40K - FOB NZ Rankings updated for Tempest

Received the results for Tempest from Scott Clough this morning. These have now been uploaded into the Rankings.

The four round event attracted 42 people and was won by Julien Lestat with Tau. Two Eldar, a Chaos Daemon and a Tyranid rounded out the Top 5.

Four people - Dave Hodgetts, Simon Smith, Aidan Corlett and Scott Paterson - have broken the 200 point barrier which I expect is the minimum that will get you a Masters invite.

Are These The Most Annoying Dice Ever?

Just saying!

Even worse than Deathwatch dice

Hobby Update

The last two weeks have seen me try to get the two unfinished units in my Emperor's Children done.

I have managed to finish the unit of Oblits in a pink and black scheme that complements the rest of the army. I'm now working on six metal Witch Elves to fill out the third Cultist unit. Previously I had been playing a Cultist horde but recently stepped back to three smaller units. They should be finished in the next couple of evenings and then it is onto WotR and some terrain.

Last weekend I got a game in against Tau and was able to isolate their units and remove them systematically. The Warp Talons proved fantastic in that they were able to contact 5 units when they charged. This allowed me to cut off the Ghost Keels and Commanders from the rest of the army and deal with them.

Yesterday I played Death Guard for the first time in 8th. We were playing Relic. After a poor first turn shooting Plague Burst Crawlers I concentrated on removing infantry and got rid of my opponent's Pox Walker units. This left just 10 Plague Marines and Typhus who could claim the Relic. I continued to remove Plague Marines while Cultists ran off with the Relic. This was then picked up by my Sorcerer who could not be targeted.

Been watching more Battle Reports and also listening to podcasts. Really keen on trying out the Dark Eldar Homuclueli Coven at some stage. I have Troy Forster's army that featured in a 4 page article in White Dwarf around 15 years ago. Might be time to get it out.

Weekly Hobby Update

Made it back from Adepticon after a whistlestop 5 days in the US. I think I'm getting better at international travel as I survived the two 23 hour journeys without jet lag.

Of those five days in Chicago, 40 hours were spent doing hobby courses and I came away with a lot of learnings:

• I was holding my airbrush wrong
• I wasn't getting close enough to models when I was spraying
• Now have a much more efficient airbrush cleaning process
• Learned a new alcohol/paint technique for Nurgle
• Discovered how to do NMN properly but prefer real metallics
• Learned great realistic stone weathering process
• Know how to use my smartphone to take better photos
• Compared "salt" weathering with "hairspray" and prefer salt
• Learned the technical requirements for making Youtube videos - and decided that it is too much effort
• Decided I really want to paint more Death Guard

I did manage to pick up some loot will I was there:

• Magna Tray system from Battlefoam
• More Secret Weapon paints
• Some P3 paints
• Airbrush stand and spare needle/noozle
• Game Gear brushes
• New dice tray
• Some MDF terrain plus other scatter terrain
• 40k Measuring Template
• Airbrush Stencils 

So another great Adepticon. I'm already looking to go next year and I'll probably look to play something like the Long War Doubles (single day) and look for further classes. Air New Zealand is starting an Auckland-Chicago flight soon which will cut 6-7 hours off the journey.

Unfortunately the Frontline Gaming terrain I ordered arrived at Jack's the day after we arrived at Adepticon so I need to wait until later this month to get it. However when I got home I had a big parcel of mdf terrain from 4Ground waiting for me. There is enough to built a new industrial plant table. I have spent the weekend evenings putting it together and it is a dream. The fact that it comes prepainted is fantastic.

Finally I spent Saturday down at the Warlords and managed to get two games in. The first was against the new Tau and it was certainly hardfought. While I managed to win 8-6, the undoubted highlight was me losing both Daemon Princes to the same Ghost Keel in Overwatch. In the end that Ghost Keel and a Broadside were the only Tau models left allowing me to claim two objectives to one.

In the second game I played Thousand Sons and was able to launch an Alpha Strike that removed a Defiler, Ahriman, a Rhino and most of a Rubric Marine Squad first turn. From there I was able to dictate the battle and by Turn 4 the Thousand Sons were reduced to a Rhino and an Exalted Sorcerer. 

