After having dove in head-first into Infinity, I've sifted through the two main forums extensively, both the Official Infinity Forums and Data-Sphere's Forums, not to mention various blogs and podcasts devoted to the game. Obviously there is a wealth of information to share, including the specific sources I mention earlier, but there are a few philosophies about the game in general that appeal to me as a long-time wargamer, and make the game truly stand out among the rest.
The first of these I've cited in the headline of this article: It's Not Your List, It's You.
So why is this game philosophy so appealing, and what does it mean to you as a gamer and the wargaming community as a whole?
So there's this Podcast run by a Mr. Schadle and a Mr. Parcel called MayaCast, perhaps you've heard of it? No? Well, go HERE, and give them a look see and a listen. If you're even remotely interested in Infinity, you'll thank me for it.
If you already know who these gentlemen are, and enjoy the game of Infinity, then you know that in Episode 7, they tossed out a contest to their listeners. The grand prize of which will be an Operation: Ice Storm box!
What…did you expect me to not try for this?
I'd like to follow-up to my last article on Infinity with a bit about the gameplay itself, and why I find it so refreshing as a system. Let's be honest though, all I've played for the past 12 years is GW games, and before that it was Classic Battletech from FASA. So anything new would technically be termed "refreshing". However, I feel Infinity brings a truer sense of the word in it's gameplay and nuances.
No, I'm not going to break with tradition and start writing Battle Reports on this blog. At least not yet.
Typically there would be a painting-in-progress article before the final figure is revealed, but seeing as this was a single figure commission, there really isn't enough meat on the bones to flesh out two articles.
The direction received on the color scheme for this figure was fairly vague, and purposefully so. The only real requirement was that the figure was anchored in the traditional red and gold of the Inquisition. Past that, Paul wanted me to have some freedom when it came to the paint scheme.
Let's see where that freedom took me!
Remember me swearing off commission work for a while? Well, when a single-figure request came in, I really couldn't turn it down. Especially when I learned it was for a gentleman that is involved in a podcast called The Guildhall Podcast, and that the character wasn't for the tabletop at all, rather his Inquisitor character from the Dark Heresy game by Fantasy Flight.
After a few emails to get down exactly what he was looking for, I dug into my bits boxes and really went to town.
Zab posed a great question for his Community Topic that I think we've all had to deal with at some point in our hobby careers. What happens when we make mistakes, and how should we deal with them?
I can personally answer this question based on personal experience…numerous times over.
And over…and over…
Yes, the picture above is me with Jen and Alissa from The Screaming Heretic, in the WarStore/Secret Weapon Booth!!
Gencon was an amazing experience. This was my first time, and I can guarantee it will not be my last. The people I met for the first time, and the folks I got to catch up with who I don't see but a time or two a year, the city and the time away with the wife. All of it was an experience I'm counting down until the next time.
Yes, I'm aware this post is a touch late, but ah well.
So what all happened?
Exciting times for Tim this week, folks! I promised an update as to why I've been somewhat silent in the hobby front these past few weeks or so. Here it is!
For those of you who don't know, I do quite a bit more than work with scale miniatures. If we dial the way-back machine for 15 years ago, I graduated college with a Bachelors of Fine Arts in Studio Art. If we dial it even further back, I've been drawing comics and cartoons since I was a wee lad. About 9 years ago I cartooned for Cracked Magazine, and even designed the cover for the novel "The Choosing".
Well earlier this year, I got the chance to work on an exciting new project with Iron Box Games and Jeff Bellinger, the creator of the game Killer Bunnies, called Fill in the Blank!
For probably 2 years now, Kraut Scientist has been on me about writing a detailed series on my Centurions Marine Chapter. Considering I promised I'd write what was requested of me in the comments of my birthday post, KS gets his wish!
This is a force that took over 14 months of work to complete, from assembly to paint and to play. This army was chosen as a Players' Choice the first year I brought it to the Adepticon 40K Championships, and won Best Artisan in the Combat Patrol twice. So I'm honestly not sure why it's taken me so long to write about what has been my most successful and highly converted army to date.
This will be a series of articles, as there's just far too much to cover in a single go. However I do promise in-depth conversion details with pictures, how I did it, parts I used, and painting techniques.
I guess I really should have done this sooner, huh?
