Author: michael Page 1 of 58

Grifters & Gamergate 2.0

By

On 24th April 2024

In Blog

Gamergate was an utter debacle; it was horrific, disgusting, and merely an excuse to abuse and harass women and minorities in the gaming industry.

It was never about ethics in gaming journalism. If you believe it was, you’re seriously mistaken and need to reconsider, basically take several seats.

At its core, it was a jilted ex-boyfriend’s revenge plot that spiralled out of control.

Following events like Race Fail and the Sad/Rabid Puppies controversies, it was a dreadful time for enthusiasts like me. All my passions, including gaming, sci-fi, and fantasy literature, felt under attack by far-right zealots.

It took me years to regain my enthusiasm for gaming as my love for it waned alongside my interest in literature.

Now, there are opportunists attempting to ignite a new Gamergate to make themselves relevant again or simply to stir up anger for profit. I refuse to let this happen again.

Take Mark Kern, for example, a once-prominent figure now irrelevant since being ousted from his company in 2013 due to his egregious behaviour.

And it’s disheartening to see creators I once admired, like Lady Decade, getting involved, which really stings.

Yet they persist, desperately seeking to spark a new “scandal”. Their efforts with Sweet Baby, who actually advised for widely praised changes in games, have failed.

They’ve targeted Stellar Blade, lauding it as “Game of the Year” material solely for its characters tits and arse and ‘jiggle physics’, blatantly ignoring the story and gameplay, they never mention that at all, so I have no idea if the game is actually any good.

Now, they’re criticising a tabletop RPG adaptation of Tomb Raider because it focuses on uncovering historical truths rather than grave-robbing. Clearly, they’ve never engaged with the Survivor Trilogy, which explores similar themes.

Furthermore, there’s constant griping about the portrayal of women in games, claiming they all should look like porn stars with heavy makeup.

Take Aloy, for example; they call her ugly when in fact, she’s stunning and lives in a post-apocalyptic world devoid of beauty salons. And Mary Jane in Spider-Man is portrayed beautifully in a realistic way.

So, if you see me confronting these chuds, know that I’m not backing down this time. This is my hobby, and these ignoramuses need to understand it’s not just a space for cis-het white men!

What I Am Modelling

Started the week with some Tyranids, specifically the Neurolictor

Then the Neurotyrant and its Neuroloids

As well as rebasing my Lictor on to the new 50mm base size

I then painted some Thermic Plasma Regilatoes for Zone Mortalis

And a Haemotrope Reactor too

After that I worked on some Wulfen for my Space Wolves

After that I turned to the Flesh Eater Courts and painted the Royal Beastflayers

Then a couple of Teleport Homers for the Blood Angels

And a squad of Seraphim for my Sister of Battle

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6Aa20RI99h/?igsh=OHk4aDU2YW00czY=

The Boarding Actions Terrain was finished up as well. This stuff is going to be used for my Zone Mortalis table mostly, the idea being it’s going to be the neglected and horrible service corridors of my hive

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5_H27rNeyy/?igsh=MXZjb2g5c3ZpdTFrZw==

I still want to add the marketplace stuff, a gang stronghold and some promethium containers, perhaps another set of shipping containers, but for now, I am quite happy with this!

And these Dark Angels Aggressors were finished as well!

https://www.instagram.com/p/C6C9y6qI-dA

So what’s next?

  1. Sisters Repentia x 4
  2. Hobgrot Slittaz x 10
  3. Drycha Hamadreth
  4. Sneaky Snufflers x 12
  5. Lasrifle Section c 20
  6. Arco-Flaggents
  7. Dark Angels Intercessors x 10
  8. Space Wolves Infiltrators x 10 and Battle Leader in Phobos Armour
  9. Paychophage
  10. Mega Boss on a Maw-Krusha

What I Am Reading To

I listened to Mort by Terry Pratchett my first of the new Discworld audiobooks, a real classic story and a hell of an update with a stellar cast!

I weirdly find it far easier to listen to the Discworld books than read them, dunno what it is, but the structure just seems to work better in audio, for myself that is!

Then I moved onto The Natural History of Fear by Jim Mortimer which was fairly interesting, but depressing, but a really cool twist at the end!

