Week(s) In Review: Whoopsy! Missed A Couple There!

Yeah, I missed a week... or maybe two... whoops!  To be fair, my schedule has been a bit hectic but, hey, it is what it is.  So did I actually do anything during that time?  Heck yeah, so let's take a look!

Trollbloods of Erehwon

That's right, more Trollbloods!  In fact, I figured out a few units that I have completed!  First up, my Trollblood stone scribes (aka crazed psychotic axe wielding maniacs).

I know that I had mentioned using Madrak as my chieftain (aka the lord) but after thinking about it, I decided that he would be the perfect leader for this unit.  I still have one more of the regular scribes that I could paint up but it's that whole two sculpt problem, especially since I need a leader for the unit.  Throwing in Madrak breaks up their look and he does look pretty badass as well.  Perfect!

Of course this means that I'm missing a leader for my army... or am I?

No I'm not, because I finally repainted Borka!  This picture is kind of dark but I think you get the idea and I just love this sculpt!  He's just an absolute bad ass and I love the idea of being able to use him in a game again.

Latari Elves for Song of Blades and Heroes

I've had an itching to play this game again, and I finally finished my little elven warband.

I thought this would be a good starting point for this force.  It has some balance between ranged and melee so it should be interesting to field them again my Daqan Lords... when I finish them.  I wanted to have a balance force on their side as well but I haven't painted up two crossbowmen yet.  They are started though so I should be able to finish them this week... or I could just be a rebel and play them withoug finishing them!  Craziness!

Funko Madness!

So Funko isn't painting but it is something that I have collected a lot for.  In fact, a lot more than I had realized.  Behold the wall of Funko!

I had stopped picking up sets for this but my friend decided that I had to have some more, in this case the Avengers four pack and the Thanos single.  There are plenty that I missed but I'd completely forgotten how much of this game I had picked up.  As I've said before, it's not a bad game and there's a lot more to it than I expected.  So many combinations you can throw together just for the insanity of it all.

So one of the big problems with this one, is actually what you see above.  There are so many boxes!  It's just not easy to cart around, ya know?  But... I think I have a solution.

This is a Rigid tool case and as you can see, it fits all of the Funkos that I have (30 figures total... for now...) and there is some room to spare in the middle for the tokens, crystals, and dice.  Of course there isn't anywhere for the maps and cards, but I figure I can consolidate most of those into one or two of the four pack boxes.  Overall, this will be much more portable, plus my daughter calls it my murder box.  I mean, look at the thing.  It kind of makes sense; this thing is a beast!  Now to finish packing up the last of the bits then there will be Funko pandemonium!

And There Were Games... Lots And Lots Of Games

Last year, I track a whooping 45 boardgame plays for the entire year.  45!  What the heck, right?  Well this year, we are already up to 25 plays.  In 10 days!!!  It's crazily awesome and I really hope that we keep this momentum going because I've really been enjoying it.

Beyond all of this, there has also been some role playing, both playing and running so there has been map making as well.  Lots and lots of stuff, and it's been a lot of fun, and now I'm headed off to do some more stuff.  Until next time...

Trollkin of Erehwon: More For The Kriel!

Edit: Huzzah!  I was going to post this yesterday but Blogger wouldn't let me upload the pictures for some reason.  Apparently things are working normally now so on with the Kriel!

Yeah, so I was a bit of a slacker this week.  Well, not really but one of the things that I was working on I can't post yet.  I did make some time to work on my Trollkin though and I've got to admit that I'd forgotten how much fun they are to paint!  Of course I didn't have time to break out my light box for the photos, but still think these give an idea how they are coming along.

First up is my chieftain with his bodyguard.

I'd originally planned on using Borka as my chieftain but I had Madrak done so he will do for a stand in.  The two bodyguards are champions that I'm using for now.  I might switch them out for Warders eventually, but for now these guys will work perfectly.

Next are my stone scribes.

Yeah, still only two of them are painted but I added some finishing touches to them.  I was going to wait on these ones in favor of filling out the basic kriel warriors but I think these guys will be amusing to play so I think I'm going to but them up in the cue.

And last but not least is the first of my two impalers.

Just the base drybrushing done on him but now his two buddies are by his side to give an idea how the unit will look.  The whelps are just a riot and remind me a lot of the snotlings of old, though I think that a whelp would probably kick a snotling's butt!

