A Second Blog is Coming!!!

Yes, dear readers, I am branching out.  While the Noob page will stay up and still be updated to discuss all things noobness, I have decided to run a second blag devoted to my favorite chapter, the Black Templars.  During the past 5 months or so BT has really taken over my heart so it was about time they got their own blog love.

Here, or course, we'll still have all the Noobness posts (and, yes, I'll get the BatRep up for the megabattle.  (We had to postpone as the Imperial Fists player;s wife decided to have her baby just a few day prior to the game, and then I had back surgery which I'm still recovering from.  You'll get that BatReo, plus many other, especially where my noobness shines through with studid playing decisions.  Nothing like learning from a moron's mistake and , believe you me, I'm sure there will be plsnty to learn.

In the meantime, be on the look up for the BT Blog.  It ought to be up in jst a few days, and so you can feel involved, soes anyone have a good name for it???


Keep rolling 6's..

More Noob-ocalypse: "The Fall of Man is Nigh", Part 2

 "The Fall of Man is Nigh, Part 2"

 The Father does not slumber. He does not rest. His pace is slow, but
it is relentless… purposeful. Unstoppable. His realm is that of life
and death, of corruption and ruin. So many do not recognize that there
is no conflict in relishing death as well as life, but to the non-
fool, they are truly one and the same. A disease is merely another
form of life, forcing its own will to live upon its prey. It’s funny
how one doesn’t see a pack of wolves hunting its prey as a “disease”,
but there really is no difference. All diseases are children of Father
Nurgle, and he loves each one of them. Decay and ruin are all parts of
life. Without them, the cycle would never complete. But the Father
does not care who understands. He does not care that he is loathed by
most. He only cares about his children, and that the cycle of life is
completed… even if, when by his hand, it is at an accelerated rate.

“Epidemius. Hear me, my favored son.” The voice booms across the
immaterium, but only one hears the call. The answer comes at a much
lower intensity, but it is as firm and unbreakable as the calling
signal. “Yes Father, what is your bidding?” “You are called upon once
again to leave the warp. The Tally must be taken.” “Yes, Father.” Like
a groaning oak, bent to breaking, the voice continues. “There is more.
This incursion is no minor one… nor is it ultimately led by one of my
children. You will answer to Kairos, disciple of the Liar.” A nano-
second passes… it is as great a hesitation as Epidemius could ever
give his patriarch. “As you wish, Father.” The dark god chuckled
slowly, amused by his greatest herald’s staunch response. “Does this
not bother you, my child?” Epidemius has no doubt in his black heart,
but following his Father’s greatest adversary gave him no pleasure
either. “Your wisdom is beyond my question, Father. It is not my place
to doubt.” Nurgle’s heart, or at least the diseased clump of energy/
flesh that best passed for a heart, swelled at his son’s words. He
loved all his children, but none more so than Epidemius. “As you say,
child, but be reassured that it is all for a reason. My own agenda
will be fulfilled in time. I care not for momentary ambitions; I care
not for temporary gains. My will be done, for there is nothing that
can stop it. Decay, ruin, decease… cannot be stopped and in time all
things will feel my embrace. I am the inevitable end of all things, I
am the Omega… and yet, I am the beginning.” Nurgle paused, and then
said “You will not handle this alone, though you are to be my general.
Desecras the Putrid will be my second herald at the incursion.
Together, you will see to it that my presence is felt.”

“Yes, Father. The Tally will be taken.”

Special Thanks to Greg L. of Adeptus North Texas, the founder of and brains behind "The Fall of Men is Nigh" 

NOTE:  Mini pictured is NOT he mini being used is our game by Greg.  It is representative pulled from Google 

