40K Project #2 - Heresy Era World Eaters Part 3

As I said previously, I've got a lot of work ahead of me over the next three weeks and I've jumped in with both feet.  My World Eaters Tactical Marines aren't finished yet but I got a lot of building done tonight.

First is a World Eaters Legion Contemptor Dreadnought.  I tried to get him in as dynamic a pose as I could but I'm not sure I'm 100% happy with it.  I'm also a little nervous about painting him since I normally paint before assembling but I wanted to try some new things on this one and it required that I assemble it first.

Next is a Deimos Pattern Rhino.  Having started playing in 3rd Edition, this model is a nice throwback to the old days but it went together so much better than the old 3rd Edition Rhinos.

I spent most of the night magnetizing this Deimos Patter Predator so I could use it with any weapon choice.  I'm very happy with the way it came out.  I need to do a little green stuff work on the broken area to give it more of a battle damaged feel and less of a "broken during shipping" feel.

I should be able to get these primed tomorrow.  I plan to use salt and hairspray weathering on all three models but I'm not sure if I can get them all ready and base coated in one night.  We'll see if I can make it happen.

The Next Three Weeks

The next three weeks is going to be insanely busy for me hobby wise.

I am just about finished with the twenty World Eater Tactical Marines that I've been working on sporadically for a few months now.  Over the last few nights I've managed to get all the basic paint work done and got the assembly done.  Tonight I applied the troop decals to them and tomorrow I will finish the backpacks and start the weathering.  Sunday I hope to finish the weathering, prime and base coat the bases and maybe do the finishing touches on the models.  Monday I can finish the bases and put the models on them.

After that I have a ton to do (like that wasn't enough).

Paint four Reaper Fairies for my uber hawt wife.
Pack up and mail my Sons of Vengeance home so I can play with them if I get the chance and also so I can send my Orks back to work on (have to make room)
Prep, assemble, paint and weather a World Eaters Deimos Pattern Rhino
Prep, assemble, paint and weather a World Eaters Deimos Pattern Predator
Prep, assemble, paint and weather a World Eaters Contemptor Dreadnought
Paint two Dreadball Teams (Dassal Groxboys and New Asgard Giants) (I want to bring these home with me as well)

Three weeks... can I do it?  Hell yeah I can!  Speed Paint Mode ON!

(seriously... the fairies are three days max, the Dreadball teams I should be able to do in four to five days per team since they are already base coated and I'll do all three vehicles at the same time so that should be less than a week or so)

I will try to post pictures as I work on things but I get so into what I'm doing I tend to forget.

~Syko

WarGamesCon

I found out yesterday that WarGamesCon is taking place June 6-9 in Austin, Tx.  Coincidentally I will be in Austin that same weekend seeing some old friends and doing a little scouting for houses and locations for the future gamer store.
While I'm not a big tournament player, I am interested in showing up for an hour or so and checking things out.  When I checked the site it says I'm going to need a $35 Floor Pass just to get in.  I'm not sure if it's worth it.  While I want to meet some local gamers and the con has many different game systems so it will be worthwhile, is it worth $35 for an hour's time?

I'm pretty torn here.

Also, GW released the new FAQ's today.  A couple of things I found interesting:

• Vehicles cannot be used to shoot a gun emplacement.  Glad they cleared that up.
• Allies of Convenience are counted as friendly units for the purpose of pile in moves in close combat
• Friendly models cannot move through each other.  Duh!  I've argued that for a while
• Models "removed from play" by things like Jaws are treated as casualties.  Obviously a tournament player asked that one
• Models with Warlord Traits that are not your chosen Warlord do not get to use those special abilities.  Really?  Who asks these questions?
• Abaddon is immune to Spawnhood and Dark Apotheosis on the Chaos Boon Table... bummer man
• Helldrake is still the most broken model in the game (no changes)
• The Power Field Generator from Dark Angels now doesn't apply to the vehicle the character is in or surrounding vehicles.  There went that list idea.
• Ravenwing Command Squads can now get two extra models in the squad
• Standard of Devastation applies to boltguns, twin linked boltguns on bikes, combi bolters (but only the boltgun part and... wait for it... hurricane bolters!

