Raw Material Quality Considerations

I’ve been following a couple of threads on various forums about the quality of Games Workshop products – especially in comparison with some of their competitors.

Mid last year I purchased some Giant Rats from Reaper Minis and towards the end of the year some Mantic Werewolves (to use as Crypt Horrors). What struck me was the difference in material between these products and the plastic that Games Workshop uses.

Reading through the threads it seems that Games Workshop uses styrene for its plastic products. This compound appears to hold its detail much better allowing the sculptor more sophisticated designs. Pieces are bonded using plastic glue – polystyrene cement. In contrast, the material used by Privateer Press, Mantic and I believe Reaper is PVC-based. The vinyl component explains the bending, warping and depending on personal bias (I guess) lack of detail. Apparently, you should not use polystyrene cement to bond components.

Now when there are discussions of price little is ever mentioned around the quality of materials. Most discussion centres on the sculpts and poses where there is a natural bias towards what you like.

For me though there can be no doubt about the quality of materials GW uses to make its models. It is light years ahead of what Privateer Press, Mantic and Reaper are using. Yes, you pay for that quality and that is an undoubted factor in your purchase decision. However it is important to be aware that you are not comparing apples with apples. Of all the Mantic kits I’ve seen, held, played against, the only one I would choose over GW if price was not an issue are their Zombies. And this is because GW is still trying to schill a kit from the early 90s which was gak even then.

When I look at it, I would rather pay the extra for the GW product than use kits made from the lower quality PVC-based compound. I’m lucky as I’m in a position to make that choice. However, generally the purchase price is only part of the overall cost. My time for prep and painting is worth a considerable percentage of the final “cost” of the model/unit.

In retrospect I think that similar attitudes were the reason for the veracity of the backlash against Finecast. GW purchasers had been used to receiving a quality product and instead the basic material was substandard. With the increasing shift to plastics over Finecast and metal this should become a dim dark memory.

Interested to hear thoughts from those of you that have used different companies and how you find their modelling raw materials.

Serbian DILFcon

The very strangely named Auckland  gaming group based out of Ponsonby - The DILFs - have contacted me about their upcoming event. I indicated that while I was broadminded that sort of thing was not really my cup of tea but good luck to all you guys.

However they then indicated that they were looking to run a wargaming event on the weekend  of 7/8 June. The provisional venue for this is the Onehaunga RSA which is a great locale for out of towners, close to the airport and with nice cheap accommodation. I've been to this venue a couple of times when Dave Grant ran Tin Soldiers there. Did I mention there is a bar?

Prizes Will Be Awarded For Authentic National Costume

Comp will be the final ETC comp for the 2014 event in Novi-Sad, Serbia - hence the name. I'll post details in the WHFB Calendar but if you are looking at doing an Auckland event this year then this deserves your strong consideration. Hopefully most of this year's NZ-based ETC team can get along for some solid gaming and it gives others the opportunity to try out a comp system that gets a lot of Warhammer media coverage.

I'll certainly be traveling up to it and hopefully I can encourage some other Wellingtonians to venture into the Chaos Wastes.

Homecon IV This Weekend

Lynne is away this weekend so what could be a better use of time than me organising a full weekend of gaming.

This Saturday and Sunday Chez Dunn will host HomeCon IV! In the past Homecons have varied between 8-16 people, however I've found around ten works best re space and tables. So this weekend ten will be the magic number. I tried to include a couple who won't be playing at NZTC as well as the usual mix of out of towners.

Here is the list of combatants with my pick as to what they will be bringing:

Neil Williamson (Bretonnians)

Peter Williamson (High Elves)

Sam Whitt (Warriors of Chaos)

Jeff Kent (Lizardmen)

Raymond Dick (Dark Elves)

Joel van de Ven-Long (Empire)

Mike King (Lizardmen)

Joe Dixon (Warriors of Chaos)

Tom Dunn (Daemons of Chaos)

Me (Skaven)

Now I might be wrong on a few - notably Neil, Jeff and Joel) but it looks a good mix of armies and should be fun.

We are having lunchtime BBQs both days and any locals are more than welcome to drop in for a look, a chat and a sausage.

Adepticon, Hobby, NZTC and the ETC

A quiet weekend for me this week. Hobby wise I painted up the base colours for the first Death Guard apothecary and started on the second. Once these two guys are finished I’ve only got my second Legion Tactical Squad and my Terminator character to do to finish my 1850 point Adepticon army.

Speaking of Adepticon, prep is well underway. I am playing in the Heresy event, the WHFB Teams and the WHFB Championship. My partner in the Teams is Battlefront’s North American head, john Matthews and we’ve finalised our lists for the event. John is using Ogres and I am bringing Daemons of Chaos. Given 140 teams and three rounds, the event is a bit of a lottery in terms of results but we should have some fun. Jeff Kent and Monty Skilton are also playing in the Teams.

