An eclectic week of interesting acquisitions

I took advantage of a break in the weather this weekend to get a little bit of spray undercoating done. Because I am a good husband, I sorted out the wife's Razorwing Jet Fighter.

Unfortunately, the stuttering noises the white spray can was making as I finished this did not bode well...

So, the Leman Russ I'm picking up for the Hobby Progress Challenge has now had the bottom undercoated in white and the top undercoated in black. Kind of a reverse zenithal or something. I'm not too fussed, I'm sure it'll be fine.

Here's the Bloodletter, ready for a spot of paint. He is what I will tinker about with when I get fed up of tank, so I'm still doing something.

I also did a little trade with the Lead Plague. My ill gotten gains for this included this preacher with a club, amazing bling and ridiculous hair.

I also acquired this delightful Conversion Beamer, which I intend to end up with a gentleman of the Inquisitorial persuasion, once I find the right pieces for him.

My darling wife had also ordered me a couple of the White Dwarf binders, in the interests of me not clogging up the house quite so much. I can imagine a lot of people thinking that they're a waste of money and horribly over priced.

The White Dwarfs fit in very nicely, the quality is respectable, and there's some nice artwork on the inside. I also took the time to track down the people who make them (as I was pretty sure Games Workshop aren't going to be making something so specialised). The unbranded ones usually retail for only a couple of pounds less, and they don't have free shipping on larger orders. In short - respectable and sensible grown up purchase at a not terrible price!

The majority of my Arcworlde Kickstarter arrived this morning, neatly dodging a bunch of guys on bikes who were causing mayhem with the traffic around here later that day. Due to a heavy rules re-write, the books are due to come a little later. A couple of small things were missing from the packet, but I got in touch with Alex and the missing Boglins and dice will be over pretty swiftly. I am a teensy bit intimidated by some of the bigger metal pieces - I've been spoiled rotten by the plastic and resin, I tell you!

(For those keeping track, I now have one fully delivered Indiegogo project, and 3 partially delivered Kickstarters. It's a race to see which Kickstarter will be the first to get me all my pledge!)

And here's some metal in more ways than one! I'm going to try and get these chaps prepped for Sim this week, as her nickel allergy means handling metal figures without gloves causes actual burns to her skin! As such, I'm going to be cleaning them up and giving them a quick undercoat so she can then tag in and paint them.

And finally, I decided to play around with the piece of scenery I got from Candy Art Studio last week and took a shot of a couple of my models having a disagreement over it. I'm playing around with my photography set up to try and balance quick and easy with good shots.

Salute 2014 - Miniature Companies: Old Friends

I'm breaking down my Salute posts into something coherent and . . . aw, who am I kidding? This is the only way I'll get my Salute posts done at all. Aiming for coherency is just pushing my luck.

This post consists of photos I remembered to take during the day, so is rather erratic in its coverage and focus.

So first up are Heresy. They of the Dragon. In short, Heresy have been making a Dragon model for absolutely years. There have been epic number of delays, and the pre-order backlog is currently sitting at 164, with a handful actually sent out.

But they are still going, not dead, and starting to do the resin casting by hand, one by one. I have the utmost respect for that determination in the face of adversity.

This chap is the Netherlord, one of their old metal sculpts, redone in resin to help pay the bills. You may be guessing already that Sim had a teensy bit of a budget slip at Heresy. Some day she will not be painting a titan commission and hit some of her own backlog!

One of Sim's favourite purchases from last year, Troublemaker Games were there again this year. In addition to Timeline 300, they are now working on Defeat in Detail, which is a 6mm Sci Fi wargame with plastic pieces. It successfully funded on Indiegogo during the year, and there were plenty of examples available, which I'll be showing off in a later post.

There was also Taban. I was super tempted by the Puppet Master and the Escape board game, but I decided to leave that for another day.

I liked JoeK minis' stuff last year. This year I bought some! He's also planning a Kickstarter soon.

There were also a couple of miniature folk who we already know who I didn't take any photos of. Forge World unsurprisingly got a ton of my money, but didn't have any miniatures on display that I saw. Hasslefree also gleefully parted my darling wife from her money in a pretty cheerful fashion. Sphere Wars is also something I really want to get into - I'd signed up to demo games for them, but had to back out as work has gotten super busy. We also said a quick hello to Warploque Miniatures, who had a lot of the Kickstarter models for Arcworlde on display. Studio McVey remain awesome people who put out excellent stuff, although this year I didn't pick anything up - I still have to paint the one I got from them last year!

The Kickstarter Problem

I have a Kickstarter problem.

I don't think anyone who knows me will be even mildly surprised by this statement. I've 'properly' backed five Kickstarters, with another three on behalf of my wife for various reasons. Last week, I got my first ever Kickstarter fully delivered - which has motivated me a little to have a little talk about the Kickstarters I've backed.

