Deffrolla, Rollin', Rollin', Rolllin'

GW are releasing the extras sprue for the Battlewagon kit and it's been long awaited. This is an extras sprue so you do need the kit first and this maybe a new approach for GW. Amongst the goodies on it is the cabin kannon seen on the cab of the truck. More obvious is the Deffrolla.

Now wearing my Mekboy hat I'd have to say that the roller is far too weedy and should have been at least half as big again. The hydraulic arms are also on the puny side. I would have hoped that they used the Forgeworld one as a base model but it doesn't look that way. Still this kit even with the upgrade sprue is still half the price of the FW version. Not only that it has a multitude of options available to the Warboss wanting to get the boys across the battlefield better with the plastic kit even though the FW version looks more heavy duty.

D-Day Battle for Sword Beach, Normandy

Price Increase Ranting

Before I start I am not going to be bitching and moaning about some price increase rumours.
With GW doing their what seems to be annual price increase the fan websites were full of people complaining about how unaffordable things are and how totally unrealistic the hobby is becoming. The rumours, as usual, were rife and some were saying their so called well informed "contacts" told them things were going up as high as 40%. Which I admit was alarming at first.
However this proved not to be the case with most things increasing by a small margin. Unfortunately the LOTR guys took the heaviest hit. But overall happiness was restored as the fuss died down and the promise of new kits on the horizon was anounced.
Some people blame the global recession others raw material costs such as pewter increasing and others new plastic moulding technology. Whatever the reason these things happen and it's out of hands to an extent. The only real reason for the likes of GW to drop their prices would be either a huge drop in sales or the opposite end of the spectrum cheaper mass produced manufacturing to meet high demand. Neither of which seems a reality at least in short term future.
This isn't just a GW issue though it applies to other miniature companies as well such as Privateer Press, Battlefront, Rackham etc.
Face it folks this can be an expensive hobby if you try and buy everything at once or you choose a large horde based army. If you are new there's no way anyone can just go out and buy an Apocalypse force. The idea is to build up your collection gradually. If necessary look through your army and sell off your units that are just gathering dust then sell them off to buy new units.
I'm tierdof hearing bleat on about how unjustified the pricing is on the net. Likewise the two local gamers who recently bailed up the shop assistant at my FLGS and basically had a go at him regarding the price of everything and how they were getting priced out of the hobby. Shame on you!. Nobody was forcing them to buy new stuff and we all know that the new things are a great marketing gimick. Though older models work just as well on the battlefield.
So my advice is ignore those chatroom doom and gloomers. Don't believe anything price wise unless it is official and in black and white. Ask yourself do you really need that new squad or tank? when in reality all that's changed is some basic cosmetics? Lastly if you cannot honestly afford it then in reality leave it on your wishlist it and save up until you can.

Bald Heads

Since the new Imperial Guard codex came out I have been looking for some bald heads for my Penal Squads. While browsing through the net I came across these from Hasslefree Miniatures in the UK

http://www.hasslefreeminiatures.co.uk/range.php?range_id=60&PHPSESSID=556847e6400ce0be6cbbd52a900094ff

This is a small friendly family run company who make wargaming miniatures and conversion bits. I ordered two lots of the male heads for my convicts and they arrived yesterday.

These are all metal and quite nicely detailed with each face having it's own individual expression. I plan on using these on Cadian guard bodies with Wardens taken from the Catachan Group. Photos will follow as soon as I start assembling them.

Auf Wiedersehen Pet.. sort of

Well my panzers were gathering dust in the corner of the room for Flames of War. So I decided to sell them off to make some space. The good thing is about the FOW stuff is that it holds it's value nicely and can sell especially well sometimes if painted.

So it all went except for my Tiger tanks because the sale fell through. Needless to say nobody wants to face 7 Tiger Tanks so I thought I'd sell them off too a second time arournd.

Now I thought that was it for me and Flames of War. It's not that I don't like it it's just finding time to play that, Fantasy and 40k amongst family life can be hard.

So I thought until I went to a local Normandy game organised by my FLGS for D Day. This inspired me again. So now I'll have a Festung Kompanie, which is an unusual force and one with only limited options. This will make fielding it still enjoyable but specialised in a way that it can't grow very big. So will only take up a small amount of space :-)

Hydra Flak Tank - Forgeworld

It's been a couple of years now since I sold my Hydra platforms and I have regretted it numerous times. Still nobody said that this hobby is cheap!

Anyway with the new codex out and the mobile version being included for a bargain 75pts intead of the old FW 200pts how could any guard player resist. Needless to say I ordered one from Forgeworld.

