My New Nurgle Chaos Army Group Shot And Hobby Update.

What a hectic couple of months, as with work commitments and every day life, it's certainly had an impact in regards to my ability on posting regular updates on my blog. But fear not I have still been very busy on the hobby front' and as you can see in the pictures. I'm really enjoying the project and it's probably one of the best bits when you look back and see things starting to really take shape. I'm still working on other chaos stuff which are under development and hopefully over the next couple of weeks I'll be able to showcase them.

Ork Trophy And Clyphs

In my last game that I played against my arch nemesis AJ, this loota was the last one left from his unit needing a double 1 to pass a leadership test, and you can probably tell what the result was. So I thought it was about time that he got a little trophy as a present. This is one part of the hobby that I think I've got a lot better at, especially when it comes to my orks as they are so charismatic and colourful, you can easily go to town by adding these little extra touches to your army. Plus it's always good to see something that you can look back on, and have a laugh at.

Marvel legendary, let's get 2014 off to a flying start.

I might as well start by saying this is my first post of the new year, and of course wish you all good and a positive gaming 2014. Recently I've been playing a lot of legendary, and I decided to purchase some hobby supplies and sleeving 550 cards isn't exactly fun, but definitely worth while. Plus I know it's rather expensive but I think it's worth it in the long run. I'm also thinking about at some stage picking up the 2 expansions that are already available for the game, as hopefully it will give it a little bit more depth as it is a little bit easy, at time's although whilst playing with my youngest son this isn't exactly a problem, as he can get a little bit upset if he loses.

So Job done and I must admit it really does make all the difference in regards to shuffling the cards as well as making it easier to organise them.

A little look at what Santa delivered, this Christmas 2013.

Over the next couple of weeks I will be posting up some more pics in regards to what I got over Christmas, but in the meantime I thought I would share with everyone what Santa delivered. This year it was a little bit different, because I wanted to incorporate games that I could play with my family. So that's when legendary comes in, as both my young sons are superhero mad, plus it's a living card game which hopefully makes all the difference, in regards to it's cost, as it will work out a little bit more cheaper in the near future. On the back of that the Star Wars card game was also a new addition to my collection, but overall I am concerned that it might be a little bit more complicated than legendary. And finally not forgetting X-Wing, it certainly needs no introduction and the new additions will certainly come in handy on the table top.

Updating Hero Quest Against the Ogre Horde miniatures

So for those that don't already know, over the last couple of months I've been spending my time updateing my hero Quest collection, and to start things off I would like to share some of the progress that I have done with my Ogre's, from the MB supplement Against the Ogre Horde, that was released many years ago. 

Looking at the miniature's now, there are a little bit out of date, but fear not with a little bit of work I will have them looking brand-new. The conversions work is just simply using the new Ogre models that were released by GW only recently, and they seem to fit very well.

Above and below are my new Ogre Warriors.

Above a Ogre chieftain in all his glory.

Ogre Champion with his new base.

And no right respecting Ogre clan would go without it's very own Ogre Lord. So with this post the pictures really do speak for themselves, and if you have any questions just simply drop me a line until then.

My New Warboss And Nob Bike's Conversions

With 40k 6th edition released there's no better time to start nob bikers, accompanied with a new war boss. So with that in mind I started converting more of these bad boys to add to my collection. So below you will see some of the most recent pictures I have taken of the project in hand.

it's always important to have a good boss pole.

from the back you can see all of his most recent trophies.

and no Ork warboss would be without his trusted companions, if there is such a thing should.

I'm really pleased the way they have turned out so far, especially with the boss Pole, as I have taken it of the trucks sprue, so I have finally got a purpose for it after all. also if you look a little bit closer I have model nails onto their boss Poles, which I will use as a rank structure, i.e. the more you have the higher up you are with in the gang.

below you can see that I still am midway converting a big shoota on this guy.

And there you have it short and sweet this time but I think the pictures speak for themselves, so if you have any suggestions or questions don't forget to ask them below.

So before you go can you guess what clan these guys are from?

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.

How To Cast Resin Tutorial Part 1 What Materials You Will Need

For me this is been an aspect of the hobby that I have definitely wanted to try out, for quite sometime now. As I have seen it done a couple times online also a very good friend of mine has recently played about with the idea of casting little bits and pieces for his army. So not wanting to be left behind in the arms race with him, it was about time that I got my own stuff to get these projects well underway.

