Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Completed Battlefleet Gothic Vessels for Gothicomp 2015

I recently finished my submissions for GOTHICOMP 2015 and just wanted to share the pictures I am submitting.


These are all Imperial Navy vessels of Battlefleet Agripinaa.

Saturday, September 26, 2015

BFG: Additional Ships Compendium 2.0 Updated and last week for Gothicomp 2015!

Foo all you Star Captains of the 41st Millenium, I have updated the Additional Ship's Compendium 2.0!

You can download the latest version here. You can also always find a link to it in the downloads tab at the top of the page.

This update has some minor ship tweaks, two more classes of vessel for the Imperial Navy (the Neptune Battlecruiser and the Onager Frigate) and a total of 4 new fleet lists
-Segmentum Solar: The Gilded Fleet of Voss
-Segmentum Pacificus: The Fortress Fleet of Hydraphur
-Ultima Segmentum: The Patrol Fleets of Kar Duniash
-Space Marine Frontier Fleet List (Carcharodons)

For other BFG resources (such as BFG:Revised, which the ASC 2.0 is designed to be compatible with) you can check the Fanatic: Specialist Games tab at the top of the page.
As well, this is the last week for Gothicomp 2015, the annual starship painting competition. Deadline is SEP 30th, so get you entries submitted ASAP. I am working on finishing up a few escorts myself!

There are some great prizes to be had, so get your entries in! And take particular note of the ASC 2.0 prize, sponsored by me!

Entry guidelines are located here. You do not have to be a member of the forum to enter, but you do to vote.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Gothmog's Blood Bowl 2 Stream

YESTERDAY WAS BLOOD BOWL 2 LAUNCH DAY!!!! HOOORAY!!!

So I have been streaming my games and I invite you to watch if you are curious about the game & how to play blood bowl, or just looking for some entertainment.


So I have a few teams that I have made for the game

The New Fangland Hatriots (Orcs, New England Patriots, including players like Zog Brady, Wes Walloper and Thug Flutie)
The Parravon Eagles (Bretonnian, based off of the Phildelphia Eagles)
The Aquitane Falcons (Bretonnian, based off of the Atlanta Falcons, and including Michael the Victorious and Matthew the Lion)
The Greschburg Yellow Jackets (Human, based off of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets)

We have a league, the Averland Carrior Conference (ACC) and the competition is the Fatal Bowl System (FBS)

SO Overall a REALLY fluffy/fun league I am in.

You can watch a full game of Chaos vs the NEW Bretonnian team here (SKIP TO 54:05 for the PLAY OF THE GAME!!!)

I am getting a new headset some time this week, so audio will be better. I will also try and laugh less... Overall though, I am trying to be instructive on BB and how/why I make my decisions. And some times you just have to put your faith in NUFFLE and go big or go home.

Tuesday, September 22, 2015

Apparently GW thinks only 20% of us game. Thoughts on the GW investor article (RANT)

First of all I suggest you read the article from an Investor inside of GW's recent annual investor meeting. This guy is not a hobbyist himself, but an actual investor. What he has brillantly done though is gone through the internet and looked at competitors products to get a good idea of what the communities concerns are, what we want and are looking for, and what is important and topical to today's market.

Games Workshop AGM: A relentless profit machine


That title says something we really all know already right, but I am going to pull out a few highlights. RANT MODE ON! (There will be no foul language, but know I am cussing out loud when I write this).
Here is a highlight from the article "I’m told that the word “Game” in Games Workshop encourages the misconception that games are its business, but that only about 20% of Games Workshop’s customers are gamers."

This is coming from a company, who in their own financial report have the following
"The Group does not undertake research activities." and the words market & research cannot be found anywhere together. I am pretty sure Tom Kirby even bragged about this in past reports.

They have no reliable data to form this (mis)conception. Sure they have figures on total sales and sales in their store, and in the UK most of the gaming happens in the "warhammer shoppe", however most US gaming is at an FLGS or at HOME! I know I have played WAY more outside a store than in one. At least ten times as much. I have NEVER played any games of Fantasy or Specialist Games in stores, but that does not mean I have not ever played them!

