Question for you bloggers out there.....

More and more I've been seeing blog entries from others, saying they're discontinuing their blogs in favor of other mediums, such as Instagram, Twitter, or Facebook groups. I've definitely been seeing a change in trends over the years, as readership/interaction in some pages remains strong while other communities have fallen off the face of the internet. 

Have you folks experienced this? What do you think? 

Still kicking....

I am not dead, there just aren't enough hours in a day to paint and set up photo shoots and  the rest of life. Posting is actually the easy part, and I intend to do more soon. Every time I log on and see those Inquisitor war band members from the last post, I cringe and swear I'll do reshoots, and I will.

So, fear not, there's more a-coming in 2017!

Including MWO Battlemechs from Australia.

And Mechanicum Sector terrain from the new Necromunda Shadow Wars set. 

And maybe some Frostgave stuff. 

After a Short Hiatus....

Yes, I've been silent for....hrm, I s'pose it's been months, and outside, the world has kept turning despite me.  

THE NECRON CODEX IS DIFFERENT NOW.

"We cost.... how much now?"

You can't find Tomb Blade models anywhere, because they're are now AMAZING, but not to worry, no one in the right mind is using or will ever use Lychguard and Triarch Praetorians. Destroyers are now Jet Pack Infantry, because why the fuck not? Oh, and their great transport planes and HS gun batteries now cost too much ("Oi, we're selling too much of these 'ere crescents, mate! Better make 'em overpriced, wot?"). But hey, on the bright side you can get 4+WBB saves for the low, low price of building a formation cookie-cutter army (or, at least including the we-know-they-suck-now-so-here's-a-reason-to-take-some Crypteks), so that's something. Oh, and most of the great playable Character Necrons... aren't all that good anymore, so you might as well buy other things on the  list.

"What do you mean "throw it down a hole"? We like our technicolor wargear!"

As you can no doubt tell, what I'm most pissed about, besides the fact that planes and barges got a cost/equipment nerf, is that colorful Crypteks have forgotten how to use other things but their bog-standard Staff of Shame and other pathetic gear. 

Maybe mine will go back to being Tyranids. I dunno. 

Just in time for Magos Karamazov and the Throne of Friendly Fire to be finished....

THERE IS A MECHANICUM CODEX NOW. 

Well, there was one, a 30K one, and it's.... interesting, being almost entirely Legio Cybernetica. Interesting enough for me to have bought into them (more on that in future, I swear) But now there are actual Skitarii (thanks GW, I already several squads of them) complete with a crab tank:

Image copyright Games Workshop, used without permission

Hey, wait a MINUTE! 

"Hello. Been here forever, and now, apparently, I'm official!"

That's right, it's Mr. Crabby, right down to his little googly crab eyes. Turn to pages 34-35 of Codex Skitarii, and you'll see their is painted in grey as well. Jerks. 

Though, to be fair, I did base him on this thing.

Image copyright Lucasfilm, used without permission

But I painted cogs on mine first. Included him as a counts-as Leman Russ first, too, so there. Now I only need two more stock ones to have a Crawler battery that gets a 4+ force field save. And, they're a mere 90 points a pop, same a the old Annihilation Barge--HEY WAIT A MINUTE!!

"Remember me? I'm a monstrous creature! Now I'm a skimmer! Soon.... who knows?"

It is interesting that I made these at the time when in a Necron list as barges they were 90 points a pop, and now the AdMech crab tanks are also 90pts (don't get to used to that). 

Oh, and P.S. they also have cavalry with taser lances, spider-ninjas and other things, because why the hell not.

The codex isn't a complete one, though; there are four infantry units, two of those Sentinel looking things, a crab tank and and no HQ, so really Codex Skitarii needs to be combined with, say, the 30k stuff from the HH books to make an actual, usable, Mechanicum army. 

Dear God, with the HH-era HQ's,robots, transports, knights, and tanks, you've got yourselves one hell of a fighting force now, don't you? Huh. Sun sets but it also rises, eh Games Workshop? Speaking of sunsetting things.....

FANTASY IS GONE.

"Hold me, Thorbjorn."

"Hmmmm..... still no."

(Is it ironic that those are Rackham dwarves, and the Frenchies went tits-up long ago?) 

GW said "HAHAHA Fuck you!" to its smaller swords-'n-sorcery audience and blew up the background universe it didn't know what to do with, along with the game they didn't know how to save. All they had to do was advance things a little, maybe a timeskip to the 18th century or something, but oh no, now it's all Chaos wins, game's over, blank slate. With all their fluff, they wrote themselves into a corner, and the only way out they saw was to knock all down.There are hints all over the new 40k books of this same thing on the horizon, campers. Just you wait and see.

So, I have a samurai dwarf army for sale. Maybe some undead and skaven to follow. Let me know if you're at all interested. There are all sorts of Rat Ogres and things. Pics to come. 

THINGS TO COME

Lots of Legio Cybernetica.

Lots of other things. 

Maybe I'll travel somewhere and shoot pictures of castles. I dunno. 

