Game Night

Whew, its been a long day and there was at least some moderate action at the 40k section over at Legends today, Alright to be honest there where two of us but for the first game I have played in 5 years it was attention grabbing and intense, what started as a simple beer and pretzels game turned into an all out brawl of power fists and bolters, by turn six between the 1000 point forces there was only about 2 units not locked in assault. Since my armies are still very much in progress we had to split Bay Hammer brother Loop's 2000 point blood angels, I had the Predator and he had two assault Dreds, though in the end technically neither of us won cause we just abandoned the control point in favor of the close quarters battle, he did manage to knock out a few more of my marines when the Dust settled. Alright that's about it for now but expect Loop to get his After action report up along with the pictures either tomorrow or Monday.

On a last note I would like to officially welcome WCC Comics and Collectibles as our first true sponsor who has graciously offered Local Bay Hammer members the direct buy 25% discount on GW products. If you are not a local you can go to there ebay store, it is always stocked and you pay the bare minimum for shipping on top of already slashed pricing, and with the June price changes approaching they they have purchased a bulk stock of select items including a few black reach sets and Space marine packs that will be sold at a discount from the original pre June 1st price.

Also if you are in the bay area start coming to the BH game nights over at Legends in Cupertino (where you can also get 10% off in store if you become a regular) there are also board game demos and paint and supplies in store and the staff is more then friendly, they also boast some of the largest playing spaces in the bay area able to accommodate up to 8 warhammer tables on top of there 4 table AD&D section (even if two where linked) so if you can, come on by next Saturday 12-8pm.


Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

The Pick up

Well as mentioned yesterday I had some things on order and today I went to pick them up, One Land Raider and a Chimera, provided to Bay Hammer by our new pseudo sponsor WCC Comics and Collectibles, I love buying through them cause one they are local and two all GW products on there Ebay store are 25% off all the time, and I am told they just got a bunch of new 40k stuff in, a Bane Blade and a few more black reach sets (and they are selling at the reduced $45 price so grab one while you can before the slae price goes up to $75 in June) I am also working on painting the land Raider tonight which sad to say do to stress and a lack of glue is just not happening, but since I am doing it for a friend hes agreed to pick it up tomorrow at the game day over at legends and put the damn thing together. On that note I will again bring up the Legends Games and Comics in Cupertino is having a game day tomorrow from 12-8pm so come check it out if you are in the area (they also recently restocked alot of there Space marine stuff and some guard as well). Alright well that about wraps it up for now, I still have the shell of my Valkyrie sitting on the work bench and a number of marines left to paint but tonight I think its just time to take a break.


Cheers

Scott

On the Table

Alright So I have been away for a few days but I still have some news, yesterday I went over and picked up my steel legion commissar from Game Kastle, looks great even just primed, I am also about 50% done with the budget Dark Angels. Alright Tonight I will keep it light as there's not to much going on but tomorrow and Saturday are going to be big nights for Bay Hammer, Friday I will be working on a Land Raider project for a friend (not so major) but Saturday Bay Hammer along with Legends Gaming in Cupertino will be hosting there first game night (first in awhile anyways) and we will be there covering the 40k and Fantasy side of the evening as well as working on plans for an exclusive in house campaign Supplement and Terrain. If you can make it over this Saturday, stop by and check out the Selection down in the octagon(UFC has failed to excite me with that term so I am taking it) There's going to be tables for 40k and Fantasy and also a wide selection of card and board games. So come on by, if you get there early you ll get a free energy drink (damn company only sent me a case of ten) Alright well that's about it for tonight, good gaming to all of you.


Scott
BH Senior Editor

Image Copyright Gamesworkshop 2009

Your FLCS and new Release info

Or your friendly local craft store, yes these often over looked and even more often more evenly priced stores often present a the odd catch. Micheals crafts (they are a national chain) is having a memorial day sale, I got a 20% coupon when I was there last and 40% off with my receipt, in any case if you have one in your area stop by and see if yours is having a sale tomorrow, that particular chain not only carries the Testors line of modeling supplies but they also have brushes and airbrush paints and parts as well as more then a selection of craft sculpting products that work great for terrain.