It took a little bit of time sourcing online for the materials that I needed. The biggest problem was shipping as they can generally are very heavily and can be quite expensive to send in the post. So while searching eBay we came across grp supplies a local company based in Belfast Northern Ireland. Just a few miles from where I live, so with a little persuasion me and a good friend set out for a short car journey to see what we could come across. 

They were extremely friendly when we got there, and the advice that they give us on how to get started was valuable information, that hopefully we will put to good use, and we will definitely be coming back to get more stuff if needed.

 In the pictures I bought 1 kg of casting resin which is more than enough and for the price it was quite good going for £8.00 hopefully this will be more than adequate for the projects that I have coming up. 

Next we needed some RTV synthetic rubber, basically this is the stuff that's going to make our rubber moulds. I decided to go for another 1.1kg after all you do not want to run out. 

 hopefully when set it will cast see-through, it was also recommended that you can put die in your resin so technically you could make it black which in turn would make it easier when it comes to paint

.

These are the hardener and catalyst that you will need for both your resin and rubber RTV which makes them set at room temperature quite potent stuff definitely keep out of reach of children.

so there you have it hopefully this will keep me occupied for the next few weeks, and I will update my blog with more information when it happens.

 So feel free to ask questions in the appropriate box above.

Skaven Hobby Update What Arrived In The Post Today

Just a wee quick update to show everyone what arrived in the post today which I recently got on eBay, for the grand price of £7 which is a bargain considering, these models are too good. 

It's something that I like to try and do with all my projects, is to try and incorporate old and new models which if done right can work very well and make it stand out.

Having said that I still haven't decided what they are actually going to count as I think I'm going to convert the old Queek Headtaker as a battle standardbearer, which I feel is quite a fitting purpose. 

So hopefully my post man over the next few weeks, will be delivering more little parcels. Also please feel free to leave a comment below if you have your own suggestions or ideas as it's always good to get feedback.

So I just need to get these little fellow stripped.

New Skaven Project And There Is Strength In Numbers.

As you will all probably be aware I have just recently sold my Warhammer Night Goblin Army, so I have some funds in the hobby Kitty, to spent on my next project. It took quite a while to figure out exactly what I wanted to be, but I definitely knew it was going to be warhammer. Over the last few years 40K has been well catered for in my hobby, and I thought it was time for a change.

So the only question was exactly what army would I like to collect,and it wasn't an easy one to answer straight away, with a lot of looking around the Internet for much-needed help it was decided it would be Skaven with a few obvious reasons. 

For me it came down to price, I do not have a lot of disposable income to spend on a brand-new army, off-the-shelf and with the release of island of blood box set recently, they are available online on eBay, for next to nothing which is always a good start in my book.

 The models have been completely revamped and their book has only recently been released which makes them very effective on the tabletop and somewhat competitive which for me although not necessarily the number one reason it certainly helps, after all I did play night goblin's so it would be nice to maybe when the game below is some pictures of some inspiration that I came across to use and like the look of.

Also modelling and converting opportunities are a big draw to these little fellows as I have recently came across some very impressive work which I hope to post.

these are some of the models that I have recently got on eBay and they just looked too good not to have in my army.

just goes to show what can be achieved with a little bit of imagination when it comes to conversions something that I want incorporate into the project. 

one of my favourites and something I'm going to use when I get round to doing my own.

So recently I have already started with buying the book on eBay for nearly half price which is a good start also I have picked up a few classic OOP models so the project is well underway, which in turn gives the army a very unique look mixing old and new.

also if you have any ideas or suggestions may contact.

How To Make A Wargaming Table Part 1

All too often I see people spending the majority of their hobby time engrossed in their armies and seem to forget or have no interest in regards to the scenery and the table that they play on, week in week out, which is a real shame.

The majority of hobbyists focus completely on their army forgetting about one of the most important bits. Namely, their wargaming tabletop, without it no matter how good your army looks it will no doubt not show its true potential unless you have made some sort of effort in regards to your table. After all, the majority of your time whilst you play will probably be on a table of some description. So, it's only right that you allocate a little bit of time to get it right.

Below is the next project that I hope to undertake and like I do most of the time before starting I spent a little time doing some research in regards to exactly what I want to achieve, and the end product to be.

(Criteria)

It is not a freestanding table and will need to be able to be packed away

Easily transported

Durable i.e. to last a long time

Provide enough space to play on as well as storing little bits and pieces like dice and models

Also have its own feet so it can be taken to clubs etc

As you are probably aware, after a few quick searches on the internet, you will no doubt find some really good articles and suggestions by other hobbyists and gamers in regards to exactly what they have done and achieved with their own projects.

