Fezglitch Star Player - inducement option

It would appear that I have 110,000gp to spend on inducements. I have had a look at the possibilities  and I can afford to take Star Player, Fezglitch. I am short on numbers anyway so this could be an interesting addition.

We have not used star players so far - so this might be interesting.

Statistics 

MA4 (low but he moves unconventionally), St 7 (amazing), AG 3 (average), AV 7 (average)

Special Skills

Loner - Can only use a team reroll if a D6 roll can be passed (4-6 = pass)

Ball & Chain - Can only make Move actions. Place the Throw-in template over the player (you can choose which of the 4 possible directions to face. Move one square in the direction indicated by the D6. Do this unto 4 times i.e. his MA. You can also do this for GFI. No dodge rolls are taken. You Block any occupied square that is passed over (friend or foe) and keep moving. A prone or Stunned player is pushed back and an armour roll made. You must follow up. If Fezflitch is knocked down it is a straight armour roll as Stunned results are treated as KO'd.

Disturbing Presence - You need to be within 3 squares for this to apply. Any Pass, Catch or Intercept subtract 1 from the dice roll. The Dark Elves don't Throw much but ....

Foul Appearance - In order to Block Fezglitch a D6 must be passed. (2-6 = pass)

No Hands - Can't pick up or carry the ball.

Secret Weapon - At the end of a drive that this player has been part of - he is sent off!! This makes him a 'one trip' pony and no mistake!

Summary

There is a lot to consider here. He is unpredictable and does not play well with others. He will only be on the field for one drive. So - how to play him.

I feel that he has the potential to chaos. I would want that to happen in my opponents turn. He could go through a cage like a knife through butter. Anywhere that players are bunched up. His strength 7 means that he is nearly always making a 2 dice Block move. And his Disturbing Presence means that he can impact the Pass, Catch from 3 squares away.

There will be an occasion when the Dark Elves want to hold onto the ball on a long drive. With Fezflitch on the field  he could help to force the issue to get me the ball back.

Questions

Has anyone used him / come up against him in a game? If so, I would welcome your thoughts.

Looking at Game 3

With the big game approaching (v the Dark Elves this Saturday) I thought I would review my Skaven, Boomtown Rats. We are in pretty respectable shape although down one member for this game. At least this reduces my team value but I am reduced to the bear minimum in terms of player numbers and this may be a problem if I lose someone early.

Opportunities - Gutter Runners

Two of my gutter runners (Stikck & Treek) are on 3 SPP's. They only need to get to 6 for a skill upgrade so it will be important to give them a shot at achieving this outcome. Even Garab is on two SPP's so he also has a shot. My main man Plagric is on 9 and has acquired Block. I think that I will be using him in defence for man marking and the like. He was very effective in the second half of Game 2 in this role. However if given the chance to score and then achieve MVP he could be looking at his second upgrade.

Opportunities - Blitzers

Well the claw is the obvious starting point. My team leader good old Bubonost (I have decided Bob for short after Bob Geldof, seems appropriate) acquired this honour by rolling a double after the last game. He has 7 SPP's. If he survives the game and gets MVP this will grant 5 SPP's taking him to 12. So he is close to a second upgrade at 16. I intend to use him to gain casualties and these grant 2SPP's each. In attack, any armour roll of 8 or more will cause a casualty so his chances are better than most.

My other Blitzer Pustitt has 2 SPP's. So if Bob doesn't get enough casualties then he will be a good candidate for MVP which would grant him an upgrade.

Opportunities - Linemen

Boilrost is carrying 2 SPP's from game 1. I would really like one of the Linemen to have the Kick skill so it will be important to give him every opportunity to achieve this by Blocking when he has the chance. Kick would improve ball placement at the Kickoff and therefore allow more extreme placement.

Summary

So what will a good game look like? Well I would like to get at least 2 touchdowns and have them scored by 2 different Gutter Runners, preferably numbers 3 & 4 Stikch & Treek granting them 3 SPP's each and an upgrade each.

