So I finished up Da Boyz Last Week

You might have noticed that my posting schedule has been erratic. I'm not gonna lie. I've been putting in a lot of hours at work, and when I'm home I'm either painting, sleeping, playing an occasional video game, or trying to catch up with the family. It's not any better this week, as I currently am taking a short lunch at 11:30 after having come into work at 4:00 am (yes I was up at the ungodly time of 2:30 this morning -insert pathetic violin music as I beg for sympathy-). Eventually things will settle down....I hope. But until then, at least I have a job.

So I wanted to give an update. I haven't taken any pictures recently, but I have finished up Da Boyz, or at least my share of them. Out of the box for Da Boyz, I have made 8 Boyz and 1 Big Shootah. For those good with math that's 9 of the 10 bases included. The last base is actually reserved for my 6 year old's Ork Boy that she's about half way through. She hasn't painted in a while, and she loses interest after a bit, but I'm trying to engender a love of 40K and all things nerdy with her.

Over the weekend I didn't get as much painting time as I had hoped, but I did get started on my box of Stormboyz. These guys are going to be fun. First of all, I was expecting them to be more like Zagstruk. Zagstruk was fun, but where he had a lot of detail, he didn't have any real customization. I probably shouldn't have expected much customization, but remember I am a neophyte, and Zagstruk was my first metal piece. I was used to having all sorts of oddz 'n bitz to use on Da Boyz, and Zagstruk didn't have that. I realize now it wasn't a Stormboyz thing but a metal showpiece/boss thing. So the Stormboyz have all sorts of different customization that can be done. Like the seemingly infinite possibilities for the different rockets. I spent my time this weekend trying different rocket combinations to settle on the 5 I will be using. I could still change...except for the one with the gretchin/grot (I'm assuming gretchin, but my newbie ways say maybe it's a grot) piloting it. I love that rocket. I also love the gretchin that you can have holding onto a rocket with a stikbomb in his hand. That is just vintage Orky goodness. Violent, yet funny.

So I'm going to paint the rockets, then paint the figures to put them together. I hope I can get the 5 Stormboyz done faster than the Ork Boyz since I'm WAY behind on the 400 point challenge.

I'm also going to get some pictures taken this week. I promise.

Adventures in Pinning

Tragedy struck the other day when Boss Zagstruk's arms popped off. First one arm, and then as I was trying to re-glue it the other one. Being a heavier metal model I had thought about pinning his arms, but decided that since there were rectangular guides pinning wasn't necessary. Sadly I was wrong.

The guides for Zagstruk's arms are just that, they are guides. The recesses on the arms and the protruding guides are both very shallow, so they direct how to have the arm on the body, but they don't really hold it in place. The leg is different, there is a very pronounced rectangular post you have to fit the leg piece onto (I actually had to file the post and the hole in the leg to get the leg to fit properly).

So I decided to pin the arms. Man I was really nervous. I spent so much time on Zagstruk I didn't want to ruin him, but I didn't want parts of him just coming off either.

First lesson in pinning: Pay attention to the instructions. I didn't buy a pinning kit, I just used the how to guide from a recent White Dwarf. If I hadn't paid attention I would have likely had holes that didn't line up that would have led to some very uneven looking arms that weren't quite flush with the body. The instruction have you drilling a hole, putting in the pin, then dipping a little glue on the end of the pin so that when you put the pieces together you have a clear spot where to drill. Solid advice.

Second lesson in pinning: It doesn't take much to pin. The piece from White Dwarf suggested using a paper clip to create the pin as it is the right size for the hole and you can clip it down to the length you need. This is ideal for me since a)I'm cheap and b)I have no problem with white collar crime. So I took some paperclips from work to have a supply for pinning. However, it doesn't take much paper clip to create a viable and working pin. So my handful of paperclips will last me forever. After realizing that I had way too much for pinning I clipped the piece down. And then clipped it down again. And then one more time. You need something to hold it in place, but you don't need it to be too big (mostly because you have to drill forever to get a hole deep enough for a large pin).

