Dark Angels Kill Team Pass In Review

(Image:  Dark Angels Symbol)

Opening Scene:

On a desolate spot on a desolate planet (is there anything else in WH40K's grimdark?)...

...an Imperial Valkyrie, flying nap-of-the-earth, slows, hovers...

...then lands.

As soon as the aircraft touches-down, a squad of scout marines from the Dark Angels Chapter egress, then fan out across the arid landscape.

The Valkyrie takes off, leaving the scouts...

...to accomplish their clandestine mission.

Collection Details:


What ever the Dark Angels Scouts are up to, I won't know for a while. And it won't be me telling their tale of derring do.

Sorry.

I intend to pass these on to my son-in-law.  But while I still have them, I figured I'd do a write-up.

I wasn't planning on acquiring any Space Marines in my Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) collection, but among my on-line purchases of used figures, this guy was among them:

I'm not sure what Space Marine Chapter he belongs to, or if he's completely painted.

I changed my mind--sort of--when I stumbled across a handful of Dark Angels Scouts for sale on-line by Arthur Woo.  I've bought most of my used & pre-painted WH40K through Arthur, who lives in Canada and currently operates on the various Facebook Marketplaces.  He'll have a Facebook page soon, that I'll link to in upcoming WH40K posts.

When they arrived, I contacted Dan, the guy who's been painting my Astra Militarum figures, to see if he'd repaint them.

I decided on a squad/kill team of Raven Guard Scouts.  Of all the Space Marine Scouts, I liked the uniforms and mission of the Raven Guards the best.  I find the other Space Marine Scouts to be too brightly attired and kitted-out with too many close-combat weapons which appears at odds with their reconnaissance role.

Unfortunately, when Dan tried re-painting them, the figures' details were lost once the primer coat was applied to two test subjects.

He said the figures would have to be stripped first, which would take more time--and more money.

I told him not to do anything else with the figures and leave the rest as is.

It just so happens that my son-in-law is in the initial phases of collecting a Dark Angels force.

So my purchase isn't a loss at all.

When I got the figures back I touched-up and flocked the bases.

This particular scout team consists of 5-6 members, all armed with sniper rifles.

The first figure is the squad leader:

The next figure can either be the squad leader with his vision enhancement goggles down over his eyes, or the assistant squad leader:

The next two figures are riflemen on sandy bases:

The final figures for this squad are two more riflemen on grassy bases:

But these, along with the double-primed black figures aren't the only ones I received.

My purchase included this odd pair of riflemen:

I contacted the seller and asked him who these two are suppose to be.  He said he purchased them from a third party who kit bashed two Dark Angel Scout bodies with Aeldari heads.

Why?

The seller didn't know.

Well, at least they're not Drukhari.  They creep me out.

So I decided to keep the Aeldari Dark Angel Scouts, along with the blue-coated orphan scout.

I'm not sure what their backstory will be, so I'll ask around and see if anyone has ideas on how they can fit into the "...grim darkness of the far future..."

When I Go Souvenir Shopping

A couple months ago, my wife and I visited Granny Hazel's Candy and Gifts, which is owned and operated by family members through marriage.

My wife found cute souvenirs and toys for the grandchildren.

Not me.

I found this 9-inch high statue of The Grim Reaper flipping his middle finger.

The statue's title is:  Not Today!

So I decided to make a webcomic/meme out of the title.

WH40K & Kill Team Pass in Review: Kroot

(Image:  WH40K Kill Team Logo)

It's been nearly two months since my last post and all of it is due to Life Getting In The Way issues.

Specifically, my daughter and son-in-law had a baby boy so my wife and I made, not one, but two cross-country trips to visit them.

Prior to the family visits, I bought several WH40K Kill Team products, along with numerous figures and vehicles from individuals via on-line sales.

My main force, the Astra Militarum, is based around a reinforced armored cavalry squadron.

But sometime last year I stumbled across an individual selling his small collection of Kroot.  (I can't remember his name).

Most Kroot figures look nice, clean--and beautifully painted--like these:

(Image by:  Steve Greeves)

But these were painted as if covered in the blood of their recently eaten victims.

