NZTC - ONLY ONE SLEEP TO GO

Tomorrow is the 2nd Annual New Zealand Teams Championships and it brings together sixteen teams of four from across NZ and Victoria, Australia (2.5 teams).

Pretty much all of the top thirty NZ players are represented in teams. Some are based on blood (like the wonderful and likeable Von Trapps) while others are just glory hungry mercenaries thrown together seeking some sort of validation (The Wolfpack). Other teams are composed of people with similar interests e.g the DILFs who are attracted to fathers or Team HAM who like pork based deli items. We even have a team of orphans. Originally called "Redheaded Stepchildren" they apparently decided to call themselves the Krak Team ( a name that initially created some excitement for the DILFs). The SOWs will be present - Shirts Off Warhammer - formed as the result of a separatist split within Team Omani from 2013.

Our Australian friends bring two specialist teams - Panel Comp FTW and The Team Containing the Guy Who Beat.... - and they look very strong on paper.

Last week I picked the best teams on paper and I see nothing to change my view. My pick for the top five in finishing order is:

1. The Wolfpack
2. The Team Containing the Guy Who Beat Si....
3. Beauty & the Beasts
4. DILFs
5. Von Trapps

Let's see how the dice fly......

NZTC Just Days Away

Setting up the hall from 6.00pm. 

All help appreciated

If you're not excited now about the NZTC then you are never going to be.

It is only four days away (probably three when you are reading this).

We will be setting the hall up from 5pm on Friday night. If you're local I'd certainly appreciate any help you can provide. The hall is only 100m down the road from the tables but it still means loading a trailer and then unloading them.

I have talked to some of you regarding terrain but if any I haven't contacted can bring some then it would be appreciated.

Anybody is welcome to drop in and watch or just to say hi.

This will be NZ's largest ever WHFB event and I'm picking will be hotly contested.

The Hobby Stop

I wanted to give another shout out to local gamers regarding The Hobby Stop. About a year I became aware of them, visited but hadn’t been back again before Saturday (they are on the other side of town to me).

The Hobby Stop is a Wellington hobby store located in Kilbirnie that sells a wide variety of wargaming products. As well as the popular manufacturers such as Games Workshop, Battlefront, Wyrd and Privateer Press, they also have a great range of hobby products including scenic and paints.

This is Wellington’s only independent hobby shop that has a focus on wargaming products. As such I hope it succeeds. Certainly when I went in on Saturday I was able to pick up modelling supplies –Woodland Scenics Straw and Revell Plastic Glue – as well as the latest White Dwarf Weekly.

They have a permanent 10% off all Games Workshop products so go part way to mitigating the discount obtainable from offshore purchases.

The address is:

34 Rongatai Road

Kilbirnie

And you can get them by telephone on 027 318 22 66

Wellington Warlords Membership

Today I paid my subs for the Wellington Warlords - $40 per year, $10 for Out of Towners - and I'd encourage all local tournament gamers to consider also joining.

First and foremost, it is great to support the local club. It is through clubs such as the Warlords we get new blood into the hobby to grow our blossoming tournament scene.

Secondly, it is really good value. $40 for 20+ meetings a year...anyone north of Kapiti or Upper Hutt, it's only $10. The club has tables and terrain and also runs the annual Call to Arms and Vermintide events.

Third, once a month....on the 3rd Saturday....I'll be looking to run a WHFB event at the club. This month it will be "Triumph & Treachery". So once a month you know that you can definitely come along and there will be an organised activity you can participate in.

Finally, these are the guys who lend us their tables for the local Fantasy tournaments. Without them it would be really difficult to run events. So joining the Warlords is a way of saying thank you.

If you would like to join the Warlords then you can do so by contacting the Secretary Peter Hood here. He'll send you all the necessary details. Tell him that The Fields of Blood sent you!

NZTC - The Top Contenders

Looking through the lists for the NZTC, four teams stand out as head and shoulders above the others as contenders for the crown. I will be flabbergasted if these teams don't fill the top three spots come Sunday evening. Overall they have the strongest lists and if they get the matchups right they will be steamrolling their opposition.

The four teams are (in alphabetical order):

1. Beauty & the Beasts

The ultimate list mix - Warriors, Daemons, Empire and Dark Elves. No team has a better mix of lists than these guys.They are all extremely well constructed with absolutely no fat in any. Weakness may be in the matchup process but if they get over that then they will definitely podium.

