Win-Win

Socceroos win the Asian Cup and Campbell Newman is no longer Premier of Queensland.

It's a Win-Win. Tonight I sleep well, tomorrow I'll do some real celebrating.

Change In Plans

Isn't it always. So some things have come up that have delayed painting. I'll try to get at least the mousling done, possible the cannon & crew too. Might even get the Eshen Sorcerer conversion done (it's just needs a hood/head covering GS to be done and it's hell trying to get it done). Will need to wait till Tuesday morning to get the photos done (light's at it's best for photography then) as I'm unable to do it on weekends and I won't be available Monday to do it. With luck, might still get that Helstorm & crew done in time for that.

I'm also considering editing some of the Mordheim (video) game me and my brother recorded. That or we'll re-record a few games that I'll try to edit and upload just for the fun of it.

Celebrate Australia Day with...

...some of our most beloved foods.

Australia Day 2015

....and it's so bloody hot. Damn these heat waves, I can't do anything in this heat. Hopefully we'll get that storm that was predicted.

The Grey Seer Model Problem

Whoever designed this Grey Seer model clearly didn't attempt to put it together themselves. The instructions are terrible and the two arms are just painful to try to connect.

As for the conversion plan, the staff top will be replaced by a helbard blade, the outstreached hand with a Empire pistol one, the horns cut and glued onto the side of his head with a green stuff hood over it to give the feel that the horns are curved and will take the small staff rat and cut and file it enough to place on his shoulder with the GS hood covering it's lack of tail.

Uploads Next Week

Just as it says. My mood hasn't been the best, but I have made more progress in the miniature painting. While I haven't felt like fine detailing, I have pushed foward with the Helstorm Rocket Battery. This means that next week expect to see both the Empire great cannon and helstorm rocket battery up, along with the cowgirl mousling.

As for what's after that? Well, I'll be working on the Mordheim Eshin Sorcerer and have both him and the touched up Rat Ogre uploads as soon as I can. Army challenge wise I'll try to finish the 19 model Swordsmen unit since they are all based painted. Possibly work on finishing a few loose models or even work more on the Inqusition ones.

As for actual painting or photography, that's still up in the air.

Another Downer

I hate depression. There are days where you can rarely notice it and then you get days like today. Doesn't help that I've had poor sleep and annoying neck and head pain. Even harder not having anyone to talk to (well, anyone that understands anyway). Days like these make me question a lot of things.





I hate depression.

Bloody Brushes

I hate it when you start painting your miniatures and realise that you need to replace them, only to check the clock and find out you won't make it before the shop closes for the day. I'm close to finishing the Cowgirl Mousling (who's got a slightly unusual clothing options thanks to the colour schemes I chose) and I think the cannon is done, but the crew still need a layer and highlight before I can finalise the snow basing.

Instead, I've started on the Helstorm Rocket Battery, since that one is only slightly more difficult to work on compared to the cannon. Once I get the Grey Seer this weekend, I'll start converting the Mordheim Eshin Sorcerer model. I'll then get shots of it with the Rat Ogre, whom I can't do much on apart from a few fur lines and tatoos since I forgot the colours used on the skin and if I attempt to fix it I could stuff the whole thing up. The plan will be to create a group with near similar number of models in the video game.

Just noticed that the Skaven 'Warpguard' in the Mordheim video game are not in the original game's Warband rules for the Skaven. Not sure why they were added, but my guess it was to even up the Skaven instead of having more numbers in the warband like in the tabletop game.

Something I Never Thought About

So I was talking with a counciller at a University about picking a course to study that would be more appropriate for me (I have no idea where to go in life) and we got into a discussion about the characters and their stories etc. She asked how would I go in discribing their appearences, their personality, the world and stories, perhaps so that others could do that work for you. I really had no idea what she was getting at, but having given myself some time to think about it, I know see what that was.

Much like how comission work is done, one must give sketchs and descriptions so that the artist your paying can create what you want. Some of my own ideas that I can visualise in my head are near impossible for me to visually place on paper, so I have some basic pics, sketches and descriptions and pay others to create that visual image. My guess is that I was being hinted at that there are areas/ careers that are suited for me. Obviously it isn't as simple as that, probably far more difficult to do then what I first thought, but if that is an option then I'm willing to go down that path of study and give it a shot.

Balancing A Negative Thing - 9th Ed Rumours

So, as it's been pointed out, I've focused too much on the negatives of the 9th Edition rumours. The fact that they're rumours being the first, but not waiting to see if the rules improve, etc. There are a couple of videos up on Youtube with fans trying to put a positive spin on it, so I guess I'll give it a go too.

