Well no... I haven't been quite THAT far although it certainly seems like it.
Heading home to NZ in 6 weeks or so after some time on "stranger shores" I decided to give myself a "welcome home" present of some plasti-crack.
Yikes! Talk about timing! I log on to Maelstrom to see our "friendly godmother" GW is knocking our nice lil "lets get models at a reasonable price" niche on the head. Not only THAT but it seems our "other friendly godmother" Battlefront had a falling out with Maelstrom as well way back in February.
Yes I've been out of the "loop" for some time. Quite some time in fact.. coming up nearly a year since I last posted here, and aside from some fleeting moments at internet cafe's not much time at all online. And gaming? With a number of things going into storage (aka a houseload of crap and other asstd items), I did take my Daemons with me.. along with a few paints .. the idea being that I'd get a bit more done in "downtime".
Hmm downtime. Not a lot of that. Result = painting nil.
I did manage to make it to Dogcon this year.. the only kiwi to do so, but then being kinda halfway there already made it a little easier. Which made my grand sum of 8th Ed games... err 6.
Given GW's "thou shalt buy locally" order... I'm not that sure it'll progress pass 6 either. Something to sleep on perhaps. Not sure how the NZ scene has reacted to the GW news - or even 8th Ed for that matter... there was mucho muttering about it from certain sectors when I last touched base there.
Now my only problem is deciding what plasti-crack to welcome myself home with. I was initially intending on buying an entire skaven army... and may yet do so. Have some gaps to fill in my daemons though... so that is the first priority. Will have to see how much of my "budget" I have left once that is done.
Ahh so much to do and so little time. Need to sort out another email address - or get my hotmail one fixed. Dunno why but I haven't been able to log into that for months. Plenty to do once I get home as well. Roll on July.
Those of you in the fair green green grass of home... hope it ain't too cold - and see you over some dice soon (all the best intentions after all)
Friday, May 20, 2011
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Sailing Uncharted Seas
My eagerly anticipated order from Maelstrom games arrived this morning. I say eagerly awaited because it was something quite different than my usual purchase of late.
Having been somewhat less than enthused about the forthcoming 8th Edition WFB release from Games Workshop (thanks to the by and large ridiculous varation of rumours and the frothing at the mouth of certain individuals online about how "cool" all the big things are in it - and these same people being many of the ones who whined about the same things in 7th... aka the comp haters or those who ping certain army types and builds needlessly and without warrant). Suffice to say whilst I have ordered the 8th Ed Rulebook, I am a little encouraged, but still not that enthused. Anyway, as I was saying, I took the opportunity to look at some of the other game systems that have sprung up over the past few years.
I have collected and played other non-GW wargames in the past, the most notable and enjoyable two being Battletech (now known as "classic") and Warzone. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them even though the latter never really gained much popularity over here. And of course whilst some remnants of those games exist, they have pretty much fallen off the gaming scene.
Obviously I am venturing into Flames of War as well, but a Fantasy/SciFi element to wargaming is one of the things I really enjoy. Having read Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings" about once a year since I was 8, and the Silmarillion nearly as often, I love the colour and wonder of Elves, Dwarves, and other assorted races.
40K was an option, but I simply don't like the game. Love the background of it (much more so than the WFB background ironically), but the tanks on the large part look silly to my mind, and the whole conncept of the game just doesn't "do it" for me. Granted the game has changed somewhat since I "had" to play it when working for GW as a red-shirt, but I've never liked it - and that hasn't changed.
I dabbled a little with Battlefleet Gothic and Man O War as well "back in the day", and after some nostalgic reminiscing with the lads on the saturday night at the motel over a few bourbons whilst down at Nicon recently, I got home and headed to Maelstrom.
Why was that my first stop? Quite simply they are one of the best places online at present that stocks a wide range and variety of games, models, and gaming supplies from a large number of suppliers. And with the free postage along with discounting and a strong NZ$ vs the UK$ (Could never figure out how to find the pound symbol on a computer keyboard) means that it for me is pretty much the #1 place to shop.
So I had a flick through what they had, and then had a flick through a couple of forums (WargamerAU, SthIsland Wargames, and a couple of others) to see what else people were playing.
This eventually led me to the Spartan Games website, which also contains an increasingly active forum discussing their games. In particular two of them... The newer "Firestorm Armada", and the earlier released "Uncharted Seas".
They both looked good. Sounded like there was a reasonable amount of playtesting, there was obviously (from their website) some very good "gamer support" from the company in regards to downloads, FAQ's and other errata (although that being said there didn't appear to be much of a need for errata/FAQ from the company due to the rules apparently being quite simple and unarguable).
I did flick over to have a look at Warmachine, but it really doesn't grab me at all. And I get the impression it appeals to those types who are or have been a little M:TG crazy - or powergaming types. Which are kinda the same thing IMO - and those who have come across to WFB are often the loudest or most one-eyed when it comes to comp, and whom quite honestly I'd prefer not to play against. (Historical stuffiness and poor models are another thing that put me off a gaming system - Which is why I disregarded the likes of Fog, and am still a little suspicious of FoW players... Flames forum in particular has a lot of screaming when people post photos of "non-realisticly painted" models. I thought it was a game?)
I digressed again didn't I?
My initial attraction was towards Firestorm Armada. Spaceships are cool. And I have been recently re-reading more sci-fi than I have fantasy. But bearing in mind that obviously I'd like to have a few opponents to play the game against, that the lads are more fantasy rather than sci-fi minded, and the people I could possibly interest in a new game are also fantasy minded, I looked toward Uncharted Seas.
I was pleasantly suprised at the prices. Enough so that not only did my initial purchase consist of a rulebook, but 3 starter fleets as well! Yes. I said 3. After spending a while reading through the backgrounds of each race in the game, and perusing the Spartan Games forums on how each race played, I chose to get starter fleets for "Dragon Lords", "Bone Griffons", and the architypical human "Imperial Navy". These particular fleets I think will suit my playing style, and I also liked the models. Overlooking the fact that I am so used to GW styled fantasy, the models are in fact pretty good. Could be a little better in some ways - but on the whole more than pretty enough. I chose multiple fleets also because if I am seeking opponents to introduce to the game, then obviously I want some ships for them to use as well. And the prices certainly enabled this option.
Don't get me wrong - I can't stand teaching or showing people how to do things. But sometimes it is worth the effort. Especially if there is some self interest involved. And there is here. I need people to play with/against!
The other clincher was that Uncharted Seas is already making an appearance tourney wise in Australia, so left open potential for a gaming trip over there for that. Firestorm Armada has as yet to make an appearance in the same way that I am yet aware of.
So yes, the rulebook and starter fleets arrived this morning just as I got home from work. I couldn't resist the urge to open the box they came in and have a quick fondle, but was able to resist spending a couple of hours of sleep time reading the rulebook.
The rulebook is reasonably well set out. It is written in a friendly and easy to understand manner, and has plenty of diagrams to explain the few more difficult aspects of the rules. It is colourful, well spaced, and literally has pretty much everything you need to start playing even without models. Spartan Games have supplied .pdf's of the counters etc on their website so that you don't need to cut up your rulebook (unless you want to), as well as other source material and rule updates that have yet to be printed in the rulebook (it looks like they update the rulebook occasionally and include the new rules/units/races etc). The rulebook also comes with a "rules at a glance" sheet that is already laminated (much like GW used to do sometimes for WFB in the WD).
Oh, and the rules themselves fit into about 40 pages - including diagrams.
Don't worry though (it was a concern of mine), the rules are not THAT simplistic, and do seem to leave a fair range of tactical variation and competitiveness - random elements enhanced by dice of course, and also by a "card system" where you can play a certain number of cards a turn to alter game/unit features or statistics - which from the looks of it gives a skill use there as well (when to play what etc). This is also how "magic" takes place in the game. Unlike Man O War, in which magic effectively unbalanced the game, magic in Uncharted Seas is minimal - although some of the damage that can be done is quite horrific it is not game-changing but simply another tool in the arsenal.
There are more dice to be rolled in Uncharted Seas. In a way. You of course have less models on the board than you do with something like WFB or 40K, but each models has more dice to roll in certain situations. A Bone Griffion battleship can, for example, roll 23 Attack Dice at Range Band 2. Sound nasty? Well it is, but it suffers at other ranges firing only 9 Attack Dice at Range Band 3 and a mere 1 at Range Band 4.
Sound like a foreign language? I've only read the rulebook once I'm getting a reasonable gist of how it plays.
The models themselves are all resin and whitemetal. I daresay that eventually Spartan may produce plastic models, but they have a good feel weightwise to them - and I've always liked that about metal models. Flash was minimal, but being mostly on the metal sails did necessitate a little bit of work with the file. There isn't that much assembly required, and some conversion is possible (different sail configurations and so on) if you so wish. Size isn't too bad either. A Dragon Lord Battleship is about 15cm long, whilst the frigates are 3.5cm long. I guess the new destroyers about to be released will be smaller than that, but then they are only destroyers!
Overall I was impressed by the models. Look forward to getting round to painting them. They do look like they will well suit the dipping method, but have a good amount of detail on them to be picked out as well.
I do have a little concern in regards to how well they will transport, being not your usual model shape/size, and the sails etc on some models are a little tricky to pin. But my intent is to magnetise the bottom of the ships themselves so that will hopefully aid in transportation.
Self interest aside, I think the game is well worth a look - even if only as a random evening game with a few gaming mates. Rules are simple, games appear to run in a good timeframe, models - and rules are cheaply priced (in comparison to other gaming systems if nothing else), and thanks to that thing called playtesting (SOME companies apparently still do it), is pretty well balanced as well.
Good work Spartan Games!
Having been somewhat less than enthused about the forthcoming 8th Edition WFB release from Games Workshop (thanks to the by and large ridiculous varation of rumours and the frothing at the mouth of certain individuals online about how "cool" all the big things are in it - and these same people being many of the ones who whined about the same things in 7th... aka the comp haters or those who ping certain army types and builds needlessly and without warrant). Suffice to say whilst I have ordered the 8th Ed Rulebook, I am a little encouraged, but still not that enthused. Anyway, as I was saying, I took the opportunity to look at some of the other game systems that have sprung up over the past few years.
I have collected and played other non-GW wargames in the past, the most notable and enjoyable two being Battletech (now known as "classic") and Warzone. I thoroughly enjoyed both of them even though the latter never really gained much popularity over here. And of course whilst some remnants of those games exist, they have pretty much fallen off the gaming scene.
