Close out July, begin August with a challenge.

The other day I had an idea for a challenge to get myself painting again. I was thinking about infantry and a lot of infantry and could I paint four Tyranid infantry figures a day. The challenge is to paint a little bit everyday or four figures a day, but I am not sure if four figures a day can be reached considering Tyranids are so tough to paint with all the curves

Four termagaunts would be 1/2 a brood, eight would be a full brood, and twelve to sixteen would be along the lines of of a brood size I normally field. Twenty termagaunts would be awesome, but it is really too high of a number. Termagaunts are the best troop choice to paint since I use them so much and I tend to run out of them a lot. I can switch to genestealers or hormagaunts or even gargoyles if needed. I can work in the larger models in between or on the weekends.

For real numbers I have about 32 termagunats assembled and maybe enough models to create another eight models. With five weeks in August I think eight figures a week is more than enough and a good challenge to make a goal towards. This would end with all my termagaunts painted and based.

With this is mind and needing a break from Fallout New Vegas I got out my paint supplies and Tyranids and started painting some termagaunts. I got a late start so I only got about 30% of each figure done. Either Tyranids take longer to paint or I am slow at painting so making a goal of eight figures a week is easier. I plan to make five posts during August for the weekly figure count and any extra WIP posts. Of course I will be posting my latest Battletech Report as well and hopefully another if Da Masta Cheef has time.

So please keep up with me and encourage me and throw things at me when I slack off.

No 40K to MTG to Fallout addict to Battletech recovery.

Since my last post I have not done too much at all, but I have been keeping busy.

The move from NC to TN went very well and I am glad to not have to wake before 6 or 7 AM and drive 1.5 hours to 45 mins to work. The wake and drive time depended upon where I as during the week. Mondays, I would  leave NC and return, Tuesdays I would leave NC and stay in TN in a rented room all the way through Friday when I would return to NC. It sucked, but a laptop, internet, and games with Corey worked well.

July 7, I attended a local Magic The Gathering  2013 core set prerelease and did surprisingly well. There were only 6 players, but I took them all down and grabbed 1st place and got myself five free booster packs. Sad thing is I didn't score any mythic or good rares. I built a black/green speed deck which turned out better than I thought it would as I saw cards combo off one another turn after turn. I'm glad I went with my gut feeling and dropped white for green because of the deck's aggressiveness. I actually splashed a bit of red in for direct damage. I ended up discarding one of the re cards one game and side-boarding another later.

I haven't done anything related to 40K yet as I still need to setup all my hobby area. Be honest the $75 rulebook price tag has me stuck as I see no point in playing 5th edition rules now.

I have completely lost myself in Fallout New Vegas for the XBOX 360. I think I am approaching 100 hours of game time now and I wouldn't have it an other way. I explore, I hoard, I loot, and their is so much more to do.

Some interesting points to note.

• I maintain very good karma
• I am only vilified by the Powder Gangers and even Caeser's Legion is neutral
• Of all the companions I like EDE and Veronica. EDE is awesome with an upgraded laser and Veronica punches anything to death rather quickly. Two pack mules FTW!
• I hate raiders, cannibals, feral ghouls, and fiends and usually kill them on the spot.
• I collect and do not sell any pencils and single cigarettes I find.
• I buy good armor and weapons from vendors and very rarely sell them something of the like. I ten to sell the cigarette cartons and packs, cameras, empty soda bottles. I love their last line "Thanks".
• I have good armor to use and don't use it for fear of breaking and not being able to find raw materials to repair it with. On the flip side I use a lesser quality armor which breaks often, but is cheaper to repair, but use a lesser armor. This might change next play time.
• I am probably a cheap skate in the game somewhat.
• If I didn't have a house in game with multiple storage containers to sort all my crap I would be screwed.
• I love backing out of an NPC conversation, donning the Naughty Nightwear (looks like leopard print pimp suit) which greatly enhances speech checks and make the NPC do as I please.
• Actually I carry a variable wardrobe for multiple enhancement purposes.
• My fiance plays Fallout and laughs at me because I hoard so much and it take me forever to clear a building.

If all goes well I'll have a game of Battletech this week so hopefully I will have some fine reading material for you to enjoy soon.