As well, if 80% of us were collecting and only 20% gaming, how come there is an EXTREMELY PROLIFIC and LUCRATIVE Ebay aftermarket. This aftermarket is driven entirely by gamers looking for cheap pieces to get onto the table top.

As well, if 80% of us are collecting, then why did you Nuke WHFB and come out with AoS (I will let you decide what the S stands for)? You have an awesome lore and background. You even spend a whole WD right before AoS dropped bragging about that. So why did the game fail if we were all collecting? And why did you have to competely re-invent the world and mechanics for only 20% of us. I will tell you why. Because WHFB rules had become entirely unbalanced and broken in 8th. It WAS THE GAME that killed it. Because people bought and collected WHFB to play the game. And if (I personally believe when) AoS fails, it will be because of THE GAME. Same goes doubly for LotR, which should have been twice as collectible as anything warhammer related, but it did FAR worse.
And don't base your expectations of AoS off of "other metrics, downloads and Sigmar themed magazine sales," that "management seems more than satisfied" with. NEARLY EVERYONE downloaded the rules out of curiosity. They were FREE so why not? I wonder how many went into the recycle bin after the first read. Furthermore, the WD came with a free model. I specifically bought it for that and a copy of the rules, out of curiosity. What was $4? I wanted the model for terrain TBH and used it as such. What you should really look at is your inability to move the core box set and limited edition books. The equivalent Limited Ed in 40k sell out IN HOURS.

On top of that, how can they reconcile that statistic of "20% gamers", which is at best a guess and at worst irresponsible ignorance, with their stated goal and business plan to recruit teenagers/young adults? Especially this generation know for its gaming and gamer culture. Another indicator should be the resurgence of board games and the wild success of FFG and Privateer Press. People want games. If I wanted a collection I would choose one that has potential value increase... which for 95% of hobbyists our paint jobs don't do that. I consider myself an above average painter. Not professional, but I rarely meet people in person that can match me IMO, but I still don't expect to get back the cost of the model for most of my work (which is why it becomes a collection rather than me selling it off).

Also from the article is this "I’ve got bad news for disenchanted gamers complaining on the Internet. The company’s attitude towards customers is as clinical as its attitude towards staff. If you don’t like what it’s selling. You’re not a customer. The company believes only a fraction of the population are potential hobbyists, and it’s not interested in the others."

Yet this is what Mr. Rountree claims in the Financial Report ". I'd like to think our Hobby - modelling, painting, collecting, gaming - is for anyone."

So what they are putting on record and actually telling investors seems to be two different, and irreconcilable things. Sure they may not have bluntly put it like the article's author, however that is the perception and message received by investors. One of exclusion and no compassion for the costumer, without whom the company would FAIL btw.
Games workshop stopped being a hobby company when they started only focusing on making models as they come in the box. Games, conversions, conventions, events, all make you a hobby company. You are a now model, or even TOY company, but stop feeding us the line that you actually care about a hobby. Unless by hobby you mean buying outrageously priced models, because that is what you seem to think hobbying means. So to deem FFG as a lesser company, as you do in the article:

"When another shareholder asks if the company would sell games with pre-painted easy to assemble miniatures like the popular Star Wars themed X-Wing game, there’s a collective growl from the Games Workshop people. It wouldn’t be a hobby business then, it would be a toy company."

You are DIMINISHING the entirety of the HOBBY of WARGAMING. I think NO LESS of my X-WING brethren than I do of a 40k player or Blood Bowler. Just because they are prepainted doesn't mean it is any less HOBBY. It is easy to do a repaint. BUT not everyone wants to just paint, or has the ability to paint as well of even the prepaints. To them this is an attractive way INTO THE HOBBY.

Really GW, you are no different than LEGO. They also sell high priced, highly regarded IP based, unfinished plastic kits. To a very wide array of collectors and "gamers" ie people that play with legos (of whom there are FAR more than collectors btw).