I would like Bob to achieve a couple of casualties and have MVP for his second skill upgrade.

After that it would be good if my Lineman got lucky with a casualty and maybe my Thrower Compolk could deliver a successful Pass.

Clearly it would be good to win and get some decent cash and I am thinking of investing in another Thrower which costs 70,000gp. I have 30k in the bank.

Other than that I really want Bob to survive the game to keep his Claw in action, also it would be disappointing if anything happened to my Gutter Runner, Plagric. But hey thats Blood Bowl - you got to take the rough with the smooth but it would be nice for there to be more smooth than rough ;-)

It should be a fun game - bring it on.

Blood and Gutz

Had some fun last night throwing some paint onto the goblin orderlies. White can be a really difficult colour but the up side is that it really stands out. I brought this up in layers from brown and the result is ok. I used a shade wash around the edges and was particularly useful in pulling out the knots on the stretcher. White works particularly well with splashes of red blood.

McMourning hollered - 'bring me a new one'. So off they went to find another victim with their blood splattered stretcher.

The models are very comedic and make for a completely zany addition. I love them.

They both have their tongues hanging out and look suitably 'spaced' with mad eyes. I imagine them as slavering lunatics addicted to blood and gore. Lets face it, in the world of Blood Bowl they would fit right in. They make a wonderful addition to the Orcland Raider entourage.

The Skaven will be borrowing them on Saturday so lets hope they will be busy ferrying Dark Elves to their new dugout!

Goblin Orderlies in Da House!

He he - they have arrived. Another fun project to keep me occupied. Couldn't wait to get at them.

The first interesting issue is the bases. There are no good joint spots for the goblins to grab the stretcher so having separate bases just was not going to work. The whole thing would need proper pinning or a single base - maybe both.

I dug around and found something suitable.

I think it is from the Dark Angels and probably for the bikes. As you can see the models are metal (unexpected - I really need to read the small print) and that makes them quite heavy so I needed to get them well and truly stuck into position. I cut down their metal tabs to form triangles under each foot and then followed a very careful measuring exercise.

I drilled out the plastic base to insert each triangle and then used glue and green stuff to get a really solid fixing.

It worked really well however we will have to wait and see if the stretcher is going to hold or will I need to get pinning. I am suspecting the later.

The models themselves are quite good fun and a little bigger than expected. They have 'mad' facial expressions.

They are definitely bigger than my other goblins and nearly the size of the pain boy. No doubt they picked the biggest goblins for their strength ;-)

I am looking forward to painting them up.

The next big game is on Saturday - it is a rematch between the Skaven and the Dark Elves. I could do with a win and am looking forward to it. Might get some paint on them by then.

A new adventure - Aetherium

For some time now there has been a project brewing. The Dark Templar has been directly involved and as such I have been on the edge of what has been happening. It is very exciting to be so close to something new.

For full details it is worth taking a look at A Gentleman's Ones

I have been given the honour of helping to give some feedback on some of the test models. What a joy, what a joy. Can I start by saying how impressed I am by the quality of thought that has gone into this project. To me it feels entirely new and different. The models themselves have been beautifully crafted and I think will appeal to a wide variety of people.

There are machines, military types, urban hooligans and some lovely female models.

I was delighted when the postman delivered the package yesterday. Couldn't wait to open it and gets my hands on the miniatures themselves. They are 28mm, resin models. Some are complete and others require a small amount of assembly.

First off I gave them a wash in soapy water to help remove any residue. Then I left them to dry off and examined them more closely. They are beautiful!

I thought that I would start with the Nanomi. I like the young, urban feel to them and the greens and blues with a splash of red should be great on the models.

My first thought is to move away from the 'brown earth and green tuft of grass' type basing that I have used consistently, forever. This has got to feel different. I am going to go with slabs and sand on a concrete type colour. A big departure for me but after all the recent terrain building I am feeling confident.

