MOAB Memorial Weekend-Game

MOAB...
2016: There were 4 of us (incl TO) playing mingeddon. We were all done, tournament won, by lunch on day one.
2017: There were 6 folk (plus TO) running 3k games. Ran over the two allotted days. Was amusing, and the majority of people playing were out-of-towners.

2018: just me (plus TO) = Epic MOAB cancelled.
Wasn't a huge surprise; too many games available now days and not enough nerds.

Anyway, so i was reminiscing about last year; how the ship hadn't been out of the box since then; how i'd done some new terrain stuff between now and then. 
Why not assemble a table? game... no game... doesn't matter much, it's a long weekend and nothing much planned now.

So i set up the table including the ship, zoned off razor wire area, and new tree area terrain.

Still early in the day so while it's set up, I put down some knights...

and some vraksians... just to complete the look.

The tree terrain plates were quite heavy cover; by comparison to the scattered rock terrain up the other end. Not bad terrain, but turned out being more substantial than i'd counted on.

Ended up playing the game. Took all day: between episodes of 30 rock, chopping down a tree, and haircuts for the dogs.
Randomly (positioned) objectives were added after the armies were set up for something different. 

The knights were generally a bit more mobile (which is an indication of how stodgy the vraks are).
The Vraksians were generally running defensive attitude, not a lot of heavy cover in the middle of the board; and to be honest i was finding it hard to find something tactically sound to do with the big, slow formations.
Malcadors are also crazy slow; i'm under the impression that they can be garrisoned, but being dead slow to manuever and the lack of solid cover to boot up the board behind made them kinda tough.

My dice rolls were typically poor (not just something that happens when playing other people). At the end of turn 4 the vraksians were left with just the leman russ formation and their aircraft. The knights were quite resilient, rolling off a higher than average number of saves; plus not a lot of macro or TK on the Vraks side.

Overall, I'd describe the game as narrative.
It's tough to plan a 4-moves-ahead strategy when you're playing both sides of the table, so generally the actions played were what looked advantageous at the time. Was enjoyable to watch it unfold.
Failed activations caused frustration as did failed-to-rally broken units. Some nice plays such as hydras stopping an 1-2 advance-engage with a preemptive strike on the formation (rough riders) about to launch the engage; same happened with a hell talon ground attack.
There were a few engage actions which were largely indecisive and won/lost of minimal margins; the 'broken' a matter of failed dice in the resolution, not a crush defeat.
Knights and russ/malcadors are tough customers when it comes to shooting them due to reinforced and/or shields/reinforced. A majority of the casualties were 'other units' rather than the hard-to-damage knights/tanks.
I had considered running my new 'decisionator' software but that seemed like work. I did batrep the game instead (below)... just because.
3:0 victory to the knights on turn 4, with defensive objectives (BTS, Defend the Flag and Shall Not Pass).

So RIP Epic MOAB... but dice were rolled anyway.


Vraks vs Knights
points: 3000
======================

army 1 - Vraksian (Vraks)
----------------------
[RegCmd] Regimental command
[LemRus] Leman Russ
[Malcador] Malcador
[Minotaur] Minotaur
[Death] Deathstrike
[Hydra] Hydra
[Sentinel] Sentinel
[Htalon] Hell talon
[Hblade] Hell blade

army 2 - Knights (Kn)
----------------------
[Baron] Baron + Errants
[Pal1] Paladins 1
[Pal2] Paladins 2
[Lancer] Lancer
[Cast] Castellan
[AA] AA guns
[Rough1] Rough riders 1
[Rough2] Rough riders 2
[Tbolt1] Thunderbolt 1
[Tbolt2] Thunderbolt2

