2016 Year in Review

Once again it is that time of the year where us blogger's get to recap what we did or did not accomplish for the year. I actually kind of enjoy writing these posts along with the first post of the new year for my goals.

2016 started with a "What's in store for 2016" so we will use that post as basis for our year in review.

Bolt Action
2016
Painting Goal: None at the moment.
Gaming Goal: Play at least 1 game.

I accomplished my painting goal for Bolt Action. Nothing was added to any of our armies. But things are changing for that. Two weeks ago I got the bug to get back into Bolt Action. So armies were shipped from Arizona and a new Great Britain army was ordered from Warlord Games, so look for more Bolt Action news in 2017.

My gaming goal was not accomplished, I had thought maybe I woud get in 1 game, but that did not happen.

Dugeons & Dragons (Roleplaying)
2016
Roleplaying games take a lot of commitment on a weekly basis. I honestly do not see myself getting involved with another group unless it is planned to be a short session.

I had no plans to continue playing D&D in 2016, and those plans were met.

Warhammer 40K
2016
No plans at all for completing any more armies, the prices from GW are too ridiculous for me.

Painting Goal: None at the moment.
Gaming Goal: I can see myself possibly getting in a few games.

There was no painting done on my Warhammer 40K armies nor any games played.

Warmachine/Hordes
2016
Now this is the one that I see will take up most of my time in 2016. If the year continues as it ended in 2015, it should be a good year. The big question is hopefully my son will not get burnt out on Warmachine/Hordes. As long as he stays interested, I see myself staying interested. As I mentioned the other day, I love the sculpts from Privateer Press. So even if the gaming is down for the year, the plan will still to be to collect and paint.

Painting Goal: Tough to say. I use a Painting Points system each year to track my painting progress. Not sure if I will put a number for a goal, but maybe a collection of armies. I am in the middle of painting my Gatorman Army, after the Gatorman are completed to at least 50 points, I will probably move onto my Trollbloods or continue on my Khador. My Khador Army for Warmachine is "my" army. That is the army that will be played most and I would like to try and collect all the models for Khador. So that will be my goal, to at least own every Khador model. Getting them painted will be a different story. Any 'new' armies for Warmachine/Hordes, unsure at the moment.
Gaming Goal: I would love to say 52 games (average 1/week, which may be doable) but let's be realistic. Let's shoot for half that. 26 Warmachine/Hordes games played for 2016.

2016 was actually not a bad year for Warmachine/Hordes (at least the first 7 months). I did get quite a bit painted more for Khador army. I completed my Gatormen army, and I also was working on my Trollbloods army. Gaming on the other hand I fell 2 games short of my goal, I played 24 games of WM/H's. If I did not move to Michigan at the end of September, I know I would have gotten in a few more games with my son.

X-Wing
2016
I really want to get back involved with this game, realistically if I concentrate as much time as I have planned for WM/H, it may be unlikely, especially since we are ow behind on quite a few of the Wave releases. Plus the game has always been a 'meta' game with the latest releases.

Painting Goal: Not applicable.
Gaming Goal: I am going to shoot for at least 5 games played of X-Wing.

Nothing was accomplished for X-Wing in 2016, and I do not see myself buying any X-Wing models for myself in 2017. My son and I shared our models, so I will not have him ship me anything either. So it looks like X-Wing will be a done game for me...."looks" is the key term, but you never know.

Events/Conventions
2016
This is a new topic for 2016. I always enjoy attending conventions, more for the comraderie with other players than 'winning' a tournament. When I lived in Chicago, it was always AdeptiCon each year. Living in Arizona, attending AdeptiCon gets a little costly. We already have 2 events planned for 2016. Las Vegas Open in February, PP Lock & Load in June, and I am going to look for one possibly in the Fall (maybe Warmachine Weekend).

Well my son and I did attend the LVO back in February and drove out to Seattle in June for PP Lock & Load. I really enjoyed myself at these conventions and that is where I got most of my games in the year. I did not attend anything in the Fall with my move taking up all my time.

Stay tuned for my 2017 goals posts and what events/conventions are planned for the new year.

To anyone reading this, have a Happy Holiday!

Read More

Daily Chronicle: Shaking Off The Dust (Again)

Yea I know, I am always shaking of the dust. I go in spurts when it comes to wargaming. I enjoy so many hobbies, but can usually only concentrate on one at a time. Now that I back up North in the frozen tundra, the winter months keeps me from cycling outdoors, so it's time to get back to an indoor hobby.

