I feel the need to further describe the list I'm planning to take for Templecon's Hardcore. This is also more of a way for me to identify weaknesses and how to tactically plan my kills.
The list that I will be trying tonight is:
Thursday, December 30
Losing Steam
I'm losing steam over the Venators. I finished the main armor, now working on the gold trim. The armor/trim I have found to always be the hardest part for me. Not in terms of painting, but more akin to "I don't wanna do it". Part of the reason is I just noted that some of the primer spray paint gummed up in areas by the trim/armor. I want to avoid stripping paint, but I may have no choice on some. Hopefully I can hide it.
I'll gun for them to be done by Friday, instead of today as I had hoped.
I did base all the completed models though, so now everything that had been painted is absolutely complete except for sealing the models.
So goal for the weekend:
Finish Venators, including Catapult crew.
Xerxis
Bronzeback
Cannoneer
***********************
Since I brought up the topic of the spray paint gumming up, I figured I would discuss briefly priming models. I use several different kind of spray paints (not intentional), gesso, and paint.
Spray Paints
Testors Spray Paint - easy to find, sprays fairly well. I usually use their grey when I want a subdued tone - mostly for when I was painting Iyanden Eldar back in my WH: 40k days. It applies fairly evenly and clumps only in the worst of weather. Prices have risen, but Amazon shows $5.19 a can.
Armory Spray Paints - This is what I used after I stopped using Testor's (simply due to laziness). It's not cheap by any means, but I had been buying in bulk orders from the War Store, so I just threw in a couple of cans. Originally, the spray paint worked wonderfully. However, I have noticed now that most of the time the paint clumps at the slightest mention of humidity. Which is no good, since I live in Dallas now. As such, I have two or three cans left over, ready to be used, which I only use as emergency cans when I need it primed. Flow is choppy and it sprays more like flakes. War Store prices a can at $5.95 - I'm not sure what Miniature Market's prices are.
P3 Primers - I have only used the white and only one can, so my experience is limited. But I did want to note that I did get a fairly consistant flow and application was even. I like the nozzle - the nozzle actually makes a vertical spray instead of conical, which reduces the area of overspray. Additionally, if you line models up, you can get more in the spray area (two to three if you line them up vertically). It worked well for me. The only setback? Price per can is $9.99 ($7.99 on War Store). I did get to cover a lot of models, but at that price point I might switch over to air brushing.
Army Painter Base Primer - This spray paint is phenomenal. I have sprayed models in my garage with the door open when it was raining. The paint applies very evenly, although you do need to be aware of overspray. Additionally, it keeps the detail nearly pristine (again with overspray). I also find that I can spray more models with this paint - I have stretched a can to cover nearly 60 to 100 models without clumping or gumming. Drawback? Price and overspray issues. This primer is easier to overspray with and standard pricing comes in at $18.99 a can! $18.99! However, the War Store sells it at $8.99 now, $1 more than P3 Primer.
Gesso
I have just jumped on board with the Gesso priming and I have two - Bob's and another brand. Gesso works wonderfully during the days that it's raining or I just have one or two models to prime. I typically use Bob's - the application was much better. However, I just had an experience where I lost a lot of detail. It's really easy to over-apply the stuff since you want to avoid pincushon effects. The other draw back is the amount of brushing that I have to perform, so I typically try not to do bulk batches. It's a little more tedious, but there's been plenty of times when I could not use spray paints.
Paint
I also use watered-down black paint from time to time. Usually it's in conjunciton with spray primers or gesso. It works well, but it's more tedious than gesso. Gesso is forgiving if you overapply a little - usually that's what you want to do. Paint is not and you lose a lot more detail. Because of this issue, I find that I have to brush more than gesso, which consumes probably ten more minutes.
I'll take pictures of the different primers and their effects.
I'll gun for them to be done by Friday, instead of today as I had hoped.
I did base all the completed models though, so now everything that had been painted is absolutely complete except for sealing the models.