Obviously I am venturing into Flames of War as well, but a Fantasy/SciFi element to wargaming is one of the things I really enjoy. Having read Tolkiens "Lord of the Rings" about once a year since I was 8, and the Silmarillion nearly as often, I love the colour and wonder of Elves, Dwarves, and other assorted races.
40K was an option, but I simply don't like the game. Love the background of it (much more so than the WFB background ironically), but the tanks on the large part look silly to my mind, and the whole conncept of the game just doesn't "do it" for me. Granted the game has changed somewhat since I "had" to play it when working for GW as a red-shirt, but I've never liked it - and that hasn't changed.
I dabbled a little with Battlefleet Gothic and Man O War as well "back in the day", and after some nostalgic reminiscing with the lads on the saturday night at the motel over a few bourbons whilst down at Nicon recently, I got home and headed to Maelstrom.
Why was that my first stop? Quite simply they are one of the best places online at present that stocks a wide range and variety of games, models, and gaming supplies from a large number of suppliers. And with the free postage along with discounting and a strong NZ$ vs the UK$ (Could never figure out how to find the pound symbol on a computer keyboard) means that it for me is pretty much the #1 place to shop.
So I had a flick through what they had, and then had a flick through a couple of forums (WargamerAU, SthIsland Wargames, and a couple of others) to see what else people were playing.
This eventually led me to the Spartan Games website, which also contains an increasingly active forum discussing their games. In particular two of them... The newer "Firestorm Armada", and the earlier released "Uncharted Seas".
They both looked good. Sounded like there was a reasonable amount of playtesting, there was obviously (from their website) some very good "gamer support" from the company in regards to downloads, FAQ's and other errata (although that being said there didn't appear to be much of a need for errata/FAQ from the company due to the rules apparently being quite simple and unarguable).
I did flick over to have a look at Warmachine, but it really doesn't grab me at all. And I get the impression it appeals to those types who are or have been a little M:TG crazy - or powergaming types. Which are kinda the same thing IMO - and those who have come across to WFB are often the loudest or most one-eyed when it comes to comp, and whom quite honestly I'd prefer not to play against. (Historical stuffiness and poor models are another thing that put me off a gaming system - Which is why I disregarded the likes of Fog, and am still a little suspicious of FoW players... Flames forum in particular has a lot of screaming when people post photos of "non-realisticly painted" models. I thought it was a game?)
I digressed again didn't I?
My initial attraction was towards Firestorm Armada. Spaceships are cool. And I have been recently re-reading more sci-fi than I have fantasy. But bearing in mind that obviously I'd like to have a few opponents to play the game against, that the lads are more fantasy rather than sci-fi minded, and the people I could possibly interest in a new game are also fantasy minded, I looked toward Uncharted Seas.
I was pleasantly suprised at the prices. Enough so that not only did my initial purchase consist of a rulebook, but 3 starter fleets as well! Yes. I said 3. After spending a while reading through the backgrounds of each race in the game, and perusing the Spartan Games forums on how each race played, I chose to get starter fleets for "Dragon Lords", "Bone Griffons", and the architypical human "Imperial Navy". These particular fleets I think will suit my playing style, and I also liked the models. Overlooking the fact that I am so used to GW styled fantasy, the models are in fact pretty good. Could be a little better in some ways - but on the whole more than pretty enough. I chose multiple fleets also because if I am seeking opponents to introduce to the game, then obviously I want some ships for them to use as well. And the prices certainly enabled this option.
Don't get me wrong - I can't stand teaching or showing people how to do things. But sometimes it is worth the effort. Especially if there is some self interest involved. And there is here. I need people to play with/against!
The other clincher was that Uncharted Seas is already making an appearance tourney wise in Australia, so left open potential for a gaming trip over there for that. Firestorm Armada has as yet to make an appearance in the same way that I am yet aware of.
So yes, the rulebook and starter fleets arrived this morning just as I got home from work. I couldn't resist the urge to open the box they came in and have a quick fondle, but was able to resist spending a couple of hours of sleep time reading the rulebook.
The rulebook is reasonably well set out. It is written in a friendly and easy to understand manner, and has plenty of diagrams to explain the few more difficult aspects of the rules. It is colourful, well spaced, and literally has pretty much everything you need to start playing even without models. Spartan Games have supplied .pdf's of the counters etc on their website so that you don't need to cut up your rulebook (unless you want to), as well as other source material and rule updates that have yet to be printed in the rulebook (it looks like they update the rulebook occasionally and include the new rules/units/races etc). The rulebook also comes with a "rules at a glance" sheet that is already laminated (much like GW used to do sometimes for WFB in the WD).
Oh, and the rules themselves fit into about 40 pages - including diagrams.
Don't worry though (it was a concern of mine), the rules are not THAT simplistic, and do seem to leave a fair range of tactical variation and competitiveness - random elements enhanced by dice of course, and also by a "card system" where you can play a certain number of cards a turn to alter game/unit features or statistics - which from the looks of it gives a skill use there as well (when to play what etc). This is also how "magic" takes place in the game. Unlike Man O War, in which magic effectively unbalanced the game, magic in Uncharted Seas is minimal - although some of the damage that can be done is quite horrific it is not game-changing but simply another tool in the arsenal.
There are more dice to be rolled in Uncharted Seas. In a way. You of course have less models on the board than you do with something like WFB or 40K, but each models has more dice to roll in certain situations. A Bone Griffion battleship can, for example, roll 23 Attack Dice at Range Band 2. Sound nasty? Well it is, but it suffers at other ranges firing only 9 Attack Dice at Range Band 3 and a mere 1 at Range Band 4.
Sound like a foreign language? I've only read the rulebook once I'm getting a reasonable gist of how it plays.
The models themselves are all resin and whitemetal. I daresay that eventually Spartan may produce plastic models, but they have a good feel weightwise to them - and I've always liked that about metal models. Flash was minimal, but being mostly on the metal sails did necessitate a little bit of work with the file. There isn't that much assembly required, and some conversion is possible (different sail configurations and so on) if you so wish. Size isn't too bad either. A Dragon Lord Battleship is about 15cm long, whilst the frigates are 3.5cm long. I guess the new destroyers about to be released will be smaller than that, but then they are only destroyers!
Overall I was impressed by the models. Look forward to getting round to painting them. They do look like they will well suit the dipping method, but have a good amount of detail on them to be picked out as well.
I do have a little concern in regards to how well they will transport, being not your usual model shape/size, and the sails etc on some models are a little tricky to pin. But my intent is to magnetise the bottom of the ships themselves so that will hopefully aid in transportation.
Self interest aside, I think the game is well worth a look - even if only as a random evening game with a few gaming mates. Rules are simple, games appear to run in a good timeframe, models - and rules are cheaply priced (in comparison to other gaming systems if nothing else), and thanks to that thing called playtesting (SOME companies apparently still do it), is pretty well balanced as well.
Good work Spartan Games!
Saturday, May 15, 2010
NICon 2010
Coming up in a few weeks is the annual "North Island Convention" otherwise known as NICon. Like Natcon this particular event moves around the country and this year is being held in Tauranga.
Given that I have a few friends over that way, and even a cousin playing in it this year I decided to mark it as a "must attend" on my 2010 calendar. It will be my second-to-last event under 7th Edition WFB (the last being Tin Soldier at the end of June), and is running a slightly different format than is usually run here in NZ. I suggested to the club that they consider the same format as "Ides of March" which is run by the IF Guys over in Australia, mostly as something a little "different" to encourage a few more of those in the regular scene to attend. Whilst I don't known how the numbers are looking, hopefully there will be a good lil crowd of WFB's there.
1500pt armies is the go for this one, and minimal comp (other than a few army specific restrictions, ETC style magic restrictions etc) along with the scenario/objectives on pg100 of the Main Rulebook.
I'm quite looking forward to it, although losing track of dates meant that I had to rush getting my army list in to the Umpire. After making up 4 very different lists I've ended up submitting one which will mean the least work painting wise, isn't over the top, and will hopefully still be competitive. It is interesting how much building a list without a Lord level character, or as many available points, differs from the "standard" 2250 mindset.
My biggest concern with the list was the lack of unit deployments. Any good WFB player can tell you that deployment can make quite a difference to the game, and whilst there are examples where having one or two less deployments can be an advantage, having 3 or 4 less deployments can equally be a disadvantage. Of course it does depend upon the army type, opposing army type, speed, and style of the army.
So I adjusted my list to give me a decent number of deployments, whilst still having a good "block" of troops, and some speed + hard hitters to go along with it.
Here it is:
NICon Army List - Daemons of Chaos 1500 Pts
*Herald of Tzeentch (General)
*Herald of Khorne
Battle Standard
Banner of Hellfire
Juggernaut
*Flamers of Tzeentch x4
Pyrocaster
*Flesh-hounds of Khorne x6
*Seekers of Slaanesh x6
Alluress
*Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x10
*Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x10
*Bloodletters of Khorne x16
Bloodreaper
Standard Bearer
Skull Totem
*Chaos Furies x9
Its certainly a little bit different. Some of the usual "culprits" in there for a Daemon list, and a couple of little tricks. Some options have been taken simply because of the comp requirements, only 1 flying unit or character being one example. I did toy around with some extra slaaneshi options, but kept coming back to this list as being a bit more fun to use (and requiring less painting!). The list also has many of the same elements as my Equinox list, and my already submitted Tin Soldier list. What I was particularly happy about was reaching 8 deployments, and keeping somme good hard hitting speed units in the army. This list has a little bit of shooting in it as well (the other lists I was looking at all had Fiends of Slaanesh as the single rare choice), and magic wise will be throwing out 3 Flickering Fire spells + 1 bound spell a turn. I did consider a single unit of 30 horrors, but decided there would be less "big" targets in the 1500 point game that would require a Bolt of Change to threaten, and I'm likely to get more mileage out of the 3 spells instead of the one big one.
The other fun thing about the weekend is that being 1500pt games, the time it takes to play them is shorter, and thus NICon will be 7 rounds of games rather than the usual 5 or 6. Again that little bit of added extra.
Might even manage to take some photo's... assuming I remember.
Roll on June 5th!
Given that I have a few friends over that way, and even a cousin playing in it this year I decided to mark it as a "must attend" on my 2010 calendar. It will be my second-to-last event under 7th Edition WFB (the last being Tin Soldier at the end of June), and is running a slightly different format than is usually run here in NZ. I suggested to the club that they consider the same format as "Ides of March" which is run by the IF Guys over in Australia, mostly as something a little "different" to encourage a few more of those in the regular scene to attend. Whilst I don't known how the numbers are looking, hopefully there will be a good lil crowd of WFB's there.
