35pt. pSorsha VS. pStryker

Well my bother finally showed up and we managed to get a battle in. WHat was supposed to be a 35pt Khador vs a 36pt Cygnar battle turned into a 35 vs 40 pt battle. How you say? When I was setting everything out and making sure everything was ready I had set out all 10 of my trenchers - they were SUPPOSED to be a minimum unit. So even with a 5 point swing I still managed to loose. Completely ignoring the back of the Hammersmiths card until he had three boxes left and the end of my turn I am sure helped. Never rolling for more than 4 points of damage even with sometimes boosted damage rolls against his heavies and the bane of my existence - Thor. Worse that Armor 20...Worse than P&S 19 Ice Axe.... my bothers uncanny ability to turn after turn succeed in a repair check AND consistently repair 5-6 damage. Kid was on fire with the rolls.

So, on with the lists and the pics. I made sure and took pics turn by turn after each of our activations. We had to call it with no definitive winner, but with two heavies still in play and a mechanic that could just repair the damage I conceded the win. Plus I figured out my mistake 1/2 way through the game and felt like a heel.

Forces of Khador:

• Kommander Soarcha +5
• Juggernaut 7
• Destroyer 9
• Iron Fang Pikemen (min) 5
• Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps (Min) 5 x2 = 10
• Thor Steinhammer 2
• Wodowmakers 4
• Orgun Bokur 3

 35pts.

Forces of Cygnar:

• Commander Coleman Stryker +6
• Hammersmith 8
• Defender 9
• Sword Knights (full) 6
• Trencher Infantry (supposed to min was max) 10
• Long Gunner Infantry (min) 6
• Journeyman Warcaster 3
• Charger 4

Khador won to go first.

Deployment

Khador 1

As you can see we are both running heavy at the bottom of the screen. With so many troops the dwarves not blocking his LOS really paid off.

Cygnar 1

Khador 2

Cygnar 2

Khador 3

Cygnar 3

Khador 4

Cygnar 4

Khador 5

Cygnar 5

End of Game

Well, it was a fun match. Couple things learned and a few questions raised.

Things learned:

1. Khador Armor is nearly impossible to penetrate. I am buying Hunters for my Cygnar ASAP.
2. Iron Fang's with Shield Wall order - see point #1.
3. Mechanics are awesome. Thor was an after thought trying to find him enough points for a proper match. He easily made his points back.
4. Sword Knights - good tarpit unit. No good trying to kill Tron Fangs. Needing a 9 on 2d6 to do 1 point of damage is HARD to get.
5. Read your cards. I completely forgot to read the back of the Hammersmith and didn't get any Follow Up, Beat Back, or Chain Attack lovin.
6. Charger w/ Journeyman - Good combo. 2 range 12 shots both boosted to hit and to damage. My single Charger killed all but one Widowmaker and 3 Iron Fang Pikemen. 8 point combo took out most of 9 points. Good trade.

Questions raised. If any of you more experienced folks can help please do!

1. Can units charge without a charge order? The way we have been playing is that this is a NO as I can not find the specifics in the book. We just had to move into melee and swing away unboosted.
2.  When firing into Melee do you roll to see if you hit all the models withing helee range of the target model Friend or Foe? I.E. there were two Iron Fang Pike Men in base to base hitting my Sword Knight. Did it have a chance to hit his other guy as well as mine if I missed the initial target? 

More Cygnar WIP, Journeyman Warcaster FIN

Well a week of being together I managed to have nearly a whole day to paint. I clear coated the holiday's helpings, and painted up the alt. Journeyman Warcaster. All I have left is the base - but I never base one model at a time so I will base her when I base the other jacks.

I spent a bit of time on her as you can see and did some more highlighting than usual - actually I liked the long gunner standard bearer's flag so much I hit her with a little as well. Let me know what you think.

Finally we have the other bit that I painted today and thats my Firefly, Defender and my other Charger. Just the blue's but I thought I would show what they look like before the wash.

That's it for today. Hopefully I will get more done tomorrow but my brother is coming over and hopefully I can convince him to play a proper game in the game room so I can take pics for you all.

Happy new year! And what I have been painting of course.

Oh man... over a week at the in-laws and boy..am I exhausted. Its not so bad when its just a day or two but from the 23rd until today is just too much. My son is bouncing off the walls from so much sugar and my wife can't go ten minuted without an "We are NOT doing that next year". But on the good side I managed to get some painting done in between the free computer tech service to the entire extended family and the father in law's comments relating to how I went from the Army to playing with army men...

Anywho, on with the figs! First up I guess I should show the finished Hammersmith since I did some WIP pics earlier.

One thing I have noticed in painting my first metal warjack over the plastic. The plastics are nice to work with and are very detailed - but the metal ones are FAR more detailed.

Next we have my UA for the Long Gunner's. I did some super quick highlighting on the flag - but since I know it will be a focal point any ways I wanted it to look half way decent.

