Project Press Ganger: Battlegroups!

It's been a while now but for those who weren't aware, I want to be a Press Ganger. My regular job takes a big time commitment but my spare time is mostly spent on Warmachine/Hordes and I've had some experience running tournaments in the past. I love Warmachine/Hordes and I want to give back to the community and help new people get into the game. I'm already a teacher so it's a natural interest for me and plays to my strengths! I like to think that I'm a good player, know the rules, and am fun to play against (or at least am helpful for those who are looking for advice) so I hope that Privateer Press will agree that I'd be a good candidate to be a Press Ganger. That's all well and good, but there are, of course, some requirements for applying to be a Press Ganger and one of those requirements is making sure that you have fully painted models to demo games with, and that's admittedly been an area of weakness for me. That ends today, however! I finally got two battlegroups fully painted for Hordes!

Showcase: Sloan and the Minutemen

 First of all, look what arrived yesterday!  It took a good amount of time to put together but I have to say I'm impressed with the quality of the kit.  There was some flash and a slight miscast along a mould line, but I'm overall impressed with the thoughtful placement of the mould lines and assembly points.  While I work on the colossal task of painting it (GET IT!?) I figured I'd share some of my other Cygnar models: two of the four Minutemen I own, and Kara Sloan - who I finished painting yesterday!  I don't claim to be a great painter but I am quite pleased with how these models came out.

GW Shade vs. Wash AND Harlan Versh

So yesterday there was some disappointing news about the status of War Room being delayed.  It was originally planned for late April but now it's looking like the middle of May will be when we can expect this awesome app.  I didn't share it on here but if you had checked out the Facebook page you would have found out about it yesterday!  Ha!  And you thought I wasn't going to plug the Facebook page today...

The real article today is actually a two-for-one.  I've begun painting my 15 point Morrowan list for the local Warmachine League and I recently picked up some of the new GW paints to try them out.  Not the 'base' or 'layer' paints, but some of the more interesting paints like the new 'shades', 'dry', and 'glaze' paints.  I'll be doing some reviews of the dry compounds and glazes later, but since I used the old GW washes right away in my painting process (it helps to identify the detail before I paint), I figured it would be helpful to show the differences between the new Nuln Oil black shade and the old Badab Black wash, and then I'll show off my first painted Morrowan model: Harlan Versh!

Showcase: Diorama Art Project

Day 3 of plugging the Steam-Powered Gamer Facebook page!  Not only will I be posting updates about miscellaneous Privateer Press news on the facebook page, but various photos of models or projects that aren't found here - such as what I'll be sharing with you today!

Today I actually have to share something really special: a Warhammer 40k diorama that one of my best friends made for his senior art project.  Typically I don't post anything 40k related on here, but since this was done by one of best friends and it was his senior college project, he wanted me to share it so that people could enjoy his work.  Also, I must claim some credit for the project.  When he was torn about what he wanted to do for a senior project as an art major, I convinced him that he should really do what he loves most: 40k!  Not only was it a great display of artistic skill, but it also gave him a great excuse to paint up a bunch of models that he could play with later (which he did).

Project Pressganger: Madrak Painted

I'm in the middle of tech week so not much of an update for today, but I do have Madrak painted from my Trollbloods warpack that I picked up at Templecon.  I've decided that I'm going for a volcanic look with my trolls and that means obsidian and orange-yellow glowing runes.  I really like how Madrak turned out and I'm satisfied with my paint scheme so that means I'm clear for continuing it with the rest of the models.  I'll probably stick with a darker skin in the future (which is okay for Madrak to be a lighter-skinned).

Project Press Ganger: The Requirements

I've been tossing around this idea for some time now: I want to be a Press Ganger.  As much as I still enjoy playing and learning other game systems, Warmachine/Hordes has really stuck with me.  It's a system that I've come to appreciate in Mk II way more than I did in Mk I, and I think my maturity as a wargamer has helped with that.  I love this game and so I've decided that I want to be a Press Ganger - especially since a couple of my close wargaming friends are also Press Gangers.  It's not as easy as just knowing someone and getting in, however.  I plan on chronicling my efforts to become a full-fledged Press Ganger, and now that I've found a store nearby, I'll have a place to call "home" finally.  There are a few requirements for applying to be a Press Ganger, so I need to make sure I can meet those requirements first.

Road to Templecon 2012: 72 Hour Painting Log [final update]

"Holy crap, I have to paint how many models?  By Friday?!  Hoo boy."