2. DILFs

Planning since last September at least. Practice nights twice a week. Technical input from around the globe. They are also the team with the highest aggregate age in the competition (close run with Krak Team). Strong mix of Tetto, Vamps, Brets and Warriors. The lists aren't as good as the B&tB but as James Brown has proved looks aren't everything. Fully expect them to medal.

3. The Team Containing the Guy Who Beat....

It would be impolite to not include a team of visitors from across the Tasman. They are the best Victoria has to offer but as Dorothy says "We're not in Kansas now, Toto". ETC experience in the team. Good lists.Will this team surprise all but themselves. I don't know.....but I've got a niggly feeling.

4. The Wolfpack

The youngest team at the event, a team of mercenaries put together for glory. Empire, Daemons, Warriors and the weaker Skaven, still represents a good mix. The problem may be that Jeff Kent has never seen his army while this is the furtherest Ross has ever been from home and this will have to be held together by Dan and Locky. Should win but probably lack the hunger of the other top three.

In the end it will come down to how many of us baby seals they can club on the way to victory.

FOB Lite Comp Updated

With NZTC lists in and checked FOB Lite Comp has been updated as from 28 February.

There have been three changes:

• Removal of restriction of Thorek in "Dwarfs"
• Removal of restriction on Gutter Runners in "Skaven"
• Limitation placed on Skullcannons in "Daemons of Chaos"

The first of these is self-explanatory....but a new book is out for those that don't know.

The second was superfluous in the current meta. As a Skaven player I can say people were tending to limit rather than increase their GR intake. It brings them in line with Shades, Camo Skinks etc.

The third is to bring Daemons of Chaos in line with Ogres and Skaven regarding restrictions on "cannons". The NZTC lists clearly show that the desirability of taking two Skullcannons and it is something the "community" has long asked for.

Dwarf Grumblings/Mumblings

Over the last couple of days I’ve been reading the new Dwarf book, not because I am a masochist but because I need to have an understanding for ETC considerations – comp, matchups and the like.

While my reading has been firmly directed at the army list section, colour me impressed so far. GW hasn’t gone for the cheap wins – such as adding monstrous Bear Cavalry – instead concentrating on the things that make Dwarfs, dwarfs.

I’m not sure how they are going to work but the choices look far more interesting now – and I mean that both from the viewpoint of the Dwarf player and his opponent. Yes you can still shut down a Magic Phase but you are going to pay to do it rather than it being innate.

You also have the opportunity to play an offensive game with 2A Hammerers that get +1 when they charge and – if they have a Runedude – have AP.

Do I think we’ll see the aggressive builds? Not from the current Longbeards who play the army but maybe we’ll see it from the Beardling Bandwagoners who pick it up.  The current Dwarfers are just so risk averse and the opportunity to take new, expensive, superfluous runes will be too much. Expect much redundancy – or as I term it “meteorite insurance”.

However I think that there are significant opportunities to be more aggressive than we have previously seen.

NZTC Lists Released

The NZTC lists have been released and can be found here

Let the banter begin

RUNEFANG VII Players Pack Released

The Players Pack for Runefang VII has been released and can be found here

This is the Anzac Holiday Weekend so you can have Friday with the family and then come and play toy soldiers on the Saturday and Sunday.

Comp is Swedish Comp. Armies must be above a certain score to participate but once you get there then there is no advantage for a weaker army.

Places will be limited so don't delay.

Evolve or Die?

Looking at the lists* that came along to HomeCon on the weekend, I couldn’t help reflecting on how far list construction and consideration has progressed on the local scene in the past couple of years.

A couple of years ago people just brought along what they wanted and there was very little tailoring of lists to what you might face. Now there is far more evidence of this and I’d like to think that at the top end it has been driven by events like the Masters and the NZTC. Certainly two years ago I think it would have been unlikely for Neil Williamson (as an example of regular tourney goer) to specifically include things that were targeted at combatting a particular army or build.

What this has done has increased the depth and competitiveness of what is a relatively small tournament scene. HomeCon, for instance, was won with a score of 67/100 while I finished second despite losing three out of five games.

The other contributing factor has been the move away from Peer Comp to Hard Caps. This has led to a strengthening of lists strong combos are not closed down (or compensated for) so people have to come up with solutions to beat them on the table.

