Star Wars!

Hi!

I'm sure its been  blogged about lots already, but in case you might have been on another planet, the new Star Wars trailer has been released!

Awesomeness!

Now all we need to know is why, oh why isn't there a decent range of miniatures being released for it?! Yes I know Fantasy Flight has released their boardgame/rpg which has some really nice stuff but I don't want a boardgame with tons of cardboard tokens, cards and whatnot. I want to get packs of Stormtroopers, Rebels and battle it out on Endor, Hoth or any one of a thousand distant worlds!

Come on miniatures companies! Surely someone will take a punt at getting a license for such a range (yes I suspect that it will cost an utter fortune but there are literally millions of enthusiastic fans out there!!)

Now off to work I must go!

All the best!

40k 2nd Edition on the Cheap Project Part 1

Hi!

Well I have to say I've been overwhelmed with all the messages of support, suggestions and ideas for a 2nd edition 40k project and just wanted to say thanks to everyone for all the support! It does look like 2nd edition still has supporters out there!

Now that I've settled on giving the project a bash, I need to sort out a few bits and bobs, namely what force I want to attempt and how I am going to do it!

Having rummaged around my bits boxes, I realised that the most economical option would be to go for a Blood Axe force as I already have a fair number of bits and bobs kicking around, be they Mantic or old GW gubbins such as my Commando:

 Sneaky Gitz

I also have the Deadzone Marauders slowly getting closer to completion:

1st Mordor Rifles

This gives me enough for a couple of squads of Orks and some characters as well as heavy and special weapons which I will be trying to get painted over the coming weeks (I must admit that I really want to paint up the warboss as he is a rather snazzy sculpt that oozes character!)

Further rummagings has even come across the Ramshackle Games Rhebok Armoured Transport that I picked up when Curtis did a Kickstarter a while back and looking at the finished piece from his website, it looks just the business as a looted Battlewagon:

Rhebok

I think my initial attempts will be to get what I have painted up which could take some time and then see how much I have for a warband. I could easily play a game of Rogue Trader at this point but want to take the project a step further and put together a 2nd edition force using my horded Ork codex.

There's more though! As this is all going to be based in my alternative Imperium, I will see if I can't roll it all into a bit of a narrative too and as my gaming area is rather petite (currently only 3'x3' but aiming for 4'x4') I also intend on completing my 15mm scale army too with a combination of original sculpts, conversions and a certain amount of low cunning!

This will allow me to make the most of the space I have and actually get some games played as I tend to paint 28mm scale but play games with 15mm and I have been building lots of Imperial themed terrain too!

Hopefully this will keep me entertained for the foreseeable future and give me a much needed boost to the hobby time too!

So for the time being, All the best!

40k 2nd Edition on the Cheap?

Hi!

I've been sat this morning pondering on the possibility of collecting, painting and gaming 2nd edition 40k on the cheap. I know that many in the oldhammer community prefer Rogue Trader but 2nd edition was the game I played when I was but a youth and I fondly remember reading some utterly fantastic battle reports in White Dwarf back in the day too (usually of Jervis in command of Orks getting thrashed!)

Sadly for the gamer on a tight budget, playing 40k of any edition is getting more expensive. Rogue Trader figures prices are getting a bit silly on ebay and the sheer amount of outlay one needs to play the newer editions which seem to be trying to emulate Epic but in 28mm scale is utter madness.

Even the 2nd edition stuff is getting more expensive these days but I do wonder what the options are for 40k on the cheap.

Imperial Guard

One option would be to slowly and lovingly search out and collect figures from the era and pick up what bargains one can. Another is to proxy using any of the rather fantastic ranges out there these days while yet another is to try and do it all in 15mm scale.

I must admit that I am sorely tempted by the third option having really enjoyed scratch building some Goffs in the scale a while back:

Goff Nobz

The problem is that there isn't currently much of a choice in 15mm scale for science fantasy miniatures. Its a question I raised in the 15mm sci-fi facebook group and by the responses I got, most folks are happy with a more hard sci-fi feel to their games.