Alright So on to the good stuff, I just got off the phone with my Contact over at(insert name of large model monopoly here), now I cant give release dates but I can tell you that the releases for Guard are no where near done, included in this list of secondary or "quiet" releases are the new Hellhound kit, the Executioner kit for the Russ and the Exterminator kit, There are also at least 3 new terrain pieces that have not been announced yet. The definits that I have gotten on the Russ conversion kits from GW bode well for the other listed variants in the new guard Codex, it is my belief that the price increase is do to the amount of new castings and molds GW has had to make, now that is more then open to debate even more so then the validity of this article, but as I say, give the people what they want, and what we want are shiny new models.



Happy Hunting

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Not by a long shot

Well as I mentioned previously I was in a mad dash to get my marines painted, this is not happening, how ever I did get a fair few done. Alright so the marines are now on the side board while I start on the second valk, which I have decided to von figure as a vendetta (pics to come soon) On another note Kubla con is this weekend and though I was unable to attend I hope to have reports back on the Warhammer and 40k scene there, and hopefuly some pics, if anyone was there I would love to hear from you on how that went (yea we are not that organized events wise yet just hang in there tell the summer) Well that is about it for now, I should have more stuff in my next post and hopefully some pics of the new valkyrie in progress.


Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Memorial Day

This post goes out to all the active members of the armed forces serving around the globe, and to those men and women who gave there lives in the service of there country, this weekend while you are setting up for a long game, or have a bbq take a moment to remember the real soldiers out there or the ones in your family. We many not always support the war but we can always support eachother. So have fun on this long weekend and stay safe but try not to forget why we celebrate it.











From Bay hammer We Salute you

Scott

The Growing Darkness and Price changes

Alright things have gone red alert at my work bench, the guard, while detailed and sexy are no where near done and as luck would have it I have been invited to play in an Apocalypse session this Sunday. So this is the challenge I face, I am as I type (well sort of) clipping out those fun marines from the black reach set as mentioned in the last few posts, my average is one figures every one to one and a half hours, if I don't sleep I think I can manage it. Alright you might ask why I don't just paint a few and just go with the rest un painted(though that may wind up being the case) The answer is its a challenge, and I am not just talking base color and shoulders I am talking detailed pieces in under two days.

I might be crazy but its the fun kind of crazy. As always comments, questions and death threats are always welcome.

On a more shocking but most expected note I got word in on a few things regarding the price changes in June, for legal reasons I cannot post a majority of that information but I can say we are going to be looking at an average price increase of about .25-$5 as well as a few new bits of terrain ("Shrine of The Aquila" what ever that is) the Black Reach set will also be soaring to about $75 the 5th editon rule book will also be going up to $55. Alright thats about all I heard from the mysterious gentleman in the game section that's worth mentioning.

Update:
I may as well post this while I have a spare moment, I got my second Valkyrie today, lord knows when Ill start on it but essentially this one is going to be built with the techniques and mistakes that I learned from the first one in mind, I will post pics in my next post on how that goes.



Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Simple Dark Angels

Alright so I decided to do up one of the space marines in my black reach box. I have decided to go with the most classic (don't debate me on this) chapter, the Dark Angels. Alright so Ill give you a quick illustrated run through of the process.

For this project I used Dark Angel green, badab black wash and bleached bone and a Thraka Green wash all over a matte gray primer. I got a few extra paints from the GW store when I was at Oakridge today.

Base Gray matte primer

Next I applied a rough dry brushed coat of the Dark angel green


next the bleached bone and bolter metal for details and red cermacoat applied with a 003
brush on the eyes



last up everything gets a mixed coating of badab black and Tharka green to darken everything up, though the harsh light reveals a lot of the imperfections, to the naked eye this will appear as
a average piece.

Well its not a long post and I wasn't surgical with the details but this was a rough project I just decided to do. questions and comments always welcome. Next up (if I don't sell the set) the Assault Dreadnought

Once more into the Reach?

