Was ist der Boogeyman?

My last article gave rise to some questions about the concept of the boogeyman, and yes – for you readers in England we did add an extra O to the word! So, what is a boogeyman? In its most basic form a boogeyman is simply a shiny object used to attract attention. A perfect, and very recent,  example of a boogeyman either the Wraithknight or the Riptide. Both of these units are intimidating on the table top because of their size in comparison to other models and they are both durable because of their high toughness and wounds. Both of these units are fast on the tabletop and they both pack a fairly lethal arsenal of weapons. So why are both of these very good examples of boogeymen?

How I learned to stop worrying and love the Helldrake

You can’t hunt what you can’t kill. Pretty simple concept really, if your opponent can’t do any damage to your unit – you are free to do what you want. What are we talking about? Why the Helldrake of course! Everyone’s favorite barbeque and vector strike specialist custom made for taking out 3+ armor and almost anything else that gets in his way. Previously I talked about the effect this little guy has had on the game and not over reacting and reminding everyone that there aren’t 3 Helldrakes waiting for you around each corner. Now, let’s talk about some of the tools we have that we can use against this marine killing machine.

Helldrake Stage 5: Acceptance

Let start out by saying this is not a rant about how Helldrake is broken, how it ruins the game, or how I crapped my pants and learned to like it when I see that God Forsaken critter on the other side of the table. If you are still anywhere in stages one through four, skip this article and move on to another author who might be in one of the same stages of Denial, Anger, Bargaining or Depression as yourself. Those of us here have already moved on to Acceptance and are quietly plotting the death of our enemies and ways to neutralize them.

Warhammer 40k Tactics - Strike Packages 2.0

In my previous discussion I laid out a list of qualities that I think are essential in a solid strike package – durability, mobility, lethality and adaptability. I like to think of these qualities as a starting point that I use when putting together what I refer to as a ‘strike package’. Keeping in mind that in my definition a strike package is a unit that is used to target specific portions of an opponent’s army and eliminate them quickly and efficiently without resorting to using the famous ‘make it fit wrench’ of simply tossing the kitchen sink, or a hammer, at the problem. That being said, strike packages are very much a ‘maneuver warfare’ based concept and people well versed in ‘attrition warfare’ will probably find the concept foreign, and or useless, to them. 

Maneuver Warfare - He's got it!

Warhammer 40k Tactics - Strike Packages 1.0

The strike package – what are they and what do they do? In the ‘real world’ strike packages are put together to deal with threats of a certain level, threats of a level you don’t typically want your standard infantry units to deal with. In the world of Warhammer 40,000 these threats take the form of things like 20 Lootaz dug in behind an Aegis Defense Line. See, I really don’t want a squad of Imperial Guard Veterans or a Squad of Tactical Marines trying to move up and take that out. It’s a specific threat that is difficult to deal with and requires more than the typical ‘square peg – round hole’ solution on the table top, enter the strike package.

Less than optimal Strike Package

Introduction to Casting Part II

First as a 'public service announcement' the original post in this series was done in way back in February (LINKY) sorry I am getting part two up so late, but hey - there was like stuff going on and stuff! Here we have the assembled tools. You will need a container to mix your resin in, this container (red solo cup) must be DISPOSABLE as there will be hard resin left over from the casting in it. I have cut mine like you see in the picture because I can pour easily and maintain better control of the resin by pouring down that flap sticking up. The Popsicle stick is used to mix the two parts of the resin and in the cups you can see the clear and brown portions of the mix.

Modeling: Autocannon Rebuild

Offering a new take on an old weapon, im bringing my 2nd edition metal Tallarn Autocannons into the 41st millennium. Here is where we started straight from the Games Workshop website:

Used without permission (cause they don't answer email)

6th Edition Inital Thoughts (from yet another random guy)

After getting in a game of 40k this weekend, and watching a couple others as well, I have complied some thoughts about game mechanics and how it looks like the battlefields are going to be shaping up. So instead of bitching about this that or the other thing, because its not going to get changed for a few years anyway, ill just point out some things I noticed.

TFM: My Assault on Assault on Black Reach Part 16

With this weekend's release of the rulebook, I figured it was only a matter of time before the starter set follows. If I am going to meet my goal, something seldom achieved in the flight-of-fancy, army de jour, painting lifestyle of mine, I needed to get after it. All that stands between myself and the finish line is a dreadnought. So I started to take a swing at it.

TFM: Fire Warrior Needs A Base

From still practicing_

On Saturday I was hanging out at the park with my wife and kids. While my wife was following our toddler around, my son and I were hanging out a bench watching the bedlam that is play equipment at a public park. I noticed that the outfit my son was wearing would make for a pretty cool scheme. So when we got home later that evening I grabbed a fire warrior, because I have a jillion of them, and tried it out. In all I like it. But I always like painted fire warriors. That mini gets a huge pass from me because I think they look so cool.

