Being a terrible wargamer

The truth is I have been a terrible war gamer since I got back into the hobby in 2011. I'm not particularly talented in the artistic side of the hobby, I wouldn't even say I was mediocre but that's not what I mean. I pick up and start new armies every few months and even then I generally don't follow through but then again that seems to be a common affliction.Truth is I never played any games. I collected and painted, took part in online debates and lurked but I didn't put plastic to table and roll those dice. That's not to say that you have to but it is a big part of the hobby. And I didn't really do it.


 TILL NOW.

I actually finished an army of Ogres for Kings of War. I have a local opponent for Kings of War who has a man-cave set up with a 6 by 4 table and is ready to play. We've played two games which isn't a lot but as we have kids and lives (to some degree on my part) that's good all things considering. I won the first game as well which is encouraging. I went to a tournament and despite coming dead last, I had a whale of a time.

 

It turns out playing Kings of War is awesome (this wasn't really in doubt but a hypothetical proposition none-the-less). Happily the club that put on the event is into Kings of War, and drive-able. I'm gonna try and get down once a month to get some games in. Hopefully not agasint Trev "The Treeman" Taylor. This guy was a thorn in my side in the last tourney game.

Sadly the most local club to me isn't so inclined or as seemingly friendly. I went into the local FLGS only yesterday where my 'local' club is based from, looking to buy some basing materials and potentially some Cold One Knights, but having interrupted a conversation about late war heavy soviet tanks by having the audacity to want to buy something wasn't made to feel welcome in the slightest. It's okay though, I can buy from the internet and not feel like I'm an invader in some special club.

BACK IN THE GAME

So I've not posted in a long time. Over a year in fact. Last September I went back to college to study an Access Course in Science to get into Uni to study Diagnostic Radiography. It was hard but I completed the course with all distinctions and got into Uni.

Doing all this with a toddler, continuing the day job and a wife who is also doing a degree was hard. Didn't really have the time to do any hobbythings really. Passing exams and writing assignments is more important. Long term: better job = more minis, think of it that way.

Well I'm back. Sort of. I am just focusing on Ogres really. I want to finish an army and actually play some games. The disaster that was Age of Sigmar has pushed Kings of War into a higher level and expanded the player-base and there are many more games that are being played including locally.

The Christmas break has afforded me some limited hobby-time. Namely Berserker Braves. These are some beefy and excellent metal minis. The Ogre Horde continues to grow.

I also assembled some of the Salamanders from the Kings of War 2nd Edition Kickstarter. OH BOY. Detailed plastic kit with different weapon options and bits. Pretty fly.

TROLL!!!!

So I have had a saturday night in to myself. The little one has been good and not stirred at all. The resulting hobbytime has been productive. Despite recently posting about my Naga project, I have tried to make some headway with my Mantic Ogres.

Why, you ask?

Well, I want to paint a lot of Lizardmen, however Orges & Trolls are low in number count and already have some completed units so the effort required to complete the army is less. Also they kick ass.

I've got my Trolls pretty much done. They have tiny fiddly legs, which are the main unfinished areas. I am aiming for tabletop standard so they are not works of art. Three Ogre are have now been based , and three more are nearly done.

The Naga Project

The Naga Project

Hello Wargamers, Warmongers and Mantic fans!

I have been inspired, partially thanks to this thread, to embark on a new army project. The hobby magpie has struck! I plan to create a force of cold blooded reptilian warriors, which I will christen the Naga Raj. My plan is for the Army to be lead by Turtle-Men, the Naga, which will use the Dreadball Teratons. I know Naga are meant to be snakemen but I like the name too much to give it up. 

A traditional Naga

I have liberated some of the old GW plastics from eBay to form the core of the army. The Old Saraus warriors are ten-a-penny on Ebay and I have quite a few. Some are being stripped and some are ready to be basecoated. I do have a fondness for them even now, and they are perfectly servicable minis. As you can see below I do have a fair few to be getting on with.

