September Slow Grow

The slow grind of the slow grow continues. Sadly I don't have that much progress to report overall, but at least it's not nothing.

Me:

I'm quite happy with this month, not necessarily because I produced an amazing amount of stuff, but because I actually started taking steps to tackle one of the weaknesses in the appearance of my Empire army - its banners. I have an awful lot of unit banners (we're talking dozens, really) where the painting is limited to a single colour, or maybe a vertical or diagonal stripe. I've always lacked the nerve to tackle anything more ambitious, and as I've generally been focused on getting things usable on the table, a fancy banner has never been a priority. But I've also been aware that banners can really improve the appearance of an army on the battlefield, so I've probably idly promised myself that maybe one day I'd go back and do something about them. I haven't quite got to that point yet, but at least this month's banners are done properly (to my level, anyway)...

Painted banners! Unheard of!

August Slow Grow

Another month rolls by, and the slow grow continues... Well, it staggers on really. The collective effort has not been that great, but there are still a few things to show.

I actually did quite well this month. I got onto my target pretty early on, and it meant that I had the bandwidth to cheat that bonus steam tank into my growing Nuln army. That was a nice feeling, and it's led to me trying to get a running start on my September target as well. Anyway, here's the stuff I painted that actually counts:

My first Engineer mounted on a War Wagon. I might need to go back and do something to the barrel of the grenade launcher. It's a bit of a mess. But it could be one of those things that's really just a problem in the photo.

Another tank rolls in

This post isn't actually part of the Slow Grow that the group of us are currently undertaking (with varying degrees of success). Instead, this month my target felt quite under control, and I decided I could pull something extra onto the painting table.

I am getting to the point in the Slow Grow where I'm assessing my overall plans, and I feel like I'm about half way to what I'd like to complete before it's over. But Noakes then convinced me that Nuln should really have a Steam Tank, and that it should be one of those silly variants with more exotic weaponry (the sort that had rules in 6th edition, and hasn't been seen since)...

The tank wasn't part of my vision of being half-way to my overall objective, so I instead squeezed it in as a bonus for the month.

A 3D printed Steam Tank from Duncan Shadow. I happened to have these files already on hand, so it was hard to say "no" to Noakes' "helpful suggestions" (I had 2 Steam Tanks already sitting around, undercoated and ready to paint, but the demand that I do a particular variant meant that they got bypassed for a new print).

July Slow Grow

July is over, and so another month of the slow grow has passed. It's been a relatively quiet month from our participants. Some are making progress, but some are stuck, busy or distracted. Well, I'm sure at least some of us will get there in the end (wherever "there" is)...

I have completed another War Wagon. This is a Magori miniature, pulled by Reptilian Overlords horses.

Snake Eyes Aftermath - Part 5

This is the final part of my report from the recent Snake Eyes Warhammer: The Old World tournament. You can find the previous part of the report here, or go back to the start here.

We were now coming into the final round, and finally ran into people we knew. Well, we knew most of them. I've never met Randy before, and he was the one I ended up playing.

Round 5: The Dwellers Below ft. Randy 

Sam 
Daemons of Chaos 

• Lord of Change (440) 
• General
• Twin Heads
• Iridescent Corona*
• Level 4 Wizard
• Battle Magic
• Tzeentchian wand 
• Herald of Nurgle (150) 
• Winged Horror
• death’s heads 
• 8 Chaos Furies (112) 
• Daemons of Khorne 
• 8 Chaos Furies (112) 
• Daemons of Khorne 
• 8 Chaos Furies (112) 
• Daemons of Khorne 
• 6 Chaos Furies (84) 
• Daemons of Slaanesh 
• 6 Chaos Furies (84) 
• Daemons of Slaanesh 
• 4 Flamers of Tzeentch (167) 
• Champion 
• 4 Flamers of Tzeentch (167) 
• Champion 
• 3 Flamers of Tzeentch (127) 
• Champion 
• 6 Plague Drones of Nurgle (439) 
• Champion
• Standard Bearer 
• Standard of Seeping Decay Plague Proboscis 

