OwlCon Gutshot Photos

The quiet town of Blood Shed, Arizona. The townsfolk have scattered, and only the gunmen remain.

"I have you now!" exclaims gambler Augustus Macrae, as he stealthily approaches his first unsuspecting victim. "Click!" said the shotgun moments later.

A powder monkey in the trees of Blood Shed.

The End of Macrae. Blasted into the next world by his son. In a bowler hat! The indignity of it all!

These photos were fun to take, but even more fun to play. Yup, I died. Again. But still, it was a good time.

OwlCon 2010 Report

Okay, so this is only peripherally related to Warhammer. I did buy some things there for the Empire army that is budding in my game room. More on that in a second.

OwlCon is an annual gaming convention held in downtown Houston, Texas, on the Rice University campus. Rice's mascot is the owl, so... OwlCon. Anyway, it is a nice little con, with a wide variety of gaming going on. Boardgames, RPGs and minis. There is a movie area (I noticed GalaxyQuest when we registered). The dealer room is not real big, and is actually the periphery of a large gaming area.

My sons and I played a game of Gutshot, one of their favorites. If you are unfamiliar with Gutshot, it is a Western skirmish game. One of the authors, Mike Mitchell, hails from Houston these days and he runs many a game in the area. He's also a heck of a guy, and one I am proud to call a friend. Him and the boys get on like a house on fire. Anyway, we played in his game Saturday night. As usual, the Dice were Not Friendly to Me. I had managed to get right behind this fellow, with a double barrel sawed-off at absolutely point blank range. Need to roll a 4 or better on 2 dice. Snake eyes. "Click!" went the hammers. "CRAP!" says I. Gunfight erupts, I get half killed, so does the other fellow (did better with my sixgun). Then my youngest son comes around the corner, smiles, and lets me have it. So I am dead first.

Another highlight of the convention for us is the MechForce area. These are four large booths, self-contained Mech cockpits, which are linked together to play MechWarrior. It is really very cool and fun, though the fellows in the uniforms are a bit odd. My favorite was when a gaming buddy's nine year old son whupped the tar out of two grown men who were there in 'uniforms' of their Battlemech company.

Purchasing wise, I bought another copy of the Empire Army book, but this is the original one from back in the 90s. Only $5. I needed it for the War Wagon and Kislevite rules. But the real prize was the bag of 7 Kislevite Horse Archers I got for $15. What a steal! And yes, that included the horses. Miscellaneous other stuff was bought, including the Second Edition box set of Battletech, a Sigmarite Warrior Priest ($8, NIB) so we can field that unit of flagellants, and other minor bits and bobs. Saw a few things that I am gonna want to get my grubbies on, including the GW Fortified Manor Terrain kit. Very cool. eBay, here I come (after payday...)

Empire Flagellants

Just a few shots of the almost finished test batch of flagellants. I will be putting them all in these dark red robes.

Mottoes painted on the wooden 'armor' worn by these flagellants. On the left, "Sigmar Saves" and on the right "Repent Sinner". Also, note the muddy feet...

Not done with all the faces yet. But the red-headed fellow on the left has his eyes done. "Spike" there in the middle has not.

Here's the whole group of four so far. Not done yet, but you should get the idea.

So, let me know what you guys think so far.

Terrain Idea for Empire.

I have been looking at the GW-made terrain online the last few days. It looks nice enough, and almost reasonably priced, especially if you get it as bits second-hand. Which got me to wondering about making modular buildings, as theirs look to be pretty much exactly that: panels you put together to make the building.

So that is what I will be trying to do myself. I figure if I do the walls two inches tall, that should be plenty for a story at 28mm. Right? Then make them, say, three inches long per segment. Make connectors for each segment, including corners. These should look like either a solid wooden post or dressed stone. Do both. Wall panels in two finishes: dressed stone and half-timbered. Also want to make some sort of floor panels. One that can form the underside of a balcony or overhanging second floor, one that can be a topside of a platform or stairwell or something. Gable end panels (three or six inch base length). Ceilings, both thatch panels and tiled.

Finally, for the fittings, I think a door or two that will attach to the wall, and some windows as well. Chimneys for the ceilings.

Updating Purchases

Alright, so I went back and looked at the purchases made so far. And it's worse than I thought. I've updated the Damage So Far in the sidebar. Over $300 so far.


I'll update the minis purchased listing later today, after I check the mail.

How many flagellants is too many flagellants?

Crazed nihilistic homocidal masochistic fanatics? Absolutely!

Fearsome troops? Positively!

Interesting to pain? Depends on your tastes, but... possibly.

Got ten of them in today. I guess that means I will be needing a Warrior Priest so I can field the unit. Oh well...

I also got a few other neat things in today, including six White Wolves, some Skinks and various Lizardmen bits, and the Elector Count of Ostland. My pistoliers (3) have arrived as well. I need to double check the numbers on my spending so far. it seems WAY too low to me. I think I have spent more than it shows, sadly.

Finally for tonight, I am working on a big Excel project to help make an army following the newest edition of Empire Army Book. Having a few issues coaxing it out the way I want it, but when it is done I know I'll like it.

So, good night, and remember: Flogging yourself is a sin!

