This one time...at band camp.

That should set the mood nicely.

I am in a light hearted mood this evenig. As such after replying to a thread on Aftermath gamings fb page...i got to thinking about thos funny moments in wargaming. You know...dice betrayal, panic in the ranks and just the outright chaos of war. It all has it's moment and at times it can be just hilarious for the unfortunate victim aswell as the victor.

Be it the epic moment that valiant and soon to be lunch, last marine. Heriocly thrusts his bayonet into the eye of a hive tyrant ending the menace once and for all.
Or the fatal misfire that takes out half a battle line and turns the tide of warfare.

I have been on the end of many of these moments. But the most epic and by a country mile...the most fun...well that needs a story of proportion.

My unluckiest roll was also part of the best game i ever had and greatest moral victory.
Back in 03 i was working at GW Milton Keynes. My manager 'dan luke' was a massive advocate of narrated games. So he sets a battle between my pure deathwing army and another full timers iron warriors force.
I deploy my entire force within a fortress. Terminators manning the walls, dreadnoughts at the gates. Across the board a massive hoard of iron warriors prepares to lay siege.

Just before the first turn roll off, my manager says ' Reports of a dark angel strike cruiser breaching the blockade. Iron warriors moving to intercept'. Translated this meant a dice off as the 2 titanic ships engaged in combat. The victor would provide an orbital bombardment ever turn of the game. Dice clattered and the smoking trail of a iron warriors ship streaked through the sky. Victory to the dark angels.
But what happened next was the moment of misfortune. With a wry grin my manager announced that i would have to roll for scatter from a point decided by my opponent, to see where the burning wreck impacted. Yup you guessed it smack bang on top of the fortress. Not happy with the devastation to the walls. It then slid half a board length along the walls impacting on every single terminator manning the wall.

Ah its only 35 2+ armour saves eh...easy.

21 dead terminators later and i looked on at the impending doom.

Those 2 dreadnoughts and 14 remaining terminators stood alone against the entire iron warrior hoard for the full 6 turns of the game. Falling only when the dice once again betrayed me and granted a 7th turn....what of the orbital bombardment. It blew up some trees and nesting field mice. But never even scratched the paintwork on a single iron warrior.

That game will always stick in my mind. For the choas caused by the crash, but also for the heroic stand of a few warriors against a force that outnumbered them by an easy 6-1 ratio.

So that's mine...whats yours? Come along and share the story, no matter what the game.

To infinity and beyond

Hey all and welcome back to the land of random musings.

Well i am settling into a week off work and productive it looks to be.
Last week i finished up the main painting on a Myrmidon Hacker from the Aleph Steel Phalanx box set for Infinity the game.

I am looking forward to trying the game out and will give my own thoughts on it in due course. For now it looks positive, has gorgeous models and a great online community.

So much of our hobby is about fitting the pieces together. Games we enjoy, models we like, settings we can relate into. It's also about those little things aswell. Inspirations, be they movie related or personal experiences. Alongside that is the desire to see the game come to life. Usually this is achieved through awesome tabletops, beautiful models and tied in bases.

That is what i think snapped my attention when Infinity came along. I used to love Anime/Manga. You know the stuff, Akira, ghost in the shell, venus wars, dominion tank police. Infinity fitted in there very well, it had the models to match. Scenery, well the world is your oyster for supporting companies and outside sources.


So with all that i took a bit of a punt and i am glad i did.

My scenery.
Well i am about one tenth of the way through painting 2 lots of deadzone scenery. I might not like their restic stuff, but Mantic hit the nail on the head with this stuff. Detailed, loaded onto the sprue and easy enough to arrange.
I have decided on a pale grey scheme with red accents and a dirty industrial grime thats created by thinning black enamel paint and then using cotton buds to remove a good portion of the paint.

Bases.
I ordered some 'trihex' pattern bases from the guys at Antenocitis Workshop. £5 for 12 bases isn't to be sniffed at. They arrived this weekend.
They are beautifully cast, little to no flash and no noticeable resin release agent. Took paint very well and set off my only finished model to a tee!

Models.
Infinity is like Malifaux. The models are amazing. Yes they are somewhat fiddly at times and you want to scream. But for you frustrations you get the nice weighty feel of a metal model, that is highly detailed with very little excess flash. Easy to clean and a challenge to paint up and do justice to.

Putting it all together.
As anyone who knows or follows me will attest. I am a slow painter.....very slow.
So i only have the one finished model, 1 base finished off and 5 walls done of the deadzone stuff.

But here...have a pic or 2...i am proud of her!

I hope you like the model etc.

I will share more of my thoughts on Infinity as i get into the game.

Take care one and all

Of dwarves, visions and white dwarf's

Welcome back to the sometimes frequently and sometimes infrequently updated ramblings of a flu ridden wargamer.

On my own personal hobby front there has been little progress, a week of work and 2 days searching woodland for a missing dog have not allowed much brush time...and now..the flu. Sod off papa nurgle.

So I am sure we have all seen the new dwarf models and the new incarnations of our loved and loathed hobby magazine. But here are my thoughts.

The new dwarves.
I actually like them, i always view dwarves in times of war as stoic, grim warriors. Burdened with the legacy of grudges, empowered by revenge.
To this end i like the new look units and feel they give that feeling a bit more than previous models.
I also love the slayers, i love the idea of psychopathic killing machines, hell bent on revenge and dying the most heroic death they can find, i love the contrast of bright orange hair and the 'come get me if ya think ya ard enuff' attitude, set against the stoic, grim back drop of the ordinary dwarf warrior.

Warhammer Visions.
I already see from twitter, that this will truly be a love or loathe magazine. But i think it depends on what you expect. Smaller and thicker is ok, the price is a shock, but in line with most other glossy mags.
Content takes a step back to assess. It is not supposed to be white dwarf, i think it needs stating.
The pics are fantastic, there's a sizable chunk of paint splatter and some nice looks at other works. The kitbash section is another added bonus.
I am undecided in truth. As a hobby 'supplement' it falls a tad short for the money. As a magazine for inspiration it is packed full of lovely pics of beautiful models and succeeds brilliantly.
I had hoped to see more diversity in the featured armies and that has disappointed me a bit. It's packed full of tyranids, the new shiny army. Which has detracted a bit from the feel of it being a all genres all army affair.
But i will reserve final judgement until it has had a few issues to bed in fully.
For now....mixed feelings, but i am on subscription so have time to see.

White Dwarf Weekly.
This is the chance for gw to go somewhere different.
Adverts...yes but it's kept to the new releases. A little paint splatter on the new releases as well....all good so far. The usual columns from the usual protagonists..still good, but not Jeremy vetok(sp) sad face as i liked his articles and could relate.
Supplementary rules for models...also a real bonus.
Pics are good quality and readers questions/models are a nice touch.
I can see weekly being very much dependant on what army is featured and it's 'no subscription pick up from a store' style is a benefit in allowing this.

Overall.
On issue 1 basis, i prefer wd weekly to visions. But both have there place. I was disappointed with a lack of 'proper' or even close to proper battle report.
I will give each mag a few issues to bed in and truly see what i feel, but i am not gonna rage quit my subscription just yet.

As a dawi player reborn...i of course love the currently weekly a bit more than i probably should !