2016 Armies on Parade: Wood Elves

Mission Accomplished!

This was my entry for the GW Armies on Parade held last 15th October 2016: The Floating Wood Elves Forest. Below are more pictures of my diorama, courtesy of Marvin Kho, Joseph Looi and the Legio Malaysia Facebook page.

By the way, I would most probably think that my future updates will be like this; end results. Any WIP posts will be considered as a bonus. So, the target for November will be Bandai's GBWC Malaysia 2016 for Gundam.

Revisiting the Past 2+ Years

Somebody once said, one should not dwell on the past.

With that in mind, I'll try to keep this short.

(Honestly, I also can't recall everything, only certain parts.)

end 2013

Only 3 participants completed the Legio Malaysia Army Throwdown II; myself (Tzeentch Warriors), Patrick (High Elves) and Stephane (Dark Elves). Patrick got the Purity Seal. (sorry, can't locate the pictures)

2014

If I recalled this correctly, this is the year that the Wood Elves army book was finally updated after 10+ years. I painted this Treeman for Golden Kris 2014 and received the People's Choice Award (I'm probably remembering this because of the award).

picture courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Facebook page

Then, comes the End Times. It was fun times, just like the old glory days of WFB. Suddenly, the whole WFB universe (and game) was decimated and a simpleton version of it was introduced. I'd be lying if I were to say I'm not pissed about it. Simply said, my friends and I moved on to the X-wing miniatures game. We came, we saw, we conquered; that's pretty much that I can say about X-wing.

Earlier in the year, we also tried Infinity. The models are awesome, the rulebook is free, the gameplay is easy. What turned our gaming group off was (most likely) the advanced rules, it was too complicated for book keeping. Hence, my Santiago Military Order of Panoceania is now somewhere in the storage trays, along with my Wood Elves and Warriors of Chaos.

2014 was also the year that a few friends and I spent hours in the beta version of the 7 Days to Die game. Basically, it's a post-apocalyptic zombie survival game with Minecraft and Fallout elements added in. With the right crew, this is an awesome game, highly recommended. And with Arzmi in the crew, you can definitely say you're safe.

2015

This is more recent, but surprisingly, I remember less than 2014. It's mostly X-wing and Armada. Those games got me so hyped for Star Wars Episode 7, and the movie turned out to be a letdown. Maybe I was expecting too much, but Kylo Ren should've kept his mask on until the 'Han moment', the storyline should be less of a 'copy & paste' and really, another Death Star?

But, 2015 will always be the year that Nahri left; he migrated to New Zealand for good. Wish him all the best.

I stopped playing WH40K in 2015. New codices, formations, rules and kits were released like a freight Shinkansen train every month (on some releases, every week). I was having difficulty to keep up with the various rules and at the same time, the price shot up through the roof due to currency collapse (thanks a lot 1MDB), which made me decide to put the game on hold. It has been a hiatus since, and I'm yet to be interested to play the game again. Like Infinity and WFB, my WH40K armies are in some storage trays somewhere in the house. Like Azlan said recently, my Eldar are lost in the Warp.

Hmm, I just recalled returning to Circle Orboros in mid 2015. Yes, Warmahordes, a game I last played (and sold off) in 2006/7 with Steven & Kai back in Jakarta. During my Orboros hype period, I painted these dudes. Shortly after that, the rut returned.

early 2016

Not much happened, it was mostly still X-wing and Armada for me. On the hobby front, it was an absolute zero for the first quarter. One day, Khairul suggested Gundam to us all. Shortly after that, it snowballed.

We went for weekly visits to the 'Golden Triangle of Gundam' in KL. We also explored various Gundam shops in the Klang Valley. Ivan, Yip and Arzmi now probably owns 10+ boxes (probably 20+) of unassembled Gundam kits. Ivan has also changed for the better and assembled his stuff instead of simply buying, with panel-lining applied. And, this was my entry for Litt Tak's Mid-Year Expo.

GAT X303 Aegis

Yes, I'm doing mecha modelling right now. I'm really enjoying it. Up next on my schedule are two big events, one at the end of August by the local Gundam community and the other in October/November by Bandai. Let's do this!

Side note: I may need to clean up my blog roll and sidebar.

Army Throwdown II #1: Core

The Legio Malaysia Army Throwdown has returneth!

The theme for the current installment if Warhammer Fantasy Battle (WFB). I'm joining again, of course, and this time with my Warriors of Tzeentch. Yesterday night was the First Throwdown session at the relocated Legio Malaysia. Pictured below is my entry for the night, Marauder Horsemen with Javelins.

Pics Courtesy of Hobby Forge and Legio Malaysia

And below are the Top 3 entries of the night, which is solely based on my humble opinion. Do checkout this link to feast your eyes on all 10 entries last night. (Note: You might probably need to have a Facebook account to access the pictures)

Pics Courtesy of Hobby Forge and Legio Malaysia

Pics Courtesy of Hobby Forge and Legio Malaysia

Pics Courtesy of Hobby Forge and Legio Malaysia

 That's all for now, adieu!

