Sunday, July 31, 2011

Filled out my app

Filled out and submitted my app to become a press ganger. Now, nothing to do but wait - and, with GenCon on the horizon, I figure it will be a couple of weeks before I hear aynthing one way or another.

Thursday, July 28, 2011

Added two more

See, it's easy to just randomly add figs. Tonight, I went to Unique Gifts & Games because I had them holding the new NQ for me, as well as a Legion MK II deck. I took my son along, because it got him out of the house for a bit, and that way he could get some more exposure to my hobbies. Anyway, not only did I pick those up, but Targ is out, and the good Dr. Arkadius needs some help from time to time. Targ is useful now, but I think he will be more so once Thornfall has more choices than the War Hog and the Gun Boar.

The store also has some figs on sale, consignment style. I have been able to resist the Pirate-based army so far - it's expensive, but not really more than simply buying all the models anyway. I could resist the Bloat Thrall, and the Reaper, but a painted Nomad for a mere $15 got the best of me. It's not a great jack, but it is cheap, and it helps bulk up Magnus a little bit. I had planned on getting one anyway.

So, my total model count goes up by 2 for the night, bringing me to 604. If I count the Nomad as done, I would have 15 done - actually more, because I have a bunch of Cygnar and Menoth figs that are "done" in the sense of "Someone else painted them, and I haven't stripped them yet."

Random post

So, over the past couple of days, I have been thinking about this post, over at Iron Kingdoms at War. I pretty much agree with the whole thing - on the whole, I can think of many games I would rather play than 40k or WFB, but there is also no denying that it is often the only non-historical (war)game in town. So, since I must sometimes play 40k or WFB with people before I can convince them to play Warmahordes, I should probably keep somewhat up on the rules and maintain a small army.

But that doesn't mean that I need 4 separate 40k armies. Right now, I have Tau, I have Orks, I have Marines (who doesn't, right?), and I have Imperial Guard. Over on Bartertown, I thought I might have a trade going - all of my Tau for a pretty nice chunk of Menoth, enough that, while I would be missing some units (Cleansers, Cinerators, Bastions), and would have duplicates of a couple of casters, it was certainly a good deal for me. (And for the other party - I believe it was something like $750, in War Store prices, for the Menoth, and well over $1250 base retail for the Tau.)

It's been a couple of days though, and my initial excitement at getting rid of some GW, and turning Menoth from suddenly my third or fourth largest Warmachine army to my largest overnight has somewhat evaporated in the waiting process. (Never fear - I'm still committed to the deal, if the other party is as well.) If the deal falls through, I may keep my Tau, since I still have the current codex, and it's pretty playable, in theory. But my Guard Tank army isn't, since I lack the current codex. Maybe I should peel off half a dozen tanks or so, and see what kind of Warmahordes stuff I could get for them.

No pics, but they are done.

OKay, technically, not quite done. I need to finish up the bases, and then seal them, but my Khador and Cygnar battleboxes are done. Finished. Painted. Completely. Not as well as I would like, but well enough for hardcore standards, and, more importantly, well enough for me to snap some pics of tomorrow and put in an application. With any luck, my area of Michigan will have a press ganger soon. Well, soon-ish, since it is con season and all.

I think tomorrow I will start on a couple of the Hordes warpacks. Probably trolls and either Everblight or Circle. Nothing against Skorne, but I would have to fix two of the savages, or assemble two savages (yes, I have four of them - my Skorne army is unpainted, but unbound material nonetheless), and then get my gladiator back together. Fixing a couple damaged figs doesn't seem as easy as putting either a warpwolf or a carnivean together, although that may be famous last words.

Oh yeah - getting those 5 models finished (the entire Cygnar group plus Sorscha) will bring my total number of painted models to 14. Only 588 to go. (But see another post about that.)

Wednesday, July 27, 2011

Battleboxes are almost done

They're almost there. Close, so close. With any luck, and a bit of work, tomorrow night, I can wrap these up, with everything done except for the clear coat. The Khador jacks are already done, of course, but the Cygnar jacks are down to detail work and touchups, and both casters are actually pretty close to being done to tabletop standard. It's not my best work, but they're not something I'm planning on stripping down as soon as possible either.