Happy Saturday, people.

Enter a competition, win an airbrush compressor.... (UPDATE)

Because everyone likes free things, you should head on over to Air Supplies dot Co dot UK and post a link to your favorite model, because they're hosting a competition whereby you can win one of these contraptions. Airbrush compressors aren't cheap by any means, so take the opportunity to try for a free one, gang. Entries close on the 31s of Jan.

I've been busy these months, but there is painted stuff coming soon, I swear.

[UPDATE]

Yes, the competition is over and done by now, won by someone who entered an entire battlefield, apparently.  Nip over and take a look at the entrants. Lots of pretty things to see there.

Fixing Centurions....

They're not a terrible idea, just not a great one. Really, their role is filled, and better, by other units in the codex. Make that codexes, because there are allies and Escalation and pretty much all bets are off.

But this is not a rules blog, it's a modeling blog, and the models are awful.

So, as I take pictures of the latest raft of models to join my Necrons and Ultramarines, I've been thinking about them, and have basically whittled down the choices to two:

Choice the Firste: they're giant powered suits, more akin to a landmate than an actual Astartes suit. This necessitates a new look for the model along the lines of the SM aesthetic, ie "building out" the existing Centurion model with in-proportion arms and legs. Basically, a custom that looks more like the actual artwork.

Choice the Seconde: they're Terminator armor fitted with heavy weapons (and support hydraulics for them) I don't mind this option, because Terminators have been a viable heavy weapon platform (albeit a fragile one) from the get-go.

Choice the Thirde: is, of course, to move on to another project such as... shit, I dunno, an Outrider for the X-wing miniatures game.

Any thoughts, folks?

A Blast from the Past...

Some clever chap made a posable Atlas model from the new in-game models using a 3D printer. More here. 

I'm not going to bore you with wistful talk of it being a brave new day for the medium. Just that I'm taking a hard look at saving for a 3D printer, and which 3D package for the Mac maps best to my 3DS skills. 

Cuz, you know, I like making cool things. 

On a related note, Battletech was what got me into minis and wargaming in the first place, and, strangely, I sold off 98% of my large collection of 200+ mechs before I started this blog, because I was unemployed and hadn't played Battletech for years. Who knew a $5 lead Marauder went for $18 these days? I had 3 Atlases, but never actually fielded them all at once.  Probably would've been fun to, though. 

Anyway this feels like something coming full circle somehow. 

Happy Monday, people. 

9/11

This day in 2001, the gates of Heaven irised open to receive more than 3,000 souls. 

Never forget, America, and stay vigilant. 

So maybe the Japanese have working, armed mecha now...

I like how they drive it through a downtown section of the city, and everyone behaves like they just see this sort of thing every day.  Me, I need this for my zombie apocalypse escape plan. 

Happy Fourth of July!

Happy 4th, Everybody! 

What are you doing on the Internet? Get out there and do something even though it's hot as fuck and you should probably be inside. 


On second thought, stay inside. Enjoy the Internet, and remember that the greatest purveyor of porn, bootleg movies, and all manner of social networking came from, among other things,  US tax dollars. Now that's some useful spending. 


Happy 4th, people. 

Reviews?

Should I do 'em? 

Some folks have approached me about reviewing their products. As you know, I tend not to pull any punches, being from the Honesty School of Opinion Writing, so it could be a fun exercise for all concerned. 

This isn't an attempt at filler, either. I have a backlog of photos for posts right now, and an even larger one of pending hobby projects (I hear you, ZOE Vic Viper). 

So what do you think?

Raise the Owlbear of Victory!

At the same time my Stormraven went over the top.... I was at work, I think. But later, I painted this owl bear. Thanks to everybody out there who put me over the top, I really appreciate it, guys. 

Anyhow, these furry, feathery (furthery?) monstrosities plague my D&D group every time we camp out in a forest, so I thought it as time to add one to the minis case. They seem to attack in teams of two or three, so this is probably the first of a few, but the LGS only had one, so. 

Bears are pretty monochrome, but owls have some fantastic patterns and tons of variation in there plumage. I was sorely tempted  to mottle his feathers and make a spotted owl, but wanted to get him done in time for D&D. This two-toned fellow will suffice for now, but the next time, definitely something a little more complex?


 Or, maybe just a snowy white one eating Harry Potter. 


Happy Sunday, people, and thanks again. 

Stormtalon Leaked!

Beasts of War apparently gets their hands on early copies of White Dwarf, and is revealing all sorts of things, most notably, this horrible thing. 


It flies. That's the best thing I can say about it. Why didn't they just take an Assault Marine and add on a bunch of weapons until he looked like a GP03? Modern Marines get things like the AV-8B Harrier II's, F/A-18's,  and the new F-35 Lightning. Future marines get the flying fish. Oh, and it still has the Stormraven's ridiculous tail assembly. Bravo. Obviously they wanted those little gunboats from Transformers 3, but went to the same git that gave us the previous raft of crap marine fliers, who then bent over and shat out this boxy turd. 


