My First 'Bad Guy' Army?

I've always played the good guy growing up. I never wanted to be the evil villian or vile horde. My kids might disagree, but I don't have an evil bone in my body. Really. I always cheer for the forces of good.

But maybe the time is coming that I exercise a walk on the dark side and dabble with the idea of having an evil army. Well, if I do...it's going to be the new Dark Eldar. I was never much of a fan of the Dark Eldar (book or models) and considering how long it's been since this particular faction has seen any kind of love, I'm guessing GW isn't much of a fan either. But the new models are looking very cool. So who knows, when the time comes I may start a small strike force. But we'll see. I hate seeing the bad guys win.

Portable Space Hulk??

So Space Hulk is one of the greatest board games ever. But I can't take it with everywhere I go, right? So I'm hoping that this is the next best thing. I have been known to try other board games from time to time. But I am also told that there are some pretty fun card games out there as well. Well, I saw this in the latest White Dwarf and I'm hoping for a little 'Best of Both Worlds. - Space Hulk and Card Games.

Fantasy Flight Games got the licensing and I'v had nothing but positive experiences with that company, so I'm looking forward to trying this one. I'll let you know how it turns out.

Ya Gotta Love eBay

I was trying to figure out ways to bolster my Swordmasters and Lothern Sea Guard and it never even occured to me to check eBay. Well, to make a long story short, I found a unit on ebay for a very reasonable price. While this saves me about $90, by not having to purchase another Island of Blood box, I am a teeny, tiny regretful that I didn't get a set of skaven for myself.

Anyway, they came today, so now I can boost that unit. Enemies of Ulthuan beware. I just need another set of LSG.

Sword Master Champion - Finished!

I finished painting my Sword Master Champion from the Island of Blood set. As everyone knows I'm not a big fan of bright colors, so I went with a darker tone. Especially after reading the Island of Blood mini novel. That place is pretty grim, so I figured let the characters reflect the tone, right?

This model marks the first time that I even bothered to paint the eyes. I'm really, really, really bad at them, so you won't see too much of that in the army.

I also returned or rather exchanged some kits on dead projects that I had lying around and picked up a Battalion box to prep for a legal 2,000 point list. Oh and I grabbed another unit of Sword Masters off eBay for a very reasonable price.

Plastic High Elves...Incoming!

YEAHA BABY!!!!! High Elves are going completely plastic. GW release in October to include plastic Dragon Princes, White Lions, and Phoenix Guard. Damn, I've got to get painting.

This is great news. My bits box will runeth over. The possibilities for conversions will be endless. Amen!

Island of Blood High Elves - Assembled

I finished my initial set of High Elves from the Island of Blood starter set. Once again, I have to comment how cool these models are. There were very few mold lines and everything fit together well. The only downsides that I'll make mention of are the fact that many of the spear components were fragile and some of the side 'tines' on the spears snapped off during removal. So me being the annal hobbyist, I had to cut those tines off to keep the model uniform. I also had a couple of issues with the helmet flaps on the Ellyrian Reavers. But otherwise, everything was designed well and easy to assemble. GW put a lot of thought into how the Prince and Mage were designed in terms of how the hobbyist would have to assemble it. They were remarkable easy to assemble.

But anyway, the initial force is assembled. As I had mentioned in a previous post, I swapped the Skaven for some extra elves, so I've got more Sea Guard and Sword Masters to add to the force. From here, I've got my eye on a Battalion box that will add some Spearmen, Archers, a Chariot and Bolt Thrower. But I think I've got plenty to get me going. I'll start priming and painting over the next couple of days.

..Of Elves and Paint Pots

I walked into the local GW store this morning at 10:01 and purchased my Island of Blood starter set. I won't post any of the obligatory unboxing pics, because Lord knows that's been done to death. But I will say the models are AWESOME!!!! So I'm home and the wife and kids headed off to the mall, so I get some time to myself (yay, no 'girl' drama), to thumb through the contents.

I also managed to double my High Elves in the same trip. One of the staffers was looking for Skaven, so I swapped out some models and was on my wayI'll have a nice start with 20 LSG and 20 Sword Masters and 10 Reavers. Needless to say that I have a spare High Elf Prince and High Elf Mage that I am considering divesting myself of.

I also saw the new paint pot design that GW produced. Now I don't have to rifle through my bin trying to find a color. They finally color coded the tops. That only took about ten years to come with. But then again, I wasn't bright enough to paint the top of my existing pots on my own, duh...

Oh, and I also picked up a copy of the Island of Blood mini novel. So far, it's been a good day.

Castle Ravenloft - First Glance

Despite my wallet's better judgement, I picked up the new D&D Boardgame, Castle Ravenloft. Yes, I was once a D&D fanatic. Back in the days when there was such a thing as "THACO". I haven't played in many years, but I have followed the game periodically and even collected some of the minis. What can I say, it brings back some great memories with Owlbears and whatnot. So, imagine my excitement when one of my favorite games of old, was getting a stripped down version. I just had to have it. So I dropped the coin and unboxed it in the wee hours when the wife and kids were asleep. At first glance, I have to admit that I really liked what I saw. Here are my first observations:

1. A bit of a hefty price tag - $65 (but worth it, so far)
2. Big-ass box (not the flimsy, crushable kind)
3. Heavy card stock tiles and character cards (ala Descent)
4. Awesome, well organized storage tray that holds tiles, minis, dice, cards, etc.
5. Minis seem to be made of a sterner plastic than the collectible figs, although there is some reproduction of some of the collectible figs. (unpainted, but no big deal)
6. New board game due out this fall that can be used with Castle Ravenloft
7. Rulebook is less than 15 pages
8. Well illustrated rulebook, (but that's one of the best parts of 4th Edition - the art)
9. 1 - 5 players, which means you can actually play the game solo

I'll post pics of the stuff as soon as I can, I'm going to try and work through the rules and a solo game tonight, but it looks pretty easy.