Tag: Orruk Warclans Page 1 of 3

Not Exactly Impressed

By

On 14th April 2025

In Blog

So the Switch 2 Direct happened, and I am gonna be frank, not entirely impressed.

First off, whilst it was expected that it was going to use older technology, it’s quite a bit older than I would like, but I mean it’s still PS4/Xbox One level.

I mean it’s decent tech, but it’s gonna have to rely on DLSS a lot to hit that 4k, but then again, it might actually be capable of running Breath of the Wild without dropping to like 15fps in busy scenes.

Then there is the battery life, it’s worse than the original Switch, which isn’t exactly the best in the first place.

I get why they haven’t gone with an OLED screen given the already increased price, more on that in a bit, but it’s still a disappointment to not have there there.

As well as the lack of Hall Effect sticks, because the stick drift issues with the original JoyCons are huge and I am massively disappointed that they haven’t been bothered to give us JoyCons which would have avoided these issues.

And then that takes us to the cost.

The actual cost of the console, I get it, the bill of materials isn’t going to be cheap, TSMC have been raising wafer prices like crazy since 2020.

But the tutorial being paid, the paid upgrades for OG Switch games being quite high and the cost of new games is just crazy.

Nintendo have always charged as much as they can for games and it’s very irritating that Switch launch titles are now just as expensive as they were when they first came out.

Look if you work it out, pound for pound gaming, even on the Switch is going to be not that bad value if you play for a couple hours a week and have the console for say six years.

But man it’s rough, I get it, devs need to be paid, and being a poor person, I usually wait for a game to go on sale a few years later, I rarely buy the latest games because I just cannot afford it.

But I feel like this time, the lack of first party titles, which has always been Nintendos strength, most of the third party titles being older titles that run better on my other gaming devices, it’s just not doing it for me.

Oh and out of principle, I will never subscribe to Nintendo Online, I am sorry but putting the backup of saves behind a paywall if frankly ridiculous, especially on handheld device which is more likely to be lost, broken or even stolen, I mean it has an Micro SD card slot, why can I not backup my own saves.

Look maybe in a couple of years, when decent first party titles start filtering through, I will feel different, but right now I can’t see myself getting one.

What I Am Modelling

I started off the week with Swampboss Skumdrekk for the Kruleboyz

And that actually finishes off all my Kruleboyz for now

Then a Dankhold Trogboss for the Gloomspite Gitz

Which also completes all my current models for the Gitz

Followed an Imperial Fists Command Squad, this one is seven man, cause I 3D printed up some extra bodies to take advantage of the bits on the Command Squad sprue

Plus another Herald made with a 3D printed body and spare part from the Command Squad sprue

And I also painted up The Ancestors’ Wrath Einhyr Champion for the Leagues of Votann

As well as Kâhl Yôht Grendok

And a unit of Aeldari Guardians

And for Lindsay’s birthday I made some Otter Earrings

So what’s next in the queue

  1. Blood Angels Landspeeders
  2. Kellermorph & Neophyte Hybrids x 10
  3. Ogryn Charonite Squad x 3
  4. Phallax Warders x 10
  5. Thousand Sons Terminators & Infernal Master
  6. Dark Angels Incursors x 5
  7. Ogryn Charonite Squad x 3
  8. Blood Angels Impulsor
  9. Imperial Knight Magaaera
  10. Carnivale Gondola

What I Am Reading

I finished Straight Silver by Dan Abnett in The Saint, and yeah that was a good one, it felt like it was going quite slow, and woah, it sped up and didn’t stop.

I listened to Assassinorum: Kingmaker by Robert Rath, which not only was the best Officio Assassinorum novel thus far, it’s also the best Imperial Knights novel so far.

I also listened to Three’s A Crowd by Colin Brake which was rather fun and as someone with a bit of agoraphobia, I really understood how the characters felt.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

Had a game with Graham at Durham Raiders on Tuesday, in which we both tested out our Heresy Camp lists.

My Solar Auxilia did ok, but BS3 combined with my dice rolling was pretty frustrating when in turn 3 I just couldn’t hit anything for toffee.

As expected for me it was defeat, but I think I learned some lessons and long term now know the army needs more scoring units

And perhaps leave the Macharius and Malcadors behind and take more Leman Russ Vanquishers instead!

On Thursday I played another escalation league game of Age of Sigmar this time against Adam, and his Seraphon

That game went the typical way and I lost badly, but I did have a lor of fun removing my Orruks from the table!

On Sunday I played a game of Flamecraft with Lindsay & Megan

What Video Games I Am Playing

I started out with Horizon Forbidden West on PS5, which I am playing on Stream

What I Am Spending

We bought ourselves Avatar: The Last Airbender – Aang’s Destiny to replace Harry Potter Hogwarts Battle.