For the Championships, I’ve decided to take my Skaven. It is a no-comp event but rather than optimise the power level I’m going to take a variant of my normal list. Again the number of participants (180) versus rounds (5) makes any results a crapshoot. Conceivably you could have six people maxing out in battle, for instance. I’ve been listening to a couple of the Adepticon podcasts and they have indicated that you’ll need to have Fortitude of at least 4 to succeed in their scenarios.

I’m really looking forward to Adepticon – the convention aspect is a great draw. I can’t wait to see all the Trade Stands and especially the various armies people have constructed for the events.

The von Trapps also submitted their lists for the NZ Team Championships. All were double checked so not expecting any problems. Happy with the mix and expect we’ll be competitive (Top 5). Less than three weeks to go.

My other hobby task this weekend was to book my flights for the ETC in August. I’ve decided to fly across leaving the weekend before to ensure that adjust to new timezone prior to event. On the way back I’m going to stop in Istanbul for three days. Managed to book the necessary flights now just waiting for the credit card hit.

This morning on my way out the door for work, I stepped over a parcel from Croatia. This is the Tabletop World Coaching Inn I ordered in December. Once I’ve finished the Death Guard this will be my next project. I’d love to have it on the table for Runefang.

Another Look at WDW

So second week of the Brave New World and en route to the airport this morning I drop into GW Wellington and pick up White Dwarf Weekly.

Unfortunately for me - and anyone interested in gaming - we are not yet halfway through the "Forgotten Month" and so content in the new magazine holds no interest. I'll therefore confine my comments to structure and layout.

I like it. The ability to have a weekly dose of Warhammer is quite nice. Yes, it is little more than a catalogue of New Releases but you can look at the new kit, read some design notes and glimpse some rules for models - that in this case will never be taken because they move - clipped from the new book.

It is sufficiently breezy and lightweight that you get through it in 30 minutes.

From Games Workshop is it a success? Well they are getting $7.00 a week from me they weren't getting before. And no, there were no add on sales though I had been asked to pick up two Dark Elf Reapeater Bolt Throwers for an out of towner (unfortunately the shop doesn't hold stock of them).

So how could it work better? I'd happily pay an extra $1.00 to have it delivered to my letterbox each Saturday.

Forums vs. Blogs Redux

About a year ago I made a post about internet forums where I discussed their “demise” in relation to the upswing in blogs. Part of the problem I cited was the culture of “internet warrior” where somebody gets behind a keyboard and armed with some cute user name posts anonymously. There they say things they would never say to somebody’s face.

I was reminded of this again this week. A GW Store Manager went on to Warseer and offered to answer questions about GW based on his knowledge of current processes and procedures. You can click on Bell of Lost Souls and read a report if you don’t want to frequent Warseer (I personally avoid the place like the plague because of the fore-mentioned internet warriors). Suffice to say it didn’t last long. Almost immediately there was a tirade of abuse rather than using it as an opportunity to discover/confirms some details of shop/policies. Of course the Store Manager couldn’t provide detail on the corporate strategy – other than what he was told – but surely it would be interesting to know what he was told. All too soon it was over and said Manager retreated to the shadows once again.

The thread spawned comment threads on Dakka and TWF and again rather than see it has an opportunity to learn it very quickly descended into more tirades and abuse. What was interesting is the sheer level of hatred people have for the GW company and in some cases the GW games. Sure you can dislike their business practices or play other games but why would you spend such an enormous part of your life – as betrayed by post counts – venting bile on internet forums. It can’t be healthy. Surely at some point you just move on?

Ten years ago I was a regular on WargamerAu. I’d post daily – 40k and tournaments mostly – but at some point my interest in participating waned and I moved on. How sad would it be to still be sitting there white anting and dogpiling every thread….Now I visit Dakka – “News & Rumours” and “Dakka Discussions” – but very really post. However every day there is at least one pissing contest going on. The same with TWF (though to a lesser extent).

Against this we have blogs and I’d hope the content is more reasoned than that on forums. If you have a blog you post your musings and these are identifiable and owned. I’d like to think the posts are more considered and the level of response from the audience reflects that. I insist here at Fields of Blood that posters in Comments identify themselves and I think this does help weed out the internet warriors to a certain extent. I like to thank readers for their ongoing contributions.

