Digital Waaagh!

Nostalgia Gaming

2011-12-22T07:33:00.000-08:00

Back in the late 90’s, I regularly met with a gaming group and played Torg.

Torg was a RPG from West End Games. (Which sadly is no longer in business.)

Now, I fondly remember the campaign we were on went on for about a year, and we shared many laughs and had a lot of fun. It was my first introduction to the RPG. Perhaps that is why I have a special place in my heart for it.

I will explain the setting as it was explained to me, and got me hooked. Imagine our earth, divided into different “realities”. For example, the UK is a fantasy setting, The middle east is like a pulp era Indiana Jones setting, Japan is a modern/near future setting. India is like a Victorian Horror setting. France is a cyberpunk setting, and North America is a mad max/prehistoric setting. Each setting is “ruled over” by a “High Lord” and each of the High Lords have their own schemes, and are vying to expand their realms to take over all of earth with their own reality. Sometimes they ally, most of the time, they are pit against each other. Sound like fun? Well, it gets better; you can have a character from any setting! So in your group of heroes you can have a wizard, a dashing “Shadow” type character, a cyborg, a ninja, and a half dinosaur- half man character. The possibilities are endless!

And speaking of possibilities, they are actually a game mechanic. Characters can manipulate reality. (The bad guys can do this too if they are powerful) Think of possibilities like money, you have 3 you can “spend” per chapter, they can be spent to re-roll a dice roll, improve stats, or to reduce damage. After every chapter, the GM can decide to give one or more possibilities based on performance. (Particularly good moves, or character actions, or roleplaying.)

Not only did the system utilize “Possiblities”, it had a unique card based system as well.

(From the Wikipedia entry on Torg)

In addition, Torg used an unusual card based system to augment gameplay. A hand of cards were dealt to each player at the beginning of the game. The rest were stacked in front of the game master. Cards could be used by both players and game masters to influence play. Whenever a combat encounter began the game master would flip over a card which would dictate certain advantages and disadvantages for the players and the NPCs. Players could also use cards to give themselves advantages or even plotlines which could result in extra points.

But wait there’s more…

The system used a d20 system

A player rolls a d20 and consults a small table (printed on the character sheet) to determine the bonus number. The bonus number (which can be negative) is then added to the appropriate skill or attribute. This value is then compared to a difficulty number to determine success. Some skills or actions need a level of success to be determined, in which case the amount the value exceeds the difficulty number by is used to determine the level of success (the GM has a table he consults). Characters can use skills that they don't actually have (you can shoot a gun even if you've never done it before) but their chances of success are lower. Some or the more difficult skills (like Air Vehicles) can only be used by characters with adds in the skill.

A nice feature of the system is that characters can reroll the die and add to their previous roll in certain situations. Characters using a skill that they have can reroll and add if they roll a 10, a 20, or spend a "Possibility" on the die roll.

Here is a good website dedicated to Torg.

I wish I could get a group together and play…

Digital Waaagh movie reviews

2011-12-21T11:44:00.000-08:00

I am not a movie expert. I go to the movies to be entertained, not analyze every shot, and subcontext. If a movie is overall enjoyable to me, the studio has done their job, (in coordination with the cast, and crew and director.) That being said, I can be free to offer my opinion of a couple of movies I recently watched.

Rise of the Planet of the Apes

Like a true geek, I like the Planet of the Apes franchise. From the original “hokey” movies in the 60’s and 70’s to Tim Burton’s reimagining. With that in mind, I thought I would see a movie about apes coming to power…I was wrong, and delightfully so!

This movie was more thought provoking than I had thought. It was less action, and more philosophy, than I had anticipated. Although it was not the beat down movie of the century, it was quite enjoyable. There were several nods to the original that I appreciated.

Andy Serkis’ performance made the movie. His emotions (thanks to the effects team) really seemed to shine through. I don’t care who they cast in the other roles, he stole the show. Although, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy) is always likable as a bad guy.

Overall, well worth the time, and I give it a He-Man on the 80’s toy scale!

The Three Musketeers (2011)

Action packed re-telling of a familiar story. I am convinced that Hollywood has run out of real ideas. While that statement is not new, the more I see movies like this, the more I am convinced of it. This is swashbuckling for the “Twilight” set. (Complete with sexual innuendo and double entendre)

If you can remove your brain and just enjoy this movie, then do so. I liken it to “The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen” while not a great movie, it has its eye candy moments.

The plot and acting seems forced, and predictable. (How “new” can you make a classic?)

I like the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, and this is along the same vein. Just fun, swashbuckling action adventure!

So, bottom line, wait for the DVD, and don’t get caught up with thoughts like “That could never happen!”

I rate it a Chuck Norris and the Karate Commandos on 80’s Toy Scale!

Next week, we review “The Sitter” and “Sherlock Holmes: Game of Shadows”

Assorted Geekery

2011-12-13T10:40:00.000-08:00

Geeks everywhere unite!

What other “geeky” hobbies do you enjoy (besides the obvious) besides gaming?
I personally love “kitchy” stuff. There are several online retailers that I just look at their inventory, and drool, dreaming someday of winning the lottery so I can induldge in every geeky fantasy I have, by purchasing my wish list.

So I started to think about it, what other things do you like? Below is a list of things I enjoy/ once enjoyed but either invested in other geekery, or decided the enjoyment factor was not outweighed by the price factor.

Now, there are some things that are on the list that I simply would love to have had or buy, but the price was too much for what you get. (I am cheap, and have a family.)

"Geeky hobbies"
Comic Books
MiniFigs
RPG’s (Specifically D&D, and Dungeon Crawls)
Comic book movies (if they are done well, that being said, I still enjoy them if they are horrible, just not as much. Daredevil is a good example. Horrible movie, but I am glad I didn’t pay money to see it, but I am glad I saw it, so I can say I have seen every Marvel movie ever produced…)
Medieval Weaponry
History – Renaissance, but I like it all.
Steampunky stuff - don't own any, but man, is it cool to look at!
Action Figures/Toys - if I ever hit the lottery, I will be able to complete my wish list of figs...

TV
Toons! - Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, Freakazoid, Tiny Toons, Batman, Superman, just to name a few…
Simpsons, Cleaveland Show, Family Guy, American Dad – I love fox animation!
Deadliest Warrior – no matter how cheesy it is, specifically pre-modern era combatants
The Borgias
Boardwalk Empire
Dexter
Breaking Bad- this one is recent, not very far into 2nd season…have kinda lost interest TBH…
The Walking Dead
Dr. Who
American Pickers - Who knew you could make money off of old junk?
Real Deal
Storage Wars

OTHER
80’s stuff – for nostalgia purposes
Some anime – Trigun, Black Magic m-66, Vampire Hunter D to name a few
Zombie stuff!

If time and money were no object, model railroading could be fun…
RC trucks…electric powered, not nitro…nitro is too much work.
“Affordable” RC planes

Books
Osprey Books
Warhammer “fluff” books
(I don’t have much time to read)

The list could go on...but I will spare you the headache...

So, do we have any in common besides gaming?

Knightly Orders part 1 - Knights of the Blazing Sun

2011-12-12T06:34:00.000-08:00

This is the first of many articles on the Knightly Orders of the Empire. The information I have gathered here has come from many, many sources on the web. (Special thanks to all the original posters. I will try to give credit where I found them.)

I will begin with the Knights who have a presence in Nuln. The first one being Knights of the Blazing Sun. (Because that's the order I am doing for my army.)

The Knights of the Blazing Sun

A relatively small order, the Knights of the Blazing Sun are also known as the Templars of Myrmidia because of their devotion to the Estalian warrior deity Myrmidia. Largely unknown in the lands of the Empire, it was only through the strangest of chances that the Order’s worship of her began at all.
During the wars against Araby, threescore Knights from the Empire lent their aid toward the recapturing of the temple of Myrmidia in Margritta, the southern seaport of Estalia. During the fierce fighting around the temple, a violent earth tremor shook the building and dislodged the vast bronze statue of Myrmidia that was fixed on its topmost steeple. The statue fell to the ground, smashed into a thousand fragments, and flattened Emir Wazir the Cruel and his Black Scimitar Guard. With their leader slain, the Arabian hordes abandoned the temple and left it in the hands of the Knights. Whether this incident was actually divine intervention has been widely disputed, but to those Knights who fought in the temple, it was unquestionably Myrmidia herself who intervened. Upon returning to the Empire, the veterans of that battle founded the Order of the Blazing Sun and built a shrine to Myrmidia in the heart of Talabheim. Though many folk mistrust them for courting strange foreign deities, the Knights of the Blazing Sun have unceasingly fought with distinction against the enemies of the Empire and are held as a prized ally by many Elector Counts. - Games Workshop website

Templars of the war-goddess Myrmidia, the Knights of the Blazing Sun were founded during the Crusades in 1457. In a street battle against the Arabians in Estalia, a group of knights were saved from certain defeat when a freak earth-tremor dislodged a huge statue of Myrmidia from a temple roof. It crashed to the ground and landed on the enemy general and his bodyguard, killing them instantly. After the battle, the survivors banded together and formed the Order of the Blazing Sun in Myrmidias honour”. –Warhammer Chronicles.

The Knights of this order are located deep in the South of Middenland.
They are a small but much respected order with a distinguished history. They were the
first of the Knightly Orders from the west to travel to Nuln and join with Magnus. The
knights take great pride in their weapons and abilities. They can often be seen charging on
the battlefield in their highly polished and resplendent armour of black and gold.
The Order has developed a technique using their polished mirrored shields to focus
sunlight onto the enemy’s face as they charge. This disorientates and dazzles the poor fools
just before they are charged down.

Using the Knights of the Blazing Sun in your games of Warhammer

Blinding Light: +3 points per model. (+8
Inner Circle)
Before you charge with the Knights roll a d6.
A roll of one means there is no sun (it’s
raining or overcast) and so the Blinding Light
cannot be used this charge. Any other result
means there is enough sun light for the
Knights to dazzle their enemies as they
charge. The enemy unit being charged which
opts to stand and fire is at an additional –1 to
hit due to the light being directed into their
face.

(Source Games Workshop)

A note on Myrmidia

Myrmidia Myrmidia is the goddess of strategy: of the science and art of war. She is popular throughout the southern Empire, but is most widely worshiped in Tilea and Estalia. In The Empire, her largest temple stands in the city-state of Nuln. There is much mutual dislike between the cults of Myrmidia and Ulric – both deal in conflict, but their methods are wildly different. This rivalry manifests itself as a desire for followers of the two cults to try to outdo each other on the field of battle. Myrmidia’s priests wear white robes with red trim, and blue cowls. Her symbols are a spear behind a shield, and the Pegasus.

(Source Warhammer-empire.com)

NOTE:

Although Myrmidia's preists normally wear white robes w/ red trim and blue cowls, the preists in Nuln have adopted red robes w/ black cowls and trim, as there is a movement among the heirarchy of the cult to make Nuln the "official" city of Myrmidia, and to dedicate all of the people of Nuln to her, after all, this city is the home to the largest Temple to the godess in the Old World. So the wearing of the different color robes allows the priests to be more acessible to the people (most of whom are either covered w/ black soot, or wearing black.)

(Not to mention, it allows me to tie the priests in w/ the rest of my army white would stand out too much in a all black army.)

Rules, Commission Work, and Others

2011-12-10T21:14:00.000-08:00

So, I was really tired when I posted the contest info. I did not put the dates in.

Submissions for the post title contest is December 21, 2011.

Submissions for the new header will be going thru the 7th of January 2012. So, get your GIMP and Photoshop skills on!

Also, I have been working on a commission piece for a client, he wanted the characters from Heroquest done.

I have the barbarian done. (It took an entire National Lampoons Christmas vacation, but it got done before the final credits...)

Here it was before the movie...

And after...

Thats all for now!

Contests!

2011-12-07T11:35:00.001-08:00

Contests? Sign me up!
I am doing a couple of quick contests for the blog here. With some great prizes just in time for the holidays.

Contest Number 1 - NEW HEADER

In the realization that the blog is moving in a new direction. And it will entail 40k, WHFB, some mini painting commission updates/ hobby tutorials, the occasional Warmachine/Board Game/ RPG article, and just some articles about movies/TV/other stuff that I think is entertaining. I realized that I need a new header for the blog. One that not only says the name, but reflects the blog on a whole. This is why I have decided to run a "Design the new Header" contest. Now, you may be thinking, "Big deal, what's the prize?" Well, the prize is a doozy...drumroll please.

Their choice of a scenery piece built by yours truly, or a free commission paint job for your mini. (Infantry size or smaller. Winner assumes shipping costs to get mini to me, and I will assume shipping costs to send back.)

Headers should be no larger than 725x250. Any inapppropriate artwork will be immediately dismissed and the submitting party will have a stern public talking to...in addition to being disqualified for the contest.

Second, and not so great, is the rename post number 178 contest.

Ok, below is the original post. I was going to post it, and realized I didn't have a title. The first follower who can come up with a clever title for this post, will receive a $5 dollar discount on any commission work/ order placed through Digital Waaagh. Same rule applies, nothing inappropriate, or we will have issues.

Submissions for both contests can be sent here.

Post number 178

2011-12-07T11:35:00.000-08:00

As stated in the next post, please find a better title for this post.

My life…

Not that you care to hear what is going on in my personal life, but my 5 year old has an ear infection and upper respiratory infection. I just got a lot more responsibility dumped on me at work. (With no increase in wage yet, hopefully one will be forthcoming.)

Not to mention the normal business of preparing for the holidays…

So, why do I feel the need / desire to do hobby related stuff?

Well, a hobby is supposed to take up our free time. (I just don’t happen to have any at the moment.)

Before you answer, let me say that in order to fund my hobby, lately I have been doing commission work. I will be posting pics of my stuff, but more so, I will have a gallery of my current commission projects. (Along with info on how to contact me if you are interested in having something painted.)

Currently I am working on some Heroquest minis. They shouldn’t take too long I wouldn’t think. Right now they are the original red plastic color. And the client wants them to match their cards. Should be fun to paint!

In other news, my Empire army is slowly being built, and I have almost 35 spearmen 50% completed for the upcoming campaign. (Yet something else to add to “the list”…writing the campaign book with my collaborator.)

Well, for all of you old school fluff enthusiasts out there…keep your eyes here. (I have dusted off the time-machine, and am ready to take it for another spin.)

Tomorrow, enjoy the first in a series highlighting the Knightly Orders of the Empire, along with some special rules adapted for 8^th ed.

On Friday, we will be reviewing a holiday classic with some new insights. Yep, get out yer pink bunny pj’s, because we will look at “A Christmas Story.”

Cheers!

Oooh an update!

2011-12-02T18:22:00.000-08:00

I haven’t updated, blah , blah blah… Ok, so instead of reading some lame excuse, or a promise to get back to posting on a frequent basis, I will explain how the site will be changing.

The period of non-posting was based on the fact that for a while, I did nothing hobby related, so I could pursue my other passion…theater. I was in “Death of a Salesman” locally, and we had 3 sold out shows. Overall a great production, and it was fun to be a part of.

