Looking to 2014: 10 things

So we turn to look towards the coming year, and the expectations that come with it. I'm not going to be so bold as to predict the next 12 months, simply share ten of the things that will make the year a good one:

An Unexpected Miniature

I went to see the second Hobbit film on Saturday, and so impressed was I by the Elves (of course) I picked up the new Legolas miniature the following day. Seeing as it was a sleepy Sunday, he ended up getting built and painted on the same day. It was a nice interlude between all of the Tale of Many Gamers painting.

The 10 Highlights of 2013

Now that I have the disappointments done with, lets move on to the 10 things that were the highlight of my 2013 in the land of hobby, again, in no particular order:

The 10 Disappointments of 2013

The start of the trilogy of end of year lists begins with the disappointments of the year, ten things that I wasn't keen on during this year of hobby. I thought I would start with the negative, so we can get it out of the way and focus more on the good things later. So, in no particular order:

Not Dead...Yet

First of all, I would like to apologise for not updating in nearly two months. But rest assured, I am now finding some spare time to start writing more about my adventures in hobbying.

Taking the Next Step

So the painting competition came and went (ToMG will be discussed later), and unfortunately I didn't win. But the result has put me in a contemplative mood, I know that I can paint to a good standard, but they lack that punch that grabs peoples attention it seems, and to be honest, I'm stuck.

Golden Griffon: November

This Saturday is the single miniature painting competition that is run at the local GW. I had planned on entering the previous one with an ambitious Tau Commander conversion, but sadly after getting the building done I failed to get anything other than a black spray coat on. So this month I am entering this chap under the theme of "HQ/Lord"

Tales of Other Gamers

As has become the main focus of this blog, so has it come to be on the other blogs of our local gaming community. Tale of Many Gamers has taken hold, so I shall drop this here to showcase some of my friends work:

Tale of Many Gamers: First Round

With the finishing touches applied, I have completed my first check in for the Tale competition. Joining the Autarch will be a squad of 6 Jetbikes upgraded with two Shuriken Cannons.

The Second Tale: The Autarch

So, Tale of Many Gamers kicked off today, and so I finished my first model. The HQ for the first check in which should be followed by a troops choice later on.

Space Marines Now Interest Me.

The new Tactical Squad box has just captured my attention for some reason =3

List Building: Quick Thought #1

A recent discussion questioning building a list for a small point game has brought to the front of my mind a question regarding unit viability. Mostly, how viable a unit is at various points levels.

The Production Line

I think I may be running out of Eldar art. I'm sure I've used this one already.

But anyway, as I said in the last post, Tale of Many Gamers is on us again and I have set up ready for the mammoth painting task ahead of me for the next 4-5 months.

Activity Detected!

I feel like I am going to come across as a liar when I keep promising more updates but fail to deliver, but the past few weeks I have just felt a bit burnt out a directionless in the hobby. But fear not, something I have been waiting for has been announced which will mean a lot of updates coming up.

Review: Tactica Wraithknight

Game Workshop recently released a new e-book offering tactics for the immense Wraithknight. I half joked that after my recent run, I could have wrote this myself. So I decided to drop the £1.49 asking price to the GW Overlords and see what wonderful insights they bring to the table.

Deal with loss

Well, I had a good run, but all good things come to an end. After going somewhere around 10 games straight without loss, my Eldar army tasted bitter defeat. You learn more in defeat than you do in victory, so I'll speak my lessons out loud today.

The Darkness

I do have a fantasy side too. It lies with the Dark Elves. I have a load of points worth of models and I really need to get the painted.

Ambition

The next painting competition I am entering has the theme of 'Conversion'. So I am proceeding to go big and attempting my most ambitious conversion to date....

**TO BE CONTINUED**

Codex Casualties

This is the first time since taking up the hobby that I have had the experience of traversing Codexes. I thought that I'd just take a minute just (sit right there) to just take stock on how my 1000 point list has changed because of the update in rules.

A Warm Welcome

To all of you who have found my blog through Faeit212, I bid you a welcome. I thought I would take a moment to just quickly throw out the welcome mat and explain what I hope to achieve through this blog.

Showcase: Crimson Hunter

I've finally finished a miniature! I know that this blog was initially a painting blog, but over the summer I've not had much time to paint, so I've been playing a lot more. But I can say that this model can be ticked off now.

An Open Letter of Apology

This is a letter that I feel inclined to write given recent games, and one that I think perhaps is expected from my opponents as penance for recent games.

