My Heavy Gear Blitz Cataphract featured on Facebook

I am pleased to share my first and biggest recognition I have ever recieved. The Canadian based Dream Pod 9 which produces the incredible game Heavy Gear Blitz have actually featured a model of mine on their facebook page. Just click here to view their page and comments by their players.

Here are a few more photos for your enjoyment!

Cataphract (as featured on their facebook page). Yes, it was done in less than 8 hours.

Warrior IV and Chieftain IV also done in less than 8 hours.

 Owl C3

Dark Coyote 

Heavy Vulture 1

Raptor Commando

Heavy Vulture 2

Please do leave comments and visit Dream Pod 9 to learn more about Heavy Gear Blitz! Thanks!

The Road to Adepticon 2013 - Part 3

One of the main reasons I am going to Adepticon 2013 is the Clash for Kings event by Mantic Games. The prize offered by Mantic for this tournament is a cool $1,000 for the champion. Now, with this being a game I have never played, I am relying on beginners luck. From their Kickstarter, here is my army:

1-Lich King, 2-Necromancers, 3-Balefire Catapults , 3-Werewolves, 5-Wraiths, 5-Revenant Cavalry, 40-Ghouls, 40-Revenants, 40-Skeletons and 60-Zombies.

Of course, I finished building the figures last January 13 and will have a fully painted 1800 point army for Adepticon 2013. This would be the largest project I have ever taken with a total of 199 figures. The most figures I had painted at one time in one unit was my Holy Zealots for the Warmachine Menoth Army - 10 figures plus 1 unit attachment which was close to 8 years ago.

The plan - I will start with the largest unit which is the 60 zombies and work my way down the least number of figures in the unit. Considering the time, I hope to achieve a good tabletop quality paint job. I have already written out my paint scheme for all the figures with blue and green as my army colors. Please do leave comments and wish me luck. Thanks!

X-Wing Miniatures Game Figures in Stop Motion

Here is a fun video clip using Fantasy Flight X-Wing Miniature Game figures that I just did today to test out if I could actually do stop motion. Enjoy!

 

Thanks to Kevin MacLeod for the music and Sounddogs.com for the sound effects!

The Road to Adepticon 2013 - Part 2

In anticipation of the tournaments I registered for, here are the armies I am planning to field and what I will need to do in preparation.

+Kings Of War Clash of Kings - 1800 points (199 figures)

3 Heroes, 3 Catapults, 3 Monsters, 5 Elites, 5 Cavalry, 40 Skeletons, 40 Revenants, 40 Ghouls, and 60 Zombies - whole army to be painted

Flames of War Mid-War Tournament - 990 points (11 figures)

1 Ferdinand (repaint and decals), 7 Panzer II L (1 tank to be bought and painted and three need wash and decals), 2 Rocket Launchers (to be painted), 1 aircraft

Dark Age March to Immortality - 485 points (7 figures)

Mean Jelly Bean, 2 Rachets, 2 Broodhounds, 2 Sawblades or 2 Pudthrowers (highlights and details)

Cheap Alternative to Tau Kroot Hounds

Here is a very cheap alternative for the Tau Kroot Hounds - Chaos Warhounds. For the price of 4 Tau Kroot Hounds at $24.75, you can get 10 Chaos Warhounds at the same price. With some greenstuff, you can make beaks and fill in the holes meant for the horns. Add some round bases and you have Cheap Tau Kroot Hounds which is also more menacing than the stock hounds. Some people use coins to weigh down the bases which may be cheap but I believe that is a federal offense in some countries. Just buy a pack of washers from the hardware store but make sure to bring a base to check the correct fit.

Jumping Kroot Conversion

For your viewing pleasure, here is an early conversion on the Kroot Carnivore I did back in 2009.

 

And here he is painted with his squad.



The Road to Adepticon 2013 - Part 1

In the last quarter of 2012, I discovered crowd funding sites like Kickstarter and IndieGoGo which helped me discover new games like Relics by +Tor Gaming . I also chose to fund +Kings Of War by Mantic Games which was a game I have been looking into since May 2012. Now for those not familiar with how a crowd funding site works, here is a quick rundown. A company wanting to "kick start" their projects or jump start an existing project, they allow the public to "fund" the project by pledging funds for certain perks. Some perks allow first in line for pre-orders or limited edition items only available through the Kickstarter or IndieGoGo project. Some projects offer incentives to backers for every goal reached beyond their targeted total like autographed items and additional bonus items added to the pledge rewards.

I initially pledged enough for a Kings of War 1000 point Undead Army and then increased my pledge to include any additional new Undead figures produced as a result of their Kickstarter project. So to breakdown the pledge, I invested for 161 figures (1000 point army plus 2 heroes and 3 units) and received an additional 87 figures as a reward.

Now how could I justify an investment of this magnitude to my better half? Enter the Clash of Kings at Adepticon 2013. The good people at Mantic Games had offered a Cash prize of $1,000 for the winner of the tournament. This was a first for me that a miniature company would offer a cash prize in any tournament. Again, I would need to justify going to Adepticon 2013, so I started crunching numbers and doing my research. I came across Swag Bag.WMV by AArdvark085 on Youtube with the contents of the bag of goodies you get for being the first few people to pre-register for the convention. Unfortunately, I was not able to be within the lucky 1,000 pre-registered to get a full Swag Bag. I initially gave up on going to Adepticon 2013 but continued to listen to the Podcasts and followed forums on DakkaDakka and Mantic.

When I discovered that it was the 10 year anniversary of Warmachine by +Privateer Press , which if you watch the Swag Bag video has the biggest item in the Swag Bag, I had to find a way to get to Adepticon this year. Further research led me to the Geek Nation Tours Adepticon Package, which truly was exactly what I needed. VIG (Very Important Gamer) badge, 2 dinners, site tour, early entry to dealer room, airport transfers, and the full swag bag the day before the actual convention opens. A few emails between Teras Cassidy of Geek Tours for clarifications and with the understanding of my loving wife, I was officially on the Road to Adepticon 2013.

I have registered for Mantic Clash of Kings (2-day event), Flames of War Mid-War Tournament and Dark Age March to Immortality Tournament. I am also hoping to participate and the demos for Zombicide by Guillotine Games, Relic Knights by Soda Pop Miniatures, Super Dungeon Explorer also by Soda Pop Miniatures, Firestorm Armada by Spartan Games, and Infinity by +Corvus Belli. I look forward to providing news, reviews and coverage of the convention.