Thursday, May 31, 2012

Not much painting tonight

Blah.  I only managed to paint for about 45 minutes or so tonight, but (1) that's better than nothing; and (2) I should be getting some stuff done in the next day or two because of it.  All of my gatorman posse models are now primed - the three that were being stripped were cleaned up, reassembled, and primed today.  The others all got some work done tonight - I plan on concentrating on two of them tomorrow, and finishing them (for a completed unit), and working on all the others.  The two need detail work and basing, basically, so as long as I get some time tomorrow, it's going to happen.

I also worked a little on the swamp goblins tonight, plus some terrain.  I need to start working on raising cash for GenCon - either selling off terrain, or whole armies that I no longer use.  I have a theoretical budget, but I know from experience that I need to set aside an extra $50 or $100 for random, kewl boardgames, deeply discounted OOP figs, random "wow, that's a nice sculpt!" purchases, and so forth.

(I also have an idea of how much I want to spend at the PP booth, the DP9 booth, etc.  It won't be cheap.  Too bad eBay won't let me sell hobo kidneys and the like.)

This leads to a mild rant/vent.  I have some things up on Bartertown.  I am not expecting full value - I think I have a fairly reasonable expectation of what I can get for a Tau army, and some of the terrain currently up there is basically a "I want it out of the basement" situation, not a "I want to make some serious cash" situation.  But I am getting some weird emails - it's not people wanting to split the lot, but people wanting to split the lot, if I make the right offer.  OKay. . . I have a group of Tau, which I do not want to part out just yet, and people telling me that they will take some of the choicer items off my hands, if I am willing to make the right offer.  Suuuuure.

Tuesday, May 29, 2012

The sorting hat.

OKay, I did not wear a hat of any type when I was making my decision.  And I barely had anything alcoholic to drink, so it was a fairly sober, reflective decision.  Basically, last night, and this morning, I start sorting through everything that I had.  Sure, I have a fairly current list in iBodger, and while it is not too far off in terms of how many figures I have, it is wildly inaccurate when it comes to determining how far along most of my figures are.  If I wanted to play Cygnar at GenCon, for example, it would be good to know that I would have to do some assembly work before I could really begin to paint much beyond the 35 point level.

I didn't get everything sorted out before I made my decision.  800 or so figs takes a while to go through, but pretty early on, it became clear that Minions would be something that I could actually finish.  I won't have enough to field a 100 pt army (since my Gators and my Pigs both top out at about 70 points, less warlock points, so 60ish in terms of actual gameplay), but I will be able to field 50 points with any of the 3 Gator or Pig casters. 

This means that I would have six armies (more or less), and they will all have different play styles, but there is a fairly small number of miniatures to paint, and a small number of cards to know, and know well.  Iron Arena may not be a tourney environment, but that does not mean that I should not be familiar with whatever I happen to take with me.

Thus, my painting queue stands as follows (roughly):

  • Dr Arkadius
  • Lord Carver
  • Sturm & Drang
  • Bloody Barnabus
  • Caliban
  • Mealok
  • 2 Blackhide Wrastlers
  • Bull Snapper
  • Ironback Spitter
  • Boneswarm
  • 2 Warhogs
  • 2 Gun Boars
  • 20 Farrow brigands
  • 6 Bone grinders
  • 6 Slaughterhousers
  • 1 Razorback crew
  • Targ
  • 16 Bog Trogs
  • 10 Gatormen
  • 2 Swamp Gobbers
  • Alten Ashley
  • Croak Hunter
  • Saxon Orrik
  • Totem Hunter
I have some other items that I want to pick up in the next month or so - at least one Road Hog, one Swamp Horror, another unit of Gatormen, and so forth.  It's a fairly small amount of addition (model-wise - the dollar amount is something else!), so this might just happen.

Tonight, I finished up one of the Gatormen leaders, worked on another four of the gators (two are done, and three are being stripped), and started on the swamp gobbers.  I also did some other work on a few more of the models above, although not much.  The four gators should be done before the end of the month, and possibly all of them will be.  Once they are done, I will move on to the slaughterhousers and the bone grinders, although I will probably do a color test for the bog trogs too.

Quick update

I'll write a longer post tonight, but I'm almost certain which faction I will be trying to paint up for GenCon.  The only thing holding me back is that I would almost certainly not be able to field a 100-pt army - just too many models that I would need to buy, and I need to start saving my spending cash now.

