Latest Bug Pictures and more of my impressions.

 There are more new pictures out there on the web for the new Tyranid pictures.  The big Bell of Lost Souls forum post had them on Christmas day but I thought I would put them up here and then give my impressions of them.

I got to play a game.

With my wedding behind me, my life is calming down so I have a little more free time to get in my favorite hobby.  While I am still in that "never want to be apart" phase of the marriage we both recognize I need some time with my little dollies.  So last night I got a game in with my bugs at the local game shop, Epic Loot Comics and Games.

Rumors: Tyrant Guard Pic

Just looking at these shows us some new options for the tyrant guard.  there is the bonesword lash whip combo which, as I read the codex, was not playable before it was one or the other and some crushing claws.  I am eager for what the rules on these will be.  Hopefully they will become AP2.  If they just give D3 extra attacks I am not sure I would take them.

WIP: Stompa! Here comes the hot steppa!

SO earlier this year a guy at my local shop was trying to get rid of some orks.  He had this stompa that was half put together but didn't want anymore.  He offered it to me for $25. How could I pass on that.  So I brought it home and it sat there and waited for the year of the bug to end.  Well here we are!

WIP Orks!!

I have continued to work on my orks getting ready for Orkuary. I was painting up my lootas when I decided to change it up and paint up a burna. 

New bug pictures!

Like everyone else I am really excited about the new Tyranid photos.  lets take a look.

Tyranid Rumors.... again

The rumor mills are at it again.  After a dissapointing December.  What I thought was going to be an early Christmas is nothing but coal.  It looks like my tyranids will not be updated till after my year of the bug is over.  I guess you can say that I dedicated this year as a farewell and I can jump off the bandwagon right before they come out.

WIP: Riptied finished / Lootas Started

After working on Tau and bugs I thought I would switch up and get some boys ready for January.  Here is what I have on my plate.

WIP: Riptide

So I got some more work done on my riptide.  I am not a golden daemon level painter.  Heck, I am not even tin daemon level painter but He is almost done.  I still have his guns to paint up and I see some touch ups that the camera brings out but he is acceptable in my eyes.  Just need to seal him then flock him and he is ready to take the field in pride. 

WIP: Riptide

Just a quick little update for the riptide.  I have added the celuclay for a more interesting base next up for that is to base coat it then flock it.  Also I have started to add some higlights to the leg armor and getting the wash in the grooves in the armor. 

WIP: Termagants and Riptide

Although I wasn't able to play last week I did get to work on some of my models.  First I worked on my the plethora of guants.  After that I thought the Riptide might get some work.

Hive Guard seen

oh my. Over on 40kwarzone they had a picture of the new hive guard.  They said they got it from http://i.imgur.com/cZ7vf97.jpg.

WIP Wednesday: Swarmlord and Hellhound

Ah another day where I can show you the progress on my current projects.  After a busy day my better half and I settled down to watch a movie and work on our hobbies.  She was crafting and I was painting. 

Orkses R comin!!!!!

the latest rumor is that the Orks will be getting their codex in june.  This makes 4 out of my 5 armies that are getting a redone codex.while this is great for the armies it hurts my pocketbook.  I am going to hold back on what I buy for the bugs in January so I have some funds for the IG and Ork books. 

WIP Friday: Ritptide and Swarmlord

With all the planning, excitement, and stress of my upcoming wedding I have not had a lot of time to work on my models but to unwind yesterday and on lunch today I finished up building the riptide and primed him up.   

WIP: Riptide decision

So over the weekend I found several heads I thought I could use for my riptide. O=I only found 1 that looked ok.  Here are some pics.

WIP Monday: Orks Shoota boys!

With 6th edition being so shooty my boyz feel like the slugga/choppa (SC) combo might not be the best option for us.  Maybe it is time for us to pick up some shootas and get some dakka dakka in before we smash some eads in.

Terrain and back again...

I just wanted to show off some of the terrain that Epic Loot Games has to offer to the local gamer. there were shelves and shelves of terrain and even under some of the tables there was more.  With out further ado here are the pics.

WIP Bug Triage

After playing this weekend I noticed a few of my Tyranids needed some work.  My big momma needed a leg reattached.  My finecast Zoanthrope was broken off his stand.  One termagaunt lost his devourer and another one never had an arm to begin with. lets take a look.