In other news, I have not done anything Ork based in a very long time, so why would I post to my “Orky” blog? Well, that brings me to the other bit.

I am re-tooling the blog, you will see in the coming weeks, changes to the appearance, and new features and posts.

For real this time!!!!

Now, you may be asking, “Ya, but what about his follow thru? Hasn't history taught us that he makes plans and doesn't come thru on them?"

Well, I plan on picking up some extra money for newer minis and to support my hobby addiction (Which is much better than supporting my chocolate chip cookie addiction!), by doing commission work. In order to do so, I have a dedicated commission page, which shows minis I am currently working on for commission, and how to contact me if you are interested in a good quality, painted mini, that has a decent turnaround time. Hopefully that will inspire me to update with more frequency.

One of the things I have been working on lately besides commission work has been my Empire army for Warhammer Fantasy Battles. So, disregarding its past, Digital Waaagh is going to be more of an overall hobby site, and discuss (among life type stuff, and movies and such) Warmachine, Warhammer Fantasy, RPG’s and product reviews.

Lately, I am of a heavy Warhammer Fantasy mindset, so for those who are fans of 40k or Warmachine, stick around, I am sure to be posting stuff soon for these systems as well.

In the meantime, look at this. Seems like a cool little game, and the minis seem pretty awesome. I can’t wait to paint some up for somebody!

Cheers!

Tourin' Tuesdays - Screamin' Heretic's Finecast post

2011-08-02T06:31:00.000-07:00

Now that the recent wave of GW hate has subsided a little bit (yes, I did say a little bit), I thought it was time to openly discuss some issues that people have with GW, and in my opinion how to handle these concerns, and negativity when it comes to our hobby.

A while back, GW once again decided to raise thier prices, to which I provided my insight. I love this hobby as much as most people (according to my wife, even more than most.), and I am not ashamed to admit a certain respect for GW as a company. Being employed there on 2 separate occasions, gave me some insight. More importantly however, it gave me life-long friends that I can share my hobby with. Now before I sound too much like a fanboy, allow me to defend myself a little. I said I respect GW, I don't agree however with most of their business practices.

That being said, I will say with some authority, that GW has been looking at making their complete line plastic for quite some time.

And from a business standpoint, it makes a lot of sense. (More profit for one) Now, I could divulge how much profit GW makes on some of their box sets, but 1.) I don't want a lawsuit. and 2.) You would probably be more upset about pricing than you already are. and 3.) That is not the point of this blog or article...

The bottom line is this, GW introduces Finecast, but I feel it was a bit early, as there were still some bugs to work out of the system. In their usual rush to get things out, quality was sacrificed to the expediency gods, and we ended up with the short end of the stick...for now. I could go on about how I have heard horror stories about Finecast models being left in a car, only to have them melt after a short time in the July heat. (You shouldn't store minis in your car anyways!) But, I have heard similar stories about people leaving them in window sills just to have them warp...ok, I am sure the quality is somewhat lacking, and we pay a lot of money for quality product and get upset when we don't get it. But, relax, if it is one thing GW has had in my experience is excellent customer service, and support. In all seriousness, I have never had an issue gettting a replacement part or model if there was an issue.

I think that Kharn on the Screaming Heretic has an absolutely great post on the Finecast product, without raising a huge smily, GW banner, Kharn has effectively given some insight into how the Finecast Fiasco came about, and how it can turn around. There is enough negativity concerning Finecast models out there, it is refreshing to see a well written article that actually discusses the product in a fair manner that wasn't slamming GW for once.

(Still not a fanboy, I just like the hobby.)

Enough chatter, time for the squig scale! I rate Kharn's article a parasite squig on the squig scale.

Sorry for the lolcats, I couldn't resist...

Madboy Mundayz - Phobiaks Part 2

2011-08-01T07:20:00.000-07:00

Ok, here it is quick and dirty...rules for 5th ed Phobiaks...

0-1 Phobiak Madboyz

Note: No more than one unit of Madboyz may be taken regardless of what type of madboyz they are.

Unit size 5-20 Madboyz

Armed with slugga and choppa.

May be armed with shootas for no additional points.

3 points per Madboy

One Madboy may be upgraded to a Painboy at +10 points

Additional Rules

Roll a D6 at the beginning of each ork turn, and consult the chart below.

1	Waaargh, jibber -jibber - The unit becomes catatonic realizing how big the universe is, or how dangerous battle truly is. Whatever the case, they are decidedly un-orky until the next ork player's turn.
2	It's gonna get us, Run Away! - The boys are convinced something terrible is chasing them. (Or in front of them, or to one of their flanks.) Move the unit 3d6" in a random direction as indicated on the scatter dice.
3	Quick! Werz sumtin to hide behind?! - The unit decides that they need to hide, quickly! The unit moves 2d6 towards the nearest cover, and will immediately go to ground this turn. If the unit has enough movement as indicated on the dice to move into cover, they may do so, and not go to ground.
4	Oomies!? We hatez oomies! - The boyz see the nearest unit (friend or foe) as oomies, and they hate oomies. The unit must shoot at the nearest unit in the shooting phase. (friend or foe - normal armor saves apply)
5	Everyone is lookin' at us! - The boyz are suddenly afraid that the entire ork society is watching them, and they better act decidedly orky so as to impress the rest. The unit counts as having invunerable saves, and being fleet for this turn. But, they must charge the nearest enemy unit with the highest point cost. If there is one or more enemy units tied in points, then the controlling player of those units chooses which one is charged.
6	Waaagh! - This unit incites a waaagh in the rest of the army. (Treated as a sucessful weirdboy power.)

Let me know how these rules workout, as I have not had a chance to playtest them yet.

2nd Ed Saturdays - Dark Eldar

2011-07-30T05:19:00.000-07:00

Last weeks article on the 3rd edition “starter box” got me thinking about Dark Eldar. Now, for those of you who don’t know, Eldar have been around from the earliest concept of 40k. Their dark cousins however were not a fully developed army until 3rd edition. Last year saw the update of their codex since 3rd edition, and rightfully so. (Though they were still competitive, they did need an update. Necrons however are in more need of an update than Dark Eldar were, but that is an article for another time.)

So, we know what Dark Eldar came in the starter box, and we know the current line. But how did they develop? What were the early days of Dark Eldar like? Read on inquisitive 40k history student, and learn of the brutal race!

From Wikipedia - Games Workshop decided to make the Dark Eldar as a separate army, after it became fairly common to see gamers collect "Dark Eldar" armies, which are total conversions/customizations of Eldar miniatures while still retaining the standard Eldar rules. It was also relatively convenient to add the Dark Eldar to the existing Eldar storyline without any conflict, right at the catastrophe that destroyed the Eldar home-world.

Upon further research, this is 100% accurate. (So my reliable sources say.) The Eldar in the age of Rogue Trader were pretty dark, wild, and basically like the punk-rock race of space elves that they are a far cry from today.

Early Eldar Rock it out!

While the Eldar developed into what could be considered 2 separate races, the other armies remained virtually unchanged at the time. (Gone were the days of Squats, but we got Tau to replace them…and rumor has it the Squats are returning!)

So, in essence –
Orks were still green skinned war-like race bent on a good scrap.
Imperial Guard were still mass number of “normal” guys and lots of tanks fighting incredible odds.
Space Marines were still mutated warriors that turned everything they touched to gold.
Chaos was still daemonic/warp influenced band of warriors bent on the destruction of the universe to please their patron god.
Eldar however enjoyed a time of change. (Fitting since their race “created” the lord of change.)

Thus, the Dark Eldar were born. It wasn't until 3rd edition that they received their own codex. (And a big boost from the starter box!)

So, after the codex release players were clamouring to get their hands on the Dark Eldar right? Well, not exactly. I can only remember there being 1 maybe 2 Dark Eldar players at any tournament I attended. 4th edition saw many codex revisions, but not for the D.E. They got what was called a "Second Edition" update to their 3rd Edition codex. What this meant was they had access to some new wargear, list options, and vehicle upgrades, but no new units or rules that were significant. So again, though a few more players picked up Dark Eldar, they did not receive much love. I can attribute this to a couple of things. A.) the models - there was not a whole lot of selection to choose from, and a lot of them were metal increasing the price. and B.) the style of play that the Dark Eldar required was what I can only term as swift finnesse - the army on the whole needed mobility and a tactician who would excel at sneaky tricks, and strange combos. (Not a beginner army for sure!)

That brings us to 2010. GW released a brand new Dark Eldar codex with a slew of new models and lots of love. Sure, they still require some finesse to play, but now they have more players sprinting down the learning curve, and look cool losing while they do!

Painting Your minis

2011-07-29T12:12:00.000-07:00

So, in an effort to take my family to Disney World later this year, I decided we could use some extra income. (Who couldn't?) I thought, "How about something that I like to do as opposed to something I wouldn't like at all?"

Well, I like to paint, and I know there are gamers that really despise painting, but love to play. But lets face it, playing with miniatures that are just metal or plastic is not as much fun. Painted armies play better! (They may not win, but they do look good losing!)

Do you have miniatures that you want painted, and just can't get motivated, or lack the ability?

Well, click on the link above labeled "Painting Services" for details!

If only people put this much pride in the minis they own...

Reliving my Youth - The 80's part 1

2011-07-29T05:35:00.000-07:00

For the next few weeks, I am going to take you back to the wonderful 80's. The time of big hair, wood paneling, and techno-pop rock.

There seems to be a resurgence of 80's remakes and such lately. Hollywood hasn't had an original idea in decades. And the 80's remakes are generally worse and ruin my memories of the subject matter. Although there are some exceptions to this. The first Transformers movie was cool, GI Joe was awful. I would love to see a M.A.S.K. live action movie if it was done well. (Hoping a Care Bears or Hong Kong Fooey live action/CG project never sees the light of day.)

Well thanks to the power of the Internet I can relive my youth. Saturday mornings watching cartoons can be accomplished through the web. Classics like the Littles, Rubik the Amazing Cube, or Saturday morning Supercade or an episode of the old Pac-Man cartoon.

Or weekday afternoons watching M.A.S.K or G.I. Joe. You can even see some of the many commercials from that era.

This is especially fun to do while eating a bowl of Lucky Charms or another "kid" cereal. And once your breakfast is over, and the cartoons are done, waste some time playing your Atari 2600 just use the pull down menu at the bottom, and play a ton of your old favorites!

Feel like a night out at the movies? Then you can watch such films as Back to the Future, and more at http://www.alluc.org/

Ah if we could only go back to that time. When Regan economics made the gummi bears and money flow like water...

Next week we will take a closer look at the weekday cartoons.

Tourin' Tuesdays - Pazuzork's Terrain

2011-07-26T05:30:00.000-07:00

I was lurking on one of my favorite forums and came across some very interesting and well done Ork scenery. I love looking at other people's minis and work. It is neat to see where our fellow hobbyists are in terms of their own hobby experience. But, let's be realistic. Most of us have some painted miniatures, and some that are just built, awaiting paint. Then we have some folks that just like to play the game, and that is fine as well. Then there is what I aspire to...the guy who has 6,000+ points, and a fully playable table, with complete scenery. One like you might find in White Dwarf.

It is always inspiring to find such hobbyists out there, and the-waaagh forums seem to be an endless source of inspiration.

Pazuzuork's terrain perfectly blends the wacky ork nature with the technology and overall tone of the 41st millenium. (Such as the Imperial Generator gets an honorable mention for it's simplicity and detail work all rolled into one!)

The waaagh tower and tree house are all great! And from the looks of it, the tellyporta Pazuzork is working on is going to be phenomonal!

Overall, Pazuzork's terrain and project thread gets an Spiky squig on the squig scale!

For the display of kunnin' and mekanikal know-wotz, I am proud to present to Pazuzork the never before seen, highly coveted, Mek Badge! (this is reserved for exceptional material, honorable metions etc.. the graphic will probably change over time, as the topic/needs dictate, I definitely hope to be able to use this feature more!) So, congratulations Pazuzork on being the inaugral recepient of this award!

Madboy Mundayz - Phobiaks

2011-07-25T06:50:00.000-07:00

Git yer straightjackets on, cause dis 'ere is anuvver madboy article!

This week, we are looking at the Phobiaks. Mostly doing more harm than good, phobiaks were the epitome of madcap madboy units in 2nd edition.

Here is what their original behaviour chart looked like...

Next week, we will look at some rules for 5th ed. that make it actually worth taking this unit in your army...

Serjury Sundayz - Squig arms

2011-07-24T07:30:00.000-07:00

We have already seen how useful Squigs can be to Orkish Society. Imagine if you will, you’re an ork, and your arm has gotten chopped off in battle. (or blown off, but den again why didn’t it git chopped off in a scrap? You’re an ork, not a panzee, next time get to da enemy ‘fore they git to yoo!)

You avoid seeing the dok as long as you can, until the dok runs over to you and says, “Just da type o’ ork I wuz lookin’ fer! Com’ere! I gots a speshul arm dat I fink you’re gonna love! You won’t even miss yer old one!”

Makes your stomach queasy right? Well if not, what kind of an ork are you?! I know that most orks would not be happy at the prospect of a new arm, until they got to try it out for a while, then they might enjoy it.

Well, this arm is a good example of that. The squig arm! No, it isn’t where the dok just grafts a live squig onto the bloody stump of an ork. (Although, I am sure it has been tried by both feral and non-feral doks alike! Much to the chagrin of the patient and squig both!)

A squig arm is a cybork arm with a small cage attached to hold various squigs. Typically used are small attack squigs, or buzzer squigs.

Here is the original excerpt…

So, there you have it. Another wacky “improvement” by the doks!

How do you suppose this type of enhancement would work in 5^th edition? I thought count as having frag grenades, +1 to attack, and -1 to initiative. Thoughts?

2011-07-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

Remember the old 40k 3^rd Edition Starter box? Seen by some as the set that started it all. 40k was at a new high in the hobby world, and this box set was just the thing to get geeks clamoring for 40k. The third edition of the game was released in 1998 and, like the second edition, concentrated on streamlining the rules for larger battles. Third edition rules were notably simpler and were less prone to give characters abilities only on the roll of a die.The rulebook was available alone, or as a boxed set with miniatures of Space Marines and the newly-introduced Dark Eldar. The system of army 'codexes' continued in third edition, enjoying some popularity. Although, you didn’t need the codices to play third edition, they did allow for more unit choices later on.

Contents:

1 Tactical Space Marine Squad consisting of 10 marines. This is the basic squad which consist of the models available today but as, with the older command sprue. Therefore you only get the bolt pistol and chainsword, flamer and missle launcher as weapon options.

1 Landspeeder. This is the basic Spacemarine Landspeeder which can be equipped with either a heavy bolter or multi-melta. Both weapon options are included. (And IMHO, the absolute worst model to put together! I glued mine together, and put rubber bands on it to keep the sides from popping out, 3 days later, I took the rubber bands off, and “plink” the sides still popped out. It ended up finding new life on the back of my Looted Russ as a turbo-boosta.)

20 Dark Eldar Warriors. Including 2 Splinter cannons and perhaps 2 or 3 pistol configurations, the remaining weapons are all rifle. (I had a ton of these guys, at one point, I thought it would be cool to do a 1000 point army consisting of an Archon, and 100 warriors... think of all that dakka!)