1500pt armies is the go for this one, and minimal comp (other than a few army specific restrictions, ETC style magic restrictions etc) along with the scenario/objectives on pg100 of the Main Rulebook.
I'm quite looking forward to it, although losing track of dates meant that I had to rush getting my army list in to the Umpire. After making up 4 very different lists I've ended up submitting one which will mean the least work painting wise, isn't over the top, and will hopefully still be competitive. It is interesting how much building a list without a Lord level character, or as many available points, differs from the "standard" 2250 mindset.
My biggest concern with the list was the lack of unit deployments. Any good WFB player can tell you that deployment can make quite a difference to the game, and whilst there are examples where having one or two less deployments can be an advantage, having 3 or 4 less deployments can equally be a disadvantage. Of course it does depend upon the army type, opposing army type, speed, and style of the army.
So I adjusted my list to give me a decent number of deployments, whilst still having a good "block" of troops, and some speed + hard hitters to go along with it.
Here it is:
NICon Army List - Daemons of Chaos 1500 Pts
*Herald of Tzeentch (General)
*Herald of Khorne
Battle Standard
Banner of Hellfire
Juggernaut
*Flamers of Tzeentch x4
Pyrocaster
*Flesh-hounds of Khorne x6
*Seekers of Slaanesh x6
Alluress
*Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x10
*Pink Horrors of Tzeentch x10
*Bloodletters of Khorne x16
Bloodreaper
Standard Bearer
Skull Totem
*Chaos Furies x9
Its certainly a little bit different. Some of the usual "culprits" in there for a Daemon list, and a couple of little tricks. Some options have been taken simply because of the comp requirements, only 1 flying unit or character being one example. I did toy around with some extra slaaneshi options, but kept coming back to this list as being a bit more fun to use (and requiring less painting!). The list also has many of the same elements as my Equinox list, and my already submitted Tin Soldier list. What I was particularly happy about was reaching 8 deployments, and keeping somme good hard hitting speed units in the army. This list has a little bit of shooting in it as well (the other lists I was looking at all had Fiends of Slaanesh as the single rare choice), and magic wise will be throwing out 3 Flickering Fire spells + 1 bound spell a turn. I did consider a single unit of 30 horrors, but decided there would be less "big" targets in the 1500 point game that would require a Bolt of Change to threaten, and I'm likely to get more mileage out of the 3 spells instead of the one big one.
The other fun thing about the weekend is that being 1500pt games, the time it takes to play them is shorter, and thus NICon will be 7 rounds of games rather than the usual 5 or 6. Again that little bit of added extra.
Might even manage to take some photo's... assuming I remember.
Roll on June 5th!
Tuesday, May 11, 2010
Models & More...
Continuing on from last night, I've hit the "Fortress Europe" book of army lists to define what models I need to purchase (it paying to always have an idea as to what you want to get to avoid wasting money on impulse purchases etc).
Firstly I am working from source material based upon the series of books by historian John Dugdale "Panzer Divisions... Ardennes & Nordwind: Their Detailed & Precise Strengths & Organisations Vol 1 (Parts 1-3, 4a & 4b)" published by Military Press. Whilst I don't have these books myself, and they are both hard to find and overly expensive to actually purchase, I was able to find a listing of forces fielded by 11th PD on 1st September 1944. So this is what I will be using for my army basis. The division had taken some losses during August whilst withdrawing up the Rhone Valley defending the rear of the German 19th Army, these were a good portion of its panzers and self-propelled guns, but the division managed to withdraw with most of its APC's and heavy weapons intact. Prior to "Operation Dragoon" (2nd Allied invasion of the French mainland in August '44) the division had been brought up to full strength. I cannot find any listing of that other than that it was to the standard 1944 T/O&E.
This is the list I have to work with (I have left out segments of the division that I don't intend modelling at all in this time-frame) from Dugdale.
15th Panzer Regiment
Stab w/ 7 Panzer IV's and 7 Mobelwagons
1st Battalion (Panther)
Stab w/ 4 Panzer V's and 2 SdKfz 251/8
1 Kp. w/ 5 Panzer V's
2 Kp. w/ 6 Panzer V's
3 Kp. w/ 7 Panzer V's
4 Kp. w/ 8 Panzer V's
2nd Battalion (Panzer IV)
Stab w/ 1 Panzer IV and 4 Panzer III
5 Kp. w/ 8 Panzer Iv's
(There are 3 other companies but at this point were without tanks)
110th Panzer Grenadier Regiment
Stab w/ 11 SdKfz 251
Inf Gun Kp. w/ 2 Grilles and 2 SdKfz 251
Engineer Kp. w/ 5 SdKfz 251
1st Battalion
Stab w/ 2 SdKfz 251/3 and 3 SdKfz 251/1
1 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 2 251/9 and 8 251/1
2 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 1 251/9 and 7 251/1
3 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 2 251/9 and 6 251/1
4 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 5 251/1 (4 towing 12cm mortars) and 4 251/9
(2nd Battalion had just trucks and cars, 111th Panzergrenadier Regiment had few armored vehicles)
11th Panzer Aufklarungs Abteilung (Recon Battalion)
Stab w/ 3 Sdkfz 231, 10 222, 3 223, 3 251/3, 4 251/1 and 1 250/3
1 Kp. w/ Light and medium cars
2 Kp. w/ 2 SdKfz 250/3, 3 250/10, 19 250/1, 2 250/8 and 2 250/7
3 Kp w/ 1 SdKfz 250/3 and 10 251/1
4 Kp. w/ Light and medium cars
5 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 4 251/9, 3 251/2 and 3 251/1
(11th Recon seems to have been one of the more elite units within the 11 PD - although the entire PD was considered to be of veteran status)
61st Panzerjager Abteilung (Armored Panzerjager)
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1 Kp. w/ 1 Stug III, 4 Marder II and 4 Marder III
3 Kp. w/ 9 towed PaK40's
(This unit had staff away training awaiting the deilvery of 21 Jagpanzer IV's which arrived in November. I may take some poetic licence here and include them anyway. There is some mention of the unit also having another 8 StuG III's, but I cannot source this to my satisfaction historically at present)
119th Panzer Artillery Regiment
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1st Battalion
Stab w/ 4 Panzer III and 2 SdKfz 251
1 Btty. w/ 4 Wespe
2 Btty. w/ 4 Wespe
3 Btty. w/ 3 Hummel
(The other 2 battalions had various 100mm - 150mm cannons and howitzers of the towed variety)
209th Panzer Pioneer Battalion
Stab w/ 8 SdKfz 251
3 Kp. w/ 20 SdKfz 251
(1 & 2 Kp both had trucks only)
Also of note was the flak battalion
277th Heers Flak Abteilung
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1 Btty. w/ 5 towed '88 Flak Guns and 2 SdKfz 10/4 2cm
2 Btty. w/ 5 towed '88 Flak Guns and 3 towed 2cm Flak Guns
(It is noted that these '88 Flak Guns were of the latest variety and newly acquired by the unit. They were to play a large role in aiding the 11PD in slowing the Allied advance up the Rhone Valley).
Whilst I do have an Order of Battle for the 11PD for its full strength, the same OOB does not specify vehicle types. Based on this above listing of the 1 Sept condition, and descriptions of unit actions and photos, I should be able to make a fair approximation of its full strength if I wish.
Anyway, with the above list in mind - which will be like a foreign language to most people (and even just learning to read/understand it myself!), I can now look at units to buy and paint.
I already have:
1 Armored Panzer Grenadier Headquarters Box
2 Armoured Panzer Grenadier Platoon Boxes
1 Panther Platoon Box
6 Panzer II "Luchs"
Now just to sort out the list of what else I'd like to get that fits both the list above, AND the army lists within Fortress Europe that I mentioned yesterday. Obviously the Luchs won't fit in at all, but they are "cute" little tanks, and given that I already have them I am going to practice my chosen paint scheme on those.
As well as figuring out just "how" I am going to paint them, camo schemes etc etc. (I was mulling over something winter camo wise, but guess I can always go over that later.) All guaranteed to keep me busy for a while yet.
Firstly I am working from source material based upon the series of books by historian John Dugdale "Panzer Divisions... Ardennes & Nordwind: Their Detailed & Precise Strengths & Organisations Vol 1 (Parts 1-3, 4a & 4b)" published by Military Press. Whilst I don't have these books myself, and they are both hard to find and overly expensive to actually purchase, I was able to find a listing of forces fielded by 11th PD on 1st September 1944. So this is what I will be using for my army basis. The division had taken some losses during August whilst withdrawing up the Rhone Valley defending the rear of the German 19th Army, these were a good portion of its panzers and self-propelled guns, but the division managed to withdraw with most of its APC's and heavy weapons intact. Prior to "Operation Dragoon" (2nd Allied invasion of the French mainland in August '44) the division had been brought up to full strength. I cannot find any listing of that other than that it was to the standard 1944 T/O&E.
This is the list I have to work with (I have left out segments of the division that I don't intend modelling at all in this time-frame) from Dugdale.