turn 1
----------------------
strategy roll: Vraksian
pre-turn Notes:
[Vraks] [Death] - [SUSTAIN]  [target: Baron]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(3)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "1:2hits d6 to = 4,  1knight killed @ 2dc"
[Vraks] [Hydra] - [FLACK]  [target: Tbolt1]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Tbolt1] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Hydra]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Htalon] - [AIR ATTACK]  [target: Tbolt1]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "1hit, 1save"
[Kn] [Tbolt2] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Hydra]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(1)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "1kill for extra bm only"
[Vraks] [Htalon] - [AIR ATTACK]  [target: Tbolt1]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Cast] - [MARCH]
[Vraks] [Malcador] - [HOLD MOVE]
[Kn] [Rough1] - [MARCH]
[Vraks] [Minotaur] - [SUSTAIN] !Sup Cmd Reroll!  [target: Rough1]
  Combat Results:    killed(4)  add BMs(5)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Rough2] - [MARCH]
[Vraks] [Sentinel] - [DOUBLE]
[Kn] [AA] - [MARCH]
[Vraks] [LemRus] - [DOUBLE]  [target: Pal2]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Pal2] - [DOUBLE]  [target: LemRus]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [RegCmd] - [ADVANCE]
[Kn] [Pal1] - [DOUBLE]  [target: LemRus]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Baron] - [DOUBLE] !Sup Cmd Reroll!  [target: LemRus]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(3)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "8 left"
[Kn] [Lancer] - [DOUBLE]  [target: LemRus]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "7 left, 7bm"
post-Turn Notes: All roll off bm except broken rough1

turn 2
----------------------
strategy roll: Vraksian
pre-turn Notes:
[Vraks] [Death] - [ADVANCE]  [target: Rough1]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(1)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "Death from extra bm"
[Vraks] [RETAIN] [Minotaur] - [SUSTAIN] !Sup Cmd Reroll!  [target: Rough2]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Rough2] - [ENGAGE]  [target: Death]
  ====================================
                | Attacker | Defender
  ====================================
  Kills         | 1        | 0     
  ====================================
  Extra Kills   | no       | 1     
--------------------------------------
  Add BMs       | 0        | 0     
  ------------------------------------
  Broken        | no       | no     
  ------------------------------------
  Destroyed     | no       | yes   
  ------------------------------------
   Notes: "Kn7 vr6"
[Vraks] [Hblade] - [CAP SET]
[Kn] [Pal2] - [ENGAGE]
[Vraks] [LemRus] - [HOLD REGROUP]
  Regroup Results:    remove BMs(4)
[Kn] [Pal1] - [DOUBLE]  [target: LemRus]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Hydra] - [SUSTAIN]  [target: Pal2]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Cast] - [ADVANCE]  [target: Malcador]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Htalon] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Pal2]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Tbolt1] - [STAND DOWN]
[Vraks] [Malcador] - [DOUBLE]  [target: Baron]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Baron] - [ENGAGE]  [target: Malcador]
  ====================================
                | Attacker | Defender
  ====================================
  Kills         | 1        | 0     
  ====================================
  Extra Kills   | 1        | no     
--------------------------------------
  Add BMs       | 1        | 1     
  ------------------------------------
  Broken        | yes      | no     
  ------------------------------------
  Destroyed     | no       | no     
  ------------------------------------
[Vraks] [RegCmd] - [DOUBLE]
[Kn] [Lancer] - [ADVANCE]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(6)  add BMs(7)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [AA] - [DOUBLE]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(3)  add BMs(4)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Hblade] - [CAP RUN]  [target: Tbolt2]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(0)  broken(false)  destroyed(true)
[Kn] [Tbolt2] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(0)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [AA] - [FLACK]  [target: Hblade]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [AA] - [FLACK]  [target: Htalon]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
post-Turn Notes: Baron, regcmd, rough1 remain broken only pal2 RM bms

