Road to the Bokur Brawl, Part 3

Following up from my previous post, I wanted to provide an update, as I have passed one of my scheduled milestones.

The goal was to paint up a 30-point recon list by the end of May, and I can report that I.... failed to accomplish this.

I am sure this is not surprising, but a number of factors contributed to it, including getting a later start than expected, due to organizing my collection taking significantly more time than I had planned for, which slowed me down.

With that said, it was not a total failure. I finished some minis!

My Gallows Grove is done. Not a particularly involved model, I admit, but getting the browns to look different enough to be interesting took me a bit.

I finished a Feral Warpwolf! I am pretty happy how he turned out, and I tried some new painting techniques (such as wet blending).

My last two minis have paint on them, but are not completed:

So, I did not make it, but given that I painted zero models in 2023, finished two models so far in 2024 has me feeling rather good. I feel like I have a good handle on my paint scheme, how to paint it quickly, and I have continued painting since the end of May. I likely will not hit my targets, but hell, who cares? I have painted minis and will have a painted army! That is a win, as far as I am concerned.

Anyway, moving on, my next target date is the end of July, with a 50-point list, running Iona. The list I will work towards assembling and painting is:

• Iona the Unseen
• Feral Warpwolf
• Razorwing Griffon
• Tharn Ravager Shaman
• Tharn Ravager White Mane
• Tharn Blood Pack
• Tharn Ravagers
• Tharn Ravager Chieftain

Of this, I have the Feral Warpwolf painted, and after these are done, I will have a good mix of beasts and infantry/solos painted. Will it be done by the end of July? Well, probably not. It will at least be assembled, gap-filled, based, and primed. It does not mean I won't shoot to paint them, but realistically I know I am too slow.

But hey, stick around and check back- maybe I will get closer than I think.

Thanks for reading and see you next time!

Road to the Bokur Brawl, Part 2

As I mentioned in my previous post, I have a schedule to get an army done in time for next year's Bokur Brawl.  My first checkpoint was yesterday, and I mostly managed to stay on target.  There were three parts to the goal yesterday- pull out all my relevant models, verify what I own, and decided on a color scheme.

Pulling out all my models involved going through everything I owned- a larger task than might be immediately obvious.  I used the time to finally get all of my unassembled Warmachine models in place, which will make future projects easier.  This was a considerable amount of work and time... but I managed to get it done.

Seven 30-gallon tubs of storage later, all of my unassembled Warmachine models are in one place, aside from the Devourer's Host models, which are now in a single location.

I have not yet verified my inventory is what I expected, but that's one that I can do over the next week, as I assemble and start painting my 30 point army.

Speaking of, I decided to stick with a fairly standard color scheme for these guys.  I'll probably have some small variation to match my personal taste as I work through them, but the green/brown color combination is not something I've actually painted before, and should be easy enough to allow me to stick to the schedule, so that's what I'm going with.

That's it for now- I have a lot of work to do between now and May, but I will likely post at least one progress picture to show how things are coming along between now and then.

Thanks for reading!

Road to the Bokur Brawl (Circle Orboros/Devourer's Host)

Starting to get all my minis together

My goal is to play in the Bokur Brawl in 2025 (usually in April). I have never gone to a Warmachine tournament, nor a miniatures game convention, but I'm determined to get more involved in the Warmachine community, and to make this happen I thought it might be motivating to actually blog about my goals and progress!

I am going to bring Devourer's Host to this event. I spent a bit of time trying to figure out which army I would focus on to make this happen. I have a large number of miniatures assembled and ready to play, but I'd really like to have something painted going into a major event like this, so I chose an army that I felt confident I could paint in time (I like drybrushing, and there's a lot of fur), and it was the first army in the app where this would be true (heck, it's the first army in the app).

So, with that decided, let me go through what I think I have, and see what I think I need to purchase, and finally, put out a plan for how I'll get it all done.

Warlocks:

There are four warlocks in this army:

• Iona the Unseen
• Kromac, Champion of the Wurm
• Tanith the Feral Song
• Wurmwood, Tree of Fate

I believe I own all four.  It seems like Tanith is not particularly popular, and it also seems like Iona and Kromac are a bit more straightforward, so I think I'll focus on getting those two playable and work on my familiarity with them, but maybe I'll try the other two at some point in order to see if one calls to me.

