Author: michael Page 14 of 58

The Week of Covid

By

On 4th May 2022

In Blog

So Covid had lasted a while in this house, me and Megan are now testing negative and Lindsay is too, but swears she sees a very faint line in her test.

The law says we didn’t have to isolate, but we chose to until we tested negative, why, because it was the right thing to do.

My first bout of the disease utterly destroyed my lungs, the second bout has messed up my sleep and left me very fatigued.

Inflicting this virus on others, just cause I fancy a pizza is unacceptable, and I did crave a pizza all week.

We have to be responsible, I know most of us have been sensible and gotten vaccinated, but many have not done so, some of those because they medically cannot.

I think that from this point forward we all should be more responsible for health and keeping others well. So when you feel a bit crummy and under the weather, reach for a face mask and wear it when out, because it’s not just Covid that can kill, but things like the flu as well.

What I Am Modelling

Started the week by painting the Weirdnob Shaman for my Orruk Warclans.

He is painted in such a way to bridge the two parts of the army, the Ironjawz and Kruleboyz, with aspects and textures from both.

I then painted a pair of Medusa Guns for my Death Korps of Krieg.

And this was followed by the crew for the guns!

At this point I painted the ruined Factorums I got with my Forbidden Planet order.

Then I started work on some Blood Warriors for my Blades of Khorne army. Which have reached the stage of getting washed.

So what next to hit the painting table, note the T’au are on hold as my new Redgrass wet palette is hopefully coming soon.

  1. T’au Breacher Squad x 10
  2. Ork Terrain
  3. Blades of Khorne Blood Warriors
  4. Ork Burna Boyz
  5. Sicaran Infiltrators
  6. T’au Strike Team x 10
  7. Ork Nobz x 5
  8. Orruk Gutrippas x 12
  9. Blood Angels Assault Intercessors x 5
  10. Ultramarines Intercessors x 7

What Video Games I Am Playing

Put an hour in on Far Cry 3 and I made the noob mistake of not saving the game, and well it crashed!

I got a couple of hours in on Horizon Zero Dawn on Thursday which you can view here.

https://youtu.be/74adgDv0s9s

I got an updated controller family photo done, although considering I have now added a couple more, its already out of date!

I am currently watching a few auctions of some Stadia controllers on eBay, whilst it’s not exactly a controller that is particularly associated with any game, I am reliably told that at least two publishers use this when developing some AAA games, which has me curious as to see if those games actually feel better with a Stadia controller.

I also managed to finally get Neo Geo games running in Retroarch, which I am super happy about!

What I Am Creating

I published the latest episode of Edge of Empire on Wednesday.

On Wednesday night I published the 25th Imperium Battle Report.

On Saturday I filmed and published the issue 26 battle report.

The Wednesday report is also in the can and ready to publish too.

What I Am Spending

I bought myself a new controller, you know for the emulation joy, this time it’s a Neo-Geo controller, well not the amazing joystick from the AES console but the one from the Neo Geo CD, which is still a great controller.

Of course cause it’s a USB-C controller I had to grab some USB-C female to USB-A male adaptors, which is fine, I guess it’s probably something I should have lying around for future use as USB-C becomes more prevalent.

I also grabbed a couple of USB-A to USB-C cables to make sure I could plug in my Elite controllers charging dock permanently and still have one spare to charge the mouse when needed.

And finally, finally, my Hyperkin Duke arrived, I ordered this months ago and it’s taken this long for it to come!

So happy to have this as it’s a controller I remember very fondly!

And I did buy Lindsay a new keyboard, simply because the sound of her current keyboard, something that her work got that costs according to Amazon £7.99!

The sound just hurts the ears and she goes through keyboard so quickly because she just wears down the print on the keys in a few months, so I also grabbed her some pink double shot PBT pudding keycaps.

So here is the final look!

And I also grabbed a keyboard cleaning kit cause mine is in desperate need of a good clean, plus I needed a keycap puller for Lindsay’s one.

Oh and I won an auction on eBay for a Stadia controller and it’s only cost me £7!

I also got asked to do some game play testing for which the publisher wants me to use a DualSense alongside the Xbox controller, so they sent me one today.

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium – Issue 26 Battle Report

By

On 30th April 2022

In Battle Reports

The 26th part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.

In this episode, we play the third Scout Mission!

Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the artisans of Mars!

You can buy your own Task Lamp here

You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium – Issue 25 Battle Report

By

On 27th April 2022

In Battle Reports

The 25th part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.

In this episode, we play the second Scout Mission!

Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.

You can buy your own Task Lamp here

You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-

Reign of the Devourer

By

On 15th April 2022

In Book Reviews

I have been provided with an advance copy of the new Marvel Untold novel Reign of the Devourer by David Annadale, published by Aconyte Books, so here is the honest review I promised in exchange for the book.