(I've had an Indiegogo campaign fully deliver, but this post is long enough as it is, and I've already talked about it before.)

Oh no, wait, I haven't got all that Kickstarter yet. I just went back to the site to get the information to start putting these posts together and . . . I haven't got all my rewards yet.

So, still 0 for 5 on delivery so far...

So, the Kickstarter delivery which prompted this crazy post was the download notice for "Girl Genius and the Rats of Mechanicsburg". I pledged as a minion, so I got a shiny medal, a game, and a bunch of digital art.

The digital art is the bit I just realised I don't have yet. Not sure if it was delivered and I missed it, or if it hasn't been done yet.

The game itself? The voice acting and your little avatar are lovely and very pretty, with some nice cartoon-y artwork (it is based on a webcomic, after all). The mechanics are a bit . . . awkward at times. It's the sort of thing I'd download for free or a few pence, but not get super inspired by. I'd probably not have noticed it if it wasn't for the tie in.

I probably won't back computer game projects in the future - at least, not for the computer game rewards.

Funded: December 2012
Target Release: May 2013
Actual Release: March 2014 (ish)

Through the Breach was my first Kickstarter. I was utterly broke at the time, so only pledged for the Core Set. I do wish I'd been able to afford to go in for the full monty on this one and get All The Things, but financially, it just was not an option.

I did also pledge early, which earnt me a limited edition figure. Well, it will do when it finally ships. The entire project got delayed by Malifaux 2E, which was frustrating, but Malifaux 2E is also pretty awesome, so I'm not too narked about it.

I have had a partial delivery on this one, though. Wyrd sent the backers a PDF copy of the rules (along with a lot of beta versions along the way) as soon as they were ready. I'm still waiting on the physical copies of the books and the mini, but they will be along eventually. I have, sadly, not yet found the time to run a game.

Funded: January 2013
Target Release: September 2013
Partial Release: March 2014

Maki Games Kickstarter for plastic terrain was the first full wargaming Kickstarter I backed. It is Maki who are responsible for my unhealthy interest in collecting model shipping containers. I suppose there's worse things to be interested in.

And this is what I'm waiting for. Two of the most ridiculously "blinged out" shipping container models you will ever so. They are covered in skulls, and absolutely perfect for 40K. They suffered a hefty delay with their engineer falling ill but have been up front about that with the backers, and are giving regular updates to show what's going on. I am super excited about this one, and can't wait for the final delivery.

Funded: June 2013
Target Release: November 2013
Not yet received

I have mentioned Arcworlde on the blog before. Their website is down while the Kickstarter gets sorted, but I'm sure it will all be back up again soon enough.

I got a couple of warbands and the rulebook, so I could play with my darling wife. She's gone undead pirates while I've gone with Bayou Orcs. Their original plan was to deliver in February 2014, but they are currently running a little late.

Funded: September 2013
Target Release: February 2014
Not yet delivered

T5: Tile City was a recent Kickstarter for HDF terrain. These are pretty common at the moment, because people have realised they can buy a laser for their garage and off they go - and that initial outlay is perfect Kickstarter fodder. This one was going on at the same time as the Underground Lasers terrain Kickstarter, but for the sake of sanity and available money, after a lot of thinking, I went with T5.

Ooh, they have shipping containers. That's pretty! I don't understand why everyone doesn't find a well put together shipping container model gorgeous. However, I was incredibly strong about this and did not bulk out my pledge with some shipping containers as well as the core thing I was going in to get.

This is the set I went for - not the boards underneath, but the building. I'm getting a higher detailed version of this due to stretch goals, but it's a lovely modular art deco look that no-one else I'm aware of is really doing, and is really suited to laser cut terrain.

Funded: March 2014
Due: September 2014
Not overdue yet

In summary: Kickstarter (and Indiegogo) is a cool way to support companies who might not do something otherwise, or might not release as much. Do not pledge with any delivery date in mind. These are mostly start ups, and successful campaigns will end up getting swamped. Other times, illness or rookie errors like "forgetting to book your slot with the caster" will lead to delays.

There is another big danger. Stuff does not immediately arrive. That means that you have "hidden backlog", and the act of backing the Kickstarter doesn't necessarily associate in your brain with a big box of stuff you're going to need to assemble and paint turning up on your doorstep. Sim has more Sedition Wars models than she can count due to a runaway success. And that's before you talk to anyone who pledged on the "Vampire" level of the Bones Kickstarter...

Eden: Endings and Beginnings

I had originally planned on posting about my little excursion to Darksphere on Sunday to go to a painting day, where I met up again with Max von D and Marta from Platoon Britannica.

