Army Building with Joe - Part I

Whenever I am toward the end of an army or project, I immediately start to think of what I want to do next! I still have my Warpath Plague army that I am periodically finishing units for, but Kings of War is always getting me excited for a new army.

There are a couple of armies that I had been wanting to do for a while and so I started looking at the lists I would run with each of those.

Orcs

Krudger on Winged Slasher (Healing Brew) 290pts
Krudger on Winged Slasher (Blade of Slashing) 290pts

Godspeaker (Bane-chant, Heal, Myrddin's Amulet) 110pts
Godspeaker (Bane-chant, Heal, The Boomstick) 130pts

Ax Regiment 125pts
Ax Regiment 125pts

Orclings Horde 90pts
Orclings Horde 90pts

Trolls Horde 190pts
Trolls Horde 190pts

Gore Riders Regiment 185pts
Gore Riders Regiment 185pts

Total 2000pts

Seeing double? Good, the idea behind this list is to be able to deploy as two flanking forces or as one more centralized army. Having two of everything means that I can as flexible as possible in each game depending on the scenario.

Only thing that worries me is the lack of inspiring as I would have like a Flagger or two for when the Krudgers go flying off to club something.

Ogres

Ogre Chariot Horde (Maccwar's Potion of the Caterpillar) 285pts
Ogre Chariot Horde (Wine of Elvenkind) 305pts
Ogre Chariot Regiment 170pts
Ogre Chariot Regiment 170pts
Ogre Chariot Regiment 170pts

Mammoth 210pts
Mammoth 210pts

Ogre Captain (Chariot, Blade of Slashing) 155pts
Ogre Captain (Healing Brew) 155pts

Ogre Army Standard (Chariot) 85pts
Ogre Army Standard (Chariot) 85pts

Total 2000pts

Similar to the Orc list, this is a symmetrical style army that is best suited to have smaller battle groups. This is more of a fun list and I like the idea of having everything on a 50x100mm base. Thought about painting it like a Mad Max style theme.

Forces of Nature 

Centaur Bray-Striders Regiment 155pts
Centaur Bray-Striders Regiment 155pts
Centaur Bray-Striders Regiment 155pts
Centaur Bray-Striders Regiment 155pts
Centaur Bray-Striders Regiment 155pts

Centaur Bray-Hunters Troop 105pts
Centaur Bray-Hunters Troop 105pts
Centaur Bray-Hunters Troop 105pts

Centaur Chief (Bow) 115pts
Centaur Chief 105pts

Winged Unicorn (Bane-Chant, Lightning Bolt) 205pts
Winged Unicorn (Bane-Chant, Wing Blast, Zephyr Crown) 225pts

Tree Herder 260pts

We don't see enough Centaurs and I would like to change that. Two units of Bray-Stiders hitting a unit is devastating, Melee 3+ with TC(1) and CS(1) is fantastic. The units are fragile and 12 attacks means you will likely have to combo charge most units with two Centaur units, but Speed 8+ (besides the Tree Herder) across the board is a great way to setup more beneficial charges and combats.

Tree Herder may seem out of place to some people and on the outside he kind of is. I have included him for the ability to help stabilize in scenarios like Dominate. He is very hard to kill with being Def 6 and having 14 points of Heal floating around with the Unicorn's.

Recently having shared this list with some groups and players it has received mixed reviews. I think the frailness of the units and the need for combo charges is putting people off. It will certainly struggle in some games/match up's and the mix of items or units may not be optimized but this is the new list I am going to work on.

In Part II, I will cover the thoughts on paint scheme and modelling of the list. First I have to get some trays on order from Alex at Ironheart Artisans, if you have not checked them out yet you can here www.ironheartartisans.com!

Edge of the Abyss - On the Precipice

With the book in hand and my army just about complete, it was time for my first game! My local opponent was running his Goblins, so not the Good vs Evil that you may have expected. Maybe this Goblin leader was looking for glory against The Abyss or just didn't get the memo about what side they were on!

First scenario for the campaign is On the Precipice. Using the Kill scenario as its base, the Evil player (The Abyss) will get to go first and all units in my army will now have the Brutal special rule if they did not already.

Sorry for anything I may miss in the this report, I didn't take any notes and was really have a good time playing so I am giving my best recollection of my opponents list and the game.

