Some More FLGS Action

It's been some time since I've said anything on the local game store front. Let's not forget the Hulks in Spaaaaaaaaace! price gougery from one shop, and the still-going-strong chainstore that offers in-house games and promotions (and the occasional sale).

But today I'm talking about neither a mall store, or a chainstore, but a truly local game store, run by a gamer first, businessman second. It's cleverly named, and it's pretty cool, cool enough to give it its own post I reckon! Ha, "I reckon"!

Now I won't get into the whole brick and mortar vs. online outlets thing. For me, as an adult gamer who owns his own home and has a large cadre of close friends to game with, the LGS isn't a must for me. But I recognize its value and importance in the gaming community. I'm glad Org Play exists because it fills a much needed gap the other two stores can't hold a candle to.


It's located in an eclectic part of the city proper that is very similar to San Diego's Gaslamp Quarter. It's an older part of the city that consists mostly of night clubs, restaurants, pubs, and the like. The architecture, as you can see from my blurry cell phone pic here, is pretty cool on the inside as well as the outside with its rustic exposed brick. As you can see it's also packed to the gills with all kinds of gaming goodness.


I'm actually pretty impressed with the variety Org Play's packing under the hood too. Here's a ton of Fantasy Flight RPG's as well as a nice selection of Malifaux and other mixed minis/boardgaming goodness.


Of course there's comics too. Though I haven't picked up a comic in years, it's cool to see them on the racks and kind of takes me back when I used be into comics and peruse these racks for a long time. I would imagine it be kind of hard to maintain both facets of the store at the same time. I've visited some great comic shops, and some great game shops, but rarely both under the same roof.


The rest of the boardgames are a plenty as well...


Got DnD? They do, but I'm curious as to that single 3rd edition unwanted stepchild of a Forgotten Realms sourcebook in there. Did it get stuck in the shipment by accident? On the bottom row is where I should've really focused. There they've got all kinds of indie press RPG's like the excellent Spirit of the Century.


There's tons of GW product on hand too. Not the biggest interest of mine right now, but it's there, it's also fun to see things like the Archna-Rock in person. Besides, it's a quick paint and wash fix and up top they had a copy of Blood Bowl too.


I've had my eye on Flying Frog's Invasion From Outer Space, and since Org Play's inventory apparently knows no bounds, I may have to pick it up here next time I've got the cash on hand. Like I said earlier, sure I can get the Deathwatch sourcebook at a whopping 37% off online, but sometimes you've gotta pay a bit more so that newbie pre-teen has a store to walk into next month and be introduced to our world.

Besides, our fledgling Blood Bowl league has been doing rather well and once a month we leave the coziness of our beer fridges and basement game rooms to venture forth and do some actual public gaming. It's a bit odd, having customers come and go checking out what you're doing, but it's cool and who knows, we might add a new team or two to the league.

Arloc Mechanica Mission Briefing: Xenos Forces

Tau Empire:

Aun’el Shi’ur, you are honored to retrieve a long sought Necrontyr artifact for our sept. Its capabilities will assist the greater good in our further expansion. We believe it will be able to translate space-time and give us information from our future. You will go to the dormant moon Arloc Mechanica with our new allies, Magstuf and his retinue. Their methods are crude but their loyalty and devotion to our way of life is steadfast I assure you. Use them as you will, retrieving the artifact is critical. If you are able, contact the Imperial Guard commander in charge of their retrieval team and open diplomatic relations with him. It is our understanding that their dedication to their ruling government is wavering. If we can bring his element into our fold it would a boon towards unifying this sector.

Primary Objective: Secure and retrieve the Necrontyr artifact.

Secondary Objective: Open diplomatic ties with Imperial forces.

Tertiary Objective: Investigate any leftover technology on the moon.

Aun’el Shi’ur is an Ethereal caste member who is renown with his skill wielding the Tau honor blade. Like most Tau, his strength and agility are above human average and in addition, Aun’el Shi’ur’s mind is tempered well beyond human standards.

