The Tavern: Part One

I've always really like the idea of custom dugouts and stadiums, and always had plans to do both. My Dwarf team became the primary modelling focus of my Blood Bowl projects, and as such I started work on a custom Dugout. I figured the Dwarves would like nothing more than to drink during the game, so I started planning a Tavern for them to hang out in. As an added bonus, when I get my Halfling team going, it'll be perfect for them too!

One of my "design edicts" was that the Tavern still look like an element of a board game. I thought about incorporating all the necessary information the Dugout normally has into subtle terrain features, but in the end wanted to maintain the look and feel of a board game tracking board. I found an interestingly shaped picture frame (it was actually for a decorative plate) to use as a base and laid out the front steps, which contains the turn marker. To save space, I just did slots for the eight turns, and then that fancy post on the left will indicate which half it is.

The frame is ultimately a little smaller than I'd really like, space is at a premium, and in all honesty I may eventually regret not finding something bigger. Although with the second floor I'm hoping everything will work out. A lot of the front step is built out of a handful of Hirstarts stuff I have left over from some old 40k and Malifaux projects. 

I cut out and set numbered discs into the slots for the turn marker, using a dremel to very carefully smooth out and size the holes. Because the marble panels are all smaller individual pieces, this was a delicate procedure.

I used a leftover piece of the marble slab to base the marker with, it looks pretty great when it's being used! The bricks on the front will be the name plate, once I decide on a name, and there will be reroll and score tracks added to the left and right of the name plate. I'm not sure I'm going to keep the stairs/side entrance on the right there? I may need the extra little bit of space an entryway would take up.

The first floor, all framed up. The big door at the back gets a ramp, it's the special entrance for the Deathroller. I'd contemplated losing the Deathroller Garage for a little while, again for the space. But it's so badass it needs to be in there. I'll figure out the spacing somehow.

First test of the wall slat pattern. I'd thought about doing something far more elaborate, some kind of cross hatch pattern or something? But in the end, simplicity and laziness won out. I've started to lay out the floor plan of the second level, and think about a partial roof to finish it all off.

I'm really pleased with how this is turning out, despite how time consuming it is. I'm really glad it'll work so well for the 'flings too, as this will NOT be something I do for each of my teams. Probably only this one, and one other. Most likely the Klingons.

-Chris

Bloodbowl: The House of N'ohrd, Part 1 - Introduction/Summary

A jewel in my crown, a fine fluffy feather to place in my jaunty cap! Modiphius released a Star Trek RPG last year, and with it, several sets of mini's... MUCH to my joyous exclamations. I don't have the time and/or energy to play pen and paper RPG's the way I want, so they've kind of fallen by the wayside in favour of mini games that satiate several of my hobby needs at once. But I bought the book. I'd like to play someday, who knows if I will?

But the minis?

Holy crap I couldn't wait to get my hands on them. Not really sure what my plans were, maybe they'd be my first ever, non-gaming diorama? I got a box of Klingons and the TNG crew box for Christmas, and after staring at them for weeks, finally hit upon an absolutely GENIUS idea. I've been converting the Klingon box (plus a second) into a "Norse" team for Bloodbowl!

This is the Head Coach. Basically untouched. He's the Captain of the squad box, looked Head Coach'y enough for me? The models are really nice, Modiphius did a great job. A couple of them have dodgy phaser handles at holster on their belts, but that's pretty minor.

Throwers, which will eventually get balls/fingers sculpted into their hands. Originally I'd intended on doing much more "conversion", playing around with helmets, and heavier padding at first. But the more of the Klingon-ness they lost, the less happy I was with them. They're cool exactly because they're Klingons!

 These are the pair of Ulfwerenar, big strong dudes. For the most part, all I ended up doing was weapon trimming and some pose conversion. I really didn't want to lose ALL the Bat'leths though, they are pretty iconic Klingon weapons, again... I didn't want to lose too much of the Klingon-ness.

And finally, the first pair of straight up Linemen. Simple weapon trimming, and a little repositioning. Straightforward, keeps them relatively Klingon, but I think looks decently like a Blood Bowl team!

I'm really enjoying these, and I'm going to take some time with them. I've got plans for a custom dugout done up like a Klingon bridge, and some markers and tokens. I got my hands on a Yhetee model and have got the conversion all figured out (I think... maybe...) and want to do a really good paint job on them. I've never had Star Trek minis and want to do them justice.

-Chris

Current Hobby Status: A Summary

After a long absence, brought on by a developing bitter hatred of Games Workshop, fueled by the wrathful lashings of a brutal divorce... I will admit, they've lured me back. Here's the summary of current games, with a little smattering of my thoughts, and a brief summary of where they're at.

