Epic 40K - MORE Orks

 MORKS!?

Another batch of Orks for the Tallarn on Xoxigar to deal with.... MWA-HA-HA-Ha-Ha-ha-haaaaaaaa....

The latest batch - another 8 elements of Ork Boyz and a Warboss.

The entire Waaaaagh! (so far...) 

As I laid these out, I wondered what I'd been thinking - there weren't enough trucks for all the Orks!? Had I miss counted something?! I think what happened was I just painted up ALL the Boyz I had based and ready and, because I'd painted way too many trucks before, it didn't occur to me that I didn't have enough... Not a problem, I have PILES of trucks I can paint up! More than I'll likely EVER need - even IF I painted up ALL the Boyz I have... and I think I have several hundred... I think I figured I'd have enough for all the Boyz and enough left over that every character model I have could have their own truck to ride around in... 

Lots to play around with here. Easily two Battalion detachments and probably a Vanguard Detachment... 

On the workbench I still have a Stompa and a few ministompas (gorkanots or morkanots?) Now that I have spare Ork Boyz done... I feel the urge to base up another four and enough trucks for all and do a THIRD Battalion Detachment!? 

We shall see... I should really get going on the Warhammer Underworlds stuff!!!

Epic 40K - Imperial Guard Armoured Task Group

 I've had these sitting around forever. I finally got some paint on them, not because I'm suddenly feeling like I want to play Epic 40K, but because I'm finally running a game of Wrath & Glory again - the Warhammer 40,000 role-playing game!? The characters are a Leman Russ tank crew and I thought it might be handy to have some tanks - friendly and enemy - and some groups of infantry, to mark out where everyone is in an encounter. 

Also, I have been wanting to try out the new (well, most recent) Warhammer 40K Apocalypse rules with Epic 40K miniatures. I guess I do already have a Force of Space Marines and Eldar, that I could have used to try out the rules.

The idea here was to put together a squadron-sized, mechanized task group with elements drawn from 3-4 different regiments - all drawn from elements of the larger Astra Militarum Task Force deployed to Xoxigar Secondus. The core of this Task Group is an Armoured Squadron from the 451st Tallarn Tank Regiment with an attached infantry component from 382nd Tallarn (Desert Raider) Regiment, and possibly some heavy support from the 17th Tallarn Super Heavy Tank Regiment (and, at some point, artillery from a Tallarn Artillery Regiment brought there as part of the Astra Militarum Task Force). 

The story behind the Task Force is that it was to be a fully-mechanized task force... but I don't have any epic Chimera models, so I'm saying one of the voidships lost in the warp was the one carrying most of the Regiment's armoured transports. The infantry regiment has been able to procure a few Gorgon Heavy Transporters locally, as that it one of the items the forge world manufactures... but they are NOT IDEAL for carrying small groups of infantry around for long distances in the desert!

All the NEW STUFF

Newly painted stuff. 

Except it's NOT all the new stuff, there's a previously painted Shadowsword that snuck into the back there!? 

Tallarn Armoured Squadron:

• Tank Commander (Vanquisher) (1) PR13
• 10x Leeman Russ Battle Tank Troop  

Here's a funny thing I just noticed; in the new(er) Apocalypse rules, you can't field and entire company as a single Spearhead Detachment (like you actually CAN in regular 40K - because your can field PLATOONS of up to three Leman Russ battle tanks and they count as a SINGLE element in the Detachment organization, no such luck in Apocalypse). So, technically you can only have up to six heavy support in a Spearhead Detachment, thus this would be fielded as TWO Spearhead Detachments (one with the Tank Commander and four tanks a second with five tanks - or maybe just a second with a tank commander and four tanks - the second tank commander could be the Squadron 2IC...?) 

Heavy Transport Section

Gorgons Heavy Transports are considered Lords of War, so each of these would have to be fielded as an Auxiliary Super Heavy Detachment - or could be fielded as a regular Super Heavy Detachment along with the Shadowsword(s). 

Speaking of Shadowswords, I have a new sort-of-Shadowsword...? I'm calling it a Xoxigar Pattern Shadowsword - a variant that is made locally in the Forge World where all the near future campaigning will likely take place! Teh Model is from Vanguard miniatures. 

Original Games Workshop Shadowsword on the left of the pic, "Sort-of-Shadowsword"...? (Xoxigar Pattern Shadowsword) from Model is from Vanguard miniatures on the right. 

Infantry Company - Also from Vanguard Minaitures. 

Company Commander (+Commissar? +Command Squad) 

3x Infantry Squad 

One things 

Allof the Astra Militarum Forces I have painted thus far. The only stuff I'd painted previously were three Leman Russ tanks, three Ragnarok tanks, and a Deathstrike Missile Launcher. 

I may just finish up the second Squadron of Leman Russes and the few other vehicles I have - just for some more options.

I've also painted up a whole PILE of Epic Orks... but I'm adding more to the force, so I'll wait until I finish up a few more things before posting pictures of those. 

Grey Knights

Last week I finished up an Ordo Malleus Inquisitor in Terminator Armour and that got me thinking about the Grey Knights again - as Daemon-Hunting adepts of the Ordo Malleus - and I ended up reorganizing and rebasing the force. Or, at least, the ones I had painted so far... And I finished off one Grey Knight that was partly painted - to complete a newly reorganized squad. With the rebasing I added two Commanders (a Brother Captain and a Brotherhood Champion) and a regular Grey Knight Strike Squad and a Grey Knight Purgation Squad to the Inquisitor's Force of Daemon Hunters.



Newly finished Grey Knight (Brother Roger) AND a Death Watch Marine of Finnegan's I painted this week. I had originally tried painting the Death Watch with Contrast® paints... but it looked like garbage, so I repainted the whole thing and it looks much better now...

Here is the force so far...



Daemon Hunters! A couple of Ordo Malleus Inquisitors and a small force of Grey Knights

As Iv'e been thinking about Kill Team a lot lately, so I was mostly considering how I'd organize them for Kill Team. Thus the points and specialisms and skills mentioned below are for when they are being fielded in Kill Team.



The pair I've earmarked as Ordo Malleus Inquisitors.

I Haven't actually named either yet...

Nor have I statted them out for Kill Team - as there AREN'T really rules for Inquisitors in Kill Team... YET! But, the one in Terminator Armour I figure I could use her "as Brother Captain" Grey Knight. The other...? Maybe as a "As Brotherhood Champion"...? But give him a combo-weapon (that Brotherhood champions aren't normally supposed to have)



Brother Captain Alan
Brother Captain with Nemesis Force Sword, Storm Bolter, Krak, Psyk-Out, and Frag Grenades
Commander Specialism: Strength
Level One - Skill: Muscular - 100 Points
Level Two - Skill: Brutal Strike - 120 Points
Level Three - Skill: Devastating Power - 140 Points
Level Four - Skill: Crusher - 165 Points

Not being sure what level I'd field the Brother Captain at, I've figured out what I'd field him at for each level, and have done the same for the Brotherhood Champion below.