We enjoyed the mechanics of Hogwarts Battle, but sadly the IP is tainted beyond redemption by the bigot that created it.

Avatar is far nicer and far more wholesome.

And it only cost me 70p and its worth it for the LOLs, but I got The Lord of the Rings: Gollum, which I am sure may be hilarious to play given its many many issues!

Do I Eat My Hat Now?

By

On 28th March 2025

In Blog

So a few years ago when the Saudi takeover was first rumoured I said if it happened I would eat my hat!

Well it happened and Graham and Chris who both said they would hold me to it, let me off, and well I am wondering if I should now.

Under the dark ages of Mike Ashley’s reign, I always said that the only expectations I desired from Newcastle United, were that we have a decent cup run, and we challenge for a place in Europe.

That’s it, I never wanted anything more than that, because in these days of billionaires bankrolling teams, the UKs other clubs don’t get a look in.

And realistically I think that’s all any football fan should want, winning the league should never be guaranteed, I want a competitive league, something that we haven’t had for a long time.

Anyway, let’s be honest, the past three seasons, we have had that, last season was a little bit less, but we were hampered by injuries, which happens.

But yeah, in three years , we have consistently challenged for a place in Europe, and had decent cup runs, it’s not been doom and gloom and I am happy with that.

Winning the League Cup might seem like noting to some people, but for us, it was a first domestic honour in nearly 70 years, and for a club the size of Newcastle that’s a big deal. In my lifetime we have ever been the bridesmaid and never the bride.

I am not expecting this to begin constant cup wins, I don’t ever want to be a jaded fan like this of Man City and Liverpool, for whom another trophy is not a big deal.

But I hope that this win is the beginning of Newcastle returning to a point where it’s not a question of if we can win something again, but when we win something again.

So should I eat my hat?

What I Am Modelling

I started out with some more bits for my Iron Sultanate warband for Trench Crusade

I painted up the Yüzbaşı Captain to lead the warband

A Jabirean Alchemists was added as well

I also added a Sultanate Assassin

And finally a Lion of Jabir

I also painted up a trio of Aethon Heavy Sentinels for my Solar Auxilia completing the army for Heresy Camp

The Chaos Knights recently got a Combat Patrol and so I printed up a couple of War Dogs to make that, and painted them up to belong to House Herpetrax.

First up was a Stalker

And then a Brigand

Outside of Combat Patrol these will be used as Allies for my Chaos Space Marines

And finally I painted a Primaris Company Champion for my Dark Angels

I then completed the Imperial Knights Combat Patrol, having printed a couple of Armigers for this, starting with a Warglaive

And then my first Helverin

And this was followed by Jokkob Bugmasson XI, a model I have no idea how it will be used, but it’s cool

And finally a unit of 10 Ardboyz for the Orruks

So what’s coming up next?

  1. Blood Angels Landspeeders
  2. Sisters Retributors
  3. Swampboss Skumdrekk
  4. Ultramarines Brutalis Dreadnought
  5. Imperial Fists Command Squad
  6. The Ancestors’ Wrath Einhyr Champion & Kâhl Yôht Grendok
  7. Kellermorph & Neophyte Hybrids x 10
  8. Ogryn Charonite Squad x 3
  9. Dankhold Trogboss
  10. Phallax Warders x 10

What I Am Reading

Been a while since I updated this, but I have been slowly making my way through Straight Silver in The Saint by Dan Abnett

I also listened to Verminslayer by David Guymer, which was very cool, I liked the new companion for Gotrex, but I hope we get a short about his falling out with the last one.

And I listened to Hell’s Last by Justin Hill which was really good, but then I did Stan Minka Lesk!

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

Played another game of Warhammer Age of Sigmar the other week, this time against Alex with the Idoenth Deepkin and we increased the points to 1000

I took this list

Big Waaagh! (990 points) - General's Handbook 2024-25

Ironjawz - Big Waaagh!
Auxiliaries: 2
Drops: 3

Regiment 1
Megaboss on Maw-krusha (360)
Ardboyz (180)
• 1x Champion
• 1x Standard Bearer
Brutes (200)
• 1x Champion
• 1x Gore-choppa

Auxiliary 
Hobgrot Slittaz (90)
• 1x Champion
• 1x Musician
• 1x Standard Bearer
Beast-skewer Killbow (160)

Created with New Recruit
Data Version: v1

I had wanted to take some Man-Skewer Boltboyz, but they were 10 points too much, so I took some Hobgrot Slittaz for some cheap bodies instead

Regardless, Alex absolutely hammered me, his Deepkin just wore me down over the game,.

This week I played George and his Blades of Khorne

I did ok, and scored some points, but again, the Orruks just don’t have the ability to hit that they really need, 4+ to hit is really harsh man!

