Wednesday 25 September 2013

What? The Dark Elves are coming?

So as i was killing time at work today i happened to notice this sight:


I have also noticed that a fair few other blogs have been making excited posts about the latest Warhammer army book to be announced for release. First let me say that i am impressed by the new dark elf models. They look very dark elfy (yes that's a word, look it up) and i cant wait to see them in the flesh (well plastic). However i do wish to raise a complaint, that being, Where is the new Wood Elf book? Every other Elven race in both Fantasy and 40k has been redone, High Elves, Space Elves, Dark Space Elves and now  Dark Elves have all been redone but the wood elves are left out alone in the dark, cold and sad. That being said GW seems to be updating its Army Books/ Codices at an Aggressive rate so perhaps the wood elves aren’t that far off.

Until next time.
Rex

Monday 23 September 2013

Alternate Game Workshop Models

Following on from my Mantic V.s Games Workshop post i have decided to compile a list of websites and companies whose models could be used in games of Warhammer and Warhammer 40k, although the below list is mainly fantasy focused than 40k focused.

Game Zone Miniatures: I recently discovered this site via the Kiwihammer Blog. Its list of Fantasy models include such races as Empire, Chaos, Elves, Orcs and Goblins, Dark Elves, Vampires, Dwarfs, Silvanus (Wood Elves, Yaay!), Horned Beasts (Beastmen),
Feudal Knights (Bretonnia), Royal Tumuli Guardians (Tomb Kings) and Machines and Monsters. The prices are all in Euros but to give you a rough idea of pricing a goblin hero costs 7 Euros which translates to 11.29 NZ dollars.

Spell crow Miniatures: From what i can tell these guys are a Polish based company that offers Sci Fi conversion bits (Space Knights, Space Elves, Chaos, Orcs, Guards) and a larger fantasy range. Once again prices are in Euros but are still reasonable.

Mantic Games: A company the caters to both Fanasty and 40k Alternates and space Skaven. These guys are (in my view) the best source of alternate models to use in GWs games as they have a large and constantly expanding product range. They also are one of the few companies that make viable Squat models.

Raging Heroes: Continuing the theme of European companies that provide good alternate GW models Raging Heroes has a small (but very good quality) range of both Sci Fi and Fantasy models. They recently(ish) had a successful kickstater to create a range of models that they called "The Toughest Girls in the Galaxy". What they produced was a very good range models that are well worth the price.

Reaper: Although Reaper's product range does cater more to Roleplays its minis can still be used as Heroes or for small scale squads. And what stunning heroes and small scale squads they would be. Well worth a look.

Black Scorpion: Black Scorpion seems to have a strong Pirate theme running through most of it's product range, which is certainly a nice and unique theme. So far they do Fantasy Football (Blood Bowl anyone?), Fantasy Pirates, Modern (USM and Militia), Pirates and Tombstone (ye olde western).

Privateer Press: Creators of Warmachine and Hordes these guys have stunning range of minis. Although there is not much of the "Default" fantasy races (orcs, elves, undead ect) the races they do have could easily find a place in a warhammer army. And their Warmachine range has many models that could be used in 40k.

Avatars of War:They do what GW does only better, with a fantasy model range that practically copies GW but beats them on price and  quality. They started out small but have keep on growing with a ever expanding fantasy range. I am always eager to hear what these guys have been working on.

Infinity: Finally a company that does only Sci Fi as opposed to only fantasy. Infinities range works well for imperial guard players who want a unique (and metal) look for characters and elite squads. Their range also includes space Samurai and a range of impressive alien models.

Now its important to keep in mind that the reason why i made this list is not because i dont like GW's Models, quite the opposite i love GWs minis i just think that they are over priced for what they are. I do hope that one day GW starts to decrease the price  of its models but until that day i will gladly buy non GW models for my armies.

Until next time
Rex

Saturday 21 September 2013

Mantic Games V.s Games Workshop

So after i decided recently to shelve my 40k army i began looking at potential candidates for a 2nd fantasy army. The vampire counts came up as a likely candidate as i enjoy their fluff and there are a good range of alternate models out there for undead armies. It wasn't until i started looking at Mantic game's undead range that i realized how bad GW is for pricing and how many models come in its box sets. 

40 models to a box?

Lets look at basic box sets first. GW has 10 skeletons with command options and weapons options for $48 NZ (10? hell i can remember the days when GW put 20 basic troops in a box), now Mantic has multiple options for the basic skeleton box set, going off the Slave to Painting site (great guys, lost of game systems and great prices) you can buy a box set of 20 (!) skeletons for $30 NZ, which is great but it gets better. $48 NZ dollars buys you 40 (?!) Skeletons with command and weapon options, 40 skeletons for 48 dollars from Mantic, 10 skeletons for 48 dollars from GW. This is just embarrassing. But the pictures gets worse when you look at other comparisons. 

Come on, these guys have to be at least $200 right?
 GW currently has 5 Black Knights/ Hexwraiths for $59. Mantic has 20 Revenant Knights (great black knight alternate models) for $105. Simply stunning. Having collected GW models for 5 years i knew they were getting worse, when they decreased the amount of models in a box and increased the price of the box i knew that things were going down hill. But now that other companies are starting up, and doing similar things to GW but only for far far less the cost it really does highlight how far GW has fallen. Simply put its a shameful display. So i urge anyone who may be reading this (if they are not currently doing so) to search the web for alternate models to use in Fantasy and 40k, the game rules themselves are decent, but the pricing of the models is certainly not.