You will be a hobby company again if you start caring about all aspects of the hobby. Like you said Mr. Rountree, it is "modelling, painting, collecting, gaming" SO DO ALL OF IT ALREADY.
Then there is this: "I asked one of the board members if he played, or if he modelled. He used to do both, he said but now he finds running businesses is even more fun. Not for the first time that day the thought crossed my mind that Games Workshop’s management might view staff, customers, and investors as figures on a tabletop that they must manoeuvre ruthlessly to victory."

One major problem indicated in the article is leadership no longer invested in their product. I trust apple and Microsoft to try and make good products users want because they too use these very products. I get the feeling from GW that the customer is distasteful and they sully themselves by making our addiction, but there is a dollar to be made so they do it anyway.
And by the way, your profits keep falling GW. So maybe, JUST MAYBE, your attitude is affecting that.

My final thought on the article is not so much a thought, but a love for the closing, and very poignant, statement

"Sigmar sounds like a good product, and I think maybe I should buy it for Joe for Christmas. But as I walk back along a tow-path to the railway station the spell wears off.
He just wants to play. He’s not an anointed one. He doesn’t have Warhammer DNA. I don’t think he’ll ever walk into a Warhammer store because he wants to paint a Stormcast Eternal.

Maybe we’ll get him X-Wing instead."

I could keep going on, but I shall give you a reprieve. I will leave you with this. Over 16,500 people have signed at the time of this article. There is one month left of the Petition. If you feel that GW is laying the bricks on its own path to its demise, you are welcome to sign.

Refocus your business model on the sale of a game and support of a gaming community vice the pure sale of collectible miniatures.


Or GW could keep doing this

Sunday, September 20, 2015

WIP Weekend: Sicaran Battle Tank Construction and Battlefleet Gothic

Just a quick update on my work this weekend. Just finished building my Sicaran Battle Tank for my Blood Angels Adepticon list.
As you can see from the pictures I had to do some filling with green stuff. Nothing was warped too bad though, not even the gun barrels. I microwaved some water and sat them in it for a minute and was able to get them perfect in one shot. I think it helps that these barrels are so chunky while not being too long. My Lascannons were also great.
The biggest problem I had here so mould lines and the injection points on the back of the tracks. The Injections are so large on the back that they completely cover the width of the track armour, so cut them off carefully. I unfortunately had an uneven cut on my right track so had to do some serious sanding and shaping with a file and dremmel to get it nice again. Now it is at a slightly different angle than the left track but it is actually really hard to tell on the finished tank.

My only other issue is ANOTHER injection point on the track was on the joint of a track itself, which really leaves it messy in the end, especially since this part everywhere else has several apparent "joints" and is round. I really wish they had done the injections on the bottom rather than the back, just so they would hide much better. I also got a bad mould line between the two on the right track which took some work to smooth out some.

I hope to get this painting this week, possibly along with a land raider and rhino (I have this week off). Tomorrow I am going to prime this beasty at least!

Other than that I am also getting some last minute BFG painted for Gothicomp! Check it out:
Flipped so the lighting can show you the underside.
Better pictures will be forthcoming once I get a few more done and it is worth it to set up my foldio. The two colours is supposed to be reminiscent of actual ships.

Friday, September 18, 2015

Samurai Warriors Kickstarter by Steel Fist Miniatures now up!

So the second kickstarter by Steel Fist Miniatures is now up! Check it our here NOW!!!


I was extremely pleased with backing them on their first Samurai Lords kickstarter, which produced many of the Daimyo of the Battle of Sekigahara. These models are AMAZING In my opinion, and you can see my unboxing review of them here.


Steel Fist is dedicated to bringing the highest level of accuracy (I found them in the magazine Wargames: Soldiers and Startegy, rated with the HIGHEST accuracy of any Samurai models), highest level of detail, and truly the widest variety of options. Sure Perry and Wargames factory may have most of your army covered, but the research he does to find the coolest and most unique sets of armour and weapons is amazing, and it really allows these models to become the leaders and star pieces/focal points of units/armies.

