Slow going on the hobby front

I know it has been awhile since I've posted and as you can see I haven't made much progress on my painting.  I'd like to get more time in but it just hasn't been lately.  I was down in Brazil for 5 days last week, and I'll be traveling again shortly so... this may be awhile.

I did manage two games last Sat with the trolls.  I took a new 35 pt gunny list.

Captain Gunnbjorn

* Slag Troll 

* Troll Impaler 

* Dire Troll Bomber

Krielstone Bearer and 3 Stone Scribes

* Krielstone Stone Scribe Elder

Trollkin Fennblades (Leader and 9 Grunts)

* Trollkin Fennblade Officer & Drummer

Fell Caller Hero

Stone Scribe Chronicler 

I played against a 'you can't shoot me' everblitght lilith list and against khador.  The Everblight game was long and drawn out, and a lucky scatter from the Bomber was able to get the last few wounds on Lilith.  If that had failed I think my attrition rate was about to catch up with me.  The Khador game was much quicker, I think the top of my turn 3 I was able to pounce on his exposed caster.  This was my first 'mission' game where we played killbox, and that factored in to his need to advance into my striking range.

In both games the actually ground the Fennblades can cover made huge differences.  I expect that I'm not going to catch players more than one time with their incredible striking distance!  But they certainly add a lot to the list, and for the 10 points of the big 12 man squad I can see why many trollblood players like them.  Even going min squad with the UA is still a great unit.

That's not to say they aren't without their issues.  It is easy to get into traffic jams with that many medium sized bases.  They also get that one turn of running like mad and hitting like a truck, but after that you'll find they just fall apart pretty easily.  So knowing when to push with them is I think the key.

Anyway I'm hoping to get more painting done and more games.  My wife starts bowling again on Fridays next month so that will mean some time for hobby be it playing or painting!

Slag Troll Complete

Wrapping up my first 15 points is my slag troll.  I decided to do him in the more traditional blue, but use the rust effects on the skin around the metal slags.

Not much to say other than I'm happy with him.  Some of the muscle tone turned out excellent, and I'm really happy with the rust effect and how that helped pull the model together well.

I did have a bit of an issue during the dullcoating in that the model got hit with sprinklers while drying.  I was freaking out when I first saw him with a white filmy coat!  It turned out another hit of dullcoate took care of the bulk of the issues, plus some black paint on the base.  The 'grass' is a bit darker because of it all but overall the model is no worse for wear thankfully.

I'm now moving on to the units.  I've decided to tackle the min Fennbaldes unit next.  I've just spend 5 hours on these guys and I'm not even done with basecoats.  Granted what's left is basically metal... but this is clearly going to take a ton more time than the single models action of the first 15 points.

Space Wolves vs Marines 1850

So a few weekends ago I also brought my 40k along in case people wanted to play 40k.  I don't have anything to really 'practice' for and I thought people might want to run an 'Ard Boyz practice.

So rather than playing one of my armies I figured it was a good time to bust out just a very generic marine army.  I have plenty of stand in proxies if you can deal with armless dreads and terminators, rhinos as razorbacks, and mismatched paint jobs.

As it turned out I got my 3 Trollblood games, but my buddy Dave had his 1850 Space Wolves.  So busted out this vanilla marine force for him to square up against.

Libby- Null Zone, Gate

10 TH/SS Termies

Dread- 2x TL Autocannons

Dread- 2x TL Autocannons

10 Tac Marines, Melta, Missile, Las/Plas Razorback

10 Tac Marines, Melta, Missile, Las/Plas Razorback  

10 Tac Marines, Melta, Missile, Las/Plas Razorback   

Typhoon Speeder

Typhoon Speeder

Auto/HB Pred

Auto/HB Pred

I don't recall Dave's list well so I wont even try.  I also am not going to do great on details here but I do have a few pics to help out the general way this battle unfolded.

We rolled up long table edge and kill points.  As I planned to combat squad all my tac squads I certainly had more to lose that Dave.  He won the roll off and setup and went first.

Here's the deployment.  He's tucked in his corner, I'm tucked in mine.  I've got the Termies as 'forward' as I wish while providing some bubble from his drop pod with terminators that will come down turn one.