Warbeasts:

• Argus Moonhound - own 1
• Feral Warpwolf - own 3
• Ghetorix - own 1
• Gnarlhorn Satyr - own 1
• Gorax Rager - own 4
• Loki - own 0
• Pureblood Warpwolf - own 2
• Razorwing Griffon - own 0
• Rip Horn Satyr - own 0
• Rotterhorn Griffon - own 1
• Scarsfell Griffon - own 1
• Shadowhorn Satyr - own 1
• Storm Raptor - own 1
• Warpwolf Stalker - own 1
• Wild Argus - own 4
• Winter Argus - own 1

I also own a Gnarlhorn/Rip Horn/Shadowhorn Satyr box I haven't opened, and may try to magnetize.

I have a good mixture of beasts.  I definitely need to pick up Loki at some point, and I could probably stand to grab a second Warpwolf Stalker and Storm Raptor, but they can wait until I have enough plays to actually figure out whether or not I'll end up getting them.

Structures:

• Well of Orboros - own 0

This is probably something I'll get at some point, as well.  Maybe not a must-have, but I'll try to proxy it in a game to see how I feel about it, first.

Solos:

• Bloodweaver Night Witch - have 0
• Gallows Grove - have 2
• Kogan the Exile - have 1
• Lord of the Feast - have 1
• Tharn Blood Shaman - have 1
• Tharn Ravager Shaman - have 1
• Tharn Ravager White Mane - have 1
• Tharn Wolf Rider Champion - have 2

Again, good coverage.  I definitely need at least one Night Witch.  I may pick up a second Tharn Ravager Shaman, too.  I'll note that Magnus the Unstoppable is allowed in the army, but I don't think he provides anything I need, and I don't see any ways to buff him, so I'm not concerned about him here.

Units:

• Brighid & Caul - have 1
• Tharn Blood Pack - have 2
• Tharn Bloodtrackers - have 2 (and have Nuala the Huntress)
• Tharn Bloodweavers - have 2 (and have 1 Tharn Bloodweaver Haruspex)
• Tharn Ravagers - have 2 (and have 2 Tharn Ravager Chieftains)
• Tharn Wolf Riders - have 1

Great coverage here, too.  I *may* want to figure out a solution to getting a second unit of Wolf Riders, but I may just buy and convert from a Champion.  We'll see.

So, by my count, I own all four warlocks, and 366 points at the time of this writing.  Plenty to get started with.

Here's my plan, then.  In the next two weeks, I'll pull out all of my relevant models, and verify that what I think I have matches what I actually have (starting this process revealed I own two units of Blood Pack, for instance).  I'll use the time to settle on a color scheme, as well.  That means I'll have this piece done by March 20th.

By the end of May, I'll have a 30 point Recon list built and painted.  I'm currently thinking something like this:

• Kromac, Champion of the Wurm
• - Feral Warpwolf
• - Ghetorix
• Gallows Grove

All of these models will be useful at later point levels, so seem like a perfect place to start.

By the end of July, I'll have a 50 point list painted, with Iona.

By the end of September, I'll have a 75 point list painted, along with Wurmwood.

By the end of November, I'll have at least one 100 point list painted, along with Tanith.

And by the end of next January, I'll have the second 100 point list painted (there should be plenty of overlap between the two 100 point lists, so this shouldn't be too horrible a task.

Early January will see a balance update for the game, which may require some changes, but I'll have a bit over three months to figure that out, and get what I need painted.

In addition to this, I'll try to make sure I start getting games in. I build pretty fast, so I should be able to play full games well before I get them painted.

Anyway, look forward to updating you all along the way.

How about some new miniatures games?

Like any responsible gamer, I'm always on the lookout for new games to get into.  Never mind that as of this writing I have 359 unplayed board games (only 6 more before I'll finally try that 'new game a day' challenge).  Never mind that I already own, buy, and play about 25 other miniatures games that I don't have time for (not much time for hobbies with a toddler).  Seriously, I'm a gamer- if I'm not buying new games, what's even the point?

Most recently arrived is Star Wars: Shatterpoint, from Atomic Mass Games.  A 40mm skirmish game from the company already producing its most obvious competition that seems to promise fast, action-filled battles and more Star Wars goodness.  I admit, I'm surprised that the game is as different from Marvel: Crisis Protocol as it is (given how easy that would have been, and how successful MCP has been), but I think they've made the right choice in giving this game its own distinct set of mechanics.  It seems interesting, seems like it will be popular, and has the appropriate logo on it to get my interest, so it was a pretty obvious purchase.  I'm sure I'll get a game of this in within a month or so.

