How the Holy handgrenade of Antioch went off in my living room....... or more like I needed to clean the damn place up.

So with all the drama and model making and what note the house slowly descended in chaos, and none more so than the area I spend time working on models.


To keep with the Monty Python theme from last post it had looked like the Holy Hand-grenade of Antioch had been set off in the house. So I resolved to tidy up the area and organize a little.

Recently Harley had been at Bunnings the local mega hardware store chain down here and found some nifty storage units, so with determination and sound of my Wife telling me off if I didn't sort the mess out soon, I purchased a unit to begin the tidy up of the bits of arms guns and what not and get some order back into my working area.

I must say its worked out well, and now the step is as I hunt through a sprue I will clip all the bits off and sort them into these trays.  I plan to get a 2nd on for terrain bits, modeling equipment  and what not but this has been a very fruitful start to organizing my space.

So with the tidy space and a happy wife I then returned to the ongoing project so here are a few more WIP shots of models being worked on.

Anyway that's about it for the weekend. But Id be interested in what others do to keep the bitz at bay and organize their workspace.

Cheers

JP

None Shall Pass! The black Knight or as I called him George The Unstoppable

Today the old antagonists the Astral Claws and the Arctic Templar's met in battle over the course of a few Beers, some cupcakes chocolate and a cup of Tea. 

We played two scenarios from Arcannacon 2009, the 1st was true lies where you pick two missions and then a bluff mission,  we went the full seven turns and through good luck with the dice, some very specific target selections I was able to come out on top by a fair but not dramatic margin.

I liked the mission and enjoyed the game Harely is always a tough opponent so to score a win against him is always a good win.

The 2nd mission we played was was "Total Recall" where each player picks 3 objectives for their opponent reveals it very quickly then removes all reference to it, needing to make sure they remember where each of their specific objectives where on the table.

This again in my opinion provided another interesting game, which also saw right to George the unstoppable Venerable dreadnaught who kept locked in combat for 5 turns a squad of Khorne Berzerkers  and terminators.

By the end we had a laugh about the similarities of him being the Black Knight, with both arms gone, Legs lost he was still head butting guys in defiance.

The game ended in a draw but it was no biggy Id had a good afternoon of gaming. 

Have to say it was good to have a few games the last week has been a real drag and the chance to enjoy a few games was a real change of pace. 

Raven Company Begins

Hi all, 

Its been a while between drinks and in all honesty i think i need a stiff drink after the last few weeks. Work has been very very full on, its seen me with allot of time looking at computer screens and not much else. 

Yet in among all this a large package arrived one afternoon from the UK. Forgeworld had arrived to my merry corner of the world, and the work to create the Raven company began. 

In amongst this a dear family member has been diagnosed with cancer and over the last few days this has sapped what was left of my emotional and physical reserves.  Suffice to say its been a hell of a week with more to come.

Slowly though over the past weeks, a few minutes here and a few minutes there while I either baby sat my sister in laws kids, or took a break from work or life in general I've been picking away at these models seen here.

Bit by bit squad 1 has come to life and with the assistance of Harley so has 5 drop pods. There is a mountain of work to do still and I see myself caught up in the build phase for a few weeks yet before i return to the paint brush. 

But all in all I'm really enjoying this, and with allot more pre-design than before these models in my opinion already show a high level of character and movement.

There is a special model I'm working on as well or the Lord and I must say I'm really really satisfied with his  progress as well. 

In the coming weeks ill post up the dreadnought's, the dreadnought drop pods and the other squads as well. 

I'm also still working on the main back story and for those following the blog that should be up as well. But with life and its demands I'm not going to make any firm commitments.

I hope you enjoy what you see and any comments are always welcome. 

Cheers

Jon-Paul

Boarding Missions or how I learned to stop worrying and love the dice

Well Ive left my ode to Papa JJ up long enough, I have started work on your mini my friend and its almost ready for painting! more on that another day.

However in the meantime I have been a busy busy boy. With only one exam left to go on thursday (which im not worried about at all... physics is my B%tch :P) my schedule is starting to free up once again for hobby! As my friend JP often says (which im sure has ulterior motive) im a wizz at contructing models which is probably connected to my type A perfectionist attitude but having said that I did knock together 5 drop pods for him in a single day, base coated and all. With a little chicken blood mixed in the superglue I have been assured by my resident witch doctor that "His pods will be dropping all over da place like a green snake in the sugar cane".

