Tentakel Games

This is not a problem that suddenly arose when Kingdom Death came along, but it's a problem that they turned to 11 with the ridiculously sexualized "pinup" minis they included in their Kickstarter solely to entice people to spend more money. The pinup options have absolutely no other purpose. It's the lowest common denominator of advertising and while it worked, their success doesn't make it any less objectifying.

My Changeling was featured on Games Workhop's blog today. My fifteen minutes of fame.

Here's a Skaven Warlord I posted a WIP of a while back. He took third place in GW Stockholm's The Fang competion last month.

Quantum Gothic makes a range of resin terrain that I've had my eyes on for a long time. With defense lines and bunkers being a big thing in 40k 6, I caved in and bought some of their armoured walls, a wee bunker, and a missile launcher. The casting is really good. I've seen some evidence of torn molds here and there, but nothing a file didn't fix.

The last picture shows the same length of wall as GW:s defense line kit contains - 28 inches. Quite a lot. The bunker is way too small to be a bastion. I still like it, and don't regret buying it. I intend to use it and the walls as normal scenery as well. 

Just one warning. To get rid of the mold-release, I used the same procedure I do with Forgeworld kits: soak for two hours in degreasing detergent and then scrub with a toothbrush. That wasn't enough here. I had to redo it and still had primer peel off in some spots. Quantum Gothic seems to use particularly nasty mold-release, so beware.

Here's another golden-oldie-vacation-repost. Since I first posted this guy, he won second place in GW Stockholm's painting competition The Fang in 2011.

This orc is proof that models don’t need to be “dynamic” to be good. The grounded pose makes him more powerful than if he were screaming his lungs out.

The skin is based with Camo Green, and shaded with various amounts of Devlan Mud, Camo Green and Scorched Brown. Highlighs are Camo Green and an old favourite of mine – the now OOP Bilious Green. I then finished off the skin with Bleached Bone and some glazes of purple ink.

You should read this book. You owe it to yourself. 100 people who make their living creating a variety of gaming products, each of them writing about their favourite game of all time.

I’ll give you a taste of the names that are in there. A foreword by Reiner Knizia. Richard Garfield on Dungeons and Dragons. Gav Thorpe on Hammer of the Scots. Jack Emmert on Warhammer 40,000. Gary Gygax on Metamorphosis Alpha.

I only have two caveats. Let’s get them out of the way. Depending on the writer, the prose does get a bit dry and/or flowery at times. And of course, every essay is a shameless celebration of the game in question.

The writers, however, are sufficiently different in style from the next, so nothing feels repeated. And the games covered span a variety of genres – you’re certain to find anecdotes about something you’ve played and loved in the past. I, for one, have fond memories of Brittania, which I have played exactly twice. That was fifteen years ago, but now I’m longing to pick up the new edition and get a game together.

Nostalgia, however, is a powerful and dangerous vice. And this tome – clocking in at some 400 pages – is sure to introduce you to some new games as well. The editor, James Lowder, has done a great job at showing the depth and breadth of the creativity inherent to our hobby (he’s also responsible for a brand new companion piece about family games).

The book fits perfect as a piecemeal read. Since the essays are short (three or four pages, at most) you can read them whenever you have a little time, on the way to work, before falling asleep, while waiting for the ink wash to dry.

Hobby Games, The 100 Best was published by Green Ronin in 2007, and can be bought from their webstore. A European alternative is Leisure Games, where I got my copy. I bet Amazon has it too. As a bonus teaser, check out Matt Tarbit’s visual companion, with all the games’ covers.

Here's an old post, showing a WIP of those award-winning Dark Eldar Warriors :-)

Here’s my first squad of 10 Kabalite warriors. Nothing special, but I’m amazed how well this and all the other Dark Eldar kits assemble. After scraping off the mold lines, the only thing that needs filling are their shoulder pads. All the detail is splendid. I’ve only converted an arm or two, and used one of the Raider passengers for the Dark Lance specialist. Even so the entire squad feels like it has personality. I’ve never felt that when assembling any other 40k squad without heavy modification.

The last image is a close-up of the Sybarite – and today’s lesson. When assembling models, always plan a little, and check the lines created by arms, weapons, everything. See how her hair follows the same flowing line as the chain and tassle on the banner pole? That line is continued by the pistol in the other direction, and is reinforced by her slight forward lean. The sword arm, however, breaks the line and creates a bit of tension in the pose. That, my friends, makes a dynamic figure. Posing things with their arms in the air doesn’t.

I wanted my Chronos to look a bit different from the Taloses – so I based it on a Wraithlord. At this stage the only major changes are to the arms. I also swapped the feet for ones from a War Walker to get a slightly more evil hoofed look. The base comes from Voodooworx.

Check out the close-ups of the arm join. Just a bit of filing, and the fit between the Wraithlord and Talos arms was perfect. Filling it will be trivial, since the cowling covers up the majority of the join. Now he needs a few spikes on the head and shoulder guards, to echo the forearms.

The back had a Craftworld Eldar rune that I filed down and covered with a caltrop bit from the Reavers. As you can see, I’ve also shaved off quite a few of the gemstones all over the legs and body.

He’s certainly playable by now, but I want to add some more details. Not quite sure what – do you lads and lasses have any suggestions?