What Video Games I Am Playing

I finished up with Assassin’s Creed Chronicles: China which was a lot of fun

What I Am Spending

I managed to grab the only copy of Combat Patrol Issue 26, I felt terrible as there was another fella behind me who wanted a copy, but I was there first and patiently waited for it

I hope he manages to get sorted out elsewhere

I also grabbed myself another box of Tempestus Scions, to build myself the rest of the Combat Patrol, these guys are going to be a Tempestor, three Command Squad guys with Hotshot Lasguns and a Tempestor Prime with a Bolt Pistol

I am also a big Minka Lesk Stan, so of course I had to grab Hells Last to get her command squad, ok as they are, they are only for use in Legends, but I am sure I can do something with them

This means I now have three Minka Lesk models, one as a Sgt, one as a Lieutenant and now a Captain too

I got a few bits and bobs in for other hobby stuff, starting with these NFT tags, they get used to link to Google Docs of whats in my army boxes to allow for easier figuring out of what I have

I also topped up on resin, with another 3KG of Sunlu ABS like grey, and plenty of super glue, I find these little 1g packs the best value for money.

I had bought a 12TB HDD, but alas it was dead on arrival, so it was sent back, really irritating cause we really needed it.

But with the changes to PLEX we kinda needed to get a PLEX Pass, so we used the refund to grab that before it more than doubles in price.

I did need a new external caddy, so I got a dependable Ugreen one, that I have used before without any issue, which was handy as I had a 1TB drive I could pop in to expand our TV library to 9TB.

It was time for Humble Choice, and that got me:-

Plus for EA

I grabbed the Indie Allies 2025 Bundle and got

I also picked up a mystery bundle and got

And separately I bought

As part of the long term move from console to PC, there are certain games I want to still have in my collection, and as the Assassin’s Creed series is my favourite, I intend to add the whole series to Steam over the next year or so.

Meet Smokey & Goodbye Jenny

By

On 16th September 2024

In Blog

We got another cat, meet DJ Smokey Suchong, aka Smokey, aka Smokey boy, aka Smokerson aka Smokestack!

Yeah he already has a lot of nicknames!

He came from Yarm Cat Rescue and since he arrived he has been a very shy timid and quiet boy, slowly adjusting to us

Most hiding behind the sofa, coming out at night, we are spying on him with the camera we have for Megan to monitor the bunnies when we are away

I did try to give him some tuna one Sunday as a treat, but alas, he savaged my finder and he must have thought he was being picked up, which he is not yet comfortable with, and gave me a nasty bite on my finger, which got very badly infected, resulting in two hospital visits, two courses of antibiotics and lots of pain. He is lucky he is cute!

But shortly after Smokeys arrival, Jennifur, our beloved old lady fell ill and after a short illness she sadly passed away at the age of 17.

It took us by surprise as until very recently she had been in perfect health with zero issues, and we are all very much devastated by this.

Jenny was a special girl and we are all going to deeply miss her.

3D Printing

The 3D Printer developed a fault just before WorldCon, the touchscreen died and could not be fixed via software.

But credit to Elegoo, they were super awesome and when provided with video and photos of the error shipped a replacement screen right away, and with the video they provided, was a quick 10 minute fix.

I now have it running fine, and figured out where to find the timelapse videos from, which is cool, kinda tempted to print something really big just to see the video!

Yeah I can see myself getting addicted to this particular hobby!

What I Am Modelling

So my 3D printer is now up and running and Turing into a little bit of a minis factory!

So I started off with this Overseer for my Imperial Fists, a new Consul without a model yet, and now he is gonna be part of the options I have for the Fists.

I then went on to paint up 20 Genestealers for my Tyranids, along with a Broodlord.

These were the classic models, but I popped them onto 32mm bases, and had to grab a couple extra sprues to have the minimum sizes for the latest codex

And then I painted up my two models of Roboute Gulliman, one that I got with the Triumvirate of the Primarch and the other with Imperium

After that I got some Squig Hoppers done, two units of 5, but thanks to unit size changes, I need another box of these

And this was followed up by a unit of Barbgaunts!

And then I finished up a Mega-Boss on Maw Krusha

So what’s up next?

  1. Blood Angels Landspeeders x 2
  2. Dark Angles Captain, Lt & Aggressors x 3
  3. Paragon Warsuits with Multi-Melta x 3
  4. Domicile Shell x 2 & Guardian Idol
  5. Space Wolves Reivers x 5
  6. Rockgut Troggoths x 3
  7. Dark Angels Invader ATV x 2
  8. Ardboyz x 10, Ironskullz Boyz & Warchanter
  9. Treelord Ancient
  10. Leman Russ Vanquishers x 2

What I Am Reading

I finally finished reading The Heart of Iuchiban by Evan Dicken, which was good, but I am not sure why it took me so long to read, a review will follow in time!

