Power Armoured Paint: Some times you must look back to go forwards

Welcome back to the Vault once more!  Real life has rather rudely intruded on hobby time this week with a grand total of no games played, models assembled or paint slapped about. 

However, I have been thought-experimenting about how to use my Space Marine armies with the shiny new Codex, and having a thoroughly enjoyable re-read of Robbie MacNiven's Red Tithe.  This book describes the exploits of the Carcharodons Astra as they battle the heretical Night Lords deep inside a prison complex.

Mission Design: Fire Sweep

Welcome back to the Vault once more dear Venturers.  One of the aspects of 40K I like to dabble with is Mission design; I've written a couple of narrative scenarios on the blog (Deathwatch vs Dark Angels and Guard vs Orks) as well as more competitive missions for the Club events (Give No Quarter doubles and Tactical Gambit).

The club's Octoberfest tournament will soon be upon us, and I've been asked by the event organiser to come up with another mission within the following bounds:

• Progressive scoring (so points are earned every turn or Battle Round)
• Troop choices gain a bonus

Grey Knight Terminators are Troops; pretty sure I can't make them good via mission design though!

Regimental Reporting: Unleash the Hounds!

Welcome back to the Officers Mess once again! My hobby eye is firmly upon Octoberfest and I'm using my limited hobby time to finish off my tournament force.  There are still some choices in flux but I am certain I want to take a pair of Hellhounds!

I've had Lucky Lambda painted up for some time, but I have swapped the hull mounted Heavy Flamer for a Heavy Bolter:

Regimental Reporting: Prior Proper Preparation Prevents Pretty Poor Performance

Ahem.  I may have word smith'ed the age old 7Ps military adage for a more friendly version, but it's very true and applies to many situations, 40K included.

Unless you are hiding in the 40K equivalent of a shack in a swamp, you'll no doubt be aware that there has been a new Space Marine codex released.  It's a great book, and a lot of my gaming circle are furiously writing army lists and working out all the fantastic combinations.  I'll do this in due course for *my* Space Marine armies, but for the moment I'm focusing on playing the glorious Cadian 82nd Imperial Guard and killing the afore-mentioned power-armoured warriors.

Pro Tip Number 1: Plasma is still your friend.

Regimental Reporting: Reinforcements on the hobby table

Welcome back to the Officers Mess.  This year's summer excursions began with a trip to Warhammer World and I've finished my vacation with a hobby session building some of the kits I purchased whilst away.

Warhammer World has a lot to offer a 40K enthusiast like myself; wonderful dioramas and models in the exhibition hall, plenty of gaming space, great food and beer from Bugmans, and of course lots and lots of opportunities to buy new toys.

I had decided to reinforce the Cadian 82nd with a few kits from the Direct Only range, the most important being a new Hell Hound to be added to my Octoberfest list:

Regimental Reporting: Last Stand at Glazer's Creek Part 2

Welcome back to the Officers Mess!  I've been preparing for the upcoming Glazer's Creek game by painting some more Cadian models; my labours resulting in a shiny new Infantry Squad.

The Glazer's Creek scenario uses Power Level for the army selections, so it's a great opportunity to make use of some of the more thematic upgrades for units and models. First up is the Missile Launcher Team:

The Spy Game: Action/Espionage RPG fun!

Welcome back to the Vault once more!  Posting is likely to be erratic over the next few weeks as the holiday season descends on Clan Varchilde but I am determined to keep up with some hobby.

Every so often I come across a new game or model that really piques my interest, and recently I came across a Kickstarter for an action/espionage based RPG called The Spy Game.