Hobby Night & Bitz Baazar

Thursday night found me in the company of long time co conspirators Ian and Chuck, there was sausage (not pictured but delicious) there was beer (pictured and also delicious) and there were bitz (pictured and apparently delicious as well according to Ian) Below are some quick shots from last nights hobby jam, sorry about the lighting but I require being back lit at all times to accentuate my glowing visage, if you don’t buy that, it was a bit dark in Ian’s office so we grabbed every table lamp in the house.

This Sunday Legends will be holding a bitz bazaar, come and trade your bits, build something fun out of your own bits box and show off your kit bashing skills. The bazaar opens at 11am but will probably run until close. You can get more info on Legends here.

 

Ian’s new nick name is lightning fingers, I swear I looked away for like five minutes and when I looked back he had banged out this awesome objective marker/diorama from his bed of bitz (which is now a table of bitz) Chuck and I also gave a quick tutorial on bounce lighting and focus, and I learned that there is indeed a minimum requirement hardware wise for taking cellphone pics. Ian’s phone did not meet this requirement, and I was subsequently humbled by my previous claims of skill using any device, in the end we just used mine, but I learned Ian was gifted a Nokia 800 some time back, so he should be seeing a marked increase in his photo quality shortly.

 

 

 

Ian rocking the brush on another storm trooper, I am still kicking myself for forgetting to get a pic of his Tempestor in a Hawaiian shirt.

It’s easy to pick out the difference of technique between Ian and I, its tight brush control and edging detail vs broad strokes and blending, interesting contrast.

Chuck started base coating his new wraithguard, I have yet to actually assemble mine, maybe next week.

 

Wraithguard awaiting wraithing.

Kahuna Yarrick makes a brief appearance along with a sack of rogue trader rhinos (no literally, Ian had a sack full of them)

 

Not a shocker here, I managed to get the base coat on a few more sentinels over the course of the evening, I love to say I got more done, but I was distracted by ale and sausage and the occasional jokes of varying degrees of taste.

 

 

We attempted to teach him to use tools and we are pleased to announce that things are progressing well in our study.

The following are my attempts to salvage my reputation of being a” guy who knows things about cameras” and who totally doesn’t forget four years’ worth of photography courses and basic lighting after two (albeit large) beers.

 

 

 

 I would like to thank I an for inviting me out to his hobby bunker, and for a treating evening of plastic dolls and drinks (and turning me on to what is possibly the best sausage place in San Jose) Its mothers day this Sunday, so don't forget to put down your brushes and give it up for mom (sorry couldn't think of anything creative, brain running on fumes)

 

Cheers

 

-Scott

BH Senior Brewmaster  

WFB Island of Blood Unboxing Video

Bay Hammer Exclusive.
GW really takes the mystery out of upcoming releases with their advanced order page, but all the same I still felt it necessary to share this. Through my various contacts we managed to get our hands on an advance store copy of the box set and I being the progressive type that I am decided to do this un boxing on video. Mind my ineptitude with some of the unit names.




Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

NEWS: You can put away your gauss rifles

Recently sources have indicated that its going to be tyranids that get the next codex update, now while I cannot say 100% the markers for an update are in place. You simply have to look around your FLGS or ask at a GW store for a Codex or battleforce, that's right as of this month GW has pulled both Codex:Tyranids and the nid battleforce from there retail catalog. This came as some what of a surprise when I glanced over there latest retail SKU book and found both items suspiciously missing but if GWs past release practices are any indicator you can bet that they will be going over nids next.

How do I feel about this. Well as a Guard/SM player and veteran Eldar Seer I am not overly pleased that neither my space elves or there pigment challenged brethren did not get the update bracket but speaking bluntly the nids deserve it, now not to say they got blind sided like DE or the Necrons but this is a popularity contest and lets be honest a lot more people have been picking up nids lately so GW goes where the money is. So in short its wonder full that one of the older books/races is getting an update and while its not on of my personal taste at least GW is actually doing it.

What's wrong with space hulk?
I have been meaning to get this short rant off my chest since I got a crack at the set so here it goes. GW botched the marketing of Space Hulk, now don't get me wrong good on them for bringing it back but this space hulk has absolutely no soul. It was concocted in the labs of GWs marketing dept to make all our wallets a little lighter. Instead of putting forth a game with in the genera of 40k to entice new and interested/younger players they have brought forth a limited release monster packed with detailed models that even I am having trouble getting in every detail to make them presentable (though not to say you couldn't play unpainted but come on) it is how ever still the great game it always has been made greater by better molding techniques and new rules but I have to say that a hulking price tag along with a overwhelming set of detailed models is to far beyond the reach of the casual board gamer. I think if anything GW owes us at least a secondary release this Christmas. Speaking of the holidays if you have the remote chance of getting a copy of SH before they haul out the tinsel do so because retail sources are indicating available copies could rise in price to over $199.00 based on demand, and GW has already sold out online. WCC might still have a few so get a copy while you can or hey buy two and resell and twice the value and go pick up that forge world model you have always wanted.

Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

A long night at the bench

News Local National:
Well it looks like the guys over at BoLs have managed to get there hands on some snapshots of the planet strike sprues. After looking at the Aegis defense line I can safely say that that is about the best budget item in the pack, and while they only showed a sliver of the Imperial Bastion I have good feelings about that kit, the number of components and hinting visuals that have led up to its official release announcement are leaning towards a much more dynamic piece of terrain that we have not seen before. The construction of the bastion would seem to be that you can assemble it as either a squat bunker or a tower including several defensive emplacements and decorative bitz.

