A sad farewell and the Heresy of it all

Not wishing to start with sad news, but I have to mention that today the world lost a true great. Sir Terry Pratchett OBE author of the outstanding Discworld books (and many others) passed away. Like always I have no great words so I will leave this section here with his daughters words and few of my favorite quotes of his.

"Terry took Death's arm and followed him through the doors and on to the black desert under the endless night."

“It's not worth doing something unless someone, somewhere, would much rather you weren't doing it”

“Stories of imagination tend to upset those without one”

“There are times in life when people must people know when not to let go. Balloons are designed to teach small children this”

“I have no use for people who have learned the limits of the possible”

 Terry Pratchett 1948 to 2015

So since my last blog life has got in the way again and have done close to bugger all in the hobby department. I did manage to replay the greatest battle in 30k history in the form of Fantasy Flights Horus Heresy board game. I got this game a while ago really cheap and have never played it, so it was a bit of learning curve. The game represents the siege of the Emperors Palace on Terra. 

This is one BIG box!

Being the first game we set up the board, decided who was going to be which side, I got the heroic defenders of the palace and my friend got the vile, underhanded traitorous dogs.

This game needs a bit of set up which is fairly simple and you just have to follow the steps in the book.

In the BIG box is a very BIG board. 

The board is divided into 3 sections, the main section has 3D fortifications, factories and the Palace itself. This is where the the playing pieces go and the fighting happens. On the right is where you put the orders and you will find the Vengeful Spirit. Along the bottom is the Initiative Track which is a really clever mechanic that controls who's turn it is and when certain events happen. Above the Vengeful Spirit is the Hero Wound Track and the Combat Iteration Track. I don't really want to go into all the rules here as this will turn into the longest blog ever, but next time I play I will take pictures and go into few more details.

 


The playing pieces are really cool and I was tempted to paint them, but I talked myself into not doing it until I knew I have the time to finish them all (so as there are so many I never will!). The bases give you the combat info simply by having a number of pegs equal to there strength. The Heroes are represented by cardboard standees, it would have been really nice to have figures for them, but I guess you can't have everything.

This game does not use dice but uses cards instead, I have heard it said that gentlemen only play with cards, but I like dice. I was a bit put off by this to start with, but after a few fights I was sold, it works really well and you have to do a fair bit planning, which can be said about the whole game really. It's very tactical and you have to think out lots of plans and possibilities and reactions using what yo have, unlike some other games this is far from frustrating and really makes the game what it is.

We played through and it ended like the story, well almost. The Emperor and Dorn along with the best troops teleported  up to the Vengeful Spirit and gave Horus a kickin! To be honest it didn't all go the Emperors way and he also took a kickin too but lived.

This game is awesome, don't worry about the rules being to complicated and not understanding all the icons on the cards and what the orders do, it just works. We played all the way through and felt pretty confident that we got it right (mostly). I believe this game is no longer available from Fantasy Flight Games as it's not on their website anymore. But if you can get a copy, or you know someone that has it give it a go, you won't be disappointed.

That's it for now, will hopefully be back soon with some more Menoth that I really need to paint...

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon.

  

Protectorate of Menoth Warmachine

As promised from way back when, I give you my Menoth to date.

I have 3 categories when it comes to Menoth, 1, finished. 2, nearly finished and 3, no where near finished. The no where near finished includes still in box...

Category 1:

Not much show for so many years, but I've had quite a lot of play out of just these few minis. As these guys are the religious loonies of the world I went with a monk theme which means lots of browns.

High Exemplar Kreoss.

    

Like most people I started with Kreoss as he comes in the starter box. His known for his Menoth's Wrath Feat, which can be amazing, as everything within 14" is knocked down. But like all Feats it can be gotten around, just ask him how he feels about models with Steady! His a very good all rounder with a mix of offensive and defensive spells and one that can play havoc with your opponents Focus or Fury, its called Lamentation and all enemy models with 14" have to double the cost of spells they cast and upkeeps cost 2 instead of 1.

Feora, Priestess of the Flame.