There are a lot of other changes/additions but these specifically caught my eye.  My first thought after reading some of them was "Wow!  GW listens to Beasts of War "Cheese Hunters"."

Oh and be on the lookout for some work on my Sons of Vengeance (Blood Angels) in the very near future.  I think I'm going to paint as much of them as I can before I go on vacation and send them home so I can ship my massive Ork Horde over here to start painting them.  I'm kinda bored with the Blood Angels anyway.

~Syko

40K Project #4 - Bad Moons Orks Part 6

Well, the base is finally finished.  It took me 4 layers of water effects to get the desired fill on the swamp and the better part of a night just to get the tall grass done.  Pain in my butt!

Hope you like it.

Not the best pic but I wanted one with the Dakka Jet on the base.

On top of finishing this, last night was spent priming a Land Raider Redeemer, Drop Pod, 15 Blood Claws, 15 Grey Hunters, 10 Long Fangs, 5 Scouts and 2 Dreadnoughts for a Space Wolf player over here (the one I did the Thunder Wolf Lord for) and tonight I will base coat them.  I already did the Land Raider and Drop Pod but am not happy with the color.  I used Minitaire Concrete Slab initially but I think it's way too light.  Tonight I'm going to try Minitaire Badger Fur as it's much darker and has some more blue in it.  Hopefully it works better.

Alternate Missions

Here are some Experimental Missions that I've been working on.  I would like some C&C on this idea.

DISCLAIMER:  This is NOT a Games Workshop Product

First off, this game play scenario and all special rules associated with it were created without permission from Games Workshop. This scenario was created entirely not for profit, and the authors fully recognize the intellectual property claims of Games Workshop on all their copyrighted and trademarked material. This was created purely because of the authors’ dedication and love of the Warhammer 40K universe.

Hidden Victory Conditions

The ebb and flow of battle is as endless as the ways to wage.  Not all armies are equal nor are all objectives.  Secrecy can be key to winning a battle.  Your mission will not necessarily be the same as that of your opponent.

To set up a Hidden Victory Condition game players will first roll on the Random Deployments chart in the Warhammer 40,000 6^th Edition Rulebook.  Players will then each randomly pick three victory conditions.  These can be chits with the mission name or slips of paper.  Choose one of the three to be your mission and keep it secret, only to be revealed at the end of the game.  After each player has chosen his condition they will roll off for Night Fight (4+) and then roll for first turn as normal.  The winner may choose to go first or second.  The player going first will then choose which deployment zone they want to use and set up as normal.  The player going second then sets up and can attempt to seize the initiative on a D6 roll of 6. 

It is recommended that after deployment each player draws a quick map of the battlefield highlighting specific pieces of terrain in the event that they have a victory condition that includes holding objectives.  Even if your victory condition is not an objective based one you should do this to be sneaky.

Use the standard rules for ending the game found in the Warhammer 40,000 6^th Edition Rulebook

After the game has ended both players reveal their Victory Conditions and declare whether they have completed their missions or not and how many Victory Points each was worth.  The player with the most Victory Points has won the game, even if they have no models left on the table at the end of the game. 

 

Victory Conditions

1.       Assassination  –  (3 VPs) Secretly nominate a single HQ choice from your opponent’s army.  Your mission is to kill that target.  If the enemy HQ survives or flees off the table you have failed this mission. 

2.       Martyr  –  (3VPs) Secretly nominate one of your HQ choices.  That character’s mission is to be killed by the end of the game.  If the character survives or flees off the table you have failed this mission.

3.       Slow Them Down  –  (1VP per Fast Attack choice completely destroyed to 3VP max) Your mission is to destroy all your opponent’s Fast Attack choices.  Units that flee off the table count as casualties towards your goal.  If your opponent has no Fast Attack choices in his army you will fail this mission.