Alright so today after my long procrastination I finally went and bought a black reach set. Alright so your first question would be "why is he buying a starter set when hes already started an army" to which the answer is, it just makes economical sense, it comes with the rule book and blast templates not to mention dice, which for some reason GW has chosen to charge $10 for separately because it comes in a little tin, also that little rule book you have probably seen is not so little, yes it lacks the shelf bending heft and chapters of "detailed color photos" and fluff, but the truth of the matter is it's actually more tailored to the veteran player then the actual $50 5th edition full sized version, its a slim no nonsense compendium for straight playing rules and references, it tells you how to play and the base rules and a few pics. All in all just for the templates, dice and rule book you have already made up more then half the full edition price and not to mention the figure's that come in the box set.

Alright the juicy part, the minis in the box set, ok these are practicaly a cash rebate, you can sell the Space marines off for like $20 online or $30 with the dred and trust me on ebay they will go, the orks not so much they are a bit more common but your looking at $15 -$20 for those if your lucky, and that friends is money you can put back into your main army list no strings attached, I will say this now, if you are looking to this kit to part out you might want to reconsider, all the models are snap tight and cast from a single mold made for that set so compatibility may be an issue, just a heads up. But what ever the reason, be it needing a rule book or new templates or dice if you have the cash or are looking to bolster your SM army (especially with termies going up to $55 a set) this is a value buy, hell you have a relative or family member with a birthday coming up and you just need the player kit its still a hell of a gift and a great way to indoctrinate them into 40k (just remember to share the rule book at that point if you do and maybe throw in some paint) Alright so this was more a review and normally I wont officially endorse a GW product but this time they got it right, good value, loaded with pieces and packaged to the beginners and veterans alike.

On a last note if you want to grab this set or any other current set just about you should check out the West Coast Comics and Collectibles ebay shop, they are my one stop shop for bottom floor prices and the guy who runs it is very help full and doesn't mind looking into ordering specific sets, so have a look around they have the best wholesale prices for direct buy and a constantly updating inventory.

Happy Gamming

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Where I stand

Alright so a few things happened over the weekend, I got my new laptop, an HP G60t which means I am one step closer to getting the actual webcast set up, I also got in my order of Cadians, just another 10 man blister, $18 and free shipping I couldn't resist. All that aside and of course the game night with the SC Warhammer guys and my 21st birthday last Saturday its been a busy weekend, so in lue of a long wordy post I have decided to take a few snaps of my IG army in progress, its no where near complete but I thought the chance to get some close ups and actually see how much progress I have was to much to pass up. Right now progress is slowed while I wait for my orders from pig Iron to come in (and god knows when that will be) so I have filled the time with writing up my armies back story and painting the odd torso and a few surprise home brew conversions (hint it has a lot to do with bolters) Alright at this point I could go on about all the neat features this laptop has but I will spare you that, its just not proper conduct so without further delay, I present to you the pictures, enjoy.



I am also eagerly awaiting the delivery of my steel legion commissar at GK, hopefully it will be there by next weekend and with any luck my pig iron head sprues should come in next week and I can start assembling my main force. Thanks for dropping by, I hope to have more news next post.

Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Santa Cruz Warhammer Game Night

Well to do it proper justice it was more a painting and assembly night but for simplicity game night works. So I just got back from hanging out with the guys over at Santa Cruz Warhammer (aka Mike and John & Chris) and it was a fun and productive evening, there where drinks, there was paint and there where bathroom tiles o plenty for painting on. All in all it was a fun yet mellow evening with the guys, hanging out and painting and chatting about the evils of the GW marketing dept and what delightful forgeworld kits Mike had brought over (damn you and your affording nice things) storeys where shared, bitz where traded and techniques where revealed and there was the brief boasting (though mostly by me) of Valkyries. I would like to thank John and Mike personally for inviting me over and hope to see you guys again in future, it was a great chance to meet and talk with some of the other bay warhammer bloggers (we are the only two that we know of) so it was a great meeting of the minds on all sides and I wish Mike the best in finding a color scheme for his new guard, and Chris (I dont want to butcher the spelling) it was nice meeting you. Now if that seemed personal think about this, they live 20 minutes away from me, so least I can do is give a shout out blog wise. So if you haven't checked out the SC Warhammer blog I highly recommend stopping by the see the latest projects and tips from the boys over the hill.