The Noob Goes to a Megabattle, or, Noob-ocalypse: 40K

So, the Noob has his very first game of Apocalypse on Patriots Day (I guess that's what they're calling it now) on Saturday, 9/11.  The game pits several of the guys in my gaming group, Adeptus North Texas, against each other in pitched 40K battle goodness.  The battle is being billed as "The Fall of Man is Nigh".  My good friend Greg is fielding one full side of this monster all day affair:  6,000 points of Chaos Daemon evil.  Greg is obviously mental keeping up with 6,000 points of anything, much less Daemons.  Facing off with Greg will be 6,000 points of the Emperor's Finest, 1,500 points each of Imperial Fists, Salamanders, Ultramarines, and Black Templars.  These armies (fielded by people with much more sanity, obviously) will be fielded by my buddies Matt (Imperial Fists), Pat (Salamanders), Bob (Ultramarines),and myself (Black Templars).  Obviously, those of us fielding the Space Marine chapters have much more sanity than Greg outside the fact we've agreed to play in this potentially 8 hour monster and kill a Saturday (the last Saturday before my back surgery, mind you.  I'll spend the last Saturday I'll be able to stand for at least 3 weeks to stand around a table and move models.  Yes, I can't think of a better way to spend my last Saturday standing, either).  It should be a titanic struggle if the events of 2 weeks ago Tuesday are any indication (Greg took 3,000 points of Daemons to Victory over Pat's 1,500 of Salamanders and my 1,500 of Black Templars).  A good time was had by all which led Greg to dream up the monstrosity of a game ahead of us.

For those of you into the fluff of all things 40K, here's Greg's write up for the background of this titanic struggle.

"The Fall of Man is Nigh"

Primarch-Progenitor, to your glory and the glory of him on earth!

The Eye sees everything. There is nothing that Tzeentch the omnipotent
cannot influence or foresee, for he is the true lord of change and the
will of magic and fate passes not unto the realm of the Imperium
without first passing through him. Kairos the Fateweaver is the acting
will of Tzeentch, and his prophetic powers are peer to none save the
great master himself. Kairos has foreseen the coming conjunction of
worlds, the alignment of fates. He has foreseen and has indeed
manipulated the coming conflagration that would see the greatest
champions of mankind crippled and cast down, setting into effect a
chain of events that would destroy them utterly. Kairos has foreseen
this, for Tzeentch has allowed him to.

No Pity! No Remorse! No Fear!

Four relatively small forces of marines from four different chapters.
Yet what lies at stake is much greater than the sum of its parts. With
this stroke, a cosmic domino effect will fall into place until four of
the greatest defenders of mankind are reduced to a shadow of their
current stature. The Imperial Fists, the bastard children of Dorn who
helped defeat Horus at his greatest moment of triumph. The Black
Templars, pious and unyielding zealots of the false Emperor and also
decendants of Dorn. The Salamanders, who have been a constant thorn
since surviving Isstvan V. And lastly, the Ultramarines. The ultimate
prize will be to see Marneus Calgar’s head on a spike. Or better yet…
claimed as a champion of Tzeentch. As stalwart as he is, Kairos has
foreseen the possibility. This would surely mean the end of man and
Terra would fall like a dead branch under the weight of chaos.

Into the fires of battle, unto the anvil of war!

And so Kairos calls to the other ruinous powers. As inferior as they
are to the true master, they, like a hammer or a sickle, have their
uses. With a combined effort, the humans cannot stand a chance, and
their pathetic and lamed 'Emperor' cannot save them this time. The
beginning of the end for mankind is now. Everything hinges on the
coming confrontation… the next battle… it means everything....

Courage and Honour!

Full Battle Report to follow, obviously, and perhaps a teaser this Tuesday, 8/31/10, although I'm pretty sure Greg will break out one of his other armies.  I'm sure with all the building and painting he has going on now for this battle he's probably going to be ready to see anyone but Daemons for a week or 2 prior and a couple of weeks after.  Perhaps Imperial wargames featuring Greg's Space Wolves?  Who knows.  I know Greg has a couple of other armies in his bag of tricks besides Daemons and Space Wolves (I believe their some Tau and Sisters of Battle in Greg's bag, too.

I, of course, had to pass on the discount pre-order of 2 boxes of The Island of Blood with Greg as I just wouldn't have time to devote to it until after my recovery period, and any new box set sitting on the table wiould have me sitting longer than I am supposed to so soon after surgery.

"Brad, how did your intestines come to be spilling out your side following surgery??  Didn't we issue strict orders as to how long you could do any activity for 6 weeks after??"  

Me: "Umm, Island of Blood???"  

Dr:  "Yes, that is what the ambulance is , now, after you bled in it the whole way over.  The paramedics said you kept screaming 'My High Elves will fix my stomach!!  Back to my house!!' " 

Well, here's to me getting Tuesday night's battle report up, whatever it is, along with the Megabattle report for all you enemies of and defenders of man to chew on while I'm out.

Hmm, there will be another Tuesday between "The Fall of Man" and the actual event.  Wonder what we'll be doing....