I plan to take my time so decide to assemble three models and then work on them together. 4 slabs was too much so I tried 2 on the outside models. An improvement.

I love the female model in the middle and decide that she will be the first to receive paint. In the game she is part of a Subroutine of Riot Girlz as is the female model on the left. The guy on the right is part of a Subroutine called the Picketers. No doubt they are at the anti establishment end of the scale. They have real 'attitude' in their stance. Love it!

There is tremendous detail on the model. She even has a small vest showing beneath her top. And she is sexy too. Boobs and ass are great without being over done. I should say it has been made clear that these are very early test models and some are in need of a little green stuff here and there, but that is ok.

I smoothed out the neck and shoulders and was ready to go.

The amount of green stuff required was tiny and I used a cocktail stick in the application. Worked out a treat in the end.

Then the painting began. This in Nanomi Riot Girl 1. Looking all mean and moody.

And then Nanomi Riot Girl 2, just with base colour - lots to do.

And the Nanomi Picketer also with base colour and lots to do.

The remaining models are on the side and I am promising myself to do them a faction at time and resist the temptation to rush in and start on them all at once. (Who said - 'resistance is futile'?)

Its going to be fun.

Note - artwork and miniatures are the copyright of Anvil 8 Games www.anvil-eight.com

Hakflem Skuttlespike - Skaven Star Player

Over the last few weeks I have been 'playing' with this model. He is a 3rd edition version and my guys are second edition but he still looks pretty cool.

He is expensive in the game at 200,000gp with base stats of MA9, ST3, AG4, AV7. His skills are Loner, Dodge, Extra Arms, Prehensile Tail, Two Heads.

Prehensile tail - opponent must subtract 1 from their dodge roll.

Extra Arms - add one to the dice roll when picking the ball up

Dodge - a Dodge reroll

Loner - has a 50 / 50 chance to use team rerolls

Two heads - add one to dice rolls when dodging (makes him AG5 when dodging)

What this results in is a player who is good at picking up the ball and excellent at dodging The MA9 and AG4 means he has the speed and agility of a Gutter Runner, ST3 means he has the strength of a Blitzer. Quite a weapon.

Here he is under lights and through the scope.

He has been great fun  to paint and there is a tremendous amount of detail. The scope and extra lighting has been a great help to see this and then pick some of it out.

I always found eyes to be a problem. The scope is really helping me on this front as is the GW Technical white paint. It has a consistency that means you can apply a really small white dot much more easily. I really recommend that people try it out.

Anyway - a small bit more work to do on him - but a great addition to the team.

Through the looking glass

And as if by magic - I took the Painboy under my new light and pictured him through the magnifying glass.

What a difference - this does him justice. It takes away the shade issues and you can really see him properly. Thanks for the tip guys.

Now I will need to figure out how to do this without doing the one hand hold, together with the one hand photo taking. Not very easy to master I can tell you!

I feel a mini photo studio coming on.

Orc Painboy

I have been working on the Orc Painboy. It is a really cool model with lots and lots of detail. I think I will be working on it on and off for some time but he is coming along nicely.

I struggled to get a decent photo of him because of the position of the right arm. It casts half his body in shadow.

I love all the knives and scissors and various other 'medical' devices he has about his person.

I have gone with a white head piece and mask in the hope that it will tie in nicely with the goblin orderlies, when they arrive.

I can see!

I have just had a present delivered and I have my good lady wife to thank for the gift. It is a magnifying glass surrounded by a daylight lamp to help me with all this new painting activity.

I have just given it a bit of trail run and it is superb. You can see the detail on the models so much easier. Eyes have been transformed - obviously it is still just as hard to get the paint in the right place, but at least I can see where the issues are now.

The trick is to hold the model back from the glass. This is good because you have plenty of room to operate the paint brush.

No doubt I will learn a lot over the new few days but this is a fantastic addition to the hobby area.