Brother Champion Tyson
Brother Captain with Nemesis Force Sword, Storm Bolter, Krak, Psyk-Out, and Frag Grenades
Commander Specialism: Melee
Level One - Skill: Expert Fighter - 108 Points
Level Two - Skill: Warrior Born - 128 Points
Level Three - Skill: Precision Strike - 148 Points
Level Four - Skill: Lightning Reflexes - 173 Points




Alpha Wolf Squad (from left to right: Brother Roger, Brother Steve, Justicar Jeff, Brother Blake, and Brother Curtis)

Justicar Jeff
Grey Knight Justicar - Nemesis Force Sword, Storm Bolter, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
Specialism: Leader
Skill: Resourceful (+1 Command Point per turn)
19 Points

Brother Steve
Grey Knight Gunner - Incinerator, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
Specialism: Demolitions
Skill: Breacher (+1 wound rolls against targets that are obscured)
22 Points

Brother Blake
Grey Knight - Nemesis Force Halberd, Storm Bolter, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
Specialism: Zealot
Skill: Frenzied (+1A and +1S in a battle round in which they charged)
18 Points

Brother Curtis
Grey Knight - Nemesis Force Halberd, Storm Bolter, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
Specialism: Combat
Skill: Expert Fighter (+1A)
18 Points

Brother Roger
Grey Knight - Nemesis Force Halberd, Storm Bolter, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
18 Points

Alpha Wolf Squad is a full-sized Kill Team on it's own - at 95 points. The rest of the squads are, more or less, just extras that could be added into the roster.



Delta Badhand Squad - (from left to right: Brother James, Brother Kyle, Justicar Brian, Brother Scott, and Brother Robin)

Justicar Brian
Grey Knight Justicar - Nemesis Force Halberd, Storm Bolter, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
Specialism: Leader
19 Points

Brother
Grey Knight Gunner - Incinerator, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
22 points

Brother
Grey Knight Gunner - Incinerator, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
22 points

Brother
Grey Knight Gunner - Incinerator, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
22 points

Brother
Grey Knight Gunner - Incinerator, Krak Grenades, Psyk-Out Grenades
22 points


Being Fielded in 40K or Apocalypse... currently... this would only be a Patrol Detachment... But I'd only be able to take TWO of the HQ Elements

HQ Elements
Inquisitor 4PL
Inquisitor in Terminator Armour 6PL
Brother Captain 6PL
Brotherhood Champion 5Pl

Troops
Strike Squad (5) 8 PL

Heavy Support
Purgation Squad (5) 7PL


STILL TO DO!

I have two other squads to finish up: Beta Carotene Squad and Charley Horse Squad - both are just Regular Grey Knight Squads. They'll only ever be used in regular 40K or Apocalypse - when this force is fielded as an allied Battalion Detachment for any Imperial Force. I also have two Rhinos that could ferry the four five-man squads around... I'd need something else for the command elements (Captain and Champion).

When these are all finished up, I should be able to field the force as an allied Battalion Detachment for any of my Imperial forces in either regular 40K or 40K: Apocalypse

I also have three Grey Knight Terminators to paint up. They'll probably only ever be used in Kill Team, because to use them otherwise I'd have to track down two more of them. I just can't be bothered at this point... I guess I should never say never....


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I have some Necromundan Imperial Guard I'm currently organizing for Kill Team, as well as some Imperial Fist Space Marines. Writing a bit more background for each of those... so... it's taking longer... I guess tomorrow I'll be posting Part One of May's Games (and Other Stuff)

Back At It - 40K Imperial Guard

After all that moaning in the other day's post about not getting any painting done, I'm back at it... I couldn't NOT paint for that long! I sat down while we finished off Season One of The Boys and another episode of Jack Ryan with some stuff that was nearly done and only requiring a couple colours (and was thus easy to carry all things required upstairs to paint while watching said shows - and also required minimal decision making).

I also got reading again over the weekend. I'm a painfully slow reader - always have been - and so, especially during times of stress, I find it really hard to stay focused and motivated to read anything... I'd started reading Eisenhorn: Xenos a few months back - when I was still running the Wrath & Glory game. but sort of stopped a month ago when the game fizzled out. I'm not sure how I got on it, but I finished it up over the weekend and all thoughts of Greek Mythology Distractions faded and I was focused on 40K again... Not so focused to jump back in painting Noise Marines, or anything... but enough to get me painting this handful of Imperil Guard.

After that I thought I best strike while the iron is hot and keep on reading... but what to read next? Malleus - the next book in the Eisenhorn series seemed an obvious choice. Or maybe finish up that Omnibus of Kal Jericho novels I'd started... but stopped after I finished the first novel...? That might get me excited about Necromunda again. Or the same thing with he Path of the Eldar Omnibus...? Or finish reading the Blackstone Fortress novel!? Did I do any of these? HELL NO!? I started reading Caiphus Cain: Hero of the Imperium (hence, painting Imperial Guard - although I probably should have started in on some more Valhallans!). Despite so many other books and series left in limbo, I am not regretting reading Ciaphus Cain - it's a good rollicking romp, and just what I needed.

Anyway... Imperial Guard...



Twelve Generic Imperial Guard. Painted in the manner of Cadians, but really just meant to be standing for any bog-standard, generic regiment of the Imperium. They are all older metal Citadel/GW miniatures.

While painting them, I got thinking these, painted in other colours, would make great Chaos Cultists or Traitor Guard - especially the older Rogue Trader Era ones - with less standardized equipment.

I only meant to have a squad or two, but this has slowly grown into a large platoon!

No flocking or tufts as I kind of ran out...

The Generic Guard, so far...



I often organize forces like this into semi-permanent units - marking them on the bottom of the bases for easy sorting. I haven't settled on a TO&E for these guys just yet. One option is to call them a Vanguard detachment:

HQ
Company Commander
Company Commander
Company Commander

Elites
Command Squad
Command Squad (+ Heavy Bolter)
Command Squad (+ Autocannon)
Veteran Squad
Veteran Squad
Veteran Squad

I was thinking of an actual organization like a WW2 Commando Troop - the Troop consisting of a Troop commander and their Command Squad and two Sections, each with a Section commander, Section Command Squad, and two Veteran Infantry Squads

Command Section
Troop Commander (Company Commander)
Command Squad (with Medic, 2 Signallers, Melta Guner)

Section One
Section Commander (Company Commander)
Command Squad (with Medic, Autocannon)
Veteran Infantry Squad (with Flamer and Grenade Launcher)
Veteran Infantry Squad (with Flamer and Grenade Launcher)

Section Two
Section Commander (Company Commander)
Command Squad (with Medic, Heavy Bolter)
Veteran Infantry Squad (with Flamer and Grenade Launcher)
Veteran Infantry Squad (with Flamer and Plasma Gun)

With this organization I have a sergeant and two regular soldiers left over... I've called them Veteran Squads because I have an over abundance of Special Weapons - enough for two in each squad - and regular Infantry Squads can only have one.



