You will note the modelled Napoleonic French behind. All 60 of the Victrix and the last 9 of the 42 Perry French are now fully built. 51 of the models have been fully hand-primed, and the other 51 are next.
Monday, January 11, 2010
Khador Troika - Painted Drago and 'Zerkers
I have just finished painting and basing these three Khador warjacks tonight, except only for the coat of matte varnish to seal them. I'll be using them in a 35 point Vlad list this weekend...another road trip for the greater good.
You will note the modelled Napoleonic French behind. All 60 of the Victrix and the last 9 of the 42 Perry French are now fully built. 51 of the models have been fully hand-primed, and the other 51 are next.
You will note the modelled Napoleonic French behind. All 60 of the Victrix and the last 9 of the 42 Perry French are now fully built. 51 of the models have been fully hand-primed, and the other 51 are next.
Friday, January 8, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Update - the Perry scrubs have their packs!
The Testors glue is non-toxic and it appears to work. This has left me sober with strong bonding. I had to sand the black primer off of their backs to facilitate the plastic bonding, though. Another small step taken towards Quatre Bras.
Saturday, January 2, 2010
New Project Begun - Black Powder Napoleonics
So I was talking to my friend Stu yesterday and we agreed to build and paint two brigades each of French and foes by this September for play using the new Black Powder rules penned by Rick Priestly and Jervis Johnson. So each of us will be building and painting one (Black Powder) brigade of French and one of the allies. Now I'm not buying any miniatures for a year so I've got to do my part with what I have. What I have for the French is a box of Victrix late French foot, a box of Perry French foot, and a box of Perry French Heavy Cavalry. I started the Victrix last night and I have now got all 60 of them cleaned up with heads and backpacks attached/glued on. Here they are in the foreground. You can see the miniatures primed black just to the right and behind? They are the 42 Perry French foot. 
So I have 102 foot and 14 cavalry (in the Perry French Heavy Cavalry box). I don't have any artillery, and with only 14 cavalry I can only make one unit of cavalry. The foot will be divided into 4 units of 24. The Victrix box has 8 officers. Given that the Perry box has one already, I only need three from the Victrix box, so I've demoted 5 officers back into the ranks, though they are in the elite Voltigeur and Grenadier companies. ;-)
Because of this arrangement I ended up short 6 backpacks for my Victrix French. So I stole 3 from the Perry box (leaving me with 40 for them) and left my Victrix drummers without backpacks despite the stern requirement stated on the Victrix Instruction Sheet, which I quote:
"Backpacks are to be used on all figures except B13, B14, B15."
Stu is going to regift me a couple of Wargames Foundry French 8 pound cannons with crew that I gave him about 4-5 years ago. As well, he is regifting me a unit pack of 10 Newline Designs French Cuirrassiers. This will give me a bare minimum standard sized brigade of standard sized battalions for the French for Black Powder (using only one gun).
As for my allies, I will probably do a brigade of Prussians from my collection of Calpe Miniatures Prussians. I basically have everything Calpe has produced over the past 8-9 years so that will not be a problem. I was originally going to go British for the brigade of foes as I have a couple of boxes of Victrix British and a box of Perry British. However, I have neither cavalry nor guns for the Brits, so the Prussians it is, Prussians that have waited long enough to see the gaming table in any event.
Otherwise, you can see my Khador jacks on the painting table, namely Drago and two Beserkers, along with another nearly completed EIR Roman Legion and various other odds and ends.
I am really excited about this new venture. The Victrix figures are very fine, with very little and easily removed flash, and while it is a fairly labour intensive business putting the figures together, it is an interesting labour. I've wanted to play 28mm Napoleonics for years and now, with the Black Powder rules - a set which I think to be animated by the true spirit of wargaming - along with the amazing developments in plastic miniature manufacturing, making large armies of quality miniatures available at very reasonable prices, I think there's finally a chance for me to get a few games in after all.
I'll post developments as they occur.
