Spikey Bits

It seems like time does fly- because almost one year ago, April 12th to be exact, I started this blog. It's definitely been fun and kept me well motivated to get projects done to share them with everyone. I sincerely hope you all have gotten something out of it as well, too.

Sooooo I thought it would be cool to give a little something back to everyone who's tuned in over the past year, and maybe gain some new readers as well. So what I'd like to do is have 100 followers for Spikey Bits' Birthday on April 12th.

Now to motivate everyone to share the blog with their friends or to just keep reading, there will be a give-away!  I will be giving away a brand spanking new plastic Space Marine Venerable Dreadnought kit!   All you have to do to be eligible is to be subscribed follower of Spikey Bits on April 12th 2010.  I'll roll a D100 and whomever the lucky follower is will receive the booty (so to speak).  Of course if there is more than 100 followers on that day, that's okay to. I'll just have to figure out another way to select a winner randomly!

Well thats it. So spread the word!  Hopefully together we can grow this thing into something bigger for us to all learn from, and make some new friends along the way.

<3 MBG

I played in a 2500 'Ard Boyz Tourney over the weekend at Groovy Geckos Comic and Games in Williamsburg, VA.  It's a pretty cool store, and has a new owner now who is very motivated and cool to be around.  If you are ever on vacation in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia (Yorktown, Norfolk, Va Beach, Hampton, Newport News, etc.) I reccomend you check the store out.

I played my Looted Guard and maxed my list out to 2345, because I wanted to keep close to the 2250 total for the Adepticon Gladiator Tourney in a few weeks. Overall it worked well, and I think it can handle some big threats like Angroth, and the Titans I'm sure to see soon.

Here is the list I ran.  Ill be slimming it down to 2250 shortly.

---

HQ: Company Command Squad (175 pts)
    Meltagun x4; Astropath; Chimera- HF


HQ: Inquisitor Lord  (115 pts)
  Psychic Hood; Psycannon, Hierophant 2 Mystic

Elite: Psyker Battle Squad (145 pts)
   Chimera- HF

  
Troops: Veteran Squad (190 pts)
  Plasmagun x3; Veteran Weapons Team- Lascannon; Chimera- HF

Troops: Veteran Squad (190 pts)
  Plasmagun x3; Veteran Weapons Team- Lascannon; Chimera- HF

Troops: Veteran Squad (175 pts)
  Plasmagun x2; Veteran Weapons Team- Lascannon; Chimera- HF

Troops: Veteran Squad (185 pts)
  Meltagun x3, Shotgun x6, Demolitions; Chimera- HF

Troops: Veteran Squad (95 pts)
  Meltagun x2; Flamer x1, Shotgun x6

Troops: Infantry Platoon (270 pts)

• Platoon Command Squad Lasgun x4; Chimera-HF
• Infantry Squad- Commisar
• Infantry Squad
• Infantry Squad
  

Heavy Support: Manticore Rocket Launcher (1#, 160 pts)

Heavy Support: Manticore Rocket Launcher (1#, 160 pts)

Heavy Support: Hydra Flak Tank Battery (3#, 225 pts)

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

Fast Attack: Vendetta Gunship Squadron (1#, 130 pts)

Total Roster Cost: 2345

---

The competition was good, and I actually lost the first game and still finished 3rd. Pretty good I think for a three round battle points only tourney.

They were running the 2009 'Ard Boyz missions from the first round of games, with a few changes to the locations of objectives.

Below is a video and some brief highlights of my games. I appear at about 5:48 in the video, which was authored by the same guy that did the Hitler Debates Doom of Malanti a few weeks ago.

---

Game 1- 5 Objectives Spearhead vs. CSM
I set up in my corner in my standard formation, Chimeras in front of hydras, in front of the Manticores. (see pic, not from this event) Since I had the big block of Guardsmen with Kommissar I put them on the left flank, and used them to protect the tanks in case I could not crack my opponents Rhinos, or drop his Daemon Princes.

What I learned:

• Incoming! Order. Casting it on the guardsmen block in cover (giving them a 2+ cover save) is invaluable for both taking objectives, and surviving an opponents whole shooting phase.  Also makes a great speed bump for anything trying to get to the Chimeras.
• Psychic hood on the Inquisitor is amazing. You win the roll vs LD10 psykers 50% of the time, and that can really throw them off their game if they are depending on those guys.
• Cover saves. When you opponent is on fire with cover saves and it takes all of your fire to cause just 3 wounds on a daemon price, you will lose. That round of shooting allowed to much of his stuff to close with me and I lost the front line of chimeras.
• Bail out! When you do lose the front line of chimeras, if they are wrecks you should be able to still generate enough fire to destroy the threat as they try to find their way past your wrecks. I recommend anything that can fly gets picked of first *wink*.
• Don't give up. I actually knocked my opponent down from a massacre to a minor victory because I was able to contest an objective with my Vendetta, and blow a scoring unit off an objective last turn. I was only beat by one objective.

