Scion of Slaanesh

Keeper of Secrets: Finished!

This figure was a long time coming. I think I've owned this model for over eight years! Anyway, it's finished, and ready to lead my damned legions across the war-torn battlefields of the End Times.

Speaking of which, if you haven't gotten your hands on any of the End Times books—and who can blame you? They're impossible to find in hardcover—I strongly suggest you pick up the newly-added softcover ones. The stories are amazing (Nagash was a bit slow at the end). I've been reading them before bed, and I have to say, the last couple weeks I've been excited to get to bed.

Anyway, I now have a fully-painted 2000pt Legions of Chaos army. But am I going to stop there? Nope! In the (hopefully) rare chance that any of my champions turn into spawn I'll need to have a couple of those foul abominations on hand. I have two days to finish these two models. This is entirely doable.

It appears that I won't be finishing my daemonettes, which is a bit sad. It also means that if I have an opportunity to summon daemons, I'll have to use my old pewter plaguebearers. I love my old pewter plaguebearers, but they're a tad out of place in a Slaanesh army, no?

I'll keep y'all updated.

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Warzone's Resurrection

I had my first game of Warzone a couple weeks ago and it was tons of fun!

For those of you who can move your eyes slightly to the right of this text you'll see that Warzone is in my top 3 miniatures games and has been in this position since I started playing it. It's not about to stop just 'cause another version has come out. 

Warzone: Resurrection is the fourth miniatures game to bear the name, and it lives up to its legacy. It's the same as it's always been: d20-based, action points (though with only 2 as standard instead of 3), squad-based, and powered by an alternate-activation system. The major differences to this version are the addition of a customized deck of cards and of save modifiers based on strength and type of weapon/attack. Some armors are more or less susceptible to certain types of weapons, and any strength higher than 10 gives a –1 to a model's save based on how high above 10 it is (i.e. a strength 11 attack gives the target a –1 save, a strength 15 a –5 save, etc in addition to any susceptibilities the armor may have to any weapon fired at it.).

Now the customized deck of cards I have yet to try (my opponent accidentally threw out his cards, so he couldn't build a deck), but I can't say I'm chomping at the bit to do so. The idea with Warzone: Resurrection is that if you want—and I suspect "official" tournaments will make this aspect mandatory—you can build a deck of various cards that will augment your army and/or hinder your opponent's à la Magic: the Gathering (however these cards are not collectible or randomly packaged in case that bugs you—I don't mind either way—and/or was an impediment to your decision to start this fantastic game). 

Here's what I'm talking about: You'll build your own deck of cards before the game. During the game you'll have a hand of cards that you'll be able to play them against your opponent. Even in the "Basic Game" (as the version, sans cards, is known) there are "resource cards" which, when tapped, allow your models to perform more actions (thus giving your models the "missing" 3rd action that 99% of units had in past editions), heal, or add a +1 bonus to hit. In the "advanced game" (as the version with the deck of cards is known) you can tap these resource cards to activate the cards you play from your hand.

I'm super-skeptical about cards in miniatures game beyond simply reference, of course (see Warmachine/Hordes). I think it adds an unneeded complexity to an already complex and customizable game. Not to mention that miniatures games are constantly being revised and errata'd and having to update an extra accessory can become confusing. This has already happened with Warzone, as Prodos (the company producing the game) has announced a set of replacement cards that will, at the time of this article, soon be available.

My opinion is to leave the card game mechanics to card games. You don't always need to put peanut butter in your chocolate. I know this sounds close-minded, or even grognard-ish (really, I'm not!), but I do need convincing whenever I see these two genres mix—and this is from  the mouth of a proud Magic player. Look, I promise that I'll give the "advanced version" a shot with an open mind, but I'm more than happy to stick with the "basic game" indefinitely as it really is the Warzone that I've always loved.

Anyway, if you like 28mm sci-fi games, there's no reason you shouldn't look into this game, after all, it's in my top 3. Here are some pictures of the game I played (and lost...):

My Brotherhood troopers advance on Dr. Diana's clone.

My poor Judicator died because we played the armor piercing rules wrong. You only subtract the "AVV" value of the weapon from the armor save of the vehicle, you don't also subtract the strength modifier.