May 10-18th, 2013 - A Very Productive Period

The local guys may have known this for some time. By pure attrition, I've earned my second Purity Seal as I was the only one who completed the 2000pts Army Throwdown challenge on May 10th, 2013.

Picture Courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Official Site

Two Purity Seals, both earned from 'painting endurance' events (the first one was from Iron Painter). I also earned the Iron Halo from the most recent Iron Painter event. Slowly, I'm beginning to figure out what my strength really is; whilst I may not be the best painter nor gamer, it seems that I might probably have something special in endurance challenge. This theory need to be tested in the next Iron Painter and Army Throwdown events.

May 18th, 2013 marked the day that Legio Malaysia organised their fifth Birthday Bash (Happy Birthday!). For the current installment, Kindred 4 (K4) and Golden Kris was held concurrently during the celebration. Rizal and I didn't do well in K4, both of us rolled too many double and triple 1s the entire tournament, but we won't fret much about it. To cut things short, the 5th Birthday Bash was another great event by Jeff and Khairul (Thanks!).

The pictures below are shots of my entry for the Duel Category; a Raven Guard marine versus a Khorne Bloodletter.

 
 
 
 

This Duel diorama earned me First Place in the Duel category; my very first First Place finish. Honestly, the marine was a hurried job of 'wet-on-dry' and the daemonsword OSL was not so good. Perhaps, my elaborate base won me the trophy. For more pictures (which is a lot) of the Birthday Bash event, please visit Legio Malaysia's Facebook site.

Yes, the trophy is humongous!

I think I had enough of painting proper WH40K and WFB miniatures for now. My next projects will be to paint up the Kill Team terrains I owed Mark and to create a Legio Cybernetica Maniple prototype. 

Army Throwdown Update: Wild Card #2

In my last post, I've promised crazy clowns. Here they are.

Picture Courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Facebook Page

I've actually painted a seventh Harlequin but couldn't finish it before the Throwdown, but you'll see it on the the final Grand Throwdown (2000points army). Speaking of which, it's time to press the Panic button. The final Throwdown is less than two weeks left, with only 1000points painted on my side. You get the picture.

Hope I can complete the challenge, wish me luck!

Army Throwdown Update: Wild Card #1

Just a quick update. Apparently my attempt at ghost flames encountered an unexpected hurdle; curved surfaces. Satisfied with the mock-up practices (on a flat surface), I miscalculated how a curved surface can be a challenge, especially when both of your hands were occupied with the airbrush and stencil. At that time, it felt like I need a third hand. Anyway, the Wave Serpent below was my entry.

Pics Courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Facebook Page

Next week, I'll unleash my clowns. If you thought my colour choices and combinations has been wild and erratic, you've seen nothing yet.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

Army Throwdown Update: Fast Attack

 

This Vyper was my entry for the Fast Attack Throwdown. It deviated a lot from my usual orange-blue primary scheme as this was painted on the 'midnight' subscheme. While this fast skimmer may be the odd one out at the moment, you'll see more of this subscheme in the future to tie in with the rest of the army. In fact, another WIP Vyper of mine had both the primary colour scheme and the subscheme on it.

Speaking of the Throwdown, the 'complete' Army Throwdown is due in 6 weeks, but I only have a measly 420 points painted up so far:

Troops #1: 5 Dire Avengers + Wave Serpent, Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon

Troops #2: 5 Dire Avengers

HQ: Autarch, Power Weapon, Mandiblasters

Heavy Support:: Heavy Weapon Battery, D-Cannon

Fast Attack: Vyper, 2 Shuriken Cannon

With 1500 points left to paint, I have to review my plan & painting schedule. As a matter of fact, I am currently seriously contemplating painting this Brightlance Wave Serpent to eat up huge chunks of the army points, even though I'm not planning to use it anytime soon. I am even considering Fuegan since he's a 200pts single infantry model. We'll see how it goes from now.

Army Throwdown Update: Heavy Support

Another late update. Boy, I do hope that this will not be a trend in 2013. This was my entry for the Heavy Support Throwdown.

Eldar Heavy Weapon Battery, a rarely used unit in any current Eldar army. It's a nice change to look at as compared to the usual Eldar stuff. Tomorrow's entry will definitely look different from my usual entries, as I've applied the 'midnight' subscheme for my Vyper. Stay tune this weekend for the update.

So, what have I been up to since the last Throwdown? In one word: this.

The short version of the story would be, major reorganisation of all my hobby stuff.

The longer version of the story was my neighbour's mega-renovation caused my roof gutter drainage to be clogged, which leads to rainwater pooling on my room ceiling, which later gave way to the water's weight causing an internal localised flash flood in my house. All this happened while we're away, so you can imagine the feeling of entering a house ankle-deep in water, accompanied with the scent of soaked carpets and the sound of water trickling down the stairs. Afterwards, try to imagine entering a room with a drenched bed and the ceiling fan parked on it with shards of the ceiling itself, and at the corner, completely soaked boxes and army bags where you kept your miniatures and WIP projects. It was a 'challenging' experience I must say.