Sunday, July 24, 2011

No dice at the demo

Well, yesterday's demo was a bust. I was there, talked up the game to people, but id not do a single demo game. Meh. It happens, and since the store is still working on getting some PP items in stock, it's admittedly a little harder to get people interested. I am thinking that, once my battle box armies are done, I will leave them there, in the display case, along with a copy of the quick start rules, so that people can look at them.

I know it can take a while to get a group going, so I am not disappointed yet. And I did get some stuff assembled, and next time, I will be bringing along paints, so I can't call it a waste of time.

Friday, July 22, 2011

Thursday gaming

So, last night, instead of making the drive east, I headed west. The goal was to stop by the closer store on a Thursday night, aka "Warhammer Night" and see if I could start peeling any players away.

I did manage to run one demo game, playing against someone who had been a Menoth player in MK I, but had switched back to Warhammer before MK II came out. He managed to kill Sorscha on a lucky hit - truly so, he had to have Kreoss charge his own Crusader in order to get close enough to pop his feat, and then he spelled poor Sorscha, whacking her with Immolation until she died - which she did, on a roll of boxcars just as he ran out of focus. Had it failed, Kreoss was going down on the my next turn, but that's what the game is all about.

He and I talked about the changes in the game, and I have offered to loan him my MK II Menoth deck whenever I am there, if he wants to play beyond the battlebox. With any luck, we've picked up another player for Saturdays, which gets us a little closer to the day when we have a regular Saturday group of 6 to 8 players.

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Quick Khador and Circle pics

Took these in a hurry, so the quality is low, but it's proof that I am doing something.

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I'll take better pics tomorrow, but my Khador battlegroup is almost done. Sorscha is better than half done - I hope to finish the skin tones, the hat & hair, and maybe the cloak tomorrow. Heck, if the kids play in the basement (thank you heat index of 100+), then that means more painting time. I would love to have Sorscha done before the weekend - it would mean that I have a pretty good chance of getting both battleboxes done before the end of the month, as my Cygnar jacks are almost done, and Stryker is at least started.

The shifting stones were just to get them out of the way, as I said. They were low-hanging fruit. I also started the base colors on my shredders, and did some assembly on the carnivean.

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

While the batteries charge. . .

The batteries in the camera need to be recharged, so no pics until later tonight, but I actually finished some models yesterday!

Yes, it's true. It's also not too impressive - I finally finished off the unit of Shifting Stones that have been 75% done or so for oh, I don't know, two years? But, they are finally done, based, and sealed. I go from four completed models to seven, which is a huge improvement, in terms of raw numbers, but weighed against the unpainted? A scratch.

I still have 595 models to go.

On the plus side, I might actually get my two Khador jacks done tonight, and possibly my Defender and Lancer as well. Even if I don't, I will be taking pics of them and posting them, just because. I really, really want to start knocking at least battlebox armies out of the way, and not just for ulterior motives.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

Continuing saga of starting a new group

So, today is another chapter in my quest to get a Warmahordes group going in Kalamazoo. We average about two people per attempt, which is not great, but since the store doesn't have any PP stuff in stock yet, and there had been no signage, it is what it is.

Today wasn't even that good, since I did not actually play a game or do a demo. But, a couple of the regulars dropped by (could not stay because of family commitments), and I talked up the game with several former players, who might now be coming back to the fold.

I also made up a flyer, announcing a date and a time for demos, and noted that (1) it was free, and (2) everything would be provided. I have also been told that I should stop by on a Warhammer night, because "there are a lot of impressionable minds that you might sway." (That's a quote, BTW - and not from me.)

So, no gaming, but I did get my Ogrun Assault Corps assembled, did some work on my Bloodgorgers, and some random minor assembly. And learned a few things about airbrushes, which will be handy, if I ever decide to paint my Imperial Guard tanks.

Thursday, July 14, 2011

Bartertown is back.

Looks like B'town is coming back. I'm getting some funny error messages about reading messages and the like, but it appears that trading can begin once again.

Good thing, too. I have a trade pending for some Khador and Everblight stuff, but those two armies will need a lot of padding before they can start to be more than 25 point games.

