The Assault Phase

We will be hosting an apocalypse event at Parker Banner Kent Wayne on May 14th.

21500 Catawba Ave Suite A
Cornelius NC 28031

Time:Registration and prep will start at 10:00am, game starts at 11:00 with a 1 hour lunch at 12:30 and 30 min break at 3:30.  Dice go down at 6pm.

You may come and go as often as you like during the day.  Joining during a team’s turn where balance may be needed.

Should the game at any point appear to stalemate or become chaotic, there may be a “reset” where the game begins anew giving people the opportunity to change up things.

Rules:  1500 points per person, Apocalypse rules with Imperial Armor and Formations allowed.

You must have the rules for any vehicle or formation you are running available for review.  and written rules and lists will not be allowed.

WYSIWYG: All vehicles must be GW models, scratch built or otherwise converted.  I know that not everybody has the money to purchase $500 forge world models, so very convincing count’s as “toys” that you happen to find will be allowed at the TO’s discretion so long as it has been converted and uses GW parts to Warhammerize it and it.  Counts as for any model sold at your FLGS will not be allowed.

Points will be tracked all day on a white board.  It will be a combination of objectives and basic kill points with a few caveats to encourage vehicles and super heavy’s as follows:

Destroying an enemy vehicle with a vehicle 2 pts
Destroying an enemy vehicle by ramming 3 pts
Destroying an enemy Super Heavy or Gargantuan Creature 5 points
Simply bringing a Gargantuan Creature or Super Heavy 10 points

So as you can guess, teams will get an automatic boost by fielding large models.  But they are worth more kill points.  This goes into the spirit of Apocalyptic scale games.

Rules Clarification #1: Allies and Time Limits

Page 198 of the apocalypse rule book has the allies matrix.  There are some quirks, like how the Tyranids hate everybody.  But for simplicity here are the following teams.

Imperial: Eldar, IG, Inquisition, Space Marines, Tau

Choas: Chaos, Dark Eldar, Necrons, Orks, Tyranids.

Also for simplicity, try to only choose one army, not a mix.  Your going to be on a gigantic team, chances are most races will be represented.

Both sides will have 15 minutes each to complete their turn.  The nominated generals will need to help coordinate the phases.  If one player starts moving into assault phase ahead of the other players, any units involved in that combat are locked.  So if you wanted to shoot at the enemy, but your ally is locked them in combat before you could, it’s too late.

I wanted to send a warm Happy Thanksgiving to everybody at The Assault Phase!  Also to remind you of the special Tanksgiving 40K Apocalypse event this weekend at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne open to everybody.

Parker Banner Kent Wayne
8301 Magnolia Estates Dr
Cornelius, NC 28031

Entry fee is one metal folding chair (or $15 if you do not have one).  GW prize support will be awarded throughout the game.  You can read more on the event.

Don’t forget also that this weekend, Parker Banner Kent and Wayne will be having a Black Friday sale.  Take advantage of the day of gaming combined with super sales and support the store.

Gobble Gobble….

I’ve made a lot more progress on the titan recently.  You can really see it starting to take shape.  The perfectionist in me is still a bit sad that it will never look quite as good as the Forge World one.  Still, when it’s done it will not look like a shabby thrown together stick figure.  On to the pictures…

After building the lower section in Part 1, I needed to start thinking about how to make the torso more dynamic.  If I stuck with the instructions I would not be able to take it apart for travel and it would not be mobile.  The Forge World titan has more of a round waist with some cog type edges.  A visit to Lowes found all kinds of PVC pipes with similar edges as well as bolt type edges.

Since the upper body has large empty pieces, it was more important to give it stability.  So again foam was used on the inside to keep everything sturdy and able to take a beating.

Joints were made for the weapons using slip on PVC pipes.  It allows for the weapons to be replaces and removed when destroyed.

To try it out I started to make the first weapon, the Vulcan Mega Bolter.  It slips in very easily and can even rotate without falling out.  I’ll put that aside for a while and come back to the weapons later.

After the body structure was done, I started on the head.  I wanted to do some unique stuff.  I also wanted the top to come off and also be removable.  Here’s a picture of the chaos symbol.