In one final note before I unleash the pictures, tomorrow is my 21st birthday, so in about an hour I will pour my first legal drink, settle in to me couch, and watch my boot leg copy of "The A Team" season one and eventually fall asleep and then wake up and finish up my painting projects from tonight.

Pictured: Me(in Green and needing a haircut) Chris and John (Mike is hidden)

Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Day out

Well not much on my miniatures today, though I did go out to Legends to see how things where going with preparations for the new Saturday game nights that are starting on the 30th, I like going to legends when I have the time, its like a great mix of comics and games, and not just Warhammer and 40k they have a ton of table top and board games and will direct order you just about anything if you ask. They also carry a few out of production 40k minis and stock 40k as well as fantasy but I go there for the deals they have on alot of there books and minis, there's also a paint section towards the back. So I would say if your in the area or want to look for a hard to find board game or collectors item Legends is your best bet, and like I said if you want to game, swing by on the afternoon of the 30th, there will be at least 4 tables devoted to 40k and fantasy as well as tables for board and pencil and paper RPGs and its non tournament so if you just want to play a laid back game stop by, Ill be there as well as some of the other bay hammer staff (yes there are a few of us I just do the writing)

Small Update:
I touched up the Valkyrie and I took a dremel to the mounting spire and that seemed to get it to fit a little better with the base plate, the end result is that its finally mounted and ready for action(well I still have to get the magnets for the weapon pods) as always questions,comments and critique are welcome.


In other less exciting and more wallet emptying news my Forgeworld catalogue came in the mail today, I eventually plan on getting some Death Korps into my guard as an axillary unit but for now I am contempt to peruse the pictures and fantasize, oh well. Also I have updated the artwork on the blog a little.

Happy Gaming

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Flight Of the Valkyrie (almost)

Update 5/10/09: the bloody flying base mounting spire dose not I repeat dose not fit the provided mounting plate. I will try again tomaorw when I am more awake but the thing just will not slot, I am starting to see a lot of 1st gen issues with this Model.

Its taken three days an numerous spots of trial and error painting (yes maybe learning to airbrush larger things might have been a good idea) but the Valkyrie is almost done and despite the loose fitting cockpit canopy (I tried lord I tried to shave, slice and force it into the right shape) I feel that its almost ready for basing. I also tried some new dry brush techniques on the body (I like rough metal) and it came out alright and hopefully I will have a tutorial on that up shortly after this article.

In other news I have started on my command squad again after a lapse to work on the Valkyrie and I almost have the standard bearer done, interestingly enough I found that Vallejo 70886 Green Grey is an excellent substitute for the now long discontinued GW khaki, so I have decided to make my command units of a lighter more distinct shade then my main troop (a bit of flair I suppose) but so far the results are speaking for themselves and the coating has come out very smooth and takes well to a good thin wash layer. Over all its been a long week, I know our friends over at Santa Cruz Warhammer have been plugging away on there guard projects as well and as always I am floored by some of the stuff John has been doing and cant wait to see how that sentinel turns out. Alright before I start drawling on here are some pics. On a closing note I would like to link you to the airbrush pack I got, for the money and the paint it comes with for beginners this is your best bet. Check it out Here.






Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

P.S.
See the new Star Trek movie. Also if your wondering how I am going to get the gunners inside you will have to stay tuned, or the short version, I am really good with my fingers and plastic parts can move.

