Battle Report - Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game - Amon Hen

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity - I've been playing Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game again at Otty's. I don't know if it's clear from the pictures, but he is very much a fan of both the game and the setting. This is his Amon Hen board and he's been playing the scenario of Frodo and Aragorn escaping the Uruk Hai with anyone who'll give it a go. I hadn't played in a while so it was my turn, with Liam playing the Uruk Hai.

Aragorn has a special rule to March, adding 3" to your move and those of anyone else around him, so long as they end up within 6" of him. So, both he and Frodo made good pace down the path, Aragorn moving 9" and Frodo 7".

But the Uruk Hai were hot on their heels as almost all of Liam's orcs came on, but from the back of the board, behind the ruins [not ideal for him, but great for me]. Frodo had to negotiate the turn in the path, slowing him down. I could have jumped straight off the rock face but he could have been injured or equally stalled.

Unfortunately this allowed the orcs to catch up and they were getting very close to the ringbearer

He was just about keeping up with Aragorn, but suddenly an orc appeared in the bushes attempting to slow them down.

There was nothing for it, Frodo panicked and put on the ring, to avoid the orcs, who started to swarm where they thought he was. Aragorn had broken through, getting so close to the river edge and escape.

But he couldn't leave Frodo and waded back into the swarming melee to save him. 

It was not meant to be and the weight of their foul numbers brought him to his knees. The Fellowship was broken, the King would not return - Middle Earth was lost to the forces of evil. Well, it's a good job there's a multiverse as if this is how the first film ended a billion dollars of revenue would have gone begging! A lot of fun though.

We followed this up with a quick game with our warbands. We've reset the campaign map, but still keeping our units as they were. I was playing against his elves I think. Unfortunately I only appear to have the one picture and can't seem to recall what happened. I know he had two archers in the cate tower, who were really annoying and my Warg had some fun climbing the battlements. 

I did end up with some advancements for my Goblins, one has been promoted to a Blackshield, which Otty said he'd kindly make for me. More to come as this was a lot of fun to do again. It's weird because it doesn't matter too much whether I win or lose, the characters still advance and even their injuries can confer bonuses. The simplicity and rare re-rolls are also appealing as it makes it much easier to play and far more balanced and fulfilling than my recent 40k experiences. It feels particularly unfair of me to somehow still view this as a secondary choice than 40k. The reality is I'm having far more fun playing it.

Terrain is everything - Sector Imperialis Administratum - Blessed Verdigris

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Sector Imperialis Administratum. It's that time where I've done all the brassy bronze and I'm starting to add the Army Painter Hawk Turquoise liberally on the outside and sparingly on the inside. I fully appreciate the garishness of this may not be everyone's cup of tea, and if I'm honest despite my love for Blessed Verdigris, I still have my own doubts.

But I get to explore the slightly more reserved option inside. I'm really pleased with this as the brassy bronze works so well and with just the floor cream/bone and weathered with Burnt Umber Art Acrylic the result is pretty impressive.

There will be additional turquoise highlights on the extreme verdigris to add more layers of weathering. I did have to decide where to apply the 'pooling' - the area that the verdigris will collect in mostly. In my observations I'm not 100% sure if it's predominantly at the top or bottom and I've seen some examples where the patina suddenly stops, with no apparent reason why some bits weather and some bits don't. Anyway, I chose to pool at the bottom [except on the window frames], and immediately thought it should have been the top. Ironically, this prompted a memory of the last time I did this and I think I pooled at the top and promptly thought that was wrong! Like I say, I'm not sure there's a right answer for this.

Regardless of whether it's right or wrong this is quite the milestone. There's still a lot to do but the interior bronze weathering is complete so each highlight on the exterior will be quicker. I've then got to do the weathering on all the exposed steelwork and add details - like cable colours, lights, switches and dials.

There is some small clean-up work on the Vermillion walls too, but I'm definitely over the hump now. A week or two's work left including varnishing. I've not been super focussed on the hobby recently and to get this close to finishing something is really rewarding. I've got the White Dwarf Hobby Bingo card, although it has terrain as a task I'm covered with that for Munitorum Containers. Unfortunately I don't have any Lord of Wars, but I think this is easily a match in size and effort for one of those behemoth's when it's complete.

Terrain is everything - Sector Imperialis Administratum

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Sector Imperialis Administratum. This is really weird as I can't seem to find any previous specific posts for this.

I have mentions of it and the odd pic here and there in What's On My Palette but I don't have a Big Build pic or when it was primed.

