Year: 2019

Developing Warhammer Neophytes

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On 11th August 2019

In Blog

Over the past month or so, me and Megan have been working to develop a new podcast, which is actually going to be a video podcast hosted on YouTube.

It’s called Warhammer Neophytes and it’s a show focused at younger hobbyists taking their first steps into the Warhammer 40,000 universe.

We have the first episode fully written up thanks to some amazing feedback from the pilot we did for a select audience, and we are recording the first two episodes upon my return from WorldCon, those being an introduction to the hobby and the podcast, then the second episode will be about building and painting your first models.

The idea is to do about 10 or so episodes, between 15 and 25 minutes long, building up to a small game between the forces found in the First Strike boxset.

If the show works we will be looking to take it further and bring in Age of Sigmar as well, but for now we are going to get the 40k shows recorded over the next couple of weeks and put them out there and see what the feedback is like.

Lindsay is going to try and knock up a logo for us, and hopefully she can get that done whilst before we take the first one on the air.

The idea stemmed from a friend who’s son is getting into Warhammer asking of Edge of Empire was suitable for him, and I went looking for a show that was, and didn’t really find anything, so we hope what we are planning fills a gap.

Graham and Chris are in the background giving their silent blessing and letting me do this under the Edge of Empire Banner so hopefully that helps builds an audience.

Dice and Dice Tray

This week I took delivery of something really cool, 201 Edge of Empire dice I had made up by Dice International Limited, and they turned out really cool. 30 of these bad boys are mine, 18 for Graham and 20 for Chris, with the remainder going out to the shows Patreon backers, and being given out to attendees at Company of Legends next two events. Cost us £97 including VAT and delivery for these, which works out at about 48p a dice which isn’t bad.

These are printed rather than engraved which would have been nearly twice as much and to be honest, the printed version looks really really good.

I am over the moon with these, they really have made my week, and I can’t wait to start rolling them!

We also have been in discussions with Deep Cut Studios about doing some custom neoprene Dice Trays for Company of Legends, and I got a sample done and it was delivered this week and I have to say, it’s really nice, you can see it in the Instagram post above.

A few minor changes are needed, specifically making the logo a touch smaller so it doesn’t curl up as much when the tray is put together.

But overall it’s great and we are looking at doing one for each table in 2020.

What I am Modelling

This week has been a hard week for anything, my hands have felt like useless claws, and I haven’t been able to grip anything without my hands shaking or seizing up.

All I have been able to do is a bit of building, I am trying to make space in my shelves by building my T’au army, but with my hands being all but useless this week, it’s been difficult.

On Saturday night I managed to get a decent grip of a paintbrush to start on something, rather than risk butchering one of Nikis models, I started On a T’au Stealth Suit Team and managed to get the main ochre colour of the armour down and then wash it, but it’s not a great job.

On Sunday night and Monday I managed to complete the Stealthsuit team, and its the first models I have completed in nearly two weeks.

I have managed to build, a Ghostkeel, a Breacher Team, Crisis Suit Team, two Coldstars Commanders, a Stormsurge, two Devilfish, two Broadsides, a Sun Shark and a Cadre Fireblade. The pile of T’au to build is considerably smaller now and I have been able to fit some more stuff on the shelves!

I also built a second Land Speeder I bought for my Blood Ravens this time as a Typhoon with a Multi-Melta.

What I am Reading

I have been reading everything but novels this week, mostly games rules books for a project I am helping out with, but I can’t actually say anything about it beyond that I have an NDA in place!

What I am Playing

Not a fiddle this week, my hands have been in too much pain and too clumsy to do anything, which really depresses me.

What I am Backing

Noting new, still backed Cognition Vol #1 by my old school pal Ken and that has now successfully funded.

I did get my reward today for Transformers 1986 and it’s utterly wonderful, the Cybertronic Spree did an amazing job brining these classics to life and putting their own twist on them, dead pleased with that.

What I am Cooking

Again my hands have left me crippled and unable to cook at all, I had planned to do sloppy joes on Thursday but that kinda failed 🙁

What I am Spending

Somewhat less this week than last!

I did buy myself another copy of Conquest issue 47 from Forbidden Planet for a second Land Speeder for my Blood Ravens.

Most of the units from that partwork from The Space Marines are going towards mine and Megans Blood Angels, all so far apart from the Aggressors and Redemptor Dreadnought, which we already had for them.

