Pinning Warhammer Figures on Warhammer Armies

I have published my FIRST YouTube video. It's a tutorial on how to pin Warhammer miniatures for stronger joints and mounts. I need to work on better and more structured delivery, and my camera man needs to work on framing the picture and focus. But, it's a nice first attempt! Check it out at Warhammer Armies!

Warhammer Armies Studio is Done

I needed more space to work on my Warhammer Armies and 40k Terrain projects. And my wife kicked me out of the living room (which is where I was after she kicked me out of the kitchen). So, I carved out space in the basement. Which is cool because it's comfortable and out of the way and I won't get disturbed. I've got DirectTV down there, and music, and a nice workout area, too. Now all I need is a large screen TV...

 

Portable Warhammer Army Display

Took awhile, but finally got a tutorial done for how I made the Portable Warhammer Army Display I used at the North Star Tournament. It's posted under Warhammer Scenery on 40k Terrain.

Warhammer Works In Progress

Got lots of good things going on. On Warhammer Armies I've gotten back to painting a great Imperial Guard Army and am starting a new Ork Army. On 40k Terrain I've kicked of a Cities of Death project that will evolve into a modular Gamma-level game board. Great stuff to do over the Holidays! 

Great picture for Cities of Death inspiration courtesy of Max on Picasa (http://picasaweb.google.com/littlebattlefield).

Brian Moyer's Poison Dart Frogs of Doom on Warhammer Armies

I love this army. Brian Moyer created this great Lizardmen army themed on Warrior Frogs from Eureka Miniatures. He can't play it at Games Workshop tournaments, but it is popular at he tournaments where he can compete with it. I've posted a couple more pictures of this army and a few others from the North Star Tournament at Warhammer Armies.

Great Miniatures Painting DVD for Warhammer Armies #40k #wh40k #warhammer

I bought the Fromula P3 Hobby Series Volume 1 DVD from Privateer Press this week. This DVD is an excellent introduction to assembling and painting miniatures include Games Workshop's 40k and Fanstasy models. The hour long DVD covers all the fundamentals and will provide a foundation sufficient to paint superb miniatures for your Warhammer armies. A more detailed review is posted at Warhammer Armies, and I list these and other products to purchase at Squidoo Warhammer Armies. Hope to see you there!

Finally Posted my Terrain Tutorial on Making Imperial Guard Command Posts

Did a monster tutorial on how I made two great 40k buildings. Check out the 40k Terrain Imperial Guard Command Posts tutorial.

Warhammer: Painting Witchfate Tor, Tower of Sorcery | Games Workshop

Check out this website I found at games-workshop.com

This is a great article from Games Workshop -- it's about painting the Tower of Sorcery, but it provides lots of great color combinations for painting awesome effects. I should get my own Tower and do a few posts on 40k Terrain. And try them out on miniatures on Warhammer Armies.

Imperial Guard Command Posts on #40k Terrain are Done!

OK, it took me forever. Been talking to my readers about this project on 40k Terrain since September. But, I did get them done yesterday! And they turned out great.

Imperial Guard Command Posts from Scratch

This is a great 40k Terrain project! I'm going to end up with two great 40k buildings to add to my Warhammer scenery shelves, and its nearly free. I haven't had to buy anything! These two Imperial Guard Command Posts are made of recycled paper packaging, bits of foam board and card stock, and odd bits from the 40k bits bin. I'm even using home made barbed wire mounted on polls made from sprues. I think thats fun!

Magnetizing Movement Trays for Warhammer

OK, I know this isn't the most interesting picture! But, it does make life much better for Warhammer players. I used rare earth magnets, #8 washers, Gale Force 9 metallic sheets, and Citadel's modular movement trays to set magnetize movement trays. I used it at the North Star Tournament and it worked and looked great. Check out the full post at Warhammer Armies and buy materials at Squidoo Warhammer Armies.

North Star #Warhammer Tournament Ended... Very Messy

I had a great time at North Star. Posted up a wrap up on 40k Terrain today. Enjoy!

Mercenary Host of Itza -- My North Star Army List

I had a great time at the North Star tournament. I even won a box of Empire Militia -- in the charity raffle!  I've posted my army list at Warhammer Armies. The full story is listed at Road to North Star.