I have now started on Deathworlder by Victoria Hayward and am almost through it!

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

I played Alex and his Tyranids in the 40K League on Thursday

https://www.instagram.com/p/C58zbCNNUk8/?igsh=MTN1Zm4yanMxZ2R1Mw==

The game went ok until it started and then my army was dismembered, I did ok on objectives, but it was a solid loss

Then on Friday I played Edward and his Aeldari, also for the league

https://www.instagram.com/p/C5_KInENPnH/?igsh=MWFkNnN3N285cGd6cw==

And that was a game in which we both thought I would be tabled by turn 3, but I managed to keep it going and survived the whole game, still a major loss!

Think I am gonna win the leagues wooden spoon!!!

What Video Games I Am Playing

Not much this week, Megan is anxiously waiting on something so I have leant them my Steam Deck to help distract them, they are mostly using it to play Disney Dreamlight Valley, on my Xbox profile I might add!

But I did play some Boltgun

What I Am Creating

We published a new episode of Edge of Empire, this one was a Solar Auxilia special!

What I Am Spending

Not really anything this week, I grabbed a HDD caddy to add a further 2TB for the PLEX server

From a mystery bundle on Fanatical, I got Internet Cafe Simulator 2 and GRIP, and also purchased Oddworld: Soulstorm Enhanced Edition.

I also bought the Train Sim 4: Top Up Your Timetable bundle from Humble Bundle, which scored me

  • West Somerset Railway Route Add-On
  • Southern BR Class 313 EMU Add-On
  • Hamilton – Oakville Add-On
  • Hagen – Finnentrop Route Add-On
  • Duisburg – Bochum Route Add-On
  • Aschaffenberg – Gemunden Route Add-On
  • Marseille – Avignon Route Add-On
  • Boston – Providence Route Add-On
  • Brighton – Eastbourne & Seaford Route Add-On
  • Mainz – Koblenz Route Add-On
  • DB BR 101 Loco Add-On
  • Cheyenne – Laramie Route Add-On
  • DB BR 363 Loco Add-On
  • Ambergate – Chinley & Buxton Route Add-On

And my Saints Row IV key from a previous Humble Bundle finally landed in my account!

A Bit Bummed About The Stormcast

By

On 15th April 2024

In Blog

I love my Stormcast Eternals army, I mean its really fun to play with and I actually love the theme of the army, especially as I play Celestial Vindicators and their colour scheme is amazing.

My favourite chamber, is Sacrosanct and well, GW have announced that 80% of my army is being squatted, which is a real bummer.

Ok the old school Liberators look like they will be fine with the new rules, but so much of my army, seemingly isn’t going to have a Thunderstrike replacement, so yeah pretty bummed out.

It just is quite dishartneing that an army I put my heart and soul into, has lasted barly 6 years before being yeeted.

Its got me feeling really down about AoS 4.0, like I am probably gonna skip the launch box, cause honestly, I am not sure if I buy it, how long those models will be useable for.

I mean I get it, I have argued for a long time that the Stormcast range is bloated, but yeah, that was a pretty extreme solution.

So yeah, I just don’t know if I still have the passion for the game anymore, I just don’t know.

What I Am Modelling

I started the week by painting the Homunculus for my Drukhari army

After which I moved onto a batch of Blood Angels, starting with a Rhino for the Death Company

Then a few Chaplins, starting with one in Terminator Armour

Then a Primaris Chaplain

Followed by one in MKIV Armour

And finally one with a Jump Pack

After that I painted a squad of Death Company, although I left one in the storage box so I will need to get him and paint him to complete the squad

I also painted Saint Celestine and her Geminae Superia

And finally I painted the Expeditionary Navigator for my Solar Auxilia

So what’s up next

  1. Wulfen x 5
  2. Seraphim x 5
  3. Royal Beastflayers
  4. Sisters Repentia x 4
  5. Dark Angels Aggressors x 3
  6. Hobgrot Slittaz x 10
  7. Dryca Hamadreth
  8. Neurotyrant
  9. Sneaky Snuffles x 12
  10. Arco-Flaggents x 4

What I Am Reading

I listened to Grim Investigations and finished it this month!

And now I have started on Terry Pratchett’s Mort!