15th Panzer Regiment
Stab w/ 7 Panzer IV's and 7 Mobelwagons
1st Battalion (Panther)
Stab w/ 4 Panzer V's and 2 SdKfz 251/8
1 Kp. w/ 5 Panzer V's
2 Kp. w/ 6 Panzer V's
3 Kp. w/ 7 Panzer V's
4 Kp. w/ 8 Panzer V's
2nd Battalion (Panzer IV)
Stab w/ 1 Panzer IV and 4 Panzer III
5 Kp. w/ 8 Panzer Iv's
(There are 3 other companies but at this point were without tanks)
110th Panzer Grenadier Regiment
Stab w/ 11 SdKfz 251
Inf Gun Kp. w/ 2 Grilles and 2 SdKfz 251
Engineer Kp. w/ 5 SdKfz 251
1st Battalion
Stab w/ 2 SdKfz 251/3 and 3 SdKfz 251/1
1 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 2 251/9 and 8 251/1
2 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 1 251/9 and 7 251/1
3 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 2 251/2, 2 251/9 and 6 251/1
4 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 5 251/1 (4 towing 12cm mortars) and 4 251/9
(2nd Battalion had just trucks and cars, 111th Panzergrenadier Regiment had few armored vehicles)
11th Panzer Aufklarungs Abteilung (Recon Battalion)
Stab w/ 3 Sdkfz 231, 10 222, 3 223, 3 251/3, 4 251/1 and 1 250/3
1 Kp. w/ Light and medium cars
2 Kp. w/ 2 SdKfz 250/3, 3 250/10, 19 250/1, 2 250/8 and 2 250/7
3 Kp w/ 1 SdKfz 250/3 and 10 251/1
4 Kp. w/ Light and medium cars
5 Kp. w/ 1 SdKfz 251/3, 4 251/9, 3 251/2 and 3 251/1
(11th Recon seems to have been one of the more elite units within the 11 PD - although the entire PD was considered to be of veteran status)
61st Panzerjager Abteilung (Armored Panzerjager)
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1 Kp. w/ 1 Stug III, 4 Marder II and 4 Marder III
3 Kp. w/ 9 towed PaK40's
(This unit had staff away training awaiting the deilvery of 21 Jagpanzer IV's which arrived in November. I may take some poetic licence here and include them anyway. There is some mention of the unit also having another 8 StuG III's, but I cannot source this to my satisfaction historically at present)
119th Panzer Artillery Regiment
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1st Battalion
Stab w/ 4 Panzer III and 2 SdKfz 251
1 Btty. w/ 4 Wespe
2 Btty. w/ 4 Wespe
3 Btty. w/ 3 Hummel
(The other 2 battalions had various 100mm - 150mm cannons and howitzers of the towed variety)
209th Panzer Pioneer Battalion
Stab w/ 8 SdKfz 251
3 Kp. w/ 20 SdKfz 251
(1 & 2 Kp both had trucks only)
Also of note was the flak battalion
277th Heers Flak Abteilung
Stab w/ no armored vehicles
1 Btty. w/ 5 towed '88 Flak Guns and 2 SdKfz 10/4 2cm
2 Btty. w/ 5 towed '88 Flak Guns and 3 towed 2cm Flak Guns
(It is noted that these '88 Flak Guns were of the latest variety and newly acquired by the unit. They were to play a large role in aiding the 11PD in slowing the Allied advance up the Rhone Valley).
Whilst I do have an Order of Battle for the 11PD for its full strength, the same OOB does not specify vehicle types. Based on this above listing of the 1 Sept condition, and descriptions of unit actions and photos, I should be able to make a fair approximation of its full strength if I wish.
Anyway, with the above list in mind - which will be like a foreign language to most people (and even just learning to read/understand it myself!), I can now look at units to buy and paint.
I already have:
1 Armored Panzer Grenadier Headquarters Box
2 Armoured Panzer Grenadier Platoon Boxes
1 Panther Platoon Box
6 Panzer II "Luchs"
Now just to sort out the list of what else I'd like to get that fits both the list above, AND the army lists within Fortress Europe that I mentioned yesterday. Obviously the Luchs won't fit in at all, but they are "cute" little tanks, and given that I already have them I am going to practice my chosen paint scheme on those.
As well as figuring out just "how" I am going to paint them, camo schemes etc etc. (I was mulling over something winter camo wise, but guess I can always go over that later.) All guaranteed to keep me busy for a while yet.
Monday, May 10, 2010
Flames of War - Exploring the 11th Panzer (Gespensterdivision) Division
Well over the past week or two I have spent more than a few stints of several hours searching through the web and a few other sources of info in regards to the 11th Panzer.
It has been interesting reading for the most part, although certains parts of information that I have been seeekinng have I must admit, been difficult to source online, particularly since I am most definitely unable to read French, German or Russian.
Still, I have been able to find enough, particularly in regards to the late war period of 1944/45 to be able to forge ahead. I now have info sourced of unit actions during the Alsace/Lorraine campaign following the opening of a second front in France by the allies (Thanks to a splendid article from "Armor" magazine) and thanks to some references found on Feldgrau.net an indication not so much of units themselves, but more so the actual vehicles and equipment used by the 11th during this time period.
All in all the info I have means I can go ahead with purchasing and painting different parts of a "Late-War" Flames of War 11th Panzer Division army!
No I don't really have any idea yet of what actual list I want to aim toward, other than it will at this stage be based on the "Fortress Europe" book from Battlefront. The miniatures I have in mind to purchase/paint will give me the choice of fielding a Panzer company (Tanks), or a Gepanzerte Panzer-Grenadier company (Mechanised Infantry), or a Gepanzerte Aufklarungsschwadron (Armored Recon). Yes they are all mechanised, which means I'll have to learn to attack a lot. But they deal mostly with vehicles, which is what I am mostly interested in painting up (at this stage) anyway.
From what I can make out, and given that 11 Panzer operated in the form of "Kampfgruppe" (combined arms force employing segments of Panzer. Infantry, Recon and Artillery regiments in platoon or company strength) unit deployments during the Alsace/Lorrainne campaign, means I can mix n match the various platoon components quite easily within a historical basis.
Funnily enough whilst the majority of 11 Pzr actions during this time frame were defensive in nature, the FoW ruleset (for tournaments/missions at least) means that against non-mech armies I will be the attacker with a mech-force. Which isn't historically accurate for this particular unit and time frame. But worries eh?
More than anything else I am quite excited about the challenge of reproducing something of a little historical nature, the scale of the models, and being able to paint and play with something very different to what I have done for the past years (namely WFB).
It has been interesting to note and read of somme of the "little" things that the 11 Pzr did as well that identified them (as much as their distinctive unit symbol). Apparently all their tanks and armoured vehicles during this time frame tended to have wire/netting wrapped around their gun barrels and on the front of the vehicle for one. This has been mentioned, and is evident also in many of the unit photographs of the time. They also tended to use black lettering with white outlines for unit numbering. It is little things like this that I am really looking forward to adding/portraying on the models.
Being that I am not much of a free-hand artist, I was a little worried about how I was going to do the somewhat complex Ghost symbol that the unit proudly displayed. Until I noticed that Maelstrom seem to be stocking a selection of decals now that cover this! Battlefront thus far, that I can make out, haven't produced any decals or specific unit markings for the 11th Pzr. Given that the unit didn't actually participate in the Ardennes offensive (as I initially thought), but was rather held in reserve, obviously I now don't expect the division to be covered in any Ardennes Supplement. There is however, enough background and interesting unit actions from the Alsace/Lorraine region and the Allied second invasion of France to suspect that Battlefront may cover this with it's own supplement in the future.
I'm very tempted to add to my blog the article I found (sourced from Armor magazine) on Feldgrau.net, which, from reading, one can make out how/why the 11th Pzr earnt the respect and admiration of their Allied foes.
Even General Patton is quoted as saying that the 11th was the "fairest and bravest" German division that he had fought against.
I'll add some more things later in regards to what units/models I am intendind to purchase and paint, happily it is not too an extensive list, but certainly has some nice variety to it!
It has been interesting reading for the most part, although certains parts of information that I have been seeekinng have I must admit, been difficult to source online, particularly since I am most definitely unable to read French, German or Russian.
Still, I have been able to find enough, particularly in regards to the late war period of 1944/45 to be able to forge ahead. I now have info sourced of unit actions during the Alsace/Lorraine campaign following the opening of a second front in France by the allies (Thanks to a splendid article from "Armor" magazine) and thanks to some references found on Feldgrau.net an indication not so much of units themselves, but more so the actual vehicles and equipment used by the 11th during this time period.
All in all the info I have means I can go ahead with purchasing and painting different parts of a "Late-War" Flames of War 11th Panzer Division army!
No I don't really have any idea yet of what actual list I want to aim toward, other than it will at this stage be based on the "Fortress Europe" book from Battlefront. The miniatures I have in mind to purchase/paint will give me the choice of fielding a Panzer company (Tanks), or a Gepanzerte Panzer-Grenadier company (Mechanised Infantry), or a Gepanzerte Aufklarungsschwadron (Armored Recon). Yes they are all mechanised, which means I'll have to learn to attack a lot. But they deal mostly with vehicles, which is what I am mostly interested in painting up (at this stage) anyway.
From what I can make out, and given that 11 Panzer operated in the form of "Kampfgruppe" (combined arms force employing segments of Panzer. Infantry, Recon and Artillery regiments in platoon or company strength) unit deployments during the Alsace/Lorrainne campaign, means I can mix n match the various platoon components quite easily within a historical basis.
Funnily enough whilst the majority of 11 Pzr actions during this time frame were defensive in nature, the FoW ruleset (for tournaments/missions at least) means that against non-mech armies I will be the attacker with a mech-force. Which isn't historically accurate for this particular unit and time frame. But worries eh?
More than anything else I am quite excited about the challenge of reproducing something of a little historical nature, the scale of the models, and being able to paint and play with something very different to what I have done for the past years (namely WFB).
It has been interesting to note and read of somme of the "little" things that the 11 Pzr did as well that identified them (as much as their distinctive unit symbol). Apparently all their tanks and armoured vehicles during this time frame tended to have wire/netting wrapped around their gun barrels and on the front of the vehicle for one. This has been mentioned, and is evident also in many of the unit photographs of the time. They also tended to use black lettering with white outlines for unit numbering. It is little things like this that I am really looking forward to adding/portraying on the models.
Being that I am not much of a free-hand artist, I was a little worried about how I was going to do the somewhat complex Ghost symbol that the unit proudly displayed. Until I noticed that Maelstrom seem to be stocking a selection of decals now that cover this! Battlefront thus far, that I can make out, haven't produced any decals or specific unit markings for the 11th Pzr. Given that the unit didn't actually participate in the Ardennes offensive (as I initially thought), but was rather held in reserve, obviously I now don't expect the division to be covered in any Ardennes Supplement. There is however, enough background and interesting unit actions from the Alsace/Lorraine region and the Allied second invasion of France to suspect that Battlefront may cover this with it's own supplement in the future.
I'm very tempted to add to my blog the article I found (sourced from Armor magazine) on Feldgrau.net, which, from reading, one can make out how/why the 11th Pzr earnt the respect and admiration of their Allied foes.
Even General Patton is quoted as saying that the 11th was the "fairest and bravest" German division that he had fought against.
I'll add some more things later in regards to what units/models I am intendind to purchase and paint, happily it is not too an extensive list, but certainly has some nice variety to it!
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Change of tack...