So I have 102 foot and 14 cavalry (in the Perry French Heavy Cavalry box). I don't have any artillery, and with only 14 cavalry I can only make one unit of cavalry. The foot will be divided into 4 units of 24. The Victrix box has 8 officers. Given that the Perry box has one already, I only need three from the Victrix box, so I've demoted 5 officers back into the ranks, though they are in the elite Voltigeur and Grenadier companies. ;-)
Because of this arrangement I ended up short 6 backpacks for my Victrix French. So I stole 3 from the Perry box (leaving me with 40 for them) and left my Victrix drummers without backpacks despite the stern requirement stated on the Victrix Instruction Sheet, which I quote:
"Backpacks are to be used on all figures except B13, B14, B15."
Stu is going to regift me a couple of Wargames Foundry French 8 pound cannons with crew that I gave him about 4-5 years ago. As well, he is regifting me a unit pack of 10 Newline Designs French Cuirrassiers. This will give me a bare minimum standard sized brigade of standard sized battalions for the French for Black Powder (using only one gun).
As for my allies, I will probably do a brigade of Prussians from my collection of Calpe Miniatures Prussians. I basically have everything Calpe has produced over the past 8-9 years so that will not be a problem. I was originally going to go British for the brigade of foes as I have a couple of boxes of Victrix British and a box of Perry British. However, I have neither cavalry nor guns for the Brits, so the Prussians it is, Prussians that have waited long enough to see the gaming table in any event.
Otherwise, you can see my Khador jacks on the painting table, namely Drago and two Beserkers, along with another nearly completed EIR Roman Legion and various other odds and ends.
I am really excited about this new venture. The Victrix figures are very fine, with very little and easily removed flash, and while it is a fairly labour intensive business putting the figures together, it is an interesting labour. I've wanted to play 28mm Napoleonics for years and now, with the Black Powder rules - a set which I think to be animated by the true spirit of wargaming - along with the amazing developments in plastic miniature manufacturing, making large armies of quality miniatures available at very reasonable prices, I think there's finally a chance for me to get a few games in after all.
I'll post developments as they occur.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Khador Update & Last Post of 2009
I've been given a painted War Dog for Xmas from my good friend Ken and show it here with a Devastator I've just finished (for the second time). First, the War Dog. Ken gave three of his friends painted miniatures this year. If you visit Geektactica you will see a Viktor Pendrake he painted up for Jason and an Epic Deneghra he painted for Mark. These are all princely gifts and I will be using mine faithfully henceforth, including at GenCon in August, 2010, God willing. The pictures show Ken's craft well. Thanks Ken. You're a hard act to follow.
About the Devastator, a combination of a Testors Dullcote failure and a fall from a 4 foot ledge created a perfect storm for this miniature. I didn't strip it. I probably should have, but I thought that 10 - 15 coats of diluted red along with some coats of Reaper Clear Red would fix the painting. To an extent it has. To an extent it hasn't. It is alright fine, as my Nanny used to say. I'm done with it.
The latest iteration of my Vlad list follows below. I have probably two or three gaming days between now and GenCon. That's just the way it is for me living in the wargaming boonies as I do. I'm assuming Hardcore at GenCon will be at the 35 point level.
Army Points: 35
Name Cost
Vladimir Tzepesci, Dark Prince of Umbrey -5
War Dog 1
Drago 8
Juggernaut 7
Destroyer 9
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios 3
Battle Mechaniks (Full) 3
Great Bears of Gallowswood 5
Widowmakers 4
I'm finishing Drago now, have started to build my extreme Jugger, and await the arrival of the extreme Destroyer from Washington state (which is why I am going with those two jacks in my list to accompany Drago).
My number one resolution for 2010 is to buy no miniature this year! This will be a first for me since I started this hobby in June of 1996. As a matter of fact, I ordered my final miniature of 2009 late last night with a purchase of the new Skarre 2009 sculpt from Privateer Press. I call that going out on a high note!
Happy New Year!
About the Devastator, a combination of a Testors Dullcote failure and a fall from a 4 foot ledge created a perfect storm for this miniature. I didn't strip it. I probably should have, but I thought that 10 - 15 coats of diluted red along with some coats of Reaper Clear Red would fix the painting. To an extent it has. To an extent it hasn't. It is alright fine, as my Nanny used to say. I'm done with it.