With that being said, this kickstarter is aimed at producing more humble soldiers and expanding the Sekigahara range. However, these models should still be exquisite and are well worth the investment for any Ancient wargamer or just a historical model enthusiast. After adepticon this coming year, I know I am going to buckle down on my Samurai and French Napoleonics for sure.
So please consider backing Steel Fist Miniatures. HIS ENTIRE SEK RANGE is available via the kickstarter, so if you are planning on buying any of his samurai anyway, back through the kickstarter to get them. Sure you may have to wait a little bit, but it is worth it to see these beautiful models come to fruition AND for the exclusive BONUS MINI limited to the starter.
Cool Bonus Mini based off of a Warrior Monk.
I unfortunately can only grab 1 pack at this time, but if that is all you can do to, you will not regret it, because they truly are wonderful products!

And if you think I am getting paid to promote this, NOPE. I am doing this because I 100% believe in Steel Fist and the models Mr. James is making. He is an artist and if you love Samurai, you should not miss out.



Behold the unkillable tau titan!

So typing this from my phone, but it is here and must be shared.

The KX-139 Tau Supremacy Armour

And my goodness the rules on that thing.
Sure it is 600 points, but it is nigh on indestructible.
T9, 10 wounds, 2+/5+, 2+/4+ against shooting. Half the wounds of all D shots the first time it is hurt by them each turn...
Add to it the crazy firepower it has... I don't think a Warhound puts out as much damage TBH. At least not point for point.

All for 250 GBP, which isn't that bad compared to some of their knights IMO.

This is some impressive tech to say the least. Wraithknights beware.

Tuesday, September 15, 2015

The big guns! New Tau Riptide variants and Firewarriors(?) leaked

New leaks of variant Riptides and some variant Battlesuits just hit the internet.

I can almost guarantee you that the huge gun is Strength D... Death of Wraithknights brought to you by Tau.



So I think the second picture is a new stealth riptide or possibly a new Commander in a now extra large suit... Because if 40 is doing anything lately it is bigger is better.

Additionally, I think it is possible the Fire Warriors are a new sculpt, however it could just be the paintjob messing me up. Not entirely sure. BUt my Tau friend is insisting they are new, so lets go with that!

Friday, September 11, 2015

Dark Angels Tactical Combat Squad - Schlemazal

Hello everyone, I'm back again with some more painting to share with you all. I'll be going to Adepticon next year with Gothmog, so I'm steadily working on my Dark Angels to get a force I'll be satisfied with ready to go by then. There's a lot to get done and I don't have quite as much painting time as I would like, but I'm trying to keep the work moving. Today I have my first combat squad for Adepticon done, painted with a slightly different style than I've used for tactical marines in the past (generally darker armor, and a few other tweaks).


The sergeant is equipped with a combi-melta and power fist, with a meltagun as the special weapon for the squad. The bases are all Secret Weapon Miniatures Urban Streets. I will be adding ice (using crackle paint and washes) and small patches of snow to them, but I decided to wait until I had more marines painted and do that in bulk. All of my marines are from the 4th Battle Company, mainly because I enjoy painting the checkered company icon on the kneepads.

Anyway, have some more pictures of the squad while I wait for the rain to stop so that I can prime some more marines.


I'll be back again soon with more painting, I have quite a bit to get through before Adepticon:
All of this, plus a sicarin, chaplain and some assault marines

40k Humour: Santa Grimnar not good enough? Try Count Dracula Mephiston!!!

So I wanted to get a little fun post in for Friday. I am currently writing a VERY LONG article about embracing change, but I don't think I am going to get it finished tonight, so expect it by Monday. In the meantime, I thought I would share the possible future design philosophy for a resculpted Mephiston. Obviously designed by the same person that came up with Santa-sled Grimnar...

Redefines Flying Monstrous Creature!


Happy Friday!

And yes I know it is 9/11. But it is my kid's birthday, and there is no reason to keep it sombre, so get out there and enjoy life!

