The Island of Blood starter box confirmed

                                                              
Big thanks to Nesbet for sharing the news,

he shared on his blog that the new box is due for September, means an all brand new box filled up with awesome minis plus the updated rules. Ok with all new with games workshop means also a downside. Looks like the match up rumored is High Elves VS Dark Elves, well all in all if you are an elven fan rejoice plus the history behind the elven civil war is your cup of tea well you are more than served, but seriously as fantastic the minis can be an Elves VS Elves box  is a real turn off. In my opinon i was wishing a more exotic starter set, like Skaven ( rat humanoides) VS Ogres, Wood Elves VS Chaos Daemons or Tomb Kings VS Chaos Warriors. I invite you strongly to visit http://nesbetminiatures.blogspot.com/ a great source for info and this guy  has even more to help you out in a venture in wargaming.

UPDATE, like every rumor, it can go up in smoke in seconds, looks like it will be the Skaven VS High Elves

Warhammer Fantasy battles 8th Ed

That's it folks,
                      Games Workshop did it again, Warhammer Fantasy 8th Ed is released,  all pros and cons are pouring out all over the internet via blogs, forums, the fantasy wargamer community is on fire. I always had a thing for this game before ( the minis are so fantastic ) This new edition is also a sign of a new starter box, really good news but those looking to start in this game with dwarfs or goblins I suggest to grab the Battle for skull pass starter box. The rules in the box may be from previous edition but just for the minis it's still a great deal. See for yourself on the picture below. Of course all those pretty things come unpainted.

 To be honest with you dear readers I got to tell you "the why" I didn't started yet. This game has a reputation that does harm to it, sadly this is half true and don't get me wrong Warhammer Fantasy is a great game, just let me point it out. Initial investment for the starter box is around 100.00 Canadian dollars, pretty standard for a games workshop starter box ( 100 amazing minis, it's worth it in my book ) as seen on the photo above, the buyer or buyers ( in case of a splitbox purchase ) gets two skirmish sized forces, there is a catch...the game itself is not about skirmish, it's about armies, the itch for having a collection big enough to call an army will come over quickly and it requires more miniatures than most wargames out there. Let me do an example, a basic unit or squad in Warhammer 40000 is most of the time 10 guys to be fully functional and get the job done, Warhammer fantasy is 20. Double investment, between you and me, we better really, really, REALLY want to play that game. Warhammer fantasy been for a long time tagged to be the veteran's wargame, true to point that there is a learning curve less forgiving than other games, but that doesn't mean it's only for vets. Like everything else, practice makes perfect.

8th Edition, what for? What's new? The guys at the game studio did resolved many issues of previous edition and changed some mechanics to get the game a faster pace. For the new part, I can only say that some actions are now allowed to be pre-measured, kind of unusual and pretty nice at same time. Core rules changing all the time, personally I find it annoying and Warhammer Fantasy been revised 3 times in 10 years, not very stable core rule set in my opinion but business dictate that new rules is profits. What ever we say or argue about, Warhammer Fantasy, it still one of the most popular fantasy wargame out there if not THE most popular.
                   

Wargaming at what cost ?

Hello to all,
                Yesterday while building my second scratch Dreadnought, the neighbor's kids popped in the house and inevitably went to see what I was doing and had the reaction of wanting their own collection to build and paint. I had a thought, how much I did invest into the wargaming hobby. Looking in my inventory I got like .. whoooo I got way more stuff than I thought, yes the mini count is staggering, I did sold some miniature collections and gave away some too as they were of no use to me at the time. Thousands of dollars ( CAD ) have sunk in the hobby, the minis them selves, rule books, paint, glue and so on.  For starters it's quite tricky,
a starter box is always good and later on the possibility to expand is there, may happen that the series of miniatures desired is not available in a starter package, either way the cost at starting can hurt.