Special mention to Rizal for being a great friend, couldn't have chosen another person as my Kindred. Okay, I should stop whining already. I still have a pilot to paint for tomorrow's Throwdown (on hindsight, it was a good decision to paint the Vyper early).

Ciao.

Army Throwdown Update: HQ (+ 40K League 4 performance)

Greetings all, here's a quick recap of my hobbying activities for the past 1 month. I missed the Elite Throwdown due to work commitments. Taking things positively though, it gave me more time to concentrate on the HQ and Fast Attack choices. There's a slight miscalculation here, as the next throwdown is actually Heavy Support. Anyway, here's my HQ entry.

Pics Courtesy of the Legio Malaysia Facebook page

February was also a month chocked full of gaming for me. It's been quite some time since I last gamed this much in a month, and most definitely a nice change to my usual routine. However, if you noticed it took a bit of my blogging time ;)

In case you didn't know, Legio Malaysia has organised their 4th 40K League. As this is year of Elves for me, I brought my Space Elves to the battle. After Week 4 of the League, here is the current standings:

Courtesy of the Legio Malaysia official blog

Fifth place, not too shabby for someone who seldom plays. The Top 4 guys on this list are Blood Angels, Necrons, Necrons, Blood Angels. I don't think the 6th Edition rules affected my army much, but then again, my list ain't the typical Eldar army you would expect fighting against. Here's the list:

HQ (Warlord) : Farseer, Singing Spear, Guide

HQ : Farseer, Guide, Runes of Warding

Elite : 8 Fire Dragons in Wave Serpent, Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon

Elite : 8 Fire Dragons in Wave Serpent, Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon

Elite : 8 Fire Dragons in Wave Serpent, Twin-Linked Shuriken Cannon

Troops: 3 Guardian Jetbike, Shuriken Cannon

Troops: 3 Guardian Jetbike, Shuriken Cannon

Fast Attack: Vyper, 2 Shuriken Cannon

Fast Attack: Vyper, 2 Shuriken Cannon

Fast Attack: Wasp Assault Walkers, 6 Shuriken Cannon

Heavy Support: War Walkers, 6 Scatter Lasers

Heavy Support: War Walkers, 6 Scatter Lasers

Heavy Support:: Fire Prism Grav Tank

Yes, for the sake of achieving the goal of target saturation, I am guilty of playing a spammed list. There are four reasons why I think 6th Edition enhanced my army as a whole:

1. I've always played my Guide Farseers on foot supporting the Scatter Laser Walkers so, the new FAQ doesn't mean anything to me. Flyers needing 6s to hit is not that big of a problem, since all current flyers are AV12.

2. Wave Serpents is only a delivery system for me, having Jink and Hull Points only makes it stronger (and cheaper since Spirit Stones is not that important anymore). Plus, you may disembark up to 6" when a vehicle is wrecked. On a side note, Jink and Hull Points were also the reasons on why I played Vypers again.

3. Walkers need not take morale test, since they're a vehicle. Plus, they can now Overwatch.

4. The new Eldar Jetbike rule is awesome!

Hmm...I don't think this is a quick recap anymore. LOL.

Till next time folks, adios.

Army Throwdown: Troops #1 (Very Late Update) and Troops #2

Sorry for the delayed update, got lost while traversing the mysterious webway. This post will be divided into two parts; Troops #1 Update and Troops #2.

Troops #1 Update

I have probably mentioned that I only have 10+5 Dire Avengers in my current disposal that in need of some refurbishing. The realisation of entering only the Troops choice and not the Dedicated Transport came too late. Since I have spent too much time on the Wave Serpent, I had to use the 25% breathing space as my first entry. These were my entry.

Wave Serpent #1 - Pics Courtesy of Marvin Kho

Dire Avengers #1 - Pics Courtesy of Marvin Kho

If the Dire Avengers above looked familiar, perhaps you might remember this one below. They're the same squad.

Anyway, congratulations to Khairul for winning the first Throwdown with his Imperial Fist; the yellow marines are top notch! The official recap can be found here, while more pictures can be found here, and here. Meanwhile, these were the pictures that I took.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Troops #2

The second Throwdown was held simultaneously with the start of 40K League Season 4. It has been two (or is it three?) years since we had the League, and so the excitement was really high. It was so high that I inadvertently left my camera on my bed at home. Fortunately, Shukur was around to snap those awesome pics of the Throwdown. You can check them out here, here, and here. Kudos to Goh for winning the second Throwdown, and I must say, the level of painting has raised another bar in a mere two weeks time.

My entry was another Dire Avengers squad, but this one has a slightly inverted colour scheme to the one I entered before. Here they are.

Dire Avengers #2 - Pics Courtesy of Shukur Kamal and Legio Malaysia

So, what am I up to for the next Throwdown: Elites? I have these below, and by logic, the Plan A should be the Harlequins (at least five). Plan B will be Fire Dragons, as many as I can churn out.