For a regular platoon, they could be reorganized as a Battalion Detachment as follows (as in the picture above... but without two of the Command Squads...):

Platoon Commander (Company Commander)
Command Squad (Medic, Signaller, Heavy Weapon - either Heavy Bolter or Autocanon)

Infantry Squad (with Flamer)
Infantry Squad (with Flamer)
Infantry Squad (with Flamer)

Special Weapon Squad (with two Grenade Launchers and a Flamer)
Special Weapon Squad (with Grenade Launchers, Plasma Gun, and Melta Gun)

I don't think I have any others on hand to paint up. This is part of the reason I did these - it finishes off a force! Or, at least, finishes all the ones I HAVE at the moment... I'm definitely not saying I won't ever pick up anymore!

Actually, now that I think about it, I DO have a bunch more that's sort of part of this force... I do have other Generic Imperial types that would serve along with these Guard - Commissars, Sanctioned Psykers, and the like... but, in my brain, I don't really think of them as "part of THIS force" as they could be used with ANY of my Guard forces...



Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Hopefully more painting! Might not be Blackstone Fortress or Noise Marines or anything else I was really PLANNING in the Q2 Plan... probably just some "low-hanging fruit" individuals and small groups that finish off existing squads or forces that need little decision-making or attention or even thought to do... but something is better than nothing, right!?



I have these on the workbench right now... maybe I'll get to them...

Or, perhaps, VALHALLANS (and a Commissar!)


In Other Painting News... 



I have been doing some other painting. Last week I finally finished drywalling I started... oh... 17 years ago!? I mean I hung the drywall 17 years ago and started mudding it... and... never really finished. I got started again a few months back and finished it off last week. This week primer and a base coat went on.

Somehow I convinced Amanda to let me paint it like the entryway to a dungeon!?



this is a mock-up of what the stonework I'm going to paint on the walls will look like. Eventually the trim and doors will be painted a dark (slightly-greyish) brown - to look like old wood...

PLAGUE MARINES!

With Grandfather Nurgle spreading his contagion around the world, it seemed apropos to work on a few of these guys...



Plague Marines!

Seven of these are metal, two are plastic. Not the prettiest paint jobs, but, whatevs... They're done. Don't think Plague Marines are much concerned about fashion, anyway...



I now have twenty of these...

I have another ten or eleven to do - and a Malignant Plaguecaster, for a headquarters unit to make this a proper allied battalion detachment (at least in Apocalypse, which is probably the only time these would show up as an allied detachment... in regular 40K, I'd need a second HQ element).


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Another instalment in our rebooted Blackstone Fortress campaign! Amanda and I started a second expedition into the Fortress yesterday, but didn't have time to finish it up. Hopefully we'll get a chance this evening and I'll post the report afterwards... or... tomorrow...?

Painting has been going slow... I've been doing a lot of assembling and priming/prep work. Amanda found the furniture and door sets I'd ordered for Hellboy during the Kickstarter - so I spend some time painting on primer while watching some TV on the computer with Keira last night (signed up for a free trial month of Amazon Prime - so she could continue watching Supernatural - we HAD been borrowing the series on DVDs from the local library, but they've been closed for a couple weeks now and Keira's been beside herself not being able to keep up with that!)... They're not SUPER huge priority, but it was something easy to bring upstairs and do while watching TV shows on the computer.

Looking Back at 2019

well...

I set out a LOT of things to do in Game Plan 2019... some of them I got done... others, not so much... I kind of revisited the plan in October with the 2019 Q4 Plans... some of those things got done... others...

Here's how it all rolled out..

Board Games

Challenges

10x10 Family Challenge

At the beginning of the year we collectively picked ten games that we all agreed to play ten times - all together, as a family...

I tried to convince everyone to select games that they liked, and/or wanted to play MORE - to either learn it better or just because they really, really enjoyed it, and tried to stick to shorter games that didn't require a full day commitment. I really tried to stay away from and "Should plays" games that I feel like I "SHOULD" play because I invested a lot in it or I really like the IDEA of the game....?

We settled on:

Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress
Terraforming Mars
Splendor
Century: Golem Edition
Castles of Burgundy
Shadowrun: Crossfire
Sentinels of the Multiverse
Race for the Galaxy
Abyss
Power Grid Deluxe

Things started off well enough... we got a few games in... after a few months it was becoming painfully obvious that Finnegan just wasn't into it - he'd play the games when I suggested them and felt beholden to play them - because he HAD said he would - but he played them with zero interest or joy and basically played in such a way as to END the game as quickly as possible - regardless of the outcome or anyone else's fun... So I told him not to bother. We changed to "rules" of the challenge that it had to be a "majority" of the family. Then it became "as long at me and Amanda" when Keira complained that "how come Finnegan doesn't HAVE to play!?" and I was all, like, you don't HAVE to either - NO ONE forced you to do this!? GAH!? By half way through the year I was viewing them, pretty much as PERSONAL Challenges - though Amanda playing in, I think, all of the ones I recored, and Keira played in MOST of them... and Finnegan joined us for the occasional game.

In the end, of these we managed to play:

0x Warhammer Quest: Blackstone Fortress
12x Terraforming Mars
11x Splendor
15x Century: Golem Edition
6x The Castles of Burgundy
0x Shadowrun: Crossfire
4x Sentinels of the Multiverse
8x Race for the Galaxy
6x Abyss
5x Power Grid Deluxe: Europe/North America

As fall rolled around it became painfully clear that we weren't going to get through all of them - it was starting to look like there were a few we just might not play AT ALL!!? So I more or less decided to abandon the 10x10 challenge and tried to focus on a 5x5 challenge for the final quarter of the year (and resolved to just stick to 5x5 Quarterly challenges from now on!)


Q4-5x5 CHALLENGE

Hellboy: The Boardgame
Castles of Burgundy
Shadowrun: Crossfire
Race for the Galaxy
Abyss

Hellboy got on there because I knew we'd be getting it for Xmas and our plan had been, since we kickstarted it a year and a half ago, that that is what we'd do for the holidaze this year - play through a bunch of the scenarios. Three of the others were ones we were CLOSE ENOUGH to finishing off 10 games that I put them on there in hopes of finishing off at least HALF of the 10x10. Shadowrun: Crossfire... well... that's Keira's game and she SAID she still really, REALLY wanted to play it... so...

Of THOSE, what we actually played in the final quarter was...

3x Hellboy: The Board Game
4x Race for the Galaxy
1x The Castles of Burgundy

So... STILL didn't get in ANY games of Shadowrun: Crossfire, or any MORE games of Abyss...


Personal Challenges

In addition to the "Family Challenge" I decided to set a few more, personal, gaming goals... this is where I snuck in a bunch of "Shoulds" - Games I felt like I SHOULD play more of... and for the most part failed...

GMT/COIN Games
Phil Eklund Games
Kill Team
Warhammer 40,000 (8th Edition)
Wrath & Glory (RPG)

barely got any of these done...

I did play over 10 games of 40K, a half-dozen games of Wrath & Glory, three games of Kill Team, ONE Phil Eklund game (High Frontier) and NOT ONE GMT/COIN game!?