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

Had a game of Horus Heresy with Russel on Friday night, we played Strike and Fade, and I lost 7-3, could have gotten a draw but alas my Terminators just failed to get to the objective in the last turn!

What Video Games I Am Playing

Got back to some Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

What I Am Backing

Our copy of the Firefly The Board Game 10th Anniversary Collectors Edition arrived last Friday and its amazingly huge and I love it!

Cannot wait to play it!

What I Am Spending

It was Humble Choice, so I grabbed that and got

I also bought myself Ghost of Tsushima for PS5, I have been hunting for it, at a reasonable price for a while, and it was on sale at the local Argos, so I leapt on it!

Next on my want list for PS5 is God of War Ragnarok

I also grabbed a couple of extra bottles for our Sodastream, cause ours always need washing and I figure a couple extra will be helpful

I also picked up the mat for my Zone Mortalis board, it’s a 4×4 Undehive Mat from Deep Cut Studios that I ordered from Entoyment

And I also bought these Grundstock Thunderers for my Kharadron Overlord force!

I picked up some Assault Intercessors from a trade on Facebook, no bases, but I have plenty spare

And a second Solar Auxilia Battlegroup was aquired

Resolutions Update – March 2024

By

On 2nd April 2024

In Uncategorised

An update of where I am at now for this years resolutions!

Complete 6 Combat Patrols – 33% Complete

This month I painted the missing unit of Bloodletters to get the Chaos Daemons Combat Patrol finished.

So we now have 3 of the 6 Combat Patrols I wanted to get done this year done.

Bring My Gloomspite Gitz to 2000 Point – 85.5% Complete

I added a Loonboss on a Giant Cave Squig this month, plus two units of Stabbas and two units of Loonsmasha Fanatics to give me 1710 points worth.

Obviously this may all change with the new edition, so lets see what that brings!

Get My Drukhari To 2000 Points

No progress, but I have started on a Haemonculus today

Complete My Video Game Geek Hardcore 10! – 50% Complete

This month I completed both Yakuza 0 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales!

So this is where we stand now

Alternative Three

Also Completed

Read 40 Books – 40% Complete

This month I have read/listened to

Start the Combat Patrol Battle Reports

Due to family issues, one wasn’t published this month, but I plan to upload two in April, starting with T’au vs Adepta Sororitas and followed by Dark Angels vs Daemons of Chaos

Space MarinesImperiumChaosXenos
UltramarinesAdeptus MechanicusDeath GuardDurkhari
Blood Ravens x 2Adepta SororitasChaos DaemonsT’au
Dark AngelsNecrons

Its Been A Tough Month

By

On 1st April 2024

In Blog

Its been a tough few weeks, we have had a death in the family and some other stuff that’s caused some challenges

I have been feeling my depression quite deep and its really doing a number on my life, I am really finding it very hard to even leave the house.

I know I need to try harder, so I am going to try and have a better month in April now that the worst is behind us, I mean that is all I can do right, just keep going and try to be better.

I had a particularly bad instance of doing my normal rushing ahead last week, and it hurt some of my friends, so I need to watch myself and keep an eye on my tendency to just rush ahead and not stop to check things are sound.

I am organising a Heresy event as part of my getting back on top of things, and tickets sold out right away, gonna try and have my Zone Mortalis table finished by then so I can set it up and try and convince someone to come play on it with me whilst I EO.

I finally finished sorting out all the metadata on the Audio Book Shelf server, and oh my word, that was a lot of stuff to deal with!

I still have to sort out the authors and series, but we will get there!

I am currently uploading my BBC Doctor Who audio books, which is a sizable pile, still need to buy The Church on Ruby Road by Esmie Jikiemi-Pearson, which is the latest release, might spend my next Audible token on it!

What I Am Modelling

Its been a bit of a weird period of time, but I have painted up two squads of Vigilors for my Celestial Vindicators.

After that I painted a Nexus Syphon and Domicile Shell for my new Age of Sigmar terrain box

Then I painted some 40K stuff, starting with a Dark Angels Primaris Librarian,

Followed by the same model for the Ultramarines

Then some Hellblasters, also for the Ultramarines.