I would say that the New Zealand scene has never been as competitive as it is now with 10-15 peopleout of the playing pool being capable of taking out a light comp event. That’s got to be a good thing.

* The obvious exception to this was Joe’s list. His list building confirmed that he has been hermetically sealed in a bubble for the past 36 months and evolution has passed him by. I imagine it’s not too dissimilar to watching a slowly freezing stegadon at the onset of the last Ice Age (Reminder: Must ask Neil Williamson). It wasn’t helped by him asking “What’s a Skullcannon” in the same voice I imagine Barney the Dinosaur asked “What’s a meteorite”.

Our defence of the NZTC crown may be problematic……

FOB NZ Fantasy Rankings - Updated for Fluffycon

The rankings have been updated this afternoon with the results of Fluffycon held over the weekend in Auckland.

The event was won by Phil Wu with High Elves and not only has the result propelled him into the Top 10 after a multi-year absence, it has also wrested the High Elf Icon off Peter Williamson.

The battle for this icon could be a highlight of 2014.

John Wilenbruch in coming 3rd has taken the Bretonnian icon off DILF teammate Antony Kitson. The "F" in DILF might now mean "fight".

HomeCon IV Results

Over the weekend we held HomeCon IV at the Dunn House. My wife Lynne was away so it was a good opportunity to get a bit of practice before the NZTC.

The weather was spectacular so  we managed to fit in two BBQs and on Saturday night over some beers and other drinks have a look at the new stunty book.

HomeCon was 5 rounds and most people brought their NZTC lists. The exceptions were Jeff and Joel who apparently were being super tricksey and gaining vital intelligence. Sorry to inform you guys but the NZTC lists were in the day before, you're both taking Empire and you would probably have benefited from 5 practice games rather than thinking you were Sterling Archer (especially Jeff).

Here are the results:

Raymond only played 4 games.

Sam Whitt proved to be binary - all his games were 20-0 - while Peter had the chance to win but lost to Sam in the last round. The two Dunns fought out an 11-9 which saw them both leapfrog him in the final mix.

All in all it was a great weekend with lots of very interesting games and certainly a nice lead up to NZTC in a fortnight.

FOB NZ Rankings Update

Over the weekend the Fields of Blood NZ Rankings were upgraded to provide more functionality for gamers.

Now if you click on the Rankings banner you will see the opportunity to select Army Ranking in your chosen genre.

Here we have taken the Best 10 results for each army excluding those gained by the current Army Icon holder, totalled them and then ranked them. This gives a ranking of the individual races within the NZ meta.

So why use this methodology? Well we looked at Best 10 or Best 20 results and found for the size of the NZ tournament scene 10 worked the best. This then removes the tail ie all the results below this. However because New Zealand is quite a small scene the presence of one or two players who are very proficient with the army can skew the results. This can lead it being placed artificially high. So taking the Icon Holder's results takes the "top" off the data and gives a more representative result.

Check out the page and see what is performing strongest in the NZ scene.

We've had request to show the battle for each Best Race Icon.....and we've listened. If you click on any race you will see a ranking of those people who have used that race in the past 12 months. It lets you know how close you are to picking up your "precious"

Anyway hope you enjoy them and check them regularly.

Review - Battle Geeks Line of Sight Laser

For the past 4-5 years I have had a Laser Fuchs Wargames Pointer I purchased from Irresistible Force in Brisbane. It has been great and helps to quickly solve any discussion as to whether something is in arc or not.

Recently I found a number of gaming sites selling a slightly larger laser pointer made by Battle Geeks. This works the same way by projecting a perfectly straight line perpendicular onto the table.

Nice and easy, you immediately know if somebody can see something.

The Battle Geeks laser is slightly bigger and sturdier than the Laser Fuchs pointer. It is a 5" long by 0.75" round metal tube with on/off button on end and powered by two CR2 batteries. There is also a small strap so you can attach your templates to it if you so wish.

One thing that distinguishes it from the Fuchs is that it has a focus control on its  light emitting end. This lets you control dispersion of the beam to get a nice tightly focused line. The intensity of the beam is similar to that of the Fuchs providing a highly visible line in all but the brightest sunshine.

The mechanism seems very good. I've always had a fear that my existing one would malfunction at some point (it hasn't in 5 years) and so I'm giving it a rest for awhile.

I purchased mine from Firestorm Games but be aware it comes without batteries (some silly law about them being illegal to post). With two new CR2 batteries this will set you back around $NZ 72 including post.