The Games:

Bloodbowl: I have been playing Bloodbowl on and off (mostly off) almost as long as I've been playing 40k. It was however, never really a game I spent much time or effort on, converting models was fun, and I did a converted (never finished) Eldar team I still love to this day. Since the 2016 re-release though, a great community of coaches have sprung up locally and a friend and I have started a League that's starting it's third Season in a few weeks! Bloodbowl is easily my current favorite game. Not only is it a great game that's easy to learn with a huge depth of strategy, but as someone primarily interested in the modeling aspect of the hobby, Bloodbowl really gives me free reign. Tons of opportunity for conversions, kit bashes and sculpts.

Current Stati: I have three teams assembled, with some paint on them. Eldar (Elves), Klingon (Norse), and Dwarves. I have a Skaven box ready to assemble, a Halfling team on the way for my birthday, and I've been eyeing up a Chaos Kickstarted by Greebo Games that goes live in a few weeks.

Necromunda: A new game to me, a Christmas present from my darling wife actually. I wanted to get into this one primarily for the table. I have grand plans to do a massive 3d table, with built in electronics for lighting effects, epoxy liquid pools, and multiple levels for all the action to take place. Another game that lends itself to my modeling preferences. I already have plans to do a "counts as" Squat gang. This satiates whatever is left of my 40k boner but doesn't require hundreds of dollars in rulebooks and potentially hundreds of models (of the same army, not a lot of variety) to build and paint.

Current Stati: Starter box is assembled, with a few brush strokes of paint on them. I've started gathering materials and ideas for the table, and the game as a whole is pretty much on hold until I start work on the table.

Batman The Miniatures Game: I love Batman. Inappropriately so. I was enamored with this game when I first discovered it. Great models, great mechanics, great game. However, the models are hard  to get locally, and expensive to import. No real community developed locally, only a small handful of players got into it.

Current Stati: The game is pretty much dead locally, but as I love the models, they're on my back burner hobby pile. I'll finish them eventually. I'd ordered enough to treat the game as a "board game" in the future, two large crews, lots of leaders/henchmen, I can break it out and play whenever the mood strikes, with just the stuff I have in my own collection. These will also play beautifully on the completed Necromunda table.

Malifaux: I haven't been into it much, this is another game I was really into pre-divorce, that got sidetracked and packed away for a long time. It's back out now, I've got the updated rules, and there is still a small local community!

Current Stati: I'll need to go through a lot of this to figure out where I was with a lot of it. Most of it is finished or close to it though. Malifaux was always the game I managed to actually finish a lot of hobby-wise, and I have quite a lot, it was definitely my primary game for many years.

Warhammer 40k: I will most likely never play 40k again. However, I have a beloved Grey Knight army that was my best friend and lover for many years.

Current Stati: It's maybe 50% finished, and I figure it'll be my mid-life crisis to finish it someday. I've sort of decided that my Grey Knights will become more of a showpiece diorama type thing than an actual playable army.

And that's basically it? The Summary of Currently Active Projects, broken down into general game catagories. Most of the blog posts will be about Bloodbowl and Necromunda, with the others thrown in for occasional flare.

-Chris

Hitting the Reset Button

This is a place I haven't been for nearly a decade. Does anyone write blogs anymore?

Other than narcissistic sociopaths who need to rant their manipulative fantasies into the void... of course.

After a LONG absence and a lot of time focused on much more important things than tiny metal, plastic or resin dudes? I've met a wonderful woman, gotten married, had one last baby, bought a house, and have jumped back into my beloved miniatures hobbies as much as a Corporate Middle Manager Father of Five can!

While there is a part of me writing this for 100% arrogant, ego driven reasons, I also would really like to keep a step-by-step log of some of these projects, which after years of schizophrenic scattershot focus on random projects for short bursts? I have narrowed down to a small handful of games I really enjoy with models that I can fawn over like a bunny in a carrot factory.

I have always been primarily a modeller when it comes to this hobby, the games are secondary. I've gotten better at kit bashing, conversions and have started some minor sculpting projects. This seems like as good a place as any to keep track of it all. And there's probably at least one person reading it... right?

So, I've deleted all but one of my posts from the past. Everything that I'd written about had been abandoned long ago, and I've shifted my hobby focus in a MUCH different direction. I'll start with a post shortly summarizing each of the games I'm working on, and where each project for each of those games is at currently, then start the hopefully regular updates on those projects! If nothing else, this might help keep me accountable (to no one, for ridiculously not-important things) and working on actually finishing some stuff!

I guess... urm... enjoy my blog?

-Chris