The latest iteration of my Vlad list follows below. I have probably two or three gaming days between now and GenCon. That's just the way it is for me living in the wargaming boonies as I do. I'm assuming Hardcore at GenCon will be at the 35 point level.
Army Points: 35
Name Cost
Vladimir Tzepesci, Dark Prince of Umbrey -5
War Dog 1
Drago 8
Juggernaut 7
Destroyer 9
Eiryss, Mage Hunter of Ios 3
Battle Mechaniks (Full) 3
Great Bears of Gallowswood 5
Widowmakers 4
I'm finishing Drago now, have started to build my extreme Jugger, and await the arrival of the extreme Destroyer from Washington state (which is why I am going with those two jacks in my list to accompany Drago).
My number one resolution for 2010 is to buy no miniature this year! This will be a first for me since I started this hobby in June of 1996. As a matter of fact, I ordered my final miniature of 2009 late last night with a purchase of the new Skarre 2009 sculpt from Privateer Press. I call that going out on a high note!
Happy New Year!
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Khador Victrix!
This weekend I travelled 700 kilometers, mainly amidst darkness, rain, fog and assorted incidents of misery and terror, to attend a 6 player tournament in St. John's. Of course, this sort of journey makes perfect sense to any wargamer.
My list was as follows:
Vlad the Dark Prince of Umbrey
Juggernaut
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Man of War Drakhun without dismount
Man of War Kovnik
Man of War Kovnik
Kayazy Assassins (6)
Assassin Underboss
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Meckaniks (4)
Manhunter
My pictures were not amongst my finer efforts of that kind. The first three below show Vlad's struggle with Asphyxious after two rounds of battle. Note in particular the placement of both Asphyxious and the Drakhun. In the third turn, Asphyxious came out and triggered the countercharge. But I whiffed on the damage roll and only did 13 points of damage on him.
In this picture you will notice the Widowmakers on the edge of the woods at the top. They have just taken out the only Cryx arc node on straight damage rolls with the help of Vlad's Signs and Portents. This was to severely limit the Cryx ability to interfere with the Khadoran plans. At 6 points each for the BoneJacks under Mark II the field has certainly changed for Cryx players. I would still think two of them are going to be required for casters like Gaspy, Dennie, the Coven and Skarre but that's just my opinion. The Widowmakers and Eyriss are always going to be able to lay the hurt on Cryx arcing from now on.
In this picture Vlad has charged up (using Boundless Charge) to get some cover from the BoneJack which had just run at the Widowmakers. As it turned out Vlad's impact on the battle was over.
This is where the battle was decided. The Assassins have lost stealth in Mark II so they need either cover or low MAT enemies to safely move across the battlefield into their threat range. A unit of Mechanithralls is perfectly suited for such a role. At MAT 4, they can only hit Assassins in melee on a roll of 12 (unless somehow aided by spells or other abilities). I believe the Cryx player rolled either 14 or 16 attacks here and missed every one.
Then, Asphyxious moved up, feated, killed 3 warriors, and then teleported back behind the Mechanithralls to get some healing from the NecroSurgeon. Then, the Assassin Underboss did his Killstrike mini-feat. Asphyxious died. Marc is a fell Cryx player. All I can say for sure is that nothing I did in this game will ever work against him again. Ever.
This is the second game against a Cygnar force led by Captain Stryker. In this picture both of my Kovniks have just been knocked down.
Practically speaking, the scenario conditions required that I destroy these two Cygnar jacks in the third round of the battle, as that would give me control of the 10" diameter area - surrounding the medal on the table - that they were located in.
The destruction of the two jacks is accomplished by Vlad's Signs and Portents used to buff shooting attacks from the Kovniks and melee attacks from the Great Bears, the Assassins, and the Juggernaut.
The final game was against a Trollblood force led by Madrak. The first two shots are views of the battlefield after turn 1. Madrak had a Mauler, an Axer, and a Pyre Troll. There was a unit of Champions, a Fell Caller, a unit of Pygs, and that particularly annoying solo - the Totem Hunter - that always ends up taking a few of my heads.