 

From what I can tell this Feora is often overlooked by her Epic version The Protector of the Flame, but I prefer this version. This is also the caster I have had the most success with, I just always seem to pull a caster kill out of the bag with her. She is very aggressive and plays best middle to up field, not the wisest thing to do in this game, but it works for me. This girl has 2 flame throwers and is not afraid to use them! Her Feat is either amazing or useless... All enemy models within 12" are set on fire, which sounds amazing, but you have to remember that a possible 1/3 will go out before damage is caused and against most Jacks you are looking at needing to roll 8 or higher to do any damage. But when you manage to catch a Khador Winter Guard Death Star with it, it's a thing of glory!

The High Reclaimer.

Mr Burning Ash himself, with only a Focus of 5 he is the lowest caster in the faction, but I don't let that worry me, you march forward behind a wall of line of sight blocking clouds, get in charge range and then try to batter everything to death, simples. But watch out for Eyeless Sight (I hate Legion). His Feat can bring back 4 to 6 models that have been killed, its wonderful to bring back half a unit your opponent spent last turn killing. You just have to remember which models have been removed from play, as they can't come back.

The Crusader Heavy Warjack.

 

The most basic of jacks if ever there was one, the back of its card is blank! It does one thing very well, that's smash face, hard! With a bit of support and Focus this guy can really dish out a beating, but that's about it. At 6 points he's basically free with most casters and if you can get him to the enemy he will make a mess.

The Vanquisher Heavy Warjack.

 

This is the jack I probably use the most, he has the Chain Weapon and Thresher abilities on his Blazing Star but no reach! It's bigger than most standard infantry models!! But that is not why you take him. You take him for his Flame Belcher, it's a power 14, 10" ranged weapon with a 4" AOE that sets everything underneath it on fire (including your own models as I have found out). He costs 8 points which is the same as the Reckoner (possibly one of the best jacks in the game for his points cost), but I think a very valid argument can be made for taking him over the Reckoner.

The Ravenger Light Warjack.

 

This little fellow has an Arc Node which I initially thought was the best thing since sliced bread, but it turned out not so good. The spell ranges put him close enough to be charged the next turn and once engaged you can't arc spell through him anymore. If he is engaged by anything that can deliver a whack he is going to get smashed! He does have a Repulsor Shield that does push whatever has hit 1" away, which is great if it doesn't have Reach as it can no longer attack and you can arc spells through it again. Offensively it has Powerful Charge which brings it MAT up to a healthy 8, but it's only power 13, enough to kill infantry, but I can't see a Khador Jack panicking too much. At 6 points I would normally take a Crusader, but if I really want an Arc Node its a good choice.

The Repenter Light Warjack.

 

At 4 points this guy is steal! with a Chain Weapon War Fail and a Flame Thrower he does the job with less Focus dependency than you would think. He really only needs one Focus on the turn he is going to fire to boost to hit the most important target as if the normal damage roll doesn't kill it, it will be set on fire. What a great little jack.

Nicia, Tear of Vengeance Solo.

 

This angry young lady has it all (except Pathfinder), she is fast with a really high defense, has built in Stealth, a good ranged weapon and is a Weapon Master. Her other impressive abilities include, Fearless, Advanced Deployment, Acrobatics, Quick Work, Rapid Strike and Sprint! Not bad for 3 points. A word of caution though, beware AOE's! with armour as low as hers she might as well be naked and will die if caught underneath one. Oh I forgot to mention, she also has reach.

The Choir of Menoth.

 
                                                                       

Where would Menoth be without these boys? A whole lot worse off that's where. At 2 points for 4 or 3 points for 6 these are an absolute must if you are taking more than 1 jack. They have 3 special abilities each one can put on a jack, there are Battle, Passage and Shielding. Battle gives +2 to both attack and damage rolls, +2 might not sound like a lot but it is immense and can turn the humble Crusader into an absolute wrecking machine. Passage means that non magics range attacks cannot target them, perfect if your going against a gun line. If you are going against a magic ranged attack heavy force Shielding is what you want, its stops all magic attacks against them. They do go down easy and will get targeted by an opponent that knows what they can do, so spread them out, you really don't want a AOE landing in the middle of them.

Category 2:
Almost finished I have The High Executioner Servath Reznik, a Dervish Light Warjack a full unit of Cinerators, a full unit of Holy Zealots with the Monolith Bearer and a Vassal of Menoth Solo.

All of these I will write a bit about when they are done and I have pictures.

Category 3.

