The End of an Era

Not an accurate depiction of how much I get paid, but the first check still felt that way!

So... funny story... I haven't had a full-time job in all my 4+ years of playing tabletop games... until now. I've been working for a factory running an injection moulding machine (non-gaming related... unfortunately...) since April 1st, and boy was having a goodly sized paycheck a cool thing. The first gaming purchase I made with the new source of income was a secondhand Landraider Crusader, a Secondhand Dreadnought (with dual autocannons and everything!) and an Arjac Rockfist (who is freaking awesome, despite the obvious casting flaws and bubbles... I'm still on the fence if it's bad enough to complain to GW about it...)

It's the Final Countdown!

I wish I had 24 hours left!

So it's Friday, and the game is tomorrow. I'm not sure I'll be able to make all the remaining Titans in time, but by the Emperor I'm going to try!

Progress!

I'm currently taking a break so I figured I'd sit down and share what I've gotten done already. I finished the first Titan yesterday, and assembled the torsos of the other three. I'm about to start on the heads and then the... pelvis... area of the Titans, and if that goes really quickly, I'll finish off the weapon arms tonight that way I'll have two whole days to work on the legs and feet, which happens to be the part I'm dreading... the pose of the model is 100% dependent on the legs and they take FOREVER to assemble. And I'm doing all this before the big game on Saturday... I hope there's an Apocalypse game this Saturday... if not, well at least I'll have the structural stuff done and then I can detail as I see fit. In any case, here's a couple pics:

Combat Patrol 40k... the best kind of 40k

I'm starting to see the appeal...

So I played in a Combat Patrol Tournament today at Evolution Games in Lansing, MI...

Crimson Fists: Vote for Pedro?

Solidarity with my Crimson Fist battle-brothers.

About two months ago, I built a Pedro Kantor look-a-like model out of random bits and painted him up all Crimson Fist like and everything. I did this for two reasons. First, I wanted to paint something different from Green/Burgundy and I hate Ultramarines and Yellow, so that narrowed my choices down. Second I have an unadulterated adoration for Sternguard Veterans in all their epic-bolter-fire glory, and Pedro makes them even better.

Last Game of 5th Ed. (Probably)

Out with the Old...

I played my last game of 5th Edition 40k Saturday, which happened to also be 

the last game at the Battle Barn. I'm sad to see it go, but I understand why it had to. Plus, now I don't have to feel disloyal for going to one of the many gaming stores that just opened up in the area. It was a fun game, with me playing Copper Dragons (Salamanders+Blood Angels) and my opponent (Eric) fielding a Wildrider Host (Eldar Jetbike Horde). I really didn't think I had a chance with that matchup, but I ended up not doing too badly, over all. I did realize, with the help of Jeff (the guy who owns the Barn), that I'm not very good at making tactical decisions on the fly... I'm pretty sure it is a flaw in my ability to prioritize targets appropriately.

Escape from Tarsis Ultra

*UPDATE* One of the other guys who participated in this game wrote a post on his blog including more pictures. Here's the link: http://thewildriderhost.blogspot.com/2012/06/super-mega-team-battle-go.html

*END UPDATE*

This was the board setup... disregard the inches marks... they're supposed to be feet.

So... I played one of the most awesome games of 40k I've ever played tonight. The mission was... unique, to say the least...

The game went like this:

Background:
Farseer Madiyas of the Saim Hann craftworld after casting the runes saw a swirling vortex that would cost thousands of Eldar lives if not quelled swiftly. At the heart of this maelstrom was a human dignitary from the planet the mon-keigh call Tarsis Ultra. The planet is currently acting as a staging point for several chapters of Space Marines a well as a regiment of Imperial Guard. Knowing that his craftworld lacked the military might necessary to face such an assemblage of forces he and his council of seers decided upon a desperate plan. They would lure a host of their dark kin from the webways and a splinter of hive fleet Leviathan to the planet. Tarsis Ultra would be utterly destroyed by such a force, but the concern of the Eldar is that the machinations of Chaos are stopped, no matter the cost.

Mission Summary:
With Hive Fleet Leviathan bearing down on Tarsis Ultra the forces of order must fight a desperate delaying action to ensure that the remaining planetary dignitaries are evacuated.
Points:
6000pts per side divided among all players on the team
for example if the FoO have 4 players then each player brings 1500 list following normal force org
Board Size 4' x 12'

Forces of Order deploy first anywhere on the table or in reserve
Forces of Disorder go first and can either be in reserve or come in on first turn like dawn of war

Objectives:

Forces of Order
Defend the evacuation craft 
Forces of Disorder
Destroy the evacuation craft before they are able depart the planet
Evacuation Craft

Starting on turn 2 roll a d6. On a 4 up the next evacuation craft arrives. Roll a d3 to determine the number of game turns the craft remains on the planet loading passengers
While landed the evacuation craft have 4+ cover saver from enemy shooting but count as stationary for assault purposes. The evacuation craft can fire their weapons normally during the FoO turn.
After the number of turns have elapsed the evacuation craft depart the battlefield at their max speed toward the defenders board edge.

Evacuation Craft  (Stormraven Gunships)

FA 12 SA 12 RA 12
Fast Skimmer
TL-Multi Melta - Nose
TL-Lascannon - Turret
Ceramite Plating
Power of the Machine Spirit

End of Game

Game ends when either the last craft is destroyed or is safely off the table.
Winning
The side that either defends/destroys the most evacuation craft wins.

