BOLS Competition

Earlier today, I finished the above Imperial Guard Command Squad for the Bell of Lost Souls Painting Competition to win a Valkyrie model. This was my first IG unit, and in fact the first unit that had a relatively large amount of exposed skin, faces, and cloth. My current army, the Tau, has no visible skin whatsoever and is largely composed of tanks and armored battlesuits. My army before that, the Space Marines, were completely enclosed by armor.

Anyway, I feel pretty proud of this squad, even though I would be a long-shot to win. This was my first squad that I completely based, and based well, which was great. I also did some minor highlighting, which I think helps gives it an even greater 3-Dimensionality. The photograph is also way better than some of my previous attempts, which is always nice. I also wrote up some good fluff (background) for the Captain (center, above) and the company as a whole.

All in all, this was a nice start to my summer hobby season. I’ll be buying some more models soon, but probably for my Tau army, plus finishing up the two Valkyries I currently own and the last couple of models for my Tau army. Should be a good summer…

Promotions and Academia

Like many of you may or may not know, I am one of currently ten Moderators/Administrators on Advanced Tau Tactica, the premier site for everything Tau and a couple things that aren’t Tau. I’ve had this honor for closing in on one year, and I’ve loved it. Sure, dealing with some arrogant or lazy ‘Saals has been frustrating, but they are ‘Saals after all…

Anyway, I am partially in charge of recommending members for promotion, since currently (as a ‘Vre) I do not have the ability to do it myself. It’s not too bad, and I usually just check members that happen to be on at the same time as myself to see if they’re fine. Recently, however, I and the other moderators have somewhat fallen off the promotion wagon, resulting in a ton of members that should have been promoted long before to wallow at their current rank.

We’re rectifying the situation right now, but it is a lot of work. We have almost 4000 members, and only maybe three hundred of them can be ignored during this process. Not good, if you ask me… Anyway, just thought that I’d throw up a quick summary in case some fellow ATT members read this. We are working on it!

Oh, this and the Academy Curriculum Development project. We haven’t forgotten that either…

Flight of the Valkyries

This post is a rarity: one devoted entirely to Warhammer 40k. Usually I just sneak in comments here and there, but my current involvement in the hobby warrants this completely separate post.

As you may or may not know, I am a moderator at Advanced Tau Tactica, the premier site for Tau players. I was pretty surprised when I was promoted, but it’s been a great experience for me. I own a Tau cadre that’s roughly 3000 points, including some models I haven’t finished yet, which is pretty big (and expensive). I’ve been collecting that army for a few years now, but am nearing the end (until a new codex is released).

This past weekend, I started my third army, the Imperial Guard. This is the main human force in the world of 40k, consisting of poorly armed men and a ton of tanks. My army, however, will be slightly different, following what I think is a pretty cool theme:

My main force will consist of Veteran Grenadiers riding in Valkyries, fast skimmer transports, and carrying some pretty dangerous anti-vehicle and anti-heavy infantry weapons. They’ll be backed up by a small force on the ground mounted in Chimera transport, along with some Hellhound flame-throwing tanks. There may also be some Hydras, but only if GW releases them in plastic or I save a lot of money (Hydras are Forgeworld-only models made of resin and very expensive, but are better detailed than the plastic counterparts).

Anyway, this army will take a long time to assemble. With my first purchases for my Tau army, I could play a standard game. For my Imperial Guard, it will be at least a year until I can do the same. Why? The Veteran Grenadiers are currently only available in metal in something like three poses, so I’m waiting for the plastic kits to replace them. I also don’t want to spend $60 on one unit ($118 when you include the Valkyrie), so I’m waiting it out. Hopefully I’ll be able to build and paint all of the vehicles before then (I’ll have a lot of time), so then once they come out I can play with the army almost immediately.

To further add to my geek-dom, I looked up valkyrie names in Norse mythology to start naming the vehicles which I’ll be buying tomorrow (two Valkyries). Yes, I’m just that cool.

EDIT: I bought both Valkyries, plus a small selection of hobby supplies, on Wednesday. I’ve finished building one vehicle and will be working on the other soon.