So, how's that painting goal coming along?

Not as well as I would like. I obviously haven't posted in a long time - no excuse, really. So, did I get those Abyssals done? Yes. Yes, I did. And I have some photographic proof, actually.

So, what else have I been working on? Warmahordes, obviously.  My local meta took a big hit between the announcement of MK3 and its actual release, but we're back and playing.  I wanted to do 1 pt of Warmahordes per day, on average, which is a lot easier under the new MK3 point values, but I intend to break 700 if I can.  I'm behind, but here are the most recent.  (I did some other stuff, but unless I post pics, I won't count it.)

So, how many points is that, under the new rules?  The battleboxes all come out to 0 now, so I can't use that metric.  I plan on counting the casters as a flat 10 points, and everything else what the current point value is.  So, that's 40 for the trolls, plus 40 for Menoth and 39 for Cryx, if my pre-coffee math is correct.  So, 119 points, which is better than nothing, even if it is only 12 models.  Need to paint more, obviously.

So, I decided last night to basically clear off my painting table and work on only a couple of things at a time, finishing them completely rather than constantly swapping projects (faction and system ADD is a pain, but I'm trying to get it under control). To that end, the only things on my table right now are:

Cygnar battlebox - doing this for my FLGS

Norse Irish DBA army in 15mm

I hope to have both of those done this week, and then I will do something else. I am going to try and finish only one thing, and then replace it, because then I find that something sits on my desk, unfinished, for months. My goal for the rest of the year is, when I put something on my desk, it stays there until it is done, and I only can have 2* items on my desk at once.

* 2 is a fuzzy number here. Obviously, I have more than 2 items already listed. But I am mentally lumping a battlebox, unit, or DBA army as 1 item, so it's fine.

And yes - I have already selected what will be replacing both of those.  I just can't work on them until those get done.  I might expand it to 3 items on the desk, but, if so, that third will always be a terrain item, not a miniature, so I'm still keeping to that limit.  Gotta focus.  I'm well behind where I wanted to be, but summer is almost over, and I generally get most of my fall painting done in Sept and Oct.

A quick vassal game

Got in a quick game tonight, testing 15 pts of Convergence against 15pt of Trolls on Vassal.  I was running:

Syntherion
Diffuser
Inverter
Monitor
Elimination Servitors

against

Gunnbjorn
Blitzer
Bomber
Thumper Crew

It wasn't pretty.  I ceded going first, and he got up onto some elevated terrain.  Behind the rock wall, and elevation, Gunnbjorn was extremely difficult to hit.  I pegged him, but not enough to kill him.  I tried for the assassination via range, and failed.  For my efforts, he put a rock wall behind Syntherion, blew him into it with Explosivo, and then did very nasty things to the Cyriss caster with the bomber.

Fun quick game though.

Bubba has a chin

It's progress, more or less.  The teeth were finished enough for me to glue the lower jaw in place.  I'm hoping to get most of the rest of the rocks basecoated tonight, if nothing else.

I also have some Malifaux assembly work that I want to get done, and I have some Warlands conversions that I need to start planning out.  Hopefully, I can get in a productive hour or so tonight.

(Oh - Bubba now gets his own label on the blog.  Because he is special that way.  Sly the Wold Wrath might get one too, if I remember when the time comes.)

Quick Bubba pic

Obviously, still a WIP, but paint is still being applied to the fig.  All those $%(*&$% rocks are getting annoying though.

I really want to get his teeth finished so that I can put the jaw on him.  And I need to pop him off the base and finish his underside, so that I can get him permanently glued to the base.  That's my plan for the weekend, more or less.

Well, in addition to doing a quick 8 pt model or something ("Hey look - another Wold!  That'll do").  And assembling the rest of the Mei Feng box from Malifaux.  And priming same.  And priming the rail golem.  And putting Willie together.  And working on some other stuff.

Couple of WIP pics

I might say more later, or take better pics, but for now, here's some random content:

He wasn't my first attempt at the airbrush, but he was the last thing I did before I pretty much packed it up.  I'm generally happy with the skin tones.  I do not, however, have enough control to do really fine lines, so the stones and detail will all be done by hand.  All in all, painting his skin this way was probably not too much faster than doing it with a traditional brush, but it was easier, and I think it looks smoother overall.  I am hoping to get him firmly set onto his base today, which will make transporting him easier.

The tire stacks are done (started them Tuesday or Wednesday), but the truck is still a WIP.  I'm trying for a rust effect, but the salt technique from NQ isn't working for me just yet.  I'm reasonably happy with this so far, but I rubbed to hard or something, and got down to the resin.  I'll finish this one up (and a companion truck, not pictured here), and try it again on something else.

Moutain King, take 1

Got in a game with Mike (midwestjedi) at Unique Gifts & Games tonight.  We were trying to avoid a mirror match, so he brought Skorne, and I took the opportunity to try out one of my newest toys: the Mountain King.