4.       Silence The Guns  –  (1VP per Heavy Support choice completely destroyed to 3VP max)  Your mission is to destroy all your opponent’s Heavy Support choices.  Units that flee off the table count as casualties towards your goal.  If your opponent has no Heavy Support choices in his army you will fail this mission.

5.       Tide Of Dead  –  (1VP per Troop choice completely destroyed to 3VP max) Your mission is to destroy all your opponent’s Troops choices.  Units that flee off the table count as casualties towards your goal. 

6.       Not So 1337 – (1VP per Elite choice completely destroyed to 3VP max) Your mission is to destroy all your opponent’s Elite choices.  Units that flee off the table count as casualties towards your goal.  If your opponent has no Elite choices in his army you will fail this mission.

7.       Natural Born Killer – (1VP per unit completely destroyed by this unit to 3VP max) Secretly nominate one or your units (not vehicles/flyers).  Your mission is for that unit to destroy (or be involved in a combat that wipes out) 3 enemy choices.  These can be a single character model (Independent Character), a unit, a vehicle or a squadron.  Note – Squadrons count as 1 choice.  Enemy units that flee off the table do not count as a kill for this mission.

8.       Lord Of War – (1VP per unit completely destroyed by this model to 3VP max) Secretly nominate one of your single model HQ choices.  Your mission is for that character to destroy (or be involved in a combat that wipes out) 3 enemy choices.  These can be a single character model, a unit, a vehicle or a squadron.  Note – Squadrons count as 1 choice.  Enemy units that flee off the table do not count as a kill for this mission.

9.       Blow Them To Hell – (1VP per unit completely destroyed by this vehicle to 3VP max) Secretly nominate one of your vehicles (tank, skimmer, flyer) choices.  Your mission is for that vehicle to destroy 3 enemy choices.  These can be a single character model, a unit, a vehicle or a squadron.  Note – Squadrons count as 1 choice.  Enemy units that flee off the table do not count as a kill for this mission.

10.   Led From the Front – (3VPs)Secretly nominate one of your HQ choices.  Your mission is to end the game with that character in your opponent’s deployment zone. 

11.   Breakthrough – (1VP per unit/character successfully in the enemy deployment zone to 3VP max) Your mission is to have 3 units/characters (not vehicles) in your opponent’s deployment zone at the end of the game.  Units must be at least half strength to count.  

12.   Keep Them Rolling – (1VP per vehicle in your opponent’s deployment zone at the end of the game to 3VP max) Your mission is to have 3 vehicles (tank or skimmer but not flyer) in your opponent’s deployment zone at the end of the game.  Immobilized vehicles do not count towards this objective.

13.   Hold the Line – (1VP per unit in your deployment zone over those your opponent has in your deployment zone to 3VP max) Your mission is to have more units/vehicles/characters (not flyers) in your deployment zone than your opponent has in your deployment zone.  Immobilized vehicles do not count towards this objective.  Each choice from the force org chart counts as 1 point.  Units from both sides must be at least half strength to count.

14.   Flood the Lines – (1VP per unit in your opponent’s deployment zone over those your opponent has in his deployment zone to 3VP max) Your mission is to have more units/vehicles/characters in your opponent’s deployment zone than your opponent does.  Immobilized vehicles do not count towards this objective.  Each choice from the force org chart counts as 1 point.  Flyers will not count toward this objective.  Units must be at least half strength to count.

15.   Cover the Land – (1VP per successfully controlled table quarter to 3VP max) Your mission is to control more table quarters than your opponent does.  Any model can hold a table quarter.  Immobilized vehicles and Flyers do not count towards this objective.  In order to control a table quarter you must have more units/vehicles in the quarter than your opponent.

 

40K Project #2 - Heresy Era World Eaters Part 2

I've been trying to get some work done on my Heresy Era World Eaters but I have to admit, I'm not real happy with the way they are turning out right now.  I'm going to finish these twenty guys up in the next week or so and then get started on a whole new process on them.

So far I've been priming them black and base coating with white.  I then spend a long time using washes to get the shading done.  This is very time intensive and I think I've found a better way to do them.

