Infinity Nomads Spektr - Showcase

Something I've been saying for a long time is how I want to play more games of Infinity. As with all hobby activities, the biggest obstacle is having the time. The second biggest (for me) is a lack of painted miniatures. This is particularly telling when it comes to Infinity as up until now I had painted a grand total of one miniature. So, I proudly present, a 100% increase in my previous painting total, namely a Spektr.

Badass!

For those that don't know the game, Infinity is a skirmish game set in the near future which is designed to simulate military special operations and stealth missions. With the various factions locked into a 'cold war' state outright war is something best avoided therefore combat takes place in shadowy infiltration missions or elite combat drops.


Having played around with the starter set a bit and with a shaky grasp of the rules I'm a newcomer to this system. But so far I really like what I see. The miniatures are top notch and have a distinctive style. The rules themselves are detailed and sometimes complex but allow for a great level of immersion. It really feels like a clash of elite special forces.


As for the Spektr, he's a stealth operative who's great strength lies in his anti-personnel mines. I'm not quite sure how he's best used on the table but forward infiltration and minelaying is bound to cause some headaches for my opponents right?




Love the dynamism!

I'm trying to keep my Nomads scheme simple so I can turn them out quickly. So far it seems to be working and I'm happy with the results. Hopefully I can show off some more miniatures soon and get a few games under my belt.

Salute 2017 - Aftermath

For those that missed it, last Saturday (22nd April) Salute 2017 was held at Excel London. Allegedly the biggest wargaming event in Europe, this massive expo is hosted annually by South London Warlords. I was fortunate enough to attend and spent the day shopping and painting with Blazmo from Tabletop Apocalypse. 

Warlords' Warlord!

We decided to drive down to the venue as I wanted to buy plenty of terrain and it was bound to be heavy. Despite the wallet crippling parking fee (still cheaper than the train!) they journey down was easy and we arrived just before the doors opened at 10am. Needless to say there was already a huge queue of eager gamers ahead of us ready to spend their hard earned cash!

So many nerds!

Despite the lengthy queue, it moved swiftly and we were soon inside the exhibition hall. As usual, the show included plenty of trade stands for all kinds of different games and wargaming products.

Nerdvana!

Having made a rough game plan beforehand, we headed straight for Troll Trader as we had found some excellent deals there in 2016. Once again we were not disappointed, quickly snatching up a copy of Red Veil for Infinity and a huge stack of TT Combat mdf terrain. We quickly realized our error as we had to carry around a massive block of wood for the rest of the day, how foolish!


Plenty more spending was to come as we grabbed more Infinity figures and templates from various stands (Micro Art Studios was one but there were too many to remember.) Every shop seemed to be offering discounts and freebees, I ended up with a small pile of different miniatures from random games systems. Always nice to have!


The other highlight of the day was the speed painting competition hosted by Eavier Metal. In a mere 25 minutes contestants were challenged to paint a model to completion, obviously no mean feat!

Blazmo and I, furiously painting!

This was my first experience of speed painting and I enjoyed it immensely. It was a great laugh as we manically splattered paint onto the miniatures. Even getting a basecoat on every area seemed like a challenge at first! It was also my first time using Army Painter products, which seemed strange at first but over the 25 minute period I came to actually quite like them. I will definitely consider Army Painter when I need paints in the future.

Such skills! Mine is the one on the left.

Another highlight was the massive 30k Horus Heresy display put on by the Warlords themselves. This seems to be a fixture which grows in scope every year. The obvious standout this year was the enormous (though definitely under scaled) Warlord titan. Despite my dislike of the model (because of the scale issues) I had to admit that it was an impressive piece which had been masterfully painted. The display itself was full of great details which were well worth taking the time to admire. One of my favourites was the three gore spattered World Eaters contemptors shown below.

So evocative!

Strangely, despite spending plenty of money, I didn't buy any 40k figures this year. There just didn't seem to be any stand out deals on the day. Still, with a pile of terrain and Infinity figures, I should be kept busy for some time yet. All in all the day was a blast and I look forward to heading down again next year.

Painting Kataphron Breachers - Adeptus April week 3

Phew! These painting challenges are starting to feel like hard work! Those of you that are paying attention will have noticed I missed week 2. This is due to a number of factors, most of which are wargaming related. First off I've actually been playing some 40k (pause for applause), secondly I've been distracted by my Infinity Nomads and thirdly I'm all giddy for Salute this weekend and am struggling to concentrate. Nonetheless I present my unworthy offering below.

Two down, one to go.

In other Adeptus April news someone has been good enough to join me for this painting challenge. Namely the talented (not to mention speedy) Cylde Ar from Mastodontica. If you follow the link you will see that he has already completed the monthly challenge. What a show off! I'd better get a move on if I don't want to be utterly crushed by my own painting challenge!