Anyway, a quick count shows that I would have to paint about 90 models, maximum, including the warcasters/warlocks that I would be taking.  It's doable - I think I only have 2 of that 90 done, but I worked on 5 of them last night and this afternoon, and should have all five done by the end of this week, in addition to working on some of the other stuff.  And most of it is already started, though 10-15 models are still stuck at the primer-only stage.

Blackbanes just need some minor work on the base, and a sealing coat, and they are done.  Boneswarm still needs basing - I need to mix up some water, and that may have to wait a day or three.

Monday, May 28, 2012

Decisions, decisions

I've had some good ideas in the comments to my previous post, and in a thread I start on the PP forums.  I haven't made a decision yet - I have a couple of ideas that I am kicking around, and will probably decide what I will do in the next couple of days.  Not that it matters a whole lot - Iron Arena is not the same thing as the tourneys, so unless you really wanted to hunt me down, and give my (for example) Mortenabra 'jack list a spanking, or had something specifically geared to take down Nemo and some storm units, knowing what I might be taking probably is not such a big deal.

I do want to have at least a 50 point army painted, and then have enough to spare to be able to change the list out a little bit.  The changes might be small - for example, I probably would not change much between Karchev jacks and Harkovich jacks, but it's a lot more work to change from Karchev to pIrusk - so if I run a jack or beast-heavy list, then I'm probably not going to pack a lot of extra infantry.

If I am really feeling my cheerios, then I would try to have 50-pt lists for 2 different factions.  I wouldn't be able to play 100-pt games, but I would have more variety than 50 pts of Cryx, if I could field Cryx and Khador.

Anyway, no painting yet today - I spent some time cleaning up my painting and mini holding area, and trying to bring some order to the basement.

Sunday, May 27, 2012

A poll (sort of)

After thinking about it a bit, I kind of would like to have a fully-painted army for Iron Arena at GenCon.  Plus, actually having a fully-painted army would quiet those little voices in my head, at least for a little bit.

So, here is the unofficial poll: What faction should I use for this?  Don't say "whichever you like," because I like them all.  And, since I can field at least 25 in everything (every faction, contract, pact) - bumping up to 50 for one of them is pretty doable, since I have almost 3 months.

I do not promise to abide by any sort of majority vote* on this, by the way.  I may chose one in a couple of days, I may roll a D12 until I get a viable result (as in, not 12, since we have 11 factions). 

*Respondents who chose the winning faction receive nothing.  Offer void pretty much everywhere.  Void even where permitted by law.  One entry per customer, unless you feel like more. Must be 18, or have parents permission, or pretend to have parents permission, or be an animal capable of reasonably coherent thought.

Oh, and "whatever you have the most painted of already" is also bunk.  I have very little painted for any faction - being down by 3-5 minutes is not likely to be a deal breaker.

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Curbstomped

But boy, it was fun to get a couple of games in.  I'm not going to bother with battle reports - the first game was eLylyth and as many steathy friends as could fit into 35 points, versus my pNemo.  I did about as expected, without knowing anything else - I wiped out a stinger, a deathstalker, and a unit of archers, but that was about it.  I made some foolish mistakes (forgot to allocate focus!  forgot to cast for +2 Arm to my infantry, and did not use my Stormstrider well at all), but it was still a fun game.

The second game was a short one - eThags plus some beasts versus Kraye and some jacks.  I almost pulled out the win, but eThags popping out the minor warbeast kept him alive, since it gave him a viable transfer target.  Due to time, we had to call it at the end of my turn - but with Thag still alive, and Kraye within his threat range, it was over.

Anyway, I had fun.  I don't know yet what faction I will be using next week - I need to have DW pick a card box at random again.  I'm trying to go through a few factions over the next month, but I am sorely tempted to pick one, and see if I can get a couple of 35-50pt armies fully painted for Iron Arena at GenCon.

Not much to report on the painting front - the Boneswarm and the Blackbanes just need basing and sealing, and they will be done.  I should be able to get some painting time in tonight, and possibly some tomorrow night.  And, hopefully, a good couple of hours, all in one block, on Monday.

And, with the GW price increase going into affect on the 1st, I really need to get in to the FLGS on a Thursday and see if anyone is interested in trying out a new system.

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Mildly productive day yesterday

First of all, Maelok is still in pieces.  I haven't even tried to fix him yet.  But the Boneswarm is almost done, and I basically finished 4 of the Blackbane's Raiders yesterday.  Unfortunately for the 5 points per month deal, I need to finish the minimum unit before I get any credit, so hopefully the rest of the unit arrives soon.  I need to base all 5 of the figs, but that's a quick and easy project.

