Its a hog eat hog world - Warpath

As someone replied to my previous post:


"Sorry, this is off topic but I don't have another way of contacting you...

I'm sure you have already, but do check out the Warpath sci-fi models from Mantic Games. They got themselves squats, and they look pretty tasty thats for sure" 

- Oink

Well spoken Mr Oink.
Due to my overall lack of actual army related updates this serves as my post for the day (or week). Thanks go to Oink for prodding me to have a look-see. On one hand I cant wait for the Forge Father models to come out and on the other hand they make me wonder if I did all the converting and such for naught. Alas woe is me....and such.

I dropped the images of the Forge Fathers below in case you missed them.

Thanks to Beasts of War, and I do think they look awesome as hell. If the top model is a regular trooper then they are seriously armoured. Speaking of armoured almost done with my Leman Russ Executioners, magnets and all.

A letter to Avatars of War - Part II

So I actually did get a reply to my last e-mail. Even on the same day which was a shocker. The person who had been handling my order and such apparently was on holiday, it was mentioned that they left my order ready to ship and they would inquire about it.

Next thing I know I receive a tracking number in my inbox as the items have been shipped by UPS' 24h delivery service (August 17th) and it actually arrived on schedule the day after. So apparently all it took for my order to be actually shipped was that the person overseeing it went on holiday.

I am still not sure what to think of this all because it does mean they just did not send out my order for over a month and a half with numerous inquiries on my behalf and repeated assurances that it would be sent out.

But as SC John commented in the last post about this, they obviously were not expecting such a huge rush on the item, even so though it took us both a lot of work to actually get our stuff.
Something to consider if you are thinking about ordering from them.

At least they are here now so I can start getting them ready to serve as my Penal Legions.... Now all I need it a buttload of chainaxes.....

A letter to Avatars of War

Hello,

 

It has been too long. I have decided to share a tiny tidbit of frustration that keeps bugging me. Today I composed a letter to Avatars of War and sent it off. This is the 5th e-mail headed that way after the initial order confirmation and payment. To the e-mail on August 2nd there was no reply. I have copied the e-mail down below. Is there anyone out there who has run into issues whilst ordering from Avatars of War directly? Because the way this is going I will never ever do that again, instead I will rely on their resellers as the other models I got from AoW came from there and that all went off without a hitch.

 

Avatars of War*,

 

It has been another two weeks since my last e-mail, on August 2nd you asked me for my phone number which I provided you on the same day. So far no package from Avatars of War has arrived yet so I am still waiting on the two boxes of Dwarf Bezerkers. The order was places on June the 29th, this means that we are getting close to two months since I placed and paid for the order. In that time I have been reassured repeatedly that the item would be sent out, then there were mail and box issues and finally there was a mention of UPS which would get the package here in 48 hours, in that case they are 288 hours late (or 12 days).

On the site it was proudly proclaimed that all pre-order had been shipped on the 7th of July. Which obviously is not the case as my order predates that although I do admit it was placed after the comment that you started shipping out the models.

Anyways what is going on?

Because this is taking too long.

Regards,

 

Draxius*

 

*Names changed of course.

Ulkans and Magnets, oh my!

So today I got two surprises in the mail today.

Ulkan with CrushHammer

The Ulkans that I ordered from Pega Minidesign arrived today, the models themselves are gorgeous, the casting is excellent. The only thing I can comment on thusfar is that they are a bit taller than my Squat troops but this means they are going to be tall Squats (they are still shorter than regular models) and will most likely function as sergeants in whichever unit I stick them in. 

Ulkan with Magmagun

Their body build is as dense as the pictures suggest they are quite squat Squats (now theres a sentence you dont read often) and have feet which seem to be a bit too short for their bodies. For someone starting out with making their own models these three are amazing. I do hope he will manage something a bit more dynamic as all the models seem to have been constructed from the same basic posture.

Ulkan, Magmagun is a seperate piece

I asked one of my friends if he is willing to paint one of them. Or well am trying to sucker him into doing so. If he accepts I will most likely give him the model with the Crushhammer to serve as the lead model for my Penal Legion models. The Penal Legion is going to be constructed from the Avatar of Wars Bezerkers that still have not arrived. Their site mentions their pre-order shipping of the Bezerker kits as being completed on the 7th of July...if so it has taken them almost a month already to get to me (Their Support actually admits they hadn't shipped my models yet, so I am still waiting on a confirmation that it has been dispatched yet).

What also arrived today were the magnets I ordered from Bitspudlo finally completing the order I placed on the 27th of May. It only took them two months. I am not sure I will be using their services again in the future, not when there are so many good bit stores out there on eBay and the rest of the Internet. This does mean that I can finally finish assembling my Leman Russ Executioners as well as my actual Sentinels.

Slow-Motion

As you most likely have noticed my posting regularity has dropped significantly lately. This has motly to do with my Real Life situation at the moment. To make a long story short; I am losing my job and need to go through the hassle of navigating the labyrinthine maze of bureacracy in order to get signed up for unemployment.
I also need to start looking around for a new job. Of course being unemployed (soon) you would think I actually have more time on my hands. Although true enough in a relative short amount of time, it has also seriously done a number on my motivation to do anything related to the hobby at this time.

