Dallas GT: Railhead Rumble

If you've not heard of the Railhead Rumble put on by the infamous Heroic 28s podcast group, it's time for you to learn about it. It's one of the 40k GTs here in Dallas in a long time, other then the first ever Astronomi-con last year. Dallas has spent quite a bit of time dead in the water when it comes to GW Events but over the last couple years we've seen quite a big turn out for tournaments, especially with the support of our Austin Cousins.

This year, the Railhead Rumble will take place a A-Kon and will be on June 11th and 12th. It's a seven game tournament with the first four games seeding for the second day in which battle points start being awarded. That means that people of all caliber have a chance at winning even if you're not on table 1.

For more information check out the registration page here, http://theheroic28s.blogspot.com/p/rail-head-rumble-registration.html

It's only $40, not a bad deal for a seven game tournament, and don't forget I'll be there, as one of the Judges ;)

The Snakes Head: April 25 Battle Mission 3

The earth trembled with the movement of the heavy war machines, silence not being a priority. Inside the mighty beast the artifacts of ages past were being held. The men had grown quite uneasy, complaining amongst themselves of whispers from no where, but not one of them would say anything to the Inquisitor for fear that they might be possessed and purged on the spot.

He's near, very near...

'Yes yes, I know... we have located them on auspex' Loreal said to himself. 'Soon I will have his head on a pike, and I will hang it atop my chimera'

"Sir, are you alright" asked Seth, looking a little worried as Loreal mumbled. "You seem to be elsewhere at the moment, and we are closing on the enemy very quickly."

"Of course I'm fine you idiot, what would make you think otherwise?"

Calm yourself, it will be his time soon enough...

"I'm sorry interrogator, I'm just agitated with all the men we lost during the bombardment," Loreal said gently, "Soon soon, we will be ready to strike at the head of their army, and retake the artifacts they were able to get during the battle."

* * * * *

The battles have been fierce and drawn out. But you have finally caught up with leadership of the opposing force, and your superiors want a trophy. Kill their leadership, and bring them back to be put on display for all to see. But do not let your leader die, for if he does you'll have to keep the enemy at bay so that he can be given a proper burial.

Click Here: For rules to Mission 3

'Ard Boyz 2010 Retailers

Hey Everyone, with little information so far on the event coming out I thought I'd get a list out of Local Retailers that will be hosting in the DFW area. For a complete list of retailers click HERE. Or simply call your retailer as they may have not made it onto the GW list.

DFW Retailers:
Hobby Town USA - Plano, Contact Pete at 972-473-0800

Lone Star Mesquite, Contact Jason at 972-681-2040

Lone Star Central Arlington, Contact Mike at 817-265-0491

Big World, Contact Mark at 972-245-0968

XMax Games, Contact Andy, Vincent, or Kent at 214-827-0805

The Gamers Realm, Contact Matt at 972-231-5231

The Whispers: April 25 Battle Mission 2

The winds howled, carrying slow burning embers and ash across the field. The first battle, an ambush had taken the party by surprise by it's furiousity. Only moments ago had the cries of bloodshed quieted, both sides withdrawing to regroup and patch wounds.

Inquisitor Loreal looks out across the battlefield. Large piles of debris is smoking, billowing black smoke that rises into the sky blocking his sight to the enemy behind it. Still scanning the field he sees unexploded ordinance. He knows if they must cross the field it could prove to be quite dangerous.

"Sir!" Interrogator Seth calls out as he runs over to Loreal, "You're going to have to see this." Loreal follows the bewildered interrogator. "What is it Seth?" Loreal asks as he cautiously walks over a low hill.

"Emperor..." he breaths silently seeing the gleaming gold ruins of some ancient artifact protruding from the nearest crater. Extruded from the dirt he could make out what appeared to be a bird or eagle, with it's wings spread, buried up to it's chest. It was about 3 meters across and on it's neck sat not one but two heads.

The interrogator interrupted Loreal's Shock. "Sir, the auspex seems to be picking up other objects, it could be more artifacts, or it could be a glitch with the system after all of the artillery that's been thrown around here, who knows what there really is.

We must retrieve the artifacts....

"Interrogator, we must retrieve the artifacts."

"Yes sir, I'll get on it right away." Said Seth as he started to turn away.

We must retrieve all of the artifacts....

"Not just this one, all of them, do a full Auspex Scan, Dig with your Hands if you need to identify them, but I want them All!" Cried out Loreal, "Is that understood?"

"Yes Inquisitor, right away."