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

Follow Sepulchre of Heroes on Facebook, Twitter and Google+

Just a really quick post to spread the word about the new social media initiatives from Sepulchre of Heroes.

I do this, not for ad revenue (I have none and intend to NEVER have ads on this blog) but because I love the Hobby and want to spread my work and love of it to others. Hopefully in doing so I inspire you or provoke thought on the hobby in some way or fashion! This blog has been going for nearly 6 years now, and I don't plan to stop anytime soon! The pace is only picking up, so grab on now!

So please take a moment to like or follow us on
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SepulchreofHeroes
Google+: https://plus.google.com/u/0/102990620882278855498/posts
Twitter: @Gothmog_Balrog

As well, you can follow me on Pinterest. (https://www.pinterest.com/GothmogBalrog/) There I not only host some of my work, but have collected over 4000 Hobby related pins on 11 boards, from 40k and Fantasy painted minis to terrain and workstations, with new pins almost daily, so get the best brought to your boards.

Please take a moment and like, +1 or tweet us! You can also still join this site via google friend connect and/or subscribe to our RSS feed, all over in the right column -->

And finally you can always still contact me at sepulchreofheroes@gmail.com (or via twitter and FB message now as well) and I WILL respond to all emails, messages and pertinent tweets! If you have something REALLY cool to share, don't be afraid to do so, and it may even make it up on Sepulchre!

Monday, September 7, 2015

Gothicomp 2015- Battlefleet Gothic/Space Combat Painting Competition (and my WIP for it)

A pitch here and some quick WIP photos for Gothicomp 2015! Deadline is SEPTEMBER 30th!!!


Gothicomp is an annual Space Ship painting competition. It is focused towards BFG, but ever since GW dumped the Specialist Games, it has been open to ALL forms of Space Ships! So if you are an enthusiast of Firestorm Armada, Star Wars Armada, Halo Fleet Battles or even X-Wing!


2005 Winner: Despoiler Venerable Barge - Frank Wesner 
The Categories
CAPITAL SHIP
- Any vessels over 5cm in any dimension.

SMALL SHIP
-Anything not in the capital ship category!

CONVERSION
-Chosen from either the Capital or Small ship Categories. Goes to the best converted vessel.

FLEET
-A group of 7 vessels of any size! The idea is to have a theme to them as well.

And a bonus category sponsored by ME!
ADDITIONAL SHIPS COMPENDIUM 2.0
-Make a BFG ship that is represented in the ASC 2.0 or is planned for it. Click the link for details!

2014 Winner: Battleship Swordbreaker -   Karun
PRIZES
Small category: 1x Pack of Battlegroup Helios Helian Corvettes
Capital category: 1x Battlegroup Helios Helian Dreadnought
Fleet category: A selection of conversion parts from Mangozac at Resin Addict
Conversion category: 3x Gunship Destroyers & 3x Carrier Destroyers
ASC 2.0: (Winner's choice) -1 x Grimdark Bits  BFG Heresy Marine Cruiser from shapeways in FUD OR 1 x Helian Escort Frigates from Battlegroup Helios OR 2 x Special Order Dice from Abyssal Products (12 dice, 1 green pack, 1 red pack)

Here are a few pictures of what I am working on
Hopefully I can get a bunch of these done.
An Invincible Class BB. Going for the conversion prize with this one.



Sunday, September 6, 2015

Completed BA Scout Snipers and WIP Tactical Squad

I finished these guys Friday night. Just chugging along on what I need for Adepticon!  Squad of 5 Sniper Scouts that turned out nicely I think. Nothing spectacular, but solid IMO. These guys will stay in my deployment zone or on an objective some place most the game, just to provide support.

I went for a matte look on them over my typical gloss. I am not going to do this for my marines, but it seemed appropriate for scouts. I may hit them with a matte varnish too, just tossing that idea around.

The missile launcher is definitely worth taking to pop the odd transport.

And here is my current project. Sorry for the low quality photo for now, but this is a big MUST for the Adepticon list and an upcoming escalation league in the area.