Result: Loss + 1 BP

Game 2- Modified Annihilation, Dawn of War vs Imperial Guard


I ended up matched up against a foot guard army, with very few tanks. We had to set up all HQ and troops so I massed up on the 18" line and went at it.  I set up similar to the pic (again not from this event).  I used my spotlights first turn to knock out a big block of guardsmen massing on my line, and then picked apart the high killpoint choices at will.  I even managed to get a vet squad up into his flank and burn down two Leman Russes.


What I leaned:  

• Incoming! Order- Used against me I really don't like it, lol. But after a few rounds of Manticore hits not much will survive regardless.
• Lascannons vs.. Leman Russes- Takes way to long to destroy armor 14 with a Lascannon. Two full turns of shooting with my Vendettas finally dropped a Pask Leman Russ. If I hadn't had to use the Manticores to drop the guardsmen, I would have been dropping that Russ first.
• Commander Pask- If you take him you will roll a "2" to hit and be sad. My opponent did this twice against me, and when he did manage to hit, he couldn't pen the armor. Very poor, performance for the points that tank cost.

Result: Massacre +4 BP

Game 3- Conquer and Control, Dawn of War vs Orks
This was going to be a slugfest beacuse I was staring down over 100 orks, and had to not only keep my objective but get his...  Oh and it was Dawn of War, so I was hoping to go second and actually be able to see some of his squads before they hit me.  I set up in a line on my back edge, more than 18" away from him just in case (similar to the pic, but more stung out).  All my units near my objective on my left flank were expendable, as I was going to try to swing my hard hitters over from my right flank and burn him down as he mobbed up on my objective. Then I'd shoot my vendettas over right to left to contest/ control his objective.

What I learned:

• Spam in a Can- Shooting your nob squad up to my lines and getting surrounded by guardsmen using Run! Run! Run! is embarrassing enough, but losing the Trukk to a multi-laser shot is the icing on the cake.
• WTF Sir- The same squad will not survive getting assaulted by 30 shoota boyz, and 30 Slugga Boyz. But they do cost way less that 10 nobz and a warboss....
• Burn, B#&@*es- That same amount of orks will die to 3 Heavy Flamers, and 2 Manticores.
• Protect this House- a Chimera full of vets, surrounded by 3 more Chimeras will hold down an objective from a ton of enemies. 

Result: Massacre +4 BP's

Well that's it. Like I said I finished 3rd overall, and have a pretty solid list ready for Adepticon Gladiator.  Ill be posting up my new 2250 list soon and maybe some playtests as well.

What do you think of the list, and how it played? Should I add a super-heavy or just roll with the modified Mech?

-MBG

So far we're up to working on the pistons and weapons for Warhound #1.  We knocked the rest of that assembly out in one night, and managed to clean and trim the weapons.

We went ahead and cleaned up all the weapons I bought for both Warhounds just so we could have options to use for the upcoming Apocalypse game. I wasn't sure what lists we would be running for that so I wanted to make sure I at least planned the Titan out for maximum killing.

I left the leg greaves off so I could paint them, and the leg detail itself easier. The pistons go on pretty fast, but some we had to drill out because the casts had been a bit smooshed and the sides had jutted into the mounting hole.  No big deal really, but you have to be prepared for anything I think when you are assembling these things.


I ended up magnetizing the weapon arms, so we could use whatever weapon load-out I had. The most popular weapon combo so far, seemed to be the twin Turbo Laser Destroyers. I pinned the top of the weapons mount and magnetized the bottom, again with a 1/2" diameter rare earth magnet.  I also glued a small strip of plastic card onto the magnet on the weapon mount, to help prevent them from chipping or cracking- a fact learned from a previous blog comment!

Now that the assembly was complete for the most part, I needed to wash the resin down so I wouldn't have any problems with the paint adhering to it.  It's a good idea to do this because when resin is cast, a small coat of mold release is left on the model. Sometimes some of the mold comes off and gets wedged into bits of detail as well. It all can make paint run off, or not even stick at all.  So it's best to scrub this thing down with soap, and let it dry overnight.

I used some Dawn to clean the titan cause it good at cutting grease as well as dirt.  I dunno if there is any of either on there, but hey least I got my bases covered.  I got an old tooth brush and a normal soft sponge and just scrubbed every exposed surface I could see.  Then I left it to dry overnight with a small fan running on it.