Now to the grit, what the title promised. JP and I played a few games of the new IA:9 boarding missions on the weekend. First thoughts, Great premise, decent rules, needs a lot of working to work. To be frank the rules are a little "open" to interpretation which lead to a series of house rules being implemented for the sanity of all and sundry. Additionally board setup is more complicated than "bang some bits down" as the rules would have you believe. With our first game the setup of the board lead to a natural chock point, as it stood the Astral Wolves were defending and the Ulhfen Templars were on the offence. With this chock point however the Ulhfen Templars were on the back foot from word go. Game 1 went to the Astral Wolves by stint of poor setup only.

Game 2 found us beginning with a board setup from the spacehulk missions with a few addons and adjustments into a much fairer setup. However this time it would be the strategems that would break the game. Astral Wolves this time on the offence, I took the Interdiction strat, allowing me to essentialy put an entry point right in the middle of his defensive position... fine deal with that but as it allowed me to come on as normal with no restrictions I did... with a unit of Khorne Berzerkers. Needless to say I made mince meat out of his heavy support ( Long Fangs make great sandwichs btw), Astral Wolves winning game 2 by a decent margin.

Now the ruleset does say to leave any sense of competitive nature behind as you play Boarding missions but it sure sucks playing a game you have no chance of winning. If you are going to play (and with space hulk board sections) then you need to ensure a few things, First no area of the board is limited to only 1 entry, second there are no long corridors greater than 12" long, You take units of no more than 5 and be prepared to have it all go against you.

Otherwise im going to keep trying to get this right, I love the idea of desperate measures to capture enemy ships or installations that ordinary 40k just doesnt give you. In the mean time I will have to write up a set of official house rulings which I will share with all of you when its done.

Until Next time good gaming!

An ode to Papa JJ

Well where does one start with a review of a blog, not just a blog but also the man... we start i guess at the beginning...

First the earth cooled, Then the dinosaurs came... 

But in all seriousness lets get to know this man.

Thats Papa JJ on the left! Joe Ortoza on the right. people in the backgound..?

Jason (aka. Papa JJ) was born on March the 6^th 1977, Disco was at its height and Saturday night fever was soon to be released. As it happens the very day before this auspicious event, Formula One driver Tom Pryce died after colliding with a track marshal... could Papa JJ be the reincarnated soul of either of these gents? No... Probably not but it’s a nice thought anyway.

So we fast forward, to May 23^rd 2009. It was a Saturday night and who knows why (Papa JJ we hope) but Dice Rolla was born. In fact Saturday seems to be a current theme... I digress. It was from this humble beginning that we start to see glimmers of true brilliance emerge with it seems a plethora of hobby updates to come. One hundred and ninety four posts later and we find ourselves at the present.

I would if I could list each and everyone of them for you the reader but let me just say, Papa JJ posts with regularity, he often has something of value to say and some of his posts have been epic to say the least. If we all could write as much or as well as he does the interwebs would be... more wordy, but more... thingyer... brain thing... like a headache with pictures.

Anyway I have chosen a few projects to showcase here to give you an example of why I really do like Dice Rolla, and not just cause I said I would!

First off I would love to mention the Sea Horses of Annihilation! While we have yet to see more of this chapter I love it, further more it has the full approval of my Girlfriend (who loves sea horses) and was the very first post I ever read on this Blog, in fact it was the title that got my attention to Dice Rolla to begin with.

What a cute little fella!

Next off I would like to showcase this WIP of a cityscape Papa JJ has been Building, All I can say is its a real pity an ocean separates us my friend because I would love the chance to romp a few Khorne Zerkers through that battlefield! 

I can see my house from here!

And lastly in a triumvirate of celebration this article really got me, Rogue Trader Ultra Marines, wow. It was rogue trader that first got me into gaming, be that as it may I stopped soon after for a paltry 15 years I still remember seeing them and wanting some of my own. Turns out I did buy some and there they sit unmade to this day... one day... 

Old Skool Glory!

Either way I love it, great way to get the old models back in action!

Even after all of that I have by no means scratched the surface of Dice Rolla, From trips around the U.S to game reports, a few giveaways (how about winning that Copperhead... especially considering it was Dice Rolla that linked me to the construction blog!) to gaming advice and everything in between, If you love the Simpsons check out the Imperial Guard project with a fully painted Mr. Burns (you need to make Canary M Burns to take the rap btw). Also the Killzone team with a distinct Lovecraft style, very nice! 

