eBay is the Devil and Other News

I know I know, I took two solid months off with no update. I got distracted by various things...

I recently decided that my son and I need some more "hobby cash." I took a look around the "man cave" and decided to part with a lot of the stuff that is just gathering dust on the shelves. We are going to cut all the excess 40K armies, our one extra fantasy army and see what that gets us. We may end up parting with the D&D books as well as we never play.

The two of us finally got into Warmachine/Hordes. He selected Trollbloods (bah... that was the army I wanted) and I picked Circle. I have painted and based up my starter box and will post some pictures as soon as I get my camera to play nice. I took some last night and it decided to blur up on me...

The local hobby shop does not support Warmachine/Hordes but we rarely visit anyway so no big loss. We will just play in the garage and infect those around us into joining.... (insert evil laugh here...)

Now, on to the title...

So I mentioned we have been going through our stuff deciding what to sell and what to keep...

As a test we put up all the ultramarines as one lump painted lot and it made it to $80. I am content with that. Nowhere near retail, but at this point the models were valued at $0 in the garage gathering dust. I was hoping for at least $50 and they passed.

Here is the issue I have with eBay... Three days now... No word from the buyer. No money... What is the deal? This douche bid and won in the last 90 seconds... I was watching it.

Oh well... what can you do...

Photo Cube Review

It will tear your soul apart...

Wait... Nevermind that is the wrong cube...

Here is the cube fully packed.


Here is the cube unpacked and expanded with the white backdrop in place.



Here are three of the four color backdrops.


Here is the light packed and unpacked.



Here is the camera stand packed and unpacked.



Pros...
Packs up really nice.
Multiple backdrops.
Simple and easy to use.

Cons...
Lights get hot.
Feels like I still need more light...

I know my camera sucks... I have said that plenty lately, but I still feel that my lighting may be off. I plan on buying a painting light and will get that to shine in the top to see if that improves my lighting. I am new to this whole thing so it may be plenty.

All in all I am pleased with my purchase and if I had to score it, I would give it a 4 out of 5.

On a different note... Check this out...

Some amazing orks

Nice looking guard

Dirty Liar

I recently made a post that I plan on updating once a month... kind of...

I have to be honest with myself... There is no way I can hold myself back from buying cool models.

The main reason I got into this hobby back in 1997 (Hermit you are old....) was because I enjoyed the models. One could not tell that from the quality of my paint job back then... but it was true none the less.

I think I just need to be a little more focused in my projects and try to pace myself better.

I have heard all the cool rumors about the new Grey Knights and I am overjoyed. I always found the models to be cool. Now they are probably going to cost a ton on the table so I can collect a small (1500 or so) force and it will be a neat little project. Just the sort of thing I need.

I have Tau I want to finish, but I will probably wait until the new codex... no matter how long it takes.

I have Necrons I want to finish, but I will probably wait until the new codex... no matter how long it takes.

Orks... Lets just face the facts here... I will never stop buying orks. I just love those guys and the crazy things that can be done. They are also a blast to play.

IG... I think this will be my current project. Did you know that my first ever fully painted army was a Catachan Army that I force myself to complete after the Catachan plastics were released? I sold that Army on Ebay shortly after joining the army. We were more or less broke... I miss those guys....

I came across this post this week and that gives me inspiration for doing something with the bases on my Vendettas. I will work on those suckers and try to do the Cadian 127th proud as I ninja (read pay homage to his brilliant idea) on my own two of nine. Kind of sounds like borg when phrased like that...


I suppose when it comes to buying new models... resistance is futile...

Down with the Sickness

I think I have some sort of sickness. I think we all have this sickness. What is it about the miniature collecting hobby that makes me want to own it all?


Have I been contaminated by Larfleeze?

I can not seem to stop myself.

It would be so easy if I could just say... Look... I only play orks, so there.

I can't...

What happens is that I start reading blogs and trolling the net on my break at work and see something really cool. I then think to myself "Self, we need that. I think we could paint that up to where it would like nice on a table top."

I made a post a while back where I listed all the things that I currently needed to finish. That list is pretty big. Not massive, but enough to keep me busy for a while. I do not need any other armies.

