Unleash the Pugs of Waaargh!: 2019

I don't know if I'm just really piss-poor at consistent updates, or if I'm saving up experiences and photos to make bigger blog posts. Like, I guess it would be sensible to piecemeal out this content and make smaller, more consistent posts... But nah.

So it's been a couple of months, and while I haven't gotten to play a ton of games, it's still been packed full of activities for me.

Super out of sequence (since this happened literally yesterday), but I'm going to start off on a high note:

Gaius Pallidus from Arena Rex's Legio XIII faction. That is a 40mm base (he's a tall fella).

"Da Powdah" strikes again, impressing me EVEN MORE with its myriad of uses, and has allowed me to accidentally create one of my favorite paint jobs of a human figure ever. And I mean "accidentally" quite literally. I was working on my NOVA models, knocking out both the basing of some Word Bearers and the finishing touches to some Guild Ball Miners using a custom mix of pigment powdah, when I had an epiphany about the Arena Rex models. I've always really loved them, and after assembling them and priming them white, I only went so far as to apply very diluted glazes to make the details pop and just kinda left it at that. I don't know if the models simply intimidated me, or if there was a particular look I was going for... doesn't matter. But last night I thought, "I wonder what this powdah would do to these figures, because I'm essentially doing the same thing applying it to these sculpted bases."

And now here I am, rethinking my entire painting process altogether when it comes to this hobby in general.

Moving on!

While I'm thinking about painting and techniques and all that, let's talk about Contrast.

The colors, Duke... the colors!

So I'll just start off by saying the hype for this product, while directed at the consumer base with a different reasoning than what is pertinent to me (they advertise it as a way to paint armies quickly), was honestly well deserved. I paint primarily using washes and glazes over a light basecoat, building shadows and texture, and for that purpose these are a phenomenal product. Honestly the biggest struggle I have with them is that they cover a little too well (!!!) and I'm still playing with dilution and methods of application where I can kind of wipe off the high points to lessen the intensity of the Contrast paints' opacity. Overall I'm really enjoying using these.

Some examples:

Zombicide Black Plague figure, painted using the "Gryph-Hound Orange", "Plaguebearer Flesh", and "Skeleton Horde" Contrast paints.

Zombicide Black Plague figure, painted using the same "Gryph-Hound Orange", "Plaguebearer Flesh", and "Skeleton Horde" Contrast paints, just in a different pattern and with a touch of Vallejo Red dabbed on the front while the Contrast was still wet so that it would dilute and spread.

A Warmachine Precursor Knight, airbrushed with the Vallejo Metallic Gold, and then a single coat of "Iyanden Yellow" Contrast applied to the metal armor plates. Best gold color I've ever achieved with 5% of the effort I used to use on my Retribution figures using layering.

A Warmachine Stormblade figure, airbrushed with Vallejo Metallic Steel, then a single coat of "Iyanden Yellow" followed by a single coat of "Militarum Green" Contrast paints. Still not 100% sure about the result, though. It looks good, objectively, I'm just not sure it's my style.

Why yes, those were in fact pictures of Warmachine miniatures.

So moving on, let's talk WARMACHINE HYPE!

As has been mentioned many times here, my roots in this hobby come from playing friendly games of Warmachine into the wee hours of the morning somewhere around 15 years ago. And finally, FINALLY, the story for the game and its future have come back around to being important (more than just the latest rules arguments or theme lists or whatever other bullshit the new gamers like) and they are releasing a campaign expansion alongside the Infernals faction to move the story forward.

This, needless to say, has gotten me excited.

So I went and played in a local "event" (I guess we'll call it that, small as it was) with my buddy Wargamer Ramblings.

Game 1: Played against young lad Richard's Legion, which apparently had a theme and a list composition common to these modern events. I dunno. I took Cygnar with a Morrowan "theme" (aka story) and was wrong.

Game 1: Here's an action shot of me successfully combating the strong Legionmans yet simultaneously losing because of objective zone rules about what counts and what doesn't? I honestly don't know. This isn't the game I used to play.

Game 2 (of 2, told you it was a small event): Played Wargamer Ramblings' Crucible Guard in the loser's bracket. Same scenario as before.

Game 2: Shot right before things started getting really ugly. The next turn or so would see the entirety of the Precursor Knights die, the colossal to be wiped out by some angry dwarves, and his jet packers to get messed up by some Gun Mages. Essentially my left flank and his left flank simultaneously crumpled, but he came out the victor in the struggle for the middle...

Game 2: ...UNTIL HE DIDN'T BECAUSE EPIC CAINE GETS THE ASSASSINATION! IT WAS ALL A PLOY. THE ARMY IS EXPENDABLE! IT'S ALL ABOUT THAT CASTER KILL BABY!