First Blood in Ohio

Saturday I had my first game in Ohio.  I went to Epic Loot Games for a pickup game or to join in a league that they run on Saturdays.  Unfortunately there was a convention with a 40k Tourney in Cincinnati so the attendance was low.  There was a big group of Xwing players there playing in a monthly tournament but no 40k players. 

WIP Riptide and Shrike

So in the little time available I have done some work on both the riptide and one more shrike

First game in Ohio

This weekend I am actually have time to play a game of 40k.  the local Store Epic Loot Games have a 40k league and tonight I am going to find out if I can join in the fun.  I have my bugs here with me and they are starving!

so without knowing what kind of game and how many points I decided to make a few list to cover my bases.  you can take a look at my lists here:

WIP Riptide

As I said in my last post I have started building my Riptide.  I decided not to change the stock pose of this bad boy since he would be my only one so I don't have to worry about a cookie cutter look. here are some shots of my progress,

Greeting from Ohio!

I have settled into the new home.  I didn't have a lot of room in my car this trip so all I got packed  were my orks and a couple of WIP. I will try to get my Nids here on the next trip and get in a game in my new town.  It will be weird going from a well known player to the noob.  I am looking forward to a change of scene.  I atleast have to make an appearence with the bug before the new codex comes out so I don't look like a bandwagoner.

On the move...

As some of you know I am leaving my current area (Metro East of St Louis) and heading to the Buckeye State.   I am hoping to find a place in the Dayton area for my bugs to infest.  I found a shop called Epic Loot that runs a tournament once a month.  I hope that I can catch a pickup game or two during the off weeks. But all that is in the future. The topic of today is the move itself. 

Orks and Forts

With the year of the bug drawing to an end my mind has started to wander thinking about my other beloved armies.  Namely my Orks.  I have been looking at the new buildings and I have been thinking about getting one of them to go with my orks.  Today I am going to go over the different choices out there and hopefully come to a decision for each one.

Rumors: Nids pushed back.

While rumors are just just vapor till the white dwarf hit I am sad that the current thread is that the Nids are pushed back to January.  I thought the perfect end of the year of the bug would be a new shiney codex but I guess tha tthe year will just have to be extended. 

New Forgeworld Tau

So forge world has given their spin on the Riptide battle suit and man does it look cool.  I am a sucker for large gun arms.  I think that is why I like the eldar titans.  I just think a mech with guns for arms remind me of the old battletech mechs.

Tyranid rumor Reaction - everything else

Yesterday I talk about the rumors I heard on HQ's and Elites.  I heard some of them were made up.  Specificly the ones about the prime and the venomthrope named characters. I really was not impressed with those rumors. Just remember, with all rumors, until you see it in print in a codex or official faq there is a chance for it not to be true. So, with that disclaimer, let's continue our journey through the units.

Tyranids rumor Reaction - Elites

Last time I covered the rumors that were posted about the HQ.  This post I will focus on the Elites.

The elite section is very crowded.  In there are units like Ymgarl Stealers, Hive Guard, Zoans, venoms, and the all-important Doom of Malan'tai.   Let's see what the rumors have to say.

Tyranid rumor reactions -HQs

Well there have been an avalanche of rumors since the last time I talked about them. I found mine at http://natfka.blogspot.com/. HE had them broken up by unit type so let's do the same. Today I will focus on HQ's

the X-Wing Tractor Beams got me...

Today I want to talk about the game X-Wing.  I know I am very late to the party (maybe too late) but when my brother who doesn't play any miniature game goes out and buys 2 starter sets, slave 1 and the falcon my curiosity is piqued.  I have seen a lot of people get into this game and I watch a few games both live and video (thanks Miniwargaming.com and Wesley Crusher). It seems like a fun quick game with strategy and  planning.  Today I will go over the Light side and Dark side that I see with getting into this game and then talk about my limited experiences.

More Updates: Shrikes

If you have been following along I have been making some shrikes.  I have 3 completed for the most part.  I need to work on the green stuff making look less like globs of putty to more part of the model.  I think a little sanding and trimming with a new smother layer will help out.  I am not the greatest when it comes to Green Stuff but they say practice makes perfect.

WIP Monday: Shrikes again...

 I got some more work on my shrikes this weekend.  I have 2 pretty much complete and a third on its way.  I was all out of monsterous rending claws so I switched out to genestealer claws.  I don't think that they are perfect or as good as the claws but they do the job. off to the pics...

