April 2010 Painting Points

For April, I am going to stick to my guns and only post stuff as the whole unit is completed. This means that April looks like a dry spell from a painting point perspective. Does this mean that May will be a flood?

Points Earned in April 2010: 1 Points
Total Points in 2010: 15 Points
Total Points in 2009: 20 Points

If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.

The Wednesday Peek

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This Week's Peek...

Around the Net: Eldar Tanks

Images via Dakka Dakka

The Rival List for 04/24/2010

This week's list is a special one for me as there is only one thing that I found inspirational enough to place on the list. I am proud to annouce the birth of my son, Zachary John Raistlin Gaszak. Him and his lovely mother are doing well. Needless to say, nothing in the hobby will every inspire me as much as this little fellow!

The rival list will be back in full swing next week.

Fantasy Thursdays: Preparing for Vanguard - Part Two

The choice to include Vespero’s Vendetta in my army is based purely on my love of the models and fluff. After the Dark Emissary, Vespero’s Vendetta has been one of my all time favorite units and models. While I will never claim that it is the best core choice I could have made, I couldn't be happier knowing that it will be in my army.



While the models for the RoR are over 15 years old, I still think they hold up well compared to more recent releases. When it came to painting to the unit, I went with a color scheme that allowed me to use the unit in most of my other fantasy armies (primarily vampire counts, but I can also fit the unit into my chaos forces and ogres).



One of the important factors in completing this unit was determining the skin tone of Vespero and his men. Since I was bringing a DoW army, I was going to be painting a fair share of humans (or similar). I ended up using the color scheme that was published on the GW website and can be found here. It is simple enough and while not as dramatic as my IG skintone or the tone I used with my earlier ogres, it is easy to replicate and looks good across ranked units.



I plan on beginning to playtest the unit in May, but before that time, my current vision for the unit is to use it primarily to cut-off advancing enemies that get to close to my firing lines. Since the unit size is small, I don’t feel it would serve well as a warmachine hunting unit, but I could be wrong. I am looking forward to learning what the final role of this unit will be in the army.

In Two Weeks: The Cursed Company

The Wednesday Peek

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The Podcast Junkie for 04/19/2010

The podcast junkie had a very busy week so I only listened to a few podcast. This week's podcast of choice was...

Imperial Voxcast - Broadcast XXIII - Deployment

A great two hour discussion on the various types of deployment and how such things as reserves can impact an army. Never heard the term castling before, but it is basically the same as bunkering in my opinion. The discussion derails slightly around the one hour mark, but the crew picks the discussion back up quickly and finishes off what I consider to be a very informative podcast. This is one podcast that I will be saving to replay when I attend my next 40K event.

The Rival List for 04/17/2010

8. Whiskey & 40K
Almost ten years ago, I developed a tournament series called K'Wars. One of the big aspects of the series was the PST format that I developed and used. Adepticon liked the format so much that they approached me to use it for their 40K scenarios. Since that time, the format has evolved and changed as it has passed from one event to the next. This post is a very interesting application of the PST format that uses the secondary and tertiary missions as tie-breakers. Nice twist on the format and a better approach than what Adepticon is now doing with the PST plus various bonus points.

7. iNecromancer
A short battle report video of Noise Marines vs Space Wolves. A decent recap of the game injected with music, battle pictures and major events from each turn. Less than 3 minutes, the video gives a nice recount of the game without dragging on like alot of battle report videos I have seen.

6. Pathfinder
A nice look Tau piranha. The rotating picture is very cool.

5. Mind of McClure
A very interesting dryad conversion taking shape. I like the creative use of dryad and daemonette bitz.

4. Blitzspears Lab
WIP Inquisitor. Can't make out what is being used for the "chainmail" parts of the model, but would love to find out. Cool conversion.

3. The Quiet Limit of the World
A painted Vargulf model. I like the greyish skin tones and think the color contrasts well with the brown hair and bone.

2. Warhammer 40k Blinde
A nicely painted manticore.

1. Bunker Hill
WOW... This deserves a double WOW. A magnificent Chaos Lord. Easily Golden Daemon standard.

Honorable Mention...

The Raven's Realm
A breathtaking regiment of elven knights.

Fantasy Thursdays: Vanguard Appearance Scoring

On April 7th, the rubric for paint judging was posted on the Vanguard website.

Painting Scoring
N.I.M.G.C. Judges will judge each army on the first 6 Painting categories.
A. The army looks like a cohesive force. (3 points)
B. The army is colored in a pleasing and consistent manner. (2 points)
C. The army uses highlighting or shading techniques to add depth and lighting to the models.(1 point)
D. Character models and army centerpieces stand out. (2 point)
E. Time was taken to paint the details of the models/units to bring out the individuality of the army (i.e. gems, lenses, ribbons, etc). (1 point)
F. The units of similar models are similarly painted but recognizable as belonging to different units (1 point)

N.I.M.G.C. Judges will be involved in the last 2 Painting Marks.
A. The army is in the top 10% of armies represented at this tournament. (3 points)
B. The army is THE top army represented at this tournament. (8 points)

The Last 9 Points are for Converting and Basing of the Army
A. All models have basing material or paint (1 point)
B. All models are based in a consistent or cohesive manner (1 point)
C. Some Models have been converted or dynamically posed. (2 points)
D. Some models have extensive and intricate basing. (2 points)
E. All models have extensive and intricate basing. (3 points)

Each Judge (their will be 2 judges) will score each player. The judges two scores for your army will be averaged and that will be your final score.