* * * * *

The sun has risen high in the sky but still, it sheds little light on the field of battle. Smoke rises from burned out rubble, buildings, and vehicles. Ordnance litters the ground, some exploded some not. But the ordnance has unmasked something else, ancient treasures that may hold the key to secrets long lost, or treasures that might bring in some mighty fine loot.

Click Here: For rule to Battle Mission 2

TarGa-Roth Emerges: April 25th Battle Mission 1

In the cold depths of space there is nothingness. Blackness surrounded by the blinking of stars, seen in their purest form. The twinkling of the lights starts to become obscured, just a few at first, but then more and more, as if a ball of energy is appearing from no where blocking out the view. Tendrils of power? Magic? Electricity? Begin to swarm from this hole in space, reaching out, grabbing onto the nothingness. The hole, the blackness, the obscurity pulses, the shear power of energy being felt light years away.

With a sudden burst of brilliance the anomaly gives way, cracking under the shear pressure of the body being birthed. The stars are completely blocked by this heavenly body, a planet that has appeared from no where. The world, covered with clouds of red and orange swirls chaotically, while the blue waters below appear to be much like Terra, along with the greens and browns of the newly formed land.

The final wave of energy released on the emergence of the planet sweeps through the Sector, thousands falling over dead, blood running from their nose, eyes, and mouth, from the psychic resonance and their untrained minds. The Holy Inquisition immediately demands a force be taken to research the new body now designated TarGa-Roth.

Upon entering normal space after traveling, the Black Ships detect other bodies surrounding or heading towards the new planet. Signatures of the ships show both human and xenos entering TarGa-Roth's atmosphere. With reluctance Inquisitor Loreal orders his fleet closer to the planet so they can send a landing party to begin surveying the planet and find out if the planet should be destroyed utterly.

With the research teams needing a safe place to work, Inquisitor Loreal orders a landing party to secure an area hopefully away from the other groups now invading the planet. The Inquisitor warns everyone to be on their toes as at this point anything could happen.

* * * * *

The chill of night is still in the air, and darkness still sweeps the land. You look at your chrono and see the sun should be up soon and that it's time to get your party together after it scattered during the landing. Initial reports shows that there may be an enemy team nearby and it's necessary to gather your forces to prepare to ambush the enemy before they can ambush you.

Click Here: For rules to Battle Mission 1

DFW 40k Tournament April 25th

Download the original attachment

April 25^th, 2010 Warhammer 40k Tournament

Presented by TGR and thewraithgate.com

I am happy to announce that I will be hosting a tournament at The Gamer’s Realm on April 25^th for Warhammer 40k. The tournament will follow rules as detailed below:

• 1,750 points
• Normal Force Organization
• Only current Codices are allowed

The tournament will be open to 12 players (going to 16 if there is enough interest and space). To participate, please make a purchase of at least $15 and sign up at The Gamer’s Realm before the tournament.

If all 12 slots are filled, please feel free to sign up as an alternate. You may make your purchase on the day of the tournament if a spot becomes available.

Scoring:

Sportsmanship: 5 points are available for Sportsmanship Scores and will be averaged throughout all 3 games:

• 2 points – Was your opponent reasonably knowledgeable of the basic rules?
• 2 points - Was your opponent courteous and civil?
• 1 point - Even if you got destroyed, did you enjoy the game?

Painting: A large part of the 40k hobby is painting your miniatures, and playing with or against a great looking army can add a great deal to the game. 10 points are available for Painting Scores:

• 2 points – Is your army completely WYSIWYG?
• 1 point – No bare metal or plastic
• 2 points – A minimum of 3 colors painted to table top quality. (No single brush strokes of colors.)
• 1 point – Detailing (eyes, guns, blood, etc.)
• 1 point – Flocked or finished bases (rocks, grass, paint, etc.)
• 1 point – “Cohesive” look or theme
• 1 point – “Above and Beyond”

Battle Points: 30 points are available for Battle Points. You will receive points for winning, drawing, losing, and for completing Secondary Objectives:

• 7 points – Completing the Primary Objective
• 5 points – Neither you or your opponent completing the Primary Objective
• 3 points – Your opponent completing the Primary Objective
• 3 points – Will be awarded based on Secondary Objectives for each mission

Bonus Points:

• 1 point – For receiving 5 Sportsmanship Points from each opponent
• 1 point – For receiving Best Painted Army
• 1 point – Completing all of the Primary Objectives
• 1 point – Completing all of the Secondary Objectives
• 1 point – Completing both Primary and Secondary Objectives in all battles

Awards:

All awards will be based on points received throughout the tournament. Please note that each participant may win only one award. If a participant is eligible for multiple awards, he will be awarded the highest award, and the next eligible participant will receive the other award.