Shrike Progress..

I have had a bit of time to work on my shrikes.  I have my prototype finished.  I know he is rough around the edges but I think I have done a decent job. I wish I was better with green stuff.

Tyranid Rumors and Reactions..

There are rumors all over the place now about how Tyranids are the next codex after Space Marines. According to the Rumors Space Marines will be in late Sept /early Oct which then we have Nov and Dec left if it is going to be released this year. Seeing that the Hobbit comes out in Dec if GW is going to still beat that dead horse then we can rule a Dec release out. By past performances if 40k gets a release then Fantasy should get the next. Maybe all those rumors of dwarves will come true. So my prediction is an early 2014 release.

The next thing I hear are there will be some new minis coming out. For what is out there, it looks like some well needed kits will be in this next release. The prime, the Doom, the parasite, harpy, and a mycetic spore finally get their official model. Right after I made a prime, parasite and 3 spore pods. Unless the prime and parasite get a huge boost I think I will be ok with not getting those models. I will want some spores and unless he is hit with a huge nerf bat I will also want the doom. The harpy also is supposed to get a model but I never have seen a place for him. He really needs some help but I will get into that later. What I don't hear is wings for shrikes or shrike models all together. Now that I have jumped on the band wagon (maybe I am driving that band wagon) I really want some cool looking models.

Along with the new kits there are rumors of new kits for existing models. I hear that termagants and genestealers might get a recut to allow more options. I am not sure what the gaunts need except the strangleweb gun. They have almost every option in the kit. The genestealer kit though could use a update. More rending claws more ymgarl heads different poses might refresh the poor neglected troops. 6th really hurt them IMHO.

I guess all that is left to talk about is the new stuff. I hear there will be a new "big bug" kit. Every release has seen one first the trygon then the tervigon, I am excited to see what we get. I am hoping for something similar stat wise to the Tau and elder baddies. Maybe T8 with a 5++ crosses fingers. A melee and range version.... a hierodule!!!!! I know that forgeworld make them already but they stole the Trygon from forge world why not a hierodule. The only reason I don't think they will be there is because they are already in the Apoc books. Whatever it is I am hoping for a hierodule/carifex look not a biotitan/tervigon look. Give me a beefy monster not so spindly leg creature.

As for new rules It sounds like the pyrovore will get torrent and a reduction in points with will make me at least look at him but probably not use him. The hive guard are rumored to get skyfire but I really thing that is wishful thinking. If not the skies will no longer be safe from the bugs. Speaking of wishful thinking and the hiveguard, if I were to fix the harpy I would bring him down in points and give him inpaler cannons. This will give him better purpose IMHO. This way he can patrol the skies and help out with light vehicles when the skies are clear. Just a thought.

There you have it. My thoughts on the rumors and predictions on when and what we will see when the book finally does drop. Until then...

Questions? Comments? Nom nom noms?

WIP Monday

I have not done one of these in while and I actually got some work done so I thought it is time for a post.

much better...

I like these Centurions much better than the ones I saw earlier.

I just can put my finger on why I like them better.

Power armor jerks!

The rumors are flying around and it looks like next month is power armor jerk month.  After the last 2 Xenos books it is time we update the poster child of the 40k universe.  Here are so pics I got from Bell of Lost Souls.  I am sure they stole them from somewhere else...

Bazaar weekend

This weekend, my local, friendly, game store, Fantasy Books and Games, are having their annual Bazaar. All this week until Friday at 2, you can bring in items (like miniatures, rule books, action figures, comic books) give them a price, and they will put a lot number on them and sell them for you for store credit. This is a great for everybody since it lets you get rid of stuff that has been gathering dust, someone else can get some great deals on your stuff, and the store will get money without losing any inventory. Win/Win/Win.

I just learned that the bazaar was this weekend so, the last couple of days I have been getting stuff ready. I am going to try to get rid of my Space marines, grey knights and space wolves. I also have my dwarves from fantasy that will get thrown into the mix. I have some old battletech miniatures as well as the Aurora class drop ship from Mechwarrior that might get a chance to be snatched up. I am going to hold onto my Warmachine dwarves for now but I am going to put up my Legion horde army up for sale. I also have a copy of heroscape to sell. Lastly I am going to try to get rid of my World of Warcraft miniatures. Hopefully selling each common for $2 and rare for $5 and Epic for $15.