WIP & Color test

Just posting to prove that I haven't been lounging in the basement, goofing off and ignoring the piles of unpainted metal. (Sure, others have more, but I just view that as a challenge. Besides, even though Bartertown is currently down, I still collect new figs faster than I paint them. So, these are all WIPs or color tests, since each one is basically the beginning of a new army. (Heck, who am I kidding - I have four (4!) figures painted. Everything could be a color test for a new army.)

Anyway, first up is Khador.

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As you may guess, my Khador will be loosely modelled after WW II Soviet forces - it fits thematically, and, since I have a bunch of Strelkovy sitting around for Flames of War, I had the paints too. This is the whitewash winter scheme - the whitewash had a tendency to wear off, especially around the edges, which is what I am going for here.

Next up is Cygnar.

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The Cygnar is based off one of the alternate color schemes in one of the later MK I expansions, Escalation. This one is Fort Falk, which I prefer to the normal Cygnar blue. I might do my Magnus figs in the deeper blue that got mentioned somewhere in the fluff, however. (For the record - my Menoth will probably be in the Sanguine Escutcheon color scheme. Not far enough along on anything for it to be worth a pic though.)

Here we have my attempt to match Tonka yellow:

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It's a little closer than it looks in the photo, but it's not quite what I want just yet. Unfortunately, I am not sure I wrote down all the steps, so I need to do a couple armor plates on another Rhulic jack soon, just to see if I am correct.

Last, but not least - I decided that I might strip my partially painted Retribution figs, and go back to square one.

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It's simple, it's easy, and I think it will work well when I finally buy and paint my battle cricket. . . .I mean, Arcane Force Generator.

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

Painting update

No pics, because I just didn't take any tonight, but I am still getting some painting done. Well, not done. More like, I go down to the basement, and basically putter around for an hour or so, and pretend that somehow, through some sort of osmotic process, the paint will magically move from the bottles onto the miniatures.

That's not entirely true, but it certainly feels like it. I have been listening to some various Warmachine podcasts when I am down there, for some sort of incentive, but I keep breaking to look up something in the book, or read the card(s) while they are talking about a particular figure or strategy. But there is progress.

Tonight, I managed to get more done on my Juggernaut and Destroyer, did the basing for my Defender, prepped the base on the Charger, did some detail work on the Lancer, some work on a unit of Shifting Stones. . . I did more, but I don't recall on what. I am still trying to paint almost every day, and I want to finish up some battleboxes as soon as possible. I just paint slowly, in addition to being easily distracted by shiny objects.

Monday, July 11, 2011

Food for thought

Over on Plastic Legions, there is a post about how a game can change over the years, and a game that was a favorite just somehow, over the course of several editions, becomes less appealing than it was before. It's definitely food for thought.

I mean, yes, I label myself rather proudly as an army altaholic, and I will readily and happily confess to being ready to loose a game in as many systems as possible. But my 40k and WFB have been gathering dust for several years, more or less, and maybe I could cut an army or three loose. I mean, I have an IG army with something like 10 or 12 Leman Russ tanks that I haven't used in the dice gods only know how long, and the same goes for my Tau. Both have been sitting, waiting for me to break down and get an airbrush, rather than paint a couple dozen vehicles with a brush. Either one of those has got to be worth a reasonable Warmachine or Hordes army, if not something for another system.

On the other hand - we have moved because of my wife's job before, and it is always a distinct possibility that we will have to do so again. And no matter how popular Warmachine, or DBA, or Uncharted Seas might be here, our next location might be another gaming desert, where it is either GW games, or nothing. It has happened before, and, speaking from experience, it is generally easier (and cheaper) to pick up the current rulebook, codex, and a unit or three than try to start again from scratch.

I'll be thinking about it, but if someone makes a random offer, say Legion of Everblight or Khador, for a lot of armored guard, or a decent-sized Tau army, I might think about it a lot more.

Thursday, July 7, 2011

Hooray for Rhulic!

So, since there were no responses (means I need more readers), I decided to go with my Rhulic figs. Because I am trying to avoid running proxies when possible, I wound up with the following list:

Durgen Madhammer
  • Basher
  • Gunner
  • Gunner
  • Rockram
Thor Steinhammer
  • Driller
  • Blaster
Ogrun Assault Corps (full unit)


They fared pretty well. I lost Thor, the Driller, the Blaster, one Ogrun and one Gunbunny before the store had to close, but I did manage to put the hurt on the Cygnar player opposite me, and a couple lucky rolls let me take out Stryker. I do need to pick up a few actual units, but I must admit, the Durgen's feat and the Assault Corps, plus a few Explosivo on the jacks was a lot of fun.

