April 3, 2016

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
 

March 11, 2016

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
 

March 7, 2016

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
 

March 2, 2016

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
 

February 28, 2016

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
 

February 24, 2016

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.

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
 

February 22, 2016

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
 

February 19, 2016

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
 

February 17, 2016

WWX: Unboxing The 'Two Player Starter Box'

Well this is my first post for a new game my son and I picked up while in Las Vegas for the LVO, 'Wild West Exodus' by Outlaw Miniatures. Funny thing is, they are local company to me...same city. Outlaw Miniatures is actually an offshoot of Battlefoam.
 
As I mentioned in my LVO recap post, I always loved the Wild West (hence the title of this blog). Legends of the Old West by Warhammer Historicals was going to be my Wild West Skirmish game (since at that time I also enjoyed playing LoTR). Warhammer Historicals closed up shop and I never really did much then with the Old West theme.
 
Fast forward to present day and we have Wild West Exodus, a mix of the old west with some sci-fi. I am hoping this will fill my void of looking for a new sci-fi game (thought about Gates of Antares) and my void of the old west.
 
The Two Player Starter Box retails for $110 and includes: 28 miniatures (14x Lawmen, 14x Outlaws), 1 mini rulebook, dice, tokens, templates and cards for your models. You can also download the mini rulebook from the Wild West Exodus website and cards from the Outlaw Miniatures website. An errata is also available from 2015 that does change the rules a bit.
 
I am actually really impressed by the quality of the miniatures. There is a lot of assemble that needs to be done for each model, legs, arms, heads, weapons (a lot like Warlord Games Bolt Action models), but the fit is very impressive. They make it easy to align the arms, legs, heads and so on with notches and such. The models also come with instructions for each variant pose along with a picture of what part is needed from the sprue. I did notice that were some mistakes in those pictures, but in that case, the actual spruces themselves are numbere for each part. The assembly of the models was very easy.
 
I spent yesterday evening assembling my new models (13x Lawmen and 13x Outlaws), for now I did not assemble the Lawmen Interceptor or Outlaw Iron Horse. These two models I'll assemble later once we get some games under our belt.
 
The plan for my son and I is to get another small scale practice game (4-5 models) Friday night, follwed by a larger game (possible all the models, depending on time). With the small scale game we'll be holding the rulebook in our hands while we go through all the rules and learn about some of the special rules. Hopefully by the time we play the second game we'll have a better understanding.
 
The Outlaw Miniatures website also has a Tournament Packet (very similar to Privateer Press Steamroller) that has some rules on list building and dollar amounts for competitive games. Once we get a few more games in we'll be using this packet to expand our forces to be legal in these events.
 
I was really impressed with the demo game in Las Vegas and I am hoping the game is really good with more models. I prefer games that only take about 1-2 hours to play, so we'll see how this one turns out.
 
Stay tuned for a Battle Report this weekend.