Stryker vs The World, Part one. The first games.

As mentioned a couple of posts back, my side project for the blog at the minute is trying to prove prime stryker still has the moves and can hold his own against the big boys. So last tuesday, I began, with two 25 point games, using only what I've got painted so far, so not much of a fair test(there's alot I'll change in this list).

How did I get on? Well the first game, was against a Syntherion convergence list. Dave, my club mate on the other side of the table is just learning the, he's probably played around ten games. He knows the system well enough by now.

So here we see Stryker's gang disrupting everything is sight. Arcane shield. on Thunderhead proves a tough nut to crack.  

Some hwat recklessly, stryker cockily charges a heavily damaged cipher, hoping to end it before it gets repaired, and managed to bounce off. Both forces started running out of options in the end, and sytherion ends up on the end of the Thunderhead's upper cut.

Result: Stryker Wins his first bout!

 
Time for one more before home time. Next up i line up against Mr Tom Wiggins' Skorne army. Strkyer, who was carried by stormsmiths disrupting all the vectors in the last game, is less confident.

Sure enough, me wanting to clear a full unit of nihilators leaves a bronzeback titan wide open. Foolishly, I try and stop the beast with long gunner combined attacks. It hyper aggressive moves closer, then with a good rush animus from his gladiator mate in the next turn smashes the ginger nut to the ground no problem.

Result: Domminar Rasheth Wins!

So overall a win and a loss. Its a reasonable start. Check back next time to find out how we're going this week!

   
 

Cygnar Battle Box. Journeyman Awaits!

I briefly mentioned in my last post, that our club is about to embark on running a journeyman league of warmachine and hordes. If you follow this blog, you'll know I've been restoring old second hand models to make a cygnar army. Not wanting to miss out, I had to get a cygnar starter box to join in the fun.

This is the only item I've paid full price for so far with my cygnar. everything else has been second hand. As in the last post I showed strkyer, I'm straight on with the show today with the warjacks.

First up, tiny charger. 4 points of joy! This battle box, for some reason the blue has come out quite nicely, both on the pictures and in real life. I wanted a proper 'cygnar blue', and I think i got it! 

Next up, a lancer. I've been playing with airbrush techniques recently, so I wanted both his shock shield and arc node to have a good old cygnaran blue glow. I think I need a bit brighter next time, but hey, hindsight is 20-20. 

 
Last up, the heavy hitter, Ironclad. I love the simplisty of this jack. Big hammer. What else do you need?

 

So strkyer, stands ready to defend his own status with his metal friends. Find out how I get on next time! 

Gonders. 

Stryker vs THE WORLD!!

Running along side my Cygnar restoration project, I have a side project to add into the mix. This will not be a painting or modeling job, however, so just for a minute every so often, it might skew Gonders' miniature painting.

The story begins...

So quite a while back, I can't remember how far back now, I had a conversation with some club mates about pStryker. I was trying to convince everyone that cygnar's, and perhaps the whole of warmachine's most overlooked 'caster shouldn't be so. They told me the normal arguments of 'but eHayley is better at everything', and 'He's a one trick pony with the most obvious trick of them all', and so on. It became a standing joke that I thought he had some worth.

Somewhere along the way, I vowed that one day Stryker and I would return at the head of an army of the royal blues and steam roll the world.

Unfortunaly for me, that day is coming.

It's time to put my money where my mouth is and show the world, and more importantly my club mates, that Stryker ain't done yet.

Stryker:- Ginger, overlooked and pissed off.

In two weeks time, we're running a journeyman league at the club. I intend to log progress, both me and ginge's rise to power, in little battle report form on here, to show everyone what we can do.

So what can possibly go wrong eh? 

Look out world, earthquake's acomin'! 

Gonders.

The great Cygnaran Restoration part 2.

The restoration continues!

Last time, I'd rebuilt my first 'jack, the thunderhead. I'd just started layering up the paints when I left you. Before we continue with this, however, I'll just turn back the clock a a little.

Before I started painting, I started using this old mark 1 ironclad as a test of my airbrushing skills.  I had this guy just floating around one of my many bits boxes.

As you can see, I'm going for proper Cygnar blue. though fairly unoriginal. I like it, it suits the models down to the ground. Though not my normal train of thought, with Warmachine, I'm more bothered about doing well on the table top than with the custom paint jobs. 

A bit more playing around with the old acrylics later and my test model is something like. The defining lines between the armour plates got a black wash, then a blue glaze to add some depth. 

