Why no posts?!

Here is why. Don't worry, I will get on the camera soon.....

A Dead Couch and Broadsides

That couch was huge, heavy and uncomfortable. So I butchered it with a hammer Samalander helped), complete obliteration.

And that is why there wasn't much hobby done, but life is back to 'normal' around here now (albeit with more space!) Now on to pictures of models....

My first two broadsides got themselves finished last week, along with a couple of shield drones for back-up. This is Camo Team, which is still waiting for Camo Leader to get bought and converted.

I have to say, I love painting tau! Smooth lines, some nice sharp angles, and a distinct space/military feel make this army easy on the eyes.

Here is a shot of the gun. The thingy on top is a recoil dampener, not certain it is needed, but looks the part.

They are both upgraded with the thing that allows them to fire both guns, more shooty the better!

The gun drones are an all plastic, simple conversion. A couple of field emitters (pulse rifles) replacing the guns.

I think it gives them the same feel as the "dragonflies" that were causing such a fuss down in California.

And.....the other one!

I liked the swept-back look to the missile launchers, in fact, I tried to copy the forge world design as much as I could. Cause it looks cool and I never took to the shoulder-mounted guns (not gundam enough).

Now the dust has settled, it is back on the brush!
Until next round, keep painting, and be well!

A Question...

This is the "new" legion of Necrons I have inherited through nefarious means. I plan to have this army up for auction/raffle at the next GottaCon, but how should I paint them? The glowsticks will be glued in and painted (likely some osl thereabouts) with a darker scheme overall, I think. So I open the floor to you for any suggestions and ideas....

Until next round...

Warp Wednesday 28: Rabbit Thoughts

Welcome to Wednesday! Lets take a look at what is going on around here, things have been shaking in the Grimdark future these days. Finecast, Grey, Blood, Wolves, not-nice eldar, and no "Summer of Fliers" (unless you read a WD lately). Haven't touched Finecast, seen a few nightmares, how is that quality control doing? Those SMurfs...not a marine player. Not-nice eldar were refreshing, with a nice 'dex and even better models, IMO. Would have been nice to have gotten a plastic hydra kit or a nightwing....

I also heard some such thing as "codex creep" (which makes me picture a skinny dude in the corner metagaming and reading rules), that apparently describes the phenomena of newer books being better than the older ones. (Keep in mind my Daemonhunters are now unusable and Sisters...well.) The codex is one part of the formula for a great game, not the whole part. Consider tactics; terrain, placement, movement and the like. Importantly; attitude (we ARE playing with toys here).

Witch Hunters bring me to this point, my opponents mortally fear the black codex of doom. I use tokens to track faith points and vary the list with Inquisitors or the Priesthood. Although not as varied as my other forces, one of my favorites. So, a WD codex, virtually no improvements and some nerfing. Where is the Redeemer? (I dare you to try and keep the Sisterhood away from flame cannons). Sadly, the girls will be shelved until a real codex comes out, I just can't.....

So I am going to work on my Radical Inquisition force and rules, unless GW does the only thing that can save the Inquisition: their own codex. Think of it, Codex: Inquisition, with the three ordos, mercenary xenos, psychic choirs and unbound daemonhosts. Radical dude!

Until next round, be well.

sigh...

I am tired, it was a long day. Through the miserable sunlight, (I work nights, your sun is crazy bright daywalkers), I journey to GW to get primer. Just primer. It is not that I am boycotting, or irate over price hikes (cause I am), I just have a lot of projects to finish before new models. So I went in for a single can of primer.

They know the sun-time is bad for me, so the chatter is kept small, which was ok (I prefer to chat after purchase anyways, it's a hunter thing). I took a look around, briefly due to fantasy night starting up, and checked prices. Grab my primer and wait to pay

This is where things go badly. I know the upsell games, being a previous red-shirt myself, but this was something else. It was about White Dwarf, how I should get it for the pretty pictures, and feel guilty for not having it. Two staff members accosting me for my decision to trust in the Blogosphere over a 100-page advertisement.

No, I don't read White Dwarf anymore, I think it is useless now. It didn't used to be, and I have the issues to prove it. Really GW? Is your magazine selling that badly?

The Horizon, It Is Epic

You might have noticed, Ricalopian posts have gotten a bit few in the last while, my batteries are getting low. My apologies, this is being remedied with a MeWeek. A hole week of relaxation and, of course, hobby. Although I have no set obligations, there are a few projects that I am leaning toward....