And, my new model count goes up by one - I picked up Ossyan tonight as well.

Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Poll question

Go ahead and choose - I should be getting to play tomorrow. Do I lose with Retribution (likely Rahn, unless Ossyan is at the FLGS), Trolls, or my brand-new, never used by me before, Rhulic army? I'm leaning toward the dwarves, simply because (a) I haven't used them before; (b) I have a full Ogrun Assault Corps, and (c) I bought shiny new dice to go with their eventual, Tonka-style paint job.

Call now, operators are standing by, calls are only $3.99/minute, 5 minute minimum. Or, just leave a comment. Whichever.

Tuesday, July 5, 2011

Progress report

Well, I did not get as much time in the basement as I had hoped, nor was it terribly productive. Still, I started laying down the base colors for the Menoth battlebox, did some detail work on the Cygnar 'jacks, base skin tone on the Argus models, and put together a couple of models.

Monday, July 4, 2011

Slacking

Didn't do much today, for various and sundry reasons. I did put the heads on my unit of Invictors, though they are still armless. I want to get them together in the next few days, so they can be primed and started. I might get down to the basement again later tonight, but I probably won't get much done then either.

Sunday, July 3, 2011

Inventory day (part 2)

So, per iBodger, here is the final tally:

Collection Name: Omnibus
Models: 601
1 Adeptis Rahn
1 Agonizer
1 Alten Ashley, Monster Hunter
2 Ancestral Guardian
1 Aptimus Marketh
2 Gun Mage Leader
10 Gun Mage Grunt
1 Arcanist
2 Argus
1 Iron Lich Asphyxious
1 Baldur the Stonecleaver
1 Bane Thrall Leader
5 Bane Thrall Grunt
1 Basilisk Drake
1 Basilisk Krea
1 Bile Thrall Leader
5 Bile Thrall Grunt
2 Blackhide Wrastler
1 Bloat Thrall
1 Bloodgorger Leader
9 Bloodgorger Grunt
1 Bloodrunner Master Tormentor
1 Bloody Barnabas
2 Bog Trog Leader
14 Bog Trog Grunt
1 Bronzeback Titan
1 Bull Snapper
1 The Butcher of Khardov
1 Lieutenant Allister Caine
1 Calaban the Grave Walker
1 Captain Gunnbjorn
1 Carnivean
1 Cataphract Arcuarii Leader
5 Cataphract Arcuarii Grunt
1 Cataphract Cetrati Leader
5 Cataphract Cetrati Grunt
1 Classic Charger
1 Charger
1 Chimera
1 Choir of Menoth Leader
5 Choir of Menoth Grunt
1 Croak Hunter
1 Classic Crusader
4 Cyclops Savage
1 Cyclops Shaman
1 Dawnguard Invictor Leader
9 Dawnguard Invictor Grunt
1 Dawnlord Vyros
2 Classic Deathripper
1 Defender
1 Classic Defiler
1 Warwitch Deneghra
1 Classic Destroyer
2 Devout
1 Dire Troll Blitzer
2 Dire Troll Mauler
1 Dire Troll Mauler Extreme
1 Discordia
1 Dr. Arkadius
1 Stoneward
5 Woldstalker
1 Druid Wilder
1 Druid of Orboros Leader
5 Druid of Orboros Grunt
1 Durgen Madhammer
1 Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios
1 Extoller Soulward
1 Farrow Bone Grinder Leader
5 Farrow Bone Grinder Grunt
2 Farrow Brigand Leader
18 Farrow Brigand Grunt
1 Fell Caller Hero
1 Feora, Priestess of the Flame
1 Feral Warpwolf
1 Firefly
1 Garryth, Blade of Retribution
2 Gatorman Leader
8 Gatorman Grunt
1 General Gerlak Slaughterborn
1 Ghordson Basher
2 Ghordson Driller
1 Ghost Sniper
1 Gorgon
1 Greygore Boomhowler
5 Boomhowler Trollkin
1 Grim Angus
1 Grissel Bloodsong, Fell Caller
2 Grundback Blaster
3 Grundback Gunner
1 Gudrun the Wanderer
2 Gun Boar
1 Gun Mage Captain Adept
1 Hakaar the Destroyer
1 Houseguard Halberdier Officer
1 Houseguard Halberdier Standard Bearer
1 Captain Victoria Haley
1 Captain Victoria Haley (variant)