The two armies are below:

Archfiend of the Abyss (Lightning Bolt, Blessing of the Gods) 300pts

Mau’ti-Bu-Su 165pts

Twisted Victims [1] 220pts

Efreet (Boots of Levitation) 165pts

Abyssal Champion (Wings, Lightning Bolt, Quick Silver Rapier) 220

Chroneas [1] 210pts

Moloch Horde 200pts

Moloch Horde 200pts

Lower Abyssal Horde (Brew of Haste) 215pts

Succubi Regiment (Hammer of Measured Force) 210pts

Tortured Souls 220pts

Hellhounds 125pts

The Great Arch Host Formation 50pts

Grand Total 2500pts

Grogger Split-Tooth [1] 115pts

Goblin King (Fleabag) 110pts

Goblin King (Fleabag) 110pts

Goblin Wiz (Fleabag,Boots of Levitation, Bloodboil) 120pts

Fleabag Riders Horde (Helm of the Ram) 270pts

Fleabag Riders Horde (Potion of the Caterpillar) 275pts

Fleabag Riders Regiment 145pts

Fleabag Riders Regiment 145pts

Mawbeast Pack Troop 60pts

Mawbeast Pack Troop 60pts

Mawbeast Pack Troop 60pts

Mawbeast Pack Troop 60pts

Troll Horde (Blood of the Old King) 205pts

Troll Horde 190pts

Big Rock Thrower 80pts

Big Rock Thrower 80pts

Giant 190pts

Giant 190pts

The Voracious Mawpack Formation 35pts

Grand Total: 2500pts

Table and terrain were arranged like this:

My opponent had some new 2D terrain he wanted to try out so the table was a little lighter than we would have liked, but the massive river made up for it! We played the river as Height 0 difficult terrain.

Deployment

The Goblin army had about 5 more drops than I did and so he would be free to throw his chaff and characters out before I had any real idea where his army would be. The river did help as his faster units would have a tough time positioning without being able to move at the double through it.

I decided to go more centralized with my slower units, even with their speed increase the Moloch's are still on the slower side for my army. On my left I used the Succubi, Twisted Victims and Mau'ti-Bu-Su to keep the Giants from attempting to flank around the forest as they could prove difficult to handle if they are able to freely move about.

With the forest on my left I wanted to use the Efreet and Chroneas to be a fire-base to hopefully slow down the Trolls or Giants.

In the middle I planned to use the Lower Abyssal Horde to jam up the Trolls. With their high nerve, Regeneration, and the ability for the Well of Souls to help manage their wounds I think they could hold up for a little bit.

Turn 1

Both of us moved up and prepared to see who would commit to engage first. Efreet and Chroneas move into the woods and prepare to start setting things on FIRE! Since I had to go first per the scenario it meant that I was not going to be in range of anything for shooting or magic.

My opponent does do 5 wounds to my Arch Fiend with Rock Lobbers but these would be removed by the Well of Souls next turn to keep him fresh.

Turn 2

I charge one of the two Mawbeast Packs on my left with the Moloch's to pressure that flank. I felt that I would be ok with the counter charge of the Fleabag Horde and second unit of Mawbeasts. The Lower Abyssals charge across the river to clog up my opponents center. He placed both Giants and a unit of Fleabags behind the Trolls so this would limit his ability to move and engage me.

My Abyssal Champion and Arch Fiend use their Lightning Bolts to remove one of the Rock Lobbers.

Succubi charge a unit of Mawbeast to break the Mexican standoff on my right. They are than removed by the other unit of Mawbeasts and Fleabag Horde.

In a blaze of fire from the trees, both the Chroneas and Efreet shoot the second unit of trolls and waiver them!

The Molochs are counter charged and survive the attack, with some very poor rolls on my opponents part. The Lower Abyssals did a few wounds to the trolls and had a few put on them in the counter charge.

Turn 3

Heavy action on my left with the Moloch Horde finishing off the Fleabag Horde with the help of some Tortured Souls. Sadly the Moloch's were in turn taken out by Bloodboil from the Wiz.

I forgot both my regeneration for my Lower Abyssals and the ability for the Well to remove some wounds, glad I planned on that for deployment! They are finally removed be efforts of the Trolls and one of the Giants.

The Tortured Souls charge the remaining Rock Lobber on the hill and set themselves up to help in teh center.

Mau'ti-Bu-Su and her Twisted Victims charge the remaining Fleabag Horde on my right and take them out with some great rolls on my part. Her D3 bonus to Nerve checks for combats she is involved in is fantastic and rolling a 5 for +3 helped here.

Turn 4

Goblin units are few and far between at this point. Arch Fiend and The Well of Souls charge the second Troll Horde, but they hold and in turn remove the well with the help of one of the Giants.

Tortured Souls get a sneaky charge against Grogger but only manage a few wounds and the slippery hero lives!

My Abyssal Champion swings to my left and waivers the remaining Mawbeasts with a Lightning Bolt.

Turn 5-6

With only a few characters left and the Giants there wasn't much else my opponent could do. Mau'ti-Bu-Su kills one of the Kings on Fleabag.

We had a few combats and in the end it was a victory to the Abyssals!

Thoughts

This was a great game, and sadly with some less than impressive rolls my opponent was taken out of the game in some ways.

Playing with the river was interesting, but could cause some advantages for some armies like mine with flying units. Being able to charge over it without being hindered was huge, so I think we will stay away from this for future games.