1[- Terrain, cause there is always more....
2[- A light-box *(does anyone know where there might be a good tutorial?)*
3[- The Angelis Project.
4[- Tony, the monster.
5[- Imperial Interceptor, which is almost done...
6[- clowns for the clown god
7[- BACON!
8[- Scratchbuild a mercenary titan (cause I'm crazy and ok with it).

Of course, loyal readers, I will keep you updated...and any comments about them projects are worth their weight in titanium ;)

Until next round...

Post 200 - With Style!

A Stylish Blogger, me? Well that is what Mark at Musings of a Metal Mind thinks. To get such a nomination from a hobby icon like him, well that is just cool, thanks man! So in the spirit of this digital wildfire, here we go...

What to do:
-- Thank and link back to the person giving you the award (see above)

-- Share seven things about yourself

-- Select 10-15 blogs who you think deserve this award

-- Contact these bloggers and let them know about the award

Seven things about myself....

--I used to be a redshirt. A time ago I was a staffer at GW, it was one of the best experiences in my working life. I can blame many of my hobby skills on those two years. It is what prompted me to be a productive member of hobby society.

--I drank beers with Tom Savini. He is a horror movie artist and played Sex Machine in Dusk till Dawn. It was after the first con I volunteered for. Dax (from DS9) was at the table too. Much laughing ensued.

--I am writing a RPG. For the past few years (er....13?) me and my beta testers have been developing nWo, you can find it if you look hard enough....

--A gaming group lives in my house. Obviously, I am a gamer. And they all don't "live" in my house, but there always seems to be a game about. Rabbit Hole Games for the win!

--I like to burn things. No, not arson, spinning fire-staff. Although I like it when other things are on fire too...

--Jack T. Rabbit. He's my bunny, he is also ancient, and he's my best friend. He is a fuzzy dwarf lop and likes to help with terrain building and destroying the instructions so I don't read them. He also beats up cats.

--I don't watch TV. Ever. I go to work instead ;)

Ok, so the other part. I'm not sue if these guys have got a nomination yet, but they should;

1. The multiverse at Porky's Expanse has continually spurred me on. It is a vault of interesting ideas. It is a good read, every time.

2. Fellow artist, and brother in arms, Swimming Eagle. There is some hobby stuff in there, but it is mostly for the view. This is a blog filled with the mind of a true artist.

3. Zen 40,000. The blogger responsible for igniting my interest in marines. Not only are the models excellent, (this is the first yellow-with-checker-marine I have EVER liked), but the backgrounds he writes (for each unit!) realizes the army.

4. Luddstuff, it is like a scratch building supernova.

5. Fun Painty Time? Just take a look at what Carmen has been up to. Gangsters? Guys with pipes? A quiet street corner?

6. Sometimes I need a chaos fix. So I head over to Chaos Brushes. There are some inspiring things over there...

7. There have been some really interesting things popping up on the Eye of (t)Error lately. I love the patrol boat!!!1

8. Usually, orks aren't my thing, but the smurf's lootas are simply brilliant.

9. The Glorious Works are glorious. And stunning.

10. The Harrowed is a new blog I've only recently started following. Crazy daemon stuff, yes please!

There we go, now time to send out some messages....

Warp Wednesday 26: Rabbit For Hire

Some people have enquired about the possibility of me doing commission work for them. The answer is, yes I would do commissions.

The next question is usually, how much? To which I reply with a question about how well they want it done. A super-fast job, from assembly to table-ready, or display-case quality?

	Small	Medium	Large	Vehicle/Monster	Super Heavy
Tabletop	10	20	35	80	140
Character	+8	+10	+16	+40	+80
Showcase	+12	+20	+30	+60	+120
X Base	+5	+8	+10	+20	+30
Conversion	+10	+15	+20	+35	+50
Build	+5	+10	+15	+25	+50

This is my pricing matrix, all projects begin at the "Tabletop" quality (a three layer per colour standard).  All of the other options are add-ons, like if the model is unassembled or requires extra basing like tiles.
I am a bit crazy, and commissioning conversions (and "kitbashes") would never be out of the question. From vanilla Ultramarines to obscure ancient kits, all projects are welcome.

So, in closing, feel free to contact me about commissions. No project is too strange or to large.

ricalope1@gmail.com

Warp Wednesday 25: 3 W's

Not another squat post...or about shiny space marines...specifically. Today's Wednesday is about who does what and why. There is a great rift amongst many gamers, artists, musicians and almost anything else enjoyable.