Asking guidance from some one already involved in the hobby is somewhat ideal, and for those like me who didn't or don't have a guide PLEASE OH PLEASE read about it. In fact get the most info you can about the game, the background, the factions and the the tactics. I am aware that it's not all of us who like reading but it's a vital part, the time spending reading instead of jumping right to the building do save time and money, never forget it's a hobby so time don't count and in wargaming preparation is also part of the pleasure. My view on preparation is like getting the battle plan ready and getting the best out of my faction.  My start in wargaming was like stepping in the unknown, I did many mistakes and my wallet suffered from it. Lacking the knowledge from the reading, the access to feedback from players themselves was really limited at the time and of course I was in a jungle of minis without a veteran to help in my choices. All those were serious factors and did cost greatly.

So how to start? How to not sink all those precious dollars? First advice I'd say would be, are you alone interested by the wargaming hobby, is there any friends to join you? Is there a club or somewhere to play on a regular basis? Otherwise all those minis might be just some dust collectors. Now for another advice, would be what ever the game, go for the minis you like. Yeah it's all about the minis. A third one would be to READ ALL THE RULES, background and all info you can get on the chosen faction ( can be race, army or warband, what ever the name is given to the miniature series chosen by the future player ) to be honest I do lack in this area, this did cost me lots of victories. Last would be in fact in two parts, first: when starting putting your newly acquired miniatures, ensure that they are rule legal. Second: play skirmish sized games for a while to get a good grasp of the rules and gameplay. These advices are of course to put a minimal investment in starting in the hobby.

Expanding, that's where is the money issue. When expanding, it's easy to get lost in all those options, new miniatures, warmachines, buildings and on and on. To start, depending on budget, I'd say for miniatures; hunt for used stuff, of course this don't apply for all wargames out there but many of the most popular ones do have a second hand market for the miniatures. The local gaming store or comic shop usually offer that kind of service. Naturally second hand miniatures need extra work to restore them to a satisfying level but saving close to 50% off regular price is always worth it to gain two mini instead of one. For those players wishing to expand their collection to epic proportions, molding and resin is a good alternative, this requires some reading. Practice to get it right but the investment it represents and the number of miniature created this way saves so much money that I think is the way to go. There is online auctions sites but those can be tricky so as a last resort it's okay, shipping fees can kill the intended savings or the buyer can get ripped off, better keeping that for the connoisseur.

Scratch building, for the big pieces that may be part of a series, collection or buildings this is the best. I recommend strongly using plasticard ( sheets of white plastic 2mm / 0.0787 inches US thick ) plasticard can be found in arts and craft shops, school art supplies. Cardboard, paper, wood and the recycle bin of the house can do.. OH !!!!! also never get rid of the plastic sprues ( rack where all the parts of your plastic minis or model comes on ) Sprues are very useful to make so many things it's too long to list here. The big picture is that you can build your own model and the cost will be ridiculously low. Just as a reminder that if you build a model to emulate a existing one, be sure that they got same dimensions, weaponry and statistics, no one likes cheaters.

Sculpting, well for those with talent or just wishing to try it, be my guest. The most used is called green stuff, in fact it's a pretty similar to the one used on cars to fix minor damage on the body. Great material for mini sculpting and is relatively cheap, those not afraid of long term project, it's perfect to create a truly unique collection. Talented or not, read about the subject and give it a try, it's very fun to do. Another side to green stuff,  great material to repair or replacing missing a part by doing your own. Again my second favorite reminder...if you build a model to emulate a existing one, be sure that they got same dimensions, weaponry and statistics, no one likes cheaters.

There is many ways to save, to get a really nice collection and have fun with friends, don't hesitate to ask me anything to help you start. Just leave a comment and ask your questions. I'll be more than glad to answer.

Necrohammer signing out !

Heart and soul

What make us so fond of those games, all point to ...the setting, the background, the story. Without a good background all miniature wargames would be lifeless, even the homegrown Lego toy wargame system has a small funny one. To make those metal and plastic soldiers worth something they need it, otherwise they all end as shelves sitters. Historic, sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk ? We all have a preference. Speaking of prefered setting, I do have one but I also have other settings that I find worth checking out.

