Gaming Ponderings

Hi!

I have taken a bit of a break from my painting to ponder the lack of actual gaming I've done over the last 18 months or so.

Back in 2016, I had a burst of gaming shenanigans, playing 6 games in about three weeks but since then, I must admit that I haven't managed to play a single game. Part of this is due to my moving house last year with the need to pack up everything and then unpack stuff for the new flat but work has also played it's part, leaving me knackered when I get home and in no mood to get the miniatures out and get gaming.

The Boar Company versus Orcs

I'm by nature a solo gamer and the thought of joining a gaming club doesn't appeal as most of the people I've played against in the past tend towards either the power gamer or rules lawyer, both of which annoy me no end. Coupled with my gnat like attention span, I find it quite difficult to put together even a small warband for any force, even at skirmish level for the assorted projects I pick up and put down over the course of the year.

Ultramarine Detachment

The result seems to have been a dramatic drop off in any games I play. Back in my high school days, I'd play at least a couple of games of 2nd edition 40k a month and even at uni I'd manage to play out entire skirmish campaigns featuring my Stainless Steel Rat project but lately I seem to be dropping away from it all and I'm not too pleased about it!

Part of the issue is that I still haven't had chance to get my gaming table put together in the new flat as it's languishing in our library under an assortment of stuff that still needs sorting out but I think another issue may be my move back to 28mm.

Judges deal with a hostage situation on Farpoint

I seem to be spending an awful lot of time painting stuff only for it to sit on a shelf while my smaller scale stuff would regularly see action.

With this in mind, I have been perusing my Somewhere on the Border blog as I've returned to sculpting my SD scale figures and am really finding the experience rewarding and enjoyable and with a bit of work already have two decent sized skirmish warbands put together and completed with two more in various stages of completion.

 Boar Company versus Marik Goldhelm's villains

I seem to have found my niche that ticks all the boxes for me. The scale is fine, with the miniatures being large enough to have character but still small enough to get a decent game in on a 3'x3' board. Sculpting and painting my own stuff has also proved most rewarding too and while it's a slower process than just unpacking stuff from it's blister pack and cracking on with painting, it is far more enjoyable.

Adventurers disturb a Fire Grub burrow

While they may not be everyone's cup of tea, I find myself drawn more towards such a personal project than much of the stuff that resulted in my painting malaise of earlier this year and suspect that the little chaps are going to be the focus of my hobby for the foreseeable future.

While GW has been sorely tempting me with lots of fantastic stuff, my frustrations at not being able to paint stuff to the standard I want and the detail that the rather fab sculpting demands, these chunky little guys I sculpt myself with their faults, flaws but still a charming character of their own are giving me more enjoyment to work on.

I'm going to try and concentrate on sculpting and painting enough stuff to start a mini skirmish campaign and we shall see if I can't get out of the gaming doldrums!

Sadly this will result in a bit of a drop off in content on Tales From Farpoint but it can't be helped and maybe the resulting activity on Somewhere on the Border will spur me onto more classic stuff as I do still hold out the real wish to put together a 2nd edition 40k army using the new miniatures from GW.

Classic 40k!

This is a project I've been touching on for absolutely ages now and something I seem to put off time and time again for various reasons so maybe a bit of a break into my own stuff will give me the inspiration I need to really take a look at the possibility of actually making a go at one of the main reasons I put this blog together in the first place!

Anyhoo, I seem to have digressed off again and apologies for all the ramblings!

Hopefully I will manage to get myself organised enough to play the mini campaign for Somewhere on the Border and get inspired by some 40k goodness too!

In the meantime, All the best!

Project Fyreslayer Part 4

Hi!

Huzzah! I've managed to finish the third Fyreslayer from my skirmish warband that is slowly coming together!

Vulcite Berzerkers

With the third of the berzerkers, I went for a slightly darker beard colour and am somewhat unsure about it but am glad to have finished the little chap.

I also reworked the bases as looking at the old pictures, there was too much tan going on which made the figures look a bit bland, which was quite the achievement for orange bearded and mohawked Dwarves toting big axes and a ton of gold. The newer bases look miles better and were a bit more thematic than the more traditional brown.

 Shield Detail

I must admit that I am quite pleased to have broken the halfway mark with the project as it's been a while since I have managed to be quite so constructive and at the rate I am going, I may even finish the mini project in the coming couple of weeks!

I'm now pondering what to do in the coming months, especially as GW has been releasing so many great Easy Build kits which are just the thing for my skirmish project and I may find myself tempted to pick up some Stormcast Eternals as I quite like the chunky figures.

Three Furious Members of The Band of the Blessed

I think I'll be spending a bit of time this morning putting the fourth member of the party together and I'm sorely tempted to try a bit more conversion work on the chap but we shall see what we can do!

In the meantime, All the best!

Terrain Making

Hi!

I seem to be taking a mini break from finishing the third of my Fyreslayers and have been spending a bit of time mucking around with some terrain for my Somewhere on the Border project.