BAM!

That is when it happens. I troll through the net and find something like this. I think I could pull off something like that. Do not get me wrong, my Deathwing would not look nearly as nice as his, but I think I could do make it look decent.

I own all these codex... codeci... whatever... And then want to try out a small Dark Eldar list... Blood Angel.... Space Wolf... Black Templar... Dark Angel (I have some Ravenwing, but need more per the Larfleeze comment above.)

Where does it end?

Money. Money and time. If these two items were limitless I think I would have to own a wharehouse for all my junk...

/sigh

Storage on the Cheap

I recently came across a new blogger, Lyashk, who was writing about a customized case he had finished and was working on a tutorial for how he did it. I called him out demanding images, and he has quickly responded... Cool Case.

I realize I am not an uber blogger. I do not have a high readership. I do know that I get a decent amount of traffic. If you come across this blog and have found some storage on the cheap please let me know. I am not saying I do not like the GW cases or the Battle Foam Cases. On the contrary, those cases rock...

My issue is I would rather invest my cash in models and not a fortune in cases.

Here is my set up in case you are wondering...


The game room with $34 shelving from Lowes/Home Depot (Local DIY store)



A Plano style tackle box that I picked up from Bass Pro Shops. Walmart, Target, and many other stores would sell the same.






Various armies and how they fit in the plano style boxes. I would not recommend for "delicate" models but it works great with plastic guys. As you can see I have several different sizes all fitting in there.

I want to emphasize that I do not think my way is the best. It is a work in progress and I have a real hard time carrying vehicles and such with this system. If you have ideas/links please share.

Taking Inventory

This is something that I am going to try and do on at least a monthly basis...

It may help to keep me "honest" and on track about what my son and I are buying for our gaming habit and may shame me into making sure it all gets painted. The bright side is I have not bought any models in over 6 months. The down side... I have not painted in over a year... Time to catch up :)

The aftermath of the last 40k game between my son and I.



Tau







IG


There are also 12 more Guard that need to be painted.

Ravenwing


Sadly, all I did was that one test model to see if I liked how it looked. I did like it, but then rediscovered WoW and forgot the rest...

Orks


This is the list that is going to be painful.
5 Converted meganobz in the imaged above.
10 Grots
10 Stormboyz with one Nob
5 Lootas with one Mekboy
1 Converted Painboy
9 Boyz with Big Shootas
6 Boyz with Rokkits
61 Slugga Boyz
22 Shoota Boyz

At this point in time I do not plan on buying any more models until all of that is complete. However... I have said this in the past and just look at that list.

/sigh

I may take some terrain breaks and I will post here if for no other reason that I can look back in a year and chuckle.

Like a Yo-Yo

I have realized that my personality + WoW = bad combination.

I have played WoW off and on for maybe 5 years now. I started about 3 months after release and have played both horde and alliance since then. I have never really grown bored with the game. I love the game. I love leveling multiple toons. My problem is I tend to go all out with my current hobby. With a "never-ending" game such as WoW, that caused issues. I wanted to spend more and more of my time playing and less and less time with my family. I love me some WoW, but not more than my family.

So...

What to do now?

My son and I have a rather substantial collection of 40k (perhaps you heard about the addictive personality...) My have been toying around with the idea of playing Warmachine or Hordes as well. We have played a few "proxy" games, but have yet to buy any models. I think that will be changing soon.

We are not going to quit 40k, but small games of 40k just do not feel the same. Army composition is just horrible for a small game. My definition of small here is maybe 45 minutes to 1.5 hours. Something that can be played during one evening without taking the whole evening. Our games of 40k are limited for this very reason. Our proxy games of Warmachine and Hordes at the 35 point level can fit in here nicely. We have a 4 x 8 table in our garage/playroom and lots of terrain. We could split that in half and get in multiple games during one evening.

I have been considering getting back into the modeling portion of this hobby for a while and maybe even posting some v-logs or something.

Only time will tell.

I have stated this in the the past and do not mind repeating it. This blog is as much for me so I can look back at my progress and time spent as it is for the people who stop by... Both of you....