I painted up an old Inquisitor model from 1st edition Warzone to use as my warlord. In Warzone: Resurrection you can create your own heroes using a set of character creation rules. I haven't named him yet. Those two glass beads are wounds... 

My opponent's Cybertronic troopers. Out of all the factions of the game Cybertronic got the biggest makeover in terms of models, and I couldn't be more pleased with them.

The doom of Squad Primus.

Up next on the painting docket: Brotherhood Inquisitors, Blessed Vestal Laura, and the Capitol starter box (my favorite faction!).

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Enter the Realm of Chaos, your nightmare has just begun

So the tournament I mentioned a month ago is a scant week away! By Slaanesh's studded boot, that's soon! What do I have left to do? Seemingly everything, of course.

I have to paint a Keeper of Secrets, for sure, and then everything else is extra. Painting the six knights, and battle standard bearer took longer than I'd hoped, but they're finally finished!

Here they are:

So now I just need to paint my Keeper of Secrets, then every point of my 2000pt army is ready for the tournament. The rest of the army could definitely use some touch-ups, and will get some after the tournament, but for now, they'll have to wait. 

Now I need to paint the auxiliary stuff that I mentioned last post: that is, the 20 Daemonettes, 2 Spawn, and Herald of Slaanesh. Here are some pics of the whole army including the stuff that needs to be finished:

This photo was taken before the BSB was finished.

This photo was taken before I really sat down and write my list. The Hellstriders of Slaanesh are not featured in the final draft of my army.

This photo was taken before the knights were painted.

Anyway, it's been awhile since I posted, and I've had a back-log of stuff to post about, so I apologize if this isn't up to the usual quality. There is some repetition, and run-on sentences, for sure. I'm just jacked-up from coffee, painting, heavy metal, and the need to be out the door in a half-hour.

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The Nature of Chaos

The nature of Chaos is unpredictability. This is true both with small 'c' chaos, and big 'C' Legions of Chaos that I'll be fielding in a painted-only tournament this December.

My army is mostly painted, and when I say "mostly," I meant that it can take the field, and meet any painted requirement a tournament could throw at me. However, it's not done. Pole-arms on the chaos warriors aren't finished, and I don't think the claws and teeth on the warhounds have been sufficiently highlighted. They'll be done, of course, but it's still a job I have to do.

What I'm really concerned with is the unpredictability of Chaos, and what I need to get done for any eventualities that may occur. For instance: What if my champion manages to slay a monster or another champion and becomes a daemon prince? I'll need to have one of those ready. Worse yet, what if he becomes a spawn? I don't even own any of those. In the Legions of Chaos army (a combined force of Beastmen, Daemons, and Warriors of Chaos that was introduced in the new End Times: Glottkin book, which I will review later), you can also have a unit of daemons show up, or have a character become a herald of your chosen god (Slaanesh, natch). I own a herald of Slaanesh, but he/she/it's from a manufacturer that's not Citadel, and the tournament is held at a Games Workshop retail store. I also own a bunch of daemonettes which could be summoned, but in order to meet the "2d6+3" possibility, I'll need at least 15 painted (at least, because 12 could, hopefully, get rolled for the Winds of Magic more than once a game).

All this makes the Chaos armies my favorite to command. Besides being the most metal miniatures any company has ever designed, they also demand that you roll with the punches. If you want a dependable army stick with dwarfs, or one of the elf factions (which I also love), but if you want to feel the full brunt of Warhammer's joy, then armies like Chaos, or Orcs & Goblins, are for you.

Anyway, the tournament's 2000pts, which is a mercifully managable total. I think, really, the only thing that I'll have to put my effort into is the potential additions that I mentioned above. Now I just have to stay away from Star Trek on Netflix, and I'll be a-ok. I'll keep you updated.

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What's Up?

+++EDIT+++
In the original post, I erroneously refer to The Bloody Reaver in Dreadfleet as a Dark Elf Black Ark. It's actually the vampire dude's boat. There isn't a Dark Elf ship in Dreadfleet. I'm still going to do a bit of mixing between Dreadfleet and Man O' War, but I'll have to start with the dwarf ship, Grimnir's Thunder.
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Let's keep this posting thing rollin'!