Next week, my BrushFu order should arrive so I'll be digging into those minis ASAP.  On top of that, Black Star Rising is supposed to arrive on Wednesday so even more goodness to get into!  Plus, a friend of mine just gave me some minis to paint up for his D&D game so even more for me to paint on top of wanting to keep pushing on with my Trollkin!  Definitely looking forward to see what I can knock out this week.  Until next time...

Trollkin of Erehwon: They're Impallingly Bombastic!

All of the minis that I have for my trollkin are some variation on foot soldiers.  Be they warriors, gunners, or guard, none of them really fit the bill for an artillery unit.  Of course, there is actually an artillery piece in the Hordes trollkin mini line, but I'm trying to be thrifty (aka cheap) so I decided to see what I could cobble together from what I have.

Part of the plastic kriel warriors box is three caber throwers.  The models are pretty cool and full of character as is typical for the Trollkin, but I had no idea how I could use them.  A caber is thrown, so a ranged attack of some kind makes sense.  It should hit like a ton of bricks because... well, it is a stone caber after all but this also means that it shouldn't have too much range as that would be silly.

It took some digging through the dwarf list but I think I managed to find a way to slot them into my army, complete with a crew.  In the dwarf list is the bombard which has a minimum range and a relatively short long range which seems like a really good fit.  It is also overhead attack and does d4 hits, which again seem to line up nicely.  It is a giant piece of stone that the trollkin is chucking after all.

To represent the piece on the table, I'm going to field one caber thrower with two of the old metal kriel warriors.  This gives me a crew of three, and having them move as a unit while maintaining base contact will turn them into a large miniature.  This also gives me something to do with my original kriel warriors since they are a bit runty compared to the plastics.

One artillery piece is good, but two?  Well, that sounds priceless doesn't it?  Again looking at minis that I already have, the impaler is a light beast armed with giant javelins.  Looking at the dwarf list, I can see two options that this could line up with nicely.  The large bolt thrower and the small cannon are virtually identical in their stats, except their ranges are quite different.  The bolt thrower goes all the way out to 60", while the cannon only goes out to 40".  Personally, I'm thinking the bolt thrower since literally that is what he is doing and it gives me a longer range artillery option which could be handy.  As for representing the unit, this time I'm thinking use the impaler with a couple of the trollkin whelps.  These little guys are adorable and would look great next to the oversized beast.

With these two options, I'm pretty sure that I've bumped my available points to over 1,250 which means I've got a lot of options!  Just need to keep on plowing through them with the painting while I make a list, then I will be good to go.  Until next time...

Trollkin of Erehwon: Slow And Steady, Just Like A Kriel Warrior

The weekend is drawing to a close, but I was able to make a lot more headway than I expected to with my Trollkin.  Behold, one unit of kriel warriors almost done... with assembly at least.

I've been enjoying these figures though they didn't go together the way that I thought they would.  I had plan to assemble them using super glue... unfortunately the very first one the parts just didn't line up well enough for the glue to adhere.  Thankfully I still have a small amount of the Procreate floating around so I've been packing the joints with this to make the connections.  No idea how well it will ultimately bond but fingers crossed!  I have been putting some score marks into both sides of the pieces to try to give the putty something to hold onto.  So far it's worked out?  As far as I can tell?

There are still a couple more unit choices that I want to try to represent, but that's more for my own entertainment.  Right now (once I get everything assembled), I can field field over 1000 points.  Heck, I might be even be able to push it up to 1250.  The only store that I'm aware of that plays the game regularly seems like they run either 500 or 1000 point games, so I'll be good for either of those.  I've also got a couple of ideas for cobbling together some artillery units using the minis that I already have, but more on that later.  Until next time...

Erehwon: Trollbloods Of Erehwon!!!

As I mentioned in my previous post, my trollkin have been talking to me and I'm looking for options so I can finally use them.  In addition to Song of Blades and Heroes, I really want to use them for Warlords of Erehwon but how?  Naturally there isn't a trollkin list for Erehwon and while I could build a custom list for them, I want to be able to run them in casual play without the list being an issue.

Looking over the current lists on This Gaming Life, Rick Priestly's blog dedicated to Erehwon, the best fit I can find is actually the dwarfs.  Ironic since the trollkin tower over the dwarf minis in my collection, but otherwise it makes sense.  Both are clan based cultures that have access to some black powder weapons, but also tap into the power of runes.  So with that decided, let's take a look at how I'm going to line up the trollkin with the dwarven units.