Escalation League

Some friends and I have been getting together and playing a lot of games lately in my "Dungeon" / Garage. We have been gaming on Monday nights and Saturday afternoons. It has been going well and we have a good group. We have been toying with the idea of putting something together and we finally broke down and did.

Here are our rules...

40K ESCALATION LEAGUE


Week 1 5 Sep 500 Annihilation Pitched
Week 2 12 Sep 550 Annihilation Spear Head
Week 3 19 Sep 600 Annihilation Dawn of War
Week 4 26 Sep 650 C&C Pitched
Week 5 3 Oct 700 C&C Spear Head
Week 6 10 Oct 750 C&C Dawn of War
Week 7 17 Oct 800 Seize Ground Pitched
Week 8 24 Oct 850 Seize Ground Pitched
Week 9 31 Oct 900 Seize Ground Pitched
Week 10 7 Nov 950 Random Random
Week 11 14 Nov 1000 Random Random
Week 12 21 Nov 1250 Random Random

RULES
• 1 Troop Selection is required.
• No Model with more than 2 wounds allowed.
• No Save or 2+
• No Model with an AV of 34+ (Add up all the sides)
• Anything else in your codex may be fielded up to 2 HQ, 3 Elite, 6 Troop, 3 Fast, and/or 3 Heavy.
• If you lose you roll once on the “terrain” chart.
• If you draw/tie you roll once on the “terrain” chart.
• If you win you roll twice, and get to pick which roll to keep, on the “terrain” chart.
• You may trade 2 “terrain” for another roll.
• No more than 2 “terrain” gained per week allowed.

TERRAIN (2d6)
1. How? Really… How did you roll this on 2 dice?
2. Elite – An Extra Elite. This Elite may have a save of 2+
3. Save – You may field a single “unit” with a 2+ Save
4. HQ – An Extra HQ. This HQ unit may have more than 2 wounds, and a save of 2+
5. Heavy – An Extra Heavy. This Heavy may have any AV.
6. More Points – You may field an extra 50 Points.
7. Troop – An Extra Troop.
8. Fast – An Extra Fast Attack.
9. Veterans – You may add +1 to any of the following stats for a single “unit”. WS, BS, S, T, I, LD, A.
10. AV – You may field a Vehicle with any AV.
11. Wounds – You may field a single “unit” with more than 2 wounds
12. CHOICE – You may choose any one “terrain.”

Still Alive

I am still alive.

Life has a way of catching up to us and things become "confused" for a lack of a better word. I abandoned the blog-o-sphere without a note and apologize. I allowed my blog to become a "chore" rather than an expression of my local gaming, and because of that it became a burden.

I allowed myself to get into the rut of, I must post as people... both of them... are expecting an update. I started this blog for fun, but every now and then "duty" takes over.

I have done a lot of painting and building in my time off though.

I have 500 points painted of the following...

Saim-Hermit
Sept Hermit
Necrons
IG (Although this list is changing soon to incorporate two vendettas)
Tyranids (Both horde version & Genestealers R Us)
Chaos (My Son's Army)
Ultra Hermits
WAAAGH!!!! Hermit (Both speed freaks version & Foot Sloggers)

I am currently painting up a 500 point Ravenwing.

I have plans on building each of these forces out to at least 1000 points. I will try and get some pics up of my progress sometime this week.

Hermit out.

Storage on the Cheap

Plano 3600 Series

I am sure by now that most of you have struggled with the storage issue. I am sure that I am not alone here.

Per my last post... see below... These are a great storage solution.

The plastic boxes have customizable inserts that gives you some flexability in what it holds. The way that I have them gives me 36 "chambers" that can fit two space marines easy. So far I have been able to fit the following in with ease:

* Terminator (SB & PF)
* Terminator (SB & PW)
* Black Reach Captain
* Genestealer
* Two Space Marines
* Black Reach Space Marine Sergeant
* Two Guants
* Two Necron Warriors
* Khorne Beserker
* Chaos Lord (Terminator Armor & Lightning Claws)

As you can see they are pretty versatile and not that bad price wise either. Amazon lists them at $6.58 at the time I write this, but I found my batch at a Bass Pro Shop for around $4.50.

Spread the Wealth

In between my various trips lately I have been undergoing a mission...