So what have I been up to lately? To start things off, I'm the proud owner of a (mostly) complete copy of Man O' War by Games Workshop. I've always wanted this game, but it went out of print just before I joined the GW hobby. I managed to acquire a copy for free, and the only thing it's missing are half of the plastic ships. The half that remain are unpainted, and in excellent condition. It came with a bunch of stuff from Plague Fleet, but not everything. So in my madness (and utter disregard for financial stability), I purchased a copy of Plague Fleet off of eBay.

I plan to slowly build up a collection of ships ("slowly" being the operative word, seeing as most of them go for $17 a ship once shipping's factored in), and play some games. This looks like one helluva game, and I'd love to get it to the table. Normally naval combat games bore the living hell out of me, but this one looks simple and customizable. Of course I can't expect others to start collecting ships, as their price and availability is somewhat prohibitive, but I have no problem making this a pet project. I think I'll begin with a Dark Elf fleet, as their ships seem abundant on eBay, and I plan to use the Black Ark from Dreadfleet in place of the original Black Ark (I mean, Black Arks are supposed to be huge, so it would be somewhat thematic if I used a ship that's in a bigger scale. I'm toying with the idea of doing something similar with the other ships from Dreadfleet. After all, I bought the damned game and need an excuse to get those ships painted. I'll see how the Black Ark turns out first, though).

I've also been working on my Americans for Bolt Action. This is an interesting paint project for me because I plan to dip the figures. As you may be able to tell from my lack of painting posts in the last little while, I haven't been inspired to paint much lately, and any attempts I've made to "dive right back in" have been met with the proverbial wall. I'm hoping by tackling a project that's simply base-coating a figure and dipping it into an instant-shading goop I'll be warmed-up to tackle a more involved project. I should also mention that the Warhammer club I frequent has been playing Bolt Action quite regularly, so there's even more inspiration. I, sadly, haven't attended the club in a couple months, so this is really killing multiple birds with one stone (good lord!).

I'm working on an original Cyberpunk RPG of my own design. Nothing much to say about it at the moment, but keep your eyes peeled.

As a perfect distraction to all these things, I bought, built, and primed my Capitol starter box for Warzone. I still have to finish my Brotherhood (which are so close to being finished), so this project probably won't see completion for a couple months.

And finally, this is something that's got me excited purely on speculation: Warhammer the End Times Chaos. I'm hoping this'll be my entry back into Warhammer. I've always loved Chaos in the Warhammer world, and if the rumors are true, and this book will allow me to integrate my Warriors of Chaos army with Beastmen, and Daemons, then I'm more on-board then ever. That's one of the changes I lament from the transition between 6th edition and 7th edition Warhammer is the separation of the Chaos factions. If I can stick them all back together again, then I imagine that I'll only want to from here on in.

Alright, that's it for now. I've had a remarkably infrequent stretch of three days off, and I plan to do even more hobbying tomorrow before I'm back in the coal mines that is game retail. Oh what a life!

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O brave new world, that has such games in't.

"Hey!" you exclaim, "I hate new stuff. Why're you changin' yer blog around?"
"Shaddap!" I say.

Nah, fer realz: I just thought that the sombre tone and title of "The Wargamer" seemed out of step with what I really do for fun. I wargame, that's for sure, but I also play boardgames, role-playing games, and card games.

Really, I wanted to call the blog "I Love Games," but the URL was apparently taken for that, so I went with "Playing Non-Stop," which is a clever take off of an expression ("Those neighbors have Van Halen's 'Panama' playing non-stop!"), and also a clever take off of a Kraftwerk song. I wanted to call it "I Love Games" because I do. I immerse myself in the gaming world, and a byproduct of that is a healthy respect for games designers. Mark Rosewater (of Magic: the Gathering fame), often describes Magic creator Richard Garfield as "loving games" whenever he mentions him in his articles or podcast. I respect both those men, and I guess the name kinda stuck. Oh well, at least now I can't be accused of comparing myself to Richard Garfield.

