Holiday News, Awards, and Anniversaries

Well, that crazy Chicago winter could be an excuse for my hibernation, sure, lets call it; but I am back with some cool news that is late to the point most likely.

First things first, I won! The internet is full of awesome, real awards; and this is the highest among them!

This fella is called the Liebster Award and given by bloggers to bloggers. A tip of the cap with no wag of the finger. So that is cool. Here are the qualifications.

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog linking it to the blogger who has given it you.

2. Pass the award to your top 5 favourite blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of their posts to notify them that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.

3. Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you have made someones day!

4. There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else but its nice if you take the time to do so.  

I am totally going to break the rules and issue a challenge! I am going to nominate only 3 fellow blogs, until I see some returns from this nomination! Sneaky Hobbitseesssss

1. There and Blog Again

Brent, occasional blogger, ordinary friend ;), and evil Colts supporter! while his updates maybe hot or cold, his constant torch bearing for The Lord of the Rings SBG game, now The Hobbit, proves his worth. Organizer of the now largest Indy Rings US event, hopefully this can spur some more frequent updates! 

2. Purple Sounds Wargaming

Matt made it out to last years Adepticon and hopefully we can get him out again! Loves to paint and lots of new models going up all the time. Keep up the good work!

3. Chicago Terrain Factory

Rich, member of the inner sanctum of Adepticon; I admit that I have not devoted enough time reading all the back log of great articles but real cool emphasis on historical models. Great stuff there. 

With this glorious blogger achievement a weird milestone of my hobby world has been reached. 11 years have passed since stepping from my door and traveling down the path of hobby stuff. This odd year milestone is represented by Rings of Paint. 

 While it may not be 11 years worth of paint, it is damn near close. Time to start a new pile of paint and mixing pad for the future.


Up next, some new game came out to preface the release of a great new movie. 

Yes folks, coming to you in 3D and BluRay, The Hobbit! Lots of model previews and reviews have been all over the web so we can avoid that repetition but they can be found here. Gamesworkshop

A lot has been said over the Starter set drama, being that the starter rulebook did not contain complete profiles for the models. While some slight of hand with GW's marketing is surely present (it was actually a great profit practice from that sole angle) overall I think GW did not mess up this release too badly.

Yes the main rulebook costs $85, but that is in line with the other big systems, Warhammer and Warhammer 40k. From an equality stand point it is an upgrade to The Lord of the Rings popularity.

Just like the first go around, GW has made some great models based on the movie to those that are interested in those factions or sculpts. Some veteran players like myself are waiting for the juicier releases that will premiere with the later movies.

 No new Rings armies planned, but adding a custom built Watcher in the water to my goblin force is in the works. Having not seen one of these on the table at this past Bilbo's Birthday Bash tournament I really wanted to get one out there and deep strike some enemy formations.

 I finally want to get my troll catapult chief painted up and maybe clear out some of the backlog.

 Another side project is something completely different and going revolutionary with some Legends of the high seas marines!

Bilbo's Birthday Bash 2012 Coverage

Bilbo's Birthday Bash has come and gone with another great weekend in the books. The overall feeling was more like a reunion of friends than a competitive tournament, although there were some tight races and games to be had.

Some raw results until the official ones go up are

Best Overall- Kyle Toth
Best General- Terry Schaffer
Best Sportsman- Tyler Dumontelle
Best Appearance Overall- Jim Wappell
Best Good Army- Jeremy Williams
Best Evil Army- John Humphrey

With the good vs evil format and requiring 2 armies, some awards were split between good and evil factions.

Best good and best evil armies were split appearance awards after the best overall appearance.

 Some real quick game reports. Game 1 was against Jim Wappell, with my Rohan vs his Easterling charioteers.

 Pictures do not do it justice but it was a great looking game.

 The king proved his worth by taking down Erkenbrand in 1 turn of combat.

 The rest of the chariot gang did not fair so well. Result Major Victory for Rohan.

 Game 2 led the dunland raiders into the jaws of Gondor/Rohan. Not many photos, but rest assured, the vikings got their tails handed to them.