I Suggested To Nurgle That It Would Be Cool To Attach A Freakin' Laser To His Head But He Seemed Reluctant To Embrace The New Technology

Eventually He Came Around To My Way Of Thinking

"I'm A Freakin' Cat With A Freakin' Laser On My Head"

FOB Rankings

Just a heads-up to all you interested Rankers out there.

Remember an event only stays in your ranking for 12 months before it falls out. We are currently seeing the effects of this across both the 40k and Fantasy Rankings.

Archenemy has fallen out as has Over The Top. Battlecry drops out next week. This is having a significant effect as your ranking is made up of your best three results.

The best way to preserve your ranking is to get out their and support your local events

Exclusive: Leaked Footage From von Trapp Training Camp

Secret footage of the von Trapp Family's training to retain their NZTC Crown has emerged.




It is not possible to determine what armies they are using. Or is it?

The eagle-eyed amongst you may notice that at 1:43 minutes into the video, what looks like a High Elf Lore master can be seen behind Cousin Joe's head. Coincidence? Clue? Or maybe a cunning rouse to throw you off the scent.

It has been suggested that the order in which the children leave the scene is a further clue to the Lore choice Jack Dunn is using. Spooky!

I guess all will be revealed in time.

Games Workshop's 2014 Release Plans

So what can we expect from GW for the rest of 2014?

The big question is whether we get the rumoured Warhammer Fantasy 9th Edition or the more recently rumoured Warhammer 40k 6.5 or 7th Edition.

Certainly from my viewpoint I hope that they hold off on 9th Edition until they complete the four outstanding pre-8th Edition Army Books – Bretonnians, Wood Elves, Skaven and Beastmen. Following their current pace of one book released a quarter, then this would dovetail nicely into a Summer 2015 release for the new edition. It would also allow them to raise the external strength of the four books so they can deal with the 8th Edition books that now rule the roost.

However that would like mean a reboot of Warhammer 40k this year and given we are not yet two years into 6th Edition, I can’t see GW doing a full new edition so early. More likely we could get a reboot that combines the core rules, Escalation, Stronghold Assault etc into a rebadged “6.5” Edition. Similarly I expect there is some scope to produce a hardcopy Dataslate Compendium to market to those who aren’t utilising DLC.

FOB Rankings Functionality

The FOB NZ Rankings have been going for over a year now. Recently we added Flames of War to the mix. In the past year we've done a number of upgrades, specifically:

• Individual Players Pages
• Ranking Points Calculator
• Icons for Masters Winners, Most Events Played, Most Armies Used
• Masters Mode so you can plot progress to NZ Masters

So are there other things that players want? What further functionality etc could we add to improve the experience. 

We're not looking to change the dynamics of the ranking model e.g. To a Chess type player ranking. But we are looking to expand functionality within general parameters

Post your thoughts in Comments. Can't promise that they will or even can be done however we will look at every idea closely. 

NZTC List Reminder

Three days to get your team's lists in for the NZTC.

Praise Be The Horned Rat

In what has been a great week so far - Liverpool destroying Arsenal 5-1, Scum dropping points to bottom of the table Fulham, NZ beating India at cricket - there is icing on the cake.

Apparently the cannons in the army featured in the next Army Book to be released cost 120 points but only do D3 wounds.....perhaps they should have mounted them on a chariot.

What with rolling to hit for Organ Guns....

Cue much grumbling....

Raw Material Quality Considerations

I’ve been following a couple of threads on various forums about the quality of Games Workshop products – especially in comparison with some of their competitors.

Mid last year I purchased some Giant Rats from Reaper Minis and towards the end of the year some Mantic Werewolves (to use as Crypt Horrors). What struck me was the difference in material between these products and the plastic that Games Workshop uses.

Reading through the threads it seems that Games Workshop uses styrene for its plastic products. This compound appears to hold its detail much better allowing the sculptor more sophisticated designs. Pieces are bonded using plastic glue – polystyrene cement. In contrast, the material used by Privateer Press, Mantic and I believe Reaper is PVC-based. The vinyl component explains the bending, warping and depending on personal bias (I guess) lack of detail. Apparently, you should not use polystyrene cement to bond components.

Now when there are discussions of price little is ever mentioned around the quality of materials. Most discussion centres on the sculpts and poses where there is a natural bias towards what you like.

