Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Hobby update and the big man

I finally took the big leap into nerdhood. Past the miniatures and painting, past the bad sci-fi movies and Monty Python jokes, but not quite past the ren-fest and costumes.

I played Dungeons and Dragons.

This was a big step. I'm glad that I'm out of college and what-not so it wouldn't become an on going event, but Tuesdays are now the gaming nights in my group. It all started with one of our friends who had always wanted to play but never had a "safe" group of guys to sit down and give it a shot. My friends knew all about my Warhmmer and Warmachine experience and just figured I knew all about D&D 4th edition. My knowledge extended only to that there were miniatures and d20's. So in order to get the full experience, my friend dove us head-first into the game.

To be honest, its actually pretty fun. We all grab a few beers and our character sheets, I'm painting everyone's characters, and if we need goblins or other strange creatures, I probably have it in Warhammer models. I'll admit: I always judged D&D as the pinnacle of nerdhood. The ultimate form of the modern nerd. But I am happily alright with the game. I think it all has to do with who you play with. Your group can either make it a huge deal with earth shattering consequence, or just another fun board game with an infinite level of potential. I have yet to buy my own d20, but my roommate has promised to sneak one into my stuff and  release an Ogre-style "NERD" during a party.

So that has taken up a good chunk of my hobby time. Work, as always, gets the better of me when I have to drive home in the dark. My airbrushing has gotten a lot better and I picked up the Forgeworld Masterclass book. Fantastic book, highly recommend it to anyone who wants to step their game up. Ironically, I've been practicing it on my Warmachine stuff. I had a Berserker just laying around. I figured that if it can blow-up if you use it too much, they'd probably recycle the pieces or not use the best parts to make it. I went for a weathered and rusty  look. The plan is to source-light the furnace and other elements to make it look like its going to pop at any moment.

big axes, tiny feet

Heavy boiler on the big man

Don't look it in the eye! Its a challenging gesture!

With red being a strong Khador color, I'm debating on the plan to update the other jacks, but I will say my Kodiak is getting camo and some damage added. Until then, roll high and stay warm.