Busy, but will return. I promise.

Lately, I have been in the process of packing my current residence to move to a new residence. This move will give me back a lot of time and resources so I will be out of the hobby loop for another week or two.

However I am able to fit in some fun and gaming. Thursday I went to see Prometheus which was an awesome movie and really want to see it again. This is a movie no science fiction fan should miss.

This week, Master Cheef and I will be playing another game of Battletech so expect a Battletech report to follow.

BattleTech Battle Report

Here I present my latest Battletech battle report for the game I played with Dah Masta Cheef last week.
I hope anyone who reads it likes it and feel free to comment and follow for more.


Scenario Selection

Scenario - Scorched Earth

Defenders cannot allow the attacker to capture strategic buildings by destroying the strategic buildings
Attackers cannot allow the defenders to destroy the buildings

Objective buildings

Level 1 CF40 x 8 worth 200 BV destroyed for the Defenders and worth 200 BV intact for the Attackers
50% located in the Southeast and Southwest Mapsheets
Level2 CF40 x 6 worth 200 BV destroyed for the Defenders and worth 200 BV intact for the Attackers
50% located in the Southeast and Southwest Mapsheets

Mapsheet Selection

Mpsheets - 4

Mapset 6

Northeast Mapsheet -  Wide River
Northwest Mapsheet - BattleForce 2

Map Set 6

Southeast Mapsheet - City (Residential)
Southwest Mapsheet - City (Suburbs)


Mapsheey layout

North mapsheet touch short length to short length
North and South mapsheets touch long length to long length
South Mapsheets touch short length to short length

NE | NW
SE  | SW

Forces

Defending Force

Heavy Lance

Kintaro KTO-18
Thunderbolt TDR-5SS
Warhammer WHM-6D
Orion ON1-K

Support Units

Harasser Missile Platform (LRM Variant) - Harasser 01
Harasser Missile Platform (LRM Variant) - Harasser 02

Attacking Force

Heavy Lance

Cicada CDA-3C
Dragon DRG-1G - Dragon 01
Dragon DRG-1G - Dragon 99
Stalker STK-4N

Support Units

Maxim Hover Transport
Foot Infantry Platoon (Laser)

Deployment

Attackers

Northeast Mapsheet -  Wide River

Cicada
Dragon 01
Dragon 99
Maxim

Northwest Mapsheet - BattleForce 2

Stalker

Defenders

Southeast Mapsheet - City (Residential)

Kintaro
Warhammer
Harasser 1

Southwest Mapsheet - City (Suburbs)

Thunderbolt
Orion
Harasser 2


Battle Report

Turn 1
A small city sector sits evacuated, but guarded by a single heavy lance of battlemechs. The reason the heavy lance was sent to guard the city sector was never mentioned to the pilots. The mechwarriors received information enemy units had penetrate defensive lines and where invaded nearby cities in search of valuable resources. Their orders were to destroy buildings targeted for destruction to prevent enemy capture or control. Mission objective coordinates showed the buildings were spread evenly across the two sides of the city. The defending heavy lance chose to split up to destroy more buildings faster. The Orion, the Thunderbolt, and Harasser 01 began destruction operations in the southeast portion of the city. The Kintaro, the Warhammer, and Harasser 02 began destruction operations in the southwest portion of the city. Enemy units were detected outside the city limits before the first building was fired upon. The attacking force was identified as a heavy lance with a Maxim trailing alongside. The Maxim, a Cicada and a pair of Dragons were detected along the Northeast border while a Stalker was detected along the Northwest border. Without pause defending battlemechs opened fire on the first four buildings targeted for destruction.

Turn 2
The Orion, Thunderbolt, and the Warhammer each turned a building to rubble while the Kintaro's short range missile launchers failed to fire enough missiles out of their launchers to keep up the pace. Both Harasser units sped ahead towards the approaching enemy units. All attacking units advanced to towards the city except for the Stalker which slowed its speed.