turn 3
----------------------
strategy roll: Knights
pre-turn Notes:
[Kn] [Pal2] - [HOLD SHOOT]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(2)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Minotaur] - [SUSTAIN]  [target: Baron]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [RETAIN] [Hblade] - [STAND DOWN]
[Kn] [Cast] - [ADVANCE] !Sup Cmd Reroll!  [target: Malcador]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(3)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [RETAIN] [Pal1] - [HOLD MOVE]
[Vraks] [Hydra] - [OVERWATCH SET]
[Kn] [AA] - [DOUBLE]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(1)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Htalon] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Rough2]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(3)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Tbolt2] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: RegCmd]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(1)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Malcador] - [ADVANCE]  [target: Cast]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
   Notes: "7hits all rolled off"
[Vraks] [LemRus] - [HOLD MOVE]
[Kn] [Lancer] - [ENGAGE]  [target: RegCmd]
  ====================================
                | Attacker | Defender
  ====================================
  Kills         | 2        | 1     
  ====================================
  Extra Kills   | no       | no     
--------------------------------------
  Add BMs       | 1        | 0     
  ------------------------------------
  Broken        | no       | yes   
  ------------------------------------
  Destroyed     | no       | yes   
  ------------------------------------
post-Turn Notes: Most broken BM rolled off

turn 4
----------------------
strategy roll: Knights
pre-turn Notes:
[Kn] [Cast] - [SUSTAIN]  [target: Malcador]
  Combat Results:    killed(6)  add BMs(7)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [RETAIN] [Tbolt2] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Malcador]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(true)  destroyed(true)
[Vraks] [Minotaur] - [SUSTAIN]  [target: AA]
  Combat Results:    killed(2)  add BMs(3)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [RETAIN] [Htalon] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Rough2]
  Combat Results:    killed(3)  add BMs(4)  broken(true)  destroyed(true)
[Kn] [Rough1] - [ENGAGE]  [target: Minotaur] and Supporting Fire(Pal1 / none)
  ====================================
                | Attacker | Defender
  ====================================
  Kills         | 0        | 0     
  ====================================
  Extra Kills   | no       | 1     
--------------------------------------
  Add BMs       | 0        | 0     
  ------------------------------------
  Broken        | no       | yes   
  ------------------------------------
  Destroyed     | no       | yes   
  ------------------------------------
   Notes: "Sup fire kills 2"
[Kn] [RETAIN] [Pal1] - [HOLD SHOOT]  [target: Hydra]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(true)  destroyed(false)
[Vraks] [Hblade] - [GROUND ATTACK]  [target: Pal2]
  Combat Results:    killed(0)  add BMs(1)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Pal2] - [MARCH]
[Vraks] [LemRus] - [ADVANCE]  [target: Pal1]
  Combat Results:    killed(1)  add BMs(2)  broken(false)  destroyed(false)
[Kn] [Baron] - [MARCH]
post-Turn Notes: Half roll off bm



final Notes: Vr only Russ and planes left


VICTORY CONDITIONS
----------------------------------------
                   | Vraksian | Knights
----------------------------------------
Blitz              | NO       | NO   
----------------------------------------
Break their spirit | NO       | YES   
----------------------------------------
Defend the flag    | NO       | YES   
----------------------------------------
Take and hold      | NO       | NO   
----------------------------------------
Shall not pass     | NO       | YES   

Razor Wire Terrain

Didn't take too long.

This is the effect i was looking for...

or this...

Counts as area effect terrain so you can't squeeze through the little gaps between stands/posts.

Turns out there are official rules for razor wire (c/o knights world list)...
Fortified Position Effects Table
Terrain: razor wire
Infantry: dangerous terrain
Vehicle: no effect
War Engine: no effect

If there weren't any i was going to make it impassible terrain for infantry and ignore for av/we... but dangerous terrain works for me.
I am planning (for my own games) to not attach the terrain as an 'army specific element', but instead use it as a general terrain pieces - probably in conjunction with other terrain pieces (as per example above).


Quick build diary (in reverse order)...
The official razor wire pack i bought had 2 meters of wire. This only lasted for the 2 small sticks and 2 of the medium sticks. The remaining sticks used the left over tree wire which i twisted using an electric drill. while not exactly the same look it's close enough. the wire is also 'shinier' (which i will treat with null oil or agrax) and springier (which should make no difference at all). yhay for left overs. still a tiny bit of painting left to do to conceal the superglue white spots.

Adding sand before texture paint goes on...

Just mdf cut into strips, then round the edges and drill/glue chopped-up sprue sticks.

Until next time...

Extra Trees

As promised... no build pics.