Siege of Vraks by Steve Lyons was good, I wanted a bit, I dunno, more from such an iconic war when put to prose, but it was fine.

I read Edge of Catastrophe by Jane Killick and who could imagine a book about failed potato crops could be so thrilling!

I have now started on The Saint by Dan Abnett, which I have been looking forward to a lot, and I am listening to Reaper Man by Sir Terry Pratchett.

What Video Games I Am Playing

I finished Assassin’s Creed Rogue on Twitch

And I started and finished a playthrough of Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine in time for next weeks release of the sequel!

And myself, Graham & Chris started playing some Space Marine 2 together!

What I Am Creating

The next episode of Edge of Empire was published

Doing some battle report videos for the Combat Patrol Magazine and published the Issue 01 video

What I am Spending

Got a few bits for some 3D printing!

First off some new resin to play with, following everyone’s recommendations I grabbed this bottle of Sunlu ABS-Like Resin, cause literally everyone was telling me this is the best sort to use!

Of course I then grabbed a 3kg bottle when I ran through the 1kgs worth!

I also grabbed some IPA to clean this with.

And a couple of pickling jars to put that in and do the job!

I also got the final issue of Stormbringer for the Dragons, this time just the bases, not so sexy, but oh so useful!

And I also got the last two issues to build Swampboss Skumdrekk, with the one from my subscription to be used to build a Snatchaboss on Sludgeraker Beast!

And I got the first issue of Combat Patrol

Plus a single copy of the second one

In terms of other video games, I bought the Capcom Summer 2024 Humble Bundle which netted me

Humble Choice for September got me

I also bought

An Election

By

On 25th May 2024

In Blog

So there is going to be an election, I don’t have much to say on the matter.

But get to know your candidates and vote for the person you think would do best for your area.

But what I would like to say is that right now, the UK is broken, schools are falling apart due to dodgy concrete, the roads are full of potholes, rent is stupidly high, the cost of living is out of control and things are just broken.

So with that in mind, I think we need to make a choice on who we think is best placed to fix whats gone wrong over the past few years.

What I Am Modelling

I started out with a Mega Boss on Maw-Krusha to join my Ironjawz

After that it was a Pshycopage for the Tyranids Combat Patrol

Followed by some Boungrot Bounders for the Gloomspite Gitz

I then painted up some Glaivewraith Stalkers I had sitting in a box, they were in a weird state, a bit of disreppair, no idea how I came into ownership of them, but I didn’t build them, so there was a bit of work involved, but they give me a chance to try out some new rust techniques.

Its my intent to go back to the Nighthaunt and rust up their weapons a bit when they next come out of storage!

I also had some Myrmourn Banshees in a similar state, so I got those painted too,

Both these sets have awesome bases, but I think they are a bit too detailed for what they are, basic stuff for beginners.

And I got the Ultramarines Invader ATVs painted up as well, the first with a Onslaught Gatling Cannon

And a second with Multi-Melta

So what’s up next?

  1. Tree-Revenants x 10 & Branchwych
  2. Chaos Space Mariens x 10 & Dark Apostle
  3. Blood Angels Captains x 6
  4. Imperial Fists Vindicator
  5. Von Ryan’s Leapers x 3
  6. Krondys
  7. Deathwing Terminators x 5 & Terminator Ancient
  8. Sporesplatta Fanatics
  9. Chaos Havoc x 5
  10. Paragon Warsuits with Heavy Bolters x 3

What I Am Reading

I listened to Living Legend by Scott Gray which was a charming bit of fun!

What Video Games I Am Playing

Played some more Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag

And some Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, which I finished!

What I Am Backing

CARnage 2 was funded successfully and as I said, I backed at £1 so I get access to the Backerkit afterwards

What I Am Winning

Won a copy of Ghosts of Tsushima on PC from @gameolder2024 on Twitter, so super happy about that!

What I Am Spending

I had an Amazon voucher from a redund, so I grabbed Bayonetta 3 for the Switch, just need to hunt down a copy of the second game without being ripped off now!

And I managed to grab this dock for my Steam Deck for just £5, and it works pretty well!

I also bought on Steam

DAKboard

By

On 6th May 2024

In Blog

As many of you know, I am a diagnosed AuDHD person and one of the things that benefits me, is a visual list of what I need to do, but well, paper isn’t working and we have been looking for a more techy solution for a while.

We were looking at a screen just showing a .txt file for my to do list, and I spoke to Paul about it on Friday, but thinking, hey someone must have done this before, so I googled it and found a few things that would do the job.

I saw the MagicMirror 2 software, but it just wasn’t going to work due to the issues adding modules, needing to be done via terminal and I just don’t have the spoons for it right now.

