My First ever 2017 In Review Type Post

Well I've decided to write up a brief summary of all that happened in my little piece of hobby wonderland. Lots of other blogs have them so I thought I'd jump on the bandwagon.

The Revolving Door Of Gamers

Well my gaming group has had a constant core of about 6 gamers who over the last 5 or so years I've had the pleasure of cursing dice with. Stuart, Phil, Aaron, Shane and Pat. We lost Vinny last year to something called 'a better job'. We have also had some new arrivals, Billy the Ultramarine player, Dylan who is Crimson Fists and Death Guard and Alan who uses AdMech. 

Painting

2017 was a pretty productive year. 122 models finished. Mainly Imperial Guardsmen, with a smattering of Aeldari. I must admit it was very good for someone who struggles with the actual finishing of models. A big pat on the back for me. I did a quick total up of how many points it all comes to and it is 1161. I was going for any weird model that doesn't really fit into a specific army like the Star Lords civilians they get drafted into my Genestealer army as Hybrid Neophytes. Even the Werefox.

Gaming

So I think I've been tallying up my games, and I've had 5 games of Inquisimunda and 14 games of the new 40k. There is probably another one or two I may have forgotten, but a total of 19 games is pretty good for someone who used barely manage 1 a year. In both systems I've won more than I lost so that is something but for posterity it is Inquisimunda P5, W3, L2, D0 and 40K P14, W8, L5, D1. Here's to at least another 19 in 2018.

Scenery

I started many scenery projects but the only one I managed to fully complete is my six craters. They've had many guardsmen and other humanoids inside them so they really get around. Hopefully there will be a lot more to report in 2018, I have a public toilet, a hab unit and half a dozen other pieces to hopefully dazzle my readers with. 

Six craters to hunker down in.

As you can see the above craters have luminous pools of some undisclosed material in them. Are they lava? Toxic chemicals? Fanta? Each game will have a different possibility.

The Futures

 Dylan has mentioned a narrative campaign for the start of next year so that sounds like immense fun. The details have to be ironed out but hopefully it will be the sort of mayhem that makes for fun battles and fun battle reports to read.

My veterans for the Krablokistan 47th will hopefully be finished by the end of January.

Paintwise the Catachan's above are what I want to get finished first. Mainly going to use them as vets as there are plenty of meltas and a plasma gun in there, following that is my landing pad.

My Mantic budget Skyshield Landing Pad is hopefully getting used in a beautifully crafted Battle Report in the near future.

So all that's left for me is to wish everyone in plastic metal world a very Happy New Year and as much hobby as they can handle!

Thanks For Reading! 

Eldar Attack (so do the Tau)!

Farseer Gelladrill had cast the runes of fate for the third time and the result was the same. She kept discerning the sign of the death of Aeldari. Tracing back the threads of causality it was clear that a combined force of Ultramarines and Crimson Fist Astartes were about to attack a smaller force of Tau on the contested planet of Gabbrodon Theta. This in itself was of no great consequence but if her reading of the runes were correct they would then advance towards one of Ulthwé's maiden worlds and that could not be allowed. What further complicated the endevour was the craftworld was already stretched thinly as a large force of Ulthwé soldiery was currently deployed against Ork Warlord Gitbag Gutstrangla. Nevertheless it was imperative that Pur'La Sept was allowed time to reinforce their beachhead and therefore divert attention from Aeldari territories.

Barely have I finished one lacklustre batrep, then I have to start the next! This week is pretty novel as far as the normal workings of the WH40K universe is concerned as two Imperial forces (Ultramarines and Crimson Fists) duke it out with my Eldar army (20 + years in the making) and Aaron's Tau - who if recent comments made at the games table are to be believed - a genetic experiment by the Eldar to act as a buffer against humanity. This game is a bit of a departure as I have not taken any of the pictures on display, mainly due to no battery on my phone, but with the assistance of Aaron and Billy, photographic evidence was supplied.

The Armies

My army consisted of for the most part what I've been painting over the last 20 years, which isn't very much as I'm a terribly slow painter and all over the place when it comes to creating a cohesive force. Prior to the codex I had decided to go with Ulthwe, mainly because I thought black and white is a quick colour scheme. The Craftworld Attribute: Ulthwe: Foresight of the Damned made my choice even more worthwhile as it gives every unit in my army a 6+ save against every wound caused. So now every vehicle I take gets a free set of Spirit Stones.Of all the craftworld attributes, I figured it was the most beneficial as it will work in every phase, psychic, shooting and combat. The characters I took were Asurmen because I have never fielded him before, a Farseer as they are top notch psykers and a Autarch just because. Banshees were my only elite choice as I'm trying to only field painted models, I say trying as I just couldn't not take my two Wave Serpents, they were vital to my plans, the Dire Avengers and Banshees were to scoot across the table deploy and hopefully destroy swathes of marines.

Dire Avengers Painted and Some Valhallans Too!

My first Dire Avenger Squad has been completed! This post is merely to display them and allow me to chalk them off my 'to do' list. They have actually seen action against a combined force of Ultramarines and Crimson Fists and acquitted themselves quite well. They are a pretty decent  troop choice for the Eldar as they have a high rate of fire and enhanced overwatch.The models below have had their first coat of varnish (gloss) so they look a bit shiny. Once the second coat of mat varnish goes on they will look better methinks. I'm now waiting for an unseasonably warm spell due to my encounter with Daemonic varnish, that I have no intention to reacquaint myself with.