 Rohan continued to prove their worth when facing some orcs. Round 2 went against Tyler Dumontelle's Mordor in a game of Lords of Battle. The high courage let Grimbold and the royal guard slip through to punk a shadowlord and his cloaked entourage. Rohan carried the day with a minor victory. 

 Game 4 landed the underskilled vikings against some dwarves in the same situation, lords of battle. Some deployment trickery and flank relocation allowed my force to crush the center of the board while holding off the slower dwarves on the flanks. The tide was turned when the random game ending just would not end and the dwarf kill count climbed higher and higher. Surprisingly it came out to a dead tie when the nunbers were crunched.

 Game 5 started the recon rotation against John Humprey's Angmar force led by the witchking.

 I got the chance to slip some riders off the board but the tricky magic delayed my complete escape route and things got close with some orcs slipping away. End result was a minor victory again for Rohan.

 The last round was against Elrond and Gil-galad, least to say, while I got a huge amount of wargs off the board, the killing field ended up giving the elves more points for the minor loss to me. Odd scenario that allows an army to simply eliminate the opponent and not actually win in the recon escape department.

The first official tournament using the new book scenarios was an overall success. Some of the Gamesworkshop FAQ's clash with the actual objectives of some of the scenarios and the victory points make for some weird situations were you do not need to play an objective; but some slight tweaks can make for success. In the end, the games are faster and less archery crippling. 

While the legions book is gone, some concerns over theme were put to rest. Armies all clocked in between 35-45 models and there were not many egregious flaunting of themes. Some of the more powerful armies on paper were not present, for example 50% bow harad.

The Fords of Isen

 With less than a week to go, and the finishing touches have been, well finished. There is a small matter for 4 models left to paint but the rest is all done. The tournament format is 3 games with a good army and 3 games with an evil army. Who couldn't make matching forces...

 Giving my dunland army another chance in the spot light it sets a great Rohan scene in the fords. While the stat lines maybe less than stellar for a lot of the army, it fits a great theme and display for the force.

 I really wanted to capture a chaotic scene and a dynamic unity to the display. The bright difference in army colors also adds some clarity to a scattered appearance.

 It was the first time using a resin product called, envirotex. The wooden box sprung some leaks but in the end the resin gave a great water look.

 Clash in the center with Theodred and the Dunland King.

Really looking forward to seeing all the armies next weekend and check back for event coverage later.

Walking Red

 After surprising myself and finishing 40 models in the past three weeks; two realizations dawned, I do not like painting that many models that quickly, and trying to watch the walking dead and paint does not work. 

 So here are some of the foot grunts for for this Rohan force. I tried to mix up color schemes on them just to break up the armies appearance. Not everyone can dress the same....

 Dead center there is the westfold's leader, Grimbold, with his big old viking axe.

"Are you not entertained!"

Rounding off the army is Theodred and his royal guard contingent. I veered from the Lannister red and took up the anti-Russel Crowe flag in ancient Rome. 

 Royal guard models seem to be a hot commodity with people nowadays, so I thoroughly used up my extra rohan heroes.

The Fords of Isen are ready for some dead models and water effects and we should have quiet the scene.

Viking Law

The Cavalry has arrived! HBO's costuming sure has been an inspiration for these army, especially with my Westfold Redshields led by Erkenbrand.

Going forward, these conversions can also double as the elite sons of eorl units for future variations of Rohan forces. 

 The gamble of using some generic historical knights paid off. While GW's constant price hikes, it was a great way to finally get this army on the table and not drop 3/4 of the wallet. I believe that when playing GW games and going to a tournament, if everyone built and painted their armies exactly like the box showed, it would be a boring looking tournament.

You have to go outside the box sometimes. While walking through the Baltimore tournament halls way back when; the armies I still remember are the ones with over the top, out of the box designs over the plain, expertly painted forces.

 A couple horses still need some paint...

Progress is going better than I thought. With now half the army finished and 3.5 weeks on the timeline, I am hoping for no all night paint sessions the week of...