Plus Chief Librarian Tigurius of the Ultramarines

Then I painted up the Legate Marshal for my new Solar Auxilia force

And finally a unit of Bloodletters of Khorne which finishes up the Chaos Daemons Combat Patrol

And right at the end of the month, so they count towards the resolutions, I painted two units of Gitz Stabbas

And a couple of units of Loonsmasha Fanatics

So whats next for me to paint!

  1. Homonculus
  2. Celestine
  3. Death Company x 10, Chaplain x 2 & Rhino
  4. Wulfen x 5
  5. Seraphim x 5
  6. Royal Beastflayers
  7. Sisters Repentia x 4
  8. Dark Angels Aggressors x 3
  9. Hobgrot Slittaz x 10
  10. Drycha Hamadreth

What I Am Reading

I listened to The Wormery by Stephen Cole and Paul Magrs, which was a lot of fun, and I then moved on to Scherzo by Robert Shearman which was kinda trippy and fairly interesting given that there were only two cast members.

I also listened to Lazarus: Enmity’s Edge by Gary Kloster which was pretty good, but I kinda expected the bad guy to turn out to be a Fallen, but it wasn’t and that was still cool. It actually humanised the Dark Angels quite a bit.

What Video Games I Am Playing

Finished up with Yakuza 0, and I have to admit, the story was phenomenal, really good.

I started playing through Spider-Man: Miles Morales

And I finished it as well!

And I am currently playing through a bit of Helldivers II

What I Am Creating

I did an unboxing video for the Solar Auxilia Battlegroup.

Its shite, cause I fucked up my audio levels

Also the next episode of Edge of Empire was published too!

Oh and this too!

What I Am Spending

I used some saved up Steam credit to buy some games in the sale, some that I have been wanting to get for a while, just waiting for the price to fall

So I picked up, Star Wars: Battlefront II, FlatOut, Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Sid Meier’s Alpha Centauri, Flatout and Helldivers.

I also sold my old iPhone 12 and was able to afford to buy the Solar Auxilia Battlegroup as a result, which you would have seen the unboxing for video earlier.

Really happy with this and its going to make me a nice allied force!

I also bought a few games, first was the Plaion: The Hits Bundle that netted me:-

Plus I bought Helldivers II!

Moved From Docker, But Its Better In The Long Run!

By

On 9th March 2024

In Blog

About a month ago, I realized that the geniuses behind Audio Book Shelf had released a native Windows version of the application. Until then, I had been running it in a Docker install. However, this method was slow and could only allocate 2GB of RAM, greatly impacting performance.

So, I decided to switch from Docker to the Windows version. Unfortunately, this transition resulted in the loss of all metadata due to differences in how Linux and Windows file structures operate.

Consequently, I find myself having to re-add all the metadata. While this isn’t an issue for much of the content, as Audio Book Shelf can scrape data from Audible, it’s a manual task for Big Finish, which constitutes the majority of my collection. Thus, it’s quite time-consuming.

Currently, I’ve managed to complete the metadata for all titles up to those beginning with ‘O’. Although it’s taking time, the effort will certainly be worth it.

Furthermore, I’ve adjusted settings so that metadata is now stored with the files rather than in a central database. This change aims to prevent similar issues in the future, particularly if I decide to switch my server back to Linux from Windows.

What I Am Modelling

I started off by painting a Loonboss on a Giant Cave Squig for my Gloomspite Gitz

Followed by a Heavy Support Squad for my Imperial Fists, armed with Heavy Bolters.

Then I painted some Spite Revenants for my Sylvaneth.

As well as a Branchwych for them too

I then finished up a Penitent Engine for the Sisters of Battle

Before painting another Loonboss on Giant Cave Squig

I am now working on some Vigilors for the Stormcast Eternals

So whats up next?

  1. Vigilors x 10
  2. Nexus Syphon
  3. Chief Librarian Tigurius & Primaris Librarians x 2
  4. Homonculus
  5. Bloodletters x 10
  6. Saint Celestine
  7. Death Company x 10, Chaplain & Rhino
  8. Stabbas x 40
  9. Wulfen x 5
  10. Ultramarines Hellbalsters x 5

What I Am Reading

Not much, but I did listen to Cypher: Lord of the Fallen by John French which was very interesting.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

On Wedensday I played a Hartlepool League game with Leon, and his T’au kicked my arse!