The terrain included was some ruins, and jungle trees.

You also got a few dice, 2 red measuring sticks, plastic blast templates and of course, the 3rd edition rulebook.

You know the big one. (This was also known as the BBB or Big Black Book.)

All this for a mere $75.00 USD, which today is roughly the same as $103.86 utilizing http://www.usinflationcalculator.com/ with a calculated inflation rate of 38.7% For my European readers, that is the same as appox. 53€ in 1998 and 73.04€ today.

Not bad considering everything you got in the box. Let’s break it down in today’s pricing terms just for fun, shall we?

Landspeeder = $27.00 (note: the model today includes parts to make a Land Speeder Tornado, where as the old one didn’t. An estimate of -$3.00 was applied to reflect this.

10 Marines = $35.00 (note: the models in the tactical squad now give you more options, so I applied -$2.75 from the standard price.)

20 Dark Eldar Warriors = $52.00 (note: the Dark Eldar warriors then were less detailed, and only included a pistol/close combat option for one in every 4 warriors (to make the Sybarite) and one of every four on the sprue had a Splinter Cannon, the rest were just rifles. To reflect this -$6.00 was applied.

Jungle Trees = $8.25 these have not changed at all!

Ruins = (No longer available) But if we take the standard inflation (38.7%) and apply it towards the 1998 price of $9.99 we come up with $13.85, and since GW almost NEVER prices things like that, we round up. (Why would GW round down?) to $15.00

Big Rulebook = $57.75 Wow, for a better quality book, if you took the 1998 price, and ran it through the inflation calculator, you come up with $69.24 so GW has actually lowered the price on something for a better product? I don’t believe it.

So, that leaves us with a total of $195.00 USD in today’s pricing terms. In 1998, the equivalent was appox. $140.00 USD.

I know the math isn’t perfect, but it is what it is…

Now I want to get one of these old box sets…darn it!

What's in a name?

2011-07-22T06:55:00.000-07:00

I used to eat Ding Dongs when I was a kid and a while back I picked up some of these yummy treats, and they are not how I remembered them. There is overall less creamy goodness inside, and they seem smaller. Oh well, they were still somewhat tasty, but not quite the same.

Worse yet, the name changed lots of times from when I was younger…but, to this day, I am not sure why all the name changes.

For example we have...

and

Note that they still have the King mascot…

I used to love the foil wrapping on these things…I remember it being thinner than dollar store toilet paper…

If you lived outside of the mid-west US, you probably had these instead of the King Dons. (Also known as Big Cheifs)

And just for those who are completely lost, look it up…

Anyway, I took some to work, and opened one up for a championship breakfast. And after taking the “not-foil” wrapping off, I noticed something…my yummy treat was frowning at me! Here for everyone to see, is the offending cake…

I thought it was a fluke, and so I ate it without much compunction . But, began to wonder a few things. 1.) That was kinda small, and I am still hungry. And 2.) If I opened another one, would it frown at me as well? Short answer…yes!

Out of the 12 pastries in the box, only 2 were not frowning. You would think that they would have accepted their fate within someone’s belly…making others happy. But, no, they had to go and try to ruin a nostalgia fun filled experience…well I ate them anyways, take that you cakes!

Moroniks UPDATE (see edit note at bottom)

2011-07-20T13:56:00.000-07:00

So after reading last week's article about Moroniks, you can't wait to use them in your own games of 40k right? Well, your wait is over!
Here are the rules for utilizing Moroniks in your battles! Now, get them out there, and watch the madness ensue!

0-1 Moronik Madboyz

Note: No more than one unit of Madboyz may be taken regardless of what type of madboyz they are.

Unit size 5-20 Madboyz

5 points per Madboy

Armed with either a slugga and choppa, or a shoota for no additional point cost

One Madboy may be upgraded to a Painboy at +10 points

Additional Rules

Roll a D6 at the beginning of each ork turn, and consult the chart below.

1	The last one to hit da big fing is a sissy! - The unit opens fire on the nearest vehicle within range (friend or foe, it can NOT be this unit) if there are no units in range, this unit may not move or shoot next turn.
2	We'z goin' on strike! - The boyz decide that they want more of the loot after the battle, so they go on strike, and may not move or shoot for the remainder of the game. (A sucessful leadership check, or another mood, negates this effect.)
3	Wanderin' Off - The boyz decide they had enuff battle for one day. (Truly only an insane ork would think such things.) The unit moves 6" in a randomly generated direction, utilizing the scatter dice. This counts as their movement for the turn, and may act normally the rest of the turn.
4	We's Skirmishin' - This unit receives +1 to cover saves, in addition, this unit may double its coherency up to 4" until a new mood is rolled.
5	Whatz dey doin? - The unit must move directly towards the nearest enemy unit. (To get a closer look. Due to this strange behaviour, it baffles the enemy.) This unit may not be shot at or charged until the following opponent turn, and it may not shoot or charge until the following ork turn.
6	Waaagh! - This unit incites a waaagh in the rest of the army. (Treated as a sucessful weirdboy power.)

Edit: I had a follower contact me, and suggest I change the point cost and make it lower, as there are more negatives than positives when taking these units. SO, in my fervor, I think I let the gate swing too far on the conservative side, in order to (in my mind) make it balanced. Here I updated the points cost to make them more worth while.

"No, I really mean it this time!" or "Why do trains run?"

2011-07-20T10:29:00.000-07:00

I read this great post recently on the House of Paincakes.

Why is it so great? Well it is on so many levels. First of all, it sums up my excuses for not updating more often. Besides that, the comments are very insightful as well. I have a backlog of ideas for articles and such, with what seems like little time lately. In my opinion, it may be a poor excuse. I am not saying that family, job and friends, and such aren’t important. I just feel that I could take an hour every week to write some quality articles for the upcoming week. I have tried to limit myself to posting just a few days each week, and that either turns into posting something all 7 days (which undoubtedly requires a bigger commitment) or posting once every few weeks. Due to issues that came up (wife’s health, five-year-old, summer activities, and working nearly 55 hours per week to name a few.) I have been a bit lax on posting frequency. I am not apologizing, but I am offering an excuse to my readers as to why posting frequency has taken a nosedive…perhaps I needed justification in my eyes, as I felt that I have let you down.

Yet, here you are, reading this. My faithful followers! It is nice to know that there are people who support each other in their hobbies, and no matter what happens personally, your hobby will be there with few changes. Yes, I know rule changes and such. But the hobby, building and painting miniatures and moving them around on a table to a predetermined set of rules will not change. Different companies will come and go, but, the hobby has staying power.

So, I have said before, I will try to pick up on the posting a bit more. Yet, I need to find balance. ( ß can’t you hear Yoda saying that?) With that being said, here is a new schedule, which will allow me to post semi-regularly, and still have time for family, and job. Submitted for your approval (only somewhat, it is still my blog), a schedule with article ideas, and a brief description. Something you would like to see? Let us know by using the comments feature below! Of course, this schedule will probably change sometime in the future. Probably in the fall, along with a contest, stay tuned! (And if there is a contest, the winners will be notified via e-mail, if the winner doesn’t claim their prize, another winner will be chosen until someone claims their prize.)

Serjury Sundayz - Quick fun, cut and pastes from the old codices…sometimes with commentary or fiction, sometimes without.

Madboy Mundayz – This one is just too fun to get rid of…besides, each “grouping” of Madboyz takes up 2 article slots!

Tourin’ Toozdayz – I am keeping this one for a quick simple article that showcases other people’s blogs, projects, and talent. Honestly, it doesn’t take much effort to write a couple sentences on a site/blog/post, give a quick critique, and post the silly squig skale! Let’s face it, the squig skale is most of the fun!

Wednesdayz – No posts unless I am truly inspired.

Thursdays – No posting - My son has Karate Kommitments (man, I love alliteration within Orky language!), but you can be sure to check out Mike’s blog for hobby week updates.

Fridays – No posting unless I am inspired. If I do put something up on Fridays, it will be pretty “useless” in terms of the hobby.

Second ed. Saturdayz – This may or may not be a regular feature. It is sometimes hard digging in old material to come up with an article based on the old material. Is there something you would like to see from a past edition? Let us know in the comments section below! (Doesn’t have to be 2^nd ed.)

My favorite past time lately...

OK, this time I mean it! No more slacking off for me!

Here is today’s top 10 list of Excuses why you can’t or won’t post on your blog…(with apologies to David Lettermen)

10. What’s a blog?

09. But if I stop playing, my level 12 Elf mage might die!

08. I am trying to watch Peirce Morgan!

07. I am right in the middle of this book, and I don’t think the Little engine will make it this time!

06. I really think Gilligan will make it off the island in this episode!

05. I am working on a script for Pirates of the Caribbean 6! - Yes 6, it is how “awesome” they are, they just skip over 5 and go right to 6!

04. I am in a coma…seriously; I am transmitting this top ten psychically!

03. GW called, and I am too busy writing an article for their monthly catalog…I mean White Dwarf!

02. You now how hard it is to blog while pooping?

And the number one excuse for not blogging is….

01. I forgot how to turn on the computer!

See you Saturday!

Tourin' Tuesdays - Tayton's Ard Boyz

2011-06-28T09:55:00.000-07:00

So, this week, instead of a blog, or site dedicated to things that are orky, we are going to look at just one article from Taytonclait over on the Waaagh forums. He provided an excellent tutorial for making different Ard Boyz. Sure, we have seen the extra armor bit from the sprue used to full effect, we have seen Black Orcs conversions to Ard Boys, but this is really effective. For a little amount of money and some time, you too can convert your own Ard Boys as explained in his tutorial below.

http://taytonclait.deviantart.com/art/Ard-Boy-Tutorial-213938969

A simple, straighforward tutorial, that does not leave me thinking, "hey, how did he get from A to C?" or "wow, there is no way I can do that!" rates this tutorial above others. All in all, I am giving it a parasite squig on the squig scale.

Madboy Mundayz - Moroniks

2011-06-27T09:41:00.000-07:00

We return to our regularly scheduled blog, to bring you the latest in the on-going, yet to be determined when it is going to end series. (That was a bit redundant, like saying something twice even!)

If you couldn't tell by the above title, (learn 2 read!) this week we are looking at the Moronik breed of Madboyz.

These guys made the ork army unpredictably fun in 2nd edition! Let's face it, sure you play an Ork army to krump stuff, but what's the fun in that? I would daresay the majority of Ork players play Orks because of their "fun" nature. Wacky conversions, charging into melee when all else seems lost, brandishing strange, unpredictable firepower. All these make up the fun feeling of the army. So, why did GW cut back on this unpredictable nature of the Orks?

I have a theory. It is no secret that in the past few years, GW has streamlined games and tried to appeal to a younger audience. Well, the madboyz would have thrown that concept right out the window. You would have to roll on multiple tables, and it was extremely convoluted and would slow the game down, even if they were fun. So in an attempt to bring back the fun, and not slow the game down, I have updated these classics for 6th Ed. (See previous Madboy entries)

Moroniks are the epitome of unpredictable fun in an ork army. They would just do things that were, dumb, stupid, and well...moronic! Their chart appears below.

And we're back!

2011-06-25T07:11:00.000-07:00

Posting to resume next week!

Monday - Madboy Mondays is back!

Tourin Tuesdays - What site/blog/ hobbyist will we look at this week?

Wednesdays - Warmachine Wednesday takes a look at some interesting combos

Thoughtful Thursdays - Returns with rumors in the community

Feature Friday - Interviews with some of the industries "pros" continues

Second Edition Saturday - Tune in here for "Box Set Beginnings" what were minis like back in the day?!

Posting - One man's limitations

2011-05-31T10:55:00.000-07:00

So, I have a whole slew of ideas for posts, and a timeline in my head for "deadlines" and such for these posts. Unfortunately, real life does happen, and posting has taken a definite slump as you all have witnessed.

This could be contributed to many things, but there is only one thing in particular that has kept me from posting, and I do not wish to "air dirty laundry" as it were, so I will try to keep it brief.

My wife and I were expecting our 2nd child, and about three months ago, we lost it. After a normal period of grieving, (this is the second one we have lost since we have been married.) we noticed her health was not improving. Just recently she went to the doctor, and they gave a pre-diagnoses if you will of cancer. We find out today after many, many blood tests, biopsies, and an ultra-sound wether it is cancer or not. The doctor didn't just say cancer, but it could be cervical cancer, or uterine cancer, in some research, I found that it could also possibly be ovarian cancer, but it is not as likely. The other hypothesis is that she could just have thybroids, in which case, we would have cause to be grateful.

Whatever the outcome is, we are saddened by the fact that we wanted more children, and will only have one. (Although, he is an awesome blessing, we would like for him to have siblings.)

So there you have it, the reasoning behind my erratic posting as of late, and I will try to touch base here a bit more often with continued good content, just don't expect something everyday as it was in the past.

Prices, Pee and other things…

2011-05-19T13:46:00.000-07:00

So there is a lot of GW hate going around on the blog-o-sphere currently. Everyone is “up in arms” about decisions that GW is making as a company, and “jumping ship”. I will say that I have not actually purchased a GW miniature in over a year. So to everyone else that is thinking of doing the same, I would say the choice is yours to make.

The fact of the matter is we know that GW raises their prices. I know that I stopped buying things because I can no longer afford that particular system/game, and by not making purchases, I can concentrate on getting what I have done.

Man, I just realized how much I have left “unfinished”! (Get to work! – ed.)

Although I do not wish to get involved with the “great GW debate” of 2011, I will say that I do not agree with their practices as a business. I have worked for GW and I worked for an independent retailer of GW products. I have been doing this hobby for closing on 22 years now. My brand of insight is this. GW may feel the need to raise prices, change business practices, and do what we see as “idiotic” but, maybe it’s not. You may be thinking, “Are you actually defending them?” No. Although, nobody knows the future, not GW, (even though they probably have analysts who try to predict trends.), not you, and not me. That being said, perhaps the future isn’t so “dark”. (No, I am not talking about the game setting!) “But the prices are already too high for me!” Trust me, I am there. Just stop buying unless something uber comes out that you “have to have”. (Myself, I am STILL waiting to buy a Stompa, so I might just have to build one. Like this guy did his Rough Riders.)

Perhaps, the same thing will happen that will always happens. We will complain, we whine, a few people may “jump ship”, but in the end, the hobby will remain consistent. There will still be minis to paint, and games to play. Even if GW went out of business tomorrow, we would still have the current rules and minis to play with. (A special thank you to the guys at theback40k last year, they had an article about that very thing.)

By putting these questionable practices into place, GW has given their competition a bit of an edge, but that does not necessarily mean 10 years from now they will be out of business. Maybe they will and maybe they won’t. Just enjoy the hobby for now. Paint what you have, challenge yourself. If there is something you want and can’t afford, save your money, or make trades. Or, there is always eBay…

Maybe GW would listen to their fanbase, maybe not. Perhaps the faceless entity needs a large portion of the fanbase to write letters to get their attention. I am not going to discourage others to do so, I just won’t for 2 reasons.