So there you have it, Papa JJ you have yet to pick your model or what you would like done to it, I hope you realise I actually intend to ship it to you when it’s done... I mean what’s the point of me having it after all!

Oh and a computer called him a nerd, true story!

As Always peeps Good Gaming

Von Drakin

Life, the Universe and Everything.

"In the beginning the Universe was created. This has made a lot of people very angry and has been widely regarded as a bad move"
Douglas Adams.

So this is how im planning to open on my Astro-physics essay im currently writing, lets hope the lecturer has a sense of humour... :D With all jest aside im knee deep in cosmology and its serious business. I mean these people tell it like it is, with absolutely no humour at all. For example here is an exert on what im currently reading... 


"The direct detection of WIMPs relies mainly on measuring the nuclear recoil of nucleons impacted by a WIMP in the lab"  (Meszaros, 2010, p. 183)


First it was Uranus, Now Wimps and Machos. Everything has to do with Pie or something (ive yet to see an actual pastry of any sort) and here they are, expecting me to take them seriously.

Picture taken by the Hubble space telescope... of freakin Sauron!!

So in Hobby news my Girlfriend bought the "Honoured Imperium" terrain set for herself because she liked the statue, so her first purchase for herself... well in the spirit of that momentous purchase I have made an exception to my no models till my essay is done and should have the statue all purdy looking in a day or two!

I have also acquired a forgeworld Lufgt Huron (not really sure what im going to do with him yet) and a dirt cheap Canis Wolfborne. So in introspection my list of models requiring painting grows every day... in fact here is a quick rundown;

Skaven: 70 Clanrats, 70 Slaves, 4 weapon teams, 2 warlock engineers, Battle Standard Bearer, Warlord, 4 Rat Ogres, 2 packmasters (with many more to come as I buy them)
(this skaven force btw is going to be something special, and will require it seems massive amounts of custom made parts... wow...)

The Forsaken: 4 honour guard, Termi Librarian, 20 assault marines, 8 bikes (including attack bike), Furiso Dread, Librarian Dread

Plus,
Daemon Prince (Astral Wolves)
Chaos Lord on demonic mount (Astral Wolves using Canis)
Forgeworld Ork Warboss Biker (one off show piece)
Forgeworld Lufgt Huron (Forsaken Termy lord perhaps?)
Custom built Ork Easy rider (one off show piece)
and a yet to be decided model for Papa JJ (This has priority)

As I sit here I know I'm missing something, oh there's a Flames of War Fallschirmjager Kompanie sitting there looking at me but they have waited this long and I never play the system much either. Also I have apparently been drafted to assemble 8 drop pods for JP (Ulhfen Templars) for his new BA army... little does he know im imbuing them with Voodoo magic to make them scatter wildly every time he plays me with them MWAHAHAHHAHA... oh wait he reads this... I kid... yes *shifty eyes*

So there you have, its a big task I have set before me but as of the 28th I have time, lots of time. look out btw in the next few days I shall be breaking out a sterling review of Dice Rolla as promised, and I have to say I would never have back read someone else's blog to such detail had I not promised Papa JJ the honour. I'm glad I did however! It isn't something I would recommend to everyone but every now and then find a blog you like wind it back a year or two and sit for spell reading, the transitions will amaze you even if its a blog you read on a daily basis.


Until then Good Gaming!

Von Drakin

WIP updates

A few more shots of the Uhlfen Guard started work on the next guy and some exciting packages from the UK are on thier way so more about that soon.


Anyway cheers

The Interwebs is procrastination...

So I have now completed one subject, done, dusted and hopefully i have passed well... time will tell. I have another big exam to sit on wednesday, an essay to compose and a final physics exam on the 28th... Until then im afraid its study and procrastination. Unfortunately I cant qualify painting as valid procrastination, where as interweb trawling... welll im doing "research" (sure lets call it that) and if I happen to stumble across someone's blog in the meantime (so many good ones to choose from) then that's a casualty of the study process.

Anyways until I get painting again you can amuse your self with this picture of my favourite I can has cheezeburger!

**as an aside, to give myself and all of you something to look forward to, when I do get back to painting, the first person to name the movie this picture parodies will get a special model painted in their honour (in space marine, chaos marine, rogue trader marine, tau, dark eldar, genestealer or ork flavours) in whatever scheme they like, a special expose on their blog of choice and a link to that blog topside in pride of place on my blog!