Hobby Tip - Finecast

I expect it is well known out there but Finecast bends very easily with the application of heat.

Recently I had a painted model with a very misshapen weapon. Knowing that other resins - e.g. Forgeworld - can be re-posed by applying heat with a hairdryer I thought I'd take a chance.

I slowly applied heat and was able to reposition the weapon. However the interesting thing was that it did not affect the paintjob. The key was to apply the heat to the right place and to ensure things did not get too hot.

Very happy with the result. Of course I bear no responsibility if you try it and reduce your model to a pile of goo.

The Horus Heresy Weekender

Last weekend Games Workshop held the second Horus Heresy event where attendees were able to attend seminars given by Forgeworld and Black Library. Obviously the focus was 30k and what we can expect.

Obviously I would have loved to attend but had to make do with the tweets that came from those lucky enough to be there. Chief among these were "After Ulanor" presenter Greg Dann and "Bad Dice Podcast"  HH correspondent Marcus Pitt. They provide dozens of updates and pictures from the event.

One of the key things that came out is that the Forgeworld books will be released as trilogies. We have Book 1: Betrayal (deals with Istvaan III) but we can expect two further books on this part of the Heresy.

The next book is Massacre and deals with the events of the Drop Site Massacre on Istvaan V. In the book four Legions will be covered - Night Lords and Word Bearers for Horus and Iron Hands and Salamanders for the False Emperor. Also we will see some add-ons to the four Legions already covered in Betrayal.

I'm most excited about the new Emperor's Children units and these guys snapped some pictures of the models.

New Terminator Bodies

The First Noise Marines

The Noise Marines are the ones I've been waiting for and it is an absolute given that I will be doing Emperor's Children in conjunction with my Death Guard. I hope Forgeworld have plenty of resin as these puppies are going to sell by the bucketful (and not just to me).

The third book in this trilogy will deal with the afternath of the Massacre and feature the craven Raven Guard as they cowardly retreat to the hills, Iron Warriors and Alpha Legion.

Obviously there are also Primarchs to be released and the one I am most excited by is the alternative Phoenician model that has emerged.

Perfection Personified - Lord Fulgrim

Merchant's Townhouse Completed

Here are some pictures of the Merchant's Townhouse that I recently completed. It is a Tabletop World piece but it has been supplemented by GW walls, hedges and a tree.

I've given the merchant a vege garden and his stylist (who I'll call James) has planted some flower beds.

Really happy with how it came out - the full base largely blocks line of site - and I'll be using it in upcoming games. Those that attend Horned Rat will have the opportunity to fight for control of the house.

Full Shot of the House

Close up of Front Door Showing Flower Beds (thanks Sam)

FOB NZ Rankings - Fantasy: Updated

Over the weekend the Wandering Orc was held in Tauranga attracting 16 people.

The event was won by Jeff Kent, whose Lizardmen crushed all before them. Second was Antony Kitson with Bretonnian. Local Ross Hillier-Jones was unlucky not to podium being beaten on a tiebreak by James Brown.

The results have been entered in the rankings and we see Jeff enter Masters contention after his win. Sam Whitt rises to a career high 3rd Place in the rankings.

Skullvane Manse Completed

I have had Skullvane Manse partially completed for a few months. Yesterday I decided to complete it. I have finished the base off with a variety of foliage and grasses. I've also added in some Tabletop World accessories.

This morning I got to use my Grasstech II  Static Grass Applicator. This applies a charge and makes grass stand end on end. It is very effective and gives a realistic look to the ground cover. I also got to use some moss to add to my Water Effects to give the appearance of a pond.

Hope you like it.

Local Supplier - Slave to Painting

I'm sure a lot of you locals already use Slave to Painting but I'd like to give them a shoutout.

It is great to see an efficient and enthusiastic local webstore available to NZ gamers. I have used them twice in the last month and my purchases have been at my doorsetep within 48 hours.

They also have a great website - intuitive and easy to use. You can check it out here

They have a very full range of products including a lot of items that other NZ retailers don't stock.

Certainly can recommend them based on the service I've had to date.

Horned Rat VI Update

As of last Saturday (and the close of Earlybird Registrations) there were 28 people who have registered.

There are approximately 8 spaces left so if you are looking to attend then please contact me so that you don't miss out.

Looking forward to seeing how many High Elf players we get wielding their new toys.

Eldar in June

So Eldar are next. Looking on the net over the weekend the first pictures have emerged.

Cover Art of New Codex

I like the new cover - having been part of a Seer Village in the past - it looks sufficiently eldritch.

However I do not like the new Wraithknight model. It seriously looks like it has been on the wrong side of an Orc Lucky Shrunken Head spell.

Does My Head Look Small in This?

Can't help thinking that on the fridge in the GW Design Studio cafeteria there is a set of word association magnets. We saw it with Fantasy....."Slaughter" "Brute" - I know "Slaughterbrute".....and now with "Wraith" and "Knight". Will we get some sort of mis-mash of  "Fire" "Guard" "Swooping" "Spears"?

The Nemesis sorry Wraithknight looks like he is also shitting sparkles everywhere.

The only real rumour of any note is that the Iyanden Craftworld may be getting its own supplement. I'm guessing that they will be big users of Wraithlordsknights

Tabletop World's Windmill Finished

One of my great loves in the hobby is high quality terrain and I don't think that there is a better manufacturer of terrain pieces than Tabletop World in Croatia. Over the past few years, regular attendees at the events I organise will have seen an increasing number of their pieces adorning the tables.

Late last year I bought their Windmill and this week after finishing a batch of Daemons I started to paint it.

Here's the finished piece:

I now have a few of their houses to do prior to Horned Rat Gobbo

Zuzzy Gaming Mats

Neil Williamson is looking to do an order for Zuzzy Gaming Mats. You can see them at the Zuzzy website but here is a picture of one:

If you are interested contact Neil here