Building Crazy - Ziggurat and Gaming Table

I can't paint in the summer. I don't know why, but it seems more of a fall-winter-spring activity. But, what I can do in the summer is big projects. Here are the two I did this summer.

First my ziggurat (this is an older photo with just the first basecoat):


It's 15 layers (3 sheets x 5 levels) of 1/2" sheet insulation - the blue stuff. I cut all the sheets then glued and screwed them together. I then cut the steps out and cut the foam into blocks. After I cut some wear and tear into the blocks, I used the smooth part of a dental tool to make it look more like stone.

We used this as part of an Apocalypse event NerdNYC organized. It's pretty big 21" square and about 8" tall.

Next the gaming table:
This was a pretty simple job. I bought two 24" x 80" interior door slabs and a couple of 3.5" hinges. I tried to get the narrowest hinges possible, because the door is hollow. So if you go beyond the frame of the door you'll just be screwing into the thin luan.

After attaching the doors, I used masking tape to create the playing area, which I wanted to keep as 4' x 6'. I really like having the extra 4" on either side of the playing area, because it give you somewhere to put reserves, right before they outflank (hopefully right next to a devilfish, ha!) or a tape measure or casualty(previously mentioned devilfish).

I primed the wood with gesso and used acrylic enamel paint. I would recommend the enamel paint over regular acrylic, because a gaming table takes a beating with all the movement it gets and all the terrain pieces that have rough surfaces like sand/rock/rubble. I painted it dark grey and used a toothbrush to spatter it with a couple lighter shades.

If you want a final pic with terrain and models on it, ask Cawshis. It's his table now. Happy birthday!

Old School Mini Time!

GWPertinent is having a friendly contest asking that we take a picture of our oldest model and post it for posterity. As I post this picture I realize I didn't include the slip of paper with his blog name, so I'll need to retake, but in the meantime, here's a blast from the past...a Mentors Legion Terminator Librarian with Force Sword and Storm Bolter:

Click for Larger Version

I think I painted this guy when I was like 10 or 11 (I might be dating myself here). I remember him coming with a few Punk Rock scouts and lots of Tyranid Warriors and Genestealer Hybrids. Maybe an old Space Crusade booster set?

I painted him in the Mentors Legion scheme (I hope!) and it looks to me like I converted the Force Axe into a Force Sword...which might make this my first conversion too! Shamefully, back then, I actually painted my minis but left them unbased! Now it's the opposite!

3000 pts of Crimson Fists (and a review)

3000 Points of Crimson Fists!

As I've mentioned before, I've been prepping and building my Tau army for an Apocalypse game in July with my nerd friends, but that doesn't mean my Crimson Fists have gone unloved. I'll be bringing them to the game to field on a different table for a friend to play. So today I went through the task of packing them all for travel.

Which brings me to my review! The Sabol Army Transport Mark II has been my transport of choice for nearly all my games in the last two years. I love the rear loader and the large capacity in the small bag! I can fit this entire army into the transport with room to spare for a codex, rulebook and other accesories of 40k gaming!

Here is the troop all packed up and ready to go (once I close it). I don't have the pods in any tray as there is no tray large enough for my DIY pods. I also had to creatively pack the vanguard and a few marines into the 3inch tray with my rhinos....but it all fits!

I recommend the Sabol Transport Mark II. It's awesome!