Turn 3
The heavy battlemechs switched to new targets as the Kintaro finished off its first target. Both Harasser fired their LRMs in vague attempts to soften up the approaching enemy units. All attacking battlemechs entered the Southeast city limits and split up against the two heavy mechs in the Southeast section of the city. The Stalker was still outside of the city limits. The Maxim entered the Southeast city limits stopping long enough to drop its cargo of foot infantry near one objective.

Turn 4
The attackers engaged the defenders. Dragon 01 headed towards the Orion which destroyed another building. Dragon 99 and the Cicada both headed for the Thunderbolt. Dragon 99 prepared to fight the Thunderbolt face to face, heavy battlemech to heavy battlmech, but was denied by a common torso twist to entertain the attention of the Cicada. The Cicada used its speed to sneak behind the Thunderbolt to fire a PPC shot. Both the Dragon and the Tunderbolt exchanged introductory blows with not much worry. The Thunderbolt's earlier torso twist gave the Cicada a PPC shot in return which destroyed the Cicada's own PPC. The Maxim saw quick opportunity to speed in and provide additional support against the Thunderbolt. The Kintaro broke away from building destruction operations and sent SRM rounds towards the Maxim locking its turret in place. Harasser 02 speed toward the Maxim and unloaded LRMs registering critical hits, but the Maxim was able to shrug off any further serious damage. The Warhammer keeping to the Southwest city limits destroyed another building.

Turn 5
Harasser 01 finding it difficult to achieve a good shot against the attackers found it easy to achieve a good shot against an objective building. The Orion's destruction operations were interrupted by Dragon 01 wanting to pick a fight. The mechs traded weapons fire and then proceeded to start a kicking match. The Orion's kick was true while Dragon 01's kick was false. The Thunderbolt and Dragon 99 continued to fight each other, although Dragon 99 was caught off guard by the Thunderbolt's flamer causing rapid heat buildup.  The Thunderbolt and Dragon 99 started a kicking match as well with both mech kicks being true. Despite all of the serious damage Dragon 99' pilot was holding. The Kintaro resumed building destruction operations picking up at the location the Thunderbolt had damaged prior to Dragon 01's interference. The Warhammer continued building destruction operations and moved to a new target as the other mechs were fairing well and the Stalker still had not joined the fight.

Turn 6
Harasser 01 attempted a quick turn to achieve a clear firing line to Dragon 99, the driver lost control of the vehicle crashing into a nearby building damaging the front armor slightly. The attacking Dragons were a mirror image fight of one another trying to stall the defending Orion and Thunderbolt from destroying anymore buildings. Weapons fire on both side was proving useful, but not useful enough to cause serious harm. The defending heavy battlemechs kicking attacks were causing major problems for both Dragons as their leg armor was disappearing fast leaving only the internal structure to hold the mechs upright. Dragon 01 was suffering from major leg damage from the Orion's superior weight induced kicks. Dragon 99 although fared better in the leg armor was severely over heated reducing available weapons fire. The Kintaro was also showering Dragon 99 with SRM missiles further shredding the armor exposing vital critical elements. The Stalker, taking advantage of the stalled heavy mech brawl between Dragon 99 and the Thunderbolt, covered the distance to assist Dragon 99. The Stalker found an opening between the buildings and opened fire with as much firepower as it could dish out to the Thunderbolt while saving some for the Kintaro. The Stalker's large amount of damage was shrugged of by the Thunderbolt, but a single large laser seared the Thunderbolt's head armor down to the last armor plate.
The Cicada having been chased off by the Thunderbolt headed towards Harasser 01 stopping next to it in order to fire its machine guns at close range. The Cicada's machine guns ripped apart an air skirt causing massive critical damage which resulted in a complete hover ability system failure. The Cicada took anger on the Harasser further and kicked the vehicle causing the already weakened side armor to collapse in and render the vehicle useless.