Prior to Shatterpoint's arrival, something equally appealing arrived - the first (of the three I purchased) starters for Black Powder: Epic Battles Waterloo.  One of the first miniatures rulesets I discovered growing up was a set of Napoleonic rules in the back of a military history book.  I found it fascinating. I believe I had discovered Warhammer Fantasy by that point (or discovered it soon after, the two events were almost co-occurrent), but the idea of refighting battles with miniatures is something that I love even today (obviously).  Historical miniature games have a specific interest because the context helps add substance to a game.  Having my Dark Elves fight your High Elves over some random piece of land in a one-off battle is fun, but why are they fighting, other than their mutual hatred for one another?  

When armies fought in history, they were attempting to achieve some actual goal, in addition to (or in lieu of) destruction of the opponent's army.  This is why they would fight so hard to hold a farmhouse that gave them a commanding view of a crossroads, or why they would charge headlong into the opponent's guns, knowing that defeat could mean the end of their way of life.  Sure, battling with toys on the table doesn't really convey all of that (other than abstractly with scenario rules), but knowing the 'why' of two armies fighting really makes it all the more interesting, to me.

Napoleonic warfare is of course one of the best ways to experience historical games, with three general 'types' of unit (infantry, cavalry, and artillery), and numerous subtypes under there.  Plus the variety of nationalities and uniforms that take part in the battles, PLUS the wildly varying competence of the generals of the era (between the French marshals, and say, Karl Mack von Leiberich).  There's just so much potential for great games.

These miniatures from Warlord Games are listed as 15mm (despite, apparently, being about 13mm), which is a great scale for large battles, and I've read the rules- it seems like a great system for this period.  My dad bought in, as well, and embarrassingly, he's already way ahead of me in assembly and painting (side note, I'm the biggest miniature gamer in the family, and my dad and brother BOTH get more assembled and painted than I do- what the hell is wrong with me?).

The releases so far cover only the Battle of Waterloo, and the other battles of the Hundred Days, but I'm hoping they expand the range and books to give us other major campaigns of the Napoleonic Wars.

Anyway, instead of writing, why don't I get working on some minis?

I bought a Warlord Games Mystery Box, so you don't have to (although why wouldn't you?)

As the title says, I purchased one of the most recent batches of mystery boxes from Warlord Games.  For those who have not seen these before (and because the description is no longer on the Warlord Games store), these are boxes filled with random miniatures, books, items, and whatnot from Warlord Games.  You will roughly get about twice the value of the box (these were sold at 120$), but you get a random assortment of items, so it may or may not be useful to you.

For me, personally, I don't really own that much in the way of Warlord Games product.  I own a couple of Bolt Action armies, the start of a Konflikt '47 army... and that is about it.  However, I am pretty interested in quite a number of their games, including their various naval games.  Heck, maybe I'll get something for one of those games.  All part of the excitement!

I didn't have any particular expectations of the box.  I assumed I would end up with some Bolt Action stuff, a random hobby item, and a book of some sort, but the rest... well, the rest was a mystery.  So, let's see what came, shall we? In no particular order...

Oooh, a Marder III Ausf. M for Bolt Action!  Off to a great start, as it is not only a model for a game I play, but an army that I have miniatures for already.  Very exciting.

Six Humbrol Acrylic paint pots.  This is not a brand I have experience with, or know anything about.  It looks like the brand is well regarded, however, and these paints can be thinned and used in an airbrush (which I don't have).  They do not seem to list the colors on the pot itself though, which seemed atypical.

The pots have an identifying number on the top, however, and these correspond to a chart (here).  The chart also contains color matching information with other brands (starting on page 8), and provides information on the top of finish, which I really like.  Heck, I am impressed with this brand, even before I've opened one of these pots up.  Pretty fantastic for something I had not heard of prior to opening the mystery box.

A Nachtalben Squad box for Konflikt '47.  More details for this can be found here.  Again, these are miniatures I do not own for a game and army I play, so this was an exciting find.  Having a unit of Tough, Elite, and Fast troops available to add to my force is fantastic.

Another Bolt Action selection, this time a Belgian Chasseurs Ardennais FRC 76mm Infantry Gun (more info here).  I don't play Belgians (yet!), but this is still a fun inclusion, because artillery pieces seem like they would be quite enjoyable to paint and base.

A pack of eight metal Hittite Levy Spearmen (more info here).  Now we are looking at some product for games I do not play.  Hail Caesar is a game I have purchased the rules for, but the rules did not have any army information included (these were included in a separate supplement), so I just didn't end up getting into it.  I believe they just had a second edition come out, however.  This is a game I would certainly try, as I love ancients, and I enjoy that rank and file look in my miniature game, but armies look to be upwards of a hundred miniatures, and without a committed opponent, I just can't muster the enthusiasm to get into it on my own.  Maybe I just need more historical gaming friends.  Anyway, I am not sure I have a current game where I could make use of these guys, but I am sure one of the Osprey wargames probably would give me a place to put them, as they make a number of skirmish-sized games.  They will just have to wait in the 'someday projects' box for now.