A good part of my hiatus has been my move from Arizona to Michigan. After I came back from Lock & Load in June, the wife and I really started to look for house back in Michigan (with the original plan being we rent to my wife's sister for 2 years before we move up). Well plans change and the end of September had me loading up the moving truck. Unfortunately the truck was so full, that all my wargaming models/supplies had to stay behind at my mom's house with my oldest son.

The past 2 months here in Michigan kept me busy painting... that is painting bedrooms, kitchen, living room, bathrooms. Now that I am 95% done with that, it's a little boring up here by myself (wife and youngest son do not come up till May 2017) so I need to keep myself busy.

2016 was suppose to be the year of Warmachine/Hordes for me, and it truly was through June. For some reason last week the itch to play Bolt Action started coming back to me. I think part of the reason is that where I am located in Michigan, there is not much miniature wargaming, everything is about 50 mile drive. In Chicago (100 miles) I still have plenty of friends that play Bolt Action (and none of them play WM/H), so when I go to Chicago to visit, I can always get in a game of BA. I also found some Facebook groups that support Bolt Action around here (Michiana Bolt Action and Bolt Action Michigan).

Now is actually a pretty good time also for me to get back into BA, back in September, Warlord Games released Version 2 of the rulebook so most players are still getting a feel of the new rules. So I ordered my V2 book last week and I am now starting to go through it and see what has changed since V1.

But where are my models..... Back in Arizona....so I had my son this past weekend go through the garage and start packing up my models/armies and prepare them for shipping (he will be keeping his US Army with him, but is shipping my Soviets and Germans). Unfortunately during my move, I did not keep any of my paints I used for BA (just my WM/H paints), so I will have to put together an order for those. But at least I'll have my existing armies to try and get a few games in. I'll be luck to get in a game once a month, but thats not too bad and it'll give me time to paint new armies.

Thats all for now, we'll go into a little bit more detail when I write up my post for my plans for 2017.

Read More

WM: Khador Behemoth 'new sculpt' (Warjack)

Back to a little Warmachine with my Khador army. One of the perks of attending an event like Lock & Load is that Privateer Press sells models in their store that have yet been released to the public. Seeing that I knew I was going to be spending a lot of money on MKIII items, I was not planning on purchasing too many new releases. But when I saw the 'Behemoth' there, I had to get it. If I already had the older sculpt I probably would have passed on this purchase, but the 'Behemoth' is one Warjack I was missing from Khador army.

While waiting for the Keynote to start the Saturday night of Lock & Load I was able to assemble him and I actually playtested him in a game the next day. Seeing how he was already assembled, he had to hit my painting table next. I did not want him to end up like 'Grolar' that I purchased early at the LVO and he is still sitting in his box.

I went with my usual way of painting my Warjacks, making them look like they have been on the battlefield and not fresh off the assembly line.

Behemoth

Behemoth

Behemoth

Painting Points: 5

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Janissa Stonetide (Solo)

Picked up Janissa Stonetide from a friend last weekend who was selling off some of his models. I had this model on my list of models needed for my Doomie 1 list and while I was at Lock & Load, I forgot to pick it up. Glad he was selling her and I picked her up for $6. She had a little paint on her so I did a quick re-prime and threw on my colors. Nothing fancy, just quick and fast.
 

Janissa Stonetide

Janissa Stonetide

 
Painting Points: 2
 

Read More

Hordes: Minions Blind Walker (Warbeast)

This past Sunday was Father's Day and my oldest son actually got me a present this year. I usually do not expect anything from my three boys (since when I want something I go out and buy it myself), but it was nice to actually receive something this year.
 
Seeing how my oldest is into Warmachine/Hordes it was only fitting he bought me another model. He knows that I really like to paint my Minions army, so he bought me the new Blind Walker / Wrastler model. Seeing how I already have a Wrastler model completed in the old sculpt (and I really did not one of each sculpt) I decided to model this kit as Blind Walker. My Minion army is fully painted and I like to try and keep it that way, so Sunday afternoon I put aside the Trollbloods I was assembling and opened up Blind Walker and starting assembling him. Sunday night saw the primer hit the model and I spent any free time on Monday/Tuesday to complete the model.
 
It has been awhile since I painted a Warbeast for my Minions and I am trying to keep them all uniform in color scheme (luckily I wrote down all my colors). I believe he came out matching really good and I am really happy with him. Now we just have to see if he is actually any good on the gaming table.
 
