Random Hobby Update!

Hello!

As the title suggests, this post is just a bit of a selection of bits and pieces I've been doing recently. I managed to grab a box of the Beast Snaggas with the new Ork Codex, so I'm looking forward to getting some games in and painting them up, but in the mean time I'm finishing up some other projects and enjoying some other hobby stuff.

So firstly, here's some Lunar Auxilia 3D printed by Forsters Foundry - I know them through my wife and LARP, so they reached out to give me a few tasters and see if I liked them.

Have to say, I think they look pretty cool. As 3D printed stuff goes they were pretty easy to clean up and get painted. I chose to give them a similar paint job to my Death Guard, in case I wanted to include them as extra cultists or something. So thanks to Dave and Deb for the cool toys!

Next, as mentioned, I've got the new Ork book, so I've been doing a little bit of a rework of some of my minis that either no longer quite fit or needed a bit of an update.

This guy was once a Warboss on 'bike', but these days he's a bit small. However after swapping his claw for a slugga, he should be about right for a Nob on Smasha Squig - buzz saw tusks for mortal wounds seems fair.

Deffkoptas are back - and now there's an option for mega blastas/big booms in the Codex, so I converted these two, formerly sporting big shootas, giving them a big blasty gun each and a bomb of some sort nestled below the tail rotor. I also applied magnets to the flight stands of all the Koptas I own, since a couple of the pegs had snapped off the stands anyway, and another couple were being held in place with bluetac!

Finally bashed up a couple of Spanners with big shootas from some models that weren't getting much use, since they are now mandatory in Lootas or Burnas. The guy on the left started life as a 'normal' Big Mek and the one on the right was a Nob for shoota boyz with a kustom shoota. Since neither are now options in the book anyway they got repurposed, with a but of modification. I'm particularly happy with the face plate on the right, I think it's part of the exhaust pipe from a battlewagon.

Next, some Imperial Fists I've been working on as a commission. There will definitely be more of these further down the line. So far I've done a bunch of infantry and most of a Repulsor Executioner (the grav plates are with the client to be added later along with the bases for the infantry). I painted everything but the yellow - which was sprayed, washed and drybrushed before arrival.

I've never really been a big fan of the Fists, but I have to admit they look pretty cool with a bunch of chipping and dirt on them, especially with the slightly dulled 'JCB' yellow.

Finally, away from the painting table, I was able to do some nerding outside with Fools and Heroes LARP:

It was of course, raining. Classic.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed this little selection of random stuff. If all things go well there should be some battle reports coming up for 40k with the new Ork book and for Titanicus! There might also be some more Death Guard stuff on the way, as I finish up a bunch of units to take me into the 2500-3000 point range for some more options. Hope that sounds interesting, and stay safe out there.

Match Report - Halflings vs Halflings

Hello!

After a bit of a hiatus, the Fiery Fowlers have come back to the Bloodbowl field! This time, they returned to the Taylored Games Arena to play once more against Coach George. With a one all record against his various teams so far, this time it was a decider, and the Fowlers were up against the only team in Bloodbowl as hungry as they are - other Halflings!

As is tradition, George's team (let's call them the Greyfield Gobblers) consisted of an unhealthy palid looking group with uniforms matching their skin tone. Obviously they had not been getting their five a day! The 'flings were accompanied by two treemen who at least had some colour to their complexion, but weirdly insisted on saying 'I am Groot' over and over. His team also sprinkled a few of the new Halfling special positionals in there for added flavour - they didn't really do a lot though so that's probably the last you'll hear of them in this report.

The Fiery Fowlers started with the kick, and we were off! The Greyfield Gobblers quickly retrieved the balls and, amongst ineffectual treemen fights, we prepared for the first Halfling throw of the game. He didn't land on his feet and the ball was soon grabbed by the Fowlers.

Moving around the flank, we quickly found that it's pretty hard to keep Halflings out of a cage. The ball was dropped and the Gobblers were in position to grab it...

But the Fiery Fowlers are a tough bunch, and in a rare show they out muscled their opposition! Many Greyfield 'flings were flung into the crowd!

By the end of the drive the Gobblers had almost been cleared off the pitch entirely! Touchdown for the Fowlers, but as is the case with Halfling teams, there are usually plenty of them so there was no danger of the Gobblers running out of players.