I hope to get a bit more done this afternoon, but my main focus will be grabbing what I need for possible demos - with any luck, I will get to make a Thursday night trek to the FLGS.  Thursdays are normally Warhammer night, but with the news of the impending GW price increase, there may be fertile ground for some demo games.  I'll just take the four main battleboxes & warpacks, plus the additional figs from the 2-player starter.

I'll also take my paint and brushes, plus some other figs.  That way, even if I don't do demos, I will feel as though I have gotten something accomplished.

Tomorrow, I'll have DW chose another deck at random, and I will pick and pack my army for Saturday.   I think I will have her chose until I have gone through all the factions, although I may have to start rolling a D12 or something after the full rotation, since she might remember which deck is which.

And, on a final note - by this weekend, I should have the dates chosen and fliers made for the June & July events at the store.  Steamroller tourneys, at least one of which will be 50 points - after all, people have to practice for GenCon, right?

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

Firk ding blast!

So, I got some time down in the basement, late last night, and I was sitting there, happily painting away.  Well, happily enough, anyway - provided that one uses a definition of happy that includes a minor undercurrent of despair over the piles of unpainted lead.  Anyway, so I am sitting there, painting up a Boneswarm and doing the base layer on some Blackbane's Raiders.  I reach over to grab a drink, and wind up knocking Maelok down to the floor.

Maelok + gravity + concrete floor - pinning = Maelok needing to be put back together, properly this time.

Still hoping to do better than just 2 figs for my 5 points this month, but not sure if it is going to happen.  I am working on a whole bunch of things (and my crowded desk is just one of the reasons why Maelok went floor-diving), but I'm not sure how much of it will actually be done before the end of the month.  And, I will lose some time this weekend for family obligations, so I might cheap out and do the Boneswarm and a jack or something.

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

Vassal, but no painting

So, I didn't really do any painting yesterday.  I was going to, but it just didn't happen.  I did prime the Boneswarm, so there is that.  And I am very close to finalizing a deal that gets rid of a bunch of my 40k (Tau), in exchange for some much-needed Cryx infantry.  I'll gain a couple warcasters as well, and have some duplicate figs that I will need to sell or trade off, but that's acceptable.

Anyway, instead of painting, I got in a game on Vassal last night.  A family emergency (lost dog) kept my opponents from playing on Saturday - I got there (later than planned), we got set up, and they got the call that they had to leave.  So, last night, we had a quick game.

It was just a 15pt MM/T&C game - both of us are learning Vassal, and he wanted to try a new faction.  I had my wife pick one of my factions at random - she doesn't know the difference between them, and, while my deck boxes are color-coded, she does not know the code, so she made a pretty random choice.  It wound up being his Circle against my Legion.

His army was small - pBaldur, Megalith, and Wold Guardian.  I ran eThag, but instead of Shredder spam, I ran a shredder, a stinger, a scythyan, and a teraph.  He drew first blood (Megalith one-shotted the poor stinger that got too close), but eThag's feat turn left him with a wounded Baldur and Megalith.  Megalith squished the teraph (the only thing it could get to), and Baldy tried an assasination run, but to no avail.

The game could have gone different - he forgot to feat until it was too late, which, while it may not have changed the end result (eThag is a beatstick), it would have been a lot closer.  Hopefully sometime later this week, we will get a rematch - though DWs random deck choice means I may not be playing Legion again.

Sunday, May 20, 2012

Hooray for GenCon registration!

OKay, so "hooray" might not be the best of terms, since it was a frustrating process ("I clicked as soon as it went live, and I am number 1836?  WTF?"), but I managed to get 7 of the 10 events that I wanted at the end of the day, and I still have plenty of time for working the PP area, and for scoping for deals in the exhibit hall.

What did I sign up for?  A PP speed painting event, a demo of Heap, Level 7 and the new IKRPG.  I signed with some friends for a Mordheim tourney, got into a LEGO Robo Rally game, and I am going to try out Warlands.  I'll probably get a couple of generic tickets, just in case I see something interesting and have some time to fill at various and sundry points.

I missed out on the Car Wars event, failed to get into a Call of Cthulhu game with my friends, and did not manage to get into any of the Wiz-War events.  Still, I'll keep an eye out on things, and add them if they open up.  And, if they don't - well, I helped make sure that the Ogre kickstarter hit the point where Steve Jackson is going to work on Car Wars as well.  Maybe both Ogre and Car Wars will be at GenCon again next year.

