Witch Coven Battle Report...and the Goblin Tinker!

So this month I have a new interview and battle report video blog post...this time with local player, Garnett Germain. Garnett brought out Witch Coven, so we talk about Cryx in general, and then the Witch Coven "Machine Minds" tier list in particular. For the battle report, I put up a Damiano list.



On the painting front, things have been slow recently. However, I have managed to finish off a great little model: the Goblin Tinker.

I really like the character of this figure.

He's essentially a repair bot, but he hauls around this neat little wagon full of spare parts.

He also carries around this wonderful stove on his back.

Anyway, a lot of fun to paint and a nice model to boot.

'Til next time.

Lock & Load 2014 Convention Report

Last weekend I, along with about 30 other players from Alberta, went down to Seattle for Lock & Load 2014. Here is the video report for the convention.



Lots of games and good competitors. I got 12 games in over the course of the weekend.

First opponent in Masters was Cam Buskell, from Alberta. He was playing pButcher and had me on the ropes...but I was able to get off a last ditch assassination with one of Rhoven's Guards.

Second game was against Brook Murphy from Victoria. Another Menoth player. I played eFeora and managed to get his Harbinger on fire twice...but both times the flames went out. My caster went down to Redeemer shots.

Next I played Brett Vogel from Texas. Using an eKruger list, he quickly got Ghetorix into my face with a Hyperagressive, Telekinesis, Teleport and another Telekinesis. Dead pSeverius!

Then I faced Steve Rich from California. He was playing Lylyth3. We had a good battle, but he eventually ran out of time on the clock.

The Masters top 8 looked like this going into day 2. Two Canadians in the top 8, but unfortunately, none from Alberta.

In the Hardcore tournament, I was playing an eFeora list. My first opponent was Scott Summerville playing Absylonia. I was doing quite well, until a Forsaken got a 7-dice attack off against my 'caster. Well, that was the end of that game.

Next I got paired up against my good friend, Elliot Christian (eVlad). On his second turn, he engaged my line of 'jacks, and took one down. I counter-struck with three 'jacks, juiced up with triggered abilities and focus...and whiffed everything. Terrible luck. Oh, well...Elliot is a worthy opponent and deserved the win.

Then it was off to Iron Arena. I played Zach from Dallas. He had a Lucant list (and not the only time I'd face something like it during the weekend).

Next I had a game with Matt from Seattle. He had the new eReznik battle engine out. Sweet model.

I then had a match with Logan from California. Talk about a high-energy guy. He was also playing Lucant from Convergence.

On Sunday, I had a game with Birch Helander who had a Vlad3 tier list.

And then I played Alex Kosma who managed to get off a Morghoul assassination against me. I was happy with the game state at the time...my 'jacks were laying waste to his beasts. Never mind.

At the end of the day, I had a game against another Skorne player: Joe from California. While I was getting beat up from most of the weekend, this game made me feel good for the plane ride back. He was playing Rasheth, and I had a tier 4 Mortenebra list on the table.

This was the final turn...it's not often you see 5 Cryx 'jacks at the end of a game standing next to an opposing 'caster.

As we were packing up to leave for the airport, the finals of the Iron Gauntlet worlds were in progress. Jay Larsen (in red) defeated Jason Watt to snag the world championship.

It was a fun time, and got to see plenty of old friends.

'Til next time.

MayDay Steamroller Report

Last weekend I ran the 2nd Annual MayDay Steamroller for Warmachine. It was a 50-point, 2-list event that provided local players a final opportunity to tune up their lists and play just before Lock & Load (June 6th down in Seattle).

Here's the video report...



The tournament was held up at Thunderground in St. Albert. Roy Kim generously donated the space for the day.

We had a battlegroup painting competition. Christian Lombardy took 3rd with a really nicely painted Cygnar battlegroup.

Tyler Webb took 2nd with a group that centres on a converted Stormwall.

And Elliot Christian took 1st, with a super well-executed Butcher 3 battlegroup featuring lots of nice hand-painted details.

We had a full house for the tourney (24 players), and everything went off without a hitch. Very fun day.

'Til next time.

Orin Midwinter: Assembly and Painting

I've been away on vacation for the last few weeks...but before I left I started up a small project: assembling and painting Orin Midwinter, a Warmachine Mercenary.

I've put the project up on a video blog here:

Here is the finished figure, painted up in Menoth colors.

A fun little project, and a nice miniature with good animation in the sculpt.

'Til next time.

Starting a Video Blog

I've been wanting to add a video element to this blog for some time. I finally got around to buying a camcorder, along with the bells and whistles to make video reports.

My introductory video is here:



And the second episode, which focuses on Warmachine, Khador, Vlad2 and a battle report, is here:



Hope you like these. Please provide any feedback so that I can make future videos that are more in line with what you may be looking for.

'Til next time.

Finishing Up My Galleon List Models

I'm getting close to finishing off all the Mercenary models necessary for my Bart Galleon list. Here are Dougal, the Vanguard and Wyshnalyrr.

Everyone and their brother seems to have a Wyshnalyrr model.

Because so many 'casters need an upkeep focus.

Dougal sees a lot of work in Merc lists.

So good with shooting colossals...like Galleon!

And on the Vanguard, I used the same painting technique I developed for the Galleon. It has a rust brown undercoat and then a green overspray that was distressed away with a stiff brush and rubbing alcohol.

When I glued the Vanguard pieces together, it seemed that the natural position for the arms left the pike and shield below the level of its feet. So to counter that, I built up the base with cork and perched the Vanguard on top.

This painting project went very fast. It's a simple scheme with some fast weathering. But all in all, a pretty cool looking light 'jack.

'Til next time.

The Forgotten Men of Middle-earth

A few weeks ago, I got the urge to paint some more Middle-earth figures. GW's old metal minis are really nice. Great sculpts, nice animation, good proportions...on and on. Looking through the shelves of inventory, I decided to do some free men. 

And when you think of men in Middle-earth, Gondor and Rohan immediately come to mind. I have some Rohirrim ready to go...but I didn't feel like painting horses. So I dug into some of the more obscure models.

These are an assortment of models from the fiefdoms of Lamedon and Lossarnach, the Kingdom of Arnor, and men from Dunland.

After basing, priming and the first ink pass, skin and metal were the first things to paint.

Then, cloth. GW painted their clansmen from Lamedon with tartan kilts. Looked good. I tried it on mine as well.

Next up I worked on the leather items. There was a significant amount on the Dunland models...it's always a challenge to vary up the shades of leather.

Then it was time for cloaks. King Arvedui has the fanciest.

Finally, it was time to finish off details. The remainder of the wood bits, eyes, hair, and everything else missed in the previous steps. Bases were painted and flocked...and then, all done.

Clansmen of Lamedon.

Axemen of Lossarnach.

Men of Dunland.

And finally, an assortment of characters from Arnor.

This week I was also able to base the 10/12mm sci-fi vehicles I've built recently. First there's this flight stand for the 1/144 scale stealth fighter.

And then a mix of other vehicles and artillery pieces. I like how they mix with the Heavy Gear models.

Well, that's all for this week. Next up, I have a number of Warmachine models ready to be logged in.

'Til next time.