Unfortunately of late I have been becoming a little sick and tired of the WFB scene. In particular the "comp" argument/bias and perceived/real inequalities between army books. I'm not a fan at all of the "ETC" regulations mostly because I am of the opinion that Dark Elves get away with murder (effectively), although I did find that the Equinox player pack (which used ETC as a basis) had to be one of the best packs I have seen in a very long time.
No doubt I could be accused of being biased myself in that I am currently running with a Daemon army, and this is a valid point. I do note however that those (in particular here in NZ) whom go on about how "hard/OTT/broken daemons are" the most don't actually play them. They seem to be preferring to run with those armies that in my own opinion are flying well beneath the "comp radar" - in particular Chaos Warriors, and to a lesser degree Skaven. Lizardmen I feel have been dealt with appropriately, Vampire Counts a little too harshly, and Dark Elves not recognised for being as hard as they actually are.
I've found through watching many game results that in regards to the "big three" Daemons seem to beat Vampires, who in turn beat Dark Elves, who in turn beat Daemons. The three seem to balance each other out. I guess that the thing I mostly don't like about ETC is that Daemons are treated far far more harshly than Vampires or Dark Elves by having 250 points less to field AND a 10% VP penalty. Which may work out well enough in a true ETC style event (teams and picking matchups), but just isn't "right" for a standard tournament.
So it is likely just as well that 8th Edition WFB is on the horizon. Whilst the "gist" of the rumours currently doing the rounds indicate some fairly major changes to the game, I am as yet undecided if that is going to be a good thing or not. The "gist" also seems to indicates that from a comp perspective the current hardest comp'd armies will suffer heavily at tournaments (Daemons and Dark Elves in particular), whilst the horde armies seem to be hinted at gaining quite a boost. This says to me that the likes of Skaven, Empire, and Orcs & Goblins will be the big winners out of the first few months of 8th Ed.
Anyway, with the new rules coming out in July, that doesn't leave many events still to run under the current ruleset.
I have decided to attend Tin Soldier 3 with the same daemon list that I used at Equinox (which was indicated by every person I played to not be at all OTT and quite a reasonable Daemon list - and yet likely to still end up the worst comp'd list at the event unless I am ridiculously wrong in peoples bias), and not particularly care about comp. I will also be heading to Nicon in June down in Tauranga, and at this stage am undecided whether I want to take Daemons or Wood Elves.
The first two events I am likely to attend under the new 8th Ed rules will be Call to Arms and Fields of Blood. Firmer decision to be made in regards to those two events once I have read/explored the new ruleset.
*****
In the meantime I have been strongly diverted into lookinng once again through all the Flames of War material I have. To be frank I have no real idea at all in regards to an army list (having never played the game - although I have watched a fair number of them).
Bearing that in mind, and also given the strong historical bent of the game system and players, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I will just build and paint elements of a force that I like the feel, imagery, and history of. As I may have mentioned some time ago as well, I like TANKS. So things with tracks are pretty much where I want to go.
So over the past year I have been looking here and there and have now firmed up on theming my army around the 11th "Gespenster" Panzer Division during the late-war period just prior to the Ardennnes Offensive (better known as Battle of the Bulge).
Why the 11th? I like their symbol (a Ghost), their history, the manner of their surrender, and also that their seems to have been no war crimes attributed to this division. They were accused of one massacre of civilians in a french village, but acquitted in a post- war trial. Their unit TO&E (from what I can thus far find) seems to have many of the models I want to paint etc, although there doesn't seem to be any mention of Tiger tanks ever being used by this division.
No worries, if I want to paint Tigers I can do that at a later date.
With wanting to use as much of a historically accurate basis as I can (whilst still being one that fits the FoW army mould - especially since the Ardennes are yet to be covered by Battlefront), I have after much searching identified a series of books that seems to have the information I require. Now to find them.
In the meanwhile it is pretty much obvious that certain unit/model types are going to be present. The ubiquitous half-tracks, Panzer IV's and Panthers amongst others.
Should be fun!
No doubt I could be accused of being biased myself in that I am currently running with a Daemon army, and this is a valid point. I do note however that those (in particular here in NZ) whom go on about how "hard/OTT/broken daemons are" the most don't actually play them. They seem to be preferring to run with those armies that in my own opinion are flying well beneath the "comp radar" - in particular Chaos Warriors, and to a lesser degree Skaven. Lizardmen I feel have been dealt with appropriately, Vampire Counts a little too harshly, and Dark Elves not recognised for being as hard as they actually are.
I've found through watching many game results that in regards to the "big three" Daemons seem to beat Vampires, who in turn beat Dark Elves, who in turn beat Daemons. The three seem to balance each other out. I guess that the thing I mostly don't like about ETC is that Daemons are treated far far more harshly than Vampires or Dark Elves by having 250 points less to field AND a 10% VP penalty. Which may work out well enough in a true ETC style event (teams and picking matchups), but just isn't "right" for a standard tournament.
So it is likely just as well that 8th Edition WFB is on the horizon. Whilst the "gist" of the rumours currently doing the rounds indicate some fairly major changes to the game, I am as yet undecided if that is going to be a good thing or not. The "gist" also seems to indicates that from a comp perspective the current hardest comp'd armies will suffer heavily at tournaments (Daemons and Dark Elves in particular), whilst the horde armies seem to be hinted at gaining quite a boost. This says to me that the likes of Skaven, Empire, and Orcs & Goblins will be the big winners out of the first few months of 8th Ed.
Anyway, with the new rules coming out in July, that doesn't leave many events still to run under the current ruleset.
I have decided to attend Tin Soldier 3 with the same daemon list that I used at Equinox (which was indicated by every person I played to not be at all OTT and quite a reasonable Daemon list - and yet likely to still end up the worst comp'd list at the event unless I am ridiculously wrong in peoples bias), and not particularly care about comp. I will also be heading to Nicon in June down in Tauranga, and at this stage am undecided whether I want to take Daemons or Wood Elves.
The first two events I am likely to attend under the new 8th Ed rules will be Call to Arms and Fields of Blood. Firmer decision to be made in regards to those two events once I have read/explored the new ruleset.
*****
In the meantime I have been strongly diverted into lookinng once again through all the Flames of War material I have. To be frank I have no real idea at all in regards to an army list (having never played the game - although I have watched a fair number of them).
Bearing that in mind, and also given the strong historical bent of the game system and players, I've pretty much come to the conclusion that I will just build and paint elements of a force that I like the feel, imagery, and history of. As I may have mentioned some time ago as well, I like TANKS. So things with tracks are pretty much where I want to go.
So over the past year I have been looking here and there and have now firmed up on theming my army around the 11th "Gespenster" Panzer Division during the late-war period just prior to the Ardennnes Offensive (better known as Battle of the Bulge).
Why the 11th? I like their symbol (a Ghost), their history, the manner of their surrender, and also that their seems to have been no war crimes attributed to this division. They were accused of one massacre of civilians in a french village, but acquitted in a post- war trial. Their unit TO&E (from what I can thus far find) seems to have many of the models I want to paint etc, although there doesn't seem to be any mention of Tiger tanks ever being used by this division.
No worries, if I want to paint Tigers I can do that at a later date.
With wanting to use as much of a historically accurate basis as I can (whilst still being one that fits the FoW army mould - especially since the Ardennes are yet to be covered by Battlefront), I have after much searching identified a series of books that seems to have the information I require. Now to find them.
In the meanwhile it is pretty much obvious that certain unit/model types are going to be present. The ubiquitous half-tracks, Panzer IV's and Panthers amongst others.
Should be fun!
Thursday, April 1, 2010
Equinox And Beyond.
Equinox is a new event on the NZ "calendar" this year, which is good to see - if nothing else because it is in my wargaming backyard. A novel approach was tried out in regards to composition for this event in that ETC restrictions were taken and then modified Hard Caps wise. Comp scores were modified by tier into a Victory Point handicap that was applied to final scores on a game by game basis (as was with Dogcon this year). Whilst I had a few doubts about the system of hardcaps and some of the hard caps themselves, they actually seemed to work really well. Comments have been made about "armies ending up all looking the same", but when looking at armies that are being fielded at other "normal" events around the country I don't think this has been anymore the case than normal. So yes I am a fan of this system.
For those of you interested, the player pack is currently to be found here
What was a little unexpected (for me) was that all the lists effectively ended up being not at all over the top. Yes people built lists as effectively as they could within the caps, but the caps worked well and with comp handicaps balancing things out... it all seemed to work nicely. Happily also, based on comments from opponnents and others, it looks like my Equinox list would also be pretty acceptable at "normal" events as well - which means I may look at using it later on in the year. This of course being dependent on how much Daemons get comp'd out of things and what differences the rumoured 8th Ed make to the game as a whole.
One concern I do have about the pack (and the same goes for standard ETC and WPS systems) is the complexity in regards to working out lists and how this may be somewhat intimidatinng for newer players in particular. I guess "mentoring" would solve this issue fairly effectively though.
Given my own somewhat lacklustre playing skills, and the fact that there is a growing core group of gamers around the country who are steadily improving gaming wise, I was not expecting anything overall results wise (especially after my heroic efforts at Fluffycon). With my Daemons being on the cusp of completion though I had high hopes for the Players Choice Best Painted award.
This is the list I ended up using:
Lord of Change
- Level 4
- Twin Heads
Khorne Herald
- BSB (Banner of Hellfire)
- Juggernaut
Slaanesh Herald
- Siren Song
- Temptator Blade
Flamers x4
- Pyrocaster
Flesh-hounds x6
Horrors x10
Horrors x10
Bloodletters x16
- Full Command
- Skull Totem
Daemonettes x14
- Full Command
- Banner of Ecstasy
Furies x7
Furies x7
Really happy with how this list worked out. Nine deployments means I'm not too out-deployed by horde armies, the unit sizes worked out well, and aside from miscasting turning things upside down it is a nicely effective magic phase. Every spell in the Daemon Tz list is well useable (esp with Twin heads) and having the two Flickering Fires from the Horrors helped things out too. Hellfire Banner IS horribly effective, but is mostly in the list to suck dispel dice, of which it easily does at a rate of two a turn, when it does work though it can be game-changing. I found the pyrocaster to be a very handy upgrade on the flamers given that the unit was restricted by the hard caps to 4.
On the whole it is very much a fun list to play with, and I don't think too intimidating for most opponents either. I guess if I were to make any changes in the name of comp, it would be to drop the Siren Song from the Herald and add Dark Magister to the LoC for some measure of miscast protection.