Turn 7
The Stalker's intervention was successful at scattering the defending battlemechs away from Dragon 99 which needed to remain stationary and expel excess heat. The Thunderbolt having suffered a dangerous head hit broke off from fighting Dragon 99 and smashed through a nearby building escaping the view of the Stalker. The Kintaro followed the actions of the Thunderbolt and escaped the view of the Stalker as well. The Thunderbolt was not completely out of sight, the Maxim happened to be stationary on the side of the building where the Thunderbolt had emerged. The Thunderbolt fired its SRMs with great affect, but a few extra medium lasers finally tore through the remaining armor rendering the vehicle useless. The Orion and Dragon 01 established some distance from each other. The Orion, feeling a lower threat level from Dragon 01 split fire between Dragon 01 and a nearby building targeted for destruction. Dragon 01 relieved from having to face another potentially crippling kick attack was able to keep a steady weapons fire rate against the Orion. Dragon 01's relief was short lived as the Orion's AC/10 shot stuck the head tearing all the remaining armor off along with some of the internal structure. Along the main road connecting the Southeast and Southwest city limits the Warhammer emerged to attract the attention of the stalker. Both battlemechs fire their long range weaponry at each other to little affect. The Stalker's pilot was amazed as a large laser blast seared the same amount of armor off of the Warhammer's head just like the Thunderbolt moments earlier.

Turn 8
The defenders in the Southeast city slightly scattered from the Stalker's intervention changed combat roles. The Thunderbolt moved away from Dragon 99 and the Stalker while raining LRM and PPC fire at the building Harasser 01 started earlier. The thunderbolt was attacked by laser fire from an infantry platoon, but returned laser fire causing large amount of casualties. The Kintaro using speed against the Stalker to remain hidden engaged Dragon 99 and showered the battlemech in SRM glory. The SRMs were not enough to take down Dragon 99, but enough to cause an upper leg actuator on the mech's right leg to give out decreasing Dragon's movement to the speed of the slower Stalker. The Orion and Dragon 01 traded weapons fire with little effects, but Dragon 01 had removed enough to armor on the Orion's right torso giving rise to the fear of an ammo explosion. While contemplating the ammo issue, the Orion's pilot continued to focus fire on the objective building. The Warhammer moved back out of sight and resumed building destruction operations.

Turn 9
The defenders felt they had thwarted the attackers efforts to stop them from accomplishing their objective.  The Thunderbolt moved towards the upper limits of the Southeast city and starting destroying another building. The Orion began dumping AC/10 ammunition and destroyed another building. The Warhammer reported another building destroyed. The Kintaro stood fast for a kill and fired multiple medium lasers and multiple SRMs at Dragon 99. The projected firepower and SRM shower struck Dragon 99 all over shredding armor on multiple locations. When the pilot thought all was fine,  the battlemech released sounds of tearing, then a large pop followed by a blow to the head. The battlemechs sensors alarmed registering large amounts of critical systems hit. By the time Dragon 99 had recovered from the onslaught, the right arm PPC was offline and lifting the battlemech's right arm's revealed it had been blown completely off the right torso. The pilot noticed a large lean to the right side and saw the right foot was destroyed. When the pilot's eyes raised back up to those of the Kintaro, the pilot felt the road underneath the battlemech drop. The Kintaro kicked Dragon 99 so hard the left leg came loose and Dragon 99 felt face first to the ground. Despite the serious damage, Dragon 99's pilot was still in the battle.

Turn 10
Harasser 02 finished destroying the building started by Hrasser 01 and the Thunderbolt. The Kintaro needing to cool down, left Dragon 99 on its face and used the somewhat convenient rubble of an earlier destroyed building to cut across and put some buildings between it and the Stalker. Both the Thunderbolt and the Warhammer each reported another building destroyed. The Orion having destroyed all available objective buildings in the immediate area turned its focus on Dragon 01. In pursuit of Dragon 01, the Orion smashed through a building causing slight damage and registering a critical failure. When the Orion emerged the AC/10 had been silenced and mangled by the building's interior. Dragon 01 traded firepower with Orion in a last attempt to stop the Orion from crossing to the Southwest city to destroy more buildings. The Orion's armor held, but Dragon 01's frail leg armor finally gave in. Incoming SRMs completely blew off the left leg. Dragon 01 went crashing to the ground face to the sky.