Tau Empire Gun Drones: These AI-enhanced autonomous drones are the equal of any of the best foot troops humanity has to offer. Where they truly excel is in their speed and maneuverability. They are armed with twin-linked pulse carbines, ablative armor, and advanced target prediction software.

Tau Empire Fire Warriors: These soldiers make up the bulk of the Tau Empire’s ground forces. They are lightly armored but their personal defense is augmented by a small, personal force field generators similar to what Ethereal caste members wear. They are also equipped with the deadly long-ranged pulse rifle.

Name:	Tau Empire Fire Warriors
BP:	85
AP:	7
Attributes:	Strength: 3 Agility: 4 Mind: 3 Resolve: 4
Powers:	Armor x2 Combat Sense x4 Perfect Timing Force Field x3 Ranged Attack (8D, 30”) -Rapid Fire
Vitality:	Henchmen Group x10

Name:	Tau Ethereal, Aun’el Shi’ur
BP / AP:	85 / 9
Attributes:	Strength: 4 [1], Agility: 5 [1] Mind: 4, Resolve: 4
Powers:	Combat Sense x3 Force-Field x3 Melee Attacks x3 Soulless Super-Agility x1 Super-Strength x1 Extra Vitality x2
Vitality:	10

Name:	Tau Empire Gun Drones
BP / AP:	85 / 8
Attributes:	Strength: 3, Agility: 5 Mind: 3, Resolve: 2
Powers:	Armor x3 Combat Sense x3 The Difference x1 Enhanced Senses x2 Soulless Extra Attacks (+1AP) Ranged Attack (7D, 30”) -Rapid Fire -Super Damage x1
Vitality:	Henchmen Group x5

The Orcs:

Da nose-less ones think theys know us. They don’t. We hate their food, their pretty cities, their breath…it’s time to show ‘em who’s da boss. Dat Grot, what’s-his-name, came through and pilfered good, we’s got pass keys and other codes. Enough to steal the next shuttle and bugger off but good! We been kept like dogs for toos long. First, theys gonna pay or my name ain’t Magstuf! When da boyz get a load of me trophies they’s gots to give me back the big chair. When da time is right we strike. We ain’t dumb.

Primary Objective: Coup de Grace all individual models that are not Orcs.

Secondary Objective: Investigate strange fungus growths.

Tertiary Objective: Steal Tau Empire shuttle and escape moon.

Warboss Magstuf was taken into the folds of the Tau Empire’s “greater good” when his pirate vessel ran out of fuel and was adrift mid-system. Since then he has played along with his captor/benefactors until he could make good his escape. He is large, even by Orc standards, and carries a wide variety of weapons. He prefers to attack in close combat rather than at range and when he is such engaged his fury is a force of nature.

Mek Grumbolt is a skillful yet reckless Orc who pilots a kitbashed and highly-modified “deffkopta” flying machine. His crank-operated chaingun’s “dakka dakka” staccato echoes over the din of even the most pitched battles.

Magstuf’s Boyz are all that’s left of the pirate vessel Deep Entry. They are equipped with naturally thick hides and crude armor. They are armed with their signature bulky, primitive slug-throwing rifles as well as a variety of knives and clubs.

Name:	Warboss Magstuf
BP / AP:	85 / 6 [9]
Attributes:	Strength: 7 [3], Agility: 4 Mind: 2, Resolve: 4
Powers:	Armor x2 Combat Sense x1 Extra Move x3 Iron Will x2 Melee Attacks x3 Super-Strength x3 -Rage
Vitality:	11

Name:	Mek Grumbolt
BP / AP:	85 / 8
Attributes:	Strength: 3, Agility: 7 [1] Mind: 3, Resolve: 4
Powers:	Armor x1 Combat Sense x2 Extra Move x2 Enhanced Senses Flight Iron Will x1 Perfect Timing Ranged Attack (8D, 30”) -Only While Flying Super Agility x1
Vitality:	7

Name:	Magstuf’s Boyz
BP:	85
AP:	7 [9]
Attributes:	Strength: 3 Agility: 5 Mind: 2 Resolve: 3
Powers:	Armor x3 Climbing Combat Sense x3 Extra Attacks (+1AP) Extra Movement x2 Instant Stand Ranged Attack (8D, 30”) -Rapid Fire
Vitality:	Henchmen Group x10