As per usual my recollection of the actual games and scores are somewhat sketchy, but I did manage something in the realm of 65/120 BP from my games. Happy with that given my usual goal is to score half points gamme wise for an event. Was very very suprised when the final results were published and I found I had resulted a 9th placing Overall! Was thrilled to pick up Players Choice Best Painted as well. Always a huge compliment from one's peers to pick that particular one up.
Of course I still have work to do on the Daemons I used, and other units and options I want to add to the army. Aside from some touchups to do before taking some photo's of the army to post here, I intend to take a little break from Daemons for a couple of months. Have just finished assembling and undercoating a unit of Phoenix Guard and a DE Hydra which I am doing for other people, and musing still upon my next "project".
This last has led me to reading through a number of other wargaming blogs. I am stunned at the skill and productivity of many other gamers on the hobby front. I honestly wish I could write as well as half of them as well. With Adepticon being held last week there have been many updates about this awesome looking event, and some great motivating photos and blog posts as well. Of course I'm still undecided as to what I want to do next. Finding 40k Imperial Guard tempting actually - in no small way due to currently reading the Horus Heresy and awaiting the arrival of the 3rd of the Gaunts Ghosts compilation volumes from Maelstrom.
Being distracted by watching Star Trek: TNG hasn't helped though! Currently starting Season 4... so only 70+ episodes still to watch before I go back properly to my paint station!
For those of you interested, the player pack is currently to be found here
What was a little unexpected (for me) was that all the lists effectively ended up being not at all over the top. Yes people built lists as effectively as they could within the caps, but the caps worked well and with comp handicaps balancing things out... it all seemed to work nicely. Happily also, based on comments from opponnents and others, it looks like my Equinox list would also be pretty acceptable at "normal" events as well - which means I may look at using it later on in the year. This of course being dependent on how much Daemons get comp'd out of things and what differences the rumoured 8th Ed make to the game as a whole.
One concern I do have about the pack (and the same goes for standard ETC and WPS systems) is the complexity in regards to working out lists and how this may be somewhat intimidatinng for newer players in particular. I guess "mentoring" would solve this issue fairly effectively though.
Given my own somewhat lacklustre playing skills, and the fact that there is a growing core group of gamers around the country who are steadily improving gaming wise, I was not expecting anything overall results wise (especially after my heroic efforts at Fluffycon). With my Daemons being on the cusp of completion though I had high hopes for the Players Choice Best Painted award.
This is the list I ended up using:
Lord of Change
- Level 4
- Twin Heads
Khorne Herald
- BSB (Banner of Hellfire)
- Juggernaut
Slaanesh Herald
- Siren Song
- Temptator Blade
Flamers x4
- Pyrocaster
Flesh-hounds x6
Horrors x10
Horrors x10
Bloodletters x16
- Full Command
- Skull Totem
Daemonettes x14
- Full Command
- Banner of Ecstasy
Furies x7
Furies x7
Really happy with how this list worked out. Nine deployments means I'm not too out-deployed by horde armies, the unit sizes worked out well, and aside from miscasting turning things upside down it is a nicely effective magic phase. Every spell in the Daemon Tz list is well useable (esp with Twin heads) and having the two Flickering Fires from the Horrors helped things out too. Hellfire Banner IS horribly effective, but is mostly in the list to suck dispel dice, of which it easily does at a rate of two a turn, when it does work though it can be game-changing. I found the pyrocaster to be a very handy upgrade on the flamers given that the unit was restricted by the hard caps to 4.
On the whole it is very much a fun list to play with, and I don't think too intimidating for most opponents either. I guess if I were to make any changes in the name of comp, it would be to drop the Siren Song from the Herald and add Dark Magister to the LoC for some measure of miscast protection.
As per usual my recollection of the actual games and scores are somewhat sketchy, but I did manage something in the realm of 65/120 BP from my games. Happy with that given my usual goal is to score half points gamme wise for an event. Was very very suprised when the final results were published and I found I had resulted a 9th placing Overall! Was thrilled to pick up Players Choice Best Painted as well. Always a huge compliment from one's peers to pick that particular one up.
Of course I still have work to do on the Daemons I used, and other units and options I want to add to the army. Aside from some touchups to do before taking some photo's of the army to post here, I intend to take a little break from Daemons for a couple of months. Have just finished assembling and undercoating a unit of Phoenix Guard and a DE Hydra which I am doing for other people, and musing still upon my next "project".
This last has led me to reading through a number of other wargaming blogs. I am stunned at the skill and productivity of many other gamers on the hobby front. I honestly wish I could write as well as half of them as well. With Adepticon being held last week there have been many updates about this awesome looking event, and some great motivating photos and blog posts as well. Of course I'm still undecided as to what I want to do next. Finding 40k Imperial Guard tempting actually - in no small way due to currently reading the Horus Heresy and awaiting the arrival of the 3rd of the Gaunts Ghosts compilation volumes from Maelstrom.
Being distracted by watching Star Trek: TNG hasn't helped though! Currently starting Season 4... so only 70+ episodes still to watch before I go back properly to my paint station!
Saturday, February 27, 2010
Back to the brush...
In hindsight it has been a pretty hectic last month gaming wise. Dogcon, Over the Top & Fluffycon all in the space of a month - and some rather pressured painting hours on top of a busy workplace to go with. Thats the excuse I'm using for not having even looked at a paintbrush in the last week.
Aiming to get back into it tonight with the goal (again) of completing a daemon army. This time for Equinox. Pressure is a lot less given that I only have a couple of models to paint for the list I am intending to field. Of course that being said there multiple touch-ups and extra highlights I want to add to what is already pretty much done.
I was quite thrilled to get 3rd (Players Choice) for painting at Dogcon. A little gutted too in regards to "what might have been" if I'd had the army fully completed. Thems the breaks though.
One thing I have done over the past couple of weeks is sit down and review the projects I have "on the go". Necessary because I have a couple of other ones I'd like to start. So whilst I can prep for those I think it best I tidy up some of the other on-going jobs.
These include:
Daemons - two years is far too long to spend on one army. 1000+ points of models still to paint and a cople of conversions to complete. Happily (in some ways) due to the comp environment necessitating some wildly different army builds it means that I can (and have to in many ways) use all of the differing options and models depending on the tournament they are being used at. Make sense?
Empire - Ideally the army I wanted to play at Fluffycon this year. Can I see myself painting 120 Swordsmen + multitude of other models? *wince* Not particularly. I may do so - or I may utilise an overseas painting service to get the bulk of the job done and then add the extra details and bits/basing myself. Skeeter has done this fairly effectively with his Bret army... its a pricier option than painting them oneself, but what price is sanity worth eh?
Wood Elves - Whilst mostly finished there are a couple of unit options I'd like to add to flesh out the army. Mostly Glade Guard & Glade Riders. Bit of work still to do on the army as a whole (technically my Wood Elves are one of the best armies I've ever painted... due to the differing styles and techniques used throughout the army. Unfortunately (as a GW store manager aptly put), "its something where at first glance you don't notice a lot - but when you look closer you discover that its actually very well painted". He was speaking specifically in regards to one of my mages - but the same thing can be applied to the army as a whole. WE dragons are utter rubbish (think DoC Daemon Prince and you aren't far wrong) which is an utter shame because the model is gorgeous. So I have that to finish as well.
Tomb Kings/Bretonnians - These will both stay stored in the cupboard for now. maybe when new books come out I'll re-look at them project wise... but obviously at present I have more than enough to keep me occupied in the quiet hours at work.
Other - Have a bit more terrain I want to do, and to finish... also a couple of painting jobs for other people (Phoenix Guard/White Lion Chariot + DE Hydra) which will be bumped to top of the painting list after Equinox.
New Projects - Picking up the odd model bargain, and backgrounding armies + conversion ideas. Anything else will be waiting till after the above is all done.
Looking forward to Equinox I am relatively happy with my list given the Hard Caps in place. A couple of things haven't made it into the list, but then some others have. I do have to convert/paint a second unit of furies (just ordered the harpy wings for those yesterday), but they are fairly quick and simple, and I was intending on doing at least a second unit anyway. Possibly paint them a different colour than the first unit... which will happily add to the glory of colour that is a daemon (and often a lizard) army.
Here's hoping I can do somewhat better than I did at Fluffycon this year. Ironically I didn't think I played THAT badly - and whilst realising that I wasn't in the running for anything was hoping for a mid table finish (or at least something better than last years result).
End result - my worst tournament result EVER. Equating to two lessons.
1. Daemon Princes are SHIT. 610 pt handicap in every single game.
2. Don't field Daemons at Fluffycon. No rant - can't be assed.
Did I mention that Daemon Princes are SHIT?
Aiming to get back into it tonight with the goal (again) of completing a daemon army. This time for Equinox. Pressure is a lot less given that I only have a couple of models to paint for the list I am intending to field. Of course that being said there multiple touch-ups and extra highlights I want to add to what is already pretty much done.
I was quite thrilled to get 3rd (Players Choice) for painting at Dogcon. A little gutted too in regards to "what might have been" if I'd had the army fully completed. Thems the breaks though.
One thing I have done over the past couple of weeks is sit down and review the projects I have "on the go". Necessary because I have a couple of other ones I'd like to start. So whilst I can prep for those I think it best I tidy up some of the other on-going jobs.
These include:
Daemons - two years is far too long to spend on one army. 1000+ points of models still to paint and a cople of conversions to complete. Happily (in some ways) due to the comp environment necessitating some wildly different army builds it means that I can (and have to in many ways) use all of the differing options and models depending on the tournament they are being used at. Make sense?
Empire - Ideally the army I wanted to play at Fluffycon this year. Can I see myself painting 120 Swordsmen + multitude of other models? *wince* Not particularly. I may do so - or I may utilise an overseas painting service to get the bulk of the job done and then add the extra details and bits/basing myself. Skeeter has done this fairly effectively with his Bret army... its a pricier option than painting them oneself, but what price is sanity worth eh?
Wood Elves - Whilst mostly finished there are a couple of unit options I'd like to add to flesh out the army. Mostly Glade Guard & Glade Riders. Bit of work still to do on the army as a whole (technically my Wood Elves are one of the best armies I've ever painted... due to the differing styles and techniques used throughout the army. Unfortunately (as a GW store manager aptly put), "its something where at first glance you don't notice a lot - but when you look closer you discover that its actually very well painted". He was speaking specifically in regards to one of my mages - but the same thing can be applied to the army as a whole. WE dragons are utter rubbish (think DoC Daemon Prince and you aren't far wrong) which is an utter shame because the model is gorgeous. So I have that to finish as well.