My overall thoughts are that the system is pretty standard, which is a good thing. I am feeling confident about getting the majority of the painting category points, but the basing and converting section may be a bit of a challenge. I have never been one to do extensive bases, so I worry that I could lose around 5 points off my total appearance score if I don’t meet the TO’s opinion of the definition. The good news is that he provided some examples of what he considers “extensive” on the N.I.M.G.C. forums. I believe I can update some of my future units to better meet this requirement, but the first couple units are pretty much set at this point.

The Wednesday Peek

Last Week's Peek...


This Week's Peek...

Around the Net: New Trolls & Orc Boar Boyz

Thanks to GW and Warseer for the images.

Wow... The trolls are amazing. Beautiful models. I wish there was some way for me to fit a unit of them into my current project. Oh well... Maybe I will do a troll army using WoC in the future.

Additional images can be found here.

Stuff for Sale Mondays

Updated the stuff for sale page with some new items.

Fiends of Slaanesh (new, out of blister)
Genestealers (NiB)

The Podcast Junkie for 04/12/2010

This Week's Podcast...

The Gamers Lounge - Episode 4

The discussion about Adepticon was the most honest and balanced discussion I heard this week on any of the podcasts talking about it. Personal opinions aside, it was a good talk about the event and what worked and didn't work for the hosts.

The discussion about blogging and tournaments in general was also decent and thought provoking. The show had a guest who I would describe as being the polar opposite of me in terms of views on the hobby. Nothing wrong with that, as he presented his points well and made for an interesting podcast.

The sound quality is getting better, but could still use some improvement. Overall though, for only having four episodes, I feel this show has earned a place with some of the more established podcasts.

The Rival List for 04/10/2010

10. DZER0
We usually see Eldar Harlequins in very complex color schemes. DZER0 decided to go with something a little less complex but just as eye catching.

9. Inquisitor Lord Aki
A decent battle report that highlights playing a Kill Team mission.

8. Watching Paint Dry
Last week's big release was the Blood Angels. Needless to say, alot of nice paint jobs using the new models were posted. Watching Paint Dry was able to get ahold of the new Sanguinary Guard early and painted them up for the April 3rd release.

7. Zen 40000
Not a huge fan of the gold look on the Blood Angel elites. Thankfully, Zen 40000 decided to do an alternative color scheme for his Sanguinor. The white body and red wings is a nice combination.

6. On Death's Wing
I have been pondering the idea of working on a Kill Team after my current projects. This review of the format by ODW helped to inspire me to consider adding that Kill Team to my current projects.

5. Space Wolves
With the release of the blood angels, the theme that most interests me is the all jump pack army. While the list in this post is not my ideal list, the article itself is a great read and very informative, especially if playing against the list with Space Wolves.

4. Spear of Russ
I really like the painting on this unit. The colors are crisp and clean.

3. Corbania Prime
Very nice tank... I really like the purple/pink plasma coils and the overall gritty feel of the tank.

2. Ricalopia
A very interesting Eldar Avatar which is unlike any I have seen before. Not sure if it is a conversion or a model from another line. The fire dragons in the same post are awesome and Doomy the wraithguard boy made me chuckle. One great post.

1. John's Toy Soldiers
The pictures say everything about this very cool squad of arbites. Of particular interest to me is the use of blue and the very cool clear shields.

Honorable Mention...

Excessive Gamer
The bottomline is that this is a rant. One man's view of the current hobby and their perception of it. I cannot say that I agree with everything stated in it, but I do feel glad to have read it, if for no other reason than it allowed me to self reflect. I do hope that the golden age of the hobby that is mentioned in the post does return, as I remember it fondly.

Fantasy Thursdays: Preparing for Vanguard - Part One

The N.I.M.G.C. tournament is a 1500 point WFB tournament being held in DeKalb, Illinois (~2 hours from downtown Chicago) on July 10th, 2010. I have been a fan of the club's 40K tournaments for awhile and was very excited to see them hosting their first WFB tournament.

When it came time to decide on an army for the tournament, my original decision was to field a Vampire Counts army. I have been working on a skeleton theme for awhile and thought this tournament would be a great opportunity for me to focus on that project. As I worked through various lists and ideas, I kept finding myself going back to the Dogs of War PDF and thinking about how much I enjoyed them back in 5th edition. It wasn’t long before I decided that instead of VC, I would field a DoW army at Vanguard.

Having collected Dogs of War since 5th edition, my collection is based primarily around the various regiments of renown (RoR). When the game moved to 6th edition, the updates to the DoW list were such that my army was unfieldable without me making some major changes. It was at this point that I elected to strip my army and basically place it on the shelf until a new book was released. Needless to say, a new book has not arrived, but that has not deterred me from wanting to revisit my old army.