Until next time
Rex

Tuesday 17 September 2013

Warpfire 2013

Last Saturday (the 15th) i attend warpfire, a 1000 point tournament held in wellington. Going into the event i was cautiously optimistic, hoping for success but aware of the potability of defeat. Unfortunately things did not go to plan at all. Of my 5 games i lost 4 and won one. To focus on the high point the game i won i won well (and it was against dwarfs) so at least there was that. Of the four games i lost i can say that i learnt something from each one, so they weren't a complete loss. Despite my poor showing i did enjoy the tournament and I do plan to return to Warpfire next year.

For now i will leave you with pictures from the event, until next time.
Rex



































Friday 13 September 2013

The Smoke Before the Fire

So the army lists for warpfire have been released just in time for Saturday, and its a good selection. Some look like trouble and some look like fun. My list was, of course, among them. I will be taking:

A Spellweaver (Life Magic), Level 4

A Wood Elf Noble, Hail of Doom Arrow, Shrieking Blade

18 Wood Elf Glade Guard,Full Command, Banner of Eternal Flame

3 Treekin, w/ Champion

5 Wild Riders, Full Command

I used this same list at my regular gaming night (Thursday) against 1k points worth of orcs, and then dwarfs. I achieved two wins, against the orc army it was without a single lose on my side. In the game against the Dwarfs the wild riders demonstrated their potential, taking out both dwarf war machines, then being rear charged by 20 or so warriors, only for the unit champion to the kill the Dwarf BSB in the resulting combat. With these victories fresh in my mind i am feeling fairly confident going into Saturdays games.

Until next time
Rex

Friday 6 September 2013

The Childern of Man.Sorcerer



After a brief period of time in which i planned how this model would be assembled, I have finished the Sorcerer for my Chaos Marines. Behold.







He is a combination of the chaos marine and warrior kits, with a lot of green stuff used. A modelling knife was used to create the cuts in his armour.

The fluff for this character was important to get right as he is the second in command of the Children of Man and now leads a force of Children; he acts as the right hand of the Man and walks with his authority.

The Chaos Sorcerer known as Rital came to his powers as a result of the corrupted gene seed used by the Man to create his troops. Rital was originally marked down for implantation of the gene seed and would have become a basic foot solider in the Man’s armies. It was only after he had received his armour and the gene seed ruing training that Rital began to change. In the midst of a live fire exercise he suddenly began screaming. The instructors, having become used to marines who suffered ill effects from the gene seed well after implantation, moved in to swiftly execute and dispose of Rital. It was when the instructors where lowering the barrels of their guns to Rital’s head was the true nature of Rital’s condition revealed. With a sudden movement Rital’s hand flung out and did a crushing motion towards the nearest instructor, who promptly imploded. The second instructor was flung so hard up against the concrete wall of the training room that every bone and major organ in his body was reduced to the thickness of a pancake. Rital would have gone on to slaughter the rest of the stunned trainee marines in the room had not the Man himself been present. He strode into the room and with a gesture and a word laid Rital unconscious. Upon  approaching the now unconscious Rital it was revealed that his armoured had fused with his skin and large cracks had appeared long its surface that emitted a deep red glow. It turned out that Rital had latent psykic powers that had been altered and awakened by the corrupted gene seed.

When Rital came to he was in a psykicly- shielded room with the Man, who had with him a tall staff topped with a iron star of chaos and a black and white skull in its center. The Man and Rital talked for many hours, after which the Man and Rital emerged from the room and Rital took his new position as the Man’s second.

Well thats all for now, hopefully some day soon i will complete the final part of the Fantasy and 40k series. Until next time.

Rex 


Monday 2 September 2013

The Childern of Man. Chosen and Obliterators

After a few days of manic activity i have finally finished modeling my Chaos Space Marine Chosen and Obliterators. Before i go on here they are in all their unpainted glory.







The Obliterators were simply the finecast kit plastic warriors of chaos heads where as the chosen were a combination of the cape and head from the warrior of chaos kit and the front chest piece, legs, arms and weapons from the chaos space marine kit, and lots of green stuff.

Continuing the trend of writing fluff pieces for all the units in this army the following is the fluff pieces for the Obliterators and Chosen. Enjoy.

When the Man came from the  battle fields of the old world to the conflicts of the milky way he did not come alone. He chose from his vast horde in the ruins of Erngard the five most loyal, aggressive, battle trained and deadly warriors to accompany him. These five have gone from terrifying warriors stalking the wastes of Kislev to unstoppable killing machines. It was these five who first the corrupted gene seed such was their loyalty to the Man. These five took the power armour of the five space marines that the man took captive and  fashioned it to suit their liking, they took the best weapons and gear form the skirmishes with imperial forces in order to better protect their dark master. It is rare to see the Man without these five constantly at his back, they all have dedicated their lives to protecting the Man no matter the cost.

The Obliterators that now follow the Man are not, if such a term can be applied, naturally of their form. After the Man saw the success of his scientists in the creation of the corrupted gene seed he decided to let his scientists loose. He gave them whatever components they needed to create whatever they wanted. The next task they set their minds to was attempting to recreate the tech virus that spawned the Obliterators. During his battles on the old world the Man had learned of way to harness war energy and direct it where he pleased, he had learned this from his encounters with the Skaven and their warp lightning cannons and warp energy condensers. IT is not sure how these, now 100% mad, scientists recreated the tech virus but they had recreated a sample of the virus within a month. They then took the 3 most destructive minded marines from the Mans army and placed them in sealed pods, then proceeded to pump these pods full of their recreated tech virus. It took three days and at the end of the third day the pods opened and out stepped 3 Obliterators. It is these 3 who now stride into war unleashing huge destructive energies,  loyal to the Man  the one who they believe gave them their new power.

I hope you enjoyed that. Until next time
Rex