So here is an important disclaimer which is always important to put out there first. I have a casual work contact with Asmodee to demonstrate board games for them in stores and at conventions. Asmodee being the parent company of Aconyte the publisher.

I am also friends with David on Facebook, but I suspect that’s more about him connecting with fans rather than being a big fan of mine!

I am going to try my best to not let that cloud my judgement in this review, but I accept that subconsciously it might.

What is Marvel

Look at this point I would bore you with a bit of background to the game/universe, but lets not, you all know the Marvel Universe, if you don’t have you been living under a rock!

The Story

This story focuses on Doctor Victor von Doom, the ruler of the Eastern European country of Latveria, and is a sequel to last years Harrowing of Doom.

In this story Dooms desire for power and control leads him to attempt to regain knowledge that was lost on Walpurgis Night in the previous book, and with the assistance of the priest turned geomancer Zargo and surgeon Orloff, he searches for a repository of stolen memories and knowledge buried beneath Latveria.

But Maleva Krogh, a former member of Latverias ruling elite has a connection to the Devourer of memories, and is granted the power of the Urvullak, a deadly strain of Latverian vampires who steal the very soul of their victims.

Conclusion

The book is a slow burner, it takes a while to get going, but once it does the action is frantic, and epic.

It’s a very different novel to its predecessor, in that book Doom knew what was coming and was planning several steps ahead, whereas in this book, he was forced to react to the Urvullak who he was not expecting whatsoever.

In the last book you got time to know the main characters in the build up to Walpurgis Night, whereas this book takes place over a shorter timeframe, and you get less of the background. So I would say that the previous book is best read before this for maximum enjoyment.

Zargos inner turmoil is really well written, he is a man who made a choice to deny his powers and take a different path, but now has that choice taken from him. He is tortured inside and he is forced to develop his abilities further to fight the threat of the Urvullak.

Orloff gets a lot more fleshed out as Doom takes her from practising medicine to developing a new science, which is eventually weaponised as she becomes a warrior and potentially Dooms greatest tool in the fight against Krogh.

My favourite part of the book really is Krogh and the Urvullak, they are written in a way that is terrifying and horrific.

What they do is so awful, they way they rip away your soul and transform you into one of them. They feel just as much a threat on their own as they do when amassed as an army.

They are chilling and something like out of a horror film, absolutely petrifying.

This book takes a turn toward horror that I wasn’t expecting, reinforcing Annandale as a writer who is one of licensed fictions best writers of the weird and dreadful.

This book gets 4 out of 5 stars from me!

You can buy the eBook now, and the paperback is available in the US now and will be in the UK on 28th April.

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium – Issue 24 Battle Report

By

On 7th April 2022

In Battle Reports

The 24th part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.

In this episode, we play the first Scout Mission!

Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.

You can buy your own Task Lamp here

You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-

So Many Ideas

By

On 6th April 2022

In Blog

This week I have been doing a lot of research about Battle Reports, I am trying to branch out a bit from Imperium ones.

I am hoping to do a Blood Bowl Sevens or Heresy one tomorrow, but it’s dependent on what’s happening overall in the day.

Me and Lindsay are thinking of joining Skillshare so I can try and figure out some ways to take photos better and get an easier way to produce the reports.

But let’s see what we can do!

What I Am Modelling

I started off by painting Morg ‘n’ Thorg, which means I have no more Blood Bowl left to paint 🙁

And then I painted the Corpse Grinder Cult gang for Necromunda, which completed all of my Necromunda projects that I had outstanding.

After which I finished off Fafnir Rann as a test model for an Imperial Fists army.

I painted the Haemotrope Reactor from Warhammer Imperium to add to that box of scenery.

I am currently working on some Assault Intercessors for the Blood Angels army I share with Megan.

So what’s coming up next week?

  1. Blood Angels Assault Intercessors x 8, Primaris Lieutenant & Librarian in Phobos Armour
  2. Orruk Weirdnob Shaman
  3. Death Korps of Krieg Medusa x 2
  4. T’au Breacher Squad x 10
  5. Ork Terrain
  6. Khorne Blood Warriors x 10
  7. Ork Burna Boyz
  8. Sicaran Infiltrators x 5
  9. T’au Fire Warriors x 10
  10. Ork Nobz x 5

What I Am Reading

Not made much progress on my book, but I have listened to a couple of audiobooks, first was the Bookkeeper’s Skull by Justin Hill which was very good, and just a little bit creepy.

I then listened to Traitor Rock, also by Justin Hill, also a great listen, mostly because the Cadians are space Geordies!

