Monday, December 01, 2014

2014 the hobby year that never was!


Hi Folks, welcome back to the blog and to the tail end of "2014 the hobby year that never was!”


As I’m sure many of you guys know the blog has been deathly quiet over the course of 2014 and I can only apologise for this, unfortunately this was the year the real world caught up with me and my family caused untold life and hobby catastrophe. I apologise for the wordiest post in the blogs history but I thought you might enjoy it.


The year started well with a few odds and sods done but then we decided it would be good to finally get moved and a house bought so the things were packed away in prep for moving and that’s when the troubles began. Initially it was going to be a nice quick purchase followed by some building work and then in, boy were we wrong!


Around halfway through the purchase our vendor “discovered” the house needed to go through probate and this left us all packed up with nowhere to go and we ended up moving in with my In-Laws on the assumption a month there then another for building we would be on our way. Well the good news was the probate and purchase did only take an extra month so come the end of May we were ready to go and we got the keys.


That was an interesting day as on route to get the keys some Muppet decided to reverse back around the corner of a junction they had half driven round in to the front of our bright red car, far from apologetic they advised they didn’t see us (its bright red for god’s sake!) and it’s not their fault. No injuries and luckily admissions and their stating they didn’t see us was caught on camera so they didn’t have a leg to stand on, still that was another lot of hassle we didn’t need.


So June began with a flourish and our builders moved in with all good plans and promises and work began…. Well the tools got moved in… the builders turned up a week later and then work began… except it didn’t… then the builders came back a week later and then work began… except it didn’t… can you see a pattern here! Eventually we tied the builders down and some work was done. Some walls were knocked down, some went up, some wires went in as did some pipes. All good? Well I bet you can guess what’s coming!


That’s right, three whole months later on and with a total of a months’ worth of work (their estimate) to be completed and they were still less than a quarter done! It finally came to a head and at the end of august after 8 separate deadlines to complete we finally asked them to leave site and terminated their contract. Strangely the day we told them that we couldn’t stop getting calls from them, amazing seems as for three months we had barely being able to get hold of them.


So they were asked to leave, their tools were gathered and they came to collect them with more excuses, whinging it would only take another month (when politely advised why it hadn’t being done two months ago then they decided to leave it), threats of legal action, demands for more money and some attempts at intimidation – note being polite works wonders when some muscles decides that he knows best – so all good they left and despite their promises the house was ready and there was only a small amount of work to do we were left with what can only be described as a shell!


Despite the promised and contracted work we were left to complete:
Full plastering
Central heating to fit
Boiler to fit
Electrics to repair – the new electrics they fitted were condemned
Bathroom to fit
Kitchen to fit
Floorboards to replace
Hole in the roof to repair
Water to plumb in for the entire house
Bathroom and kitchen to tile
Door frames to fit
Doors to fit


And those are just the big jobs, so what had they done for three months? By all accounts not a lot, put some plaster on in the hall so first impressions were good, removed a small chimney, knocked two smallish walls down (that didn’t need taking down), replaced those walls with one side of stud work (didn’t do the other side and made the walls the wrong size), attached one radiator but no pipes to the wall and ran some of the electrics.


So this left us with a dilemma as to what to do, it left us with the only option someone who has just being screwed over by tradesmen has to make, spare time and friends! Well that Sunday we met with a family friend who advised us on what was needed, recommended some very good tradesmen (if you are in Essex and need some tradesmen let me know and I’ll send their details) and then the work began in earnest.


Since the end of august until now we have worked every waking hour, weekend and even some nights to get things resolved and the house liveable and I’m glad to say there were some dark days, like the day we got both the electrics and boiler checked to be told they were useless and would take a lot of time and money to be correct, or in the case of the boiler and central heating to actually be installed – after being told they had being by the builders. That was a great day, and by far one of the darkest as to top it off on the drive back to the In-Laws a van decided to drive in to the back of my car at a roundabout, and I bet you can’t guess his excuse!


So things progressed and the house has finally got done in mid-November, when we take all the time and people working on it (including repairing the roof where the plumber went through) we reckon there was all in all two more months work to be done, but fitted around work and life its being a long hard slog but we are finally there. With all this going on and with living at the In-Laws, living in the building site, going away on courses for work, working and building as you can image something had to give and unfortunately that was of course the hobby’s (both 40k and airsoft) and the blog. So now after a whole year life is getting back on track and it looks like the life is actually coming back to my life.


Lots of other things have happened over the year, some good, some bad, some meeh but mainly there was lots of DIY and work that almost made everything else disappear and 2014 really has been a year that has flown by with no real appreciation of the time we’ve had and life in general.


Despite everything please don’t despair though, life really is good, we now have a home and all that’s left is those silly little five minute jobs that take you 5 years to get round to doing. We have finally settled in and most importantly 2014 is the year we found out we were having our first child. Yes amazingly on top of all that was going on my wonderful wife was producing new life, and unbelievably did all she could to help with the house whilst pregnant. She is just simply amazing!