Turn 11
With most of the objective buildings destroyed on the far east side of the Southeast city the defenders all moved to whatever objective buildings were left to destroy before moving to the Southwest city.
The Harasser 02 stopped to fire LRM missiles at the helpless out ranged infantry platoon leaving them with two active infantrymen. The Harasser left its guard down long enough for the Stalker to approach with enough laser fire to allow one large laser shot to burn the front armor all the way through the internal structure rendering the vehicle useless. The Kintaro used the same somewhat convenient rubble pass to pass by the fallen Dragon 99. The somewhat convenient rubble pass became somewhat inconvenient as the Kintaro lost its footing and fell in the rubble. The enraged Kintaro lifted upwards towards the fallen crippled Dragon 99 and fired a single medium laser and sliced its remaining arm off. The Orion determined to leave the area without anymore trouble stood before Dragon 01 and fired on the still downed mech. Dragon 01's pilot cockpit was blinded by bright laser fire and SRM explosions. Dragon 01's right arm PPC had been destroyed. To persuade Dragon 01 from any further pursuit the Orion kicked Dragon 01 while down severing the left leg completely. The Warhammer still keeping out of sight started destroying another building. The Thunderbolt moved towards another objective building towards the southeast city' northern limits. The Thunderbolt had been followed by the Cicada trying to pick at its exposed internal structure points. The Cicada's machine gun rounds tore through what was still protecting the Thunderbolt's left leg and damaged the upper leg actuator. The Thunderbolt' reponse was a perfect PPC shot to te Cicada's right side completely removing the right arm and what was left of the right torso. The Cicada' respone to the Thunderbolt's PPC shot was a swift kick which did nothing to cause the pilot any further worry.

Turn 12
The Kintaro stood up from the ground and traveled past Dragon 99. The Kintaro stopped momentarily to fire upon the crippled mech with a determination to turn the crippled mech instead a pile of useless slag and severed mech parts. The Orion, satisfied about trashing Dragon 01 moved towards the Southwest city. The Orion's sensors registered an unscathed objective building near the border of the Southern cities and fired upon it. The Warhammer destroyed another building. The Thunderbolt continued to move towards more objectives dumping SRM rounds. The Cicada followed close by followed by the Stalker.

Turn 13
The Kintaro and the Warhammer moved towards any leftover objective buildings. The Orion destroyed another building. The Thunderbolt was now caught between the Cicada and the Stalker. The Thunderbolt's rear ammunition bays were struck by the Cicada's machine gun rounds causing the SRM ammo to explode. The Thunderbolt's pilot ejected seconds before a large barrage of firepower from the Stalker struck what was left of the mech. The intense firepower blew off the left arm and smashed what was left of the head and cockpit. In the end, defying the odds, Dragon 01 stood up.

The attackers having the Cicada critically damaged, both Dragons crippled, and only two objective buildings left to be destroyed ended their attack and the game was at an end.

Objective BV

Defenders
Objective Buildings Destroyed
14 Buildings x 200 BV = 2800 BV
Attacking Units Destroyed (Gunnery and Pilot skilled included in BV)
1 Vehicles (Maxim) - 879 BV

Total BV = 3679 BV

Attackers
Objective Buildings Intact
2 Buildings x 200 BV = 400 BV
Defending Units Destroyed (Gunnery and Pilot skilled included in BV)
1 Battlemech (Thunderbolt) - 1845 BV
2 Vehicles (Harasser 01, Harasser 02) - 391 BV x 2 = 782 BV

Total BV = 3027 BV

The defending heavy lance was victorious!


Defender damage report


Heavy Lance

Kintaro KTO-18
Pilot hit (Fall)
Thunderbolt TDR-5SS
Pilot hit (Head hit)
Pilot hit x 2 (Ammo explosion)
Left leg upper leg actuator destroyed
Remaining SRM ammo dumped
SRM ammo explosion
Center torso destroyed
Head destroyed
Cockpit destroyed
Battlemech Destroyed
Warhammer WHM-6D
Pilot hit (Head hit)
Orion ON1-K
50% of remaining AC/10 ammo dumped
Remaining AC/10 ammo down to 1 round

Support Units

Harasser Missile Platform (LRM Variant) - Harasser 01
Air skirt damaged
Hover system damaged
Vehicle Destroyed
Harasser Missile Platform (LRM Variant) - Harasser 02
Vehicle Destroyed