By morning it was completely dry, and I started priming it up in the base color I wanted.  I used Army Painter's Necrotic Flesh. It's a lighter green color, like Dead Flesh, which is fine because I'm going to wash it with darker colors anyways.


Next update- a little bit of customizing...

-MBG

My friend and avid hobbyist Rich Ditzler recently conceived and came up with an amazing Imperial Fortress for a recent Apocalypse game.  I can only image the time and patience it took to make something of this size.

You can see more pics and how he made this behemoth on his blog, Bossman's Bitz Box.


For those of you that don't know Rich he is the owner of Adventurers Guild in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. It's a very cool shop that is definitely worth the trip both for the events he runs, and the merchandise he carries.  Be sure to check it out if you are in the area.

Well I think we, being the gaming community, should come up with some guidelines for Indy tourneys that GW can choose to adopt if they see fit, or maybe can even be worked into a INAT touney checklist of sorts.

We can all cry and moan about problems on the circuit, obviously there have been issues with the first three event so far, but maybe we cant try to help to improve the circuit going forward.

So here some hot points I think are important as a tournament participant. These are by no means an exhaustive list, and I hope we can add and debate on them as this post continues.

Scoring. How is the event going to be scored? Be clear on how the scoring will work, and provide values for that scoring. Events running a comp component that is shrouded in mystery, may do not as well as a tourney that has comp and is open how they are scoring it. We could even go so far as to standardize the scoring; there must be a sports, paint, and battlepoint system and it is "x".

• Points Limit. Staying within a normal perceived points limit may be attractive to most players. I remember GW some years doing 1850 with 150 point blocks, and some mandatory models for some mission such as messengers etc. Does this need to be standardize?
• Rounds and time. What is the normal number of rounds to be a GT? I would assume its 5. Time limit per round could be 2+ hours with 2:30 being the perceived norm from what I have seen.
• Price. Well i think that can't be standardized but I'm sure that many will attest that price is a big decision make on whether to attend an event at all. I guess it all comes down to getting what you feel you pay for, but that can be said for anything.
• Missions. This is a biggie for me. Are they going to be standard type missions, or custom ones that have to be corrected via forums or during the rounds over and over again? Personally I just want something standard with a mechanic I'm used to playing. Missions converted poorly from 4th to 5th, ridiculous kill points, or even the dreaded 2 objective mission are all my pet peeves. I'm okay with somethng new as long as I can understand it at first glance OR it conforms to a particular mechanic. I'm not sure if this can be standardized, but maybe made into a guideline.

This should be able to get us off in the right direction. I'm pretty excited for this post lets see what we can come up with.

Feel free to comment on here or on the open thread on Dakka Dakka. Either way please try to comment as this affect a lot of us.

Well I'm still brainstorming over the new orks since the drop of the FAQ a few days ago.  I've heard good things about burna drive-bys so I thought I'd work up a super aggro list.  While I'm sure it will do fine against mech and marines, long range standoff may be its undoing.

Again this list has mucho threats; Ghaz, Nobz, Battlewagon of Burnas, Kans w/ both Rokkits and Powa Claws, and ground pounding Boyz.  Still I think the Lootas will be vulnerable a bit because they have to be set up alone to get good fire arcs etc.

I made a mob of Boyz Battlewagon-able just in case there is a good mid table objective that the burnas can hunker down at and fend off. I think between them and the Lootas they can handle a lot.

The order of battle will be to hide the wagons behind the Kans for a turn while they move up and stay in forcefield range. Next turn hopefully they can peel off and the wagons can smash home.  It may not quite work this way, but least I got a plan.  I dont know if holding the wagons back from moving their 12" is a good idea or not.  I know if the order of battle is to turtle this will make a convincing firebase.  Maybe a better list is to drop one squad of kans, put the nobz back on bikes, and flank with two wagons and nobz, and pound up with 2 boyz squads and 1 squad of kans.

What are your thoughts?

-MBG

---

HQ: Ghazghkull Thraka (1#, 225 pts)
   1 Ghazghkull Thraka @ 225 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 58 & 96); Power Klaw; Big Shoota; Stikkbombs; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Prophet of the Waaagh!; Adamantium Skull; Bosspole; Cybork Body; Mega Armour)

HQ: Big Mek (1#, 110 pts)
   1 Big Mek @ 110 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 34 & 97); Burna; Kustom Force Field; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour; Mek's Tools)

Elite: Lootas (12#, 180 pts)
   12 Lootas @ 180 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 43 & 100); Deffguns; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!)

