Finished the New Workspace...

...and I'm starting to crank out models again.

Here's I'm working on my Fall-themed Hordes army.  I plan to two more Warlocks and some Tharn units before it's all over.

This is a shot I took when batch spraying Dark Angels models.  My goal here is a consistently-painted, pleasing tabletop army.  Nothing fancy, but nothing to be ashamed of either.  We'll see if I'm on the right track soon enough.

Here's my old painting space.  Not sure how I'm storing the knickknacks remaining.

With the addition of airbrushes, my space expanded.

I've since added a dedicated space just for putting together models.  Already it's paying off, just in time saved not moving stuff around for table space.

Anyway, off to real work.  Mondays.  

WarmaHordes Work in Progress, Pureblood

Brent here, on this fine Monday morning.

Except it's Tuesday and I sacrificed Monday on the alter of work.  Off late, then bed as early as possible, with something of a blur in between.  Jennifer made good lasagna though.

I'm knocking out my Circle army for Hordes.  Here's a work in progress of the Pureblood.

I want him to hold something bloody in his right hand - just haven't decided what yet.

In other news, my room is wrecked.  Seriously.

I tend to enjoy putting up these voyeuristic game room pictures, but I also enjoy seeing them.  If anyone has a link, please drop it!  I know it's a pain these days with the anti-spam-bot-measures-of-craziness but it would be appreciated.

In my case, Dad bought me a nice work table from the big-box hardware store, and I put it together before realizing I didn't have the actual wooden top.  Plus, I'm removing shelving to make room for it, then got stuck in between.

Ah well. 

Off to work, I suppose...

Still Hunting the Escaped Muse...

...but in the meantime, I actually play some games.

I played Sam's Legion warband with my new Circle force.  Unfortunately, things went a bit downhill after this picture, but I'm learning!

This a week ago this past Saturday, I met a dude named Spencer, a recent transplant to my North Texas next of the woods - from a much cooler city.  Anyway, I invited him to the local store, Galaxy Books and Comics, for a game.  I brought Footdar, mostly because it's a painted army.

The Dreadknight deep strikes from behind...

...while the Terminators advance.

I won't go into the game too much - I didn't take enough pictures for that - but it was a good game, with the advantage seemingly locked up for the Grey Knights with the arrival of the Storm Talon and Paladins.

I really should have taken more damage than I did during Spencer's shooting.  He wasn't that familiar with the Eldar, so spend maybe a bit too much shooting at Elle-drag's Seers, who naturally had Fortune.

And so the game ends dramatically, with the last two Paladins fighting it out with the Avatar and Elle-drag.

Fun to be had by all!

...but my muse is still missing.  More on that to come.

Trollkin Mountain King!

Just for you, Little Barrera!

(It's Saturday here at Adepticon, and it's crazy nuts cool.  I'm having to purchase a bag to check in the airport, because the deals have been unreal.  Ask me about my new airbrush system - top of the line - later.  Someone will cry when the find out how my ol' Brent had to pay!)

The following images are from the Privateer Press display box.

A Campaign Commentary (And a Sneak Preview!)

Why isn't GW doing something like this?

Privateer Press is doing a series of linked campaigns... and supporting it with rules!  As you can see in the picture, I have a campaign tracker, a booklet to document my progress and upgrades, and a campaign card to augment my army with.  The winner gets a nifty coin but all the participants will get a badge.  The badges link with other campaign badges to form a larger emblem...

...and doesn't that appeal to the ruthless collector in all of us?

The Master Manipulator (every store needs one) ordered this set for us at Privateer Press.  It cost our FLGS owner a bit of out of pocket money, but he made that up when we all kicked forward our $10 bucks to participate.  We're going to have a month of gaming followed by a tournament... *trademark infringement alert* and there can be only one!

What's not to like?

Now yes, I'm aware GW has done campaigns in the past, but haven't those been huge, sprawling, world-wide affairs?  Yes, I'm aware they've released supplements where you can create maps to fight over, and that's all to the good...

...so why am I so excited about this?  Why do I feel like it's different?

You tell me.

Brent

PS:  As an aside, this is Strictly Average's 450th post.  Not bad for a personality-centered hobby blog, huh?  

PPS:  I've decided to do a contest or drawing of some kind when I hit 300 Google Followers.  Details to come - this is just a sneak preview type of thing!

Warmachine Tournament: Game I

I'm taking my Menoth, Amon Ad-Raza list against Gauthic's Striker Cygnar.  It's fair to say this game went entirely may way... until it didn't.