And if a GW Store Manager ever wants to answer questions, I’d happily give him a platform here……

Heresy Death Guard Legion Spartan WIP

Over the last week I've been doing some more work on my Death Guard Spartan. During the Crusade the Emperor continually threw the Death Guard into conflicts in the most inhospitable and toxic environments. I wanted the effect of these theatres to be reflected in my Legion vehicles which therefore needed to be battle worn but also suffering the effects of corrosive atmospheres, terrain etc

NZTC Rapidly Approaching

The NZTC is just under four weeks away. This year there are 16 teams of four competing making it NZ’s largest Fantasy event in my memory (cue jokes around early onset Alzheimer’s). We have teams participating from all around New Zealand plus two and a half team’s venturing across from Australia.

Obviously there is a far bit of organisation that goes into this. Last Friday Umpire peter Williamson sent out a note to captains reminding them that lists are due next Friday, February 14th (seriously, what were you going to do on Valentine’s Day anyway). Also the army list template went out as well. This allows teams to collate their four lists and send them through as one to Peter. You must use this template – it makes the Umpire’s life degrees of magnitude easier with standard format and makes my life easier when it comes to hosting/posting lists after checking. There are also penalties for late lists so please get them in on time.

As you can imagine 32 tables are difficult to populate with terrain from the Fields of blood warehouse. Therefore I would be extremely grateful if any locals who are able to bring terrain let me know. It works far better if it is a full table (including cloth) as then we can keep it all together and ensure that you get it all back. I do have some spare cloths though if you have the terrain.

Getting excited about the event?

Sticking to the Plan

Okay, I had two hobby New Year’s Resolutions for 2014.

The first was to get my Death Guard legion finished in time for Adepticon and to achieve this I created a schedule and also started creating extra hobby time by painting prior to work. This has been pretty successful so far. I have largely finished my Grave Wardens and my Spartan (5+ hours with weathering powders and another 3-4 applying mud on the weekend). The last two evenings I have base coated my extra Deathshroud Terminators. Once I finish their shoulder pads then they will be ready for oil wash and weathering as well. That leaves just Typhion, 10 Tactical Marines and two Apothecaries to finish giving me my 1850 point Adepticon list. The other thing I have done is paint up “Infested” Terminator bases from Dark Art Studios. At the current rate I am hoping to have it finished and on the table by the end of February. I’ll then be able to get a couple of games in before heading to Chicago – probably smart since I’ve played no 6th Ed games and only a handful of 5th Ed.

My second solution was to curtail my spending on miniatures until I work my way through all the unpainted figures and half-finished projects I have accumulated over the years. The only pass I gave myself was for Forgeworld Heresy, Tabletop World terrain and if perchance GW release new Skaven models. So one month in how am I going? Well I’m sticking to plan. My hobby spend (including postage) in January was as follows:

•

Calas Typhion (Death Guard Special Character) – Forgeworld - $72

•

“Infested” Terminator Bases – Dark Art Studios - $27

•

Artist’s Turpentine – Gordon Harris - $10

So all up $109. However the key thing is that I’ve stuck to my plan and the great plastic/resin/metal mountain has stopped growing.

Another update next month.

Review: White Dwarf Weekly

Yesterday morning I trotted into Games Workshop Wellington, leaving my Doomwheel in a nearby carpark, and picked up a copy of the new White Dwarf Weekly.

The cost of this little beauty is $7.00 (or the price of a Paint Pot) which equates to GBP3.50 or USD5.75 for overseas reader. In effect against the monthly White Dwarf price of $14.50, the new monthly outlay equates to a 100% price rise for the same number of pages.

That said, I want to like this magazine. It is 36 pages long (including heavier card cover) in the same size as the re-launched old "new" White Dwarf. The layout is very similar to the previous magazine covering upcoming releases - in this case next week's Dwarfs. You get the normal puff pieces spruiking the new models with close ups of painted versions. Entirely what you'd expect. Plaint Splatter articles on how to paint the new kits plus Designer Notes (I always like them).There are also some rules; this issue you hear about some stunty who is trying (vainly it seems) to turn around milleniums' losses to Skaven and Goblins.

Last month's Tyranids are pushed - funny they try to tell you that they are a new gaming powerhouse terrorising the tables. The internet has it wrong apparently. This follows a bizarre column from Jervois Johnson where he provides pre-game scouting rules that look like they suffer from a sub-editor's need to cut word count. Finally, and I kid you not, there is a two page article - with higher wordcount than the entire issue of Warhammer Visions - on how to use plastic glue.

So not a wonderful issue in terms of depth of content. I'd estimate that it provided a 30-40 minute read all up. However I really like the concept. I think it has legs and am prepared to give it 6-7 issues to see how it develops before I finalise my opinion on it. If the Jervois article, glueing tips and the "tactics" discussion improve then I'll see a regular purchase as worthwhile.

And no, it didn't provide GW with any add on sales.