Just two wee articles ago, I thanked everyone for helping make Miniature Tim a success for the past 3 years and asked for topics that you, the readers, would like me to cover. Those topics will be covered in a new series, "Community Topics". The best part is that while I will be covering those who commented in the birthday post first, "Community Topics" is an open series that I will continue to take requests for! Don't hesitate to propose something that you've been searching for good coverage on, with little or no satisfying results so far, we'll get it covered here!
Dai brought up a great topic, and one that is highly pertinent to what I'm currently prepping for: Painting Competitions. What's so great about them? Why should we enter them? What if I'm not good enough?
Let's dive right in!
Have you ever been asked to try something new, and refused just because you didn't want to? Not for an actual valid reason, mind you, but simply because you really didn't want to try something new.
Okay, now if you think you've never done that, we can all have a good laugh and just admit it. Whether it is with the types of food we eat, the television shows we watch, we all have a comfort zone that we just don't like to move outside of. There isn't a logical reason for it, it's just because we don't want to.
But can this "Comfort Zone" Syndrome exist in our gaming and hobby world as well?
We've all be through it. Years of wargaming have taught us that there is never just one rulebook written for a game that will not be replaced later by a new edition. Warhammer Fantasy is going on it's 9th Edition, 40K is on the brink of 6.5 or 7th depending on who you talk to, Infinity just released that their 3rd edition is due before the end of the year, etc. so-on and so-forth.
So why is it that time and time again, we always get so bent out of shape each time a new edition of our favorite game is rolled out?
Before we dive in here, I have to admit I stole the headline for this article from Tom Schadle. He mentioned it in one of his own blog posts and it was too good to pass up. It really tied together all my thoughts for this article into one concise phrase and I've got to give him the plug and credit for it. He coined it in his article on the new GW Toolkit, that can be found here.
I won't rehash why it's a bad decision to purchase that Toolkit, as Tom does an excellent job. Go clicky-clicky and read it from him.
I do, however, want to address the main theme as it relates to our hobby overall. I'd also like to bring up that the pendulum can swing both ways in regards to Tom's words of wisdom. As much as you can easily over spend in this hobby, you can actually under spend as well.
Originally this was going to be the final Adepticon Coverage report. Considering this is more of a synopsis of one single class I took at Adepticon instead of overall coverage of an event or something larger, I thought I'd separate it out and really dig into not just this class, but sculpting in general to some degree.
My forays into sculpting started back in 2006-ish, with my Black Templars, teaching myself ways to sculpt wild fur to somewhat match the Fantasy Chaos Warriors, and capes/cloaks. Fast forward to about 3 years ago, and I hadn't gone any farther in my Green Stuff skills. Not because I didn't want to, but more because I was intimidated by sculpting. So in 2011, I took a class by Joe Orteza at Adeption to learn some basic Green Stuff Sculpting skills.
Turns out I never needed to be intimidate. Why?
MayaCast is a (kinda) new podcast for Infinity the Game, by Corvus Belli. It's run by Tom Schadle and Kip Parcell. I say "kinda" because they were the hosts for a previous podcast, and have moved on to start their own. Their first episode posted yesterday, and while a little rough, something they admit themselves, they are vets and I expect them to refine their format quickly.
Okay, so typically I don't advertise or review much on here. I've got to really be behind a product or site to give it some time on this blog. Not because I'm special or anything, but because most of you don't come here to read stuff like that, and I want to make sure when you do come to my little corner of the interwebz you kind of know what to expect. However I do now, and will always, support those who try and better the hobby community through their own efforts for others,and that's essentially what a podcast is folks.
Lately I've been diving head first into Infinity. Honestly ever since I painted that Tohaa Soec Ops figure. I've already got a fairly substantial Yu Jing collection I'm chomping at the bit to assemble and paint, and have been learning the rules. Definitely expect some Infinity content in the future. That being said. When MayaCast launched, I immediately listened to their first episode and enjoyed it immensely. I only see good things on the horizon for this podcast.
Check out the links to their blog and Facebook page below, and show them some love and support.
www.facebook.com/InfinityMayaCast
- Tim
Ever since 2007, I've been tempted to buy a Mars-Pattern Warhound Titan. Tempted so far, in fact, as to bring enough money to buy one not to 1, not to 2, but to 4 events where Forge World was selling. 2 Games Days and 2 Adepticons, respectively. And yes, this past Adepticon was one of those times.