Next game I need to remember the Regeneration for my Lower Abyssals and to use the Well of Souls ability to help mitigate wounds in important situations.

See you next time for game 2!

It's Not the Size, It's How You Use It.....I think

I have been playing Kings of War since its first edition, but with work, school and 2 kids my personal gaming time is all but non-existent. So as I post up about army progress, list ideas or general game chatter I have noticed a lot of comments on my choice in lists, and mainly about how small and compact my armies are.

This for me is nothing new, I have been playing very small, "elite" style armies forever. Going back to Warhammer 4th and 5th edition this is just how I have like to build and play armies.  

Why? Its a mixture of a few things that I will share with you.

Hobby Time

I have worked in the gaming industry since I was 16 (now 31), starting with GW in a retail store, moving into Trade Sales and ultimately handling Mantic's US business for Mr. Ronnie Renton. You may be asking why this matters. For anyone that has worked for a gaming company, your personal hobby always bleeds into work and at times you never feel like you are switching off to enjoy other aspects of your life. You also travel to gaming conventions, trade shows or do store visits, all of which would normally be time to travel to events to play. 

This lead me to wanting to paint and assemble as few miniatures as possible so that I could play games, and have my armies fully painted. Would I love to play a Goblin Horde, sure but that is just not in the cards.

Slow and painful....

Everyone works and is busy, so I am not saying I am alone. But when you work in the industry that you also enjoy as a hobby your free time usually isn't spent doing that hobby.

Game Time

Time seems to be trendy in this post! Chess Clocks for tournament play is something that I am all for and wish all events would use them. I prefer to play fast, and not to rush anyone I am just one to plan my future turns while my opponent is taking theirs. My smaller armies also lend themselves to these timed conditions. With less on the table to move, fight combats or consider my time is not normally an issue.

Storage & Travel

As stated before, when I play most games I want to play them at a high level and against those who are looking to do the same. This means that I will eventually be driving, or flying out to play somewhere. Having everything from models, books, gaming accessories and my travel essentials going into one or two bags is ideal. I would hate to have to ship my army or display board out to an event and hope that it makes it out.

Fits into  a Battlefoam Pack 432

Now don't take this post as one that says small armies are the best choice or the way you should start thinking during army construction. Its a style that suits me and I hope that you will let me know how you approach armies when your thinking of making them!

The Great Arch Host Emerges

The summer campaign, Edge of the Abyss is shipping out to stores and will be kicking off in a few weeks. I have been feverishly getting models ready for the games to come.

As it stands I have the horde of Lower Abyssals left to do for my army. I will be making my list for 2500 points as this campaign is an excuse to play the typical 2,000 point tournament style games I am normally playing.

The Great Arch Host Abyssal Army

Moloch Horde  200pts
Moloch Horde  200pts
Lower Abyssal Horde (Brew of Haste)  215pts
Arch Fiend (Lightning Bolt, Blessing of the Gods)  300pts

(Formation Total Cost  965pts)

Mau'ti-bu-su  165pts

Twisted Victims [1]  220pts

Tortured Souls  220pts

Succubi Regiment (Hammer of Measured Force)  210pts

Hellhounds  125pts

Efreet (Boots of Levitation)  165pts

Abyssal Champion (Wings, Lightning Bolt and Quicksilver Rapier)  220pts

Chroneas  210pts

Total Army Cost:  2500pts

First outing of this army will be on Thursday so we will see if my Lower Abyssals will be finished of if it will be blank base time!

The Grind - How to Break Through

Its inevitable that at some point during your hobby life that you will have a pile of miniatures, massive unit or tedious project that will make you want to claw your eyes out while painting. For some its too much and they just move on and never finish the project, but hopefully I can give some tips on how I get through these projects on the desk.

My current painting task is one that would fall into this category. As I am working on my Edge of the Abyss Summer campaign Abyssal army I realized that I needed a horde of Lower Abyssals to finish my Great Arch Host battle formation. Painting infantry is an absolute chore for me, most of my armies are made up of larger infantry or monsters so I get to spend more time on each miniature. Grinding through 25-40 regular infantry is almost as boring as the Business Law class that I am in.

So how do I get past this roadblock:

• Music/Podcasts - one of the things that I do when I paint anyway is listening to music or podcasts. It may seem like a stupid tip but I notice a lot of people who try to paint in silence or in front of a TV and just get distracted by a show. Put some headphones in and get in the zone, buckle down and push through.
• New Project - if you have something else that you are working on at the same time, than grab that and paint it for a little while. Try and make it something that is different than what you are doing, painting the same color scheme or army is counter productive. I try to always have a couple of spare miniatures primed as palette cleanser of sorts.
• Other Hobby - maybe you have another hobby that you enjoy doing that isn't hobby related. I personally love to draw. Its a great way for me to decompress while still being creative, its also something I can do with my kids and have some fun with them.

