2017 a hobby review.

Wow its been a year! And what a year it has been! CSM getting a reboot in the first quarter, and then 8th ed drops for Warhammer 40k!

I was just sorting out my photo album, well primarily trying to find photos to keep or delete and I was surprised what I have painted this year.

List of personal goals accomplished

1.)     Buy something ugly on ebay cheap, repaint it, and resell it!    

The BEFORE photo, bought them off ebay at $0.70 each! #ultramarines #ebay

FINISHED as WHITE SCARS, and sold them off on #ebay and more importantly learnt a few techniques that I put to use on my #Deathguard.

            2.) Complete an iron Painter challenge

IronPainter was a 24 hour painting challenge,  where you have to paint something in 24hours and present it at our local hobby store later on.

I managed to chart my progress on instagram which is also another big thing for me this year, as the lazy blogger in me, just preferred to snap a photo and upload it. Plus all the instant 'likes' can be gratifying.

Search for me! im 'hobbieswithmazz' on IG

and heres my squad of #DeathGuard legionnaires, completed at 2pm the next day.

In hindsight it was really good fun, though the lack of sleep was really painful. and trying to solve a clogged airbrush at 3am was also another memory that I dont wish to repeat.

2017 was also a year for Netflix! My companion through all the long nights huddled infront of my wet pallet.

I think I have watched everything!

One of the few good offshoots from the IronPainter Challenge, was that I was inspired to paint and build faster. I have a habit of painting 40k minis in parts and then assemble them together, which takes just too long. At least for a few months, I was painting the models fully assembled.

I've since gone back to my old ways though =p

My Good Deed for the year!

2 weekends after the ironpainter challenge, Melvin invited me to join him in painting Andrew's Marines. Andrew's a friend of ours who has hoards of unpainted marines and we took it upon ourselves to help him reduce some of his backlog. Probably the most generous thing I have done this year!

Andrew's Dark Angels all painted for him! Really happy with the 24hour paint job too!

My ork collection also received a minor boost this year, again inspired by the Iron Painters Challenge.

 

So I got off my butt and finished another group of orks. Figured in any list combination, I would be covered if i had at least 60+ boyz nicely painted ork boyz.

Boyz ready for the great waaargh of the 8th Edition!

Wierdboy converted from a Warhammer Fantasy Savage Orc, added the trophies to give it a more 40k feel =) and plus to commemorate a great day of gaming, (see Ray's post of DP's 1k tourney)

the Butt Shot. NSFW!!! Sorry couldnt resist this photo =)

and so here rounding off the year is the mandatory family portrait... 

Man! have the Deathguard legion grown! #DeathGuard #legionXIV

 

and the great waaargh just got more awesome too!

CHEERS TO AN AWESOME 2018!

M

2v2 1000 Point Tournament - Part 2 Some Tense Gaming

Moving into Game 2, this would be a very different vibe from the first one that we played. Not only were our opponents experienced, this would be my very first experience playing with someone who was quite notoriously known for fudging in the tournament scene. 

It took me quite awhile considering if I should release this piece because I don't want to cause fractures in the community. However, I thought it would be best to share my honest experience rather than keeping it mum. 

Game 2

We drew against Chris and Gavin for our next game. This was probably one of the draws that was the tougher of the lot especially since both of them has a lot of tournament experience.

Downside was there was some dodgy shenanigans going on. I'll explain.

Demons vs St Celestine, so much drama in this shot

So we had a few friends come and watch the game as they were going on. Some walked pass and started asking me to watch one of our opponents. Some silently watched. While others, caught sight of very dodgy measuring and voiced their concerns over WhatsApp.

This is basically an excerpt of the chat we had in one of our WhatsApp groups. And I quote:
[14:12, 3/12/2017] witness: His d weapon platform scatter 5"                    
[14:12, 3/12/2017] witness: Still manage to hit mauler                    
[14:13, 3/12/2017] witness: Which is preping to charge his team deathstar                    
[14:14, 3/12/2017] witness: That deathstar had no way to handle that mauler

Just one of the few infractions that occurred. I am very concerned when this tournament was meant to be a relaxed event. I was way more concerned when Chris didn't know the rule but confidently claims knowledge of a rule that benefited him, even when it was clearly not correct (which his partner would point out). This happened a number of times. I give him the benefit of doubt and still think he is a good person generally, but claiming knowledge of something when you clearly don't is misrepresentation. Thank goodness their team had another member. Gavin was quite honest with his rulings and provided the counterpoint to Chris. I lament playing against a gamer like Chris in a full-on competition 1v1 where you have to be 100% aware what's going on. Not only your own rules, his rules but also stay on point with the dice that are being rolled, the strange exceptions to the rules and measuring. This makes it quite stressful no?