I had another game of 40K for the Hartlepool League with Dale on Saturday, and despite his very good list, I didn’t lose as badly as expoected!

What Video Games I Am Playing

I have returned to Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

What I Am Spending

I bought myself a few bits of DLC

Resolutions Update – February 2024

By

On 2nd March 2024

In Blog

An update of where I am at now for this years resolutions!

Complete 6 Combat Patrols – 33% Complete

This month we completed the Dark Angels Combat Patrol, which will make its channel debut in April!

So it’s probably going to be Dark Angels vs Daemons

Next up, the Chaos Space Marines will be painted, these are going to be done as the True Sons warband!

We did add Blood Angels to the painting pile, for these the Librarian and Aggressors have previously been painted, so those models will join the Dark Angels.

So we now have 2 of the 6 Combat Patrols I wanted to get done this year done.

Bring My Gloomspite Gitz to 2000 Point – 56% Complete

I added a Loonboss on a Giant Cave Squig this month, and next up I am going to be painting two more units of Stabbas next along with a couple units of Fanatics

Get My Drukhari To 2000 Points

No progress

Complete My Video Game Geek Hardcore 10! – 30% Complete

This month I completed Unpacking

And I am most of the way though Yakuza 0

So this is where we stand now

Alternative Three

Also Completed

Read 40 Books – 28% Complete

This month I have read/listened to

Start the Combat Patrol Battle Reports

We continued with the publication of report 2, Ultramarines vs Drukhari

Space MarinesImperiumChaosXenos
UltramarinesAdeptus MechanicusDeath GuardDrukhari
Blood Ravens x 2Adepta SororitasT’au
Dark AngelsNecrons

Seeing Family and Warhammer World!

By

On 28th February 2024

In Blog

This weekend, we headed south to visit family. First, we attended Megan’s nanny’s 95th birthday party in Thame. Then, we went to Suffolk to see my parents and treated my oldest nephew, Dylan, to dinner for his 18th birthday. Finally, we squeezed in a quick trip to Warhammer World!

Friday, we left about 10:30 and had to stop just once to charge the car, which was done at Watford Gap, but only because bizarrely all the chargers at Leicester Forest East were offline. We then had tea at the Harvester, and stayed at the Ramada at Oxford Services.

Saturday was a bit chaotic, we got to the party fine, but, though a miscommunication, the car keys got locked in the car, and the only viable option to get back in was to smash the rear passenger window!

We did that (which was a lot of fun) and then had to zoom over to Aylesbury to get a Perspex window fitted to make the car weatherproof, so me and Lindsay got to sit in Morrisons and have a cup of tea and a piece of cake!

So we got on the road to Sudbury a bit later than planned, not arriving until 7:30pm, we got to see my parents and Dylan for a couple of hours before we had to head off to our hotel at Haverhill, via a stop at McDonalds for tea.

The next day we took a trip to Cambridge, and we had a little bit of a wander, looking at some of the university buildings, our Durham graduate, Megan, was not impressed.

But we found Warhammer at the new location, I say new, the last time I was in the Games Workshop in Durham was 1999, when it was at a totally different location!

After that, we found a Raspberry Pi store, so I had a bit of a geek out and discussed what we could do to give my current Pi4 8gb a new job!

And then we went to Nines, a buffet, the place that Dylan wanted to go to, for us to belatedly celebrate his 18th birthday.

Then we drove up to Nottingham, arriving at the Riverside Travelodge, where we ordered in some food from German Donner Kebab via Deliveroo, and settled in.

The next day, myself and Megan went to Warhammer World, where we played a game of Combat Patrol, before returning home to Hartlepool.

What I Am Painting

I started out by painting Khagra’s Ravagers for Warhammer Underworlds

These also will serve as a test to wether or not I want to do Warriors of Chaos in The Old World!

After that I concentrated on the Dark Angels and got painted the Intercessor Squad.

Followed by the Inceptors.

And finally a Redemptor Dreadnought to complete the Combat Patrol.

I am currently working on an Imperial Fists Heavy Support Squad that will be armed with Heavy Bolters

So what does that leave me with for next week!

