Fantasy Shop Warhammer 40k 1000 Point Tournament

So we had a very cool event this past Sat. I held a 40k 1000 Point tournament at the local Fantasy Shop store in St. Charles MO. We had about 19 sign up ahead of time. Of those 19, 16 showed up and an additional 8 people came. So we had a showing of 24 people. About 6 regulars from our local area did not attend. There was a $10 entry fee and each game was given a 2 hour time limit. I would have to say that I think the 2 hour time limit was great because people actually finished their games.

Things that went well in my opinion

The time limit was great because folks actually finished their games. I did see a clear difference in the folks that play tournaments and the people that don't though. We had a few games get done pretty fast but no one had a true 5 round game in less than 1.5 hours except one. had a lot of people through in the towel early and one that got tabled pretty fast due to bad reserve rolls.

New players came out of the woodwork for this one. I loved seeing the new faces form around the St. Louis area show up. We had some really good balance of the usual people and others come out. We had pretty much our bases covered from each corner of our community. Even had some folks that don't usually play give it a go.

We had some pretty cool painted armies that made judging painting fun for those that attended. I have everyone who is playing in the tournament vote for the best army. Of the 9 armies submitted for painting 3 of them had 5 votes or more.

Forgeworld was allowed and we didn't have a single person take advantage of it. I restricted it to 2 FW models only. Also we had folks who own plenty of forgeworld models but still chose to stick to codex.

We had ZERO big issues this go around. No real big rules disputes that I heard and each dispute I was brought in for the book covered. For me as a T.O. I love it. I try to stay away from the games completely that way I don't interfere. Now I will say in round three I spent time around the tables of the lower tier just to see what issues they were having and to give some pointers.

Things that need work on my part

I should have posted the scenarios a week out which was the plan and I just failed to do it. I think that would have allowed people to build better balanced lists for the missions. I am still up in the air on whether or not I want to do that but I think I will the next go around to see how it works out.

More story driven missions like what I have done in the past. I think it gives us some cool things to do and provides for some other areas for people to win something.

Track the army types playing. Now this may sound petty but I want to make sure in the future the same guy doesn't face three straight rounds of Chaos Space Marines or another army. Most of the FUN of tournaments is that you play armies you are not used to playing and you get variety the day you play. That was not achieved for a couple of players where with the point spread I could have mixed it up better.

Set up the tables further apart so each player at least has a 1' x 4' area to place their armies and they can put their display boards away. I actually knocked over a guys ork army while announcing pairings and that really made me sour for the next hour. I wanted to stop what I was doing to help put three of his models back together but I had to get all the pairings out.

Terrain needs work

One thing our club needs to work on is terrain at the store. It's great that this location has about 15 8x4 tables but we only really have about 5 tables worth of terrain and it's in disrepair at best.

I want to work with the shop to see if they can get us some terrain of at least a deal on some so we have a good count for at least 10 tables.

I also need to focus more on ensuring that each table has basically the same design so there is no advantage from being on one table over another.

In Summary

All in all it was a ton of fun to run the event and with numbers we had I will continue to run them at the lower point cost. I think its easier and leaves more room for newer players.

I didn't here any complaints during the event so that's always a plus and we had the whole gaming area to our selves this time which is awesome.

Hoping for the next event I can have a couple armies on a 4x4 to do demos because we did have about 10 folks walk up to see what we were doing and it left me an opportunity to show them the game where I got kind of lazy. Hopefully everyone that attended truly had a good time.

GW Space Marine Centurions Painting and simple Basing

                   

Recently Tobias gave us a run down of how he did up a squad of Centurions for the North County Fantasy Shop display case.

Painting and Building

"I did these Centurions for a local store. I was asked to do them as Ultra Marines. I like working with blue anyways. I started out with my air brush. I base coated with GW Kantor Blue. I then highlighted with my air brush using a mix of GW Altdorf Guard Blue and GW Macragge Blue. I based the whole model using GW Leadbelcher, GW Balthasar Gold, and GW Abbadon Black. I washed all silver parts and gold parts with GW Agrax Earthshade. I then took time to clean up all of the blue. I used some water blending for the blues. After I had everything cleaned up I decided the feet needed to be dirty. I just used some weathering powder mixes to make it look like they were kicking up dust while moving forward. That was the idea at least. I decided not to seal them because they are going to just sit in a case."

"These models were not hard at all to put together. The trickiest part would have to be the cables that go from the elbows to the back. The models are not able to be posed at all. They are what they are. You can interchange the arms, waist and legs, chest, and weapons. There are enough weapons to kit them in any configuration you want."

Basing

And for the Basing Tobias gives us a quick run down to get a professional look with amateur skills.

