Aggravations

Blogs...

What to say about blogs...

It's so aggravating to look at some of the blogs that other people follow, read some of the content, fall in love with the content... And then realize that they haven't updated their hobby blog in over a year. So much great stuff out there and it's all been left by the wayside. I really do truly hope that this blog never goes that route. I'm pretty confident that there will be times where I won't be able to update for a a few weeks when "real" life gets in the way but I'm an adult with a full time family and a full timejob so that'll happen.

Small update that "real" life has gotten in the way of the hobby this week with work being busy and I haven't been able to touch a brush all week but I am positive that I will be able to get a few coats of paint on this afternoon. I also haven't been to the FLGS since I picked up my last purchase so I haven't gotten any play time in either. My vacation is coming up in a few weeks so I hope to get a lot of painting and gaming done then (hopefully).

Slayers!

Still working on the unit of Dwarf Slayers. The skin still needs a final highlight and the Slayer beards / hair only have a base coat but they're going along pretty quickly. If you look close you'll notice that there are 12 Slayers in the unit that I'm painting but I only have 10 in my army list. I have 12 models and I figured that while I'm painting the 10 models I would just go ahead and paint the full 12.

I hope to wrap these up in the next week or two. Then I'll be able to start on the final 10 warriors with shields.

500 POINTS COMPLETE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight ends a chapter of my life. I've been working on this chapter for a few months now and I can happily say that I am finally finished with my first 500 points of dwarves!!! YAY ME!!! Time to celebrate with some dwarf slayers!!!

Dwarf Bolt Thrower w/ Crew

Here is my 500 points worth of dwarves. You'll notice that my general isn'y here in the picture. He's about to be dunked and stripped of paint so that I can repaint him.

And my next painting project! The Dwarf Slayers!!!

Dwarf Color Painting Recipes

Okay here goes...

I'm NOT a big fan of mixing colors and making shades. I prefer to use the colors right out of the pot the way that they are and right now I'm using all GW paints with a black primer.

So, here is a breakdown of the painting steps that I've been taking to get my finished results...

Blue
- Base - Mordian Blue
- Ink - Asurmen Blue
- Highlight - Enchanted Blue

Green
- Base - Orkhide Shade
- Highlight - Snot Green
- Ink - Thraka Green
- Edge Highlight - Scorpion Green

Leather
- Base - Calthan Brown
- Ink - Devlan Mud
- Highlight - Bestial Brown
- Edge Highlight - Desert Yellow

Horns on Helmets
- Base - Calthan Brown
- Highlight - Bleached Bone
- Highlight - Skull White

Shields / Orange
- Base - Macharius Orange
- Highlight - Blazing Orange
- Highlight - Blazing Orange - Second Coat
- Edge Highlight - Sunburst Yellow

Gold
- Base - Iyanden Darksun
- Ink - Ogryn Flesh
- Highlight - Dwarf Bronze
- Highlight - Burnished Gold

Skin
- Base - Tallarn Flesh
- Base - Dwarf Flesh
- Ink - Ogryn Flesh
- Highlight - Dwarf Flesh
- Highlight - Elf Flesh

Bases
Base - Calthan Brown
Highlight - Desert Yellow
Highlight - Bleached Bone
Rim of base - Khemri Brown

I feel a lot better now that I have a digital copy of the steps that I take to get these colors painted up on my Dwarves. I feel like I've really simplified the steps but I'm sure that there's other ways of getting these colors painted but I'm pretty comfortable with these methods.

Work continues and I hope to have the second Bolt Thrower done in a few days.

1st Bolt Thrower = Complete!!!!!!!!!!!

I know that I said in my last post that I was going to post my painting steps for my dwarves...

BUT

I decided to paint instead!

Here is my 1st completed Bolt Thrower along with dedicated crew.

(Bolt Thrower) 

(Bolt Thrower) 

(Bolt Thrower w/ crew) 

(Cabinet)

I also completed making my display cabinet yesterday. It's kind of a neat story how this cabinet came to be. I'd gotten this cabinet years ago that someone had dumped on the side of the road when I was a teenager and still living at home. Fast forward about 14 years and I've kept this cabinet this whole time. My neighbors in an adjoining townhouse were evicted 3 months ago and had some cabinets that they left that had glass doors on them. The cabinets were made more for stereo equipment than anything but I had the notion to use one of the glass doors for the front of my cabinet and create a display case for the army that I'm currently working on. I also was very lucky in that my neighbors cabinet also had wired electrical lighting so I removed the door, door hardware and light fixture. 

