Welcome to the (Allies) Matrix

Remnants of SMS. Poor Dark Eldar
have never seen the light of day.

Welcome back to the bridge of the Folly of War. Its been a long time posting as I have been very busy with generally getting on with my life. Anyway thought it was about time for an update on how my Blood Angels are getting on and to talk about the new Allies rule. The problem I have is a very well known one in the wargaming world, "shiney model syndrome". SMS is a massive problem for me as a tournement gamer and one of the main reasons I started this blog. What it means is that I can never finish an army due to the attention span of a knat. As soon as I see a kit I want to build or paint, I drop all and go and start working on that. Why is that a problem I hear you cry! Well, let me explain. I start off very well when it comes to painting a new army. I end up getting the troops, HQ and maybe a couple of other choices done and then... it all goes wrong. I get twitches. I start thumbing through other codexes. Aggertation sets in as I scroll through countless different models on the Internet. Then it happens I start painting a new squad for a different army. Tragedy!!! time passes in an instant and before I know it another Mayhem passes by. "Looks like I'll have to use my Templars again", I declaire to the rest of my friends trying to brush aside moans of "When, are you going to get a new army!

Hopefully no one will stoop this low with their alliances...

SMS has begun... but this time I was ready for it. The best thing about 6th edition for me is the Allies Matrix. For those of you who thing I am talking about the 4th Matrix film let me explain. The Allies Matrix allows you to play with to different armies in one game, depending how well the two forces get along. For me this is the answer to all my problems. My Blood Angels have reached the dizzy heights of about 1500 points and is lacking one squad of terminators. Usually, this is about the time I get board and wonder off but now my wondering has paid off. I have decided to ally a small contigent of Eldar (space elves). The story behind this fragile alliance is that the Eldar are keeping a close eye on Mephiston as they believe he could be key player in the future of the Eldar's existance. I love the idea of an outnumbered Blood Angel force fighting off countless hoardes to be mysteriously saved by an unknown Eldar force hiding in the shadows. The potential for allies is massive and I have been thinking of doing a combined themed force for ages. There are so many different stories of it happening in the background, such as humans allying with orks, Tau with tricked into fighting Dark Eldar and Marines fighting with Guard.

Now I am still under the clock. There is not long till Octoberfest and I have these units to paint:

5 Terminators

5 Pathfinders

5 Dark Reapers

1 Farseer.

 

In addition to this I have been painting 10 Dire Avengers and finishing Brother Corbulo. The army is shaping up and I really hope that I can get these finished and ready for Octoberfest but time is ticking. I really don't want to have to use my templars again. However, this all depends on the points limit of Octoberfest. If it is 1750 I will be fine but 2000 will be a stretch. I hope to post more regularly as I am off holiday next week and back to the everyday trudgery of life. See ya.

Finecast, Greenstuff and Mephiston

Welcome back citizens, this week aboard the Folly of War I take a look at Finecast and turn my hands to developing my sculpting skills. I finally took the plunge and invested in my fist Finecast miniature. For those of you who have been living in the eye of terror for the last year, Finecast is GW's all singing all dancing resin cast miniatures. There has been a lot (understatement of the year) of complaints about this new substance but I was willing to decide for myself about whether or not I liked it.


This is what my Mephiston would be based
on.

Firstly, the cost of Finecast is high. Compared to other miniature companies that use resin to cast their models (Privateer Press etc...) the cost of Finecast is huge. Now the model I wished to use was Astorath the Grim and he cost me £15. Even if I was using the whole of the miniature (I only needed the body for a Mephiston conversion) it is still steep. So far not impressed. Next up, Quality. GW prides itself on the on the quality of their products. Unfortunately, this particular model must have tip-toed by the quality control monkeys as the Jet Pack for the model had been obliterated by an air bubble. This was hugely disapointing as I expected the model to be fully formed (and gold plated at that price). There were also several other parts where the model had smaller bubbles and to top it off, the axe had snapped into. Things were not looking up and if it wasn't for the fact I did not need the pack I would have returned said model post haste. I am glad I didn't because something amazing happened...



His Jet Pack obviously over heated!



Having worked with metal miniatures for a long time conversion work with this material was (lets be honest) as painful as sawing your own leg off with a spoon. For my Mephiston conversion to work I had to made several modifications to Astoraths legs and feet. If I had been working with a metal mini I would be still sawing and pinning and not writing this. Finecast was a delight to work with and allowed me to repostion with the bare minimum of effort. On top of this when it came to painting the model I was amazed at the detail that could be seen on the model. Each muscular grove in the armour can be picked out with a brush meaning that washes and inks sit better on the model.

My final verdict... 5/10. If work shop can sort out the casting issues I don't mind paying for excellent quality models but I want excellent quality and air bubbles will not do. If you have had any problems or indeed successes comment below.