A pack of three Law Enforcement models for Strontium Dog.  I have read that Warlord has ended this line, and I cannot seem to find anything but the rules for it on their website, but I did find an older article with these models painted up here.  Sci-fi cops won't be too hard to find a use for, since I could probably use them in Rogue Stars or Stargrave or something.  I cannot quite tell if the scale of these figures matches anything else (although the game is referenced as 28mm heroic scale), but assuming they match some other lines, I am sure they will hit the table at some point.

A box of Samurai Horsemen for Pike & Shotte (more details, and pictures of the minis here).  I have heard good things about Pike & Shotte, but don't own the rules, or really know too much about it.  I certainly didn't know they covered feudal Japan.  I am not sure where I can use these miniatures yet, but I am certain I have somewhere they can go, although maybe I will get into Pike & Shotte at some point.  One never knows.  Regardless, this was a fun inclusion, so I am pretty happy about it.

A Promo Aztec figure for the Mythic Americas game. I think this is just a version of the Warlords of Erehwon game (listed on the blister as well), but I cannot actually find a picture of this miniature anywhere.  The range looks pretty cool and colorful, and a random Aztec figure almost certainly has some random games where it can be used.  In addition, it is a metal miniature!

Next up is a box of Macedonian Pezhetairoi for SPQR (28mm plastic models).  There will be quite a number of places I could use these miniatures, but I have also heard quite a lot of good reviews for SPQR.  I think I would have to buy another unit and a hero in order to play?  And the rules, probably.  Anyway, until then, I may just assemble these because I like the way they look.

Next up is a sandbag wall.  I can always make use of more terrain.

This is actually the February purchase promo, which was not part of the mystery box, per se, but since he arrived due to the order of the mystery box, I will include him here.  This is Eisensturmtruppe Kühn, a replacement NCO for a Wehrmacht Heavy Infantry Squad for Konflikt '47.  More info here.  I own Germans for Konflikt '47, and the miniature looks nice, so this was a nice bonus.

I vaguely remember a mention in the description that each mystery box would contain something that was about to come out, or newly released.  For me, that would be these guys, an Italian Bersaglieri Sniper Team for Bolt Action (more info here).  Very nicely detailed, although I wish they would have included at least some hint in the box what these were- it took me a bit to track them down!  The much-maligned Italians are not an army I play in Bolt Action, but they have a lot of fun looking vehicles, so these may see the table in the way they were intended someday.

And finally, a book- Wildcat Aces of World War 2, all about the history and pilots of the F4F Wildcat.  Lots of color plates in the book for whenever I have a need to work on some Wildcat models, and the book has a lot of period photos.  This is going to be a nice read- I love military history books, and I am not overly picky about my topics.

So, there you have it.  My mystery box has arrived, I have opened it, and I have showed you the contents.  Is it worth it?  Price-wise, absolutely, they advertise that as part of the draw.  Past that, it is going to depend more on what you're expecting.  There is a lot of different genres and eras covered in this box, and that certainly isn't going to appeal to everyone.  On the other hand, I enjoy the variety, and even though I don't have an immediate use for every item in the box, not a single inclusion is worthless to me, as I can see at least *some* case where I would make use of it.  So it's definitely a win as far as I'm concerned.  

Sadly, no boats in this box.  Maybe you'll have better luck!

Warmachine MKIV Preview Battlegroups have arrived!

Finally!

All three battle boxes, with their magnets in the white containers

I didn't have a whole lot of time to dig into them quite yet, but getting these table ready will be my priority.  I did get a chance to pop open the Cygnar box, however.

Inside the Cygnar box:

Packaging for individual models:

There were complaints about pieces breaking, especially the polearms, so seeing them pulled off and packaged to themselves seems pretty smart.  I had no breakages in this box, I will mention ahead of time.

Major Anson Wolfe:

Detail looks good, or at least it looks as good as other PP miniature do, to my eyes.

Courser Warjack:

Pieces all have good details, I think, and the printings look fine, although I do see some shiny parts on the shield:

The pieces don't seem soft, so this doesn't seem to be uncured or under-cured resin, but rather some reside of something.  I'll try to clean that up this weekend, and see how it goes.

The Stryker polearms were packed on their own, and made the trip undamaged:

And the rest of the Stryker Warjack:

Quite a lot of pieces, but looks pretty straight-forward to assemble.