  1. Imperial Fists Heavy Bolter Squad x 10
  2. Spite Revenants x 10
  3. Penitent Engine
  4. Vigilors x 10
  5. Nexus Syphone
  6. Chief Librarian Tigurius & Primaris Librarian x 2
  7. Homonculus
  8. Bloodletters x 10
  9. Saint Celestine
  10. Death Company x 10, Chaplain x 2 & Rhino

What I Am Reading

I finished The End and the Death Volume III by Dan Abnett and the only thing I can say is… FUCK EREBUS!!!

I also finished listening to Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid which was very very good, really cannot wait for a sequel.

I then listened to Davros by Lance Parkin, which was very cool, nice to see Davros without the Daleks, gave a chance for his villainy to shine. And I then listened to Master by Joseph Lidster which was a nice story with a bit of a twist!

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

As said earlier, myself and Megan played a game of Combat Patrol at Warhammer World, I played Necrons, Megan played Sisters.

We played the Archeotech Recovery mission and Megan beat me 70-20.

Her dice rolls were on fire and her Penitent Engine, just ripped through my Skorpeh Destroyers and my Doomstalker!

Fun game, and a lot of cool stuff happened!

What Video Games I Am Playing

Still playing Yakuza 0 and I have just started Chapter 11.

I also finished Halo Infinites campaign, and that was a bit bittersweet given the circumstances around why I stopped.

What I Am Creating

The next episode of Edge of Empire was published, this one is a focus on HQs in the generic Legion list!

What I Am Spending

I grabbed the next Combat Patrol to add to the studio armies, this time the Blood Angels

But I already have the Librarian and Aggressors for the Blood Angels, so those kits are going to join the Dark Angels army, that I am not building!

At the Raspberry Pi Store, I bought some stickers and a pin badge.

And at Warhammer World, I picked up a Neurolictor for the Combat Patrol!

I bought a few video games, finished up my Final Fantasy collection for Steam

Plus I got this months Humble Choice that got me

Battling Fatigue

By

On 18th February 2024

In Blog

The chest is feeling better, I am coughing less and I am able to climb stairs without needing my inhaler halfway up.

But the fatigue is another thing, I think I have spent more of the last couple of weeks in bed asleep, than awake, and its pretty annoying.

It having a marked effect on my memory as I am forgetting so much, and I have become a real burden on Megan and especially Lindsay as she has family stuff going on right now.

Hopefully I can push though it, and I will try as much as I can, that’s all I can do right.

What I Am Modelling

I started the week with a Nexus Syphon for my Age of Sigmar terrain box

And then a couple of bases of Ripper Swarms for the Tyranids

Then two units of Stabbas for the Gloomspite Gitz

And a Knight-Judicator for my Celestial Vindicators

After that it was 20 Termagants for the Tyranids

Then I painted a trio of Ork Warbikers!

I am currently working on Khagra’s Ravagers for Underworlds

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So what’s next?

  1. Khagra’s Ravagers
  2. Dark Angels Intercessors x 5
  3. Imperial Fists Heavy Bolter Heavy Support Squad x 10
  4. Spite Revenants x 10
  5. Penitent Engine
  6. Vigilors x 10
  7. Nexus Syphon
  8. Chief Librarian Tigurius & Ultramarines Primaris Librarian
  9. Homunculus
  10. Bloodletters of Khorne x 10

What I Am Reading

I finished The Talon of Horus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, which was really, really good!

I then listened to Flip-Flop by Jonathan Morris, which was quite unique, but a lot of fun. And then I moved on to Omega by Nev Fountain, which was ok, not amazing, but not terrible.

I am now listening to Creed: Ashes of Cadia by Jude Reid which is quite good so far, and absolutely makes me want to collect a Cadian army!

And I am still reading The End and the Death: Volume III by Dan Abnett, which is a very compelling book, but a big read, especially when I have fatigue issues!

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

A couple of games of the 40k league, but the third one I was due to play today, I utterly forgot about cause of the aforementioned issues, utterly unfair on my opponent and I feel like such a dickhead for it.

What Video Games I Am Playing

a bit more of Yakuza 0, its a weird game, but I am loving the story.