Chaosified and Round Bases
It's clear I dislike the idea of round bases in Fantasy, but I believe this may have to do with 40K. See, the maximum unit in a 40K horde army is between 20-30 models, compared to a Fantasy one which can be 20+ with no real limit. This is where the idea of Chaosified comes in. They'll either make some rule changes or stat changes to make the style like that of 40K. Kind of makes sense. Certainly, if I can build an effective Clanrat unit that doesn't need 50+ models that would be a bonus. The rumours suggest that units are still required to rank up if they want to be effective, so I guess we'll see new movement trays come it (though there is a big negative with that).

Regular Releases
While there is still a big debate on this one, it just seems one of those things that will end up going against the company via cheap China knockoffs. As for the positives, if they are affordable, then they'll sell huge amounts and the idea that they'll release with rules means no more waiting a few years just to get a new mini or two with a new army book. We can see it already with them releasing the rules for End Times miniatures in White Dwarf and I do very much like this (mostly because the End Times books are just too expensive, still $96AU just for softback). A new unit to add every few months is a nice idea.

Skaven
Oh boy, the biggest one is that I still have Skaven, but many others either lost their armies or only part of them survived into 9th Edition. I'll say this, I may still have Skaven, but that doesn't mean I'm no less angry about what happened to the other races. I mean our main foes are Lizardmen (who are now leaving the world) and Dwarfs (who will be a side unit to the new Human faction). I guess we still have each other to fight against, but given how End Times is going it'll be hard to predict what will happened. The fact we still may see Thanquol and Ikit Claw in 9th gives me hope (they will have the life prolonging elixir, unless they get killed off in the last End Times book). The fact that I may already have enough unfinished or usable models for a 9th Edition Skaven starting force (minus a number of bases) and if the rumours are true then this means I'll be able to start playing shortly after release.

So there, three things I've tried (and I mean tried) to be positive about with these rumours. I'll type no more about the subject until more information about it comes to hand.

Hurricanum Is Up

So finally got the pictures of the Celestial Hurricanum is now up.

Celestial Hurricanum

So happy this one is finished. It's no surprise that as a fan of the Lore of Heavens that I love this kit and miniature. It's a strange and unusual device and reminds me of the strange device found in Aughra's house in the movie 'The Dark Crystal'.

I feel relief now that this one is over. It was a birthday present from my brother nearly two years ago and gives you a rough idea how long this thing has been on the on again, off again project. To finally finish this miniature is great, another burden now gone. I still have many projects left to do, but this one has been the one I've most wanted to finish. I admit that I could have done better with this, but I'm still happy with the finished product.

I like this kit, it's one of those done by Games-Workshop that I consider a great product (the Empire Wizard box kit is another great one). I would love to see more of these strange, but amazing miniatures. It's these bazaar and wonderfully imaginative devices that are just one of the many reasons that I love Fantasy.

New Skaven Miniatures

So I forgot to update the blog with the recent pics of new comming Skaven, yet most rumour sites still have no idea that 'The Rise of the Horned Rat' ebook on the Black Library site was available before it was suppost to be released, so I tend to wonder how any of there rumour trackers consider themselves up to date. But back on track.

I do like the Grey Seer, he even has an chunk of Warpstone as an eye replacement. As I mentioned in a previous article, I really do love those little rats they have started placing on these models. All Skaven need to start having pet rats.

The Warlord model and two of the Stormfiend varients. Rumour has it that they'll be a 3+ model unit (pity, I would rather have them as 1+ model unit) and that the unit has a weapon choice of five options, each one based on the five current weapon teams. Best of all, you can have mixed weapons (meaning I can create a unit with both uniqueness and making each one stand out). They count as skirmish and with light armour which can be upgraded to warpstone laced armour (4+), but casualties must come from that first.

I'll be honest, I've struggled to justified spending the $112AU just to get the Thanquol model. I feel they might have a better chance at getting the Stormfiends (though still no price listings for them), but I'll have a better chance at buying the Warlord and the Seer and painting them up for fun. Can't see me using those two in my current army, got enough Warlords/Chieftains and if I was to use a Grey Seer then I already have a model for that.

And don't you forget who that mighty-powerful Grey Seer is man-thing.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Whatever. Anyway, it'll be nice to get a few new single miniatures to work on. Well, except the tails. Not very good at painting tails. Blasted things.

Updated:

So the price lists for these miniatures are out with a three pack of Stormfiends are $99AU (Still too much in my opinion, should be around $85AU), Grey Seer is $28AU and Warlord is $24AU. Will have to consider if the Stormfiends are worth it. Actually, I might get the Grey Seer and convert it to an Eshin Sorcerer for my planned Mordheim warband. Perhaps shave the horns back for a slight hood and replace the opened hand with one holding a pistol. 