Arloc Mechanica Mission Briefing: Imperial Forces

Dark Angels Space Marines:

**Begin Transmission**
Praise the Emperor.
Brother-Captain Othniel, our travels have been successful. Brother Jakoubek and I were ready to leave this system when our ally, Inquisitor Artiger, contacted me in secret. A dire artifact, the unholy Victory Machine, has been unearthed on a nearby moon and should it fall into the wrong hands, any hands, it would be heresy. There are those in the Imperium who would see the artifact acquired, Artiger and I agree that this cannot be allowed to happen under any circumstances. He is using what resources he has available to teleport us to the surface of the moon. A precise strike from his cruiser in orbit should render the artifact a non-issue. Brother James and myself only need to find its location. Alien heretics are noted to be in the area as well, presumably looking for the same device. They will suffer.
Praise the Emperor.
Chapter Master Tristan Tracto
**End Transmission**

Primary Objective: Destroy the device known as the Victory Machine.
Secondary Objective: Destroy any alien presence.
Tertiary Objective: Destroy any opposing presence.

Chapter Master Tracto has served with honor and distinction in the Dark Angels space marine chapter for centuries. He wields the Sword of Durendal, a chapter artifact said to have been wielded by El‘Jonson himself. In addition he wears an ancient suit of Articifer Power Armor and a custom bolt pistol sidearm rests on his hip. The latter is rarely used; Tracto prefers to dispatch his foes in melee combat.

Venerable Battle-Brother Jakoubek fell in battle hundreds of years ago. Mortally wounded and crippled beyond repair he was placed within the tomb-sarcophagus of a Dreadnought. Since then he has become the living embodiment of a war machine, utilizing his vast array of weaponry to its fullest effect. Trusted advisor and friend to Tracto, Venerable Battle-Brother Jakoubek will often accompany the chapter master on many off-mission endeavors as well as investigations and protocol matters.

Name:	Dreadnought Brother James
BP / AP:	170 / 8 [18]
Attributes:	Strength: 7 [2], Agility: 5 Mind: 3, Resolve: 6
Powers:	Armor x4 Combat Sense x4 Extra Attacks (+1AP) Extra Move x10 Knockback Resistance x3 Melee Attacks x3 Ranged Attack (9D, 30”) -AoE (Blast) -Chain Attack -Rapid Fire -Super Damage x1 Super Strength x2 Vehicle -Level 3 -Giant Robot -Independent -No Carrier (-8) -Turret
Vitality:	13

Name:	Chapter Master Tracto
BP / AP:	85 / 7
Attributes:	Strength: 4 [1], Agility: 4 Mind: 3, Resolve: 5
Powers:	Armor x3 Combat Sense x3 Density Increase -Immovable Iron Will x2 Knockback Resistance x2 Melee Attacks x2 Super-Strength x1 -Super Knockback
Vitality:	9

Imperial Guard:

Dear “Reverend” Soble,

You may have fooled the others of the council but I know what you are, you are a soldier of the Imperium and you cannot turn your back on that responsibility. You have far too much experience in battle, and far too many grafts and bionics frankly, for you to turn to faith and wander aimlessly as a vagabond preacher. You owe the Imperium of Man.

On paper you are still under orders, and therefore under my command, for another two months. That is just enough time to send you to the edge of the system and investigate rumors of Quandan’s fleet returning as nothing but wreckage. You can pick your own team, but I want you away from system central for a good while. Perhaps when you return you will know your place.

Planetary Governor Sulpheus Mape

Primary Objective: Obtain and protect the Victory Machine.

Secondary Objective: Destroy all intact scanning stations.

Tertiary Objective: Find alternative transport from the planet.

