Friday, August 30, 2019

This Old Warhound

My dear old Warhound is 11 years old. It still sits proudly in my display case, but next to my Warlord Titan, it looks...a bit dated. Painting during my real-world Tactical Color phase, it suffers from a downright boring paint job. No contrast, small unit markings, just not nearly enough Warhammer to it.

Not to mention it needed dusting. At which point the right weapon-arm fell off. That was that. Time for a do-over! I made the easy choice of staying with Legio Gryphonicus to match my Warlord.

Stripping the paint off was out of the question. Old resin would make that endeavor far too risky. So I carefully popped some of the parts off to facilitate painting, thinned down some Grey and put on a few very light coats, which covered well and didn't get thick.
I hated painting yellow. Even more than white. But not any more! Averland Sunset is a great paint and color. I prefer the minimalist, older War Griffons paint scheme. Yellow on the head and weapon mounts.
Some bold unit markings, detail work on the weapons, and a wash, presto makeover!
I had some decals left over from my Warlord, and they add a nice finished touch to the beast.

Overall I am very pleased with Lupus Magnus's rebirth. Now to find something to fight...


Cry Havoc, and Let Slip the Hound of War!
Or Something Like That.

Friday, August 23, 2019

A Bit More Cinematic

Almost everyone loves big explosions that don't happen to them in real life. Movies, literature, and tabletop games are full of notable examples. Warhammer 40K, 8th, has solid rules for vehicles (and some giant beasties) to go big when they exit the field due to enemy action. It's fun and cinematic, and it almost never happens.

A Six has to be rolled for this occur, and the Dice Gods are usually off having tea with Crom and ignore your pleas for a huge parting explosion to fell those damn Orks who just killed your favorite tank with a power klaw.

The game we played yesterday, Orks vs Chaos Knights, there was a real lack of anything exploding big. Inspiration thus struck and we now have the Michael Bay 'Splosion Rule!

It is a house rule to be sure, it does ramp up the randomness and chaos on the field, so if that is not your thing please ignore it. But it does deliver more satisfying big booms.
THE RULE:
If you fail to roll a Six on the Vehicle Explodes check, you MAY re-roll the die. Every time you re-roll you lose 1" off of the blast distance. If you wind up with a distance of Zero or negative, no explosion for you.

It is a fun addition if you feel like things just aren't blowing up enough. Clearly intended only for friendly games. Try the rules and let me know your thoughts on this.

Go Blow Up Some Stuff