First and foremost, every army has to be lead by a lord.  Of my trollkin leader minis, Borka has always been a favorite of mine so that's an easy choice!  And no lord worth his salt doesn't have a bodyguard so two of my champions will hop on over into his personal retinue.

Next is the hero and this is another easy one.  Who is the ultimate hero in a trollkin's eye?  The fell caller, of course!  A couple of big axes and a stone torch as a back banner make him the perfect hero for the kriel!

And speaking of kriel, you can't really have a kriel without having some warriors to defend it.  And this is where I hit a bit of a snag.  I never bought kriel warriors myself because the minis were (and are) very expensive.  As these were pewter minis, and hefty ones at that, I can understand the need to have a higher monetary cost, it was just hard to justify that when the unit was so... average?  The one unit of these that I do have I bought from a friend that realized the Trollbloods just weren't for him.  Sounds good, right?  Except he only had nine of them for some reason.  As a single unit I can make this work, but that's the only way it will work.  With a minimum of five models per unit, ya just can't make two units out of nine!  

How to solve this?  By slightly breaking my rule to not buy any more miniatures this year... dang it!  Then again, I was able to snag the new plastic box of ten warriors and three caber throwers for just over half price so that's not too bad.  Not sure what I'll use the caber throwers for yet, but I'm sure I can find something.  Maybe a counts as catapult?  Could be entertaining...

Next I wanted to incorporate some ranged ability for my list which made the scattergunners I'd picked up the perfect choice.  In this case, these are counts as dwarf handgunners... which seems a bit silly?  A scattergun should be a bit more potent than a pistol but ah well... these are the choices you make with a counts as list!

And the last unit (so far anyway...) are my stone scribes.  Now these are a bit different since they don't really have any armor to speak of, at least compared to the other trollkin.  Then again, in the lore they are supposed to accompany the krielstone bearer and are willing to sacrifice themselves to keep him alive... sounds like a good fit for the dwarf crazed psychotic axe welding maniacs if you ask me, which makes them a fun little addition to this list.

Of course there are still some options that I want to look at adding... a runesmith, some kind of artillery... but what I have gives me a solid core for a good sized army so this is a great start.  Now if only I hadn't left my procreate at the house so I could start working on filling their bases...  something to add to the list for this weekend!  Until next time...

Song of Blades and Heroes: For The Kriel!!!

Lately I've been looking at my dusty and little used Trollbloods.  I LOVE these minis!  The lore for the Trollbloods is great and the minis are so full of character!  It is a damn shame that as an army, they were so lackluster.  I tried to field them a couple of times back in the day when I was playing Hordes, but man... they were just a grind.  I've even thought about selling them but... I just can't.  The minis have just always spoken to me, ya know?  But what to do with them...

The Kriel in all their glory!  Minus a little bit of paint...

I'll admit that my first impulse wasn't SOBH, even though it makes sense.  The system is open ended and encourages you to bring whatever minis are in your collection into the game.  For some reason, my brain side stepped this one and went to Warlords of Erehwon... but I'll delve more into that in the future.

I'd already been looking at pulling my Wrath of Kings minis into SOBH, and since they are on the large side, they will fit in nicely with the trolls.  Of course I'll need to get them stat'd up... oh, and painted too.  It's good to finally have a plan for these guys though, and I'm going to fit them into my rotating painting queue.  Very excited at the idea of finally putting these guys to good use!  Heck, I might even expand my collection a bit more as well, but more on that later.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: And Then There Was One...

 That's right, I've actually finished my Trollkin warband for Frostgrave, and in what feels like record time as well!

This is the original mini for Madrak Ironhide.  I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of this figure but he will work great for my enchanter.  I'm also really pleased with how his grey sash turned out.  I feel like I was really able to accent the depth of the folds which I was worried about initally.  He does feel like he's missing something to make him pop more but I'm not sure what it is.  Still, he will definitely work for now and I can always add more later if I want.

Now with this said, I do still need to base all of them.  Usually I do just a basic brown gravel with green static grass as I feel like this is the most versatile coloration, but I really think I'm going to explore a winter base theme for this group.  They are meant for Felstad after all, so it would be fitting.  Time to start researching winter basing techniques!  Until next time...

Frostgrave: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Kriel Songs...

One more done for my Trollblood warband as my apprentice joins the Kriel!

This is the original mini for Grissel Bloodsong from... well, a long time ago.  I really wanted my apprentice and wizard to be unique looking so either solos or warlocks were the place to look.  Unfortunately I hadn't picked up many of either for the Trollbloods which limited my options but it also help shape my warbands story.  My apprentice and wizard are both sporting massive two handed weapons... making them the perfect enchanters!