For me though there can be no doubt about the quality of materials GW uses to make its models. It is light years ahead of what Privateer Press, Mantic and Reaper are using. Yes, you pay for that quality and that is an undoubted factor in your purchase decision. However it is important to be aware that you are not comparing apples with apples. Of all the Mantic kits I’ve seen, held, played against, the only one I would choose over GW if price was not an issue are their Zombies. And this is because GW is still trying to schill a kit from the early 90s which was gak even then.

When I look at it, I would rather pay the extra for the GW product than use kits made from the lower quality PVC-based compound. I’m lucky as I’m in a position to make that choice. However, generally the purchase price is only part of the overall cost. My time for prep and painting is worth a considerable percentage of the final “cost” of the model/unit.

In retrospect I think that similar attitudes were the reason for the veracity of the backlash against Finecast. GW purchasers had been used to receiving a quality product and instead the basic material was substandard. With the increasing shift to plastics over Finecast and metal this should become a dim dark memory.

Interested to hear thoughts from those of you that have used different companies and how you find their modelling raw materials.

Serbian DILFcon

The very strangely named Auckland  gaming group based out of Ponsonby - The DILFs - have contacted me about their upcoming event. I indicated that while I was broadminded that sort of thing was not really my cup of tea but good luck to all you guys.

However they then indicated that they were looking to run a wargaming event on the weekend  of 7/8 June. The provisional venue for this is the Onehaunga RSA which is a great locale for out of towners, close to the airport and with nice cheap accommodation. I've been to this venue a couple of times when Dave Grant ran Tin Soldiers there. Did I mention there is a bar?

Prizes Will Be Awarded For Authentic National Costume

Comp will be the final ETC comp for the 2014 event in Novi-Sad, Serbia - hence the name. I'll post details in the WHFB Calendar but if you are looking at doing an Auckland event this year then this deserves your strong consideration. Hopefully most of this year's NZ-based ETC team can get along for some solid gaming and it gives others the opportunity to try out a comp system that gets a lot of Warhammer media coverage.

I'll certainly be traveling up to it and hopefully I can encourage some other Wellingtonians to venture into the Chaos Wastes.

Homecon IV This Weekend

Lynne is away this weekend so what could be a better use of time than me organising a full weekend of gaming.

This Saturday and Sunday Chez Dunn will host HomeCon IV! In the past Homecons have varied between 8-16 people, however I've found around ten works best re space and tables. So this weekend ten will be the magic number. I tried to include a couple who won't be playing at NZTC as well as the usual mix of out of towners.

Here is the list of combatants with my pick as to what they will be bringing:

Neil Williamson (Bretonnians)

Peter Williamson (High Elves)

Sam Whitt (Warriors of Chaos)

Jeff Kent (Lizardmen)

Raymond Dick (Dark Elves)

Joel van de Ven-Long (Empire)

Mike King (Lizardmen)

Joe Dixon (Warriors of Chaos)

Tom Dunn (Daemons of Chaos)

Me (Skaven)

Now I might be wrong on a few - notably Neil, Jeff and Joel) but it looks a good mix of armies and should be fun.

We are having lunchtime BBQs both days and any locals are more than welcome to drop in for a look, a chat and a sausage.

Adepticon, Hobby, NZTC and the ETC

A quiet weekend for me this week. Hobby wise I painted up the base colours for the first Death Guard apothecary and started on the second. Once these two guys are finished I’ve only got my second Legion Tactical Squad and my Terminator character to do to finish my 1850 point Adepticon army.

Speaking of Adepticon, prep is well underway. I am playing in the Heresy event, the WHFB Teams and the WHFB Championship. My partner in the Teams is Battlefront’s North American head, john Matthews and we’ve finalised our lists for the event. John is using Ogres and I am bringing Daemons of Chaos. Given 140 teams and three rounds, the event is a bit of a lottery in terms of results but we should have some fun. Jeff Kent and Monty Skilton are also playing in the Teams.

For the Championships, I’ve decided to take my Skaven. It is a no-comp event but rather than optimise the power level I’m going to take a variant of my normal list. Again the number of participants (180) versus rounds (5) makes any results a crapshoot. Conceivably you could have six people maxing out in battle, for instance. I’ve been listening to a couple of the Adepticon podcasts and they have indicated that you’ll need to have Fortitude of at least 4 to succeed in their scenarios.