1.) I am not sure it would do any good.

2.) I do not want to risk “legal action” on GW’s part.

I fear the day may not be far off, when GW legally pursues anyone with a cease and desist letter/warning to anyone who moderates, writes for, or owns a blog, or forums about the GW hobby, citing their IP statement.

For me, I am just going to enjoy the ride…even if I do have to sit “on the back bumper”.

Perhaps in my ramblings about the subject, I come across “wishy-washy” or “can’t we all just get along?” however the truth is a simple one.

Do what you feel is right./ What you want to do. That’s what people and companies are going to do anyways.

So be intelligent and bring the community together (good luck, not everyone will have the same opinions) to write a seriously professional, worded letter to the execs at GW, or shut up and enjoy the ride.

Ok, now for the fun stuff…

I came into my work this morning, and found liquid spilling out from behind my monitor. (Not huge, because I sometimes leave an unfinished coffee by my monitor.) But, what I saw was funny. First a bit of history…

I have my office “decorated” with action figures. And I keep an “Alien” (from the movie Alien) hanging on my monitor. When I saw the coffee spilled, it looked like the alien peed after his fall. So, I put him back up on my monitor, then he seemed to be smirking…<insert Homer Simpson voice> “Lousy, alien, urinating on my desk, then laughing at me about it…I’ll show you! Ahhh! Mouth inside another mouth?! Ohhh, why I can’t I have two mouths?”

So, looking at the alien, I started thinking of the old Tootsie Pop commercial in the US, about the boy who goes to a bunch of animals, and asks them, “Mr <insert animal here>, how many licks does it take to get to the Tootsie roll center of a Tootsie pop?” The boy keeps getting sent to another animal, and ends up at the wise/senile Owl…who then eats the boys Tootsie Pop…a classic!

Which got me around to putting this together just for the fun of it…

That’s all for this week…sorry for not being Thoughtful on Thoughtful Thursdays…

Warmachine Wednesdays - Stormsmith Solo

2011-05-18T06:02:00.000-07:00

I painted this guy way back in 2006, I had three, and the other 2 had storm clouds over their heads with lighting coming down to their rods...of course they were lost in a move, and this lone Stormsmith is all that remained...and since you need three to be truly effective, I decided to give this one to my son, as a special treat, as I want to get a pack of 3 and re-do them, along with the Stormsmith Tower. This was a first for me, (modeling lightning, and only my second time doing OSL or (Object source lighting). Although, it is subtle in the pics, it looks much better in person. I think next time, I need to use thinner wire, and not so much glue at the end, and go a bit more OTT with the OSL. I did like the way the greatcoat turned out on the back. Overall, I feel that this is definitely not my greatest paint job...but not bad nonetheless.

I would absolutely love to get the new StormStrider..perhaps someday...

Anyways, here's the pics...

enemies of cygnar, beware the wrath of the Storm...

His rod, is actually a metallic copper color, even though it looks brown in these pics.

I love shading and highlighting on cloth.

I got nothing to say about this pic...

If you look at this pic, and the first one, check out his goggles. Those were really hard to do.

Touring Tuesdays - Weathering and airbrushing

2011-05-17T13:15:00.000-07:00

Redman Phil has a great article on weathering over on his blog, along with some really good terrain and painting tutorials. The weathering article is a really good way for orks to get their vehicles nice and rusty/grungy/grimy...orky!

I would definitely rate this a spiky squig on the squig scale!

Second Edition Saturday - Some "Uvver" stuff from the past...

2011-05-14T09:34:00.000-07:00

Sorry that posting frequency has been somewhat lax lately. I have had a bad case of RL, and for some reason, I have a notion that planting a garden and getting the yard the way my wife wants, and spending time with my family is more important than a blog about my hobbies/thoughts!
*To my son and wife - I love you!* ;-)

So here we are on a Second Edition Saturday. Although there are countless things I could write about from Rogue Trader and Second and Third Editions, I am going to take a break from that and throw the next few week’s articles in the “Uvver Stuff” category. You have been warned.

Don’t worry, we are still going to jump in the time machine, and go back to the 80’s…just not focusing on the things you thought. (Hey, I gotta keep things fresh from time to time, even if "fresh" means other old things."

The year is 1984. You are hungry, and mom and dad (or guardian) decide because you have been a good boy/girl, you can go to McDonalds. (Some of you may have been old enough to take yourself there in 1984, if so, then turn up the oxygen and just enjoy the ride Gramps!)

Some of my "friends" from the past.

Do you remember what just the mere thought of going to McDonalds would do to a kid? (Still has this affect. – ed.) I always knew that I would be getting either a plain hamburger happy meal or a chicken nugget happy meal. This was before the “fat pandemic” and we were not worried about cholesterol or fat content. Heck, we didn’t even worry about the poison coming from the containers that the food was stored in. Remember the Styrofoam containers? You know the ones. Here’s a pic for your bad memory.

I can almost smell the grease now...

Just stepping in the restaurant, the smell of French fries and greasy burgers would pummel your nose into making your mouth smile. The sound of organized chaos ensuing behind the counter, with the noise coming from the Playland, and the sight of the current week’s happy meal toys, were enough to drive any kid into a glassy eyed delirium of joy and haze of happiness.

Mom would order, while I would go play in the magical Playland. I would love climbing into the Big Mac (can’t remember his name) guy, and pretending it was a space ship.

This thing still looks cool to me...the door was around the back....3,2,1...blastoff!

Then running over to a Grimace that sat on springs and had bars encircling him, (was this a playland or a jail?) I would shake around until my young attention span turned towards the slide.

The grimace jail...did you know that originally Grimace was a "bad" guy?...

and the slide...always fun if the other things were "taken"

Then there were the fry guy and fish riders, those were ok as well...

Of course, the ones I rode as a kid had a better paint job...

“Mark, time to eat! You can play afterwards!” That’s ok, "the real playtime" is for when you are done eating.

Sitting down at the table, I would instantly wonder what toy I got. Opening the box, I would dig through the food, and give it to mom, who would make my “special fry tray” by pouring the fries into the top of the container for my nuggets/hamburger. (I still do that) Pulling the toy out and seeing what I got was always a joy, even if it was a “repeat” (cause then, I could have an “evil twin” for whatever toy it was.)

Of course, I couldn’t open it or play with it until we were done eating, but that’s ok, I am with Mom and Dad and sis…looking down at the different characters on the placemat, and wondering in my young brain… “How does Hamburgerler keep escaping?” Don’t they have maximum security prisons in McDonald land?” And, “Why can’t he talk, I mean, robble, robble? What is that supposed to mean?”

How many can you name?

If I was good, we would get a pie to eat. I don’t mean the crazy baked pies now.

Remember what the pies were when they were good? You know you do. The deep fried, heart-attack inducing, fattening, so bad its good for you, flaky, greasy treat that they were then pales in comparison to the “new” pies.

mmmm....

If we weren’t in a food comma after finishing “dessert”, we could go play for a little bit (the aforementioned "real playtime"), and then go home to play with the new happy meal toy. (If I was lucky enough, mom would let me keep the box to take home for a few days.)

That is it for the journey into the McDonalds past. I don’t know about you, but I want to start a letter campaign to McDonalds to bring back the deep fried pies…

Next Week: Hostess Snacks.

Feature Fridays - with Dan Abnett!!!

2011-05-13T13:15:00.000-07:00

Dan relaxes after a long day writing.

Today, we are talking with the man, the legend, the one responsible for the 40k screenplay, award winning author, and a man whose works span many years and artistic mediums...Dan Abnett!

I am honored by the opportunity to interview Mr. Abnett, as floored as I am by his impressive background of novels and comic book stories, I recently found out (according to online study) that Mr. Abnett has written a couple of screenplays for one of my favorite TV series, Dr Who! How cool is that?! So, without further ado, here is the interview...

DW: What are some of the sources of your creative influence? What inspires you?

Dan: Ideas come from everywhere- things I see, things I read (fiction and non-fiction), movies...actual creative influences would include writers like Lovecraft, Bradbury, Vance, Laumer, Herbert, Borges...In all honesty, I keep my eyes peeled and make notes. Big ideas can come from tiny places. And things like a simple train journey can give you great thinking time.

DW: The background for Warhammer 40,000 has become very vast and is very important to fans and gamers. It has a far reaching and unseen impact, how do you feel knowing you have been a part of this?

Dan: It’s a great feeling, and I’m happy and proud to be part of it. It’s a big kick to see words of everyday 40K vocab that I invented early on now being used in army books and background material. It’s great to feel you’ve added to a universe.
DW: What are some of the challenges when transitioning from writing a novel, or story to writing a screenplay?

Dan: There are a lot of differences, so there are a lot of things to learn. My background in comics helped me, because the visual storytelling is key, but movies are their own thing, so there is a whole lot of learning from scratch to do when the movie came along.

DW: What are you working on currently?

Dan: A new Gaunt novel (Salvation's Reach) A new Horus Heresy, comics like The Annihilators, New Mutants, Heroes for Hire, and Solider Zero a couple of interesting movie projects, and my new novel "Embedded" is on shelves now. It's a combat SF, but my 'own universe' published by Angry Robot.

DW: If you could meet and have dinner with any one person from history, whom would you choose and why?

Dan: Well, either Admiral Nelson, who I am allegedly related to, or Churchill (my wife's grandad was his gardener.) I have also had a hankering to meet Elizabeth I or Shakespeare. I'd just love to know what they were actually like as people, not just legends.

DW: Are you planning on anymore screenplays outside of the 40k universe?

Dan: Yes I am ;-)

Thanks again for your time, and everyone be sure to check out "Embedded"

Thoughtful Thursdays - Community

2011-05-12T07:17:00.000-07:00

The 40k family, or "community", "hobby community" as it is called. It represents many people from all walks of life. It can be broken down further as there are many aspects of the community, they can be defined thusly.

Global Community – This is anyone that plays Tabletop wargames.

Game specific community – A group of people who play the same game.

Online Community – A vast group of people dedicated to different facets of the hobby, and posting their thoughts and ideas to a public forum, weblog (blog) or website.

Local Community – A group of individuals who meet regularly and enjoy different aspects of the hobby. (I.e., painting, gaming, talking about collecting and background…etc.)

So, “Why the lesson in community?” you may ask. The short answer is because I need something to talk about today….the long answer is to prompt you to look at yourself and where you fall in the community, and how it can improve your hobby experience.

Lets look at the different types of individuals you may find in your community. (Watch it Auberoun! – ed.) No, I don’t mean that this has anything to do with race, sex, religion, or other. What this means is simply what do those individuals within a community enjoy most about their hobby. Also called a “Classification” of gamers.

For example, in nearly all local communities you will have the following types of gamers.

The collector – This guy or gal has a vast collection of armies/miniatures, usually more than one type or manufacturer. (Good person for trading fodder, if you are looking for that “special piece”!) They will sometimes play a game, and are content to paint sometimes.

The painter – This guy likes to build, but mainly likes to paint. Talent is not the important thing here. His heart is in it, and that is what counts. Usually these individuals are aspiring to be in Golden Demon if they haven’t entered yet. They are always looking for tips/advice to improve their skills. They are not beyond showing another individual how to paint. These guys typically don’t game as often, as it cuts into their painting time.

The builder – That’s just it. They build. (Most of the time, just to get it put together for a game, occasionally, they just wanted to build a model, with no intention on using it in the near future.)

The Player – These individuals like to play games. Lots of games. Whether for fun or tournament play, they cannot wait to put mini on table and roll dice. Always looking for a game, you will usually find them at a table already…

The tri-fecta – What most hobbyist aspire to be. Some are very good at it, and others are up and coming. You fall into this category if you like all aspects of the hobby. You typically will have an entire force painted, special dice that match your army, a couple of nice cases, and participate in online forums or even have your own blog.

So, where do you fall in? Where would you like to be? By exploring some of the areas of the hobby that you are not familiar with and talking to someone in your local community that is not in the same “classification” as you are, you may find deeper understanding and richness to your already great hobby.

(Stop all the mushy stuff, get to the point! – ed.) Bottom line, go outside your comfort zone to improve your hobby, if you don’t like it, that’s ok, because you can always go back to doing what you did before…

I kind of went the long way about it, but hopefully you will take something away from this article you didn’t really think about before.

Where do you fall? Where would you like to be? How can you improve your hobby?

Touring Tuesdays - Sebatian's Orkfestation

2011-05-10T07:35:00.000-07:00

Piechu or "Sebatian" posted his orks a while back on the-waaagh forums for everyone to see, his conversions, and paint style are simply fantastic. His use of magnents (I know, lots of people are doing this, why is this one so special?) and Plastic Mega Nobz are really worth taking a look at.

I would say Peichu's work is a solid smoke squig on the squig scale!

Thoughtful Thursdays - Smaller Games

2011-05-05T08:40:00.000-07:00

Is this what a small skirmish would look like?

It goes without saying, (which I hate that phrase btw – ed.) that 40k has changed in the last 14 years. If you are doing your math, that is 3^rd edition. That is when I started playing 40k, right at the beginning of 3^rd edition. I loved the box set. (Which I will be posting an article about this coming Saturday!) But when you remember the size of the games from 3^rd ed, what do you remember? What was the average game size? Well, most of my friends played 1000 points. That was “normal”, and took a couple hours to play. As the years went on, I noticed a bit of a creep in points. Then when 4^th edition came out, the average size game was 1500. Now it seems that the average size game is slowly creeping up to 1750. So, what size games do you normally play? I have noticed when you compare 3^rd edition codices with their 4^th or 5^th edition counterparts, there is a huge difference in point allocations. Not just from the standpoint of wargear. Now, 1000 points seems small. I can’t even make an army of my liking at 1000 points. (My Boss and Nobs alone clock in a little over 300 points.) Perhaps I am writing a list ineffectively. Perhaps I need to trim the fat on my smaller lists. Can you have fun in a smaller game? Well there is Killzone. But, I am talking a “real” game of 40k. One that could be played at 500 to 1000 points. Do you think it is somewhat of a challenge coming up with a “good” ork list for that number of points?

Let’s take a look at a “standard” 1000 point list and see if it can’t be competitive and fun at the same time.

Warboss (goes with Nobs in Trukk) – 105

Eavy Armour, twin-linked shoota, cybork, Power Klaw

Big Mek (Goes with 2^nd Boyz Unit) – 90

Kustom Force Field, Cybork

10 Nobs – 385

Waaagh Banner, Painboy, 2x Power Klaws, Trukk

Trukk – 40

Red Paint Job

20 Boyz – 275

Nob w/ Power Klaw, 2x Big Shootas, Shootas, BattleWagon

Battlewagon - 105

Red Paint Job, Grot riggers, Reinforced Ram

20 Boyz – 140

Nob w/ Power Klaw, Shootas, 2x Big Shootas

Total – 1000 points

What do you think? Could this be effective? When is the last time you played a smaller game? Next challenge – 500 points!