So instead we are going with DAKboard, which isn’t open source and less customisable, but does the job really well.

Initially I was going to use a TV we had lying around, but well, there was an accident 🙁

So I turned to the old monitor I used for my second screen, and well, its not as good, but its done ok.

So I downloaded the DAKboard software and installed it to the SD card, after a few false starts due to the issues with a counterfeit card I got from Amazon.

I then had to wire up some new extension cables to power it, plus move a set of sockets from behind the bookcase to use with the hoover!

But inserted into my Raspberry Pi and it worked like a dream!

Had to order some specific length cables for the monitor power and the Micro HDMI to DVI needs, but now they are in, it looks a lot cleaner and is perfect for our use case

If this works, we will be buying a touchscreen screen better in the year to allow for dismissing of tasks on the DAKboard interface directly

In the meantime, this has the local weather, our calendars, and both the household and my to do list!

Here is hoping it does the job!

What I Am Modelling

Most was building stuff, but I did get a few things painted, starting with some Thermic Plasma Conduits for Zone Mortalis

And some random stuff, plus a set of Alcomite Stacks for the board too

I also finally painted the Arbite Arbitratror from the Model of the Month a while back.

And some Hobgrot Slittaz were painted too

And Dryca Hamadreth was painted too!

And after that it was a set of Arco-Flaggents for my Sisters

Plus some Sisters Repentia

Then came a Dark Angels Intercessor Squad

Followed by a Dark Angels Ancient

For the Blood Angels, I got a Squad of Eliminators painted

Plus Radukar the Wolf which I got with Stormbringer

And an Assassins from the Cities of Sigmar, also from Stormbringer

So whats up next?

  1. Sneaky Snufflers x 12
  2. Lasrifle Section x 20
  3. Space Wolves Infiltrators x 10, Eliminators x 3 & Battle Leader in Phobos Armour
  4. Psychophage
  5. Megaboss on Maw-Krusha
  6. Boingrot Bounders x 10
  7. Ultramarines Invader ATV x 2
  8. Tree-Revenants x 10 & Branchwych
  9. Chaos Space Marines x 10 & Dark Apostle
  10. Blood Angels Primaris Captains x 4

What I Am Reading

I have been listening to The Infinite and the Divine by Robert Rath.

And before that is was The Twilight Kingdom by Will Shindler.

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

Got a few league games in, the first was against Matthews Space Marines, which was a loss, but not so bad that I felt outmatched

Then I took on George’s Tyranids, and yeah that was a bloodbath for me!

I was also able to get in a game of Heresy against Paul, and was able to try out Knights in Heresy for the first time in 2.0

What Video Games I Am Playing

Got a couple of sessions of Assassins’s Creed IV: Black Flag in on Stream

I am also playing Final Fantasy II on my Steam Deck, which is a very different game to the first one I played a few months ago

What I Am Backing

I backed a 3D Printing project, the Sci-Fi Outpost – PAY WHAT YOU WANT, which has now completed its funding cycle, and will hopefully soon deliver me some cool STLs!

What I Am Spending

I bought the Sisters of Silence I need for the first Custodes Combat Patrol, along with some paints

And a new microphone to help with Battle Reports, now that they have to be done on Lindsay’s MacBook

And Leon bought a fourth Kroot launch box, so I bought the Codex and Data Cards off him for the T’au

And I bought a few games too for my PC, these were:-

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.

Trying to be Better with Breakfast

By

On 18th January 2024

In Blog

Just as the title says, I am trying to be better with breakfast, because I am usually awful at the most important meal of the day.

So I have been trying to have something warm for the meal, whilst I am struggling to kick this winter cold, that has stuck around since Christmas.

Most days I am having knock off Ready Brek, because porridge is really good for me, and this is really easy to make.

We are keeping in some frozen sausages so the odd sausage breakfast is happening.

So far this year I have been ok, other than a morning in which breakfast was custard doughnuts, but I was feeling super crap.

Other options are bagels, set honey on toast and how can we forget about beans on toast!

What I Am Modelling

I started the new year with an Apothecary Biologis for my Blood Ravens.

Followed by the first lot of Hobgrot Slittaz from Stormbringer

After which I painted some Sternguard Veterans for the Blood Ravens

Along with a Phobos Lieutenant, which completed all the models from Leviathan for the Space Marines.

And then it was the last unit for Shadows Over Hammerhal, some Bloodreavers!

And I also painted this Rhino for my Sisters of Battle which completes that Combat Patrol!

I decided to crack on with the Dark Angels Chaplain, just cause I wanted him done

And because I need him for a Battle Report, here is the Phobos Librarian for the Ultramarines!

So whats up next?