I still harbour the hope that with the right coaching and with the community pointing this negative behaviour out to him, it will help him improve his own "gamer brand".

Angels & Demons working together to take on the Eldar and Imperials

That being said, it was still a game that helped me learn a whole heap about my own army and the armies opposite the table. I respect Gavin a lot for his honesty and willingness to own up to models which were not modelled properly - namely the jetbikes which were missing bases. He allowed both Daryl and me to decide to use whichever ruling that benefitted us since their models were incomplete. Just one of the few examples of good gamer etiquette.

Long distance shooting

The game went on and I continued to focus. Daryl didn't seem particularly perturbed that we were losing. I guess we were both quite determined to make a good stand but both felt that we may not get out of this alive. We made the best of what we had. 

Some action going on at our table

One of the biggest mistakes I made was probably being suckered into taking out the Wraithknight first. Looking back, I realised that pouring our alpha strike into the unit of jetbikes would have made more sense. The WK was at the most able to take out 3-4 models a turn while that unit of jetbikes was mowing through quite a large number of our units. It also contained their General which was worth another point.

A shot mid -table

Pesky jetbikes without supplied bases. This is a tournament right? 

What a showdown - demon vs angel

We eventually lost this game 9-16, a 5 point gap. Both Daryl and I were both pleased that we didn't get trampled into the ground. Although very stressed with everyone telling me to watch out for out of play actions and rulings, I still managed to learn a lot from this game. 

I just hoped at this point that our next game wouldn't be so stressful again as it was really taking the "fun" out of the afternoon. 

2v2 Batrep - The Danse Macabre

A storm was gathering above the planet Gerexus, making it hard to differentiate friend from foe. Many parties had previously fought over the bountiful rewards on offer, with few being able to claim absolute victory. As the walls of reality weakened, armies of the Imperium, wanderers of the Webway, newborn races, Traitor Legions, and denizens of the Warp all converged on the planet yet again. In the ensuing battle, none would be able to truly tell friend from foe....

Mork and I entered the 2v2 tournament held at Gamersaurus Rex over the weekend. We eventually settled on a combined Ynnari and Death Guard list. Much as I dislike the fluff behind it, soulburst brings a whole new way to punish lists which get an alpha strike in, while Mork's Death Guard added some resiliency for securing objectives.

The forces of the Danse Morkabre gathered.

2v2 Tournament Part 1 - Friendly

So after finally painting and working on my army for the past 2-3 weeks, it was time for the actual tournament. Daryl is my buddy and he brought a beautifully painted army. 

It's a 2v2 tournament with no repeat formations.

Here is my list:

Skyhammer Formation

• Assault Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant with Power Weapon - all with jump packs
• Assault Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant with Power Weapon - all with jump packs
• Devastator Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant - 4 Grav Cannons
• Devastator Squad: 9 Marines + Sergeant - 4 Grav Cannons

The following will be the three games Daryl and I had with some commentary

Game 1

The first draw we ended up playing with Lum and Melvin who are also regulars at T&D, our gaming club. This was hilarious! We just played them last week and in that practice game, it helped me hone my list. 

We rolled for first turn and in our previous game, Lum made the mistake of letting me go first, thus reducing Tau effectiveness. This time they rolled and managed to choose to go first and Lum promptly took first turn. 

Only to have us seize the initiative! 

Both Lum and Melvin visibly slumped and we had a good laugh about it. Some good old fashion luck certainly helped.

I really love this conversion! He actually used FW Ghal Vorpal and gang

Overview of the battle

Just love this amazing shot. Those Marines are dying in the droves and the Demons mop up

It was truly a war of attrition! 

While Daryl's Havocs get threatened by Lum's assault squads

My job was simple. Just go in and pull all attention to me thus allowing my partner to mop up on the objectives. Daryl got really lucky with the spawning and we managed to get all the right demons. Eventually we managed a good win, 16 to 6 - 10 point differential.

Stay tuned for Part 2

Tourney Prep - 1000 Point 2v2

So after preparing my army for the 2v2, I arranged for a game with Marshall, Lum and Melvin to give my army a good spin. I have never used the Skyhammer before and this would be my maiden game. Lum however is an experienced Skyhammer player and I learned quite a lot from the game with them. 