Yesterday the wife and the kids were away all day so I set this as my project for the day! I went to the home repair shop and got some plexiglass, "L" brackets and screws and when I came home I went to work on my new cabinet. I really wish that I'd taken before photos! At the end of the day I really think that I only spent about 25 dollars on this display cabinet! You can even tell it's a frankenstein cabinet because in the picture you can see that the door is too big for the cabinet. HAHA! But in all reality it turned out very nice looking in my opinion.

1 more Bolt Thrower and I'll finally be finished my 1st 500 points of Dwarves. It seems like they're taking a long time to paint but in all reality I'm actually moving along pretty nicely if I put into scope that I have painted this much in years.

On a side note I went to my FLGS today but they were holding a Warhammer 40K tournament so I couldn't get any games in. I did however pick up my Ork Big Mek that's been waiting for me for over a month. This is my first Citadel Fincast miniature and I can already see a flaw but it's an easy enough fix. So, there is my monthly alottment for my hobby but with Christmas coming around I already know that I'm getting a gift certificate to my FLGS. How do I know you might be thinking...

The owner told me that my wife had stopped in and gotten me one but he wouldn't tell me the amount!

Thanksgiving Holiday - Bottling Session

So, I've got a long weekend because of the Thanksgiving Holiday. I'd said a few days ago that I needed to bottle my beer that I brewed a month ago.  My wife was out shopping on Black Friday and I didn't have much to do so I decided to bottle the beer today. My son wanted to help because he likes to help me bottle so this became a father and son bottling session.

 (The Beer!)

(Three cases of empty bottles) 

(Everything being sterilized) 

(Priming sugar being brought to a boil) 

(Beer being siphoned into the spigot bucket) 

(Spigot bucket)

I put the phone away after this step because the rest of the process is a very wet and messy process. All the beer was bottled and capped and shelved away in the basement so that it'll carbonate and be ready to drink next month. I'm giving these away as Chrismas gifts and I hope that everyone enjoys them! 

And here are some WIP photos of one of my Bolt Throwers...

I thought that I would really enjoy painting up the Bolt Throwers but I'm finding them very tedious and boring. I'm really looking forward to painting up the unit of Slayers though. They've been sitting on my desk and they've been calling out to me lately. Plus I feel like I should be able to paint them up quickly since they're mostly skin. I feel like I've really slacked this month with paining and if I was still holding myself to the 250 point painting challenge then I would've failed utterly. But work continues and I'm trying to get through things!

I'll most likely post something tomorrow or later today about the process of how I've been painting my dwarves. I have everything written down on a scrap piece of paper and I am so afraid that I'm going to lose it. If I have it all up on the blog then at least I will have an electronic copy.

Happy Turkey Day

I just wanted to wish a Happy Thanksgiving to everyone out there inlcuding my friends and family!

Painting continues...

So close to 500

I've been REALLY sick the past week and a half and while this hasn't hindered my painting it has hindered my gaming time since I haven't been wanting to get out to my local FLGS.

So, the only real news is that the warmachines have taken longer than expected but I finally have the crews completed!

 (7 crew complete)

 (3 crew w/ Bolt Thrower)

(4 crew w/ Bolt Thrower)

Sorry about the poor lighting on the pictures.

Once I finish the 2 Bolt Throwers (which won't take long) I'll finally be finished my first 500 points worth of Dwarf models!!! I've based my next 250 points and I've primered them so that I can start on them right away when I finish up my first 500 point chunk. If you recall  my next 250 points will be a unit of Slayers and another 10 Dwarf Warriors w/ shields to fill up my Warrior unit.

I'm hoping that with the 4 day weekend coming up that I can get some headway.

BUT... I also have to plan for one of these night to bottle my beer. It's been a month since it's been brewed and it's about time to bottle it up so that it'll be ready for Christmas time.