Dave's turn one and he puts his termies down a bit off to the right and it scatters a little.  He hides the termies behind the pod.  I've managed to put some good distance between most of his long fangs, but with Logan the get relentless and can move a bit so most fire.  He manages to immobilize one razorback and one dread.  Not bad for me.

My turn and the shooting unloads.  Man it is a lot of shots, seeing it go to town we were both pretty impressed with the volume of fire the list outputs.  I beleive at the end of my turn I had exploded one razorback, exploded his drop pod, wrecked a rhino, immobilized and stunned a vindicator, and killed a few marines from the razorback.


The one 'what was I thinking' move was running terminators into cover.  YAY please give me that cover save on my 3++ termies.  Dur.

Dave's turn 2 was spectacularly bad.  He basically had to focus fire on the advancing termies, and I made every save thrown at me.  It wasn't a huge volume of fire, but enough 3++ saves that I should have certainly failed one or two.

My turn 2 and the shooting continues, with very little movement aside from my advancing termintors.  I figured this time putting the front guys in terrain in case he charged with his Lone Wolves.  My shooting was a little less spectacular.  I think I shook his immobilized vindi, cleared off his small marine unit, and killed a few of his termies.

Dave's turn 3 and this time his shooting is able to put some more rapid fire and combi plasma into the terminators, killing a 4 of them.  He also gets one long shot off to pop one of my predators.

My turn 3 and I decide to change strategies.  I move my termies off to deal with his remaining terminatros.  I can't make the assault so I just run toward them.   Much of my other shooting was floppish.

Dave's turn 4 and his terminators turn tail and run away from me.  His Lone Wolves advance.  I've moved up my speeders to try to get shots and he shakes one of them.

My turn 4 and I change my mind again.  I charge my termies into his Lone wolf and we each kill one thing and push.  I think I maybe stun a vehicle or two of his.  I think I also redirected some lascannon fire onto his termies killing one.

Dave's turn 5 and he pops one of my speeders.  Combat also goes better for him killing two of my termies to his one wolf, and my termies flee away from him.  Not much else this turn.

My turn 5 and my termies are far enough away to regroup.  I shoot his last terminator dead.  Maybe I shake his hiding razorback.  I think I must have popped his vindi finally also.

We roll for turn 6 and it goes on.  Dave shoots and charges my termies and somehow manages to kill them off finally.  His long fangs also get a nice advance and with Logan's relentless the manage to explode both a razorback and a dread.

I think my last shooting was pretty ineffective but the game ends regardless.

Dave has killed a speeder, my termies, one pred, one dread, and one razorback for 5 kp.

I've killed a drop pod, a rhino, a razorback, one tact squad and a vindi for 5 kp.  The game winner for me are his two loan wolves, who are still alive and ergo give me the winning two killpoints.

It was a fun game that started strong for me but kind of puttered off in the end.  The list itself is relatively boring to play as it's mostly a sit and shoot and target priority kind of list.  I think it has merit in bringing out every once in awhile as bench mark for other people to run up against. 

For me I have a few old 2nd edition vehicles, and all the old marines and terminators to actually make this a real army.  I'd need a few more vehicles and some bits to really put this army on the table.  I'm very tempted to craft it up as a heresy style army.  It couldn't really be preheresy since all he marines are eagle emblemmed, unless I decided to go Emperor's Children.   But 'heresy era' might work since I believe they broke out the eagle emblem armor during the siege of terra to distinguish the loyalist from the traitors...

Something to think about and to poke around ebay for cheap bits and vehicles from back in the day.

But Trollbloods are certainly still my main focus currently.

Gunnbjorn Painted

So I finally spent some time this weekend to finish up Captain Gunnbjorn.

Looking at him now and I don't think I've got his skin quite as bright as I do on the other two trolls.  I think this is largely because I didn't have a really bright section like the belly which ends up getting quite a bright blue to my pallete that I end up picking some other spots of the brow and arms.

So I might go back later and drop a few more highlights later.