Total War: Warhammer

So a paragraph from a book called 'The Art of Total War' mentions them taking the Total War series into a fantasy direction with Total War: Warhammer. This is considered both good and bad news. Good news is we finally have official confermation that there is a Warhammer Fantasy stratagy game in development. Bad news is that these guys brought out Total War: Rome 2, a game that really got to people at how bad it was at launch. Also, are we talking about 8th Edition or 9th Edition Warhammer?

Oh well, I'm just glad there's one in production. That and I still have so much more to get in the Mordheim game. At least Warhammer video games look like their on the up (good ones of course).

Celestia Hurricanum?

I am so sorry for this joke in advance, I mean who else would charge forth on said device then Twilight. That said, the Hurricanum has been out for nearly two years and in that time I have not seen this joke once, so I feel justified in it.

Don't worry, the crew have now been glued on and the real Hurricanum should be uploaded later in the week.

The Rise Of The Horned Rat Not-So Short Review (Spoiler Heavy)

WARNING: This review is spoiler heavy because I can't talk about it without spoiling so much. Do not read this if you don't want important key points or the ending spoiled.

So we finally reach the Skaven part of the End Times and I must admit, given what we experienced in the last book, I went into this with a world of dread. Skaven are my race of choice so after the mass killings of many great characters from many races, one has to wonder what the Skaven would loose. Well for starters we lost the Seerlord Kritislik, but given he wasn't well liked by most Skaven players, seeing him killed by The Great Horned Rat himself was most enjoyable. Indeed, this is the entire start of the novel, with the Shadow Council of Thirteen (the Verminlords Council of Thirteen) watching the events and making their plans. This is actually a great thing as we finally get a description of what part of the Horned Rats realm is like and his connection to the Chaos Gods (he's basically a lesser God, teased and ignored as insignificant by the main four, yet he's risen to a point where he may have the power to challenge them).

From here we have the Grey Seers banned from the Council, the Seers blaming Thanquol and Thanquol seeking safety with Clan Skryre. We later learn he was helping them try to launch a rocket to destroy the Chaos Moon, but we must assume it failed. From this point it goes into a long part focusing on Queen Headtaker. Much like the book 'The Curse of Khaine', this book does use them as references for plots and characters. Unlike 'The Curse of Khaine' there isn't any flashbacks (thank the Horned Rat for that). At this point the book focuses on the Skaven characters of Queek Headtaker and Grey Seer Kranskritt, both whom have Verminlords telling them what to do (though Queek hates it). It also tells of Skarsnik and King Belegar and what would become of them, but not before a number of great fights take place. We even get an appearance by that famous Ogre Golgfag Maneater and his mercenary army. Sadly, this is the End Times and things must be killed off. And by the end of the second act we see the King and the Dwarfs of the Eight Peaks finally killed off. On a more sadder note, we also see Gobbla killed off (I admit, I was more saddened by the loss of the Squig then the stupid and stubborned Dwarfs).

The final part brings back Thanquol, who's attempts to aid the Skaven in taking Nuln (Again - See the book Gotrek and Felix: Skavenslayer to see his first attempt) and once again is blamed for their failed attempt. Hidden away from those that blame him, he attempts a second time (Again - see book Doom of Thanquol) to summon a Verminlord, succeeding in summoning Screech Verminking, greatest of all Verminlords and from that point Thanquol follows him here and there through out the remaining part learning and following their schemes. Meanwhile Queek, Kranskritt and now Ikit Claw join the Skaven forces assaulting Karaz-a-Karak and the High King (I'll refer to him as the High King, saves saying Thorgrim Grudgebearer all the time). The first assault fails when during a fight between one of the great Verminlords and the High King, the High King is wounded, then his throne is infused with the power of the Lore of Metal and uses his power to defeat the Verminlord. After that retreat, the Skaven try again, this time the wounded King tries the tactic of assaulting the assaulting army. Things look bad until the famous Bugman and his rangers arrive along with Slayer King (former King since Karak Kadrin was destroyed) and his Slayers, except the Slayer King is now infused with the Lore of Fire. The High King and Queek finally duel, but in the end Queek falls thanks to Dwarf Gouger being destroyed by the Axe of Grimnir. It also looks like Ikit Claw is killed, but we later learn from the Verminlords he survived. However, the powerful rune Azamar is broken, symbolizing the doom of the Dwarfs.