Reverend Shamus Soble is well on his way to retirement in the private sector. A massively built man, he has adopted an unassuming guise in that of a street preacher. A far cry from the decorated veteran he once was. Though his zeal for the Emperor of Mankind is honest he detests what his corrupted government in his sector has become and longs to strike out on his own. His contacts have heard rumors that a device from long ago, dating back to before even Mars was terra-formed, has been marooned on the very moon he has been sent to. If he can retrieve this item it can be his key to writing his own destiny.

Vindicare Assassin Mendel is one of the few remaining soldiers who have served alongside Soble in battle decades past. He is a deadly shot with his Archangel sniper rifle and manages close assault roles just as easily, dispatching foes with vibro-blade and Gyrojet pistol alike. He wears an advanced armored bodysuit and multi-suite mask.

Imperial Guardsmen are countless among the galaxy. These particular troopers, hand picked by Soble, are veterans of his last company. They have served Soble in many roles and will follow him to hell and back if only asked. They are equipped with standard issue flak armor and use special issue lasguns which fire an enhanced beam that shifts between dimensional layers in a manner very similar to the psy-bolts used by the Grey Knights.

Name:	Vindicare Assassin Mendel
BP / AP:	85 / 8
Attributes:	Strength: 3, Agility: 6 Mind: 2, Resolve: 5
Powers:	Armor x2 Combat Sense x3 Extra Attacks (+1AP) Force Field x1 Fortune x2 Ranged Attack (9D, 32”) -Extended Range x1 -Rapid Fire
Vitality:	8

Name:	Reverend Shamus Soble
BP / AP:	85 / 7
Attributes:	Strength: 6 [2], Agility: 3 Mind: 4, Resolve: 4
Powers:	Armor x3 Combat Sense x5 Knockback Resistance x3 Melee Attacks x3 Super-Strength x2 -Super-Knockback x2
Vitality:	10

Name:	Imperial Guardsmen
BP:	85
AP:	6 [8]
Attributes:	Strength: 4 Agility: 4 [1] Mind: 2 Resolve: 4
Powers:	Armor x3 Combat Sense x3 Enhanced Senses Extra Movement x2 Knockback Resistance x1 Ranged Attack (8D, 30”) -Affects Ethereal -Rapid Fire Super-Agility x1
Vitality:	Henchmen Group x5

Encounter on Arloc Mechanica

999.M41

The dead moon of Arloc Mechanica once housed a thriving Imperial industry. The sector was hit by successive disasters and mankind’s firm grasp was diminished to a thin thread. The moon was abandoned while the remaining citizens headed coreward to mass in protective numbers on the primary planet of Axiomica.

Arloc Mechanica has remained silent and empty with the exception of leftover scavenger bands that refused to take part of the mass coreward migration. Being on the fringe of the system, automated systems were set up to detect incoming fleet and object movements.

It was these systems that detected several large piece of debris translating in-system at high velocity. Many of the massive chunks passed harmlessly through space, some smashing against the inner asteroid belts. Some, however, smashed against the surface of Arloc Mechanica itself.

A Rogue Trader fleet, its flagship the Cinereux, was inbound when a catastrophic event took place while in warp space. All that emerged were fragments of the fleet itself. Rogue Trader Captain Quandan had discovered an item of myth and legend: the Victory Machine. The Victory Machine is said to be able to autonomously receive messages from the future. The only evidence to point to his discovery is the sudden radiation sickness Quandan was inexplicably afflicted with…as a child. Tampering with the Victory Machine sends ripples of radiation across space and time.

The Victory Machine was aboard the Cinereux. It may have survived this disaster.

You're Gonna See Squat

I was contacted not too long ago by Draxius (no, not their real name) about the Squats I've shown from time to time here on the blog. Drax has just started up a new blog and its focus is on making a "counts as" Imperial Guard army with the stunty folk. There's lots of conversions and army planning, as well as some cool, older models you just don't see anymore (and clever modern conversions too). It's good for a visit, even if you're not a stalwart 40k'er.

The name of the blog is You Ain't Seen Squat! and it's been up for about a week. I thought I'd plug it here and try to send some traffic their way. This isn't something I normally do, but when a new blog catches my eye I like to spread the word. He's got cool ideas, has quality posts, and is following through on his project quite well. Subscribe as a follower and throw out some comments, tips, or whatever kind of feedback you think might help. Remember, if you haven't seen his blog yet, then...you ain't seen Squat!