I never even dabbled with the enchanter spells when I played 1st edition but it's the perfect fit for this foray into 2nd edition.  That said, there is still one more mini left to paint...  But before I go I've got to mention Stargrave.

Slated for release next April, this takes the Frostgrave system...  INNNN TOOOO SPAAAAAAAACE!!!  Seriously though, this looks really good!  Joseph McCullough has a post about it on his blog, the Renaissance Troll, and I highly recommend checking it out.  There isn't a lot of info yet, but just from what is there I am already set to buy into this game.  There will be more information as we get closer, but at least now I have have a reason to dig out all the sci-fi minis I've got scattered about waiting to be painted.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: An Avalance of Trollkin!

Well, this week has been ridiculously productive and I've finished not one mini, or even two, but five minis for my Frostgrave warband!  First up, there is my man-at-arms.

This mini is from the Kriel Warriors set, just your basic badass warrior with a big old sword and shield.  I might pull in a couple more of these troops in the future, but for now my starting budget has put that on hold.

Thankfully the next three little runts are free, which is good since I don't know how long they will survive.  After all, you can't have a warband without some thieves!

These figures are from the Trollkin whelps pack.  Small and completely unarmored, they seem like the perfect mini to represent thieves as they run around and (hopefully) manage to grab the treasure first.

And last but not least is my only ranged trooper so far.  Why?  Because marksmen are stupidly expensive when you are first starting out!

This figure is from the Trollblood scatter gun unit.  I'd originally planned on using these minis as crossbowmen to represent the slow reload with their blunderbuss but then I realized just how much plate armor he is wearing. I could just hand wave it but I'd rather go closer to WYSIWYG than cause any confusion.  This also meant that I could only field one of them to start with because they are a good chunk of your starting gold as well!

"Everyone smile for the family picture!"

All that is left now is my wizard and his apprentice, then my warband will be ready to go!  I want to give these two a bit more attention since they are the leaders of this group, but I'm still hoping to be able to knock them out pretty soon.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: Another Trollkin for Felstad!

Still more minis done for my Trollblood themed Frostgrave warband.  This time, it's my second infantryman.  This figure is another stone scribe and man does he have an axe to grind!

For this figure, I decided to splash in a bit more color to really make his stand out from his fellow scribe.  I did decided to keep the grey hood though and I think I will try to pull that through to the rest of the warband as I progress.  Another thing that I did change up was his skin tone.  I tend to keep with one tone when I do my painting but this time I decided to mix things up.  Between that and the different colors on the clothes under his hood, I really like how much this figure pops and think they will go well on the field together.

Two down and seven left to go!  Up next is the man-at-arms for the group which I'm hoping to wrap up over the weekend, plus there are some more Marauders for Deadzone in que as well.  Not as ambitious a pace as I'd originally planned at the start of the year but it's still progress!  Until next time...

Frostgrave: For the Kriel!!!

With Frostgrave 2nd edition coming out, there is talk of it starting up at my LGS again.  Not sure when exactly but I picked up a copy of the book and I'm already started looking at minis for my warband.

At first I was going to pick up some new Reaper Bones dwarves because they've got a few that are packed full of character!  I mean a butcher as one the thugs?  Perfect!  But I decided that I should do the responsible thing... and I'm going to field my Trollbloods instead.

I've been sitting on most of these minis for years now and it will be great to be able to use them.  I had initially gotten into them back in Hordes 1st edition but they were really just a ho-hum faction at that time.  Tons of character in the models but gameplay was pretty blah.  Then they went to Mark II and yeah, that was enough for me.

Still love the minis though and I'm looking forward to finally having a reason to get some paint onto them!  I had planned on painting up the lot and then posting but considering how slow they've been progressing I've decided to show them off one at a time.  So without further ado, here is the first of my Trollblood warband!

This model was a test and also let me knock the rust off the painting gears again.  Given the size of the typical Trollkin mini this is a really good use for them!  This particular figure is one of the stone scribes that come with the krielstone bearer though in this case he will be filling the role of man-at-arms in my warband.  I'm happy with how the figure turned out overall and I'm looking forward to moving on to the next one soon.

Plus I might even start working on some terrain pieces as well.  Our LGS is very GW centric so I'd like to bring in some pieces that are all skulls and gothic architecture just to mix things up.  I'll have to see how it pans out but think it will be fun.  Until next time...