• Best Painted: Is eligible to armies receiving at least 8 points in the Painting Bracket and will be decided by the judges.

• Best General: Is awarded to the participant that receives the most points in the Battle Points bracket.

• Best Overall: Is awarded to the Participant with the most combined points throughout all of the brackets.

Tournament Schedule:

11:00 a.m. Turn in Army Lists and Prepare to have some fun.

11:15 a.m. – 1:00 p.m. Battle 1

1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Lunch (Please leave armies out for painting judging)

1:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m. Battle 2

3:45 p.m. – 5:30 p.m. Battle 3

5:45 p.m. Awards

Tournament Style:

The Tournament will be bracket style, with random players starting the first battle. (Exceptions may be made if buddies are pitted against each other in the first round.)

If you have any questions about the tournament, playable armies, or rules, please feel free to contact me at thewraithgate@gmail.com.

My "Mighty Beast" Teaser

So here it is, the Mighty Beast I've been working on. No not my Kantor Conversion but that giant tzeentch turkey. Hehe... so you can see this was the rough starting stage. Everything is pinned together, and I do mean everything. I had the unfortunant accident of tipping it over when I had simply glued it and it shattered. So I then spent the next day pinning the entire model so that I could throw it against a wall and walk away with it still in one piece.

The entire model has a single electrical wire running through it. This wire is very strong and does not bend very easily making it the perfect option for connecting all of the pieces together and using it to build up on.

As usual feel free to click on a picture to see it larger ;)



I then started to green stuff the chaos power coming out from the ground. This was really my first experience with working with green stuff as a modeling medium.



A closer image showing the chaos power twirling up around out of the ground about to burst through the chaos lords body.



Here you can see some of that energy escaping from the powerfist and forming a chaos spawns arm as the raw power of Chaos rips out from the ground.



Here you can see the larger image, I also ended up green stuffing around the wings to fill in the gaps.



Here that chaos power is bursting from the chaos lord and wrapping around the leg of the Lord of Change, from which the lord of change is actually being formed.



Another picture, with some of the chest plate being ripped open to let the powers of chaos out.



A closer up picture, showing the powers of chaos. I found that the key to working with green stuff was keeping a bowl of water next to you and constantly re-wetting your hands, tools and the green stuff to keep it from sticking.



With the model being so tall it was very top heavy with a very low center of gravity causing it to tip over constantly. So I went and got a bunch of fish weights, snipped them in half and used a hammer to squish them down enough to fit the base. It helps alot.



I then used some cement spackle to add even more wait to the bottom of the model. With this down the center of gravity is actually over halfway up the model making it much more stable.



Here's an Image of it primed. I was very excited to get to this point as it was almost a week getting there. I used new Krylon Primer, and found that you have to shake it very very very well before using otherwise it leaves little strings of paint. Luckily I found this out on a test model and not this one ;) But the primer worked better then GWs white and was not grainy at all.



So with it primed I've started painting. I'm hoping to get it done this weekend and I'll have more pictures once it's done. And then I still have the miniataur I'm going to paint for the contest. It's going to be a busy week but I hope you enjoyed the pictures.

-CKR

'Mighty Beast' Modeling Contest! - Reminder

Hey everyone just a reminder that this contest is coming close to an end. If you've not started your painting for the entry, get down there and do so.

* * *

HobbytownUSA Dallas announces it's 'Mighty Beast' Modeling Contest! With the latest releases in their game systems all centering around the monsters of the Warhammer, 40K and Lord of the Rings universes--Tyranids, Beastmen, Fell Beasts, et al--Games Workshop has made it a great time to model the monstrous, and HTUD wants to see your best efforts!

Hobbyists may enter one 'beastly' model in each category (Warhammer Fantasy, Warhammer 40K and Lord of the Rings). The model must be primarily a Citadel miniature (conversions are encouraged from that base), must be purchased from HTUD, and must be assembled/converted/painted by the submitting participant.

It is up to that hobbyist how they define a 'mighty beast:' while this certainly includes Monstrous Creatures, Dragons, Giants, Minotaurs, Ogres (and Rat-Ogres), Hydras, Trolls, Stegadons, etc, it could as easily be something Daemonic, or a less-enormous but equally 'beastly' character model, such as a bray-shaman, ethereal or saurus-lord; you choose to submit what you consider *your* mightiest beast!