25%     Battlemechs destroyed
0%       Pilots killed
100%   Vehicles destroyed
0%       Drivers killed

Attacker damage report

Heavy Lance

Cicada CDA-3C
PPC damaged
Right arm destroyed
Right torso destroyed
Dragon DRG-1G - Dragon 01
Pilot hit (Head Hit)
Pilot hit (Fall)
PPC damaged
Left arm destroyed
Left leg blown off
Battlemech Crippled
Dragon DRG-1G - Dragon 99
Pilot Hit (Head Hit)
Pilot Hit (Fall)
PPC damaged
Left arm destroyed
Right arm blown off
Left leg destroyed
Right leg upper leg actuator destroyed
Right leg foot actuator destroyed
Battlemech Fallen
Stalker STK-4N

Support Units

Maxim Hover Transport
Turret locked
Vehicle Destroyed
Foot Infantry Platoon (Laser)
90% Casualties

0%       Battlemechs destroyed
0%       Pilots killed
100%   Vehicles destroyed
0%       Drivers killed

Thoughts

• The mechs were chosen in advance and the scenario and mapsheets later. This made both forces somewhat unprepared for the battle.
• Roads can be a blessing and a nightmare for movement.
• Buildings not only block your enemy's LOS, but also your own LOS.
• The Kintaro was a good pick and really shined as a mech finisher.
• The Orion was interesting to use. I swapped the dual SRM for the LRM variant, however all of the buildings really mitigated most long range LOS.
• The Warhammer should have seen more combat, but the amount of BV it was racking up was worth it despite being chosen for heavy mech to heavy mech combat.
• Dah Masta Cheef actually said he liked the map sheets. +1
• The look on Dah Masta Cheef's face when he noticed the Thunderbolt had a flamer pointed at his overheating Dragon was priceless.
• The Stalker's speed limited its effectiveness at times, but the amount of large laser head shots it was able to achieve was heroic. 
• I enjoy scenarios compared to just a plain fight.

Till next time.

WIP Tyranid Hive Guard

Last Friday Da Masta Cheef and I played another great game of Battletech and while I prepare a proper Battletech battle report I would like to show off what I have been working on.

Currently I am working on a set of  two 3rd Edition Tyranid Tyrant Guard and set of  two 5th Edition Tyranid Tyrant Guard. While the progress is going well I decided to start on a set of Hive Guard as I had an idea of what color to paint the Impaler Cannons they carry.

Here are two WIP shots of both sides of one of the models. I know the lighting sucks. :( I am not sure why they are taking so long despite sitting hours at a time painting them. Maybe I look up at the screen too much as I am listening to and watching entire seasons full of episodes of Star Trek Voyager.

I think one thing I need to decide is whether to change the bone scheme for the claws. I have never found a good paint recipe and I always dread painting it when I get near those parts of the model.

Left Side

Right Side

Enjoy the WIP update for now. Check back in a few days and I will have a nice Battletech Report for your reading enjoyment.

Painting, Gaming, and a Deranged Battle Report.

Painting Progress

Last week I never found time to paint except for the weekend, but nothing is picture worthy yet. I have finished fixing all of the paint damaged areas of my 5th edition Tyrant Guard which is a big relief to me. I also brought my other set of 3rd edition Tyrant guard up to par. For something new and to break away from all the grey I started painting some Hive Guard models. The progress in slow, but moving along which is better than not.

Recently I have been playing a decent amount of DDO and for a free game I like it a lot. I got my fiance to play as well and she like it a lot so it is a bonus. We haven't been able to find a decent hack and slash leveling co-op game in awhile, but DDO seems to work nicely. She tends to picks warrior type charcters while I tend to pick sorcerer characters. She rarely dies, but I die a lot. I can slow or kill large amount of monsters, but if small gang gets too close my robes are not saving me much at all. I also spend too much time in my inventory trying to hoard and not hoard items.

A Game of 40K

Last week I played a game of 40K with my friend Dah Mast Cheef. I brought my Blood Angels to fight against his Exodites in a small 1300 point game. The Exodites are a small contigent of tree huggers who don't like Tyranids or Space Marines and don't follow the normal doctrine of their Eldar brethren. With this in mind I decided to tone down the Blood Angels a bit by swapping PF for PW on the assault squads and trying an expensive Lemartes escorted by a DC with JPs.

