Personal update

Just a quick update on how things are personally, so please disregard if you're only here for the hobby. The headline is that things are 'good'. We had 4 nights away at Ribby Hall Village just outside Blackpool. It's a small holiday village filled with Tim Burton-eque pastel coloured villas/lodges. We managed to go a week with the worst outbreak being the good natured banter between the four of us. We played, Catan, Dobble and Jenga and I was routinely the butt of everyone's jokes which I'll take any day if it puts a smile on their faces.

I have become the Beta male!

We had a visit to Alder Hey the week before for Oscar's latest MRI scan, alongside his hydrotherapy. Then we got to see the Oncologist later the day. I have to say leading up to the day it was horrible. I knew it was going to be like that - inbetween scans you [mostly] forget, and get on with life but as a scan date approaches you suddenly become fearful and it all comes pressing in on you. The scan showed everything was 'stable', which is the next best thing to signs of reduction. The Oncologist is happy with that so we're as happy as we can be. The radiotherapy damages the cancer cells and because they're 'foreign' cells the body doesn't repair them because it can't identify what they're supposed to be. So if they're not getting bigger they're hopefully dead and will eventually be absorbed/discarded. At least that's the way we understand it.

We took Oscar fishing, his first time ever and after countless tiny Rudd, landed this 4-5lb Carp off sweetcorn!

He's happy though and due to go back to school full time [will have gone back by the time you read this]. There are still challenges, he gets easily worried about any illness being something more sinister than it is and despite still taking daily anti-nausea tablet he has had a number of bouts of projectile vomiting. The next scan is in November, these will be every three months and then six months for the next 4.5 years but as we approach the 1st anniversary of discovering his brain tumour I'm keen to keep this clock moving. I don't want a situation where we don't appreciate the progress, the things we've done despite horrible bits.

We also went to Ormskirk Motorfest and we had to get a pic of Oscar with a Traffic Officer vehicle and a roll-up banner that I made for them. So things are good and we'll keep moving on until November and the next scan.

Terrain is everything - Ferron Fire Firs

My last update on these was April 2018. They've essentially sat in a box untouched until now. Other projects take priority and terrain often falls by the wayside. Frustratingly not a lot needed doing to complete them - the Red Planet BASE! and some additional highlights on some of the trees for variety.

I did my Red Planet BASE! highlights, I also did all the Genestealer Aberrants, Hive Guard, Rippers, Termagants, Tyranid Warrior and Redemptor Dreadnought while I was at it - you see that's the advantage of the Big Build programme, it allows you to get them ready for basing.

I then did the extra highlights of the mid-yellow [lemon] and then threw on some white for super hot streaks of combustion. Hopefully they'll fit in with the other set I've done previously, although the very reason for the extra highlights is variety so not sure how 'fitting in' is supposed to manifest itself as I've expressly painted them different...

Wraithbone chips next and then a quick varnish. I actually have once of those cheap spray-can car varnishes so I decided to give it give a go. It seemed the easiest way even if the soft cover makes varnish almost redundant. The red trees are from the first set I bought, where I didn't paint the big trees because I thought they were too big - this was before LoS for Knights was needed, so I'm finishing these off too.

The clear lacquer did alright and the 'bottle brush' feels slightly more substantial know because of it. 

However, it is glossy, which for the trees I actually like.

But for the bases I don't.

Protection wise I'm satisfied but I'll be painting all the bases with my Winsor & Newton Matt Varnish. Not only will this add more protection where this terrain is prone to damage but also supply the finish I'm after.

It'll be dull 'drone' work, that I'm not particularly looking forward to but it's just the one last step and I can tick it off my To Do List as a great start to the new season - terrain ✔️, quantity ✔️, long time in production ✔️

I also picked up a couple of extra art acrylics, so I've got my infra-red spectrum going here. I need another can of clear lacquer to varnish up my first set of trees to the same level of protection but typically Home & Bargain is out of stock.