1 Hoarluk Doomshaper, Shaman of the Gnarls
1 Hoarluk Doomshaper, Rage of Dhunia
1 House Shyeel Artificer
3 House Shyeel Battle Mage Leader
15 House Shyeel Battle Mage Grunt
3 House Shyeel Magister
1 Houseguard Halberdier Leader
9 Houseguard Halberdier Grunt
1 Houseguard Rifleman Leader
9 Houseguard Rifleman Grunt
1 Immortal Leader
9 Immortal Grunt
1 Ironback Spitter
1 Ironclad
1 Janissa Stonetide
1 Journeyman Warcaster
1 Classic Juggernaut
1 Kaya the Wildborne
1 Knights Exemplar Leader
5 Knights Exemplar Grunt
1 Knights Exemplar Seneschal
2 High Exemplar Kreoss
1 Krielstone Bearer
5 Krielstone Grunt
1 Lancer
1 Lich Lord Terminus
1 Lord Carver, BMMD, Esq. III
2 Lord Tyrant Hexeris
1 Lord of the Feast
1 Lylyth, Herald of Everblight
1 Machine Wraith
1 Madrak Ironhide, Thornwood Chieftain
1 Madrak Ironhide, World Ender
1 Mage Hunter Assassin
1 Mage Hunter Strike Force Leader
9 Mage Hunter Strike Force Grunt
1 Magnus the Traitor
1 Major Markus 'Siege' Brisbane
2 Archdomina Makeda
1 Mangler
1 Manticore
1 Mechanithrall Leader
5 Mechanithrall Grunt
1 Mohsar the Desertwalker
1 Molik Karn
1 Master Tormentor Morghoul
1 Lord Assassin Morghoul
1 Morvahna the Autumnblade
1 Mulg the Ancient
1 Narn, Mage Hunter of Ios
1 Necrotech
1 Ogrun Assault Corps Leader
4 Ogrun Assault Corps Grunt
1 Ogrun Bokur
2 Paingiver Leader
10 Paingiver Grunt
1 Bloodrunner Leader
5 Bloodrunner Grunt
1 Phoenix
1 Pistol Wraith
1 Praetorian Karax Leader
9 Praetorian Karax Grunt
2 Praetorian Swordsman Leader
18 Praetorian Swordsman Grunt
1 Pyg Burrower Leader
8 Pyg Burrower Grunt
2 Pyg Bushwacker Leader
14 Pyg Bushwacker Grunt
1 Pyre Troll
1 Classic Reaper
1 The High Reclaimer
1 Renegade
1 Classic Repenter
1 Revenant Leader
9 Revenant Grunt
2 Classic Revenger
1 Houseguard Rifleman Officer
1 Houseguard Rifleman Standard Bearer
1 Runebearer
1 Saxon Orrik
4 Scrap Thrall
1 Scrapjack
1 Seether
3 Shifting Stones
4 Shredder
1 Skarlock Thrall
1 Pirate Queen Skarre
1 Slag Troll
2 Classic Slayer
1 Kommander Sorscha
1 Soulhunter Leader
4 Soulhunter Grunt
1 Squire
1 Stalker
1 Stone Keeper
1 Stone Scribe Elder
1 Stormblade Officer
1 Stormblade Standard Bearer
1 Stormblade Storm Gunner
2 Stormblade Leader
12 Stormblade Grunt
1 Stormguard Leader
7 Stormguard Grunt
3 Stormsmith Stormcaller
1 Commander Coleman Stryker (plastic)
1 Supreme Aptimus Zaal
1 Kovaas
1 Swamp Gobber Leader
1 Swamp Gobber Grunt
1 Swamp Troll
1 Talon
2 Temple Flameguard Leader
10 Temple Flameguard Grunt
1 Thagrosh, Prophet of Everblight
1 Thor Steinhammer
1 Thumper Leader
2 Thumper Grunt
1 Thunderhead
2 Titan Cannoneer
2 Titan Gladiator
1 Totem Hunter
1 Trencher Chain Gun Gunner
1 Trencher Chain Gun Crewman
1 Trencher Leader
5 Trencher Grunt
2 Troll Axer
1 Troll Bouncer
3 Troll Impaler
1 Trollkin Champion Leader
4 Trollkin Champion Grunt
1 Fennblade Leader
9 Fennblade Grunt
1 Trollkin Scattergunner Leader
9 Trollkin Scattergunner Grunt
1 Tyrant Commander
1 Tyrant Standard Bearer
1 Tyrant Xerxis
1 Vayl, Disciple of Everblight
1 Venator Catapult Leader
2 Venator Catapult Grunt
1 Venator Officer
1 Venator Standard Bearer
1 Venator Leader
9 Venator Grunt
1 Viktor Pendrake
1 Vladimir, The Dark Prince
1 Vladimir Tzepeschi (variant)
1 Void Seer Mordikaar
2 War Hog
1 Winter Troll
1 Witch Coven - Helleana
1 Witch Coven - Morgaen
1 Witch Coven - Selene
1 Egregore
1 Wold Guardian
1 Woldwarden
1 Woldwatcher
1 Woldwyrd
1 Wolf of Orboros Leader
5 Wolf of Orboros Grunt
3 Wrack
1 Wroughthammer Rockram
1 Zevanna Agha, Old Witch of Khador