The next batch will be primed black and base coated with a very light blue then washed with Agrax Earthshade.  From there I will work in the highlights with varying shades of white.

I hope it works.

40K Project #4 - Bad Moons Orks Part 5

It's been a while but I've finally managed to get some work done on some of my own stuff.

I have a vision for the basing scheme for my Bad Moons and here is the first WIP shots.

I got the basic green stuff work done the other night and added the trees tonight.  I toyed briefly with the notion of green stuffing around the flight stand to make it into a tree but sadly my green stuff skills are sorely lacking.  It would be really cool though.

Got the basic paint on it tonight as well.  Plan to finish most of the painting tomorrow and start working with the grass, moss, lichen and water effects on Friday.

When it's all done I will have an entire Ork army slogging through a swamp.  This will allow me to have a lot of fun with customization.  I plan to do some (very) rough sketches in the near future to give an idea of what I'm going for.

Kickstarter is Stealing Money From Me Again!

First it was Kings of War, Evil Baby Orphanage and Dreadball digging their hands in my pants pocket.  Then came Impudent Mortal, Chibi Dungeon Adventurers and Games and Gear Pro Studio Brushes pulling the greenbacks out.  Finally Wild West Exodus, Zombicide and Arena Rex took their chunk.

So far I've spent, in pledges alone over $2000 on Kickstarter projects in the last year.  Holy Crap!  $2000! And that doesn't even begin to add in the hundreds extra I've added on products associated with the projects.

Now Secret Weapon Miniatures is trying to get their hands on my ever shrinking bill fold with their Tablescapes project.  I can see this one coming close to breaking the proverbial bank if I keep looking at it.

I have to admit, these things look really nice.  The fact that they are 1/4" thick and come in 12"x12" sections makes them much more appealing than the clunky Realm of Battle Boards offered by GW.  With the goal of opening a game store always in mind and knowing that I'm going to need terrain and tables for the store, these would do a great job.

So, if it's all positive, what's holding me back?

Well, thinking that it's going to be at least another year before my uber hawt wife and I make our long awaited return to the states and start working on opening the store and these things shipping in Oct 2013, well, that's a long time for them to be sitting in a hot Arizona storage shed.  I don't think they'll warp or anything, I'm just worried that they will be lonely and I'll really want to ship them over here to paint knowing full well that I don't have the facilities to do so.

Mainly I'm balking because I'm afraid that my uber hawt wife will kill me if I drop another $400-$800 on toys.  She's a wonderful lady but she has her limits and I'm pretty sure I'm close to crossing over them (especially when she reads this post and sees how much I've spent on kickstarters... eep!) (Love you, baby!)

Let me know what you guys think of them and if you have pulled the trigger or, like me, are coming up with (valid) excuses for not getting into it.

Random Thoughts

I don't have a lot to update you with today so I decided I would just free form and say whatever comes to mind.

There are a lot of war games out there.  Historicals (Napoleonics, French and Indian War, American Civil War, WWI, WWII, Vietnam Era, etc), Fantasy (Warhammer Fantasy, Warmaster, Kings of War, etc), Science Fiction (Warhammer 40K, Warmachine, Firestorm Armada, Dropzone Commander, etc) and Alternate History (Malifaux, WWX, Dystopian Wars, etc).

What do all these games have in common?  Well, they all use miniatures of some sort, dice (or in the case of Malifaux, cards), scenery and a couple of mates having a good time over a table loaded with mandollies.  Something else they all have in common is they look silly if played with grey plastic, resin or bare metal miniatures.  Even though a lot of people don't like this aspect of the hobby, it's still a big part of it.  In friendly play it's understandable to bring some unpainted models to the table.  Not everyone has time to paint up that new unit they just got yesterday but they really want to try them out.  In the tournament scene it's usually regulated that all your models have to have a three color minimum and all be based in some way.

I hear a lot of people whining that painting has nothing to do with tournaments.  I highly disagree!  Tournaments should be about the hobby as a whole.  If you want to play in tournaments that won't allow unpainted models then Hero Clix might just be the game for you.