Next up are some Khador love. First up for them is a minimum unit of Iron Fang Pikemen. These were fun to paint and the quickest out of all of them. Vallejo Model red over a grey primer. Reaper Tarnished Brass and the pikes are Vallejo German Grey. Heavy heavy GW black wash and finally a careful highlighting with red again. As a unit I think they look pretty imposing. I think I need to get some Man O War's and paint them the same way.

Finally we have the unit of Widowmakers I mentioned earlier. I love the woman SGT model. SO much detail and attitude was captured by the sculptor.It was a joy to paint.

So there yo go. Sorry for the absence but dial-up internet was the best they could offer me at the farm - yeah, so not a joke! So Happy New Year and may all your dice come up 6's!

20pt. Cygnar vs. Khador match

Well, after playing a few battlebox matched with my brother of the Thanksgiving break he gave me a call last night. Needless to say I brought a couple 20 point armies to his place for a match. The armies were:

Cygnar:

• Cmdr. Stryker (+6)
• Lancer (6)
• Ironclad (7)
• Journeyman Warcaster (3)
• Charger (4)
• Sword Knights (Full unit 6)

 Khador:

•  Kommander Sorsha (+5)
• Juggernaut (7)
• Destroyer (9)
• Widowmakers (4)
• Iron Fang Pikemen (Min. Unit 5)

I packed up the book, templates, dice, measuring tape, mini's, and the camera...just not the memory card. Doh! I took a few pics with my cell phone - but it has a horrid camera and they were really bad. I will atleast post the final pic:

Annnnddd...I lost

As you can see by the pic - I lost. Actually, the game was really close until I decided to chance it. I thought my Ironclad was withing charge distance to his caster so I dumped 3 focus on him and charged him at the caster. Well, with having to go up a hill and loosing 1/2 my remaining movement put me .000001 mm out of charge range. It wasn't that close but I was about 1/4 of an inch out of melee range. Well, this of course put my Ironclad out of control range so I had to advance my line. I thought I was smart and swarmed his Jugg. with 6 Sword Knights and kept the other two to shield my caster. Well, he proceeded to shoot both blockers with his caster, shoot me for all but 3 damage with the Widowmakers, charge in the two remaining Pikemen, and knock me down on his first attack. Yeah, I died horribly.

Things learned:

1. Sword Knights with Blur just can not be shot. Same thing with Arcane Shield once they get in Melee.  16DEF while they try shooting at you, and 17 ARM in melee is nothing to sneeze at.
2. Warcasters are nice - but you have to protect them. I didn't have mine completely behind his Charger and he got sniped very quickly.
3. You have to be aggressive and go after his caster - but pay attention to the terrain. If I remembered that the piece of paper we were using was a hill, I doubt I would have chanced it.

So, how do you guys deal with Khador and their 20 ARM jacks?

On the work bench

Well, not much work done, but a lot of assembly managed to get done. Put together are:

• Long Gunners UA - The standard is a bit of a bear
• Journeyman Caster (Alt)
• Khador Widowmakers
• Khador Iron Fang Pikemen - The Sgt is a pain to put together. Beware.

Also, I managed to do a little bit more work on the Hammersmith.

Got the last wash on and after it dried I have started on the white. I think I am going to do that center part, both shoulder-pads, the loin cloth - plate, and the backs of the arms. I also got in a lighter blue for highlights and I think I am going to try it out on this model.

Army shot and holiday news

 Well, I decided to do a group shot as I got in absolutely no painting tonight. But overall I think I am well on my way to a nice sized army.

Remember - clicky clicky makes me bigger!

Also, the reason I didn't get much painting done is the old lady and her "Your always obsessed with something new" logic. Which is true... but if any of you know her in real life and tell her - I will deny it venomously. So, family night, and as Christmas gets closer I might miss a few nights. She just doesn't understand my 2 painting a day plastic-crack habit.

Long Gunner's Finished

After a partial days painting the Long Gunners are finished. Also, I started laying down the blue basecoat for the Hammersmith and second Charger.

 They do not look bad, and again - just aiming for tabletop quality here. The temperature is supposed to be a little better tomorrow and I hope to prime a box of Widowmakers that I picked up over the weekend. Aso always, comments, criticisms, and such are always welcome.

Trenchers Finished

Ugh... I have been sick! That's why no update. I finally started to feel better today and managed to finish of my Trenchers - minus the sniper. I got them in a trade and he is missing the sandbags he was leaning on though. I have him based and nearly finished, but he just looks plain weird in his pose. I think for just aiming at a good table top standard they look good. What do you guys think?

Any comments, criticism, useful tips please leave in the comment section. I am also working on my long gunners and I hope to have them ready for you tomorrow.

Trenchers Update

 Well, after painting at lunch on them for 2 days and tonight's marathon I nearly have them done. No pics yet as its late and I am tired. Also I have been feeling a bit under the weather today mostly I think from the cold weather we have been having. Sorry for no pics. I will try and take some tomorrow but no promises - board game night. Hopefully I can get some more work in on them at lunch and finish the unit up.