I will be mainly using the Naga Raj in Kings of War though I am not sure which list to proxy. Orc with Goblin allies would fit, however I have a WIP Greenskin horde already for Kings of War which at the time of writing is my number one project. However they are something of a chore though.... I don't want to have several armies which effectively play the same. Furthermore Orcs aren't quite representative of an implacable relentless for, which is something I associate with Lizardmen.

Abyssal Dwarfs look to have counts as for many of the putative models I have lined up, so it may well be them. The slower nature of the list would lend itself to the reptilian cold blooded aspect of the Naga and their allies. However their alignment of MOST EVIL does correspond with my idea of the Naga Raj being not Evil. They are sacrificey, expansionist and seeking the delicious flesh of warmbloods, but not 'evil'...

I have a rough scheme for proxies noted below:

Halfbreeds -> Sampa Mounted Warriors (Cold One Riders)

Blacksouls -> Sampa Warriors (Lizardmen)

Slave Orcs -> Sampa Labourers (Old style Lizardmen)

Immortal Guard -> Teratons!!!

Lesser Golem -> Elder Sampa (Kroxigor) or my Orges till I get some...

Decimators -> Kisani (Skinks)

Gargoyles -> Terradon Riders or Ripperdactyl Riders

In terms of army composition the Naga will lead an army of Lizardmen foot soldiers. The main source of which is to be GW's range, where possible I will avoid using them direct for my own reasons. Despite my distaste for their business practices it cannot be denied that they do make some good minis. There are many Lizardmen minis floating around the net however, and as much as I can, I will use diverse sources of minis. I love the look of the Avatars of War Lizardman Hero.

If Mantic are listening please make a line of reasonably priced reptilian fantasy minis! Or better yet introduce Terarons to the world of Mantica. They would be a great addition, and find a welcoming home in the Naga Raj. I will convert the Dreadball Teratons as fantasy warrior Naga, I plan for them to maybe use spears and axes as their main weapons.

The whole army is to reference South Asian mythology to the extent that my limited modeling and painting skills will allow. It is going to be an expensive project, probably another slowburning pipedream. It will look great on the tabletop and hopefully kick some arse.

Fluff Outline/TLDR

In the southern lands of Mantica, the climate is tropical and dense forest cover the lands. This green cloak is rich in life of all kinds. It is in these lands that the Naga live. The Naga would be known as Turtlemen in the northern lands. The Naga are highly intelligent, and run a complex and diverse civilisation.

At the head of the civilisation are the demigod Akasiya, who instruct the Naga, and below them there are various castes and races of Lizardmen. There are the Warriors and Labourers, the "Imanadara Sampa", often reduced to just Sampa. The scribes, artisans and farmers, the "Kisani". They are smaller than the imposing Sampa, however they are quicker wits.

MORE OGRES

Greeting Warmongers, Mantic Fans and Wargamers of all stripes. I have a bit of an update on my Mantic Ogre project.

I have another six or so of these bandits coming along. I've assembled a further trio with hand weapons and shields. Thankfully their poses expose their torsos for easier painting access. The Ogres with two-handed weapons have some issues in this regard. That or my shoddy painting skills can't handle it.

There is a now a based and completed unit of 6 Ogre Warriors with two-handed weapons. Gotta love that Crushing Strength (2). That's 190 play points. Three Crossbow/Mini ballista equipped Ogres aren't far behind, for 140 points. So far 330 points in 9 minis, not including any magic items. Ogres are awesome.

Unpainted/WIP
3 Blunderbuss equipped Ogres, again 140 points.
3 Ogres with Hand Weapons & Shields, 115 points
3 Ogre with two-handed weapons, 115 points
Total: 700 points.

I do have some Goblins to round this lot out, in terms of bodies and points. Some Orc Gore Riders could be Fleabag riders quite easily though in future I would like to get some of these despite my arachnophobia. Look I'm okay with little ones. It's the monstrous tarantulas that could steal children that terrify me. Or those fuckers from LOTR/The Hobbit. GODAMMIT I hate them. Anyway Ogres would give a shit. They wouldn't mind some spiders.