Next we have the amount of rage that I hear from many different areas about how GW's rule sets aren't very well done.  Folks, GW has said for years that they are a model company not a game company.  Yes, they make rules for the miniatures that they make but they are still primarily trying to sell models.  If you don't like the rules I suggest you either get a job at the company and improve the rules since you are obviously so much better at it than they are or you should make your own generic set of rules that can be used with their models... or perhaps you can stop bitching about it and have fun playing the game.  Make house rules or your own faq to be used in your game group.  GW has always said that you should "Make the game your own".  If you don't want to do that because it won't be legal in a tournament... uh... you're playing the wrong game.  Fantasy and 40K are not designed to be competetive no matter how much you want to try to make it that way.  Try playing in a campaign some time and just enjoy the game for what it is.

This hobby, in general is all about having fun.  If your idea of fun is beating your opponent in 2 turns, you shouldn't be playing any of these games.  Go play some Magic the Gathering.  You'll find a large group for you with arms open wide.  If you want to have fun rolling dice with friends, I highly advise you find out what is played at your local club, get and paint some models and get to having a good time.

Always Know What You Are Getting

A few weeks ago I posted a teaser pic for something I had coming my way.

A person on facebook posted that he really needed to sell his Chaos Warhound Titan.  It came with all three weapon options and he only wanted $350 for it.  He had legitimate reasons to sell it and I was willing to help him out, plus get a great deal in the bargain.  I did ask him if there was any damage and how much had been done to it to which he said no damage and it was still mostly just as he had gotten it new.

So for the last few weeks I've been waiting patiently (yeah right, I was like a kid waiting for Christmas to arrive) and making plans on how I would model it and the extra sculpting I was going to put into it.

Yesterday it arrived and I almost immediately knew it was a Chinese or Russian recast.  Now I'm not saying it's bad, in fact it's a very well done piece and is in good shape but these things sell for between $300 and $380 on ebay so I didn't really get the deal I thought I got.

I'm not mad at the seller since when I told him that it was a recast he offered to refund me $75 but I know he needs the money right now more than I do so I told him I was ok with the price I paid.

In the future, I'm going to make sure to ask if it's a recast though.  I'm not a big fan of supporting piracy in any form so I need to be sure what I'm getting.

All that said, be on the lookout later this summer for Project Log: Chaos Warhound Titan.  Unfortunately I don't have time to even start cleaning it up right now and I need to get some tools and materials before I get started.

So You Want to Be a Painter

Great miniature painters aren't born, they are made.  I can pretty much guarantee that no person has ever picked up their first model and gotten all the mold lines off and done a Crystal Brush quality paint job on it.  It just isn't realistic.

I've been in the hobby since about 1994 and I am just now becoming a decent painter.  There was a time, back around 2000 when I was forbidden by my FLGS to put paint to model.  I played in a Warhammer Fantasy tournament and was awarded the "Worst Paintjob Award".  It was all done in jest but it really put me in a mindset that I would never be able to paint.  Being color blind doesn't help either.

So when I got back into the game in 2009 and was here in Afghanistan with no one to paint for me, I had to bite the bullet and start painting.  My first attempt was Black Templars and I thought they were pretty good then but now I look back and can see so many ways to make them better.

My next major project was my Sons of Vengeance (Blood Angels).  When I first started them they were pretty bad but as I progressed and got some skills under my belt they got much better.  I also started experimenting with airbrushing during this time and I think that helped me out a lot.

But how did I get better at painting?  Was it just "keep putting paint on models until you get better"?  No.  If you want to play guitar, you take lessons and watch videos and practice.  If you work on engines you study and tinker and get your hands dirty.  Nothing comes easy.  If you want to get better here are some suggestions.