For some disturbing reason I liked them and was the only one who offered to buy them, nearly 20 in all.

Age and the rigors of shipping were rough several of the figures.  Most suffered from broken arms, right above the wrist which required super-glue surgery.  One figure's support weapon was broken.  I also touched-up the bases and figures, along with flocking the bases and adding painted pennies underneath each figure to add some weight.

Other than these dings, I was happy with my purchase.

I've read several reviews of the Kroot.  While individually fierce, Kroot units are under-armed and have very little staying power.

Which in an odd way, would make these creatures perfect for me to learn Kill Team, or WH40K, whenever I get around to actually playing either game.

Games Workshop has developed a reputation for not fully supporting sub-factions within the WH40K 'verse.  However, the company appears to be making some amends.  The January 2019 Issue of White Dwarf Magazine featured the article Mercenaries for Hire. This 4-page article (pages 62-65) contained the stats for players to run Kroot kill teams.

Here's what mine would look like:

To identify them better, I used the Kroot Name Generator Table and labelled every figure.

First the kill team's specialists, (names listed under the picture):

Kra to Tohorrok--Leader

Dohra cha Yotoh--Scout

Khar grok Tohorrok--Sniper

Dihra cha Gorrkha--Close Combat Specialist

Ohrak yo Ga'ah--Zealot

Ahkra to Choh--Veteran

According to the rules, a battle-forged kill team can only have three additional specialists along with the leader, which is mandatory (page 66).

So I'll have to select which figures to use in any given game, or "demote" them to regular warriors, like these:

Ohrak cha Dohr

Cho grok Krrah

Tehk yo Kyrek

Byahk yo Gota

Gohk ohk Ga'ah

Byohk ka Yotoh

Khir ah Dohr

Grohm ek Rhekk

Grohm grok Rhekk

Ohrak ek Krrah

Khor grok Choh

Since this Kroot's weapon was broken, I can't identify it (flamer?).  So I'm not sure what role he'd fill.

Gehk ok Krrah

So there you have it:  My practice force of "disposable heroes."

Five Second Flick Theater: Somewhere in French Indochina

My friend Tim has a collection of figures and vehicles based on the French Indochina War and hosted a couple of games at last year's Fall In! and Cold Wars game conventions.

I selected a couple of photos I thought would make good Five Second Flicks.

First, there's the Indochina weather...

...and then there's the "typical patrols."

Five Second Flick Theater: The Punisher and Deadpool--A Disarming Duo

Welcome back to Five Second Flick Theater!

Since this is the final Punisher and Deadpool episode, I thought I'd end it with a bang.

Or at least with a lame sense of humor.

Five Second Flick Theater: Punisher and Deadpool--Warm Welcome

Welcome to Episode 3 of Five Second Flick Theater!

In this feature, the Punisher and Deadpool make it clear that they're not in Seattle to sight see.

Here's an alternate movie short, with a similar theme:

Five Second Flick Theater Presents: The Punisher and Deadpool--All Wet

Welcome back for Episode 2 of Five Second Flick Theater!

A few years ago I attended the Jet City Comic Show.  e stood in front of the backdrop provided by Costume Characters for Causes.  I dressed as the Punisher and met up with a Deadpool cosplayer.  We stood in front of the backdrop provided by Costume Characters for Causes.

The few pics the charity took of me and Deadpool (I never caught his name) has provided me with fodder for my Facebook profile pic, a short webcomic and now a series of Five Second Flicks.

The first theme I thought of for this episode plays on the assumption that it rains all the time in Seattle.

And now a word from out sponsor...

If you find yourself trekking through New York State's Hudson Valley area, and have a hankering for a unique tasting snack-spread, check out Doc Schwarz Wine Jelly.

My sister, Roberta, and her husband Eric started making this for over a year now.  They've now opened a gift shop and have just planted starter-vines for their own vineyard.

But don't just take my word on how great Doc Schwarz Wine Jelly is.

I am Roberta's brother, after all.

Here's a glowing article from The Gardiner Gazette.

New Audio-Visual Production: Five Second Flicks

Welcome to "Episode 1 of Five Second Flick Theater!"  