With time running out in the first half, the Fowlers kicked again, and managed to get the ball back without too much trouble. Second Halfling throw attempt saw three of the little guys knocked over and no touchdown.

Back for the second half, and the Fiery Fowlers were given the ball. They quickly formed up against a very aggressive Greyfield team for a throw attempt.

But the tree fumbled, dropping the poor 'fling on his head (even with a reroll!) The Fowlers held position against the Gobbler's advances, ready to try again with another Halfling, but the tree obviously had some slippery branches, because he dropped the Halfling again!

It was enough of an opportunity for the Gobblers, who were by this stage pretty well camped in the opposition half. They got the ball chucked up the field and safely caught. With backup they were able to keep on their feet long enough to get the touchdown.

All squared up at one all, and the Fowlers were receiving. The Gobblers formed into the deep 'throw protection' line. They and the ticking clock put the pressure on to force the throw...

A Fowler 'fling got up the field with the ball, but he wasn't able to reach the endzone. The Gobblers pounced greedily on their chance...

One more successful treeman throw in the dying seconds of the game and the little Halfling went for it as fast as his little feet would carry him, just about making it into the endzone before the whistle. (That four was the Go For It roll required for the touchdown.)

A Win for Coach George and the Greyfield Gobblers, and another loss for the Fiery Fowlers. They are pretty used to it by now, but of course it still left a bitter taste in their mouths. Oh well, I'm sure the after match feast was glorious!

George and I had a lot of fun with this one. Halflings are a weird team to play against, and now we've both had that experience. Most of the standard Bloodbowl tactics go out the window and you pretty much have to rely on punching them and hope the dice don't fall well for their throws. The new GW minis are also very nice, I'm sure they would look good with a bit of paint on them...

Nerding outside - Fools and Heroes LARP

Hello!

Something a bit different this time. Though most of us 40k players typically prefer to avoid nasty things like 'running around' and 'the sun', it is sometimes nice to go outside to the woods and be a nerd there instead of just at the table top. Live Action Role Play, or LARP, is one such way of doing that.

Last September I started playing in Fools and Heroes - one of the UK-wide LARP systems, mainly at my wife's repeated insistence that I would like it. And, as is usually the case, she was right. It has quickly become a big part of my life, once I was able to properly get into the mindset. I wouldn't say it's for everyone, but I would definitely recommend it to people who like TTRPGs like D&D and want something a bit more physical and involved. In this post I'm going to run through some of the things that initially put me off and my newbie tips on how I overcame those things.

This is me! I play a Halfling Alchemist called Basil Goodbread, which is quite fun for me because it allows me to interact with the community during down time (by making and selling potions) and also excuses me from being a scrub at fighting. As many of you may know, I do love Halflings, so I'm enjoying playing into this by bringing a pouch full of flapjacks and talking like The Wurzels (well maybe not quite like that). I think choosing/creating the right character really helped me get into the hobby, but we'll get to that later.

The first thing that put me off was really the cost of getting involved. I think my kit looks pretty good now, but it's not trivially cheap to get all that stuff. It is however, also not as expensive as you might think. I'd liken it to the expense of a 40k army, in that you can indeed spend loads on it, but you don't need to put that much in to begin with and there are usually plenty of people who are willing to help you out by lending you stuff to get you started. I pinched plenty of things that the wife wasn't using, and she also helped out by making me some awesome hairy feet.

So like many hobbies, you can easily start out with very little and build up your collection over time, once you are sure you like it and when you have a better idea of what you want to do. Then you can go crazy! As you can see, there are some colourful characters around.

The next stumbling block for me was system mastery - or rather, getting over the fact that starting out I would both not know how the system works and not being very good at it. Like most games, there are rules, and learning those rules is best done in play. In addition, there is the physical skills of fighting with latex weapons and having awareness of your surroundings, as well as the improv skills required to act in character most of the time. In short, it was a bit overwhelming. 

Here again, the key was to build up to it. Learning the system by playing from the back of the party and running away from danger, slowly gathering knowledge to better understand what was going on. Again, there was and is a lot of support from the other players. Getting a call wrong (e.g. "I Resist that Spell" vs "No Effect!") is common and understood, and everyone seems happy to explain.