Touring Tuesdays - The painting corps

2011-05-03T06:12:00.000-07:00

From way back in July of 2010, Grey Death posted an article on his AoBR Warboss. (I can never tire of this model...it is a great sculpt, and I like to see different interpetations/conversions of it.) He has done a great job with weathering on the gun, and all around "feel" of the mini. The muted color palette is a fresh approach to a mini that is typically brighter. While you are there, check out his Sons of Medusa beakies!

This website and Warboss easily rate as a Spiky Squig on the Squig Scale!

Thoughtful Thursdays - Hobby ADD

2011-04-28T07:54:00.000-07:00

My hobby...

What is Hobby ADD? Well, I touched on it very briefly here. Now let's take a look at what exactly it is, how to avoid it, and how to even find more fulfillment in your hobby because of it.

First of all, have you ever known someone that just can't seem to stick with an army? I am not talking about owning more than one army. I am talking about buying an army, painting one or two models/units, then selling or trading that army for a different army. Or, perhaps this individual actually plays a game or two with his or her army (which is almost certainly unpainted.) then decides, "I've had enough of army 'X', I am going to try army 'Y', they look better anyways." If so, then perhaps you have known someone with hobby ADD.

How do you avoid hobby ADD?

Choosing an army to stay with…

Well, first and foremost, read. Don’t buy something that you think “looks cool”. Before you obtain anything for an army, you should read up on it. You can read store copies of the codices at Games Workshop stores in the US at least, or perhaps borrow them from a friend. If you do end up having to buy them, at least you can know your enemy, then sell them. (Not like you can't find digital copies online, but you didn't hear it from me.) If you can't seem to pull yourself away from a particular Codex, and keep going back to it, then it is probably for you. But before you commit to that army, ask yourself the following quesitons;

1.) Does the army offer a big variety?

(In terms of both tactics and units.)

2.) Does the army have a large number of models that will require a LOT “repetitive painting”?

(For example, Imperial Guard where each Gaurdsmen is the same color scheme.) If it does, then I am not saying the army isn’t for you, just you may have to come back here to look up one of the Hobby ADD solutions.

3.) What do I like best about this army?

This includes everything; models, tactics, etc….

Once your army is picked out utilizing the above method, you start to build it, and perhaps paint it, or play with it. Now comes what I like to call “the danger zone”.

The Danger Zone is when you have had said army for less than a year. Once it has been over a year, either you like the army, or haven’t done anything with it. If it is the latter, than it is perhaps time to look into selling it and re-reading “Choosing an army to stay with” above.

What happens in “The Danger Zone”? Well here are some examples, along with solutions.

1.) Boredom with playing a game. Every army has a bit of a learning curve, don’t give up with it until you have at least 10 games under your belt with said army.

2.) Painting fatigue – remember the above question, does this army require a lot of “repetitive painting”? This is why. The answer to this is actually quite simple. Break up your painting schedule. Paint a large unit of Troops, and as a “reward” paint that vehicle/monster that you have had waiting. If that doesn’t work, and you are just adamant on painting “something different”, then trade some bitz for one Troop model from a friend’s army. (An alternative is to just buy a model that is not part of your army, but the trick is to save money.)

3.) “Stale” Hobby – Don’t know where to go with your army? Just plain “bored with it”? Read some old fluff. Nothing has sparked my interest in Orks more than reading some of the older stuff that I didn’t know. If you have been around since Rogue Trader, re-read it.

Check out some other people’s creations from the same army. (Google image search is your friend. In search bar, type “ <insert army here> conversions” ie, “Imperial Guard conversions”

Play a different game for a while. Sometimes the way to prevent boredom with something is just to leave it alone for a bit. True, I am bored at work, and I can’t leave…but that is why they have vacation. (Or holiday for our European friends.)

Ok, so there you have it, now go out and live an enriched hobby life!

Touring Tuesdays - Brian Carlson Miniatures

2011-04-25T08:03:00.000-07:00

Brian Carlson is a true renaissance hobbyist! (I can even overlooks his love of Beakies!) His painting is clean, and has a nice “semi-realistic” feel to it. I really appreciate the skin technique on his boyz. Not only because most of my army has the first 2 steps done, (Ya, that is a bonus.) but, the fact that the end result is so earthy, and easy to obtain. His Mek Stompa is definitely worth taking a look at. Overall, I was quite impressed by the layout, content, and quality that his blog has set as a standard for itself. Therefore, it receives a Spiky Squig rating on the Squig Scale.

Madboy Mundayz - Paranoids Part 2

2011-04-24T13:33:00.000-07:00

Here are the rules for utilizing a Paranoid Madboyz unit in 5th ed.

As always, I have not playtested these, so let me know if anything needs to be changed.

0-1 Paranoid Madboyz

Note: No more than one unit of Madboyz may be taken regardless of what type of madboyz they are.

Unit size 5-20 Madboyz

10 points per Madboy

One Madboy may be upgraded to a Painboy at +10 points

All madboyz are equipped with Slugga and Choppa

Additional Rules

Roll a D6 at the beginning of each ork turn, and consult the chart below.

Let me know how these rules workout, as I have not had a chance to playtest them yet.

1	Sumfin' Nasty is comin' fer us! - Convinced that an unseen force is hiding somewhere in front of them, the unit must run this turn, back towards their own deployment zone. If they reach the table edge, they will stop and regroup automatically.
2	Nope we ain't comin' out fer nuffin! - The unit must go to ground this turn. (Normal cover saves still apply)
3	We'll teach dem skumbos who to fight! - The unit acts normally this turn.
4	We are da boyz! - The unit acts normally this turn.
5	What's Dat fing!? - The unit will not move towards any enemy vehicle this turn.
6	We'll get it! (To make it go away!) - The unit opens fire on the nearest enemy unit within range. If there is not a viable target, then the unit will run towards the nearest enemy unit instead of shooting this turn.

Serjury Sundayz - Kickin' Legs

2011-04-23T07:27:00.000-07:00

Kickin' Legz - Urz fer only 45 teef!

I imagine that some ork doks have signs very similar hanging around their shops. This week , creativity is taking a back seat to some old fashioned cut and paste...enjoy!

Feature Fridays - With Gav Thorpe!

2011-04-22T13:48:00.000-07:00

This week we sat down with the legend and Master Farseer himself, Gav Thorpe!

Thank you so much for your time, we at Digital Waaagh are very excited about this opportunity.

On a personal note, Gav has been a large source of inspiration in my personal hobby, as well as a huge influence on many...that being said, here are the questions.

DW: In your long history of battle reports that you participated in for White Dwarf, is there one that stands out among the others as your most memorable or favorite? If so, which one and why?

Gav: Heretic was probably the most fun. That was the big tank battle, between the Dwarfers (Space marine alliance) and Games Dev (Imperial Guard under mad psyker influence). We used a dictaphone to record 'radio' messages to each. Andy C had devised a scheme for the Assitants to use, something about colours at the start meant the message was bogus. The Dwarfers were a lot less organised. The other great thing about the battle report was the creation of the Evil Lord Varlak, a much under-appreciated supervillain of the 41st millennium.

DW: The background of Warhammer 40,000 has become very vast and is very important to fans and gamers. It has a far-reaching and unseen impact. How do you feel knowing you have been a big part of this?

Gav: I feel good. Of course, a lot of the heavy lifting had been done by the time I arrived to move the soft furnishings around, but on the whole I am very proud of my major contributions to the background. Special mentions go to Codex: Sisters of Battle and Inquisitor, for the chance to monkey around with the weirdness of the Imperium. I love the crazy stuff, and both of those were a great opportunity to add some real depth to previously unexplored territory. I also really enjoy the lighter side of things like Digganob. It's nice to see an idea of yours coming up in a discussion, or inspiring an army, or maybe making a reappearance in another place. One of the 'problems' with working in a creative team is sometimes remembering who came up with what ideas, so I'm always careful not to take all the credit for myself. I'm sure there are some people's favourite gems that I've forgotten about that were my creations, little throwaway titbits, but equally I can't take all the praise for everything I've written alone; there's a lot of people who have contributed over the years.

DW: What are your creative influences? What inspires you?

Gav: History. Real life contains far more wonders and cool characters than imagination alone. I enjoy the blending of ideas, taking inspiration from several different sources to create something fresh, if not 100% original. It pains me when people make too-literal representations or comparisons, rather than putting in an extra bit of effort to put a new spin on a well-established idea or image. Writing-wise, I have read and enjoyed all manner of authors, from Tolkien to Iain M. Banks and everything in between. I can't say any particular writer was my inspiration, because I think it would be churlish to pretend I could emulate them, but I certainly put a lot of stock by the likes of Robert E Howard, Fritz Leiber, Michael Moorcock, David Gemmell, Asimov, and too many others to list.

All sorts of things inspire me to create particular characters, scenes or images. It might be something on the news, or a picture of a spectacular vista, a piece in a documentary. I prefer to take inspiration from real-life sources rather than fiction, though a lot of 40K and Warhammer have their obvious literary influences, because I feel that is going back to a more original concept rather than a particular person's iteration of it. I'm also quite susceptible to unintentional mimicry, so I'm always wary of subconscious plagiarism.

DW: Is there any "top secret" information on this "Eldar Crossover story" you would like to share?

Gav: The “crossover” is between two Eldar-based stories that Andy C and I are writing in conjunction with each other. It's a two-part tale, one coming at the subject from a Dark Eldar point of view, the other from a slightly more Craftworld-based perspective.

DW: And this question comes from Andy Chambers, who writes: Whatever happened to your reptilians? (when you came for interview he brought a codex you had written yourself, it showed him that you had the passion to write.)

Gav: I'm surprised, and delighted, that Andy remembers them. They did, I kid you not, end up becoming the Tau. In one sense at least. My reptilians (Shisshel they were called!) had the five elements caste system that was later incorporated into the Tau background. The visual images were basically a rip of Jes's White Dwarf 127 concept sketches and so probably best left in the past, but the society and army dynamics fed a little bit into the Tau project many years later. Never throw anything away. I wonder if he remembers me telling him and Jervis during my post-interview tour of the Sutdio that putting a flying tank (the Eldar Falcon) into 40K would be very difficult to implement fairly?

DW: I have sent an interview request to Jervis Johnson, and Michael Perry as well, what is one "off the wall" question I should ask them?

For Jervis: Why didn't you use my Zoat and Bull Centaur rules in the 3rd edition of Blood Bowl? (I presented these to Jerv at Games Day before I joined GW, and it was because he asked me to send them to him at the Studio that I ended up getting a job! He also lied and said he was working on a 'supplement' when he was in fact penning the new edition.)

For Mike: What is your next movie role going to be?

And there it is! Thanks again to Gav Thorpe, it was awesome to hear some of the “behind the scenes” tales of the early days of Games Workshop.

Next week I will be talking with multiple award winning, Dave Taylor for http://davetaylorminiatures.blogspot.com/

Touring Tuesdays - Hobby Horse

2011-04-19T10:10:00.000-07:00

Hobby Horse has a decent blog! And this article is a definite diamond in the rough. Everything about this model screams "Ork". The article is short, but the paint job is worth the trip alone. Even if he remained silent, and just posted a pic, it would rock. Excellent paint job. Be sure to check out the rest of his blog. The only thing that brought this blog down in points was the lack of Orkish updates for 40k.

Hobby Horse Gob gets a Eatin' Squig on the Squig scale.

Madboy Mundayz - Paranoids

2011-04-18T13:11:00.000-07:00

<:Astropathica Message:>

<:To Inquisitor Ezekiel Throst:>

<::user login::>

^Imperial Scribe Zacharias Morlok ^

^<Subject: Report on the findings of the captured Xenos threat Orkoid Race>^

Greetings to you in the name of our most Holy Emperor! My expedition has found and observed several orkoid specimens in the Beta quadrant near Istan IV. These specimens are quite unusual as they were found to be hiding in fear of some unseen attackers. Under normal battlefield conditions, the orkoid race is observed to thrive on the battle itself, and it is believed that the whole of orkish society is based on might, and fighting. The only contradiction that I have seen upon my studies is in the lesser “greenskins” the sub-species that is lighter in tone. The specimens found where fully grown, and darker skinned. I will investigate further the cause of this “unnatural” fear.

<:user logout:>

<:Astropathica Message:>

<:To Imperial Scribe Zacharias Morlok:>

<::user login::>

^CLASSIFIED^

::WELCOME INQUISITOR::

Imperial Scribe Morlok, you have been found guilty of heresy, as your obsession with this inferior species has clouded your judgment. They have been stricken with fear at the thought of their own destruction by our Most Holy Emperor. He has placed this fear within their hearts, and you not only question it, but instead try to analyze it as a natural cause. You do not give glory to the Emperor in your studies.

Therefore it is in the best interest of the Imperium that you submit yourself to the nearest Servitor Requisition Station to be “reassigned” into His Service.

<:user logout:>

Below is the original chart...

Serjury Sundayz - Periscope

2011-04-17T07:50:00.000-07:00

“…an’ dats 'ow I got me speshul ‘ead!” The ork said who now had a large audience looking at his rebuilt cranium.

The dok looked on in pride. Just a few hours ago, dat ork ‘ad stumbled into ‘is tent ‘olding ‘is brain in ‘is ‘ands, and now, ‘e was da main attraction in da kamp....

“Da oomies are shootin’ again! Duck down, den we’z run in and smash em like da pansies dey are!” The Nob shouted above the din of battle, “Dis ‘ere iz OUR world, we found it fair ‘n skware! Da Big Boss don’t care if dey waz ‘ere when we found it, now git up an skwash doz oomies!”

Skabbog jumped up from the trench and ran as fast as he could toward the Imperial Defensive line. All around him, explosions rang out, as green limbs went flying in all directions. “Dis iz it! Dis iz why orkz wuz made!” he thought as he ran through the smoke cloud left behind by the buggies that careened by a few seconds before. Looking to his right while he ran, Skabbog noticed that the burna boyz had succeeded in setting fire to a few of the oomies hiding out in a bunker. “Hur, Hur!” he always thought it was funny to see oomies do a “burny dance”. The other ork boys chuckled as well. Suddenly, Skabbog felt a sharp blow to the back of his head, and it dazzled him for a second. “Oi! Keep yer eyes straight! Ya don’t want to get shot up by da oomie shootas before da proppa scrap!” It was his Nob, Mugshak. Skabbog continued to run, when he noticed that the flashes from the Imperial guns seemed to slow down, and the battle suddenly got quiet.

He looked to his Nob who sneered at him, and kicked him down. His chest felt like it couldn’t breathe, as his vision blurred. “Wha…happened?” He mumbled, as he collapsed in the dust. He saw some bommerz overhead and then everything went black.

“Oi! Yoo gonna wake up now! Yoo missed all da good fightin’!” The voice seemed to come from far away. “Aw, we better leave ‘im be’ind look at ‘iz ‘ead! He probably izn’t even alive, lets keep lookin’ fer some oomie stuff!” Skabbog sat up, and felt a tug on his head, that seemed to keep him from sitting up all the way. When he looked over he say a cord laying next to him on the ground. He picked it up, and it felt like a rock was tied to the other end, and his head hurt really bad. Then he figured it out. He stumbled his way to the dok.