Musicians, for example. There are some who create music for the joy of making music, and there are those who create a product that sounds like music. The difference is in the intent. Granted, musicians both sell albums and enjoy creating (otherwise they wouldn't be doing it), but the quality of the music's meaning will suffer. Please do not misinterpret me, there are as many "types" of people as there are people, and I don't mean to generalize. Intent is key.

How does that translate into gaming, specifically wargaming? Long ago our sacred gaming company was created by gamers who saw an opportunity to make a living by doing what they enjoyed. The company was driven by the creative power of spreading that enjoyment, and that enjoyment caught on, and the company grew. Eventually the company, which was run by gamers, was directed by profit. Many of the founders fled this bleak time (see: dnd, gw, m:tg...)

So we have to ask ourselves, why do we do what we do? This (wargaming) is a hobby and a game. We paint and play with toy soldiers because it is fun. If it stops being fun? Make it fun again, it is your game once you open the box. As long as everyone is playing by the same rules, who cares if they are written on a napkin or a shiny book?

Happy Wednesday.

Losing an Army Sucks

Yes, it is true. My daemonhunters have been lost. Yeah, I still have the models, but what good are they going to do now? Thanks GW, I feel robbed.

Before you attempt to retaliate with the "henchmen build" argument, lets take a look at the Inquisition forces in the GK codex. Hmmmm....3 unit types. This screams "footnote" to me, or possibly "oops, we almost forgot about the Inquisitors." Luckily no-one plays radical Inquisition, right?

Well I do, and I am pissed.

Lets just ignore the fluff FAIL of putting Inquisitors from all three ordos in the same book, without any ordos units.

Lets look at the numbers. Planets with Grey Knights: 0 (Titan is a moon). Number of planets with Inquisitors: billions. Sounds fair right?

So the most common Ordo Malleus units and characters only get an honorable mention, and the smallest chapter in the galaxy gets the rest of the book. Inquisitors (the ones who run the Ordo Malleus by the way) don't even get a new unit types, no neat death engine, nothing.

Sorry GW, but I'm not buying marines, even if you take my armies away.

Warp Wednesday 20: Candy vs Poison

Ok, so the current buzz online is the stormraven, or what I would like to call the "death pelican". Seriously? You guys think that I am not going to laugh at every one I see on the table? Luckily, Forgeworld gave us a sincere apology for their plastic counterparts, a sexy new grav tank. They are calling it the Warp Hunter, and damn, its nice. Apology accepted.

But there is always something to make it askew, and I am talking about the new aspect shrine. The Shadow Specters are pretty sweet, with jump packs (so we can move like battlesuits) but I have one major complaint. SHADOW specters have PRISM cannon-like guns. See the problem there? Dark, ghostly wraith-like dudes, with guns that harness massive laser charges.

If I was a specter from the shadows, I would want a gun that wasn't so bright, just saying.

Eldar vs theoryhammer, this never bodes well. Here is my theory on the eldar list/points;
-any unit on its own is not worth the points.
-any unit directly compared to anther army's equivalent, still not worth it.
-an entire eldar army, planned well and working together, is a symphony of death.

For instance, the farseer. He is one of the worst HQ's in combat and there are mon-keigh who can destroy the table with psychic powers. Oh, and he is T3. Now put a farseer with a bunch of Dire Avengers, or Dark Reapers, and you make marines cry (given that you take the right powers).

So, in conclusion, its not how much you spend, its how you use it.
lol, death pelican.....
Ricalope.

Who Needs Grey Marines?

With all those Grey Knight rumors flying around, I have been pondering about the state of the Inquisition. News of a turbo-charged marine list is....well....rather disappointing. If the rumors are true, I will likely only be using 20% of the new codex, as my Inquisitors enjoy using daemonhosts (which might not even be in the new book). Sigh.

But a different idea is brewing, Deathwatch. The under-manned and often ignored Ordo Xenos really needs a push. My proposal -> Dark Angels. The idea is to use the DA codex, rename some things, do some conversions, and hopefully have a arguable Alien Hunter army.

Samael (on jetbike) -> Inquisitor
Librarian -> Inquisitor
Deathwing squad
Ravenwing heavy (to hunt the alien)
Fire Warrior/Scout -> Stormtroopers

...It might work. Thoughts?