You also get to learn what to do when it's all kicking off pretty quickly. Even playing a largely non-combat based character, I've started to pick up skills through 'monstering' - playing the bad guys (Fools and Heroes splits the players into characters and monsters at the start of each session, then you swap roles at the mid point), which I can now use to put up a bit more of a fight for the good side. This has made me more confident, which has in turn improved my ability to play my character and interact with the others.

This links to the final issue I had to really get into the game - how to play my character. For the first few months I struggled to really make an impact and make the character feel memorable or charismatic. But what I hadn't realised is that in turning up and playing, in meeting people and handing out flapjacks to them, I had been building up a network of friends and allies that I could interact with. I was becoming part of the awesome community. That's what really helped me over the last hurdle and got me hooked.

So now I'm addicted to this hobby, and I can't wait to see what adventures Basil Goodbread gets up to in the future. Hopefully this post was enjoyable and maybe even informative. If you like the sound of it and want to get involved, I can recommend F&H for UK people, just find a branch near you and get in contact!

Special thanks to Bailey Erikson and Izzi Wade who took these photos, and to all those who attended Leeds branch and agreed to let me use their pictures. 

Match Report - The Fiery Fowlers (Halflings) vs Nurgle

Hello!

Merry Christmas everyone! (Or alternative holiday greeting if you prefer.) Now that it is officially Christmas (Noddy said so), it's time for a festive treat. And what could embody the spirit of Christmas more than a game of Blood Bowl?

Yes, that's right, Halfling heroes The Fiery Fowlers have been back in action, working up a bit of an appetite for the end of season feast. Hot off a narrow defeat to Goblins (back in October), the Fowlers were looking for their first win against a Nurgle team coached by George, formerly of the Injection Molded Marauders. George assured me that one day he would have a painted Bloodbowl team, however today was not that day. We had a brief and non-conclusive discussion about a team name for the new boys, but I think I will call them the Pallid Pugilists.

Before the game however, it was time to get into character...

That that out of the way, it was time to play some Bloodbowl! We played to 1000 TV, George's team were taking to the field with no skills, while I had just the one, Break Tackle on Treeman Rowan Greenleaf to make up the TV a bit. We rolled up all the pre-game stuff, it turns out the Halfling fans didn't want to travel because they were outnumbered more than two-to-one by the Chaos crowd. The weather result justified that, a very seasonal blizzard. Finally, the Pallid Pugilists got to receive the ball first.

Kick off with the Fiery Fowlers spreading out across their half, and the Nurgle players lining up to stomp forward. The ball was recovered easily by one of the Pestigor and the offence began...

The two tress started doing some damage, but the Pugilists pushed up the flank with the ball. The Fowlers dropped into a tentative screen to try and keep them at bay. Several Halflings fell as the Chaos players slowly pushed up. A touchdown looked inevitable... 

Time for some hero plays! Dodging left and right, Gilbert Smoothands and Randy Butternibs combined to get a spicy tackle on the ball carrier. In an unlikely turn of events (2 dice uphill) the goat fell and the ball bounced off the pitch and was thrown back in (apparently by one of the few Halfling fans) right in position for Sam Copperkettle to grab it and make his way back towards the Nurgle end zone!

Copperkettle proved much too slippery for the Nurgle players who managed to get back to block his path, though some of the other 'flings were less fortunate, finding themselves flattened under the bulk of the chaos warriors.

With time ticking down on the first half, the Fowlers ran in for an incredibly unlikely Touchdown! For the first time in history, the Fiery Fowlers were winning a game!

In the second half, the Halflings were receiving the ball. The Pallid Pugilists had kindly left some gaps for thrown 'flings to land in, but in the unusual situation of actually being ahead meant that might not be the best option.

The ball landed far on the flank, and the Fowlers quickly swarmed around it, followed shortly after by Nurgle players.

As it happened, the tree-powered touchdown plan went out the window pretty quick as the Nurgle team managed to chop down the Treemen and keep them on the floor for most of the half. Their focus on the big guys did let the little ones pick up the ball and put a lot of (admittedly very small) bodies between it and the opposition.

With time ticking away, the Halfings danced away from the slow moving, disturbingly smelly noose that was closing around them. They just needed to hold on a little longer...

Things started to get messy as the bloated warriors started to throw their considerable weight around. Having fowled one of the Trees off the pitch, the Pugilists were able to commit even more players to the squeeze onto the ball carrier. One of the rotters got himself into position to shamble in for the draw if the Halflings should drop the ball.