Workspace and evening Update

So I have thus changed my workspace to suit my needs a combined 7.5 times (the half is for the time I cleaned it. So at the request of a friend I have come up with a simple layout with I will share with all of you who are just starting or want to try a new configuration. Again this is simply filler whilst I do logistics and business related work to get the actual webcast and event network that I wanted this project to be in the first place, so in the mean time bear with me while I sort everything out (mostly musicians friend screwing up my order and trying to over charge me on top of the lack of funding) So how do you groove when your in the captains chair, I love feed back from the community and in this case everyone is different to a degree.

Key:
1: Painting tile and paint selection arranged

2: Forceps stand (with magnifying glass removed)

3: Flocking and non standard paints

4: Finished minis and bitz in progress

5:Boxes and storage



Some things not obsessively labeled cause they are always moving are my drinks and glue as well as my brush selection. Before I go Ill also toss up my standard bearer WiP.

Update: I managed to get some shopping done tonight and picked up among other things the replacement for one of the studio mics lost in transit, as well as a can of Testors olive drab for the Valkyrie and some other much needed essentials.





Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor (crew shaken)

Comming Together

At this point I will remind you I am not a professional anything, well unless Irish drunken boxing is something you can be expert at (its a family tradition) but that aside I am rather happy with how the valk is coming along, its getting late but its starting to take shape and I have to say this thing comes together rather decently, and the interior is more or less done and please dont get me started on "well its not all flashy and colored blinky lights" I have been in military vehicles before and I can tell you the lights genraly dont come in more then 4 colors plus screens otherwise very spartan which is what I went for with mine. Anyways I have to go get some more paint for the air brush tomorrow and theres still a long way to go on the details but I figured I might as well punch in and throw up one last progress report for the night.



Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Valkyrie Day 2

Alright boys and girls if you are just getting into 40k or IG, and GW will kill me for saying this but, I do not recommend this model for new comers unless you have done allot of modeling before, now not to say outright don't get it if you want it, get it(contradicting myself the point value and coolness factor is a definite seller for me) This model by 40k standards is massive, you could strap a land raider to the bottom of this thing and be good to go, also in case your wondering, yes this thing sports a detailed interior (though as you will see mine wont be winning any golden daemons anytime soon) So if you are looking for a challenge this is it, voiding the primer fiasco I had in my garage last night this model has been a beast to piece together (and no it wont be staying black just the interior) For veterans this piece is a must, for freshman, this is a maybe, I say this only because I want people to grow into the hobby rather then out pace themselves when ever a new toy comes along. So the short and tall of it is, don't bite off more then you can chew, think about weather or not you can actually do a basic paint job on this and if you have the time to do so as with any model (even if you just painted the body green and silvered the nacelles with bolter metal) this is a power piece and you should take your time with it and add some little flourishes when you can.













Happy Painting

Scott
BH Senior Editor

The Valkyrie has landed

Alright I have been out all day in meetings and tangled in public transit but here is the pot of gold at the end of my smog chocked rainbow, I went and picked up my Valkyrie as well as a airbrush set(at severely discounted price, thank you D&J) so tonight expect an update on my build progress and a review of my cheap airbrush kit experience (who knows this could be a good buy in more then just price and package) so despite being run ragged all over Santa Clara I return to my office with a smile on my face, and a few new toys. So on a side note lets hear your airbrush experiences and techniques as well as what you think about buying a cheap model for a uni task as opposed to investing in something more pricey in the long run.

Update: In all honesty you get what you pay for, now not to say this was a bad purchase but there where some expected problems, first off the nozzle while adjustable dose not like to give a good in between spray just low and high more or less. Next there is the connection mount for the canister, well it worked but the plastic screw mount it was on had a tendency to slide off which I have remedied with a little super glue. Over all though it dose the job and gives a uniform spray that is adjustable to some degree and the kit comes with some good bases for vehicles color wise (sand,tan,army green,gray, brown) and its Testors brand so at least there is some good backing behind the product as opposed to one of the no name ebay brands. So as I said before you get what you pay for, but in this case you get a little extra.

Happy Painting

Not to shabby

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Fresh off the sprue?