I also returned to the Halo Infinite campaign, the last time I had fired it up until last Thursday was the day Mary passed away, so I guess that explains why I didn’t pick it up again, especially as we moved house shortly afterwards.

What I Am Creating

I published the next battle report of Combat Patrol, this episode features the Drukhari taking on the Vangaurd Space Marines of the Ultramarines Chapter!

What I Am Backing

Nowt new, but I realised I forgot to pay for shipping on the Firefly: The Game – 10th Anniversary Collector’s Edition project, so we got that done, and I cannot imagine we will get it until later on in the year and not in the main wave!

What I Am Spending

A few video games were bought

I picked up a copy of Stormbringer with a Loonboss on a Giant Cave Squig.

I also bought some Deathwing Terminators for the Dark Angels army that I am NOT building!!!

And a sponsor sorted me out with a set of the Boarding Actions terrain.

Resolutions Update – January 2024

By

On 2nd February 2024

In Resolutions Update

An update of where I am at now for this years resolutions!

Complete 6 Combat Patrols – 16.67% Complete

I have now gotten a Dark Angels combat patrol and bought the Bloodletters I need to complete that Combat Patrol.

The Sisters of Battle Combat Patrol is now complete with the painting of a Rhino

So on the production line, we have:-

  • Chaos Daemons
  • Chaos Space Marines
  • Dark Angels
  • Tyranids

For the Dark Angels I completed the Chaplain and Redemptor Dreadnought

Technically I did get the new Space Marines one done with the finishing up of a Librarian in Phobos armour, but I am not sure I am counting that!

I plan to purchase a Sister of Silence squad next month to allow me to get a Custodes Squad done.

Bring My Gloomspite Gitz to 2000 Point – 49.5% Complete

This month I got the Fungoid Cave Shaman and two units of Stabbas painted up!

At the moment, we have painted and ready to play, which comes to 990 points

LEADERS

Mollog
Loonboss
Fungoid Cave-Shaman
Zarbag

UNITS

Moonclan Shootas x 20
Moonclan Shootas x 20
Moonclan Stabbas x 20
Moonclan Stabbas x 20

Sitting left to build/paint are

  • Boingrot Bounders x 10 (2 Units)
  • Squig Hoppersx 10 (2 Units)
  • Loonsmasha Fanatics x 10 (2 Units)
  • Sporesmasha Fanatics x 10 (2 Units)
  • Moonclan Stabbas x 40 (2 Units)

Get My Drukhari To 2000 Points

No progress

Complete My Video Game Geek Hardcore 10! – 20% Complete

Due to a technicality, my list wasn’t finalised 🙁

So my completion of Stray and Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster don’t officially count.

So they have been replaced by Portal, which I did complete this month and Final Fantasy II Pixel Remaster.

So this month I completed Rise of the Tomb Raider and Portal and I am now playing Yakuza 0.

So this is where we stand now

Alternative Three

Also Completed

Read 40 Books – 10% Complete

This month I have read/listened to (yeah I am including audio books)

Start the Combat Patrol Battle Reports

So yay the first report went out and I am super happy with it!

And because White Dwarf included a new Combat Patrol for Space Marines, I now have that Combat Patrol for both Blood Ravens and Ultramarines!

So here is my current list of Combat Patrol options!

Space MarinesImperiumChaosXenos
UltramarinesAdeptus MechanicusDeath GuardDrukhari
Blood Ravens x 2Adepta SororitasT’au
Necrons

Space Marines Are Not A Good Starter Army

By

On 28th January 2024

In Blog

I said what I said!

But back in the day, Space Marines were the default starter army, S4, T4 and hitting on 3s with a 3+ armour save, they were decently tough, and didn’t need a lot to make them work well.

Plus they were really easy to paint and make your own.

But these days, they are not a good starter set, they have a bloated list that half the time makes little sense.

Here is the thing, how would you recommend starting a Space Marine army, its always been to recommend the Battleforce/Start Collecting/Combat patrol as they always included a Troops/Battleline, that you could build your army around.

But today, the Combat Patrol doesn’t contain a Battleline unit, the Infernus Marines aren’t one, and its a pretty elite force, simply not one that its easy to build an army around.