One thing though before I go, has anyone else who have seen these think that they are good sculpts but poorly cast? I have read on the forums about how ugly they are, and that's why they were redone - but I like them. They clearly look as if they belong in a WWI trench on the Eastern Front somewhere. Just that around the back of the neck on every single one that I have its as if the molds were just damaged right in that spot. What are your thoughts on these guys?

My fingers are blue...

 So, the trade I did for Cygnar where I got the 3 Units and a bunch of 'jacks?!?!? Yeah, the jacks were primered - and I use that term loosely, in some sort of Crylon type blue paint. My super "Vat o' paint stripping" that can peal off the worst sort of paint from a plastic mini in about 6 hours couldn't quite get all the crud off in 36 hours. Man, My sink, hands, and old tooth brush I use are dyed blue. That crud was on there extra thick.

Here's a shot of them after scrubbing for a few hours.

Yes, I got a blue towel to dry them off with so that if the paint did stain the towel it wouldn't be so noticeable. Actually the wife made me do it. But see what I mean? And on a side but still related note - I was really disapointed to find that my trader used Grind models as the base for two of the 3 light warjacks. So much less detail.

On the painting front, as my hands dried out from the turpentine I had to use to get the blue paint off I washed the Sword Knights I got in the trade. They are painted in a silver metal, which is not a look I usually go for - but they looked good and with a simple wash it really brought out the detail. Just need to hit the base border with the matching brown and call em good.

Thats all for tonight. Once the metal dried I plan to put the Hammer together, but the plastic's are going in for another bath.

Trenchers and Long Gunners WIP

 Well, I was all set to get home from work and start on my Cryx battlegroup but instead I got in a box from Bartertown. I have been working on a few trades on there and managed to get quite a few 'jacks (who are soaking in paint stripper as we speak), a full unit of Sword Knights - already painted and not going to be repainted, a full unit of Trenchers and 8 Long Gunners. Well, the latter two were bare metal so, following Leontheconfused's advice I bought some paint on primer and did two test models. What do you guys think?

Now do you see why I was asking which to use to expand my force? So, just when you thought I was done with Cygnar...it pulled me back in!

Cygnar Battlebox Finished!

  Well, I managed to finish my Cygnar battlebox today. Plus, after the horrid pictures from the last WIP update I had to play with my camera for a few hours to undo the mess the wife made. I think I have it figured out and I retook pictures of everything. So, lets start it off with a couple group shots.

Well, my main goal for painting anything I feel was achieved. They look good together and clearly belong as a group. Nothing special on any of them but the Warcaster - and even that was very slight.

Speaking of the warcaster here you go:

He just got some extra highlighting and a few more colors than I gave the jacks. Really pleased with him and he was super simple to paint.

Next we have the one that has not been shown yet the Lancer. I wanted him to look a little different than the Charger as they are both light jacks built on the same chassis.

I left him a bit dirtier and barely cleaned up the blue. I did this because the white just did not stand out enough when I first put it on. In leaving the blue washed darker the white really pops now. I didn't think I would like the dirty blue but it looks pretty cool IRL.

Finally, the two that were finished before but I wanted to post better pictures. Not much time, as we are about to go out to eat so I will close it out with just the pics. Next on my painting table it the Cryx battlegoup. All of the groups I have painted so far are as close to their true colors as I can get. I am thinking something different for them so stay turned.

Till tommorow.

Cygnar WIP Part II

 Well, quite a bit of progress today with the painting. I threw a couple of my Cygnar that I had been working on into my paint bag and between lunch and painting while the wife cooked dinner I managed to finish the Charger, the Ironclad, AND Stryker. Granted, most of the work was touching up on the paint of the first two models, but I did manage to paint the warcaster in only a few hours - a new personal best for me.  I have been wanting a dirty grittier feel to things  that I have been painting for a few years now and I like the way these are going.

Ok ok you say...On with the pics. First up we have the Charger. Only difference was finished and cleaned up the blues. Slight touch up to the brass as well.

While I usually HATE metalics I love the way a heavy washed brass looks. Also, its clear the wife messed with the camera settings (grrrr) so when I take the finished shots I will make sure they look good again.

Next we have the Ironclad. I love the shoulder pads. I was a bit worried about them as I actually used a very dark gray on them and then washed, washed washed the heck out of them to make them appear black at an angle. Its a really cool effect.

And a shot of the back:

Lots of brass and the metal is really dark. Just looks cool. Finally we have Styker. I actually intended to do a lot more to the cloak. Bit once I got it all painted, washed and touched up - the off white just looked "right" to me. Do you ever have a moment like that? Where you really mean to get stuck in with all kinds of details but once its all said and done simple works better?

'Nuff rambling on with the pics.

And in closing, a shot of the back.

So that's it for today. Thanks for having a look. A big shout out to The Iron Agenda Blogging Network for allowing me to syndicate my blog with them. If you like what you see please please follow me and post up some comments!

Till tommorow,

Burb