Just in time for Mother's Day.

I discovered a special effects program while uploading some new pictures.  The effects create a 5-second long video.So I went through various pictures I took through the years and compiled them into what I call “Five Second Flick Theater.”  This “first episode” is based on my Facebook profile pic, which was taken at the Jet City Comic Show a few years ago.  The backdrop is from Comic Heroes for Causes and quote is my favorite line in the BBC show “Sherlock,” with Benedict Cumberbatch. 

"And now a word from our sponsor..."

Okay, I don't have any sponsors per se.

But lately I've been encountering talented people running businesses, or informational websites that I think are neat and I thought it would be fun to add a "commercial" to some of my theatrical productions.

(Image from Kristina RDH YouTube Channel)

So my first shout-out goes to my dental hygienist, Kristina, who runs her own YouTube channel, Kristina RDH/Ask A Hygienist. 

(Image:  Kristina's "Ask A Hygienist" logo)

Kristina also runs a supporting page on Facebook.

And in the interests of full disclosure, I did win her monthly raffle last month and received her gift box full of dental product goodies. 

This was also the first time my name's been mentioned on YouTube and I'm still feeling thrilled about it.

Even if I didn't win, I tune in to Kristina's posts, because I always learn something new about oral health and I encourage everyone to check out her channel.

My Road to the Grim Darkness...

(An image from Rick and Morty posted on Tumblr by Warhammer 40K Fantasy)

I've known about Warhammer 40,000 (WH40K) shortly after its initial release in 1987.  However, I've avoided getting into it--until several years ago when my daughter met her now-husband.

While he did some other gaming, he was primarily a WH40K player and collector.  So in order develop more common interests between us, I thought I'd just buy the core rules and a "few models" so I could at least talk to him about the "...grim darkness of the far future...."

Yeah. Right.

Five years and 20 blogposts later, my "small" collection exploded into this--

(Image:  My WH40K vehicle collection in a display case)

--21 armored personnel carriers of various types and from 3 different factions, mostly Astra Militarum, with a few from the Adepta Sororitas (a.k.a. "Sisters of Battle" nuns with guns of the Ecclesiarchy) and even the Inquisition.

--8 Lehman Russ Battle Tanks and variants.

--3 self-propelled artillery vehicles and one anti-aircraft vehicle.

--3 static gun positions.

--25 heavy weapon teams and,

--230 troops, mostly foot soldiers of the Astra Miltarum, along with a few squads of Battle Sisters and a couple Inquisitor retinues, along with some alien warriors.

And I'm having another 35 figures painted as I'm writing this.

Initially, I bought kits of un-assembled vehicles and figures.  But then I stumbled across buy/sell/trade pages on Facebook and began buying assembled and painted miniatures for about the same price as the un-assembled kits.

I apologize for the sparse details, but I intend for this to be a "teaser" for future posts on my collection.  I'm currently suffering from a foot injury and I made it worse by attempting to do a prolonged photo shoot.

Besides the pictures didn't turn out well.

Of course, one can't simply buy miniatures without any guidance on what to do with them.

So over the course of about 5 years, I acquired 63 rule books and splatbooks of the main game, along with role playing game by Fantasy Flight Games and the new Wrath & Glory role-playing game which WAS produced by Ulisses-US, but now seems to have been dropped from the company's website, possibly due to a considerable number of negative reviews.

The main game, is now on it's 8th Edition, which I started buying two years ago.

Notice, I said "started buying?"

That's because Games Workshop, like every other game company, would produce new supplements, accessories, etc. after the core rules are published.

The bulk of my book collection are earlier editions of the rules, or Forgeworld reference books.

(Image:  Shelf space devoted to older issues and Forgeworld books)

When 8th Edition hit the shelves in 2017, I limited to my purchases to the main faction I was collecting--the Astra Militarum (a.k.a. the Imperial Guard).

(Image:  My main collection of WH40K books and RPG material)

Back when the short-lived 7th Edition was being played, I picked up almost all of 6th Edition rules and Codexes at used book stores for $5-$20.  I figure while the gaming Crunch has most likely changed since previous editions, the background Fluff should remain the same.