I planned on showing off my newly finished Imperial Beastman, who is finally done.

Then a package arrived from Europe today.

My stuff from the Eden Indiegogo Campaign had turned up.

So plans went out the window.

The original plan had been for much of what I got to be Sim's Christmas present. As it was, I got her a small thing then, and this now - although she now has Battle for Alabaster nearly here now.

This is all Sim's stuff - a box of scenery, three limited edition pieces of scenery, and two ISC robots.

I've now read the rules of those robots. I may regret getting them for her. They are going to eat my Jokers for breakfast.

The scenery box

Still, it wasn't entirely presents for Sim. I had bought myself things!

I have started a Joker's faction for Eden myself. My 100 point (standard sized) force consists of four models. Although one is a pair of tumbling acrobats which looks like a nightmare to put together.

There are also two Askari (another faction) which Sim or I will pick up at some point when we are in a mood to do so.

So, here's the cards for my faction - a pair of tumbling acrobats, a ringmaster, a mime and a clown with a vacuum cleaner.

What could possibly go wrong?

One of the cards was unintentionally in German, but I know from Taban's reputation that this will get sorted out with no problems.

I am enchanted by the book. It is mostly the world background and faction details as the rules are very simple, and the rules for each model comes with that model.

For those of you used to Games Workshop's slick production values, you will spot a few foibles. There is nothing wrong with any of the pictures or the layout. That's lovely. But it seems that Taban's translators have decided to stick with the unique style which Taban's self translated work carries.

Now, I'm being a bit tongue in cheek here. My French and German is shocking compared to the Taban crew's English, and that might be why I find the wording issues endearing rather than infuriating. No "Read as Written" Games Workshop player will tolerate the instruction to play on a 60 metre square board (not 60 centimetres). None of the important paragraphs have been left in the original French by mistake. And no, "Category" doesn't have an "h" in it, nor "Ireland" two "I"s.

But these little tweaks, which will undoubtedly really irritate Mohand, actually make me love this game even more. It makes me laugh, and nothing actually stops me playing the game or makes it harder. The book remains absolutely gorgeous, the miniatures are works of art, and I hope to have a lot of fun running around causing anarchy in this wonderfully dreamed up post apocalyptic world.

I also got a nice signed art print. Not the book cover as advertised, but a better one. I may share it later. That's totally me loving it so much I'm holding off on sharing, not that I forgot to take a photo of it. Honest.

Christmas Treats

So, with the intent of sharing some Christmas cheer and inspiration, I thought I'd share a few blogs and sites I've come across recently which have been impressing and inspiring me.

Do You Have a Flag? and Palladian Guard by Headologist and Colonel Scipio
I have mentioned these blogs in the past - they've been the inspiration for my creative writing (I hate the word 'fluff') around my army. I also see some awesome modelling and kitbashing going on, and even better, they're both Guard players!

Inquisitor 28
Legion of Plastic
Spiky Rat Pack
Tears of Istvaan
Oh my goodness.
Each of these four blogs turns me into a slightly embarrassing fan boy. This is the kit bashing I've always had in my head as to what I want to be working towards, but I've never seen it done so well or in such quantities. The fact that they're also playing Inquisitor in 28mm just adds to the mild hero worship I'm currently suffering from.
These four blogs are my absolute "best of the 'net" right now, and I think for good reason.

Indiegogo and Kickstarter Campaigns
If you were wondering what to spend your Christmas money on...
I already spent a bunch of money on the EDEN Indiegogo Campaign, which is going to make up Sim's slightly late Christmas present when it finally arrives...
My wife is a massive Eden fan girl, and the campaign reward doesn't just cover her Christmas present, but also my starting a faction. When this all arrives, expect some happy blog posts as I to through all the shiny things.

We then have the Kingdom Death Kickstarter, which is tempting me but I am trying to resist. All the miniatures are very pretty, and the game concept looks interesting. I'm not normally a fan of horror games but the idea of trying to build a community of survivors in a horror world is quite appealing. It's co-operative, it can be one player.

I totally failed to resist Through the Breach: A Malifaux Roleplaying Game, though. I'm holding off right now and trying to be good and not go too mad on what level I'm supporting. I think it really comes down to how much I can save and whether I get enough cash for Christmas to get me a higher level of Stuff. There's plenty of time left, though, so its not something that is worrying me too much yet.

And while on the subject of "It must be mine" craziness, I know it is only a matter of time before I buy Only War and as many of its supplements as my budget allows. I just accept it as a sad reality of life and move on. :)

And as a final note: I get most of my miniature release gaming news from Tabletop Fix, and all my GW rumours from Faiet 212. I don't really bother linking to them much, and definitely try not to repeat what they say - if you want the news with regards wargaming, go there.