Not the most ground breaking article I have done, but I think it is an important topic. Getting stuck in painting is a something we all face and sometimes its not as simple as "just do it".

Thanks

Tools of the Trade - Airburshes

Iwata, Badger, Harder & Steenbeck, Grex and even Paasche are all names that you hear when it comes to airbrushing. Not only have you heard these names, but I am sure you can find someone within earshot to tell you how "their" brand is the best and should stay away from the rest.

With all of this information and opinions from the peanut gallery, how do you decide and choose your first airbrush? To be honest there is no sure fire way to figure that out, as you normally have to buy one before you an see what you like.

Before spending your hard earned money I would suggest:

• Find a friend or fellow gamer who has one and see if they will let you try it out
• Take a class at your local hobby shop or art supply store if they offer them
• Check YouTube as there are hundreds of comparison, review or walk through videos 

If there is one thing that I can say that you want in any airbrush is the following:

• Gravity Feed (paint enters the brush from the top)
• Dual Action (pressing down the trigger gives air, pulling it back provides the paint)
• Use a known trusted brand (Iwata, Badger, Harder & Steenbeck....)

Price is usually the deal breaker for most hobbyists that are looking to just basecoat a certain color that is not in a spray primer, paint larger models like vehicles or making terrain for their home collection. To be honest this is mostly what I use mine for, and I leave most of the detail work to the old tried and true paint brush. However, you will get what you pay for more often than not. Sure you can get away with a cheap $20 or $30 gun for basic use, but it will fail you at some point (sooner rather than later).

If you are just starting out here are some options that I would suggest:

Iwata Neo

Cost - $50 to $80 depending on where you buy from

I love this brush and still use it for most of my work. Its gravity fed, dual action and comes with two different size paint wells. The needle that comes in the kit is a .35mm which is great for both small and large projects.

Neo gets a lot of heat from painters for its tendency to clog or need cleaning. I am hear to say that if you keep your needle clean, and break down the gun for cleaning after every couple of uses then you will have no issue. This is a great brush for the price and would recommend to anyone.

The next three brushes are all in the same camp in my opinion and will only matter of which brand you end up having a preference for.

Iwata Eclipse

Cost - $150

Probably the most notable of all the Iwata guns. Same as the Neo but better. Higher quality parts, better rear access to the needle screw and a molded paint well which means never a worry of liquid pouring through the joint (can happen with the Neo).

Badger Krome

Cost - $100-$150

After the Eclipse its the most known. I don't like Badger products, but have plenty of friends who swear by them. The nozzle and trigger are weird to me and just feel better with an Iwata.

Harder & Steenbeck

Cost - $150

Harder brushes are known for their quality and their brushes can range in excess of $300, so this is a great way to get into airbrushing with their range. I have not personally used one, but again have friends who have and recommend them. 

Cleaning & Maintenance

So now you have your brush and want to start using it, but first you need to know how to clean it and properly maintain it so that it will work for you consistently. Here are my suggestions:

• Use cleaner or water between color changes, this will keep any left over paint from drying up in the well or barrel, as well as making sure colors are not mixing on you.
• Grab a cleaning kit, yes it can be expensive depending on where you buy it, but you just spent $150 on the brush, so lets take care of it. 
• After a couple of sessions break down the brush and give it a deep clean. Use your precision cleaning tools to get into the barrel and housing of the needle. You will thank me later.
• The cleaner your brush is the better it will work, if you put garbage in, you will get garbage out.

That covers your brush and maintenance, next time I will talk about compressors. You did need air for your airbrush....

Thanks

Battle Report - Forces of the Abyss vs Varangur (2,000 pts)

Forces of the Abyss vs Varangur

Was able to get a game in recently with my newly completed Forces of the Abyss army. It is very rewarding to play with an army that is completely painted and based, it can take a while but well worth the wait.

For the game, it was a tough one. My gaming time is very, very limited and I am usually months between games. Practice is the most important part of being a competitive gamer, have a tactical mind and being a sound player are important as well, but if you are not actually play the game and getting reps in, well its hard to be as competitive as possible.