But for now I'll call him done.  I was prety happy with the way the green uniform came out with the tan trim.  I was concerned but it came out well, as did my concern the gun would look two boring with only silver and gold.  Enough washes and highlights make it interesting enough without it looking like to much is going on over there.

So moving along a bit, I've got reinforcements I think arriving tomorrow, and have quite a bit to paint in the meantime!

3 More Trollblood Games

So Saturday a few of the guys got together for some gaming.  I took down some 40k and my trollbloods as different folks had different bits to play.  I did get one 40k game in which I have some pictures and will do up a little report later this week.

I also got three trollblood games.  I didn't take pictures as I was pretty absorbed in trying to learn the game.  There are plenty of things we've/I've done wrong so any kind of report is really not so helpful.

The first game was 15 points against Anthony's Protectorate army.

Gunnbjorn
Impaler
Slag
Bomber

The next two games were against Jason's 25 pt Retribution and then his 25 pt Blindwater.

So for those I added:
Whelps
10 Bushwackers

Now for those of you who don't play yet or don't know the armies let me point a few things out for you.

My army is a shooting army.  That's how I've built it, and it (on paper) looks like it has some decent output.

The Menoth Army casts a 'you can't target me with your guns' spell.

The Retribution Army is basically all stealthed, meaning you can't shoot it from more than 5" away (more or less).

And the Blindwater has abilities that can pretty much also always make them 'untargetable' by guns.

So as you can imagine I was wooped pretty badly all three games.  Sure I still learned the rules better and am 'thinking' more about how armies are put together.

But overall I was disapointed.  Not really because I lost, but because it was my first real taste that the game system isn't necessarily nirvana.  The idea of 'just play the models you want' sounds great but if you do you'll certainly find plenty of bad matchups.  Am I shocked necessarily, well no, I guess not.

I can now see obvious flaws in both my current list, and truth be told I think with the warlock I've chosen.  The problem my caster has is he really works well when you can get those 3 or 4 shooty beasts in there to take advantage of his synergies.

However at small point games that doesn't leave a lot for other things, and if you think taking an all ranged army is going to work it just isn't.  There appear to be plenty of things to keep multiple armies from being shot, pretty much at all.

So what does this mean for me exactly?  Well I'm trying to figure that out still.  On the one hand I am really happy with the models I've painted, and I like what I've got in hand, but my motivation for painting is currently low.  I think going to 35 points I can add in some tarpit unit, or a melee beatstick, or some much needed support.

I think taking a look at my 25 point list I need to cut the bushwackers, and maybe the whelps, and also add some of the above.

I think gunnbjorn at 15 pts is pretty much a big fat waste unless maybe your doing Tooth and Claw or another scenario type maybe.

So even before this I had been thinking of picking up another caster.  I was thinking Angus for awhile, but I think he might be my 3rd guy as he kind of blends shooty with CC.  I think instead I'll just go Borka and build out a CC list.  By the time I have that filled out picking up Grim will probably mean I've got plenty of options already in the toolbox.

So some things I was thinking about for my gunnbjorn lists as options were as follows: Earthborn Dire Troll, Fennblades w/ UA, and the Kriel Stone Bearer with the Stone Scribe Elder.  This will give me some options to 35, and quite honestly could take me up to 50 also.  We're talking about a $100 investment, not so bad.

So now taking a look at what I would have in the box I thought I'd take a look at what it would take to make a list for pimp daddy Borka.

I mean the guy has a fur collar and a keg carrier...

First 25 points:

Borka
Slag
EBDT

Min Fennblades w/ UA
KSB + Stone Scribe
Fell Caller Hero

So wow, we're talking one $12 guy I'd need beyond Borka himself and my addons for the Gunny list.  Sure, I could see how an Axer might fit better than the slag but I think this is still pretty workable.

So what do I add to go to 35 points?

Pyre Troll
Make the min Fennblades Max
Stone Scribe Chronicler

So I beleive the Fennblades come in the box maxed, so we're talking another $12 for the Chronicler.

So basically for about $50 I can make my toolbox now be a CC oriented army, assuming I was willing to spend that nex $100 to bump the list anyway to go to 35-50. 

I know you'll be shocked to learn I'm adding to cart...