We learn that the Lizardmen have been crushed (which will definitely tick off many of their players whom would think that their own Skaven killing God Sotek would have given them some chance), but that Clan Pestilens was nearly destroyed in doing so. With Clan Mors crushed and the surface Skaven retreating, we find Thanquol observing the thoughts of the High King thanks to the Verminking's scrying orb, seeing into the thoughts of the High King. Indeed, the plans of the Verminlords lead to this moment when Deathmaster Snitch sneaks in behind him and with new forges warpstone weapons, kills the High King and takes his head. Verminking says that the head will be given to Thanquol so he can claim the vacant seat on the Council of Thirteen and that thanks to casting the summoning runes within the Dwarf city, clan Eshins best will attack, opening the cities defences as lesser Clans wipe out the Dwarfs there and take the credit over the failed greater ones. Of course, Thanquol has learned much from the Verminking and now has aspirations to rule the Shadow Council of Thirteen in the future.

Must say, given the dread felt when I began, it wasn't as bad as I'd thought. Thanquol has done well, Ikit Claw still lives and Clan Pestilens has little power left. My only gripes was the undignified leaving of Skarsnik (and Gobbla's tragic death - I really do like squigs) and so many Dwarfs killed. I mean, Bugman's words at the end were ment to keep Dwarf players hopes alive and them boom! King dead and all in city killed. Seemed a bit harsh to me. I really liked that they kept much of the previously established lore from the previous books in and I would often remember parts of those books when reading. New readers may not see it that way, but I don't think reading those books was necessary to understand what was going on (and it left no plot holes in that regards). Would have liked to have seen more Thanquol in the middle of the book (like what did happen with that planned rocket and why were the Seers needing the moon intacted) and did feel Queek's death was rather rushed. Still much better then the last End Times novel. It does mention that the Skaven have allied themselves with Chaos, but in true fashion it's just buying time until it's ready for betrayal. Not much in the way of Nagash either, nor does it tell us what became of the Lore of Metal after the rune was broken and the power left. I'm also displeased by just how quickly Lizardmen were discarded. Having versed them with Skaven, they are no pushover, plus they have lots of stuff to crush Skaven. These are a few things that annoyed me, more so since those 9th Edition rumours.

Still, I can't fault the book on an unpopular business decision of a company, only what is written within it. That said, I enjoyed it. The Skaven bits felt like Skaven, the Dwarf bits felt like Dwarfs and even Skarsnik felt the same as in his book. Overall an enjoyable read and didn't find myself getting annoyed like in that last book (seriously, I did not like The Curse of Khaine one bit).




Good-Good, you see-see how great-grand mighty Skavendom has become. Not even so-called high and mighty bearded-things could stop themselves from dying to Skaven blades. Fool-meat thought they could win, now most merciful Thanquol will lead Skaven to rule all things, as was promised by the Great Horned Rat himself. Not even High King Grumblebum could save himself from doom. Hehe....Grumblebum...that's a good one.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Sooo......Skaven

So I while checking the Skaven pre-order section I noticed the pre-order for the novel, so I went to the Black Library page to pre-order the digital copy....and was able to download it. Not sure if the digital one was released early or I missed something.

Anyway, the introduction finally gives us a view of the realm of The Great Horned Rat. Apparently a lesser God in the Realm of Chaos, he gnawed a realm that has slowly grown over time. As the main four Chaos Gods mocked him, he stayed hidden building up. Now it seems he's a genuine threat and the End Times are a chance for his time to shine. The introduction part is a brief look at the Verminlords and why they've taken to involve themselves in mortal affairs.

So far the story is once again revolving around Queek Headtaker, though parts do see a view of other characters. I sort of feel sad for what has become of Skarsnik and the themes of getting old really give a view of what these characters fear, even if this feels like it's suppose to take place longer down the timeline (since previous books on these characters were based in the current time). This I'm sure is an attempt to explain why GW is killing off the world for their new 9th edition one (something I'm still not happy about). I'm only a few chapters in, but it does feel like a Skaven story thus far, though I wish I could of seen the Skryre view as to why they are building a rocket to destroy the chaos moon. Should have it finished before the end of the week and will hopefully get a quick review out by the weekend.

9th Edition Rumours - Reflection (The Re-write)

So I've decided to re-write this one after much thinking and viewing new opinions. It's no surprise that I got upset by it, given that I only have a few things that I love and have interest in and they keep getting screwed over (Archie's Sonic the Hedgehog comics anyone).

Clear thinking, it does partially make sense from a business perspective in that I agree that the game was becoming stagnet and too much focus is on 40K (because Space Marines so fuck Fantasy). I say partially because when you screw over a majority fanbase by messing with 25-30 years of lore, going from square bases or round and basically saying nearly 90% of your army will be invalid in the latest army rules isn't good for public opinion. And public opinion does count cause the company shuns social media, where as their customers (or soon to be former customers) don't. The only way they can calm people down and encourage growth is to be out explaining all this to the potential customers. Your selling a product, you have to actually convince customers why they should buy from you, particularly when the only thing people will find while searching up on you is mass negative feedback with no response. It's hard to convince new customers how great you are when you shoot yourself in the foot and then pin the blame on your current customers.

