Finished Ol' Rowdy

Mostly finished actually.  Here he is.  Only thing missing is the spray finish and some flock grass.

Game Last Night

I got to play a game last night!  I want to get in a least one game a week during the Crossroads League so I get my participation coin.  It feels a little like how everyone got a trophy in little league but I am going to take it!  I played against Kenneth and he was a great opponent.  He took time to go through his forces with me, which was great because I had never battled against a Cephalyx themed force and it was certainly different.  Their use of focus is almost a blend of focus and fury.  The Monstrosities Subduer and Wrecker (the two 'jack like beings) are huge meat mountains able to soak up a ton of damage.  The Drudges are cheap and able to tie you up in melee.  He played the caster Cognifex Cyphon. 

We also played the league game Ol' Jeb in a Rumble Format.  If I could kill Ol' Jeb, I would win and gain the achievement point.  The Rumble format is played on a 30" x 30" table with a max of 35 its and felt like the equivalent of starting on turn 2.  Unfortunately, this did not help me against a melee heavy opponent!  I lost the match and Darius hung his head in defeat.  

Cognifex Cyphon with Dominator, Mind Bender and Drudges, 

Darius with maxed out Trencher unit, Ironclad, Hammersmith, and Hunter.

Post 250!

I started this blog in April of 2009 as a way to catalog the techniques and paints I was using on my miniatures.  You can read the first post here.  I was already playing Warmachine (Cygnar) and I had recently gotten into Hordes (Circle).  I chose Circle because they were primarily browns and greens.  I already had blue Cygnar, blue Warhammer Fantasy Lizardmen, and blue Warhammer 40k Space Marines.  I wanted to branch out and you can see my first attempts at other colors in the Tharn Ravagers.  I still have a love for blue and have started picking up Trollkin for Hordes.  Let's face it, blue makes me happy!

Over the years, I began doing a Heads Up Display for my new years resolutions.  You can find them in the side bar or the 2016 one here.  I recently went back and realized that a number of those miniatures have been sitting on each years list for multiple years.  Granted I wasn't painting much but it was a tough thing to see Eiryss the Mage Hunter, the Firefly 'Jack, and the Cyclone 'jack from back in 2012.  My biggest goal this year is to see those three done and off the list.

My other big go get is to actually play more.  I started playing at the local game store with MK3 released and I have played my goal of 10 games.  I am planning on playing tonight as a matter of fact, so I can get the requisite games in for the Crossroads League.

In the last few years, I have also had the great fortune to develop an RPG group and some of their adventures have ended up here.  I have also discovered the great joy of board games again.  These two interests culminated in a Grill Drink Game Con that we had at my house in April.  We had about 15-20 people show up.  We grilled.  We drank.  We gamed.  It was awesome!

Recently, I purchased my first air brush and started learning those techniques of painting.  I have wanted to try this for years and I am truly enjoying it.  I also built my first terrain pieces.  These were also a surprise enjoyment!

For the rest of the year, I hope to complete the three miniatures I listed above.  I also plan to continue playing.  I have started a new job that gives me a lot more free time and I hope to put it to "painting" use!  Thanks for a great 250 posts!

The unpainted masses cry out for paint!!

Archer's Tower for Bandit Fort part 1

My "Plan"  I based the floors off of 2" tall.  In order to cover a  small based miniature, the obstacle must be 1.75" tall.  The rules in Season 1 say "The Archer’s Tower terrain feature is treated as an obstruction that grants cover and should be no larger than 4 ̋ × 4 ̋."  

I made the skeleton of the tower from foam core board.  I haven't used this in years and I was not expecting the jagged edges, even with a new blade.

I found craft sticks at the hobby store that were 12" long and then.  I used my pliers to break off the "popsicle-looking" ends and laid them on with PVA glue.  I left breaks in the sticks to show the archers' windows.

I broke some of the sticks in the middle to add to the ramshackle look.

Same technique on the room

I made the door separate and glued it on as I was finishing the bottom.

I glued the top, bottom, and base all together.  The base is 4" x 4".  The top of the roof is 8", providing some cover even for huge based miniatures, which are considered to be 5" tall.

I am considering using stain on the wood to bring out the definition.  My default is to paint it but maybe stain would be more interesting...

Tents Terrain for Bandit Fort

One point can be earned each week of the Crossroads Campaign for terrain creation.  The choices available are listed in Crossroads season one rules.

I am looking at the tents.  The rules say they should be no larger than 2"x 2".  They grant concealment (+2 DEF).  I found a good video of how to make tents and I decided to give it a try.

This was the pattern for 2 tents

Bases are made from MDF that I rounded off the edges with a Dremal Tool

Draped in paper towel that had been dipped in 3:1 PVA glue (white glue)/water 

Straight PVA glue was painted on the edges to help seal the MDF.
Extra bits from bits box, larger stones, and an extra "patch"

Sandbags from bits box

I painted them first in brown.  I should have skipped this step because my primer was brown.

An awful color of primer that ends up looking like the red dirt outside my house.

Dry brushing and my first try at water effects.  Got a little too much blue but oh well!

The rest of the water effect mixed in a measuring cup and a dribble of it running down the drums.
The base is from Ol' Rowdy.

Detail Ol' Rowdy

Used Folk Art Gold, then some old Delven Mud to tone it down.  On the Folk Art Silver, I toned it down with black wash. 

All that's left is attach the arm and base.  He was painted in the week I gave myself.  However, I did not get him final assembled and clear coated.  Overall, I am pretty happy with him!

All about glue at Wargaming Tradecraft

I found a great article over at Wargaming Tradecraft.  It covers the various types of glue, whether the surface should be smooth or rough, and what works best boding two materials.  Check it out here!
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Crossroads of Courage Season 1, Week 1

Privateer Press Crossroads

I mentioned this before but here is the basics of the Warmachine league:

My local game store is running Crossroads of Courage, the year long Warmachine/Hordes league that will guide the choices of a young man.  It begins Sept.1 and each week, players get to answer survey questions that will shape what he becomes in the future.  The model will be launched next year based on the outcome of the survey and the league play.

The main page is here.
The core rules are here.
The rules for Season 1 (September) are here.
The fiction for Season 1 is here.

I have chosen to play the side of the Reapers. The survey links are now live and this week I get to play Holden the Last (Courage).

Not my favorite picture but it is what pops up when I filled out my week 1 survey.