Despite the moderate success of the Family Challenge and the mostly failure of the Personal Challenge, we did get in a LOT of games this year... According to Board Game Geek, this is what I played:

17x Warhammer 40,000 (Eighth Edition)
15x Century: Golem Edition
15x Necromunda Rulebook
12x Terraforming Mars
11x 7 Wonders Duel
11x Splendor
8x Race for the Galaxy
7x Patchwork
7x Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse
6x Abyss
6x The Castles of Burgundy
6x Wrath & Glory
5x 7 Wonders
5x Power Grid Deluxe: Europe/North America
4x Castles of Mad King Ludwig
4x Marrying Mr. Darcy
4x Sentinels of the Multiverse
3x Call of Cthulhu (7th Edition)
3x Dixit
3x Hellboy: The Board Game
3x Nations
3x Retro Loonacy
3x SET
3x Warhammer 40,000: Kill Team
2x Cthulhu Realms
2x Deep Sea Adventure
2x Kingdom Builder
2x Monarch
2x Perikles
1x Anomia
1x Carcassonne
1x Dominion
1x Epyllion
1x Exploding Kittens
1x Firefly Fluxx
1x High Frontier (Third Edition)
1x Just Desserts
1x Mysterium 1
1x Nature Fluxx
1x Nautilus
1x The Pikeman's Lament
1x Princes of the Renaissance
1x Ra
1x Railways of the World
1x Scythe
1x Small World
1x A Song of Ice and Fire Roleplaying
1x Twilight Squabble
1x Unstable Unicorns

183 games I played in total... a good chunk of them with the family. We set out to do a Challenge to play 100 games with the family... and a further 50 games of my own. I may not have played EXACTLY what I planned... but I got in a few enough games!

And this doesn't even include all the Role-Playing Games the kids played (I only log the games I play!). For almost the entire year, Finnegan ran a weekly RPG game on Saturday afternoons. It started off as Dungeon Crawl Classics, then over the summer he wrapped that up and started a D&D 5E game in the fall - which has, just now, come to a conclusion.... sort of... He's starting a NEW D&D5E campaign in the new year... in, more or less, the same setting - his own world... but a few years later...? In addition to the Saturday game, he's been playing in a campaign on alternating Tuesday evenings, and for the first half of the year was playing in ANOTHER D&D game in the tabletop games club at the local high school - while running a Star Wars: Edge of Empire game for the same club on a different afternoon. Since September, he's been running the D&D game on Wednesdays after school.

All the while the guy has been VERY involved with playtesting new Four Against Darkness adventures and rulebooks for Ganesha Games....



Oh, yeah. That's Finnegan's name there in print as official play tester and provider of helpful comments. (Proud Geek Dad Moment!).

So he may not have been participating much in our challenge - but he was still playing a LOT of games... just more role-playing games... and with his own friends!


Board Game Afternoons

I had hoped to get some regular board game afternoons going on Saturday afternoons... But that just didn't happen... for a variety of reasons. Mostly because I'd planned to play the games downstairs in the new game room (while the kids were playing role-playing games in the kitchen) and... well... the Game Room renovations just didn't get finished.

Next year I'd at least like to get a Game Evening going on Fridays!


February Game Weekend

I did plan and run a Game Weekend in February. Originally I'd planned to run Kill Team campaign weekend... but then I finally got my mitts on Wrath & Glory and I was SUPER STOKED to play that... and so I ran that instead... unfortunately I ended up having WAY TOO MANY players - would have been a GREAT number for a Kill Team campaign... too many for a role-playing game marathon!!!


ToonCon/Fall Game Weekend

As per the last few years, I had planned to run a game (or GAMES) at ToonCon in the fall... but early in the year, after my Game Plan was decided, the organizers of ToonCon decided not to DO ToonCon this year and made plans to move from the fall to the spring (too many other things going on in the fall!)

So I decided to host a fall game weekend myself. A number of people had indicated that the (Canadian) Thanksgiving weekend would potentially work for them, so I began preparing... the Short version of a long story: Didn't Really Happen.


Role-playing Games

I'd really hoped to play more role-playing games this year...

The KIDS sure played a LOT of Role-Playing Games - or at least Finnegan did!

I started out the year in a Call of Cthulhu game that my friend Bruce was running. But I ended up dropping out of it - there were just TOO many players... and... I just didn't love the system... For all of it's failings, I like the Savage Worlds Cthulhu a lot better...


Painting

I had different plans at different parts of the year... some I managed to complete. some were hopeful wishes that were abandoned in favour of OOH! SHINY!! Regardless of the success or failure of each plan I DID get a fair bit painted this year... maybe not as much as previous years, but still, quite a bit. there's a whole PAGE devoted to what I did - with links to each page where I posted each of the painted items:

 2019 Painted Versus Purchased

In short however I painted...

PAINTED

28mm Foot: 408
28mm Mounted: 14
28mm Artillery: 0
28mm Big Beasties/Vehicles: 10
Titans: 1

Micro Foot: 3
Micro Mounted: 23
Micro Artillery: 0
Mirco Tanks/Vehicles: 13
Micro Mechs: Micro Titans: 0

Terrain
Little Bits/Markers: 142
Ruined Bits (Walls, Rubble Piles): 0
Buildings: 0
3'x3' Tiles: 0
2'x2' Tiles: 0
1'x1' Tiles: 0
3-D Dungeon Tiles: 0
Movement trays: 16


PURCHASED (or otherwise acquired - gifts, trades, etc.)

28mm Foot: 707
28mm Mounted: 15
28mm Artillery: 3
28mm Big Beasties/Vehicles: 32
28mm Super-Heavy/TITANIC: 8
Small Terrain Pieces: 79

Micro Spaceships: 10

Micro Foot: 0
Micro Mounted: 0
Micro Artillery: 0
Mirco Tanks: 1
Micro Mechs: 5
Micro Titans: 5

DISPOSALS(Traded or Sold)
28mm Foot (painted): 0
28mm Foot: (unpainted): 0
15mm WW2: Loads


The bigger failure was in the acquisition department... I bought WAAAAAAAAAY more than I should have... More than I could paint... more than I really even have ROOM for anymore!? A LOT of them were "TOO GOOD DEALS" that just couldn't be passed up. Others were things I figured I should GET NOW BEFORE IT GOES OUT OF PRINT!

Definitely need to reign that in and just get some stuff PAINTED next year!!!!


The War Room

didn't happen...

I was supposed to have cleaned out the basement, did some renovating, added some lighting, built some bookshelves, etc, etc... I did clear out the room... sort of... and dismantled my old, gigantic gaming/hobby table... but that's as far as it got... maybe next year.... This past week I DID do some work on the drywall in the stairwell LEADING TO the game room...? There may be hope yet!


I Hope YOU all had a FABULOUS year of gaming and doing all of the other fun-but-not-so-gamey things that you do. Do let me know in the comments what the highlights were for your year!


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

We've played another game of Hellboy that I hope I'll get a chance to do a game report for - and we'll probably get in another game tomorrow, hopefully. I have been painting up a storm the last few days, perhaps I'll post a few pics of the stuff I finish up in the next few days.

Until then...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Game Plan 2020 - Q1 Plans

Originally I was planning to post a Look Back at 2019, and then follow it with THIS POST - my game plan for 2020-Q1. But I won't be posting the look back until the 31st - or possibly the morning of the 1 January2020 (so I an include all the last minute games played on New Year's Eve in the master list of "What I Got Up To" for this past year). But this is DONE, and it isn't going to change at all, so I thought I might as well post it now!