Third lesson in pinning: Glue. You need to glue the post into the first piece too. My first attempt at pinning Zagstruk I thought I had the post in snug, so I put a bit of glue on the end to line it up, but I didn't actually glue in the post. So after mounting the arm onto the body, the arm fell off the body having transferred the post from one piece to the other.

Fourth lesson in pinning: Putting the pin in the first piece. The book said to put the pin in the deepest piece to drill first, this wasn't the easiest way (for me anyway) to pin. The deepest piece to drill into would be the body on Zagstruk. But for the second arm I put the pin in the arm first. I actually found it easier to work with the pin in the arm. Maybe it's splitting hairs, maybe it's just psychological. All I know is I felt more comfortable having the pin in the arm first.

To be honest, pinning was a lot easier and less nerve-wracking than I thought it would be, once I got started and worked out the kinks. I will be continuing to pin my heavier metal models from now on as I feel much more comfortable that the added weight of the metal won't break the glue bond with that pin there.

Anybody else have any suggestions or ideas for pinning?

The Zen of Painting

I have hit a zen-like state with painting this week, and I hope it lasts.

So for the summer months, painting isn't something I can always get to. I lose my computer/40K room to my step-son (home from college) and the daily schedule isn't really a schedule. Not to mention how busy my weekends are.

So this week has been great. I've found time to paint before work, at lunch, and at night. I'm making real progress, and feel like I might actually meet the 400 point challenge.

It helps that I came to the realization that I don't need to spend as much time on my boyz as I was. Oh sure if it's a special character then yeah he gets the complete detailed work. But for the boyz, I'm not having them look bad, but I'm not focusing on every tiny little detail. I can't. I'd burn out from worrying about getting them done, and not having the time to get them done.

So this week I've got 4 bodies done. Torsos and legs are complete and together. I have arms in various states of completion and heads with base coats. They aren't done, but they feel like they will be soon.

So combine the time I've been able to put into it, the epiphany about not having to spend so much time on my boyz, and the visible headway I've made and painting time has become very zen-like. Gone is the feeling that I have to get this done because I'm so far behind, and gone is the way painting almost seemed like a chore. It's a relaxing pastime again, and that helps feed into it too.

Now hopefully with me camping this weekend I'm able to hold onto this feeling and feed off of it and into it next week as well.

Oddz 'n Endz

Just going through some unfinished posts, thoughts, and ideas I've never really completed or followed up on.

Dawn of War II - I finished the campaign, finally. And really I was a bit disappointed with the challenge of the final mission. Not to say it was bad, because it wasn't. But I had a harder time with some of the other missions leading up to it (especially when I decided to go after an Ork Warboss to get some more Terminator armor). The story and campaign were great, but I guess knowing some of the difficulties I had I was surprised how easily I completed the last mission. Not to say there weren't some hairy moments, but I never had that "Oh crap I'm gonna die bad here" moment.

Plus, the single player campaign was the worst thing I could have done for multiplayer. Again, I loved the campaign, but man after focusing so much on levelling up my guys, getting good loot, and finding different combinations of loot to make my guys lethal, multiplayer was like learning the game all over again. Not to mention the campaign is all Space Marines, and I like to play the other races in multiplayer (especially Da Orks).

I'm hoping there will be some cool DLC coming. Maybe some Xenos-centric campaigns?

Ork Boy #4 - I finished up Ork Boy #4 and I almost have #5 done. No pics, but even though I'm not spending the hours on them that I did on Zagstruk, I'm still a slow painter. This is great for the look of my army (I hope), but not so great for the 400 point challenge. I need to get on the ball and paint some more. I was hoping to be done with my boys and maybe onto my Nobs or Stormboyz by now.

400 Point Challenge - As I've said I'm way behind in the 400 point challenge. I'm not sure where my buddy Chris is in his painting, but I just got word that my buddy Steve is almost done with his tacit cal squad (he's doing marines) and then he has 5 assault guys and he's finished. I still have to finish up my Boyz, then start on my Stormboyz, and my Nobz, and then my Warboss with Bosspole. Yeah I sense failure in this challenge, and it reeks as bad as the sweaty pits of a nervous Space Marine about to be swept up by Da Green Tide.