So here we are with Vermillion craft acrylic drybrushed over the Red Oxide primer. I think I may have added some additional black washes in places to add more contrast.

Further lighter Vermillion highlights in places and the odd scratch and detail around the damage to the wall. It was before this I 'd decided not to go with a cream interior as I had with my previous buildings.

Every time I do this I wonder what it would be like not to go to the extremes I do, with the ultra green Blessed Verdigris and all red walls. So not going cream inside was at least a nod to this.

And, I will still be doing the floor cream, so it felt like a sensible decision - the best of both worlds.

Here I started to pick out all the detail that will be Blessed Verdigris, and some that will be rusty too - the 'units' under the windows for instance.

With the floor cream I think this was definitely the right decision regarding how to paint the interior.

And the little corner piece - all of the outside banding will be full Blessed Verdigris.

The insides will be my weathered brassy bronze - with the metallics visible on only minor Blessed Verdigris. This represents the fact the exterior has been exposed to the elements and will have oxidised, whereas the interior will have sheltered from the elements by benefit of being inside.  

Only now it's an exposed ruin is the bronze beginning to go green. All the other panels, inside the walls, that have had their rockcrete cladding broken off will be rusted steel. It's a bit different, another dimension to the terrain, but hopefully it'll work out. 

Dark Angels - Ravenwing Attack Bikes & Black Knights

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer #DarkAngles #Ravenwing Attack Bikes & Black Knights... I know it seems like I haven't been hobbying and that's partly true, but I have done some things, just haven't written about them yet. Anyway, this is the metallics on all the bikes.

There were some slight changes to the recipe - Army Painter Rough Iron > VGC Hammered Copper > Citadel  Retributor Armour > Citadel Runelord Brass. The Runelord is'.t as light as the mix of gold and silver I usually do but the further sepia wash blends [obscures] it all anyway.

Having drybrushed and sponged the metallics on I then touched up all the back to make it tidy. Although bikes can be labour intensive, and attack bikes doubly so,

the Black Knights were also coming along. I even regret not getting my last 3 bikes 'Raven-blinged' up and to this stage too. The thought of tackling them further down the line and doing all this again is a little off-putting.

The Primaris Chaplain has kept pace though, even though I didn't want my Primaris force to have bronze as feature - they'll be silver as a significant counter-point to all my other armies.

That said, although I don't want Primaris in my Dark Angels, I have the Redemptor because it's a solo unit and would be a centrepiece. For that reason I think this as a HQ choice can sit along old school figures because it's a standout model.

I do have 2 other old skool Chaplains on bikes though so I can have them consistent if I want.

Question: I need to put a Ravenwing banner on the back of this bike, don't I?

With these ready for their Blessed Verdigris I ran out of momentum and switched to some terrain...

#BlackstoneFortress - Amallyn Shadowguide

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been #PaintingWarhammer ... honestly I have! Just not very much and the items I have been painting show limited progress and are difficult to take pictures of, so I've had little to post about. Anyway, I haven't shared any of this since my Big Build TO DONE! and that was pre-COVID! In truth I'm not sharing much this time, just the one picture. This had been primed and basecoated for a couple of years now and somewhere among my Tyranid Warriors and Ravenwing Talonmaster I painted the white armour. I'm pretty chuffed with the results, if I'm honest. It's really odd as I know this will look awesome when I finish it but I just have zero motivation to do so.

 

We're not playing BSF and there's no rush to get it done, not to mention I do have much higher priority models on my TO DO list. Maybe it'll be something where I just do the green or the brown inbetween other jobs. The gun will be black so perhaps tack that on with some Ravenwing stuff that I'm currently working on, when I get past the metallics stage that is!

Anyway, short and sweet. I've a couple of updates to share with you when I can find time to write them. My son is back to uni next week so I should have more hobby time to push on and complete some projects with a concerted effort.

What's on my palette?

Bless me #WarHamFam for I have sinned, it's been 3 months since my last confession! I've built lots of things, painted my Tyranid Warriors, a Death Guard and Ravenwing Talonmaster. I've played a few games of Blood Bowl and had a couple of Middle Earth role-playing sessions. I think this has been quality rather than quantity.

So what's on my palette right now? I've a number of things but I've had something of a short break from the hobby. Although it doesn't feel like I've lost my mojo the net result is the same thing. I've put in some time on my Ravenwing Attack Bikes and Black Knights - getting the metallics done, one colour at a time. When the final Runelord Brass and wash is on I'll share. It's tedious work but it needs to be done. I'm not pushing myself which allows me the easy get out of not doing anything.