Red Giant and White Dwarf

If you're thinking you've seen this Minotaur before...you're right! In prepping for the recently held birthday Blood Bowl bash I decided to re-base my Minotaur. Originally he was slated to play for my Chaos team, but they got sold and he didn't have a home. No problem, the Chaos Dwarves were more than happy to sign him. Well, he's a big model no doubt about it, and I needed to slim up his base for sure. A metal washer later and he's good to go.



I couldn't bring myself to field anything unpainted at the tournament so I set about painting the last of my Chaos Dwarf blockers. He was primed white for so long I had to keep something to honor that. Also, instead of using a Lego cowboy hat this time I opted for a regular hairpiece, it's an interesting look for him. His nickname will be "the Coif", and I kept his beard and hair white to honor his longstanding unpainted status.

Space Marine Videogame Dropping in This Summer

After finishing up a somewhat disappointing couple of runs of Dragon Age II I decided to give videogames a rest while I got some progress on miniatures projects. There are some titles coming out I'll be picking up however. Mass Effect 3 is at the top of a very short list, but also on there is the action-shooter, rpg-lite Space Marine. Just look at the above shot of a jump pack equipped trooper coming in from orbit. That is awesome.


The game set up has you entrenched on a Forge World against a Waaaagh! full of Orcs, however this pic gave me pause. Wielding the huge power hammer rocks in and of itself, but it seems that you'll be up against some forces of chaos as well, like the Bloodletters here. Where's there's Bloodletters I gotta imagine there's also going to be other four god goodness.


This is another iconic shot that really evokes the imagery of what it means to be one of the Emperor's Finest. A power armored super-human, his massive boltgun, and hordes upon hordes of the enemy bearing down on you.

The initial previews look promising, and the game play is a mix of third person shooter as well as action RPG. I don't know if you switch characters or just get different equipment along the way either. There are some mini-movie-like cut scenes that take place during combat too, sort of like finishing move. Once you trigger these the action slows down to bullet-time and what the developers call an "actionmatic" takes place. Mostly I've seen this in melee with the chainsword dispatching foes up close.

So that's a wrap, just thought I'd stick up some screenshots. The game looks cool, and it sounds like the developers are trying to do the control system justice, and we already know the genre and setting are cool, so I'll keep my fingers crossed for this one.

A.C. Memorial Blood Bowl Tourney

Me, strategerizing for some maximum block dice

Andy said, "Hey, let's play Blood Bowl for eleven hours on my birthday!" I grabbed a football jersey, emailed my buddy Tristan for tourney team-building advice, and hit the pitch. The 'memorial' in the title is a tribute to the fact that Andy was turning forty, not that he had, point in fact, shuffled his mortal coil.


It wasn't just a 'day of Blood Bowl', it was rolled out as a true tournament, with round-robin style match-ups to start the day off with and a skills draft between matches. Other interesting nuggets included double star player points during the games, an additional MVP you could choose to put on a player in the post-match, double earnings, and most importantly for those low armored teams out there...no "miss next game" injury results.

From the photo above you can see that at its height there were no fewer than six simultaneous games being played. A thirteenth player would eventually show up, but a couple of players had to bow out early as well. Overall it was a blast, great food, drink, gaming, and of course, hanging out with friends.


I went with my Chaos Dwarves because, well, I've been playing them the most lately and didn't want a whole new learning curve to throw in on top of a tournament. Everyone started with all new teams, so I had to build my team, Hashut's Hammers, up from scratch. I've actually learned a lot from my mistakes building my league team, the Gorgons of Gorgoth, so that helped quite a bit.

What really helped, as I mentioned, was recruiting Tristan's advice. Of all the friends I've got out there, he travels most frequently to NAF approved (and other sanctioned) Blood Bowl tourneys. I told him my general game plan, what I wanted to accomplish, and he gave me some great tips on how to get there. For the most part, what he really helped with, was the change in mindset in my play style itself. The Chaos Dwarves are a great team, but can be a bit fiddly, and you really have to understand their strengths to get them proficient.