I'm also hoping this slight change in tone will encourage me to blog more. It's a bit ironic, though, that the things I'm concerning myself with the most at the moment are miniatures games, which were right up the alley of some blog called "The Wargamer." Anyway, they'll be the first things I most-likely mention on here.

Just thought I'd pop by to make another empty promise about blogging more, but at least the place got a face-lift, and it's nice to know that there's a reason for it, I imagine.

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A-Dungeonin' and A-Dragonin'

As a follow-up to last week's post, I managed to get A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry to the table last night.

To recap: the intent was to try and run an AD&D module using the current D&D rules. The purpose of this was to show off the simplicity and flexibility of the current system, and to prove to myself that it could easily be done. I define "easily" as: the DM preparing the module as s/he would normally, making up the DCs on the fly (but adhering to the DC scales listed in the rulebook), and subbing out monsters as necessary, as AD&D stat blocks don't exactly transfer over. Pretty much, I wanted to show that the most work one would have to put into running an AD&D module for D&D would be finding the current rules for the monsters within.

Overall, it worked well. I was playing with my usual RPG group, which is made up of four other seasoned gamers, with more than 60 years of gaming experience between us. They'd never played the current version of D&D, and I'd say by the end of it they were impressed, which is another goal I had (the sneaky task of trying to convert my closest gaming friends to my favorite version of D&D yet). They even liked the module, though I had some complaints:

Too Long. I was under the impression that this adventure was written to fall in line with the other tournament modules, but without being a tournament module itself. Whether I was wrong in that assumption or not, it didn't fit within the four hours I wanted it to. I had to rush the ending. One member of my group suggested that I cut some rooms out of the dungeon, as tournament modules were written with the intent to see how far a party might get through the dungeon, rather than make an adventure that gives everyone the experience of an adventure from start to finish (the players also could've ended the adventure in half the time if they went to the guard house instead of into the mine). I think this works well within a tournament setting, but like I said last post, it's just not something I want to roll out for the session I'm going to be running at the games shop.

Too much hackin' 'n' slashin'. I'm not one of those gamers that turns their nose up at a good ole hack 'n' slash adventure, but there wasn't much to go on here other than sword swingin' and arrow loosin'. One of the players was playing a preacher-type cleric, who tried to convert some goblins to his faith, and that was fun to role-play, but another group (especially one made up of strangers, and therefore less-likely to go as far outside the box as my player did) might just as easily start an encounter with the goblins instead.

Not weird enough. If I'm going to run an AD&D-style adventure, I want it to be full of Appendix N nonsense, and craziness. I want eccentric wizards beseeching foul gods for power, and strange groups of monsters committing even stranger acts of terror upon small medieval towns. I guess DCC has spoiled me in that regard, by doing an amazing job of capturing the proto-D&D feel that's been bred out of the game (or recessed).

All-in-all, I've proven it can be done; you can run an AD&D module for D&D with only some monster stat blocks on hand, a tiny bit more work, and some improvisational skills (and the confidence to stand by what you change). I just now need to find a more suitable module.

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Slave to the Game

I'm back!

Oh. These balloons are all deflated... Ah well.

This post is about the new D&D, and a game I'm prepping, so if you wanna read about that just skip to the text under the bold, linked, title further down. If you wanna read a bunch of boring stuff about how I've been doing nothing in the last six-and-a-half months, then read on!

So what have I been up to? Well, to be perfectly frank, not writing. I've hit a bit of a phase lately where all I want to do is watch police procedurals on Netflix (if you've never watched Twin Peaks, then you definitely should, and if you don't like Twin Peaks then I really can't do anything for you. Sorry), and play Hearthstone (I can't stand World of WarCraft, but this game is so good). I'm trying to fight my way out of this slump, which is really the only way to do it. Slumps like this can't be beat with time alone. I just regret that it's taken me this long. So what's worth writing about so much that I dusted off this old blog?

Dungeons & Dragons 5th Edition 

I'm not going to write a whole review here (or maybe even at all), but I have to say this this is quite possibly my favorite version of D&D yet. The rules are so simple to grasp, which is really what I want these days. I just finished a two-and-a-half year long Pathfinder campaign, and I can honestly say that while I'm still willing to play Pathfinder and D&D3, my days of DMing it are over, over, over. It's just too damn complex, and too damn high-powered.

