Posing Putty

I'm happily working on my second Baneblade, an all-plastic one, and it is time for the crew. I decided to put crew in both hatches. The gunner on the .50 is a easy pick and standard setup, but what of the tank commander? So many options! How to decide?

Enter Mounting (or Poster) Putty! I had read long ago in a modeling magazine about the uses of low-tack putty for the posing or arms on miniatures. My local hardware store has the Loctite version on hand, and it works great. I had a little pose off to see what I liked the best.

Sadly I didn't have a Power Sword arm handy. So the next time you are in a quandary over posing choices just pull out the putty. It is very easy to work with, never dries out, and leaves no residue on the figure.

It's Not Play-Dough!

It's For My Serious Hobby.

Round One, Fight!

The Winter League is underway! Last weekend we had two exciting matches: Imperial Guard versus the Tyranids, and Raven Guard taking on the Eldar.

Matt was using his new Codex for the second time, which was a bit unfair to him, but the dice were really unfair to him.

The Exocrine got a huge amount of hits on my command Leman Russ, and exactly zero wounds. It got better, but having a first turn where you can't kill anything is a big handicap. The game went five rounds, but in the last turn it was 3 Tyranid Warriors versus a pair of Leman Russ, a Manticore, and a handful of troopers. A victory for the Guard.

50PL makes for a small Space Marine force. We don't have a huge sample base, but it seems very difficult for the Marines at low Power Levels. Jeff put in a good showing with the Raven Guard, but the Eldar Swordwind stole the initiative and rolled over the Marines for a win.

Good games overall, a little rough on the Marines, but I'm sure they will bounce back and find a good balance. Next round will feature some fun match-ups as we continue at 50PL.

Let The Games Begin!

Somebody Wake Up the Dice

Winter League

With the release of the Tyranid Codex, now everyone here has at least one "real" codex. So it is time for a league! We are going to do a escalation type:

2 matches at 50PL, 2 at 75PL, and the final two at 100PL. Then some kind of grand finale at 125. The matches will be every two weeks, starting the weekend after Thanksgiving.

We have some interesting rules to go with our league:
No Flyers for the first two matches.
No Lords of War for the first four.
No Fortifications.
You will know the mission and opponent ahead of time.
You may change your list every battle, but must keep your faction.

Knowing the mission and at least what enemy you are fighting gives you the ability to somewhat tailor your force for the upcoming battle. It should make for some good matches.

The battle reports will of course be posted here. The  schedule will be as well, over there, on the sidebar -->.

May Your Dice Roll Well

At Least Better Than Normal

Guard HQ Issues

I really like the new Guard Codex. I have a Steel Legion army, so it works great for me. Lots of tanks with mech or leg infantry. I "only" have six infantry squads so I don't really run into any problems with the battleforged detachments as my HQ slots are full of HQ Tanks and maybe a Company Commander.

The Codex does have a few quibbles. Most stem from the fallout from the dissolution of the Platoon structure. Platoon Commander, Command Squads, Infantry Squads, Special and Heavy Weapon Teams are all separate selections now. For the most part I enjoy the new found flexibility. It doesn't work for everyone though.

 I have been talking with Peter who has a good sized Catachan force. His army is very infantry heavy, so to put lots of squads on the table he needs to take multiple detachments.

One issue shows up when it comes to HQ choices, the Guard doesn't have many. Peter doesn't have Tank HQ, Commissars, or Psykers in his Jungle Fighters, so that leaves him with Company Commanders. Four of them if he is to take two Battalion Detachments. Perfectly functional, but not very fluffy.

For reasons unknown, the Platoon Commander is an Elite and not a HQ. 

The Platoon CO and the Company CO are the same PL points (2) which is odd. The Company CO is a little bit better, with one more wound and leadership and can use Voice of Command twice.

The simple fix that GW should do is make the Company CO 3 PL again, and move the Platoon CO to HQ. I'm going to suggest this to them, and if you agree, you should too.

The Emperor Protects

The Most Dangerous Thing on the Battlefield is a Junior Officer with a Compass and a Map.