Adepticon, North Star, and Other Going's On

Got a few updates on events and such. North Star was AWESOME -- I had a great time. True, I lost every game (bummer), but I really did have a great time at my first Warhammer Fantasy Battles Tournament. Check out details at Road to North Star and North Star Warhamer Terrain on my 40k Terrain site.

Also, I registered for Adepticon today. If you're interested, better do it quick! Events are selling out -- and there's still 139 days till the 1st of April. Check out what I'm doing on 40k Terrain.

Upcoming projects? Plenty. I'm working on my Imperial Guard command posts; I'm writing a tutorial on how to create a plane friendly display board for your armies; I bought Island of Blood and have started assembling the models; and I've started work on my son's Orc 40k army. All of which means lots to do and lots to write about as we drift towards the Holidays.

My Empire Army is Done for North Star

My major #Warhammer project is now DONE. Assembled, painted, and prepared a custom army display board for an Empire Army of 2200 points for the North Star Tournament. All together, I did 121 models over two months -- that's an average of two a day. Details are on  Road To North Star Tournament.

I will also be posting a tutorial on how I made the Army display on 40k Terrain. But, right now, I've got to finish packing and get to bed -- I'm flying up to the tournament tomorrow. I am WAY psyched to get up there and see friends and plan. 

Free #Warhammer and #40k Books from Black Library Today

The Black Library is giving away Horus Rising by Dan Abnett as an audio release and Troll Slayer by William King today for free. At least they are at the moment. Links and details at 40k Terrain.

Quick Updates on 40k Terrain and Road to North Star Warhammer Tournament

Put a couple of quick updates on 40k Terrain and Road To North Star Tournament today. Been busy painting models; not a lot of time for finishing my Imperial Guard Command Post project.

Easy Barbed Wire on 40k Terrain

Posted an article on 40k terrain making barbed wire for a command post project. Takes just a few minutes to make several feet of barbed wire. 

Black Library Gives Away Nightbringer

The Black Library is giving out "Nightbringer" by Grahm McNeill today for free. At least they are at the moment. Links and details at 40k Terrain

Black Library has free books on Fridays!

The Black Library is giving out "First and Only" by Dan Abnett today for free. At least they are at the moment. Links and details at 40k Terrain. #40k #warhammer

The Road to North Star

Started up another blog last night. I've decided to go to th North Star Warhammer Fantasy tournament in November. I'm going to play Empire. Two major opportunities here. First -- I don't have an army... Can I assemble and paint to a reasonable standard in less than two months?Second -- I really don't know how to play! Fantasy is a very different game from Warhammer 40k. So, this is going to be quite an adventure. Maybe that's worth sharing. Check it out at the Road to North Star. And 40k Terrain readers will get something here, too -- I'm going to whip up a nice display board for the army and I'll make sure to take some good pictures of that project.[[posterous-content:pid___0]].

The Road to North Star

Started up another blog last night. I've decided to go to th North Star Warhammer Fantasy tournament in November. I'm going to play Empire. Two major opportunities here. First -- I don't have an army... Can I assemble and paint to a reasonable standard in less than two months?Second -- I really don't know how to play! Fantasy is a very different game from Warhammer 40k. So, this is going to be quite an adventure. Maybe that's worth sharing. Check it out at the Road to North Star. And 40k Terrain readers will get something here, too -- I'm going to whip up a nice display board for the army and I'll make sure to take some good pictures of that project. .

Lots of stuff going on...

Just finished a series of posts showing how to make deluxe craters on 40k Terrain. The results have been awesome, as you can see in the image below. I've registered for the North Star Warhammer tournament. This takes me out of my comfort zone of Warhammer 40k, but it'll be fun. Unfortunately, it interferes with making terrain! I've got something like 120 miniatures to paint in just five weeks. I think I'm going to start up another web page just for Armies! I've also started to list upcoming events on 40k Terrain -- if you know of an event, then let me know.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Deluxe 40k terrain craters -- Part 1

Posted the first of three posts on making deluxe 40k terrain craters on 40k terrain. This first post reviews tools and materials you may need to take Games Workshop's moonscape craters to a new level. Check it out at Deluxe Craters Part 1.

