More Cryx, but less of Warmachine

It has been a long while since I updated this blog with anything from the universe of Privateteer Press. The reason being simple, Warmachine is not a popular game where I came from nor was Horde. This was due to it being too punishing for new players. A quote from one of my buddies in Thailand said.....

"I am going to sell all of my warmachine now because I spent 4 turns setting up for the perfect zoning, perfect execution, perfect victory and in the end, one error in placing my warjack cost me the game. I misplaced him by 1 mm....."

Now I am not going to agree or disagree with this statement.  I will leave it up to the Gods on deciding what is what. Meanwhile, since I have not found a local store that is close enough for my gaming fix, I am not going to be buying more warmachine models and may even get out of it entirely. The reason quitting it comes into play is because I have not actually tried playing it yet. I have only been looking at other people play rather if its live or in video form. It seems like a good game to get into but again, with everything that has been going on lately, I don't see much time being devoted to my Cryx empire. For now, I will be focusing more on my Warhammer 40k army, The Reaper Angels. 

However, here are some pictures I have not posted on to the blog.......

  

Making of Bilial Part 1

I went through the codex and checked several websties about Dark Angel list making and who to choose as a HQ. After reading, I decided to go with Bilial. You are probably saying "No S*%T Sherlock!" and I don't blame you. He is probably the most over used HQ choice, period! Yet, because of the limitation of an old book, he is probably the only viable choice. Well, the biker dude is pretty cool and useful but I don't have the cash or the mind set to tackle a large fine cast model and when I do, I will be certain to take as many pictures and videos of what poor quality, or good, I receive.

Enough talking for now, here are some pictures for "The Making of Bilial" Blog

Firstly, I had to gather the pieces. Now these are not all of what I am planning to use. I still have some parts in the mail, when it will get here, I have no idea.The parts I gathered so far are basic parts from your normal Terminator Assault box. I got a Thunder Hammer, shield arm, legs, torso, and head. I decided not to use a helmet since in the Codex picture, Bilial isn't wearing one and I decided to use a bald head because, again, in the picture he doesn't have hair but I might add some though. It depends on how adventurous I want to be since the last time I attempted to sculpt hair did not end so well.

Secondly, I adjusted the legs by doing some repositioning by pining as well adding some cork to the base. Pretty standard stuff so far and I am pleased with the results.
I decided to pose him this way because I wanted him to look like he is charging over some rocks with his shield in a "Get the F**K out of the way" position and his hammer ready to bash some alien or heretic scum.

Thirdly, after getting the pose I wanted, I started with the repositioning of the legs. I sawed the leg into four main pieces and re assembled them using the pinning technique. You can find how to do this in plenty of places, but you can go here, Various Tutorials.

The conversion was basic but it did take a lot of planning and cutting. So if you want to try something like this, make sure you have the proper tools and protection. It isn't worth it to lose a finger!

Fourthly, after the glue dried and all of the pins were secured in to place, as well as there was not movement in the pieces, I added some green stuff on to the model.

This was probably the hardest part so far since I never sculpted whole terminator legs or feet before and the results, well, are not as I planned. However, I do have plenty of ideas on how to fix it. For now, I needed the frame to be secure so the level of quality will do for now. 

Lastly, I wanted to add some character into the model so he really stood out from other marines and can fully call himself "Master of the Deathwing".

So naturally, I added some robes/cloak/cape thing on his chest. This will continue to his back as well but not blocking the vents in his armor. Also, I am going to add more robes hanging from his belt and add robes along his body. Maybe I will use this to block the hideous leg I sculpted. I am not sure yet.

To conclude the look, I am planning to add a cape by using inspiration from The Fortress of Unforgiven. I stumbled upon this site late one night and was immediately impressed with the numbers of Dark Angel related articles and tutorials they had. It is a shame that this web site has not been updated or touched by the moderators or owners since 2007. So most of the models on their site are mostly old school, which for some is a treat but not for me really. I prefer the newer sculpts from Games-Workshop. The old ones just look weird!

Final thoughts, I really recommend anyone to get some professional or proper wax carvers. I have been sculpting for over two years and just recently invested in some proper tools. They make a lot of different in terms of ease of execution in what you have in mind as well as putty manipulation.

What do you guys think of him so far?

Girl Problems, unemployment, and Game Workshop

Moving to a new territory is never easy in the first couple of months. This is something I was fully aware of when I made the trip from Bangkok to Los Angeles. The past 2 months living here has been much more than I expected. Juggling the fact I have no job, my passion, and the lack of interest in myself for employment has been tough on my mind.

Living on your own brings it pros and cons. There are a lot of obligation you have to satisfy before you can fully be freed from what is holding you down. Unfortunately I am not the type to focus on what is needed to be done but rather what I want to do. Getting back into the hobby full time was a decision I made almost a year ago and I intended to stick to my guns this time by not bailing out when things do not go to plan. So far, I have been doing what I set out to but I feel so tired.

I recently moved in with my girlfriend and there is where the problems begin. As you may know, the fact of boys playing with plastic toy soldiers or "dolls" is normally a big turn off for most women. Once you also add into the pot that I am addicted to computer gaming as well, I am the classic "Geek" whom girls do not wish to hang out or be associated with. I do understand that I am not in high school anymore and the days of labeling a book by its cover is long gone. Yet, I bet you also felt it sometime as well. You know, that feeling where the things you enjoy may not be socially accepted and is considered just plain odd.