So goal for the weekend:
Finish Venators, including Catapult crew.
Xerxis
Bronzeback
Cannoneer
***********************
Since I brought up the topic of the spray paint gumming up, I figured I would discuss briefly priming models. I use several different kind of spray paints (not intentional), gesso, and paint.
Spray Paints
Testors Spray Paint - easy to find, sprays fairly well. I usually use their grey when I want a subdued tone - mostly for when I was painting Iyanden Eldar back in my WH: 40k days. It applies fairly evenly and clumps only in the worst of weather. Prices have risen, but Amazon shows $5.19 a can.
Armory Spray Paints - This is what I used after I stopped using Testor's (simply due to laziness). It's not cheap by any means, but I had been buying in bulk orders from the War Store, so I just threw in a couple of cans. Originally, the spray paint worked wonderfully. However, I have noticed now that most of the time the paint clumps at the slightest mention of humidity. Which is no good, since I live in Dallas now. As such, I have two or three cans left over, ready to be used, which I only use as emergency cans when I need it primed. Flow is choppy and it sprays more like flakes. War Store prices a can at $5.95 - I'm not sure what Miniature Market's prices are.
P3 Primers - I have only used the white and only one can, so my experience is limited. But I did want to note that I did get a fairly consistant flow and application was even. I like the nozzle - the nozzle actually makes a vertical spray instead of conical, which reduces the area of overspray. Additionally, if you line models up, you can get more in the spray area (two to three if you line them up vertically). It worked well for me. The only setback? Price per can is $9.99 ($7.99 on War Store). I did get to cover a lot of models, but at that price point I might switch over to air brushing.
Army Painter Base Primer - This spray paint is phenomenal. I have sprayed models in my garage with the door open when it was raining. The paint applies very evenly, although you do need to be aware of overspray. Additionally, it keeps the detail nearly pristine (again with overspray). I also find that I can spray more models with this paint - I have stretched a can to cover nearly 60 to 100 models without clumping or gumming. Drawback? Price and overspray issues. This primer is easier to overspray with and standard pricing comes in at $18.99 a can! $18.99! However, the War Store sells it at $8.99 now, $1 more than P3 Primer.
Gesso
I have just jumped on board with the Gesso priming and I have two - Bob's and another brand. Gesso works wonderfully during the days that it's raining or I just have one or two models to prime. I typically use Bob's - the application was much better. However, I just had an experience where I lost a lot of detail. It's really easy to over-apply the stuff since you want to avoid pincushon effects. The other draw back is the amount of brushing that I have to perform, so I typically try not to do bulk batches. It's a little more tedious, but there's been plenty of times when I could not use spray paints.
Paint
I also use watered-down black paint from time to time. Usually it's in conjunciton with spray primers or gesso. It works well, but it's more tedious than gesso. Gesso is forgiving if you overapply a little - usually that's what you want to do. Paint is not and you lose a lot more detail. Because of this issue, I find that I have to brush more than gesso, which consumes probably ten more minutes.
I'll take pictures of the different primers and their effects.
Thursday, December 23
Well it's been months, so....
Due to personal life issues, including but not limited to, being married, moving half way across the United States, and several business trips & other guests coming to visit my wife and I, I have been mostly out of the loop. I was able to attend Gencon for a day (which I will never do again) and I was able to find several stores to play at with a thriving community. Perhaps the saddest scenario was when one of the stores, with a budding new Warmahordes community, closed down abruptly. There was also a tinge of burnout.
However, I now find myself suddenly traveling from Texas to RI for Templecon. This late in the game, most of the events are full so we will play by ear. However, most of the events do not interest me so I challenged myself to compete in the EXTREME HARDCORE. Which means I need to get off my ass and paint.