Over the course of the last 2 weeks i made a total of 5 new drop-on tree sets which makes the terrain plates feel much more complete; fuller without being too crowded.

Some models placed for scale...

The height of the trees is a reasonable fit. High enough to actually provide some obscuring, even for the knight (pic below). As in, a shell could theoretically miss due to deflecting off a tree limb or obscuring a shooters sight just enough to warrant a -1 toHit. 

Just to highlight the intention of drop-on blocks... Above only has a couple of models so you could position them around the terrain drop-ons. Or, if you end up needing to put more units on the area terrain (below) then you can shift the trees (etc) and make room for the models (or take them off the board all together. The units all still count as being in cover etc as appropriate to unit type. 

Everything boxed away in a suitable box with partitions, which conveniently stops everything sliding around too much...

Totally not worth the effort of magnetising. Only a couple of the very tallest trees are reaching the lid and they could afford to be slightly shorter anyway (i.e. saves me bending them).

Note: On thingiverse there are some 'rock structures', which are like the larger 'messa' type already in use as terrain (though not by me) (flames of war: 'badlands bluff' or 'badlands plateau'). Am considering printing out a couple to add to the drop-ons. (https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1747141)

Also: I've started work on the razor wire pieces.

[later (2018-10-10): While handling the trees during the game, i found that foliage was flaking off a bit more than i liked. Have been respraying the heck out of all the trees (both batches) to resolve (hopefully). It's not affecting the colour that much so hopefully it will remain a variegated, organic blob.]

Until next time...

Reaver Titan Remix

[2018-09-12]

Something i consider a while ago was running a titan list with 2 Reavers as the main heavy-hitters. 

At MOAB (might be the last for a while given this years failure to get players) last year (2017) a fella was running a similar configuration. He had one shooter heavy Reaver and one with dual close combat.
I played him (small comp so we played everyone) and was fielding Titans myself; and his list was intriguing enough. From memory right near the start i managed to crit destroy the CCW Reaver which skewed the strategy.

So i grabbed the titans and headed to the workshop.

The Reavers were built with static load-outs (aka super glue) so i cut off the arm weapons and basically magnetised everything.
The available modular weapons now includes; 2x laserburner, 2x inferno gun, 2x volcano cannon, and 1x support missile.

I switched on the 3d printer and after a few annoy failed attempts got some close combat, claw-hands.  Was just a rescale from the thingiverse imperial knight. I was originally considering hitting the bit box for terminator claws or something like that but decided to try for a print first.

The printer is performing miserably, bit sick of it. But given my printing requirements are close to nil at the moment [shrug].

So... everything getting a paint touch up and then done.

And i forgot to print a plasma devastator which will be sitting up top like the support missile
(carapace mount)... yeah, like that...

Until next time...

A Quick One - Chaos-a-rama

Errrreheeerrm
Yeah, i'll be making a few more trees...

...but don't worry i won't be bringing the blow-by-blow build boredom this time around.

Epic Day
Yesterday (Sunday) was Epic day. Put a 3k list of Vraksians on the table, my first time 'properly' running Vraksians.    2:0 loss; still had a few models on the table but not much scope to do anything strategic. AKA the Vraksians were toast.
The army was generally useful, they activated far better than my previous (test) game (at 1.5k points), but i sometimes wonder why i bother playing given how consistently poor my dice rolls are.
First Example: The regimental command formation (13 inf sticks + 2 chimeras + 3 support fire) so 18 dice in total, launched an assault and then failed to roll a single hit. Not one.
To put this better into context the values rolled were by majority 1s and 2s, with the occasional 3 and i think one 4. so it's not like i was just falling short, this was like the dice were switched to fail.
Second Example: I had my 2 Deathstrikes shooting at a character WE. both hit (2 plus with sustained fire is hard to fail) so titan killer d6.... roll 2 dice and that's how many hits you make against the target, no saves, no nothing (well... except shields). rolled double 1. So one-shot 200 points formation flushed down the bog...
Which is entirely why i don't gamble AT ALL.
The Vraks list wasn't terrible, might need a tweak or two before i try them again. My concern is the list's 150pt formations that are so weak that losing 1 unit immediately breaks them - combined with token firepower output, and no scope to bolster the formation with extra units. Am thinking of maxing out on tank blobs somehow.