 

Blind Walker

 

Blind Walker

 

Blind Walker

 
Painting Points: 5
 

Read More

Daily Chronicle: 'Lock & Load 2016 Recap'

I know this a few days late, but I thought I'd go ahead and write a quick recap of 'Lock & Load 2016' which took place the weekend of June 10th-12th in Bellevue, WA. along with a small photo dump.
 
For my son and I, this was the first 'Lock & Load' we attended. We attended the LVO back in February and previously living in the Chicago area attended AdeptiCon multiple times, but this is a first event for us in the Pacific Northwest.
 
When it comes to traveling, I am not a fan of flying unless I have too (not that I am of afraid to fly, it is just that I would rather drive and bring the whole 'kitchen sink' with us than forgetting to pack something for a flight). So with that in mind, my son and I took a road trip to 'Lock & Load'.
 
We ended up leaving Phoenix really early Wednesday morning and the plan was to drive the direct route through Nevada and straight through (with a few rest/sleep stops) and arrive in Bellevue sometime early Thursday afternoon. Well the trip was smooth sailing and we arrived right on schedule (around lunch time on Thursday). We got a quick bite to eat for lunch and then headed to the convention center to meet our friend Adam with Broken Egg Games to drop off the 50 tournament trays we were carrying for him. After we dropped the trays off we perused the hall a little bit while Privateer Press was still getting a few last minute things wrapped up.
 
It was then time to check in to our hotel (Hilton...about a mile away) and make some plans for dinner and prepare for Fridays events. Having a car was really nice and we were able to drive out to a Buffalo Wild Wings, along with catching a showing of the new 'Warcraft' movie.
 
Friday June 10th
 
The original plan was for my son and I to both play in the 2nd Heat of the Masters Tournament. Well since I did not get much playing time in before the event (and I was really rusty on the rules) I decided to back out and peruse the venue and watch my son play in the Masters. With a late start to the 2nd Heat (around 3:00 PM) after the second game of my son's loss he decided to drop out and we would go and get some dinner. I ended up finding a gaming store not far away that also had a restaurant and bar, what a great concept. So we headed out to MOX Boarding House for some dinner and a beer.
 
Saturday June 11th
 
With the realease of MKIII at 'Lock & Load', Saturday morning was used to wait in the store line and do a pre-order of our items. Privateer had it setup that you pre-order your items during the day, then after the keynote at 9:00 PM they had all your items already packaged for you to be picked up and the lines were broken down into groups of 50 order numbers. It was a great idea.
 
My son and I ended up playing a few last games of MKII in the Iron Arena (to collect some points for prizes). After dinner we headed back to convention center for the keynote and our MKIII goodies.
 
I ended up getting a Khador and Trollbloods Battlegroup Box (so I can have a mini rulebook of each). I did not elect to get the cards since we were going to use the Warroom app and I also did not get the full size rulebook. The new rulebook is huge and I was not going to be carrying that to the stores to go out and play. 2 mini rulebooks will be fine for me.
 
Sunday June 12th
 
The original plan for today was to play in the Speedmachine Event, but with the release of MKIII, my son and I decided just to play in Iron Arena and learning the new MKIII rules. After a game or two of just using the Warroom app, I headed back upstairs to store and came down with 6 packs of Faction Cards (Khador/Trollbloods/Minions/Mercenaries/Cygnar/Circle). While learning what the new cards can do, it was easier to physically have the cards in front of me and to be able to flip through them.
 
When the gaming was over for us I finished the weekend playing 7 games and going 4-3. I could have squeezed in more games on Friday, but with the release of MKIII late Saturday night I did not want to get too comfortable with MKII since I will be learning MKIII. But I am alright with that. I love attending these events for the social aspects.
 
We wrapped up Sunday night by walking through downtown Bellevue and getting some dinner at one of my sons favorite places, The Cheesecake Factory.
 
That ended the 'Lock & Load' portion of the trip for us. The plan for going back home was to go through San Francisco and see the sights for a day and half. So we arrived back home in Phoenix late Wednesday night.
 
So the question is.....will we be attending 'Lock & Load 2017'.....the drive is really really long.....I am going to say that at this moment there is a 50/50 chance we will go back next year.....but without the stop at San Francisco.....too much extra dollars. I will probably make a decision after 'LVO 2017'.
 
Onto a few photos.......

The van all packed and ready for the trip.

My son and Cygnar.

Khador and me.

Heading into the Events Hall for the Masters.

My sons army ready for Masters to begin.