I did preorder the new Ultramarines Dice, I am a big fan of the 13th Legion, I have 14,000 points worth of them for Heresy after all, and I am going to eventually do an all Primaris army of them for 40k. I also preordered the new Space Marines Codex and the Ultramarines Codex Supplement. I will get the data cards next month when I can afford it.

I also picked up my comics from Forbidden Planet, well the Marcel Ultimate Graphic Novel collection and I am now at issue 199, and once I got 200 I am stopping, I simply don’t have room to go beyond 200 books.

It’s gonna be weird not getting them every month, but I have been collecting this series since late 2011 so it’s a good thing to stop now, and the money I save is going towards my hand fasting with Megan!

Looking Forward to WorldCon

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On 6th August 2019

In Blog

Next Tuesday me and Lindsay fly off to Dublin to attend the 77th World Science Fiction Convention, AKA WorldCon.

It’s my third WorldCon after I attended a day of the 53rd WorldCon in Glasgow when I was 13 to see Gerry Anderson’s Guest of Honour Interview, and my time working at LonCon 3 the 72nd WorldCon.

This time I am going for the full time as an full adult member for the first time, and I am really looking forward to it, I will be helping out with the Glasgow in 2024 bid as much as I can, spending time in the games area and doing as many cool panels and activities as I can, and I will do my best to keep people up to date.

We both wish Megan was coming, but she simply didn’t feel like she could handle it, so I will do all I can to help bring WorldCon to Glasgow in 2024 so she can attend, as can Paul, Mary and Willem.

What I am Modelling

Had more chance to do some painting and modelling this week, although it has been rather busy, so not as much done as I would have liked.

I started off by painting some scenery, I got finished the Killzone Sector Mechanicus by painting the Thermic Plasma Conduits form the set, along with the Galvanic Servohaulers that came with the Krogskullz’s Boyz expansion pack.

Then I finished up the last part of that Killzone which was a Ferratonic Incinerator, which was a great excuse to break out Lupercal Green and Sons of Horus Green.

And finally I finished off a T’au Empire Kill Team I have been working on for three years, and in that time we have changed edition of both 40k and Kill Team and the Tau gained an apostrophe!

I have done a bit of model building, yesterday I built four Space Marines bikes, five Space Marine Scouts with Bolters and today I built a Land Speeder Tornado, and a Broadside and Riptide for my T’au.

What I am Reading

I am bad I have mostly just been listening to audio dramas and reading Codexes, I really need to finish Last Son of Dorn!!!

What I am Playing

I have played a bit of Heresy this week, on Friday I played Graham at Battle Bunker, with my Death Guard, and he took his Solar Auxilia, and I lost, not by much, but I really struggled against his Leman Russ tanks, I just didn’t have enough anti-armour to deal with them, so that is absolutely something I need to add to my Death Guard, perhaps some Rapiers, not sure if I should go with Laser Destroyers or the more Death Guard like Quad Mortars.

On Sunday I and Graham went to Heaton Games Society for a Heresy Doubles events, we took 750pts each, Graham took Solar Auxilia, I took Ultramarines, and it’s my first time using Ultramarines in a long time, so was good to give them a run and it reminded me why I liked them so much.

We lost every single game, because we thought it would be lighthearted, fun and fluffy, and it really wasn’t!!!

Our first game was against two top blokes, Ed and his pal, who’s name I can’t recall, and they had White Scars with seven jetbikes, two Javelins and a Fire Raptor, a Custodes Caladius, Shield Captain and five Custodian Guard, that was brutal, my Invictarius Suzerain were good, but they just couldn’t do enough against the Custodes.

Although Graham did manage to shoot the Fire Raptor out of the sky with his Quad Mortars!

Our second game was against Will and Caesar with a Sons of Horus Justarian list and an Armoured Breakthrough, and that was horrific, we ended up with just one guy on the table, we just could not do anything against that list but kill two Predators and a Dreadclaw, and Graham may now be sold on the effectiveness of the Sicaran Punisher.

The last game was against Luke and Dans Alpha Legion and Salamanders and this game was the game for the wooden spoon, and we accordingly lost, I tried to deep strike my Invictarius Suzerain in with the Void Walker warlord trait, but they kept mishapping and ended up being displaced all the way on the other side of the board away from all the action.

Tough game, we did our best as Graham really didn’t want the wooden spoon, but now I have four of them, three of which were gained in the last twelve months!!!