And now I've added Blood Bowl to my resume

I think I've gone completely insane.  I'm playing Orks in Blood Bowl league that starts Sunday and I don't even know how to play that game..  And my local 40K group is trying to get me involved in WHFB as well.

I think I need to lie down a bit.....

The Templarization has begun

Yes, dear readers, since the thumping I took at Astro I decided to switch armies.  Not wanting to stray too far from the SM codex I know, I settled upon the Templars.  Love their fluff,love their never ending crusades, especially love that once I basecoat them in black I'm 75% done with painting.

One thing I do hate about the codex:  no ironclad dreads.  I say this because I bought said ironclad, built said Ironclad, painted said Ironclad, the looked in the codex:  NO IRONCLAD DREADS NEED APPLY.

I'll throw up some pics of some BT Termies I'm especially proud of, and a legal dread, plus a vee or 2.

Until then, keep rolling 6's

Well, Astronomi-con Was Fun Now, Wasn't It?

Sorry for the lack of posts recently.  Attempting to paint an army basically in a week was just too much.

Astronomi-con, was, well, an absolute blast!!  6 games in 2 days gave the "Noob" some well needed table experience, and the way the Con is set up made it great.

For Dallas, they had 38 players.  each Table was a different scenario, and they randomly assign players to tables, so you didn't know who you would be fighting until you sat down.  At the same time you found out how the battle would go down.  It was great.

I went 0-3-3, the three ties obviously being the highlights for me (2 of them were slightly in my favor which I was really proud of).I fought Tyranids, 2 Space Marine Armys, an IG army, an Ork horde, and a Tau army that shot me up into little pieces.  The best part about the Dallas scene, really, is that all the players (at Astro, at least) are there for the fun.  It's no real secret that I'm here for the game.  The joy of playing for playing, and every one I faced at Astro seemed to just enjoy the time spent.  I met some great people, saw some kick ass armies, and had a great weekend.  To Mike and Chris. thanks for dragging yourselves all the way from Canada to our neck of the woods.  I sincerely hope you make it back our way again.

Well, that's the update.  Hope you all had a good 40K time this weekend.

Keep rolling 6's.

Day 1, Closer (Slightly) to Ready to Go

So Sunday was the first day (since my army assessment) that I had a chance to do any army work.  Saturday was full (as I figured it would be) and Sunday was full enough that I had to shoe-horn in some 40K army work where I could.  Keeping in mind the list from the previous post, here's what I got done yesterday.  I'll get some pics up tomorrow along with tomorrow's update as there really wasn't much to photograph yesterday.

HQ:  Captain - Now primed.

HQ:  Chaplain -  I went ahead and stripped the Chaplain.  It went pretty well, and I went ahead and primed it last night.  I think I can get the HQ units painted up tonight and, these being the most detailed jobs ahead, will certainly be a load off my mind.

Elite 1:  5 Man Termie Squad - These were painted and primed, but it dawned on me that the weapon combo I selected for my sergeant was not available on a helmeted model (I refuse to send any unit into battle without a helmet, my reasons for doing so will be covered in  a later blog).  After my discovery, I decided to tackle my first "conversion" (although what little I did probably doesn't qualify).  All my terminators are from the AoBR set, so I had to saw the arms off the helmet-less Terminator Sergeant and attach them to a helmeted model.  The sawing/replacing went more smoothly than I had thought, and I now have the sergeant with a helmet I desired.  I re-primed him, and they are in the painting "bullpen" at the moment, waiting for the HQ choices to be completed.

Fast Attack 1:  5 Man Assault Squad - BUILT!!  A minor triumph, but a triumph nonetheless.

And that was it for Sunday.  Considering all the other things that landed on my plate yesterday I'm pretty pleased with what I got accomplished.  Of course the elephant in the room is the unpainted Predator, the UNBUILT Predator, and the Whirlwind with only the left track assembly done.  I've got them on the schedule and I will get this done prior to Saturday if I have to break the laws of physics to do it!!

Back tomorrow with updates and pics!

The Countdown Begins.....

Less than 1 week to Astronomi-con Dallas.  Where has the time gone?