For the last decade or so, I've been making PLANS for each year. I've found I get more done if I have a plan - and, y'know, actually stick to it! But more and more I'm finding it harder and harder to plan a full year in advance... things just change too much... But I do still like having a PLAN of some sort!

Last fall I decided to go in a new direction and, more or less, scrap what I'd initially planned for the year - as I'd gone WAAAAAAAAAY off course... and just try to set down some guidelines for the next three months - that was the 2019 - Q4 Plans... It worked out... not badly... still could be improved on...

GAME PLAN 2020 - FIRST QUARTER
(January - March 2020)

When I sat down to think about it and start planning, I realized - DAMN, there is a LOT going on in this first quarter of the year!!!

5x5 (Quarterly) Challenge

This is just for me. Not trying to get my family to agree to playing in any number of games - Oh, I do hope they will play SOME of these games with me... but I'm not trying to plan or assume we will do  anything "all together" anymore... The kids are both teenagers now (HOW DID THAT HAPPEN!?) and got their own interests and stuff. I do also hope they'll come up with some games of their own that THEY'D like to play and maybe even invite me to play in a few! I know Finnegan's planning a lot of D&D - with three different groups!

Also TRYING to pick games that I will realistically be able to play and not put any (or too many) SHOULD games on there - games I feel like I SHOULD play and feel like shoehorning them into a challenge will FORCE me to get on with them!

So, five games I want to play five times in the next three months:

Necromunda
Wrath & Glory
Hellboy
Blackstone Fortress

and... the last one...?

Maybe one game each of: GMT/COIN, a game by Phil Eklund, a game by Martin Wallace, a game by Dan Mercy (and/or Michel Lack), and a game of Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse (using EITHER 28mm OR "epic" scale minis!!

OR

If I do end up volunteering to do a Learn to Play boardgame for ToonCon (likely one of the above options - GMT/Eklund/Wallace).... I'll play THAT five times - four times BEFORE ToonCon - to make sure I got the rules down solid, and once more AT ToonCon!


I started trying to run regular "Skirmish Sundays" in November of last year - mostly playing Necromunda - I SHOULD be able to keep that going into the new year and easily get the Necromunda games done. Perhaps I'll work a little Blackstone Fortress into the mix - once I get enough toys painted. Maybe I'll add in some Kill Team at some point as well! I could probably even pass Hellboy off as a "skirmish game".

I'm hoping Saturdays will be Family RPG Night - at least on alternating Saturdays - and I'll get the Wrath & Glory game going on then.

In addition to the games of the "Challenge" we've been pretty good at keeping Friday evenings open for Board Game Night - except when we're going out to something (which doesn't happen all that often) and I'd really like to keep that going. I doubt any of the board games listed will be played on Fridays (well, I could probably get folks to play a Martin Wallace game and MAAAAYBE a Phil Eklund game...?)


February Game Weekend?

Traditionally I've hosted a board game weekend in February - the last few years it's fallen on the Family Day weekend in mid-February. I haven't done MUCH planning for this yet... at least, not as much as I would have done by this point in previous years. Probably feeling a little down after the fall weekend was a flop... If I am going to do one this year, I should probably get on this! Maybe a Necromunda weekend like I was planning for the fall...? Four sessions: Friday Evening, two on Saturday (one in the morning Early afternoon - a late lunch - and then a second game in the late afternoon/early evening followed by supper out somewhere?), and Sunday late morning/early afternoon. Instead of suggesting people have to commit to the whole weekend - they could just sign up for as many sessions as they like - preference being given to those travelling from out of town and planning to play the whole weekend...?


Wargaming Birthday Bash?

Originally there was the Wargaming Birthday Bash - it was an evening (or afternoon, if it fell on a weekend) for my birthday. After a couple of years, it expanded to an entire weekend of gaming at the end of February. Then it kind of migrated to the Family Day weekend in mid-February as it was easier for people travelling to get to... I'd kind of like to get back to hosting ONE BIG ONE-OFF game ON my Birthday - either in addition, or instead of, the aforementioned Game Weekend. That's February 25th... a Tuesday, this year... Of course Keira has THREE dance classes on Tuesday evenings... maybe I could get Amanda to come home early and take her out to those... Otherwise, I'd probably have to do it on the 23rd or maybe the 29th...!?

Hmmmm... Maybe this is where I'll get the GMT/COIN game in! The big one-off games have ALWAYS been large miniature games in the past... but there's no reason it couldn't be a board game!?


TOONCON

ToonCon is back on this year and will be taking place the weekend of 6-8 March 2020! I will be there. Some of the family may or may not tag along. I DO plan to run games. Probably three or four of them. Currently the working plan is to run: Hellboy, Blackstone Fortress, and Necromunda... and maybe another Learn To Play game...

I chose Necromunda because I just LOVE it and I have enough stuff I could run any number of scenarios with minimal preparation. Hellboy - also have enough done now that I could easily run a few scenarios from the core box without having to paint another miniature if I didn't want to - though I might get a few more done... Finally, Blackstone Fortress... well... I've painted exactly four miniatures (well, and the Ambull Hulk)... I'm thinking of including that one as INCENTIVE to get off my ass and FINISH THEM UP!!!

This might be another opportunity to play some of the other games on my 5x5 challenge - at least the Wallace/Eklund/COIN games - especially if I volunteered to run THOSE as well!? Realistically, though, I'd want to play any game I'm running through a FEW times BEFORE the convention - to make sure I have it DOWN (Especially a COIN or EKLUND game!!) - so maybe I DO need to settle on just ONE of those to play five times in the next three months...?


40K Events

Last year, Battle of the Abyss Apocalypse event and Battleforce Recon Tournament took place in early March and mid April, respectively. If they happen again at the same time, that would put one in Q1 and the second at the beginning of Q2, so should probably be taken into consideration if I plan to go to either and plan to do anything NEW for either... which, of course I do... on both accounts... for both... sort of...

There has been talk of not bothering with the Battle of the Abyss for 2020 as some (including the organizer) are really into the NEW Apocalypse rules, and others haven't even tried it... The organizer was saying he might hold off until 2021, to give the new rules a chance to get incorporated, others pointed out that waiting might not actually make them any more palatable to those that hadn't adopted them... so I think it's in the air. Last year, by this time, there were sign up sheets and online registration all set up... But there's been nothing done like that so far this year... so maybe it won't happen? Or maybe it will happen later in the year? To be honest, I'm really only interested in participating IF they're using the new rules - it just makes games SO MUCH FASTER!

Last year there were a LOT of Imperial forces at the Battle of the Abyss. I determined that for the next one I'd take a non-imperial force. I'd probably roll out with an Aeldari force. It's the largest non-imperial faction I have. Also, as it's a team event, I could team up with either Amanda's Drukhari or Keira' Harlequins and craft world Eldar. I DO have a PILE of superheavy units for the Eldar - three Scorpion/Tempest tanks and three Eldar TITANS - (one Phantom, two Revenant - which all still need to be painted). I'd have to make some decisions about what to take, as that all adds up WAY MORE than what was allowed last year (I think it was 300 Power Level... The three tank superheavy detachment is 96PL, the Phantom, on it's own, is 140PL, and each of the Revenants are 60PL... and then there's all the smaller stuff we have...)