Orky Goodness

I said in a post a while back that I was able to gather up some Orks from another hobbyist that didn't want them anymore and that I would add pictures and a list of what I was able to get.

(A portion of what there is) 

 (6 bikers that will be used as Nob Bikers)

I'm pretty happy with the bikers squad. I've heard great things about Nob Bikers and look forward to trying them out.

(30 OOP Gretchin) 

OOP gretchin. I'm not super wxcited but hey! The guy threw them in free on the deal and they're a bit nostalgic. I can't complain!

 (Kommandos squad with Snikrot)

I love the Kommado models but I don't like the cost so I am very happy with these and an added bonus of the Snikrot model!

(10 Finecast Stormboyz with Finecast Zagstruck) 

I don't know if I'd ever field these because I'm not a huge fan of the models but the price was right and for right now they would bring my army points wise to where it needs to be.

(Big Mek) 

I'm sad that I have this model and I'm happy at the same time. See, I ordered this in Finecast at my FLGS and it's been there but I haven't had the money lately to get it since the Orks have taken the backseat and now that I already own it I don't need another but I feel obligated to get the other model anyway. But really I'm sure that 2 in an army is a good thing too if I ever want to field both Meks,

 (Trukk)

I can always find a use for a CHEAP points transport!

(6 Killa Kans!!!) 

To say that I'm excited about 6 Killa Kans is an understatement!

 (15 Burna Boyz)

I'd really prefer to have Lootas but with the price on these guys I couldn't pass them up! I'm sure that they'll find a place in my army somewhere!

(2 Looted Wagons and 11 Deff Koptas)

The 2 looted wagons and 11 Deff Koptas were just thrown-ins and I doubt that I'd ever use all of this but it's nice to have the models in case I do.

Not pictured is a Warboss from the AOBR set, Forgeworld Grot Bomb and a Forgeworld Ork Warboss Head. 

I added all of these models up with no upgrades and I put it at a little shy of 1500 points. List wise legally I can't field all of the fast attack models since I now have 17 Deffkoptas and a unit of Stomboyz but I could probably fiield a 2500 point army easily.

I received all of these models for what was left of my birthday money (80 dollars) and what I had Space Marine wise (which was probably about 100 dollars worth). Moneywise I was able to double what I had and modelwise I probably quadrupled what I had in Space Marine models.

With my already growing horde that I've been accumilating I can add 2 full units of slugga boyz, a full unit of Gretchin, a full unit of Nobz on foot with upgardes and 3 Warbosses. I also still need to look through everything that I have boxed away and the old OOP metal models that I have.

I'm super happy with everything that unfolded and I took a huge step in filling out my Ork horde and in the long run a spent very little to get what I did! There's definitely a few odds and ends that I could use to add or fill out squads but I now have my Ork army!

1st Game Against My Bro

Yesterday after work I headed over to my parents house and played my first match against my bother.

He's using Dark Elves and every single model is calvary! LAME

It was learning lesson and turned out to be a very close game but in the end his hero and his unit of cold one knights tore through much of my army.

Some lessons that I learned from this game...

-Shoot the big stuff and don't sweat the small stuff! (I spent a lot of my shooting on the small Dark Rider units when I should've been going for his tougher units)

-Warmachines can pivot to shoot other directions. (I thought that pivoting counted as moving)

-Dwarf Warmachine units are stubborn and that = AWESOME!!!

But hey... I'm not complaining since this was our technical first game against each other and you need to make mistakes in order to learn from your mistakes.

First Battle

Just a quick update...

Yesterday I saw my first taste of metal clashing against metal as my dwarves battled the foul taint of chaos Slaanesh demons at my local FLGS. I would love to say that my 500 point dwarven force came out as the winners but in this case they received a disappointing loss. Still with everything that happened and with being my first game in a LONG time I don't think that I did too bad. I played against a Slaanseh force that had a unit of Seekers of Slaanesh, a Fiend of Slaanesh and a unit of Daemonettes.

Learning point... Slaanesh Demons are FAST! His Seekers were dug into combat on his second turn. And my awesome shooting does nothing againse the demon's Ward saves. Plus, it helps when the oposing player only fails 1 armour save the whole game. This just wasn't my day.