Here is what I brought to the game.

HQ Librarian w/ JP (Attaches to 1st Assuslt Squad)

Elites 1st Sanguinary Priest w/ JP (Attaches to 1st Assuslt Squad)
Elites 2nd Sanguinary Priest w/ JP (Attaches to 2nd Assuslt Squad)

Troops 1st Assault Squad (10) w/ PW
Troops 2nd Assault Squad (10) w/ PW

The Librarian, 1st Sanguinary Priest, and 1st Assault Squad combine their powers and models to form
RED SQUAD

Troops Lemartes, Guardian of the Lost
Troops Death Company (5) w/ JP 2 x PW

Fast A Baal Predator w/ Flamestorm Cannon

Fast A Landspeeder w/ Typhoon Missile Launcher

Fast A Landspeeder w/ HB

Now please enjoy my variation of a much enjoyed 40K game through the following ...

Deranged Battle Report

Keep in mind the Exodites army at large is very unique and fluff based. It uses a small amount of counts as units, but in the end it is unique and something refreshing to see.
When we rolled for missions we deceided to let the dice roll to something besides objective based as both armies were seriously lacking scoring units. We decided Dawn of War annihilation would suffice.

Turn 1
The Blood Angels speed towards the enemy battle line chanting while the DC wispered chants of doom to the nearby enemy HQ.
If I remember it was AS2 - LS - RED SQUAD - DC - LST - BP
Some serious first turn rained down on the enemy HQ as it lost a nice chunk of its members.
The Exodites advanced towards rubble with their tools while some gardners began to throw stones at the Blood Angels. The Librarian produced a no authorized psychic power usage document to the Farseer. The Exodite's big flying truck started its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder.

Turn 2
An Exodite speed cop pulls over the Baal Predator and issues a speeding fine for using more speed than possible, the Baal was haulted and was told it could not fire. To help control the speeding infraction some flying gardners began kicking the Baal Predator in protest.
Red Squad shot at some gardners tending to rubble preping for a next turn assault. The DC shot up the enemy HQ again and failed to assault them over a trench line.
The Librarian again produced a no authorized psychic power usage document to the Farseer. The Far Seerer was able to slip in a second power fooling the Librarian's psychic authority.
The Exodites Dragon Riders fire their expenso blasters into Red Squad with no affect. The Exodites grounded the LS, but did not quiet its HB.
The gardners gipped by fear of trampled earth and impeding doom assualted Red Squad along with Dragon Riders (Tar Pit) as well as the remnants of the HQ unit.
The Librarian received a no pychic power usage document and promptly died along with four other members of RED SQUAD. Some gardners perished along with the Farsear. All units stood fast while kicking, punching, biting, and throwing stones.
The Exodite's big flying truck continued its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder.

Turn 3
The DC decided to shoot and assult the Exodite speed cop and smacked speed cop and his ride into obilivon with their power and chain Billy Clubs. The Baal Predator ignored headed the speed cop's warnings pushed past the protesters and attempted to run over the rear guard gardeners who fled from rubble to ruin. The LS shot nothing and the LST was quieted for the next turn.
The 2nd AS joined the assult with RED SQUAD and did nothing. I believe a marine died and just a few gardners died. Everyone stood their ground including the members with no arms. I think the Exodites HQ was eliminated at this point to a single model who took off running.
A squad of flying gardners attempting to destroy the Baal, but failed to do any real harm.
The Exodite's big flying truck continued its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder.

Turn 4
The DC booked to the Baal protesters and shot them to dust. The Baal Predator resfusing to stop speeding attempted to leave the general area to attempt to fire something more than smoke launchers. The LS shot nothing and the LST speed away flat out to avoid the clutches of the Exodite's flying truck's claws.
The marines and joint marines of RED SQUAD in the tar pit did nothing.
The flying gardners failing to harm the Baal assaulted the DC and dissapeared. The wings giving them superior speed, but not initiative, speed them to 88 miles per hour to the next path, however their initiative failed them as they were cut to pieces by the DC.
The rear gardners were most triumphant and finally destroyed the Baal Predator for good.
The lower side of the tar pit session saw a break. The RED SQUAD initiative finally broke all the gardners and killed off the remaining Dragon Riders with PW glory.
The Exodite's big flying truck finished its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder, assaulted the land raider only to rip the HB off the LS and beat it against the hull stunning the LS to no end.

