man-o-... what? it's not? dreadwhat? are you f'n kidding me?

blood angel brother deino by laundryhamper

two years ago, gw rereleased it's standalone big box game space hulk. initally, i was rabidly opposed to the idea. my list of pros and cons were as follows:

pros:

• gorgeous models
• re-release of a great rules mechanic with only the slightest of tweeks to the system to make it even more playable.

cons:

• card components. with all the advances that gw has made to its plastic terrain i was hoping for some cool plastic modular hulk corridors as and rooms and the fact that it didn't seriously irked me
• cost
• splash release with no pre-release play or demo opportunities. 

while the cons didn't outweigh the pros significantly, i felt the lack of demos and pre-release game opportunity was gw simply assuming that they could produce any sort of drivel and sell it to the rabid masses. in fact, when i worked at the u.s. hq in glen burnie, there was a running joke that gw could put a pile of dogshit in a 40k or fantasy box and hobbyists would buy it. 

don't believe me? have you seen the original range of dark eldar? 

in the end, space hulk did pay off for gw and completely sold out. despite my initial protests I did, indeed, purchase a copy, and today an unopened copy of space hulk can sell for more than twice as much on ebay. 

all-in-all it was a good gamble for gw. so good they're gonna do it again...

image property of games workshop

only this time it's something different. according to rumor, this isn't a rerelease of man-o-war, but a completely new game, and like space hulk "this product has been produced in limited qualities and is only available while stocks last - make sure you get it quick..." 

from the gw press releases, i like the way the models look, but gw has consistently produced amazing models. my biggest question is: how does it play? there's a slickly produced video with phil kelly and his sideburns showing the contents and highlighting the play, but i can't justify dropping $115 on a game i can't play/demo first.

i could continue to rant about how i feel about dreadfleet, but duke's inferno does a much better job.

workbench update!

wow. it looks like it's been a while since i've updated little mens. so here are some new warmachine images for you to enjoy.

'jack #7 (juggernaut chassis), 43d assault battalion, 5th border legion:

the juggernaut is a minor conversion. normally the legs are exactly like the ones on the destroyer below, but since the juggernaut is a close combat 'jack, i wanted it to look like it's striding forward about to grab hold of something and plant that ginormous axe into the middle of it.

so i cut the toes off the left leg, then i angled the remaining plastic, and pinned and glued the toes back on. this allowed me to glue the left leg in place well behind the right. after that is was just a matter of hunching the upper body forward a bit (you can really see the difference if you look at the smokestacks on both 'jacks), then angling the left arm forward and the right arm back. 

all-in-all i think it came out pretty nicely. it definitely has a bit more of a sense of speed and menace than it did squared up on the base.

'jack #3 (destroyer chassis), 43d assault battalion, 5th border legion:

as always, comments and questions are welcome!

workbench update!

last time we posted up some photos from the workbench we had cryxian brute thralls and pistol wraiths in process. here they are completed!

enjoy! and feel free to leave feedback in the comments!

"the politically correct need not apply." really?

much to the hew and cry of all the trolls, stump-thumpers, prognosticators, and end-is-nighers, games workshop has released it's annual report. you can find it at their investor site here.

it's an interesting read, especially the following:

• mark wells (the gw ceo) mentions that in finding the right employees: "the politically correct need not apply" (i envision plenty of serious human resources conversations coming from this one).
• the enormous amount of spin put on the release of citadel finecast (or as some call it: fineco$t)
• tom kirby (the gw chairman) gives himself a 20% pay rise (don't deny, you'd do it too if you could)

for a clearer and more in depth look at the report from someone who knows how to read the damn things, jump over to dukes inferno and read his translation.

more work on the workbench...

having had my cryxian forces shot up excessively in most of my last few games, i've decided to add these fine fellows to send against my foes:

you can see that most of the block coloring is done. the finished paint scheme will be pretty dark, grimy, and dirty, as i want my pistol wraiths to look like gunslingers exhumed and reanimated with dark powers. while the scarves here on both look pretty bright eventually they'll be dimmed down with a couple of ink washes merely hinting at the fact that these wraiths were cygnaran gun mages forced into unlife to wield their weapons and skill in service to the dragonfather.

some work in progress...

last november i added a new hobby game to the mix: warmachine. i've really come to like the models and the really fast paced play of the game. i've built up quite a cryx army and starting today and for the next few days, i'll be updating little mens with some photos of new stuff and maybe even a how-to!

so without further delay, here are some brute thralls in progress:

hopefully i'll have these completely painted this evening and ready to be based!

well, it was bound to happen.

so a friend and local gamer has started this strange combination of tumblr, humor, and wargaming: hot models with fugly minis. basically, felix photographs the two fugly models above (a cygnaran long rifle and a space marine) with other models or in strange wargaming situations.

like a flameguard toga party.

don't ask.

it's a relatively new blog/thing and there are a couple of slightly scandalous (perhaps even impertinent or down right inappropriate) situations that are amusing as hell.

you should spend time there. the fugly minis would want you to.

++ updated with new photo of my stuff with felix's ++