TFM: My Assault on Assault on Black Reach Part 15

From Stuff I Have Painted: Space Marines

TFM: My Assault on Assault on Black Reach Part 14

From Stuff I Have Painted: Space Marines

If you followed me here from my other blog you may already be familiar with this series. If not, it is pretty easy to guess. I have had the AoBR marine contingent kicking around for ever, so I decided to paint them up in the colors of my favorite chapter, the Dark Angels.

Transmission from Mars: Alaitoc Rangers +

From Stuff I Have Painted: Eldar/Dark Eldar

Finished up a squad of Alaitoc Rangers yesterday. For those of you that are keeping track...these are not orks either. They didn't actually come out at all how I thought they would, which can also be said about the photography for them... The camo pattern worked way better in my head,and while I still like it, it isn't what I expected. I used the browns and purples to tie them into the base, however I was trying to keep them lighter in tone in order to contrast with the forth-coming Pathfinder squad, which I intend to be quite dark.

Transmissions From Mars: Wherein Mars is a Big Friggin' Liar

From Stuff I Have Painted: Eldar/Dark Eldar

So, maybe like a month ago at the game store, the planets alinged and there was an easy Saturday afternoon where a couple of folks I game with were all down there playing at the same time. It was awesome. And at that time I stated, "I am only painting orks in 2012." Immediately after that sentence left my mouth I wished I could catch it and put it back before it hit the ear drums of the guys collected. But I can't, and it did, and now I am looking for recipes for crow.

Transmissions From Mars: Wherein Mars Joins a Kult.

So I was working on Bad Moonz when last I posted. Since then, I have decided that I don't want to do that anymore. I wasn't unhappy with the way they were turning out. They just weren't getting me all reved up. I need some severe reving, because there is a lot of army to paint. So in the spirit of reving, the reving of engines has served as an orkish, siren's call.

Mob Up!: Bad Moon Slugga Boyz

From Stuff I Have Painted: Orks

Hello. I am Mars, new guy here at still practicing_. Not entirely new on the internets. I had a small blog called Mars' Project Blog. But real life catches up, and I couldn't post frequently enough to justify my own blog, so I was assimilated here.

I would like introduce my army project for the year. Year is pretty optimistic actually, but we will go with that for now. The optimism is based off the fact that I paint very slowly. Glacially slow. So it stands to reason that I should try and crack out a horde army in a year right?

5 Minute History: Collegia Titanica

The Collegia Titanica is the division of the Adeptus Mechanius that commands the Titans - colossal robotic combat walkers which are the most potent ground weapons capable of being deployed by the Imperium. The Collegia was one of the groups of the Adeptus Mechanicus that went over to the Warmaster Horus almost en masse alongside the Legio Cybernetica during the Horus Heresy. The name "Adeptus Titanica" is also used for the corps of Titans fielded by the Mechanicus.

Gaming: Planetary Empires

For most of us Planetary Empires is simply a book sitting on the shelf in our local game store, gathering dust. For others it becomes a chance to create a truly unique experience where cagy veterans can gather round the tables and trade blows while talking smack, trying new armies and building a sense of camaraderie rarely seen in most gaming circles. It is an interactive campaign with many players that follows a general format that is easily modified, all while building veteran abilities for your units and trying to maintain a tenuous grip on your territories and trying to gain new ones. One of the guys ('guy' is an inadequate description, perhaps 'diabolical man child' would be more appropriate) in my local gaming area suggested a Planetary Empires campaign a few months ago, with some hesitancy I accepted in the spirit of trying something new.

Hobby: Display Board

Display boards for your army come in all shapes and sizes, from the complex to the very basic. Using a simple 20 x 30 inch picture frame using the glass for your display surface is a very simple way to do it, adding some textured paper with a color matching your army underneath the glass can help tie it in to your army.

Deep Thoughts: Soft Core Cheating

To me there are two types of cheating; both of them are evil, stupid and have no place in the hobby for anyone. The first type of cheat is a gamer who is hard core in their cheating, they will make stuff up and rule lawyer you to death using arguments they know to be false hoping that you will concede the point just to not be a bad guy. They read forums and know what the counter arguments are and rehearse their cheating before playing, to ensure that it comes across as true and accurate. The other kind of cheater is a soft core cheater who will make snide remarks while presenting a cheerful face and simultaneously apologizing for mistakes that are planned and deliberate. In my opinion, the soft core cheater is by far the worse of the varieties of cheaters because they will present a friendly and welcoming appearance to your face while simultaneously waiting for any opportunity to stab you in the back.

My Chimera, Soft Core Cheater Target