I've painted the white on 5 more of my Halfling Blood Bowl team I'll get round to sharing them at some point but much like the bikes it's tedious work. Although that can feel productive, because I don't have to think and the result is a significant change from where the model started, it's not very rewarding creatively. They're also not high on my list of things To Do, as they're not part of my #NewYearNewArmy but I want to get to the pint bits as they'll look cool when that goes on.

I've done a little more work on a Munitorum Container. The red/cream one is very close to finished and will feature in my #ArmiesOnParade2022 so a small push on that will feel really satisfying. I've just discovered I don't appear to have any pics of that in progress. I'll have to check in more detail or remedy that.

Also I have done a bit more on my Sector Imperialis Administratum, which I claimed I was working on What's on my palette? in November '21! I have actually done the first set of red highlights on the walls and just concluded that I will also do the interior walls red. I had been thinking about following my current terrain design of cream interiors, but will reserve that for the floors. It gives me the opportunity to be a little different but still consistent. Again it'll be in my #ArmiesOnParade and terrain is always awesome. 

And finally, with the recently built Death Guard reinforcements I need to prime them so I can decide which ones I want to get a head start on and which ones I want to hold back on so that I can paint them with my youngest, when he finally wants to give it a go.

So, my eldest is due back at uni in a few weeks and I won't have this unknown evening schedule that currently exists. Until then I'll be dipping in and out of the hobby but should have some pics worth sharing soon. 

Lastly, I have the materials for my man cave upgrade. I will be installing some insulation on the floor. It may not solve the significant winter cold but I had to give it a shot. Whether I should have investigated some under floor heating system instead, I mean it's a wooden shed, on a wooden, open base, on paving slabs. It seems daft to put some sort of heating elements on that. Even with a reflective material I expect it would lose heat as well warm it from the floor up. Currently my electric heater just warms everything from about 24inches up, so feet are always freezing in colder weather. Fingers crossed the insulation mitigates this.

If I wasn't using it as a home office I'd never have bothered but I've survived two years and think it's needed if I continue. It also means I will have to empty the shed and that will mean a tidy out, it's proper Trebus and has become something of an issue. I still consider the efforts hobby related but it will eventually impact figure painting, if only for a few days, but I'll share pics when I do.

#DeathGuard #KillTeam #NewYearNewArmy Big Build TO DONE!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I stumbled across a tweet the other day pointing out Hachette were doing a 50% off deal on Warhammer Conquest magazine. I Was initially excited but not only were there a lot of the magazines labelled 'Out of stock' there were many that were not that were no longer available. Someone pointed out that there were some Pox Walkers and Death Guard so I rooted around and did indeed find them. As I hope to use these in my #ArmiesOnParaade2022 having a few more to bulk out the baddies made sense and some terrain too to decorate the board. So I got the Poxwalkers and Death Guard, another Munitorum Container, Haemotrope Reactor and some Plasma Conduits. If you spent over £30 you got free postage, this was £40 and then the 50% off came in at £20! Bargain in my book, and these will go on my spreadsheet as magazines, NOT new figures... 😎

So I got to building the marines and it was lucky I got these two sets, as the Marine on the Poxwalker sprue needs the spare weapon that's on the reinforcement sprue.

These Poxwalkers are fantastic models and how they are put together can be really ingenious. I hope we get to see more of this level of creativity in what is essentially a basic model.

They are so good, I don't know how easy they'll be to paint but the variety in them is awesome. However, I'm totally going to keep impaling myself on their spikes!

The Lord of Contagion is pretty hefty beast. You'll not that I've added my twigs and some sharp sand on the bases. They'll still be wading through tar sludge and I've already identified my Red Planet BASE sand colouring isn;t quite right but I'm hoping to solve that problem when they're all done.

Foetid Bloat Drone, so great to have something more substantial to add to the warband. Clearly something that would never be part of Kill Team but I love the model and I'm excited to paint it. My youngest has expressed an interest in trying to paint some figures in the summer. I'm thinking some of these would be a decent starting point.

I absolutely love this, I had no idea quite how large it was, you can hide a Redemptor Dreadnought behind it! I also got the plasma conduits made, but I haven't put their feet on yet as I don't want to commit to a layout just yet, I have a Magnavent and want to see how they all interact first.

I also part built the Munitorum Container, but I want to add functioning doors so it'll be awhile before it's built. So far, for all of this I'm going to get 5 Great Big Big Build BLESSED VERDIGRIS Stamps of Approval [the Poxwalkers only count as one].