In today...

I got four packages today. And I bought something locally, as well. I hope my wife doesn't find this blog!

One of the four packages had Battlemechs in it, so nothing to do with this blog. And the seller gave me two left arms for one of the minis, not one of each. I think he is recasting, to be honest. Won't be buying from him again.

Another package was a set of forty painted Zulus that I sent off. They look pretty good, and will be making an appearance on my other blog, Victoria's Boys in Red.

I bought the current Empire army book at a local store. Got it for 45% off, as he had overstocked and offered it to me at cost. Now I can figure out what I need to actually build a legal army...

Otherwise, I got the next-to-newest Empire army book in one package. Very handy. Lots of good fluff material and plenty of artwork and painting tips.

I also got some minis in that I had ordered off eBay. Except for one or two things, they were pretty good. They include (already accounted for in the listing):

• 18 Swordsmen
• 17 Halberdiers
• 3 Reiksguard command (foot)
• 1 Light Acolyte

First Casualty of WarHemorrhaging...

I received a package today via Priority Mail. A purchase from eBay.

Problem is, the envelope was empty. Nine Empire handgunners and an Engineer. Missing. Huge, taped up tear through the back of the envelope. Fifteen bucks down the drain if our brave Postal workers can't find them. Yah. Like that is gonna happen.

More than a little annoyed right now. What kind of idiot packs ten metal figures into a manilla envelope? Flat rate Priority Mail with an envelope costs exactly 5 freaking cents less than flat rate with a box. The box itself is FREE at the post office. Grrr...

The Lizards of Lustria - In the Beginning...

...there were lizards. Then the frogs (Slaan) worked their diabolical mage-science on them, and made Lizardmen. Not satisfied with that, they made different types: Saurus, and Skinks, and even Kroxigor.

When it was decided we would forge a path back into Warhammer, I knew we had to have a Lizardman army.

"Why?" you may ask?

Simple. I already own quite a few, all painted up and ready to go. They can pull double duty for me: Venusian lizardmen for my VSF Universe and Lustrian skins, saurus, etc. for Warhammer. Being a cheapskate, I think that is great.

At this time, I have the following already painted (*indicates the unit includes a champion):

• 1x Saurus on Cold One, black and red
• 9x Saurus warrior, black and red (plastic)
• 7x Skink archer, green blue and yellow (plastic)
• 10x Skink javelins, red and pink*
• 10x Skink javelins, dk. blue and lt. blue*
• 10x Skink archer, green and yellow (plastic)*
• 10x Skink archer, red and orange (plastic)*

As far as the unpainted ones go:

• 1x Stegadon
• 2x Skink champions
• 1x Skink champion (plastic, 6 ed.)
• 12x Skink spears
• 6x Skink drummers
• 1x Skink totem bearer
• 10x Saurus warriors (plastic)
• 2x Saurus spearmen
• 22x Skink archers (plastic)
• 1x Skink warchief (triceraton skull helmet)
• 1x Saurus Cold One rider
• 3x Saurus Temple Guard command (hero, standard, music)

Somewhere I have some more Skink totem bearers that I have modified to be hauling really big clubs, but I am not sure how many. Five, maybe. And, I think, a Skink shaman. Need to dig those out.

Emperor Karl Franz Orders You to Buy!

Well, the first army that my sons and I decided on was the Empire.

They have lots of neat infantry, knights, cannons, and steam tanks! Plus, I already had a couple of things from many, many years ago. Namely, a Great Cannon and the War Wagon. Now, the cannon lost its crew somewhere along the way, so I had to buy two of them off eBay. But the War Wagon is complete. Just needs to be reassembled and repainted. The old paint job leaves a LOT to be desired. But then, that was 15 years ago.

So, this week, I have ordered:

• 2x crewmen for the cannon
• 8x knightly orders (plastic box set)
• 1x Burning Sun Grandmaster
• 1x Burning Sun Standard Bearer
• 1x Reiksguard Hero (mounted)
• 1x Light Wizard
• 1x Acolyte
• 17 x Halberdiers (plastic)
• 18x Swordsmen (plastic)
• 9x Handgunners (plastic)
• 1x Engineer
• 3x Reiksguard (foot) - a command set
• 6x Knights of White Wolf
• 1x Mounted Warrior Priest of Ulric

I suppose I need to get painting. Fast. I need an Army Book, too, if anyone has one they don't want, let me know. So far, I'm into this for $158.46. Not including shipping for some of them.

-J

My God, What Have I Done?

Hello everyone.

I have lost my mind. After years of being treated like a peon by Games Workshop, I finally escaped their nefarious clutches. I discovered other genres, especially my current passion, Victorian Science Fiction which crosses the line between history and science fantasy. I found minis - made of actual metal - that cost less than a $3.00 plastic.

I thought I was safe.

I was wrong.

You see, I have two sons. Ages 14 and 11. And they kind of want to play games, but... most historical games leave them cold. They take too long and require too much thinking. A friend (and we're re-considering that label!) suggested Warhammer. The boys perked upo, and so it began.

To misquote the immortal Michael Corleone, "Every time I think I'm getting out, they pull me back in!"