Belated Christmas!

Typical Lano to leave everything till the last 4 weeks of university. I had 12 weeks to prepare, revise, write and produce... Yet... The notion of doing things in advance eludes me, except Advanced Deployment and Movement, I never forget that shit!

Anyway, I did manage a few games in the meantime while helping running the Essex Legion gaming club, and of most notable mention is Warhammer Fantasy. And we all know what means, Dino-Fucking-Sawwwwwws!!!

Anyway, my first game back was a harrowing experience, as I let a Mangler Squig tear through my army... Saurus' aren't that hard in the face of Fanatics and Mangler Squigs!

Essex Legion goes Orktober!

So, what do you get if you mix Orks, Warhammer 40k, Mad Max and a lot of Dakka? Deathrace40k of course!!

New Additions to the Essex Legion Bestiary! And a Gorka Morka update

Another night, more miniatures painted for  the lead pile... this time, it's a few more beasts for the FrostGrave campaign/demo games.  

Even though we have loads going on at the Legion in the coming months, and I don't think a FrostGrave campaign will be coming any time soon, I think it's necessary to have a stock of random monster miniatures that can be used in various games, so it doesn't help to get these done!

I've also started to make progress on my vehicle for the Gorka Morka race this coming Sunday... to signify the importance of ORKTOBER!

FrostGrave: The Bestiary expands

So having run a few demos of FrostGrave, I've managed to gain some support from local gaming clubs to help build a suitable bestiary for an upcoming campaign.

And after digging around for ages trying to find suitable miniatures for the plethora of animals needed, I came to the conclusion, I'm going to have to get some from Carlos...

And for those of you who've followed from the beginning, Carlos is the ex boss of a gaming store I helped run... Let's leave that at that!

To my surprise, the miniatures came on time! And having decided to take a break from the amount of commission work I have, I thought I'd paint something fresh and new!

University Lectures... Perfect time to Blog!! (Or was at the time!)

Nothing much blogged, to be honest, realised that my 3 hour lectures are perfect for blogging!! (I actually did write this in my lecture hall but it didn't upload till I got home) *sad face*

Unfortunately, I don't have many photo on my phone. 

The only thing I have to write about is the FrostGrave demo I ran last weekend! And a chance to show off my newly painted Weeping Angels from Reaper Miniature!

"Easy enough game, it's quick, fast paced, and a nice alternative to Mordheim. "

One of the opinions I got from a new face at Essex Legion last weekend.

It was quite refreshing to get an alternative view of the game!  It's remarkable how many people likened it to Mordheim!

I apologise for the lack of photos. But now I know, I'll prepare some blogging material for my useless lectures!

Essex Legion Opening Night! WarmaPorn 50pts

So after a month of planning, and loads of last minute action, EssexLegion gaming club is open! 

You can find the link here to the website,

http://essexlegion.wix.com/home

And our forum is here

http://essexlegiongaming.freeforums.net

Anyway, to the matter at hand. Being a new club, I was introduced to a new WarmaHorde player by the name of Ian.

And as always, I was keen to get my claws into some action. 

Unfortunately for me, he plays Cryx...

Double unfortunately, he plays Incorporeal Cryx...

Sigh... My Farrow Army are not going to enjoy this day.

FrostGrave Review: First Impressions

Well where to start...

Firstly, I went over the miniatures this morning and had a play around with some PVA and Bakkng Powder for some snow effects.  My largely successful project can be seen throughout this post!

So the first game was a mission where every turn a giant worm can potentially "erupt" from the ground and kill everyone! Which it did...

While reading the scenarios, I saw this and I knew I had the best miniature for this!

And I got this painted along with the Warband in record time!

Nothing special, just a quick wash of multiple colours and a speedy highlight.

Jumping Onto the FrostGrave band wagon!

So, with the whole hype about FrostGrave going around, i visited the dreaded Dark Sphere and grabbed some cheap cobblestone bases and a wizard or two, I had to check this game out.  And with an enormous stroke of luck, i spoke to a fellow gamer about potentially playing it tonight, that left me 7 hours to build, paint, and field a small war band...

Challenge accepted and complete! 

Reminder: Don't go backpacking with the girlfriend...

So following on my last post, we left Paris and travelled Europe for a few weeks!