I'm sure D&D will expand the game to a point where characters can turn invisible at will, and remain so forever, or that rangers will be able to fire five different magical arrows at once, but from what I gather these will be, mercifully, optional. The core of the game is an intuitive sword-and-sorcery system, that one will be able to season to taste. I, personally, will be taking a hard look at the rules for feats, before I agree to allow their use at my table, and while I love, love, love miniatures, I'm not running out the door to include their use either.

It's also a bit biased of myself to say that I'm a big fan of DM agency (fancy-schmancy way of saying the DM is always right and can veto stuff), but this edition seems to lean more towards that than 3rd or 4th edition, without going all the way to tyranny. I mean, it's shitty when you have a terrible DM and s/he's surrounding you with nothics like you're at some sort of nothic rave (really, Carmin?), or violating the "yes, and..." rule of improv every encounter, but for the most part, I like the DM to not be constrained by the rules. Whether I was valid in feeling that Pathfinder constrained me or not, it's just how I felt, and how I don't feel now with D&D.

So what next? I'll be running an event at the shop I work at soon that will involve D&D, and I've been wondering what adventure I'll run. Seeing as how Dungeon Crawl Classics (DCC) launched me on the classic RPG kick that I've been riding high for the last little while, I thought I'd run an old AD&D module and see how well it converts to the new game. I'm betting my reputation as a world-class DM (and a handsome one at that) that it'll run like a dream. 

I'd be a fool not to give it a test-run, though. To that effect I'll be hosting a game next week to give it a dry run. It'll involve four players who have yet to play the new D&D so it'll be the perfect arena to work out the kinks. The adventure will be A0 Danger at Darkshelf Quarry.

You may be grasping your computer monitor and shaking it with fury. "You simp!" you scream, spittle turning your Linux display into a corona of prismatic light. "A0 is not part of the original 'Against the Slave Lords' arc, but a mere imitator!" Well now, settle down. Sure, it's an AD&D module written in 2013 (and a prequel at that), but it's written by Skip Williams who used to work at TSR in the late '70s, and who's written many D&D modules in the past and so I have the utmost confidence that this adventure will provide the AD&D experience I desire. Besides, unlike the other A-Series modules, this one isn't designed to be a tournament module. I don't have anything against tournament modules, it's just not something I want to run at this moment. Besides, I already bought the damn re-print, and so far I've run neither Jack nor Squat of it.

So what's the battle plan? I'm going to run the adventure as it's displayed in the book, and sub in the monster stats from the new game (which can be found in the Starter Box, and the last D&D Next playtest document). That's it! If anything strange comes up during the game I will take notes, and adjust as I see fit. Great Gygax! How easy does that sound? No more templates or charts that I have to adjust to ensure game balance (a nebulous term for RPGs if I've ever heard one). I'm free, folks! I'm free.

I'll let y'all know how it goes next week.

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A Tale of One Gamer: My First Ten Bleakswords

My first ten Dark Elf Bleakswords are finished! It's only taken me three months, too! Well, let's be honest, three months of a bunch of sessions spread out. As we'll see from my time breakdown at the bottom of this article, it actually hasn't taken that long. I managed to do these ten figures in only six sessions (one of which I mostly spent building a Cauldron of Blood, which I have included in today's breakdown but will discuss in a future article in this series).

I'm notoriously bad at blogging regularly (one thing I hope to change in the new year), so I've actually managed to sit down three times since my last post and do some hardcore painting. After I finished the silvery metals last article, I moved onto the purples.

I painted a base of Naggaroth Night, followed by a Druchii Violet wash. After the wash was dry I did a Xereus Purple/Naggaroth Night mix as a first highlight, then a Xereus Purple/Genestealer Purple mix for the final highlight. Though in the picture shown above, I don't think I completed the final highlight at the time.