I don't have any other pictures of the game as I got stuck in and forgot so I can run through the basics of what happened. Here are the lists that were played:

Forces of the Abyss "Flying Circus"

Archfiend of the Abyss
Lightning Bolt (5)
Wings 
Blessing of the Gods
350 pts

Well of Souls
275 pts

Abyssal Champion
Wings
Lightning Bolt (5)
Bloodboil
Myrddin's Amulet of the Fire-heart
250 pts

Abyssal Champion
Wings 
Lightning Bolt (5)
Scarletmaw's Fenulian Amulet
240 pts

Moloch Horde
Brew of Haste
215 pts

Succubi Regiment
Hammer of Measured Force
210 pts

Tortured Souls Horde
Maccwar's Potion of the Caterpillar 
240 pts

Tortured Souls Horde
220 pts

---------------------------------------------------------

Varangur

King on Chimera
Gift of Korgan: Lifeleech 
320 pts

Herja of the Fallen
260 pts

Magus
Famulus
Mount
Weakness 
135 pts

The Fallen Horde
Brew of Strength
270 pts

The Fallen Horde
Helm of the Ram
255 pts

The Fallen Horde
240 pts

Tundra Wolves
110 pts

Tundra Wolves
110 pts

Tundra Wolves
110 pts

Devourer
Breath (10) & Vicious
190 pts

----------------------------------------------------------

We rolled up a scenario out of the Clash of Kings supplement and got PUSH. This is the first time I have played PUSH and it is one that I will have to practice more of with this type of list. Having a low unit count army that is centered around flying makes this one tough. Since carrying the Loot token means that you loose fly, nimble and are reduced to movement 5, every unit in my army is affected in some way, even my Moloch's get hurt by basically loosing their Brew of Haste speed bonus.

I won the roll to go first and allowed my opponent to start. I felt that with my smaller force and the scenario, I wanted to be more reactive and have the final turn to capitalize on the objectives.

First mistake that was made on my part was spreading my characters out to thin. With flying I should have kept them more centralized to cover more of the table as the game developed. By not doing so my opponent was allowed to park a unit of Tundra Wolves on my far left loaded with all 3 of his Loot Tokens. Protected by Herja and a Horde of Fallen this would prove very difficult to deal with.

Turn 1-2

The first two turns were positioning from both of us. I removed 1 of the 3 units of Tundra Wolves and moved to take a more central position on the board.

My opponent advanced much the same way, but had a fairly wider battle line with not as much focus on the center.

Turn 3

This is where my second mistake happened and I am still kicking myself for being so sloppy. My opponent charged one of my Tortured Souls with a unit of Tundra wolves to hold them from advancing too far in the center. I in turn charged the wolves at the bottom of 3, but I also took a flank charge on them with my Moloch horde. The charge allowed me to be in a better position on the field with the reform after combat. This was all fine in good, but I was not paying attention to the horde of Fallen that were within charge range, hanging out in a nearby wood. At was this point I realized I messed up lol.

Turn 4

Capitalizing on my mistake, my opponent charged the Horde of Fallen and Herja into my Moloch Horde and vaporized them. In hindsight this didn't loose me the game per say, but kept me from winning as the Moloch's were holding my Loot Counters and I would have little to no way of getting them back. I also positioned my Arch Fiend poorly and he took a flank charge from the Devourer, but only took 6 wounds and was unaffected by the nerve check.

A prolonged combat with a horde of Fallen and my Well of Souls ended in my Well dying. This could have gone either way but it would be based on who's dice stayed hot. His did mine did not.

On my 4 I was able to  put some wounds onto the King with some Lightning Bolts.

Turn 5-6

I was able to remove the the Fallen Horde that killed the Moloch's, as well as the King and Magus. My opponent and bounced off each other with the remaining parts of our armies.

Left on the table at the end were Herja, Horde of Fallen and the unit of Tundra Wolves with the Loot tokens. For my I had both of my Abyssal Champions and one unit of Tortured Souls.


Thoughts

First off, my opponent played a very tight and tactically sound game. He capitalized on my mistakes and didn't really make any of his own.

The list has promise and I was happy to give it a spin. With any army of this size and "elite" nature, practice will be needed.

Abyssal Champions with wings and LB (5) are fantastic. They can be almost anywhere and still have combat prowess when they need to get stuck in. They are a large point sink of about 490 pts between them, but this is also points denial if used effectively.

Looking forward to more games with this list, I try to get 10 games in with something before I toss it out. Ideally it would be great to play against different people and armies but we will see.

Thanks for reading!

Tools of the Trade - Primers

Choosing a primer can almost be as difficult as figuring out what to paint. In my opinion having a good primer layer to paint over is one of the most important stages of bringing your miniatures to life.

**The following information is based on my personal experience with painting and priming miniatures, so please do not take this as the gospel of priming!**

Lets cover some basics for priming before we talk about the options out there. This is all based on flat enamel or acrylic primers. No gloss or specialty brands.