The more keen eyed amongst you will notice that I found my Painboy and a Banner wielding nob! The Orcland Raiders will be an off field force to be reckoned with.

I have also put an order in for ..... goblin stretcher bearers.

They are so cool!!!! Can't wait for them to arrive - the magnifying glass has been a timely purchase indeed.

Da boyz are back in town

The postman came on Saturday with a delivery! Drummers!

I am building a band and its going to be loud.

Also a Lizard crew are about to emerge to do battle so I thought it only polite to use one of their skulls as a drum :-)

The troop are coming along nicely and will be a great addition to growing collection of Orc hangers on.

I am sure I have a pain boy somewhere ...... back to the garage for another rummage.

A joyous find

I was trawling the net this morning and found this. Comixininos It really tickled my fancy and I'm sure all you blood Bowl nuts will find something of interest. They seem to do absolutely everything that a Blood Bowl fan could want. I have even seen an Orc Female Team in there. Sooooo many temptations.

This is what drew me in. Skaven Cheerleader and Bloodweiser Babe. A shock to the system early in the morning ;-), even if it is valentines.

Following a request for some close up pictures - I give you the GW Technical paints - Nurgle Rot and 'hardtop, up close and personal.

The 'hardtop is providing the shine on the surface and the Nurgle Rot is seeping out of the rear of the pipe and down the wall. There are about 5 coats to get it this green. It dries very see through.

This is also Nurgle Rot seeping through a crack in the back wall. Its all a bit of a messy goo. The broken bubbles are as a result of at least two previous layers of PVA. The cracking on the right is a result of an attempt to use PVA on a section of the wall i.e. water oozing out. It didn't really work so I painted over it.

My current painting piece is one of the skaven star players. I managed to pick him up at good value on ebay - Mr Hakflem Skuttlespike.

Its a really nice model with lots of detail. He comes with two heads, Extra arms and a prehensile tail.

Games Workshop Technical paints

Between buying cards and flowers and all that Valentines stuff (I think the whole world was shopping at lunch time today) I made a fruitful visit to the Games Workshop and had a very interesting conversation re their Technical paints.

They are more than just paint with some having texture and others that crack when dry - very interesting indeed and I can see that they would be very good for creating the effects required when terrain building. Its worth a chat to the GW guys if you have not done so already.

I bought two - 'ardcoat and Nurgles Rot. I have applied them to the Skaven Dugout and achieved some decent results. Especially the 'ardcoat which is a brush on gloss effect. I have it on the gloop in the pipe and it is giving a nice watery sheen. I have using the Nurgles Rot to seep from some of the cracks on the terrain.

Thanks for the recommendations guys. Forever learning.

According to ebay my next project is 'in the post'. I have purchased some drummers for the orcs. Well 4 to be exact. Should be a fun addition. I wonder if they will arrive tomorrow?

Dry brushing

I have been putting it off because I wasn't really sure how to tackle the dry brushing. All the advice was to use this technique to 'knock back' the strong blue. Well last night I thought to myself that the time had come. I mixed up some of the blue with some grey and started.

Didn't like the outcome. Then I added some white and went at it again. Didn't like the outcome. Then I just went for it! Bold strokes and some dabbing. While I was at it I added loads of colour to the gloop in the pipe and then a red ink and put some white splotches in for luck.

Anyway it was all very new to me and it was fun. Its a lot less blue now :-)

I was thinking that it must be good to do one of those oil paintings where you are using a knife to apply the paint. Lots of texture and boldness in the application of colour.

I think thats one of the nice things about the hobby. You find yourself doing new things and learning as you go.

Skaven Scoreboard

I spent some time yesterday working on a scoreboard for the Skaven. The Orc Scoreboard that I made earlier was really basic. (A cardboard box with two cocktail sticks) It looks good on the playing field but is very basic. This time I want to be able to have the team names and scores on something more traditional.