Tomb Kings/Bretonnians - These will both stay stored in the cupboard for now. maybe when new books come out I'll re-look at them project wise... but obviously at present I have more than enough to keep me occupied in the quiet hours at work.
Other - Have a bit more terrain I want to do, and to finish... also a couple of painting jobs for other people (Phoenix Guard/White Lion Chariot + DE Hydra) which will be bumped to top of the painting list after Equinox.
New Projects - Picking up the odd model bargain, and backgrounding armies + conversion ideas. Anything else will be waiting till after the above is all done.
Looking forward to Equinox I am relatively happy with my list given the Hard Caps in place. A couple of things haven't made it into the list, but then some others have. I do have to convert/paint a second unit of furies (just ordered the harpy wings for those yesterday), but they are fairly quick and simple, and I was intending on doing at least a second unit anyway. Possibly paint them a different colour than the first unit... which will happily add to the glory of colour that is a daemon (and often a lizard) army.
Here's hoping I can do somewhat better than I did at Fluffycon this year. Ironically I didn't think I played THAT badly - and whilst realising that I wasn't in the running for anything was hoping for a mid table finish (or at least something better than last years result).
End result - my worst tournament result EVER. Equating to two lessons.
1. Daemon Princes are SHIT. 610 pt handicap in every single game.
2. Don't field Daemons at Fluffycon. No rant - can't be assed.
Did I mention that Daemon Princes are SHIT?
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Daemon Diary #40 - Dogcon Approaches.
Well with Dogcon in Sydney a little over a week away I have been painting like a mad-man in an effort to get the army to a point where I can at least field it "fully" painted. Easier said than done, but thems the breaks. Certainly I am left with the impression as I paint that there are things and parts of the army that I will be adding to or maybe re-doing over the next year or so as I expand and add to the army, as well as taking it to other tournaments obviously.
Basically this is the list I am taking (along with WiP photos of where the army is currently at in regards to painting.
Bloodthirster (General)
Reasonably happy with how the big fella has come out. I suspect if this model is anything like the way my last High Elf Dragon was then I'll be adding highlights to him for the next year. As he is though (nearly "finished") I think all in all he definitely provides the centrepiece I wanted for the army, both painting and conversion wise.
Herald of Tzeentch (BSB)
I just love the whole poetic justice of fielding a Slann as a Tzeentch Herald. It just "fits" in SO many ways. Being my BSB as well meant some trickiness in getting the actual Battle Standard done. But with using one of the Lizard Plaques supplied from GW I was able to give the Slann a platform on which to sit (as opposed to a palaquin which will be reserved for my Lord of Change conversion), which raised him up over the unit, clearly making him a BSB as well as some stability for the model. He still wobbles a bit, but not too badly.
Herald of Slaanesh
I must say this is one of my favourite models in the army. Simple enough conversion that has come out really really well IMO. Not sure but I think (as with the daemonettes) that in future I may have to add another highlight or two to the skin. The hair has another highlight yet to go on it anyway.
Flamers of Tzeentch
Well, with 3 of these still to paint, a fair bit of work still to be done on this unit. I love the blue, and as skirmishers it sets them apart nicely from the rest of the army, but not too much as it kinda ties in with the pink of the horrors. My screamers (when painted) are likely to be blue as well. The flamers weren't models that really needed much conversion to still look a "part" of the army - I added some fins to the top of them and that was about it.
Flesh Hounds of Khorne
Ideally I'd have a Razordon or two in here as well - but that'll have to wait for the next unit since my local GW doesn't hold them in stock. Some conversions still though by using a couple of Salamander bodies which are barely noticeable amongst the standard Hound models. I like the way the colours have come out on these models, not 100% sure on the correct colour choice here, but it seems to work.
Seekers of Slaanesh
Well pretty thrilled with how these are looking conversion wise. Obviously a fair amount of painting to do on this unit as well, but achievable. They might not end up quite to the same standard as the Horrors or the Daemonettes, but time will tell in that regard. Would be nice to have a second (and larger) unit to use for future army lists, but I'll be needing to track down some old model bits for that... which from looking at ebay could be more than a little pricey.
Horrors of Tzeentch (Unit #1)
I like the pink (yes really) and I'm really happy with the conversions. The bases need re-doing to a degree, but that is one of the things being left to the "if I have time" list. Still some finishing touches to be done on the Standard Bearer, but at least I was able to come up with something for the standard to tie my core units in together... "stone" standards (somewhat lizard-like thereby) for all the units (including the BSB) helping tie the army as a whole into one unified entity.
Horrors of Tzeentch (Unit #2)
No command at all on this unit. Basically here for the extra deployment and extra Dispel Dice it provides to the army.
Daemonettes of Slaanesh
These guys took a fair bit of painting. They're kinda cute IMO. I can't help but feel they need to look a little bit "brighter" as they just seem to be missing "something", esp when next to the Horrors. Will go back to that in time I guess. Quite a large unit, but performing well thus far under playtesting.
Bloodletters of Khorne
Well I made a mistake here with the bone on their backs. Bleary early hours of the morning sleepiness meaning I'd missed two highlight stages before I realised - and don't have the time at this stage to go back and redo.
Chaos Furies
Now I'm loving these models. They won't take too long to paint (in comparison to other units already done), but just really do look the part! Skink Heads + Bodies, Harpy Wings, and some Horror arms. They remind me of wasps really... and who says they need legs? Serpents don't. My second favourite models!
All told I'm fairly happy with the list. If there were one change I'd make it would probably be to combine the two Horror units so as to give me a good sized "anvil" of sorts. I kept them as two units basically because each unit can cast Flickering Fire on one dice if need be, and the second unit gives me an extra deployment as well as an extra Dispel Dice. Its a change I may well make for Equinox, as with some massaging of units and options I can take the single combined Horror unit up to 26 strong - thereby giving me a turn or two at least of casting Bolt of Change. But that can wait till March.
Ideally I'd prefer NOT to be doing any painting on the friday night at Dogcon. Much rather be kicking back after making any (hopefully not necessary) repairs after the transit to Australia.
If I were able to have the army completely done as I'd like, then I'd be hoping to do well on the painting front at Dogcon. Particularly with a Skite tray. As it is I think I'll easily be happy with full painting marks. Obviously to achieve that I'll be spending the next week continuing to paint like a man possessed (pun intended). We'll see. On the gaming front, all I hope for is a top half finish, and to win my Saturday night "Bledisloe" match - although drowning my sorrows after that could well be an end result!
All in all its going to be a great weekend. Staying with some great lads, and really really looking forward to it!
Basically this is the list I am taking (along with WiP photos of where the army is currently at in regards to painting.
Bloodthirster (General)
Reasonably happy with how the big fella has come out. I suspect if this model is anything like the way my last High Elf Dragon was then I'll be adding highlights to him for the next year. As he is though (nearly "finished") I think all in all he definitely provides the centrepiece I wanted for the army, both painting and conversion wise.
Herald of Tzeentch (BSB)
I just love the whole poetic justice of fielding a Slann as a Tzeentch Herald. It just "fits" in SO many ways. Being my BSB as well meant some trickiness in getting the actual Battle Standard done. But with using one of the Lizard Plaques supplied from GW I was able to give the Slann a platform on which to sit (as opposed to a palaquin which will be reserved for my Lord of Change conversion), which raised him up over the unit, clearly making him a BSB as well as some stability for the model. He still wobbles a bit, but not too badly.
Herald of Slaanesh
I must say this is one of my favourite models in the army. Simple enough conversion that has come out really really well IMO. Not sure but I think (as with the daemonettes) that in future I may have to add another highlight or two to the skin. The hair has another highlight yet to go on it anyway.
Flamers of Tzeentch
Well, with 3 of these still to paint, a fair bit of work still to be done on this unit. I love the blue, and as skirmishers it sets them apart nicely from the rest of the army, but not too much as it kinda ties in with the pink of the horrors. My screamers (when painted) are likely to be blue as well. The flamers weren't models that really needed much conversion to still look a "part" of the army - I added some fins to the top of them and that was about it.
Flesh Hounds of Khorne
Ideally I'd have a Razordon or two in here as well - but that'll have to wait for the next unit since my local GW doesn't hold them in stock. Some conversions still though by using a couple of Salamander bodies which are barely noticeable amongst the standard Hound models. I like the way the colours have come out on these models, not 100% sure on the correct colour choice here, but it seems to work.
Seekers of Slaanesh
Well pretty thrilled with how these are looking conversion wise. Obviously a fair amount of painting to do on this unit as well, but achievable. They might not end up quite to the same standard as the Horrors or the Daemonettes, but time will tell in that regard. Would be nice to have a second (and larger) unit to use for future army lists, but I'll be needing to track down some old model bits for that... which from looking at ebay could be more than a little pricey.
Horrors of Tzeentch (Unit #1)
I like the pink (yes really) and I'm really happy with the conversions. The bases need re-doing to a degree, but that is one of the things being left to the "if I have time" list. Still some finishing touches to be done on the Standard Bearer, but at least I was able to come up with something for the standard to tie my core units in together... "stone" standards (somewhat lizard-like thereby) for all the units (including the BSB) helping tie the army as a whole into one unified entity.
Horrors of Tzeentch (Unit #2)
No command at all on this unit. Basically here for the extra deployment and extra Dispel Dice it provides to the army.
Daemonettes of Slaanesh
These guys took a fair bit of painting. They're kinda cute IMO. I can't help but feel they need to look a little bit "brighter" as they just seem to be missing "something", esp when next to the Horrors. Will go back to that in time I guess. Quite a large unit, but performing well thus far under playtesting.
Bloodletters of Khorne
Well I made a mistake here with the bone on their backs. Bleary early hours of the morning sleepiness meaning I'd missed two highlight stages before I realised - and don't have the time at this stage to go back and redo.
Chaos Furies
Now I'm loving these models. They won't take too long to paint (in comparison to other units already done), but just really do look the part! Skink Heads + Bodies, Harpy Wings, and some Horror arms. They remind me of wasps really... and who says they need legs? Serpents don't. My second favourite models!
All told I'm fairly happy with the list. If there were one change I'd make it would probably be to combine the two Horror units so as to give me a good sized "anvil" of sorts. I kept them as two units basically because each unit can cast Flickering Fire on one dice if need be, and the second unit gives me an extra deployment as well as an extra Dispel Dice. Its a change I may well make for Equinox, as with some massaging of units and options I can take the single combined Horror unit up to 26 strong - thereby giving me a turn or two at least of casting Bolt of Change. But that can wait till March.