Where am I going with this, you may ask. My girlfriend had a certain image of me she held on or created when we were first dating. Now that we are living together. The things that she did not know are starting to emerge and the person whom she thought I was is turning out to be just an imagination. So naturally, she is beginning to look at and even talk to me differently. For those who have been through something like this, it is not a good feeling to have hanging over your shoulders. 

The fact that I am still unemployed even if I do have a Bachelor's Degree with a good GPA and plenty of work experience just adds to the stress I am feeling. My saving is evaporating really fast and I don't have much time left until I am flat broke.

So why am I talking about my girlfriend and unemployment?

Here is the thing. I have been constantly purchasing my fix of warhammer over the past two months. I have ordered my tools and gadgets that I had back in Thailand through the magical yellow site called Amazon.com (the devil it is for your wallet) The amount of my possessions has been slowing increasing while the space in "her" apartment is getting smaller. Just add all of the problems I have talked about in this post and you will understand why I am complaining about it instead of making models.

In the end, being a war gamer is a tough gig. It pushes you into the focus of attention for people who do not really understand to poke you with sticks in the form of words and gossip. I have no idea what my plan is going to be but all I know is I need a job and fast. 

Oh, it does not help either that games-workshop decided to flip their paint range to oblivion. Now I have to buy new paint as well. Great.......

My new web series

It has been some time that I decided on making a video series for beginners. When I first started the hobby, I had zero insight into what I needed or where I could get it. Even though there is vast amount of data on about particularly everything you may want to know on the internet, just the amount of time needed to find one decent article or one particular topic is depressing. This video series is made because of this very reason. I wanted to create a place where summarized information can be found.

The series will be sort of like a review as well as unboxing of tools and equipment in the world of table top gaming. The tools will range from expert level usage to basic day-to-day usage.

I am sure the information presented in this series will be helpful for both new and old of the hobby.
 

 

Here is the first episode of the series. Any feedback will be very helpful on how to make this series better. So please leave a comment on the video or here.

Dark Angel Progress!!!

Welcome to my WIP blog, I will be updating it whenever I can will everything I have been doing. Today, the orders from Games workshop finally came and I have gotten all of the other pieces as well. I am still waiting for Scibor's stuff but anyways, here are some pictures of what I have been doing today.

Introducing my Reaper Angels,

Color Scheme


Work Station 2.0 in the US


The Load


The Cheerleader


The progress


I also have some special projects that I can not show yet. My latest experiment was a failure and ended up wasting $20 in the process

Decided on an Army and preview!!

After much deliberation, I have decided to change my production's logo to the current one on the left. This one done for only one reason, I accidentally forgot to bring/transfer my original logo from my hard drive from on old computer.

I actually like the new one I created. It looks professional and clean unlike my previous one.

If you read my previous blog entry, you will know why I have a green terminator in this post. Yes, I have finally decided to turn my back on Dark Eldar and return to the Imperium. I decided to go with a black and green Deathwing army. I am aware the traditional colors of such an army is bone white but I like to create my own army's history and not just take it out of the codex. 

My Dark Angel army is called "Reaper Angels". They are a hidden faction within the dark angel army unknown to the outside world and only to the most loyal of all dark angels. Their wear a black helm to honor their fallen comrades in battle and their main duty is to be executioners on the battle field. I am not just talking about the Fallen here. They believe in justice and are known for their lack of mercy towards the enemies of the Emperor.

I actually have a Company Logo in my head. Basically it is a Death Reaper or just its scythe with wings on each side. Fairly simple to paint/make and should look cool enough on my models. I will give more updates on my army when it gets here.

New Life in the USA

Greeting to the people who still look through my blog, it has been a long while since I updated it. The move to the states was smooth but the times are getting tough. My real life obligations have altered the way of my war gaming life style to the point where I have no time to do so.

I have not given up! I shall prevail with my armies intact!!

But.......

I have been thinking more about my dark eldar. Yes, they have a relatively new codex when compared to others and they are a good looking, fun to play army. However, the concept of "Glass Cannon" does not really suit my style. I like something that is tough as hell and will bring anything down. The concept of walking slowly across the battle field, getting shot at by everything, and still can laugh about it is really my way of doing things. Sadly, the move tied my hands in the sale of my space wolves and I do not want to travel down memory lane by purchasing them again for the second time.

I have been reading the Dark Angel Codex and studying their ways. I don't quite get what makes them unique. The concept of building a Deathwing or Ravenwing army does not convinced me of how unique they are. Their rules are sort of strange where most units are fearless but that's it. Too bad because I was seriously thinking of getting into the dark angels and turning my head back to the Imperium. However, since the hints and rumors coming from various blogs, sites, and etc the Dark Angels will be getting their update ahead of the Tau. Insert sad and angry face here.

It will all come down to they new rules update and what their models look like. If GW do update every aspect of the Dark Angels like they did with the Dark Eldars, surely we can be expecting some kick ass looking miniatures (even though they will surely be in fine (fail) cast). I am pretty excited about what the new models may look like or how the codex will be updated.

For now, the Dark Angels seem to be a classic army filled with character but only in print. On the gaming board, they are just another marine army with the option of going full terminator armor or bikes. Nothing special in my eyes.

Hopefully they will be updated, and again unique!