Box of Chaos 
During the last week i got around to magnetising my Chaos stuff. At the moment this combines the Vraksians and the Chaos Marines army that i started way back when - at least until one or both of them grows further.

The Chaos list will need at least some demons and war engines before it's usable... dunno.


Later: 2018-11
Aldi brought back their art boxes so have got a couple. Couldn't resist, they're much nicer than the others AND half the damn price!!

Got some A4 mag sheets and viola [yes deliberate]. Having all the models already done made the whole process 99% painless.
Lots of room in there now for little demon hordes etc to be summoned.
Those Heldrakes are so bulky. I really like the model but for now they're floating (not magnetised) with wingtips poking up through the hole... oh well.


Until next time...

New Trees - (aka) Is It Spring Yet?

[original draft - 2018-08-27]

Some time ago i made some area terrain 'plates' and some drop-on tree groupings. Really basic organic shapes from styrofoam. Never liked them, but there were there for a change of terrain or extra terrain if required - until i came up with something better. WHICH IS NOW!!!!

[egad!]

For a long time I've liked the tree terrain that Cal has. I've actually played on this board a few times (Cancon/Castle Assault). They're 'swamp/mangrove'-esque 'banyan' style tree... and i could get them easy enough from overseas (premade, painted and topped even) but i guess that's just too easy.

[My last game on this board i got thumped so badly it was shameful... and imo exemplifies the rock-paper-scissors nature of (tournament) Epic. Perhaps if i stopped admiring the terrain quite so much...]

I tried 3d modelling the tree shapes (trunks) but the prints aren't coming out well enough. Either too chunky or print failures with thinner prints (this with ABS, not PLA). I'm not really in a mind-space for printing anyway, so i thought i'd have a look at wire trees (which i've also always liked).

Work on the project started with some video research on the interweb; most of the material there is for larger scales, not 6mm-friendly. So let's try to scale it down and see how it goes.

At a cheapy shop i found some thin florist wire (as recommended in vids), lengths of about 40cm which i chopped in half and grouped up. i ripped the old, ugly trees from the bases for reuse.  Winding the trunk...

Some brief experimentation revealed that 6 wires, doubled over to make 12 stranded trees, was enough to get a suitably thick trunk and just enough branch structure up top to make it recognisably tree-like.
I also made a couple of spindly trees with left overs (less then 12 strands) but they're frankly not as good and should only be used as filler/extras amongst the 12-stranders.
A couple of extra strands does make the branches better (fuller) - the final couple of trees got some extra wires, where there weren't enough strands for another complete tree.

A tree in the making...

Unlike the foam trees which had an average of 3 trees per group, these will only have two as the canopy is substantially larger (and this without foliage yet). The initial gluing to the bases is as annoying as i'd anticipated...

but worked eventually. A side-by-side scale check was done with some infantry/tanks and the height/size of the trees should be fine. 

There are just nine of these drop-on tree groups - three per area-terrain plate.

Nope, not a bag of dope; a bag of 'indoor pot plant moss cover stuff', from a local cheapy shop....

I spent a day hopping from hobby shop to hobby shop (few and far between now days, especially if you're after something beyond MGT cards...) and didn't find the blobbly foam-like material used in the videos, plus i'm not waiting for online stuff.
So, I'm hoping this moss will mull down to a suitable 'pebble' for gluing on, and also any longer strands should add some textural variety. The colour has suitable variegation to require minimal painting/shading which is nice too.
No, i'm not going to be able to find it again in 5 years when i want to make more trees and have thrown the left overs away; c'est la vie.
My main concern with this material is crumble; i hate it when static grass flakes off and gets in everything (like glitter at christmas - bloody glitter season!!) and i'm really hoping that this stuff remains intact with (the minimal) handling (it is likely to get). Preliminary tests indicate that it shouldn't be excessively flakey (TBA - ed: should be ok, especially with a varnish sealant).