The skin was done using Reaper's paints. They have a fabulous little line of paints that I like to dip into every now and then. They're especially cool because they make use of what they call "triads," which Citadel borrowed for their current line of paints. The "triads" are three paints that work with one another to create a good shade, base, and highlight combination. This one was the "Dark Elf Triad" which consisted of Dark Elf Shadow, Dark Elf Skin, and Dark Elf Highlight (in that order. Though I did a Druchii Violet wash after I painted on Dark Elf Skin that I won't be repeating further... Too dark). I did this combination in the same sort of format as the purples—that is, mixing them together instead of painting a brighter color overtop. I don't have a hard-and-fast ratio for this; I simply just mix until it looks right, then self-correct if it doesn't.

The golds were next and they were super satisfying to paint as always. They were done with a Balthasar Gold base, then a complete cover-up of Gehenna's Gold. No gold I've used covers too well except for Balthasar Gold which I don't like as a color. That's why I cover it right up again with Gehenna's Gold. I did an Agrax Earthshade wash then an Auric Armour Gold highlight without mixing. I don't like mixing metallic paints.

Now the figures are practically finished (it's what I love about the new Dark Elf kits, they're not overly complex). I did some of the little bits around them such as the black skirts and shoes (Abaddon Black sans any highlights (shh! No one will ever notice)), and the little red trim around their chainmail skirts (Khorne Red base, Carroburg Crimson wash, Khorne Red/Wild Rider Red highlight, then a little bit of Wild Rider Red on the tips and edges).

The fun part is their hair. I like painting hair because it brings these models together and contrasts well with their black skin. Also the hair makes it look like I'm intentionally painting them as drow, and not just leaving the skin deep in their helmets dark to cut corners. The hair was a Fenrisian Grey basecoat, followed by a straight layer of White Scar.

The only thing left was to paint the eyes (White Scar, then Abaddon Black pupils), and the little belt straps that they have hanging (Doombull Brown basecoat, with a straight Tuskgor Fur highlight on the edges of the belts). I also painted the banner pole a Dryad Bark base followed by a Dryad Bark/Steel Legion Drab highlight.

I tidied up the bases, glued some Burnt Grass static grass flock from Woodland Scenics on some parts using P.V.A. glue, and then stuck one of the decals that were included with the box on my standard. I didn't choose the symbol for any particular reason besides the fact that it matches the color of the banner's trim and it was thin and simple, so would look good on the thin banner.

+++
A note on decals: One of the questions I get asked a lot as a hobby shop clerk is regarding the proper application of decals. I begin by cutting out the decal I want with an X-Acto blade and soaking it in water for about thirty seconds to a minute. You don't want to soak it too long, otherwise the decal will just separate and you might as well throw it out (though I'm such a decal pro that I've saved a couple of these). The shape you cut it in should be a square with enough room around the decal itself, so as to allow a pair of tweezers access to the piece without them touching the decal proper.

Just before I take it out of the water, I apply some Humbrol DecalFix to the area I want to apply the decal to. Then I use tweezers to pull the decal out, brush the decal onto the area I want, and gently dab the perimeter of the decal. While I'm doing this, I'm constantly re-adjusting the decal with my brush, as absorbing the water can cause the decal to shift.

At the time the completed regimental photo was taken the decal was still wet and I hadn't applied the second coat of the DecalFix, but after the water has dried off a little, I'll apply the aforementioned second coat of DecalFix. This takes off the edges of the decal, which often show through when everything's said and done. It also deals with some of the shine.
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That's about it for this time. My next article will deal with the Cauldron of Blood I received for Christmas, and all the good stuff that came outta that!

Here's the breakdown for this entry:
Naggaroth Night - $5
Druchii Violet - $5
Xereus Purple - $5
Genestealer Purple - $5
Balthasar Gold - $5
Gehenna's Gold - $5
Agrax Earthshade - $5
Auric Armour Gold - $5
Abbadon Black - $5
White Scar - $5
Fenrisian Grey - $5
Dryad Bark - $5
Tuskgor Fur - $5
Steel Legion Drab - $5
Doombull Brown - $5
Khorne Red - $5
Wild Rider Red - $5
Carroburg Crimson - $5
Dark Elf Shadow - $4
Dark Elf Skin - $4
Dark Elf Highlight - $4
Humbrol DecalFix - $6.99
P.V.A. Glue - $10 (which I forgot to add to last entry's breakdown, so I'll add it here)
Burnt Grass Static Grass Flock - $12.99
Cauldron of Blood/Bloodwrack Shrine - $90
Citadel Under-Empire Basing Kit - $40

As always, please patronize your local brick-and-mortar hobby shop before hitting the web for supplies and models.