My first contact with wargames was the first edition of Battletech back in the mid 80's. An era where the mecha genre was rising on TV, Classic Battletech appeared in the right time and is still around. I'm still having interest in it but I'm pretty much alone for the moment in my mini league. The feudal political system, walking tanks called battlemechs and the evolution of the setting. I think it's still worth it. The minis aren't that great but the game is nice, customization endless and of course the background is great.

Sci-fi wargames are the most widespread genre, there is tons of them, one more than worth to mention is Heavy Gear Blitz, the background is so great, never a setting had so much details in it, they could do a Google Map and Google Street of the planet Terra Nova...Yes, that much details. Like Classic Battletech it has mecha ( giant piloted robots ) in it but it's just a piece of equipment and if the player don't want any, he can freely discard them.

Historic settings are not my cup of tea, but for those out there that are into different eras of human history there is some games here and there but to find them involves seaching.  There is one shining above all the others, Flames of  War, this WWII Wargame has a great value in terms of kits, modeling and the background most of us already knows it.

The over exploited fantasy setting, we all know it and thanks to J.R.R Tolkien, author of The Lord Of The Rings to have given birth to a world of swords and sorcery. Sadly the genre been so much used that is there any place for any thing really new? In the mid 90s there was a game called Chronopia. The setting was very dark, quite innovative and tried to make really bold changes in some elements of the classic fantasy world. The game did not do well, maybe was too extreme in the changes they made and since then, Chronopia did fall into oblivion. But despair not fantasy fans there is two games worth checking out, first The Lord Of The Rings based on J.R.R Tolkien's books and Warhammer Fantasy Battles, both games are very good but Warhammer Fantasy Battles is in my opinion, one of the best for the minis and the background is huge, too. Both games are from Games Workshop, this company has almost the total control of the wargaming market at the moment, so kind of hard to not come across their products.

Steampunk, that genre been around for so long, but why it seems to stay in the shadows. For those who may not know it, the steampunk genre is a world where steam powered machines is widly used and also is the sci-fi of the victorian era Britain or in the beginings of the 19th century.  Jules Verne and H.G Wells at the time both were sci-fi writers and now today are icons of the steampunk genre. In wargaming the genre has two games I think worth it, the first is Fallout Tactics, ok may not be as steampunk. The poor life quality, the mix of recycled tech, meddling with high tech and the unique feel of the 50s sci-fi golden age, I'm pretty certain it can be steampunk. Overall a great setting in a post-nucelar war thorn world, only trouble with Fallout Tactics is, there is no minis at all, so lots of reading and sculpting is required. The second is a rising star, denying Games Workshop total control of the market in wargaming, none other than Warmachine. This game has a solid background and the system is great. 

Now, the one, the one I'm passionate about and without suprise it's Warhammer 40k from Games Workshop again, from the days of Rogue Trader to it's 5th edition. The background is so huge, you got it all in there. A fantasy world in space plus there is no boring "knight saving the princess from the dragon or the evil sorcerer". The big picture of the setting is wars of epic proportion for survival and power topped with the worst case scenarios for all sides in the never ending conflicts. Perfect setting for a wargame, no suprise it's the most popular.

Without the background the minis as great as they are, would just be toy soldiers. And you?  What is your favorite setting or background, and if none what would you like??

First post

Hello to all reader's,
                               as a first post let me welcome you on my blog. I may be one of  millions out there, but I'm glad to be one of those who seen the hobby grow and evolve the way it is today. Back in the days, only a small bunch of guys playing a complicated game of small metal soldiers in a well hidden basement. Today now the community is huge and many games are available and covers all sorts of settings like sci-fi, fantasy, steampunk and many others. 

For those who may not know, wargaming is the most fabulous hobby. Why ? You may ask, it goes as simple as, offering a way to let your creativity go wild in 3D. Learning techniques in many art mediums from sculpting to painting also in some degree little basics in design, collecting miniatures offers many ways to customize as you wish, once painted it is unique. Finally that same collection won't just be a shelf sitter because it's also a game, unlike most other items that can form a collection like stamps or hockey cards.

Like all wargamers, I have a passion for my collection and I wish to share it with the community. Promote the hobby, sharing opinons and helping out who may need it, this is the main goal of the blog.

Necrohammer signing out !