               

"I decided to try a simple basing technique this time. I simply painted on the GW granite which is one of their tech paints. I painted it on very heavy to give the base some grit. It takes a while to dry after this. I then base coated GW XV-88 followed by a heavy dry brushing of GW Terminatus Stone. I then applied a very heavy wash of GW Seaphim Sepia. I let it dry fully. I then did a very light dry brush of the same Terminatus Stone. Very simple and looks nice. You could always go further, maybe add some static grass, or even some skulls and shell casings."

Really looking forward to giving more run downs on simple painting and basing techniques. For more info head over to our site at http://www.gateway-gamers.com/videos.html

Space Marine Geneseeds not Created Equal

Why aren't all Space Marines getting the first class treatment. How come just because their bad they cant get some love? How does a bike centered army lose being the best biker's abilities and then gain it back two codexes later? How does a piece of equipment just show up for the imperium and leave out an entire chapter? I will be reviewing these and many other items that frustrate me about GW when it follows the rule of latest codex gets the coolest stuff.



Chaos Space Marines

When I first open the new Codex Space Marines the first thing I see is all the missed opportunities for the Chaos book. There is so much attention to detail for each chapter that it begs the question where was this effort on the Chaos side. Now I know Chaos got some specialized powers but come on. One of the biggest complaints by gamers for the past few years was that you really don't see specific builds that that cater to the different chapters of the chaos. We missed a great chance to really break down each fallen chapter and give them some abilities. Just look at the Apocalypse book released. It's possible darn it. They did it there but they cannot do it for the codex that will be around for the next 3 years (maybe that is). I love the supplement idea but after seeing what vanilla marines got it just leaves me in awe.


Grav WHAT??

Games Workshop I guess decided that a forgeworld out there has magically found the secret formula to build Grav weapons in bulk but refuses to ship to the Dark Angels moon? Are the Dark Angels the Aussies of 40k? How do you create a new weapon that every vanilla marine from Chapter Master to Scout can have a variation of but the entire chapter of Dark Angels are without. Its not like we are talking about a special vehicle for them but a simple weapon that is pretty darn impressive.

White Scars

All of a sudden the White Scars say my bikes are better than yours. WTF is all I have to say. Can anyone remember when the first White Scar list was introduced to us in the White Dwarf. Here we had an awesome army that allowed every biker to have two hand to hand weapons. Born in the saddle with Hit and Run. Then the new Codex dropped and said STOP you guys suck again. I for one was floored and frustrated. I had my White Scar army and committed the cardinal sin of gaming Sold my boys in the saddle on EBay. I mean why not. Space Wolves and Dark Angels had better bikes. Now I pop open my book and low and behold there back to the best bikers we have to date. Awesome for those loyalist who held on to their bikes but again said for the folks who just built a huge ravenwing list from dark vengeance box sets. Get out your file and clippers and clean those wings off your bikes.

Interceptor

Of all the armies out there we have the Marines known for learning training and developing the skills necessary to take on the Imperium's biggest threats but wait a flying turkey we can't shoot out of the sky before it bakes us at 300 degrees. I mean come on. Tau can buy this ability for basically everyone but not even the specialized tank meant for air control can do it. I know the answer is buy a quad gun but if it was that simple don't we think their codex could have had something. Marines in my opinion are the most vulnerable to not having this ability because the Heldrake can literally touch any threat the first turn it comes in. If we really want to stop seeing the abuse of these bad boys then give us something. I would have paid 20 more points for the stalker to have it.



Now I don't think I have even scrapped the surface of the things that just seem odd about the three marine codex drops in the last 12 months. I do hope that GW focuses on doing supplements for the Chaos armies out there that have some really cool flavor. Its an area that they have skimmed the surface of before but really never dove in. There are a lot of diehards out there buying up 30k marines that would benefit from 40k rules that have specific bonuses for the not so talked about Traitors out there.

With GW diving into the realm of digital codexes it seems it would be easy for them to do an update for the Dark Angels so they have the latest bling coming out of Mars. it would make the price tag and the popularity of them go through the roof. Not to mention give their digital copy the ability to create, catalog, and save army lists as with the Marine version.

All in all I really think they did a great job with the last codex but I will be interested to see what happens with Blood Angels and Space Wolves. Will they get the benefit of just being after this codex and be a part of the coolness that is Grav? Or will they be stuck in the mud wondering why they don't have marines inside marines reeking havoc.

What frustrates you about the recent turn of events that may put dark angels on the shelves unless you just really want that 2+???