Bolt Action - Battle of St Vith

I know, I know this is 40k addict and this is clearly not 40k. But Ben and Otty are fans of Bolt Action, have all the stuff and a deep interest in the history of WWII. I had told them I'm not investing in another system, which they'd reassured me was unnecessary as they had sufficient  and wanted as all to have a go to see if we liked it. Not having gamed for a while and with no financial risk I was totally up for it. Otty was gaming with a new friend who'd just got back into the hobby while I was against Liam with Ben teaching us the rules.

I was the Americans, Liam the Germans. As you can see St Vith was replicated using Otty's winter Citadel Realm of Battle Board but full of his own WWII terrain. The scenario had some specific rules in that all terrain was treated as difficult [which meant reduced movement] and there was poor visibility which meant you had to roll each turn to determine how far you could see/target. Unfortunately it was bad from the very beginning and we had only 14" range. The mission was for Liam's force to exit off my board edge within 6 turns, scoring points for each unit. My goal was to score points for every unit still alive in my deployment zone in turns 3 and 6. We'll come on to the fairness of this scenario at the end...

I set up spread across the battlefield, I also had a hidden minefield alongside the church, just next to the crossroads. Another 'known' minefield was in front of my dug out at the top of the pic, while  my howitzer on the hill had good field of fire - except for only seeing 14" in front of it! I had my tank parked up in the middle next to a burnt out tank.

Liam proudly announced he would be sticking to one side of the board and try to puncture a hole through it and then set up on my left. The game plays with order dice for each unit in a bag. You blindly pick out a dice and the owner gets to choose whichever order on a facing and apply it to any unit. Therefore each player gets to activate units as and when they draw their dice. The turn ends when all dice have been drawn. Liam drew a lot of dice first and got to move his half track up with a Lieutenant and infantry squad, disembarking behind this house, I think this was the end of the second turn. Regardless they could move around unmolested because visibility was so poor.

Another squad moved up the roads - which did avoid the movement restrictions but Liam had opted not to use it to fast track his tanks because he rightly figured I'd mined the road at some point. At every opportunity I move my own units from the right flank towards the left, which prompted streams of protest from Liam because he said I was only doing that because he'd told me what his plan was. I pointed out that my allied forces had intercepted his plan using our Enigma machine - so served him right! 😝

By the second turn his Panzer tank had made it into shooting range of my own tank. However, mine was a light armoured reconnaissance tank which meant when fired upon I had the option to move out of the way. I think chose not to, suddenly convinced that the various modifiers to hit for moving and the weather would cause the Panzer to miss, which it surely did. I on the other hand got to fire back, point blank  needing two successive 6's to cause damage but then fluffing the effect to just making the crew stunned. The Lego. These can be removed if you spend a turn rallying, or remove one by passing another order test at the beginning of your go. The Panzer took 2 pins and the red marker is where my Howitzer was indirect firing [which would get more accurate in successive turns].

My units on the right continued to hoof it over to my left flank, annoyingly my Bazooka unit was shot and killed at the now maximum visible range of 22" by the German machine gun squad that had moved off the road into the cemetery opposite the church.

Another squad with my flamethrower moved out of the church to my left flank.

My light tank moved and shot point blank but was unable to damage the Panzer. Liam's flanking squad managed to get their flamethrower into the building on the left - incinerating the entire squad inside. Subsequently I would return the favour with my own flamethrower unit. Down to just two men they would then cut down the left side of this building and roast another unit too.

Sadly no more pictures but as the game progressed a number of things became evident. The 'difficult terrain' rules for the scenario made the German goal of leaving the battlefield almost unachievable. Liam would have had to drive right down the central road or not stopping at any point with his tanks. Perhaps if he'd not disembarked the half track and just carried on going the Germans would have broke through my line.