“Ah, anuvver paitent! Kom in! Dis won’t do at all…’ere, sit down, while I fix ya all up…” Skabbog looked over to see the dok grab an ‘urty syringe, and then everything went black again.

“Grabnatz! Git me dat dere!” Voices seemed to drift in and out for Skabbog as he laid down in the dok’s tent. In a short time he woke up to a leering Grot face. “Oi git out of my face!” he said. The Dok came over and helped him to his feet. “If you’re talkin’ to Grabnatz, he iz over dere, lookin’ fer another needle squig.” Sure enough, the grot he had seen was far away from the tent, peering into a hole. “Yool hafta git used to it. Try to see me, look around da circles wif yer eyes.” Then the dok came into view, blurry at first, and the circles partially obscured his vision, but his head felt better, so as long as he could fight, Skabbog was happy. “Since dis was da only ‘ead fixin’ I ‘ad left, I only took 7 teef, try to keep yer ‘ead down when runnin’ next time!”

Second Ed. Saturdays - Grey Knights

2011-04-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Quick, where were you 20 years ago?! Well nevermind that now, I want to talk about the Grey Knights

Grey Knights have been out a while. No, I mean...Grey Knights have been out AWHILE. Back as early as 1991. 20 years ago! (hence the opening sentence of this post.)

Here is what they looked like way back then...

Feature Fridays - Interview with Geoff Cutler

2011-04-15T05:48:00.000-07:00

Geoff enjoying his other hobby...

This week, although, not a "giant" in the industry by name recogintion standards, Geoff Cutler used to work for GW in the UK before moving to the US and becoming a regional manager for the Michigan region, since his departure from the position, he is still regularly mentioned in some gaming circles.

Here it is, standard format...

DW: If you could choose any character to be from any science fiction or fantasy setting, who would you choose and why?

GC: Tough question, but I think that I'm going to roll with Regnak from the novel Legend, by David Gemmell. He appeals to me most as a character, scared, wants to do the right thing, but really wants to look out for number 1, however his conscience doesn't let him and his friends really guide him - top bloke, in my humble opinion.

DW: When did you first get involved with the hobby of miniature wargaming, and what was your first miniature that you painted?

GC: I first got involved when I was about 10, I started playing Napoleonic wargames, after a brief hiatus I discovered D & D (that dates me) and it has been a downhill struggle since then. As to my first figure - most of my friends will say that I've yet to complete one - probably true, but it was a file of the Grenadier Guards for a Waterloo re-enactment, not pretty, but I liked them.

DW: What is your favorite Citadel Miniature? Why?
GC: Helbrecht - the figure just oozes power, menace and a butt load of Retribution, plus he's a Black Templar, so he's ok in my book.

DW: What do you like to see in a tabletop strategy game?
GC: Interaction. I'm probably the worlds worst gamer, but I really enjoy the fun that can be had with people from all walks of life. If it involves beer as well - I'm sold.

DW: What was your most memorable Warhammer or Warhammer 40,000 battle?

GC: Tough call, they've almost all been great, Staff tournament in Las Vegas where my Giant fell on my Chaos Knights, against my staff in a Detroit Battle where I was virtually wiped out, but perhaps the most memorable was a War of the Ring battle with the Adeptus Fanaticus - we settled and made some grudges that day!!

DW: What impact has Games Workshop had in your development as a person?

GC: Impact that GW has made on me as a person? I think it has enhanced some of interpersonal skills. I've mixed with all kinds of people, we've all had a common bond - we like wargaming and we talk about it - a lot, that crosses all boundaries - oh and it has also taught me to laugh at crappy dice rolls - a skill I now find very useful with my kids, who, if they keep this up will roll up the house in Las Vegas and anywhere else where dice are rolled!!!

Thanks for your time Geoff, and may all your dice be good to you, and your battles well-earned victories!

Next week, we will be chatting with master Eldar and Farseer Gav Thorpe! See you then!

Thoughtful Thursdays - Play Style

2011-04-14T07:34:00.000-07:00

This guy obviously doesn't play orks...

What differs from game to game? Sure, it can be the terrain, mission, dice rolls…etc, the list goes on. But, does your opponent differ? If not, have you noticed a change in play style? If not, have you thought about finding more opponents? (I realize that this option may not be available to everyone, keep reading.) What sets each of your opponents apart from each other? Sure, you can say their models, color scheme, mannerisms. Whatever the case may be, it comes down to one thing. Play Style.

Have you thought about how you play a game? I mean, really play. From before turn one; your play style has been developed. How? What lead you to choose the army you chose? Perhaps it was the aesthetics of the models in the army, or the fact you like to smash into your opponent in turn 2 and rip them apart in combat. However your army “came to you” so to speak, how you build it and play with it reflects your personal play style.

My hobby...

It is no secret that I have hobby ADD, in my 17 years doing this hobby, in 40k alone, I have at least owned (if not built, and sometimes played with.) 14 different armies! Sometimes more than one a year! So, in essence, that is why I finally decided on Orks. Once the new “5^th Edition” Codex hit, I knew this was my army. Why? Well, it allowed me variety. Not in just unit terms, but in painting terms as well. Even if I did an all shooty Bad Moonz army, using black and yellow as the main colors, each ork would be slightly different. But I chose to do a united Waaagh recently to mix things up a bit more. Occasionally, I find the lure of building an all new Necron/Tyranid/Guard army tempting. But what could I do with them on the table that I couldn’t with Orks? Not much. Sure each army has strength and weaknesses, but overall there are multiple rolls I can play with my orks. They are an army that can “wear multiple hats.”

Which brings me back to play style, I like to switch up my lists, and try different things. (Perhaps this is why I have an ok track record with my orks.) Have you thought about altering your play style?

Play style encompasses so much more than lists and armies though. It comprises of tactics, mood, and personality.

Tactics - think about how you play. Do you like combat? Shooting? Large number of models? (Keep in mind that the more models you put on the board, the more you will have to put back into the case later. ß my only/biggest problems with my orks. Easily overlooked though.) Change your tactics. If you play a Imperial Guard gunline, have you ever thought of swarming the enemy in combat? Do a horde army. Sure, this isn’t the main strength of the Guard, but if the list is written well enough, and you use terrain to your advantage, etc…you can find it may actually be dependable.

Mood – what is your mood like when playing a game? Unless you are in a tournament, hopefully you are having fun, and so your mood should be good. Your mood reflects back to your game. If you are losing, and are upset about it, you may make more tactical errors that could have been avoided if you just relaxed, and had fun. I personally will not play with someone who constantly is complaining about GW or the rules, or the new codex, or whatever. Are you loud when playing a game? Is it exciting? Are you “telling a story” when playing?

A perfect example of bad personality, wrapped up in a big box of "me"...

Personality – Whatever your personality, it will reflect in your play style. The only example I can think of to give right now is the Rules Nazis. Anytime I have met a Rules Nazi, it has not been a pleasant experience. Even just talking fluff or painting with these guys was a chore. They had a personality of a wet blanket. So, keep in mind that you are here to have fun. Time to climb out of your “nice, warm, box of me” and open yourself up to new ideas and opponents.

All in all play styles defines our hobby for us. They can lead someone into the hobby, or make sure they stay out of the hobby. Hopefully, in your case it leads people in. (Remember, if you can’t bring people in, your hobby will die out eventually due to no “fresh meat”)

Warmachine Wednesdays - Choosing Sides

2011-04-13T06:23:00.000-07:00

How do you choose an army? If you are anything like me, choosing an army is difficult. The way the army plays, looks, background, and overall “feel” of the army are all determining factors in choosing an army.

“But, I already have chosen my army!”

Ok, well good, but what about starting a new game? Or another army? How do you decide?

In the case of my Warmachine army, it was simple. I asked myself a couple of questions, “What faction has not been yet represented?” and, “What mini’s look the coolest (IMHO) when finished?” The answer I came up with for both, was Cygnar. After talking to a rep at Privateer Press back when Prime first came out, he ensured me that Cygnar was the faction that they had the least amount of followers. (To which I responded, “Why?”) The answer I got was interesting. He told me then that most people like armor (Khador) and most like playing “the bad guys” (Cryx). He went on to say, stick with Cygnar, because they will get some really cool stuff in the next few expansions!

Boy was he right. Stormsmiths, Stormtower, Stormblades, Storm’jack…Stormpizza…if it has “storm” as a prefix, I can only assume a.) it’s for Cygnar, b.) its gonna rock some electricity, and c.) it will look ‘frickin’ sweet!

My goal (when funds permit) is to build a whole Storm themed/Electric themed army. A couple of Fireflies, A Centurion (Which I have), Stormclad, Thunderhead, Stormlances, Stormblades (with attachments) Stormguards, Stormsmiths (and Stormtower.) And to lead the force, it would have to be Nemo.

So, that would be my wishlist. For now, I will just work on the army I have, and worry about getting the Storm Brigade later. (After much saving.)

What about you? How did you choose your army? Was it simply based on what was available? Or perhaps an idea came to mind when reading a novel. Whatever the case is, I would love to hear about it, leave a comment below!

Touring Tuesday - Da Dead End Kroozers

2011-04-12T09:41:00.000-07:00

Found these fantastic ork vehicles and bikes over on Warseer. Painted by kenshin138. His use of the Goff colors, white walled tires, and the "classic Snot Green skin" really make these models stand out.

Da Dead End Kroozers

Great conversion work, and crisp paint job place these models in a Spiky squig on the Squig Scale!

Madboy Mundayz - Frantiks Part 2

2011-04-11T10:17:00.000-07:00

As promised, here is the home brew rules for Frantiks in 5^th ed.

0-1 Frantik Madboyz

Note: No more than one unit of Madboyz may be taken regardless of what type of madboyz they are.

Unit size 5-20 Madboyz

10 points per Madboy

One Madboy may be upgraded to a Painboy at +10 points

Additional Rules

Roll a D6 at the beginning of each ork turn, and consult the chart below.

1	Blast da gubbin’s! Wallop whatzat - Perhaps the madboyz were distracted by a fly, or a squig, or perhaps they just want to blast somethin’ Nominate an enemy unit up to 24” away from the madboyz and place the small blast template, roll 2d6 and Scatter, any models (friend or foe) hit by any portion of the blast template take a Strength 3 hit, distributed as shooting.
2	Waaagh get ‘em! - The unit decides whatever is in front of them is lookin’ for a good krumpin. The unit must move their full distance directly away from their deployment zone. They must run if able to do so, and are considered to have fleet for the remainder of this turn. If their movement brings them into contact with another unit, then they are considered as having charged that turn. Normal combat phase still applies. If it brings the unit into contact with a friendly unit, then the friendly unit takes 2d6 Str 3 hits from the madboyz as opposed to fighting them in combat, and both units may move as normal next turn. (Madboyz still have to roll on this chart as normal.)
3	Oi! Where'd they go? - Due to their psychic nature, anyone looking at the mob this turn only sees a shimmering green mass, all armour saves are increased to 4+
4	Wot did yoo say?! - The unit is too busy fighting amongst themselves this turn to do anything else.
5	I want dat! - The unit sees a cache of ammo/weapons, or perhaps just a really cool tank, that they decide should be theirs. The opposing player moves the madboy unit 2d6" and this unit may not do anything else this turn.
6	Com' on Boyz! - This unit inspires a Waaagh in the rest of the army, following the rules for a Waaagh on pg 31 of Codex: Orks

Let me know how these rules workout, as I have not had a chance to playtest them yet.

Next week we continue our Madboy series with Paranoidz

Serjury Sundays - Telescopic Arm

2011-04-10T11:21:00.000-07:00

Step right into Da Dok's tent and make yerself com'fortble, now what seems to be da problem? Oh, I see, its right here, yer leg is all busted up, well, I got a nice new set of kickin' legs fer ya right here...but, what I fink you really need is one of da mek's latest shiny wotzit, a expandin' arm. Wot? You just want da legs? I fink yer delirious from da pain. Oi, fetch me my 'urty syringe, tie 'im down tight ladz, we don't want 'im escapin'. Now, relax, dis won't 'urt much...hur, hur, hur...

Oi, you're awake! Ne'ermind about da tingly feelin' in yer arm...it's normal when ya have a leg busted up as bad as yers was. Oh, and I went an' gave ya da speshul arm at no extra teef! Try it out, an if ya don't like it, den, ya kin come back an' see me in a few dayz! Oh, an ya might feel like a pack of Buzzin' Squigs is flyin' around in yer head, don't worry about that...

Second Ed. Saturday - Orky Events

2011-04-09T08:30:00.000-07:00

Now take a step back into the Wayback Machine, and we shall arrive in the year 1991, to take a closer look at the "Ere we Go" book for Orks, 2nd Ed.

We all know Orks have an unpredictable nature. (Which is why some folks like to play them.) But, can you imagine wildly random happenings in the middle of your well thought out plan. Apparently, this is what the Ork generals of 2nd ed had to contend with. But, it did bring a whole new level of fun to the game.

There were events like Madboyz Moodchange, and Goff Battlerage...fun stuff, that would cause your ork units to not behave like you wanted them to, but like proppa orks!

Here is an excerpt from a page of Orky Events.

Good times...

Feature Fridays - Interview with Andy Chambers!

2011-04-08T07:55:00.000-07:00

This week we talked to Andy Chambers and he was nice enough to take the time and answer a few questions for us. That’s right! THE Andy Chambers! The one that helped develop Warhammer 40,000! He didn’t just write about Space wolves, he is a Space Wolf!

I personally want to thank Mr Chambers for his early work in Warhammer 40,000, it was truly an inspiration to me and helped to mold me into the hobbyist that I am today...

Digital Waaagh: If you could meet and dine with a famous (or infamous) historic figure, who would it be and why?

Andy Chambers: Even though he was the arch Conservative himself I'd love to have dinner with Winston Churchill. I've read a shelf full of books he wrote (just finishing the World Crisis 1911-1918) and that man had a gift for writing like none other, so full of passion, personality and humour. The fact he wrote so widely and helped to guide the country through two world wars leaves me speechless.

DW: Over the past battle reports you participated in for White Dwarf, is there one in particular that you would call your "favorite" and why?

AC: I did an awful lot of battle reports and its hard to put a finger on a favourite. My ongoing battles with Jervis were always fun, and I particularly enjoyed the one between Blood Angels and Alaitoc Craftworld that was reprinted in Space Marine battles. In that one I decided to throw the game and let Jervis win for once, but then decided that was disrespectful and went to fighting as hard as I could. Upshot was a draw and it was an awesome game.

DW: When did you first get involved with the hobby of miniature wargaming, and what was your first miniature that you painted?

AC: I started 'wargaming' with Airfix toy soldiers in about 1974. The first metal miniature I painted was a Greenwood and Ball (a company long gone now) Misty Mountains goblin. I knew so little that afterwards I varnished it by dipping it in a tub of yacht varnish.

DW: What was it like to be one of the pioneers of tabletop wargaming, and how has it impacted you personally?

AC: I feel very lucky, I've had the opportunity to travel the world and meet all kinds of interesting gamers on different continents. I'm endlessly surprised by the positive way in which gaming has grown over the last few decades (it was pretty lame in the 70's), and humbled that folks think I've helped somehow because all I've been doing is having a great time.