Yep, 601 figures. On a faction basis, it breaks down as follows:

Cryx - 69 models
Circle - 35 models
Cygnar - 64 models
Legion - 8 models
Khador - 8 models
Skorne - 117 models
Menoth - 38 models
Trollbloods - 85 models
Retribution - 79 models
Minions - 71 models
Mercenaries - 27 models

The sad thing is that 4 of them are painted. Yep, 4. There are more that are "done," but I am not counting them, since they are headed for the strip bath later on this week. There are perhaps 50 or 60 more that are very close to being finished - a few evenings of dedicated work would finish the unit of Immortals, a minimum unit of Gatormen, a couple of Cryx jacks, Hakar, and so forth. And, for the record, although not everything is assembled and primed, most of it is, and most models even have some color on them. (Yes, I am grasping at straws here. . . cut me some slack, right?)

Anyway, in addition to the inventory, and the priming of the two models earlier, I got the backpacks onto a full unit (plus command) of Houseguard riflemen, and they got primed as well. Not the most productive day, but certainly not something to be ashamed of, either.

Inventory day

Well, I was keeping them in iBodger. I love the program for army construction, but when I was making my Omnibus list, it chocked up somewhere past the 300 figure mark, and when I restarted it, it was down to 230 or so again. Looks like a lot of that is a start from scratch, although I should be able to simply double-check most of what I have already done. Bleah.

As I am counting, I have also set aside and primed a couple figures - it's not much, but at least a bull snapper and a ghost sniper are primed as of this afternoon, and yesterday they were merely bare metal. It's progress, but thin progress against the mass of metal on my table.

My next project

I'll take a pic tomorrow, but I think I found my next project. I was at the FLGS today, and we're still trying to get people interested and attending regular games. It's slow, and a little depressing at times, but I expect it. I am going to whip up a flyer or two, and maybe a sign-up sheet, but that's not my next project.

I did a quick inventory. By my count, there are 11 factions between Warmachine and Hordes (Khador, Cygnar, Cryx, Menoth, Retribution, Mercs, Minions, Skorne, Circle, Legion and Trolls). Ignoring Minions (though I have both Farrow and Gators), but fielding 2 different Merc battleboxes (Magnus and Gorten), there are still 11 different battlebox armies.

I have 10 of them, though I still need to pick up a Mk II Legion deck. I can pick up Kaelyssa and the Griffon, and have the Retribution "box". All total, those 11 battlebox armies total 47 figures. I have only 1 of them painted, but 31 of them assembled and primed. I should be able to get the other 16 (well, 14 of them, anyway) assembled and primed before next weekend, and then I'll see what I can get done before the demo.