I have (to the surprise of no one who knows me personally) procrastinated and placed myself in a difficult position:  I have an absolute TON pf models left to build and paint in order to be ready for the con.  I have a 6 hour house work and honey-do commitment to the lovely Mrs. Noob tomorrow in addition to 2 hours allocated to Mother Noob (helping her run errands/get her hair done) and a minimum 2 hours being given to supporting the United States Men's National (Soccer) Team (that little World Cup thing they've got going on in South Africa.  The US has a minor match against some team or another, so i should watch.  OK, it's freaking ING-ER-LUND.  Lord how I'd love to smack the English around tomorrow, especially if we can jump out to an early 2 goal lead or so.  If the US gets up by 2 or more before half-time you have my personal NOOB guarantee that the little bitch Wayne Rooney will get red carded.  He will LOSE HIS MIND if he realizes he's getting personal ass-handing service, compliments of the good ol' US of A.  So much so that, rather than to dig in and work hard, he'll try and make it all about him and get tossed.  It will start as a yellow for a cynical tackle on the US player that has just stripped him of the ball.  What will ensue is a string of expletives aimed at the ref that would embarrass a dockworker in Liverpool, followed by a second yellow and Widdle Wayne's dismissal.  Hallelujah.  we now return to our regularly scheduled 40K blog)...

OK, football rant over, back to 40K.

So, as I wise saying before I got interrupted, I have a lot of work to do vis a vis putting my army together, so I figured I would post a "Noob's Ultramarine Completion Update" daily this week.  This will force me:  acually paint, and; be accountable as I'm sure my beloved readers will be the first to say "Hey, Noob, you said you would have those Termies painted and based yesterday, yet they're on you list again today.  What gives, slacker??" (it will also inflate "ye olde Post Count", which isn't a bad thing, either)  Looking at my "To Do" list for today (Saturday) again, it seems that all I'll really be able to do today is, well, post the initial list of where every element in the army is as far as assemble, painting, basing, etc.

So, without further ado, here is the master list.

HQ:  Space Marine Captain - built, no primer yet (this is a rebuild as the Captain I had initially intended to use lost an arm, plus the paint job was a solid "meh" as the guy I bought it from didn't really seem to care too much about "quality", and "neatness", and "painting the torso and legs the same color")

HQ:  Chaplain in Power Armor - built and painted, needs base completion (This may also get redone as I looked closely at my Chaplain on Thursday I discovered some of the same issues as I had with the Captain, except instead of  "painting the torso/legs the same color" it's more along the lines of "painting both sides of the face the same color".  Possible purchase of a new Chaplain this week)

Troops 1:  10 man Tac squad.  Assembled, painted, AND based.  F'ing complete.  Hurray for me!!  (Actually, "Hurray for the guy I bought them from off of Ebay")

Troops 2:  5 man tac squad.  Assembled, painted, and based.  Thanks, Ebay!!

Elites 1:  5 man Termis squad:  Assembled and painted/assembled and primed.  I have one set completed (save the bases) and they are OK.  They were some of the first models I painted and with the painting I have done since then I'm sure I can do a much better job now.  I'll wait until everything else is done and see if I have time to redo these.

Elites 2:  Dreadnaught.  Assembled and painted.  Needs base completed.

Elites 3:  Dreadnaught.  Assembled and painted.  Needs base completed (Ooohhhh, deja vu!!!)

Fast Attack 1:  5 man Assault Squad.  NiB, and NiB is NOT what I'm looking for in this case.

Fast Attack 2:  Land Speeder Squadron.  Both are painted and ready to go except LS#1 needs to have the Typhoon Missile racks attached.

Heavy Support 1:  Whirlwind.  Left track sub-assembly built.  Uh-oh.

Heavy Support 2:  Predator, Autocannon variant.  Built, not primed.

Heavy Support 3:  Predator, twin-linked Lascannon variant.  NiB. Damn, do I have my word cut out for me this week.

Well, that's it, the 1496 points I'm dragging with me to Astronomi-con.  I'll update it every night just (with pictures!!) before I go to bed so you guys can follow along and comment/heckle as the week goes by.  feel free to comment on the weirdness/weakness of this abortion I call an army list, as well.



Oh, quickly before I forget:  Matt from the Archangels blog, I lost your address.  Your stripped Venerable dread is on my painting table mocking me, so shoot me your address again so I can ship this sucker. (bradATthesatorigroupDOTcom)


That's the news, and I am outta' here.....

The Noob Goes 1 and 1

So Saturday was my big Combat Patrol day. Let me say that I don't think I've had more gaming fun in quite some time. The guys in Adeptus North Texas (my gaming group) are fantastic, and really helpful to new players.