What I am Backing

I am still only backing my old school friend Ken’s Kickstarter for Cognition Vol #1.

I have started seeing people get their rewards for Ogre Battlefields, but alas us Europeans have to wait a few months more.

What I am Cooking

Does a Pot Noodle count???

What I am Spending

Well you can tell it’s pay week!!!

I have bought myself a few bits for Warcry, I grabbed the Starter Set, cards for Stormcast Eternals and Ironjawz and the Ruler.

I also picked up two sets of bikes for my Blood Ravens, plus a Land Speeder and some Scouts, all of which I have already built!!!

I also got a paint restock, along with some new colours in both standard and contrast, the Loyalist Titans of Legends, Loyalist Dice and Loyalist Stratagems for Adeptus Titanicus.

Mood: Excited

Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: 2

In My Ears: Be Prepared from the Lion King

Game Last Played: The Horus Heresy

Book Last Read: The Last Son of Dorn by David Guymer

Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Brooklyn Nine-Nine

Current State of Projects: I have a clear desk!!!

Thoughts on The Lion King

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On 1st August 2019

In Reviews

I saw the Lion King on Monday and I thought I would share a few thoughts about it, a little bit of a review.

Right I am gonna start out with saying that I have read other reviews since I saw the film, so some of the ways of putting into words what I am feeling are highly influenced by those, I am trying to be as original as possible, but there is a good chance I will word it similar to those.

First off the bad stuff, I like to finish these things on a high, especially as The Lion King is one of my favourite Disney films.

The length, it’s just a touch too long, the original source material, is rather barebones, there’s not a lot to it, but in the original, that works, because it’s very compact and well timed. But in this the thinness of the material is laid bare because it’s been stretched out a bit too much.

Beyoncé’s singing style, I will be honest, just doesn’t suit the film, she is an incredibly talented singer, but her warbley style just doesn’t fit anything else and it stands out badly. Donald Glover has adjusted his singing style to be closer to the original and you can tell, but Beyoncé just sings like Beyoncé.

I am not keen on some of the changes to the story they made, Be Prepared is one of my all time favourite Disney songs, and they utterly butchered it, that really made me upset.

And the loss of the line “they call me Mr Pig” is a miss, but I get why they took that out, my parents would have got that reference, but I guess fewer people in my generation would, which is a shame as In The Heat Of The Night is a classic. But replacing it with an anti-bullying message is pretty good.

Also the hyenas are poorly served, they have had a lot of their lines cut and don’t stand out at all, which is a shame because they have some great actors in the roles, just criminally underused.

Also James Earl Jones, well his voice just doesn’t have the same power as it did in the original, it’s feels more fragile, and I guess given his age this is inevitable, but given his performance in Rogue One just a few years ago, the decline in power is worrying.

Ok so what’s good then, well the actual CGI and animation is incredible, it’s so realistic you could be forgiven for thinking that these lions are actually talking, it’s simply mind blowing.

Some changes to the story make a lot of sense, like the way Scar leads Simba to the gorge, the explanation of his taking him there is a lot better.

The casting is amazing, not one choice is bad and they all make the roles their own rather than trying to imitate the original actors, Donald Glover stands out as per usual and Seth Rogan and Billy Eichner are amazing together, I would love to see them team up in more stuff.

The music itself is great other than Be Prepared and really gets the nostalgia pumping.

Overall, I am gonna give the film 6 out of 10, as I said I love the original, but this feels almost soulless and doesn’t stand on its own feet.

It just feels like it was done for the sake of it, rather than for any real passion, which is a shame because the amazing cast deserved better.

I came out of the cinema, and I didn’t feel the same joy as I felt with the original, it doesn’t spoil the original for me, but it’s a film of wasted potential.

Anyway, I saw it with Megan, Lindsay and Paul at the Odeon Gallery in the Metrocentre, which is always a treat for the nachos, popcorn and drinks which are unlimited and the very nice seat, and thanks to both me and Paul having CEA cards it only cost us £8.88 each!

Ugh It’s Been So Hot!!!

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On 29th July 2019

In Blog

It’s been so hot this week I have barely been able to do anything, I don’t do well in hot weather.

So I haven’t really got much to say this week, but I am keeping busy this week, Monday I see The Lion King, Wednesday night I am demoing at Waterstones at the Metrocentre and Saturday I will be demoing at Waterstones in Middlesbrough.