For Battleforce Recon... I have no shortage of forces I could plop down without painting a single figure Eldar like I did last year or Tallarn like I did the year before, also I have the Guaiacan Commandoes/Jungle Fighters... Part of me feels like I should bring some DAEMONS OF THE WARP to Battleforce Recon! Again, there were a LOT of imperial forces last year - including TWO Grey Knights - so Daemons would seem apropos! But... 1000 points of Daemons by spring... and I only have about 200 point painted... (one Fiend of Slaanesh and one older Keeper of Secrets I'd use as a Daemon Prince of Slaanesh). It's not like they're really HARD to paint, though... It could happen.


PAINTING

There are just SO MANY THINGS I want to do!? All RIGHT NOW!!!!

The things I MOST want to get painting are:

Necromunda - though I have loads, I still have piles more!

Hellboy - though I have enough to play (at least the all the scenarios in the core set) - I have FOUR expansions that came with the Kickstarter that I've barely touched! I'd definitely like to get all of those done this year!

Blackstone Fortress - sat on this for over a year - even picked up most of the expansions as they came out - without even having played the base game!? I'm going to run it at ToonCon so I need to get painting and playing

DAEMONS OF CHAOS!! - The new army is always the shiniest! It was probably daft asking for Wrath & Rapture for Xmas... and even more ridiculous still to pick up MORE Daemons on Boxing Day... but I did... and now I have an entire army to paint up and I want to get on that!!! Even if it's just Kill-Team-level forces, or stuff I could use in Wrath & Glory and slowly work it all into (or maybe I will PAINT IT ALL to use at Battleforce Recon!!)

Other considerations...

There are SO MANY other miniature I have in the basement to paint and MANY that are constantly calling out to me for paint and causing no end of distraction (which is why sitting down and rationally thinking about what I can realistically get DONE in a given amount of time and figure out what really is most important to get done, given the games I'm actually planning to play)

Topping the list of "Other Stuff":

All the other 40K armies - though I have totally playable Guaiacan and Tallarn Imperial Guard armies - I still have LOADS of Tallarn to paint up AND an entire force of Valhallans, which I'd love to see painted. Still have a PILE of Assuryani (Craftworld Eldar) - including THREE TITANS (One Phantom and two Revenant), which I'd hoped to get done in case there is a Battle of the Abyss Apocalypse event again this year (really wanted to take a NON-IMPERIAL force this year - as there are SO MANY OTHER IMPERIAL PLAYERS and playing 2/3 Blue-on-Blue games and trying to weave narratives for WHY there are so many to-the-death "friendly fire" engagements is a bit lame...). AND I have a few Grey Knights and inquisitorial types I'd love to finish up as a small allied contingent... scores of others marines, Orks, MORE Imperial Guard that could be put together for Kill Teams. Oh, and THREE KNIGHTS to finish off - two of which are MOSLTY finished, and a third that's all still on the sprue...

Stuff for Rebels and Redcoats - I think about this constantly and would LOVE to finally get around to trying it out - maybe even playing a campaign. Unfortunately I just don't have enough of any force painted to really play it yet. I do have LOADS of Seven Years War miniatures some are painted - not enough - and the rest are on bases and primed and organized into units... but I just need to find the time to paint them. I'd also love to use this for War of 1812. I have my own Generic Regular and Militiamen I could cast by the dozens and paint up into units... but... y'know... TIME!?

More stuff for Pikeman's Lament - I have piles and piles of additional things I could add to my assorted English forces of the mid-17th century... I'd love to put together enough that I could run a campaign weekend and have enough for six factions and be able to have all of them fighting at the same time - either in large 4+ player battles - or have three or four tables going at once - playing out all the actions that take place campaign turn... Future dreams...

EPIC 40K - to play with Warhammer 40,000: Apoalypse! Though I have forces of Marines and Eldar I could play with right now, I still have PILES more I could paint for each - including TITANS - and then there are the Imperial Guard and Squats and Chaos and Orks... Oh, so many...

and the list goes on...

So... what's THE PLAN!? What AM I going to paint...

Well it is about six and a half weeks to the February game weekend, eight weeks to my birthday and Nine and a half to ToonCon!!!

I guess there are FOUR major interests (Necromunda, Hellboy, Blackstone Fortress and DAEMONS!) and 12 weeks. Split evenly that would be able three weeks each. It'd be nice to say I'll do X for three weeks and then do Y for the next three weeks, but that's a little unrealistic. I can say, of those four, I have enough to play a lot of different games of Necromunda as is... I could probably leave that until the end of March. Blackstone Fortress feels like it SHOULD be the priority - If I'm running that for ToonCon, I feel like I SHOULD get those done soonest, so I can get play testing! But Realistically - NEWEST IS SHINIEST! So I should probably endeavour to concurrently or alternately work on Blackstone fortress minis and Daemons for January. Early February, any Necromunda minis I need for a game weekend - if that's even happening...


SECOND QUARTER (April - June 2020)

I don't really want to set down much in the way of plans for the rest of the year... but... There are some things to keep a weather-eye on... The aforementioned Battleforce Recon and Battle of the Abyss could take place in Q2. Also, last year, the Strange Bedfellows Team Tournament was at the end of June (at the end of Q2), so... Q2 might be getting stuff ready for that...? (Or I could just use forces I already have?!)


THIRD QUARTER (July - September 2020)

Getting further away and harder to consider what I might be doing or interested in at that point...


FOURTH QUARTER (October - December 2020) 

Even FURHTER away and nigh impossible to consider what I might be doing or interested in at that point...


Anybody care to guess what I'll be doing in the Fourth Quarter of 2020? Your guess is as good as mine, at this point! Come on, leave a comment, let's here the wildest predictions you can think of!


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Hellboy Game Reports, Part Two of December Games, and a Look Back at 2019.

Tallarn Taurox (and Micro-Mini Shadowsword!)

I... I'm not sure I could explain the convoluted thought process that brought this onto the table to be finished. It could probably be summed up in two words: Squirrel Brain. (If a few more words were allowed: Highly Caffeinated Squirrel on Crystal Meth Brain...)

Regardless, I present to you: The Tallarn Taurox



I've used the wheeled suspension kit from Victoria Miniatures because... well... the track set just looks dumb...

The numbers on the front (500) are for the 5th company commander (5 = company, 0 = Headquarters Troop, 0 = Commander)

(Although, I saw one with track painted up to use as an Enforcer Vehicle for Necromunda and I started to think it didn't look THAT bad...)

I had originally meant to do the turret crew all swaddled up in a keffiyeh/shemagh looking out through binoculars... but then had a spare female head and thought I could just have the scarf around her shoulder so, hopefully, people could tell it was a women... Now I kind of wish I'd gone with the original plan - that head looks a little small for the body... I guess she could have some body armour bulking her up...? I may go back and change that... or I may not, because I'm lazy like that (feh, it's DONE! Move on to something that ISN'T yet painted!!!)