Game 1 was against Grey Knights. Here's a tip: don't get locked in close combat with Grey Knight Terminators. They took out an entire tac squad until a second squad turned the tide based on numbers alone. My Dread also did his job, holding up a GK tac squad and preventing them from getting involved elsewhere. By the end of turn 5 I had finally cleaned the board and taken the win.

Game 2 saw my Ultramarines squaring off against an IG army. To let you know how the game went, my Dread (with missile rack to handle his armor) was wiped out in the first half of turn 1, before I even moved. And it went downhill from there. the bike squad (along with Chaplain on bike) was useless, my Terminators were wiped out, and I was completely swept off the board by turn 4. Oh, well, it was a good time anyway.

Sunday I played a 1500 point game against another Space Marine army. Again, a loss. Again, the bike squad was useless, the Chaplain was no help, and my Land Speeders were less than helpful (although keeping them in reserve wasn't the best idea at all).

All in all, though, it was a great weekend of 40K. I signed up for another tournament starting June 27, and I'm looking at maybe doing a Tourney at the end of July in Austin. Yes, I have become a 40K addict.

Is it a bad sign I'm already contemplating starting a Tau army????

Combat Patrol!!! This Weekend!!! Hurry, Hurry, Hurry and Step Right Up!! (Directly into the line of fire, if you're the Noob)

Nice long post title, eh?

If you couldn't figure it out from that, your friendly neighborhood Noob is playing a little CP this wekend. Several guys from my local 40K group, Adeptus North Texas, are getting together on Saturday and Sunday at one of our FLGS's, Xmax Games, to have a little Combat Patrol fun. Well, I don't know how much fun it will be for them as this little event was organized by yours Noob-ly so that I might be more prepared for my tournament debut at Astronomi-con.

In other Con news, I have been guaranteed by the organizers of Astronomi-con that I will indeed have fun. What they didn't mention was that while I'm having all this fun (oblivious to all the pain and suffering my opponents are going through as they gnash their collective teeth as they have to explain to me again, for the fifth time and we're only in Turn 2 (oh, dear Lord give me strength for a may just smite the Noob right here-and he's smiling again like a dementia patient-WHY WON'T HE JUST DIE ALREADY!!) that all men in a squad need to move as a squad, not just pell-mell like a jailbreak, and please, Noob, for the 10th time (and we're in Turn 3!! He has got to be the most absent minded noob I have ever seen! And is he CHEWING ON A TERMINATOR'S SWORD?? IS THAT MY TERMINATOR'S HEAD IN HIS MOUTH!?!?!?!?). That's what I'm sure the running internal dialog will be in my opponents' collective heads over June 19th and 20th.

Anyway, back to this weekend. I'm jumping in feet first into the deep end that is 40K with my very first official game with actual opponents (not the imaginary 40K games I have in my head where I win the US Grand Finals armed only with 2 Rhinos, 10 Tactical Marines, a broken Landspeeder, and two-fifths of the Legion of the Damned (5 man squad from "parts unknown"). The last part of the dream is technically, the most correct as I will be running a 5 man Legion of the Damned squad at Astronomi-con. Of course I'll be running more than 2 Rhinos, and in reality only one of my Landspeeders is missing a weapon. Oh, well, we'll have time to agonize over the army list for the Con plenty of times over the next couple of weeks.

In other Noob related news, the Venerable Dreadnaught (given the dazzling "embarrassment" paint job by yours truly, a paint job so bad that the brave, brave Space Marine who was being kept alive deep within the sarcophagus in the recesses of the Dreadnaught body actually used his powerfist to RIP OUT HIS OWN WIRES in an act of suicide rather than to spend another day wearing a paint job so bad even Orks made fun of him from a distance) has FINALLY been stripped and shipped.

We hope Matt from the Archangels Blog gives him the home (and paintjob) he deserves, so that brave Dreadnaught no longer feels suicide is the answer.

I'll follow up Monday with some Battle Reports on the Combat Patrol games. I'll be running up against 'Nids, Chaos Space Marines, Eldar, and Grey Knights that I know of, so join me back here to see how that pool of enemies smited your friendly (and Noob run) local Ultramarine chapter....

Until then, keep watching the skies!! For the burning wreckage of my Drop Pods!!

Astro Additions??

So, my FLGS is having a pre-Astro sale: buy two GW boxes, get the third free. I'm thinking about adding a Vindicator plus another Devestator squad and a Close Combat Termie squad.