I am quite pleased with the paint job I'm getting here. The minis do lend themselves to it, with a mixture of large skin areas and some detailey bits. The difference is perhaps that there are less minis so the prospect of painting them is not overwhelming as opposed to 40 Orcs....

Ogre Progress

Hello Everyone

I have recently started an Ogre army using Mantic's lovely Ogre minis, thanks to a decent Ebay deal.  It cannot be denied that these are great miniatures, and in the person the top-heaviness that some online photos have is absent. They have great detail, and a decent amount of variety. To be fair they do have massive massive arms, and so do the Marauder Commandos and Hulk from Deadzone. Some one at Mantic likes the big-guns!

Painting these minis has been fun, and I love the fact that the number of minis that would make up a horde in another army is pretty much the whole army for Ogres, less painting time required AND less monies to spend. As a time challenged new (ish) dad, and with time and funds for hobby competing with Baseball in the hobby arena and more so in the wider family setting this is only a good thing. Further they can double up a trolls in my Orc army. Three Ogres are nearly done, needing basing and final touches, three more are ready to move on from the basecoat stage and three crossbowmen (crossbogre??) have has some base coats.

THE FLUFF

I get carried away sometimes and fluff my armies before they are even 10% ready to play, and the Ogres are no different. My fluff for these guys is tied into a Dwarven army I plan to do, using a mix of Abyssal Dwarves and Titan Wargames minis. There is a link between the two races in that they both make fierce warriors and have a love of gold, and yet in stature they could not be more different. This is the stuff I have so far.

The Golden Hell Bull Bhaalla and his servants

The smashing of the Fenulian Mirror did not only cause the sundering of the Celestials and the downfall of high civilization. Magic forces where unleashed beyond the scope of mortal minds, birthing untold life and magical entities into Mantica. One such entity is the Golden Hell-Bull Bhaalla.

Trickling into consciousness north of the Mammoth steppe in the Ice mountains, at a site where a massive herd of Aurochs were driven over a cliff by eager hunters in ancient times. Bhaalla is in truth a demi-god, representative of the pride and spitefulness of that beast, but also its protective nature. Slumbering under the mountains, Bhaalla was starved of the food of gods, the worship and adulation of the faithful and laid dormant for millennia. It was only in the last few centuries that Bhaalla has truly awoken. Bhaalla was disturbed by a band of Dwarf and Ogre explorers seeking the treasures of past civilisations deep in the mountains. The seduction of the two groups was a simple matter, and soon they toiled and prayed endlessly nourishing the nascent deity. The fruits of their toils was Bhaallagrad, the under Citadel of the Golden Hell-Bull, a underground complex of halls and mine shafts.

Eager for sacrifices and worship Bhaalla has ensnared a cult of Dwarfs and Ogres, both races drawn to Bhaalla's promises of wealth, power and glory. Bhaalla tolerates no other idol and is a jealous proud deity. Neither a shining or dark god, Bhaalla is terrible in wrath and merciful to those who do his will. Raiding parties journey forth bringing slaves, resources and converts back to Bhaallagrad.

ALL HAIL BHAALLA!!!

Taken from http://www.feannadh.com/3_workbench/pictures/taurus_concept.JPG

By my rough reckoning I have around a thousand points, so it will take some time to get them all painted given my glacial painting speed. They were pre-assembled following a Ebay purchase so there are 3 Crossbows, 3 Blunderbusses and 9 Warriors with double handed weapons, and three unassembled which I plan to give a hand weapon and shield. I will add to them in time but this is enough to be getting on with....

I have numerous goblins, including ancient monopose Games Workshop goblins, 20 Night Goblins from Ebay and ten Mantic Spitters. These are the core of a goblin contingent, which will also find a home in the Orc army AND on it's own as a goblin army. These guys will be speedbumps in Kings of War, the Red Goblins. I would like a fleabag unit or two, but I do have some Gore Riders and they will do. For now. 

Taken from http://musksminiatures.files.wordpress.com/2010/07/rankeduppretty.jpg

Reinforcements!

This lot of bandits came in the post today. Excellent minis. More unassembled to come.