Hobby Time up here.

Some superbly painted 40K from local gamers. Our hobby scene is getting some very hot talent on the painting front.

David's Mars Pattern Reaver titan

 Pascal and Anthony's armies duel. 

Franciscus battering some poor Ultramarines.

Dont Forget that GuardCon is on the 13th & 14th of September

GuardCon 2014

Contact: wouster7@hotmail.com 

for details and any questions you may have.

Inspiration on the terrain I'll be working on next. They are so cool

Board Game of the week: Lancaster

An oldie but a goodie. Capturing all the flavour of the political intrigue and battles of during Henry the V's unification of England. Lancaster is a worker placement using Knights and Squires. You win via VP's from capturing castles, gaining intrigue, and winning battles pitched in Normandy.

Rating: Very easy to learn and enjoyable. Suitable for the whole family, this makes a very good winter buster. I would go so far as to say that I want a copy after Geoff kindly showed us this game. 3.5 outta 5 stars.

AetherCon : Steampunk ball

AetherCon was held in Ellerslie over the weekend and by all accounts it was dapper and a hoot. 

I missed it but will definitely put it on the calendar in the future.

 Mike of Steam Works fame. Brilliant supporter of the wargaming scene up here.

On table : Sanctus Reach Stormclaw & Ogres

Manage to pick up a copy of the Stormclaw set. Love the new artwork and the missions look pretty cool. More aimed at players rather than pure beginner level. All the models are standard off the sprue miniature's so no clip together sculpts here and will merge with your existing collection easy as.

The main reason you pick it up is the brand spanking new rules in mini format. I prefer this format even though the 3 book format deals with any inhibitions you may have with hauling a brick. 

 Both main characters you get are the usual clampack plastic sculpts. They are very nicely made too. GW you did some good work here.

On to the progrss of the Fatties. My Chaos Ogres from a while back get merged back into the Ogre Kingdom. For this army I want to field what I like the look of so expect to see Yhetees and Hunters when I get around to it.

See what I mean, I'm gonna take up the rare slot with Monsters. A bad influence from a tournament a few days ago. Talking of which I should get down and actually do a Write up of MonsterCon. Soon I say, Soon.

 Obligatory unit of mournfangs with a difference. Notice the middle one, it's made from a $2 plastic toy. For those rocking out themes, that's my theme.

All I have to do is fight the evil of this recent purchase. The release of the XBOX One means so many awesome games are dirt cheap.

Comic-Con San Diego 2014

Friends of mine are at one of the biggest conventions at San Diego at present. With 130,000+ in attendance each year for the last few years, we're really in a golden age of geeking around the world at present. I read that the 4 day convention is expected to net about $180million in economic impact in the city alone. Not surprising since there are heaps of advance and convention only collectibles on offer. Here's some of the photo's from the sneak peeks of the convention.

GuardCon 2014

GuardCon 2014

13th & 14th September 

Venue: James Cook High Auditorium, Manurewa, Auckland.

Hosted by the Auckland City Guard Club.

GuardCon Warhammer Fantasy 2400pts (6 games over 2 Days),

GuardCon Warhammer 40K Doubles (6 Games over 2 days, Teams of 2x 1000pts),

Flames of War Late War ( 5 games over 2 Days).

Contact: wouster7@hotmail.com
or richard@Holtzhausen.net for details, 

Registrations are open now.

**Free accommodation available at the venue on request.

Visit our Club facebook page : Auckland City Guard Club at Freemans Bay

Visit out forum page : Aucklandcityguard.com

Visit the tournament page: http://aucklandcityguard.freeforums.org/post6445.html#p6445

More Ogres

Thought I'd put a couple of coats on the bitz built Thundertusk. Currently using him as a proxy for practice as my Stone horn, which is currently getting commission painted for me by the resident maestro. He's not looking too bad. Of course he's very far from being done.

The proxy. Whilst the Stonehorn is getting Glen points.

I was short an Ogre so I made one outta Sprue. What did ya think?

I should stop procrastinating and actually paint my MonsterCon army.

New Ogre Kingdoms Book for Warhammer & Finecast

Nah just kidding around. You shouldn't believe everything you stumble on around the internet young padawan.

I was gonna keep it all hush hush before a tournament but I've been gripped by Fatties (otherwise known as Ogres). Yes GW Ogres are the bee's knees. Equivalent to 54mm or 1/32 scale the miniature is just bigger and easy to work with, so I couldn't help starting another army.

If you don't like the Mini then chop the fattie up!

The standard bog Ogre isn't quite big enough so he had to get extensions to become a Bruiser (Ogre Character).

Extensions added and a big game bird.

 Well on his way to becoming My Battle Standard Bearer.

Putting it in Simple Green is only for ones who give a flock :)

So in the good old days your mini came in 'be scared if I rage quit cos I got this solid metal mini if thrown could do you serious harm'. I was lucky enough to Pick up such for the Leader of the army the 'Tyrant'.

Mostly these days you will have to settle for 'Finecast'. Ive had a bad run in with the said Finecast when it first was released and have avoided it ever since until now. A mate had the new Ogre characters and who am I to say no to a plasticrack addiction. So I persevered and tried Finecast out again. I'm happy to say that the details were crisp and there was minimal problems with moulding. The only problem I had was a few minor bubbles on the hand of one of the mini's. So game on and here they are in their glory.

They didn't come with too much flash either

So thats the current Ogre story. Come back for more on the tale in a while Crocodile. (I've got the flu so bear with me).

Hobby Supplies

Had few questions from some club members about Hobby supplies. Not that I'm an expert but here's some of the stuff I use with easy available NZ brands. Just visit your local DIY or hobby shop. This stuff will make your hobby experience smooth and seamless. Reasonably priced and good value for your money.

 Plaster fillers for basing. I use the Powder filla as its economical. $8 for 500g.

Coloured primers make painting easy just wash with a pigment wash for effect.

Super Glue from GF9 you get 28g for ~$12. Hobby super glue dries slower but joins with a slightly flexible bond for longevity. Much better value compared to most bottled commercial brands where you get 5g for ~$10. 

PVA wood glue which dries clear is perfect for all things basing rocks and flock. Selley's is top quality and you avoid peeling and weak bonds of cheaper pva glues.

Woodland Scenics do a superb range of grasses and flocks. Heaps more economical too.

Contact adhesives for all that terrain making. Here's my choice.

Matte sprays to take the shine out of your masterpiece. This is what I use.

Green Stuff from GF9. Two tubes which is about 10 times more at the same price of some brands.

I use magnetic paint for my bases. This provides a easy to apply (3coats) surface that magnets will adhere to. Magnetic sheets are readily available and we currently get them from a commercial place in the North Shore. Just zap me a message if you want to get some and I'll give you the deets.

Ran into a brilliant tutorial on cheap tree making which I had to share. Tree's are the most expensive terrain pieces but this vid really makes it look good at a reasonable price.

I think these are a goer!