Monday, July 26, 2010

New GW models "snap together"?

So, I was looking at what was new today, and even though it was all WFB news I read about the two geedubbs assembling their models. I was shocked to run across the phrase "even though all the models snap together".....wait, did I read that right? They SNAP together. Holy Anti-Hobby Batman! Guess I will have to wait and see the models in that kit to really determine if this is a real decline in the hobby side if GW or not.

Here is a Link to the what's new section of GW site.

Edit:
It is just to make it easier for people starting the hobby to get things assembled.
Turns out a lot of the starter kits come this way, and have been this way for a while. Guess I have never really looked closely at the WFB/40K starter kits when they were on a sprue.

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

The joy and pain of painting miniatures....when you are 4


My daughter got into my paints this morning while I was in the shower. She did not pick up a color on my workbench(mostly greens/blues/browns) she got into my storage and picked out a purple vallejo model color (read very thick paint when used undiluted). Luckily she only painted one rohan royal gaurd(only primed but all detail was gone, it was more of a rohan royal purple blob after she was done) and one wood elf( fully painted just last night :( but she only got the arrows and the head) before I caught her. She emptied 90% of the paint bottle into various wells of my palette and destroyed one of my kolinsky brushes by crushing the brush onto my cutting mat to make stars. Nothing like puddles of purple paint to clean up, good times :).

I usually let her paint them when she asks me. I get out some mini that I am not concerned about, a palette , water and some paints. I then let her go to town with my only instruction: wash and dry your brush between colors. She usually makes a very cute multicolor randomly painted figure. I am pretty excited that she is interested. I am laughing about it now. I would have taken pics but I ran out of time.

Monday, July 19, 2010

Review of Micro Art Studio ruins bases

Since GW has no model of a generic Orc Captain on Warg and I wanted to give my dwarf heroes ( new favorite if those of you in the group can't tell ) some distinction. So I decided to base them in a unique way.

To that end I purchased some Gale Force 9 snow and some resin bases by Micro Art Studio. Both 25mm and 40 mm from our new FLGS.

To start off, the sculpts are really quite nice. Attention to detail extends to the texture on the rocks. They were also cast very well, no bubbles or deformations that I can make out even in the aformentioned details. They were also sanded flat on the bottom so there is no "lip" on the edges from the casting process.

Funny thing is, I washed one 40mm, scrubbed it with a toothbrush and soap to be exact, dried it with a towel and proceeded to prime it with my usual mix of black gesso and a little white paint. This priming method usually has no problems as far as coverage goes on plastic or metals. However, the MAS base acted very hydrophobic ( the gesso was balling up ) and it was very difficult to cover. At first I thought I had introduced some static electricity with the toothbrush and towel. To test this I grabbed a 25mm base and proceeded to wash it with my hands+soap. Rinsed it well and dried it by dabbing it instead of rubbing. Even went so far as to touch it to some metal on my work light. No dice, still very hydrophobic. I had to do 2 coats to get the entire thing covered. Maybe this is just a property of the resin MAS uses, although I have not run into this property from other resin pieces I have painted.
Overall, minor problem but I don't know how well a spray primer would work on these, so just be prepared to do more than one coat. When I am finally done with the actual painting part I will post a pic.

Sunday, July 18, 2010

Incoming: Misty Mountains

From GW's newsletter:

Khazad-dûm, nestled below the mighty peaks of the Misty Mountains was once the greatest of all Dwarven holds - a place of beauty, light and artisanship unequalled. Now, however, it is the haunt of Moria Goblins, lumbering Cave Trolls and other, more terrible creatures.

For generations the Dwarves have longed to reclaim their ancestral home, fighting long and bitter wars against the Goblins who have usurped their cherished kingdom beneath the mountains.

This October the battle for dominion is set to intensify as both the armies of the Dwarf Holds and the Misty Mountains receive new reinforcements. With new miniatures for both factions, Good and Evil players have something to look forward to.

For more information about the Misty Mountains releases in October, watch out for future newsletters, keep an on the Games Workshop website and check out October's issue of White Dwarf. Players of the Strategy Battle Game will find rules to accompany all these models in November's issue of White Dwarf.

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Saturday, July 3, 2010

BFG Gaming Session

I am planning on a BFG gaming session at 630 pm on Tuesday night on July 20th at the FTW game store. If you have a fleet and know how to play, great; bring 500 pts. If you don't learn how to play, no problems. Bring what you have or I'll lend you some models. I'll help you learn to game.

BFG resources: Rules and Fleet lists can be found here and
Turn Sequence
How to inflict damage


Update: Space tables at FTW Games, just waiting for us