What is that mission?

Ah, allow me to explain...

I have a new goal in the 40K world that stems from showing my hobby off to the various people that I meet. In an effort to support that goal I have decided to slowly collect 500 points of all existing plastic armies.

This accomplishes two things at once for me.

1. It allows me to be able to paint a large variety of things so that I do not get burnt out on any given force... read millions of orcs...

2. It allows me to playtest my other armies against a large variety of models.

3. It allows me to showcase for any who care to see what ever army they may be interested in.

As of right now I have the following :

* Ultramarines
* Saim-Hann
* Tyranids
* Orcs
* Necrons
* Chaos Marines (Khorne & Nurgle)

This week I will be picking up the Tau or the Imperial Guard Box. I am going for Tau first, but it will be an "impulse" buy... so if they are out, then the Guard are next. I figure I should be able to keep this going for a while, and still collect my "real" army. Space Wolves and Dark Eldar should be next in the works.

The really good thing, in my opinion at least, is that they are all painted so far. I finished up my Saim-Hermit this weekend, and quickly painted up 20 Necrons and a plastic Lord this weekend.

Who knows, I may branch out and have a couple of different 500 point builds later or slowly take them up to 1000 points... only time will tell.

All Apologies

Does anyone else hear Kurt in the background...

Sorry for the lack of updates, been hectic around here as of late. This post will be a minor update for my loyal readers... I owe both of you lunch or something...

I now have enough to field 500 points of Saim-Hermit. I broke down and bought some red spray paint and some Testor's Window Tint stuff. I have the vYper (odd spelling thanks to Sherpa... I saw him do it and thought it looked cool... NINJA!) and 4 jetbikes painted up. I have 1 "Farseer" painted red and tinted, along with 8 more jetbikes.

I have the Farseer in quotes as he will not really be my farseer bu rather one of my 5 warlocks later. I did a real simple conversion and ordered up some dire avenger bits. I really liked the exarch sword, so I ordered up 5. I also got the exarch chest piece and bare head. Not sure if the warlocks are supposed to be girls or not, but I liked the look so went with the dude.

For my Farseer I plan on Ninjaing another bloggers work and copying CJ. I thought that looked really good and will make my farseer stand out... Unless of course I ever meet up with CJ at a tournie or other event :)

Now...

You may be asking yourself... "Self... What is that testor's window tint Hermit is talking about?" Well... your self could not possibly answer that question as clearly you do not know. Unless of course you know what it is, at which point your are just messing with your self...

Ahem...

The Testor's Window Tint is a really neat product that a local gamer introduced me to. It is like a spray on wash. It is getting the look that I want for my jetbikes pretty quickly. At least the base coat and saves me a lot of work.

Sorry no images today... Lazy... Will post updates of Saim-Hermit soon.

Curse My Lack of Imagination...

I found this to be absolutely amazing. Check out the full thread here...

Tau - Droid Federation

Reading through the pages it looks like everything is either green stuff or modified 40k bits... Necron, Tau, and some dabbling in other kits...

Show & Tell

I did not make it to the B-More Gamesday, I was busy hard at work in Miami... However, a buddy of mine made it. He waited in that long Forgeworld line around lunch for about 2 hours. He managed to grab the a bunch of Salamander stuff, and for me... He picked up a DeffRolla and the Warboss Biker.

The Warboss Biker is just sexy. The Deffrolla will require some modification on my part to get it to work. The way it is designed it does not "fit" onto the battlewagon.

I will keep you updated on how it all goes...

Hermit vs Trekkie

Well... I saw the new movie today.

I will have to say this... if there is even a small trekkie located somewhere deep inside your being, then you need to see this. I thought it was a great movie. It had everything that a Trek Movie should have.

Kirk...
Spock...
Explosions...
Crazy Unbelievable Fight Scenes...
Hot Chicks...
Green Chicks...
Logical vs. the Illogical...
Nemoy...

As a matter of fact the only thing that was missing was Picard, Data, and Klingons (Namely Warf.)

Now I do not call myself a Trekkie... Although I have been called this before. In my opinion a true Trekkie knows episode numbers... I do not know episode numbers. Have I seen every episode?