Lock & Load 2016

Iron Arena Hall

Iron Arena Hall

Finally a Gargantuan for Minions.

 

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Dire Troll Blitzer (Warbeast)

Two months since a model hit this blog, that's pretty bad. But when you have as many hobbies as I do you need to priortize (plus lately I have been pretty lazy, my mind has been concentrating on house hunting out of state). Since Privateer Press's 'Lock & Load' is next weekend (and my son and I are leaving Wednesday) I thought it was time to get a model completed.
 
My Classic Dire Troll Blitzer has been sitting half painted on my table for over a month. Last night I decided "what the hell" and let's just slap on some colors and call him done. So not much effort really went into this guy, just wanted him done. All honestly not a fan of the 'classic' sculpt that much either, I prefer the new sculpt much better.
 
At least I can try him out in some 'Claw & Fang' battles next weekend with my son.

Dire Troll Blitzer

Dire Troll Blitzer

 
Painting Points: 5
 

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Dire Troll Bomber (Warbeast)

Well the batteries in the painting machine seem to have faded in the month of March, but during the last week of the month I was able to get my Trollbloods Dire Troll Bomber on the painting table.
 
I did not get him finished in March, but he will be the first model for April. I was able to get him completed this past Friday night.
 
Still working on my Trollbloods skin tone technique and I really happy on this guy came out. I think between Gunnbjorn and now Bomber, I am finally happy on my skin tones.
 
On a sad note, our LGS of 8 years (Empire Games) has officially closed it's doors yesterday. Gaming table wise (20+), I personally feel this was the best gaming store here in Phoenix. Odyssey Games in Scottsdale recently opened and is also a very nice store and I have played there before with my son, but the store is about 25 miles away. The other stores that are now closer to me are more 'Magic' oriented with few gaming tables. Not that I get to go out and play that often, but it was nice having Empire Games only 3 miles from me.
 
Anyways here is Dire Troll Bomber.
 
 

Dire Troll Bomber

 

Dire Troll Bomber

Painting Points: 5
 

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Captain Gunnbjorn (Warlock)

My first Warlock for my Trollbloods army is now complete. I have been slowly working in Captain Gunnbjorn throughout the week, and last night I was able to finish him up.
 
I still have a lot of models to complete for my 2 50 point lists, and in all honsestly do not think they will be finished by June. I am going to continue working on them and if they get completed, great, if not I will then porobably fall back and play my Gators at Lock & Load.
 
Debating if should tackle the Highwaymen next or work on a Warbeast.... probably a Warbeast....
 

Captain Gunnbjorn

Captain Gunnbjorn

 
Painting Points: 2
 

Read More

Hordes: Minions Croak Raiders (Unit)

Nothing special with this Unit, these guys were truly just 'speed painted' so I can get them done and have 2 full 50 point lists for my Minions.
 
At least now I am ready for Lock & Load Masters with at least my Gators. My plan is still to complete my Trollbloods for this event, but it will be close to getting them done in time. So I'll be practicing with my Gators and Khador until then.
 

Croak Raiders

 

Croak Raiders

Painting Points: 10
 

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Pyg Bushwhacker Officer & Mortar (Unit)

I am finally quite happy on how the skin turned out on my Trollbloods. As I mentioned in my previous post, I am still trying to figure out the skin tone for this army. I think with these guys I am satisfied and will be using this technique going forward on the rest of my Trollbloods. I know it is not perfect, the layering could be better, but I like the way the color came out and it did not take too long to complete. I still have a lot more models to paint to finish 2-50 point lists for Master's Lock & Load, so I needed to fins something that paints quickly and still looks decent.
 
Instead of just using the color 'Trollblood Base' followed with a drybrush of 'Frostbite', with these guys, after the base color, I then layered on 'Meredius Blue' to make them a bit bluer (which I prefer), then just did a few highlights with 'Frostbite' instead of drybrushing the model. I think it looks a lot cleaner this way.
 
Now I am going to slide the Trollbloods over for a very short while and get my final Unit for my Gators completed, the Croak Raiders. Once this Unit is completed I will then have 2-50 point lists for my Gatormen Blindwater Congregation. This will more than likely be my backup plan for Lock & Load if the Trollbloods do not get completed.
 

Pyg Bushwhackers Officer & Mortar

 

Pyg Bushwhackers Officer & Mortar

Painting Points: 2
 

Read More

Hordes: Trollbloods Pyg Bushwhackers (Unit)

Painting my Trollbloods started back up last week. I have a lot to paint if I want to get this army ready for the Master's Tournament at the 2016 Lock & Load in June. I am hoping this army will be done in time, but do not want to rush them.
 