Having gravitated away from Cryx over the last year, I find myself with Mercenaries or Skorne. I'm sticking with Skorne and I'm looking to run this:
Xerxis T4
-Gladiator
-Sentry
-Cannoneer
-Bronzeback
Min Paingivers
Max Cetrati
Min Arcuarii
Tyrant Commander
Max Reivers + UA
Catapult
2x Flayer Cannon
I have a few points left over and I can toy around with adding a second unit of min Arcuarii & fill out the Paingivers or fill out the Arcuarii to max and take either a 2nd Tyrant or 2nd Catapult. I suspect that I'm not going to win many games, especially those with high attrition. I did have trouble with Shae, although the Venators helped tremendously (and thus the Flayer). Incorporeal models are going to be a pain and Circle might be a hassle without Vorkesh (yes I am looking forward to the Cetrartii UA).
Therefore, while my goal is always to win, realistically its how many models I can bring down and how fast I can get the kill. The AD weapon crew and the reform & extended range of the venators I think is going to help this one out (especially with a Tyrant's +2" to move). A well placed slam or throw from the Bronzeback or Gladiator will go a long way too. Drag is going to be especially important, to draw LOS. Because of these different factors, I am leaning towards either the 2nd unit of Arcuarii or 2nd Catapult.
Of course, if I find people to donate models, I might do Zaal's Tier list of Immortal/AG of doom.
However, I now find myself suddenly traveling from Texas to RI for Templecon. This late in the game, most of the events are full so we will play by ear. However, most of the events do not interest me so I challenged myself to compete in the EXTREME HARDCORE. Which means I need to get off my ass and paint.
Having gravitated away from Cryx over the last year, I find myself with Mercenaries or Skorne. I'm sticking with Skorne and I'm looking to run this:
Xerxis T4
-Gladiator
-Sentry
-Cannoneer
-Bronzeback
Min Paingivers
Max Cetrati
Min Arcuarii
Tyrant Commander
Max Reivers + UA
Catapult
2x Flayer Cannon
I have a few points left over and I can toy around with adding a second unit of min Arcuarii & fill out the Paingivers or fill out the Arcuarii to max and take either a 2nd Tyrant or 2nd Catapult. I suspect that I'm not going to win many games, especially those with high attrition. I did have trouble with Shae, although the Venators helped tremendously (and thus the Flayer). Incorporeal models are going to be a pain and Circle might be a hassle without Vorkesh (yes I am looking forward to the Cetrartii UA).
Therefore, while my goal is always to win, realistically its how many models I can bring down and how fast I can get the kill. The AD weapon crew and the reform & extended range of the venators I think is going to help this one out (especially with a Tyrant's +2" to move). A well placed slam or throw from the Bronzeback or Gladiator will go a long way too. Drag is going to be especially important, to draw LOS. Because of these different factors, I am leaning towards either the 2nd unit of Arcuarii or 2nd Catapult.
Of course, if I find people to donate models, I might do Zaal's Tier list of Immortal/AG of doom.
Wednesday, January 20
Well look at that...
Alright, so I've decided to finish the Water-theme first before I start on an entirely new project. And in the backdrop of it all is also painting Cryx...
More to come. Hopefully I'll be fully done for TempleCon
More to come. Hopefully I'll be fully done for TempleCon
Tuesday, December 8
Well, Ain't That a...
For some time now I've been struggling to finish the Magnus army and get rolling on highlighting all the issues with water scarcity and water quality. Problem is it gets into the political zone when one cause of water scarcity is attributed to global warming and in trying to keep this blog above politics, I've tried to avoid news articles related to global warming. But it is there and it is attributed to why India and China might be facing a crisis in the next decade.
With that out the way, that's not the real struggle. Part of it is my interest in winning tournaments from time to time, which the lists did not bring for me, simply because I am no expert at playing them and my comfort zone is reduced. Part of it is with the release of MkII, I'm now re-learning how to play my main faction (Cryx). Part of it is life - I'm busy planning a wedding and it looks now as if we'll be moving in the near future.
But the real reason? I'm not committed at this time to raising awareness to water quality/scarcity. I don't mean to mislead either - it is a great cause and arguably a human right to access clean, safe water. It is the breathe of life.