We've all been there.  There's some event in the future where you need (or want) fully-painted models, and everything seems to happen all at once and you don't have the time you thought you'd have to get those models painted.  This is the situation I'm in right now.  In all of my preparation for Templecon 2012 I forgot that I wanted to have my team tournament list fully painted.  I had an initial list planned and prepared but when I changed my mind a couple of week ago, I forgot that it meant that I would have to paint more models than I had initially anticipated.  The worst part is that the models that I need to have painted are some of the more detailed models in the range for Circle Orboros, so how do I plan on approaching it?  A 72-hour countdown of binge painting.  Instead of my planned articles on boring tournament preparation, I will instead update this article with my progress in my painting binge as an example of why no one should do this ever.  I can at least hope that my pain[t] and suffering will bring you some enjoyment.

Templecon 2012 Scenario Table - Structures!

I hope everyone had a merry Christmas, and I hope all of you Jewish folk enjoy the rest of Hannukah.  Personally, I had a great Christmas, as my girlfriend gave me a Vallejo 72-color paint set with case (!).  Meanwhile, at SPG we've been busy at work on the scenario table for Templecon 2012!  The graveyard (as of yet unnamed) has been progressing nicely and today I have some teaser pictures to share with you about our progress thus far.  The current deadline is Thursday this week, so that it can be transported to the LGS for playtesting, and it looks like we are following along according to schedule.  Take a look!

Showcase: Stormguard

Okay, by now you're probably sick of all of the showcases, so the good news is that today's will be the last for a while... or at least until I finish painting what models are on my painting table.  Today I will showcase my two units of Stormguard!  What's great about taking pictures of my models is that I become hyper aware of what kind of damage they have taken in the time since I finished painting them.  Last night I made sure to go through and fix all of the little chips, dings, and minor paint spills.  I'm not the neatest painter, but I wanted them to look at least a bit better for you all.  Let's see how they turned out!

Showcase: Cygnar Stormsmiths

Today I will continue the showcase of my Cygnar models by showing off the models that convinced me to play Cygnar in the first place: Stormsmiths!  Just like  most else Warmachine/Hordes related, I fell in love with the models first and then read their rules, only to find myself liking them more!  In particular what convinced me to start Cygnar was one model in particular: the Storm Tower!

Showcase: Gnarlhorn and Pureblood

To continue with my painting streak, I finally decided to finish my Gnarlhorn and Pureblood Warpwolf.  Much like my Druids, I had started and essentially finished these two warbeasts over the summer while I was in Savannah, but I had never gotten around to basing them because my basing stuff was packed away for so long.  These are two warbeasts that I absolutely love and they find their way into many of my lists, so I figured that it was about time that I touch them up, finish basing them, and seal them.  I did complete painting these two guys prior to finishing the Gorax, so you'll notice that the musculature is not as highlighted as I wanted.  Still, I think they look pretty good, even if their skin looks a little too flat.

Showcase: Druids of Orboros

 My druids have been sitting in my case, half painted, for about 5 months.  This last summer I was bascially a hobo for a month while I was between my last boarding school and my new one.  I spent part of that time with my buddy in Savannah, GA and we spent some time painting towards the end of my trip.  One unit that I've been meaning to paint for some time are my Druids, especially since I use them practically every game.  Anyway, for some time they were just sitting with a Badab Black wash over them with some white highlights on their capes, and I figured it was time to finish the job.  You will also notice my purple vortex templates, which I made using my cheap and easy template technique.

Painting - keys to getting started

So many happy trees...

I need to paint.  A lot.  I swore that when I started playing Warmachine/Hordes that "I'll get so much more painting done!"  I was a Tyranid player, so the thought of not having to paint 100+ models of identical poses was a relief.  Unfortunately, I still find myself procrastinating when it comes to painting my models, and it's a problem.  I hate being one of those bloggers who uses my real life as an excuse for not getting stuff done, but I'm not in college anymore.  I'm a real person with a real job.  Unfortunately for me, that job happens to be being a teacher.  Oh, and I also work in the theater.  Two incredibly time-consuming jobs.  While that leaves me the occasional downtime to play some Skyrim (another reason for no painting) or play a game of Warmahordes, it's easy for me to avoid painting when I only have small chunks of time.  So today I'm not going to talk about painting techniques, but rather my thoughts on painting in general and how the rest of us can get some painting done.