It is not all fun and games though. I am getting rid of most of my comics. I am going to sort them by title and sell each stack for $10. In there is Xmen, Xfactor, Xcalibur, Xforce, New mutants and a few more. Next are some of my action figures. I have some Star Wars: Force Unleashed figures to sell as well as some mighty mugs. If these guys can find a new home then I will be happy to let them go. It will help me shrink my footprint for this December when I am going to be moving.

So, if you got some stuff you would like to unload, head on down and sign up before Friday. If you want to get some stuff, the Bazaar starts Friday and ends on Sunday. Last year, I filled out my orks and necron forces. Who knows what treasures will be there this year. Until next time..

Questions? Comments? Nom nom noms?

Shrikes: melee vs ranged

Last week I got to play a game with my shrikes. This time I had them equipped with bone swords scything claws and toxin sacs. This raises their cost by 5 points each so I had to finagle some point around to get them in there. I was not completely happy with the list. In the end it performed decently. The Doom and the Swarm lord did not do that great but that is off topic. The topic today is Ranged or Melee shrikes.


I have had a few games now using the winged warriors and I like what they do. They are still fragile as all get out needing the Telekine Dome and Catalyst to survive the first turn but they seem to be a decent assault unit able to get into the thick by turn 2 in most games. I dread the day I pull tau out with their billion s7 shots. I just need to accept it we are bugs. We have crappy saves.

I felt kind of bad with my melee shrikes not getting to put shots into a unit before charging in. There was the big squad of flamer guys that I just kept away from. A Squad of 12 flamers is not something you want to charge into. So my shrikes useless against these guys though they did take out several other units without fail. Luckily that those squads didn't do a ton of damage to my squad on the overwatch phase. I really enjoyed having the ID and the no armor save. I did miss my first turn salvo of devourer shots. I know 15 shots do not make or break a game but they do help out. I think I will see more results from assaulting marines or terminators and removing their 2+ save. I think not having to count on getting 6's with rending is a huge plus.

I am going to give these guys some more time to grow on me. I figure I want these guy in my army to get into the assault and nom some face. This should include running in shooting phase if a charge is not possible to get me that much closer or to get me into some cover. If I really want some Dakka I should stick with the devil guants. I can have 5 of those for each upgraded shrike. That is 5 wounds instead of 3 and 15 shots verses 3 shots. A much better bargin.

So until next time....

Questions? Comments? Nom nom noms?

I had a game with the shrikes and plan to try them out again tonight.  I still don't have a model for them.  I wish GW would hurry up and make one.  I plan to take apart the warriors I have to make the shrikes I want but until someone makes affordable wings (Sorry forge world you are too much) I will just have to proxy *Gasp*

Imperial Guard Apocalypse musings

The next Apocalypse game is scheduled and since the last one is fresh in my mind I wanted to get some thoughts out into the air.  First off the game will be Imperium vs Chaos. Dang no xenos. This is ok.  It is the reason I have my Imperial Guard.  Well, that and I love tanks.

War Gamma Tau Defense line.

The defense line I ordered from War Gamma during Adepticon finally arrived. I will show some pictures then talk about them.

Photos from Xenos Apoc game

This weekend we played the new apoc rules and I had a blast.  We only had 7 players so it was a bit small for our group.  My Heirdule made all the way to turn 5.  Heck that we actually played a turn 5 is amazing.  Ususally we are all beat by turn 4 we call it. 

Next up on the choping block....

Power armor jerks!!

Apoc rumor reactions

So there are a bunch of rumors floating out and about now about the new apocalypse book. The White Dwarf is out with pictures of the new units and structures and some people have had access to the book already. Now before I get to read the book I will give you my impressions on what I have heard and what I want to know.

GW's new video

So the new Apocalypse video is out with 360's of all the new kits that are coming out this with the expansion. I am a bit happy and a bit sad at the small number of kits that are coming out. Let me explain

Apoc returns!

Unless you live under a rock you should all know that Apoc is coming soon.  It so happens that my group scheduled a big game a week from Sunday.  We each get 3k of points to bring our favorite Xeno army ( yea no marines) and the chaos will begin!

