What Did Santa Bring You?

Merry Christmas and a happy new year to anyone that may be looking at my blog. While I only got one Warhammer related item on Christmas Day (a CSM codex), I did get some other nifty things, like a new BIG ASS TV! Now I can watch my Blu-Ray and HD-DVD (I took advantage of the HD-DVD blowout sales) movies in 1080p.

Other than these great items, the wife and I were bequeathed some cash from a relative. I used some of this to buy a box of Thousand Sons, Malifaux Nicodem and a Ultraforge Miniatures "Lord of Pestilence".

The reason for me choosing Malifaux was because my Son is starting to give them a try and it's really quite cheap to get into. As for the Lord of Pestilence, I have been wanting to buy a Summoned Greater Daemon for my army, though had always found GW's asking price of $100 obscenely expensive for a rather crap looking model. Our friend, who is also the local Games day organizer and GW seller mentioned these Ultraforge offerings for half the price. This particular one was only $36AU, though it looks extremely nice.

I have to say I'm looking forward to painting this one, which is a very good thing because I have been extremely lazy for the last couple of weeks. Too much food and alcohol :)

Zen and the Art of List Building

In my yearning to be the greatest Warhammer player in the history of the game (Yeah right!), I have engaged a fair chunk of my spare time pouring over Tabletop forums, and the such, looking for other peoples lists.

I have learnt through this that you can manipulate the rules of Chaos Armies by using a Land Raider as a dedicated Terminator Transport (Free Heavy Support!). Whilst this is a grey area, you are legally able to run the transport empty (leaving the Terminators to run or Deep Strike) and pile anyone in, then move on the second turn. Some people deem this as cheating, others don't. I see nothing in the rules about this, so I take it for being a legtitimate strategy.

I have also learn't that Daemon Prince's (Wings, Sorceror, Slaanesh, Warptime) make a viable, fast moving killing machine that is capable of wiping out Troops and Tanks with ease. The only issue with a Daemon Prince is vulnerability. I sent him onto a squad of Killa Kans over the weekend, he wiped out the Kans, but got himself killed by the trillion other Orks waiting.

Anyway, to finish this little rant off I have to point out that no matter how good your list is it will still fall over flat if your tactics are not up to par. My tactical skills suck badly, so I have a tendency to get steamrolled no matter what I have. Also the luck of the dice plays a massive part, so be prepared for your Plasma Gun to blow up in your face.

Umm.. Which Way Did That Wing Go?

The one thing that I love about good models is the attention to details. Lots of intricate and lovingly crafted pieces may be fine and dandy on things like model planes, cars, etc. Though when it comes to models from places like Games Workshop it becomes a worrying thing.

The reason for the worry is the time, effort and copious amounts of money we are willing to waste in creating a (hopefully) sexy looking models. Only for them to be dragged around the countryside to be manhandled, dropped, scratched and possibly even thrown in anger (I've seen dice fly, still waiting to see models become projectiles).

I have succeeded in snapping spiky bits off my Dreadnought's, Predator and Rhino's. Lost weapons and chipped the hell out of my Obliterator's. Plus a large chunk of my Khorne Berzerker's are missing arms and backpacks. I also kind of smashed someone else's Land Raider by kicking a piece off. This wasn't intentional, I just didn't see it while carrying an obscenely large box of terrain.

I really don't have an answer as to how to fix this problem, other than leaving them at home in a cupboard or display case. But where's the fun in that? I'm willing to have my models systematically fall to pieces (as they do) just so I can enjoy a game of Warhammer. Ti's but a small price to pay. :)

And Now For Something Completely Different!

Got back from our trip into uncharted territory. Well for me it was a place where no Diggler had gone before. For the Missus it was but a return to slightly familiar territory. Where might this be you ask... Sunny Brisbane, in Queensland Australia.

Funnily enough, compared to where we live (around 100km from Brisbane) it wasn't completely sunny, but yet it wasn't pissing down with rain like here.

Anyways, we came to see MUSE, and we were not let down! I was whinging about these big arse curtains taking away 80% of our view. This obscured the support act, though I was actually quite pleased that they were because I wasn't too impressed with them.

MUSE started, and holy crap Batman, I just about wet myself with excitement! Strobes, smoke, bouncy balls, ear splitting squeals (from me) and friggin amazing music was the order of the evening!

If you ever get a chance to see MUSE live (if you like them that is) then I recommend you do so! They offer one of the best live performances available, and to coin a younger persons terms, go off!

Some Pics!
























Here's a small recording!

Eurasia!

Only 1 hour left then I'm off to the Big Smoke, with the wife, to see Muse. We are very excited about this because we not only get to see a bloody great band, but also get away for the night in some dive motel.

If my phone manages to take some decent photos (my luck with camera's, likely not) I'll be posting them up on the site.

Lights! Camera! Smash!!!

Ahh, the fun I have trying to take pictures with our trusty Olympus digital camera. While it is really not a bad little camera, that manages to take some rather desirable photo's regularly. It chooses to push my buttons when it comes to the task of photographing my miniatures.

Too dark, too bright, out of focus, too close, too far away. You name it, this camera (or my exceptional photography skills) causes a problem. You will see a fine example of my camera's abilities to your left.

While it currently looks not that bad, I dare you, I double dare you to click on the link! My painting is nowhere near Eavy Metal standards, nor will it ever get anywhere near that level of skill. But at proper size, this picture makes my painting look abhorrent.

Anyways, I will get a new camera into the new year. It won't be expensive, though this one I am using now was inexpensive 3 years ago. So it will have to be an improvement... I hope :)

Rules, Rules. Rules

Talk about needing the brain of an elephant. I have been playing Warhammer (40k) for a few months and am still trying to get my head around all of the damn rules.

The worst ones are hit and damage. So many points to hit this particular type of person, animal, monster, alien, etc. Then so many points to wound based on Weapon Skill, Ballistic Skill, Strength, Toughness and which way the wind is currently blowing. One day I will somehow work it out. By that time the whole game will probably change, and I'll have to re-learn it all again.

Anyways It's still a fun game to play. But my son is getting bored of Warhammer and is looking at branching out to different games. Namely Necromunda, Warmachine and Blood Bowl.

The advantage of these over Warhammer is space. While Warhammer needs a specific sized table, which is bloody huge, the others can be played on a normal old dining table. Which means we can play them at home!