Anyway- the first box all looks good, with no obvious problems, I tried taking a close look to see if I can see any printing lines, and none immediately jumped out at me, which was another concern.  Overall, I'm pretty pleased, and I'll get working on these minis this weekend (including my first try using magnets!).  I'll make sure to post some updates (and I'll open and unbox the Khador and Orgoth boxes tonight).

A bunch of Privateer Press/Warmachine news and updates

Well, PP isn't wasting any time with more MKIV news/previews and information.

A lore overview of the new Dusk faction (and House Kallyss army)

I would've preferred basically ANY art associated with it.  Give me a damn solo, or something.  This is fine, but come on- we want game-related information.

For instance, this is more like it

Some models for the new Khador Winter Corps army, some lore, and some rule hints.  A few interesting things coming out of this article.

Kapitan Ekaterina Baranova is going to give arc nodes to all of her jacks?  Khador with arc nodes?  Are you crazy?  That's amazing.  ESPECIALLY with the current way arc nodes stand, and the ability to give one of your jacks Unstoppable (with the Break Through command card), if you need to... this is going to make Khador very scary in the arcane game.  Plus, her feat could stock her up with focus.  She's going to be amazing, I think.

Dire Wolf looks amazing, of course.  The fastest Khador warjack ever built sounds great (EYE ROLL).  Just what I need, more Khador jacks in my face.  I'm glad they didn't give Khador a light, just to keep that thematic part of Khador around.  And hey, who doesn't love a Shield Guard?

The Great Bear looks fine... kind of just feels like a Mk3 Khador heavy, to be honest.  We'll have to see how it works with the weapon options.

And we see the full contents of the first to starter armies

So, for the Orgoth, that's a caster, a light jack, a heavy jack, 4 units, and a solo (plus various options).  Two hundred dollars is certainly a big ask to start with, but I tried throwing together a Crucible Guard equivalent, and came up with about 250 dollars.  The value seems to be there, at least. 

I could see myself grabbing both of these, and then waiting with the next factions, just to let my money catch up.  I already have a color-scheme for the Cygnar that I like (it's orange, I feel like I've put a picture up, somewhere).  For the Orgoth, I'm considering something with blues.  Maybe the US Navy's previous uniforms (the blueberries).

Image from Wikipedia

I'll give it a shot on one of the jack weapons first, and see how I like it, haha.

And now we get this article

Thursday!  Time to order stuff!  I like how the warcaster choice seems to be the Warcaster C one (i.e., not the warcaster in the starter or expansion boxes).  A smart move that won't leave people with bad feelings. 

Anyway, I am going to try to buy all three of the battlegroups, to give my friends and me toys to try out.  I'll work to get them painted quickly, too!  Exciting times for Warmachine!

October MiniCrate arrived! [Warmachine/Hordes]

Got something fun in the mail today!  What could it be?

Oooh!  The new MiniCrate from Privateer Press!  I can't actually remember which one I'm getting, so despite the frequent spoilers and articles, these actually still manage to be a surprise when they get to me.  Let's have a look!

Two miniatures??

Let's look at the included cards, so we know what we are getting.

 

Very cool.  Alright, onto the miniatures.

And of course, they look great.  I'm really excited to get the current run of these miniatures.  Many, I can't use yet, but man they look great.

Plastic Terrain Bundle [Song of Ice and Fire Miniatures Game]

This was a KS-exclusive add-on, that basically gave you a set of the different plastic terrain choices they were offering during the campaign.  It came in a quite large box:

And has everything nicely packaged.

Per the campaign, the contents are:

• 1 Trees Set
• 3 Hedges
• 3 Palisades
• 3 Stakes
• 2 Ruined Walls
• 1 Low Wall
• 1 Bog
• 1 Weirdwood Tree Set
• 4 Corpse Piles
• 2 Plateau

So for simplicity, I'll just follow this order to show the pictures.

Tree Set:

 

Hedges:

Palisades:

Stakes:

Ruined Walls and Low Wall:

Bog (this is flat on the board):

Weirdwood:

 

Corpse Piles:

And the Plateaus:

If I listed more than one of something up top, but didn't take a picture that OBVIOUSLY had more than one of the item in it, the duplicates are identical (for example, I have two identical plateaus).

The terrain is really nice, and the colored plastic will make them look quite nice on the table until they can be painted a little (really, just a little drybrushing would probably make these look amazing).  As a miniature wargamer, you can never have enough terrain- although this is a great set of stuff to help ensure I have some interesting tables to fight over.  Great quality, good size, and quite a good amount.