A buddy of mine asked me to paint some Infinity models for him.  They're actually pretty nice.  I decided to do some custom urban bases.  I masked off the bases and drybrushed on some yellow highway markers.  I think it worked out pretty well.

Corellian Conflict

I was told that this is a little more casual for Star Wars Armada...

My friends and I are going to give it a shot.  I'll let you know how it turns out.  I'm cautiously optimistic.  I like the game, but hate the tournament meta.  The starting fleets in this setup can only have one upgrade card each.  That should help things out quite a bit.

Upcoming Primaris Marines Stuff

I'm really underwhelmed by how the Primaris Marines perform in combat.  Necron Warriors seem 100% superior to Intercessors in every way.

BUT...

They're so pretty.  GW teased some upcoming stuff over the weekend.  I'm really digging the Librarian, but without the glowing eyes.  It makes him a little cartoony.  The Reivers (skull faced guys) are OK, but their legs look a little off.  I'm curious to see when they're due to come out and how much they'll cost.  Supposedly, you don't need glue.  That probably means they won't be pose-able.

Star Wars Armada Store Championship

I went to a store championship for Star Wars Armada over the weekend and had a bad enough time that I went home afterwards and made some hard decisions.  I came to a couple of realizations.

1. I like casual play.
2. At the event level, games like Armada and X-Wing have no room for casual play.
3. There is no non-event level.  All games are either events or prep work for events.
3. If there is no room for casual play, there is no room for me.

So, I unfollowed all of the Facebook groups centered around these games and boxed up all my stuff for eventual sale.  I thought about this for awhile.  If the situation is different in your area, great.  In mine, people are either playing competitively in events or playing competitively with the same lists to prepare for events.  I don't have the time or inclination necessary to learn every upgrade in the game and then to practice with the same fleet list over and over and over again until I get good enough to not lose 90% of the games I play.

I've actually been really frustrated with my gaming situation lately.  I'm not sure what to do.  I might just give up on table top gaming for awhile and try to talk people into playing coop board games.

MOAR Painting

I've really been on a roll lately with the painting.  I basically go to work, come home to paint and sleep.  Good times.  This weekend should be fun.  I'll actually be playing some games for a change.

I painted up the three Inceptors.  Again, this is a dumb name.  Plus, the legs are weirdly posed.  This is easily my least favorite of the models in the new core set.  They do look nice painted up though.

I need to figure out some spot details for the backs of these guys.  They're just VERY plain without the belt pouches.  I might try to do some sort of glowing exhaust effect.

Here's a group shot of everything painted so far.

More Primaris Marines!

I was so happy with the test model that I decided to paint up a 5 man squad of Intercessors.  It took about four and a half hours of straight painting to get these guys done.  That's really not so bad.  It does mean that I have about 15-20 hours remaining to paint the rest of the set if I knuckle down.

Here they are with the Lieutenant from yesterday.  I was worried that they might be a little dark, but I'm digging the overall effect.  I made the bases pretty light to act as a contrast.  I think your base should always set off the model.

I think the pouches make for a pretty solid spot color.

I'll write out the full paint scheme in a day or two so that I don't forget.

Primaris Lieutenant Test Model

I haven't decided on a name for the Chapter yet, but I did decide on a color scheme.  I wanted to go with something generally dark, but recognizably descended from the Ultramarines.  I went with a very dark grey armor with whatever the heck color blue on the shoulders, helmet, knee caps and backpack.  The Lieutenant will have a white helmet and the Sergeants will have red.

Let me know what you think.  I'm particularly happy with the face and the little display thing on his arm.

Primaris Space Marines Army so far...

This is what the Dark Imperium boxed set comes with from a Primaris standpoint, plus the one Contemptor I had on sprue and assembled over the weekend.

HQ - Captain in Gravis Armour w/Master-crafted Sword and Boltstorm Gauntlet (102+10+25)
HQ - 2x Lieutenants (140+4)
Elites - Contemptor Dreadnought (98+65)
Troops - 5x Intercessors (100)
Troops - 5x Intercessors (100)
Fast Attack - 3x Inceptors (135+90)
Heavy Support - 5x Hellblasters (100+90)

That's a total of 1,059 points.  Not too shabby for $60 and a traded Deathwatch dude still on sprue (which I traded for the Contemptor).  I'll end up adding in AdMech stuff that I already own to bulk the list out to 2,000 points.

Primaris Space Marines

I ended up going to my local gaming store for a midnight release of Warhammer 40k 8th Edition.  I had sort of committed to not buying anything, but that didn't work out even a little bit.

I ended up splitting a box with another dude and paid $60 for the Primaris half of a core set, but no rulebook.  I have a copy of the free core rules and the half a dozen other pages I'd need to play matched play from the Russian leaks.  I did pick up the Imperium 2 and Xenos 1 books so that I can add non-Space Marine units to my newly acquired Primaris Marines and also my Necrons.

I took a NASTY fall down some steps over the weekend, so I ended up spending all of Sunday on the couch.  I figured I'd assemble a coupe of the new models...

...and then the rest of them...

...and then I'd sand the bases...

...and then I'd drill out the bolters...

...and then I'd prime them.

Yup.  I built, based, drilled and primed over a thousand points of new models today.  Now to decide on what color to paint them!

When I drill out the weapon barrels, I use the little scribing tool on the left to make a small indent into the center of the barrel.  Then I use the small or large drill, depending on the barrel size.  It's a small detail, but it helps.

I'm Back!

...and I actually painted something.

I have a Star Wars Armada Store Championship to go to in Bel Air, MD this weekend.  I'm going to be using a list made up of an Imperial Class Star Destroyer and two basic Arquitens ships.  I primed the Arqs last night and slapped a little paint on them after work last night.  The scheme is stupid easy, but I like how it's kind of menacing.