The Tau would be Proud of us: Railguns

http://www.reuters.com/video/2012/02/28/us-navy-kicks-off-rail-gun-tests-with-a?videoId=230957596&feedType=VideoRSS&videoChannel=2603

Looks like railguns are no longer science fiction! 2020 we could be firing these babies at the enemy!

For the greater good!

Happy Birthday GW! 25 Years!

It has been 25 years now that GW has graced tables around the world and is a testament to their hobby endurance.

Their products have brought me many hours of enjoyable, relaxation, employment and good friends as well. I wish them a good future for the company and that they make wise choices to drive the hobby on into the future and not into the ground.

Happy Birthday GW!

Book Review: Gilder Rift

Well, I just finished the latest Space Marine Battles novel, the Gilder Rift. All I can say is WOW! Sarah Cawkwell is a fantastic writer and this by far may be the best ever of the Battle Novels. Granted she is about to go up against the Iron Warriors in the next one that could prove to be a contest beyond words.

As usual, I won’t give the book away. I hate it when people spoil things talking about crap while a book is young. If you do have to post something, make sure to put a “spoiler alert” up to not ruin it for the other people that have not read this fine book.

The story focuses on the Silver Skulls and the conflict with the Red Corsairs. What is refreshing is this puts a little known chapter (rather than one of the mainstream ones) as the focus in this book as well as it gives you some insight into the Huron Blackheart and the Corpsemaster as they execute a masterful plot against the Silver Skulls in the Gildar Rift. It was also nice to put the Wolf of Fenris in this book after the aftermath of it being taken as mentioned in the codex books. Simply amazing how it explores the situation and how it unfolds as well as how it almost happened again to the Silver Skulls.

This book was packed with action, combat, moralistic exploration and mysticism elements all in one package. Sarah Cawkwell kept the book flowing at a good pace at all times and I  never once found myself wanting to stop reading, rather I found it hard at times to put down the book!

I was skeptical when this series was first introduced but over time it has grown on me and I am starting to enjoy the quality of the writers they select as well as the presentation of the book. As usual there is a center section with some full color images of maps and the infamous Wolf of Fenris side view of the ship. While not as great at some of the other books with the centerline artwork it is still nice to have those reference points to fire the imagination.

I give this book 5 out of 5 Chaos Stars and you will be branded a heretic if you don’t read it!

Web Comic: Wobbly Model Syndrome

http://wobblymodel.weebly.com/comic-76.html

The comics are funny, the art isn't that great but that is part of the charm of this web comic. Worth some time to flip through them for a laugh....

A new web comic found: Beardy Bastards

http://www.beardybastards.com/

The strip is produced in single and short strips but the guy seems to be pretty regular on his production of his work and it seems amusing. Space Dwarfs (aka Squats) is a new and interesting twist on some of the other web comics out there. It updates every Tuesday and Thursday.

What's been going on...what to expect!

Well, it has been quiet since my last posting but I have a load of stuff to post up very soon, some tonight even. Features include:

• Upcomming Malestorm Tournamen
• 40k Tournament Battle Report Last week.
• Review on Black Cat Bases (on Dice of Legends)
• Review on Foundry Figures (on Dice of Legends)
• Posting of player guides for Cowboys and Lawmen (on Dice of Legends)
• What’s on the painting table.
• Some short stories continued.
• Blood Bowl Playoff Report

Things have been busy for me, my wife’s dad had back surgery, work, spending time with my wife and dealing with some medical issues that has been nagging her for some time. A good friend of mine got married and I helped him move his stuff in storage during the marriage transition! Whew!

I’ve also had a bout of being lazy and just painted, watched the Silver Surfer animated series, caught up on several movies and have been playing two video games Star Trek Online and Jagged Alliance 2 (with the new updated patch with tons of weapons, new characters and such) off and on. I have also been working hard to rework my hobby room into something akin to sanity again as I have really let it go since I had it well organized not long ago. I figure I may take advantage of this weekend and clean it up.

I have also just picked my latest novel to read the Gildar Rift, so expect a review soon!

Playoff Bound!

Well, it took 3 seasons to make the playoffs but I did have a terrible time with my Necromantic team the first two seasons.