Ravenor by Dan Abnett - So I was coming home yesterday and I was thinking of stopping into my new gaming home when I decided instead to stop off at a book store I pass all the time. I ended up picking up Ravenor by Dan Abnett because I've really been itching to read a 40K novel. This would be my first. I love the selection of the novels Black Library publishes, but why does everything have to be human-centric? Black Library really needs to do a Xenos series. I'd love to read something from the Ork perspective (it could be funny and brutal), or from the Eldar. Sure the Tyranids might not be fodder for a great story, but not every Xenos race is a mindless collective bent on the destruction of everything around it. Still, I'm definitely enjoying Ravenor, and now have a new way to soak even more 40K goodness. It's just another step to as complete a 40K immersion as my short attention span and love of shiny things will allow.

Non 40K news - My wife purchased my ticket for the RiffTrax Live: Plan 9 from Outer Space show on August 20 (I love her). I'll be going to the closest theater to my tiny small backwoods town, which is actually my old stomping grounds of Jackson, MI. I encourage everyone who loves bad science fiction movies and laughing at them to go see this event. For those who don't know, RiffTrax is from the people who did Mystery Science Theater 3000. And since this is riffing on the worst movie ever made (not the most un-entertaining that would be a toss-up between Twilight and Ishtar...yeah I went there) I don't expect to be disappointed...at all. Anyway if you're going to Jackson look for the fat nerd (oh wait, that doesn't clear things up at all). Well let me know and we can at least say hi and I can bask in the glow of your praise about my blog...or wither beneath the brutal criticism. Whichever you prefer.

Finding Your Church of Gaming

Okay this is NOT an article about religion. Let me just get that out of the way. But I grew up in a church going family. My grandfather was a Baptist preacher. So I've spent a lot of time in church. While it was a gathering of religiosos, old women with wrinkly skin who covered the smell of their halitosis with Dentyne, and pot lucks. A church is also a place where people of a like-mind can meet, talk, and find strength and inspiration by mingling with their people.

In a way, a gaming/hobby store is very similar to that. I found my gaming church last week, and I'm really happy about it.

I live in a small town. It's a great place to raise my kids, but it's a horrible place to nurture my gaming passion. I may not be the only person in the area that plays 40K, but I wouldn't be surprised if I was. Not only is there no real gaming community in this small town, there isn't a gaming/hobby store within an hour of there either. Hell, there isn't even a comic book store probably within 30 minutes of that town.

So for the most part I've had other people buy things for me to save on shipping. That's cool, as I could get the stuff I needed. However it kept me from having some place I could connect with other gamers. A place I could talk about the game with people who know and cared (beyond my circle of gaming friends). A place I could breathe deep the sweaty air of nerds in their glory, and be strengthened in my own nerdery. And a place I could actually buy my own stuff too.

I've found that place, and I'm excited about it. The place, EAC Games in Maumee, Ohio, is still an hour away from where I live, but it's not that far from our remote facility for the company I work for. I'm down there at least once a week, so I have ample opportunity to stop in there. I can talk to people who are knowledgeable. I can get input and ideas from other people. I can be inspired in all things nerdy.

Basically I have found a church of gaming that I can join my people and find acceptance as I worship Gork and Mork (believe me they are a lot more fun to worship than that Emperor dude).

Oh, and I can buy stuff too.

Sealing the Minis

Being new to 40k, I haven't really attempted a "How To" article, because I'm still learning how to. So for my first attempt at what could be viewed as a "How To", I'm describing how I seal my minis after painting them. But please, feel free to offer suggestions, because if there's a better way to do it...I want to know.

During the winter months as I finished up minis I wasn't able to seal them. My garage is where I do all my primering and sealing, but my camper was in there for winter storage. So now that summer is here and camping season in full swing - I've been able to get the camper out of the garage so I can primer more parts and I can seal the finished boyz.

So let me tell you about the first boy I painted. I went out and bought some some spray enamel. I sprayed my boy, and when it was done and dried it looked...wet. See I didn't pay much attention and the can I bought (which was with the flat enamels) was gloss. So he looked wet. I was really kind of pissed and embarrassed.