What I am Modelling

The only thing I have been able to do this week is finish painting the Tartaros Terminators for the Blood Ravens, most of the week, the paint was drying on the brush before it got near the model!

Next up are some T’au Fire Warriors that have been in various stages of completion for two years, just got to highlight the armour of three, before I can hit the next step.

What I am Reading

Actually not a lot, just been reading through the T’au Empire Codex as I plan doing an army of them and reading the Sylvaneth Battletome.

What I am Playing

Alas I haven’t played anything since my last update 🙁

What I am Backing

Isle of Cats has successfully funded, so yay!

I am going to be hopefully backing the Ogre Miniatures Set 3 on IndieGoGo, but need to see what the damage is for shipping first.

Also I am backing Cognition Volume #1 by my old school pal Ken Reynolds, a very talented comic book creator.

What I am Cooking

Only thing I have cooked was a cheesy breakfast casserole on Sunday for our treaty Sunday breakfast.

Was ok, but needs less potato, more red pepper and more seasoning, but a few tweaks and I think it’s the basis of a disk for my recipe book.

What I am Spending

Other than a birthday present for a friend and a share of some KFC, I haven’t spent anything this week.

  • Mood: Hot
  • Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: 1
  • Current State of Projects: Tau Fire Warriors Armour highlights on 2 of 5

To Glasgow

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On 24th July 2019

In Blog

This post is later than planned but hey at least it’s here.

This past weekend I made my first ever trip to Glasgow and it’s not a bad place to visit, the people are nice and the city is rather pleasant.

I was demoing board games at the Resonate festival at the SEC, and that was a lot of fun, I learnt to play Cobra Paw, Maki Stack, Just One (this years SDJ winner), Pandemic Rapid Response, Dice Forge and Game of Thrones Catan, and the team I worked with we’re all amazing people, loved every one of them.

I have been out of video games for some time, ever since gamergate really, but it was nice to see that the community now, well at least in Scotland, isn’t just a bunch of white dudes, but it’s much more diverse with a lot more women and ethnic minorities there, so perhaps the community has changed for the better since I left.

I did have one negative experience, and that was tea on Saturday when we went to Pizza Punks, and I am gonna be honest here, it’s one to avoid, the food was very very late coming and was no where near as nice as Mod or PizzaStorm, so I will be avoiding the branch in Newcastle.

When I got back from Glasgow, Megan was keen on getting a new Hamster so yesterday morning we popped over to Pets at Home, and brought back Argel Tal, who is a lovely little boy, of a bit shy.

What I am Modelling

It’s been tough doing anything in the heat, but I did build my second Plagueburst Crawler.

Painting wise I did two sets of Thermic Plasma Regulators, one from Conquest, the other we got from Scottish Graham, Gabriel Angelos and Garreks Reavers.

I am going to clear off a few old projects from my desk next, so I have five Fire Warriors and five Tartaros Terminators I want to get finished as they have been in various stages of completion for about 18 months now.

What I am Reading

Slowly making my way through Last Son of Dorn, normally I would read quicker, but it’s just been too hot to concentrate.

What I am Playing

Other than the games I played at Resonate, I have played four games this week.

Last Tuesday, I played Megan at Shadespire, and I lost, big time, she just kept scoring this objectives, quicker than I could. Later that night we played When I Dream, and again I lost because I just did a bad job being the Sandman.

Wednesday we played a quick game of Monty Python Fluxx which I won and then last night we introduced Camel Up to Megan’s Mum, and as per usual, I came last!

What I am Backing

As expected I dropped out of backing Trial by Trolley, but am now backing Isle of Cats, which looks quite good.

What I am Cooking

I haven’t been capable of cooking this week

What I am Spending

I had a bit of money in PayPal, so yesterday I ordered Toofrippa’s Krew for Kill Team.

I Really Am Back This Time

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On 15th July 2019

In Blog

It’s been a long time since I blogged and it’s about time I got back to it, don’t you think.

Anyway I am starting of slow and just gonna update you on how my week went.

What I am Modelling

This week I have only really finished two things, the first was a Fortress of Redemption, which to be fair is a rather large model, the other was a set of Sector Sanctoris Ruins from The Fractal Blades, which I bought this week.

I have loads of stuff to be getting on with so will try and spend more time at the painting desk before I leave for Glasgow on Friday.

I did get my Conquest delivery on Saturday so I have built the stuff out of there, and will be priming all but the four Plague Marines tomorrow along with a second set of Thermic Plasma Conduits I got off Scottish Graham.