Game One Versus Wood Elves: Win 2-0

I couldn't have hoped for a better draw than my first round against a notoriously low-armored team. The good news for my opponent, Tom, was the aforementioned "no miss next game" injury results. The bad news for Tom was my new play-style focused around fouling as one of my main tools to clear the pitch. Well it worked, quite well. In addition to the multitude of knock-outs, I racked up four casualties as well. I won't forget Andy's reaction in the hallway after the match (he was also the tournament director) when he asked about the casualties I scored but he didn't see any SPP's. Fouls weren't the only tool in the kit though, multiple block dice, blitzing minotaurs, the works all came together in crunchy harmony. At one point I had the Wood Elves down to just two players on the pitch. I was able to walk in two touchdowns to a very agile Wood Elves' zero touchdowns. [EDIT: Somehow I went and deleted my one match shot against the Wood Elves and can't find it. They had a Tree Man too...]

Game Two Versus Norse: Loss 1-0

I don't have a pic of game two, playing Andy's own cleverly named Norse team, Turning Thorty. The score indicates a loss, but it was just two die rolls away from a tie. It was a tough game, the Norse may be AV7, but they all come with a very good starting skill in Block, making them tougher to knock down. Also it seemed my expendable fouling Hobgoblins were always in the wrong place to come up and deliver a swift boot to a downed player. I recall Andy had some miserable luck concerning the 'Sweltering Heat' kickoff table result. What do you expect though? His team was modeled with snow on their bases, of course they're going to suffer from sweltering heat! Anyway, as with the Wood Elves, I cleared the Norse off the board for the most part and surrounded his remaining players. All I had to do was pick up the ball and walk it in for a touchdown on the last turn of the game, tying it up. To boot, the AG3 Hobgoblin selected for the task had the Sure Hands skill! Alas, I failed two 3+ rolls in a row!


Game Three Versus Chaos: Loss 2-1

If Chaos Dwarves are tough, plain old Chaos is even tougher...and they get better minotaurs! My last match was against these guys, The Unknown. This team would eventually go on to be first place on the day and overall tournament winner, so it was going to be tight. Their "fodder" players, unlike mine, were AV8 and had Horns which let them blitz like ST4 players. His Chaos Warriors were like my Chaos Dwarf Blockers, except they were faster and had better agility. I did have a minotaur which he did not, but the edges overall went to him. It was a tough match and the score doesn't tell the whole story. I was down 2-0 for most of the match and only scored that one TD late in the second half, much too late to make a difference really. The casualties on both sides were surprisingly low as well.

Well, that's a wrap. Quite frankly I was ready to roll with a fourth match, but the energy of the assembled players had dwindled quite a bit. In between games all day there was a lot of good food (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) and drink to be had. A couple of guys were friends of old that had come in from out of town as well. It was definitely fun, but already people were lamenting the inability to keep playing their tourney team further. My own birthday is this summer, maybe we'll have a tourney part two then. Who knows?

Straight Sets

Just a quick tennis update. Last week's match, as you may have guessed from the title, was the 'straight sets' victory I was shooting for. There was all kinds of drama all over the courts that day, it was crazy.

The court on one side of us was a forfeit because the opposing team was late, but no one said it was a forfeit until halfway through the match. My captain and the opposing captain were going at it off and on during my match, and then on the court on the other side of me a player hit the ground and got knocked out and bloody. They had to call an ambulance for him. Meanwhile I'm in the middle, just trying to figure out how to serve and wanting nothing more than a little fun and exercise!

Well, finally, no third set tie-breakers in sight this match; I won 6-4, 7-5. I was happy but most of the mirth of the day had been spoiled by all the other shenanigans, it didn't help that the opposing team's coach was one of my opponents! Also, his partner was a bit unsportsmanlike which prompted me in turn to be rather unsportsmanlike myself in one particular instance. Not something I am prone to do mind you, and it was a one-time thing, but I still should've kept my cool a bit better.

