A Productive if Odd Week

It’s been a funny old week, and I have been up and down for a lot of it, and it doesn’t help that my doctor has adjusted some of my medication so my mood has been making huge great big swings to even the most minor things.
Me and Graham recorded the pilot episode of our podcast Edge of Empire, which you can listen to here, and it’s also available on iTune here, and if you like it, why not leave a review for us.

The recoding went okay apart from some minor initial technical difficulties and the audio quality has some issues with the recording level, I have since made some adjustments to the set up, which I might talk about another week, and that should hopefully resolve the issue, as well as moving the microphone a bit further away from me, need to remember my microphone is really sensitive.

On Thursday I had a knock on the door from the police, who told me that someone, had shared my address with a far right group on a Russian website, which lists people who are alleged far left enemies of the people. Now I am not on the left side of politics, for my sins I am very much on the centre right, but to these far right nut jobs, if you oppose their hatred and bigotry then you are to them on the far left. 

Their perception of where the centre of British politics is so skewed, that it’s almost laughable. The police said there is noting to really worry about as these idiots are all talk and no action, and in truth I am not at all worried, I suppose, as Scott pointed out, that if I had kids, it would be different. If anything I just find it funny that because I have commented to point out racism, bigotry and homophobia, mostly on the Evening Chronicle Facebook page that I am being seen as a leftie, not that there is anything wrong with that, I have many friends on the left side of politics, but it’s more that if you really knew me, you would know I am a very moderate Tory!

So not only have I been involved in an accidentally swatting, I have gone and been doxxed and all within a month as my friend Andrew points out, if I keep this up I will end up on a no-fly list at this rate!

So other than those two things most of my time has been taken up with preparations for Company of Legends, I had to write up the shopping list, finish the sleeping plan, arrange the first games and keeping them as fluffy matchups as possible, and typing up the lists so people could see them. Took a little while to get all of the lists in, a couple of guys needed a little extra time because they were bringing lists from Inferno and needed to get their heads around the rules, one guy was waiting for his internet to be installed, and so on. But we eventually got them all in and hopefully I have typed them up with a minimum of errors, if you want to take a look at them, they are listed here.

What I am Modelling

On Sunday I painted up the Haemotrope Reactors, between building a desk from Ikea and losing my temper over that, the paint job isn’t my best, I chickened out on painting the skull white and went with silver instead, but I am okay with what I have managed with it.
I had an amazingly productive day on Monday and managed to get finished a Wall of Martyrs Imperial Defence Emplacement, a Basilica Administratum, a Manufactorum and a Sanctum Imperialis I had built up as two smaller buildings to use with Renegade.

Megan wanted to paint up a Basilica Administratum, so I have been talking her though my painting scheme so it fits in with the rest of the buildings, and I think she did a pretty good job of it.

The last bit of the Wall of Martyrs was put to bed on Friday leaving me with just a Void Shield Generator to do, and Megan is going to do the Bastion. The pylons of the Void Shield Generator have had the base coat of Leadbeltcher put on, then been washed with Nuln Oil and then drybrushed with Necron Compound.

I also took the time to build a unit of MKIV Breachers armed with Power Swords for my Ultramarines, for them I used the Ultramarines Upgrade set from Forgeworld which gave me 10 Praetorian heads and toros along with moulded shoulder pads and the Praetorian Breacher Shields set which provided me with the Power Swords and Shields. I also gave the Sgt a Power Fist from the MKIV Power Weapons Set. They got primed on Friday and are ready to paint now, and because I used so few parts from the spruces, I have purchased 10 legs and backpacks from a bits site for a reasonable price which means I still will have an entire sprue of MKIV Marines to use for something else.

On top of my mixer since the summer has been a half finished Tyranid Hive Tyrant, because I needed to put my mixer back into use I decided to finish this off whilst some washes on a Wall of Martyrs piece was drying, and it didn’t take too long at all, it’s the first model for my Tyranid army, which I will do something with one day!

