Basing for the Greater Good

Since getting back into 40k I've kept my eyes and ears open for good deals on models, regardless of faction. Last year I picked up a Tau Battleforce, Hammerhead, and Skyray for $100; recently I acquired an old Tau Battleforce (the one with 3 Crisis Suits, no Devilfish, and some goofy little palm trees); and I've supplemented those with a few more Suits, Firewarriors, and Piranha from Dicebucket. I've slowly been stripping and disassembling the models that were already finished, and recently started putting together the force.


My orks have earned lots of praise at each of the public events I've attended, but I have yet to win Best Appearance with them. With my next army, I'd like to raise the bar a little higher and one of the things I know I can do better is basing. I used Woodland Scenics ballast and flock to base my orks, and while it's a quick and easy way to do it, I think they come out a little fake. I'm going to use slightly more advanced basing techniques for my Tau.

Shaking The Dust Off...

It's been a while since my last post, and boy, have things changed in that time. Most importantly for me, my wife and I welcomed our second child, a son, on July 8. Also, Warhammer 40k saw the advent of 6th Edition. And the closest gaming store to me, the Newport Hobby House, moved to a new location. All of these things tie together nicely; allow me to explain...

1500 Tournament List

I'm playing in a 1500-point tournament next weekend (June 16), so once again I need to look at my list. Based on previous tournaments, I know that I need to increase my survivability against shooting. I've had a hard time getting to my opponents before being whittled down by fire. I also want to bring my new jet (whether as a Dakkajet or Blitza-Bommer) just for kicks. So what's a warboss to do?

Magnetizing an Ork Flyer, Part Two

I love it when a plan comes together! Last night I completed magnetizing my Ork flyer's Blitza-Bommer configuration, and it was even easier than the Dakkajet (described in Part One).

Bombs away!

Magnetizing An Ork Flyer, Part One

I picked up my first Ork flyer from the Newport Hobby House on Friday, and carved out some time to assemble it the past few nights. As I've not had a chance to playtest any of the variants (Dakkajet, Blitza-Bommer, Burna-Bommer) and with 6th Edition right around the corner, I wanted to use magnets to make the model convertible between at least two configurations, preferably the Dakkajet and the Blitza. As of last night, I have the Dakkajet configuration finished.

Dakkadakkadakka!

Power Weapons. Take One

A couple nights ago I made my first attempt at painting power weapons. I had two axes and a hammer to paint,  and decided to use the "reflective" technique popular with Grey Knights and Blood Angels. I briefly considered trying object source lighting (OSL) but shied away from doing so... maybe next time.

Needs a little cleanup, eh?

Space Wolves Update

It's been a while, but I've managed to find a few pockets of free time over the past week or so and made some significant hobby progress. The most important thing I did was learn how to *fully* disassemble my Badger Velocity airbrush, allowing me to clean out clogs and run it through my ultrasonic cleaner. With that tool back in my arsenal, I set out to tackle Mike's massive fleet of Space Wolves rhino chassis.

...and there's still a rhino in pieces next to my utility sink!