Submissions may begin immediately and are welcome for display in the glass cabinet in the games section at the front of the store, but *must* be brought to HTUD by end-of-business Sunday, March 21, 2010, where they will be displayed until the end of the month. Prizes will be awarded for 'Mighty Beast' in each category noted, as well as a 'Youngbeast' and a Best Overall 'Mightiest Beast!'

The Hivemind calls; the Brayhorn sounds; the Witch King summons! The time of the Mighty Beasts is at hand--at HobbytownUSA Dallas!

HTUD: Doubles Tournament

HOBBYTOWNUSA DALLAS WARHAMMER 40K
DOUBLES TEAM TOURNAMENT

SCHEDULE SATURDAY, JANUARY 23, 2010:

10am: Check-in
10:15am – 12:15pm: Round One
12:15pm – 1pm: Lunch
1pm – 3pm: Round Two
3pm – 3:15pm: Break
3:15pm – 5:15pm: Round Three
5:30pm: Awards Ceremony

FORMAT:

•Players register as one Doubles team consisting of two players, with their armies playing as allies.

•Each Doubles team presents an allied force not to exceed 1500 total points, comprised of two independent armies--one controlled by each team member--neither to exceed 750 points.

•Each Doubles team member's army must have 1 HQ and 1 Troops choice; one standard Force Org chart must be used to compose the 1500 point Doubles force but individual slots other than the mandatory HQ and Troops requirement per player may be divided amongst the two team member's armies as they choose.

•Teams will compete in three rounds of 2 hours duration each.

•Victory will be determined by combined gameplay, Sportsmanship, Painting, Presentation and Army List scores; the latter will include points for articulating through background, fiction, or other means why the two armies are allied. no other restrictions limiting army allegiance is in place.

ARMY MODELS:

•Armies must consist primarily of Citadel Miniatures.

•Models must follow the “What You See Is What You Get” (WYSIWYG) principle, meaning all weapons, wargear, upgrades, etc must be recognizably represented on the model.

•Forge World/Imperial Armour may only be used where they represent 'codex' options (vehicle doors/upgrades/weapons choices).

PRINCIPLES OF PARTICIPATION:

•Rulings of Event Moderators are final.

•Poor, argumentative or disruptive conduct will result in discharge from participation.

•Players will be given periodic time updates, and will in turn ensure 1) each side completes equal number of turns; 2) each round is completed before time is called by a moderator; and 3) each game sees a reasonable number of turns completed to ensure a fair result (generally four--any round in which at least four turns are not completed by both sides will be carefully scrutinized by moderators and any Doubles team involved in multiple rounds of such conduct may be subject to discharge if it is determined they are intentionally 'sandbagging').

DOUBLES-SPECIFIC RULES:

• Both players on a Doubles Team perform movement, Shooting and Assault phases jointly, but are--unless noted following--separate armies for any game rules. They are allied but independent. Special rules affecting entire armies or the equivalent should be read as affecting only the controlling player's portion of the team (An Ork Player's Waagh! will affect only his orks, for example, even if he is allied with another Ork Player). The common rulebook or codex phrase "All friendly models" should be read to mean "All models in the controlling player's army" for this Doubles event.

•Characters from one team member's army may not begin a game attached to units from his teammate's army but may, in the course of play, join an allied army unit if said unit meets the conditions allowing it to do so. Any such joined character/unit combination is restricted by whichever is lesser as regards movement, special rules, etc, subject to the normal Universal Special Rules conventions.

•Special or named Characters are allowed subject to any specific rules limiting that character's participation. The Doubles team point total of 1500 is used to determine points-related eligibility. No team may duplicate any Special or named Character, even as a template for a renamed/DIY army. If a Character alters Force Organization, classification of scoring-vs-nonscoring, etc, this applies only to the controlling team member's army *unless* both team members are fielding the same type army (both Ultramarines, for example), choose to have it affect the entire force and so declare to their opponents ( if one team member chose Belial then both team members could field Deathwing armies, for example).

•Chaos Icons, Teleport Homers/Locator Beacons, etc , affect only the controlling team member's army.

•Black Templar team members must select an Emperor's Champion. If both players on a team play Black Templars, each must select their own.

