296 On the Painting Table...at the moment

Hullo, All,

Just to reassure you that I am painting again despite the parlous state of The Shed and the lack of updates...and this is what I am reduced to - I keep all my paints and brushes in an old biscuit tin and scrape a place on the dining table to paint by desklamp:

If you're wondering why I might be painting Catachans (and evil, twisted, traitor scum Catachans at that) it's because I'm painting them up for Zzzzzz over at Devos IV.

Next on the painting list is some of my new heavy support...but I've another two squads of traitorscummortars to get finished first.

- Drax.

295 Female Hardened Veteran

Hullo, All,

Allow me to introduce the only female trooper in 2/24th Cadian Light Infantry: one of my hardened vets, and a gift, courtesy of Brian at The Inner Geek:
I changed her lasgun into a kind of shotgun, and equipped her in line with my other vets, but otherwise she's as she arrived. Sorry for the shoddy pics.

Thanks, Brian!

- Drax.

294 Playing Favourites - Chain Post?

This is an idea I got from Big Lee's Miniature Adventures - I'd be delighted if others took-up the torch to shed the light on what we do and share a bit more...

Wargames Period: 40k primarily, but of late I've been getting into Flames of War, and I'm slowly building up a small British Late War force; probably 11th Armoured Bde.

Scale: See above. It's interesting to start painting 15mm...it's made me realise just how tatty some of my brushes are.

Rules: I used to love playing D&D v3.5 - not only were the rules great fun, they were also beautifully presented. As a general rule I firmly believe that 40k rules are an absolute crock, and I get annoyed at how boring IG have come to be if they're not played for fun. I still try to play for fun! As for FoW? Man, I just fell in love with those rules!

Boardgame: Probably Settlers of Catan. If you haven't played it, do so. Some great friends of mine introduced me to it a while back. I re-wrote it for a 2-player version too.

Figure Manufacturer: Games Workshop/Forge World. I've been tempted by the likes of Malifaux and Infiniti, but I've had no hands-on experience of either, so I couldn't say for sure. As for Warmahordes stuff? - well, I hear the rules are great, but I simply can't stand the aesthetic.

Metal/Hard Plastic: Well, this sets me apart from most gamers of my generation: I can't stand metal minis.

Club: The singularly superb Cross-Swords gaming club in Plymouth, UK. They meet now in the even more awesome Giant's Lair - 'The South West's Premier Wargaming Centre' and the array of friendliness, sportsmanship and scenery on offer there never ceases to amaze me. And the burgers are ace. And they have Vimto on tap. Win.

Opponent: I suppose - if anyone - then it's my old pal Mike the Merciless. He's a great guy and unbelievably lucky with dice. Wish I got to play him more often...

Film: Zulu. Any questions?

Book: I don't read fantasy (never could stand badly made-up words and over-exposition) so probably Band of Brothers, by Stephen E Ambrose. The epilogue made me cry.

Art: Meh - fantasy art is usually a turn-off for me. I did enjoy the work Mark Gibson used to have in the 2nd Edition 40k rulebooks.

The Interweb: Anyone reading this far probably knows what I follow. No forums and nice folks only. I've met some lovely, lovely people through this blog, and if I've given one thing back, then I guess it's the Excel Painting Chart.

Anyone fancy doing this yourself? I'd love to read it...

- Chris.

293 The Shed: End of Days?

Hullo,

The Painting Shed is on its last legs. Over the last month we've had strong winds in the UK and the larchlap slats on the back of our cheap-ol' shed have finally rotted away from their mountings. The wind finished the job nicely.
I've patched these bad-boys up time and again, but now, alas, I'm reduced to pinning recycling bags over the back of my painting cave.

Know what the worst of it is, though? Our lovely apple tree (which somehow died in the frosts last winter) also came down last month. Bugger. [It's a nice view over the village though...]

Still, on the plus side, my landlord said he'll sort us out with a new shed. Huzzah - new painting cave!

- D.

292 Painting Accross the Pond - Drax Edition Part IIIa

Dear All,

About a year ago, I swapped models with The Inner Geek over in Texas for the 'Painting Across the Pond' project, in which we took a number of months(!) painting them up for each other. At the end of last year we finally swapped back, and with overhauls in the cottage I never got around to taking and posting images of the minis he painted for me. So here they are. Firstly it's the Commanding Officer of the 2nd Battalion, 24th Cadian Light Infantry (a Lt/Col whose name I don't yet have) and secondly, his faithful bodyguard - a freebie which Brian kindly threw in.
I couln't be happier. Please enjoy the pics and pay appropriate homage to The Geek's skill:

More soon,

- Drax.

PS: Anyone know how to get rid of these confounded spaces between lines when I post? Is it an html thing?

291 The Emperor Lives! (as does my enjoyment of 40K)

Happy New Year, Folks!


It's now obvious that - like a lot of 40k vets, so it appears - I'm getting into an alternative system: I had my first proper intro game of Flames of War the other day and I loved it. That said, however, I did manage to get to the Club last Thursday and had a cracking game against the ever-pleasant Lee.


As it happens, I won fairly comprehensively, after the fellow in the picture above died the Death of a Thousand Guard-Gunline Cuts. But here's the thing: we had a good time. Sure, we spent a significant amount of time bemoaning the ludicrous inconsistencies in 40k; sure the broken cheesiness of the Guard codex made life very difficult for the marines, and sure it was pretty one-sided from turn two, but still, the game was enjoyable and we had a laugh.


Long live 40k.


I should, of course, note that as we were packing up, Lee suddenly cried "Oh no! I completely forgot to field my two thunderfire cannon - they're worth 200pts".


Oops!


Enjoy 2012...