A couple of hours ago, I finished my recording session with 8one6 and W.D.R over at Undergopher.com, along with Tim from ThatDamnPunk.com. The subject for this episode was ‘An Introduction to Wargaming’, and over the hour or so we recorded, I think we covered a lot of the basics, with plenty more to discuss for later visits. We discussed the history of the hobby, both overall and for each of us, what facets of the hobby appeal to us, games for beginners, what we actively play, and a (very simple) breakdown of play. The focus was mostly on Warhammer 40K, as it’s the one game that W.D.R., Tim, and I all share, but we also touched on Flames of War, Warmachine, Warhammer Fantasy Battles, and Arcane Legions.

I want to give props out to the Undergopher crew for creating a comfortable environment where we were able to just converse freely without worrying about technical issues. Even though this was only their fourth podcast, they’ve really been working on stepping up their game and putting more polish on the finished product. In the end, we were able to just sit back on a couch, knock back a beer or two, and geek out on about one of our favorite hobbies – with the added bonus of having people around the world able to listen in. I hope that I get invited back to talk again; it was a lot of fun!

The podcast should be up before midnight Monday night. Please, go check it out!

I’m going to be on a podcast this weekend! My friends 8one6 and W.D.R. over at 8one6′s Undergopher Central recently started recording a podcast for discussing all things tabletop-gaming-related. On May 15th, they’re recording an “Intro to Wargaming” episode, and while W.D.R. is an avid wargamer, 8one6 is a complete neophyte. To fill in the gap of knowledge, I, along with Tim from ThatDamnPunk.com, have been invited to guest host and to talk a bit about our tabletop gaming experiences. The final edited recording should be up sometime Monday, but I’ll be sure to post about how the recording session went and what we talked about. It should be fun! Until then, check them out at www.undergopher.com, or subscribe to their podcast on iTunes!

A few weeks ago, I mentioned that I wanted to turn my metal terminators into plastic. Last night, I finally broke down and started that process by throwing some of them up on eBay. One box of Chaos Terminators, along with a Terminator Lord, all still in their original packing and never assembled, are now up for auction. Hopefully, they’ll fetch a halfway-decent price. I don’t know if they’ll end up completely paying for a box of plastic Terminators and a plastic Terminator Lord, but if they can pay for, say, half of that purchase, I’ll consider the experiment a success, and I’ll put the other five Terminators and Abaddon up for auction.

So, please, take a look at the auction, and if you’re interested, place a bid!

Chaos Space Marine Terminators x5 + Lord Warhammer 40K

I’m attempting to turn metal into plastic.

As I work on my Slaanesh army, I’m starting to determine which bits of the Chaos collection I acquired aren’t going to be necessary. For example, I’m not going to need Abaddon. He’s a beast, to be sure, but he’s also a major points sink and doesn’t fit the theme of either of my Chaos armies, so he’s out. I’ve got a couple of old metal Plague Marines – a Plague Champion and a Plague Marine with a plasma gun – that I’m not going to use anytime soon. My Chaos Marines aren’t going to be hurt by not having these around.

I’ve also got old metal minis that I’d love to swap for plastic kits. For example, I have two boxes worth of metal Terminators (one of which is still in the box and completely unassembled). Sure, they’re terminators, so they’re good, but they’re not as customizable as the newer plastic models. They’re also somewhat smaller, victims of the scaling-up of models since 2nd Edition, so their arms aren’t easily interchangeable with the newer plastics. There’s also a metal Chaos Terminator Lord in the mix who I’d gladly replace with the newer plastic version; again, the newer kit is so much easier to customize and make fit my army.

However, turning these unwanted metal miniatures into wanted plastic kits isn’t an easy process. My first instinct was to check eBay. I was hoping to sell off the kits there and use the money made to buy what I wanted. Researching the Chaos Terminator aftermarket, though, was rather disappointing. After filtering out the bits vendors and the Buy-It-Now store sales, I was left with about a page of search results, none of which seemed to be getting, well, any traction. Nothing had a single bid, even those auctions with dirt-cheap starting bids. I’ve had some luck in the past with selling things on eBay before – I sold off an unneeded Chaos Daemons box for a tidy sum a while back – but this time the market doesn’t appear to be in my favor.

My next option is doing some sort of bits swap on some forum or other. I have to admit that I’m hesitant to do this for a number of reasons. The primary reason is that I want to get kits that are still new-in-box, or at the very least still on the sprue, and I’m not likely to get that in a trade. Secondly, I imagine that there’s a lot of people that are wanting what I want – newer plastic kits and bits – so I don’t see there being a lot of interest in older metal figures. Finally, bit trades are a bit of a free-for-all, and one that leads you with very little protection from scams. That’s not to say that people are generally untrustworthy, but I’ve seen enough people burned online by trade/sale fraud to be a bit handshy around it. At least with PayPal and eBay, there are official channels for dealing with transactions gone bad.

I’m just not sure how to turn my unused metal into the plastic I want. Any ideas?