Or just adding 15 more Terminators, getting me closer to my Deathwing ideal...

Decisions, decisions....

The Noob Goes to Astronomi-con

Yes indeed, folks, the Noob is playing in Astronomi-con, June 19 - 20, right here in my neck of the woods, Dallas. Now, many of you may be asking: "Noob, have you ever even played one game of 40K? Are all your figures painted? And have you lost your mind??" Well, folks, my answers are no, no, and maybe.

For those of you not aware, Astronomi-con is a story driven tournament, with 6 games being played over 2 days. Army size is 1,500 points, and I'll be playing Ultramarines (although I'm seriously thinking about switching to Dark Angels, only not the Ravenwing, but the Deathwing. Something about a table full of Terminators makes me happy, but I don't think I want to try and strip and paint my current set of Termies, not to mention I'll have to clear it with the wife to buy, oh, 6 to 8 boxes of new Terminators to the tune of roughly $300 to $400).

Now for my dilemma: what 1,500 points should I put in the table? I want to play a very basic army so my learning curve is shorter. I don't want to worry about psykers and what-not. Here is what I have available (some still need to be painted. And built.) to me:

2 SM Captains
40 SM Tacticals
10 SM Terminators (This is basically 2 Assault on Black Reach sets)
2 Whirlwinds
2 Predators
1 Razorback
5 Rhinos (3 w/ Smoke Launchers)
5 Legion of the Damned (includes Flamer and Melta)
25 Assault SM's
3 Land Speeders (with Bolters)
3 Dreadnaughts (2 from the AoBR set, one with missile launcher, all have power claw/fist)
1 Devastator Squad (5 men)
1 Techmarine w/ Bolter
1 set, Marneus Calgar and Honour Guard
5 SM Bikes (w/ Bolters)
2 Attack Bikes (w/ Bolter)
1 Apothecary

All have pretty much the basic weapons, nothing out of the ordinary. I'm doing this for fun and to learn so there's no need to worry about winning. I want to go basic and have a good learning experience.

With that in mind, who has any 1,500 point ideas???

We Have a winner!

And this should have been announced, like a week and a half ago, but our winner was Matt from the Archangels blog!

Matt, send me your particulars at bradATthesatorigroup.com and you'll be the proud new owner of a stripped Venerable Dreadnaught!

Now, Matt, what will you be giving away at Archangels?

Thanks to everyone that entered.

Now I gotta' go strip that Dread....

500 Point List

Wow! I'm just in a posting frenzy lately.

ASs most of you know, I am a complete noob when it comes to actually playing 40K. Recently, though, I found someone locallyt (Dallas, Texas) who has deigned to teach the Noob the finer points of the game.

Our first session is Wednesday, and it's going to be a 500 point game.

I have a pretty good collection of Ultramarines (about 3000 points worth but about 1000 painted)

Anyone have any tips for a good learners 500 point list? Don't worry about thinking about what I've got because I probably have it somewhere.

What's a good learning list for your NOOB to take with him?

Thanks in advance for any tips, guys!

Oh, and don't forget to sign up for the "Pay it Forward" contest to win the Vednerable Dread!!


Brad

Barter Bucket?

I know I tend to swipe stuff from other blogs, but what do you guys think of having a barter bucket on the NOOB blog?

Simple concept: email me with what you need and what you have to trade, and I'll organize getting the fine folks together. No selling, just trading. More of the community helping out the community.

Yea or nay?

To Glue or Not to glue

Just finished building a new Space Marine Predator tank (It's still just primed. I'll post it when it's painted)

Here's my question: should I glue the turret down or not? I like the idea of having a moving turret, but the damn thing keeps following off.

For those of you with more experience than me: to glue or not?

Any help will be appreciated, for sure.


And don't forget to sign up for the "Pay it Forward" contest below.

One Day Left on the Pay It Forward Giveaway!

Well, we've got one day left to see whoever wins my stripped down Venerable Dread.

Right now we only have one entry, so it probably will be easy to win.

Just remember:

Have a blog
Follow my blog
Have a giveaway yourself if you win.

Pay it forward and we ALL win!!!

Free "Pay it Forward" Giveaway

OK, OK, this is inspired by Santa Cruz Warhammer, and I'll use the same qualifiers as he does.

1. Post a comment with the name of your blog

2. Have a "pay it forward" giveaway of your own.

3. Follow my Blog

4. Leave a contact email so I can alert the winner.

Simple as that.


