40K HIGHLANDER Rules 1 Day 5 Round 1000pts Tournament

In the New Year all being well I'll will  be going to Arkham Gaming Centre to take part in Dominion Day V, a Warhammer 40K tournament, run in conjunction with Jonny Fisher. This 1 day ranking 1000 point tournament will allow the best 40K players in Ireland North & South to make war across the tabletop.

This is a one day tournament for 46 players, each playing five 1000 point games on a 4x4 table. Hopefully this will also encourage some 40K players who haven't yet stepped into the ranked tournament scene to give it a go, and also allow those who miss out on tickets for Assault on Arkham to get some action. From the feedback we get on our 40K tournaments, a great day is virtually guaranteed! 

for more info see Arkham Gaming Centre

HIGHLANDER RULE – There Can Be Only One!

These rules seem to becoming very popular here in Ireland as it allows you to take part in a 5 Rounds Tournament all in one day which in turn gives you maximum tournament points although in saying that there is some restrictions.

1000 points 

5 games in 1 day 

4' x 4' tables 

46 Players max 

NO DUPLICATE UNITS 

Max one of each unit type, with the exception that armies with only one Troop option can duplicate it as long as each unit has unique upgrades. Things like land raiders count as being the same, so one godhammer or one redeemer or one crusader. Transports cannot be duplicated either.

The force organisation chart also changes: 

1 HQ - Compulsory 

1 Elite - Optional 

2 Troops - Compulsory 

1 Fast - Optional 

1 Heavy - Optional 

If you fill that FO chart you can start on this one:

1 HQ 

1 Elite 

2 Troops 

1 Fast 

1 Heavy 

And if you somehow fill that one you can take: 

1 Elite 

2 Troops 

1 Fast 

1 Heavy 

Vehicle Squadrons are restricted to one model per unit.

These restrictions definitely do make building lists a little bit more tricky, although in saying that it does definitely make things a lot more level playing field. Which in some ways can only be a good thing.

Why Does GW Not Paint Models Any More In Store?

Just recently been in my local GW, and there seems to be a very high level of non-painted miniatures in the cabinets for example just showing off new releases on sprues.

 I remember not too long ago in years gone by, the cabinets in GW were filled with beautifully painted miniatures and models, also they seem to be updated regularly.  Nowadays it seems to be this month's new release out-of-the-box sprue taking centre stage..

Don't get me wrong as I can see the appeal but seeing it regularly, in-store for me, makes the hobby look very cheap. I can understand with the new stores format of only having one member of staff, it would be near impossible to get anything painted, so in that instance, I can sort of understand but as a general rule it all seems to be the norm rather than the exception.

As a painter myself, for me it's about the model as a whole and unfortunately whether you like it or not painting is part of the hobby, so it would be good for GW to lead by example when it came to their display cabinets in-store, and tried to bring them back to life. 

After all there is so much potential at your fingertips.

Official Behind The Scenes Video Of GW

I Just recently came across this online and thought I would post it, as it might be of interest.

It looks like it's some sort of in-house advertising tool for shareholders, and gives a rare insight, behind-the-scenes, of what goes on with in the company, something you don't see very often.

It just goes to show what GW could possibly do, with hobby content and it's a real pity that you do not see more stuff like this, as it's probably a leaked of some kind. So take a look and enjoy and post your comments below.

My Converted Ork Nob Bikers unit.

Well for some Nob biker's mightn't be anything new, but for me this is the first time I've ever tried to convert them on bikes, and overall I'm very pleased the way they have turned out. There's something about the old bike models that in every sense is a true classic, and now a days somewhat overlooked.

So from the start I didn't exactly know if it could be done but it turned out to be very simple, I used a mix of black reach nobs and also from the Nob box set that GW sales.

I have already done a ork pain boy you can see him here for yourself before but I wanted to do something a little bit different than normal, this was the only head that I thought that was appropriate for such a model as it does show off some surgery of some kind which is handy considering.

Quite a simple dirty syringe conversion, I think I could do better, but with time being limited, sometimes doing something simple is just the best option.

As always I do try to create movement within the model to try and turn them into a mini diorama and this was no exception as I think it's definitely justified and adds movement to the overall effect of the unit, on the tabletop.

Below is the first, PK within the unit and I definitely wanted him to stand out. As you can see, I have modelled it so the bike is coming down on its front tyre, which makes him look like he's about to cleave someone in two.

By the look of it the second has already his target in his sights.

 I think in this picture you can see that the old bikes really do complement the new nob models, and I was actually very surprised how well they work together, so like any wedding there should be something old something new something blue, well more like red.

And finally considering they have a 4+ cover save, I modelled the exhaust fumes. Hopefully in the near future I'm going to post up a tutorial how to do it for yourself, 

So by no means are these guys finished as I still have a lot to do before they can get primed and painted, so until them, make sure you stay tuned for the next update.

UAA Joins The Wargaming Tradecraft

So recently out of the blue I got a confirmation e-mail in regards my blog joining 

The Wargaming Tradecraft Network.

So to say thank you to Dave G the man behind the blog, I thought I would do a quick post to let everyone know about it.

Primarily it's a blog dedicated to helping new and experienced artists learn and develop techniques key to the art side of the wargaming miniature hobby. (Such as Warhammer 40k, Hordes, Warmachine and so on) Skills to be focused on will be things like painting, modding, basing, terrain, etc.) miniature art painting hobbying modelling wargaming warhammer hordes warmachine terrain bitz learn basic intermediate advanced expert techniques

So make sure you take the time and check them out for yourself and if you have a blog like me give them a quick e-mail to join the ranks.