1. Color - Black/White/Grey are the 3 most common colors of primer used by painters. Black will provide a darker base that will hide missed areas of a model and help with shading and depth. White provides a base to paint over allowing for paints to show bright and vibrant, but will also show any missed areas like a sore thumb. Grey is a middle ground between the two, missed areas will not be as noticeable, but recesses and shades will not be as deep. With that said, there are numerous colored sprays from Army Painter, GW and others that will allow for shortcuts on models that are going to be primarily a certain color.
2. Ventilation - After you have chosen your preferred color, find some where that you an spray it. Inside the house, office, shed or fallout shelter is not suggested unless you have a spray booth or fan that can filter the spray. Best choice is outside, and away from anyone else. Most importantly don't breathe in the fumes and mist that will come out while spraying.
3. Distance - Depending on the brand and force that the primer leaves the can you will have to adjust the distance that you are spraying from. Usually a good 8-10 inches from the miniature is good, but this an vary. Best tip I can give is spray on a spare piece of paper or card (miniature if you have a spare your not using), to see how it lays from different distances. 
4. Control - When spraying your miniature it is best (IMO) to use short controlled bursts to apply the paint. Sometimes that nozzle can clog, or have paint build up and if you are just spray and praying you may not notice. This can lead to loss of detail on the miniature, fuzzy texture or ruining the nozzle all together. Take you time and evenly cover the miniature.
5. Temperature - Always a hot topic, temperature can and will cause issues for you. Humidity is the main concern, as the more moisture in the air means that your primer has a higher chance of trapping that moisture in or under the paint. This an keep it from drying properly and could also cause chipping later you. Every once and a while you an also get the "fuzz" effect from heat or moisture. This basically turns your primer layer into a velvety and coarse texture. The paint will rub off and feels very gritty. All of this will depend on where you live, I am in Maryland where during the summer it is like a swamp, but Spring and Fall are perfect. If you can taste the air outside, I would wait to prime. For me the best days are between 70-80 degrees and little to no humidity.

Hopefully I didn't bore you with that somewhat wordy list, but I think it is important to touch on. Once you have your basics down its time see whats out there to use!

Joe's Top 5

#1 Quick Color Flat Enamel Spray (Home Depot)

Pros: CHEAP! (under $1), Great Coverage, Good Nozzle

Cons: Only black comes in flat, gloss wont work on miniatures

#2 Vallejo Surface Primer

Pros: Usable with an airbrush, Various Colors, Great Coverage, Can be painted on

Cons: Best with an airbrush, Cost ($5 for 17ml - $15 for 200ml)

(**This will still need to be thinned if running through an airbrush**)

#3 Citadel Primers

Pros: Excellent Coverage, Various Colors, Trusted Brand

Cons: Cost ($17-$28 per can), Not the best nozzle

#4 Dupli-Color Sandable Primer (Automotive Primer)

Pros: Excellent Coverage, Various Colors, Sandable

Cons: Availability, Cost ($12-$15 per can)

#5 Army Painter Spray Primers

Pros: Large Color Selection, Color Match Paint System

Cons: Poor Nozzle, Horrible in Poor Temperatures, Cost ($10-$15 per can)

I have gone back and forth on AP primers. I love the colored sprays and the fact that for each they have a 100% matching paint is awesome. The issue I have is their issues with priming in sub-optimal weather conditions. Personally this primer has fuzzed, flaked and frosted on me the most of any other. Their website also suggests a closer spray distance of 6-7 inches and long sprays while moving side to side, this goes against my tips above. I like to have more control of my primer and this really clashes.

Conclusion

Again, you will have to work with what you are more comfortable. Many will disagree with my list or preferred choice, and that's ok. These are the ones I have worked most with and prefer in the order listed. Primers are costly, and something that I have always had issues with as time has gone on. When I started painting primers were in the $5-$10 range and now you are spending more for primer than miniatures in some cases. 

I hope this helps and just remember the tips at the top!

Tools of the Trade - Beginning to Paint

Everyone is always looking for the best paint brushes, palettes or paints for their miniatures, often looking to professional painters thinking that they should mimic what they use. Sadly this rarely results in a mirror image of said artist.

So what should you use?

Paint Brushes

You cant paint without them, but finding ones that are both of good quality and wont force you to mortgage your house an be difficult. Finding the right brush an be more or less trial and error. Some painters like a brush with longer bristles so that it an hold more paint, while others prefer synthetic over natural hair. The biggest thing I can suggest here is comfort-ability, no sense in buying a brush that you are not happy to be painting with.

Here are some of the more common brushes on the market for miniature painters:

• Raphael Series 8404 Kolinsky Red Sable (my personal favorite brush)
• Winsor Newton Series 7
• Rosemary & Co 
• Ichiban Pro Line & Synthetics
• Broken Toad
• GW/Citadel (Wash Brush is fantastic)
• Army Painter
• Privateer Press (Large Drybrush is my favorite from this line)
• Reaper Master Series

There are probably others, but these are the ones I have used at some point and had some success with. A google search will show you where to purchase if you are not able to locate them in a shop.

Start out with modestly priced brushes, you still get what you pay for and when you buy cheap you are likely going to get cheap results. As I stated above, I general use Raphael's but I have a bunch of Series 7, Broken Toad and Rosemary & Co as well. 