What I need to get into my army for my next 250 points is more bodies! It's a really good thing that I've already been planning for this and have begun assembly on more bodies in the forms of slayers and warriors.

Paint continues on the 2 Bolt Thrower units and since I'm going away for work and taking my paints with me for the night to the hotel they should be complete in a week or two.

There is also a group of gamers beginning to play Warmachine on Wednesday nights so I'll begin painting up Gorten and his battle box soon.

2 Units Finally Done!

So, last night I finally finished up my unit of Dwarf Thunderers amd my unit of of Dwarf Warriors. These are the first 2 units that I've had fully painted in 6 or 7 years!!! I just to dull coat them so that they'll be protected.

 (10 Thunderers)

(10 Warriors)



Next up that I need to finish painting to catch up with last month's quota is my two warmachines and their crews. Should be simple enough (hopefully). 



(1 new style bolt thrower w/ 4 crew and 1 old style bolt thrower w/ 3 crew)

I have my next 250 points listed that I need to finish painting to meet the second portion of the quota.

- 10 more warriors with shields for the warrior squad to bulk it out to 20 models - 90 points

- 10 Slayers with musician and standard bearer - 128 points

(I really don't like Slayers but they'll be easy and quick to paint and will add more bodies to my force and will hopefully add a bit of intidation factor to my opponent)

I'm going to take the last few points and give my Thunderers a full command - 25 points

That gives me 243 points and will put the whole army at exactly 750 points.

Here are some WIP photos for a unit filler for the Warriors unit that I've been working on.

(Warriors Unit Filler)

11/1/11

Well... Today is the 1st of November. Did I meet my painting quota for this month?

NO

I was able to almost finish up the 2 units of dwarves yesterday. I just need to add a few more sections of static grass to some of the bases and I need to spray them with protective coat and they'll finally be comeplete. In all reality I'm still pretty happy with the way that everything's turned out. My 2 units will be the first 2 units that I've finished painting in about 6 or 7 years. I'll take some pictures once the unit has been completed and post them up.

I also began some work on my Warmachine models.

I'd originally bought the Gorten mercenary box when it came out. Everything was primed years ago but I wanted to do something different with the bases so I stripped everything a few days ago and rebased everything.

(Gorten... The first Warachine model that I painted)

Gorten was the first Warmachine model that I painted years ago. He's actually a pretty good paintjob but his base isn't matching the new stuff so he's currently sitting in a tub to be stripped. 

(Driller)

I have assembled the Driller and I've left the arms and front body piece off for ease of painting.

(3 Gunners)

I've assembled the 3 gunners but I've left the guns off for right now.

It's hard to believe how many models originally came in the first boxed set. I'm going to attach Gorten to his new base within the next few days and prime everything so that I can begin the paint job on my new Rhulic Army.

I am also going to finish up the 2 Dwarf machine units for my fantasy army. That's about 7 models and 2 war machines for the lot. This puts me a bit behind this month but with the newly agreed 2 month painting period I think that I'll be just fine!

Friday News Flash

So, I saw my brother yesterday and I dropped off some snow flock to him for his Dark Elves. He tells me that he was thinking that instead of painting up 250 points worth of models a month for our competition that maybe we could do 250 points every 2 months instead. I don't really mind this too much. I'll most likely still aim for the 250 a month but this gives me some leg room for other projects as well.

Like...

WARMACHINE!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to a Warmachine demo day at my local FLGS last weekend and played a game and it was A LOT OF DAMN FUN!!! When Warmachine first came out I'd bought a few units and some other odds and ends and played a few games. All of my stuff I just threw into a box with everything else and put it into the attic.

I pulled everything out and took it with me to the demo day. Pretty much everything is still new in the box. I spoke with one of the gents that was helping run some demos and we talk about what I have and that I probably have 35 points or more worth of models. That makes me extremely happy because the only real purchase that I'll have to make will be the rulebook and the faction book. I think that's pretty damn good!

I have 1 battle group that's put together but I'm going to dunk them, remove the primer and rebase them. I have a plan for all of the bases and I think that everything will turn out looking great. I'll need to make a few other purchases just to get the group where I want it to be but they'll be half way small and I'll need to work them into the budget somehow. It's a good thing that I have more Fantasy Dwarves and 40K Orks than I know what to do with right now!