Of course, my feeble attempt at pinching pennies went out the window when Kill Team came out last year:

(Image:  My infantry storage cases and new Kill Team sets)

So there you have it.  My "small" investment into the wacky world of Warhammer 40K expanded to fill the empty spaces on my shelves and in my closets.

And speaking of shelf space, I can safely say I'm approaching my limit.  I'm at the point now where if I buy anything new--of any game--I have to get rid of something old.

I'd love to purchase a few more vehicles, specifically some Salamander scout vehicles, Destroyer tank destroyers, if I could find them in the first place since Forgeworld no longer produces them; along with a Lehman Russ Vanquisher.  But I have no room to put any of them.

The irony of all this is:  I have yet to play a single game of any edition of WH40K, Kill Team or either editions of the role playing games.

Nor is WH40K the only game system I've invested in, but have spent little to no time at the game table with.  I've whined about explained my game-time shortage in previous posts, so I won't bore readers (again) with the details.

Anyway, when a friend of mine shared this meme on Facebook...

(Image found on Solitaire Wargames Facebook Page)

..I felt it certainly applies to me regarding my entire collection of games.

I'm sure this is true for some (many?/all?) of you gamers out there.

Despite my lack of table-top time with WH40K I'm happy with my "small" collection, which is about the size of a reinforced mechanized infantry company.

I have a concept of how I'm going to organize it, what the unit will be called and webcomic stories I'll concoct about.

As soon as my foot heals and I can withstand standing for long photo shoots, I'll start posting what my contributions to the Imperial war efforts are.

Stay tuned!

Product Review: Traveller Customizable Card Game

I started playing and game mastering (GMing)  Traveller within a few years of its initial release.  Although unlike 1d4 Chan’s claim, I’m actually older than the game itself.

Anyway, like some (many?) of you, I sadly don’t have time to play the full role-playing game (RPG).

A month or so ago, my friend Joe and I stopped in The Game Matrix to do some “shopping therapy.”  While browsing, I stumbled across the Beowulf Free Trader Ship Deck.  Despite being unable to read the content description on the back of the small box due to the price sticker, I bought the deck anyway.

It’s a Traveller product—which means it’s good, right?

Well, when I got home that day, I did some in-depth research internet trolling.  

I discovered my new purchase was merely a supplement to the Traveller Customizable Card Game produced by Horizon.  

I thought this game was brand new and was surprised to find Horizon’s products, such as the ship decks, expansion packs and accessories were out of stock.

Come to find out the initial Kickstarter campaign kicked-off just over three years ago.  (Not sure how I missed this one).

So I ventured to Game ON! since they seem to specialize in card games, along with family-friendly games. I ordered just about everything Horizon had to offer—which included another Beowulf Free Trader Ship Deck in the  Starter Set.

After my order arrived, I did a cursory read-through of the rules.

In the past, I’ve steered away from card games because I find them too abstract.  My feelings on this haven’t changed all that much—even after reading the rules.  However, because both playing space and gaming time are in short supply, and because this is a Traveller product, I’m willing to give this a try.

The quality of my new-found purchases are top notch, with lavish illustrations on the cards and in the rulebook.

Reading the rules is one thing—playing the game is something else.

I haven’t played the game yet and I’m still trying to understand the mechanics, so I’m not in a position right now to provide any information on how to play the game.

Fortunately, Michael & Brittany from Horizon are here to help with this Example of Play Video. 

And speaking of actually playing the game, I find that not only are time & space are in short supply—but so are fellow gamers.  We all lead busy lives, and it’s often difficult to get together with one gaming buddy, not to mention assembling a whole crew.

Which is another reason for purchasing this card game—opportunities to play solo.  Here’s a Geek Gamers video of a solo play example.  (I’m glad to see I’m not the only one having difficulty wrapping my head around the rules).

Overall, the game is like Firefly: The Game, without miniatures and a game board.  This may be ironic since there’s been a debate on how much the show’s creator, Joss Whedon, was influenced by his time playing Traveller.

Anyway, despite any vague or hard-to-understand game mechanics, I look forward to “trying my hand” at finding a crew, finding a job and keep flying...