Elite: Burna Boyz (8#, 120 pts)
   8 Burna Boyz @ 120 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 45 & 100); Burna; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!)

Troops: Boyz (19#, 149 pts)
   18 Boyz @ 149 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 40 & 100); Shoota; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!)
      1 Boyz Nob ((C:Orks, pp. 40 & 100); Power Klaw; Slugga; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!)

Troops: Boyz (20#, 170 pts)
   19 Boyz @ 170 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 40 & 100); Big Shoota x2; Shoota; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!)
      1 Boyz Nob ((C:Orks, pp. 40 & 100); Power Klaw; Slugga; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; Bosspole)

Troops: Nobz (6#, 421 pts)
   4 Nobz @ 421 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 34 & 98); Count as Troop Troops; Big Choppa x1; Power Klaw x3; Slugga x3; Shoota/Skorcha Kombi-weapon x1; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour x4; Ammo Runt x2; Bosspole x1; Cybork Body; Waaagh! Banner x1)
      1 Painboy ((C:Orks, pp. 40 & 100); 'Urty Syringe; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour; Cybork Body; Dok's Tools)
      1 Battlewagon ((C:Orks, pp. 55 & 102); Big Shoota x1; Armour Plates; Deff Rolla; Grot Rigger)

Heavy Support: Battlewagon (1#, 130 pts)
   1 Battlewagon @ 130 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 55 & 102); Big Shoota x1; Armour Plates; Deff Rolla; Grot Rigger)

Heavy Support: Killer Kans (3#, 150 pts)
   3 Killer Kans @ 150 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 53 & 102); Dreadnought CCW; Rokkit Launcha x3)

Heavy Support: Killer Kans (3#, 150 pts)
   3 Killer Kans @ 150 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 53 & 102); Dreadnought CCW; Rokkit Launcha x3)

Troops: Gretchin (11#, 40 pts)
   10 Gretchin @ 40 pts ((C:Orks, pp. 50 & 100); Grot Blasta; It's a Grot's Life)
      1 Runtherd ((C:Orks, pp. 50 & 100); Grabba Stikk x1; Slugga; Furious Charge; Squig Hound)

I got a lot of comments on my Slitherguard recently, and everyone said they were a little lean for their namesakes, Tyrant Guard.

I agree too, so I decided to beef them up to look like the bodyguards they are. I searched though my bits, and found some Carnifex torso plates that would work just fine.

I had to cut them down a bit but they fit the back of the model well.  When I glued them down, there was a small of a gap around the neck, but I tidied it up with some putty.

So here they are now slitherguard 2.0 bigger, faster, stronger. What do you think?

I thought I'd celebrate the recent Deff Rolla FAQ ruling with a walkthough of my Supa Battlewagons.

When the Ork Battlewagon kit came out I knew I had to have a few. I opened the box up and furiously started assembling it.   When I was done I have to admit I was a little let down, it was barely bigger than a Trukk.

While it's a well made kit, with lots of options, I just didn't like the size. You may remember back in the day everyone converted these things up from Land Raiders and Leman Russes etc.

The next day I walked into work at TheWarStore, and my friend Mr. Don had done something extraordinary, he had made his Battlewagon bigger by combining two kits! There was much rejoicing, and I went home with two more kits and started anew.
This time it took a little longer because you basically have to saw the two vehicles in half and then assemble them down the middle. The hatch over the driver compartment and the rear armored top, require even more work and dry-fitting to get right.  But when the main body is together it looks great!

You can see in some of the shots above how we made this conversion.  I also made a custom front gob out of plastic card cause the front tends to look a little janky when combined side by side.

Before I had the time to paint these guys, my friend Pete put the idea in my head to make a custom Deff Rolla just out of various bits cobbled together. I kinda looked confused for a minute until he handed me a cylindrical plastic shelf leg, and then it was off to the bits box
I ended up using a combination of plastic card, plastic rivits, and various armor plates from different 40k kits to make the two Deff Rollas. I magnetized them so I could actually store these monstrosities, and give them a little more support structure wise.

Then I went to work giving the Battlewagons a little character.  I love having grots running around up to no good on my vehicles.  On one wagon I made a chain-gun big shoota from some defiler bits, and added a cheerful gunner. His buddy is in the back on another big shoota, but he forgot to strap in...
The other Battlewagon has a gunner team, one to point and one to light the Kannon.  If I was the Boss I don't know if I would trust them to get it right.
Here is a shot of the whole model. It breaks down nice and easy. I usually store the turrets in the cabin area, and take apart the Rollas for foam stowage separately.

So here are my two finished Super Battlewagons, what do you think??