Ummmm....

Can we forget that last question? No? Well maybe not every single episode of every single series... It took me a while to get into Voyager. There... See... I am not a Trekkie.

I have always been that Geek that goes to the movies opening day/night, or the Conventions and makes fun of the guys that show up dressed up...

Did I want to dress like a Klingon?

I do not think that question is any of your business... And the answer is yes.

The point is I did not.

Back to the topic at hand. I found this movie amazing. I plan on taking my wife to see it when I get back home. I have her excited about it finally. She wanted to see the previous 3 but I ruined them with my grumbling... I complained about the last 3 horribly both before and after. Well... I had high hopes for Locutus... but other than Picard the rest of the movie sucked :(

Hermit Hybrid

I am sure most of you have seen the Kingon ads by now. I think they are great. I want the stupid Star Trek Glasses and as soon as I get back from this trip I am going to try and get them all at once.

I am a Hybrid Geek. I play D&D. I read comics. I love Star Wars & hate George Lucas. I love Star Trek while hating Wesley Crusher & William Riker. I have seen every episode of Babylon 5. I have Star Wars Miniatures. I read the Lord of the Rings Trilogy over again before each of the movies was released... and the Hobbit. I loved the Matrix... and wish they would come out with II & III. I have planted numerous Lawn Gnomes in my yard... both in and out of my garden. I play 40k.

Yep...

I am a non-specialized geek. A Geek of all Geeks if you will.

All of this to say... I am really looking forward to this new Star Trek Movie. Now I have seen them all. I have seen most at the theater. I have seen most on opening night... I will be watching this one this Friday unless things change.

Well... nothing of value here today...

I did manage to visit Key Largo and Key West today... My job sure is tough...

Traveling Hermit

I am traveling this week so the blog may or may not get neglected :( I should be back this weekend and will return to the regular scheduled program....

In case you are wondering... I am in Miami :) I am getting paid to be in Miami. Yesterday I ate lunch on South Beach and my coworker and I got paid good money to sit around and enjoy the sights... We accomplished our mission before lunch, so the afternoon was ours.

Today... We hung out at the Dolphin Mall and ate at Texas de Brazil... Can you say gluttony? I can... Nothing makes you need some quality PT like eating there...

Tomorrow is Key West. We will be getting up real early to drive down and hopefully be done by lunch so that we can go enjoy some more beach sights...

Hard work... I know... Someone has to do it though, might as well be the Hermit :)

Below is my travel set up.

Yea...

I am in Miami and I am painting models...

Shush! I am happily married and painting these little guys rather than going clubbing is what keeps it that way :)

Hermit-Geek to the Rescue

At my son's school this year they have this project that they are doing. It is not being limited to a science project, just anything you want to write about, then talk about, then create a display for.

My son and I have been watching this new show on Spike called Deadliest Warrior. The show places two of histories deadly warriors into a fight and lets a computer simulation determine the winner. I really could care less how accurate the show is, we enjoy the crazy fights and weapon demonstrations.

Up to this point his favorite warrior has been the gladiator. I do not know why... it just has.

Well for his project he wants the two of us to build a Colosseum cut out with some gladiators and roman soldiers and stuff. I think it will be great.

Now here is where my title comes into play... duhn duhn duhn! "Hermit-Geek to the Rescue"... See... That is called suspense... I just did that right there...

We are going to build it like we would terrain and paint it up like models. I will have to look for some gladiator types miniatures when we go to the hobby store tomorrow.

I am looking forward to this project and will post an image...

What? Bah... You will enjoy the image or else....

Contagion

When I played WoW (World of Warcraft) I had this sickness... The sickness was called
Altivitus. In short I was always creating new toons / characters to play. I wanted to be able to experience all aspects of the game. I have my primary 4 toons, but that was just not good enough.

I have discovered / realized recently that this "Contagion" is spreading. I now know that this same infection affects my 40k too. I have this insatiable need to play many different builds, with many different armies. Most of the time it is sparked simply by seeing a really cool model. Sometimes it is sparked by seeing a cool conversion such as the Dakkalith from the previous post. Whatever causes it... I have it.