Time spent since last update: 7h 20min
Total time spent: 9h 57min
Money spent since last update: $130 ($131.98)
Total money spent: $245.49 ($299.93)

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A Tale of One Gamer: Initial Steps Both Forwards and Back

Hail readers!

Welcome back to this (hopefully) ongoing series wherein I embark upon the creation of a brand new army. With the Warhammer Armies book limply in my hands, I began to build the dark elf warriors box that I purchased alongside it. Initially, and with a background in spear-exclusive high elves, I began to clip out the Dreadspears from the sprue, intent on them being the vanguard for a mighty spearmen unit. I built, primed, and began painting the armor of these ten Dreadspears only to change tack somewhat.

Sprue for me, sprue for you (no sprue for you).

Close-up of Dreadspears.

Dreadspears.

One of the benefits to working at a games shop is the regular contact I come into with other gamers. I chatted with a few, and asked their opinions on which of the two core dark elf warrior builds were the most effective: the Dreadspears with their extra rank of attacks, or the Bleakswords, with their parry save. I should, at this point, say that there will be some Warhammer lingo thrown in here, and for the sake of brevity I'm not going to describe every special rule as I say it. If you don't know why a Bleaksword should get a parry save when a Dreadspear does not, then ask a friend.

I got about 55/45 opinion on Bleakswords vs. Dreadspears, most of which stemming from the opinion that because elves don't have the best armor save or toughness, an extra rank is nice, but ultimately a parry save is better. Really, it depends on what you want a big unit like that to do. Should they be the big block that rushes into a combat and anchors it while more deadly units slide around to its sides, or should the unit be the spearhead (excuse the pun) and take out as many of the enemy as possible before being taken out themselves? Dark elves have long been thought of as a glass cannon (putting out damage while not being able to take it in return), and the Dreadspears would definitely fit that bill.

So why did I spend a half hour clipping off the already-primed spears and cleaning the mold lines from a bunch of swords I just took from the sprue? Ultimately I decided that the parry save was a nice thing to have, and if I wanted a unit that could put out a ton of attacks I might want to go with the Corsairs, who not only have two hand weapons (thus giving them the same amount of attacks in two ranks as three ranks of Dreadspears) but have a sweet dragonhide cloak which gives them a 5+ scaly skin save (psst! They're also cheaper at $29.75 a box vs. $40 a box).

I talked to a gamer who suggested that I forgo dark elf warriors entirely and use, as my combat blocks, simply Witch Elves, Executioners, and Blackguard. While I no-doubt will include these things in my army, I do have a soft spot for the humble warrior of whatever army I'm playing. I don't think I've ever done an army that didn't include a basic soldier of some sort, even in the chaotic days of 4th/5th edition Warhammer where regiments were simply regiments and they made no distinction between the elites and the rank-and-file in terms of army construction beyond just including them in your percentage breakdown.

So, you'll notice these pictures change. They are now Bleakswords, and thus had to undergo a paint-on priming (which I'm always leery of) of their right arms (no left-handed warriors in MY army apparently) using Imperial Primer. Oh well. This was one of the things I knew would happen as I built this army slowly. I'll have more exposure to a change-of-mind, or outside opinions because of the pace at which I'm taking this project. It also didn't help that I haven't written an army list yet. I hope to get around to doing that today, and I'll write about it in a later post. I also plan on doing a breakdown of all the units in the army and giving my armchair opinions on them.

So, on to the painting:

For this session, I really only managed to get the bases and the silver finished. On my models, I always do the bases first, as it's messy and involves lots of drybrushing. I got a little excited and started with the silvery metals first, but after having to re-do their weaponry, I decided to approach this sensibly and start with the bases. I opened up my Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms Underdark book to get some inspiration for Underdark bases. They all looked like stone (natch), but had this etherial glow to them. Also for inspiration, I used the old D&D: Chainmail book "Shadow of the Drow" wherein Jason Soles gives a painting guide to drow. He just used a black base with some grey and white highlights, which isn't enough for me (no disrespect to Jason Soles).