Both games were characterised by "Seize the Initiative". This is always interesting as it can be a two edged sword in my experience (especially if the player who is "Seized On" has a lot of units off the table. The player now going first needs to be absolutely sure that they don't set up a crippling beta strike by showing their hand. 

40k - Six Spots Left for The Long War #1

There are only six spots left for the first of the Long War events being held at the Warlords on 19 May.

If you are keen to play in a three round one day event then you can download the Players Pack from the Event Calendar under the banner.

Gives a chance to run your army in a "safe space" 

40k - FOB 40k NZ Rankings Updated For Equinox

The results from Equinox held in Auckland at the beginning of the month have been uploaded into the Rankings.

Scot Paterson won with his Index Tau while the incursion of the various Hivefleets into the sector was evident.

Since the event both the Tau and Necron codexes have been released. Following that we have Harlequins, Deathwatch and Imperial Knights to be released.

Next event is NatCon being umpired by Haydn Korach in the 'tron.

Weekly Hobby Update

This week I got the Players Pack for The Long War finished and posted. As of this morning half of the available places have been filled with eight still open.

I managed to get a couple of games of 40k in over the course of the week. In the first I played Sean's Adeptus Mechanicus (and managed to kill my first ever Imperial Knight). The second I played Josh's Imperial Guard where I got to walk down the table into the teeth of his fire. Both games saw me eke out narrow wins getting me back to a 4-4 record with the Emperor's Children.

This Wednesday I'm off to Adepticon for the weekend. I get to fly 26 hours each way for the four days of the convention. This is the third Adepticon I've been to and I'll be spending most of my time doing hobby classes. I'll try and get photos from the various events. Taking an empty suitcase which I'll look to fill at the various vendor stalls.

40k - Game Tracker - Fear This! Kustoms

I'm a sucker for game aids and I have been trying to get myself something to help with in-game tracking.

Recently I was reading the Spiky Bits blog and saw the following game tracker. It was cast in resin having been 3D printed. Dimension wise it is approximately 6" x 3" and 10mm thick.Costs USD15 and tracked postage was USD8.

Arrived in NZ in approximately 5 days though NZ Post took 7 days to get it from Auckland to Wellington. Well packaged in layers of bubble wrap. The tracker is very crisply cast.

I sprayed mine with black primer and then a purple spray to match my Emperor's Children. Then I painted the dice wells (fit 12mm dice) black and filled in the lettering. To complete the finish - and ensure I don't scratch my wooden table surround - I glued felt to the bottom.

Happy with how it turned out and having used it now in my last two games it certainly helps me stay focused on the prize.

40K - The Long War #1

HERE  is the Players Pack for the first of the Warlords "The Long War" series.

To sign up to "The Long War" you need to be a full member of the Warlords or pay the $25 entry fee.

Email me your interest and I register you for the event. At the same time let me know whether you whether you are a Warlords member, wish to become one or just want to pay the $25 event fee. Warlords membership is $50 for the full 2018 year so you effectively get 50% entry if you attend four events plus membership that entitles you to free attendance at fortnightly meetings.

40K - Speeding Up Play - Skirmish Trays

For those that use Horde armies it can take an awful long time to move models.....especially in the first few turns of the game.

Recently I have been using a large unit of Chaos Cultists and can see how a big unit can slow down your play. Early on I like to string them out for board control or screening whereas late in the game their role may switch to more offensive.

To allow me to do this and still play with reasonable speed, I recently purchased a series of skirmish trays from local firm, Battlekiwi. I bought a five model "LINE" tray comprising two pieces of 3mm MDF. They were very economical....I got 12 for around $20....and they were in my hands in just over 24 hours. You put them together using PVA and I had them all constructed in 10 minutes.

I intend to have 3 models per tray in the early game.....this gives me separation of approximately 1.5 inches between models so I meet coherency requirements.

Over the weekend I will flock them to match my Cultist bases.

I see this as speeding up a lot of movement helping the game progress.