Now, this shot shows the location where, effectively, the battle was decided. I charged the Drakhun onto the Mauler. Basically, the Drakhun was killed by the Mauler and Madrak, who jumped over the wall to get at it. This allowed Vlad to use Boundless Charge and charge Madrak with 5 focus to spare. Madrak had only one fury, and thus with his scroll could only tranfer one lot of damage and ignore one lot. Before charging him I took a point off of him with a sniper shot, and I think 2-3 points with an AxeCannon shot from one of my Kovniks. I killed him on my last attack.
This is Vlad after Madrak's body was hauled off by his trusty Mauler. (In other words I screwed up the photo of the pivotal engagement.)
These are the rankings after the tournament. A win on Scenario condition got 1 point, a caster kill was worth 1, and VPs were calculated in the event of a tie. I had 4 points, from meeting 2 Scenario conditions plus 2 caster kills, in three games.
Thoughts on the Day
Vlad has been modified quite significantly in MK II, possibly more than most other Warcasters. His feat is restricted now to jacks in his battlegroup, rendering jack marshalling a non-issue for him. His Signs and Portents and Blood of Kings are both up to 4 points, making it impossible for him to cast both in the same turn. However, he can now cast Boundless Charge on himself during his activation. This is a huge benefit. I really liked Vlad before and I like him even better now. It's easy to complain that he's been nerfed, but I think he's as powerful as he could be while retaining game balance. Signs and Portents is one of the most powerful spells in the game. When cast to assist shooting and melee attacks from 3-4 units there is very little that can survive the onslaught that follows.
Kayazy Assassins
How do you say Awesome! in Khardic? This unit killed Asphyxious in game one, helped kill an Ironclad in Game two, and killed a Totem Hunter and a Fell Caller in game three, before mixing it up with the Champions until the big boys showed up. The Underboss is a must-have. Losing Stealth appears to be a drag but at Defence 14/Defence 16 to melee attacks the trick is to use the enemy units as cover.
Great Bears of Gallowswood
OMFG! These guys are giant killers. I will never play a Khador force without them again. They killed 3 out of 5 Troll Champions in one turn. Three Axe attacks finished off an Ironclad after it lost some points to a couple of AxeCannon shots and two Assassins. They have Tough. They can't be knocked down if Kolsk is still alive. They have 360 degree vision if Yaroslav is alive. Volkov gives them a charge with Pathfinder. They are death incarnate. I love them.
Man of War Drakhun
The Drak has lost the multiple attacks (Flying Steel). That said, his Dismount only costs 1 point. That's the best deal a Khador player can get. I didn't have a dismount this time. Doh! That will not happen again. I think it's a must have unit for my style of play. It's not for everyone, but it attracts way more attention than it deserves, and it deserves a shagging lot of attention.
Greylord Ternion
The Blizzard spell was woeful for me all day, and in my game aginst JET's Caine list later that night I cast Blizzard twice on Vlad and both attempts missed as I rolled over 7 on each. While typical for that whole day, it didn't matter much earlier. It cost me the game against Caine. I'm not convinced these guys are first-stringers for me anymore. I think Ice Cage is still a very powerful spell that could well make them worth their points, but I just can't get them up the table fast enough to use it. I think I'm going to try the Koldun Lord instead of these guys. Okay, I/we was/were wrong about how the Ternion works in MK II. The Blizzards work automatically. This changes the landscape significantly for this unit. While pricey, the ability to automatically gain another +2 DEF against shooting attacks for Khador models trying to come to grips with the enemy makes this unit very attractive. The only issue then is simply keeping up with the models sought to be protected.
Widowmakers
Still a must-have unit. With Signs and Portents you could well disable an aggressively played arc node on turn two every time. I can't see playing without them.
Man of War Kovnik
I really love these guys. I like to play with two. They are like offensive linemen. Most people don't notice them but they keep the QB from getting sacked and, occasionally, they get the big play in.
Meckaniks
I won't be taking these guys again. My list doesn't really need support the way I play it and I won't be jack marshalling again with Vlad given the change to Forced March.
Manhunter
I still haven't figured out how to play this guy properly. This is after 4 years of trying. I think I'm going to look at another option.