A few interesting points
-Planetary empires will be retailing for $60
-There is a new unannounced terrain piece called the Shrine of the Aqulia
-The official price changes are now in effect but will retailers raise the price of there previous inventory?
-French GW store Manager now sentenced to 20 years in prison for violating NDA and releasing IG Codex.
-Hints relating to the possibility of a new Tau Devilfish kit

On The Work Bench:
Alright so I wanted to keep this a secret tell I got a chunk of it done but I just cant hold out on you guys much longer. Yesterday I got my order in from WCC and it was a big one.


I just couldn't wait to tear into this project, and let me tell you this is no small feat, hand painting all the rivets is especially gruelling, however I will say that for some reason this is simply the easiest kit I have ever assembled, the directions are pretty accurate and the body assembly is pretty straigh forward and when I combine that with my painting on the sprue it wasn't hard to see about 20% of the project done in about 5 hours. On the table this is a dominating piece and not just in battle the build is actually making me re organize my storage areas again so make sure you have some space for this one, ok so something helpful for you on this project, get all the turrets done first, free up the sprue and get the big stuff done first, if you are in a pinch to get this on the table by game night then if you must go unpainted make it the small details, this is a big piece, but if you have the time sit down and brush your bolts and at the very least paint one tank commander and possibly the machine cult shrine (my favorite part by the way) sadly the price of this monster is now $99 but if you order from WCC like I did then you could probably get it for about $80.

A Helping Hand:
Ok since my big project was the Baneblade I have some advice for you all. Painting rivets is not a hard thing to do, how ever there is a right and a wrong way to do it, starting with the brush, I use a IMEX .003 with a sable tip, alright make sure the brush has been washed and the tip worked down to a fine point, then watch as you ever so slightly dip the tip into your paint you should only has the tiniest glob on the end, now roll a little bit of the paint off so the paint is covering the tip but not in a glob, now move the brush in at an angle over the rivet a stroke over it once making sure the tip just touches the tip of the knob, never push the brush back over just a single stroke will do, if you did it right you wil have just the right amount of paint. Always check after about 10 rivets to see if you need more paint on the tip if so just repeat the above.

New in Box:
Of course this goes here but I also got some cadians.


Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

Painting On the Sprue Pt2

Or why IG players no longer have an excuse for an unpainted army. Alright so first off I will again state I am no golden daemon winner but I am not using the $1.50 bargain bin paint either and I like to think I know my way around a painting tile, in other words if you have an hour a day you can do this. Yes you heard that right I got about a Infantry squads worth of torso's and attachments painted in one hour, now you can see in the picture that obviously there can be more done there, but if you are a no frills kinda guy like myself you will go for the middle ground between volume and quality, now lets compound this with the fact that there are products like Army Painter quick dip its time to sit back and think about just what the average painter can do, I wont kid you I have been lagging behind on my guard do to other matters taking priority, so I just sat down tonight and timed my self and gauged the results, in the end I was not displeased, the brilliance of guard is that there beauty (I use that word lightly) is when they are en mass, the guard don't have elaborate hero's (compared to some of the details I had to do on SM) its a straight forward force painting wise. Now again I wont say this is how you do it from now on, no this is what works for me and I got results but what I will say is if you have a set still on the sprue bust it out and see what you can get done on the basic level, and remember you can go back later and detail any figure later, this tactic is just offered as a way to get your army on the table and you playing the game either with your new army or for the first time. So experiment a bit, and hey if you just want to try it WCC Collectibles is selling the basic cadian pack for $16.00 or close to, seriously you cant beat that price (obvious plug is obvious but hey they have been nothing but proper with me when I have dealt with them) Well that's about it, again good luck and happy painting to all.

Cheers

Scott
BH Senior Editor

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

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

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

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

Bitz and Pain

For today's post I will be going over the fun process of detailing your bits, right now I am working on the panels for my chimera and I will tell you the devil is in the details. Alright I know a lot of people who do not prime there bits, this in my opinion is a mistake, you really want that base coat to get an even spread with your top coats, now in a case of the pot calling the kettle black here(that saying always sounded a bit racist to me) I in my tired state last night did not prime my vehicle bits sprue's and thus had to make my own base layers which honestly is not that hard but its a step that could go faster and save you some time. So after setting a base I went over the hatch white coat with a thin spread of black wash to smooth out the lines then added another thicker wet layer over that to give it a much more solid appearance, after that (and it was a mess layer) I went over the edging with a dry brush with bolter metal and then did the center latch in the same manner but with a thicker coat to start, after that a good thick wash was applied and a little extra towards the center edges to give it that shadowed look. The side panel was a similar process, base coat of Catachan green, wash then wet coat and when that set I went over the banner section with a few dry brushed layers of flat white Ceramcoat and then used my .003 sable to do the bolts. now why am I going over all this on just a small detail, well because I am honestly not a professional but I can cheat some of the same effects with these techniques and I hope that now some of you will take that little bit extra to move your work from game piece to model. Remember the devil is in the details.

Happy painting

Scott
BH Senior editor

P.S.
first podcast test now on the page, its just a test though but you can still enjoy my soothing voice.