So, if you couldn't tell from the commentary on the pictures... I'm not super crazy about what Warmachine has become in the more recent years. The Warmachine I used to play, mind you we're talking basement Warmachine with a small group of people, had 3-d terrain, with some scenarios rarely filtering in, and we were very interested in the who's and why's of the characters and the world itself. Granted, these fond memories of mine end somewhere around 8 years ago when that well dried up, but they're damn strong and frankly make this modern version of things pretty unplayable to me.

And now, we have a further complication:

Thanks to the local gaming store getting rid of their stock, and the genuine interest of my son, he has bought himself into the realms of Caen. (OMG EXCITED DAD RIGHT HUR!!1!11!1!!!)

After some talking to old friends (namely the friends I began playing the game with) and discussing the myriad of changes to the game system that we don't like (which can, and likely will, be the subject of an entire blog post), we're going back in time to the harried days of MKI. A harsher game, but one we always had more fun with because of friggin' everything in the game being dangerous, it's what we've decided to have a bit of a renaissance with and what I'll be teaching to my son.

"But wait! What about the many many models released after MKI? Like, for example, the entire faction your son has picked?" you-probably-aren't-but-I'm-going-to-imagine-you-are asking yourself.

So yes, this is going to take a bit of work on my end. Namely figuring out the original formulas for model point costs, so that I can retrofit things into it. But dammit, I'm determined now. I may actually do it. Largely because that would also enable me to retrofit any of the new Oblivion campaign model releases/updates. Which basically all excite me QUITE A BIT.

Look at that gorgeous artwork, those super cool Morrowan Precursors battling the forces of evil to literally save the souls of humanity.

The artwork for the amazing Morrowan Archon.

SO COOL!

Wait a Menite one, too!?

Oh... oh no. This could get expensive.

IS THAT A THAMARITE ARCHON THAT WORKS IN TANDEM WITH ITS REVERSE TWIN MORROWAN ARCHON TO BATTLE THE FORCES OF THE ABYSS?

...there are 8 Archons in total. This one is the Void Archon, which shows obvious connections between the Skorne and the Retribution of Scyrah, as well as the Convergence of Cyriss. This is very exciting, from a fan of the game itself AND a fan of the narrative.

And finally, the thing that actually has me the most excited... Cygnar Morrowan heavy infantry. This has been the top of my wishlist for more than a decade. I honestly can barely believe it's going to happen. So, so excited for this.

Privateer Press has fostered Warmachine into a game I'm not crazy about playing in its current form (which may largely just be because of the community that plays it) but damn if they aren't making some super cool stuff for it. And, they teased something entirely new for next year!

Is the logo very good? Nah, not really. But in a way that makes it kind of amazing at the same time.

Rather than make this blog like 4-5 more subjects long, I'll cut it off right here with an update on NOVA prep.

At this point, my 30k Zone Mortalis stuff is at least all assembled, with it roughly 50-55% painted.

The Guild Ball team is done with the exception of the goal marker.

Haven't even started the Aristeia! or Infinity models. Feeling a little nervous here.

My customized Centurion.

Back shot.

Normal squad with their converted heads.

The full list. Not a ton of models, but I'm taking my time and enjoying the effort of painting them.

First finished regular marine. Just need to put the black around the base edge.

Group shot while working on the bases.

First completed Gal Vorbak model! Might still go back and make his shoulder pad black, but I haven't decided yet.

Back shot.

And finally the Miners' Tank Girl herself, plus the Moley Mole:

And now, back to serious business.

DAKKA DAKKA DAKKA! (Me on the deck of the U.S.S. North Carolina)

Weirdly, for me, this blog post is going to primarily consist of pictures!

It's been a minute since my last post, and I've been working (like, real job working) a whole lot, so hobby stuff has been just bits and pieces here and there.

First up, Warhammer Underworlds:

Some cool 3D printed terrain for the "blocked spaces" on the gaming boards that I painted up.

My son's warbands! I did the basing on them for him (at his request) so that everything matches, but otherwise he painted these himself! Super proud.

Garrek, before I did the blood on the severed head and painted his base. I really wanted to focus on the skintones for these guys as their focal point, so everything else was just done to a level of "serviceable" for my standards.

Pic 1 of the completely finished Garrek's Reavers warband.

Pic 2 of the completely finished Garrek's Reavers warband.

In-game shot of our first fully painted game! I think the boy is just now starting to figure out that I'm a goofball, swing-for-the-fences style of player, so I'm always going to try for the high-value, high-risk objectives typically requiring all of my own guys to die in a blaze of glory. If I end up winning this way (like I did for this particular game) it's a huge swing at the very end, going from 2-3 glory points to 8+ in a single card.

I've also been working on my Guild Ball Miners, and actually got in my first learning game with my good buddy Wargamer Ramblings against his Morticians. I have to confess, even just from the one game, I really like the structure of this game. I definitely want to play more soon.

The movement shenanigans of the Miners, I'll admit, is a pretty interesting thought puzzle for maneuvering across the pitch. We only played to one goal (because I'm slooooow while I learn, I'll admit) which ended up being the mighty Fissure (aka the tank) driving the ball up and dropping it into the goal from point-blank range.