Deep breath.
Reckoner Heavy Warjack
Exemplar Bastion Seneschal
Exemplar Errant Seneschal
Daughters of the Flame
Exemplar Bastions
Deliverers full unit
Exemplar Errants full unit
Exemplar Errant Officer and Standard

There are few more models I would like, but best get these done first...

So that's my Menoth for now, I do intend to crack on with these as looking forward to using them a bit more often now we have a place to play...

While the wife has been away I have started doing this for her.

 

She is a massive Arrow fan, she has assured me it has nothing to do with Stephen Amell and I believe her, honest... I really do!

Its the Knight Miniatures 35mm Arrow miniature for the up coming Batman game. I have to say my only complaint with this miniature is the price, at £12 for 1 model its a bit steep. Having said that the model is near perfection, the sculpting is superb, very little to practically no flash or casting lines. So its a top quality model with the price to match. So as I have got her the Arrow model I can't see any reason why I can't get myself the Harley Quinn model, fair is fair right?

The base is made from a GW movement tray section, the wall is a few pieces from a 1/48 Tamiya kit and the drain pipe is a good old Capri-sun straw with a bit of brass from a left over frame from a brass etched kit. It went together really quickly and so far all the painting has taken me just over an hour. Still need to finish the Arrow, which should not take long as its only his face and hood that need doing. So hopefully completed pictures coming soon.

That's it for now, thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again real soon with a Menoth update and completed Arrow scene.
  



  
 
    

4Grounds Stoic Arms day 4

I'm on a roll, day 4 and the third and final floor. 

Starting this one with another issue, again its not a problem as its pretty obvious the numbers on the instructions are wrong. Its also pretty obvious what are the correct bits and where they go.

 
Again another issue, I have no idea why they are all in last few bits of the build? The first picture shows another connector that does not fit in the hole, Again this was corrected the same as before by cutting the connector off. The second picture just shows the inside of the third floor with the ever popular pegs.

 

The rest of the floor went together well and I done the same as before with the bay windows, its much easier to glue the supports to the window and glue it to roof that is in place. The doors all open and close and went in nicely using the bevelling idea I talked about in the previous blog.

 
The roof looks really simple to go together, but it was a bit of a sod! every time you add another roof panel one comes loose so you are constantly chasing yourself trying to get them to stick. So I got round this simply by gluing the bottom 2 panels and letting it dry before adding the rest. The second picture is more frame work with coloured insert.

 
As I was having problems popping the windows out of the frame I decided to remove as much of the frame as possible. You can only do this towards the end as the windows are so tightly cut onto the sheet you have to wait until lots of them have been removed, or you will break more windows than you save, but the good news doing it this way is that the last few windows come out nicely. The second picture show a momentous step, the last of the push, glue, insert and repeat!

 

More of the thinner wood interior colours, again they go in easy and just need holding while it dries.
The second picture is the completed third floor, nice simple and fairly quick.

 

The Stoic Arms comes with pictures you can cut out and glue on the side of the Inn and in sign posts. Nice as they were I added my own, so I have changed the name form the Stoic Arms to the Flaming Heretic. This was really easy to do, simply create the picture you want on any art programme and print to size. As you can see I had the picture and text already from the blog. Soooooooooooo nearly finished, just a few more final details.

 
The last frame! The chimneys are simple box builds that you can add details to. The sheet has a few more than you need, so you add more chimneys if you wish, but I'm gonna save the left overs for the other buildings I'll get to add to my village. Yes, this experience has not put off getting more.

 

The first picture shows some of the details you can add to the end of the chimneys. The second picture is all the roofs finished with chimneys. This is also the last piece of the build!!! The crowd went wild and there was much rejoicing all throughout the night, not really, I cleaned up and went to bed.

So without further ado... I give you the fully operational Death St... Sorry, watching Star Wars, still one of my all time favorite films!

The Flaming Heretic Inn

 

 

 

So there you have it, all done. What a monster! Its an absolutely amazing kit that I feel is worth the money. It was not without it issues, but I worked out a way around most of them. All in all in one word, 'IMPRESSIVE'

That's it for now, I was meant to be doing that wonderful Khador stuff my wife got me to do while she is away, but I am in full Menoth mode at the moment. I know when I started this blog I said my main Warmahordes faction is Menoth (hence the blog name), I have quite a lot of it but have never blogged about them or posted any pictures. Well with my next blog that will change... (he says).

Thanks for stopping by and hope to see you again soon.