I was running the following:
Jarl, Devil of Thornwood
Mountain King
Axer
Full unit of Krielstones
Full unit of Sluggers
Jannisa Stonetide

Mike was running:
Dominar Raseth
Bronzeback
Gladiator
Cannoneer
Min unit of Paingivers
Gatorman Posse (full) & Taskmaster

I won the roll, but had him deploy first - once I had placed the mountain king, who, by the way, I am currently calling "Bubba."  We spent several turns dancing around, neither one wanting to be the first to commit to a charge.  My sluggers continued their streak of being fairly ineffective - in this case, they did some damage to the posse, but Bubba alone killed as many as the full unit of sluggers,.

Realizing that the ranged game would eventually let me whittle his forces down to something that I could easily chew through, Mike charged forward with the bronzeback and the 2 remaining gators, leaving me with one lone, knocked down slugger.

On my turn, the slugger stands, and steps away, dieing to the free strike.  I use Jarl to pick off the gators, and Bubba turns and obliterates the bronzeback.  I figure that, between the general toughness of Bubba, the whelps he sheds, and the protective aura from the krielstone, all Bubba has to do is survive the gladiator.  Blood mark, plus feat, plus enrage, and Bubba dies a nasty, brutal death.

From that point on, the game is effectively over.  Losing Bubba left me with no real hitting power.  I manage to kill the gladiator - (but not until he slame Jarl - fortunately out of Dominar's control range) but the end game winds up being a lonely Jarl, running from the cannoneer, the taskmater, and Dominar.    And he doesn't run for long.

Overall, I had fun with the Mountain King.  He's a great model, but the base size just makes running him a pain.  In 35 points, losing him is just too much of a blow to handle - he killed one heavy, and some gators, but he did not pay for himself, which is not acceptable.  I think I am going to try him again soon, although I may pair him with a different warlock.

Unfortunately, I did not get a chance to try Hyperion.  But I finally picked up a blister of whelps, and Ravyn for my psychotic elves, so it's all good. 

The streak continues

Yep, lost another game. It's common enough that I really should have a label for it or something. I got in another game last night at Dice Dojo, this time against Luke.

He was running trolls:

• pHoarluk
• Mauler
• Blitzer
• Full unit of fennblades plus UA
• Full unit of stone bearers

I was trying out Maelok again, and had:

• Maelok
• Bull Snapper
• Ironback
• Wrastler
• Full unit of posse
• Croak Hunter

Long story short, I lost. I made some truly stupid rookie mistakes (like forgetting to heal a beast before burning through fury on Maelok), and some that show I haven't played beyond battlebox lately, like forgetting that pHoarluk has Rampager - fortunately, he used it mainly to keep the wrastler out of the way, instead of attacking other stuff with it.

Eventually, it came down to me attempting a charge, and failing. Again, I should have checked control first - although the game was over at that point, so if I could not make the charge, I was finished. I can't say that I learned anything from the game, but I was certainly reminded of how some mistakes are very easy to make.

Still had fun though, and got to watch some other games. I did pick up some of the Cygnar figs - a full unit of Long Gunners plus the UA, a unit of rangers, eNemo, and a HRT for my poor neglected Retribution. With the Hammerfall UA and the Khador wardog I picked up Wednesday night, my collection got some holes filled, and I have some painting to do once we get back home.

Getting stuff ready for the holiday

Since I am on the road over Christmas, I'm taking some Warmahordes stuff with me. I'm trying to pack light; I'm taking only three armies (more or less - I'm not taking all I have of one faction, and pretty much limited to what I have for the other two anyway). I expect to lose some games, maybe win once or twice, and have a lot of fun.

I have very few readers (somewhere between 0 and 3, I think), but I am not going to post army lists. I will say that I am taking trolls, pigs and gators though.

Domination thoughts

SO, I finished up NanoWriMo - it's 50k words of garbage (50,089, to be precise, although it may still get added to between now and the end of the month), so I can turn some attention to Domination.

I have not read all of the fluff yet, but it seems pretty good so far. I have been warned that attempting to read "All War is Deception, part II" without reading the faction intros is a Bad Idea, so I have not read it yet. For now, I am just going to give a couple of thoughts on each faction:

Trolls

• Jarl, eGrissel - I'll get both, but I will probably use Jarl more.
• Storm Troll - so, so wrong. I think I need to pair him with Mulg.
• Scattergunner Off & Std - scattergunners got useful. They'll be more fun, and I am glad that I have a full unit already.
• Rok - seems okay, but I wasn't wowed. Need to think about him some.
• Sons of Bragg - I don't care how effective they are, they just look fun.
• War Wagon - about what I expected.

Circle:

• Grayle, eBaldur - I like eBaldur, and will use him. I like the Devourer's Debt mechanic.
• Griffon, Winter Argus - okay, but I don't play Circle enough to really see something nasty about them. They don't seem bad, they just don't seem to be great.
• Ghetorix - I think he will be fun, but his point cost seems a bit high. Again, I don't play Circle, so take that with a grain of salt.
• Gallows Grove - cheap, and I can see using them as a way to shut down tough and healing. Nice art, too.
• Celestial Fulcrum - beautiful model, the "may not be placed" is kind of a pain though.