Me scoring in both turns 3 and 6 meant Liam had little chance to score points. With so few casualties due to the fog I already had a double figure lead by the middle of the game. Lastly, Liam's dice rolling was shockingly bad, while mine was significantly better than it should have been. It became a joke by the end and although I would normally feel sympathetic to his plight the usual mate's banter meant I had far too much fun laughing at his appalling luck to let him off lightly 😂

My conclusion was that I liked the game, thankfully not enough to invest in, not that I need to. I like the narrative missions and it's clear the battle report pics all look truly cinematic. Those image almost look like stills from Band of Brothers/Saving Private Ryan, something which is much harder to capture with 40k I think. However, the scenario was fundamentally flawed, now that might be to replicate the historical context but it's no fun if you're on the road to a loss from the get go. Ben did say that there was some historical mirroring of what happened in our game, I'm not sure which, I think the Germans had figured it would be an easy break through but somehow the outgunned Americans managed to hold them back for longer than planned...

Anyway, a lot of fun and great to see the guys again.

'nids part 271 - Genestealer cult - Acolyte Iconward - Big Build TO DONE!

Full disclosure - this is technically a 2018/19 season Big Build TO DONE! However, aside from the Sanctum Imperialis showcase I really wanted to move onto the Season. The Big Teal Stamp of approval has challenging connotations that I'd rather move on from. Anyway the Acolyte Iconward has been built a long time but I only just added it to the base and used cork for the first time to represent shattered rockcrete [like all the big kids do!]. It also adds another few millimetres of height which is never a bad thing [except when you're packing the model away].

I'm hoping he'll be a Character choice in one of my Battle of the Brush challenges. September is the next one, which is too soon but it might be a nice way to close out December. I've actually got a couple of Genestealer Familiars built and based too that could go with him [although technically he doesn't get them]. Regardless my first Big Build Galactic Stamp of Approval. 

Terrain is everything - Sanctum Imperialis - TO DONE!

Aah the Sanctum Imperalis… It's taken a while to get the opportunity to take pictures but I needed some to add to last season's hobby review.

It's a big piece and so it's a struggle to fit it into my homemade light box but I got there in the end.

As you may recall this was a project not without challenges, in particular the 'bold' choice of full verdigris on buttresses, supports and skirting boards.

The red glass lighting also suffered from a lack of contrast that I repeated on my Ravenwing Dark Shroud - sometimes Tamiya Clear Red X-27 is too good.

But the colour choices were made to stretch me, to do something more challenging than just the weathered brassy bronze and as you can see the Ferron Proxima background finally gives it the context it needed.

On the full red/orange background the verdigris provides the ideal framework to break up the monotony of the red rockcrete walls.

With the cream interior adding another dimension.

I can't wait to eventually see these used on my Realm of Battle board, although that could be a long time hence.

I had plans to add some creeping yellow flock up the walls and around the buttresses but didn't get round to it.

I did get the occasional propaganda poster in though ;)

And the white background pics, which aren't totally without merit.

At least it matches the interior a bit, there's consistency and sense of reason that grounds the turquoise.

But as I've maintained buildings in real life are not always colour-matched and consistent.

They often have elements that are incongruous and garish. So whatever the result I committed to the aesthetic and executed it.

Better late than never the [last] Big Teal Stamp of Approval for 2018/19 and completing some terrain!

To Do List 2019/20

Having covered my achievements over the past season it's now that I look forward to the new one.

As usual my list is pretty much everything I still haven't completed from previous seasons. In fact this is almost a copy/paste from last years post! But I am working through these each year so the system does work. I've added a few new things though so there are some surprises to look forward to. Anything in bold is a priority, everything else is nice to have.

However, I'm going to be mainly going with the flow, real life is still very much the priority so I need to focus on these two…

1. Develop a more healthy hobby/life balance - go to bed at a decent hour[ish]
2. Find time to play some games, not just tournament play so I can have some fun among the daily grind...