Setup...

Top Tip: Basing on the Go!

Amon Ad-Raza

I don't claim to be an expert in Warmachine.  In my area we've only recently started playing it.  Still, I have a Warcaster I'm really fond of so I thought I'd share.

Amon Ad-Raza is a 'Jack-Caster', meaning his spells, abilities, and Feat work best with plenty of Warjacks to take advantage of it.  That's not necessarily standard, either, since loading up on infantry and solos are viable strategies.

Nothing hits harder than a Warjack though, so anything which allows you to get these monsters into combat is very useful.  Amon's spell Mobility gives all the Warjacks in his Battlegroup +2 Spd and Pathfinder, so even Menoth's heavy Warjacks who have a standard speed of 4, can suddenly start tiptoeing through the tulips like infantry!

Two Warmachine Games!

No mystery here - I've been loving me some Warmachine and have been playing every chance I get.  Amon Ad-Raza is my current favorite, replacing Feora in my heart... at least for the moment!  The two will make up my force in the next tournament.

For you 40K'ers, Warmachine uses a sideboard, so you can choose which of two armies will face your opponent.  There's a ton of strategy in this, which of course I love.  Moving on...

I was struggling with an opening setup for awhile... and this ain't it!  Sure, the 'Jacks have to gain some space right out the gate, but Amon has to cast Mobility first and the Choir have to run in Round 1 in order to be in position in the following rounds.  I've since corrected this.

Little Barrera's Warmachine Mercs...

Painting Warmachine

I'm pretty busy working on tomorrow's Bell of Lost Soul's article, which is by far the most labor-intensive to date, but I have time to drop a few pics here at Strictly Average.  As most of you probably figured out, I'm on hiatus painting GW minis until I can choose what to concentrate on.

The current leader is my Dark Eldar army... which I guarantee uses units nobody else is touching right now... and I think will be rock hard!  Fun stuff.

Menoth Vs Legion (And... the New Face of Evil?)

I'm playing Sam-I-Am in a game of Warmachine/Hordes.  But, before we begin and without further ado...

Yes, he's making a face.  Evil is unapologetic.

is this the new face of evil?  Little Barrera, the Mighty Kibitzer.  He may well be!

The Choir is Finished...

Menoth Versus... (Two Battle Reports)

Here's a brief rundown of the Warmachine games I played at the local store on Friday.  I managed to pull out a win in both, but this game isn't one where you can ever feel completely comfortable until it's over!

I won't overwhelm these games with excessive notes; frankly, I'm still learning the names of all my opponent's units and abilities!  If you've not played Mark II, the rules themselves are easy but they're modified by the numerous special abilities and spells each unit and Warcaster has available.  It's this aspect which gives the game its tactical depth - heck, even switching Warcasters can make the same army play in a completely different style... which is perhaps my favorite part of the game.

I welcome any experienced player's ideas and input.  In fact, I'll be disappointed if you don't!

Warmachine! Again(x3)!

Yea, there's been a lot of Warmachine these last few weeks.  I get that my audience is largely GW, largely 40K, but I've really been enjoying Mark II...

...and ultimately Strictly Average has always been about what I'm doing.  I save the larger articles for Bell these days, just to avoid burnout - with the odd exception thrown in as I feel inspired!

Wyatt never did drop by to mock my take on Thunderfire Cannons.  Maybe he's being nice or something!

Warmachine! Again! Again!

Lordy but it was a long week!  Orientation everywhere isn't the easiest thing in the world; the work week only goes by quickly when you've become used to it.

Nobody gets used to orientation!  Still, I need some hobby time, so I'm off to the flgs to play some Warmachine.

I'll do an update tomorrow now that I've got a 25 point army painted up.

Warmachine! Again!

I'm loving me some Warmachine.  I really am.

***

HALT THE PRESS!  The one (sometimes I wonder...) and only Messanger of Death dropped me a line to shoot the bull about Davy Taylor's Steel Legion competition!  He's entering, I'm entering, the King is entering... why aren't you entering?  *key peer pressure*  Give it a try!  Dave Taylor is a one-of-a-kind hobby icon, so any prize he gives the winner will inevitably be worth it!

***

It's been ages since I've liked a game so much right out of the gate, and games they have come and gone in the local scene...

Warmachine!

I've recently started playing Warmachine, a game I hated in Mark I and am loving in Mark II.  I'm collecting Menoth; here's what I've painted so far.