Force Organization PER DOUBLES TEAM:

H.Q.: 2 (1 Each)
Troop: 2-6 (1 Each Minimum)
Elite: 0-3
Fast Attack: 0-3
Heavy Support: 0-3

BoLSCon 2009: Updates

Ok Guys, I'm sure you all know that the big BoLSCon Tourney is next week, and if you don't now you do. It's been a pretty exciting time getting to this point. I've been able to work on some pretty cool conversion, and play with units I wouldn't have ever though of taking before the guys at Warseer help me out.

Let just say I'm enjoying my Eldar now that they all have 3+ saves, and most have 4++, I was getting way tired of being mowed down by bolters, must be that Chaos army that I played for years before trying out Eldar, I just don't like seeing my guys die like that ;)

So I made a couple small changed to the army list, I got rid of 2 singing spears from the council and the Chin Cannon from the Falcon and gave then dropped Star Engines on the Beast. I did this mostly because I had the extra points, in CC I was finding my council to be lacking attacks and I felt that 2 base for 2 more models would help out quite a bit, and during the 6 games I played with the Falcon I didn't once find a time use the cannon because I was always on the move with it and that's why I though the Star Engines would be more useful, especially in those end games where that extra 12" move could come in very very useful.

So I've gotten all my vehicles painted now, an extra Prism and WaveSerpent and All the Bike done, except for the warlocks and council. I'll be painting them tonight and the weekend, might even finish them too, we'll see. But I had a take a break from painting last night, my hand was starting to cramp up from painting vines on 21 bikes ;) Don't worry I'll throw up some pics soon, I just need to get painting done first.

DFW Events: 1,500 pt Tourney at the Asylum

Hey Guys, if you've not heard yet there's a 1,500 tourney over at Comic Asylum in Plano on the 1st of August. Here's the link where you can sign up for the tourney, right now there are only 2 people but I've been there in the past and they've had pretty good turnouts for other events. Hope to see you guys there.

Details
Event Date 8/1/2009
Event Time 10:00 am
Fee $10.00

Detailed Description:
This is a Rogue Trader style tournament of 3 rounds. Codex Approved Armies.

BolScon 2009 in Austin

If you've not heard about it yet, and I'm sure you have BolScon 2009 is approaching quite rapidly. With only 38 Days to go I'm well on my way of building my new army, or updating the old, for what is to be the biggest tournament event I've been to. I'm very excited about it, and like to share the approach with you all.

After my last tournament I learned quite a few things about playing Eldar, and one thing I've learned is mobility is the key to 40k. Objectives have become a much larger game mechanic then when I stopped playing back in 3rd Ed. and now with armies almost being required to move across the board I saw the need to update the list and the models. After working with the guys from Warseer, who've been very helpful, I've come up with this list.

~HQ~
Farseer - 178 pts
Doom, Fortune, Spirit Stones, RoWa, JetBike, S.Spear

Autarch - 140 pts
MandiBlasters, Laser Lance, JetBike, Fusion Gun

Warlock Unit on JetBikes - 287 pts
Lock - Embolden, Singing Spear
Lock - Enhance, S.Spear
Lock - Destructor
Lock x2 - Destructor, Singing Spear

~Elite~
Fire Dragons x7 - 255pts
Exarch
DBFlamer, Crack Shot
Wave Serpent
Spirit Stones, TL SCannon

Fire Dragons x7 - 255pts
Exarch
DBFlamer, Crack Shot
Wave Serpent
Spirit Stones, TL SCannon

~Troops~
Guardian Jetbikes x6 - 205pts
SCannon x2
Warlock
Singing Spear, Embolden

Guardian Jetbikes x6 - 205pts
SCannon x2
Warlock
Singing Spear, Embolden

DAVU DireAvengers x5 - 60pts
(Riding Falcon)

~Heavy Support~
Falcon - 185pts
Scatlaser, Holo-Fields, Spirit Stones, chin-Cannon

Fire Prism - 115pts

Fire Prism - 115pts

Total Points - 2,000
Total KPs - 13
Total Models - 47

With this list I've removed one of the main issues of the other army I had taken, and that was lack of mobility. Sure I had 3 Skimmers in the other list, but the problem was that they could not be supported by the rest of the army unless they held back, and by holding back they we're being used in the way they should be.

With the list now made and the models purchased I started building everything last night, and let me tell you it takes a while just to cut all those bikes off the sprue ;)

As I get things going I'll post updates of the army, and will put in some tutorials on how I do the conversions for the warlocks and farseer.

If you're interested in the tournament make sure you register soon, I think you only have a couple weeks left :D And I'll see you there.