Memorial Day: Remembrance

Memorial Day began as a local observance in the aftermath of the Civil War, the first national commemoration took place May 30, 1868, at the direction of Gen. John A. Logan, commander of the Grand Army of the Republic. Though his General Order No. 11 specified "strewing with flowers or otherwise decorating the graves of comrades who died in defense of their country during the late rebellion" -- meaning only Union soldiers -- those who tended the burial sites at Arlington, Va., Gettysburg, Pa., and Vicksburg, Miss., decided on their own to decorate the biers of both Union and Confederate war dead.

Imperial Guard Army List: SPOCON

SPOCON is an annual shindig here in the Inland Northwest much like other annual conventions held around the country. It’s a SCI-FI / Fantasy event featuring gaming, comics, quest speakers, a writing contest and other accoutrements of general geekdom. Of course there will be a tournament for 40k players featuring an ‘Adepticon’ style unique missions and game play married to a NOVA style scoring system for overall champion with points for painting, sportsman ship and gaming.

Badges, every gamer loves badges.

After Action Review: Fighting Grey Knights

I had the pleasure of playing against a couple of Grey Knight armies this weekend, both played by very capable gamers who are experimenting with their lists. Both of the two lists I had the opportunity to play were dramatically different and yet kinda similar. One game was a win, the other a loss. Both games offered some great insights into how the Grey Knights work. Below are some of my general observations about the games and what I learned about Grey Knights during them.

5 Minute History: Predator

The original Predator miniature for Warhammer 40,000 was released in 1990 as a fully plastic kit. The tank was essentially a variant of the Rhino chassis with a turret and weapons in side sponsons. Later that year, a miniaturized Predator model was released for the 1st edition of the Epic, then-named Epic Space Marine. The original version of the tank had a much rounder turret, reminiscent of the Russian T-62 tank and rounder sponsons (This version is now designated as a Predator Destructor).

Original Predator with 'lolli-pop' turret

House Esher: Hardened Veterans Part 2

Work on the conscripted Esher gangers continues in the forges of Tallarn. Bringing out the full character of the Sergeant and her powerfist is important on this mini I think, the positioning was critical to getting her running forward pose to look plausible, now I need to match that modeling effort with an equal amount of paint:  

Predictable: Price Increases and Overreactions

In the category of completely predictable announcements; Games Workshop is raising prices. Equally predictable is the flood of rage over the event, or 'slap in the face to the entire warhammer community' as some would say; even more predictable are threats of leaving the hobby. Prices go up and down, commodities rise and fall, labor wages go up and down, tuition to attend ‘university’ even goes up, hell – even the tides come in and out.

The old King is dead, long live the King!

Blogging, gaming, hobby and life are all constantly evolving. Change is constant and when we stop evolving we are either dead or already dying. ‘Flashlights of Fury’ was born of necessity as a creative outlet when I decided to leave the world of forums; it was created quickly and without a lot of thought. More successful, entertaining and eye opening that I ever anticipated it quickly became evident that I would need a more permanent home that would more accurately reflect my continuing evolution.

House Esher: Hardened Veterans

Moving across country will accomplish a great many things, like finding an old House Escher Gang lying about. So now, for something totally different, House Escher Hardened Veterans:

Yes - that is a power fist. Yes - she loves to use it.



Modeling: Special Weapon Grips!

Imperial Guard special weapon arms; nothing brings more frustration and irritation to the mind of an Imperial Guard player. The arms never line up correctly with the weapon, they don't give you the right pose or position and they will always frustrate you, leaving your fingers stuck together with super glue - until now... 

The dreaded gap!

5 Minute History: Rhino

The ubiquitous transport vehicle known as the Space Marine Rhino was first unveiled by Games Workshop in 1988. Originally, it was meant as a transport vehicle for squads of Space Marines and Imperial Guard for the tabletop miniatures game, Rogue Trader, the first edition of Warhammer 40,000. It appears as a small, turretless tracked vehicle not unlike the M113 armored personnel carrier used by many of the world's armed forces. Like the M113, the Rhino's use in the various games that it appears in is that of a highly mobile, armoured troop transport.

Modeling: Making Custom Decals

Most, if not all, Games Workshop kits come with water slide transfer sheets that allow for some customization on your miniatures. However, while these sheets are a great starting point they might not provide everything you are looking for. For the hobbyists out there looking for something unique or a very specific symbol, type of lettering or name you can try and search through thousands of decal sheets out there for kits from airplanes to tanks, but its far easier to do what the manufacturers do - make your own.



Anyone know where I can get some WWI ammo crate markings in 1/6th scale?



Deep Thoughts: WYSIWYG?

For the uninitiated WYSIWYG is shorthand Warhammer geek speak for, What You See Is What You Get, which means that if the model has an item of wargear, a weapon, a type of armor or a tooth ache – you gotta represent it on the model. Lots of major events publish rules that say WYSIWYG is the law of the land, but who actually plays WYSIWYG these days?

5 Minute History: Vindicator

Unlike most other Space Marine vehicles, the Vindicator did not originate in the Warhammer 40,000 tabletop game. The first conception of the tank was in 1989 with the 1st edition of another Games Workshop tabletop game, Space Marine. In the same year a Vindicator conversion using the Space Marine Rhino plastic kit was featured in White Dwarf Magazine 118, published in October of 1989. The article showed how to use cardboard and plastic pieces to modify a Rhino MKI into a Vindicator in addition to presenting rules for its use in Warhammer 40k. The first actual Vindicator kit for Warhammer 40,000 would not be released for another 10 years until the height of the 3rd edition in 1999. This kit is based on an original plastic Rhino body with metal components for the frontal Demolisher cannon and the extra armor plating on the sides between the exhaust stacks.



First Vindicator kit released in 1999