The Dark Templar has very kindly sorted me out with a logo for the Rats so - time to put it good use.

I printed it out to the size that I wanted and then used it to set the scale for the rest of scoreboard. I used a piece of cardboard (a pizza box) and then cut out holes for where the team names and scores would go. The cutting mat is new and really useful. I was getting tired of making a mess on the newspapers. I was ending up with bits of paper everywhere in tiny triangles, very messy. I even purchased a steel ruler and this is great to run the blade along. No more shaving pieces off the plastic ruler. The Rats logo will be in the square on the left.

Once this was done I constructed  a framework behind the holes so that I could insert cards with the names and scores. I used plastic card for this as it is more rigid. To be honest I should have done something very simple but got really caught up in it and it is way too complicated. It works - thats the main thing! But I have learned a lesson - keep it simple stupid.

Here it is in all its glory. As you can see I went with the logo colours of black and red. Lets hope that the scoreline reflects the next match ;-)

Skaven Dugout on track

Its been a good day for the hobby. I have spent some time on the skaven dugout and finally put some models in it. I think it will look good good on the next games day. I have the Reserves suitably chained up and waiting for the instruction to get out there and do the business.

For me, its still a bit too Blue. I intend to put a big scoreboard behind it so this should help but ..... I am having the feeling that I will change something. I like the stable area and McMourning coffin area. It was a great suggestion to put some advertising behind the KO'd area. I like it very much and it breaks the whole areas up. Slazenger and Hertz - I will never look at them the same again :-)

I have also been working on my orc cheerleader. So small, but so lovely. It is so difficult to get the detail right and I am finding it good to take pictures on the iPad and then look at where I have issues. So much bigger in the photos. My wife, Sue,  has suggested one of those magnifying glasses under a light. Might be worth thinking about. Anyway I like this babe a lot. She still a name ?

Bull obviously agrees! I do like a male that knows what he wants.

I would like to thank everyone for your constructive contributions. It has been great to see your ideas and then build them into the final model. Thanks guys I really appreciate your input. I do love the hobby and the proactive way that people are prepared to contribute.

Secret Project - Orc Cheerleader

Well sports fans there is a lot to be said for these match making websites. Coach Bullcher has been looking for some female companionship for some time. Someone to raise his spirits and cheer on the team.

Bull has been on that very famous dating website 'ebay' for ages and the usual candidates have been hanging around.

They were just not for him. Lets face it - not very attractive and the 'letting it all hang out' look was not particularly flattering. I expect these girls have black eyes by the end of the match!

Things took a turn for the better last week. Bull spotted a likely candidate in the listings. Bids were made and before I knew it the post man came a calling. She is listed as a 28mm resin figure - Fantasy Football Greenskin Orc Cheerleader Blood Bowl model. A proper orc female and very attractive. In truth she looks like a cross between an elf and an orc - all lithe and lean.

Companionship!! Love is in the air.

I love the model. Over the last few days I have started to paint her up and am really enjoying it. She has been given pride of place on one of the Malifaux bases.

The model itself is really small. It is advertised as 28mm but ..... however in a world where there are practically no decent female orc models it is a welcome addition to the team. I can definitely see that she will raise team spirits :-)

I have also spotted a model from Impact Miniatures that looks good but I prefer this one.

Skaven Dugout Progress

Been a good morning on the construction and painting front. I have gone for a 'nest' type look to the Reserves area.

Between the rain showers I managed to get outside and throw some base paint on dugout. I then went for that shadow blue colour and the main stay.

I went for a green type colour for the fluid.

I added a few highlights in lighter greens and even some whites attempting to give a directional flow feel. I plan to hit it hard with ink and then cover it all again in pva so that it glistens. We will have to see how it works out.

I have gone for a dirty brown colour in the Dead area and a 'straw like' feel to the Reserves. Lots still to do. loads of detail to be added. However it has started out well.

This afternoon its Ireland v Wales in rugby. Huge match! Come on Ireland.