Turn 5
The LS could not shoot anything or do anything and the LST boosted out to fire farg rounds at the rear gardners as if their problem with the looming DC was bad enough.
The DC attacked the rear gardners with ease and pure insanity. Lemartes was wounded at this point which makes his attacks something marvelous.
The RED SQUAD tar pit was coming to an end with the enemy model count resulting in a single model with a pointy stick. His attempt to make a ton of saves did not happen in glorious resolution.

At some point the LST fired upon the Exodite's big flying truck finished its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder and killed the Exodite's big flying truck finished its long unispiring flight path to attempt to destroy only a landspeeder.

Some thoughts ...

Again one of my Assault squads got assaulted first, but in this game it might have been for the better.
Again I end in some form of tar pit finally whittling down the opposition to a single model.
I should have kept one PF as it would have come in handy against the Dragon Riders.
Arming the Saguinary Priests with PW or PF might be worth it.
The lone LS was pointless, it killed nothing and did practically nothing all game.
...
Next time imperial walkers are spotted please let the LS crews know in advance so they can use their tow cables.

(New Products + Theory = Experiment) = Success

New Paints

The other evening I went a ways to a hobby shop to purchase some paints from the Tamiya paint line. I really enjoy the effect the clear colors can give to a miniature so I purcahsed some clear red and smoke colors. I also noticed they had a Vallejo Game Color paint stand so I purchased a bottle of brush on primer and a bottle of black ink which is more of an experiment to see if it may work better compared to Citadel's Badab Black which is now Nuln Oil.

FLGS is not F for Friendly

One thing which makes me dislike my shopping experience is the owner or manager. He must have watched me like a Hawk the entire time all the way till I left the store. I remember a hobby shop back in my home town who had an owner like this, they are gone along with another. I can only think of two reasons to watch me like a hawk, fear of theft or creep. I actually wanted to walk back in and return the $20 worth of paint I had just purchased. If it had not been for the employee who helped me convert the new Citadel colors back to the old Citadel colors I would have returned the products. I can understand fearing theft, but to put this much emphasis on it is bad for business and plain harassment to a customer. I wonder if giving the place a call would help, but the owner may not care or give the reserve the right speech. I know I can get Tamiya and Vallejo paints anywhere and other hobby shops have the new Citadel paints.

Spot Priming Experiment

My last post I mentioned some of my models received heat damage. The heat damage caused paint to vanish from the models in spots exposing the bare metal. painting over the metal does not seem to work and I did not want to start over again. I experimented by using thin amounts of the Vallejo Game Color brush primer on the bare metal spots of one model and allowed the model to dry. Once the primer was dry I applied the Citadel paint I normally use over the primer and to my amazement it worked. I went ahead and finished spot priming on the model where needed and applied the spot priming on the other model. I allowed both models to dry after spot priming till the next evening. I believe I may have a few more heat damaged models so I think I should be able to create a small tutorial if is wanted.

Tyranid Paint Recipe Improving

I believe I am going to follow the Citadel painting guide for painting gray for painting my Tyranids body color. I currently use Mechanicus Standard Grey along wth a coat of Nuln Oil. This gives a fleshy appearance, but I feel it needs a bit more work. I think with the addition of highlights using Dawnstone and then Administratum Grey as they suggest and maybe washes and or inks in between I can acheive a good great flesh appearance.

I am still working on the Armor for the Tyranids, but I think Averland Sunset followed by a wash of Seraphim Sepia is the correct direction so far. The Seraphim Sepia gives a nice orange tink to the recesses portions. I think the next part is apply Averland Sunset again on the raised portions either full or slightly thinned. Using a different color has me stumped because I have not found one yet.

I will work on them some more this weekend so I should have better pictures than last time.

Sorry I did not have any pictures for you, but here is a picture of my cats trying to tell me a message.