Most of the videos i watched did all of the preparation work on the tree before it was attached to the board; convenient - however all the videos were also for larger trees that attached easier rather than these little buggers. The plan is that when they're solidly attached to the base i will be able to handle them easier for gesso-ing the trucks/branches and sprinkling the foliage [ed: so far so good].

Onward...
I did pick up a selection of static grasses from the FLGS for finishing, and the remaining 'rock' drop-ons i have will also get grassed. All the ones i lost were grassed.

[interjection: the rocks have indeed been grassed up. i really am a fan of tufty grass.]

With the razor wire i'm hoping to make some straight fence sections to 'outline' the docking area for the ship terrain.
i was originally thinking about some type of really fine wire mesh (door screen ??) and i have seen this done (pic below - whoever you are who made this, i like it a lot), but finding suitable mesh might be a bit annoying (and wasteful)...

So i'm going to try the razor wire instead but with similar base shapes (as per the mesh pic). [Quick research - demonstrating that there's nothing new under the sun] like this...

Below is a pic from MOAB 2017. I just think it might be appropriate to have at least some of the buildings (grav anchors/lifts/control towers etc) in the dock zone/precinct (red line drawn on) enclosed with fencing; rather than being open to the general public, bob the cultist, and every ol' meandering grox. Makes no difference for game play/rules, just would look more complete.

I digress...

[later - tu]
The original wood glue has dried solid and the trees seem relatively secure - the trunks bend when the tops are lightly pushed, rather than the roots lifting off the base. To help secure them in another glob of glue was applied. And adding in the final gravel/sand on top when finishing the basing will create a solid shield against movement.
(glue and sand is quite tough, which is why i only ended up scraping off one of the reused bases)

Tonight i get to shape the trunks and branches into position, then apply gesso to get rid of the wire helix twist up the trunks. This will also give the foliage something better to stick to.

[later -we]
All the trees got a brushdown with 'light moulding paste', not gesso (who knew, but as gesso's shorter (and was on the store shelf next to this stuff) i'm sticking with that :p ).

The plan went... to plan.

The trucks and thicker limbs will get another coat tonight - which will be more about the thickness/texture than trying to adhere to the metal wire.
After that a base coat of (thick/base) black, again helping to camouflage the wire texture. 
Then probably a coat of baneblade brown. i'm thinking a lighter colour for the trunk rather than a darker 'brown' brown.
Possibly finishing with a wash of agrax to pick out depressions (great for vraksians to hide in).
Then onto foliage. And i'm looking forward to that step.


[later - th]
just as planned. 

The trunks still display a little bit of twist to them, i.e. the gesso didn't entirely work to plan, but i don't feel like trying to sand or otherwise over-model these small pieces. my guess is that once they're foliaged-up it will be masked enough.
Will attempt foliage tonight hopefully. i'm a bit concerned that the thin wires and little blobbles aren't going to work as well as, say big foam blobbles. the demonstrated technique uses multiple glue/sprinkle phases so i'll just have to wait and see. Experimentation is fun.

[ed: scroll, scroll, scroll... well this is turning into something of an epic isn't it]
[later - fr]
Started on the foliage last night. Getting results. the trees are heading towards a savannah/acacia style rather than a swamp style, but i like acacias anyway. probably fits the drier/stark theme of the other terrain better too. Pleased with the results so far.  

First sprinkling applied...

 And the current state (after 3 or 4 sprinkles)...

It's a little hard to discern the difference as you're working on them but before/after shots show the progress.
Turns out that the biggest problem with the moss is that it's very soft. Which means that once you have a layer glued on to the branch then gluing onto that layer is not so great. Even the dry glue doesn't solid-up enough.
What i've started doing is adding some clear spray varnish into the mix to stiffen the moss. So glue to the tree, wait for it to stick and dry, then spray with varnish to solidify structure. Repeat.
The trunks may need a coat of something if the varnish becomes too shiny, and the bases will be redone anyway so no issue there.

Sprinkle box...

I ended up getting some new scissors for the workshop. The little black ones are nice and sharp but really uncomfortable with extended use.