While Marshall wasn't in the true sense my partner for the tourney, he designed a list that he felt comfortable with that was balanced. It allowed me to see what worked for me too.

Marshall would capture the points while I was in their face

One quick lesson was that you always combat squad the Assault Marines when deep striking them into Intercept. That intercept template will easily wipe them out.

Another was that I should not have only 4 Grav Cannons in one unit of Devastators. 35 points per model, they were way too easily killed.

Interestingly enough, the Eviscerator actually worked in this game, killing the Stormsurge.

It became a bloody race to kill by mid game

With Lum eventually outnumbering me

We managed to win this game mainly because we got an early lead from the cards that we drew. However, I was more concerned over the viability of my list as the initial concept of it was to hit hard and draw the enemy into hammering down on my Marines. It did not have enough bodies and the upgraded Eviscerators soaked up too many points.

Came back and continued preparing more Marines

With only a week left, I really had to push out more Marines and fast

At this point, I was pushing out 3 to 6 Marines an evening as that was the only way I could finish in time. Note to self: do not wait till the last week

More hitting the table

I put those finished facing me to keep me motivated

And remagnetized all of the Eviscerator arms with Bolt Pistol and Chainsword

I also had to swap out the Plasma Guns and swap in a Power Sword for both my Assault Marine Sergeants. More work at the last hour. LOL!

Worst part was that I realised I was running short of my 2.5mm x 2.5mm magnets! Rummaging my magnet case, I found a stack of 2.5mm x 3mm magnets and I went to work with them, drilling deeper into the minis and hopefully not break the arms.

After finding the right parts, I magnetized them

While the arms were being primed, I started working on their bodies

This time working on more than 3 so I can finish in time

Always amazed how much a deadline can help push modelling progress

Focussed on the Devastators knowing that these models were complete

Airbrushed them arms

Only the arms left! 

Boom arms done! 

On Friday evening I took out my PVA glue and flocked the heck out of these Marines. All 40 of them! Packed them into the bag and I was ready to go. 

Painting those Marines

I mentioned this in the previous post prior to this, I love pushing out models in large numbers with the airbrush before hitting the details with a brush later. It allows me to get them to the base colours fast, plays nicer on the table and you can always work on them adinfinitum until you are pleased. 

I pre-highlight with a white over a black primer

Airbrushing happens in thin coats and red doesn't cover black too easily. I still chose to use black over white primer mainly because I love a darker shade. Kenny Boucher from Next Level Painting loves to paint red over brown so you could also give that a go.

Completed in under 1 hour

All in all, less than an hour. Airbrush really hastens the painting work and if you do them in bulk like this, you will show progress every time you hit your store! Haha! Enjoy the rest of the week! 

The Army is Coming Together

So I have been spending quite a bit of time assembling and painting quite a number of the mandatory pieces for my army. I have also been playing the same army again and again but making small tweaks here and there. Nothing feels better than when you put down the entirely built army and then snap a photo.

Doing this always help me visualise what I have completed and what I need to do. 

These close ups allow me to focus on some of the unpainted stuff

Panning through the army, I find out which ones I have to prioritize

Certain units need more work than others

While others might not survive the end process

As I played more games with the army, a few things were dropped and replaced. The Devastator squad with the Missiles for example were removed and replaced with 2 Grav Cannons and moved into a Rhino instead. It was small tweaks like this that helped hone this army even more and every time it changed, I went back to build more models so I could really field a complete army.

Some of you may think, wow that's a bit silly. What if it does not work? I have been in this hobby for the past 15 years and what I have learned is that units strong today can be weak tomorrow. Vice versa is true too so I just store it away.

As the wife was away for a break, I took the opportunity to get a game in with Andrew. He is one of Tables and Dice's upcoming beardy git for he spots killer combos really quickly. I brought the very same list again.

It would be a Tau vs Space Marine battle

And I went straight for his lines

With ample Melta, I pushed deep into his lines

With that, I finished the game and walked away with another win. I got lucky with some cards, but wow this list seemed to be doing pretty damn well.

Since I had the full day, Marshall came in and had a game with me. I brought the very same list again.

Space Marine vs Space Marine spam

It was interesting. I had more Pods, he had more Rhinos. For those who have been following, Marshall is my sensei when it comes to Space Marines. He has played a heck more with them and definitely is more intimate with them.

Pods were hard for him to move off the points

And secure those objectives I did. It was another convincing victory for this list. Ouch. It looks like this list is better than I expected.