Ideally I'd prefer NOT to be doing any painting on the friday night at Dogcon. Much rather be kicking back after making any (hopefully not necessary) repairs after the transit to Australia.
If I were able to have the army completely done as I'd like, then I'd be hoping to do well on the painting front at Dogcon. Particularly with a Skite tray. As it is I think I'll easily be happy with full painting marks. Obviously to achieve that I'll be spending the next week continuing to paint like a man possessed (pun intended). We'll see. On the gaming front, all I hope for is a top half finish, and to win my Saturday night "Bledisloe" match - although drowning my sorrows after that could well be an end result!
All in all its going to be a great weekend. Staying with some great lads, and really really looking forward to it!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Daemon Diary #39
Well it has been a little while since I posted.
Had a game last week vs some Dark Elves. It didn't go well. Or at least the game didn't.
It reminded me that I've only played the "new" Dark Elves about 3 times... go figure. It also taught me a few things in regards to how my army works - or doesn't as the case may be.
Having dropped the Siren Song from my Dogcon list, which basically means playing better! The thing is such a gift against most players... basically allows you to a large degree to "pick your battles" unless the opponent knows how to combat it. Funnily enough I've yet to see anyone actually flee from it - which may not actually be a bad tactic at the end of the day. Its looking certain that it will be back in there for Equinox. Phil W having let me know last week that yes, they've nerfed 5 flamers in the Player pack and you are only allowed to field a max of 4. Free's up the points to put the Song back into the list saving me a few brain cells in regards to what to change eh?
Anyway back to the DE's. It was looking pretty even actually, till the 'thirster took a final bolt to the eye, and that was about that really. "Big" things may be tough to kill... but many of them are worth such points that a death can be very costly. Although the Skaven HPA springs to mind as one of the things that maybe aren't so much so (Hyrda's being the other).
Biggest thing I learnt about my game last week was in regards to my deployment. I tried something a little different, attempting to give me a few more options. Bad Idea. I should have launched my attack from a castled position, down a narrow frontage thereby crunching up the DE shooting and coming in upon it quickly. I had the tools to deal with the army on the other side of the table, but dithered somewhat. Which was brought on in no small way by my deployment.
Neverthemind. Thats how the curve goes.
Painting wise I hit a bit of a block this week, and lost a few days as a result. Moving onto the Khornate section of the army I decided to start with the Fleshhounds. Being that I felt they would give me a better idea of how the 'thirster and 'letters would work out, and being a smaller unit (or involving less painting than my "centrepiece Thirster"), meant I would get there more quickly.
Hmm maybe I was expecting the initial colour scheme to fail? It duly did. I started off with the atypical red. Now normally I have no worries at all with the colour, but I just could NOT get the right shade to match the effect of the Horrors/Flamers and Daemonettes. Bugger it! It just ended up being TOO bright for my liking and didn't blend with the colour scheme of the other models at all. I suppose it may have a little more once the basing was all done, but not a risk I want to take given the time frame.
So I went off on a tangent... which I guess is a time risk in itself?
What is similar to red, or has red undertones? Brown of course! And that is the road I have gone down. And thus far, its... interesting. Certainly it will fit the pastel army colour scheme that I wanted to run with (Typically for me every time I look at what I have done so far I keep seeing things I want to touch up and add to).
So I'm going with brown. Its an experiment at the end of the day as well, but the colour also means that if I make some mistakes with it then it won't be as glaringly obvious because the Slaanesh and Tzeentch elements of the army are that much brighter.
The other reason brown is working for me thus far is because it gives the khornate elements a "darker" feel. I mean, Tzeentch is all about change, bizarre, wierd and in your face... bright and brain twisting! (A good way to describe the colour pink IMO). Slaanesh is alluring, lulling one into a false sense of security before kicking you in the nuts! (Which could also describe my ex... but moving on!). Khorne therefore I feel is a darker more deadly look at things... its brutal. It kills. (aka the taxman???? lurking behind complex economic equations but ripping $ from your pocket all the same?) I digress. 18 hour shifts tend to do that to people. Ahem
I wanted my Khorne to have a darker feel. Did I say that already? It even sounds a bit dodgy when I phrase it that way. Oops. My bad? Anyway, it splits the difference colour wise between the Tz and Sl elements as well, and tones the army down colour so that it hopefully doesn't look too garish and cartoony, but rather a little gritty and earthy instead. I think if/when I add any Nurgle to the mix it will go that way as well, but not as much as the Red/Brown of Khorne can. Khorne after all, is the real business end of Chaos. Ug? hehe.
Have decided to get a couple of Razordons after all. The Fleshies needed a lil bit more of a Lizard touch, and a Salamander + Razordon in each unit should achieve that nicely enough. I'll just refuse to look at the $ sign on the front of the blister pack. Urgh.
Also last week I had some of the silflor grass clumps and ivy arrive that I ordered online some weeks ago. They took a while to get here, although that is not suprising given the time of year. I'm not sure I have enough for what I want... but I can make it spread well enough. Have decided in the end to go with a slight ruined jungle theme to the basing... because who knows what paradise awaits us all at the Gates of Chaos? At the end of the day... there is a very rarely mentioned southern pole as well... and who knows what that is like. (Errr I do... it likes the way my army is based!!!)
Well enough randomness for one day. No photos as yet till I'm a bit more done. Can't see the point in taking toooo many is there? Particularly when what I "have" done in the past couple of weeks is substantial, but not immediately obvious... its more down the line of when it all comes together it will happen fast.
Which it needs to.
Dogcon is a month away. Yikes!
Had a game last week vs some Dark Elves. It didn't go well. Or at least the game didn't.
It reminded me that I've only played the "new" Dark Elves about 3 times... go figure. It also taught me a few things in regards to how my army works - or doesn't as the case may be.
Having dropped the Siren Song from my Dogcon list, which basically means playing better! The thing is such a gift against most players... basically allows you to a large degree to "pick your battles" unless the opponent knows how to combat it. Funnily enough I've yet to see anyone actually flee from it - which may not actually be a bad tactic at the end of the day. Its looking certain that it will be back in there for Equinox. Phil W having let me know last week that yes, they've nerfed 5 flamers in the Player pack and you are only allowed to field a max of 4. Free's up the points to put the Song back into the list saving me a few brain cells in regards to what to change eh?
Anyway back to the DE's. It was looking pretty even actually, till the 'thirster took a final bolt to the eye, and that was about that really. "Big" things may be tough to kill... but many of them are worth such points that a death can be very costly. Although the Skaven HPA springs to mind as one of the things that maybe aren't so much so (Hyrda's being the other).
Biggest thing I learnt about my game last week was in regards to my deployment. I tried something a little different, attempting to give me a few more options. Bad Idea. I should have launched my attack from a castled position, down a narrow frontage thereby crunching up the DE shooting and coming in upon it quickly. I had the tools to deal with the army on the other side of the table, but dithered somewhat. Which was brought on in no small way by my deployment.
Neverthemind. Thats how the curve goes.
Painting wise I hit a bit of a block this week, and lost a few days as a result. Moving onto the Khornate section of the army I decided to start with the Fleshhounds. Being that I felt they would give me a better idea of how the 'thirster and 'letters would work out, and being a smaller unit (or involving less painting than my "centrepiece Thirster"), meant I would get there more quickly.
Hmm maybe I was expecting the initial colour scheme to fail? It duly did. I started off with the atypical red. Now normally I have no worries at all with the colour, but I just could NOT get the right shade to match the effect of the Horrors/Flamers and Daemonettes. Bugger it! It just ended up being TOO bright for my liking and didn't blend with the colour scheme of the other models at all. I suppose it may have a little more once the basing was all done, but not a risk I want to take given the time frame.
So I went off on a tangent... which I guess is a time risk in itself?
What is similar to red, or has red undertones? Brown of course! And that is the road I have gone down. And thus far, its... interesting. Certainly it will fit the pastel army colour scheme that I wanted to run with (Typically for me every time I look at what I have done so far I keep seeing things I want to touch up and add to).
So I'm going with brown. Its an experiment at the end of the day as well, but the colour also means that if I make some mistakes with it then it won't be as glaringly obvious because the Slaanesh and Tzeentch elements of the army are that much brighter.
The other reason brown is working for me thus far is because it gives the khornate elements a "darker" feel. I mean, Tzeentch is all about change, bizarre, wierd and in your face... bright and brain twisting! (A good way to describe the colour pink IMO). Slaanesh is alluring, lulling one into a false sense of security before kicking you in the nuts! (Which could also describe my ex... but moving on!). Khorne therefore I feel is a darker more deadly look at things... its brutal. It kills. (aka the taxman???? lurking behind complex economic equations but ripping $ from your pocket all the same?) I digress. 18 hour shifts tend to do that to people. Ahem
I wanted my Khorne to have a darker feel. Did I say that already? It even sounds a bit dodgy when I phrase it that way. Oops. My bad? Anyway, it splits the difference colour wise between the Tz and Sl elements as well, and tones the army down colour so that it hopefully doesn't look too garish and cartoony, but rather a little gritty and earthy instead. I think if/when I add any Nurgle to the mix it will go that way as well, but not as much as the Red/Brown of Khorne can. Khorne after all, is the real business end of Chaos. Ug? hehe.
Have decided to get a couple of Razordons after all. The Fleshies needed a lil bit more of a Lizard touch, and a Salamander + Razordon in each unit should achieve that nicely enough. I'll just refuse to look at the $ sign on the front of the blister pack. Urgh.
Also last week I had some of the silflor grass clumps and ivy arrive that I ordered online some weeks ago. They took a while to get here, although that is not suprising given the time of year. I'm not sure I have enough for what I want... but I can make it spread well enough. Have decided in the end to go with a slight ruined jungle theme to the basing... because who knows what paradise awaits us all at the Gates of Chaos? At the end of the day... there is a very rarely mentioned southern pole as well... and who knows what that is like. (Errr I do... it likes the way my army is based!!!)
Well enough randomness for one day. No photos as yet till I'm a bit more done. Can't see the point in taking toooo many is there? Particularly when what I "have" done in the past couple of weeks is substantial, but not immediately obvious... its more down the line of when it all comes together it will happen fast.
Which it needs to.
Dogcon is a month away. Yikes!
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