Speaking of turds, here are the stats: 
130pts
BS:4 AV11/11/11
Fast Skimmer, Aerial Assault, Supersonic
Ceramite Plating
Escort Craft: Place unit on table within 6" of another unit that arrived from Deepstrike, or Reserve.
Hoverstrike: Stay stationary to gain +1BS
TL Assault Cannon
TL Heavy Bolter - upgradable to either:
TL Typhoon Missile Launchers
TL Lascannon
TL Skyhammer Launchers - S:7 AP:4 Heavy3 R:60"


To sum up, it costs as much as a Vendetta and is not nearly as good. It has the same amount of gun mounts as a Landspeeder with marginally better weapons, but is won't survive long enough to put them to good use. Oh, and it can hold hands with something that deep strikes, so your DS'ing speeder won't feel alone as it gets shot up. This thing has a paltry AV11, so yes, it's going to be missiled out of the sky as soon as it shows its face, which is constantly, and since it's a flyer, it's going to be on a flight base, so, unlike our friend the speeder, no cover for you. It doesn't even carry a melta weapon to take advantage of its speed. 


If you can't figure out a better way to spend 130 points in the Big Blue SM Codex, not to mention your hard earned money, then I wash my hands of you. 


EDIT!


I see where your jealousy lies, GW. Shame on you!

And now for something completely different....

By now you all know my love for robots and mechanical things. Get a load of what DARPA's been doing lately. I don't know about you, but I'd much rather my tax dollars go to something like this than lavish parties for GSA members or hookers for the Secret Service. It seems they haven't really solved the portable power issue yet, but they'll get there. Is anyone else unnerved by the sneakers on the thing?


Thanks for the tremendous outpouring of support for the Stormraven in competition over at MWC. If you haven't voted yet, we've got some stiff competition from a certain Dreadnaught, apparently, so please help propel our plane to victory. 

Wash Out Your Eyeballs with This.

All of you hobbyists out there know you started out with Lego, or at least had them at some point. This video makes me wonder why we gave them up. The stock LR kit doesn't even have the wheels and rubber treads that even make it potentially mobile, so it takes some heavy converting to make the thing move, much less remotely. 


But Legos? Man, you can really master the possibilities, as this guy did. 


Happy Tuesday. 

It's to your eyeballs what headlights are to a deer....

When I'm an old man, I want my Dumbledore-esque office/library/studio/inner sanctum to be full of whirring clockwork brass things like this.  Catch the whirring goodness on their website.

Happy Thursday, people.

For Your Speculation....

"It looks like a flying Tumbler..."

They may have won me over with this one....

As you may have noticed, it's been like I've recently discovered Privateer Press or something. I haven't, obviously. I've been using their stuff for parts for some time now without ever having played their game. Now there's this:

You clever bastards. You know exactly what turns me on. 

Ah, this takes me back to the days of Battletech, where Mechs could mix it up with infantry on an everyday basis (and tanks, but WM doesn't really have those, now do they?) Luckily, those little buggers were the epitome of portable; you could fit a combined regiment in one case. Those large scale models are big without being enormously impractical.  If only someone else made large-scale mecha with 28mm infantry...

Now is the time when a reader skips to the comments field, and tells me someone already has. 

I know those exist, thanks. Yes, and before that, those too. 

Yes, and the Mad Cat. I'm that old, you know. I'm from the time before there was even an internet, and computers had green monitors. Go and ask your dad what a punch card is. 

Maybe it's time to sell off an army or two and step into some new shoes....

Floating Skullballs Make Me Happy....

Image copyright Privateer Press, used without permission

Whether it's their Wraith engine or this thing, every time I turn around Privateer Press turns out something cool. Between this and their stompy Warjack goodness, it's almost as if they want me to try their game or something. 


Maybe if I sell a WHF army or two?


If I hadn't already made a Zoanthrope model, this thing would be it. Maybe Skullball will be my new Overlord or something, I dunno. Either way, I want one. 

An Xmas surprise (for Necrons)...

The Catacomb Command & Annhilation Barge (or Pwn Barge, as it has become known) is 90% the same footprint, in all three dimensions, as our good friend the venerable Tyrannofex. There had been much trepidation about this, as the length of their Necron Persuasiveness Enhancers had been of some concern, but apparently from nose to tail the length works out to about the same, which is excellent news, because I wasn't looking forward to purchasing 3-6 barges even at discount eBay prices. Looks Like my barges will be fewer, and for Overlord joyride purposes only. 


Now all they have to do is make Doom Scythes the exact size and shape of my Harpy models, and we'll be in business. I'd rather make three more of those things than see a bunch of blasted crescents flying around the table any day. There's just something sad very un-threatening about chasing my opponents around  with metallic doom pastries..

Merry Christmas!

More so than Thanksgiving, Christmas is time when I feel truly grateful for all the blessings of the year, and this year has been exceptionally blessed, what with the new job and other developments in my life. You all have been a part of that, some of you more than you know.  So, to everyone out the big wide world, thanks for being there, and the best of the season to you and yours.