I finally got a chance to play around with both my new camera and the lightbox I recently purchased. One of my delays was completely accidental; when I first set up the lightbox for a test, one of the lights tumbled to the floor, breaking the 50W bulb inside. Fortunately, it was a standard size, so I was able to order an inexpensive replacement. I would’ve been a bit upset if I’d just ruined my new investment. I’m happy with the results, though. It’s leaps and bounds beyond what I could do with my old camera and a desk lamp.

I did have to do some color correction, as the images came out with a distinct yellow hue. Whether that’s due to the lights, the white balance I had set on the camera, the blue backdrop throwing off the image, or all three combined, I’m not sure. This is a higher level of photography than what I’m used to, so there’s a bit of a learning curve. Still, once the colors were adjusted, everything was true to life.

If anything, the one downside of these images is that they’re so good. Every imperfection becomes visible, especially on the earlier minis and models I assembled. Unfiled mold lines and overgluing spots that aren’t as prominent in lower-quality images jump out in the new pictures, and painting errors become readily apparent. It’s not frustrating, though; it’s just encouragement to do better the next time around.

So, expect more photos in the coming weeks, as I get more of my Tau army photographed, as well as more WIP pictures of my Khorne CSMs!

Lately, I’ve been doing all my photography with my iPhone’s camera. It does a fair job, but it’s not a huge improvement over the old HP camera we have, a relic of the days when a 2-megapixel camera was luxurious. Thanks to a fortuitous deal on Woot, though, we were able to upgrade to a nice 10-megapixel Polaroid. The above picture is a sample of what it can put out. I’m very happy – and a bit embarassed. A good camera can highlight all the flaws in a miniature: the unfiled moldlines, the imprecise edging, and so on. If anything, though, it’s incentive to up my game and do better on the next minis.

One thing I’m still working out is my lighting situation. I’ve got a desk lamp and a shop light that I use, and it does an alright job. I’m still playing around with the right white balance settings, and I have photo editing software to play with the color levels. I’d really like to set up a lightbox, whether purchased or put together on the cheap, because I think even, diffuse light would really help. In the meantime, though, I think I’ll be taking some new army pictures over the next week or so.

At the same time, I’ll probably be working on assembling my other Chaos army. There’s no timetable on that, so it’ll be bits and pieces here and there. I’m still torn between going Black Legion – an easy choice with what I have – and going with a Tzeentch-themed army. I don’t know if I have enough minis to do both (and I’ll definitely need more Rhinos for either). Decisions, decisions…

• Get in at least two games a month. Right now, I’m averaging around a game every two months. I need to flip that around. Part of it will be clearing out blocks of my own time (such as putting down the Xbox controller from time to time), part of it will be trying to get games in with friends, and part of it will be going out and seeking games with other local playgroups. Sadly, KC doesn’t have a Battle Bunker, or even a GW store, but there are plenty of Friendly Local Game Stores where games of 40k can be had.
• Paint at least 3000 points of minis. I’ve got around 1000-1500 points of Tau minis remaining to paint in various stages of completion. Beyond that, I have my 1500-point Khorne CSM army. I’d like to get both completely painted by year’s end. I figure I can do 300 points a month, with two months off to cover some slacking time. I’m also considering keeping a tally of minis painted, similar to lone pilgrim‘s painting points. I think it’ll help keep me accountable and motivated.
• Get a second Chaos Space Marine army together. I’ve only assembled less than half of my Chaos collection. I still have more than enough minis (minus a few Rhinos) to make a second solid Chaos Marine force. I’m thinking Black Legion, since I have Abaddon, some Terminators, 3 Obliterators, and a bunch of generic CSMs that would look great in black and gold.
• Set up my own gaming table. Right now, I have no space to play at home. I have to play at shops, or at my friend Dennis’s house. I’d like to have my own playspace, with my own table and terrain. Of course, that ties into one of my non-40k resolutions: move into a new, bigger house. We aimed for 2009 and failed, but 2010 looks to be the year we make it happen.
• Make blog posts more frequently. If I can do the four things above, this one should work itself out.
• Be more active in the online 40k community. I have accounts on various 40k-related forums, but I rarely post on any of them. I might not be able to keep track of all of them equally, but I’d like to at least become a regular poster on a couple of them. Just like with the blog posts, if I can keep active in the hobby, I should have no lack of subject for posting.

So, there’s my plans for 2010. When the end of the year comes around again, we’ll see how I did!

I’d like to get the Raptors done, as well as getting the rest of my 1000-point Khorne army based, by the weekend. It’s fall now, and before long it will be too cold outside to prime minis. I have to prime soon, or otherwise I’ll be left with bare metal and plastic until spring. Priming inside is a no-go; my wife is too sensitive to the fumes from spray paint to even use the garage. I’ve heard good things about priming with gesso, though, so that’s a possibility for the winter. I think that for my Chaos armies, I’m going to go with grey rubble with the occasional shard of blood-red crystal poking out. I’ve wanted to do some crystals on a base ever since I saw this beautiful Eldar jetbike, and my Chaos Space Marines give me a perfect opportunity to try it out.

I’m also hoping to get back onto my painting schedule this week or next; I have a Hammerhead waiting for some fresh paint!