I love my orks I think because they have the most diverse collection of models. If I so choose I can take any vehicle from any model and put some orky know-how to it. I will be able to field that model, and it will work. Take for instance the upcoming Valkrie release. Do I currently play IG? Nope. I want a huge Cadian force, but am trying to hold myself back.

What will I do then? Hmmmm... Sounds to me like WAAAGH! Hermit is getting a couple of fighta-bombas. Will it be the best option? Nope. Will it be used in 95% of my games... Nope. It will look crazy on my gaming shelf though for all (rather the people that come to my garage) to see.

What is the cure? I am not sure there is one. If you are still reading this... I am afraid that you have been infected... I hope that you are immune.

What I need to make the symptoms less painful would be a Mercenary / Pirate / Raider list. When I first started this hobby I played fantasy and this Army list came out called Dogs of War. I thought this was simply amazing. The ability to have a large variety of models that look different so that one such as me could try them all. I want that for 40k.

I recently bought a Vyper and painted it up to my gaming standard. I like the model, which is sitting in front of the marines on my shelves. I purchased 4 Jetbikes to go along with him to start my Eldar army. I am wondering now if I still want to follow that army through... or was it just a need to paint that really cool model up?

I want to paint some Cadians. I want to try out my own version of Ron's Marines. I want to paint some Crisis Suits, a Pirahna, and a Hammerhead. I want to paint up a squad of Grey Knights. I want I want I want...

/sigh

I am going to have to develop my own Dogs of War rules for 40k even if the only place I can use it is my garage.

By Popular Demand

Ok... so everybody asked me...

"Hermit, how did you build the Proxidar so quickly? How did you get so much detail? We could use some guidance... tips even."

Well... My loyal readers... both of you... Here is my Tutorial...

PAPAERHAMMER and YOU

A list of materials...
Bowl
Spoon
Cereal
Milk
Scissors
Marker
Pen
Plastic Bag
Crayons
Bases
List
Inspiration

Step 1
Get your bowl, spoon, cereal and Milk. Eat. Repeat this step until cereal is gone.


Step 2
Cut up the cereal box.

Step 3
Gather your bases, pen, marker, scissors....


Step 4
Get your list...
Step 5
Take a base, your pen, and some cardboard. Place the base on the cardboard and trace.



Step 6
For those tricky models get yourself an image and draw it out.


Step 7
Now that your models are traced, you need to cut. Get your scissors and star cutting.


Step 8
Now most of you would recycle what is left. Some of you may discard it. These are both wrong. What you need to do is save all this extra stuff. In the modeling world we call this stuff "sprue" and bits. You need to put all this extra stuff in a bit box to use for conversions later...

Step 9
You may be asking yourself... "Self... but the Hammerhead has a turret?" You would of course be mentally imbalance and should seek help... You should at least be polite and answer yourself though. Tell your other personality or whatever you crazies call it that we have that covered. Get your scissors, pen, and cardboard...



Step 10
They make these little "button" things that are silver and brass. I did not have any. What I did have was an old folder. I cut the hinged tab things out. I punched a hole in the "turret" and the hammerhead. Push the hinged tab thing (yes that is the technical term) into the holes and you have a functional turret.


Step 11
Time to label. Get out your marker...



Step 12
Squads Hermit Squads! I hear you. CALM DOWN! Now... get out your crayons so that you can make proper squad markings...



Step 13
Now this is a big topic on the interweb... How best to transport your models? I have heard the talk about Battlefoam. I have seen and used Sabol Army Transport. I have seen and used the GW cases. I have even used Plano and other plastic boxes... All rubbish. Overpriced and not nearly cool enough. There is a secret company out there that makes great transport containers. Perfect. It will hold all of your models and fit in a backpack....


I hope that this tutorial has been informative. I know some may say "Hermit you suck." Well that is your choice. This is a free country.

I know some may complain that this is a hobby and paper models are just crap. Well... perhaps. I think unpainted models are crap too...

When all is said and done, this is a game folks. I play for fun. I am not rich. When my son and I, and my "trainees" want to game and try out new armies I am not going to go out and blow my mortgage on the newest army. This is cheap, and works just fine for having fun.

/cheers