Desert of Zin

The five man squad of Grey Knights, mentioned here, have been finished only to be replaced with another five.  The Inquisitor and the Chimera have been joined by a Space Marine Sergeant (possibly painted in White Scars colours), a Grey Knight Terminator with Incinerator and a single Plaguebearer of Nurgle.

Oh, and 33 night goblins… 

Still on a look out for a camera that’s decent enough to capture detail.

- Alistair

Currently I have a five man squad of Grey Knight Space Marines, a Daemonhunter Inquisitor and an Imperial Guard Chimera.  Although it’s slow progress I’m painting faster now than at any time since my teens.  I’ll try and get some pics up but i’ll have to borrow someones digital camera.

Anybody have a decent one I can borrow for a while?

Thing is, as far as gaming is concerned, I have an odd selection of miniatures to choose from.  I’ve only ever bought those I fancied painting at the time with no regard to whether or not it made a coherent army.  Oh, well.

- Alistair

That would be Warhammer Online then.

First things, first.  It’s nowhere as good as Guild Wars.  Gameplay, graphics, subscription -  Guild Wars wins hands down.

But it works (after a period of uncertainty – transferring the server info from one company to another.  Not a flawless transfer apparently) and it’s good for a casual game.  If you can, get the collectors edition in HMV for 15 quid and a 60-day subscription game card for £13.  Still cheaper than most but not really worth it in the long run I think.  I’ll be making the most of my time on it while I can.

I’ll say that it does a good job of capturing the setting.  Warhammer-related computer games have been getting better at that in recent years.  And soon there comes Warhammer 40,000: Dark Millennium which is a big ol’ MMORPG set in GW’s futuristic setting.  Initial reports are that it looks good.

For Sigmar! For the Emperor!

- Alistair

I recently recategorised the blog with my gaming stuff falling under ’6 Rolling Freak’.  It’s someone who does well with their dice rolls or is otherwise jammy with their playing, hence ‘you’re a 6 rolling freak’.

Anyway, on with recent fun.

• I was in Games Workshop this afternoon having a look at their preview copy of Warhammer Fantasy Battle 8th edition.  Hmm, very shiny indeed.  The store manager, Steve, ran me through a quick game using the models from the Battle For Skull Pass box.  The book seems to be getting a lot of hate because it’s £15 dearer, from £30 to £45.  Well, it’s almost twice the size of the previous book and in full colour.  And with these things, the cost depends on the amount of use you get out of it.  Yeah, it’s an expensive hobby but with the amount of enjoyment you get out of it, it should pay for itself.
• Ruthy and I never had our full test game of Warhammer 40K.  We had a half game, but we were both shattered and postponed it for the time being.  when my crazy shift pattern settles we’ll crack on.
• PBEM (Play by E-Mail) is good fun.  The current game, run by The Other Big Al, is trundling on and as with so many things depends on how busy the players are.  Hope it continues.
• I recently played another trail account of Eve Online.  I had every intention of signing up for the monthly fee, even with finances being tight at the moment, but Coach found something to hold off for…
• The Warhammer 40K Dark Millennium MMORPG.  Oh, it looks shiny.  There’s a gameplay trailer somewhere online but I’ll hold back until there’s an official site to link to.  But fighting for the God-Emperor might be taking up all my available time.  Heh.
• And with 40K in mind, I have actually been painting through some of my models.  I’ll have to get some decent photos to upload.  Have to source a better camera first methinks.

- Alistair

Or, How I Managed to Convince My Wife To Have A Game Of Warhammer 40K…

Actually that’s not strictly true.  She is interested in playing a game and seeing as I’ve had these blasted things on my shelf (still mostly unpainted mind) and not yet played them, I think this is a good move.  And seeing as it’s been years and several editions between my last actual games.  16 years and three editions…

Tonight we set up the wee table, I cobbled together two small armies of futuristic metal (and plastic) soldiers, and we went over some of the rules.  The idea is to spread the learning curve over several days and to use units that are pretty straightforward to play.

Tomorrow, hopefully, brings the game itself!

- Alistair