A Couple of Updates

Sorry for the lack of updates, but I have recently fallen victim to a sneaky patch of ice which caused me to fall and rupture the tendons above my kneecap that will require surgery to repair. Thank you very much Old Man Winter. So while I lay here at home waiting for the surgery, I thought I'd post an update.

First, I completed a test model for my Astral Claws army. One of which I'm satisfied with, so I've given myself the green light to proceed. I'll have an image or two posted soon for that. My limite mobility prevents me from searching for the camera.

My other update is my review of the new Pathfinder Battles miniatures from Paizo/Wizkids. The first set, Heroes & Monsters was just released and while I don't have any retailer nearby that carres them, I opted to order a few of the single online. I received my first order the other day and I am quite pleased with them so far. The painting is a standard a bit higher than WotC's Dungeons and Dragons minis in terms of the details. Wizkids also went with the flat finishes as opposed to the glossy look, which I like. The other thing that I enjoy about this set is that there is a healthy mix of characters as well as your basic dungeon crawl denizens. There are forty in the first set, with the next set due out in June or July. Plenty of time for me to complete this one. I would say the only down side for this product is the packaging. The boosters are sold in two types: one containing a single large monster and another containing one medium or two small miniatures. I would imagine it would get a bit pricey trying to collect them all going that route. I'm guessing it would be cheaper in the long run, to buy singles on line. All in all, this set will go great with the Pathfinder Campaign that I have in the works.

Pre-Painted Plastic Miniatures

I haven't been much of a fan of this new era of Dungeons and Dragons miniatures. I'm from the old school lead miniatures from Grenadier that never looked anything like the character you created, but you were able to paint them up yourself and many of them had backpacks as true adventurers should. But because I am quickly becoming a fan of the new Dungeons & Dragons game, I decided to pick up a box of the latest set of minis (Lords of Madness). I have to say that today, I am glad that I did, because I pulled an Elder Blue Dragon (very rare) and it is easily one of the finest looking figures that Wizards has produced so far. And just to make things a little more satisfying - eBay and many of the online retailers are pricing this one out anywhere from $45 to $60! Ya gotta love that.

Noble - finished!

I finished paintin the Noble for my High Elves. I still have to base it, but wanted to get an update on the blog. No more long absences from me. No, sir. It's time to start spending time on things that I like doing. All of the models in this phase are built and ready for painting, so I am making progress.

I used all GW colors for this model and solved the 'rank up' dilemma by putting him on a diagonal slotta base instead of a straight one. I just primed my High Elf Mage, so I'll have that one up soon.

Since I haven't played Fantasy in seveal years, I'm going to have to learn all over again. So here's how I'm going to go about it. I started reading the new 8th Edition rules and I'm assembling an opposing test army comprised of a couple of regiments of Chaos Warriors and a hero. I can use that to run through my own in-house demos to get the mechanics down. Like I said, it's been a while, so stay tuned for questions that I mayhave.

...One more model

Okay, so my my copy of the Warhammer Fantasy Roleplay Game is on the way and I can't wait to get it. I know that I said that I had to suspend my game spending, but I started thinking that I should start looking through my Fantasy minis to see what I've got. I know the game comes with a bunch of 'standees', but I know right now, I would much rather have a hand-painted miniature on the table. Call it RPG nostalgia, but back in my DnD days, I had a bunch of old Grenadier minis that we used to play with. Anyway, I just had to get one more model that I had my eye on for a long time. I thought that Empire Captain from direct-only was too cool, so I picked up the phone and placed the order. What a bad-ass looking model!

Ultraforge Resin Kits

Once again, I was unable to attend Adepticon due to other obligations. But thanks to a lot of those hobbyists and gamers who did attend, I have been spending a great deal of time surfing and taking in all of the great reviews and pics and videos. Thanks to one and all.

I did get to work on my Crimson Fists and I'll post pics of that soon, but one thing I saw at Adepticon were a couple of daemonic resin models from Ultraforge. These models are freakin' cool lookin' and would make excellent substitute for the more expensive Forgeworld kits. The Wardaemon above would make a great Daemon Prince (Khorne) for only about $79. Not too bad at all. I'm almost tempted. Aw who am I kiddin', I'll have one by Christmas.

How cool would my 2nd Company Crimson Fists look battling that thing?!

War of the Ring

Like a lot GW gamers, I read the review on the new War of the Ring game. And I have to say that I was pretty impressed with the review. I haven't played Lord of the Rings in about 2 years, but this new rule set (on a larger scale) really sounds too tempting to ignore (I know, I lack focus). I stopped in to my local GW Battle Bunker yesterday and thumbed through the store copy and I really liked what I saw, so in anticipation of this weekend's release, I decided that I would begin yet another project. I chose the Kingdom of Rohan and bought a box of Riders of Rohan and a set of Cavalry Movement Trays. The cost was $31, which isn't too terribly expensive. The one box alone will give me three cavalry companies to begin with.

I like the Riders of Rohan because of the Scandanavian 'flavor' that they have as well as the variety of weaponry (spears, bows, swords) this army has in their arsenal. I've always been a fan of the nordic mythology and being an amateur history buff, I watched History Channel's show "Warriors" last week and wouldn't you know it, that episode was about viking raiders. It must be a sign.

So I look forward to Saturday's release of the game and I'll be jumping right in and starting my Rohan army tonight. Stay tuned.

Miniature Trading Site

I just registered at Rogue-Market.com, a miniatures trading site. Looks like a cool site, so I'm going to check it out and maybe conduct some trades on the tons of stuff that I have that I will probably never get to. Might be a great way to both get rid of unused stuff and enhance your own collection. It seems worth checking out at least.

Black Scorpion Miniatures

I found this miniature website online and they've got some sweet looking models. You can see them by clicking here. I've got my eye on the pirate models. I think I'll order a few of those...just to see.

I want this model

Does anyone know where I can get this model without ordering $100 worth of stuff from GW? My wallet couldn't handle the strain right now.

Old School DnD

Sorry guys, but I need to take a stroll down memory lane. Not sure how many of you out there remember the good ol' days of Dungeons & Dragons, but I saw these pics out on the net and I couldn't help remembering all of the fun that I had. I wish I could get my hands on this stuff again. For nostalgic reasons if nothing else.

This was how we played back in the day. Enjoy!