Appleseed XV8 Battle Suit Final Design...hopefully.

This is the design I can never seem to leave alone. Last time around I showed you a prototype of the suit and things were looking good. All I had to do was make a mold for the back and I was done. Well I got the mold done and started casting parts and it just didn't feel right. So out came the knives, saws and greenstuff. Here are the results. I lengthened the torso and used an XV9 pelvis since it was faster then reworking my scratch built one. The missile stalk was added because it fit better there than on the arms. I am going to stick with them only being on one side though. It looked too much like the Broadside with it on both. The one in the picture is glued on but the final will be magnetized. I have a 3rd one that I am working on cleaning up fully to make new molds for I can get the 18 suits I need finished with minimal cleanup needed on each one. The current molds I have been using have been pretty rough and the venting on them isn't the best so I get allot of bubbles. I may use that time to make some additional changes to the lower leg and foot. The XV9 ones look really good and I do still have a few of those laying around.

Trying the Unconventional - Mobility and Shadow Games

I have never been one to play any game without following my own path. In this case it come with trying to find new uses for units that normally don't see allot of use. This time drone squads caught my eye. They aren't the most accurate shooters but they also can't be ignored totally. JSJ give them a level of mobility and when combined with deep strike they can really pop up anywhere. It is kind of nice being able to place a speed bump in the path of an attacker and still allow enough distance for your other troopers to shoot effectively. Need to protect those fast moving suits while pushing forward on an attack, no problem.

Here is what I have come up with.

1500 Pts - Tau Empire Roster - ESWAT - Strike Team Gamma

HQ: Commander Shas'el (240 pts)
   1 Commander Shas'el (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Bodyguard (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Bodyguard (Twin Linked Plasma Rifle; Targeting Array)

Troops: Fire Warrior (90 pts)
   7 Fire Warrior
      1 Shas'ui

Troops: Fire Warrior (90 pts)
   7 Fire Warrior
      1 Shas'ui

Troops: Fire Warrior (180 pts)
   6 Fire Warrior
      1 Devilfish (Burst Cannon; Disruption Pod; Multi-Tracker; Targeting Array; Smart Missile System)

Heavy Support: Broadside Battlesuit (180 pts)
   1 Broadside Battlesuit (Targeting Array)
      1 Broadside Battlesuit (Drone Controller)
         2 Shield Drone

Heavy Support: Broadside Battlesuit (180 pts)
   1 Broadside Battlesuit (Targeting Array)
      1 Broadside Battlesuit (Drone Controller)
         2 Shield Drone

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (159 pts)
   1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)

Elite: Crisis Battlesuit (159 pts)
   1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array)
      1 Crisis Battlesuit (Twin Linked Missile Pod; Targeting Array))

Fast Attack: Piranha Light Skimmer (65 pts)
   1 Piranha Light Skimmer (Burst Cannon; Targeting Array x1)
      2 Gun Drones

Fast Attack: Gun Drone Squadron (48 pts)
   6 Gun Drone Squadron

Fast Attack: Gun Drone Squadron (48 pts)
   7 Gun Drone Squadron


Total Roster Cost: 1499

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Purity Seal for the Emperor

For the Emperor

Every once and awhile I branch out into projects because they interest me and I have always wondered about the purity seals on Space Marine armor. Since I kicked off a side project to build a full sized bolter and plasma pistol I figured it was time to model up some seals to go with. These are resin instead of wax and the first batch of them will be going out to a new friend from the 40K Radio Freebootaz forum.

The build of these pushed me into trying a few new things. First I did a little sculpting to get the skull and scroll banner but was stuck when it came to coming up with a convincing wax pool. First I tried using sulfur free clay. It too about 20 tries to get a good looking sample and even then it still looked wrong to me. Then I got an idea, why simulate wax when you can use real wax. A Zippo and a candle later and it was done in 5 minutes. I used a plastic bottle cap to create the impression for the skull and scroll.

It took about a month to actually make the mold. I really wish life would slow down a little so I can get out and get supplies more often. Anyway here are the picts.

Very little to see here

Just a quick post of some of the stuff I have been painting. Eventually I will get some time to get stuff finished. Maybe while everyone is out shopping I can get some more work done.

