New priorities
I’m trying out a new hobby priority: No More Unassembled Models! My M.O. has been: I’m thinking about cutting out a lot of middle and get models ready to paint or play more quickly. I’m not sure how much value there is for me to have unassembled models that I can’t do anything with except hoard like dragon treasure. In fact, maybe that’s what I’ll call pre-usable models. Dragon Treasure. A dragon can’t spend gold, drink out of jeweled goblets, or wear filigreed armor. And I can’t play a game with models on sprue, or unbased lead. So I kicked it off without really thinking about it this past October. I had two spooky unassembled Blitz Bowl teams that, checks-watch, I’ve had for years! Time is literally flying. I asked myself: do I assemble both now or save one for next year? In my generally morbid mindset, I replied: What…
Pros & Cons of resin printing at home
Sometimes I feel conflicted about resin printing. It’s great being able to self-manufacture almost anything you want rapidly. I needed piles of skulls to add to a 3d rendition of the Hall of Death from the Catacombs of Terror. I just cranked them out. I still have a whole bag of skulls for more projects The convenience has a cost; it’s kind of a hassle. It’s smelly, it’s sticky, if you want truly custom models you have to spend lots of time on the computer. But there’s so much to print. Practically infinite amounts of really decent models and fun terrain/accessories. As nice as downloadable models are, they lack some of the magic of a physical product. Especially one bought from a real store. It’s fun to browse, talk to a real person, and look at packaging. Though, some of that magic is fading. And as much as I love…
I wish October was two months long
I printed out this skeleton months ago. It’s from Old Realm Forge. Since he has little legs, I added a tombstone (semi-failed round-base print) to help back him up. Knocked out the paint job in an hour. Super fun. I love painting skeletons in October! I also assembled a Shambling Undead team for Blitz Bowl that I acquired… 2.5 years ago. Gulp. Time flies. Do you have any model kits that you’re sitting on for a long time/special occasion?
Halloween Hobbytime!
This is what I’ve been busy working on this week. I’ve been getting ready to play Castle of Darkness! Sure, sure. Radukar the Beast is for Cursed City Nightwars. But he’s a big vampire, so he counts. I’ve been working on him on the side so he’ll be a surprise when the big reveal happens. I’ve been trying to avoid too, too many spoilers myself, but I know he exists, so I can’t unlearn that fact. Plus, now he’s painted and completes the entire lineup for Nightwars. I’ll post all the minis here sometime. The Dire Wolf proxies, also below, go with Nemesis, but I was on a roll and knocked out 10 more minis from the backlog. Pictures are links to store or 3D source for the models. Note: the big wolf (lower, center) is this one.
Halloween is right around the corner
With the leaves falling and a chill in the air, there’s no better time to turn to THE CASTLE OF DARKNESS!!!!!!! If you’re not familiar with Littlemonk and his Warhammer Quest 1995 expansions, join his runboard and take a look. They’re pretty impressive. I do wish that he’d credit artists though. This is a fun group of adventures featuring Universal Studios themed monsters. Yes, normal WHQ has mummies and vampires, but Littlemonk has provided rules for three tiers of wolfmen and Frankenstein’s monster. I’m really hoping to get this on the table before October is through. Here’s a list of suitable miniatures (all free)
Blood (Blitz) Bowl Geheimnisnacht Special – Halloween Edition
I’m a Blitz Bowl player by nature. For whatever reason, Blood Bowl never appealed to me. I’m just a smaller game kind of guy. But! I love Halloween! So this very Halloween themed bonus is easily tied into Blitz Bowl. Good News! Blitz Bowl Ultimate Second Edition has rules for the Necromantic Horrors in Blitz Bowl! Love these models: I do have a Shambling Undead team that I’ve been meaning to get to. Not enough hours in the day! These are the two things that are easily ported into Blitz Bowl:
Abandoned Blogs
There’s something wistful about abandoned blogs. Someone started a site and poured their creativity into it, then, eventually… stopped. Maybe their interests changed, maybe they got out of the hobby, maybe they got too busy, maybe they had kids, or maybe the march of time caught them as it will catch us all. The most poignant aspect is the lack of a farewell. It’s a normal post with a future ahead of it. But then, that’s it. There’s no wrap up. No conclusion. It’s a cliffhanger. It could happen to any of us, even me. Disclaimer: I don’t know anything about the owners of these blogs. My most sincere condolences to those that are not longer with us. I hope everyone is still painting and playing. Take care of yourselves and others. Hug those kids, even if they’re all grown up! So here are some of the best abandoned hobby…
3D Print Skarburn Zapdakka for Blackstone Fortress
One of the fun things about Blackstone Fortress is that you can have NPCs tag along. Now this is something I haven’t worked into a game yet, but I really want to give Skarburn Zapdakka a try. A brief blurb about Retinue Characters is available here: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/12/03/blackstone-fortress-building-your-retinuegw-homepage-post-1 If you can get your hands on old White Dwarf Magazines, or the 2019 Blackstone Fortress Annual, you’ll have all the details. You play a mission to “unlock” the new characters, then they can hop into your outer space adventures. Skarburn Zapdakka appeared in the October 2019 White Dwarf. I’m sure GW a Flash Git model can be procured, but there aren’t many available for less than $30 US. Though I do really like the “Flash Git with Targeting Squig“. So instead of dropping real money on a real model, I went with an amazing 3D print from Lost_Heresy: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/ork-big-shoota I think it…
Combat Arena!
We got a new (old) game on the table last night: Combat Arena. It’s the sci-fi successor to Gorechosen. Blackstone Fortress fans will recognize the Escalation heroes. However, this game was released in limited locations. Mainly available from Barnes & Noble in North America. We only had two players, looking forward to getting a full 4 player game going sometime. My favorite thing about the game is that if something bad happens to you, generally something else good happens. It makes the competitive (rather than cooperative) nature of the game less harsh if you take a dozen wounds!
Callis & Toll – Saviours of Cinderfall
Callis & Toll have rules up on Warhammer Community. Though I’ve never read any of the books, they look like a fun group of adventurers. They’re ideally suited to go up against the ghouls in White Dwarf 498-499. We now have a ton of heroes with Cursed City rules. It’d be great to have some more rules/adventures with other factions. Skaven maybe? How about orks? Dark Elves are always nasty. Here’s the video from Always Board Never Boring. Individual Character Rundown Armand Callis (Stalwart, Human, Order of Azyr, Saviour of Cinderfall) No surprises here. Callis wages absolute destruction. Hanniver Toll (Executioner, Human, Order of Azyr, Saviour of Cinderfall) Deadly, but less tough. Witch Hunters are cool. Lyssa Revenya (Blade, Human, Soldier, Saviour of Cinderfall) Very fun to play. We house-ruled the grapple to allow her to zip to visible locations, rather than limit it to the current board. Mistress Verentia,…