of course if your using Confederate troops as a test for a uniform color scheme.

My uncle's real passion is historical wargaming. You name the era, the country, the battle he's got it and has done it. He has always been ready to play whatever game I've wanted. Growing up it started with Battletech and moved on to others in the realm of fantasy and science fiction. However I never played anything historical and he never pushed it on me.

Recently (and much with the advent of The Army Painter) I realized I really didn't care what I paint... I just want to play games. I am not a painter, I'm a gamer and with him moving away from me just on the horizon to a new life on the east now more than ever I find myself wanting to spend time with man who stepped in when my own father stepped out. So I went to him and told him I would play whatever... it didn't matter to me.

We chose the American Civil War.

As we sided up (him to the Union, myself to the Confederacy) I remembered a picture I saw of a Death Korp trooper. His uniform was gray and about the folds of the cloth it had a dingy, worn look. So I'm thankful I can try out my color scheme for my expensive Death Korp minis on my not so expensive Confederate troops and I think it turned out just fine.

Yeah we got Colonel Sanders from KFC right here baby!

You can see where the army painter makes the gray look dirty. Perfect I think for Death Korp

Used Krylon Matte Varnish on the whole lot of these troops but also on the flag that was cut out from a sheet of plasta-paper. Took the shine right off and you can see how well Krylon matte works just as well as the expensive stuff.

This guys pants turned out just the way I would want for Death Korp troops.

18 troops fully and completely painted and based in three days time. Why people don't use The Army Painter is beyond me.

Also I am happy to report that my first batch of Death Korp is on it's way...

Pinching Pennies While Being Shaken Down

2009-04-21T03:32:00.000-07:00

Our chosen hobby if fraught with overpriced merchandise. No one needs to be reminded of the cost of their armies. Being in a blog ring united by our common love for Warhammer 40k we see first hand how much money we all shell out to do what we love. It seems a bit strange that a guy who is about to start an Death Corp army is writing a blog about money saving tips. Actually it makes perfect sense. I have to pinch pennies where I can. A Death Corp Army runs well over two hundred and fifty bucks per four hundred points! In a hobby that tries to shake us down of all our cash they force us to cut corners, mind every nickel and pinch those pennies hoping we can get more bang for the buck.

I have four tips that I use when looking to save a dollar or two and I hope they'll help you all out there in the Warp.

1. Never Buy Direct From The Manufacturer...

It's true, they have it all. The manufacturer is never out of stock, has all that you need and is always willing to send you stuff right when it becomes available... for a price. By buying direct you end up paying the the most that company is trying to get for their product. If you got the cash then great but if your looking for a deal check out tip 2...

2. Find a Good Online Store...

Ahh these are great and can be a true friend to the gamers wallet. Usually most internet dealers cut you a deal by shaving off 10,20 sometimes 30% off the "suggested" price since they know you got to shell out at least 5 bucks for shipping. The War Store.com is a great example of an online dealer who cuts deals constantly. Another great example is The Discount Games Store on ebay. This guy sells discounted 40k swag with free shipping. Usually bidders end up with a great deal saving about 5 bucks off the price since he only ships the sprues and not the box. Shop around you'll be surprised what you find.

3. Pet Store Terrain...

I'll never forget the night Opiewan came over to game with a bag full of desert terrain pieces. To my surprise he told me he got all of them at our local pet store. Surprise turned to shock when he mentioned he got all of it for 50 bucks. We've gotten tons of complements From The Warp on our terrain set up. None of it came from a game store where you may end up paying 20 bucks or more for one piece. Never has putting a good looking board together been so easy and affordable.

4. Buy Krylon Matte Varnish

My wife shakes her head every time I come home with name brand cans of painting supplies. So one day she hands me Krylon Matte Finish from Wal Mart. At first I objected. I stated how "gamer" painting supplies are made for what we do specifically, how they are tested and true, that to use anything else is a risk to my precious minis. Sure enough it worked like a charm. Anyone who uses The Army Painter knows you need tons of matte varnish to take away the shine the dip leaves on the mini as it dries. I've spent 15 smackers on cans of brand name matte varnish. My wife spent 3 bucks on Krylon Matte Finish. Yeah, she said "I told ya so ya dork."

Now we can't save a lot of money on our hobby. It's high prices are the nature of the beast. However there are alternatives, short cuts and other ways we can "stick it to the man" for shaking us down. No matter what they may charge nothing beats the imagination of hobbyists. The passion alone breeds original thinking which is characterized all throughout the Warp here. I hope my little tips help you out and save you a buck or two so you can super size your next meal or have enough gas to get to the tourney.

Cheers!