I was able to fix him by covering his head and arms, and doing a light coating of flat. It didn't completely take the shine off, but it dulled it. I had covered the arms and head, because if it did what I wanted it to, then he'd hopefully look sweaty. If it didn't work, then I figured better his armor and clothing looked bad than his head and arms. He doesn't look bad, but the spray gloss enamel has been retired.

Now I use a clear flat enamel that I bought at a major hardware retailer. I'm not endorsing them, so I won't mention their name, but I can tell you it starts with L and ends with owe's. Nothing fancy, but it does what I need it to: Protect the paint. Now, for things like blood on a blade, or a wound, something like that then a brush on gloss enamel is my preferred choice. That way it pops against the flat.

To seal the minis up, I set them on my saw horse in the middle of my garage. Then I use what I call a burst method. Keeping the can back about 12 inches, I spray the enamel on in "bursts" to keep from causing a build up, or dripping. A burst of enamel, then a different angle and another burst. I do this as I move around the Mini in a circle. Then I let it dry. Simple as that. Once that's done, then I'm ready to finish the base (I've read that it's best to do like sand or grass on the base AFTER sealing as the enamel can bunch up on the base material and make it look like crap).

I started sealing because I want to protect the minis I spend so much time painting. However I never really saw the need for it until Zagstruk. He's the first metal mini I've painted, and I've noticed that the paint comes off the corners and sharp edges easier than the plastic minis. Maybe I need a different primer? I'm not sure, but to be safe, I definitely have him sealed. The only thing I've noticed is that the flat enamel sealer I use dulls the colors a bit. Maybe it's just the stark contrast to the shiny gloss I used before...but maybe a semi-gloss would be better? Do they make a clear semi-gloss spray enamel? Anyway, as the name of the blog implies, I am no expert - just a new guy to a game. So any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

You Will Be Motivated...or else.

So the time sink du jour for me lately has been tooling around motivatedphotos.com looking at the humorous and demotivational posters. The site has been around for a while, and this isn't the first time I've spent time there. This time, though, I really took notice of their Warhammer 40K posters. There is this funny Obliterators Poster, this one that combines my love of 40K and bathroom humor, this poster about 40K classic edition, and the one with the greatest Ork gun ever.

Well it inspired my buddy Steve to create one of his own:

Which then inspired me to create one of my own:

For the record, I like Steve's better...except for all those Space Marines on there.

Anybody else got a 40K motivational poster they created, or a favorite 40K motivational poster on the internet? I love these things.

To the Defense of 40K

**Note** I wrote this blog post last week when I first read the blog post in question. I didn't publish it right away, because I wanted to make sure that I wasn't just having a knee-jerk "don't say anything bad about something I like" reaction. I still feel as strongly today as I did last week so I'm comfortable posting this.

I'm sure most of you have seen the posting out at Bell of Lost Souls that linked to an old blog post that disparaged Warhammer 40k. If not you can see it here. Basically the author decides to point out that 40K is for adults, but they do it with an amazing amount of ignorance, baseless accusations, and poorly thought out arguments.

At first I wanted to respond. Then I didn't want to waste my time. Then my buddy Steve wrote an excellent rebuttal on his blog. In the end I think the rebuttal posted at the end of the blog post, and my buddy's combine to make an excellent counter point (actually the rebuttal at the end of the blog post combined with any other well thought out rebuttal would make an excellent counter point) (actually, any well thought out rebuttal would make an excellent counter point, the rebuttal included in the original blog post is good but is way too short).

Basically the author took some attention getting advertising and marketing tools and used them as both support for their arguments, and as the basis for their arguments. Suffice it to say, I'm glad this person isn't playing 40K, because if they were anything like their blog post then the emotional unbalance could give 40K a bad name. Also, as funny as that comment is, the arguments made in the article are even more baseless.

The one that really got my attention was when the blogger was commenting on the Cities of Death expansion:

When children think of cities, they SHOULD think of them as great places to hide out to kill everyone they can find. Because that's what cities are for. Even churches are good to blow up and stuff because it's way fun. Everyone wants to blow up churches and mosques and hunt down every last civilian, with urban tactics and go block by block until you're sure every last one of them is dead.