Orks you say? Yes!!! With my birthday money and a trade that involved all of my Space Marine models I have aqcuired q machine heavy force of Orks that added with many of the models that I already own should put in at about 2500 points worth of Orks. I am extremel happy with this and for spending very little I've rounded out my Orks.

I'll post some pictures soon of everything that I've acquired so far and I might list a few painting goals that I'd like to give myself to help me achieve a few personal goals involving each army.

Details Details Details

Work is coming along on my Dwarves. I'm afraid that I won't be able to meet my deadline though. I have 1 more week to finish up the unit of thunderers, Warriors and the two bolt throwers. I would be done if I didn't spend so much time on the details but you know what... I'm not worried about it. I'd much rather miss a painting deadline and have 2 really good looking units than to meet the deadline and have the whole 500 force painted up and looking like crap.

 (Unit of Warriors with shields and Unit of Thunderers)

(Thunderers) 

(Warriors with Shields)

I should be able to finish up the two core units which once finished will be the first full unit of models that I've finished in about 8 years! This makes me extremely happy and I look forward to the day when I can say "Damn... I'm done with these units!"

In the next few days I'll put into words what I want to do with the next 250 points of this force. I also haven't even played a game yet. I've been going to my local FLGS but it's been no help at all. I will try to go on Sunday and see again if I can pick up a game.

Homebrew Session

I dabble in a lot of other hobbies and from time to time you will see glimpses into these mystical realms.

This is one of those times!

BACKSTORY... A few months ago sometime around June or July I was introduced by a few friends to the art of brewing one's own beer. With the state alcohol tax here in Maryland increasing to 9% recently and the fact that myself and my wife enjoy knocking back a few, I really liked the idea of brewing my own beer and being able to save a few dollars on good quality beer at the same time. I bought my first ingredient kit one weekend and went to my friends house where they helped me start up the process of brewing. Homebrewing is a lot harder than it sounds and is actually quite an easy process to accomplish. I have most of the tools to accomplish making my own beer and perhaps if I didn't have so many hobbies then I could afford to maximise my homebrewing experience... But hey! Where's the fun in that!!!

I was able to order a beer ingredient kit earlier in the week. I had a gift certificate from earlier in the year when I made my first purchase so ot was relatively inexpensive because I only had to pay for shipping. I ordered an easy to make kit that I plan to use as easy well made Christmas presents because I can't afford to buy the extravagant presents for everyone. Beer ingredient kits are nice because everything comes pre-measured and the directions are pretty easy to follow.

(Cologne Kolsch Kit Ingredients)

I chose a Colgne Kolsch Beer kit because of it's easy smooth drinkability. I hope that everyone enjoys this kit because most people will be getting a 6 pack for Christmas. 

(The Wort being prepared)

The Wort (pronounced "WERT") step is one of the most important steps. You steep (boil at 155 degrees) the grains for 30 minutes. This is done on a stove because it is easier to monitor tempatures. 

(Wort and Malt Extract at a rolling boil for 60 minutes)

Now add the Wort, 1st stage hops and the Malt Extract to 2 more gallons of water and set to a rolling boil for 60 minutes. 

(40 minutes left) 

(20 minutes left)

At about 5 minutes before the boiling time is up we add more hops to help with flavoring and aroma. 

(Ice Bath = STEAM!)

After the boil is complete the chemical reaction of taking the mixture and rapidly decreasing it's tempature will form the beginning of beer. You then add yeast that comes with the ingredieant kit to this mixture.

(It is very inportant that everything is very sanitary during these steps. There are some bacterias that will destroy your yeast and ruin your beer.)

Your beer is then added to a fermenter for a few weeks and then after that few weeks we will begin the bottling stage.

(Completed product begins fermentation in the basement away from light) 

Your batch should make 5 gallons (roughly 2 and a half cases) of mixture that should be ready to bottle in about 3 weeks.

(Yeast is bubbling like a champ)

A day later and the yeast is working it's magic. It is now eating away at the sugars within the mixture and producing gas (hence the bubbles). This chemical reaction is what turns sugar, hops, and grains into beer! In about 3 weeks we will start the bottling process and these beers should be ready right before christmas for my loved ones to enjoy!