Pro tip for everyone, don't take a girlfriend/wife who insists on taking a suitcase on a Backpacking Holiday.

Anyway with the rant over, and my back recovered from carrying my rucksack and a suitcase for a few weeks, I came back to a huge back log of commission work!

Anyway, here's a look at my work from the last week.

Little_Lano Goes On Holiday: Paris

French Toy soldiers!

That is all

Little_Lano Plays: 35pts Warmachine/Hordes, The Charge of the BaconBrigade

Another battle report time! 

Over at Riotville, the other side to the report is there. 

Riotville Battle Report

We have a 35pts game with Lord Carver, Bringer of Most Massive Destruction, Equire III leading the charge against Ashlyne of the Resistance!

Little_Lano Builds: Blood Bowl Stadium pt4!

So, in the missing gap of 2 weeks, I've been on holiday, subsequently dropped my phone into a mini waterfall in the Lake District and raided the English countryside for some great scenery for my gaming table!

While I ran around picking lichen from walls and bagging it up, the girlfriend and her friend looked at me like some demented weirdo! 

I explained that this is free and it's £10 a bag at home... She still didn't understand!

Anyway, this is as fair as I've gotten now!

Little_Lano Builds: Blood Bowl Stadium pt3

So while I'm stuck indoors, the paints came out and models got Gucci!

Meanwhile, my stadium got some more paint as I managed to procure some more acrylic. Note to self, poster paint doesn't work...

Little_Lano Paints: Bolt Action Japanese

Just a short blog article today. 

I was clearing through my piles of miniatures and came to the decision that they need to be sold off, I simply don't have enough space to house all of them and they can go to a new home where they'll be appreciated!

So, just to immortalise what I have, I thought I'd blog my better painted stuff. And here is the first of many, my Bolt Action Japanese.

Little_Lano Plays: Mordheim, Saving Private Dillon

During our weekly meet, we got to grips with more of our Mordheim campaign games. I took on Macca's Norse raiders in the gardens of some priest that my Beastmen cared not for, because my Beastmen Shaman had been taken prisoner! Using the newer scenarios, we played a mission where my guys were *suppose* to be sneaky, but being the Beastmen they are... They ran in all cow bells ringing. 

Little_Lano Builds: Blood Bowl Stadium pt2

So while I was waiting for the Spray Paint to dry on a whole new range of miniatures to paint, I went out, bought a small piece of foam board and started building the next piece to the blood bowl stadium. I envisioned a waterfall flowing into the stadium and the pitch to be slightly flooded. So after many various mistakes with a hot glue gun, loads of slicing and dicing, and then hitting with a broken brick, I ended up with the below result. 

Little_Lano Builds: Blood Bowl Stadium pt1

The time has come, my E-Reptile Dysfunction need a home. A stadium to call their own! Well, I did want to do some painting, I have a commission by Riot at RiotvilleonFire, but the shitty English weather was dreadful and I didn't want to risk spray painting in humid weather.

So having picked up this bit of insulation foam very cheap, I think it's time to start building.  

So this is the first time I have built something this big! And I have sifting through a huge amount of blogs/photos/articles on how to build Lizardmen themed scenery and I do have a plan on how to build my stadium.

But first lets get the basics built. Meaning I need pitch, first and for most. 

I had to resort to using a saw as a set square to get some perfect lines, but it worked, and after a copious amount of maths, I have all the points marked and time to start scouring the foam.

I first used a pencil, then once all the lines were marked, I went through them with the blunt end of an old Paint brush, just to give the squares a more rugged, stone look.

I'm not content with the uniformity of the squares, so I used a knife to hack away to break up some of the stones. I assume that through the Lustrian Jungles the pitch wouldn't be in the best of conditions!

This took me close to 2 hours to do, but I am very happy with the product afterwards. 

Now comes the pain staking process of painting. Weeks ago, I stopped at a store called Tiger and picked up a cheap bottle of black acrylic paint. It was £1 and having looked at it I didn't think it would cover the whole pitch but low and behold, when mixed with hot water, it actually covered the whole thing!

Not bad for a £1 tube of black paint. The Hot water mixed in helps a lot for the paint to cover  the cracks and seep into the nooks and crannies. 

That's as far as I got in an evening. And probably tomorrow il go and give it a few layers of grey.