I did not sign up for any Warmachine or Hordes events.  I am not nearly good enough for any of the tourneys, and the Iron Arena takes only generic tickets, so while I will be playing some Warmahordes, it won't be in any tourney environment.  Still, that doesn't mean that I don't need to get some more stuff painted.

I've been slacking on that front lately.  The Boneswarm is assembled, and should be primed tomorrow.  I have 3 Man O War shocktroopers that are approaching completion, and I have a couple other models on the way.  I just need to get down to the basement and paint - fortunately, this weekend spells the end of some of my obligations, and I get some of my spare time back again.  Tomorrow night, it's nothing but the painting table, once the kids are in bed.

Friday, May 18, 2012

Yay, more stuff!

A couple of packages arrived for me today, as some trades finally hit their final destination.  It's not a huge lot (though some of my Tau are up on the trading block), but I gained Darius and his halfjacks, Stryker, Haley, Rengrave, First Mate Hawk and a Boneswarm. 

The boneswarm I should have painted in a couple of days, but it won't be enough to avoid using my Get Out Of Painting Free Card for the month, so I need to hustle and put some paint on my brushes, and get to work.

My current wishlist is still something like 1265 figures, but my collection is getting close to passing the 800 mark.  By the end of the year, I hope that my collection is bigger than my wishlist - possible, if Colossals only has a few models in it, and I make some decent trades.  And find some decent deals at GenCon.  Or, come to my senses, and pare everything down to only 2 or 3 factions, and trade off everything extra.

I'm currently scheduled to get some games in tomorrow - not sure what I am taking yet.  For various and sundry reasons, I will probably only wind up taking one faction, but I'll probably have two or three armies in mind when I show up, and just randomize between them or something.

Tuesday, May 15, 2012

Huzzah!

Yesterday, I managed several hours of painting.  Unfortunately, it was a room, not anything related to gaming.  And thus do my miniatures linger in some sort of primed or bare metal limbo.

I should finally be finishing up some of those pesky real-life interruptions today, and, with a little luck, will carve out a good, dedicated hour of painting tonight once the kids are in bed.  Not sure what I will be working on, however - I have a bunch of projects all sitting out at once, and I should probably just clear some of them off the table and concentrate on a few of them for a week or two - or until they are finished, whichever comes first.

The month is half over, and I am not really close to having 5 points done yet, so I need to get cracking.

Wednesday, May 9, 2012

Not dead yet.

Not even sleeping.  Busy, however - the end of the year means wrapping up Scouts, plus I had a marathon to run, soccer games, plus there are some family things going on - all good, it just makes for a very busy gamer.

So, while I have been doing a little painting, and no gaming, there just has not been much to talk about lately.  The only gaming-related items of note are that I am trading off that Merc dice tin that I managed to pick up (gaining Hawk, Rengrave, and a Boneswarm), and trading some OOP GW stuff for a Darius and his halfjacks. 

Someone on a trading forum had a bunch of Cryx, and was looking for Tau.  Not sure that the nearly $700 (MSRP) of Tau that I offered for their $540 (MSRP) of Cryx is going to seal the deal.  And, to be frank - while I have more Tau (I offered only about 60% of what I have, more or less), I am not going to keep adding to what I have already offered.  If I wanted to do that, I would inventory all my Tau, and try to dump it for either acash deal or a full army exchange.

Thursday, May 3, 2012

Hard to post . . .

. . . when you aren't playing anything at the moment. For various and sundry reasons, I not only have failed to play a game in the last couple of weeks, I also have not had a lot of time for painting. As a consequence, I just haven't had much to say - I could post daily "lack of progress" posts when it comes to my pile of lead, but frankly, I would run out of good excuses in a week or so. And, I am trying not to theory-machine all that much - I need to try armies actually on the table.

But, I do have some minor news - the 4 Blackbane's Raiders are trimmed and primed, and I should have them done soon. I have base colors done on three Khador MoW. I have gotten some base colors done on a couple of Khador jacks as well, and I have Sturm & Drang mostly reassembled, after his little accident. I started getting Maelok put together as well.

And, if you head on over to Clockwork Arms, you can find this post. It's a step-by-step guide to magnetizing and painting one of the new Vyre myrmidons. And, it arrived for me in the mail today. I'm a happy, happy camper - and I can only hope that the press ganger who got the Bokur that I painted a few weeks ago is as happy when he gets it.