The Battle Of Sugden; A Tale Of Two Bombardments.

Supreme Commander for the Mitigation Of Hemmerdale, Porfectus Von Neestleroi pondered the map. A rebellion, xenos incursions and both Sisters of Battle and Ultramarines seemingly randomly attacking loyal Astra Militarum forces left him exasperated. The geography of the planet hindered him at every turn. Patches of intense magnetic activity in the atmosphere rendered major aerial troop movement hazardous as the destruction of the Chestafar 64th's continental troop freighters would testify. Intelligence reports indicated that the Pur'la Sept had once again been sighted, this time on the outskirts of Sugden a moderately sized town where an Imperial armoury was situated. Sending a priority order to Farg Woolstrop of the Krablokistan 47th to engage and destroy hostiles on the way to Sugden, once there rendez vous with a detachment of Crimson Fists marines and hold Sugden from all enemy forces.

Heresy Of The Highest Order!

Still stationed on the temperate yet eventful Hemmerdale, Farg Woolstrop's command received orders to rendezvous with elements of the 420th Suhnnidayl Shithawks regiment and secure an important artifact from the vicinity. He was perplexed to find the commander of the 420th was a highly intoxicated and abusive Ursakar Creed. Recent intel had surmised that Creed was missing, presumed dead following the destruction of Cadia, and that this particular version of Creed was swilling a malt based liquor which was causing him to issue orders that were both senseless and contradictory. The artifact was supposed to be set in a solid gold copy of The Thumb Of The Emperor, an object d'art that had presumably mystical properties that ensured citizen obedience and loyalty. Further information had led to surmise that Tau from the Pur'la Sept had allied with renegade Astartes to take the relic for their own purposes. When the order to move was issued Farg was once again horrified to see the so called renegades were from the Ultramarines chapter and led by none other than Rouboute Gullimann! Never one to shirk his duty he ordered his force into suppression formation and prepared to take the relic....

Hot on the heels of last weeks defeat against the Ruinous Powers comes this battle report. As our gaming group in Cavan is undergoing a bit of a revival due mainly to the new 40K this game is another 4 player battle. 1500 points per person. This time it was the valiant Krablokistan 47th, Stuart's 420th Suhnnidayl Shithawks (Astra Militarum) vs Billy's Ultramarines and Aaron's Tau (of the Pur'la Sept).

Some Fishy Characters & An Eldar Chorus line

Some more models have been completed! As the Warhammer 40K train trundles along I'm making progress. As is unusual in the male dominated 41st millennium there are more female models painted this week than male. Some will be getting stuck in to 40k ASAP and the others will wend their way onto the gaming table via a more narrative route. So anyhow, bring out the lead!

Blind Beggar Fish People

I've been a fan of Blind Beggar Miniatures for a while now and I have finished some more from a couple of kickstarters. Immediately below is one from the Mother Hydra campaign - some amphibious aliens who have made contact with various people of Farpoint IIRC. First up in the Mother Hydra diplomat. A nice sculpt which I plan to use as an npc in my games and possibly a hugely powerful alien psyker to boot. I tried to make the waistcoat look like coral and experimented with citadel technical paint with the eyes and gemstones (at least that's what I thought they were) on the aforementioned piece of xenos apparel.

"In my culture glazed eyes are a sign of attentiveness".

Chaos Vs UltraKrablokistanmarines

Following their skirmish with Ultramarines where (sub)Commander Bolshoy Bartlett was attacked and possibly killed (the body had been removed the Astartes), Commander Farg Woolstrop was surprised to receive orders to bolster Ultramarine forces that had become bogged down fighting rebels that had declared the entirety of Hemmerdale's second largest continent - Brearley - Imperium free. As had recently occurred several times in the recent past Woolstrop was half expecting the Ultramarines to immediately open fire as soon as they came within bolter range. But as was so often the case with the seemingly last minute orders he had been receiving from High Command lately no sooner had the Astra militarum deployed then the rebels came capering across to engage and the foul sight of the Traitor Legions could be seen behind them. On the plus side, the Ultramarines were holed up in an old jail and, for now at least, not shooting at him.....

Another Day, Another Batrep.

Welcome! Last week I participated in a game of 40K where my most recent enemy was now my ally. Yes that's right Billy's Ultramarines and my Astra Militarum have apparently patched up their differences in an adult fashion and smoked the pipe of peace. Not a moment too soon as the Ruinous Powers have landed on the beleaguered planet Hemmerdale intent on fomenting rebellion and nailing good honest imperial folk up on walls and using them as hood ornaments. We arranged for a 3000 point a side battle with Shane, Billy, myself and Aaron. Sadly Lord Nurgle infected the Tau force with Galloping Flatulence and they couldn't attend. Luckily Shane brought more than enough Chaos models to make up the shortfall. As I don't have either Shane's or Billy's army list, all I will say is Shane took 3 grands worth of Chaos and Billy took half that in Ultramarines. I brought my Imperial Guard that included 3 infantry squads, a unit of heavily tooled up Scions, a Leman Russ, Hellhound and Chimera, a meltagun special weapon squad and 2 heavy weapons squads (mortars and autocannons), the obligatory ratlings and sundry characters made up my force. The mission was the one where at the end of each battle turn each of the four objectives scores 2 VPs, it's called Only War. A simple mission that proved to be a lot of fun.