A "small" diversion...

 BATTLTECH!

This was my first miniature game. As I mentioned in my last post, Battletech holds a dear place in my hobby heart. I remember doing odd jobs when I was 12-13 to scrounge the money to buy the starter box:

 Funny story about that. Despite being release in 1985 I first saw this back in 1988 when I was 12 and fell in love with the box art and the description of the game. When I finally had enough cash (I want to say it was $20?) the local store was sold out!! With no online shopping options for a 12 year old in 1988 I instead turned to the only other box they had:

I still have Citytech to this day. But Kickstarter has changed it. In the past year Catalyst Game Labs has "re-released" Battletech and I joined in day 1 of the Kickstarter despite having not played the game in a long, long time. I received the Battletech Kickstarter just over a year ago (I know, grey plastic shame on me!) but decided to wait until the Clan Invasion (Wave 2) came out this year to open it all up and paint it. Here is what I accomplished:

20 Inner Sphere Mechs painted

12 Clan Mechs w/ 2 stands of Elementals.

I am awaiting Wave 2.5 which will basically see my forces double with the addition of all new mechs for both sides! Until then here are some sample pictures of how I painted them all up.

The "core" generic mechs for the Inner Sphere have been painted up as the 8th Lyran Regulars (House Steiner) with 2 lances painted up in Guard colors:

8th Lyran Regular Marauder and Urbanmech

Urbanmech

Marauder

Lyran Donegal Guards Battle Lance

For the Clan side I went with my personal favorite clan - Clan Ghost Bear!

Clan Ghost Bear Heavy Striker Star

I planned to do some insignia work but found a spot online that sells scale decals for all the different units in the Battletech universe so I will be ordering those. Until then I feel this meets my "Play it painted" standard for a few games to reacquaint myself with the rules and system. 

My eyes are also drawn to the Alpha Strike rules for Battletech as it plays in a more "modern" way with open movement and simplified management of your mechs. I will be trying it out for sure! The beauty is the game can be played either way and you don't have to pick one and stick with it - a great idea!

Now that all these mechs are painted I am looking at a massive heap of plastic sprues that are my Ogor Mawtribes army for AoS and I think that may be my next project. As its over 3000 points worth I feel that will qualify the Ogors as my #newyearnewarmy project. So I will start assembly now, in the hopes to start putting some paint to plastic over the Christmas holidays.

Stay tuned for some more Battletech distraction along with more Games Workshop and Star Wars Legion content!

Cheers,

Ca$h

Blood Angels Arrive

 This post is basically a photo dump of the Space Marine half of the Indomitus boxed set. I finished them all with a Blood Angels successor chapter idea in mind. one that is currently on campaign and the wear on their armor is showing. I used a lot of metallics and chipping effects. I think it turned out well enough for how quickly I can turn them out!

The recipe is as follows:

1. Metallic zenithal highlight (airbrush) over black primer (rattle can) 
2. Fleshtearers Red Contrast paint over the armor
3. Weapons and other dark areas are Black Templar Contrast over silver
4. Eyes: White with Escorpena Green (Game Air) over top
5. Dab silver with foam over red for damaged look
6. Other colors used for non red/black parts are :
• P3 : Jack Bone, Khador Red base, Ironhull Grey, Quick Silver
• GW: Fleshtearers Red Contrast, Black Templar Contrast, Iyanden yellow Contrast (for gold)
7. BASES : Cork, GW Astrogranite Debris, Grey (P3 Greatcoat Grey w/ matt medium), Drybrush w/ White - Wasteland Tufts.
   

Click on after the break for pictures of all the characters, bikes and other units!

Necrons rise from the ashes of a lost time..

 With the release of Warhammer 40k 9th edition I purchased the Indomitus box on a whim. Yes, it was a $200CAD whim but the amount of new models inside was simply too good to pass on despite the fact I haven't played 40k in years. 

What is inside?

GW Site showing all the contents

As you can see, that is a ton of models for $200! I didn't really have any plans for the Space Marines but the Necrons really caught my eye. More so, they caught my 8yr old sons eye. He was VERY excited to see them assembled and ready to play with so I obliged him. Truthfully is doesn't take much to encourage me in the hobby space these days haha!

So we started with Necrons! I build and painted a quick table-ready scheme based on his input. He chose all the colors and basing. He has been painting Stormcast for Age of Sigmar but wanted me to do it so "they look great on the table against your army dad" - so I got started. 

He wanted them to look "new" like they are just being built and deployed for battle. He know the lore to the extent that they are like zombies/undead and rise up on planets but wanted his to be like they were found in a warehouse or factory. I think it was a neat idea and helped with his color choices - blue, silver, and purple. I also wanted something I could get finished quickly but still look decent on the table. This whole force took me a week - from sprue to varnish! With his input as to what colors he wanted (and where!) we ended up with this:

Click on after the break for more pictures of all the Necrons!