Another, possibly heretical option is to use the modern GW releases which seem to crop up on Ebay for rather a lot less than classic metal stuff and use that instead. Yes it's plastic tat but with a bit of a decent paintjob it can look the business and in the spirit of How To Oldhammer, I think I am going to have a bash at collecting 21 figures for 40k as the basis of an army and see how I go!

I think I will post my progress on a Tale of Several Gamers instead of here though as its just the sort of thing I have been looking for to get my 40k fix and painting mojo going again!

All the best!

Properly Original Stuff!

Hi!

I've posted some bits and bobs over the last few weeks of some of the games I have found inspiring over the years but here's a few really original miniatures ranges that I am sorely tempted to explore:

Relics as a game has been around for a few years now but it was only recently that I happened across some of their range on Facebook and I must say they look amazing!

Taking a quick peek at the current factions, there's some fantastic looking stuff available, with several more factions being developed:

First up there's the Nuem, which look like bionic Dwarves or Gnomes and have a selection of cracking looking sculpts ranging from near naked fanatics with missing limbs to ball like automatons and big, chunky fellows like this chap:

Nuem

Next, there's the Orcnir, a savage cross between Orcs and Trolls with odd, rocklike protuberances and a really savage looking range of miniatures to match!

 Orcnir Warband

The Vaettir are creepy looking faerie like race that look more Grimms Fairy Tales than the Disney sort and also have access to elemental beings of all sorts.

Lastly, there's the Britanan Empire, a patchwork bunch of voodoo like dolls which combine creepy and cute with a rather pleasingly period British army vibe:

That's not all though!

War of Ashes and Shieldbash are a really lovely range of miniatures available from Zombiesmith (producers of the well known Quar range) 

Its another range of figures I have found over the course of the last couple of months and I must admit I do like what I see:

Jaari 

 The Jaari look like the beasties from the movie Critters but crossed with an Imperial Roman legion.

The True Antronians

How about the True Antronians, a cross between muppet and Amazon!

 Evlodrix

The Elvodrix look like a super cute combination of Chewbacca, Cousin It and a viking!

Vidaar

How about some Muppets with maces?

Kuld

How about an anthropomorphic tortoise without a shell? 

I don't know what it is about the range but I do love the sheer quirkiness of the lot of them, there's so much charm to the range that it is really difficult to resist!

But there's more!

The World of Twilight is another rather well established range of miniatures with its own set of rules that has been around for a while but seems to have avoided my notice till recently!

Just look at the character that the miniatures have! Theres a bit of a Dark Crystal sort of vibe to the range that I really love! I am not sure to the background but looking at the figures, I am interested in finding out more!

Each of the ranges I have highlighted have their own rules but I don't know which, if any, I would go for as all three ranges are just too interesting to ignore!

Maybe it's time I explored some of them and picked up one or two interesting bits and bobs from each and gave them a shot at painting as well as writing a bit of a review on what I find. 

I can imagine combining all three ranges and creating some unusual scenery to create a really original world! 

I shall have to see what I can come up with but this post has really whetted my appetite for some non human or traditional fantasy fare! Are there any other ranges out there thats a bit unusual that folks have found? If so give me a shout as I'd love to see some other interesting bits and bobs!

All the best!

Orkish Attack Hound

Hi!

Well I had a rather productive day off yesterday and completed a few more bits and bobs that have been languishing half done on my painting desk for some time now:

 Fido the death dog

First up, there's an attack dog for my Bloodaxe warband. Originally from the Mantic Marauder faction for Deadzone, he painted up really quickly and despite having rather a cartoony look to him (or possibly because he did) he fits in really well with the Bloodaxes.

 Nom!

I extended the body very slightly with a little putty and went for a really quick paintjob and it turned out surprisingly well for about an hours work. I have a second one in the queue to get put together and may convert him slightly by removing the chainsaw from his mouth and adding a tongue instead.