Meet the twins!

I finally finished both the Paper Landspeeders... and I'm willing to bet most people won't be able to tell unless they picked it up. In any case here's some pictures after paint + random bits I couldn't reliably replicate in paper (the heavy flamers are from the Baal predator kit, and the Marine pilots are the gunners from Rhino kits. I also added the little exhaust fans from the underside of the Drop Pod for engines.)

Pics after the jump.

Pics or it didn't happen!

This is just a random post of the pictures Eric took of my army during the Tournament last month. Which were shamlessly stolen from: http://thewildriderhost.blogspot.com/2012/03/tournament-pics.html

Strikeforce Flarebrass, reporting for duty!

So... here it is, in all its glory! My painting desk! Bah-bah-bah-bum!

I kid, this is the army I'm bringing to the tournament tomorrow (I literally just got done painting the Devastators 1/2 hour ago.)

The list is as follows:


190 Vulkan He'stan
100 Librarian, with Null Zone and Gate of Infinity
215 10 man Tactical Squad, Multimelta, Combimelta, Flamer, Rhino
215 10 man Tactical Squad, Multimelta, Combimelta, Flamer, Rhino
195 5 man Sternguard Squad, Heavy Flamer x2, Combimelta x3, Rhino
195 5 man Sternguard Squad, Heavy Flamer x2, Combimelta x3, Rhino
135 5 man Devastator Squad, Missile Launcher x3
135 5 man Devastator Squad, Missile Launcher x3
120 5 man Devastator Squad, Missile Launcher x2

Out of this whole list, only one Tactical squad was previously painted... so I painted & converted... ~1300 points of models in the last two weeks or so... not bad if I do say so myself. Also, Vulkan strikes an epic pose, smiles at the camera, and then goes on to utterly destroy anyone who opposes him! Bwahahahahaha!

Battle Barn 02-17-12

I went to the Barn last night, and decided to play with the Coppers a little bit. I started the Coppers as more of an exercise in painting (with the side benefit of dabbling in another codex) but I'm starting to appreciate the difference in play compared to my Space Wolves. I've made the unfortunate (and major) mistake throughout my early days playing Coppers: They don't play anything like the Space Wolves, but that didn't stop me from trying.

Anyway...

The Dragons United Pt. 1

This is the first group shot of my paint progress thus far.

Also, epic shot of my box-o-bits.

My ever expanding army, hopefully they'll get a whole bookcase to themselves one day...

Pay no attention to the Shadowsword lurking on the bottom shelf...

The reality of the situation is that I just want to show them off...

Vaya con Dios,
Timothy

Captain Avitus of the Drake Wing

I finally (re)started painting my Copper Dragons since the big move... I'm slowly working and already finished the Sargent of my Assault Squad (they have wings, freak out, I know... I don't rightly care, honestly. They look freaking cool.) I even made a fancy little hybrid flying stem+25mm base...

Now for some fluff:

Captain Avitus is the leader of the Copper Dragons 7th Company also known as the Drake Wing, which consists entirely of Assault Marines that bear the Copper Dragon's most outstanding mutation: fully functional dragon wings. Copper Dragons that bear this mutation have an instinctual ability to use the wings to great effect, especially in combat. Furthermore the wings are made of what superficially looks like copper though they are much more flexible, impossibly hard, and immune to intense heat.

As for the Captain himself, he distinguished himself early on in his service to the Emperor as both a fierce combatant and an outstanding tactician, even by Marine standards. He, unlike others of his rank, feels most comfortable leading the battle from the front, and will always lead a hand picked squad of Marines as a Sargent. His weapon of choice is a pair of Lightning Claws he made during his training.

Furthermore, I need a better camera...

Vaya Con Dios,
Timothy

Battle Barn 01-13-12 (Batrep, Pic Heavy)

Well, I had my first game with my 1500 point Space Wolf list, and it did better than I expected.

The Hounds of Hel

The Hounds of Hel are finally making a comeback. For those of you out of the loop, the Hounds are the army I started playing 40k with. They are a Renegade Space Wolves Company (I use the Space Wolf Codex and models, I just hate that freaking powder blue color...) that have been sitting on the shelf since I re-purposed most of the models I collected for them to my Copper Dragons. The reason I did so was two fold, A.) I wanted to try a different army (albeit still Marines), and B.) about 70% of the marine models I had came from Black Reach/Tactical boxes and didn't look very Wolfy.

Battle Barn 01-06-12

In Defense of Interria II

An unlikely coalition occurred tonight. The Blood Angels set aside their hatred for the Copper Dragons for a time in an attempt to defend a Blood Angels vassal world of Interria II. The battle was, unfortunately for the defenders, won before it had begun. Already besieged by the Tau, and numbers dwindling, the defenders of Interria were utterly crushed at the arrival of the Eldar. Seizing the opportunity of mutual advantage, they vastly overpowered the beleaguered defenders, wiping them out completely.

Why the Eldar joined the fray, only they will ever know, but forever more will the world of Interria be known as a gravesite for the Copper Dragons.

Angels and Dragons

Throughout the long history of the Blood Angels chapter, they have been the only known possessors of an artifact recovered during the Great Crusades, the Standard Template Construct for the Predator variant known as the "Baal" pattern. Because of the exclusivity of their ownership, the Blood Angels guard their tanks and even the smoldering wreckage of their tanks very fiercely, lest it fall into the hands of someone who could reverse engineer it.

Terminator Squad Prometheus

Captain Surtr