The last of the Imperials....for now!

 Hello again,

I have spent the last week assembling and painting up the last couple units for my Imperial forces in Star Wars Legion.

I was able to finally pick up two boxes of Shoretroopers after they had been unavailable due to stocking issues at Fantasy Flight for months. Here are a couple pictures:

Click on after the break for pictures of the other unit and how they faired in their first battle last Friday!

AT-ST and on to some 40k!

 In an effort to complete the models I already own, I have finally completed the AT-ST for my Star Wars Legion Imperial forces. I think I picked this up when it first released back in 2018? For $55 it was a steal of a kit and I am so happy to see it finally completed. Here are a couple pictures:

I tried to keep it simple. By that I mean when I went looking at pictures of the AT-ST from Return of the Jedi I noticed it was basically all grey - the guns, the hull, the hoses even. It was all very matt, dull and singularly toned. Attempting to recreate that definitely makes it look a little "bland" in miniature form but I feel it conveys the purely utilitarian approach the regular Imperial forces take. I can't wait to get it on the table!

With the AT-ST complete I have ordered the last remaining unit(s) I need for my Imperials - Shoretroopers. They have been out of stock for a long while, months I was told by my FLGS so I ordered a couple boxes off amazon. Until they arrive I have also started on the Necron half of the 40k Indomitus special release boxed set for 9th edition. My son loves the look of all the killer robots and is keen to learn how to play 40k with them. 

The plan for now is to get that Necron force painted up and to start playing small skirmish games with him to re-learn the 40k game myself. The Necrons in the box total around a 1000 points so its a perfect size starter army for him - and me! I am still unsure what I will do with the Space Marine half. Being all new releases, I am tempted to start a whole new marine force, but I also kinda want to start something new and different for 40k 9th edition. I already have 2000+ points of Emperor's Children Chaos marines so a second marine army doesn't seem to be as exciting despite how amazing the new models are. We shall see what I decide but for now, Necrons are calling. Once I complete the Necrons I will probably swap back to the the two units of Shoretroopers just to get all the Legion stuff completed so stay tuned to see where my hobby journey this year takes me!

Of note, we are putting out live streams roughly once a week on the Dice Devils YouTube channel linked above so please go check it out and let us know how we are doing. We are improving our equipment and layouts for the games each week and really enjoying it. So far it is just Star Wars Legion but it will expand to include whatever I am playing - perhaps even small learning games with my son!?

Cheers,

Ca$h

More Star Wars Legion

 I managed to finish up some more Star War Legion this past week or so. This is just a quick update with some pictures:

Emperor Palpatine

Imperial Guard

Palpatine and his entourage

Click on after the break for my Dewback rider, Bossk and Boba Fett miniatures!

More Star Wars and....live streams?

 Hello again!

It's been a busy October on the painting front, and especially related to all things Star Wars Legion. Matty and I have been getting games in a couple days a week and I have been painting up furiously to get new Imperial units on the table. I have added 3 new units and a smattering of characters to my force and I wanted to update you all with some pictures.

Before I start posting beauty shots, I also wanted to note that we have built a Dice Devils YouTube channel and are starting to try our hand at live streaming our games. This will improve over time as I get better cameras, set ups, overlays etc. so please bear with us while we learn. I have added a direct link to the menu bar across the top. For now the channel has a few of our recent Star Wars Legion games but the plan is to include any/all systems I play - mainly AoS (Age of Sigmar) and 40K along with Legion.

Here are the units I have completed in the past 2 weeks:

Director Krennic

R4 Astromech

Medical Droid

More pictures after the break of the Death Troopers, Imperial Special Forces, etc!

Something a little different

 This is just a quick post of some pictures from a game last night of Star Wars Legion. It seems to be starting to pick up steam again so I will start adding some occasional coverage of the games and painting taking place. Matt "PhantomRescue" came by with his buddy for a game of Legion. My Imperial forces were used against Matt's Rebels. Here are some pictures of the action:

Overview of the table

E-web heavy gun and some Stormtrooper squads ready to deal with the Rebel Scum

Speeder bikes readying to advance

Rebel Commandos defending the small generator station

Rebels holding the line

Overview on Turn 2

Han Solo (up close in the brown coat) is trying to help hold the flank against speeder bikes and advancing Snowtroopers in the distance.

Stegadon Number 2 and some Noise Marines?