But this is seeming to become my summer project and I have loads of crazy ideas floating around my head for stadium decor!

Little_Lano's Week of Gaming: Creative Biscuit and Tanelorn LGC

What a week it has been! It kicked off with some WarmaHordes action Thursday night, proceeded to Salute on Saturday, and then Tanelorn gaming club Thursday afterwards!

In between games, I've been busy with commission work and reviews so when I should be studying for my Finals, I'm playing with toy soldiers... GREAT TIMES!!

Creative Biscuit Cafe Woodford

So on the last Thursday of every month, we get together to play some small games of WarmaHordes.  I took on the Cafe owner Tim with my Farrow who, only hours earlier, had failed copious amounts of easy dice rolls (AGAIN) in a warm up game. 

Little_Lano Reviews: Ax Faction Miniatures- Viking on a Bear (?!)

"Ax Faction- a company with Vikings riding bears and Elves riding giant rabbits.  Creativity and passion fused effortlessly into a range of miniatures"

Early 2014, I saw a Facebook advert for a newish miniature company offering miniatures with a cool, dynamic mix to them. I saw females posing on top of giant heads, and elven Rangers riding on top of rabbits.

A little later in the year, I cursed myself for not making a note of the company as a few of their miniatures would have been perfect for a few systems I now play. 

Fast forward to Salute 2015, and I am happily reunited with the company, and to be pleasantly surprised with newer miniatures ranging from Badgers with Axes... HUGE Orc warlords and other premium quality sculpts.  I had to tear myself away not to walk away with a miniature as my spending for that day had already hit the dizzy heights.

Fast forward again by 5 minutes and my good friend from Gazette Games, Grant, meets up with my group and shortly gives me a proposal (ooooh errr *wink* *wink*).

He would like me to apply my painting Skills to a miniature from Ax Faction for his review website and as payment i get to keep the model.

DEAL

Didn't need to think about it, I said deal and he gave me the miniature.

Considering I'm aiming to get myself aViking  Mordheim/Saga army... I was ecstatic with what I was given...

A Viking riding a mother fucking BEAR! 

My thoughts instantly turned to his Hordes counterpart Borka, a troll who also rides a bear into combat.

Little_Lano Reviews: Wargames Terrain Workshop Lizardmen Models

"Lizardmen miniatures from a company with as much fondness and love for them as I do.  Great casts from a company at a rock bottom price means you have to put a little work in tidying up the model but that shouldn't deter you from ordering from this amazing establishment"

Re-Inforcements for the E-Reptile Dysfunction team!!

Little_Lano Goes To: Salute 2015

So Salute 2015 has been and gone.

I've met some lovely people there, bought some great miniatures and have some great stuff to review.

This has definitely got to be the highlight for me, a massive Battle for Hoth game by the lads from Beast of War. 

In my haste of money spending and talking, I did forget to take more photos, but I am going to go through my miniatures as I plan to review the countless horde in front of me!

Some of the goodies...

And some more lizards for my ever growing blood bowl team!!

Keep tuned for some more miniature madness!

Little_Lano Paints: Warmachine- Raluk Moorclaw and Mercenary Heavy Warjack Kit

So during my 10 week of social deprivation, I got Raluk Moorclaw and a Heavy Warjack kit to go with him.  I fancied something a little different, and I love the look of the vibrant blues available for Trollbloods. Next thing I know, I'm researching ways to get a trollkin into my army and found Raluk works for Thornfall! 

I've assumed that winning with my beloved Farrow is difficult so getting a few models based on sheer look shouldn't effect the outcome anyway!

Say hello to Raluk! Well he is a Jack Marshal, and can repair any Warjack regardless of faction, but hell, I don't need to worry about that! 

I actually really like the model. His dynamic pose looks good and the detail surrounding his utility belt is sublime.  I thoroughly enjoyed painting this model.

Being a Jack Marshal, he obviously needs a buddy or two. Previously I've shown my buccaneer, well I've also got some bigger nutz available.

I magnetised the whole kit so I can pick what I need as of, and I was surprised at how easy it is to magnetise this kit together! 

The Nomad, 6pts of slappy slap slap, he'll be here to try tie up as much as possible with his reach weapon. 