So here's a shot of mine in the process of being built. Barry the guardsman is there for scale and trying to look brave with his flashlight um I mean lasgun.

As you can see they are fair sized gun barrels on the autocannons. I have used rare earth magnets to hold them on because from past experiance they are prone to bending or worse snapping. Still It is a nice looking model and as usual Forgeworld detaling is fantastic.

The Downside of the Imperial Guard

Yep, it's easy to think some of your loyal guardsmen have gone AWOL if stored in foam trays. That's the downside of bayonets :-)

Cheap Punisher

Mmmm I like the look of the Leman Russ Punisher but won't be paying $105 for the privalege. On top of that I'm a little disapointed on the barrel details. Still that's the price you pay for injection moulded plastic. Good to see options will be available in the kit.

Anyway this aside I've decided to convert my own kitbashing and Plasticard as per usual. I came across these nice 1/35 scale Gatling guns and plan on mounting them on a Leman Russ I have floating around. The tank itself hasn't been made up yet so hopefully I've got all the parts otherwise it too maybe recieving a bit of converting itself.

In the mean time here's a picture of the guns I plan to use. Depending on their size I'll mount either one or two of them. They're resin kits.

Where Did May Go?

Wow that whizzed by!

Gaming was pretty busy. The guard codex came out and I spent most of the month carrying out repairs and upgrades on my loyal Cadians.

Being extra keen to try them out I gave them a go against Frank's Ultramarines and sorted out a rushed list on the night against his battle hardened tournie army needless to say I was dealt to but not detered. My Primaris Psyker earned a paint job, I like this guy!

The club's planning a Fantasy Tournament in October so I bought a couple of Marauder Horsemen box sets to bolster the core choices. I keep thinking that the rider legs and horses could be a nice start for some Rough Riders and that's a conversion for the future.

I made up my Vultures and Vendetta. They looked like they could do with some noseart so the Vendetta got the typical shark's mouth from some 1/ 48 scale Phantom Wild Weasel transfers. This kind of lends itself ironically to the wild weasel aircraft. The Valks got a scantily clad woman each and I'll paint names on them like WW2 aircraft.

I played two more games with my guard. Firstly against Charlie's Templars and beat them comfortably. Then on to Hamish's new Orks which was a close fought battle but the guard leaders escaped the greenskin assassination plot making it a win to the Guard. My new Collossus had it's first run against the green tide and did pretty well before being taken out. It's actually a FW Bombard but the same weapon and I'll downscale the Russ armour to a Chimera.

New Guard Codex

The new codex has been out a little while now and I have to say I quite like it. It's great to see the old characters of the past such as Nork, Straken and Marbo back. Not only that they've packed it with firepower making it a treadheads dream come true. After all the guard are supposed to have the biggest and most guns in the game. Foer a while they were out gunned by the likes of the Tau or the Space Marines but this has now been sorted.

Gone are the doctrines but these never really worked that well in my opinion. Replacing them are the orders system which is a lot more in keeping with the command structure and theme of the guard. If only I can remember to issue them!

I like the gunships and these are pretty deadly especially on lower armoured troops (take that orks!).

I'm even looking at rearmouring some of my Russes with Forgeworld turret options they once had. I'm sure Forgeworld will do pretty well from this codex. The general consensus from most guard players seems to be it's the best one yet that we've had!

Nice Gaming Quote

"Welcome to my strange alternative world of wargaming with toy soldiers: a game for boys from twelve years of age to one hundred and fifty and for that more intelligent sort of girl who likes boys' games and books " (HG Wells, Little wars)

LED Conversions - Light That Sucker Up

I came across this good walk through a while ago on a wargaming website for lighting up vehicles with LED (Light Emiting Diodes) and might give it a whirl -

Welcome to installment one of the LED conversion articles. In this article, I'll guide you through installing LEDs into the headlights of a Predator or Rhino.

Materials:
-Brain
-Two LEDs; colour doesn't matter
-Wire; insulated copper preferred
-9V battery and battery clasp
-47 OHM Resistor -REQUIRED
-Soldering iron and solder (easy way); Krazy Glue (very hard way)
-Drill and misc. drill bits -Small switch - NOT REQUIRED but BIG HELP
-Large sombrero

Step One : Drilling/Preparation OK. The first thing you need to do is remove the vent panel/thing that supports the turret. I hope you haven't glued it on yet...if you have, get it off somehow. Just be careful. I had the same problem. Once that panel is removed, it's time for drilling. Other than that panel, the tank should be fully assembled. Choose a drill bit that is about larger than the LED you are using, and drill straight through the headlights. It should poke through the tank's hull.