Astartes Ultra – A Complete Ultramarines Chapter

Not going to throw out a whole lot of verbiage here but I just thought this was cool and wanted to keep it saved somewhere. A whole chapter actually laid out line by line for us is pretty sweet. One item of interest is the major differences between the codex listing for each company and the make up they have gone with below. Just imagine what your forces could look like on a table at this level.

From the GW Website

Alongside the entire Chapter of Space Marines you'll also receive a signed copy of Codex: Space Marines; a signed copy of Insignium Astartes (the definitive guide to the heraldries and squad markings of the Ultramarines); a full Chapter organisation chart; a breakdown of the composition of each of the 10 companies; a signed art print of the Codex: Space Marines book cover; and a signed art print of Paul Dainton's painting of the Ultramarines assembled for battle.
This collection includes 1 box of Marneus Calgar and Honour Guard; 1 Chief Librarian Tigurius; 1 Chaplain Cassius; 1 Space Marine Captain in Terminator Armour; 1 Space Marine Terminator Chaplain; 1 Captain Sicarius; 1 box of Space Marine Masters of the Chapter; 1 Space Marine Captain: Lord Executioner; 1 Space Marine Captain: Master of the Marches; 1 Space Marine Captain: Master of the Rites; 1 Space Marine Captain: Master of Relics; 3 Space Marine Command Squads; 2 Space Marine Librarians; 1 Space Marine Librarian in Terminator Armour; 1 Space Marine Librarian with staff & book; 1 Space Marine Librarian with Force Sword and Bolt Pistol; 1 Space Marine Librarian with Force Axe and Plasma Pistol; 3 Space Marine Chaplains with Crozius and Power Fist; 3 Space Marine Chaplains with skull helmet; 1 Space Marine Chaplain with Crozius and Bolt Pistol; 1 Space Marine Chaplain with Crozius and Plasma Pistol; 1 Space Marine Chaplain with Jump Pack; 8 Space Marine Terminator Squads; 4 Space Marine Terminator Close Combat Squads; 4 Space Marine Vanguard Veteran Squads; 4 Space Marine Sternguard Veteran Squads; 39 Space Marine Tactical Squads; 47 Space Marine Rhinos; 4 Space Marine Drop Pods; 14 Space Marine Assault Squads; 14 Space Marine Devastator Squads; 12 Space Marine Centurion Devastator Squads; 4 Space Marine Razorbacks; 2 Space Marine Techmarines; 4 Space Marine Thunderfire Cannons; 7 Space Marine Dreadnoughts; 5 Space Marine Ironclad Dreadnoughts; 1 Space Marine Sergeant Chronus; 7 Space Marine Land Raiders; 3 Space Marine Land Raider Crusader/Redeemers; 7 Space Marine Stalker/Hunters; 2 Space Marine Vindicators; 5 Space Marine Predators; 3 Space Marine Whirlwinds; 3 Stormraven Gunships; 7 Space Marine Stormtalon Gunships; 13 Space Marine Bike Squads; 1 Space Marine Bike; 5 Space Marine Attack Bikes; 11 Space Marine Land Speeders; 1 Space Marine Sergeant Telion; 10 boxes of Space Marine Scouts; 4 boxes of Space Marine Scouts with Sniper Rifles; 5 Space Marine Land Speeder Storms; and 6 Space Marine Strikeforces.

Hornato's Astral Claws - A work in progress

Thought I would post an army that I have been working on for the better part of two years that is still ways away from where I want it. What started as an army for Adepticon 2012 has turned into me trying to do an entire chapter. The great thing about the Astral Claws is that no one knows where they came from as far a successor chapter so I can run any set of rules or any book with them. What is fluffy is how they steal gene-seeds from the marines that have fallen. So rest assured if your chapter goes to war with the Astral Claws then likelihood is good they have your seed safely in their stock balance. I have ran this army using Deathwing rules from Dark Angels, Grey Hunter packs from Space Wolves, and the 5 Landraider list from Blood Angels. Not to mention good ole Chaos Space Marines.




A look at the troops and you will see that I have mixed bag of armour. I am hoping to get about three squads of each style of armour when its all said done. This is getting more difficult each and every year as forgeworld just keep pumping them out. I currently have about 60 marines in various phases of paint. As well as I have commissioned Tobias with painting 100 scouts for my apocalypse force.




As far as HQs I have a custom Lugft Huron model that is a mix of scibor and forgeworld. The original forgeworld sculpt will be used but he didn't seem big enough for me. Then we have the Huron Blackheart model that I use as Huron or a librarian in a space marine force. He has magnetized arms to trade out the claw and bolt pistol. Finally a techmarine that proved valuable in the 5 land raider list.