Randy (C) 
Empire Knightly Order

• Chapter Master (172) 
• Battle Standard Bearer
• Demigryph
• Full Plate Armour
• Wolf Hammer
• Order of the White Wolf 
• Grand Master (294) 
• Shield, 
• General
• Pegasus
• Full Plate Armour
• Dragon Slaying Sword
• Ring of Fortune
• Paymaster's Coin
• Wolf Hammer
• Order of the White Wolf 
• High Priest of Ulric (133) 
• Barded Warhorse
• Heavy Armour
• Great Weapon 
• 4 Empire Knights (96) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• 4 Empire Knights (96) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• 8 Inner Circle Knights (353 pts) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• Stubborn 
• Full Command 
• Witch Hunter's Ward 
• Tapestry of Sigmar's Triumph 
• 4 Demigryph Knights (285) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• Full Plate Armour
• Wolf Hammer 
• Full Command 
• 4 Demigryph Knights (285) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• Full Plate Armour
• Wolf Hammer 
• Full Command 
• 4 Demigryph Knights (285) 
• Order of the White Wolf 
• Full Plate Armour
• Wolf Hammer 
• Full Command 

Jabe 
Orcs and Goblins 

• Black Orc Warboss (341) 
• Great weapon
• Full plate armour
• Shield
• General
• Wyvern
• Talisman of Protection
• Trollhide Trousers 
• Night Goblin Oddnob (200) 
• Level 4 Wizard
• Idol of Gork
• Waaagh! Magic 
• Night Goblin Bigboss (55) 
• Battle Standard Bearer 
• 16 Black Orc Mob (282) 
• Full plate armour
• 10x Shields
• 6x Great weapons
• Full Command
• The Big Red Raggedy Flag 
• 30 Night Goblin Mob (182) 
• Full Command
• 3x Fanatics 
• 30 Night Goblin Mob (182) 
• Full Command
• 3x Fanatics 
• 8 Orc Boar Boy Mob (205) 
• Full Command
• Cavalry spears
• Heavy armour
• Shields
• Big 'Uns
• Da Thinkin' Orc's 'At 
• 5 Night Goblin Squig Hopper Mob (60) 
• 5 Night Goblin Squig Hopper Mob (60) 
• Goblin Bolt Throwa (45 pts) 
• Doom Diver Catapult (95) 
• Doom Diver Catapult (95) 
• Mangler Squigs (95)

Unfortunately for this game, we were on the row of tables against the wall, and I was right on the wall. What this means is that the lighting was my enemy for photos. Most of the Empire will look like silhouettes with long shadows, rather than painted models.

Snake Eyes Aftermath - Part 4

This is the fourth part of my report from the recent Snake Eyes Warhammer: The Old World tournament. You can find the previous part of the report here, or go back to the start here. 

After Round 3 there was dinner at the venue, followed by Warhammer-themed trivia contest. This was fun, with a range of questions based on the background fluff, or things like "list all the special rules for a Night Goblin regiment", plus silly bonus "mathhammer" rounds where they got the teams to propose things like a combo to generate maximum possible combat resolution from a Slann in a round of combat, or the maximum possible distance a unit could travel in a single movement phase.

The whole thing was a good laugh, and in the end we won the trivia by the narrowest of margins after being forced into a tie-breaker where I had to go head-to-head with Chris (captain of the other leading team) to recite the profile of a Warpfire Dragon (something chosen at random by the organisers).

Anyway, the following morning we were back for Round 4. After a good win in the previous round, we were now probably working our way back up into the middle of the field. 

Round 4: Optimised Jank

Daniel Yam (C) 

Warriors of Chaos

• Chaos Lord (Big Barry) [597 pts] 
• General 
• Shield 
• Mark of Nurgle 
• Chaos Dragon 
• Ogre Blade 
• Enchanting Aura 
• Favour of the Gods 
• 6 Chaos Warhounds [41 pts] 
• Vanguard 
• 5 Chaos Warhounds [35 pts] 
• Vanguard 
• 4 Chaos Knights [130 pts] 
• Champion 
• Lances, Shields 
• Mark of Khorne 
• 5 Chaos Knights [161 pts] 
• Champion 
• Lances, Shields 
• Mark of Khorne 
• 7 Forsaken [133 pts] 
• Forsaken by Slaanesh 
• 3 Dragon Ogres [189 pts] 
• Great weapons 
• Heavy armour 
• 6 Chosen Chaos Knights [336 pts] 
• Champion [Brazen Collar + Charmed Shield] 
• Standard Bearer [Icon of Darkness] Musician 
• Lances, Shields 
• Full plate armour 
• Mark of Nurgle 
• Drilled 
• Warpfire Dragon (Wide Wallace) [374 pts] 