The new business model of having some base core units and possible hero or two available at all times with extra stuff coming in limited waves with out of box rules is a nice idea. It's only flaw is the same as End Times, people mass buying and then selling it back at a higher price on Ebay. If they can make enough within the first few months then I guess it'll be OK. They've now gone from claiming to be an amazing miniatures company (which is debatable) to being a collectibles company. My only though on hearing the words 'collectables' was the words 'price increase', after all, collectibles are expensive for a reason.

Then there's the lore. The idea is all these factions stuck in bubbles of reality fighting to survive and then a collision occurs between a couple of them. Thing is, are each faction in their own bubble (so 6 bubbles) or are there remnants of factions in each bubble (so a few in each bubble represent your usual play group with collisions being in-game store events). Thing is, not everyone will be in the same bubble and so if two hit and your force isn't in it, how do you explain the group suddenly getting new units if they weren't in that collision?

This is what I mean by the company coming out and talking, explaining to Warhammer fans how this new vision is good, but doing it in a way that answers many of their fans fears and making them want to buy this new version. I don't mind making a small force for small games from a warband/Mordheim style to a small 500-750pt roaming force, but give me a reason to. It'll be hard to explain the leap of 100+ years for my force, considering your asking me to kill off a number of my named characters, something that's painful for me to do (Skith would be fine, he's not really from their world and was over 1000 years old, but with some like the Trio of Terror it's going to be a lot harder to explain how they're still alive or to kill them off).

Some might say just don't buy it, keep playing 8th edition. The problem with that is that GW is fully supporting 9th and eventually 8th will fade away and it'll be 9th or nothing. As a hobbyist, this is a difficult decision, especially given that we don't know how much things will cost (given that it's GW, most know a price drop to encourage sales is out of the question). They are trying to sell this stuff to kids, but one has to remember that kids get their money from parents and as it stands with the cost of living, parents don't have as much money these days. If these rumours are true, then I might give it a go, but I feel the costs will stop me from starting in the first place. I may still get the occasionally single Skaven mini to paint, but I doubt I'll stick to getting much more beyond that.

9th Edition WTF!

Article

So having read this article (twice) and gone through some of the comments on it, it's safe to say Fantasy just got screwed over. To make it clear, this is GW's plan. It's finally occurred to them that they have competition in the Fantasy miniature setting, so they plan to compete with them. Thing is, they plan to do so by first screwing over their Fantasy fans and 20+ years of lore in order to do so. So what does one get in return?

If the rumours are to be believed, then it's round bases. Why? Cause that's what the competition is using. There will now only be six armies in total:

Empire (Humans): Consists of the remnants of the Empire, Bretonnia, Dwarf and Ogre armies.

Chaos: Warriors, Beastmen and Daemons are reunited, loosing a tone of stuff for them to fit.

Elves: Screw three unique factions, they loose most of their stuff for this unification.

Orcs and Goblins: Common fantasy creatures, though have done little in the End Times.

Undead: Because Nagash is still around and will continue to be around for some time.

Skaven: Because. I expect the loss of some uniqueness for them to continue existing.

Aparently Ogres and Dwarf groups are mostly gone and the Lizardmen have moved onto another world.....WTF! On top of that, with a large number of units and flavour now gone, they also plan to support 9th with a lot of White Dwarf datasheets. Why? To support the continued number of limited miniature releases. Yep, rumour says that GW will continue a constant supply of miniatures, but they will only be around for so long before being scraped for something else. So basically, you'll get new units, but you'll need to be quick cause once they're gone, they're gone. And you'll need the datasheets if you wish to use them cause there's a good chance your opponent may not have them.

So in other words: 'It's a new game, just like our competitor's, except it's still the same game'.

It's like Games Workshop is waving it's hands in the air saying "Hey, look at us. We listened to you and are being competitive. Buy our stuff",  except that they haven't listened at all. This is what happens when a company that rely on it's customers to make money doesn't listen to it's customers. There is a reason you must open yourselves to discussions with your customers, otherwise you may just offend the very people who are making you money. And sadly, this appears to be the case. Comments all over the internet have people up in arms over these rumours. Many have stated that this is the final nail in the coffin for Fantasy and more are outraged at the destruction of the lore and flavour of the game. Oh yeah, 9th is suppose to take place a number of years after End Times (I believe it was 100+ or something) and that there were now reality bubbles or some crap like that. So apart from characters infused with God-like powers, expect nearly all named characters to be dead.