But at this time something else has hit home. I'm sharing some personal information here so I do not mean to get sappy. My family medical history has battled cancer numerous times, almost always fatally. Stomach cancer appears to be the re-occurring theme, the kind that doctors suspect it's genetic, but there's never enough evidence. It's a bit of history that since there is no proof of actual genetic susceptibility, we just blow it off. I could make the case that I'm a higher risk class for cancer, but somehow I continue to smoke the occasional (and I do mean probably once-month) cigar.
For the last three years however I have a cousin who has been battling Stage 3 Stomach and Stage 4 lung. She's been on and off of chemotherapy. And while chemo has helped the stomach cancer into dormancy, the lung cancer has remained active. The doctors have been unable to remove the stomach cancer due to this.
She's under 40 (I don't go asking older women their ages, but I believe she's 37). Her husband and her were to be married last year in 2007, but fast tracked it June 2006 right when they discovered that she had cancer. They were supposed to move to Australia and he was supposed to receive a corporate position for moving there. Instead he left it all behind for her, which is larger
We thought she was getting better. She was switched to a less destructive form of chemo to maintain dormancy. Instead the stomach cancer is active again and came back with a vengeance - it's spread to her intestines, liver, and pancreas. We simply don't know how much longer she has left. About a month ago, my aunt was hoping at least to the new year.
I'm afraid this post is turning rather morbid, but the point is, water quality and scarcity just isn't my banner. This has turned personal. It's my crusade.
I'll have to figure out what how this translates into gaming for a cause. I had an idea when I first started water quality, but I need to see if it translates well enough. Right now I'm a depressed enough from writing this post that I'm in a near non-functional state for the rest of the day. Not good when I have a business trip to go on.
With that out the way, that's not the real struggle. Part of it is my interest in winning tournaments from time to time, which the lists did not bring for me, simply because I am no expert at playing them and my comfort zone is reduced. Part of it is with the release of MkII, I'm now re-learning how to play my main faction (Cryx). Part of it is life - I'm busy planning a wedding and it looks now as if we'll be moving in the near future.
But the real reason? I'm not committed at this time to raising awareness to water quality/scarcity. I don't mean to mislead either - it is a great cause and arguably a human right to access clean, safe water. It is the breathe of life.
But at this time something else has hit home. I'm sharing some personal information here so I do not mean to get sappy. My family medical history has battled cancer numerous times, almost always fatally. Stomach cancer appears to be the re-occurring theme, the kind that doctors suspect it's genetic, but there's never enough evidence. It's a bit of history that since there is no proof of actual genetic susceptibility, we just blow it off. I could make the case that I'm a higher risk class for cancer, but somehow I continue to smoke the occasional (and I do mean probably once-month) cigar.
For the last three years however I have a cousin who has been battling Stage 3 Stomach and Stage 4 lung. She's been on and off of chemotherapy. And while chemo has helped the stomach cancer into dormancy, the lung cancer has remained active. The doctors have been unable to remove the stomach cancer due to this.
She's under 40 (I don't go asking older women their ages, but I believe she's 37). Her husband and her were to be married last year in 2007, but fast tracked it June 2006 right when they discovered that she had cancer. They were supposed to move to Australia and he was supposed to receive a corporate position for moving there. Instead he left it all behind for her, which is larger
We thought she was getting better. She was switched to a less destructive form of chemo to maintain dormancy. Instead the stomach cancer is active again and came back with a vengeance - it's spread to her intestines, liver, and pancreas. We simply don't know how much longer she has left. About a month ago, my aunt was hoping at least to the new year.
I'm afraid this post is turning rather morbid, but the point is, water quality and scarcity just isn't my banner. This has turned personal. It's my crusade.
I'll have to figure out what how this translates into gaming for a cause. I had an idea when I first started water quality, but I need to see if it translates well enough. Right now I'm a depressed enough from writing this post that I'm in a near non-functional state for the rest of the day. Not good when I have a business trip to go on.
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