But for my Dark Angels I'll be looking at these:

1. Dreadtober - Redemptor Dreadnought
2. Dark Angel - Deathwing Knights
3. Dark Angel - Ravenwing Attack Bike[s]
4. Dark Angel - Ravenwing Bikes [I might convert these to Black Knights]
5. Dark Angel - Macragge Tactical Squad
6. Dark Angel - Deathwing Land Raider

The remaining nid and terrain based items are these:

1. Genestealer Cult Abberants [get them painted - have some fun]
2. Genestealer Cult Acolyte Iconward
3. 2 Tyranid Hive Guard 
4. 4 Tyranid Rippers
5. 2 sets of Ferron Fire Firs - paint.
6. Tyranid Void Shield Generator [it hasn't had any progress for a while, I just need to do more, even if it's just as a terrain piece, although unrealistic in the face of other projects]
7. Blood Bowl Humans
8. Blood Bowl Orks [? yeah not likely but if I can get the hoomies done maybe...]
9. Shadespire warbands - I've moved these lower down as I'm not sure there are any that interest me. I do find them a joy to paint and I've learned new skills doing them but if I want some variety the Blood Bowl Humans and Orks should come first [cos I quite fancy some Halflings too...].

Pipe dream items - these are things that have been on my list and in all honesty I'm not likely to tackle this year [or any other...] but I do not want them forgotten so I'll just note them as things I'll eventually do, one day:

1. Tyranid Promethium Relay Pipes
2. Dark Angel - Aegis Defence Line [totally low down as most of the Fortifications suck game wise but it'd be nice to have some extra terrain pieces and I think it's actually the best value out of the pieces I have]
3. Tyranid Bastion Crater [I have zero intent to do this this season, if ever, just want to remind myself it exists]

The Big Build will continue this season. Still a lot of what was not complete from previous lists but  the principle is sound and pays dividends with those items that tend to be off-list that get built through to painting and completion.

• Ravenwing bikes
• Ravenwing attack bikes
• Ravenwing Talonmaster?
• Build some new terrain? 
• Shrine of the Aquila
• Galvanic Magnavent
• Space Hulk Genestealers - get them based!
• 3 Tyranid Lictors
• 3 Tyranid Warriors
• 3 Tyranid Shrikes
• 5 Dark Angel Veterans/Command Squad
• Remaining Deathwing Terminators

So that's me for 2019/20 again a lot on my plate, especially when you take into account I need to balance things a little more. All the best for your own efforts this season.

Hobby Season 2018/19 Review

The 2018/19 Hobby Season draws to a close, and how did I do? Well, obviously events happened in October 2018 that meant the hobby wasn't high on my list of priorities. One could say that it forced me to focus more on real-life but that really wasn't what I was expecting from the first task of a healthier hobby/life balance:

Develop a more healthy hobby/life balance - go to bed at a decent hour[ish], keeping a record might help [although tried it already for 2 months and it didn't]...  

I don't think I managed that, I had some small breakthroughs in my attitude but I need to be better at getting enough sleep. Secondly I was supposed to play more games, I'm not sure that was achieved either. In my defence it was not just my real-world issues to deal with, it's been a challenge recently for all my mates. We need toplay more but I'm not going to feel guilty about it under the circumstances.

 Find time to play some games, not just tournament play...

Now to my actual hobby goals - I managed to complete 5 out of the 16 realistic items on my list [plus an additional Underworlds warband]. But as I said when I went on blog hiaitus in October what I achieved this year was unimportant in the grand scheme of things. Here's what I did manage despite everything.

First up was Shadespire Underworlds Steelheart's Champions I [loosely] followed Rob Paints Models guide for these and despite the instructions I actually felt a sense of freedom because I didn't have to make too many choices. This meant I could just paint without being crippled by indecision.

Secondly, the House Corvus [of House Raven] Imperial Knight Twins - Ser Ellenbogen and Lady Pettorini, named after Oscar's brain surgeons. This was a slog and given how the hobby was just not even on my radar at the time the fact I came along and finished them was enough for this season for me. Priorities change and my To Do list is always inspirational/aspirational, there are other things more important but these two were a fitting tribute when I could finally paint again. Bottom line, if my hobby season had have been just these two I'd have been content.