Skorne

• Naaresh, eHexeris - Naaresh doesn't have issues, he has entire subscriptions. eHexeris will be fun.
• Cyclops Raider - Far Strike as an animus? Be still my beating heart. Pity is is model, not unit, but that's okay.
• Venator Slingers - AoE with corrosion? Cheap? I think I need some.
• Archidon - I like him. No real armor for a heavy, but flight and critical pitch will be fun, and he is cheap.
• Tiberion - Xerxis has a new best friend. Can't wait for this big guy.
• Animantarax - I like it. I think it will be fun, but it will be a harder battle engine to use than the Khador war wagon, I suspect.

Legion of Everblight

• Kallus, eVayl - Kallus looks like fun, and his fluff is great. eVayl seems solid, and her feat is pretty useful, but tricky. Order of spells will matter there.
• Nightlurker - seems useful, but I like the animus more than the stat line.
• Succubus - decent warlock attachment, nothing special, IMO.
• Proteus - not a big fan of the "everything on a carnivean chassis" sculpt, but that's just me fussing after putting together several scythean/carnivean in a row. Would not have been so bad, if I could have used the plastic kits that aren't out yet. Seems nice enough otherwise.
• Farilor & Std - seem decent, but my legion armies to date have been beast-heavy, infantry light.
• Throne of Everblight - just weird. Will get one, just to paint it, if nothing else.

Gators

• Maelok -undead gator goodness. Love him.
• Boneswarm - cheap, terror - fits well in Maelok's theme force too.
• Swamp Horror - I like it, but I need to think about how best to use the Elasticity animus.
• Gatorman Witch Doctor - look, I can make gators undead at will. And Maelok's feat positively affects friendly faction undead. Sounds good to me. Want these guys now. Or at least before GenCon.

Pigs

• Sturm & Drang - looking forward to playing these guys.
• Road Hog - need one, just for the roast pork jokes. Assault with a 10" spray is nice too.
• Slaughterhousers - these have been out for a while, and everyone probably has formed an opinion by now on them.
• Targ - Dr. Arkadius has a friend. I like him, and he has proven moderately useful the couple of times I have used him.

Anyway - all in all, I liked the book. There are a few thigs that I don't plan on getting as soon as they come out, and others where, if it were feasible, I would camp outside PP and wait for them to be released. The minions are still a sidebar, rather than a faction, but you now have enough options to play them in an unbound game - though your model choices are still really limited, of course. Still, they got about what I expected, although I expected to see one light pig and one light gator warbeast.

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.

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.

End of month totals

Pathetic.

OKay, my official, final, and kind of pathetic total for the month is:

Dire Troll Mauler (9 pts)
Slag Troll (6 pts)
Winter Troll (5 pts)

But - if you look at the pics of the group at the beginning of the month (Pics 1,2,3), and those at the end of the month (Pics 1,2,3,4), there is a fair amount of work done. I'm not pleased - I had hoped to at least hit 50, but losing power for half the weekend did not help. Otherwise, I would have almost certainly had a bouncer, an axer, a swamp, the other mauler, and possibly an impaler done. Oh well.

Will I continue with the trolls? Nah, my goals for June are:

Khador battlebox (primed)
Finish Cryx battlebox
Assemble and prime Cygnar MK II battlebox

I'll probably try to finish up some of the trolls (the mauler and the bouncer, most likely), and I have a new scheme for my Retribution that I want to try out on a fig, so I might get to those as well.

Impossible Dream Challenge

So, last year, Privateer Press announced the Impossible Dream Challenge. The challenge, in a nutshell, was to paint 100 points worth of Warmachine models in the month of November. I chose not to do it, mainly because November is NaNoWriMo, and I try to limit my impossible challenges to one at a time. But, not to worry - Privateer is doing it again, this time with Hordes, and this month.

So, while I have no expectations of actually finishing it (I haven't mentioned it yet, but I am not exactly a quick painter. Glacial is more my speed.), but I plan to use this month to get as much done as possible.

I looked over my models, and here is what I have chosen for the month of impossible dreaming:

Captain Gunnbjorn
Dire Troll Blitzer
Troll Axer
2x Troll Impaler
Winter Troll
Runebearer
pHoarluk
x2 Dire Troll Mauler (1 normal, 1 extreme)
Mulg
Slag Troll
Swamp Troll
Troll Bouncer
Fell Caller
Janissa Stonetide
6 Krielstone bearer & scribes
Stone Scribe Elder
10 Pyg Bushwackers
Thumper Crew
5 Trollkin Champions
10 Trollkin Fennblades
6 Trollkin Scattergunners
10 Pyg Burrowers

Yes, I know that it is well over 100 points. A couple of the models had some base colors on them, but, since others are not assembled or primed, and it is May 4, I'm going to cut myself some slack. Anyway, the challenge is really about getting as much stuff done as possible, not about some random number-crunching exercise.