I am now listening to Warhawk by Chris Wraight, I already read the book which was brilliant, so I know I will enjoy this!

What Video Games Am I Playing

Finally played some Horizon Zero Dawn after a couple of missed weeks due to Company of Legends and illness.

I played for 1 hour and 40 minutes on Thursday.

https://youtu.be/hFhF1S-u4k0

What Tabletop Games Am I Playing

I had a game of Warhammer Age of Sigmar tonight with Jabez at Durham Raiders.

And I lost, by a huge amount!

What I Am Spending

I bought a few movies that were on sale, I got Fighting with my Family, Jay & Silent Bob Reboot and Baywatch (seriously it’s a really funny film).

I bought a new bottle of Resin cause I am pretty much out, got a grey this time, and from Elegoo.

Also picked up Rogue One for my 4K Star Wars collection.

And I bought the upgrade to the Directors Cut for Death Stranding on the PC.

And my Humble Choice membership renewed so I have now got Ghostrunner, Destroy All Humans and a few other games

Resolutions Update – March 2022

By

On 1st April 2022

In Blog

I failed to make an update for February, but this is because I lost my nana and I wasn’t exactly in a very good place.

Anyway let’s see how I have done in the last two months, and I brought my painted models up to 290.

Paint my Sisters of Battle to 2000 Points – 0%

No progress I am afraid.

Paint Both Silver Tower and Shadows over Hammerhall – 0%

No progress here either!

Paint 2000 points worth of Orruk Warclans for Age of Sigmar – 15%

I got a unit of Ironjawz Brutes painted this month!

Paint the Primaris Ultramarines to 2000 Points – 25% Complete

The first 500 points are painted, we now have a combat patrol led by Uriel Ventris, and consisting of an Intercessor Squad, Redemptor Dreadnought and a Suppressor Squad.

The next 500pts will be made up of an Assault Intercessor Squad, Bladeguard Veteran Squad, Eliminator Squad and Eradicator Squad.

I also plan to buy an Invader ATV for them as well.

This should give me the following list.

+ HQ +

Uriel Ventris

+ Troops +

Assault Intercessor Squad
. 4x Assault Intercessor: 4x Astartes Chainsword, 4x Frag & Krak grenades, 4x Heavy Bolt Pistol
. Assault Intercessor Sgt: Astartes Chainsword, Plasma pistol

Intercessor Squad: Bolt rifle
. 4x Intercessor: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Frag & Krak grenades
. Intercessor Sergeant

+ Elites +

Bladeguard Veteran Squad
. 2x Bladeguard Veteran: 2x Frag & Krak grenades, 2x Heavy Bolt Pistol, 2x Master-crafted power sword, 2x Storm Shield
. Bladeguard Veteran Sergeant: Heavy Bolt Pistol

Redemptor Dreadnought: 2x Fragstorm Grenade Launchers, Heavy flamer, Heavy Onslaught Gatling Cannon

+ Fast Attack +

Invader ATV Squad
. Invader ATV: Onslaught Gatling Cannon

Suppressor Squad
. 2x Suppressor: 2x Accelerator autocannon, 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Frag & Krak grenades
. Suppressor Sergeant

+ Heavy Support +

Eliminator Squad: Bolt sniper rifle
. Eliminator Sergeant: Bolt sniper rifle
. 2x Eliminators: 2x Bolt pistol, 2x Camo cloak, 2x Frag & Krak grenades

Eradicator Squad: Melta rifle
. 2x Eradicator: 2x Bolt pistol
. Eradicator Sgt

Other Resolutions

  • Paint Two Gangs For Carnivale
  • Paint The Warhound Titan

Current Projects

I have just started work on the Corpse Grinder Cult gang fro Necromunda and Fafnir Rann for an Imperial Fists project.

My curren painting queue is thus:-

  1. Corpse Grinder Cult x 15
  2. Blood Angels Primaris Lieutenant, Assault Intercessors x 8 & Librarian in Phobos Armour
  3. Orruk Weirdnob Shaman
  4. Death Korps of Krieg Medusa x 2
  5. T’au Breacher Team x 10
  6. Fafnir Rann
  7. Ork Terrain
  8. Blades of Khorne Blood Warriors x 10
  9. Ork Burna Boyz
  10. Sicaran Infiltrators x 5

Company of Legends March 2022

By

On 31st March 2022

In Blog

The past weekend it was Company of Legends, our twice yearly Horus Heresy Residential weekend that Edge of Empire run.

It was fun but exhausting, and I love doing it.

We managed to pull it off successfully, i always worry that I am less organised than I need to be, but Graham and Chris as usual were amazing.