Now we are coming to the end of the year, the baby is due any day and life is so on the up its unbelievable after the year we have had. so for Familia Millest it seems like 2015 really will be a new start and hopefully we can share some of the hobby side of life with you all and thanks for reading as to why 2014 really was “the hobby year that never was!”

Thursday, October 30, 2014

Post House Build and Pre baby organising


Hi Folks,
 Having a clear out now the mini-millest is approaching fast! Based in the UK (Essex) and all prices include postage and fees. All books are in mint condition and have only being read once, haven’t had chance to use them for games unfortunately.

All of the prices are below and include postage and fees, might be able to deal for multiples.

Aeronautica Imperialis - 35
Tactica Aeronautica - 25
pandorax hardback novel - 12
Warzone: Valedor - 20
Warzone: Damnos - 20
Warzone: Pandorax -20
Warzone: Damocles - 20
Campaign: crusade of fire - 15

 Please PM if interested. I’m afraid I probably won’t post overseas as postal costs are just crazy.
 thanks

Tuesday, September 09, 2014

Space Hulk 2014 - White Dwarf Sneak Pics

courtesy of Grot Orderly:
http://grotorderly.blogspot.co.uk/2014/09/white-dwarf-space-hulk.html

Welcome!
I present you pics from the latest White Dwarf, which is full of Space Hulk content. Additional mission, a battle report and juicy pics of the board and new tokens.





games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk



games, workshop, warhammer, 40k, space, hulk

Tuesday, July 29, 2014

The Mrs Polywolf Charity Draw

Hi Folks,
this is something unusual for the blogs but I felt it is something that should be flagged up, rather than try to put it in to words please read the below post from the Admin of many of the FB trade pages you might use, Polywolf.
 Please as a community lets get together and help one of those guys that dedicates a lot of his personal time to making the community richer and show him how much he is appreciated.

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Hey everyone, Polywolf here,
This is hard for me to say and even promote but here goes; my wife has Young Onset Parkinsons, Fibromyalgia and is only 38yrs. She had a car accident 2 yrs ago and her health has gone slowly down since then. I would say that up to 70% of her day, her muscles are cramped up, and she is in pain. She is in her bed or wheelchair for the majority of her day and often someone has to get up in the middle of the night to help her move and take pills. We are now looking at possibly having to move her into a care home for a while so she can possibly recover some of her movement back and be in less pain.
Associated with her medical problems come medical expenses and special food and homecare costs which are piling up fast.
Here is where I have more problems asking people for things. I’ve purchased a Limited edition StormClaw box from Games workshop. (The Space Wolves Force includes: Krom Dragongaze, 1 Space Wolf Pack of 10 miniatures and 5 Wolf Guard Terminators.The Ork Force includes: Grukk Face-rippa, 5 Ork Nobz, 3 Killa Kans and 10 Gretchin with a Runtherd.The 32 page Stormclaw Campaign Supplement and it also includes a small-format paperback edition of Warhammer 40,000: The Rules.)

 To help finance some of my wife’s medical costs I’m going to raffle off the Stormclaw box at $2 per ticket. I’m going to allow people to buy as many tickets as they want and I’m going to use a real raffle ticket dispenser to give them a raffle number. Please comment on this post and message Dave if you would like a ticket for the raffle.

=============================================

So folks if you would like to help a fellow gamer out please comment below or email me at millests_m_m@btinternet.com and I will provide details. The draw is slated for the end of august to give everyone a chance to get involved so lets all pull together.

Monday, June 23, 2014

The Lord Inquisitor - "Grey Knights" Teaser - Latest Trailer

I wont say anything, I will just let this speak for itself:


Monday, June 16, 2014

Imperial Fists - A Challenge in yellow Pt.2 - A Guest Post

As promised here is my follow on post, I have included not only the recipie for my yellow but also some pictures of my growing Imperial Fists Force.

Sergeant 1st Tactical Squad, 4th Company. Favoured armaments of Gravpistol and Power Sword.

Sergeant 9th Squad - Devastator, 4th Company. Favoured armaments of Bolter and Chainsword. Not strictly rules legal, however, when I get to posting him on the forum, I am hoping they will see the tribute.

Standard Bearer, Command Squad, 4th Company. Company Banner, bolt pistol, and power fist. The freehand banner was drawn by my partner Jennie, and painted by me, in my first real attempt at painting a banner bigger than the back banners.

 

 Here we have the base that all my marines have started out as. Averland Sunset over a skull white (spray) undercoat. Note, this is usually thinned in a paint to water ratio of 2:1, and applied using a decent sized brush.
 
This is after the Agrax Earthshade wash. Unlike many people, I like to coat my model, as then you get an even layer on the next time round. I have, on some of the models, tried Seraphim Sepia, however, I preferred the Earthshade.

Here, Sergeant, 2nd Squad, Tactical, Plasma Pistol and Power Sword. Here you can see the next stage in the Yellow process. After the Earthshade wash, a layer of Yriel Yellow is painted on MOST of the model, as this is the stage 1 highlight. Leave the Earthshade in the recesses, and the washed Averland Sunset in the places where it makes the most sense.