I'll leave this open until the 28th of April and then we'll draw a winner.

What's the prize, you ask? It's my Forgeworld Venerable Dread you can see a couple of posts down. I'll strip it and ship it to whomever wins.

No takers??? I said I'd strip it. I wouldn't want to curse someone else with that abomination....

Cheating: How, and, more importantly, why?

I don't know how many people have followed the possible cheating imbroglio from Adepticon ( videos here ), but to me I think people may have pulled the accusation out a bit early.

The link above has three videos for you to watch and decide on what you think. I, myself, being a noob to the 40K scene, can't really say much of anything one way or another. You may take a look and see something my noobish eyes didn't pick up, but that really isn't the point of this post.

Why would someone cheat at what is, essentially, a game at day's end. I just can't think of any good reason to cheat, even if it was the finals at Adepticon. It's just not that important to me. Would any of the three or four people who read this blog consider cheating? As a new player I'd like to think I'm going to get a fair shake in a game. I'm here to learn, and someone cheating would be a real turn off to just about any player, new or otherwise.

A second thought comes with these accusations. Did the accuser pull the trigger on these accusations a bit soon? I saw a post coming approximately 4 hours or so after the tournament ended with accusations of cheating, and those smelled somewhat of sour grapes. The responses were divided with people lined up on both sides based on how they felt personally about the player involved. I saw one comment claiming the accused was using rigged dice. All this with no evidence presented at the time. That accusation seems completely out of line, with the accused tried and found guilty without any evidence at the time. If you're going to make that type of accusation you damned well better have some rock solid evidence to back it up.

So, why cheat? And why make the accusations so soon?

I think this whole fiasco makes everyone involved look bad, and gives the 40K community a bad name.

A note: I have taken the advice given to me by the guys who commented on my painting, and things really have started to look better. I'll post some shots of my most recent builds, a tactical squad, another Dreadnaught, and an assault squad. Using the tips you guys gave me produced some great results. And now any vehicle painting tips you have for me on the Predator and Razorback I just finished building I'd be most appreciative.

If My Painting Skill Was Monetized....

.... I'd owe everyone who has read this blog at least $10 or so. I seriously think I have negative skills. The above is (or, should I say, was) a nice pewter Venerable Dreadnaught. Now I have created... a pile of steaming turdery. If there was an actual Space Marine being kept alive in this thing, he'd probably pull his own plug. It's just that bad.

Perhaps I'll get better, say, on a regular Dreadnaught. Let's look at that one:


Nope. Not much better. Just a less expensive steaming pile of.....well, you know where this is all going.

The really sad thing is I actually like the whole process of putting the models together and painting.

The WH40K community can only hope I actually improve so they're not forced to look at my abominations.

Next picture post I'll show you my Gawd-awful assault, terminator, and tactical squads. It'll be a craptastic buffet of painting fail, for sure!!!

Why 40K?

I know I'm the new blog on the block, and I'm probably not in a position to be pontificating here, but I have been thinking about the question posed in this post's title for some time.

I'm brand new to 40K, so it's not so much what I get out of it, but what I expect to get out of it. I'm certainly not in the normal 40K demographic (being on the other side of 40), and though I was (and still am) a fan of Battletech, I never got into that for anything but the fluff. With 40K, though, I really have a desire to play the game for the sake of the game. I think that's my expectation: I know I'm not going to win much in the beginning, but I'll learn new things, meet a few new people, and collect a nice army.

Am I in the minority? How many of you play the game for the game's sake? How many of you play to win, and only win? Or are there other reasons you play?

Please, by all means, comment away on your reasons. I'll be interested to see if I'm in the minority or not.

More painting, and a couple of 400 pt. ideas

Did some more painting last night, and I can honestly say I seem to be getting better with each model as I get more used to handling the models. Everything will be below average tabletop quality, but I'll get better. I'll post the pics of my first and most recent space marine and see if there's much difference to people other than myself.

As to the 400 pt army for the escalation tourney, thanks to those who have given me army ideas. I put together 2 armies last night that meet the rules for Combat Patrol. see what you think:

Army 1

10 Man Tactical Squad (2 - 5 man teams) - 170 pts
5 Man Scout Squad - 75 pts.
1 Rhino Transport (gotta' move those marines) - 35 pts
3 Attack Bike Squad (no multi-melta) - 120 pts.

