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Plasma Webway Portals

Thursday, May 31, 2012



I no longer feel disappointed that I missed out on GW's official Webway portal limited release, because now my Dark Eldar are sporting these bad boys:



Those little tin buggers don't light up! And, big surprise, they would have cost more. You can see in the background where I started to make my own portals based on this handy guide by Ron over on FTW, but I really wanted something with some lighted effects. Then, the other day I was perusing through some pictures from this year's Adepticon and came across an awesome Dark Eldar display board that utilized one of those Spencer's electron spheres as the center piece acting as a large webway. Great idea I thought, so I began searching for something similar but on a smaller scale that would match the actual size and diameter of the official WWP. I don't think they make electron spheres small enough that can be used in game, but the search did yield these pocket plasma's which work perfectly in terms of height and diameter. Plus they look awesome!


If what's coming out of the portal doesn't distract you (5x Beastmasters and 25x Khymera... just wait, you'll see) the pretty lights will!

$ave $ome Money$

Thursday, May 24, 2012


By now I'm sure you've all heard the news about the annual GW price hikes that are rumored to take place in June. No one likes to pay more for the same product, but miniatures aren't the only things that have inflated in price over the years. Luckily, I've already collected most of what I need over the past decade so this news doesn't affect me as much as new or potential players. Looking over the list, some items aren't going up by much, but some are and depending on how many you need, things start to add up quickly.

The good news is you still have a week to lock in those looming purchases at the lower rate, or even lower than that if you know where to look. I'm all for supporting the FLGS and I do, but I've also taken advantage of some pretty sweet deals. Back in the day it was easy to find a cool 35% off list price online, and while most places nowadays typically offer 20% (Warstore), there's always second hand models on ebay or bartertown for even better deals.

I went ahead and ordered some remaining Dark Eldar items from superherogameland this week and managed to save myself over $50.00 (and that's before taking into account the higher prices). So if news of the price hike is getting you down, I recommend checking out some online stores this week. There's some great deals out there that just might keep you in the hobby a little longer and help you complete your existing army investment.

Updated Immortal Paint Scheme

Wednesday, May 16, 2012


Finally painted the base colors on my first Necron Immortal squad. I still need to wash, highlight, base, and add the gauss rods, but I think they are starting to shape up. I like the bone-white shoulder armor as it helps them stand out and look bulkier than the lowly Warriors. As soon as I have these guys finished up I'll take some decent pictures with the good camera. Then it's on to painting Wraiths and finishing the Spyders and Scarabs.

Is it Friday yet?

Walden is to Thoreau as 40k is to Paul

Friday, May 11, 2012

This is a pretty interesting project: http://www.theverge.com/2012/4/30/2988798/paul-miller-year-without-internet

Make sure to check out the video, especially the end:



I think it's a noble endeavor. And lucky for Paul, he's picked up a more than adequate replacement for Starcraft, haha. I could never embark on something like this because Web Administration is one of my primary jobs, but I know I'm not the only IT guy who enjoys 40k, not just because it is awesome (which it is), but because it is time spent "unplugged", away from all the ubiquitous internet-enabled distractions that are so prevalent today. Sure, even 40k as a community has benefitted from the utility of the internet (hell, even I blog about it) but there's something refreshing about the time spent away from all of that, painting/assembling/creating something with your own two hands, something that is unique to you and your personality. Not to mention the real-life interaction that is required to play against real people when fielding your unique creation on the tabletop. It's a big part of what keeps bringing me back and keeping me involved after 13+ years of wargaming, and also why I think it's totally feasible for Paul to make it the full year and reach his goal -- I just expect to see a decent sized, fully painted army by the end ;)

I know you wont be reading this till 2013 at the earliest, but good luck, Paul!

New Necron Canoptek Wraiths

VS

Luckily, I didn't glue those Immortal heads to the Puppet's War wraith bodies. Now that GW has finally released their Necron 2nd wave, which includes new Wraith models, we can see that the original Puppet's War wraith heads more closely match the new official GW model. So it looks like I'll be going with the original heads as well as adding a few legs to the torso section to get them to match as closely as possible. Overall, they aren't far off to begin with.