I had just finished reading Dark Adeptus and was pleasantly surprised that it was all about a possessed STC that built titans.  The Chaos titans that were made were all possessed and contain some sort of brain where the cockpits should be.  So I decided a skull inside of the brainy gooey mess would work good.

You may notice the wires sticking out the top.  I’ve been working on some electronics to give the model some oomph.

With the head done, I also started adding end caps to the leg joints as well as other bits that will be vents, trace lines for plating, and green stuffing the gaps.  It’s starting to look really good now.

I would really love a legitimate Warhound Titan from Forgeworld.  But those guys are damn expensive and I could not afford it without a second mortgage and putting my marriage at risk.  Currently the price for a Warhound is $376.40 without any weapon arms.  Not only that, but there’s additional cost of shipping from England, etc.  I’ve often heard the complaint about “Pricehammer”, the person with the most cash can afford the best army and models, and thus has an advantage.

So I’ve set out to build my own titan using a combination of plans found on the internet and a little “Mainer Ingenuity”. Side story; that New England phrase can sometimes also apply to doing something radically stupid under the pretense that it should work.  Case in point, my parents ran out of filters for the cat water dish.  Rather than go buy more, they used a scrap of spare fiberglass insulation they had.  The cat’s dead, luckily thanks to old age and not drinking from fiberglass filtered water.

As mentioned I was using a paper template.  First step was to cut out the template with scissors and then trace the template on a piece of cheap plasticard in the form of a “for sale” sign with a permanent marker.  When it’s all traced out, using a ruler you add the lines from the template that will be used to fold.  I recommend that when done, doing a sample fold with the paper template to double check which sides attach where.  There are a few templates that folded in a different direction.

You will then cut out the plasticard template.  I started to find that for the best fit, you really want to make sure you cut out inside of the line, rather than just along the middle.  After that is done, score the fold lines with an exacto, staying strait as possible.

With it all scored, fold the plasticard slowly and gently to prevent it from snapping.  It may help to use a bit of painters tape to keep the edges together when super gluing the folded template edges.  You will also want to apply superglue to the folds as they will eventually snap and maybe even in the process of folding.

I deviated from the paper template a bit to create joints closer to the forge world model and to allow some level of posability.  So here you can see the foot pieces.  I added some tubing and closed up any gaps with greenstuff.  I added just a little embellishment in the way of edging and rivets, seen best on the toe.

Molds

Since I knew it was going to be a big pain in the ass to make these fancy toes and knuckles for each foot, I decided to cast them.  I used Amazing Putty, bought at Michaels, Hobby Lobby, and places.  You can buy Resin there, it’s a bit more expensive, but if you want a cheap suitably equivalent you can buy fiberglass resin at Home Depot or Lowes.  Anyway, you roll the putty into a ball and press it around the edges.  It’s probably easier to build a frame out of Lego’s or something but I didn’t think of it at the time.  Below is a cast of the toe and knuckle and then a completed foot.

Back to the leg

So I’ve got a couple feet now.  There are only three main parts to the leg, so I continued to make them out of plasticard rather than mold it.  To add the posability I mentioned, I also utilized 1/25 inch wooden knob balls.  A value pack of like 10 pieces for $5 at Michaels.  They are the ankle and hip joints. 

When building the leg, I also added some pistons in the form of a couple plastic tubes that slide within each other.  The other joints use the suggested PVC tubes mentioned in the paper templates.  I switched to a really thick plasticard when creating the leg armor.  All the armor pieces will use that.  To ensure stability I filled each leg with foam to prevent any cracking at the seams as I can imaging the top of the titan will add a bit of weight.

The lower leg joint doesn’t exactly sit within the round piece as you would think.  So I decided to pin it to the joint before putting it on.  Also the pistons will serve as a stabilizer when it’s together.

The finished product.  It’s hard to tell from the picture, but one leg is stepping forwards in front of the other one.  Something that could not be done just by going by the directions of the paper template online.  You can also see I switched resins mid way through after running out of the old can I had.  That’s when I found the cheaper stuff at Lowes.  It actually seems to be harder and leave less of that residue that you have to wash off in order to paint.