Lastly, another hot topic is brush size. This again will come down to your ability and how well you an control your brush. I paint almost exclusively with a Size 2, with a good tip and a properly maintained brush you don't need to use a 0 or 00 to paint tiny areas. With a larger brush you can quickly go from painting the base color on a large cloak or dragon wing, to dotting the eyes of a miniature. 

Paint

Just like with brushes, there are numerous companies to choose from for paint. For the beginners out there here are some of the choices:

• GW/Citadel 
• Army Painter
• Vallejo (Game & Model Color)
• Vallejo Air (Airbrush Ready Paint)
• Reaper 
• Privateer Press
• Minitaire
• Secret Weapon
• Winsor Newton
• Tamiya
• Scale 75

Again, there are probably more to choose from but that is a good place to start. Each of these lines I have found has certain colors or types of paints that work better than their counter parts. 

Army Painter has a matching system for their color sprays so that you an touch up mistakes, or better highlight your basecoats. GW washes are a fantastic way to shade your miniatures without an overly glossy finish. Vallejo Air is ideal for becoming familiar with consistency (please still thin them a little before use in the airbrush ;) ). Secret Weapon has great technical paints and washes for weathered effects. 

Experiment with all of the ranges, paint an be expensive but well worth the costs if you find what works best for you.

Palette (Wet and Dry)

Wet palettes seem to be all the rage, but I find that is more from the desire for painters wanting to do what the "pros" do. Wet palettes are great, and can be of great help when you are working on blends of color, transitions or just have a large project that may have you taking breaks in between finishing. All a wet palette is doing for you is keeping your paint wet and usable, longer.  

I own a wet palette (Privateer Press sells a great one), but for those just starting out, or anyone who is not in need of one, you just need something to put your paint on! Old CD"s, plastic lids, tile from the hardware store, or as show above small plastic well palettes. 

If you are looking for a wet palette you can check out www.artistsclub.com or www.dickblick.com. There are also some great videos on how to make your own, like this one:

http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2013/07/how-to-wet-palette-20.html

"Pro" Tip

I am no professional, but I will make one plea to all of painters out there. CLEAN YOUR BRUSHES!!!

Make sure that you take care of your tools. Leaving paint in the bristles or leaving your brush in your water cup so that the tip is ruined or curved is horrible.

If you take anything from this post, go out to your local hobby store, or hit up Amazon and get this:

This small investment will keep your brushes working longer and keep money in your pocket for more toys!

If you have any questions let me know in the comments below and thanks for reading!

Bug Stampede!

There are lots of units and factions in Kings of War that Mantic do not currently make models for. While you can certainly go and look at one of the numerous other miniature manufacturers out there, at times there are some very suitable replacements within the Mantic ranges.

Enter, my take on some Herd allies, a Stampede and Spirit Walkers:

Sometimes overlooked, the Mars Attacks range had some great miniatures. Two of my favorite are the Giant Mutant Ant and Giant Mutant Spider. These are single piece models that little mold lines and the sculpts paint up really nicely.

Spider I painted for Mars Attacks a few years ago.

Giant Mutant Ant

With my Abyssals I wanted to add some allies in for some different game play and change of pace from time to time. Stampedes are a great unit and I had these bugs laying around, so it was a match made in heaven.

Now to even take the Stampede I need to have something else from The Herd list. With another look around the Mantic website I stumbled across these guys to be some Spirit Walkers:

The Glambek Ghosts are a team from the DreadBall range and will fit perfectly in as Spirit Walkers. I will have to change the color that they are painted so that they don't blend in with my two units of Tortured Souls.

Remember, that while a unit may not have a specific model or kit for it, Mantic offers some great alternatives within their other ranges. And if that fails well than I guess you can look at some other ranges too ;).

Army Painting - Having a Plan

4 weeks from start to finish!

Painting an army for some games can be a daunting task. Depending on the system and army choice, you could be looking at 100's of miniatures to slog through. For most of us we are not looking to have a master class paint job on each miniature, but more of a nice looking cohesive force to play with.

I have put some thoughts down for anyone looking to start a new army, finish an existing one or have just started painting for the first time. These are not the only tips out there, and believe me I can think of a ton of painters who are far more skilled and faster than I.

Tip# 1 - What are you painting?

May seem simple, but I have witnessed plenty of painters/gamer's jump into a project without a clear idea of what that project is. If you are looking to play in tournaments than having your list composed and finalized will be key. However, if your just looking to paint cool looking models or units than figuring out how much your project will cover is a good start.

I personally rarely paint an army that is not meant to be played in a campaign or tournament, so my lists are very specific in what needs to be painted.

Tip# 2 - Paint Scheme / Army Theme

What colors will be your primaries? What accent colors will you be using? Is there a theme to your army or force? Have you decided on a basing scheme that you like?

