2 Words....

DO. WANT.

Liebster Awards!

I am truly humbled today. I got selected for two Liebster Awards from a couple of kick ass bloggers you had best be following!

Tony runs Miasma Of Pestilence, and is a dedicated follower of all things Nurgle. He always has some great conversions and painting; some really disgusting stuff! Go check him out now and hope your immune system is ready for it.

Chris blogs over at Sippin' on Paint Water, a very eclectic place with posts on Warhammer, African Wars, mech stuff, you name it. I love his Chaos Marine work! Go there and enjoy the variety.

Also, the Garage just went over 20k hits. Very cool!

So here's the deal with the Liebster Awards.

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog linking it to the blogger who has given it you.

2. Pass the award to your top 11 blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of their posts to notify them that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.

3. Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you have made someone's day!

4. There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else but it is nice if you take the time to do so.


Without further ado, here are my 11 blogs under 200 followers I am giving a Liebster to. These are all quality sites you should be checking out daily!

1. 40k Warzone
2. Green Stuff Industries
3. Plastic Crack
4. How to Lose at 40k (and look good while doing it)
5. Dice and Brush
6. Officio Convertorum
7. Terminus Est
8. Maxxev's Blog
9. Gardens of Hecate
10. Warhammer 40k Orks
11. Atomic Warlords


And here are my questions.

1. Why did you start blogging? I needed motivation and feedback to keep building, converting and painting. I started, stopped, and now this last go I've stuck with it and am glad did. I've improved my skills and communicated with some really good folks out n the blogosphere.

2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be? Wargaming celebrities...Ugh. Stop.

3. What is best in life? Running around the woods like you're still a kid at 43.

4. Do you want to live forever? Only if Sandahl Bergman wants to fuck me.

5. Fame or Fortune? I have to quote Frank Underwood from House of Cards here. "Such a waste of talent. He chose money over power - in this town, a mistake nearly everyone makes. Money is the Mc-mansion in Sarasota that starts falling apart after 10 years. Power is the old stone building that stands for centuries."

6. What miniature are you most proud of having painted? I really liked how some of my Nurgle stuff has come out recently, especially the Soul Grinders using the new GW tech paints. Usually I can get very down on my painting skills, but those inspired me to keep going and always look to be improving your techniques.

7. How do you deal with burn out? I take breaks and jump between 40k and Fantasy. I also like reading the occasional Black Library novel between all my WWII stuff; that gives me a lot of motivation to jump back in.

8. Why is a raven like a writing desk? Cause Raven from ECW was put through some tables during his career?

9. Star Wars or Star Trek? Star Wars, unless we're talking Star Trek 2 Wrath of Khan. That movie f'ing rules.

10. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which would it be? Games Workshop, hands down. They have me hook, like, sinker...and wallet.

11. Favorite takeout? Chinese


And lastly, 11 truths...

1. I am an avid horror movie nut.
2. My other main hobby is WWII reenacting.
3. I'm a country boy.
4. I almost died in 2007.
5. I can still do all my Rocky Horror lines.
6. I miss Breaking Bad.
7. I have some eclectic music tastes.
8. I have a degree in Art I never used.
9. I love photography.
10. I've swam with sharks.
11. Oona Chaplin from Game of Thrones is seriously hot.

Servitors

No, I am not dead. Just extremely busy lately. I can't lose my nerd cred, yo!

Some day I'd like to start a "good guy" army and actually do Space Marines. Back in the day I absolutely loathed Marines. They were everywhere, and they stomped about any army that came up against them easily. I remember going to an old Baltimore GT, and those guys were just everywhere. I think it's what pushed me to love Chaos Marines so much. I wanted to have an army that could stand their ground against them and pound them into the dirt!

Eventually, I came around though.

Now I love the fluff of the Imperial Fists and one day I want to start an army of them. I guess I just love yellow. One characterful element of Marine (and now Astra Militarum) forces are the Servitors. Mindless automatons that just stride right into the thick of things, blasting or chopping away. If you've read Mechanicum, you know what I'm talkin' bout.

 I've had these for a while and will add them to my Fist force once I start it. And yes, I'm dying to build and paint an Imperial Knight...eventually. That's another reason for sure.


 This guy will be my Tech Priest (counts as Enginseer or possibly a Techmarine with some converting).

Just some slight conversions on these, the models are really well done IMO. I may have to purchase a few more to add some ranged weaponry to them. 