Ricalope.

Necromancy and Paint

There is a blight upon everyone's paints; drying out. Dead paint. This particular can is in that gooey-stringy gross stage, perfect for a touch of necromancy!

With my lovely assistant Deneghra, *applause*, we will summon a jar of acrylic matte medium. In this case, the gods of Liquitex have answered my summons. "Matte" simply means "not shiny", if gloss is used, the paint will become shiny. Up to you really.

Mix two parts paint, on part medium to a really gooey can, or just a couple drops to a can that is starting to 'go over to the thick side'. Stir, then summon zombies to shake the can for a minute or two. (Further use of zombies is up to your imagination, I use them to carry me around.)

And, hopefully, the paint will be revived. After testing this on a couple of different paints (the GW kind), I noticed that often the paint becomes smoother and easier to deal with. This magical potion can also be used to thin down paint to make glazes, or thicken a wash or ink, and as a matte varnish.

Time to deal with those zombies,
Ricalope.

Warp Wednesday Fourteen: Post 100!

I didn't think it would come to this. One hundred posts, that sounds like some kind of milestone, so I have decided to do a Warp Wednesday. Today's topics: awesome people and the Inquisition (with pictures of the unfinished projects about the house).

As you can see, I have been delving into the latest Beastmen army book and taking this opportunity to re-base a couple units. In the bitz box there happen to be quite a few beastmen, so the metal ones have been turned into command, and "new" plastic ones sprinkled in each unit. The bases fit together in the unit like a puzzle, with half-buried skellies and hills across multiple bases, and each is numbered so they can rank up.

(ambulance)

Awesome people.

I am referring to you, and that guy over there. All the minions and readers. Bloggers, trolls, and (most importantly) the internet-roaming wargamers. This blog could not be as successful if it wasn't for all of you prodding me to finish projects as well as inspiring me to start new ones.

It is not possible to thank you all specifically, but know that I do. Please visit the links to the left to see what I mean, they are the definition of awesome.

The Inquisition.

It seems to be a hot topic right now; the question of the Inquisition codex(s), one, two or three? Well, if you are still reading this, you might be interested in my opinion (albeit from the radical side) so here it is. Three codexes. One for each Ordos, each with its own distinct Chamber Militant, as it is in the fluff.

Argument 1: They are too similar. So are the marine chapters, next question.
Argument 2: Too many Imperial codexes. Think about it, a Traitor Guard codex with radical Inquisitors and daemonhosts...that would more than even things out.
Argument 3: It screws up the "rotation". Good, the longer between rules changes the better . (I personally believe that more than one rules change every five years is excessive).

If they released the Inquisition in three codexes, I would have three Inquisition armies with lots of flavor and theme, a single codex would ruin that. And please, go read the Eisenhorn omnibus.

So here is to the health of the Inquisition, and another hundred posts! Cheers.
Ricalope.

Stabbed in the Paint Pots

I went down to my local hobby store the other day as I am wont to do, and was informed that it would soon be operated by a single employee. Apart from only being open five days a week, this will effectively kill any usefulness the store brings to the hobby.

My local Games Workshop is now useless.

I beg to ask; how can a single staff (regardless of shirt color) sell product, give hobby and game advice, run their "Academy" program, have lunch, control unsupervised-game-store-kid, host game nights, and introduce people into the hobby? Simple: it becomes a space marine vending machine.

I used to wear the Red Shirt, and it was one of the most enjoyable jobs I have had, but I would not want to wear one now. This hobby is not something that your average person needs, it is expensive, both in time and money, and is not essential or "one of a kind". It takes some persuasion, cool looking models and intro-games to win over most of the potential hobbyists out there. A big part of the value was the assistance the staff was willing to provide, without that this game feels more expensive.

Over the last while we have all weathered the price increases, almost as a necessary evil. Then they *&$#ed the Bitz Order, and I am still angry about that. And now they nerf my hobby store!? W T F

Cryx...I picked up Warmachine Prime in a fit of anger, and dedicated all of my Cryx models back to the Dragonfather's dominion. I will raise The Legion of The Unkind and lay waste to those who oppose me, machine or beast.

Don't get me wrong, I will still play/paint/model Warhammer and 40k, I do love the armies I have (and there are many models to finish yet). But I will no-longer support the store (until the issue is resolved). I will instead be ordering from other manufactures and from the online store. >:p

Well that was my rant, turquiose undead?
Ricalope.