DW: Can you give us any "top secret" information on what your are curently working on?

AC: Some very exciting stuff coming up, maybe, that I can't talk about yet. Other than that I'm writing fiction for Black Library at present, first novel is out early next year, with maybe a sneak peak at this year's Games Day.

DW: What advice would you give to any aspiring game designers?

AC: Don't get caught up in the numbers, concentrate on how the game feels when you play it. You will never create an accurate simulation of commanding an army/fleet (nor should you, it would be boring) but you might be able to create an immersive experience that feels something like it. Most of all don't make your game into a chore, it's supposed to be fun. Please note I don't claim to have always succeeded in following my own advice, this is what the failures taught me.

DW: I have sent an interview request to Gav Thorpe, what "off the wall" question should I ask him?

AC: Umm, whatever happened to his reptilians (when he came for interview he brought a codex he'd written himself, it showed me that he had the passion to write I always looked for)

Thanks again to Andy Chambers for taking the time to talk to us at the Digital Waaagh. If you’re at Games Day, be sure to stop by and say “hi” to Andy at the Black Library, and tell him that Digital Waaagh sent you.

Cygnar Thursdays - "Seige" As Promised

2011-04-07T07:49:00.001-07:00

This is some of my Cygnar work from long ago. I was really proud of this piece, with the flowing creek/waterfall on his base. I will post other things as I get them done...

"Siege" Brisbane

My first "waterfall" base

The back, although you can't tell from the pic, there is woodgrain painted on the rocketgun stock.

Stop the Presses! - You mean there are other games out there?!

2011-04-06T10:36:00.000-07:00

So, I have been bitten by the Warmachine bug lately. I used to play Warmachine about 7 years ago...wow, that was a while back, wasn't it? I stopped playing around the time that Apothosis came out. So, my wonderfully painted Cygnar army collected dust, and sat unused. In 2009, Warmachine was re-released with MK II, and I thought once again about digging out the "Blue Brigade" But, the steam I had run out quickly, and I was on to my Empire army, which was quickly shelved in favor of going back and working on my Orks. Now, here I sit working on my Cygnar once again, gearing up for a game next week.

Then my good friend, hakoMike tells me of Malifaux...really? I thought that game sounded cool when it came out. But does that mean I have to get a starter box for that game too?! Well, I think I will read the book first.

For now, I will be content working on my Cygnar...oh, and some Orks when I decided to take them off the back burner.

So, what does that mean for this Blog?

Nothing! I will continue to post here, same as always, with content geared towards 40k. Occasionally, I may post my progress on my Cygnar army. (This falls into "da uvver stuff" category on the header.)

Will post a pic of "Siege" Brisbane soon...
Cheers,
And remember the old orky addage... "blue is lucky"!

I have my work cut out for me...

Balance

2011-04-06T07:16:00.000-07:00

What is the first thing that comes to mind when you hear the word “balance” associated with 40k? Do you think armies? Points? Codices? Balance is a broad term that can cover many aspects of the hobby. Today we are going to look at the lesser known aspects, and how they relate to balance.

What is your hobby? What do you enjoy most about this hobby? I have made no secret, that I want to inspire people to break beyond the borders of their own hobby, and just try something new. The worst thing that could happen is you waste a little time on something you didn’t thoroughly enjoy, in which case, the hobby did its job. (Hobbies are meant to act as time-killers, and give us some enjoyment as well.) So, in essence, if you try something new, and it is not for you, do not fret. You have not lost anything because of it. This doesn’t mean go out and purchase a whole new army/game system/model right away. (Then you would have lost something other than time.) No, that means try a new list that you haven’t tried. Proxy some models if you need to. (Talk to your opponent and ask their permission first.) This hobby is only as limited as you are, so expand your own horizons to a new and exciting feature of the hobby you have yet to explore!

Ok, I’m stepping off the box a bit for now. That being said, everything is better in moderation. (The only exception is cash. – ed.) So, what is there left to talk about balance? Utilizing the above principle of trying new things, balance out your game and painting time, and you may just find more enjoyment to your hobby. For example; every hour you spend gaming, spend an hour painting.

To use an analogy that is not oft heard when it comes to our hobby…

Our hobby is like a table, each leg represents a different aspect of the hobby. One leg is painting and building, the other is collecting, another is gaming, and the last leg is the background and history. If one of those is out of balance, then the table would be wobbly.

Think about it for a moment.

If a gaming group had nothing but painters in it, it may grow a bit stale over time. It would lack excitement.

Where do you fall in? Where can you go with your personal hobby? For me, I really enjoy painting and building, but don’t play very often.

I am going to set myself a goal. I plan on gaming once a month. (To some, it may not seem like much, but considering I played all of 2 games in the last year, it’s not bad.)

Set yourself a goal, and leave a comment on how you can be better balanced, and what your goal is.

Touring Tuesdays - Soriens Flakka Trukk

2011-04-05T09:20:00.000-07:00

Sorien has a great blog, and this Flakka Trukk is no exception! The idea of painting the hubcaps red was inspired, and not much seen. The weathering and paint scheme really bring this together. The only constructivecomments I have are; I would have done a bit more to the Interceptor or "quad" gun from the Bastion kit, to hide that fact. Also, as a personal preference, I like a brighter red for the red paint job. I really do like the engine compartment work though.

All in all a good conversion, and I would love to loot the idea and make one for myself!

I rate this a Smoke Squig on the Squig Scale!

Madboy Mundayz - Frantiks

2011-04-04T10:07:00.000-07:00

In this the first in a new series featuring the Madboyz from the bygone days of Rogue Trader, we look at the Frantiks. First, let’s analyze what a madboy is.

In the days of Rogue Trader the madboyz mob is defined thus:

So, you see, the unpredictable nature of this unit, caused a lot of heartache, despair, and joy to the controlling player. There were 10 different mood types of Madboyz, each with their own quirks. Occasionally, you would have to roll a D10 to see if the unit’s mood had changed. (If a friendly unit within 6” of them charged or routed for example.) Once mood was determined, you would roll on the corresponding “mood chart” to see what the unit did that turn. Later on in 3^rd edition, there were simplified rules for a unit of Madboyz.

This was the mood chart for “Frantik” behaviour.

Next week we will look at how you would use them in a game of 5^th edition.

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Buzzer Squigs

2011-04-03T12:47:00.000-07:00

This will be the last we see of Squig sunday for a while. We have had a great journey through the land of the squigs. We saw a lot of squigs, and though there are more, it is time to move on for now. We will come back eventually with Squig sunday.

For this "last" installment, we look at the Buzzer Squigs, or Buzzing Squigs (depends on where your get your information.) The idea of these things freak me out. (Especially since I am allergic to Bees.) I picture these things would look like this in "real" life. Anyways, here are the origninals.

Rogue Trader

'Ere we go

Next week we will start a new jouney into the Dok's tent as we look at some of the "upgrades" available for Da Boyz.

Second Ed Saturdays - "Manly" Orks or What happened to the Beards?

2011-04-02T11:04:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, I did an article on Where did all the mushrooms go? Now, as the time machine is fixed, we journey to the not so distant past of 1991. (That was nearly 20 years ago! - ed) Wow, 20 years? Has it been that long? Ok, so 1991, The year that DC Comics debut the title Superman: The Man of Steel, Adam Sandler joins Saturday Night Live, and kids ate their Saturday morning cereal to the Back to the Future cartoon.

As I look through the 'Ere We Go book, (copyright GamesWorkshop 1991) I noticed that there were quite a few Orks with beards. Now we already know these are simply squigs attached to their faces. But, why don't we see more of them? In 3rd edition, Orks who had an affinity for beards just seemed to vanish. Too silly? Perhaps it was not the direction that GW intended for orks to go. Perhaps it just made the race seem "too human". Whatever the reason, I for one like the beards.

So what do you think? Do orks "deserve" beards? Why did they disappear? More unsolved mysteries of the universe that is 40k.

These orks from the 'Ere we go book enjoyed giving the Waaagh Banner the "Mr. T" treatment...and is it just me or does the ork in the upper lefthand corner look like Dog the Bounty hunter?

Feature Friday premiere - With Alessio Cavatore!

2011-04-01T05:50:00.000-07:00

This week we had a chance to talk to River Horse Games developer, former contributor to White Dwarf, and author of some past Codices and Army Books, Alessio Cavatore! Alessio has been hard at work with his new game Shurro and its expansion Turanga.

These awesome games are a cross between traditional chess, and tabletop miniature gaming! Just think, all of the strategy (and then some) of Warhammer, without the tedious painting of miniatures to take away from your “gaming” time. (Unless of course, you like the painting aspect of the hobby, then this is a good diversion for a bit.)

For those of you in the UK on the 4^th of April, visit http://www.riverhorse.eu/shuuro250-eye-of-the-storm.htm for a 250-point tournament taking place at Malestrom Games!

Thanks again to Alessio, and here we go!

Digital Waaagh: If you could choose any character to be from any science fiction or fantasy setting, who would you choose and why?

Alessio: Cool question! From a fantasy setting: Legolas! From a sci-fi setting: James T Kirk!

DW: When did you first get involved with the hobby of miniature wargaming, and what was your first miniature that you painted?

AC: I got involved in playing Warhammer after breaking my leg while I was at university (so I could not do Kendo for some time!). I was twenty-two. The first miniature I painted was a Skaven Plague Monk (or was it a Censer Bearer?). Then I painted a Doomwheel, then I stopped painting for the rest of my life! I found it took time from gaming! ;-)

DW: Over the past battle reports you participated in for Games Workshop, is there one in particular that you recall? Was it your favorite? Why?

AC: Oh, way too many... I guess I fondly remember the first one, ages ago, when I pitched my Wood Elves against the Lizardmen of the current Warhammer champion... seeing my own army (and myself!) in the pages of white Dwarf was a real thrill. As they say, you never forget the first one...

DW: What do you like to see in a tabletop strategy game?

AC: Simple rules. Complexity coming from the army lists.

DW: Is playtesting really as boring as one would think?

AC: It's not boring at all. It's actually a very enjoyable part of the job. It is however unbelievably tiring, as you play the game having to navigate through loads of paper and scribble notes all over the place. By the end of a playtest game you feel like your brain is melting!

DW:Have you any tips for any would-be games designers?

AC: Yes, write your own rules and play them with your friends, play many different games on the genre you're writing and then get into a company like GW with any job you can find, don't wait to make it in first as a designer. The reason is that it is a lot simpler to get to a position from the inside of a company than the outside.

Thanks again for your time Alessio! Be sure to check out Shurro! If your FLGS doesn’t carry it, ask them! If they don’t know what it is, send them to http://www.riverhorse.eu/shuuro.htm. Then, have them contact their distributor and ask for it! Also, as an interesting side note, you can see a vid of Alessio talking about Shurro here.

Next week we will be sitting down with Black Library author, and former Games Developer, Andy Chambers! Tune in next week!

Wacky Wednesdays - What is GW doing?

2011-03-30T11:16:00.000-07:00

Ok, brace yourselves for a mini-rant. What is GW doing? There is a trend I have noticed about GW for a while, and while I agree with some of their decisions. (Grey Knights being an exception) I feel that they indeed had become a big, greedy, bottom dollar monster. Now, before any of you start throwing things at me for using the word “had”, let me explain. I have worked for GW retail twice, once in 2000-2003 and once in 2006-2008, both were far different experiences. In the latter employment the focus went from getting new hobbyists, to getting sales. And in 2000-2003, the store was a place for veteran hobbyists, and newbs alike. It was a place to learn the game systems, and find everything you needed for your hobby. Recently, an inside source told me that GW retail has switched gears again to revolve around the initial concept. “Gain new hobbyists, that’s all” Not so focused on sales. OK, good, now that we have that cleared up…<plug ears for shouting> WILL SOMEONE TELL ME WHY GW FEELS THE NEED TO PROMOTE AN ARMY THAT IS NOT YET RELEASED, AND SAY “We have a slew of all new models for this army releasing in <insert time frame here>!” THEN FEEL THE NEED TO POST AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PAGE THE “CURRENT” MODELS FROM THE RANGE, THAT WILL EITHER BE OBSOLETE, OR “OLD”! The funny thing is the marketing of it all. Do they honestly think we have all “Drunk the GW kool-aid” that much? They even say, if you are looking to start or reinforce a (in this case) Tomb Kings army, then click on the links below.

<insert dumb cartoon voice here> Duh, gee, um…ok GW, I’m gonna buy a bunch of Tomb King stuff before their book comes out next month, that way I don’t have to “fight the crowds”. Seriously. What were they thinking? A better approach would be, (since they know what is coming out) would be do what they did back in the day, that way they still make some money on the “old” stuff.

Now as it stands, an army’s models are replaced, the old ones go into the box in the backroom for conversions/ terrain pieces/ prize fodder. In the “old days” of 2000 or previous, “old models” were sold at 40% -50% off, to make room for the new models. What a great way to make money! Think about it. If I saw a bunch of “old” Tomb King models on sale for that price, I would buy them, hold off on buying the book, and when the book came out, I would add to my Tomb King force that I had bought on sale. Even if I found out the models I bought on sale can not be used in the game anymore, I would still want Tomb Kings. The way things are now, I wouldn’t buy the current models at full price, and I am sure the new models are cool, but, I am not going to start a new army, unless I can do so cheaply.

End Rant.

What do you think of the here’s what’s coming out, you can’t buy it/ it’s going to replace the models you can buy now. If you want to start the “new” army, buy the current models (even though they may be obsolete come next month) here… marketing ploy?

Touring Tuesdays - A look at da uvver guyz

2011-03-29T08:30:00.000-07:00

This week we took a look at a really cool, converted terrain piece from Spaceork.

This is simply an awe inspiring piece. From the mohawk to the grot, Kustim-Ork's work is excellent. If you get a chance check out this amazing simple konversion, that has an absolutely great paintjob! While you are there, check out his Bad Moonz orks, and the rest of his site.

Great graphics and layout, coupled with some decent content rate this a Parasite squig on the Squig Scale.

Next week we will take a look at Sorien of da40korkz blog, and his Flakka Trukk!

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Gob Squigs

2011-03-27T13:42:00.000-07:00

Gob squigs, the orkish answer to toothbrushing. From 'Ere We Go, the second ed. ork book.

Second Edition Saturdays - Bommerz over Da Sulphur River

2011-03-26T08:15:00.000-07:00

The time machine is still in the shop, so here we are, stuck in 1998. The year that US President Clinton was impeached by the House of Representatives due to a “blue dress” incident, There’s Something about Mary and Armageddon entertained the masses at the cinemas, and television audiences were held captive by shows like, “That 70’s Show”, “Dawson’s Creek” and “Charmed”. It was also the year that Games Workshop released “Bommerz over the Sulpha River.” Wikipedia describes it thus.

Bommerz over da Sulphur River

Board game where Epic-scale Ork aircraft bomb Imperial installations along a river while avoiding defensive weapons, Imperial fighters and rock formations. Rules and board pieces recently re-published on the GW Specialist Games Website.

The following is from www.boardgamegeek.com.