Juggernaut
Great jack. I didn't get one critical with it all day, which was a bit of a drag, and I have decided to finish painting up Drago for this list.
Postscript
My final game that night at JET's house against his Lieutenant Caine list. This is a picture of the Cygnar battleline. A good game that I lost to a good man.
My list was as follows:
Vlad the Dark Prince of Umbrey
Juggernaut
Great Bears of Gallowswood
Man of War Drakhun without dismount
Man of War Kovnik
Man of War Kovnik
Kayazy Assassins (6)
Assassin Underboss
Widowmakers
Greylord Ternion
Meckaniks (4)
Manhunter
My pictures were not amongst my finer efforts of that kind. The first three below show Vlad's struggle with Asphyxious after two rounds of battle. Note in particular the placement of both Asphyxious and the Drakhun. In the third turn, Asphyxious came out and triggered the countercharge. But I whiffed on the damage roll and only did 13 points of damage on him.
In this picture you will notice the Widowmakers on the edge of the woods at the top. They have just taken out the only Cryx arc node on straight damage rolls with the help of Vlad's Signs and Portents. This was to severely limit the Cryx ability to interfere with the Khadoran plans. At 6 points each for the BoneJacks under Mark II the field has certainly changed for Cryx players. I would still think two of them are going to be required for casters like Gaspy, Dennie, the Coven and Skarre but that's just my opinion. The Widowmakers and Eyriss are always going to be able to lay the hurt on Cryx arcing from now on.
In this picture Vlad has charged up (using Boundless Charge) to get some cover from the BoneJack which had just run at the Widowmakers. As it turned out Vlad's impact on the battle was over.
This is where the battle was decided. The Assassins have lost stealth in Mark II so they need either cover or low MAT enemies to safely move across the battlefield into their threat range. A unit of Mechanithralls is perfectly suited for such a role. At MAT 4, they can only hit Assassins in melee on a roll of 12 (unless somehow aided by spells or other abilities). I believe the Cryx player rolled either 14 or 16 attacks here and missed every one.
Then, Asphyxious moved up, feated, killed 3 warriors, and then teleported back behind the Mechanithralls to get some healing from the NecroSurgeon. Then, the Assassin Underboss did his Killstrike mini-feat. Asphyxious died. Marc is a fell Cryx player. All I can say for sure is that nothing I did in this game will ever work against him again. Ever.
This is the second game against a Cygnar force led by Captain Stryker. In this picture both of my Kovniks have just been knocked down.
Practically speaking, the scenario conditions required that I destroy these two Cygnar jacks in the third round of the battle, as that would give me control of the 10" diameter area - surrounding the medal on the table - that they were located in.
The destruction of the two jacks is accomplished by Vlad's Signs and Portents used to buff shooting attacks from the Kovniks and melee attacks from the Great Bears, the Assassins, and the Juggernaut. 
The final game was against a Trollblood force led by Madrak. The first two shots are views of the battlefield after turn 1. Madrak had a Mauler, an Axer, and a Pyre Troll. There was a unit of Champions, a Fell Caller, a unit of Pygs, and that particularly annoying solo - the Totem Hunter - that always ends up taking a few of my heads. 
Now, this shot shows the location where, effectively, the battle was decided. I charged the Drakhun onto the Mauler. Basically, the Drakhun was killed by the Mauler and Madrak, who jumped over the wall to get at it. This allowed Vlad to use Boundless Charge and charge Madrak with 5 focus to spare. Madrak had only one fury, and thus with his scroll could only tranfer one lot of damage and ignore one lot. Before charging him I took a point off of him with a sniper shot, and I think 2-3 points with an AxeCannon shot from one of my Kovniks. I killed him on my last attack.
This is Vlad after Madrak's body was hauled off by his trusty Mauler. (In other words I screwed up the photo of the pivotal engagement.)
These are the rankings after the tournament. A win on Scenario condition got 1 point, a caster kill was worth 1, and VPs were calculated in the event of a tie. I had 4 points, from meeting 2 Scenario conditions plus 2 caster kills, in three games. 