As I was painting the old metal GW Wraith the other night, the top broke off from the base section. Instead of taking the time to pin right then and there, I used the incident as an excuse to run out and pick up one of the new Wraith boxes. I'm pretty impressed with the new sculpts. After trying out 4 Wraiths in my game the other night, I knew I wanted to max out at least one squad of these close combat nightmares. I also picked up a Lychguard/Praetorian box to finish up my Royal Court members. I have some fun conversions planned for these guys.

Other than that, it looks like my Necron force is good to go. Once everything is built and painted, I can easily field a 2k - 2500pt army which is pleanty for me. I didn't expect the new Necrons to keep my attention as much as they have, but it's a solid book, as most of you already know. I'm looking forward to trying them out at higher points levels and seeing how they stack up against my Bike army. Depending on how things go over the next month or so of playtesting, that will determine which army I take to Nova this year, as well as if 6th edition drops and becomes the standard for the Open GT. Speaking of which, I know a lot of rumors are floating around out there regarding 6th and how much it will ruin the game... first of all, rumors are rumors, just wait till you get the actual book in hand to decide if you'll walk or not. Keep an open mind. Second, you're not fooling anyone; you'll still play the game. If you're invested in the hobby and GW keeps producing the best models on the market, not much more needs to be said. If you hate the new rules so much (whenever they actually come out) just keep playing 5th. I still see people who love the old narrative aspects and play 2nd edition. Once you own the book you own the rules; make up house rules or your own missions if you prefer. It's still a game and you should have fun with it. Personally, I'm excited to see what the next edition will bring.

Battle Report: Necrons vs Tau

Tuesday, May 1, 2012


Last night I finally made my way down to the new Battle Bunker in Bowie for a 1000pt game against John's Tau. It was my first time playing with the new Necrons. The hardest part was coming up with a 1000pt list. I actually haven't played a game at this low a point level since returning to 40k a couple years ago. But after much deliberation, my list looked like this:


Overlord w/ Command barge Warscythe; Mindshackle scarabs 195
Court x1 Harbinger of Destruction w/ solar pulse                         55

Warriors x5                                                                                  65
Warriors x5                                                                                  65
Immortals x5                                                                                85

Wraiths x4 Whip coils x3; Particle caster x1                               175
Scarabs x6                                                                                    90
Destroyers x2 Heavy gauss cannon x2                                        120

Spyders x3                                                                                  150

We rolled up Dawn of War deployment and a Seize Ground mission with 4 objectives. John won the roll off and elected to go second, so I deployed my Overlord and two Warrior squads on the two objectives in my half, with the rest of my force walking & running on turn 1. John didn't deploy anything and put his Fire Warriors and Kroot into reserves.


Turn 2 I press the Scarabs, Wraiths, and Command barge forward.


John shoots a lot of missiles and downs 5 Scarab bases and puts a wound on a Wraith.

The Fire warriors and Kroot come on for John's turn 2, also when I drop the Solar pulse.



Turn 3, my Barge swipes his commander with battle suit squad; the wraiths assault the Pathfinders, and the scarabs take on a squad suits, which end up running off the board.


John's Kroot and Fire warriors close in on an objective.


By turn 4, the store is close to closing and the Tau right flank was starting to fall. But John's Fire warriors were able to kill my Destroyers and the Kroot dispelled the warriors, to claim the Tau's first objective.


But it was too late to take away the two objectives I had been sitting on since turn 1.


Overall, I really like the way Necrons played. The Scarab / Spyder combo is excellent, and so are the Wraiths. I wasn't as impressed with the Heavy Destroyers, so I'm thinking I'll free that spot for more Scarabs or Wraiths. I'm also tempted to pick up a second Command Barge, as those have a lot to offer. I think the next game will be 1500 - 2000 pts so I'll get to try out a C'tan and probably the Stormlord. As far as the first game with Necrons, I'm impressed and can't wait to try out more lists.