  1. Termagants x 20 & Rippers x 2
  2. Gutrippas x 10
  3. Fungoid Cave Shaman
  4. Arch-Revenant & Ylthari’s Guardians
  5. Space Wolves Suppressors x 3
  6. Screamer Killer
  7. Stabbas x 40
  8. Ork Warbikers x 3
  9. Knight Judicator
  10. Khagra’s Ravagers

What I Am Reading

I have been listening to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury by Brittney Morris, and I finished that, not a bad story at all, and I cannot wait to play the game!

I have been listening to Steel Tread by Andy Clark, which has been a fun story, but the accents are wrong 🙁

And to continue the Doctor Who Monthly Adventures by Big Finish I am now listening to Project: Lazarus by Cavan Scott & Mark Wright.

And I have been reading The Tower of Nerek by David Guymer, which is ok so far, moving along very nicely,

What Tabletop Games I Am Playing

I have been playing a bit of D&D with Lindsay and Megan, using the Dungeon and Dragons Adventurer magazine

I also played my first game of the Hartlepool 1000pts 40K league on Friday and lost, by a lot!

I am using this list for it

Necrons (980 Points)
Awakened Dynasty
Incursion (1000 Points)
CHARACTERS
Overlord (85 Points)
    • Warlord
    • 1x Overlord’s blade
      1x Tachyon arrow
Royal Warden (40 Points)
    • 1x Close combat weapon
      1x Relic gauss blaster
BATTLELINE
Necron Warriors (100 Points)
    • 10x Necron Warrior
        • 10x Close combat weapon
          10x Gauss flayer
Necron Warriors (100 Points)
    • 10x Necron Warrior
        • 10x Close combat weapon
          10x Gauss reaper
Necron Warriors (100 Points)
    • 10x Necron Warrior
        • 10x Close combat weapon
          10x Gauss flayer
OTHER DATASHEETS
Canoptek Doomstalker (135 Points)
    • 1x Doomsday blaster
      1x Doomstalker limbs
      1x Twin gauss flayer
Lokhust Heavy Destroyers (50 Points)
    • 1x Close combat weapon
      1x Gauss destructor
Night Scythe (145 Points)
    • 1x Armoured bulk
      1x Twin tesla destructor
Skorpekh Destroyers (100 Points)
    • 3x Skorpekh Destroyer
        • 3x Skorpekh hyperphase weapons
Triarch Stalker (125 Points)
    • 1x Heat ray
      1x Stalker’s forelimbs

What Video Games I Am Playing

I started playing Stray on New Years Day and I managed to finish it and it was a really good game, and I was not prepared for that ending emotionally.

I then started on Final Fantasy Pixel Remaster, I have never played any of the first 6 games in the series as they were never released in Europe when I was a nipper, and even then they were on Nintendo consoles, which weren’t that common in the UK.

And I managed to complete the game in about 16 hours, but missed out a few achievements thanks to a missing 3 treasure chests!

I justr finished playing Rise of the Tomb Raider, great game and great story and worked so well on the Steam Deck!

I returned to Warhammer 40,000: Boltgun, its a great game and I want to finish it, then play it again!!!

What I Am Creating

The first Warhammer 40k Combat Patrol Battle Report has been published, this one was between the Blood Ravens Space Marines Chapter and the Necrons of the Sautekh Dynasty.

We also got the final episode of Edge of Empire of 2023 out (I know)!

What I Am Cooking

We are brining back the tradition of having breakfast together on a Sunday morning, and I cooked the first one, which was croissants with ham, cheese and egg!

What I Am Spending

I bought a few little games for my Steam Deck from a Fanatical bundle, these were:-

Also it was Humble Choice, which bagged me:-

And from the Steam winter sale, I bought Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order

I have gotten a new headset, but not by buying it, my friend gave me a broken headset and said it was mine if I could fix it, turned out the dongle was borked, so after asking Logitech if I can buy replacement, they told me it was still in warranty and replaced the whole thing, which my friend was cool with as theirs had already been replaced.

And for Battle Report reasons, I now have a Dark Angels Combat Patrol box!

And in the Games-At-Hart reverse auction sale I bought Ticket to Ride Berlin and Ticket to Ride Poland cause I am a big fan of Ticket to Ride!

Christmas & New Year 2023

By

On 1st January 2024

In Blog

Hope you all had a good Christmas, mine was fine, but I was ill for most of it and for one point over 72 hours was awake for less than 10 of them!

But other than that, it was good, we went to my sister in laws for the dinner, which was nice, and we had a great time with Megan’s family.

Me and Lindsay kept up our tradition of a Chinese takeaway for Christmas Eve and a movie, this year it was Super Mario Bros. And Christmas morning it was turkey bacon stotties with mushrooms, and the egg that Lindsay has been adding recently and Tymbark Apple & Cherry juice.