I’m really looking forward to Adepticon – the convention aspect is a great draw. I can’t wait to see all the Trade Stands and especially the various armies people have constructed for the events.

The von Trapps also submitted their lists for the NZ Team Championships. All were double checked so not expecting any problems. Happy with the mix and expect we’ll be competitive (Top 5). Less than three weeks to go.

My other hobby task this weekend was to book my flights for the ETC in August. I’ve decided to fly across leaving the weekend before to ensure that adjust to new timezone prior to event. On the way back I’m going to stop in Istanbul for three days. Managed to book the necessary flights now just waiting for the credit card hit.

This morning on my way out the door for work, I stepped over a parcel from Croatia. This is the Tabletop World Coaching Inn I ordered in December. Once I’ve finished the Death Guard this will be my next project. I’d love to have it on the table for Runefang.

Another Look at WDW

So second week of the Brave New World and en route to the airport this morning I drop into GW Wellington and pick up White Dwarf Weekly.

Unfortunately for me - and anyone interested in gaming - we are not yet halfway through the "Forgotten Month" and so content in the new magazine holds no interest. I'll therefore confine my comments to structure and layout.

I like it. The ability to have a weekly dose of Warhammer is quite nice. Yes, it is little more than a catalogue of New Releases but you can look at the new kit, read some design notes and glimpse some rules for models - that in this case will never be taken because they move - clipped from the new book.

It is sufficiently breezy and lightweight that you get through it in 30 minutes.

From Games Workshop is it a success? Well they are getting $7.00 a week from me they weren't getting before. And no, there were no add on sales though I had been asked to pick up two Dark Elf Reapeater Bolt Throwers for an out of towner (unfortunately the shop doesn't hold stock of them).

So how could it work better? I'd happily pay an extra $1.00 to have it delivered to my letterbox each Saturday.

Forums vs. Blogs Redux

About a year ago I made a post about internet forums where I discussed their “demise” in relation to the upswing in blogs. Part of the problem I cited was the culture of “internet warrior” where somebody gets behind a keyboard and armed with some cute user name posts anonymously. There they say things they would never say to somebody’s face.

I was reminded of this again this week. A GW Store Manager went on to Warseer and offered to answer questions about GW based on his knowledge of current processes and procedures. You can click on Bell of Lost Souls and read a report if you don’t want to frequent Warseer (I personally avoid the place like the plague because of the fore-mentioned internet warriors). Suffice to say it didn’t last long. Almost immediately there was a tirade of abuse rather than using it as an opportunity to discover/confirms some details of shop/policies. Of course the Store Manager couldn’t provide detail on the corporate strategy – other than what he was told – but surely it would be interesting to know what he was told. All too soon it was over and said Manager retreated to the shadows once again.

The thread spawned comment threads on Dakka and TWF and again rather than see it has an opportunity to learn it very quickly descended into more tirades and abuse. What was interesting is the sheer level of hatred people have for the GW company and in some cases the GW games. Sure you can dislike their business practices or play other games but why would you spend such an enormous part of your life – as betrayed by post counts – venting bile on internet forums. It can’t be healthy. Surely at some point you just move on?

Ten years ago I was a regular on WargamerAu. I’d post daily – 40k and tournaments mostly – but at some point my interest in participating waned and I moved on. How sad would it be to still be sitting there white anting and dogpiling every thread….Now I visit Dakka – “News & Rumours” and “Dakka Discussions” – but very really post. However every day there is at least one pissing contest going on. The same with TWF (though to a lesser extent).

Against this we have blogs and I’d hope the content is more reasoned than that on forums. If you have a blog you post your musings and these are identifiable and owned. I’d like to think the posts are more considered and the level of response from the audience reflects that. I insist here at Fields of Blood that posters in Comments identify themselves and I think this does help weed out the internet warriors to a certain extent. I like to thank readers for their ongoing contributions.

And if a GW Store Manager ever wants to answer questions, I’d happily give him a platform here……

Heresy Death Guard Legion Spartan WIP

Over the last week I've been doing some more work on my Death Guard Spartan. During the Crusade the Emperor continually threw the Death Guard into conflicts in the most inhospitable and toxic environments. I wanted the effect of these theatres to be reflected in my Legion vehicles which therefore needed to be battle worn but also suffering the effects of corrosive atmospheres, terrain etc

NZTC Rapidly Approaching

The NZTC is just under four weeks away. This year there are 16 teams of four competing making it NZ’s largest Fantasy event in my memory (cue jokes around early onset Alzheimer’s). We have teams participating from all around New Zealand plus two and a half team’s venturing across from Australia.

