Adding some character.

Another model I have been working on for my Vampires is the Lord model. I am using Archaon as my Vampire Lord, and he is awesomely huge. I also wanted him on top of a taller base to put him even higher 'above' the unit (to look cool, yes, but mostly so he would fit on a cav base). I still have to grab a Terrorgheist and steal one of the rider heads for this guy, but he is almost finished.

I switched out the thick Chaos sword, and wanted a thinner sword for a more 'finesse' look. A lot of the other Vamps I have looked at have thinner swords.

I also added Isabella Von Carstein to the mix, but chopped her off at the waist and mounted her to be a Hero in the army. She looked good on a less masculine horse, so I put her on a Dragon Prince mount. Here she is and with another shot with the beginnings of the front rank ranked up.

More in the works very soon. I was at the hobby store yesterday and picked up loads of basing supplies. I need to grab some Simple Green and primer tomorrow at the hardware store and I will be set to get serious with this plastic.

Expand your Warhammer knowledge. With Podcasts.

An excellent way to get better at Warhammer is to expand your rules knowledge. Another way is to increase your experience with different metas and different styles of players. One of the best ways to do this without traveling across the country (or world) is with Podcasts. There are many excellent podcasts and a few "just ok" ones out there for Warhammer, but I really recommend giving them a try if you want to get a very broad look at the Warhammer "World" out there.

While I have a few links on my blog roll, here is a more complete list of some great, and some at least somewhat good, podcasts:

Bad Dice. The best Warhammer podcast. Period. Ben also has a daily show, which is insane. The regular show co-hosts Mark and Gareth are awesome. Some great tactics and rules discussions.

Garagehammer. Best overall American cast, imo. Good mix of casual and tournament. I like the long episodes. Spans tournaments, hobby progression, as well as campaigns and large scale battle reports.

Pointhammered. Better than Garagehammer as far as tournament performance experience and specific hobby chat, if that is what you're looking for. Can be very crude, but it's alright with me.

Skull Bros Awesome. My favorite new podcast. Rising Star. Also very crude, haha.

Ohiohammer. Andrew is another work horse for podcasting. Lots of different episode types.

The Black Sun. Another very tournament focused cast from the UK, but also very crude.

Wisco Dice. Another Midwest podcast. Solid hobby balance with frequent tournament reports.

Painting Tabled. Hobby focused cast, with some tournament reporting when they go.

Canhammer. Another international cast. Chris is a good tournament player and the cast reflects that.

6 Dice Monkeys. Newer cast, haven't listened much other than their good VC review.

Bull City Wargaming. South East US cast. Need to listen more.

Chumphammer. Literally just downloaded for the first time. Will listen more.

And more I have been turned on to via Twitter:

Dwellers Below. Australian Warhammer. They probably play Warhammer upside down (I haven't listened yet).

Tale of 4 Geeks. Another new podcast in my list.

Westcoast Hammertime. Was told to check them out. So I will.

Noobhammer. Another new cast. Will check it out.

Bats, bats, and Fel Bats

My Vampire Count army is going to have 3 units of minimum size Fel Bats. The only problem is that I think the Fel Bat models are terrible. After some musing and questioning on Twitter, I decided to convert some using Gargoyles and Ghouls. The result was better than expected. With some additional advice I really made sure to make the bases interesting. This is the result.

Vampires... GO

I was burned out on blogging for a while. I figure I may as well try again. I'll do my best to keep it casual so that I actually keep up on it long term. In the time I was gone I went to Screw City GT and got top 10. It was a fun event. I also went to Freshcoast 40k's Foodhammer charity event last weekend and won the Fantasy event. It is a pretty cool trophy.

I've also started a Vampire project. More coming soon as I delve into another new army. The plan is to play them on the tournament scene next year, starting with the 2013 Great Lakes Warhammer League.

I wanted to build a cavalry combat army, which was the exact opposite of what I am used to with my Skaven. The 4 main characters of the army are a Vampire Lord, 2 Vampires, and a Wight King. All the characters are conversion, but most of the infantry will be as-is. I have a couple more conversion ideas, and will add and update as models are assembled.

First, I picked up a new Wight King on foot, and wanted to mount him on a Black Knight horse. I had to chop him up and position his cape to go over the horse.

After some greenstuff on the torso he was good to go.

Bus!