I don’t have any other pictures for the next step, but using Flash Gitz Yellow for the highest highlight point.

I hope I have made some sense to people. Just waiting for some things to turn up in the post, and I may even start to have some transports!
Ave Imperator!

Friday, June 13, 2014

Imperial Fists Captain - A challenge in yellow! - A guest post

Whilst in the midst of a move and rebuild of our new house I wont be getting much modelling done so I have decided to turn the blog over to some guest posters, if you'd like to be a contributor please drop me a line. So the first of our guest posts if my good friend Damien.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

Greetings regulars, first timers, or just those who might be interested.
I come before you with a tale.  It begins with me being uninspired to continue with my favoured Dark Angels.

I received one of these from my best friend, and owner of this blog. 

The biggest question I had when it arrived was “What do I paint this guy as?”

I already have 4-5 HQ choices for my Dark Angels, and, even though I still need to paint bone effectively, I decided I needed a challenge.

What challenge could this miniature offer such a jaded painter?  Well, I can paint green, red, blue, black, and, with some small success sometimes, white.  The one colour I have avoided like a plague is Yellow…  That’s right, I decided that I wanted to paint some Imperial Fists.

Aside from a painting challenge, they could complement my Dark Angels, by bringing units like Centurions, and the anti-aircraft tanks that aren’t in the DA codex.

So, I set clippers to sprue, and clipped out the front section, so I could glue it to the base, then clipped out sprue that was in my way, and every piece was held on by a single sprue part.  Setting paintbrush to plastic, as I had to undercoat by hand, I applied a thin layer of GW’s Ceramite White, and the painting began.

Below you can see some WIP shots taken when I was happy enough for them to be seen by others,
I have only had access to Citadel Paint, and a Citadel starter, Detail, and Fine Detail brush.  I realise there are mould lines in places, and through out the following pieces of this article.  However, for most of us, that is not only an eternal problem, but usually the worst show up far too late.
I have chosen the Fourth Company for this project, as there are loads of people who do Third Company, as they try to make the rims on the pads stand out.



A small note here.  Many people bash the Citadel paints.  Granted price-wise they are rather steep, especially for such a small quantity, however, I have never been able to achieve such great results as I will be showing with some pictures of my Tactical Squad, Devastator Squad, Command Squad, and the step by step processes with the second tactical squad.

I have used the waterside transfers, I haven’t drilled my barrels (mainly because I don’t have a pin-vice), and I might employ some strange effects or techniques, however, I am surprised, and overjoyed by the results I have achieved.  I have never been up to “‘Eavy Metal” standard, however, there are times where I think the studio team are painting some parts of my models to torment me.

I shall include a list of colours in a follow up post, if anybody cares how things were achieved, and hopefully the step by step will be of interest to somebody else who is beginning their own Yellow Experiment.
Here is the self same captain now. 



While he has some minor details that need finishing off, he is at the very least at tabletop quality.

Thursday, May 15, 2014

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

Warhammer 40,000 7th Edition Previews - Maelstrom of War Missions





- 6 New Maelstrom of War missions:

Cleanse and Control
Contact Lost
Tactical Escalation
The Spoils of War
Cloak and Shadows
Deadlock

- These new missions use Tactical Objectives
- Both players draw Tactical Objectives.
- Upon completing a Tactical Objective, you immediately gain the victory points and draw a replacement one.
- 12 default missions in the main rulebook, but more coming in other publications.








Tuesday, May 13, 2014

7th Edition Pictures - Confirmation of 3 book format

so seems the 3 book format is now confirmed to be a go:




Monday, May 05, 2014

7th Edition 40k - First Rules Info

All in all an interesting concept but one I'm not a hundred percent sure I like!


So those are the first rules we have for the new 40k! Have at it and let me know your thoughts 

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Hobby Request - Looking for Kasrkin

 
Hi folks,

Looking to buy the following metal kasrkin, in the UK and looking for compelte models with back backs:

5 x kasrkin troopers

5 x plasma gun troopers

3 x grenade launcher troopers

5 x grenade launcher backpacks

 

They can be painted or bare metal but they must be complete, can purchase or swap for ig bits, could even if you had them all trade for the web only marine captain

Cheers

Wednesday, April 09, 2014

Tuesday, April 01, 2014

Latest Imperial Guard/Astra Militarum Sneak Peeks

Via 40k warzone I Give you the Imperial Guard.... I Mean Astra Militarum (which sounds like a camo version of a really shite vauxhall)
Via PianoSam!



This looks pretty cool - some kind of Hydra alternative.

*EDIT* Reported to be BS3 12/10/10 with 3 Hull Points. Shoots a 48" Str 4 AP6 Blast, with Barrage, Blast, Ignores Cover and Shred - so no, it is NOT a Hydra Alternative but meant for Anti-Infantry.

Aaaand here we see the original Hydras.









And I think something we've all been waiting for - Orders!