What I am Reading

On the audio book front I have made my way through some of the smaller stories like Inheritor, Ironfire, The Final Compliance of Sixty-Three Fourteen, Vorax, etc, I have also listened to the two novellas, The Purge and Cybernetica and a couple of Garro stories.
I have started now with my next full length audiobook, this time Angel Exterminatus, and this is the first time I have listened to it, so I am quite looking forward to getting into it.
What I am Playing

On Sunday we played a game of Castle Panic, it’s the simplest game on our 10×10 but this is the first time we have played it as part of that. We started off quite badly losing almost all of walls very quickly, but we eventually recovered and managed to win the game losing only one tower.
I was supposed to play a game of Horus Hersey against Graham, but I cancelled because I was having a really bad day on Monday and wasn’t in a frame of mind for it, and it allowed Scott to get his first game of Heresy in.
I did however play a game of Star Trek Fleet Captains against Madison, I managed to beat him in a reasonably quick game, according to him at least I have never played it before. I enjoyed the game it was quite fun, but it’s not something I will be looking to add to the collection anytime soon, the components were a little on the cheap side which is a shame as I love Star Trek.
On Wednesday me and Lindsay played a couple of quick games if Camel Up whilst waiting for our tea to cook in the oven. Camel Up is a lovely game that we both adore, especially as it’s a game that when we have children round, they take to very quickly, though on the one hand, not sure if I should be teaching children the basics of gambling! Anyway, we both won a game a piece and had it not been for the fact we both had other things we needed to do that evening we could have played a few more games.
Today I was at Warhammer in Newcastle for a Fall of Cadia themed Apocalypse lyose game, for which I took the following Space Marine 1000pt army.

• HQ – Captain, Power Fist
• Troops – Scout Squad, 5 x Sniper Rifles, Camo Cloaks
• Troops – Tactical Squad, Imperial Space Marine
• Heavy Support – Relic Sicaran Battle Tank, Dozer Blade, Lascannon Sponsons
• Lord of War – Fellblade Super-Heavy Tank, Armoured Ceramite, Pinter-Mounted Heavy Bolter

When I arrived the sides were a little unequal so I quickly needed to add in another 500 points so I added a Terminator Squad, two Rhinos and another Tactical Squad.
The game was rather fun and quite bloody, although us loyalists spent most of the time behind in terms of points, we wiped out a lot of stuff pretty harshly, and my Fellblade was almost impossible to kill until it took a D blast which took off 8 hull points. my Sicaran went in the first turn killed by the Autocannon and Missile Laumcher of a Taurox Prime, my tactical squads both died to Scions, and my Captain was killed by a Mauraduer Bomber.
But my Fellblade and a single Terminator lived until the end of the game. And I got the Triumvirate of the Imperium card for my Crusader wallet
Afterwards I meet Lindsay for an evening at Newcastles Gamers where we played Viticulture, a game that has been on the list of games I would like to try, and I have to say I rather enjoyed it. Not sure if it’s something I can add to my collection as Megan might find it a bit overwhelming but I think once she gets over her current funk with games that are a little heavyweight that she would be rather good at it. Anyway, I ended the game in dead last place on 14 points, I used my big worker too early in the last year and thus couldn’t fulfil any orders that would have given me a more respectable score.
What I am Backing

Noting new this week, but Munchkin Shakespeare is still on Kickstarter and is approaching $200k. The main set currently sits at 160 cards and I am hoping that by the end of the campaign it can reach the 172 cards if a normal set.
The tier I have backed at, the $60 All in Tier now is worth $75 for which I am getting 226 cards, 7 d6s 2 Kill-o-Meters, 16 blank cards, 3 bookmarks, 1 journal, 1 metal coin, 6 male and 6 female pawns.
Personally I say if you are a Munchkin fan, then go for it, because it’s going to be an awesome version of the game.
What I am Spending

Seeing as how I am all spent out for the month already, I have spent as little as possible, although a friend offered me a steal of a deal for an unopened Plasma Obliterator and I have accepted and am picking it up later next week, maybe I will get it built for the weekender, but probably not if I am honest.
I also did a bit of wheeler dealing and swapped the unbuilt Dwarf Blood Bowl team for a built Anvillus Pattern Dreadclaw with Phil and that will probabjly find its way into my Heresy Space Wolves.
I picked up Slambo today and because I have gone through them shockingly fast with doing all the terrain, picked up a new bottle of Nuln Oil and pots of Leadbeltcher, Warpstone Glow, Balthasar Gold and Retributor Armour.
I also picked up the first part of Lindsays birthday present, it’s not until April, but I have started already.