 It is done! I finally managed to complete my second Stegadon. This one is built out as the "Engine of the Gods" featuring a Skink Priest and strange Slann magical contraption/portal on top :

 I ended up choosing a more "ancient" look for the stegadon. The red and grey really helped convey the age of this elderly beast. I think it turned out well.

Click on after the break for some more pictures and what I am starting to work on next!

Starting to learn 40k 9th Edition

 I know this is a bit of a surprise considering all the painting and hobby time I am putting into my Seraphon for AoS but I recently received an invitation to try out the new release of Warhammer 40,000 (40K). I jumped at the chance to hang out, have a beer or two, and try a new system that is getting a lot of hype online. I pulled out my old (and shockingly badly painted) Chaos Marines and headed out the door!

My CSM are actually Emperors Children - the first founding legion devoted to Slaanesh. For the uninitiated Slaanesh is the Chaos God of Excess (be that pain or pleasure). A local fellow gamer dad invited me over to his place to play a socially distanced and mask wearing small game of 500pts. The list I took was the following:

• HQ

  • Sorcerer [5 PL, 90pts]

    Selections: Bolt pistol, Delightful Agonies, Force sword, Mark of Slaanesh, Warlord, Warptime

    Categories: HQ, Faction: <Legion>, Faction: <Mark of Chaos>, Psyker, Infantry, Faction: Chaos, Faction: Heretic Astartes, Sorcerer, Character, Warlord, Faction: Slaanesh

• Troops

  • Chaos Space Marines [4 PL, 70pts]

    Selections: Mark of Slaanesh

    Categories: Faction: Chaos, Faction: Heretic Astartes, Infantry, Faction: <Legion>, Faction: <Mark of Chaos>, Troops, Chaos Space Marines, Faction: Slaanesh

    • Aspiring Champion

      Selections: Boltgun, Chainsword

    • 4x Marine w/ boltgun

      Selections: 4x Bolt pistol, 4x Boltgun, 4x Frag & Krak grenades

  • Noise Marines [5 PL, 115pts]

    Categories: Faction: Chaos, Faction: Heretic Astartes, Infantry, Faction: Slaanesh, Faction: <Legion>, Faction: Emperor's Children, Troops

    • Marine w/ blastmaster

      Selections: Blastmaster

    • 3x Marine w/ sonic blaster

      Selections: 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Frag & Krak grenades, 3x Sonic Blaster

    • Noise Champion

      Selections: Power sword, Sonic blaster

  • Noise Marines [5 PL, 115pts]

    Categories: Faction: Chaos, Faction: Heretic Astartes, Infantry, Faction: Slaanesh, Faction: <Legion>, Faction: Emperor's Children, Troops

    • Marine w/ blastmaster

      Selections: Blastmaster

    • 3x Marine w/ sonic blaster

      Selections: 3x Bolt pistol, 3x Frag & Krak grenades, 3x Sonic Blaster

    • Noise Champion

      Selections: Power sword, Sonic blaster

• Elites

• Sonic Dreadnought [7 PL, 110pts]

  Selections: 2 x Blastmaster, Helbrute fist

  Categories: Faction: Chaos, Elites, Vehicle, Faction: Heretic Astartes, Slaanesh, Helbrute, Faction: Emperor's Children

Richard (Thank you again for hosting!) was trying out his beautifully painted Indomitus Space Marines painted up as Nova Marines. His force had a Lieutenant, 2 units of 5 Space Marine Assault Intercessors, 3 Blade Guard and 3 Space Marine Suppressors (Jump pack troops with Autocannons!!?!). 

Click on after the break for some pictures and a quick rundown of how the game went!

1 done, 1 to go!

 I completed the first of two Stegadons! This one being the base model with Skystreak bow:

I am very pleased with how this came out. Being painted to a "table ready" or in my words "good enough" level I think I am happy to call it done.

Here are some more beauty shots:

I am still trying to figure out the coloring for the next one as its the Engine of the Gods so I feel it should have a more unique coloring for its skin and armor plates. Stick around and I will post some wip shot next week of the next one!

Ca$H

Stegadon - Part 2

 The summer has caught up with me. That is to say, I have been out enjoying as much time as possible up at our trailer on the lake, so painting has slide some. Couple that with my airbrush breaking (irreparable) and it has impacted the amount of hobby I have achieved in the last month. I have managed to get some things done though!

First up I finished the "crew" for both the regular stegadon and the Engine of the Gods version:

They follow the same paint scheme I've been using for regular, champion and priest skinks - yellow, blue and orange respectively. I guess I'm still caught in the old school lore of specific spawning pools growing specific role based skinks. 

