Painting a Ork Dakkajet

So I painted a Ork Dakkajet this weekend. I have wanted to paint one of these since GW released the model, so decided what the hell, lets do it. And was I glad that I did, this was a fun model to paint!

So from the beginning, here is how it comes out of the box:

Only three sprue’s, but these are packed with fun little bits of detail and items on them. All was cast well, no problems there.

Putting it together was a breeze, but watch those wing supports! I put them on upside down to begin with, which gave me a headscratch moment when I tried to connect the exhausts.

As I have found with most GW instructions for models, its best to use these as a example of how to put these models together, not the be all and end all. A little experimentation can yield some simple yet nice conversions straight out of the box.

It took about 45 minutes to put it together to this stage.

Note the pilot and weapons are not built at the moment, this allows for easier painting of the main aircraft.

I under-coated it with Tamiya Grey Primer, then put a base coat of Humbrol Crimson down over the top.

After that, I just had fun with this model. I used a variety of different techniques to get the battle damage in place, and played around for around 3 hours until I liked it. (One note, Humbrol crimson spray is a pain to paint over. It has a very gloss finish, and shows up every brush stroke on top of it. Lesson learnt, next test will be with a coat of matt varnish over the top before painting.)

Like I said, I had some real fun painting this, and it is going into the commissions folder to show people what I can do. For now, this is on ebay. Go and check it out if you want, maybe you might even want it, I don't know. More of these can be painted, so if you want a squadron painting, head over to facebook.com/farlandsgames and drop me a message!

The fiasco that was..

Thursday Night Gaming. After a month of Facebook updates, tweets, and general nuisance making in the community, the night came around.

Many many preparations were made, building boards for Warhammer, making sure I had enough games.

And then I went to set it all up. And the pub I was holding it in had shutdown. No phonecall, nothing. I was high and dry with a load of board games, people coming and nowhere to go.

We scrambled to find a alternative venue, but to no avail. Had to cancel before we had even begun.

But thats ok. Because we will be back, better than before, risen from the ashes like a phoenix. Next week in fact. Thursday 12^th July, Thursday Night Gaming!

Warhammer 40000 6th Edition – First Impression

I just received my copy of the new rulebook (I know, a bit late, but there were some supply issues) and have decided to share my initial response.

The book itself is gorgeous, big and heavy. The paper is thick, and the printing is impeccable. And this is only the normal version, I would love to get my hands on a collectors edition.

As with most of the GW rulebooks, the rules come first in the book, followed by 300+ pages of background, missions, hobby related items and reference tables. I have yet to read through the 130 pages of rules yet, but a few new rules such as mystery terrain and artifacts really stood out on a quick flick through.

There are a lot of pictures of beautiful boards and army’s in this book. I think maybe to many. I do believe there should be two versions you can buy, this version and an version with just the rules. Yes there will be a A5 rulebook in the new box set most likely, but the option to get it on its own would be nice, and most gamers would have both anyway.

Overall, I was very impressed with the presentation of this book. I cant comment on the rules, there will be another post soon dicussing them, and only time will tell if they stand up. If you have a spare £45 knocking around I would recommend getting this if not for just the pictures and story alone.

First impression presentation: 9.5

Only War free beta

So I announced to a group of friends about how I wanted to run a RPG session, and it came to the decision that we would try Fantasy Flight Games newest offering, Only War.

It is a true RPG game along the lines of their other games such as Deathwatch and Rogue Trader. At the moment, it is only in beta stage, and the beta rule book can be downloaded over from the guys at RPG Drive Through until August for the nice sum of $20. Alternatively, take a trip over to the FFG website and download the free starter game. Here you will find a cut down version of the rules, and a campaign/ story for you to play through.

I decided I was going to use the free download, as I did not fancy paying for a PDF that potentially would only be played once. However, I will now be getting that PDF, but more on that later.

The game is based on the Warhammer 40000 universe, and deals with the Imperial Guard. Players can choose a range of characters that are pre generated, and there are no options for making any more in the free version, but these will get the players off to a nice start. The bundled story is nice, long enough to run 3 sessions out of it (sessions being around 2-3 hours), with enough detail to be really immersive.

The problem I usually find with RPG's are the combat systems, most usually seem really clunky to me. The combat system in this however, is fantastic, and makes sense in my head. Initiative can change with a bad roll, so not every combat is going to see the characters going in the same order, which as we found out can have a big impact.