All are important questions and should be considered. Having colors clash on a miniature is horrible to find out when you are all finished a project. Or you go to base your models and hate the way they look when finished. There are plenty of resources out there to research color theory but even consulting the old color wheel can help immensely.

Tip #3 - Paint Process

I hate when people say, "you should paint one miniature at a time", or "why aren't you assembly line painting those", its annoying. If you are comfortable with painting one miniature at a time and don't get burnt out, go for it! The main goal is to paint the way that you will continue to enjoy doing it.

For me it will depend on the models or project at hand. For my Forces of the Abyss Kings of War army it was a mixture of assembly line painting for my Lower Abyssal's and Tortured Soul units and single figure painting for the characters and smaller units like Hellhounds.
 

Tip #4 - Paint Plan

As with anything in life, the more organized that you are, the better chance you have to finish. I cant say that this will work for everyone, but for me it helps.

Your paint plan should take into consideration your daily/weekly/monthly time for painting, and when you would like to have the project finished. Spreadsheets are a good way to map out what you would like to have done in a specific time frame.

I try and paint for a little while each day, which I know is hard for some. I may get up a little earlier in the morning before the kids are up, 20-30 minutes at lunch or after the kids are in bed for an hour or so.

Tip #5 - Notebook

I cannot stress this one enough. If you are doing an army or larger project there may be points where you go a while between paint sessions, or you later go to add on to an existing army. This is where you note book comes into play.

Grab any small notebook (notepads are too flimsy and will tear apart with constant use) and use it to write down everything for your painting project. Somethings include:

- Paint Ratio's

- Paint Colors

- Paint Layer Progressions

- Basing Materials

There are probably more, but these are the basics. With these you will always know which color mix got you that specific green, or how you made those crazy underwater themed bases. 

Hopefully these 5 tips will help you out when you are planning your next project. Before you jump in and start working, take a few minutes to see what your goals are and how you hope to achieve them!

He Shall Not Be Disordered!

The Chroneas has long since been one of my favorite units in Kings of War. I was sad when they moved him over to a Living Legend [1] unit, but multiples of this guy in an army was abusive and bad for the game. 

So it made sense to include him in my Abyssal army, just needed to find a suitable model to use for it! 

While I don't play Age of Sigmar, it cannot be denied that GW makes some fantastic miniatures. I was given a starter set by a friend of mine who owns an independent gaming store so having access to this behemoth ended my search!

I don't currently have the Chroneas in my list, that may soon change. Not on the same level as the Well of Souls, having a Breath (20) at Piercing (1) on a model that can not be disordered (Tempus) is fantastic! With a 16/18 Nerve he can also be a pain to remove at Def 5, and because he doesn't already have enough perks Pathfinder to make sure he can get where he needs to go!

The Conquest of Triton - Deadzone Tournament

In addition to my Abyssal project for Edge of the Abyss, I have been finishing up some Strike Teams for an upcoming Deadzone event in New York on July 30th.

The event will be held at Final Fortress Comics & Games in Flushing, NY. Andrew "Coach" Jashyn will be running everything on the day, and it is shaping up to be a lot of fun. Here is the link to check it all out on Facebook:

https://www.facebook.com/events/1594101670614051/

I currently have a fully painted Plague and Forge Father strike team ready to go, so its just now to decide what I want to go with. Here are the two lists that I have access to:

My Plague have been my go to for both Deadzone and Firefight, so it is more than likely I will run with these guys. I recently played in an event while in the UK and liked that list but I will not be running Halo-Sights on my Stage 3's. I will use those points for more models. 

Stage 1A

Stage 2A

Stage 2A

Stage 2A

Stage 2A

Hellhound

Hellhound

Hellhound

Stage 3 Specialist w/HMG

Stage 3 Specialist w/HMG

Stage 3 Specialist w/HMG

Aberration 

12 models is a lot for Deadzone and it will be needed. Plague lack a lot of the strong ranged firepower and can sometimes be caught in some serious crossfire situations based on terrain. The Hellhounds can pressure your opponent early, while the Stage 3 HMG's can be used to suppress key opposing models. 

My Forge Fathers were done more as an excuse to paint them. The models are beautiful and most of the range is now in hard plastic. This is a complete 360 from my Plague as I only have half of the models. This will most likely be used by my buddy who is travelling with me but is just getting into Deadzone.

Forge Guard Huscarl

Steel Warrior

Steel Warrior

Steel Warrior

Forge Guard w/ Hailstorm Cannon

Iron Ancestor w/ Twin Hailstorm Cannon and Forge Hammer

More of an elite force, the Forge Fathers are looking to engage the enemy at range, while using the Iron Ancestor to hold up units and make up for the usual model difference between them and the enemy strike team.

Really looking forward to this event, as of writing this post Coach says that we have about 16 players coming. Check it out on Facebook, and even if your not looking to play swing by Final Fortress and say hello!