Disco Meph is in the house.

So on to Mephiston himself. I love Mephiston. He is possibly one of my favourite characters in 40k. The Vampire/Space Marine has got awesome rules and a fantastic back story. Nothing, not a thing could keep me from having him in the army...except when someone pointed out his current model looks like a 70's disco dance. I was not going to tolerate such a smear on Mephiston's honour. I would re-Vamp him (see what I did there... cause he is a Vampire and.. erhem). I knew that Astorath was the perfect stand in as he has the same armour but there was one tiny snag. Meph has a cloak and I have never sculpted anything larger than a playing card on a hat. So off I went into the warp (Internet) to find tips on how to make cloaks.

So here are some top tips on how to make a greenstuff cloak.

Tip one: Use vegetable oil! This kitchen cooking staple is great for working with the very sticky green stuff. I used to use water but found that it dried to quickly and I ended up with green stuff mess. I also lay the green stuff on cling film this allowed my to shape sheets of green stuff without leaving finger prints.

I first, needed to create a thin (2mm) sheet of green stuff, large enough, so that it is the same size as the model that will be having the cloak. I Smothered the green stuff in vegetable oil and pressed it flat between to sheets of plasticard. When I was happy with the shape I laid it flat on the cling film. Once the greenstuff had cured a little I chopped it into a triangle shape using an oil covered knife. Finally, to create the effect of flapping in the wind I used paint brushes.

Tip Two: If you over lay the paint brushes in an over and under pattern you can create a smooth finish.

Once the whole thing was dry I then attatched it to my newly converted Meph and Ta Dah...

And give us a twirl Meph...

 

Overall I am very happy with the out come. I feel that I have kept the style of the original model but updated him to match the current range of GW's Blood Angels. Well of I go into the warp, Mephiston leading the way. I can't wait to see him on the battlefield. Thats all from me this week so I'll see you soon.

Mmmm Waffles (oh and painting research)

Right, you lot time for another forced history lesson (this may hurt). Over the last two weeks the Folly of War has been in dry dock in Belgium. Why? Well, if you were not aware a rather large war happened there from 1914-1918. I have spent the last week in a small, trench ridden part of Brugge (or Bruges if your from the French bit). What a fantastic opportunity to do some research for some new painting projects (and eat waffles). My first stop was the Tynecot Commonwealth cemetery. This really put into perspective how many men (just on the Allied side) lost their lives in a very pointless way. The stones seemed to stretch into the distance with name after name of the men who had fallen during the "Great War". The really sad thing was the many graves with the words "Soldier of the Great War" engraved upon them. This meant that when the body was found it was too damaged to identify.

This was found in a field!!
German Officer Armour. 

With the sombre part of the visit finished on I travelled to the town of Ypres. This town had suffered Greatly during WW1 and was ultimately levelled by constant bombardment by both sides. The Germans captured the town early in the war but the constant back and forth nature of trench warfare meant that town suffered constantly. What was remarkable about this little town (except for the waffles) was a tiny backwater pub called "The First World War Curiosity Museum". Outside, it looked like a standard Belgium bar. However, inside the walls were covered with a variety of artefacts found by the landlord around the surrounding countryside. As I went into the garden the bar turned into a trench works museum (very strange). It was easy to find inspiration for new projects here. I especially enjoyed looking at the German heavy armour worn to protect officers. You can see where forge world got their ideas from for their designs for the Death Korps Grenadiers (I can't believe the guy just found this).

Can you see the similarities?

Looking at this exhibition has really made me consider buying a very small 500 points Death Korps force (it will have to be small considering it is £36 pounds a unit). The problem is that this particular army screams to be a massed infantry army but I would only be able to buy one squad a month. Meaning that even a 500 point force would take approximately 6 months to finish due to monetary constraints (damn you forge world).

Finally, leaving 1914 Belgium (and the waffles) I went to Dunkirk. I haven't touched Flames of War for a while due to 6th edition coming out but this gave me some more ideas for further Flames projects. Dunkirk was a very hard fought battle by both the French and the British during early stages of the WW2. The Germans had the Allies surrounded with evacuation the only option. Hundreds of ships and boats (some of which came from my local area) sailed under constant fire to rescue thousands of British and French soldiers. The Early war game has never really interested me but Dunkirk may have sparked my interest. I really recommend that if you are stuck for painting projects... go on holiday. Simple as it may sound these little trips can inspire you to make and create some wonderful things.

Some inspirational dioramas to help think about future projects.

In other news, I have been beavering away with the Angels and I will have some more pics of them next time. Till next time, pack up your troubles in your old kit bag and its a long way to Tipperary. Now where did I put my last waffle?