• Talk to other painters and find out some techniques that you could try to use.  Have them show you how it's done and then practice it on a spare model.
• There are a bunch of videos, both as dvds and on youtube.  Watch them.  Watch them again.  Watch them and try the techniques they show.  My friend Sigridsdad and I used to have our nights that he would come over and we would "watch paint dry".  We would watch all kinds of models being painted and discuss the techniques and then try them.
• Look at models online and in magazines and try to duplicate the paint job.  You won't get it right the first time but try again.  Eventually you will have it down.
• Practice.  Practice.  PRACTICE!  You'll never get better on one model.  It may take years but it will eventually happen.
• Never give up.  If you get frustrated, step back, take a break and then try again.
• Focus on techniques.  Do the same technique over and over again until you have it down.  For me, the only think I absolutely am unable to do it wet blending because I am color blind and am unable to see the gradations in color.  Almost any technique can be learned with time and patience.
• Find brushes that you like to use.  When I started I was using Citadel brushes and they were ok for learning.  Then I got Army Painter brushes as I got better and they helped me for certain things.  Now I use Windsor Newton Series 7 and love them.  I do still use Army Painter dry brushes though because they work best for me.

If you use some of the things above you will get better over time.  Don't give up on yourself because you get frustrated.  Rome wasn't built in a day and you won't be in the Top Ten on Cool Mini or Not in a day either.

I hope this helps those that are trying to get better.  If anyone ever wants to ask me a question, drop me a comment and I'll do my best to help.

I finally got a few minutes to try out the new Minitaire paints and so far I am impressed.

This was a quick run through and won't be a full review, more like my initial thoughts.

First thing to talk about is value. I got the full line which is 80 colors set up in a triad type system, 3 clear coats (gloss, satin and matte) and a paint retarder. I got the full set off Amazon for $133 ($1.59 per bottle) which is a great deal but even at full retail that's a little over $3 per bottle. Also since these are 30ml bottles you are getting, at retail, an average of 10 cents per ml compared to Vallejo Model Air which goes for almost twice the price.  These paints are, to my knowledge the best value on the market.

Next up is flow.  I've talked about my issues with my Badger Velocity clogging, even with VMA but so Fay I haven't had a problem with the Minitaire line. They are formulated for the airbrush and seem to flow very, very well.

Then there is coverage. I was super impressed with that and will go over it in more detail with the pictures below.

This is Angelic Blood over pre-shaded white. In total I used 5 drops to get a good overall coat. As a test I then shot the right third with Plasma Fluid Ghost Tint to see the effect. I really like how it darkens it up. I think I found my new color mix for Blood Angels.

Here is the Plasma Fluid over a pre-shaded white. It covers the white very well but the black shows right through as should be expected from a Ghost Tint or "Candy".

This is Regal Blue over a white base with no pre-shading. Again, great coverage. the right third has been hit with Yellow Ghost Tint to make a really nice green..

The Yellow Ghost Tint over white comes out very nice.

This may have been the most impressive thing I've seen yet. This is Skull White over black. Using 5 drops of paint in the airbrush I managed to get full coverage. Very nice! The top right is Oil Discharge Ghost Tint which is a nice, rich dark blue. I'm thinking this would look good on my World Eaters.

Gun Alloy over black for a nice dull metallic while the Oil Discharge creates a metallic blue effect which is kinda nice.

Finally we have Chrome Silver over black which comes out nice and shiny. The Oil Discharge on this doesn't look much different to me though.

I'm going to spend the next few weeks playing around with these to see how they work diluted and such so I will give a report after I've decided if these are liquid gold or not.

Impudent Mortal Buildings on the Game Table

Saturday I got to put my new Impudent Mortal buildings to use on the game table.  I think they look really great.  I'm going to try, one of these days to get some photos of these with my models but for now, these will have to do.

Wolf Lord on Thunderwolf is Finished

It took a while but Haral Deathwolf is finished.  I put an estimated 60-80 hours into this guy and I'm very pleased with him. I'd be happy to hear any comments or criticisms on the overall model.

More Kickstarters

In a recent post I mentioned Red Republic Games' Arena Rex kickstarter and how I wasn't sure if I was going to get into it or not.  Yeah, I was just kidding myself.  It was guaranteed when I saw these two sculpts.  I'm in.  I really want to paint these models.  The game could be absolutely horrible and I would still be in.