Cylde's cool looking Librarian.

As some of you may know, I'm a big fan of the Exo Lords range from Anvil Industry and I've used their parts extensively with my Heresy era Night Lords. I'm pleased to see that Cylde is also a fan of their parts and has used plenty of them to make this awesome looking guy. Speaking of Anvil, I'm off to Salute tomorrow to pick up some more of their stuff and say hi to the guys in person.


All that aside, my own progress with Adeptus April has been slower than I would have liked. I have to give big thanks to Cylde for appearing out of the blue and giving me the push I needed to get this far. I just hope the motivation will last and I can finish the last breacher before the end of the month.


The breachers themselves continue to be fun to work with. The details are nice and the paint scheme isn't too taxing. I was lucky enough to be able to get these guys on the field a couple of weeks ago where they totally wrecked face! Knocking out a Contemptor Dreadnought in a single volley and then going on to destroy a second dreadnought and a Rhino. Not bad for an 'uncompetitive' weapon loadout!

What a difference a head swap makes!

So, once again we're going to end on a nail biter. Will I get the squad finished by next week? Only time, and my fickle attention span, will tell.


If you missed the fist part of Adeptus April, you can find it here.

Salute 2017!

Well, it's that time of the year once again, Salute is upon us!

For those that don't know, Salute is often called 'the largest wargames expo in Europe'. Personally I have no idea if that's true but I can say for certain that it's huge! Hosted by South London Warlords at the Excel, London, Salute brings together a massive number of traders, gamers and artists for one day of enthusiastic consumerism. This year, the event will be on Saturday 22nd April and opens at 10am sharp.


Last year I attended Salute in support of my FLGS (Marquee Models) so you may have seen me proudly wearing the blue shirt and putting various punters through the hardships of board gaming. This year I'm being very selfish and just heading down for some good old retail therapy! I was delighted by the bargains on offer last year and hopefully I can snag a few more this time around. In particular I'm on the look out for some terrain to spice up my gaming board but I've no doubt an unreasonable pile of miniatures will find their way into my grubby hands as well. Oh, and don't forget, Forgeworld have a stand at Salute so if you need some resiny goodness without paying the postage this is the place to be.


As well as battering my wallet, Salute has a variety of other attractions to look forward to. In particular the painting competition which showcases some truly amazing examples of the miniature painters art. Last year their were also plenty of impressive wargames displays and a host of participation games for various systems. All in all, a great day out for the intrepid wargamer.


Give me a shout in the comments if you're planning on coming down. It would be nice to put faces to some of the names that comment from time to time!

Painting Kataphron Breachers - Adeptus April Week 1

Howdy y'all! It's been another rootin' tootin' week of progress for me! Under the self appointed banner of 'Adeptus April' I've made a start on a unit of Kataphron Breachers for my ever growing Adeptus Mechanicus force.

Haywire to the max!

As you can see from the above I've gone for arc rifles and arc claws for maximum haywire goodness. Now before anyone starts, yes, I know destroyers and more competitive and, yes, I know they can have heavy grav cannons. But the thought of battering my opponents with 18 grav shots a turn makes me feel a little bit sick. So I've decided to go with the haywire breachers. It's not all bad, they do get a better armour save which is important as these guys don't have feel no pain. They should be the bane of enemy vehicles of any type with 6 haywire shots and 6 haywire attacks (on the charge) tanks have something to fear. You can also pull a funny trick if you combine breachers with a Magos Dominus allowing their weapons to gain the cognis special rule. Suddenly your snap shots hit on a 5+ and can be re-rolled with the right canticle allowing you to threaten aircraft too.


All in all I'm expecting these guys to do pretty well on the battlefield, in fact I have my first game with them tonight (albeit the unit is not yet fully painted).

Does anybody remember TankJr?

As for the models themselves, I've never really been a fan of the battle servitors. I've always preferred the way the breachers look because of their heavier armour. However, after buying the kit I decided that most of my gripes could be solved with a simple head swap. After thinking about it a bit further, I considered what would happen to Skitarii that had been damaged beyond repair. Obviously their spare parts would be turned into Servitors! Hence the vanguard heads on the squad.




Really like this servo arm detail.

As for the paint scheme, I've followed my usual green and brass theme with pink accents. These kits were somewhat unusual for me in that I've painted them in parts before final assembly. This is a huge departure for me as my models are normally fully assembled before I begin to paint. To be honest I'm happy with the method so I probably won't change it for the rest of the squad. I even partially painted some of the parts while they were still on sprue! Something I thought I would never do.


Work continues on the rest of the squad and I hope to have another model done by this time next week. Until then, wish me luck and don't forget to tune in for the rest of Adeptus April!