Shaking things up, the next club day will instead be a Team Tournament with randomized pairings.  Games will be played in typical tournament format.  3 games, top seeds playing for 1st.  Missions will also be something different, geared to team format.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Entry Fee: 10.00

Army composition is per standard force organizational chart per person (not team)
Army Size, each person will need a 1000 point army

Rules clarifications

• Transports cannot carry models from a teammate.
• Army wide abilities that are “Chapter Tactics” or affect “Your Army” such as Vulcan’s ability to reroll melta shots do not confer to a teammate. (They aren’t part of your army after all)
• Abilities that target or benefit “Friendly Models” such as Pedro Kantor’s Inspiring Presence ability will confer to your team mate.
• Independent Characters cannot join units from your teammates army.
• You can’t shoot your teammate.  No matter how funny it would be.

Team Tournament Hints/Tactics

• You do not need to load up on troops.  Since each army needs a typical 2 troop choices, there will be a guaranteed minimum of 4 troops per team.
• Watch out for “Your Army” vs. “Friendly Units” wording.  Post here if you have a question about any rule.
• Chaos marines and Chaos Daemons both have “Chaos Icons” and can be used between teammates if you are lucky to be paired together.
• Don’t put all your eggs in one basket.  If you plan a horde army it does not play well with a gun line blast marker firing army.  You’ll shoot your own guys.

If you have other questions about rules or want to share some tactics help, please post in the forum.

Tournament Scenarios

Cheer on your local winners, Scott, DC, and Dickey this weekend as they attempt to smash all comers to bits down in Greenville, SC at Borderlands.

Semi Final Scenarios

Preliminary Round Results

40K ‘Ard Boyz (2010 Rules Posted): Page 3 | Games Workshop

Coming up in May, several stores (hopefully in your local area) will be hosting the ‘Ard Boyz tournament.  The ‘Ard Boyz tournament is a very competitive tournament hosted in three parts for the right to be the best player in North America.

Preliminaries on May 15, 2010
Semifinals on June 12, 2010
Finals on July 17, 2010

The local store over here, Parker Banner Kent Wayne, will be one of the sites hosting the ‘Ard Boyz this year.  It is where I will be playing and helping make sure the event runs smoothly.  It also may take the place of our normal monthly 40K tournament in May.  Still to be decided on that.  Either way I hope to see as many of you at the store as I can.  So make sure you register early.

If you are in NC, but PBKW is not close to you, there are other locations across NC and beyond.

The Hobbit 910-864-3155 Rick/Fleiet/Al NC
Hobby Chest 910-353-4473 Dan NC
Rules of Engagement 252-652-6538 Ed NC
HTU Charlotte S: 704-509-5717 Liem NC
Hit Point Hobbies 910-692-8447 John/Breck/Chris NC
Game Connection 919-217-5795 Ron NC
Parker, Banner, Kent & Wayne 704-892-4263 Matt NC
All Fun & Games 919-233-7727 Mike NC

So what is all the hype about ‘Ard Boyz, and what do you need to know if you are planning to participate?

First, this tournament is 2500 points and the quality of paint job does not matter.  The event is all about skill with the game.

Second, the tournament is a GW sponsored event.  All models must follow the typical rules for Grand Tournaments and such sponsored by GW.  That is they need to be Games Workshop models from either the Fantasy or 40K line.  Unfortunately, even Lord of the Rings models by GW are not allowed (licensing restrictions).

Third, think long and hard about what it means to win the tournament.  What you are doing is winning the opportunity to compete in the Semifinals.  And you have to provide your own transportation.  The Semi-finals are unannounced where they will be at.  The finals will be in Chicago.

When you attend ‘Ard Boyz you want to prepare yourself to play any list and any type of player.  The armies will be heavy hitting, and the players will be both fun and challenging.  So put your big boy pants on and I’ll see you at the table.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: April 24th.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00

This months tournament will be different than normal.  Be sure to read the details below!

Now for the details!
1776 Points (very bicentennial)

No Named Characters

FOC
1 HQ
4 Elites
4 Fast Attack
2 Heavy Support
3 Troops

Elite Units can hold objectives / Troops cannot hold objectives

Troops are without number (not transports)

Game ends at end of turn 5 on roll 1-3, automatically on 6

1st round – HQ Hunters!!! (pitch battle setup)

No more than 50% reserves

Killing opponents HQ 10pts

Wounding opponents HQ 5pts

HQ unwounded 10pts

HQ wounded 5pts

2nd round – Acid Atmosphere!!! (spearhead setup)

All AP weapons are -1 (ap 3 becomes ap 2)

5pts for every unit in opponents deployment zone (table quarter)

3rd round – Massive Battlefield!!! (dawn of war setup no sight penalty)

Open terrain is difficult terrain, difficult terrain is dangerous. Everything has FLEET.