We didn’t do much in the way of gifts, we limited ourselves to £25 each, so I got Megan a book and a rainbow Stich controller holder. Lindsay got a book as well, plus a bunch of Steam games, as she has decided that she wants a Steam Deck in 2024.

My favourite present was a Moopsy toy that Karen made for me, its adorable, I just need to find a place to put it in the studio!

New Years was quiet, me and the otters went to Pauls for a few hours, then returned home and they went to bed, whilst I had a chicken wrap and chips and played the last of Marvel’s Spider-Man Remastered.

Hopefully 2024 is gonna be a better year, because 2023 has been challenging.

What I Am Modelling

I started off with a big batch of Ultramarines, starting with a squad of Aggressors

Followed by some Inceptors

And Finally a squad of Infiltrators

After this I turned my attention to a squad of Battle Sisters

Alongside a Repentia Superior

As well as Sister Superior Tariana Palos

And then some Shootas for my Gloomspite Gitz

I also painted some Grot Scuttlings for Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower at the same time

I then painted up Gordrakk, the Fist of Gork over Christmas as a main centrepiece for the Orruk army!

And painted up the Gaunt Summoner for Silver Tower which completed that boxset.

Plus Mollogs Mob

And finally I painted a Whirlwind Scorpius for my Imperial Fists!

So what’s coming up next?

  1. Blood Ravens Sternguard Veterans & Phobos Lt
  2. Hobgrot Slittaz x 10
  3. Termagants x 20
  4. Gutrippas x 10
  5. Fungoid Cave Shaman
  6. Arch-Revenant & Ylthari’s Guardians
  7. Space Wolves Supressors x 3
  8. Bloodreavers x 10
  9. Screamer Killer
  10. Stabbas x 40

What I Am Reading

I finished Krieg by Steve Lyons, and that was a very very good audio book!

After that I moved on to Witchbringer by Steven B Fischer, which was ok, but the lack of Cadian accents threw me. Doctor Who and the Pirates was a lot of fun from Jacqueline Rayner and Creatures of Beauty by Nicholas Briggs was a great mind trip of a story.

And finally I listened to Gloomspite by Andy Clark, which was grim as fuck!

I have now started listening to Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales – Wings of Fury by Brittney Morris, before I play the game.

I read Sammael: Lord of the Eternal Hunt by Ben Counter, which was ok, followed by Astorath the Grim: Redeemer of the Lost by Andy Smille which was really good. Then I read The Sanguinor: Exemplar of the Host by James Swallow which was actually pretty good.

I also read The Nine by Justin D Hill which was pretty good, nice look at a character we have had a lot of time with but not much background on. The Last Loyalist by David Guymer was also excellent.

Then I picked up a few more shorts, Bjorn: The Fell-Handed by Chris Wraight, Marneus Calgar: Lord of Ultramar by Graham McNeill, Abaddon: Chosen of Chaos by Aaron Dembski-Bowden, Cato Sicarius: Master of the Watch by Nick Kyme, Pedro Kantor: The Vengeful Fist by Steve Parker, Gabriel Seth: The Flesh Tearer by Andy Smillie, Dante: Lord of the Host by James Swallow, Helbrecht: The Crusader by Guy Haley, Vulkan He’stan: Forgefather by Nick Kyme, Lysander: The Fist of Dorn by Anthony Reynolds, Typhus: Herald of the Plague God by David Annadale, Logan Grimnar: Defender of Honour by Cavan Scott, Kaldor Draigo: Knight of Titan by L.J. Goulding, Kayvaan Shrike: Shadow Stalker by Gav Thorpe, Azrael: Protector of Secrets by C.Z. Dunn, Kor’sarro Khan: Huntmaster by Graeme Lyon, Torias Telion: The Eye of Vengeance by Graham McNeil and Ahriman: Hand of Dust by John French.

I also read The Staff of Asclepius by Graham McNeill which was pretty class.

What Video Games I Am Playing

I got my VideoGameGeek.com Secret Santa gift, and my super generous Santa gifted me, Stray, Yakuza: Like A Dragon and Crysis: Remastered, all games that have been high on my wish list!

Continued on with Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag.

I also completed Marvel’s Spider-Man: Remastered, total of 33 hours played and it was a lot of fun.

I have started to play The City That Never Sleeps DLC also on the Steam Deck and intend to finish it over Christmas.

Its one of those annoying episodic DLCs, which I hate, so obviously I started with The Heist, which was finished late on Christmas Day.

And yesterday I finished Turf War, which was ok, but felt less that The Heist.

And then I finished off Silver Linings just as the bell struck midnight, which I was happy with, great game, but the DLC felt disjointed because of the episodic nature.