Writing Army Lists, My Way

I've recently posted my list for general viewing, but, in lieu of a long awaited post on another subject, I thought i'd take a side track and go through how I would write an army list in any game, for any situation.

A Simple List

A few posts back I mentioned that I was in the process of designing a 1000 point list that would pretty much stand up to almost anything and be something to fall back on whenever I needed a list to play an impromptu match. Coming off the back of a fourth straight win without reply, albeit all against Space Marines, I thought i'd share the list and what I look to each unit to do.

Grudge Match!

Well, this Sunday came and went with one of the most eagerly anticipated games of recent times. My Eldar taking on the Master Of Sanctitiy's Dark Angels, and away we go.

Eldar Vs Blood Angels

After the last game, I made some changes to my 1k list in an attempt to make it more all round for the purpose of just having a competitive list I can put on the table without having to write a list every time. Plus it gives me the goal of getting that small part of my painting list completed.

This game however, would end up being one of the best and most brutal games that I had ever played with hardly anything left on the table come the end.

Back to War Part 2

As I left you last time, I had just deployed. When I saw Imperial Guard, I knew tanks would be an issue, but I hadn't reckoned on a large blob squad of standard guardsmen. I hadn't rolled an Eldritch Storm for Eldrad and he was pretty much a support Farseer this game (damn you random tables), but I reckoned seeing as I had first turn I'd be able to do some damage to start with, I used Eldrads Redirection power to move the Wraithknight closer to the large scary missile on the right corner of the table and he would be going right for it....

Back to the War

It's been a while since I took to the field on a one-on-one battle (an Apocalypse and team battle aside), and it's been even longer since I came out victorious, but I thought I'd throw down in a 1k Point battle to try out a few tactics that I had in my head.

Like A Boss

It's been a while, work has taken it's toll and it's not like I'm actually at home much these days, but I'm going to go on a bit of a binge and drop a load of updates a bit more regularly in the next few weeks/months as I try and get more games and more painting on the go.

The First Battle for the New Eldar

I had my first battle with the new Eldar at the weekend. It was going to be a battle report, but I recorded the events on paper, just forgot to get photos as the game went on. So I thought I’d throw down my army list and do a class report on my impressions after one game.

Go Go Eldar Rangers

It's been a while, I actually finished these before I went to Spain and had a stay away week of work, especially as these are some of my favourite miniatures in the Eldar army.

Golden Griffon May: Freehand

The local GW runs a monthly painting competition called the 'Golden Griffon'. Generally, it's a no-prize competition where the winner of the last round chooses the subject for the next round of painting. Last months winner chose 'Freehand' as the subject, and this post will show my winning entry for this month.

The Works

After a couple of posts regarding the games I have been playing, I thought I'd drop a few pictures of the models that I am working on at this moment in time.

The Fickle Path of the Warrior

...or How I learnt to roll Sixes.

Returning to the Path of the Warrior

I had my first game in many months with the Eldar this weekend. After running with the Necrons for the past 4-5 months, the plans was always to go back to the Space Elves after the Invasion tournament as that is where my loyalties lie. So how did it go? I shall proceed to describe events.

My Favourite Kind of War

I thought I'd start off my first miniatureless post with a little piece on my favourite scenario in 40K 6th edition, Relic.

Commander Shadowsun

Well, She's finished.

Necron Overlord

This is my most successful miniature to date. At the Warhammer Invasion on Friday 12th April, it scooped the 'Best Single Miniature' award.

WIP: Commander Shadowsun

The leader of my Tau force is going to be Commander Shadowsun, my choice was made after reading the excellent Novella Shadowsun: The Last of Kirus Line from Black Libary. Females as a whole are pretty absent in the 40k universe, but the way she was portrayed in the book as a stern warrior but still having a fragile side, which fuelled her strength really caught my interest.

As I had painted my Cadre Fireblade in the test colours for the force, I decided to just plunge headlong into transferring that scheme to the Shadowsun model.

Cadre Fireblade

The new Tau codex has caught my eye recently, thanks to some really stunning miniatures. Given that in Sixth Edition 40k allies have a stronger part to play, and that Tau and Eldar ally at the highest level, I took it as an excuse to start a small army.

The first mini that I've painted is the Cadre Fireblade, the sculpt is really impressive, and after seeing him in-game and what he can do, he's pretty much a safe HQ choice.