More information and pics can be found over on SOMEWHERE ON THE BORDER. I'm also feeling the need to do some sculpting as a break from the detail work required for GW plastics so once I have the third slayer finished, I am going to be working on an assortment of bits and bobs that I have been thinking about doing for a while.

All the best!

Games Workshop Renaissance

Hi!

I've been pondering some of the rather exciting news coming out about the new edition of Age of Sigmar and am really enjoying a seeming renaissance from Games Workshop.

I must admit that my interest in all things GW more or less died the death following the end of 2nd edition 40k and the closing down of specialist games and while I hung on for a bit with Fantasy battle, even playing the odd game of 6th edition, my hobby interests moved on seemingly never to return.

However in the last couple of years, following the announcement that the Warhammer world was blown up and a new setting was making an appearance in the form of Age of Sigmar, I have slowly found myself with increasing regularity perusing the news sites and even peeking at the GW webstore.

I'm not sure if it's the realisation of the GW management team that they needed to move into the 21st century and engage with their customers on social media or the reappearance of classics like Necromunda and Titan Legions, not to mention the relatively low entry level that newer games seem to be giving prospective players, but I'm once again drawn to Games Workshop.

In years gone by, you'd expect to pay £50-£70+ for a starter set for 40k, but now there's First Strike for £25 which gives you basic rules, a decent haul of miniatures, battle mat and even a bit of scenery, thanks to the cunning use of the box.

While many may point out the fact that this is just the basic rules and not got a decent sized force, it is brilliant for folks wanting to test the waters as it gives you some big chunky Primaris Marines and some evil Mutants and villains to maim. It's especially of interest to me as I seriously doubt I will ever have the patience to collect and paint a full army but a few small skirmish warbands, well just maybe...

Next up, there's Storm of Sigmar for just £20. It gives you two decent skirmish warbands and the rules to get you going.

I actually picked this up when it was first released and found it to be great value for money and while most of the miniatures have been languishing, unpainted and still on their sprues, I've recently begun painting my way through them and rather enjoying the experience!

I'm also rather liking the scalability of both of GW's core games as you can actually play a decent game with only a handful of miniatures and build your forces over time. Looking at Storm of Sigmar for example, you get two warbands which are ample to play Age of Sigmar Skirmish and with the additions of some of the other Easy Build kits, you're well on your way to having a decent campaign!

Similarly, the rules of both games have been pretty much gutted. Much as I loved playing 2nd edition 40k, it took forever to play a decent sized game and Fantasy Battle required quite a bit of flicking through tomes to find rules. Here the rules are about 4 pages long, the unit abilities are on cards and there's not a table in sight!

While lots of folks bemoaned the simplicity of these new sets, I really like it, especially as my previous favorite game, Epic 40k was just a streamlined and was brilliant fun. I'm hoping to be able to complete my Fyreslayer mini project over the course of the next couple of weeks before moving onto something 40k related which is saying something.

It's not all good news though, as I am finding the release schedule of GW is bewildering with set after set of new plastics rolling out each month and Battletomes, Codexes and supplements arriving every month. I must admit that I am struggling to keep up with it all. It's also bad for the Ooh Shiny Syndrome where there's just so much choice that one finds themselves frozen in indecision as to what, if anything to pick up.

I've also noted the use of terms like Synergy and Meta bandied about when folks discuss army building. I find the need to build superawesomeamazing armies with megakilldeath combinations of abilities a bit meh to say the least and would far prefer to just collect a force that looks interesting and characterful and don't really care if it isn't competitive. 

Saying that, GW has been pushing the Narrative Play element to their games which provides a haven of scenario driven tranquility from the more rabid tournament mindset which I quite like so it does seem that GW is listening and trying to strike a balance between both sides of the hobby.

As someone who was quite a big fan of the principles of Oldhammer, I am keen to use the mindset of collecting a force for fun and to enjoy painting it and play some entertaining, scenario based games and wonder whether I can take these principles and use them in enjoying my hobby using new miniatures...

Either which way, I hope that GW keeps up the good work and keeps engaging with its customers and bringing out more goodies for us to froth at.

Perhaps I'll even finish a project this year so hurrah!

In the meantime, apologies for waffling on for so long and all the best!

Project Fyreslayer Part 3

Hi!

Well after a bit of pondering, I've finally finished a second Fyreslayer!

Angry Dwarf

I've speeded up the flesh tones but added some scarring, shading and some hints of hair on his forearms (I can't imagine Dwarves, even Slayers shaving their arms!) and I'm quite pleased with the results as he looks a bit grubbier and less orange. I also used a different metallic for the helmet and like the smoother finish when compared to his brethren.

Charge!

I do like the athletic pose this little guy has as he's hurtling forward as fast as his stubby legs can carry him! I also converted the figure a tiny bit giving him a brace of throwing axes as well as a single battleaxe as the Vulcite Berzerkers do indeed come equipped with them.

Eat My Axe

Although the somewhat iffy photo doesn't really show it, I did give him grubby feet as berzerk raging and sometimes on fire Dwarves tend not to wipe their feet very often.