Shortly after the Knights I cracked on with my Shadespire Underworlds Garrek's Reavers. I didn't follow anything but my own vision of red-skinned worshippers of Khorne. It prompted some other colour choice issues but I got there in the end and they all have their little touches that surprise me in how I achieved what I did.

Sanctum Imperialis was next on my list. Challenging is an understatement. The extreme verdigris was a choice I still haven't reconciled. More bronze would have definitely been the safer choice than full on turquoise/green but it is what it is and they got done. When you look around things look odd sometimes but I cannot fault the quality of my funny looking buildings.

Y'lthari's Guardians followed but it was not without a lack of mojo around my other projects. I had been struggling to paint my Dark Shroud and despite holding off getting these for months I could take it no longer. What I achieved is potentially the best models I've ever painted since returning to the hobby. There are numerous compromises and issues throughout but I definitely can see an improvement and evolution of my own painting style. More importantly they did kickstart my mojo sufficient to face my Dark Shroud.

With some extra hobby time at my disposal I cracked on with the Dark Shroud. With that concerted effort it was much easier to overcome the perceived issues than I'd been worried about. Once again there are compromises, but far fewer than could have been. I'm just glad it's done and sits handsomely alongside the rest of my Ravenwing.

Size isn't everything... and although the tally for this season is nothing compared to the last [about one third] the results speak for themselves. I've painted some figures I'm really proud of, some massive projects alongside those that have been on my books for a couple of years or more. On top of that I painted terrain - you can't put a price on that! I've battled severe lack of mojo as well a refusal to even engage with the hobby for my own health but despite that I still created, blogged and gamed [occasionally].

This next season will be similarly challenging but I've a lot of stuff built, primed and ready to go, check out my Big Build efforts below to see what might feature in 2019/20...

The Big Build is my scaled down expectations to build miniatures. Building isn't always my favourite thing but without a construction phase I can't have a painting phase. I think I did OK on this years Big Build, mainly due to using it to avoid painting, but whatever gets results. It's not like I have done tons but a healthy crop of models built [and then painted] as well as some that were then prepped and ready for the future. Ironically it feels a little stressful with these ready to go - now I have too many options! I'll cope with it though.

I managed to finish building both Knights [although I don't seem to have a BW pic of Lady Pettorini post build :( ] My Imperial Knights were last year's Dreadtober effort, with my hope to finish building them both but due to Oscar's illness I couldn't face the hobby for a good couple of weeks, which was roughly the time it took in November [after Dreadtober finished] to get them 'built'.

This TT Combat MDF building was a Christmas gift I hadn't had chance to tackle but I managed to get in some lunch-time hobby at work. A week or so gave me plenty of time to add extra bits of detail even if I was filthy with laser cut carbon soot after every session!

I won the Tooth and Claw boxset at Double Trouble in June 2018, so it was about time I built some of it. At this stage the Aberrants had been built, but not based, as I wanted them on the same resin bases from www.bases4war.com as my other Cultists. So the Redemptor Dreadnought took a sneak lead in the queue, getting glued to his base and some slate before the mutant stealers.

Tyranid Warrior to Hive Guard Conversion. It comes to something when I'm avoiding my Ravewning 'must paints' by actually building these!

Random nids - in the process of yet more Dark Shroud avoidance I built up 5 Devgaunts and a Warrior

Genestealer Aberrants finally got based but I went with a different style of base than I'd originally planned.

The bases were off ebay and were a little more decorative, which I think these models deserve.

Tyranid Rippers were my next build, sometimes avoiding my actual painting tasks is a handy way to get other projects built, primed and ready. Hopefully getting them done now in the good weather will give me plenty to work on over the coming months and the dark and miserable winter.

As a fug of demotivation enveloped me I did the only thing I could and bought more toys. As I said about the Chosen Axes it's almost rude to include these as they are so easy to build but actually there was probably an hours worth of faffing to get these built so Ylthari's Guardians joined the 'Bog' Build list [pun not intended but retrospectively spotting the spelling mistake I'll own it as intentional ;) ].