Next, drill through the top with a smaller drill bit. Size does not have to be accurate, but it should be just large enough for the two leads on the LED to fit.

Step 2 : Inserting LEDs This has to be done a specific way; Notice that the LEDs have two differently sized leads - a long and a short one. Forget them. Look instead inside the LED. You will notice that one of the leads ends in a "flag." This lead is negative. Curl the leads upwards, so that they form a semicircle. Make sure you are curling them the same way. Now, with the negative lead on the left side, (of the front of the tank), gingerly insert into the headlight casing, and ease the leads through the hole on the top. Do the same thing for both LEDs. If you wish, put a small dab of Krazy Glue on top of the hole. DON'T let the leads touch!

Step 3 : Battery Clasp and Battery This step needs to be done in a specific way. Drill two holes into the corners of the vent plate that you have removed, and thread the battery clasp wires through them. The BLACK wire is negative, and should be on the right (of the front of the tank). Once you have it threaded in, Krazy Glue the ends of the wires to the top of the hull, and glue the vent panel back on. DO NOT glue the exposed wire to the hull!

Step 4 : Soldering it all Together Now, pull out the soldering iron and the solder. If you don't know how to use them, practice heating up the end of the solder onto something unflammable, and melting it into a blob. Take the resistor, and solder one end of it to the black wire of the battery clasp. Cut it down if needed. Solder the other end of the resistor to the first LED, on the NEGATIVE lead. This should be on the right, as I told you to do. (You didn't! You foo'! *rips out your chest hair*) Once this is soldered on, spread a little bit of solder onto the tank to hold the wires down.

In case you're wondering, I put glue from a hot glue gun over the switch back, to make it more appealing.

Step 5 : Getting the Battery In Connect the battery to the clasp, and gently insert it backwards.
This can be replaced when it dies. If done right, you should now have a beautiful, lit-up LED-ready predator/rhino!

Just a tip I bought some LEDs from Dick Smiths and the guy there reckoned I wouldn't need a resistor using a 9 volt battery. So I tried it and it flashed like a roman candle before blowing. Looks like resistors are necessary. I'll play around with them first before applying it to any model.

Stompa Painting Tip

Recently I painted a Stompa for my LGS. It was already preassembled and primered so I was off to a good start.

The Stompa is a nice shape for painting with lots of broad areas due to it's size. However it's arms and shoulders proved to be the tricky bit. Especially the shoulders with all the crowsnests, hydraulics etc. So my tip is leave the arms and main gun ammo belt off until painted. This makes these areas more accessible especially to any brushwork.

It's definately an airbrush/spraycan job for laying down the basic colours. That's unless you like painting with a house brush.

Running Totals

Why is it that some people who join wargaming chatrooms have to list there armies and a victory tally beside each at the end of each post. Does this make them a better gamer? not necessarily. Does it make them any worth more listening too then someone who doesn't nope!

I just don't see the value in this and it is one of my pet peeves of wargaming chatrooms. Ok I'll get down off my soapbox now lol.

40k Motivational Posters

Other Marine Chapters

Following my previous post about all the Ultramarines I came across this as some other sample chapters. These are all from the Badab War and in time some such as the Astral Claws (Became the Red Corsairs) fell to the powers of Chaos. Though there's nothing wrong with a pre heresy or pre fall to darkness force. An alternative is creating a chapter of your own so go for it.

March Mayhem

There's plenty happening in locally March. The usual club days, March To War (Club 40k tournie) as well our LGS Fantasy tournament. So there's a wee bit of planning to be done with the main focus the 40k tournie. Although I'm helping out as an organiser I'm playing in it too which makes things interesting. Yep, I'll check all the lists but promise I won't build a mean army based on what I see. Still hopefully my Khornate Corsairs will cause mayhem on the battlefield.

What's on my workbench?. Well funnily enough several unfinished marine squads that are having weapons fitted and then painted. There's 3 units of Chaos Knights waiting to have their chainmail and plate armour painted and washed. There's a half made up box of new plastic Gretchin with a nice looking slaver and squig. A unit of 5 STUGS with radio control tanks for FOW. On top of that I'll be painting a Stompa for my LGS to put on display. This is a pretty nice looking model even though it's still on the sprues in the shop. So in a nutshell lot's of stuff on the go not to mention any repair work that crops up.

FOW Flak Nest

I've just seen this on the Battlefront Miniatures site and think it's rather nice. Nothing like a decent bit of terrain with some nice minis as per normal from the folks at Battlefant.