Because that is FUN. It's a HOOT. A barrel of LAFFS. Let's have a Coke and a donut shall we?

We can talk about shooting little kids and pregnant women, because that's...fun?

Now if you look there is a screenshot of the web page for Cities of Death, if you look at the page nothing is in there about killing pregnant women or kids. I could make the accusation that the author is only concerned about the kids because they're a pedophile and wants to be the one to scar the psyche, not some silly game. I would be no better than them, but I would be using the same exact tactics.

That's what grinds my gears about this blog post. With no perceived repercussions the author was able to say what they wanted about something they just decided to get their bug up their butt about. Oh sure the blogger is persona non grata amongst 40K players, but obviously our opinion doesn't count. But yet that post will live on, and no matter how much we, as players who know what we're talking about, speak out against it, the damage is done. It's the anonymity, which helps breed the baseless dogmatic B.S. that permeates the internet.

Really, it's a lack of respect for other people, and a palpable laziness about doing research.

Actually, this pretty much says what I feel about the gunslinger mentality of the blogo-interweb-sphere-verse.

That's why I promise no matter how much I might dislike something (country music, Hannah Montana, the comedic stylings of Carrot Top), I'm not going to bash it. And if I do take exception to the point of commenting, I guarantee my information will be based on facts on not some cursory glance through a website looking for ways to complain about it.

Oh, and I'm willing to say that the blogger that started the whole thing can go to hell. I would even say that to their face.

Boss Zagstruk

After starting, getting sidetracked by Dawn of War II, restarting, stopping to get ready for my step-daughter's open house, restarting yet again, and probably 15 - 20 hours of total time working on him: Zagstruk is finished...for the most part. I have a few minor details to finish up (a decal on a wing, a couple parts that need the colors blended at the seams, seal the paint...), but in my grandest George W. Bush moment I'm willing to call him finished even with some work left to do.


I'm pleased with him. I'm surprised how hefty, and how large he is. I mean I knew he'd be heavier since he was metal, and I knew he'd be larger...but he's substantially larger than I expected.


I tried some new techniques, mixing paints, using some washes, I still did some dry brushing, but I also used my detail brush to highlight some of the highs and lows in the details as well.


The final push to complete him came at my buddy Steve's painting party. Not many could make it, but those of us who did all accomplished something. Jason (of Bob Waaagh! fame) is working on terrain and he completed his sacrificial pool. Steve made headway on several of his Space Marines. I got there late, and spent probably 5 1/2 hours on Zagstruk. I'm glad he's done - his was the first miniature to exhaust me - but now I have a boat load of catching up to do on our 400 point challenge. I have to finish my boyz, I have to paint my Nobz and Stormboyz. I have a Warboss to paint...and while it seems a lot....I'm loving every minute of it.

40k Lesson #36

Here are a list of things I like to have going in the background when I paint minis (in no particular order):
1) Dawn of War or Dawn of War II soundtrack
2) Other music (preferably something geeky like Bad Dudes or a movie soundtrack)
3) Detroit Tigers games
4) 40k podcasts

One thing I learned the other day, though, is hockey and miniature painting do NOT go well together.

I tried to paint over the weekend during the Wings/Pens Stanley Cup Finals (I know the NHL dropped the "s" in Finals this year, but I refuse to acknowledge such ridiculousness). It didn't work. Errant brush strokes. Paint that dried on the pallet while I stared transfixed at the TV. A dropped piece or 2. A broken brush when I got pissed off and snapped it in my hands as I clenched my fists. That dead hooker.

All in all, it just isn't worth it.

And since the Wings blew a good opportunity by allowing 3 unanswered goals in the 2nd period of game 4...I'm turning the game off and painting tonight. I've got enough things between my family and work to piss me off, I don't need the Wings pushing me over the edge. I will NOT buy a gun. I will NOT go on a shooting spree. And I sure as hell will NOT have my last words be "Dakka dakka."...at least in that context. If my last words are "dakka dakka" when I die of old age....or in bed with Felicia Day, then so be it. I can live with that.