Landmate Redesign

Since my Forge World order finally came in decided to jump back on my open projects starting with the Appleseed Landmate battlesuit. I kept the leg design from the original suit  but after doing a few cast of the pelvis and torso I just wasn't happy. There are a few details that I should have cleaned up on the master and the backpack never really worked out correctly when all the pieces were assembled. Either way it was time to rebuild. So here is the next version.

The new version is using the curved chest plate from the FW Shas'o R'myr's personal Battlesuit and in place of the normal jump jets I went with 1 central one from the prototype suit. I am still making additional changes to the design though. So I am looking at stretching the body like with the prototype. The shorted body is a little too round without it. Keep a look out for the next update.

Another project I threw together is new objective markers. I still have my old scenic ones but they are all on 25mm bases so rather that deal with complaints from players I cast up a few of these. 

I used another FW part for these, Shas’o R’ala's shield from his XV-9. They are molded as one piece and already textured so all I need to do is prime and paint them. I used a cheaper rubber for the mold and it is dying fast so I if I get 8 cast I will be happy before it completely falls apart. Better to find out on a less critical mold though. 

Next time I will hopefully be slinging some paint and showing off some results. 

Quality customer service my ass.

Well guess what just showed up. 9 weeks order times no way to a business. The part that still has me pisses off is when I called 2 weeks ago they couldn't even tell it the order had been processed. Now it is here. So either it sat on someones desk for 7 weeks or they didn't order it on the day they said. Either way this will likely be my last trip to the bunker for anything. Looks like I will be building a few more tables and playing at home from now on. Quality customer service my ass.

Chicago Battle Bunker is a Joke!

Forget 911 is a joke, ordering Forgeworld from the Chicago Battle Bunker is a joke. I went in to order some of the new Tau models and some books at the end of July. I knew I should have just called them directly when the guy said, it takes up to 6 weeks for them to get orders. Like an idiot, I went ahead and got did the order. Well it is now week 9 and still nothing. I call and get the "We will check and call you back" BS. Then they say call GW Customer service and let them know, they can't do anything for you but if they get enough complaints it may improve the situation. So I call, and I call, and I call. Each time the same call center answers and give me the same BS answer "We are sorry but the orders are the responsibility of the stores and sometimes they hold them until they get enough to place an order." 

How screwed up is that. So a multinational company can't get its act together to ship orders. What is the order so large they have to put it on a ship to get it here. Are the parts so rare that there is only 1 in existence and the guy delivering it has it handcuffed to his wrist. No I think I have an answer,

THEY DON'T GIVE A FUCK ABOUT CUSTOMER SERVICE!!! 

The kicker is 3 weeks ago I ordered some stuff directly from FW and payed dirt cheap shipping cost. Guess what arrived last night, I will give you a hint, it wasn't the Bunker order. What is the point of going into the bunker to order stuff if it takes years to get it? This is the last time I will ever buy any GW stuff from the Bunker. 

Quick visit to Capital City Games in Springfield, IL

About 3 weeks ago I went back to my hometown of Springfield, IL and decided to check out the game scene. I hadn't gamed here since, well there used to be a local con called CapitalCon that I played D&D and Battletech at, if that give you an idea. Well I am happy to say that gaming still exist in the Field. I stopped in at Capital City Games. For those of you familiar with Adepticon, this is the store responsible for majority of the terrain. Many thanks to them on that. The epic tale of them having to get the trailer from Texas to Springfield and Chicago from 2 years ago show these guys dedication.

The day I was there they were running a 15K tournament. This was a 4 rounder that  started earlier than normal so the turnout was has high. Got to love gamer time. Either way the turnout looked good and after speaking with them I found out they are normally standing room only for events.

I have already started to pack up my army for my next visit. If you are in the area stop through.

Capital City Games Place page

1305 Wabash Ave
Springfield, IL 62704
(217) 793-5229

http://www.capitalcitygames.com/

Appleseed XV8 Mold Making

Made some molds of the Appleseed suit build and the mold turned out ok. Venting this mold was tough because their were so many spots that could trap air. Each pour involved me adding having to go back and revent the mold in a new location and switch from a plain pour to injecting the resin into the mold. So I have a bunch of parts that will be used for damaged suites.