Product Review: Frontline Gaming Urban Combat Mat

So I may do a few reviews of wargame products from time to time. Figured this one would be a good one to start with.

I saw pics and some footage of Frontline Gaming's Gaming Mat a few weeks back, and decided I had to try one out. I heard good things about them from the Las Vegas Open they ran, so I had high expectations for it. I ordered the Urban Combat one as it would fit with my current terrain well and had it within 3-4 days. Very quick shipping which is always nice.

It comes with a small cover so you can transport it easily; a nice touch.

The mat doesn't disappoint! It lays down easily on your table and kinda reminds you of a giant mouse pad with the feel on both sides. It grips the table really well, doesn't move at all once it's in place. I threw some dice down on it and they don't bounce all over the place like on a wooden table...very cool!

This is how my table was painted for my 40k games. Pretty dull once you add on some destroyed buildings.

And this is with the mat. It instantly gives life to the table, even with some unpainted terrain as you'll see.

The detail on this thing is really amazing, very well done! Some detail shots are below. There are roads, building plots, sewer covers, debris, etc. all over it. There are marked off areas for setting up your army as well, another really well thought out touch.

 In the grim darkness of the far future, there is only alcoholism. 

Getting this mat has me wanting to get off my lazy ass and paint my terrain now! The current 40k ruined buildings mesh in really well with the mat. 

The mat seems really durable as well, and it water resistant to boot. No more knocking over your vodka and staining the table! 

Price wise, it's up there, but for what you're getting it's more than fair. This mat brings life to your table, is durable, easy to roll dice on, and comes in a ton of variants for just about any table you want to put together. I think they really knocked it out of the park with these, and am totally happy with the finished product. Well done Frontline!

You can grab your own here. 

Nurgle Heldrake

Finally got around to putting this together over the weekend. I'd been meaning to convert one for the longest time, not digging the stock model whatsoever. To me, it just seems so out of place in the 40k universe.

The body, cutter arms, and tentacles are from the Maulerfiend kit. I like the bulbous shape of it and feel it works for something Nurglish. The multiple eyepieces hopefully give it a creepy look.The wings are from the Heldrake kit, and I positioned them a little differently to try to make it stand out from other conversions I've seen. Goatboy has done some really sweet Drakes, and definitely gave me inspiration for mine.

I tried putting more effort into the base for it, as you have a nice big area to work with and do something fun. I figured a Chaos ritual, with some obligatory gore would do the trick. I don't want to think about what that poor Marine had to go through to end up like that! Might explain where all those Nurglings came from...

I still need to add some white glue to the candles, making them look like they've melted down on the sides. Rest assured. plenty of blood will make it's way onto this once I get to painting it. 

Sorcerer of Slaanesh and psychic powers

He's back!

So after posting this one a while back, I really started thinking he looked too Eldar-ish. I HATE all things Eldar, and couldn't have that, so I did a quick head swap. That Chaos Marauder head did the trick. He still looks degenerate enough to be a worshiper of Slaanesh, and the scale worked great with the mini, which is a little on the small side.

Looking over the Slaneesh Psychic Powers, they seem to be not so bad. I like these as they are balanced; they target enemy shooters, friendly troops, and hordes well, so a little bit of everything. 

Sensory Overload - This is your Primaris Power. Decent range, although that's pretty close if you want to go after Riptides, Knights, or Reavers with it. Blinding any of those is awesome though, providing they fail the Initiative test. 

Hysterical Frenzy - Target some good assault troops for that extra little kick. Some Daemonettes on this would be murder. Also, Nicolas Cage.

Symphony of Pain - I HOPE YOU LIKE PAIN! This one is so-so, although having two sorcerers cast this with some Noise Marine back-up could be gold. Getting the power on both is problematic, but if you run a Slaneeshi Daemon Prince and a Sorcerer you could make it work.

Ecstatic Seizures - Horde killer extraordinaire. Hit a big bunch of Orks or Bugs (looking at you Tony!) with this and watch them melt. 

Great Unclean One

This guy just seems so small now. I can't imagine how big the new one will be once they release it. I have a feeling it'll be one helluva model.

I added the Bile Troll weapons to him to give the model a little more kick. The horns are from an Ogre standard bearer bit.

Gonna start priming this army over the weekend as the temps are improving some. I'll paint some of the units over the next few months to take a break from 40k stuff. That always helps keep my motivation up.