When basing is done, the static grass tufts will probably need to be trimmed down as they are quite tall and may potentially jut up too far into the tree structure/foliage.



[later - mo... again]
The weekend (mainly friday-saturday) was mainly about spray varnish, or waiting for said varnish to dry.

i did manage to also get the basing done as well. layer of glue and sand, coat of texture coat (dulux apollo grey), two coats of agrax, dry brush of baneblade brown and dry brush of screaming skull.
so the only remaining tasks are; create up the trunks if required, lighten/recolour the base so it's more consistent with the area terrain plates, and add tufts.

[later - we... again]After a day or two of faffing around i got some 'final pics'.
This is how the bits are meant to be used on the table. The units move onto the terrain area and then you can shuffle the trees/rocks around rather than try to position units around statically placed trees etc.

Just the trees. the camera and lighting doesn't do the justice (as usual) but i'm pleased with the result. It's not as classy as the 'Cal' trees, but a lightly vegetated savannah feel probably suits my sensibilities better anyway. 

I am still trying to adjust the plate and tree base colour to more closely resemble the rock pieces. but in terms of the creative process i can declare this project... finito.


[later: th.. again]
toHit modifiers and cover saves for everyone... except you rhino, you can just have the toHit modifier instead.

i'm vaguely considering making a few more tree drop-ons just to increase the wooded density. not in the immediate future... but it occurs to me to make them now so they're of similar style... and i won't throw out the moss... TBA. 

==============================================

Something Different - An Opinion re 2018's Adeptus Titanicus (AT)
On my (previous) weekend travels i dropped into a GW store and asked where they were keeping the AT stuff. Possibly just for a first perusal; maybe even to pick up a small something-something (pack of knights would be fun).
Turns out they are not stocking the game (notably unlike ALL the other specialist games that they're re-releasing) and they're doing online orders only.
While i can't say i'm shocked at this confirmation (it was always the most likely scenario), i am pretty disappointed on a number of levels.

The first, and biggest, is that without local outlets for the product there will be no new (spontaneous) blood added to the potential player pool.
If you can't rock up to the shop and get the models people are not going to be getting into this game.
They not going to buy it online and then form clubs/group/leagues etc. Especially in the numbers required to create a viable game community.
Even Necromunda - which IS available in store - is for all intents and purposes dying a slow death. I've asked around and most shop owners GW and FLGS are like "oh yeah there are 2 guys who come in and play some times"...   2 guys here and there is not a player base capable of sustaining and growing the game.
While GW have technically satisfied the requests from myriad gronards by re-releasing and even supporting these old favourites... it feels like the most token manner possible *.
[* i find this baffling because it can't be cheap to gear up to manufacture these products/projects. and then to not actively push them. perhaps they really can ride on the back of the other lines ??]

Secondly, by making it online only its not a stretch to interpret the project is a blatant money grab for old school Epic players. Only collectors or nostalgic enthusiast are going to bother buying minis online that will never hit the game table.

Thirdly, to expand upon point the First, the game is not going to progress beyond a totemic offering like i.e. space hulk (available, but never pushed, encouraged or played).
As it is never likely to get a player base they are quite likely to say 'no one plays it, therefore we won't bother adding other races or vehicle or infantry'. Bottom line, Epic will not be replaced by this system; carry on as normal; continue to buy your recasts (or prints) from ebay; and see you at Cancon.

Fourthly, i have (since its recent release) seen 3 AT grand master boxes, all in non-GW hobby stores. Am i overly cynical in seeing this as GW being happy to push a non-starter game on FLGS but not to stock it themselves?
Conversely, it is the FLGS that are more likely to have the customers with diverse sensibilities who are more likely to want this stock; whereas GW only push their core 2 games (with other products imo as novelties).

[sigh] As much as i like the concept of the (reboot) game (for itself, not just for extra models for playing Epic), and would have been willing to make at least a token foray into the system, i just can't bring myself to buy into it. I hope the FLGS remain cautious and don't get reamed too hard.

Whinge complete.

              ==============================================

until next time...