Now admittadly, these are still rumours, but most agree that the source of these rumours are usually correct. Some of these rumours even state that there are a number of staff at GW HQ who are against these changes. Wouldn't blame them. Having a hobby you've spent years supporting despite the constant problems only to screw you over in one big change, yeah I'd be upset too.

What will I do if it turns out to be true? I honestly don't know. As a Skaven player it shouldn't effect me too much, save for the fact I'd need to either re-base my entire army or make a new one. I doubt we'll see affordable starting sets, let alone the ability to buy single packs to help grow armies like back in the day. I really don't get why they couldn't just leave Warhammer as it was and bring back Mordheim or make special Warband rules if they wanted a game to compete. Remaking a whole world, screwing with lore and upsetting nearly the entire Fantasy fan base just seems like a bad idea. As much as I hope these rumours are wrong and that this was a side game instead of 9th, I've dealt enough with GW and GW rumours to know that this is most likely true.

Thanqual Returns (Update)

So they just updated again with a better picture:

Whether both sets of horns are part of his head or the helmet I can't tell, but the fact they are becoming warpstone is really awesome. Blast, now I really want one. Still, I think I can add an extra bit here and their to put a little more 'Skryre' feel to it to better theme it with my Skaven. Even so, Thanquol looks like he's got more of an aggressive streak to him. Perhaps he feels more impervious with the blessings of the Horned Rat in greater focus?

Update: 06/01/15

Figure I just update this article instead of making a new one. Seems the rules for Thanquol have been leaked too, though my thoughts on them is slightly mixed. Stats seem equivilant to an average style monster with good strength, toughness and wounds, but with only basic weapon skill and ballistic skill and the leadership of Thanquol is the same (Bonerippers stats but Thanquols leadership). Thanquol's still a deadly caster and is still protected by The Great Horned Rat, but it's Boneripper which is basically the change to all this. The pictures above have him with Warpfire Projectors which are nice as he can fire them at two different targets and can cause some nice wounds, but can go off course and kill friendlies on a miscast (something which shouldn't surprise a Skaven player). The only problem is that I think it More or Fire rule and I don't think a monster can ignore it, so it means standing still and opening him up to attack in order to fire the projectors.

However, there is another option called Warpfire Braziers, which is apparently the melee version to the cannons. People have wondered if the model can have both, but given the pictures above, I must assume you can only have one or the other. The Braziers themselves give Boneripper some serious damage in melee, though would be better suited to fighting other monsters as a monster killing character (a tooled up Chaos Lord for example) could still make short work of him if given the right equipment. That and ranged weapons. Also, has a fumes rule similar to Censer Bearers, so would not be healthy to allies.

This leads to my mixed view: Having Choice. See, unlike a nameless hero who should have variety, named ones shouldn't have many options. This is due to having a set personality and reflecting that through the visual representation and in the rules. I like the miniature, but now I can't decide if he should be ranged focused or melee focused, and it doesn't look like the kit is designed to allow magnetic arm replacements (not very well anyway). This one will be tricky to decide.

Update 09/01/15:

$112AU for this guy....ouch! I still plan on getting it, but considering the rulebooks are sold out (not to mention that they're over $100AU as well), I'm going to just screw the rules and make it my own way, with two top arms as flamers and the bottom ones with braziers. Might add a few extra bits and then paint it. A nice display piece, just never going to use it on the battlefield. Perhaps it was the 9th edition rumours, but for some reason now I'm not as keen on it as before.

New Year, New Floggings

So despite another low depression and lack of motivation, I've begun to push myself into completing another project. Unlike some others, this ones been an on again off again project for about two years: The Celestial Hurricanum. About mid to late last year I had another eager to work on it and got nearly all the base structure complete before falling flat again. This time I'll finish it. I've got just over half the planetoids done and most of that which needs to be added just needs a touch up here and there.

In the same container I stored it I also found a half completed Empire Cannon & Crew as well, so I'll try to finish them when I'm done. While it appears my brother has given up on the challenge (although considering just how bad his High Elves got screwed over, he may yet turn back to Khorne), I still want to complete what I still have. The list of what remains of this Empire collection (including the two mentioned above) is as follows:

+Celestial Hurricanum (nearing completion)
+Great Cannon & Crew (Base colours done, crew still need work)
+Helstorm Rocket Battery (Undercoat done)
+19 Swordsmen with Full Command (base colours done, are bloody annoying to paint)
+10 Handgunners with Sharpshooter with Repeater Handgun (Undercoat done)
+Pistoliers with Champ (Still need to convert cloaks before undercoating)
+Celestial Wizard Lord on Royal Pegasus (Need to start conversion)

As you can see, still got a lot to go. I hope to knock the first two off before February, by which point I'll probably be studying again and I'll have to manage my time better. Still, getting the Hurricanum done would be a big relief for me.