Tonight I have adopted a new technique, painting on the sprue, now normally I do not see this however for reasons that have been with me for ages I have trouble some times with fine motor actions so I found that bracing the sprue against my hand I find a great deal more control over my brush, it also allows me to see where I am progress wise. Now I wont recommend this or even say I back this technique however I would love to hear from others on what techniques they use or prefer as I am sure there is no one uniform answer, for example I enjoy listening to books on tape as I paint it sets a much better tempo then some music (listening to "apt pupil" at the moment) but I suppose that just a matter of preference. I know its a slim offering but tonight it is rather calm and the excitement of the previous days release has died down and I now find myself focusing almost hazily on the sublime essential task of painting. You rely get to see what you have done with this method and in the long run saves you some time, want to add a new bit, done just clip it and saves some space on storage and such. I know its a bit of a random topic but things are light as of late but I promise much more engageing content in the comming weeks.



Happy painting

Scott
BH Senior Editor

I assume command!

Alright I am writing this beforehand having just gotten away from the table, these are my thoughts having now worked on the new command sprue, this is not a guide so much as it is perspective. Out of the box I was immediately assaulted by a manner of what I can only describe as helmet fire, its a solid mesh of bitz almost and you just want to think of all the combos you can make or what is the best setup for your squad, after leafing around the new codex and checking the new guides on the GW website I started to piece together what I was going to use in the squad and what was going to be used as bitz, the first thing I added to my bitz section was the sniper conversion, I already have a sniper squad that needs boosting so that was a given, then I was down to selecting specialists, off the bat I decided to take a heavy weapons and the medic though i am going to try to do something to make the medic look less like hes reading a scroll, I also decided to make my commander armored rather then the tunic with the flashy medals you see on the box. Alright So ill stop at that because the rest will go on into every minute thought I was going through. In the end I selected the pieces that would not only give me a balanced squad but leave enough room for change ups at the last minute and plenty of left overs, but honestly if you have the cash I recommend getting two command boxes, one to actually use the other pure bitz and relay you do get your moneys worh with the new command set I would say much more then the old eavy metal box set.

Ill keep you all posted with progress as I go along but at this point it would be a good time to point out that if you haven't already done so, stock up on paints, there is just so much detail that you just want to rely add that distinctive flair(note this tips more for those just getting into things)

Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Image is copyright to games workshop 2009

IG Day is here

Sorry for taking so long to get this up but the magic release day is upon us and yes I have fought through the bike race in my front yard and the weather to make it out to GW at Oakridge to claim my prize, One new command squad and of course the new 2009 codex huzza! Now first off about the Codex, if you haven't grabbed a copy yet then you will be delighted to know this thing is probably one of the most beefy sized codex's released (not counting space marines) we are talking just under and inch thick and the contents do not disappoint, sure there's the familiar fluff which includes a bevy of new little "adjustments" to the original guard background but you also get just mounds of color photos, and of course all those lovely new stat and unit pages that carry much more detail then previous iterations. Over all your looking at well over an hours worth of reading alone for this new codex (as apposed to the 30 minutes of leisurely flipping with the last one) so get out there and grab this thing while they are still on the shelves.

Next up here is the equally (though not physically) massive command unit box set, now this was rely where my bread was buttered so to speak, the 79 piece sprue is just loaded with bits in fact I surmise that a majority of new release sales are going to be Valkyries and command squad sets the latter purely for bitz and at about $27 a box which is about what most large bitz sets cost you have to wonder if that wasn't part of the plan. In the set you get enough variety that is you had the extra body's you could easily make another 4 or so troopers with the left overs alone, you have all by now seen the pics for the sprues so I wont gloss over what you know you get but the big kicker here is that sniper cloak bit, considering a pack of cadian snipers can cost up to $15 for just $12 more you can get both the parts to make a plastic conversion as well as plenty of extra bits for your heavy weapons or officers if you already have a command squad, so again pick one up while they are still on the shelves at your LGS.



Happy Gaming and this one Goes out to all you guard players slogging it out until today

Cheers

Scott
Senior BH editor