That's 400 on the nose.

Army 2


10 Man Tactical Squad (2 - 5 man teams) - 170 pts
5 Man Scout Squad - 75 pts.
1 Rhino - 35 pts.
5 Man Devastator squad - 90 pts.
2 extra scouts w/Sniper Rifles - 26 pts

396 Points on that one.

If I could I'd love to somehow work my Chaplain on his bike in but for the life of me I can't figure it out.

All feedback is welcome as the countdown to the first game is less that 6 days away....

Painting Frenzy (Sort Of)

Well, the escalation tournament starts next week, so I'm painting like a banshee trying to get my army at least all in the same color armour.

The first part of the tourney is 2 games played under Combat Patrol rules. No more than 400 points, no more than 2 wounds, must take a troop choice, HQ choice is optional, etc (you can look it up on Google if you need more info).

I still haven't come up with my army list yet, but a 10 man tactical squad is a must, and a scout team, or course.

Anybody else have any 400 point ideas???

Thanks, FTW

Some of you may have noticed the FTW Bloggers Group logo up there on the right. I can't thank them enough for taking a craptacular blog like mine and including it with such a great collection of 40K Blogs.

If you need an answer to just about ANYTHING, click on the FTW Blogger icon and peruse the blogg rolls. You'll be glad you did (at least until you come back around to this one)

New Thought

I CAN'T PAINT WORTH A CRAP!!! I will being bringing an army to this tourney with blue faces, and one of my tactical marines has actually had his chest put on upside down.

I need painting services, stat.


On top of that I'm bidding on a Black Templar Army.


I think I may have a problem.......

Army Lists, Boy I need 'em

As I mentioned in the last post, I have signed up for a multi-week tourney starting in March. It's an escalation tourney, starting with a 400pt skirmish rules game, then following that with a 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, 1850 (??), and a 2000 point final.

Me, being a noob who barely understands what the hell is going on when I paint something, need help.

So, oh Ultramarines vets, please look at that imposing list of models available to this babe in the woods and shoot me some suggestions in the comments.

Either that or mock me for getting in over my head.

And now, for some entirely insane purchases...

As a noob to this whole 40K deal, I may have gone a bit nuts in buying minis for the Space Marine Army I am putting together (and, yes, I'm stupid enough to have signed up for a multi-week tourney starting in March).

Here's what I have so far:

2 sets of the AoBR marines (and one set of orks, should anyone need them)

The following came from a buy on Craigslist and is half painted:
1 Tactical Squad
1 Devastator Squad
1 Terminator Squad
1 Scout Squad
1 Marnius Calgar with 4 Honor Guard
1 Chaplain Cassius
1 Liberian Tigurius
1 Biker Chaplain
2 Scout Squads one squad is regular and heavy weapons and the other is a sniper squad
3 Land Speeders
1 Dreadnought
1 Venerable Dreadnought
1 Techmarine with full servo harness and 4 servitors
1 Predator tank
1 Rhino Tank

Now, for all those wonderful Ebay purchases. I know, I've gone overboard, but damn I enjoyed it. Here's what I have:

7 scouts (3snipers, 1 heavy bolter, 3 boltpistol/ccw), 21 marines( 1 sarge with powerfist/plasmapistol, 1 sarge with powerweapon/boltpistol, 1 sarge with boltpistol/ccw, 1 with missle launcher), 5 assault marines 2 with plasma pistols.

5 Man Assault Squad

3 Rhinos

2 Whirlwinds

2 Predators

Legion of the Damned 5 man squad (with Sgt)

Devastator Squad

3 MORE Bikes

4 Attack Bikes (2 w/ Multi Meltas, 1 w/ Heavy Bolter, 1 NIB)

1 Apothecary

10 Terminators

Total outlay : More than I'm willing to admit to my wife.


Now, the question: I'm playing in an escalation tourney. 1st wk: 400 pts skirmish rules, then 750, 1000, 1250, 1500, and 2000 over the next 5 weeks.

Any suggestions on setting up armies, especially the 400 pt and 750 pt as those will be my very first games and I'd like to be competitive while learning.

I defer to anyone else with a more educated opinion.....

40K, Here I Come!

So I've decided to throw my considerable weight behind learning to play 40K, and, of course, building and painting the models.

Every goof, slip up, and poor decision will be chronicled here.

Next Up: My purchases so far; or; Why My Wife is so Pissed Right Now...