Thanquol Returns

So, was just quickly looking through some links when a little article with some leaked pics showed up featuring an old Skaven friend:

So this is what the new Thanquol and Boneripper miniature looks like. This is both what I imagined and yet not. Seems they've moved away from the old Skryre skeleton based design in favour of a new Moulder monster with Skryre arm modifications. Also, the image of Thanquol is blurry, so I can't tell for sure if they've kept his horns the same or they've modified them. If they have, I hope they can give an explanation on that one (even something as cheesy as 'The Horned Rat elevated him and his horns magically altered to reflect that status'. It'd be at least an attempt at it.

Damn. Now it seems I may actually have to get this model. Not only is it a great centrepiece for my Skaven collection (I guess so would a Verminlord, but then Thanquol is far better character then them), but I've always wanted a Thanquol and this miniature makes much more sense. Thing was, it's harder to use the old versions as the rules for two separate miniatures ment you needed them close at all times for Boneripper to work. Riding Boneripper is not only more sensible (given he can now hide behind the monster) but would be easier rule wise to be a single miniature. Given my financial situation, I now have to decide whats better to get first, the rules or this miniature?




Look at that beast! Me would so ride-stand tall on one of those.......but Rat Ogres treacherous. Each time I go near-close to them they try to kill-kill me. Ungrateful creatures.
~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

New Skaven Minis?

So it was pointed out in the video on the Verminlords that one of the upcoming miniatures was seen, a Grey Seer on foot.

I admit it, I love the recent editions of adding small rats to the models.

 

While the miniature is a nice improvement over the old metal models of foot, it was a few blurred images in the background that got my attention.

What are those things. Clearly they could be the rumoured Armoured Rat Ogres, but that would make these ones mach larger then the original sized Rat Ogres. It might be the mounted character set, but there doesn't seem to be characters riding them. Given the tubes on the top ones but none on the bottom, if this was a set then it would have alternate options in the rules. I feel that they'll be tragically out of my price range and may have to skip. If the parts are good though, I may have to obtain some second hand leftover bitz and create a monster of my own for fun.

Grey Seer? Bah! I, the great-grand Skratchnsniff, am the only true Grey Seer that's needed.....unless mighty Thanquol is reading, then he's truly the great-grand Grey Seer needed.......please don't kill me most spectacular of Seers.

~Grey Seer Skratchnsniff

Character Ideas From Games

One of the best things about creating characters is the idea that creates them. For me, some of more villainous types come from bosses from video games. It doesn't have to be something particular about the boss or the fight itself, but rather elements that make up the fight that influences the creation.

One such boss that has influenced me into the creation of a character (or rather the creation of an alternate world version of a character) is the NME from both the original Rise of the Triad (a.k.a Rott) and the 2013 remake. NME (Nasty Metallic Enforcer) was a brilliant boss fight back in the day, a machine that chased you about firing all sorts of weapons that just seem to get harder the more damage you did to him. His death sequence involved his body exploding, sending his head into the air before it landed back down and then a second later it too exploded. Add to that the great boss music of the original Rott game had and it was easily one of my favourite bosses of all time (should really do a list on that). While the remake had a more menacing looking machine and the legs made more sense then the old versions wheels, it somehow failed to capture the feel of the original NME. Even it's death didn't seem as triumphant compared to the destruction of the original. Still, even that version still had some influence in the visual design of the character.

As it stands all I have is the head sketch and some background information on the character which is part of a collection needed for a commission I plan to get some great artist to do in the future, but I would like to finish the full body design and write a combat sequence in which he appears (although in that version his head would survive. Need him to return at some later point for another planned story).

Side villains usually only get one or two appearances in total before never being heard from again or a finally destroyed. Because of this, they should always do something that would impact on a character in a way that a primary/secondary villain could not. This is why game bosses are a great source of inspiration. They are usually nothing to note compared to the main villain, yet can still be a tough and memorable fight. Give it a shot. Find some of your favourite boss fights, find out what it is about them that you like (the design, their voice/personality, the music, etc) and then take those aspects and create a character from them.

You might be surprised by what you create.

Verminlords

Given we can now see much clearer versions of what the various Verminlords look like, I do like the look of them. They do appear to be more menacing looking versions of the original Verminlord model (which came out sometime in the late 90's I think).

I do like the look of the Warbringer (who looks like he needs to lead an army of Stormvermin), though my favourite one is a little harder. I'm stuck between the Warpseer and the Deciever. The Deciever has that real sneaky, killer look and his Eshin weapon was an ecellent touch, yet the Warpseen stance and the holding of his orb gives that look like he's about to unleash something nasty on the world. Shame they costs $129AU each, but the End Times seems heavly focused on selling large kits that will most likely never be used in 9th Edition.