I am still working on the way I want the skin to turn out for my Trollbloods. Each model I paint I am learning something and the next models I'll apply what I learned. By the time I get to my Warlocks and Warbeasts, hopefully I will have my skin tone down.
 
So Friday night I was able to finish up another Unit for my Gunnbjorn list, the Pyg Bushwhackers (their UA will be done next).
 
I wanted to get these guys posted before we start the new month on Tuesday.
 

Pyg Bushwhackers

 

Pyg Bushwhackers

Painting Points: 6
 

Read More

Daily Chronicle: 'Decisions, Decisions, Decisions, What Lists For 2016 Lock & Load'

We are a little over 3 months away from the Privateer Press 2016 Lock & Load Gamefest (June 10-12) in Bellevue, WA and I need to decide on what I want to play at this event.

The 'official' event listings have not been announced yet (hopefully very soon), so I am basing my decisions on the events that were posted the previous 2 years (the last 2 years were pretty close in the event types and I honestly do not see them changing it to drastically).

The event is 3 days, Friday-Sunday and my son and I plan on arriving there sometime Thursday afternoon and heading back home (with a stop in San Franciso) early Monday morning.

Read More

Hordes: Minions Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew (Unit)

Last night it was time for some more Minions and my Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew hit the painting table. Again, once I started on these models I just kept on going and next thing I knew they were almost done. This is one of the main reasons why I like WM/H so much in regards to the painting, most of the models are some type of Solo, or if they are Units, the model count is uasually less than 10 and you can get them done farely quickly.
 
The Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew will be used with my Hordes Gator in my 2nd Masters List to be run with Bloody Barnabas. All that is left for that list will be a Unit of 10 Croak Raiders.
 
 

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

 

Swamp Gobber Bellows Crew

Painting Points: 2
 

Read More

Hordes: Minions Saxon Orrick (Solo)

It was a slow weekend for painting for me, only was able to get this 1 model completed (although I was able to get 2 games in on Friday night).
 
Saxon Orrick is another Solo that I need for my Khador Butcher 3 list (down to 17 models to get that list completed).
 
Saturday night my son and I visited another LGS way on the other side of town for us (meeting some friends for dinner in the area). This LGS (Imperial Outpost Games) is the only local store that carries my Army Painter Washes that I like to use, so I figure while I was there I'll stock up on a few bottles. As I was going to make my purchase, I decided that I would try a change. I decided to pick up the P3 Flesh Wash and Armor Wash instead and give these a try.
 
So this is my first model trying the P3 Flesh Wash on the entire model and Armor Wash on the weapon. In all honesty I am undecided on the Flesh Wash (need to try a thinner next time with it). The Flesh Wash seems to 'pool' more than the Army Painter. Army Painter seems to work better on the flat spots also. But the Flesh Wash did a better job on the lighter colors (although I could also try Army Painter's lighter shade for my light colors). I am really torn on what to do, I like to keep with the P3 line of paints (since all my paint now is P3), but I feel a little more comfortable with the Army Painter washes. I think I will have to do another model and think the wash a bit and see how it comes out. Just not sure on what I want to test it with. Having to drive 100 miles round trip or paying for shipping for the Army Painter washes adds some expense, where as P3 my closer stores carries these products.
 
 

Saxon Orric

Saxon Orrick

Saxon Orrick

Painting Points: 1
 

Read More

WM: Mercenaries Madelyne Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan (Solo)

There is something about painting Warmachine/Hordes miniatures that I really enjoy about them, especially the Solo's. I think it is because most of the models are unique. When I paint a Solo, each miniature feels like a centerpiece and time can be spent just on that one model. Coming from the 'rank and file' world where I had to paint 30 guys all posed the same way and only got to fight with the front 5, that got boring to paint. Grant it there are Units in Warmachine/Hordes, but usually no greater than 10 models, and those 10 'most' of the time are also unique.
 
I have been working on a Butcher 3 list as my 2nd list for Master's Tournaments, so the models in that list are probably going to be hitting the painting station first. I'll be throwing in a few other models here and there just to change it up a bit for me so I do not get bored.
 
So up next we have another Solo for my army. Madelyn Corbeau, Ordic Courtesan. My light setup is still not ideal and her face actually looks a lot better in person than what the lighting/picture shows here.
 

Madelyn Corbeau

Madelyn Corbeau

Painting Points: 1
 

Read More