Sunday 23 June 2013

2047 will be a big year for me!

Over the weekend I was up in my man cave doing some non productive housekeeping, ie looking at my unpainted stuff, imagining what it would be like to have it painted. Try as I might I simply cannot foresee when all my bits will be finished. This is mainly due to my lead avarice, a common complaint in the wargaming, some people have the ability (and restraint) to purchase a unit and paint it before shelling out for another. Others are less restrained and buy maybe 2-3 units take a while to paint them, but still manage to keep a handle on their hobby. There are though, some complete nutcases who craving for lead far outweighs their ability to paint them. Welcome to one such nutcases area!

Assembled Ready For Painting Area

The next four pictures below are a record of my rubbish ability to stay focused. We have on this table (I say table but what it really is, is two large pieces of chipboard lying over a spare double bed) various projects in various states of incompletion. There are approximately 60 Wood Elves, 80-100 Skaven, 100+ Lizardmen models, which are all part of army projects. Then there is some not so rational set of figures waiting a burst of enthusiasm - 5 Bloodletters, 4 Ogre Ironguts and 4 Leadbelchers (for my OK army), 4 Dragon Ogres, 5 Eldar Jetbikes, 10 Blood Angel Space Marines, 3 Catachan Mortar Teams, 6 Genestealers, a Brettonian Organ Gun, the list goes on and on................
My assembled so paint me area

30cm to the left

60cm later

My futility table

My, It Was All Worth It Area

Here is what makes it sort of worth while, my collection of painted figures, as previously reported my armies have a very haphazard painting schedule and because of this my armies are not the most potent forces that they could be, that said I have over 800 painted I think so I'm definitely moving in the right direction. I really must work out how many (in total) points worth of figures I have so I can go on forums and play the my armies bigger than yours game.
Humanity & Wood Elves

Skaven

Imperial Guard & Other Sci Fi Dudes

More Skaven

So my unpainted is very much ahead of my painted total so I think it is a looooong time in the future where I will have more coloured in than not. Probably around 2047......

Monday 3 June 2013

Never Look A Gift Skaven Warlord In The Mouth

A long term gaming buddy came over from Essex to my humble Irish abode a couple of weeks ago for a catch up, a beer or three and an obligatory game of Warhammer. The craic was had and to my delight he presented me with a painted Skaven Warlord. Now my collection of Skaven figures are hardly 'current' so imagine my wonderment at having a model that is less than 10 years old! So without further ado here is my newly acquired Skaven Warlord.

Warlord Snouty Pusfoot of Clan Pusfoot
 I really like this model, more so because all I had to do was base the little bugger. His first foray into the world of mediocre generalship was against Matt. A 2500 point battle of Skaven Vs Lizardmen. The game was pretty good fun with lots of Skaven dying to poisoned blowpipe darts, and plenty of Lizardmen dying to rusty skaven weapons and assorted warpstone implements of varying degrees of lethality. A couple of things that I have decided that I don't like on the Lizardman army list : Oldbloods with the Blade of the Hornet (25 points!!!!) and a Skink cheif on an ancient Stegadon with a Stegadon War-Spear. The first one gives an Old Blood the always strikes first rule, whereas the second gives the Stegadon 2d6+1 impacts hits when he charges. Both of these items caused unholy carnage on the soft furry bodies of my beloved ratmen! On the plus side my Doomwheel performed admirable as did my Warpfire Throwers, minuses were Ratling Gun and Stormvermin, one blew up in a ratty red mist while the other was pulped by a double charge of Stegadon and Saurus.  The game was a draw but a draw that would leave both armies too weak to effectively call it anything other than a disaster. The final turn saw Snouty Pusfoot crushed by an Old Blood in a challenge so his first outing ended in complete bloody death for him. Either I have to rename him for his next battle or give him an implausible last gasp escape to continue his narrative life.

Screaming Bell

I also finished my Screaming Bell after approximately 20 years! To be totally honest I have been using it virtually every game with it's 'basic' painting standard (which roughly translates as shit), so to actually finish it to a standard I'm pleased with is something I'm pretty psyched about. Funnily enough it suffered from 'Newly Painted Model Syndrome' in its first game and was next to useless. In fact the three items that really underwhelmed in the game were all afflicted with it: Screaming Bell, Ratling Gun and Warlord Snouty Pusfoot. So hopefully my free Skaven Warlord will be more successful in the future!

Screaming Bell

From a slightly different angle

Mugsshot

Another slightly different angle