What I Am Winning

I won a voucher from Maltesers which I combined with a voucher from some market research I did for KFC in order to buy a copy of Assassin’s Creed: Mirage, which made me very happy, as everyone knows I am a massive fan of the series.

What I Am Spending

I grabbed myself a few bits on payday, as a treat.

I got myself a Chaos Space Marines Combat Patrol, Necron Datacards, a brush and a few paints.

I also bought a few video games

Some Minor Studio Upgrades

By

On 6th November 2023

In Blog

Following the insulation work I have made a few small changes to the studio, mostly cosmetic, but they do make it far more comfortable.

First up, I have moved my collection of badges to a set of banners that Megan made for me in the polycule sewing room.

Really happy with how these turned out, and they fill a bit of a hole in the room.

I also hung a Man Cave sign that Mary got me before she passed away, and it looks pretty nice.

And I took the fabric Avatar world map we got with the Avatar Legends Kickstarter, and put that into a frame and hung it on the staircase

I also ordered a 3D printed stand for my Echo Dot to hang on my pegboard, its been a bit of a chew on to get it, and when I eventually did two weeks after it should have come, it was in entirely the wrong colour!

Next steps are going to be something to store the hot chocolate pods in, and a couple more Ikea controller holders for the pegboard.

And of course I do need to do some painting still!

What I Am Modelling

I started off my finishing the Ork Boyz

Plus a Runtherd for some Grots

And then followed up that with a pair of Marshcrawlla Sloghoths

Then some more greenskins, this time in the shape of 10 Grots!

I finally painted the Lord Inquisitor of the Ordo Xenos, good old Kyria Draxus!

And then a Sister Dialogues for my Sisters of Battle

So what’s up next?

  1. Imperial Fists Rotor Cannon Squad x 10
  2. Death Guard Spartan
  3. Termagants with Devourers x 20
  4. Chaos Familiar’s x 8
  5. Loonboss & Zatbags Gitz
  6. Ultramarines Infiltrators x 10
  7. Battle Sisters Squad x 10
  8. Baal Predator
  9. Lilith
  10. Trukks x 2

What I Am Reading

I read a few short stories to try and get me reading again, starting with The Long and Hungry Road by Adrian Tchaikovsky, then Devilhunter by Nicholas Wolf and finally Blood Harvest by Richard Swan.

I have now started on The End and The Death Volume II by Dan Abnett.

What Video Games I Am Playing

Continued to play some more Assassin’s Creed III Remastered, and I am getting to grips with the ways its different to the previous 3 games.

What I Am Creating

I published the latest episode of Edge of Empire!

What I Am Backing

My first project in a while, but I am backing the Car Wars Companion for Sixth Edition, cause, you know, Car Wars!

What I Am Spending

Not much, but I did buy The Ancestor’s Wrath, cause why not, new Votann models are gonna be cool!

We also upgrade our broadband, from 350mbps to 1130mbps, for only a few quid a month more!

Resolutions Update July/August/September 2023

By

On 1st October 2023

In Blog

So I am once again a massive failure and haven’t been updating my resolutions so let’s go!

Build & Paint a 2000 Points Army of Drukhari – 63% Complete

We added the Kabalite Combat Patrol box and that means we now have 1220 points along with Drazhar!

And I also added some Mandrakes too!

Build & Paint a 500 Points Combat Patrol of Genestealer Cultists – o% Complete

No progress

Build & Paint a 2000 Points Combat Patrol of Tyranids – 29% Complete

We added some Spinegaunts to the army plus a swarm of Rippers

Bring my Primaris Ultramarines to 2000 Points – 93.25% Complete

This month we added the Bladeguard Veterans and the Bladeguard Anicent to the list, along with a Ballistus Dreadnought, Firestrike Servo Turret, the Apothecaries and a squad of Sternguard Veterans!

Bring my Orruk Warclans to 2000 Points – Completed

This resolution is now complete with the addition of a unit of Gutrippaz and some Man-Skewer Boltboyz or Da Kunnin’ Krew!

Build & Paint Two Gangs for Carnivale – Completed

The Rashaar were painted this month, so this pledge is complete!

Get My Weight to Under 100KG and Sustain It Below That

Yeah medication changes means that this isn’t going to happen

Publish One Battle Report a Month

Lets try and do this in the last three months eh!

Stream Twice A Week

Managing to get this done

Complete My 2023 VideoGameGeek Challenge – 25% Complete

I finished The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so thats done!

I also started and finished Tomb Raider, so thats 2 down, 8 to go!

I also finished Control and Assassin’s Creed: The Ezio Collection.

I am now onto Assassin’s Creed III and making my way though Bayonetta

Completed Resolutions

  • Bring my Orruk Warclans to 2000 Points
  • Build & Paint Two Gangs for Carnivale

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