List: Giving Shikes a try

Last week I went over the tyranid shrikes while in comparison to Raveners. After the dust settled I thought they could use a chance to hit the field.  So the next time I get to play I am going to give them a try. Here is the list and I will talk about changes after:

White dwarf sneak peak:

The Guys over at Blood of Kittens have posted up some images they got from the new white dwarf and to no surprise of mine they are of Space Marines.

Battle Royal: Shrike VS Ravener

All this year I have been playing Tyranids trying to improve my game playing and to prove that Tyranids are not the easy win for the opponents. During this time, although I have not kept track I feel that I have even broke even or had a winning record. I have tried many of the different units that I had never tried like the parasite and mawloc.

Chapter House is back...

So the lawsuit is over and it looks like that Chapter House Studio has come out on top. While they were not really gone they did slow down on creating new items. 

GW Exclusive!

Rush out and buy it now it is only available for 24 hours.  If you don't you will miss out on all the savings!

Oh wait there is no savings... there must me a special model... nope. um free paint... nope.  Warm fuzzy for saving all the time by not adding in each model to your cart. YES!!! there is the benefit.

So I am having a little fun here on GW's expense but come on. Making it an exclusive and only available for 24 hours is just kinda silly. Now I am not upset that they bundled it all together for 1 click shopping it is smart.  They should have a bunch of these for every army.  It make the shopping easy for the thinking challenged. Click here for a themed army.  What I am laughing at is them trying to hype it up to seem like it is a great deal.

I guess that is too much to expect for good old GW. oh if you want this sweet deal click here be warned the link is only good for 24 hours

back to your regularly scheduled content.

Questions? Comments? Nom nom noms?

A sad monday :(

I am saying farewell to my space elves both good and evil types.  After trying to get into both armies and never fully being able to grasp the play style for each I have decided to let them go.   I will still root for them when playing against those Power Armor jerks, I just won't be there to give the orders.

if I would play Dark Angels...

This is what my army would look like.

Of course, it is a Ravenwing army.  All the models are from my Polish friends Puppets War

Know thy enemy...(Space Marine rumors)

Now that eldar are released ( I am still on the fence about them) and Apoc is slated for a July release,  we turn to the rumor mill to find out what army is next to hit the upgrade button... come on nids, come on nids, come on nids..... dang.  According to current rumors it is Space Marines.... sigh.

Just a quick update...

The fellows over at Table Top Addicts have added a battle report of our latest battle.  It was a good game.  Makers is a good player and has a competitve list.  With a great unclean one 2 flying princes and fateweaver it is a truly scary list.  I got lucky with some roles and he was unlucky with his.  THis being said my list worked just like I planned.

WIP Termagants.

I have continued to work on my termagants I got the carapace and guns and claws finished but my blue was dried out so I couldn't do any of the touchup work so I stopped to the evening.  all that is left is touchup, wash, eyes, tongue, and base.

WIP: My Swarmlord...

SO last night I had a little time to work on the swarm lord I wanted to make the horns on his head look more like they are par of his head not just glued on and I had to fix his arm it.  It looked like he had dislocated it and it was haning by a theread so I got out my green stuff and got to work.

Monday morning ramblings: Eldar and WIP gaunts

I apologize about my last post.  For some reason I thought Fantasy Books and Games were having a Rogue Trader tournament and it turns out they had a straight W/L tournament.  I switched back to my current 2K army and got ready to collect some biomass. Until, that is, I found out that the store needed a ringer.  Seeing that I am friends with the Manager and employees I volunteered and without fail they had an even amount of players.  Oh well.  I did run the clock and was there to dispute any rules so, all was not lost.

Back to the Rogue Trader...

This weekend there is a Rogue Trader tournament at my FLGS Fantasy Books and Games.  For the first time, in a long time, I am going to be in town. So, to take my mind off of missing my betrothed, I have decided to pack up the bugs and play a few games.

Just when I thought I was out...

After a few games with two tervigons I was sorely aware that I needed a bunch more termagants. So I have been stalking them on the evil ebay site looking for a good deal.  If I bought them new you can get 12 for $29 or 5 for $10. So I was looking for a better deal than $2 a model.

Shoot You With My Mind Bullets

I know I am a little late on the whole psychic power kick.  I usually use the standard codex powers for most of my units and biomancy for the rest.  After reading how others have played their bugs I have been wondering if I should try out some of the others as well.