The everything miniatures wargaming thread

[Syt]

I've seen the folks hanging out at our local Games Workshop shops. The armies and all are cool, but it's in general not a crowd I would want to hang out or be seen with (present company excluded).

[The Brain]

I completely avoid the Stockholm GW shop.

[The Brain]

Finished green squad (scouts). Since everyone in the army will wear helmets I had to find some scout heads with sealed helmets. There are no standard such space marine scout heads (the heads that come in the box are all helmetless) so I used Forge World Elysian Drop Troops heads with respirators. I think they work well enough. The other non-standard thing on these scouts is the Forge World etched brass crosses on the shoulder pads.

I don't know if I mentioned that another design decision for the army is that everyone will have a ride. These guys will eventually get a Land Speeder Storm.

The plastic scout kit isn't as well designed as the tactical squad kit IMHO. Parts don't fit as well as they should, and needless compromises were made here and there.

Since it's after midnight here this is strictly a flash photo. The fabrics look a lot less flat IRL.

[CountDeMoney]

You do good work, Brain.  And you know how much it pains me to complement you.

[The Brain]

Thanks. And yes.

[The Brain]

I love it when a squad comes together! Er... I mean these are the assault terminators. Non-standard parts are Templar right shoulder pads from the plastic Black Templar upgrade kit (not very visible in the photos), "shoulder shields" (insert fancy correct name for those) from the same source (except for the sergeant who got a standard sergeant one), and notably Forge World resin Black Templar storm shields. Detail on those resin shields is amazing.

In keeping with my main plan I have kept the number of colors down and I avoid bling like gold and stuff. This army is a dour lot.

These guys will eventually ride in a Land Raider Crusader (which is likely to be heavy with Templar iconography).

[Sophie Scholl]

Awesome.

[The Brain]

Fuck! I was happily painting away on my next model and then BAM disaster struck. Some dried paint had assembled in the neck of a paint bottle (Vallejo Bonewhite). Some pressure was applied to the bottle to pop it out and suddenly the bottle ceased to maintain structural integrity. The results would have been much more at home in a porno. After the initial shock of goo flying all over the place I acted quickly and decisively. First, damage assessment: paint in my face, on my clothes, on the floor, on my desk and on the model. Priority was given to the floor (I'll be damned if I get fucking paint spots on my awesome floor), and after a furious operation involving several trips to the kitchen and bathroom for various tissues and water I managed to stabilize it and finally get it clean. The success was a huge relief, but in the meantime of course paint on other stuff had had time to partially dry. Shirt status: unkown, will see after washing it. Model status: thick spots of paint over about half of it, some of the paint could be removed but I will have to do a fair amount of repair. The problem with thick lumps of paint is that they change not just the color but the geometry. Luckily I hadn't started on detail painting yet so I don't think it will be a huge problem. If necessary much can be fixed by the old battle damage trick. Face: it is what it is.

I estimated the risk that some paint had managed to find its way into my coffee as less than 5%. Good enough for drinking.

So kids, don't buy Vallejo paints. I've had no problem with them until today but apparently the bottles are crap and dangerous.

[The Brain]

Vehicuru poweru! Well here it is: the Rhino for red squad. Non-standard parts are the two Templar crosses (one on the front armor plate and one on the side door) and a Forge World etched brass Templar small shield (left front of the vehicle) which in this case identifies it as belonging to red squad. As stated above it saw combat while still in the factory so it's pretty hardcore.

Eagle-eyed observers may have noticed that I do not use transfers for this army. It takes some effort to make transfers look good and plastic, resin or brass symbols look better. I do not plan to use any transfers at all.

[PDH]

So kids, don't buy Vallejo paints. I've had no problem with them until today but apparently the bottles are crap and dangerous.

I will pray for your models.  And the coffee thing too.

[The Brain]

I drank all the coffee and everything seems norbal.

[Jacob]

I've seen the folks hanging out at our local Games Workshop shops. The armies and all are cool, but it's in general not a crowd I would want to hang out or be seen with (present company excluded).

Yeah, the trick to enjoyable wargaming is to pick the right people to play with.

[clandestino]

So, since many people at the shop I usually go play miniatures, I've asked the owner if there's some game with more of a history feel rather than a fantasy one. I also mentioned that I'm not that interested in the WW2 games I've seen being played before (World in Flames) since I'm more of a Classic/ Medieval kind of guy.

He talked to me about Saga, showed me some links and pictures and I'm kind of interested to know more about it. Do any of you play or have played it? What's your opinion on it?

[The Brain]

I think I own it, but I haven't played it. FWIW my impression is that it can be a nice introduction. Doesn't require hundreds of figures to play. Lots of manufacturers for figs since it's historical. Has Vikings.

[Jacob]

So, since many people at the shop I usually go play miniatures, I've asked the owner if there's some game with more of a history feel rather than a fantasy one. I also mentioned that I'm not that interested in the WW2 games I've seen being played before (World in Flames) since I'm more of a Classic/ Medieval kind of guy.

He talked to me about Saga, showed me some links and pictures and I'm kind of interested to know more about it. Do any of you play or have played it? What's your opinion on it?

I picked up a copy, but haven't played it yet. The guys at my local store have played it a bunch of times and say lots of good things about it. It's definitely on my play-eventually list, but right now I'm focusing on WFB.

Some random points from what I've gathered - it uses special dice, but somewhere they have "conversion charts" for regular dice; each faction uses their own dice and chart, bringing real distinctions to how factions play; there are plenty of fan-made factions out there too, if you feel like expanding.