In Bommerz over da Sulphur River you can take the part of the Ork Fighta-Bommer pilots, screaming down to smash the vital bridges. Or you can command the heroic Imperial defense, pouring a devastating stream of flak and laser fire at your attackers and directing the counter-attack of your brave but outnumbered Thunderbolt Interceptors.

Perhaps the strangest game set in the Warhammer 40,000 universe. Being a Games Workshop game, it includes several aircraft miniatures from the Warhammer 40k Epic line.

The game has been recently (as of December 2005) been re-released in free PDF format by Games Workshop on GW's "Specialist Games" division website. Everything but the models (which are common GW buys) are now downloadable via PDF. See the Specialist games website http://www.specialist-games.com/ for details.

Having played it, it actually is a great game for an afternoon of diversion, and beer.

(Much better than the 40k booklet game they came up with…)

Here is a shot of the components and box…(again thank you to boardgamegeek.com)

Fungus Fridays - Sticky Snotgrabbers

2011-03-25T09:37:00.000-07:00

How do orks affix things? This is the question I asked myself one day, while looking at an old Ork codex. Sure, they can weld, and bolt, even nail something in place, but what if they wanted to glue something? Granted, an ork doesn't "need" to glue anything. Whatever they would glue, they can just as easily nail, bolt or weld into place. So, perhaps it is the Grots who glue...

Whatever the case, I am sure they get their "glue" from the Sticky Snotgrabber. The Sticky Snotgrabber is a tall mushroom that when the head is torn off, a extremely sticky, milky substance oozes from the stem. Unfortunately, this was probably discovered about the same time that it was the heads of these mushrooms come off quite easily. One day a Grot named Snot was sent to harvest some good shrooms for a stew. Never seeing this type of mushroom before, Snot grabbed and pulled, his hand slid up the stem, and popped the head off of the shroom. The stem squirted out its sticky goo, covering Snot's hand. Snot tried to pull his hand free, and got his other hand stuck...soon, Snot was standing in the middle of a mushroom patch with all sorts of items stuck to him from other grots to tried to help, to tools tried to pry them apart. Since then, the mushrooms are harvested with great care.

An ork who has little use for this paticular fungus finds it somewhat amusing in the form of "Sticky Lobbin' " Orks draw a large circle in the dirt and put a few grots in it. Then the ork simply grabs the stem, and pulls the head off, (being sure to point it away from him) Then he lobs it at the circle. The ork that hits the most grots, wins a few teef. (Betting is a favorite pastime of orks.) The game ends when the circle is full of a pile of Sticky Stems and grots assembled in one big ball in the middle of the circle. This of course, leads to a few disputes as to who hit the most grots, which is usually settled by a scrap.

Another game is a bit more savage in its brutality. Some orks have held contests to see how many sticky stems they can put on their bodies, and then pull off. This leads to a big skar at best, or limbs coming off, at worst, an ork's head comes off, or even organs as the ork pulls the stem so hard the skin is torn from his body and his organs spill out. The title of the current champion of the "Sticky pullin'" belongs to a Bad Moon madboy by the name of "Urzbadd SnikDaz" So far he lost both legs, and ears, and one arm. (All of which were replaced by their mekanikal double.) Part of the reason he wins so much now is due to his Cybork arm, doubling his strength to pull the stem from his skin...or whats left of it...

Wacky Wednesdays - When your brain checks out...

2011-03-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

Last week I spoke of how to be innovative when it comes to your hobby. This week I am going to speak on the opposite end of the spectrum. Have you in a middle of a game ever “zoned out”? Perhaps this unfortunate circumstance has happened, and 3 turns later you are wondering, “Hey, when did that happen?” or “How did my Deffdread get there?” If not, then read on, because this “curse” has an upside…

We all try to concentrate, and for some it comes easier than others. For many it can take more to do than others, depending on their own thought processes. This can be effected by various things; stress level, family, sugar/caffeine intake, or various other influences.

After a long day at work, or if the game is slow going, as I am standing at the table, my mind tends to wander. I re-focus on the game, and again, it will wander. Sometimes, my mind goes on “automatic pilot” and I just play. This is why I like to take a break, which in turn, makes the game even longer…so, what to do?

Allow it to happen. Then after the game figure out what I did wrong by analyzing each turn over in my mind. If I can’t remember how a turn went, then I was not focused enough and realize I need to work on it more.

Here are some things to help you in those situations.

Learn to lose…

How do you recover from mistakes that happen when your brain leaves you? Well, after you realize what it is you did (or didn’t) do, quickly look at the board, and access the situation. Re-focus on the mission at hand. (This can cost you a game if you don’t remember to secure the objective!) Use the mistake to your advantage. Ok, maybe you didn’t mean to park your Trukk full of Burnas directly in front of that vindicator, but perhaps by doing this, it will allow your Kanz or Deffdread time to get in there and take it out. Whatever the situation, I am sure we can think of times where we thought, “D’oh! Why did I do that?!”

Bottom line, make mistakes and don’t concentrate on purpose? Well, not exactly. Try something new.

In order to clear it up, I think of the quote, “Damn the torpedoes!” Just go for it. What’s the worst that could happen? By losing, and making mistakes, then you learn more about your army.

Besides, it would be quite boring to “table” your opponent each game. Think about it. What is the most fun you have ever had in a game? I am willing to bet it is the one where it gets down to the last unit or even “man” standing. It comes down to the wire to create some dramatic suspense. These are often the games we write or tell people about.

So, if you make a mistake, use it to your advantage and to try something different. Something that you wouldn’t normally do, in other words, experiment. This is often the last thing your opponent would expect you to do.

“Wait, you do realize that you just put your lone warboss in combat with Shrike and my Chaplain right?”

“He can take it.” It is at this moment I realize that I should probably move my Kanz in to contest the objective…

Staying on track…

Of course the easiest way to not make mistakes is to stay focused. I myself have a hard time doing this. Here are some things that have helped me.

1.) Picture the game as a movie. “Play” a soundtrack in your head, as you can hear some dialogue. (Try not to tune out your opponent though.)

2.) Storyline. Why is your army here? They don’t just show up at cities/planets/settlements to “play a game” and have giant gods pushing them around the surface. Make it real to you. (This can be difficult if that Comm Station is Pringles can…) The more realistic you picture the game, the more fun you will have.

3.) Take some breaks. Get a drink, or something to eat.

4.) Ask your opponent to walk over to his side of the table to take a look. You get a much better idea of what they may be planning to do, or how to handle the current situation. Not to mention it breaks up the monotony of staring at your side/forces each turn. A new perspective can really freshen the game up for you.

Perhaps you have never had the problem of “Wandering Brain” syndrome...and you truly are a genius at Warhammer. (If you are contact me to write some articles for the blog!)

Make mistakes on purpose. (Provided it is not in a tournament.)

You can read all the books about warfare, tactics and advice on various blogs, but unless you put them into practice, it will do you no good. Competitive players, when is the last time you tried to lose…on purpose? OK, you may be thinking, “This guy has definitely lost it, he’s talking about losing on purpose.” You may be right, but think about it for a moment. What is one of the best ways to learn? Or a better way to phrase it would be, what is the best way to learn your limitations? The answer is a simple one, as it is something we all do daily. Make mistakes. We learn from doing and practicing, but we comprehend and become adept at something when we make mistakes. Very few individuals can say they did something 100% right the first time. Thomas Edison failed multiple times when inventing a light bulb.

“You’re charging your unit of grots into the 10-man Terminator Squad?!” Perhaps by charging your 20-30 grots, you would open yourself up to more options, or simply giving your mainstay unit time to get there, or even the classic distraction. Even if you don’t have a plan, its ok, as it will keep your opponent on their toes at least.

So think about it…er, don’t think about it, just go with it…

Touring Tuesday - A look at some of uvver sites an blogz wot talk 'bout orks.

2011-03-22T07:44:00.000-07:00

In the spirit of community, I decided to start a feature to review and post links to some other blogs that mention orks, or the hobby in general.

This week we look at the blog Inquisitork, and in paticular,the post from March 6th, 2011 which is entitled "Luckeez Wurlies".

In this story themed battle report, it featured Deffkoptas pretty predominately. Very well written, and with a surprise ending, this story is sure to give any ork general a second thought about excluding a Deffkopta skwadron in his or her army.

Written by Commisar Carrie, this is definitely a growler squig on the squig scale of great posts.

Join us next week when we will look at the Spaceork blog.

Mek Mondays - Nob with Waaagh Banner

2011-03-21T11:01:00.000-07:00

Another lunch hour paint job....I need to add some more to it to make it more impressive. I painted it just to get it on the table to play a game...

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Bag Squigs

2011-03-20T11:44:00.000-07:00

This has to be a short article since we are trying to get ready for my son's b-day party. Bag squigs...here it is.

Second Edition Saturday - Skarboyz

2011-03-19T12:10:00.000-07:00

I think the time machine is in need of repair. This week, we only arrived in 1999. The year that y2k fever hit. The year that the first of prequel movies for Star Wars was released in the form of "The Phantom Menace", and Britney Spears released her debut album "Baby One More Time". (Wow, 1999 kinda sucked, didn't it? Although the Matrix was released as well.) So, why are we talking about 1999? Orks, 3rd edition. In particular the Skarboyz. Much like a step between Nobs and Boyz, the Skarboyz filled a spot in the Elites section. Here it is...along with some modeling examples that were given in the hobby section of the Codex.

Fungus Fridays - Where did all the mushrooms go?

2011-03-18T07:40:00.000-07:00

Have you noticed that in the early editions of 40k, the orks seemed to have a plethera of mushrooms in their background and art. What happened? They are definitely not as prominent now as they were...
There is a small stigma of drug use associated with mushrooms. However, is that the reason? I think it is something deeper. Perhaps in their zeal to turn Orks into violent barbarians of the galaxy, GW did away with some of the more "fun" aspects of the Ork background. This can be seen in many ways. (I want the Hop-splat gun back.)

Long gone are the days of the goofy ork, and even though there is still a bit of a "fun" aspect, GW removed the fungus.

Why then do I produce a weekly article speaking of this oft-overlooked bit to the orkish society? The answer is three-fold.
1.) It is content filler...I need something to put on my blog besides my orkish ravings and current projects.

2.) To bring some of the "fun" back to the Orks that is lacking sometimes.

3.) To inspire players utilizing past background and home brew rules...

"What is the fungus this week?" you may ask.
Well, although I have not found any more relating to 40k, I could speak on Mad Cap mushrooms...but we all know what those are. ;-)

Quite honestly, I have run out of "background fungus", which brings me to be innovative and come up with something to discuss for Fungus Fridays....(See wacky wednesdays)

So, expect just a couple more "home-brew" fungus, and in April, we shall start a new series on Fridays! (I will just say that it will involve my followers, and freinds...)

Next week we will look at the "Sticky Snotgrabber."

Jokaero

2011-03-17T07:19:00.000-07:00

A while back I posted something from Rogue Trader that spoke of the Jokaero. Now it seems the GK rumour was true that they would be coming back. You can see them on the GW site here. Without seeing the GK codex yet, I am curious as to why GW would have them work with the Imperium. Particularly the Inquisition. I was really hoping that they would get their own Codex. Imagine a really high point cost, with few options. They would be challenging to play. I guess I don't work in game design for a reason...

What are your thoughts? Did they deserve their own codex? Could they be the long lost "Squat replacement"? What do you think a Jokaero vehicle would look like?

New Regular Article - Feature Fridays that offer some exclusive content!

2011-03-16T13:34:00.000-07:00

Starting on Friday, April 1^st, Digital Waaagh will play host to a whole new weekly article. Feature Fridays! Where we will interview various persons within the Gaming industry! Whether it is a games developer, novelist for the Black Library, head of Games Workshop retail, or just one of you, our followers, you never know who we will “Feature”! (Unless of course we send you the interview, then you would know…) And let me tell you, the first interview is going to be huge!

I won't give any details away yet, so stay tuned!!!!

Digital Waaagh!

Nostalgia Gaming

Digital Waaagh movie reviews

Assorted Geekery

Knightly Orders part 1 - Knights of the Blazing Sun

Rules, Commission Work, and Others

Contests!

Post number 178

Oooh an update!

Tourin' Tuesdays - Screamin' Heretic's Finecast post

Madboy Mundayz - Phobiaks Part 2

2nd Ed Saturdays - Dark Eldar

Painting Your minis

Reliving my Youth - The 80's part 1

Tourin' Tuesdays - Pazuzork's Terrain

Madboy Mundayz - Phobiaks

Serjury Sundayz - Squig arms

What's in a name?

Moroniks *UPDATE* (see edit note at bottom)

"No, I really mean it this time!" or "Why do trains run?"

Tourin' Tuesdays - Tayton's Ard Boyz

Madboy Mundayz - Moroniks

And we're back!

Posting - One man's limitations

Prices, Pee and other things…

Warmachine Wednesdays - Stormsmith Solo

Touring Tuesdays - Weathering and airbrushing

Second Edition Saturday - Some "Uvver" stuff from the past...

Feature Fridays - with Dan Abnett!!!

Thoughtful Thursdays - Community

Touring Tuesdays - Sebatian's Orkfestation

Thoughtful Thursdays - Smaller Games

Touring Tuesdays - The painting corps

Thoughtful Thursdays - Hobby ADD

Touring Tuesdays - Brian Carlson Miniatures

Madboy Mundayz - Paranoids Part 2

Serjury Sundayz - Kickin' Legs

Feature Fridays - With Gav Thorpe!

Touring Tuesdays - Hobby Horse

Madboy Mundayz - Paranoids

Serjury Sundayz - Periscope

Second Ed. Saturdays - Grey Knights

Feature Fridays - Interview with Geoff Cutler

Thoughtful Thursdays - Play Style

Warmachine Wednesdays - Choosing Sides

Touring Tuesday - Da Dead End Kroozers

Madboy Mundayz - Frantiks Part 2

Serjury Sundays - Telescopic Arm

Second Ed. Saturday - Orky Events

Feature Fridays - Interview with Andy Chambers!

Cygnar Thursdays - "Seige" As Promised

Stop the Presses! - You mean there are other games out there?!

Balance

Touring Tuesdays - Soriens Flakka Trukk

Madboy Mundayz - Frantiks

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Buzzer Squigs

Second Ed Saturdays - "Manly" Orks or What happened to the Beards?

Feature Friday premiere - With Alessio Cavatore!

Wacky Wednesdays - What is GW doing?

Touring Tuesdays - A look at da uvver guyz

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Gob Squigs

Second Edition Saturdays - Bommerz over Da Sulphur River

Fungus Fridays - Sticky Snotgrabbers

Wacky Wednesdays - When your brain checks out...

Touring Tuesday - A look at some of uvver sites an blogz wot talk 'bout orks.

Mek Mondays - Nob with Waaagh Banner

Squig Sunday - A look at the different species of Squig - Bag Squigs

Second Edition Saturday - Skarboyz

Fungus Fridays - Where did all the mushrooms go?

Jokaero

New Regular Article - Feature Fridays that offer some exclusive content!

Moroniks UPDATE (see edit note at bottom)