Metals are unfinished here but will get a bright silver highlight later. 

I also stripped my chosen caster. Enemo. I just like how his army runs, I love jacks, and remember how annoying stormcallers are to play against! Coupled with Thunderhead, I hope to be on to a winner! 

Now we're back where I left off the other week. Time to get Mr T upto speed. Followed the same method as the test 'clad. but with extra glow! Never tried anything like this with my airbrush before, but I don't think I've done a bad job. the key is taking your time, and thinking about where that paint is going before you pull the trigger.

He obviously needs his base finishing to. He also needs his metal highlighting like the Ironclad from earlier. 

Next up to see the workshop bench, these two defenders! For the minute, its bath o' detol for these guys.

Till next time!

Gonders

The great Cygnaran Restoration, Part 1.

Right, it's an effort to keep the blog rolling. Damn straight.

So, my next project, one for myself this time, is to paint myself a new warmachine army. I um'd and arred between two of the biggest, Cygnar and Khador. I'm played Cryx, Menties, Trolls, and Ret before. I decided I want to paint some proper warjacks.

I also have been trying out airbrushing recently. This is why I first thought Khador. Big red armour to spray up. Got it. However, they don't play very jack heavy now do they? So I thought and thought, and made some lists.

Then I remembered, months ago I was talking to my club mates about how I think there is more mileage in two of warmachine's most underused 'casters, Captian Darius, and Commander Stryker. So antother £5 on a warroom deck, and I'm putting adverts up for wanted cygnar.

I'm going to prove to my club, I can get something out of these two! So a few trades later and I've got some 'Jacks coming in the post.

Now, I think my fovourite 'jack in warmachine has got to be the thunderhead. I remember when it came out in apotheosis, as a cryx player at the time I was so damned jealous. So I have my start. Unfortunatly, my second hand T'head arrived like this...

 So, a couple of days in the old detol for you, Mr T. You know how everyone hates 'The DJ pose'? I don't, I love it! However, T's previous owner didn't. His poor scratching arm was sheared on arrival.

Time for some new parts, Big man.

This tiny vice of mine is really old, but still comes in handy. 

We'll have you back together soon.

 Brass upgrades! I think he's going to like me.

Good as new! 

Wouldn't be Thunderhead without the gap filling, so I'm told. 

So I even started layering up with the airbrush. I'm still getting used to the idea. 

You can see my test Ironclad has gone and photobombed me here. More from him next time. 

So, hey, one man's rubbish is another's treasure eh? Give me a couple of weeks and we'll be powering across the board together!

Tharn Chieftain, Circle complete.

Well, I've finished the Circle commission, on time on target. The final model to be done was this here tharn ravager chieftain. He rounds out the contingent quite nicely i think.

I'm quite happy with my skin tones on this whole job. I think my highlights are fairly smooth through out. Ravagers are an odd one, in that the main colour on them is their skin, so i think its worth the extra effort. 

So the whole lot looks like this now. Once they had a coat of matt varnish to seal them, they're ready for their new home. Look out for these guys at smogcon this next weekend if you're going!

Tharn Ravagers & Tharn Wolfriders.

Continuing my post from the other week, I've been hammering on with the Hordes Circle comission. I had a mad busy weekend the other week, so not a huge amount got done then, but other than that, I'm on target to get them in post on time. 

So first up, I've finished the wolf riders unit.

I get awfully worried, my camera skills are not up to much. I just don't have the equipment to take really decent photos of miniatures. I mean, I kind half get it right, but everything looks so much flat than it should.

 

After the wolf riders, a unit of Tharn ravagers is on the list. A full unit plus shaman weapon attachment. I have to say ravagers appeared to have suffered a lot in privateer's switch to plastic. The old metal leader model was stunning, and the new one just doesn't compare. Kinda like the dire troll maulers from our troll blood friends.

Again, managing to make everything flatter than a pancake. 

The shaman is a funky little model though. he looks a little less flat.

Here is our leader. 

And one more of the whole lot for good luck. The bases on all of this lot are being finished off by their proper owner, so I'll not see 'em properly finished. Shame really. 

There's only one more model to go, the chieftain solo to go with these guys. Once he's finished this weekend, it's back in the post for these guys. 

All this privateer painting, joined with the fact our club has picked up the game again has inspired me a little. I've managed to trade some Cygnar via several online sources. I think my next project, juding by the state of what I've received in the post the last few days, will be a full metal restoration job for a Cygnar army of my own. next stop, the scrap yard!