Bionics detail

I also managed to finish off a couple more stands for my Grey Elves for Leviathan:

Elven regiment

I must admit that the little chaps are looking good but I frankly hate the amount of work that it takes to get them ready to paint. I have to remove the original spears, clear off lots of mould lines, add a new spear from wire and then sculpt on a replacement arm. Irregular miniatures looks surprisingly good once painted but they could really simplify things if they cast individually!

I'm off to work in a couple of hours so will have to leave it there I'm afraid but hopefully I will get some more bits and bobs done soon including another Eldar who has been sat half finished for far too long now!

All the best!

Syntha Update!

Hi!

Well its almost the weekend again and with the culling of the excess blogs, the creativity seems to have returned as I have finished a few more bits and bobs that have been lying on my painting table for a while now!

 Syntha Mechs

Not only have I added a second tactical Androsynth to the completed pile, but I've even added an Assault T-Synth!

 T-Synth

Armed with mighty Tesla Claws, the Assault T-Synth is capable of tearing through even the toughest of armour and I even had a bit of a shot at adding a little effect lighting to the blades as the original silver just didn't look right.

 Chunky Chap

I must admit that I am really pleased with the finish on him as the last couple of attempts I made at painting a T-Synth in the iconic Syntha bone and black went horribly wrong. While the styling may not be to everyones tastes, I do like the sleek finish as its a refreshing change from the more run down and beaten up look of Rogue Trader.

 Synths, large and small

You may notice that I reworked the bases from the basic black sand. Looking at them I realised the whole model was a bit bland so added the desert base which gives a good bit of contrast. It also means they will be seeing action against on Farpoint at some point in the not too distant future!

Taking a bit of a break from the big guys, I painted up a test piece for a 15mm Syntha Prosthene:

 That Way!

As I am far more likely to actually get a game in 15mm scale, I thought it might be a plan to paint up some proxies so I can have a bash of the rules in a slightly smaller scale. By happy coincidence, the T-Synth makes a handy heavy power armour or mech unit in the scale too!

 Prosthene Sergeant

I copied the colours for the most part but added a brighter green visor to make the figure pop a bit more and am rather pleased with the result. He should be getting joined by a squad or so in the coming weekend!

Thats not all though! Many moons ago, I bought some Aeronef with the intention of running a bit of a campaign but as with so many projects, progress ground to a halt. Until yesterday that is. I happened across some of the smaller ships and on a whim painted up one of them on a round lipped base and am quite heartened with the results:

Small British gunboat

I am hoping to paint up the rest as and when the whim takes me as I have enough for a bit of a flotilla and quite like the look of the little ships too!

Who knows, maybe I will one day finish them all!

Hopefully I will be just as productive this evening and will be able to add an update over the weekend too!

All the best!

Update: Ugh!

Hi!

Well its almost the end of my first day off in almost two weeks and I find myself having done absolutely nothing hobby related!

I am currently working cover in several stores around Fife and Tayside which involves a fair bit of a commute so my evenings currently revolve around eating something and falling asleep so surprisingly time for painting little metal soldiers is rather scarce!

I have also realised that I have probably bitten off a bit more than I can chew with my many blogs for many games so have decided to do a bit of judicious culling to the Void and Kryomek blogs I have come to the realisation that they are really rather close to one another and I have a rough idea of creating one blog to rule them all!

Tales from Farpoint will continue to cover all my Alternative Imperium stuff and more general science fantasy type stuff but I am going to work up my ideas for a more gritty, hard sci fi setting that I have been thinking about for a while and incorporate it into a new blog that contains all the Kryomek, Void and VOR stuff that I have been tempted by of late!

With the above games and stuff like Warlords Beyond the Gates of Antares, theres lots of great figures out there for a grittier, less space fantasy setting and I am getting the urge to develop something for it which incorporates lots of interesting stuff, I may even use some elements from Trinity Battleground!

Hopefully over the course of this weekend I will be able to get the blog up and running but in the meantime, apologies for the inconvenience!

All the best!