5 objective markers (1st player places first objective then alternate)

7pts per objective

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You must have a clean written army list with you to show your opponent. It’s unfortunate that this needs to be reminded to people.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

Forum Link

   Following up on my previous article on the display board I have been building, I have had a few lessons learned since getting ready to start cutting holes.  Firstly, using foam board as the insert sounded like a good idea until I began to flock it.  The glue and paint causes the foam board to warp and no longer sat flat inside the frame.  So instead I went out and bought a sheet of hardboard.  I will update the materials list in the first post.

Hardboard worked out well.  I got circular saw bits large enough for the bases I was going to be putting in there.  Drew outlines of where the models would sit and cut out the holes.  The picture here is of the foam board, but as mentioned I did switch to using hardboard.

You can also see that here I started to add little things to make the display stand out.  Old ruin building corners were put on top of a hill and ledge where ultimately the Soul Grinders would be overlooking the force.  I was trying to get an ancient and corrupt ruined city feel.  Old rusted out lampposts, rubble and what remains of various walls.

Since I also wanted to make sure, should things shuffle around, that the models stay in place, I cut a piece of thin aluminum sheet metal to she same size as would be needed to fit within the frame.  This gave it a little extra weight, but was not too bad for me really.  Now the models magnetized bases would snap onto the sheet when inserted in their slot.

With the holes cut and the ledge placed I began by first painting the terrain.  Once all of that was completed I moved onto adding the sand and the burnt grass flock to the board.  Once dried, I like to seal my basing with a thin wash.  This not only helps build shadow but it becomes an extra layer to keep the sand from falling off.

The final product is a good looking board. I left the wood natural rather than paint or stain it.  The white and burnt carving look is a sharp contrast to the dark scene within.  I think a cherry stain would look nice, but I haven’t quite decided on it.

By rjstreet

On March 13th, we’re going to try something a bit different at PBKW and help out your local Second Harvest food bank at the same time.  We’re hosting a charity 40K tournament where your entry fee is paid in cans of food donated.  But we’re not going to stop there…oh no…  In addition, we’ve devised some rules to allow you to tip things in your favor during the course of your game (for a few more cans of food)…of course, your opponent can do the same thing, so you should stock up.  In all seriousness, this is a great way to help support your local community and enjoy a fun afternoon of some 40K to boot.  The full flyer is available at this link and details are below.  We hope to see you there!

Where: PBKW Comics
 & Games
Entry Fee: 5 Cans of Food
Points: 1500
When: March 13, 2010
Time: 11am-6pm
More Info: rjstreet@newmyths.org

Prize Support
Best Win/Loss: 
$50 in GW credit @PBKW
Runner-Up: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
Most Cheating in a Game: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
*Ties will be resolved through kill points

FoodHammer is a unique event where you get the opportunity to throw down with some of the best Warhammer 40K gamers in the region and contribute to a good cause.  When you donate a can of food to Second Harvest at the event, you get can points (1 for veggies, 2 for fruits and soups) that you can spend to bend and break the rules to your advantage – or stop your opponent from doing the same!  Its all in good fun and for a good cause!

Cans – Benefit

1 – Reroll any attack or armor save roll (yours or your opponents) or prevent a reroll (by matching the bid); the cost to use this cheat increases by one every time it is used during a turn

1 – Measure the distance between any two models

2 – Reroll any morale or vehicle penetration roll

3 – Move terrain 5″ before start of game (may only be used once)

3 – Ignore difficult terrain roll (take maximum possible result)

5 – Prevent deep strike scatter (no roll required)

5 – Grant one unit a cover save (usable once per turn)

10 – Force opponent to deploy a reserve or deep striking unit as a standard unit (usable once prior to start of game)

Stop by the forums to read more and respond: http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultphase/?page_id=76/warhammer-40k-1/foodhammer-charity-tournament-pbkw-on-march-13th/#p1904