Thoughts on the Day
Vlad has been modified quite significantly in MK II, possibly more than most other Warcasters. His feat is restricted now to jacks in his battlegroup, rendering jack marshalling a non-issue for him. His Signs and Portents and Blood of Kings are both up to 4 points, making it impossible for him to cast both in the same turn. However, he can now cast Boundless Charge on himself during his activation. This is a huge benefit. I really liked Vlad before and I like him even better now. It's easy to complain that he's been nerfed, but I think he's as powerful as he could be while retaining game balance. Signs and Portents is one of the most powerful spells in the game. When cast to assist shooting and melee attacks from 3-4 units there is very little that can survive the onslaught that follows.
Kayazy Assassins
How do you say Awesome! in Khardic? This unit killed Asphyxious in game one, helped kill an Ironclad in Game two, and killed a Totem Hunter and a Fell Caller in game three, before mixing it up with the Champions until the big boys showed up. The Underboss is a must-have. Losing Stealth appears to be a drag but at Defence 14/Defence 16 to melee attacks the trick is to use the enemy units as cover.
Great Bears of Gallowswood
OMFG! These guys are giant killers. I will never play a Khador force without them again. They killed 3 out of 5 Troll Champions in one turn. Three Axe attacks finished off an Ironclad after it lost some points to a couple of AxeCannon shots and two Assassins. They have Tough. They can't be knocked down if Kolsk is still alive. They have 360 degree vision if Yaroslav is alive. Volkov gives them a charge with Pathfinder. They are death incarnate. I love them.
Man of War Drakhun
The Drak has lost the multiple attacks (Flying Steel). That said, his Dismount only costs 1 point. That's the best deal a Khador player can get. I didn't have a dismount this time. Doh! That will not happen again. I think it's a must have unit for my style of play. It's not for everyone, but it attracts way more attention than it deserves, and it deserves a shagging lot of attention.
Greylord Ternion
The Blizzard spell was woeful for me all day, and in my game aginst JET's Caine list later that night I cast Blizzard twice on Vlad and both attempts missed as I rolled over 7 on each. While typical for that whole day, it didn't matter much earlier. It cost me the game against Caine. I'm not convinced these guys are first-stringers for me anymore. I think Ice Cage is still a very powerful spell that could well make them worth their points, but I just can't get them up the table fast enough to use it. I think I'm going to try the Koldun Lord instead of these guys. Okay, I/we was/were wrong about how the Ternion works in MK II. The Blizzards work automatically. This changes the landscape significantly for this unit. While pricey, the ability to automatically gain another +2 DEF against shooting attacks for Khador models trying to come to grips with the enemy makes this unit very attractive. The only issue then is simply keeping up with the models sought to be protected.
Widowmakers
Still a must-have unit. With Signs and Portents you could well disable an aggressively played arc node on turn two every time. I can't see playing without them.
Man of War Kovnik
I really love these guys. I like to play with two. They are like offensive linemen. Most people don't notice them but they keep the QB from getting sacked and, occasionally, they get the big play in.
Meckaniks
I won't be taking these guys again. My list doesn't really need support the way I play it and I won't be jack marshalling again with Vlad given the change to Forced March.
Manhunter
I still haven't figured out how to play this guy properly. This is after 4 years of trying. I think I'm going to look at another option.
Juggernaut
Great jack. I didn't get one critical with it all day, which was a bit of a drag, and I have decided to finish painting up Drago for this list.
Postscript
My final game that night at JET's house against his Lieutenant Caine list. This is a picture of the Cygnar battleline. A good game that I lost to a good man.
Sunday, November 15, 2009
X Carpasia - Painted Gripping Beast EIR
This unit is the latest addition to my Early Imperial Roman army. I purchased these figures in 2002 I think. I have a long painting cue. The shield transfers are by Little Big Man Studios and are of the usual amazing character. I like this centurion pose. All of the soldiers in this veteran legion are wearing mail.
Here is the complete unit of 24. In behind is a GB sculpt of a dismounted Caesar instructing a Foundry sculpt of a Primus Pila.
Here is the complete unit of 24. In behind is a GB sculpt of a dismounted Caesar instructing a Foundry sculpt of a Primus Pila. 
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