First up is definitely worth checking out and is exactly what I want to achieve

http://www.youtube.com/user/bantanzh

Next is a really good article by

http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/242337.page

So with all that in mind I've sketched a few ideas with pencil and paper to brainstorm. I think I'm going to use MDF in 2x2 tiles for the table itself as it seems to work quite well as material and it's very affordable, which in turn will be held together with little pins so that the tiles do not move around.

Next is the shell that will go around the table and provide support as seen in the video above. I've also documented the material that I think I will need, so when I go to purchase at a store it will be easier to have all the measurements that I need close to hand.

This is a side view of what will go around the table and hopefully will add much-needed support to the tiles whilst I play my games.

And finally below you can see what will go around one side of the table to provide space to put models dice etc whilst playing, for me it's very important as all too often things on the tabletop the come very messy.

Finally a birds eye view in the bottom bit of the picture, I have decided that it may need some slats that will go under the tiles to add strength when playing.

So there you have it, an ambitious project yes-but definitely feasible and something I'm looking forward to very much as it has been a long time in the planning.

The Only Way Is Up After The Arkham 40k Tournament

So over the weekend I went to another tournament and unfortunately came last, with a mixed bag of results, so I find myself asking the question why and where did it all go so wrong, I think from the very start I felt that the list I was taking wasn't right, I can only describe it as overcooked it tried too hard to do too many things which in the end made me pay in most of my games. Also having no firepower at my disposal definitely was a major weakness.

Below is the list that I took and although 6 battlewagons looks good on paper on the tabletop where it counts it really did struggle.

HQ [1] Wazdakka Gutsmek (180pts)

once again he looks good on paper but he struggled all weekend with his shooting overall definitely a major mistake over and normal war boss on bike

HQ [2] Big Mek Choppa, Kustom Force Field (50pts) [85pts]

Elite [1] Meganobz (40*3), combi-skorcha (5) [125] in transport 1

Elite [2] Meganobz (40*3), combi-skorcha (5) [125] in transport 2

Elite [3] Meganobz (40*3), combi-skorcha (5) [125] in transport 3

with points being tight not arming them with their rockets meant they were easily killed in combat

Troop [1] Ork boyz with choppa and slugga(6*18), nob upgrade (10), power klaw (25), boss pole (5) [148]

Troop [2] Ork boyz with choppa and slugga(6*18), nob upgrade (10), power klaw (25), boss pole (5) [148]

Troop [3] Ork boyz with shootas (6*17 [102]

once again performed very poor with not having its own nob and power claw

Troop [5] Gretchin (3*10), runtherd (10) [40]

HS[1] Battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), deff rolla (20) [115]

HS [2] Battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), deff rolla (20) [115]

HS [3] Battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), [95]

The 6 battlewagon turned out to be a complete waste of points

Transport [1] battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), deff rolla (20) elites 1 [115]

Transport [2] battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), deff rolla (20) elites 2 [115]

Transport [3] battlewagon (90), big shoota (5), deff rolla (20) elites 2 [115]

So overall I think I learnt a lot and in some ways it definitely brings my game back down to earth, but there is still positives I can take overall.

Although with 1 win and 4 losses were do I find the positives and it's very simple in each of my games that I lost there was a stage where, I felt I could have easily won but it just simply ran out of steam it couldn't stand up with some of the newer books, and the spam vehicle killing ones definitely devastated my army in most of my games that I lost.

Don't get me wrong battlewagon brigade is still a very strong list and I have not lost faith in the concept, it's just 6 battlewagons is a overstretch.

Building A Better Waaagh Banner (Part 1)

Just a quick we update and apologies about picture quality

Waaagh Banners are a very important role within ork society, and only the strongest and biggest will ever have the opportunity to carry it into battle. Which made me think size is very important when it comes to nobs so it's only natural to assume that the biggest would ever carry such a banner.

As the nob box set doesn't give you one the natural option was for me to include the old metal style which is a timeless classic.

Also to include the old metal war boss as he is bigger than the plastic nobs from the box set he really does stand out amongst the crowd.

He is actually my old war boss that I have converted, his arms were very tricky to do as they need to be bigger which in turn gives him overall bulk,

so I used plastic ogre arms that I had lying around and overall I think they've turned out very well.

He's also probably going to be equipped with the power claw on his left arm although I still haven't decided exactly how I am going to do it.

Make sure you leave some comments and suggestions

if you have any idea and what you would like to see?