So the season is six matches in and I am batting .500 (3 wins, 3 losses) with two matches to go. So my first goal was to just win a match, which I did. My second goal (after two third-set tie-breakers) was to win a match in straight sets, which I just did. Now my third goal is to finish the season with a winning record, which means I have to win the final two matches!

Where Have All the Starports Gone?

Usually when I ply the trade-lanes of all the blogs out there I see stuff that gets me excited or inspired. Sometimes someone is doing something so awesome I stop what I'm doing and try my own hand at it. More often than not however I just muse about how cool it would be if I did half the cool stuff I've been seeing (then I carry on with my own projects).

Well, lately I've really been taking notice of people's "starport" projects. It's not just terrain, it's not just a campaign, nor is it a set of rules, but a living, breathing combination of all the above. Now your games are going to take place there, sure, but the games can be as varied as the aliens who live there. Not only have I taken notice, but I've been jealous too!

It's a great way to get focused, but still have variety and scope in what you're doing. You're making terrain, that's obvious, and you're not just building and painting a single army. You've got dock workers, labor-robots, maintenance machines, police units, civilians, adventurers, and more. It's perfect for skirmish and narrative style games but there's no reason a few platoons of troops can't roll in and tackle the local PDF garrison either.


When I think of starport projects, a few jump to mind immediately. First off is Ironworker Miller's blog of the same title. His use of old toy ships for shuttles and spacecraft is great and you can tell he has a vision that he is building from the ground up. His physics are grounded in gritty sci-fi without too much techno-wizardry and games like AE Bounty (something I've pondered here) are a natural fit.


Next up is Chris from Chris' Miniature Woes (who I recently nominated). He's just now getting started on his starport project, but judging from the quality of work he puts out as well the amount he gets finished, I have a feeling it will up and running in no time. As you can see here, like Ironworker's blog, the focus is not just on armed troops (but they need to be in there!) but also on the mundane stuff you would find sitting around and performing day-to-day activities.


Starport 3030 is just one of the many, many projects Scott has going on over at Four Color Figs. Scott's gone in a slightly different route though and tackled the starport in 15mm scale, certainly an appealing idea there. 15mm means the bigger the table, even bigger the starport. You're able to add more denizens at a cheaper price and the vehicles might be easier to come by. It all comes down to your preference in scale and what you have the most on hand for. It also matters what scale you want to game in, as well as possibly storage space.

So this is all of the starport stuff I have to offer up for your perusal. I know there's more out there, and I'd love to hear about it, so leave me some links. You've seen my monster queue by now, and honestly there's a part of me that wants to sell it all off and just focus on my own starport. As you know, "focus" and "Mik" do not go together however!

[EDIT: It looks like great minds think alike! My buddy Eli has just posted this exact same thing over on his blog, I See Lead People! I'm sure he and I share a lot of readers, but if you don't follow his blog (you should!) you've got it here. If you do...well now you've got double the starport goodness!]

Deathwatch Marines Reporting In

I still have a good number of built-but-unpainted Deathwatch troopers, you can see them here. I'll be getting to them in addition to what you see here, but these are moving to the front of the line. These five represent five of the six player characters we've whipped up for our upcoming campaign that should debut in June. The sixth character is an assault marine of the Carcharodons chapter that Andy is whipping up.


This is my personal character, a Sons of Minos tactical marine. I'm building him up to be a leader-type tactician, so I went with the "hey, go that way" pointing arm. I also equipped him with a storm bolter. He won't start out of the box with one, but they look too cool not to stick it on there. Being that these are for an RPG, we can be a little lax with the gear. Speaking of gear, he wears MkV Heresy armor, as evident from his chest piece and helmet. Rounding him out is a very old backpack and a Ad.Mech. shoulder pad. I know it's not technically a Deathwatch pad, but it looks very cool and can easily pass for one. An embossed Sons of Minos shoulder pad will adorn his right shoulder when it arrives.