Back end - more stowage and the spread tire. If I did it right, the letters on the back should say "Khan" - because it's the commanders vehicle. The tire is also from Victoria Miniatures and most of the stowage is from a 1/35 Tamiya kit!



My plan for this was to ferry around a Company Commander for a Tallarn Outrider detachment... which currently only contains two squads of five roughriders and a single Scout Sentinel. Maybe I could throw the Sniper Special Weapon Section in there - seems like snipers are attached to reconnaissance units... I do, currently have enough that I could expand that out to THREE squads of TEN Roughriders, and Three sentinels - when I get around to assembling and painting the rest!

I've wanted to do an entire Sentinel Squadron ever since reading Lucien Soulban's Desert Raiders. There was a fun character that commanded the Reconnaissance/Sentinel Squadron. Unfortunately, while Marines can do just about anything with their wide variety of officer/HQ types - on foot, in terminator armour, with jet packs, on bikes, etc, etc... you can't put an Company Commander in a Sentinel (even though, according to the fluff, that is exactly what they do!). I'm not sure which is more silly - a Company Commander on foot leading a reconnaissance unit... or a TANK Commander leading a reconnaissance unit!? (even though Leman Russ tanks are FASTER than Sentinels!? In fact EVERY vehicle in the Imperial Guard arsenal are faster than their "Fast Attack" Reconaissance vehicles!? Someone explain THAT one to me!?)

Anyway, I liked the look of the Taurox - at least, with the wheels - I figure this could be kitted out as a Command version (although, now that I think about it, it SHOULD have had some extra radio antennae... darnit - maybe I could still add something - I'm thinking like the antenna that were on German command halftracks in the desert).

Also...



"Epic" scaled Shadowsword.



BIG and little



I don't have a LOT of stuff for the Imperial Guard painted just yet... I do have a few more tanks to paint up, and these few I may or may not repaint (I painted them in an older, temperate scheme - before I'd decided to do the Epic stuff as Tallarn), and a small number of infantry from Vanguard miniatures. People just want too damned much for the old plastic Imperial Guard miniatures (and Vanguard makes Desert Warriors... so I have Tallarn in TWO scales!). I do also have a PILE of space Marines and a few Imperial Titans...

I need to just shelve these, though, and not even think about them until next year... I DO want to try playing Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse with them at some point, though! But I need to focus my painting and get the rest of the Necromunda and Hellboy stuff painted.

Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Man, I am out of control... Usually I write ONE blog post at a time - compose new blog, add in the photos, add in some text, post... but I've stalled on writing bunch lately and so I have eight (EIGHT!) drafts currently, and I don't even know when I'm going to get around to finish those and I just keep on painting and rebasing?! I have a draft of a post about October and November's games (That will get posted at the end of the month), a Necromunda game report from Sunday, Posts about four different gangs that have all been rebased and snazzed up, and one about 54mm miniatures... I even DELETED a few posts recently because... well... they just sat for so long, they no longer seemed relevant enough to bother finishing!?

Next...? Hopefully one of those mentioned above... but I've also got a PILE of half to almost-done minis on my painting desk, including, but not limited to an Ambul Hulk and two Borewyrm Infestations, three Tallarn Mortar teams, an entire Van Saar gang, MORE Escher gangers, Scavvies, Enforcers, Imperial Fist Scouts, and a wild array of assorted other things - mostly relating to the Warhammer 40K universe...

Oh, and I just traded a pile of Imperial Guard I'm never going to use for a half dozen or so Battlefleet Gothic Chaos Cruisers!? Most of them are broken, but I should be able to get four serviceable ones out of the lot by taking bits from the more busted up one and adding or replacing bits on the less busted up ones... and there are three destroyer/escort type ships... so... they're a temptation...

Epic Space Marines for Apocalypse

Here are the Marines I have (painted, so far...) organized for use in the current version of Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse!  




The entire force (so far!)

As with the Eldar, these were previously organized for Future War Commander - where an element is an element and the number of figures on each stand wasn't really important, so I wasn't really fussed about having the correct number of itty-bitty warriors on each stand. Consequently, a number of these elements have less than the basic number of models that should be on a stand - in these cases I assume that it represents the basic/minimum number that would be in a squad - for example,  you can field Terminators in squads of five or ten, my stands have only three on each of them (because I only had a handful of them and I wanted more than just two squads (plus a few spares left over) and needed something I could use as a CO/HQ element - so I did four stands of three plus a smaller stand of just one - which would represent the HQ element.

Marine Vanguard Detachment



This was meant to be my overall command detachment (well... at least until I get a Supreme Command Detachment sorted out... ), but I've come to the realization that it is NOT a legit detachment. I have four Land Raiders in it as Transport for each of the Terminator squads... but those are actually classified as Heavy Support - not Dedicated Transports - and, as such, only two are allowed in a Vanguard Detachment.... The alternative - fielding it as a Spearhead Detachment also doesn't work as only two Elites are allowed in such a detachment...

I've also realized that, if we're assuming that each of these elements is a "Counts As" full-sized squad of FIVE Terminators... there is no room in the Land Raiders for the Captain... I'd need a fifth, just to ferry him around!

Feh! they're all MY toys, I can make up whatever rules I want, right?

HQ
Captain in Terminator Armour 7 PL

Elites
4x Terminator Squad (5) @11 = 44 PL

Heavy Support
4x Land Raider @13 = 52 PL

Total: 103 Power Level



Marine Battalion Detachment #1



HQ
Captain 5 PL

Troops
5x Space Marine Tactical Squad (5) @4 = 20 PL

Transports
5x Rhino @ 5 = 25 PL

Total: 50 Power Level


Marine Battalion Detachment #2



HQ
Captain 5 PL

Troops
5x Space Marine Tactical Squad (5) @4 = 20 PL

Transports
5x Rhino @ 5 = 25 PL

Total: 50 Power Level



Marine Outrider Detachment #1



HQ
Captain with Jump Pack 7

Fast Attack 
4x Assault Squad with Jump Packs (5) @5 = 25

Total: 32 Power Level


Marine Outrider Detachment #2



HQ
Captain with Jump Pack 7

Fast Attack 
4x Assault Squad with Jump Packs (5) @5 = 25

Total: 32 Power Level


Marine Outrider Detachment #3



HQ
Captain with Jump Pack 7

Fast Attack 
4x Assault Squad with Jump Packs (5) @5 = 25

Total: 32 Power Level


Marine Spearhead Detachment #1



Heavy Support
4x Vindicator @9 with Siege Shield @10 = 38????
2x Whirlwind  @ 6 =12

Total = 50 Power Level



Marine Spearhead Detachment #2



Heavy Support
4x Vindicator @9 with Siege Shield @10 = 38????
2x Whirlwind  @ 6 =12

Total = 50 Power Level


So that's about 399 Power Level. Just like I have for the Epic Asuryani Warhost.



I do have this Warhound Titan painted up (and Epic version of Pardus Purpura, that could be added to this force as an Auxiliary Super Heavy Detachment - that's another 60 Power Level...