Obviously there is a far bit of organisation that goes into this. Last Friday Umpire peter Williamson sent out a note to captains reminding them that lists are due next Friday, February 14th (seriously, what were you going to do on Valentine’s Day anyway). Also the army list template went out as well. This allows teams to collate their four lists and send them through as one to Peter. You must use this template – it makes the Umpire’s life degrees of magnitude easier with standard format and makes my life easier when it comes to hosting/posting lists after checking. There are also penalties for late lists so please get them in on time.

As you can imagine 32 tables are difficult to populate with terrain from the Fields of blood warehouse. Therefore I would be extremely grateful if any locals who are able to bring terrain let me know. It works far better if it is a full table (including cloth) as then we can keep it all together and ensure that you get it all back. I do have some spare cloths though if you have the terrain.

Getting excited about the event?

Sticking to the Plan

Okay, I had two hobby New Year’s Resolutions for 2014.

The first was to get my Death Guard legion finished in time for Adepticon and to achieve this I created a schedule and also started creating extra hobby time by painting prior to work. This has been pretty successful so far. I have largely finished my Grave Wardens and my Spartan (5+ hours with weathering powders and another 3-4 applying mud on the weekend). The last two evenings I have base coated my extra Deathshroud Terminators. Once I finish their shoulder pads then they will be ready for oil wash and weathering as well. That leaves just Typhion, 10 Tactical Marines and two Apothecaries to finish giving me my 1850 point Adepticon list. The other thing I have done is paint up “Infested” Terminator bases from Dark Art Studios. At the current rate I am hoping to have it finished and on the table by the end of February. I’ll then be able to get a couple of games in before heading to Chicago – probably smart since I’ve played no 6th Ed games and only a handful of 5th Ed.

My second solution was to curtail my spending on miniatures until I work my way through all the unpainted figures and half-finished projects I have accumulated over the years. The only pass I gave myself was for Forgeworld Heresy, Tabletop World terrain and if perchance GW release new Skaven models. So one month in how am I going? Well I’m sticking to plan. My hobby spend (including postage) in January was as follows:

•

Calas Typhion (Death Guard Special Character) – Forgeworld - $72

•

“Infested” Terminator Bases – Dark Art Studios - $27

•

Artist’s Turpentine – Gordon Harris - $10

So all up $109. However the key thing is that I’ve stuck to my plan and the great plastic/resin/metal mountain has stopped growing.

Another update next month.

Review: White Dwarf Weekly

Yesterday morning I trotted into Games Workshop Wellington, leaving my Doomwheel in a nearby carpark, and picked up a copy of the new White Dwarf Weekly.

The cost of this little beauty is $7.00 (or the price of a Paint Pot) which equates to GBP3.50 or USD5.75 for overseas reader. In effect against the monthly White Dwarf price of $14.50, the new monthly outlay equates to a 100% price rise for the same number of pages.

That said, I want to like this magazine. It is 36 pages long (including heavier card cover) in the same size as the re-launched old "new" White Dwarf. The layout is very similar to the previous magazine covering upcoming releases - in this case next week's Dwarfs. You get the normal puff pieces spruiking the new models with close ups of painted versions. Entirely what you'd expect. Plaint Splatter articles on how to paint the new kits plus Designer Notes (I always like them).There are also some rules; this issue you hear about some stunty who is trying (vainly it seems) to turn around milleniums' losses to Skaven and Goblins.

Last month's Tyranids are pushed - funny they try to tell you that they are a new gaming powerhouse terrorising the tables. The internet has it wrong apparently. This follows a bizarre column from Jervois Johnson where he provides pre-game scouting rules that look like they suffer from a sub-editor's need to cut word count. Finally, and I kid you not, there is a two page article - with higher wordcount than the entire issue of Warhammer Visions - on how to use plastic glue.

So not a wonderful issue in terms of depth of content. I'd estimate that it provided a 30-40 minute read all up. However I really like the concept. I think it has legs and am prepared to give it 6-7 issues to see how it develops before I finalise my opinion on it. If the Jervois article, glueing tips and the "tactics" discussion improve then I'll see a regular purchase as worthwhile.

And no, it didn't provide GW with any add on sales.