In the Eletes section we have terminators and a Contemptor Mortis Pattern. I love this guy so much I have two more awaiting the assembly. By the way if you buy the assault cannon arms for this guy be patient and give yourself some time because they stink to put together. The terminators are awaiting the rest of their bretheren. I have 40 in total that are painted to a decent standard but need additional work to match the rest.











Finally we have the vehicles for this mighty force. We have enough transports for a company to ride in style. Once I complete the additional landraiders we will have 2 of each variant and a few forgeworld variants. I have paused work on the predators and vindicators till I get the additional ones caught up. Love me some ebay as I was able to pick up 3 additional predators and 3 additional vindicators for less than $120 in total. Need some love but I usually rip them apart anyway.

So these are my babies. Current projects on the board for the claws is a 9th Company. I have 4 of every devastator squad in various levels of assembly and my scouts are on the work table of someone else. This army is really cool and easy to paint, which is why I have stuck with it. All the marines you see were painted by me and then dipped in the low shade of army builder shades. I love this stuff and when I get to that stage again I will be posting a step by step paint, dip and spin technique. Much easier and faster than anything else.

Now go get your game on with the new space marines codex.

Airbursh or not to Airbrush

I would like to talk about growing pains when using an airbrush for the first time. When I first got one, I was very excited. I had seen and heard what others could do with it. The prices were intimidating but I figured it was an investment. Now I get this thing home and read up on it for a little bit. I turn on my compressor and put paint in my cup. This airbrush worked well for less than three minutes. I research more on the air brush I had just purchased. I spend maybe four hours trying to push paint through. It clogs, it spits, and is just working worse and worse. I put it away for a few days after I take it all apart and clean it. I pull it back out and use it again. I talked to my buddy and he said you have to thin it down a lot. I also look up ratios. I put all of this into practice and I have very similar results as the first time I used it. I try for a few hours to push paint through and clean it and put it away. I do this a few more times and just give up.

Of course I have trouble letting problems and short comings go, so a few months later I try again. I read about some products and techniques and I give it another go. I start to be able to use it for about twenty minutes at a time successfully before it starts clogging and spitting. I kept trying and therefore I kept on improving with using it. I see it as a waste of time though, I could not get the results others were and it was way too much work for just base coating. I put it away for another few months.

Again, I just can’t let it go. I see all kinds of cool things that others are doing with it and I take in their advice. I actually get a new air brush. This time I purchased a much more expensive one. It works the same as the other. This time though I was not letting up. I figured out by site and touch what mix ratios I needed to be able to put paint through the airbrush. I figured out how to clean it and what to clean on it. Now I am very comfortable with the airbrush. Now I can’t see how I lived without it. I am using it for base coating, highlighting, weathering, and source lighting.

What I have learned through using it is that it probably is not your airbrush if you are having trouble. It is your lack of experience with it. That older airbrush I was using works fine, I use it along with my nicer one. I would say the major things that you would have to learn about before you use an airbrush is something about what paints to put in your airbrush, what mixes, cleaning, and take care of your needle.

To learn more about airbrushing and techniques check out our page: http://www.gateway-gamers.com/air-brushing.html

Article by: Tobias

"THE" Mega Gargant

In a new age of Apocalypse it is only fitting that we take a step back and look at one of the best scratch builds I have ever seen. Powell Hall a local gamer in St. Charles MO and Ork Warboss has built one of the coolest models around. He used recycled monitors, imperial sector walls and otherwise random items around the house to build this awesome kit. His inspiration came from the Epic Model. So you can see first hand the Epic scale (Purple) and the truly EPIC build (Red).



Notice the degree of detail in this model when you compare the two of them. Its one thing to create an ork scratch build by throwing models together and hitting it up with tons plates and guns. It's another thing entirely to build an ork monster like this and get the details of the Epic model down to the letter. Further more the use of computer monitors and other bits to him there is just awesome. Here is a shot at the bits before paint and assemble.



Powell is currently working on an additional build that will fill the gap between his various Ork Titans. As you can see from the pic below he has a fair amount of the family done but is maybe missing the second child. So excited to see what he has in store for us in the coming months as he finishes his latest orksterpiece.


Final Dimensions:
34" tall at the top of the head (not including the gun turret that sits on top of the head).
51" tall at the top of the Weirdboy Tower.
23" wide at the tracks.
The lower hull is 20" deep, but with the "knives" out front and the small set of treads to the rear, it covers 41" from front to back.
With the CC arm extended out and the Lifta droppa clocked horizontal, it spans 53".

If you want to see more about this beauty than check out the other pics and his comments located at:
http://apocalypse40k.com/index.php?/topic/685-mega-gargant-pics/page__hl__gargant