What I am Reading

This week I finished Scions of the Emperor which I will be reviewing on the next episode of Edge of Empire, and it wasn’t too bad a book, just a little shorter that Sons of the Emperor.

I have started on The Last Son of Dorn he as I slowly make my way through The Beast Arises, not sure what it is, but I have been finding that series a hard slog.

What I am Playing

A lot more than normal this week, I played Machi Koro twice, in the first game I beat Paul and Lindsay considerable, and then on the second game I utterly spanked Lindsay’s bum.

We also played Shadespire and I won on a technicality against Lindsay in my first game, but you can read about those in posts from earlier this week.

What I am Backing

Currently backing Trial by Trolley but Megan really doesn’t want me backing this project so I am likely to be dropping it in the next few days.

What I am Cooking

All I managed to cook this week were some burgers on the BBQ with Lindsay’s help.

What I am Spending

Not a lot, I bought The Fractal Blades a couple of weeks ago and they finally arrived but that’s it for this week, I am fairly broke.

  • Mood: Tired
  • Caffeinated Beverages Consumed: 4
  • Movie/TV Show Last Viewed: Cricket World Cup Final

Shadespire At Last!!!

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On 12th July 2019

In Blog

Tonight me and Lindsay played Warhammer Underworlds:- Shadespire, which first came out in 2017, and since then had had a second season in Nightvault and numerous warbands, and I have bought them all, including all the custom dice and extra goodies. I got the core set for £20 brand new from Jus at Battle Bunker back in December 2017 after he just moved the shop to its current location, and then bought a good deal of the rest from him as well.

But to my shame, until tonight I had never played a game, but now I have, and I loved it.

Such a simple, yet deeply tactical game, we just played with the original warbands, Lindsay took Steelhearts Champions and I took Garrek’s Reavers, and we used the basic starter decks.

Of course Lindsay insisted on watching an explanation video first, unlike me, she learns by reading the rules twice and watching a video, but tonight she just watched a video. Myself, well I prefer to just go ahead and learn as I go. We had to try a couple of videos as Lindsay finds Becca Scott a tough too excitable!

My warband were very squashy and I lost three of my fighters, whereas she only lost one, my guys really struggles to do much in combat, but they were fast and were able to grab objectives and score some glory, but I was always behind because Lindsay kept killing my fighters.

In the end we drew on glory, five each, but because I made a last dash to grab an objective, I won because I had a fighter on that.

Loved the game and I will be teaching it to Megan when she returns from holiday.

My main thing with it so far has been the opportunity to paint models for armies that I have no intention of ever owning, but it’s nice to paint a small number of them.

Last month I painted Thundrik’s Profiteers and they were a lot of fun to work on, I still have to paint, Zarbag’s Gitz, Mollog’s Mob, the Godsworn Hunt, and Ylthari’s Guardians, but I am gonna get them painted as soon as I can.

  • Current State of Projects: Fortress of Redemption 90% Done

Tuna Boat Baby!!!

By

On 10th July 2019

In Blog

Tonight me and Lindsay were joined by Paul to play a game which I really love, Machi Koro.

It’s a few years old now, actually it’s about to have its 5th Anniversary Edition releases, but it’s a game I have always enjoyed even though it’s not the most in depth or strategically challenging game.

The concept is really simple, you roll dice, which activated different building and facilities within your city, and earn money with which to buy other buildings and facilities.

The aim is to build certain landmark buildings, such as an Airport and Amusement Park, the first one to build all of them wins the game.

It’s random and very much filled with luck but a little strategy can go a long way, tonight my aim was to focus on big rewarding facilities when people built their Train Stations and started to roll two dice, so whenever someone rolled a 9, I was getting 15 coins because of my three mines, and that won me the game in the end.

My real issue with Machi Koro is though, that you need to have the Harbour expansion to get the most out of the game, without that its a little less good, it’s still a fun game, but the Harbour takes it to the next level.

Ok, it’s not gonna satisfy players who want to play something like Twilight Imperium all the time, but it’s a light fun game, and my favourite thing is the low downtime (unless you happen to be playing with Lindsay that is).

I would say that if you get a chance to play it, give it a whirl, because I think it’s a lot of fun and a unique twist on city building.

We own the Deluxe Edition which came with both the Harbour and Millionaires Row expansions in a tin with some custom dice.

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