I have at least three or four more Battalion detachments worth of Tactical Marines to paint up. One of which I have enough Rhinos to mechanize - although I may not and instead use those rhinos to ferry around HQ elements for some of the other detachments... I also have five older pattern Land Raiders that I originally planned to use as transports for one of the Marine Battalions... but as I've recently realized - they're Heavy Support, not DEDICATED TRANSPORT - and as such, I shouldn't really HAVE that many in a Battalion or Vanguard Detachment.

I also have enough bikes to put together another Outrider detachment with those.

I also have a few Land Speeders... not sure if I have enough for a detachment of their own...?

I do have a PILE of drop pods. I could probably drop two of those Marine detachments directly into battle in drop pods! I could probably also do what same with all the Termites I have!

I also have large forces of Orks, and Squats and Imperial Guard and even some Chaos... as well as a few titans about 8-9 Warlord titans 3-4 each for Imperial/Chaos. I also have a Reaver and two or three war hound titans - all Imperial. And then there are three Eldar Phantom Titans!? It could get CrAzY!? for now I guess I should just get in a game with these two forces to start with and see if it even works out...


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

Hopefully MORE Necromunda games... but before that there will probably be some more painted Genestealer Cultists

A Few More Epic 40K Minis

I finished up a few more Epic minis over the weekend...



Four plastic Whirlwinds.



Seven metal Vindicators (I already have another painted for a total of eight). not sure if any of those things out front count as a Siege Shield...?)

All of these will probably be organized into two Spearhead detachments of four Vindicators and two Whirlwinds. I can't seem to find my Apocalypse rules. But I'm pretty sure Spearhead Detachment can have a maximum of six Heavy Support - of which all of these are... (so I can't put ALL the vindicators in one big detachment!)

Here's something odd... I have a detachment with four squads of Terminators... and a captain n terminator armour. To transport those Terminators I thought I'd use Land Raiders... unfortunately Terminators are Elites and land raiders are NOT considered Transports - they're considered Heavy Support! A Vanguard Detachment can have up to SIX Elites, but only two Heavy Support... A Spearhead Detachment can have up to SIX Heavy Support... but only two Elites!? WTF!?



I also finished up a couple more Eldar bikes. The two smaller elements will be more Warlocks on Skyrunners to lead Squadrons of Windriders. The larger is a Vyper I've painted up in motley to use as a Voidweaver for my small detachment of Harlequins.


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

I should have a post with pictures of ALL the marines in the force - just shy of 400 Power Level - just like the Eldar.

Asuryani Force for Epic Apocalypse

I was going to include this in my previous painting update post, but it ended up being so much that I felt it deserved a whole post of its own.

I've been toying with the idea of using the new Warhammer 40,000: Apocalypse rules with my "Epic Scale" 40K stuff. Recently I was looking at what I had and took stock and tried to form them into detachments to see how big of a game (in terms of number of units and power level - the minis are really very small...) I could put on the table and what, if anything I'd need to paint to play reasonable sized battle. I found for both Eldar and Space Marines I had in the neighbourhood of 300-400 Power Level. I may paint up a few more items for both forces before I actually get these on the table... I'm shooting for about 400 Power Level on each side.

To start with... The Eldar

ASURYANI FORCE for EPIC APOCALYPSE



The entire force (so far!). This comes to about 400 Power Level

These were previously organized for Future War Commander - where an element is an element and the number of figures on each stand wasn't really important, so I wasn't really fussed about having the correct number of itty-bitty warriors on each stand. Consequently, a number of these elements have less than the basic number of models that should be on a stand - in these cases I assume that it represents the basic/minimum number that would be in a squad - for example,  you can field Warp Spiders in squads of five or ten, my stands have only three on each of them (because I only had ten of them and I wanted more than just two squads and needed something I could use as a CO/HQ element - so I did three stands of three plus a smaller stand of just one - which would represent the HQ element.

Supreme Command Detachment



Headquarters
Farseer (1) - 4PL
Farseer (1) - 4PL
Farseer (1) - 4PL

Lord of War
WraithKnight (1) - 21 PL

Total: 33 Power Level

Outrider Detachment



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Fast Attack
4x Windriders(3) @ 5PL = 20PL
2x Vypers (2) @10PL = 20 PL

Total: 46 Power Level

Spearhead Detachment #1



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Heavy Support
4x Falcon Grav Tank (1) @10 - 40 PL

Total: 46 Power Level


Spearhead Detachment #2 



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Heavy Support
4x Falcon Grav Tank (1)@10 - 40 PL

Total: 46 Power Level


Spearhead Detachment #3



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Heavy Support
4x Falcon Grav Tank (1)@10 - 40 PL

Total: 46 Power Level

Eventually all these "spearhead" detachements above will be converted to "Battalion" detachments as I finish up some Dire Avenger elements that will be able to ride around in them, making them more of a mechanized assault force than a fast, light tank force. Much like these two Vanguard Detachments below with other Aspect Warriors (Fire Dragons and Striking Scorepions):

Vanguard Detachment #1



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Elite
4x Fire Dragon (5) @5 = 20 PL

Heavy Support
4x Falcon Grav Tank (1)@10 = 40PL

Total: 66 Power Level

Vanguard Detachment #2



Headquarters
Warlock (1) on Skyrunner 6PL

Elite
6x Striking Scorpions @7 = 42 PL

Heavy Support
4x Falcon Grav Tank (1) @10 = 40PL

Total: 88 Power Level

Outrider Detachment #2 



Headquarters
Autarch with Warpjump Generator 7PL

Fast Attack
3x Warp Spiders(5) @7 =21 PL

Total: 28 Power Level


With all of these I am at 399 Power Level...

I do have one more detachment I could possibly add...

Allied Harlequin Battalion Detachment?



Headquarters
1x Troupe Master (1) - 4PL (not shown)

Troops
3x harlequin Troupe (5) = 15 PL

Fast Attack

Void Weaver (1) - 9PL
(Not shown, but painted - It's actually just an Eldar Vyper model all painted up in motley)

Total: 28 Power LeveL

I'm not sure about using all these Warlock on Skyrunner Jetbikes as Detachment Commanders... but it's what I got. I do have a few other command stands that could be warlocks on foot or Autarchs. They could easily be mounted up in a spare Falcon... I guess we'll see about how well they do roaring around on Jet bikes and how easily they are picked off!

I do have loads more to paint - THREE Phantom titans! Loads more Falcon tanks, piles and piles of Guardian Defenders, Support Weapons, a couple of Revenant Titans (unfortunately later models - that don't really match the ones that I have for regular scale 40k...), more aspect warriors (Swooping Hawks, Howling Banshees, Dire Avengers, etc). I also have one old tempest heavy grab tank - and a second that's missing its turret (if anyone out there HAS a spare Tempest Turret...?)

Haven't costed it all out, but considering the Phantom Titans are all 130+ EACH - I could easily have 1000 Power Level of forces, should they ever all get painted!!!

I also have loads of Marines, and Imperial Guard, and Squats (which, I guess, could be fielded as MORE Guard), a pile of Chaos and Ork stuff as well...


Coming Soon to Tim's Miniature Wargaming Blog:

later this weekend there should be a game-a-day update for the third week of September and hopefully some Necromunda game reports!

Also I'll probably do a post about the Epic Space Marines for Apocalypse, at some point in the not-too-distant future...