To begin with, at the suggestion of a friend, I stuck my command figures on scenic bases. This lets them "pop" and stand out (even more than they normally do). I went with the Ruins Bases from Micro Art Studio because they were the rockiest-looking bases at my hobby shop. I plan on doing this with every command section I have in the army. They come five bases to a pack, so I was able to have two left over. To do another command section I'll still have to get another pack, but then the third time I do this, it'll be "free" (in a sense). I'll even be able to stick any lords or heroes on these bases. I had to cut the bases off the command, though, as my friend's suggestion came after I had gone to the trouble of basing the figures normally. I had to hand prime these separately.

Scenic bases.

The command all regal-like.

A note on hand-priming: I dislike it, in general, though it often has its uses. Spray-on primer is initially expensive, but it gets the job done quickly, efficiently, and effortlessly. It's crappy for things like rebasing, or weapon-swaps after you've started painting, however. As I saw here, Imperial Primer got some use out of it. I'm not particularly worried about the quality of the prime-job, as the material I primed was resin and plastic, which are more porous materials, and allow for a better adherence of paint and primer. If this was pewter, I'd be more concerned. Though for pewter, I use paint-on primer to get into the gaps that the spray just wasn't able to get at. It works well-enough for this as the gaps don't see a lot of wear-and-tear the way the higher portions of a model do.

For the bases I went with a Mechanicus Standard Grey followed by a Nuln Oil wash then a drybrush of Dawnstone and Administratum Grey. I didn't bother to mix the paints together, as I also wanted a well-defined tone to the bases (though not as extreme as Jason Soles').

Bases done... For now. I'll end up sticking static grass on 'em and painting the rims black, no doubt. 

For the silvery metals, I began with a basecoat of Leadbelcher followed by my handy-dandy Nuln Oil wash. I then did a bit of a highlight with some Leadbelcher and Ironbreaker mix, followed by some Ironbreaker and Runefang Steel mix. I really like the dry paints for metallics especially, so I drybrushed some Necron Compound around the angular bits like the swords, and the chain mail. The chain mail, by the way, was done almost exclusively by drybrushing instead of painting on the steps above.

View of the metals.

More metals.

The metals finished on the whole regiment.

Another shot.

So here's this entry's breakdown (italics are items already owned):
Warhammer Armies: Dark Elves - $59.50
Battle Magic: Dark Elves - $7
Dark Elf Dreadspears/Darkshards/Bleakswords - $40
P3 Clippers - $15.99
Excel Set of Six Files - $14.99
Chaos Black Primer - $19.50
Excel Hobby Knife - $6.99
"Ruins" Scenic Bases from Micro Art Studios - $8.99
Plastruct Plastic Weld - $6.99
Gale Force 9 Hobby Round Fine Basing Grit - $5.50
Windsor-Newton Series 7 Brush #3 - $18.99
Citadel Fine Detail Brush - $7
Citadel Wash Brush - $10
Citadel Medium Drybrush - $7
Citadel Large Brush - $10
Imperial Primer - $5
Leadbelcher - $5
Ironbreaker - $5
Mechanicus Standard Grey - $5
Nuln Oil - $5
Dawnstone - $5
Administratum Grey - $5
Runefang Steel - $5
Necron Compound - $5

As always, please patronize your local brick-and-mortar hobby shop before hitting the web for supplies and models.

Time spent since last update: 2h 37min
Total time spent: 2h 37min
Money spent since last update: $115.49 ($167.95)
Total money spent: $115.49 ($167.95)

Remember: that the breakdown includes both stuff that I bought specifically for the army (like the Battle Magic cards accessory, and the scenic bases), and the stuff that an experienced hobbyist would already own (such as the paints and tools. I own almost every Citadel Colour paint). If you own nothing, add the number in brackets to the number not in brackets, or look at my breakdown and add the costs of things you don't already own.

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