The story bundled is nice, based on the remnants of a Imperial Guard squad trying to get off a deathworld before their commanders “glass” the area with a orbital bombardment. It has a interesting mechanism, as the characters only have 11 hours to get to a firebase many kilometres away from their current position, and most of their decisions will result in the clock ticking away.

Is it worth getting? If you are a fan or tabletop RPG's, then I suggest that you give it a try, either by getting the free version, or downloading the paid beta PDF. All in all all my players enjoyed it, and talk about it quite regular, and I will be running it again in the near future.

Paint Planning

As I sit here waiting for my copy of the new Warhammer 40000, I decided to have a little chat about planning when painting.

Why is it important to have a plan and stick to it?

Most of the miniatures that we paint all have some sort of regimental cohesion, such as Ultramarines being blue and gold, Blood Angels being red, yellow and orange, and Imperial Guard mostly being greys and greens. I am guilty myself of starting a army project, finishing it, and all the models look different, down to the actual main colour being different. This has come from a lack of planning, using different colours, and results in a disjointed look to the army.

How have I got around this?

Basically now I make a list at the beginning of each project. I write a rough idea of each stage of the paint job, what colours go where, even down to the time taken for each stage. I then take a look at what paints I have. If I have less than half a pot/bottle left, I go out and get a new pot/bottle. I do this as there is a variation between each pot of paint, some being stronger colour, some being weaker, even within the colour range. I hate starting, running out, and getting a new pot that is darker or lighter. Here we go to a earlier point, it breaks the cohesion of the army.

I then paint a test model, just to see if the list I have written works, and I make amendments to it as I go. It becomes the final list, what I work to on every model.

I usually paint in batches of 10, keeping the models moving like a conveyor belt. Base coat all of them, and by the time I have completed model 10, model 1 is dry enough to be worked on again. I have found this also helps cohesion within the squad, and keeps them looking even.

So we get all the models in each squad looking the same colour wise, and all the models in the army are the same colour wise. In my eyes, it makes a much better impression when people see it, and looks better on the table.

Give it a try, make a list of the stages that need to be done, and stick to it. You might be surprised!

Thursday Night Gaming

Yes the time is rapidly approaching.

Thursday 5^th July at the Thimblemill pub Smethwick shall be the first Thursday Night Gaming. But what is Thursday Night Gaming?

Well I came up with the idea to create a gaming group to play all the games that we play, such as Warhammer, Talisman, Formula D, Dominion and so on. But then I decided to throw it open to absolutely anyone who wanted to come and play a game.

So what games can you play here? ANYTHING! Bring Monopoly, Scrabble, Ludo and game you want, we don't mind! We are encouraging people to dust off their old board games and bring them down, and play with other like minded people. Get away from the computer and TV, and come and talk and game face to face with real people.

Hopefully, if the first night goes well, it shall become a bi-weekly event, and I hope to be able to bring in raffles and competitions, leagues for games that suit it and a whole lot more.

So come on down if your local and lets make this the best night ever!

Series 7? Why not!

I have been on a quest for a long time to find a superior paintbrush for my miniature painting. I have used Italeri, Citadel and Vallejo brushes prior to getting the Winsor and Newtons.

Out of them three, Citadel brushes were the best of the lot, but still something was lacking. I don't know if I had bad luck, but I could never keep a point on a Citadel brush. I look after my equipment, but after about 6 hours, the point was gone, usually split, which made almost anything really difficult to achieve.

I had wanted some series 7's for a long time, but could not justify the money to buy them, as they are really quite expensive for a paintbrush. But when I decided to try and take my painting full time, I thought it about time to get some. And boy was I glad I did.

Forget the cost. That is irrelevant. These brushes will not make you paint better, but they will allow you to paint better.

Note the italics there. With a brush of this standard, you never battle the brush. It always does what you want, and will always come back to a point, even after splaying the bristles on a down stroke, it always comes to a point. This means you can now concentrate harder on getting the paint exactly where you want it to be every time. Which is what will make you paint better.

I think the confidence boost of holding a £10+ paintbrush also has something to do with it, and they also look awesome. Buy some brush soap, look after them, and they will look after you for a long time to come.

These have been the biggest leap in my painting since I learnt how to thin my paints properly.

Remember, these brushes will not make you paint better, but they will allow you to paint better.

Buy some. You will not regret it.