 
Michael George 
Dwarfs: Expeditionary Force 

• Engineer Sapper [128 pts] 
• General 
• Handgun [Master Rune of Bursting Flame, Rune of Rapid Fire] 
• Runesmith [145 pts] 
• Full plate armour 
• Shield 
• 3 Rune of Spellbreaking 
• Engineer [108 pts] 
• Handgun [Rune of Rapid Fire, Rune of Accuracy, Rune of Molten Steel] [Rune of Stone] 
• Engineer [118 pts] 
• Handgun [Rune of Concussive Force, Rune of Rapid Fire] 
• [Rune of Stone] 
• Expeditionary Marksman 
• 2 Scout Gyrocopters [120 pts] 
• 2 Scout Gyrocopters [120 pts] 
• 10 Thunderers [125 pts] 
• Veteran(champion) [Handgun] Shields 
• Expeditionary Marksmen 
• 10 Thunderers [125 pts] 
• Veteran(champion) [Handgun] Shields 
• Expeditionary Marksmen 
• 10 Rangers [156 pts] 
• Ol’ Deadeye(champion) [Crossbow] Crossbows, Throwing axes 
• Great weapons 
• Shields 
• 2 Gyrocopters [130 pts] 
• Brimstone guns 
• 2 Gyrocopters [130 pts] 
• Brimstone guns 
• 2 Scout Gyrocopters [120 pts] 
• 2 Scout Gyrocopters [120 pts] 
• Cannon [120 pts] 
• [Rune of Reloading, Rune of Forging] 
• Cannon [115 pts] 
• [Rune of Forging] 
• Organ Gun [120 pts] 

Ben Hannan 
Beastmen Brayherds 

• Great Bray-Shaman [325 pts] 
• General 
• Level 4 Wizard [Elementalism] 
• Tuskgor Chariot 
• Hagtree Fetish 
• Talisman of Protection 
• Great Bray-Shaman [270 pts] 
• Level 4 Wizard [Elementalism] 
• Tuskgor Chariot 
• Earthing Rod 
• 6 Gor Herd [48 pts] 
• Ambushers 
• Tuskgor Chariot [85 pts] 
• Tuskgor Chariot [85 pts] 
• Tuskgor Chariot [85 pts] 
• Razorgor Herd [52 pts] 
• Razorgor Herd [52 pts] 
• Razorgor Herd [52 pts] 
• Razorgor Herd [52 pts] 
• 3 Dragon Ogres [189 pts] 
• Great weapons 
• Heavy armour 
• 3 Dragon Ogres [189 pts] 
• Great weapons 
• Heavy armour 
• Razorgor Chariot [120 pts] 
• 5 Harpies [55 pts] 
• Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [170 pts] 
• Spawn of Nurgle 
• Gigantic Spawn of Chaos [170 pts] 
• Spawn of Nurgle

What were these lists? Admittedly the Chaos one looked like things we'd seen before (with the exact same Dragon again), but the Beastman list was a monstrosity with all 8 levels of the team's magic, and the Dwarf list had 12 Gyrocopters. Well, I guess they did call themselves "Optimised Jank"...

We could not in good conscience give Tim's army (with no magic defence) the Beastmen, so I ended up facing it. Between them the Shamans had 2 copies of Viletide, 2 copies of Wind Blast, and sundry other tricks. 

Look at this weirdness. With the tiny Gor unit in ambush, there were only 3 units with more than one model on Ben's side of the table, and even those units together only added up to 11 models.

Snake Eyes Aftermath - Part 3

This is the third part of my report from the recent Snake Eyes Warhammer: The Old World tournament. You can find the previous part of the report here, or go back to the start here.

Two rounds into the event, at least we no longer had the absolute minimum number of battle points possible. So we were improving!