New White Dwarf Review on 40k Terrain

Posted an audio review on 40k Terrain on the October White Dwarf. The issue is mainly covering Games Workshop's new High Elf release for Warhammer Fantasy, but there is a great Chaos 40k Terrain section towards the back. Check out the review at 40k Terrain October White Dwarf Review.

Goth Buildings for 40k Terrain

Great post on Warhammer Fantasy Battle Reporter Forum. Some really nice terrain pieces by Dreamspirit shows how easy it is to take a Goth style structure and turn it into a 40k building. Add a few metal girders and braces, a few copper pipes, and maybe some wire and.you've got some nice 40k Terrain.

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Goth Buildings for 40k Terrain

Great post on <a href="http://battlereporter.freeforums.org/viewtopic.php?f=29&t=2810">Warhammer Fantasy Battle Reporter Forum</a>. Some really nice terrain pieces by Dreamspirit shows how easy it is to take a Goth style structure and turn it into a 40k building. Add a few metal girders and braces, a few copper pipes, and maybe some wire and.you've got some nice40k Terrain.

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Warhammer 40k -- It's a game!

Posted a quick commentary on 40k Terrain this morning. I think recent discussions about terrain placement miss the point that this is a game and that the rules that Games Workshop provide might actually be done right.

BIG 40k Terrain Project

While I'm sitting at home working on making 40k Terrain craters -- nice ones, mind you, but still holes in the ground -- this guy's been building SERIOUS terrain. Check out the great project by Reepy at Astronomicon -- a 6' long ruined via duct. Once he gets a bit more money for paint, I think it's going to be fantastic -- much more dynamic than the usual polystyrene hills!

Mean while, my craters are coming along quite nicely. I'll have a nice tutorial on 40k Terrain soon.

Games Workshop Terrain Competition Winner!

New stuff coming this week on 40k Terrain -- check it out!

Jeremy is the winner of the great game board giveaway that Games Workshop recently hosted (see my post on Aug 26th). As you can see in the picture from Games Workshop, Jeremey's entry was truly great. It's completely written up at in Competition Winner's Entry. Incidentally, Jeremy has LOTS of friends -- I know because I got about a dozen Twitter posts on my 40kTerrain account (just click on the Twitter icon to go there) when he was announced.

Random 40K Terrain placement

Not so excited about random terrain placement. I think that a major strategic aspect of Warhammer 40k is placing terrain. However, the post below gives a really nice scheme for random scenery placement. Also check out my audio post on http://www.40kterrain.com.

http://nplusplus.blogspot.com/2010/09/random-terrain-placement.html

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40k Terrain Review of September White Dwarf

This months White Dwarf has some great 40k Terrain stuff, including a fantastic Warhammer battlefield. Take a listen to this audio post at 40k Terrain.

Coolest 40k Terrain board ever...

Lew_B81 posted what has got to be one of the best 40k Terrain boards ever on Warseer. Complete instructions of one of the most novel ideas I've seen -- all using a set of Games Workshop battle boards. Check out his The Road to a Gaming Table .

The bits box for 40k terrain...

Posted a new entry on 40k Terrain. The bits box is an essential part of your 40k terrain kit -- every Warhammer 40k enthusiast needs one! The article contains some unique ideas of item that may inspire you. Check it out! My favorite? Nearly ready made buildings.

Great 40k Terrain at Tacticon this Weekend

Lots of great 40k Terrain and other good stuff at Tacticon in Denver this weekend. Tacticon is one of The Denver Gamers Association events. All sorts of games are going on and several tournaments. Yesterday was the Warhammer 40k RTT and today there are Warhammer Fantasy RTT and Apocalypse.  If you get a chance, check it out! Say "Hi!" to Jason at Grendel's Lair or Steve at Total Escape Games in the vendor hall.

See and download the full gallery on posterous

How much 40k terrain is enough?

Some of you may have read one of my earlier posts on 40k Terrain where I talked about why terrain was an important part of the Warhammer hobby. One of the key changes in the Warhammer 40k 5th edition rules was line of site and another was a change to having roughly 25% of the battlefield to be terrain. Meaning not just flat open space. Trees. Hill. Building. Whatever.

There was a great post on 40k scenery this week by Disdainful this week on Capture and Control -- see 40k Zen: The Lay of the Land. This article reviews several battlefields and shows what 25% looks like on the battlefield. An example is below. I recommend you study the rest -- they are great.