I got to play four games over the weekend, with my Questoris Knights army list below

+ HQ +

Seneschal. Questoris Knight Crusader: Meltagun, Occular Augmetics, Stormspear rocket pod, Thermal Cannon

+ Troops +

Scion Auxilia
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun

Scion Auxilia
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun
. Questoris Knight Armiger Talon: Armiger Thermal Spear, Dreadnaught Close Combat Weapon, Meltagun

Scion Martial
. Questoris Knight Paladin: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Occular Augmetics, Questoris Battlecannon

Scion Martial
. Questoris Knight Paladin: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Occular Augmetics, Questoris Battlecannon, Twin Icarus autocannon

+ Fast Attack +

Scion Dolorous
. Questoris Knight Gallant: Bio-corrosive rounds for its heavy stubbers, Heavy Stubber, Occular Augmetics

+ Heavy Support +

Scion Arbalester
. Questoris Knight Dominus: Occular Augmetics, Plasma Decimator, 2x Twin-Linked Siegebreaker Cannon, Two Shieldbreaker Missiles, Volcano Lance

My first game was against Rob on Friday night, and his Mechanicum, which I lost, was in fact tabled.

My next game was the first main game of the day which I played against Ozzie and his Emperors Children and Mechanicum, I lost that but at least wasn’t my tabled!

My third game of the weekend saw me face Mark Frost and his daemons at long last, allowing him to claim the grand slam of beating all four Edge of Empire hosts with the army.

But I held my own ok I think.

My final game of the weekend saw me face off against Henry and his Emperors Childrens allied with Imperial Milita.

That was my most successful game, I did alright, but losing a couple of knights to an Assault Squad with Melts Bombs cost me the game.

The traitors won the weekend, probably because I was playing for the loyalists.

It was an awesome weekend and I cannot wait for September.

What I Am Modelling

With Company of Legends, not a lot got done!

I did have a build session on Tuesday night and got a bunch of terrain for my 15th table built. This is stuff from the Charadon which is going to supplement the Imperium terrain to make a full tables worth.

I then finished painting my Space Marine Primaris Supressors to add to the Ultramarines army.

At the same time I painted up some Thermo-Pipes.

And after that started work on an Ork Kommandoes Kill Team.

And I painted a Thermo-Exchanger Shrine at the same time, also for the Imperium box.

At the same time, I painted up some referees for Blood Bowl.

And late last night I finished off a Deredeo Dreadnought I bought at Ardhammer in January, although I think the guns are recasts, the actual Dreadnought seems fine, but the guns are just not quite right.

I am gonna keep it, I only paid £10 for it, but I need to keep a closer eye on things I buy at secondhand sales.

So what’s coming up next week?

  1. Corpse Grinder Cult x 15
  2. Blood Angels Primaris Lieutenant, Librarian in Phobos Armour & Assault Intercessors x 8
  3. Orruk Weirdnob Shaman
  4. Death Korps of Krieg Medusa x 2
  5. Morg N Thorg
  6. T’au Empire Breacher Squad x 10
  7. Fafnir Rann
  8. Ork Terrain
  9. Khorne Blood Warriors x 10
  10. Sicarian Infiltrators x 10

What I Am Reading

I have yet to pick up a book this week 🙁

But I have been listening to The Wolftime by Gav Thorpe which is really good.

What Video Games I Am Playing

Not a great deal just a daily game of Halo Infinite for the most part to get the points.

What Tabletop Games Am I Playing

Other than those at Company of Legends, none.

What I Am Creating

Two more battle reports were published, issues 22 and 23!

Now that all the tutorial missions are done, I am going to be moving to a new schedule, Wednesday will be Imperium and Saturday will be something else.

I am kinda thinking the first something else will be a Horus Heresy very small Zone Mortalis game.

What I Am Spending

I did manage to pick up Watchmen: Ultimate Cut in 4K from the Microsoft Store for £3.99 which is awesome!

Also when at the North East Model Centre on Thursday, I bought another Painting Handle!

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium – Issue 23 Battle Report

By

On 30th March 2022

In Battle Reports

The 23rd part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.

In this episode, we see the debut of the Canoptek Spyder to the battlefield!

Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the noble warriors of the Imperium of Mankind.

You can buy your own Task Lamp here

You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-

Warhammer 40,000 Imperium – Issue 22 Battle Report

By

On 26th March 2022

In Battle Reports

The 22nd part of the Warhammer 40,000 Imperium Battle Report Series.

In this episode, we the Adeptus Mechanicus take to the field for the first time as a squad of Skitarii Rangers face off against a phalanx of Necron Warriors!

Who will prevail in this battle between the sinister Necrons and the servants of the Machine God?

You can buy your own Task Lamp here

You can support what I do by doing any of the following:-

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