This time around though, there was a greater temptation than most, as they ran an Adepticon Titanicus event, based on the old Adeptus Titacnicus rules, only in 28mm scale! That's right, the field was littered with Reavers and Warhounds galore! Imperial god-machines raged against Chaos possessed engines of destruction in a cityscape inspired by the buildings from the old game.
Take a gander at the in-game shots and make sure to wipe the drool from your chin as you do.
With Part 2 of my 2014 Adepticon Coverage, I thought I'd gather all the Crystal Brush entries I took pictures of, and gather them up for everyone to drool over. Kind of like I did in person. Just as much as the army shots are inspiration for large-scale projects, the Crystal Brush entries are inspiration for competition pieces, paint schemes and conversions all at the same time.
While I didn't enter anything this year, purely as a result of my own procrastination with my Salamanders, that certainly didn't make me spend any less time at the display cabinets. Every chance I had to make an excuse to see what new entries had popped up since the last time I had checked, I took.
Now it's time to share all the entries with you!
You can't go to an event like Adepticon and not take pictures of the amazing projects that you see there. You can't help but soak in everything you see and just let your mind revel in the sheer glut of inspiration from around the world that you have to pull from. So many hobbyists, so many new ideas that you wouldn't have thought of until seeing them in person!
It also tends to drive my own hobby ambitions with thoughts of "I wonder if I could pull that off…" and "Oh that's awesome, I bet I could work that idea into project 'x'…". Even though I've driven myself to exhaustion with my Salamanders, seeing all of these armies makes me want to work on the hobby even more.
The downside to an event this size is that you just can't hope to capture everything. There are just so many!! I've grabbed as much as I could, though, and have piled them all here for you to glean as much joy, awe and inspiration out of them as I did.
On to the pictures!!
I swear I am never doing this again. The two weeks before Adepticon have been hell on my sleep schedule, and I will never procrastinate like this again...
...and if you believe that, I have a bridge to sell you. Heck, my wife doesn't even believe that.
How about we get to the painting in progress shots before I delude myself any more than I already have?
Dear Lord in Heaven I'm tired. I stopped painting last night around 12:30 in the morning to snap some pictures of what I've got done so far. Like I said, if I don't just grab pictures when I can, I'll never have a log of this project!
So far I've got the tactical squad, recon squad, the Tartaros Terminators, the Thunderfire and it's gunner and the Drop Pod all ready for a gloss coat and pin/oil wash.
On to the pictures!!!
With only 9 days and counting, there had darn well better be some painting progress! The only problem with the way I'm painting this force is that I'm working on all of it at once, and nothing is technically done yet. I think I've hit a good pace with the painting though, and considering I've got one more solid weekend between me and Adepticon, I should be good.
This time around, I've got a bevy of painting updates from my Tactical Squad, to my Ironclad Contemptor.
I had this great plan while I was in Vegas for work this past week to work on some update posts and keep everyone apprised of progress...
Anyone else notice how well that didn't work? Apparently the Luxor doesn't think it's important to have WiFi in the rooms. I can't exactly upload photos or a post in that situation. Especially since if I'm not in my room while on that trip, I'm either on the trade show floor working, or with clients at a dinner, or a meeting with clients...you get the point.
...who wants to see pictures? I want to show pictures!
Yes, I'm well aware that a Contemptor Dreadnought and an Ironclad Dreadnought are two different things, but I am determined to make this 30K force work within the confines of both the current codex, and the Heresy-Era look. I want an Ironclad Dreadnought in my force, so that means conversion work. I mean c'mon, who doesn't want an AV 13 walker that's just meant to wade into the thick of it and beat face with something called a Seismic Hammer. Especially for Salamanders!
Of course, in true Miniature Tim fashion, I have to make this hard on myself and convert something as intricate as a Relic Contemptor with less than a month until Adepticon.
Wheeeeee!!!
Okay, so I thought it would be time for painting progress shots…and of a sort, I suppose there are some in here. What has actually happened is that my hobby ADD got the better of me, and I started working on my only 2 vehicles in the 1000 points; a Rhino and a Drop Pod.
No, I didn't buy an Kharybdis Assault Claw. Those things are huge, expensive, and not appropriate for a codex-entry Drop Pod. I'm saving my money for other huge and expensive hobby purchases. I did, however, purchase a Heresy-Era Rhino to use with these guys.