Also, after talking with a buddy of mine, I am going to get into Sails of Glory as well.  I like naval games and love Wings of War / Wings of Glory so this should be a good mix for me.

In other news, I got in the Citadel paints I'm using on the Wolf Lord, just so it matches the rest of his army.  I'm color blind so it's very difficult for me to match paints and since I normally use Reaper paints, I figured I wouldn't be able to make a good match.  Also, he needed the paints for his own models so once I'm done he gets them.  I'm about halfway done with the model and I have to say I had forgotten how much I hate Citadel paints (other than the washes... those are solid gold).  They are so thick and gloopy and hard to thin down to a decent consistency.  I guess I'm spoiled.

Oh... and after talking to Impudent Moral we realized that there was a packing/shipping error on my order and I only received half of what I was supposed to.  That means I have another 18 buildings coming!!!  I may need another footlocker to fit it all.

Also downloaded the Tau Codex for the iPad today and will get some quality alone time with it over the next few days.

Time to sleep.  Tonight I put the Minitaire paints through their paces!

Guardians of the Covenant Continued

Got some work done the other night on the new guy's Guardians of the Covenant models.  Got them primed and base coated, gave them to him and he painted the cockpits and then I assembled them.  This was also my first try with the Badger Minitair paints.  I used the Ancient Bronze as a base for the gold parts.

I also got some work done on my World Eaters Tactical Marines (I know, I know) and they are moving along.  I should maybe have them done next week if I don't get side tracked.

Product Review: Impudent Mortal - Laser Terrain

In October, 2012 I saw a pretty interesting kickstarter and had to pull the trigger.  Impudent Mortal's first kickstarter offered several different designs of 25mm buildings that could be used in several different types of miniature games.   I was intrigued and, being a terrain junkie am always looking for good terrain to add to my tables so I pulled the trigger, big time!

Sunday I received a box of laser cut mdf goodness.

This is 18 buildings, thirteen 25mm buildings and five 10mm buildings (perfect for Dropzone Commander).

Inserted with the box was a note with a URL to the instructions on building these.  Of course all the links were blocked at work so being the terrain nut I am (and male), I dug right in without a plan.  The first thing I noticed was that these things were really clean cut.  All the cuts were all the way through and even the tiniest cut out popped right out with no problem.  I found the puzzle system... puzzling at first but now that I've actually watched the videos and read the directions it makes perfect sense... too bad I had already assembled most of the buildings by then.

25mm Gothic Design

As you can see, there are some really fine details on the Gothic Design.  I do worry a little about some of the windows eventually breaking but if they are handled fairly carefully they should be ok for quite a while.

So, what makes a building?

25mm Ruined Brick Design

Above you see the parts for a Ruined Brick Design.  Again, and I can't say this enough, everything was cut all the way through and popped out very easily.  I am very happy with the way everything lines up and even without the directions it all went together pretty easy just using the pictures on the kickstarter page.  I glued the wall pieces to the puzzle pieces for all four wall and got them to line up with no problem.  Once the glue had set I dry fitted them to the floor and everything fit well so I glued the walls onto the floor piece and let that set a few minutes before attaching the roof pieces.  I haven't glued the roofs to any of the buildings yet because I want access to the inside if need be.

25mm Ruined Brick Design

Over the course of two evenings I've build all the 25mm buildings and one of the 10mm ones.  This weekend I'll get a picture of all of them on a game table.  Until then, here are a few more images of the buildings.

25mm Steampunk Design

25mm Ruined Tudor Design

So far I've talked about the L1 buildings which are all one story.  There is also the L2 buildings which are two story.  These are basically two L1 buildings on top of each other and are pretty impressive.  The initial build on these was a little intimidating at first because he had sent me enough extra pieces to make two L1 buildings or a single L2.

25mm 2 Story Brick Design

Again, they go together very easily once you have the basics down.