And even then, look at what is available, its so many units that its hard to actually look at the list as a beginner and figure out how to start an army.

A kid I know who wants to play Ultramarines was genuinely confused, because, they simply couldn’t figure out how to build an army, what they absolutely needed and how to synergise the army.

Look I am not saying Space Marines are now crap, its just really difficult to build a list as a beginner, and there is no starter box that represents the army as the very basic units which can form a decent core.

How would I fix it, well I would love to see a Combat Patrol with Intercessors at its core, the ETB Redemptor Dreadnought, and a Lieutenant.

Heck, why not release the sprue from Dark Imperium which had the Intercessors, Ancient, and two Lieutenants, then throw in an ETB kit, perhaps the Invader ATV, or as I suggested the ETB Redemptor Dreadnought.

Here is the crack, I ended up recommending the Dark Angels Combat Patrol, or the Blood Angels Combat Patrol, as these have generic units, one of which is an Intercessor Squad, a HQ and a couple of other interesting units. Actually, if you can, get both, they synergise well together, and just sell the upgrade sprues!

What I Am Modelling

I started the week by painting a unit of 10 Gutrippas for my Orruk Warclans

Followed by Snazzgar Stinkmullett the Fungoid Cave Shaman for the Gloomspite Gitz, which means I have now painted all four of the Harbingers of the Malign Portents!

Then a unit of Suppressors for the Space Wolves

After which I painted a Warlock Bombardier from the Skaven range

And then an Arch Revenant for a new Sylvaneth army

As well as Ylthari’s Guardians.

Then it was time to deal with some Tyranids, and I got the Tyranid Prime with Wings completed

And finally a Screamer-Killer.

So what’s up next week?

  1. Termagants x 20
  2. Gitz Stabbas x 40
  3. Ork Warbikers x 3
  4. Knight Judicator
  5. Khagra’s Ravagers
  6. Dark Angels Intercessors x 5
  7. Imperial Fists Heavy Bolter Squad x 10
  8. Spite Revenants
  9. Penitent Engine
  10. Vigilors x 10

What I Am Reading

I started to listed to The Talon of Horus by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, it’s a book I have started a couple of times, but never gotten past the first 30 minutes cause I get disturbed then forget about it.

But this time I am determined to listen it all!

I am also plodding on with The Tower of Nerek by David Guymer.

What Tabletop Games I am Playing

I played Matthew in the Hartlepool 40K league, and won 50-41, but that was only secured due to painting points!

I also played Edward, and I lost that game very badly to an Aeldari alpha strike, a wonderful game, even if I was hammered!

What Video Games I am Playing

I have started on Yakuza 0 and so far its interesting but werid!

I was horribly ill on Sunday, so played through Portal on my Steam Deck for the first time since 2007, I want to play Portal RTX but my 3070 struggles with it!

I did get a bit of streaming in, but its been difficult of late with Lindsay changing her work schedule.

What I Am Spending

I bought the Bloodletters I needed to complete the Chaos Daemons Combat Patrol from eBay

Along with some Genestealers, I only need four to top up my two existing units to full 10 grubby units, so if anyone wants four more to do the same…

And I got the Datacards for the Adeptus Mechanicus

We needed a KVM for the studio to allow easy switching between the media server and Lindsay’s laptop. This Ugreen one was on special offer on Amazon, so we grabbed it and it does what we need.

I also bought a few games

I also bough the Twin Sails Bundle on Humble Bundle, which got me:-

The rest of the games were given to Lindsay and Karen as I already had them.

I got some books too, The End and the Death: Volume III by Dan Abnett, both as an ePub and MP3 audio book, plus Sons of the Emperor as a MP3 audio book.

Of course I got Lords of the Lance by Graham McNeill, as a ePub and MP3 audiobook, and the Shamanslayer MP3 audio book by Nathan Long.

From Big Finish I got Dad’s Army: The Radio Series by Jimmy Perry & David Croft, Poppet by Lauren Mooney & Stewart Pringle, Danger and Deception by Alan Fennell, Fugitive of the Daleks by Jonathan Morris.

From Marvel, I got Moon Knight: Age of Anubis by Jonathan Green, and Doomgate by Jeffrey Lang as an MP3 audiobook.

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