I am sure I will get back to working on it soon enough but until I do, I hope you're patient with me and cut me some slack whereas a lack of regular updates are concerned.

Thanks.

Heroes of Armageddon, no more.

So yesterday the Heroes of Armageddon drive for Doctors Without Borders ended. Part of me is sad to see it end and part of me is already looking forward towards the next possible one. After all Heroes of Armageddon was their second drive after the Storm Wardens.

I am kinda hoping we can reach the 40k mark with the next one if only to match our hobby there.



"We are very proud to announce that these armies have raised $31,057 for Doctors without Borders"

Friends,

the wait is over. The Heroes of Armageddon project started in April and now, almost 4 months later, we have accomplished what we set out to do: 4 armies modeled and painted to the highest standards. We have here the true Heroes of Armageddon: the Steel Legion and Blood Angels opposite Ghazghkull Thraka's Horde and the Wazdakka Gutsmek's Speed Freaks.

From the start of this project, we have tried to stay close to the 3000 point goal, but as you will see, some armies are bigger, some are smaller. All in all, it has been a tremendous effort, having models come from all over the American continent, from Hawaii to Canada to Virginia. 

For the rest of the post along with images of the armies, extras and a list of the winners I direct you towards the Heroes of Armageddon site. 

I can say that I am glad to have been a part of this and that I have sent in my donation weekly, partly as support for the worthy cause and partly for a chance at one of their weekly prizes. Of course in the latter regard I was emboldened because of winning a weekly prize right after my first donation (the Stormlord mentioned before in my blog).

Still no arrival on my Avatar of War Dwarf Bezerkers so I am going to send out a mail again about it soon. As for my other developments they have been toned down somewhat as RL is being a pain in the ass. Need to deal with losing my job soon as well as getting back on the market to find a new one.

I hope to be able to get back to painting and such soon without feeling guilty for doing so.

Cheers.

Build me an army worthy of....

...Squats!

Alright so here is my request: I would like to see what you could come up with in regards to a playable army using the models I have at my disposal. The army size I leave up to everyone to choose for themselves (if I get any takers that is).

I am aware there is a chronic shortage of Troop Transports amongst my owned models, but is mostly due to a chronic shortage of money in my wallet.

I am also still conflicted whether or not I will use alternative models instead of actual Chimeras. Especially seeing there are kits out now to convert official GW Chimera’s into wheeled versions which I like a lot more than their tracked cousins. This also goes for my use of AT-43’s Red Blok Dotch Yaga stand ins for my Basilisk.

Even though I have quite a number of Kolossus from AT-43’s Red Blok, I have already semi-abandoned them as viable stand ins for Hellhounds due to their smaller than expected size.

The reason I listed all of the models grouped as I did was in order to provide as many possible links to images of my army so you can get an idea of what you are working with (although most of you have seen these pictures before anyways).

Like most forums and such I would ask that you do not list the cost of every component in an army regiment, just list them with the total cost of the unit. For an Infantry Platoon for example the costs for a Command Squad, Regiment and Regiment.

Even though I have lost my faith in some of the models for my Squat army, I will list them anyways because one of you might have a good idea.

Classic
- 2 Living Ancestors (Pictures  One and Two)
- 5 Officers (Picture)
- 3 Sergeants (Picture)
- 3 Officers, Vox Caster and Standard Bearer (Picture)
- 9 Squat Troopers (Picture)
- 4,5 Exo Squats (Picture)
- 4 Heavy Weapon Teams (Pictures: One and Two)
- 10 Squat Bikers (Pictures: One and Two)

GW(ish)
- 1 Techpriest / Enginseer (White Dwarf Model) (Picture)
- Colonel ‘Iron Hand’ Straken (Picture)
- 5 Model, Platoon Command Squad (Commander, Vox Caster, Standard Bearer, two Plasma Gunners) (Picture)
- 30 Infantry (3 Infantry Squads, 1 Veteran Squad) (Pictures: One, Two, Three, Four)
- 3 Heavy Weapon Mortar Teams (Picture)
- 2 Leman Russ Executioners (Picture)
- 1 Basilisk (Picture)
- 1 Stormlord (Picture)

Other
- 10 Servitors (Converted Epic Landraiders, 4 Plasma, Pictures: One, Two, Three)
- 12 Guardsmen (B’Dass Troopers, No Picture)
- 2 Commissars (B’Dass Commanders, Picture)
- 10 Ogryns (Grizzly Exosuits / Holocaust Judge, Picture)
- 20 Penal Legionaires (Avatar of War, Dwarf Bezerkers)
- 10 Stormtroopers / Veterans with Carapace Armour (Hammerfall High Shield Gun Corps, Picture)
- 4 Sentinels (Robogear Werewolves, Picture, the model on the right)
- 3 Basilisks? (AT-43 Red Blok Dotch Yaga, Picture)
- 9 ??? (AT-43 Red Blok Kolossus, Picture)
- 3 Valkyrie / Vendetta (Robogear Condors, Picture)


* Most of the images are mine....but not all of them. So credit goes to the owners of each image.

Of course if you do not want to bother don't worry about it, at least you can take a look at the models I have collected so far. Thank you all for reading, appreciate it, you are what keeps me motivated.