I do plan to buy a new Iwata airbrush soon, but I did some digging and found an old Paasche airbrush I bought at least 8+ years ago and NEVER used! It's an entry level but great quality so I figured "Why not?" and busted it out to start on the first stegadon:

It offers surprisingly great control and fine spray lines! I know the picture isn't the best but there was literally zero over spray! I didn't mask any of the areas an was able to get the base colors down just fine! It's easy to clean, but I am not a fan of the under mount reservoir. I prefer the top down models. This will get me through for now and allow some time to really research and choose the best new airbrush for my needs. 

I plan to keep working on this purple/green stegadon over the next week or two and finish it up before moving on to the next one. This will be the regular skystreak bow stegadon. I'm excited get one on the table soon! 

-Ca$h

Stegadons Work in Progress

Good day all!

This will be a short update on the pair of Stegadons I am working on. It has been a busy July and with the great weather I haven't been spending much time working on models in my basement. I have build two Stegadons. One is the base behemoth with the Skystreak Bow and the other is the Engine of the Gods.

I have focused on getting the skinks done first as my old, well used, and cheap airbrush finally packed it in so I want to wait until I pick up a new one for the beasts themselves. So here is where I am:

I have added a small piece of paper clip to one foot on each skink to allow me to pin them down to the Stegadon howdah once they are painted. This also allows me to pin them to small pieces of trim to spray and paint them in batches. I will complete these skinks this week, and move on to the Stegadons and howdahs next week.

Here is the a picture of the zenithal primed Stegadons awaiting the airbrush:

You can expect an update early next week with the completed skink "crew" along with any more work I manage to get done on the Stegadons themselves.

Work on the army is slowing down over summer as I expected it would, but I will keep getting small achievable steps completed and the army will continue to grow. I really am still enjoying the building and painting of this army. I am also excited for the resumption of in-person gaming and having many many games to learn how to play these guys effectively!

Thanks for following my progress - stay cool out there!

-Ca$h

Sneaky Skinks!

Hi all,

This is just a quick update as I have been busy on a short family vacation and work. I have completed a small unit of Chameleon Skinks. These came in the large lot I picked up and had base coats already done so I just finished the job - highlights, shading, touch-ups and basing etc:

More pictures after the break!

Salamanders

Hi again! This is just a quick update as to what I accomplished this past week. I assembled and painted up 3 Hunting Packs of Salamanders. I even got to test them out in a quick 500pt game against a buddy (he was playing Stormcast) and they performed pretty well. They managed to shoot and charge a unit of 5 Sequitors and wiped them off the board.

The next round they died very quickly to his Celestar Ballista. It fired 4 shots (Rapid fire 18") and he got lucky - all 4 hit, doing 4D6 wounds! Suffice to say that -2 rend and so many hits dropped by Salamander unit down to 2 models, that he then charged and removed off the table hah! Not really a fair trade in points but for the first showing of the Salamanders I can't complain. Hopefully we will get a chance to video the next small game and I can start uploading more content that way too.

Here are models I completed this week:

Next weeks plans : Small unit of Chameleon Skinks and 2 Stegadons!

Until then,

Ca$h

Reinforcements arrive!

With the quick side project of re-basing and touching up my old Empire force to make it into a Cities of Sigmar completed, I have shifted back to working on my Seraphon. Of note I completed the first of 3 Slann I will eventually paint. For now, with the smaller games we play, 1 Slann is more then enough! Here is a nice picture of him :

I also picked up two huge lots of models from a friend who is moving and needed to decrease his piles of plastic shame in his closets. Seraphon and Ogor Mawtribes!


Skip on after the break for some more pics and a list of what I got:

A quick side project - Cities of Sigmar

When organizing my many boxes of minis that have been stashed in my basement I came across an old Empire army, on square bases and all. Looking over the models, it appeared that I had enough to put a small Age of Sigmar force together so I sourced some 25mm round bases for the 90+ infantry along with the correct oval cavalry bases from Tabletop Game Store online.

Click on after the break for more pictures and what products I used to base them!

Last Stormcast - for me

But not for the family! I have finished up the Lord-Celestant on Dracoth for the kids starting Stormcast Eternals force :

Not amazing but table ready for the kids!

Skip on past the break for more pictures and information on upcoming units and battle reports!

Thunder bolt of lightning...

It's very very frightening that there are now Stormcast Eternals in the house! The kids decided on that faction and I committed to assist with the assembly and some of the painting. Looking through the battletome they decided on the purple and gold of the Lions of Sigmar:

So with this paint scheme chosen we set to work to put together a simple step by step for the kids to follow to achieve the desired look. I modified the belt/skirt area to make it black (to break up the gold better) and here is where we stand with 10 Liberators completed to a basic tabletop standard :

Click on past the break for a couple more pictures and our planned next steps!