Round 3: Undead, Unholy & Unapologetic

These guys were a bit of a curve ball, because they had to change one of their players (and lists) at the last minute. What would have been a Slaanesh Daemon army suddenly became a Lizardman list with 2 Carnosaurs!

Kingsley - “Undead”
Tomb Kings, Mortuary Cults 

• High Priest (395 pts) 
• General 
• Necrolith Bone Dragon 
• Warding Splint 
• Hieratic Jar 
• Necromancy 
• Arch Necrotect (90 pts) 
• 10 Ushabti (497 pts) 
• Greatbows 
• Ancient (champion) 
• 5 Skeleton Horse Archers (55 pts) 
• 5 Skeleton Horse Archers (55 pts) 
• 5 Skeleton Horsemen (55 pts) 
• Tomb Scorpion (77 pts) 
• Ambushers 
• The Terrors Below 
• Tomb Scorpion (77 pts) 
• Ambushers 
• The Terrors Below 
• Necrolith Colossus (160 pts) 
• Casket of Souls (135 pts) 
• Necrosphinx (200 pts) 
• Envenomed sting 
• Necrosphinx (200 pts) 
• Envenomed sting 

Fletcher - “Unapologetic” 
Orc & Goblin Tribes, Nomadic Waaagh! 

• Kiknik Toofsnatcha (105 pts) 
• General 
• Goblin Warboss (192 pts) 
• Great weapon 
• Wolf Chariot (Third Giant Wolf) Armour of Silvered Steel 
• Talisman of Protection 
• Goblin Bigboss (125 pts) 
• Light armour 
• Shield 
• Battle Standard Bearer (Da Angry Ladz Flag) 
• Giant Wolf 
• Biting Blade 
• Goblin Oddnob (175 pts) 
• Level 4 Wizard 
• Giant Wolf 
• Waaagh! Magic 
• 24 Goblin Wolf Rider Mob (340 pts) Shields 
• Cavalry spears 
• Light armour 
• Reserve Move 
• Ambushers 
• Close Order 
• Horde 
• Boss (champion) 
• Standard bearer (Da Banner of Butchery) 
• Musician 
• 2 Goblin Wolf Chariots (111 pts) 
• Standard bearer 
• 5 Goblin Wolf Rider Mob (60 pts) 
• Shortbows 
• Feigned Flight 
• 6 Orc Boar Boy Mob (190 pts) 
• Cavalry spears 
• Heavy armour 
• Shields 
• Big 'Uns 
• Boss (champion) 
• Standard bearer (The Big Red Raggedy Flag) 
• Musician 
• Black Orc Boar Chariot (134 pts) 
• Great weapon 
• Black Orc Boar Chariot (134 pts) 
• Great weapon 
• Black Orc Boar Chariot (134 pts) 
• Great weapon 
• Bonegrinder Giant (300 pts)

Toby - "Unholy" "Unexpected" (I don't really know what they were calling him, but he was a last minute addition, so...

Lizardmen

• Saurus Scar-Veteran [311 pts] 
• Cavalry spear
• Shield
• General
• Carnosaur
• Glyph Necklace
• Saurus Scar-Veteran [266 pts] 
• Cavalry spear
• Shield
• Carnosaur
• 20 Saurus Warriors [301 pts] 
• Shields
• Spawn Leader (champion)
• Standard bearer
• Musician
• 20 Saurus Warriors [321 pts] 
• Thrusting spears
• Shields
• Spawn Leader (champion)
• Standard bearer
• Musician
• 5 Cold One Riders [216 pts] 
• Cavalry spears
• Shields
• Pack Leader (champion)
• Standard bearer
• Musician
• Jaguar Standard
• Bastiladon [175 pts] 
• Solar Engine
• 5 Cold One Riders [221 pts] 
• Cavalry spears
• Shields
• Pack Leader (champion)
• Standard bearer
• Musician
• War Banner
• 3 Kroxigors [147 pts] 

I have no idea which army we led with in the pairings. We were all pretty tired. But somehow I ended up matched against the other Orc and Goblin army. It might have been intentional. On someone's part, anyway...

Deployment was a bit strange, with a whole ton of Fletcher's army (the huge Wolf Rider unit, Kiknik and the BSB) getting ready to ambush from somewhere.