Warhammer World Tables

One of the great things about Warhammer World that I did not get to fully enjoy was the gaming area. Maybe next time I'll try to find a way to sneak a tiny army into my luggage, but given how irritating international travel is these days, probably not. The tables do beckon me. As you can see from the first photo, the room is packed with really good looking gaming tables, including some really nice Tau themed tables. I really wish I had the opportunity to game on tables this nice looking. GW store tables are nice, but fully themed tables with appropriate amounts of terrain, roads, rivers, and all manor of other cool scenic features really add a lot to the game. I imagine my Blood Angles would look pretty good on that snow blasted wasteland, or fighting through Osgiliath.

Now if I could only work up motivation to paint for the competition tomorrow. I might have to bow out. Jet lag is hitting pretty hard, and all I want to do is relax and watch the snow fall.

Images From Warhammer World

With a day to spare in the UK I found a way to get myself up to nottingham to visit the Warhammer Museum.   I'll have a separate post showing the wonderful themed tables, but I wanted to share my photos of all of the studio magic. I've poured over this stuff for years, so seeing it in person was really gratifying. I highly recommend the visit to anyone who has the chance. My only complaint was that I was really hoping to see more forgeworld stuff.

I'm going to warhammer world right now!!!!

I've always wanted to go, so this is really exciting. If you see two exhausted Americans wandering through in about an hour and a half say hi!

How awesome is warhammer world?

I really need the intertubes help with this one. I am flying to London for business and wanted to know if warhammer world is worth the 2 hour train ride. Convince me!

Blood Angels Earn A Display Case

My parents are visiting us this week, in preparation for a family vacation. My father brought his new camera, that I am thrilled with. Maybe the Cannon DSLR is done. In any case, I haven't posted photos of my blood angels in their new IKEA display cases yet. There are numerous unpainted bits, but I am so thrilled with how the color was being captured by the camera that I wanted to share. I can't believe I painted most of those tanks and the storm raven(even less finished than the rest) for the NOVA open. I think I am still recharging my painting batteries.

I am definitely going to buy one of these once rush hour traffic is not a problem.

--Camera Bought --
Behold---some....er...tau

Sanguinary Priest

This guy was meant to be part of my NOVA 2011 army, but I was rushed for time. After NOVA he sat on my desk, while a billion dark elves were put together.  He was relegated to this position because he was not quite color synced with the rest of the army, so I just did not feel that same rush to finish him as I normally would. Fortunately, he was on hand and ready to become a test model for my new brushes.

I need to buy new brushes more often.

I tested three sizes of Raphael brushes on this model, and all of them were pure joy to use. The brushes hold their tips really well, in addition to holding more paint, which makes painting much easier and enjoyable.

So if you haven't bought new good quality brushes recently, I recommend it.

Now....what to paint... Maybe I should paint some of these guys.

And Now For Something Completely Different:Fantasy

It would be easy to imagine that the above photo is meant to show you the utter clutter of my hobby space. However, the real intent is to show you just how much of that space is covered with Warhammer Fantasy Dark Elves. I am not a fantasy player. Like many 40k players, I was drawn in by the originality of the grim dark future. I am not enthralled at all by the Fantasy background, but I do like the miniatures, and once that Black Dragon was released I was sold. I think this army will look fantastic when painted however I am intimidated by the sheer number of miniatures needed for a fantasy army. How is it possible to paint an army in a reasonable about of time (e.g. a couple of weekends)? There must be over 200 miniatures on that table. Just removing the mold lines is going to take a full day.

This brings me to...

John's List of Ways to Improve Fantasy Without Having Played It*(tm)

1. The models should be smaller, so I can enjoy larger batters. Not Warmaster small, but like half the size they are now. The middle ground between Warmaster and fantasy is where the money shot is. 
2. Troops models should be modeled in 1 or two parts so large 100+ units could be put together easily.
3. Boxes should contain enough troops for a meaningful unit size. Buying 4 boxes of executioners is a pain, when the minimum unit size is absurdly small
4. Round bases...oops sorry reflex. Bases should have magnets in them that hold them to the movement trays. 
5. No dwarves. It happened to the Squats, let it happen to fantasy dwarves.
6. Less Magic. Let the troops fight the battle, not the heroes. 

*these rules are subject to change based on actual game play experience. Reading this list may cause anger, panic, derision, blurred vision, or dizziness for Fantasy players. If you experience a nerd rage lasting 4 hours, please consult a therapist.

Flesh Tearers & Gabriel Seth

After painting the Flesh Tearers Razorback/Rhino/Baal Pred/Vindi magneto-tank, I knew I had to paint more guys from that chapter. Differing from my first Flesh Tearers squad, I used less Blood Angles bits on this. Two of the guys have none for instance. I also used older mark legs. In terms of painting these guys almost painted themselves. I stiff have to break out the air brush for the power axe, and the weathering powders for the legs in order to tie them into the base, but I had so much fun making and painting these that I wanted to share them. (oh, a little orange wash on the damaged black parts is needed as well)

Now does Gabriel Seth fit in my army? I don't know. My only significant playing experience is the NOVA open. It was a trial by fire, which I loved, however I learned that infantry should never get outside their tanks. It is more likely that I paint up two Flesh Tearers Vindicators, since the kit is awesome, and making heavily damaged FT versions would be fun. I think I need to stop thinking with my NOVA training and go back to playing what looks good on the table. That is the only way I am going to every field that beautiful Storm Raven (yeah, I love the kit). At the NOVA I was taught that SR's were basically big grey flying targets that started and ended the game in the same place if I took first turn.

And now for something completely different......

I've been building a large Dark Elf fantasy army.

I may even play it before it is even primed.

Do I dare post shots of that army here? I mean this is a 40k hobby blog, not a square-baser joint.