It got tighter and tighter, but the plucky Halflings were able to dodge and dive around the Nurgle tackles and as the ref was getting ready to blow his whistle, they found an opening to rush the ball back down the pitch to safety. The whistle blew and Piggy Beefteeth's men celebrated their first victory! The end of match feast never tasted so sweet!

An interesting game for sure. The lack of skills on the basic Nurgle players was really their downfall here, that and some good rolls for me. So many times George got two or three dice tackles and was unable to roll a defender down result, with dodge ignoring the stumbles and both down being an issue without block on the hard hitters. The ability to move through all the tackle zones with Stunties meant that George could not make a truly safe cage in the first half, opening him up for my insane hero play. This was probably about the best match up I could have hoped for with the 'flings, but it still did require some good luck to pull off that win. But I'll take it!

Match Report - The Fiery Fowlers (Halflings) vs The Hokkar Loogies (Goblins)

Hello!

Recently the Fiery Fowlers (Sponsored by Nan Doe's Spicy Chicken) took to the field on their home turf in the first game of a long term ladder league thing. This was both their first home game and their first game with real consequences - if a player dies, he dies! In the unlikely event that anyone does something notable enough to earn star player points, they might actually gain a useful skill, maybe.

After their first game against Dark Elves at the Taylored Games Stadium went somewhat badly, this time they picked on someone their own size, a Goblin team known as the Hokkar Loogies. Boasting a pair of trolls and a host of illegal weapons, the sneaky, slimy Loogies were a little surprised to find themselves playing the role of the faster, more heavily armoured team.

In perfect Bloodbowl weather we kicked off! The Fiery Fowlers receiving the ball first.

The middle of the pitch quickly turned into a big guy shoving match. The Treemen, Ash Oldvine and Rowan Greenleaf proved too strong for the Trolls (one of which looking suspiciously like a Minotaur) and attracted the attention of a fanatic and a chainsaw.

Mid way through the first half and the Halfling's tiny legs carry the ball nearly into the Goblin half! The Trees were doing good work in the middle, proving capable of both hitting things and standing up (a tough ask for a tree), but with a goblin out there bouncing around on a Squig (counting as a pogo stick) the Halfling cage around the ball was never going to be safe.

Sure enough that jumpy gobbo leaped right into the cage and messed everything up. He grabbed hold of the ball, and it fell to the captain, Piggy Beefteeth, to smack him with his trusty bottle for a KO.

With time running out in the first half it was time to get the Halfling with the ball into the reach of a Treeman and throw him towards the end zone. The throw was good, but the landing wasn't - the double 6 was for the injury roll. The half ended 0-0.

Second half and the pogo/squig rider goblin gets the ball again. There is a big mess of Stunty players dodging around each other to surround the ball, but blocks on the carrier are unsuccessful. Eventually the dodging failed for the Hokkar Loogies as one of the Goblins tripped and fell on a sharp rock (or possibly a stale baguette) killing himself instantly.

In spite of the set back the ball managed to make it to the end zone and the Goblins went 1-0 up. There were plenty of Halflings off the field at this stage, but with more lining up to get in on the after match feast, the Fiery Fowlers were able to field almost a full strength team for the last drive...

It's deep in the second half and the Halflings have the ball again. Not trusting their little legs to take them to the end zone, they caged up around the ball behind the Treemen, waiting for the opportunity to go airborne.

With Goblins and Trolls all over the pitch and Rowan Greenleaf falling over and refusing to get up, it turned to Ash Oldvine to make the throw. Once again it was a good one, but, as before, the Halfling landed on his head.

A last turn attempt to throw another 'fling at the ball carrier and into the end zone failed (the tree's fingers were obviously covered in slippery Goblin blood as he dropped the Halfling), leaving the final score 1-0 to the Hokkar Loogies.

A good, Halfling supporting crowd meant the Fiery Fowlers earned enough money to purchase a 4th reroll, and Rowan Greenleaf was awarded the MVP for squashing a Goblin. In training he later learned how to use his strength to break through opponent's puny tackle attempts. To add to the good news, only two of the Halflings suffered permanent, career threatening injuries! Captain Piggy Beefteeth developed a niggling injury, but he is a veteran campaigner and will soldier on! Gilbert Smoothands however managed to break something important (I think from landing on it) and suffered a reduction in strength (down to 1). A good day out was had by all! (Apart from that Goblin who died...)