So, so, so sorry about the long period of silence. I am not dead, nor have I gone rogue and joined the struggle for freedom in Libya. I have been very busy having gained a new job a couple of times. Which means more money to spend on toys, but less time to paint. As such things have been a bit quiet.
It has been a busy period of hobbying none the less. There was Salute in April (doubly sweet as it was the first one I did not have to work at!) and I think I have played more games of 40k in the last few months than I have in the last few years.
I got tired of the fact that out of the people in my regular gang of fellow gamers we all seemed to have Blood Angels, Chaos and Eldar. In light of this I embarked on a new project (yet again!) as such I have started a Dark Eldar army.
I fell in love with the new warriors and raider models, so assembled a couple of Raider squads in short order. I was really sold on the fluff for the Grotuesques and Wracks so decided to include these deadly troops. Until I saw the models that is. As such I have converted models from a now defunct manufacturer to fill the role (more on this in the next post!) The army as usual is accompanied by a number of conversions and scratch builds, including a Voidraven and the archon's raider (dubbed the Pimp Raider by the gamers).
I have had a couple of games with the army and so far, despite having to learn that Dark Eldar are definitely, without a doubt, not Orks, I am generally happy with how I have performed. The army is interesting and characterful with plenty of interesting units and more than enough to keep me converting and busy. All in all, an enjoyable army to collect. I may be biased as its my first GW army I am collecting since leaving their employ.
Apart from 40k I have been participating in a number of skirmish games. As many of you know, I am a huge skirmish games fan and was pleasantly surprised by the worst titled game of all time, Operation Squad World War II. Awful title, great little game. The initiative system and games mechanics makes for a dynamic, fluid game with plenty of intense action. At the moment I only have two games under my belt, but stay tuned for more thoughts and views on this great little skirmish game.
And finally... (well almost) me and my friend the Fungineer had a couple of games of Song Of Blades. Sir Tristan and his band of men took on the horrendous force of as yet unnamed ogres. We had two games in just under an hour and foud the system smooth, dynamic and highly narrative in how it unfolded (his irongut was so terrifying that as soon as he killed someone, all nearby enemies fled for their lives!). Sir Tristan remained true to his code and refused to flee the field unlike his men, who seemed to flee as soon as the ogres came into view.
The scenarios were enjoyable and and uniquely challenging . The campaign was a bit of an introduction for the Fungineer, but after the first two games he had a good grasp of the game, a testament as to just how player friendly the system is, and was hugely excited about designing warbands and getting involved in a longer campaign.
I am currently planning to get a couple of more players interested in order to run a prolonged campaign of Song of Blades. However, Sir Tristan may not be making an appearance. As usual, the mysteries of the Orient are calling to me, and as such, I have gone on a bit of an ebay binge and collected all the models I considered cool to bring a bit of Legend of the Five Rings to our forthcoming campaign. I have scoured ebay and nabbed models from Reaper, the now discontinued Clan Wars, Okko and the Perry twins.
This has also spawned a wider project, and what started as getting six or so cool samurai models, has become me waiting for something in the region of 40 models. I am also making plans to create themed scenery, including lots of bamboo forests (there is always, ALWAYS, a showdown in a bamboo forest) and feudal Japanese buildings. More news as and when I can be bothered to continue the project.
Until next time (hopefully not too long)
-Banchou Badger
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| Dark Eldar warrior. Test scheme |
I got tired of the fact that out of the people in my regular gang of fellow gamers we all seemed to have Blood Angels, Chaos and Eldar. In light of this I embarked on a new project (yet again!) as such I have started a Dark Eldar army.
I fell in love with the new warriors and raider models, so assembled a couple of Raider squads in short order. I was really sold on the fluff for the Grotuesques and Wracks so decided to include these deadly troops. Until I saw the models that is. As such I have converted models from a now defunct manufacturer to fill the role (more on this in the next post!) The army as usual is accompanied by a number of conversions and scratch builds, including a Voidraven and the archon's raider (dubbed the Pimp Raider by the gamers).
 |
| The Pimp Riader, in all its yet to be painted glory |
Apart from 40k I have been participating in a number of skirmish games. As many of you know, I am a huge skirmish games fan and was pleasantly surprised by the worst titled game of all time, Operation Squad World War II. Awful title, great little game. The initiative system and games mechanics makes for a dynamic, fluid game with plenty of intense action. At the moment I only have two games under my belt, but stay tuned for more thoughts and views on this great little skirmish game.
 |
| Things go from bad to worse for Sir Tristan |
The scenarios were enjoyable and and uniquely challenging . The campaign was a bit of an introduction for the Fungineer, but after the first two games he had a good grasp of the game, a testament as to just how player friendly the system is, and was hugely excited about designing warbands and getting involved in a longer campaign.
I am currently planning to get a couple of more players interested in order to run a prolonged campaign of Song of Blades. However, Sir Tristan may not be making an appearance. As usual, the mysteries of the Orient are calling to me, and as such, I have gone on a bit of an ebay binge and collected all the models I considered cool to bring a bit of Legend of the Five Rings to our forthcoming campaign. I have scoured ebay and nabbed models from Reaper, the now discontinued Clan Wars, Okko and the Perry twins.
 |
| Models from Reaper, Valiant and Okko |
Until next time (hopefully not too long)
-Banchou Badger