Our devastator marine is being played by a long-time roleplaying friend but zero time tabletop gaming buddy. He couldn't tell the difference between a heavy bolter and a meltagun, and he could care less probably to boot. He wanted a BFG, so that's what I set out to do here. It's ambiguous enough it can pull double duty in multiple roles, and it looks pretty snazzy as well. I took an assault cannon, added a box mag and a scope. I also modified a standard backpack to look like a heavy gunner's pack, complete with an articulated targeting range finder thingie. He's a Dark Angel, so DA bits finish out his kit.


Here's our Ultramarine librarian armed with Deathwatch bolter and force sword. I don't know where the bolter comes from, but it looks pretty robust. The fist gripping it is a tad large for scale, but hopefully painted it won't be too noticeable. A Black Templar backapack ('cause it has a book chained to it) and a hanging scroll, along with the helmet round him out.


Our apothecary is also from the Sons of Minos (he's looking for a Gene-seed cure) and was fun to put together. Like my character up top (and the Dark Angel) he is wearing robes, these will be dark brown compared to the DA's white ones. Slung on his side is his DW-pattern bolter and small pouches are on the other side. His medical-grade chainsword, medic backpack, and super gauntlet of healing +3 round his kit out. Oh, he's also awaiting his embossed chapter shoulder pad for the right arm. Thanks again John!

This techmarine almost didn't make the cut. It was a roll on the armor histories chart that cinched the deal however. One of the results is something along the lines that an epic battle long past ended up with the armor being impaled by an alien beastie's natural weapons. Well, the claws (or whatever) broke off in the armor and are still there today. So here you have it, sculpted over twenty years ago this techmarine fits the description to a 't'. This Ultramarine is still waiting on his servo-arm backpack.



I love the building phase of troopers. You can see my bits box in the background, it's not the biggest, but it does have a nice selection of stuff to choose from. I just tinker around, dry-fitting some items and digging around for specific ideas. The targetter on the devastator was a happy accident that just fell together as I was trying to do something else. So once I have all the bits I need for each model I scoop them up and put them in their own bags until it's time to build them. Well, they're built so I guess it's time to paint them!

No-Frills Rhino Squadron

My rhino squadron is done, and the first of the mega-projects list is complete! These came together fast and painted up even faster, mind you as the title suggests, they are your base models. There's zero magnets, interiors, battle damage, or anything else.



I may have skimped on the extras but I still strove for solid, clean models that would look good on the tabletop. The effort in the details department centered around the decals themselves. I kept them simple, but (hopefully) effective.


You can see two things here. First is that I took the photos *before* I went back in with the magical solution that is Micro-Sol. I'll go back in and 'paint' this over the decals and it will eliminate the look where it's obviously a decal and 'blend' them into the paint. The second thing is that I went back to my venerable, bits-deep, Rogue Trader era Dark Angels decals. These came out in 1987, so once they're gone...they're really gone. I love the look though, that bold, blocky sword and wings icon looks cool.


Each rhino is numbered to correspond with the tactical squad that will be riding in it. I put these numbers also on the back, you know during a battle you don't want to run up the ramp to the wrong APC. These numbers also match the numbers on the squads themselves. Speaking of squads, I wanted to get some pics of the troops with their new rides, but I was pressed for time when I took these (and downstairs is a mess right now).


Parting shot...

For those interested in doing your own "no-frills" rhinos, here you go:

• Assembled with no interiors
• Glued all hatches shut
• Kept equipment to a minimum
• Left tracks on sprue
• No drivers, gunners, etc.
• Primered flat black
• Heavy drybrush Dark Angels Green over body with large brush
• Heavy drybrush Boltgun metal over instruments and weapons
• Heavy Badab Black wash over metallic areas
• Cover up splotches and tidy up with DA Green and fine brush
• Apply decals, keep to minimum
• Primer tracks black while still on sprue
• Clip tracks and glue to bodies
• Seal with clear coat

That's it, looks like a lot of steps I know, but it's really not. I did them assembly line style from assembly to painting so it made the work go by faster, plus with the tricks I learned on the first tank or two, the third one was going even faster. I'll get some proper 'armies on parade' muster type photos soon (there's a new figure about to debut for here for the Dark Angels anyway), so until then...enjoy!