The Man with No Time

It's been a long, long time since I made it to a Guardians of Tyr event. Over a year in fact. A few factors are responsible for this: the loss of the events in Milton Keynes this year means they're bimonthly, so if I'm busy there are fewer opportunities; a busier schedule for me combined with unfortunate timing of the events, and the Sunday dates. I keep my eye on the calendar, and always express interest, but inevitably something comes up and I can't make it. However, the latest event, which was last Sunday, I was actually able to attend! There have been some changes since I last went to Northampton for an event. They've moved to Deathclock (probably a plus), have moved from a slightly lower points value to the tournament standard (definitely a plus), and have standardised most of the events to be standard Steamroller (which I think is a shame, though the last event  is  a Who's the Boss tournament). Oh, and the both the new edition of Warmachine and the new...

Just a quick one today. Yesterday I had a productive day. Well, some would call it productive, others might disagree! I spent a large part of the afternoon working through the pile of unopened stuff in my games cupboard, building lots of models. First up was a little wind-up toy car that I was given for Christmas a couple of years ago. It's plasticard, and all the parts were push-out and push-fit. It looks cool I think, and runs quite well (though the front wheels are a little wobbly). Next up was a not-Mechano tank, received the same Christmas. This was quite fiddly to build, as the spanner to tighten the nuts and bolts was tricky to fit into some of the tighter corners. I also couldn't work out how to fit one of the pieces to the turret, the gun barrels work loose very easily, and the tracks weren't big enough to fit around all of the wheels without deforming the side pieces. But overall it looks quite good. Next up were some Warmachine and Hordes models....

Today sees the confluence of two unusual events - an actual blog post (!), and some models that I've painted (!!). Yes, that's right, I've actually managed to get some painting in. Actually, these models were all painted some time ago. But I've been lazy at updating the blog and am only just getting around to putting pictures up. All of them were painted as part of the "Paint the Target" series run by GdayBloke over at the excellent Lost Hemisphere blog (check it out). The first model to show off today is for my Circle Orboros army. It's actually an old metal Confrontation model that I use as a proxy Stonekeeper Unit Attachment for my scratch-built shifting stones. His more feral look goes well with the set of stones that I built from slate pieces, while the bulkier set of stones will get a standard Stonekeeper model. Proxy Blackclad Stonekeeper UA for my Circle Orboros army (Credit: David Brown) The second set of models are from my Co...

On 29th June, Privateer Press released the new editions of Warmachine and Hordes, my current miniatures game of choice. This was not a complete surprise. Chatter in the community for a few years had been "I hope they change this for Mk 3", or "list the changes you want to see in the next edition", or "when is the new version coming out?", but Privateer themselves had been tight lipped on the subject, making no statements either way regarding an update. Then, at the end of April, they announced that the new editions were coming. With new starter boxes, a new app, a new points system, and new hardback rulebooks. The excitement in the community was palpable. Banner art for the new edition of Warmachine and Hordes, showing new leaders for Khador and Trollbloods.  (Credit: allnewwar.com, Privateer Press. No commercial use intended) I'm not going to go into a detailed review of what's changed between editions; the release was over a month...

Privateer Press have just put up their latest round of previews from the next Expansion book for Hordes - ' Exigence '. And oh boy, is there something awesome in there. The cover art for ' Exigence ' features Skorne against the Legion of Everblight, who seem to get onto all of the Hordes covers. (Credit: privateerpress.com) One of the nice things about getting in weekly games at Warwick Sci-Fi is that it lets me try out different things compared to my normal Cryx force. The main thing I've been doing this year is learning to play with my fledgling Circle Orboros army, and I've been particularly enjoying playing with the two Baldurs and the various Wold constructs that they have. So you can imagine my excitement when I saw this in the new previews: Meet the Circle Orboros' latest warlock - Bradigus Thorle the Runecarver. I want this model so much. (Credit: privateerpress.com) Ohmygoshyes! I want it!  Now Bradigus Thorle has been in...

Monday nights is our weekly gaming session at Warwick Sci-Fi. There are only three of us that regularly play Warmachine & Hordes: myself, Paul (a PhD student), and Dom (a final-year undergraduate). It’s a bit of an awkward number, but we’ve worked around it with smaller points levels, three player games, and by only having two of us there a lot of the time. As Dom’s graduating this year he’s going to be leaving, and since last night was his final week at Sci-Fi we decided to do something a bit special as a send-off – a massive 100pts, two warcasters per side game. I’ve got easily the biggest collection, so I agreed to take one side by myself using my Cryx. Paul and Dom would take 50pts each of Khador and Circle Orboros respectively. I had several advantages going into the game. First, with 100pts to myself I had full control over my side. Second, Paul and Dom’s limited collection meant that I had a decent idea what they would be taking, particularly for their...