And then there were two

Here's the two I've done thus far and I quite like the way the little warband is starting to come together. Hopefully I'll get another one done over the course of this week which will mean I will pass the halfway stage of the initial batch!

Azyr Fireslayers

I need to come up with a lodge for them to belong to and am leaning towards the Band of the Blessed, led by none other than Brian the Bellicose, a winged Dwarf capable of destroying any foe with his mighty bellowing!

One thing I have noticed with the new Age of Sigmar miniatures is the size difference between them and older Citadel ranges. The Dwarves are mounted on 25mm bases and are pretty big, especially with their massive crests but I still think they are great fun and have been feverishly rummaging my bits box to add some NPCs to the mix, not to mention some allies and foes for the Band of Brian!

A Bloodbound warrior has a bad day...

Hopefully more stuff will follow soon so watch this space!

All the best!

Project Fyreslayer Part 2

Hi!

Well I seem to have managed to paint some stuff!

I'd ordered five Vulcite Berzerkers off ebay last week for under a tenner and they arrived safely on Tuesday. Instead of plunging straight in, I took a bit of time to test the waters with a Khornite chap that I had picked up in the Age of Sigmar small starter set a couple of years back.

Angry Man!

Now I've never been too much of a fan of the whole Grimdark Chaos of Warhammer past but this guy oozes character and as I am using my own re-imagined version of Age of Sigmar, I'll be including him and a couple of friends as the magictech driven followers of a wargod from one of the city states I'm pondering!

Armed with a large axe and rather unpleasant looking punch-dagger/buckler, I spent a lot of time getting him done but the extra effort has been worth it. I have noticed that the newer and more detailed plastics GW has produced of late require a bit more work to get looking right and I ended up using quite a few washes and glazes to get the finish I wanted.

Bloodbound Warrior Detail

With some new found confidence, I moved onto my first Fyreslayer!

Vuclite Berzerker

Armed with a pair of axes (one of which has a small brazier in it) and a large crest, I really enjoyed painting the little guy. As with the previous miniature, I put on lots of washes and glazes to get him looking right and do like the finish I got on him.

Eat My Blazing Axe!

I ended up painting him with his head separately as his mighty beard got in the way of painting the rest of the details but with a bit of superglue, he turned out fine.

 Dwarven Detail

I've tried to move away from my more usual bright colours and have taken a bit of inspiration from some of the brilliant blogs out there and will be using this project as an opportunity to try out some different techniques than I usually would. It's more time consuming but I like the results!

Axe versus Axe!

Handily, I've just spotted that GW is releasing Easy to Build kits for several of the factions available in Age of Sigmar and wouldn't mind picking up the odd one or two to give them a bash!

Hopefully I'll get another Berzerker done in the course of the weekend before I head back to work but I'm cautiously optimistic that I've regained my interest in my hobby so Huzzah!

All the best!

Project Fyreslayer Part 1

Hi!

Well I'm now officially on holiday for a week and have spent the last few days thinking about what I want to do about re-engaging with my hobby and as I mentioned in my previous post, I've gone for Age of Sigmar Skirmish!

I quite liked the idea of the assorted realms of the setting and will be adding my own spin on it in the coming week to give me somewhere to set the action but first things first, what force to go for?

Wotcher

After a bit of perusal, I settled on Fyrselayers as I really like the concept of furious stunties wielding axes while sporting fine headgear and a quick peek at Ebay snagged me five Vulcite Berzerkers for under a tenner.

Hopefully they will arrive in the next few days and I'm quite looking forward to putting them together and starting painting, which in itself is quite a promising sign! Looking at my paints, I think I need to invest in some new metallics, not to mention some more ruddy flesh tones but we'll see what we can do!

 Eat My Axe!

The plan is to paint these five and if all goes well, expand the warband to ten or so models and then move onto another warband and once I have two small forces, start playing out a mini campaign of interlinked skirmishes and see where it takes me.

I've spotted a few suitable miniatures from other ranges to add character to the warband and we shall see how things go!

 Paul Bonner Artwork!

Setting wise, I plan on using Stormburg as the main base of the campaign. Back in the day, Future Publishing produced a hobby related magazine called Arcane which had a monthly encounter supplement which gave you a setting, characters and plot hooks and Stormburg was always a favourite of mine (Arcane died the death as so many others before and after as it was neither fish nor fowl and tried to cover Miniatures, RPG, Cardgames and even Boardgames)

Stormburg, City of Storms

I always liked the setting and even painted up a fair amount of Stormburg militia back in the day and rather like the idea of re-exploring the City of Storms, especially as it's tendency to move between the realms is brilliant for Age of Sigmar.

Coupled with the need to trade, intriguing from the ruling council and sinister cultists, Stormburg will make for a good starting point for my project and we shall see how things develop going forward, especially as it will allow me to incorporate elements of magitech into my games as Stormburg flits between many worlds and time periods!

Over the next week, I hope to detail Stormburg and get the first five Fyreslayers painted up and who knows, I may even be inspired to paint something from my rather neglected leadpile!

In the meantime, All the best!