Hopefully we'll see the Henschel tank buster realised in the not too distant future also.

Up and Coming Guard

There's been much speculation on the new Imperial Guard Codex. There sounds like some pretty nasty stuff even if only half the rumours prove to be true. Firstly is the Valkyrie dropship that I'm sure any Aliens film buff / guard player will want. This flying boxcar packs two lascannons as well as pylon weapons under the wings. Included also are some pretty cool gunners to help out with cover fire. Bad news is if you were intending on byuying a Forgeworld one instead you're out of luck because they're now out of production.

The second confirmed new toy is the Leman Russ Punisher. This sucker can pump out 20 Str 5 shots a turn. Though there still seems to be speculation when this kit will actually be released.

Standard units too have been overhauled with the standard guardsman cost 4 pts each apparently. Stormtroopers pack a 18" Str 3 AP3 Hellgun and it continues.

So May is looking very good for the guard. Let's just hope we don't have to wait 12 months like the Ork players did for the intended second wave of releases. Then again maybe this phased release is a trend by GW.

Ultarmarines or Ultramarines and Ultramarines

Lately there's been a real boom in marine players locally. This is great as they are one of the more forgiving armies to play not to mention have plenty of cool toys. So I can't blame people for playing them.

The thing that I find crazy is the amount that want to choose Ultramarines as their chapter. There's plenty of other great chapters to choose from, Space wolves, Blood Angels, Dark Angels, Mentors, Salamanders, Ravenguard, Crimson Fists to name but a few. All have great characters abilites and access to the space marine armoury.

So come on guys be daring and choose something differant other than Papa Marneus and loyal smurfs. Not only will your marines stand out in the crowd of blue you'll have something unique.

Terrain Makes The Game

Nobody likes playing games on open tables aka Planet Cue Ball, well unless you're fielding an Imperial Armoured Company. Though it amazes me how many people have either very little or no terrain of their own. Then they complain about not enjoy gaming so much.

Terrain is a vital part of your game and adds depth especially if it's dedicated to your army. eg themed around your army. You basically have two options either buying manufactured kits that are really nice or the cheaper option making your own.

When I started out I made my own terrain and gradually replaced bits of it with manuafactured kits over time. This allowed me to build up terrain over several years. I have still kept some of my old kitbashed, homebuilt pieces.

You don't need to be a master modeller for this and after raiding your bits box you'd be amazed what you can come up with. Packaging makes interesting buildings. My favorites are emporium stores and electronic componant stores. Model railway stores have a wide range of stuff also for a bit of kit bashing. Check out any household junk too. Old deodrant bottles with domed heads are great, garden hose connectins can make great gun turrets. It's the old cliche but you're only limited by your imagination.

A guy I recently played actually enjoyed playing on a table that had decent terrain. So get stuck in and give it a go.

Just Paint The Blue

Ok so these have been around a couple of months now. They were spotted in a show that Forgeworld were attending. Mmm Forgeworld nice resin models but at a cost. A cost worthwhile if you can though.

Anyway this got me to thinking it was a shame that they weren't included in the Assault On Hells Breach box set. Everyone knows that without their flashy new toys and new deepstrike ability the marines would just get marmelized boy the green tide. Maybe I'll buy a set and use them as hood ornaments for my trucks and battlewagon. Now that's a thought!

These Boots Are Made For Stompin'

Well GW are finally making a Stompa kit after years of Ork players making their own.

This bad boy is due out on 7 March 09 according to the wire. It will be the third GW superheavy plastic kit and second released at the same time in the year. The first being the Imperial Shadowsword (and varients) plastic kit.

Hopefully these will sell well and we may see other things in future. Along these lines is the Imperial Valkarie Dropship slatted for the Guard release later in the year.

Back to the Stompa. This looks pretty good though for the cost I hope it comes with plenty of extra gubbinz for alternatives. I've heard the weapons are pretty standard. These are represented well but I wonder if the main gun barrel is a bit on the narrow side. Personally I really don't like the face as it looks pretty cheap. Though any half decent Mekboy could convert a better one from their bitz box if there are no other options in the kit. No doubt the detailing will be high for a plastic injection moulded kit like other recent GW stuff. This will be made in the nice rigid GW plastic too thanks to CNC technology.

I really like the grot rigger crew that I've seen in other pics. These give character to the beast. Hopefully it comes with a couple of boys too to man the crows nest. A Forgeworld Grot Bomb launcher would look pretty cool strapped on somewhere.

It may not see much action in normal games below 2000pts but anything else is fair game. After all what self respecting 'Boss wouldn't want one?