That said, I am waiting now to hear back from my opponent. The person that I should be playing stepped down as he has a baby due any moment and I wish him the best for a healthy and happy child. The next players came down to a tie and the commish had to find a tiebreaker to know who I am playing that is the Lizardmen! I have two weeks to play my game before the big game.

There are two games during this span that are like this:

Orks vs. Lizardmen

Undead vs. Slann

Two teams are fast, two teams have great AV, one is tough and the other has some elements of being strong/tough (Lizardmen) The Undead have had a superb record and will be a tough opponent to take down if I win this match and have to face them for the finals. I am just pleased to make the playoffs!

Playoff bound? Maybe

Well, the game tonight went well for the Orcs and was an amazing, yet weird game at some points.

First I have to give thanks to Patrick, a great player and an amazing painter. I feel we both was tired, it was a long day at work and things have been stressful for me over the past few days with my wife’s dad having surgery and my wife not feeling so great herself with the slow progress of “modern medicine” frustrates me sometimes. Honestly, I feel drained at times but I find a moment to recharge and pull some reserve that keeps me going. I know love is one of those factors….

I had 13k in Fans and Patrick got 14k in fans in attendance. We rolled for weather which was normal and picked our special cards that were the league rule (each player got 100k in cards, since Patrick was in the finals last year he got a bonus free draw). I won the dice off and opted to be kicked to.

This first half was just strange; I kept pushing many of his men around for the first few turns. I snagged the ball and ran started to run it up the field. Near the end zone, Patrick was able to take me down, take the ball and threw one of his cards in play that allowed him to punt the ball down the field! ARG! I had to run my thrower back along with a Blitzer racing his frogs from getting to the ball first. I was able to grab the ball, throw a long pass and the game was on again. I was knocked down again, the ball changed hands and I was able to score a touchdown finally after some luck went in my favor. We wrapped up the first half letting him wail on me for a turn that didn’t inflict much damage.

The second half I kicked off to him again and we went back and forth again with the ball. I was able to knock the ball out onto the field and grabbed it again. Another long pass by a Blitzer this time (the first was by a thrower) and another success! WHOOO! We managed to run the ball up the field to score again. When we reset it was about halfway through the second half and Patrick was able to score as things was starting to fall into place for him when it came to luck. The only bad thing was it was a bit late in the game to make a huge difference. I threw one last pass with my thrower to get another CP in right near the end of the game.

The game ended with a 2-1 in favor of the Mork’s Mangler's taking the win home. I rolled my Fan Factor and got another boost to a 7. Rolled a 6 for income bringing in 70k and setting me up with 170k in the bank that should be going into the playoffs with. One Blitzer got a new skill (Guard) and one of my Black Orcs finally got BLOCK! 3 more to go and a lone lineman that I just bought. I have to check with the report to see which Blitzer scored the second time to see if there are any other SPP rolls I need to make. Only one Blitzer it would affect and I don’t think he was the one to score.

The boyz in blue tallied 3 CPs, 2 Casualties and two TDs. The Slann managed to get one CP and 1 TD in with no injuries on their side.

Below are some pictures of the game, of Patrick and his amazing Slann (frog) team!

Kickoff first half.

The chaos starts!

Patrick sets his plan in motion.

The first long pass! WHAT? Orcs PASSING!!!!!

The git that caught it! #6.

Second half was like a Benny Hill skit...cue up the music!

Patrick...the Slann Coach

While not finished, what he has done is AMAZING!

A good shot one one of his linemen.

Linemen also I think.

Last Game before the Playoffs

Well, it is the last game for me in the league, then we will see who the top players are to go on to the Squigbowl finals. I have a good chance, I think if some people did well their last few games, that could impact my position but until everything is said and done all I can do is play my last game and wait.

Patrick (my name twin in the league) has been playing his Slann team the Mosswog Pollywogs with a decent record. What I have to watch out for is their speed, leaping ability and their decent AG (between 3-4). What do I have with Orcs? Toughness and strength (3-4) on my side and some decent speed (average 5-6 with some 4). I am going to have to take some time to defend the backfield and avoid being shot around like last time when I played the Lizardmen and lost my ass to some bad choices. What I look forward to the most is we have the always unusual games where weird crap just happens and it is a total scream.

I plan to try to remember to bring the camera. Patrick is an outstanding painter with his frogs and would look great against my orcs in a game report within the next  night or two. We shall see how this all shakes out....