Feast of Blades: Update 1

As I write this I'm sitting in the hotel lobby of the Red Lion Inn in Denver, Colorado, enjoying a Heineken after a 12-hour day of driving and junk food.

My hosts have been just awesome.  Rather than rewrite it, let me borrow from myself:

I'm lucky enough to be attending the Feast of Blades this weekend, an event I was looking forward to but marked off my calendar.  It was especially disappointing since missing the Nova; after my father's illness, there was no extra money for entertainment.
Now, I'd beggar myself to see my father well after an aneurysm, not to mention being blessed with enough disposable income to attend a few national events each year to begin with!  Still, I'm human enough to admit there was a level of disappointment about Feast...
...but the expense simply wasn't justifiable.  Family comes first.
Duke, the Tournament Organizer (and rightly feared Mod of the BoLS Lounge), touched base with me on it all out of the blue last week.  He could have said, "Sorry to hear that, see you next year," and I wouldn't have thought a thing about it.  Instead, he took time out of his day to make calls on my behalf - and found me a spot in a caravan heading north to Denver!  The next day, he called to let me know he found someone I could split a room with...
...and suddenly it was coming together.
The caravan is leaving out of Dallas on Thursday, and I called Sid to touch base with him about a spot. Now, I assured him of the standard stuff - like being respectful and covering my portion of the gas - but let's face it, these guys don't know me and surely didn't need my contribution.
These dudes don't know me, but they had a spot and they allowed me to fill it.  It was very cool of them, and I genuinely appreciate it - there was simply nothing in the budget for a plane ticket.
But you know, as I sit here typing I'm just not surprised.
You hobbyists are good, decent people.  Meeting like-minded folks is the reason for the season...
...you're not alone!

Sid, Neil, Phillip, Chris, and Bryan are all tournament veterans from the North Texas area.  I actually recognized Neil and Bryan from past events, though I don't believe I've played them, and Sid more recently at Comic Asylum.  Sid and Neil are the drivers, and I made the trip up here first with one then the other.

Maybe there was hugs and gropings.  I'm not saying - but I will say that these guys were very hospitable and I genuinely appreciate it.

(Knowing Brent, he probably doesn't feel he gushed enough.  Bet he made people uncomfortable.)


Being who I am, I plan to stalk their exploits some over the weekend - should be fun!

I'm rooming with Rob Baer from Spikey Bits.  The rumor is he has a bunch of 'Cron 'Dexes for sale at midnight... hopefully I can (beg on my knees) talk him into selling me one!

Here's the plan...

The Plan

Stop that.

First, I'm going to drop as many updates this weekend as I can.  I've got a fully charged camera with 4 gigs of memory all ready to go.... so watch this space!

I've got a free day tomorrow - which I'll need, 'cause I've got to paint two more squads!

Let's take a look at the list I turned in:

So, is the battle plan obvious or what?  Since this is so mission-dominant, I felt I had to go with a balanced, all-comers list.  Still, it should do its thing okay.  

The problem..?

The Problem

I said stop that!

(Sorry.)

He's not.  (Note even slightly.)  Not Brent has been like that since Lauby fired him from the Top X.  But I'm pretty sure the restraining order means I can talk about that, so let's move on.

The problem is... and this is embarrassing...

...I haven't actually finished painting two of those squads!  I'll be spending most of tomorrow getting twenty Brotherhood Hunters painted to a 3-color minimum.

Still, with the spray layers and the bases done, all I really have to do is a flat layer of Boltgun Metal on the weapons and backpack, Tallarn Flesh on the head and arms, and Snakebite Leather or another color for the hair.  Then I'll do some spot colors then wash the models.

Voila!  C'est vrai bon, n'est pas?

If I have time, I can start in on the more important details, like the Spacewolves Grey blocks and the various piping - but we'll see.

I just got off the phone with Duke and volunteered to help out setting up tables, so I have to run.

Wish me luck!  Watch this spot!