Making Up for Lost Time

It's been a while since my last post.  When starting this blog, it was my goal to have at least two posts a week.  But, a burst of events at work and an injury, with surprise trip to the ER, slowed down my hobbying.  So to get the ball rolling once again, I'll cover what little I was able to do.  

Helbrecht: The New Old Hotness

It pains me to admit, but the only Black Templar characters I've ever purchased until now was the Emperor's Champion.  With the Armory System in place it just didn't make sense to run a character, when I could run such great generic Marshals and  Chaplains.  And it's no secret that I love my Chaplains. But with the coming changes, it appears that Templar characters are going to be character killers.  From top to bottom I am seeing some exciting combos in my mind (many of which will probably be changed when I get the codex in hand) and with these changes comes the need for our published characters.  Anticipating both a price increase and the knowledge that there are quite a few models I'm going to want from the generic marines range, I hurried over to the game store and picked up Helbrecht.  

By all early appearances, Helbrecht is going to be a stud.  His Waagh, erm Crusade of Wrath, ability will make him a viable option.  However, like all assault in this edition, timing will be key to make use of this.  I have a couple ideas on how to make the most of Crusade of Wrath, but we'll see what it looks like on the ground this weekend.  With the boost in WS and the ability to take an Honor Guard, this unit will be hunting the battlefield for enemy Warlords.  Of course I'm taking an especially optimistic view, as usual, but the potential is there.  

Painting the High Marshal

While Helbrecht has been a recent addition, I've been trying to get him painted up in time for the new release.  Unfortunately, his time at my house has been rough.  As a finecast model a certain amount of work was required.  And as many of you know, just because there are few visible bubbles, this doesn't mean that there are no bubbles to be found.  And as pieces burst from the model during the cleaning process, a side pile of bits grew.  After a couple nights sitting in the living room with some green stuff and a hobby knife watching Netflix with my wife, I had a completed model.  I had considered doing a complete repose of the model.  But looking at how everything came together, I opted for a simple head swap.  Pleased with how it looked I primed and placed the model on the kitchen counter.  A poor decision from the start.  I'm not entirely sure what amount of abuse happened after that (some xenos treachery I'm sure), but every bit that didn't have a bubble underneath was damaged or broken off.  

With the model repaired, I've begun painting and I will continue to post updates as it comes along.  I'm planning on doing some free hand on the cape (something I've really enjoyed doing lately), but I haven't fully decided what I want to do.  Suggestions are welcome.

Cashing in on Double Points Month

One of the awesome benefits of my local game store is their points program.  And August was double points month!  I play a multitude of games, and I've been working to increase my points in anticipation of the new codex.  Normally, I wouldn't post much about something like this, but my last trip to the store made me wonder if something exciting is coming.  I went in on Saturday to preorder my codex and while there I decided to pick up either some Sword Brethern or a Templar upgrade box.  Since I'm really the only Templar player in the area (one other player owns them  but rarely breaks them out) there's never a shortage of Templar models on the shelf.  As I hunted around I couldn't find a single Templar model.  While this has little to do with tactics or hobbying, it points towards something I hoped would emerge from being rolled into the main codex: introduction of new Templar players.  The only hope Templar have of breaking back out onto their own in the future is an influx of new Templar players.  I'll be on the lookout for new Templar players and hopefully we can recruit and cultivate a wealth of new crusaders.

Things to Come:

In the near future, I will be releasing a few different posts.  First, I have an amusing battle report in the works.  Initially, I wanted to do a week of Templar battles to send out the old codex in style, but the injury saw fit to end that.  So I put a week's worth of energy into one battle.  Second, I've got a project in the works, that'll seek to help new Templar players see how I do a step by step painting of my Templar.  The store is hosting a contest for painting basic marines and I figured I might as well take a lot of pics and make a post.  Lastly, with a few different discussions on terrain cropping up on BOLS and elsewhere, I've been thinking about doing a series of posts on terrain and tables.  There will be more on this coming soon.  

What would you like to see in the way of board discussion?  Post a comment below and thanks for reading!