More Skaven End Time Info

So apparently across various boards various Lore information has been popping up about the new Verminlords. Four are said to represent various aspects of The Great Horned Rat's personality while the fifth is the souls of the Council of Thirteen that existed during Nagash's defeat thanks to the Skaven Fellblade that a fused into a singular will. While it may just be me, I feel the reason for these creations is to have a counter point to the five other evil Gods that are playing the End Times. Think about it (info taken from warseer):

Warpseer: Desire to manipulate and control the paths of the future - sounds like Tzeentch, perhaps a counter to him.

Deceiver: Misdirection, sneakiness and deception - possibly Slaanesh?

Corruptor: Embodies the black plague and bubonix spread far and wide by the ratmen of Clan Pestilens. - Screams Nurgle.

Warbringer: Embody the most warlike aspects of the Horned Rat - And here we have the Khorne equivalent.

Verminking: Souls of the Council of Thirteen (Nagash Time) and stitched together into something far greater - A power designed to fight Nagash.

Given that thus far the main threats where the Chaos Gods and Nagash (Elves where too busy fighting themselves to count) it makes sense for the Horned Rat to create weapons to counter those powers to give his children a chance in obtaining the destiny he promised them.

Whether this is what was intended or not doesn't bother me, I just feel that it is a logical explanation for the reasoning behind creating these five monsters.

Plans for 2015 - What Happen's Now?

With a new year I've been doing some of thinking (let's face it, depression means we do a lot of it) and once again I feel like I've hit a brick wall. Perhaps it's the heat and humidity (did I mention I hate Summer) or perhaps it's just a feeling of being lost and lonely, but I can't seem to feel the energy to go forth and make this year better.

My plan is to continue studying, but in what I don't know. I had planned for Screen and Media (mostly focusing on film and TV) and yet have made little attempt to try it over the holiday period. While I may have passed my last course, I feel it was only just and attempting harder studies could backfire on me. Curse me and this depression.

Project wise things have been slow, though mostly due to the heat. My room heats up quickly and I can't use strong light because of it. Sadly, got no where else to do it so it's more of a slow game of patience and waiting for opportunities then anything else. However, with the planned release of some new Skaven goodies this year thanks to the End Times, I suspect I'll finally get some new Skaven miniatures painted up soon. The idea of a new Thanquol mini riding a giant Boneripper sounds like a dream project.

Character wise I will try to get more of them into sketch and note form so I can get more of them done through commissions. I still plan to get a few more for Storm Spear and Corrupticus including a large poster looking one for the Storm War, with different reality versions of Storm Spear on it. I've got a base sketch of the layout and heads of those versions (based on the way they are facing) and will probably scan them in and add colour through Photoshop when I get a chance. From that point on is trying to get enough money saved and to find a great pony artist willing to do it. Also plan to get a few of my Skaven characters done in commissioned art.

Photography is here and there. Was wanting to do some night work, but being close to the city means there's so much light pollution and sadly I have no car to go out west to find such beauty. Haven't got the hang of photo editing and still don't have my own style yet. Not sure on this one.

Will attempt to put paint to canvas in the near future, though when and how I still don't know.

 Perhaps I should try writing short story parts leading to particular articles on this Blog. Not sure how I'd go about doing that since I need to get these previous artistic projects done in order for that to work.

Finally, I should really get out or reach out more often. Being shy and insecure has done little to improve life and self-loathing isn't a healthy thing to do. Maybe get back into shape, that sort of thing. Well see.

Welcome 2015....

.....feels just like 2014 - Bloody humidity.

Again, just like Christmas, nothing happened. Well OK, that's not entirely true. I was flicking through digital radio stations looking for some comedy and stumbled across a show called 'Another Case of Milton Jones'. And here I thought radio comedy was dead. For those who don't know, back in high school a friend of mine got me into the Goon Show, a classic British comedy featuring Harry Secombe, Peter Sellers and Spike Milligan. I loved it and soon found a few Australian ones like 'Yes, What?' (a show about a classic Australian school classroom with a bunch of disruptive students) and the still current 'How Green Was My Cactus' (a show about Australian politicians).

Anyway, this one was from the second series and had Milton Jones becoming Mayor of London. Despite living in Australia and never having been overseas, I still got Nealy all the jokes and did enjoy the show quite a bit. I appreciate this style of humour as it usually involves good jokes as well as an imagination to visualise scenes. Comedy seems to focus on more crude, offensive humour or just plain swearing in modern times and while that may get a laugh or two, it gets repetitive after a while.

That said, I have yet to get bored of Clive Palmer jokes. Not sure why?