If I'm willing to pay the two points extra, I can possible go for the Rover. Although lacking reach capability, he does have access to a range attack which would be useful considering Raluk's Drive allows him to shoot before movement. 

The Mule, I just had to get one! I've been on the receiving end of these for a while and I just want the opportunity to hit someone else with one and send them for a flying lesson!  As of yet, I still haven't got the elusive critical hit needed but I think one day it will be there.

Painting these guys were a nice break from the usual Everblight and Farrow and I couldn't help but give the heavy Warjack a few graffiti marks. 

As again, I hope these guys pull a little weight in future games but sadly my expectations aren't very high... Until I get myself a Warmachine/Troll army 

Little_Lano Paints + Updates: Warmachine Buccaneer

TIME FOR AN UPDATE!

Some of you may have noticed that I haven't been available, haven't blogged, replied to requests for a few weeks.  This is because, being an active 22 year old, I have broken my trusty iPhone.  I used it for everything from blogging, work, emails, camera etc.  And as a consequence, I haven't been able to blog.  

Luckily, I have been to a mates house to do some gaming and painting and he had a decent camera for me to take some photos from!  Anyway, here is my recent offering to the paint gods.

Warmachine: Mercenary Buccaneer

Nothing really special here except one thing, WATER EFFECT!  My mate bought a bottle and i've become obsessed with the look.  I have Raluk Moorklaw painted also which I'll photograph eventually and I got the Buccaneer to go with him for a cheap warjack.  

Little_Lano Plays: Bloodbowl Basildon Warboyz League

B...bb.b.b.b...bbbb.......BLOOOOOOD FUCKING BOOOOWWWLLLLL

Game 1: Halflings 1-1

Yes, i drew with Halflings... it happens... it was good psychological play by my opponent and you know what, it was a good game so all is fair :P

So, as they say, Nuffle rewards Madness... no he doesn't!

Little_Lano Paints: Tyranids, Loads and Loads of Fucking Tyranids...

I'm sticking true to my New Years Resolution! 

I am slowly but surely getting through the man mountain which is Hive Fleet Insidia. The sheer volume of models needed to be painted is astounding but I'm not going to complain, just got to get the brush into the paint and slap it onto some miniatures.

So having looked through my loft, I found some old models dating back 8/9 years when I first started. I also found models which I bought this time last year and never even looked at them again. Looks like it's time to get painting!

Also, I didn't realise how bright the pictures turned out until I got them onto my computer!

My phone screen is fucked so the im wasn't sure how the colours appeared :(

Productive painting time really gets you in the mood to continue. I reckon I spent a total of 16 hours painting all these guys.

Thankfully I simplified my colour scheme for my tyranids, my Second Strain of Hive Fleet Insidia is red with bone coloured markings long the carapace. Fleshy bits are done in green. The only exception was the Biovore you can see above, he was kept in my original first strain colours.

Recently I have been obsessed on basing my models. I've always known that painting the sand on your base is a better way to go, but I've always thought it was a waste of time. But when I ran out of natural coloured sand, I experimented with colourings and boy, it's starting to look like I'm going to be rebasing a couple hundred models...

I've always wondered what my models look like from the front. Because all we ever get to see is the back!? Hence why I like to get glamorous um shots of my models :P

 The Red Terror was one of the original Tyranid sculpts I loved as a boy, I found him lurking *pun intended* in a shoe box next to the Raveners and he had to be stripped for some paint! I just can't wait for the next 40k game where I can out all my new guys in! 

Glorious bum shots... 

Lastly in my painting slurge, my converted Trygon Prime with Miasma Cannon and Reaper of Obliterax. This is a model which when I read about the items in the new Tyranid Codex, I just had to do, he may be a gross amount of points, at 300 odd, but my god is he going to be a laugh. 

Unfortunately, I ordered some bits from Chapter House Studios and they were a little small, but it didn't really matter, it's still an awesome model with his big fuck if gun of doom

But yea, on this model, I experimented more with some basing techniques, using small slate for some texture and highlighting it. I like the contrast it gives and helps the base become more alive!

So this is the first of the hive fleet that getting the paint.

I have a few more bug monsters to paint, then il get started on the hordes of little guys. Numbering 230 odd infantry models, I'm going to go insane painting them!

I