As part of the kickstarter, Impudent Mortal offered a set of Cogs for various uses and a set of signs for the buildings as well as a chimney section and a Com Tower.  As a cool add on he made me a few custom signs for my buildings so I had to use them and throw up a pic.

25mm 2 Story Steampunk Design

25mm 2 Story Stone Design

Impudent Mortal doesn't have a web store yet so the only way to get these is to contact them directly via email or through facebook.
I don't have a price list from them but I would figure that the 25mm L1 buildings will sell for around $20 each and the 25mm L2 buildings will be about $30 each.  The 10mm L3 buildings are probably going to be around $20 and the 10mm  L4 buildings about $30 also.

All in all these are a really good value.  They are very sturdy and quite nice in all respects.  I'm sure when he get's his business going full on he can expect repeat business from me.

I had a few questions for Walt Langhans, the builder about his designs and the future of Impudent Mortal.


Q. I would suggest that you rethink the scale.  With the fact that the major games are 28mm, 25mm is just a tad bit small.  Also, I think these might go great at 15mm, 28mm and (with the release of Wild West Exodus) 35mm.  At the same time, 10mm is an odd choice.  Other than Dropzone Commander, I can't think of a game that's 10mm.  6mm might be a better choice there since it fits with Epic 40,000, Micro Armor and Dystopian Wars.  I really think you might be missing a lot of business because of this.

A: The scale isn't actually 25, it's more like 26.5 I should have just said 28mm and left it at that. Any typical 28mm wargaming fig that you put next to them is going to look fine because of the size I make the windows and doors. If you want to get technical about it and they why I did what I did, it's because no one (meaning miniature manufacturers) unless they are historically accurate actually take true scale into their figs. They just model them proportionately correct so they look good. For me to have made my buildings to scale it would have meant that the floor height should have been 1 - 3/16'" instead of the 1" that I used. 3/16" isn't going to be something that anyone is going to notice without a ruler, but it causes all kinds of headaches from a design perspective.
But with all that said, I'll be doing other things for all the other scales as well in time. Kickstarter number 3 will have new scales in it.

Q. Are there any plans for add ons to the buildings?  One thing I think they are missing is porches and balconies.  The buildings look really dynamic but they seem a little plain.

A: Yes. I agree. I agree. The problem was that I was renting laser time at $50 per hour to get the prototypes done for the first KS. KS number 2 will be introducing new building shapes, and an 'advanced' line that I will be using 1mm cardboard for extra detail and texture.

Q. For the ruined 2 story buildings I would think a ruined second floor would be a good addition.

A: Yeah, I thought about that. MDF is pretty easy to cut with any saw so if someone want's to mod a floor they can (which I mention in the video). The problem is that they do provide some extra support and wouldn't if they were ruined so I figured play it safe and send full floors and if someone want's they can mod them. You can always cut the floor away, but putting more on it can be a bit difficult.
However, if people want them I can certainly make them, and I have no problem doing custom orders.

Q: When is the web store going to be opened?

A: Web site should be up after the second KS, which should launch in 2 months - ish.


Check this business out and keep an eye on their facebook page for future kickstarters.  It's always good to support small businesses when possible.

~Syko Wargamer

Stupid Slow Internet!

I'm not ignoring you, I promise.

Remember when I told you I pay $90 a month for 512k internet?  Well, it also doesn't always work the way it's supposed to.  Case in point, I've been trying to upload pictures to photobucket for two days now and it keeps timing out on me.  These are only 500k photos and it times out!  Gah!

I've got a lot to talk about but don't want to get too deep into it until I get the pictures loaded.  Suffice it to say, I've been building terrain like a madman and have a product review ready to go once the pics are up.

Also, I got in my Badger Minitaire airbrush paints yesterday and am chomping at the bit to give those a try.  Sunday can't get here soon enough!

As an update, Monday was spent priming and base coating a Dark Talon and Nephilim Jetfighter.  Not done yet but it's getting there.

I'll give you plenty to read when I can get these &@*@!&^ photos uploaded.