This:

   

Really is 25%: 

40k Terrain making tools

Making great 40k Terrain is going to take the right tools. Brushes, scissors, craft knives, sand paper, needle nose pliers, and such make up the basic tools of the trade. As you advance in techniques, you may need power tools, heat guns, wire foam cutters, paint rollers, and a few other things. Oh, and don't forget your fork. Making fun to play 40k battlefields doesn't have to expensive, and you can get started slowly. Collect tools and materials as you go, getting what you need for the project at hand. Lots of things you may already have and others you may be able to borrow.

For a more complete list of tools, see 40k Terrain -- Tools of the trade.

Great 40k terrain lava field

Simple 40k terrain projects that incrementally can contribute to making fantastic 40k battlefields. Warhammer Denver meetup group recently had a campaign (the Tarlith campaign) and one of the game nights had some fantastically simple terrain. One of my favorites is a lava field made of polystyrene islands on an orange cloth. This fantastic battlefield was the genius of Damien Garcia, a master modeler who many of you might have met at Adepticon XXX fixing broken models in the main hall.

The color contrast is perfect for great game energy and this provides an interesting base for future rock formations and 40k buildings.

 

Great Games Workshop Opportunity

This is a great opportunity to do something cool for you expert modelers out there! Games Workshop is hosting a terrain challenge. Basically, all you need to do is to take some pictures of a fantastic terrain piece YOU have done, and send it in. Winner gets a Realm of Battle Gameboard. 

Now, it's not a 40k Terrain challenge, but it's still cool. Check out the The Great Gameboard Giveaway for details. Here's my favorite picture of sample terrain from the article provided in the contest description -- absolutely fantastic work by Ben.  

 

Aeronautica Imperialis and Warhammer 40k Together

This is a great idea from Wargame-Terrain:

"Our setup is a two-table event, in which one table features Aeronautica Imperialis dogfighting and the other is full of gritty 40K action. The outcome of the Aeronautica game affects the strength of the attacking side and other events in the 40K game. Get involved with a teammate for a battle that rages both across the skies and through the trenches! All models provided."

Imagine the 40kTerrain possibilities. Planetstrike, Cities of Death, Apocalypse -- each would be a blast.

Use vinyl terrain mat for 40k Terrain hills!

You can make a great looking hill for Warhammer 40k using a vinyl terrain mat and polystyrene. Cut the shape of the polystyrene to what you'd like the hill to look like and then use a heat gun to mold the vinyl terrain mat to the hill. Check out more detailed instructions at 40k Terrain.

40k Terrain – Surfacing your game boards

One of the first things you need to do in making your 40k battlefields is to create some game boards. Game boards provide the backdrop for your other 40k terrain items. It’s important that they look great, be reasonably durable, have a playable surface, and be inexpensive.

I like using the hard foam boards you get at the hardware store – 2” thick pink polystyrene sheets. Your standard playing surfaces for both Warhammer 40k and Fantasy Warhammer are 4’x6’ and 4’x8’. So, I like to make my boards out of 2’x4’ sheets. You may need to cut the sheets down at the hardware store if you don’t have a truck or SUV, so bring a tape measure when you buy them.

Now, here’s the real secret. I know a lot of players who put glue down on the sheets and then sprinkle sand and then put several coats of paint down. There is a much faster and less expensive way, and probably more durable, too. I get flat latex paint at the hardware store. Just like painting and high lighting your miniatures, you’ll need a base color, a mid-tone, and a high-light. For 4’x8’, a half gallon of the base and ¼ gallons of the other two should be enough. And you’ll need rollers (3/8” nap is sufficient) and roller tray, a two gallon bucket, and some large brushes.  Finally, you need sand or ballast (from the hobby store for model trains) of appropriate grain.  Take your base color and mix it up with the sand until it will just barely be paintable (use the two gallon bucket). Roller it onto the sheets, let it dry over night (it really needs to dry solid). Then just over brush the grain with your mid-tone and then dry brush with the highlight. The results are superb! You've got a good start for making fantastic 40k battlefields. Check out the images in this post to see samples: 40k Terrain -- You need it now!

I hope to have an illustrated version showing how to do this within a couple weeks on my blog at 40k Terrain.