Since my collection is composed primarily of regiments of renown, I have decided to stick with what I own for the most part when it comes to building an army. With that said, I also want to have some kind of strategy and maybe, just maybe, the army will tell a bit of a story visually once it is completed.

When it comes to the tactical theme of the army, I had to think long and hard about what I would like to play. I am a monsters and magic kind of guy, so an army with a heavy helping of both flavors is always inspirational for me to build. The problem is that at 1500 points, neither monsters nor magic are a strong option in a DoW army. This lead me to think more about what I do like in the DoW line and what could I do that would be fun for me to play. After a lot of self reflection, I decided to go with a shooting heavy army that can swing back with a bit of gusto when needed.

With a general idea of how I will play the army, I went about picking the first couple units that I would paint and prepare for the army. What I have ended up with for the first 6 weeks of work are a couple of choices that go completely against the general strategy of the army but were a lot of fun to paint.

In Two Week: Vespero's Vendetta

The Wednesday Peek

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This Week's Peek...

Around the Net: AoW Orc Savage

Thanks to Warseer and Avatars of War for the photo.

The Podcast Junkie for 04/05/2010

I have to admit that I have become a podcast junkie. Each week, I listen to a dozen or so podcasts while making the daily commute to and from work. Most of the podcasts I listen to are related to the GW hobby, so I figure each week I will spotlight one that I really liked in the prior week.

This week's podcast...

Podhammer - Episode 63 "Twilight is Gay"

"Warning - This podcast is not safe for work or small children"

I really like reviews of army books long after they have been initially released as I tend to find the reviews to be more solid after people have been playing with the book for awhile. This episode looks at the current Vampire Counts book. Credit to the Podhammer crew for being honest about how some of their initial thoughts on the book when it was first released were wrong.

Honorable Mention...

World's End Radio - Episode 35 "Lords of the Spire"

This podcast is a few weeks old, but the running joke during the discussion about Necromundo is flipping hilarious (at least to me). Great podcast by the World's End crew that has inspired me to read the Necromundo rules and consider picking it up.

Stuff for Sale: Space Hulk Terminators, Daemons, & Chaos Dwarves (Oh My!)

I have decided to add a page to my blog that lists all of the stuff I am currently looking to part with from my collection. I am only looking to sell stuff at this time as I have to much stuff in my collection. If you are interested in anything, please feel free to email me at equinox999equinox@yahoo.com.

Among the stuff for sale is a set of the terminators from the new Space Hulk. It seems like people are asking alot for each model, so I am not sure what is a fair price to offer. I think I am going to take the best offer I receive over the next few days (nothing below $50.00 for the set) as I don't want to give them away, but at the same time I am not trying to rob anyone.

The Rival List for 04/03/2010

The Rival List for 04/03/2010

10. FoxPhoenix's 40K
Don't see alot of posts showing off anything BFG related. I also kind of agree with his statement about the cost of commissar models.

9. Saguaro Painting
I believe these are LoTR dwarves. Either way, nice paint job that should make Saguaro's client very happy.

8. Space Wolves
A pretty good article about the current state of Dark Angels.

7. Eldar Addict
While I dislike the current trend to release rules for new units without a model available, I have to admit that it has inspired the community to create some great stuff. This Parasite of Mortrex is a good example of that inspiration turned into reality.

6. 40K Campaign Cologne
A great list of five things for newbies and veterans to consider when starting an army.

5. Way of Saim-Hann
A good article about the current state of the game and whether or not the first turn is critical to winning the game.

4. Military of Ultramar
I find it very inspirational to see other people complete their hobby projects. This Ultramarine army (counts as Deathwing) is a great reminder of how all that hard work and time can result in a great looking army.

3. Musings of a Metal Mind
These conversions are so alien, so different, so amazing that I can't really say more about them.

2. Kult of Khaine
Nothing hotter than a violent, naked, female elf. A very good conversion and paint job on a special character not normally seen running around on her feet.

1. The Painting Corps
I had to do a double take when I saw this model as the paint scheme is similar to mine. Lovely work and a great alternative color scheme from the one in the Tau Empires book.

Honorable Mention

Drazhar's Miniworks
Very original harpy conversions.

March 2010 Painting Points

I declare the month of March to be a success. While I found the goals I had set at the start of the month to not work, I accomplished alot of painting during the month. I have made some great strides and am alot closer to finishing my army for the N.I.M.G.C. Vanguard tournament. The nice thing is that what I am counting for March is only a part of what I completed in the month. I actually finished a good portion of the next core unit and some IG, but I want to show them off as a complete unit and not individually, so they will get included in April's total.


Starting this month, I am including my points from the prior year as a point of comparison.

Points Earned in March 2010: 5 Points
Total Points in 2010: 14 Points
Total Points in 2009: 13 Points


If you would like to see the original post about Painting Points, check out the following link.

Special Thanks to Lone Pilgrim for introducing such a fun idea to the 40K blogsphere.