Have I mentioned yet that I'm falling "in hate" with the pounds of Resin that is in this army?
I really feel like I've hit a good stride with the Salamanders. I model some, I paint some, I model some more… It's been a nice way to break up the monotony and rigors of slamming together a 1000 point force in 2 months that I can actually be proud to field on the table. It doesn't hurt that the airbrushing is a new shiny way to do things, and learning it helps keep the interest as well.
To lead this merry bunch of green marines, I'm going to paint one of them blue! But first, I need to build him…
"Wait…Tim, I thought you were just using the Rapier Laser Destroyer for this model? What do you mean 'Conversion'?"
Yeah, I thought that too. Until I pulled it out of it's soap-laden bath only to discover that I was missing an entire side of track. And not only did I completely miss this glaring obstacle, I bought the dang thing over a year ago, and have no hope in hell of trying to make a claim on it with Forge World. I'm not sure if I lost the piece, or never had it to begin with it was so long ago. So what's a guy to do?
Well this guy decides to say !@#% it, and make his own tracks.
With my list changing from 1000 points of punch in the face, to a more fire support style, I added a Techmarine and Thunderfire Cannon. Over a year ago, I ordered a Rapier Laser Destroyer specifically to use as a Thunderfire Cannon in the future, along with a tong of other Resin Crack, and I was finally going to be able to do so! However, that kit isn't technically meant to be used for that purpose as it doesn't come with a Techmarine.
So I did what every converter worth their salt would do. I made one.
Apparently, I'm a more prolific blogger when I'm under the gun with a deadline looming rather than when I just meander around projects in my spare time. I've actually taken well over 100 pictures of in-progress shots of the Salamanders coming together, both from a modeling perspective and a painting one.
This time, we've got a squad of 5 Tartaros Terminators on deck!
When we last left our heroes, they were soaking in a tub of water with an excess of degreasing soap added to it. With the Recon Marines built and pinned to cork stoppers for easier painting, and the Dark Elf Corsairs bought to pillage cloaks from, it was time to give these guys a quick scrub and rinse so they could join the budding 1000 point force.
Why in God's green earth did I have to buy an entirely resin army again?!?!
This year, my team for Adepticon has decided to go with the tried and true power armor for our theme. The bonus, you would think, is that many of us already own Marines as armies.
Huzzah! No Work!
…yeah, you know me better than that, right? I'm actually using this as an opportunity to use some of the Forge World resin-crack I've had for a while now, and move forward with a Pre-Heresy Era Salamanders Force! I've loved the story behind the XVIII Legion ever since I got back into 40K during 3rd Edition, and am looking forward to collecting them as both a playable force, and a labor of love.
I'm starting off with a squad of 5 Recon Marines, and a full 10-man unit of MkII Tactical Marines.
Well, my first steps at least. I know plenty of folks out there are already using the airbrush as a much-valued tool in their hobby arsenal. But how is a beginner supposed to…well, begin?
I've dug around the interwebz, and come up with an amazing amount of information on not only airbrushing within the miniature war-gaming hobby, but in the scale modeling hobby, and just airbrushing in general. Everything from forums, to blogs (surprising, I know) and YouTube are amazing sources of information, inspiration and material that are invaluable to the beginner.
So rather than make everyone else dig like I did, I've pilled it all together here!
Well, technically it began about 3 months ago when I started soaking all my Forge World Resin, but that's besides the point.
Adepticon is held annually in Lombard, IL, just shy of Chicago, and is one of the most anticipated events in the tabletop hobby industry. The first to pioneer and make popular the famed 40K Team Tournament, Adepticon has expanded since it's beginnings to include virtually every genre and style of tabletop gaming, and is host to CMON's Crystal Brush competition.
I've been attending Adepticon starting in 2006, and haven't missed one since. So what's in store for this year?
I know I am.
Looking back to this time last year, and what I had wanted to accomplish…I never did finish those Necrons I started. I also didn't enter more competitions, or competition pieces, as even though I painted more figures, it was for a single category. With the release of the Tau, and more Heresy goodness, I know I didn't avoid the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome.
I never seem to put up a winning average when it comes to New Year Hobby Resolutions, so I've decided to forego any this year in lieu of something a little different.
So what do I have planned?
