Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Taros Campaign: Ork Victory!

It was a long and grueling campaign but Warboss Gorgog Badzagga and his World Chompas finally managed to drive the Imperial forces out of Taros.


With the desert planet overrun by Orks, Imperial command decided that the time had come to accept defeat and make their retreat. The final battle saw the Guard with their backs against the wall. Their primary objective was to simply slow down the Ork horde in an attempt to buy time for the evacuation of the human population. Assigned with this task was a mechanized force of Imperial Guardsmen being led by a Shadowsword super-heavy tank. The Ork Warboss sent a mechanized force of his own to break through the Imperial defensive line. To ensure his victory, Badzagga deployed his prized Stompa, Gorg-zilla.

The battle had a disastrous start for the Guardsmen as their Shadowsword was immediately struck by an Ork missile. The blast managed to destroy the tank's powerful volcano cannon. The Imperials were never able to recover from this loss as Gorg-zilla was free to run amok. With just one sweep of it's supa-gatler, the Stompa destroyed a squadron of three chimeras. Protected by a Kustom Force Field, the ork infantry were able to safely reach the front line of the Imperial forces. The Orks managed to assault and destroy a squadron of three Leman Russ tanks.

With Planet Taros free of the Imperial Guard and Blood Angel Space Marines, Warboss Gorgog Badzagga soon found himself bored. So he loaded his Battleship with a fresh supply of food (i.e. human slaves) and set off to the stars in search of new wars to wage.

Thursday, August 26, 2010

High Executioner Reznik

Thanks to the Jedi mind tricks of my bud, Tim Divar, I find myself delving into the geeky awesomeness that is Warmachine. While Warhammer 40k is still my favorite system, I think that Warmachine is a great way to mix things up and avoid burn out.

After looking over the various factions in the Iron Kingdoms, it was the Protectorate of Menoth that popped out to me as the most interesting. What could be cooler than fielding an army of crusading religious zealots?! I also find that their model range has a lot of really fun and characterful miniatures available.

Here's a picture of High Executioner Reznik, the Warcaster that's leading my force:


As soon as I saw his model, I knew that Reznik would be commanding my army. He's actually the first Protectorate miniature that I've painted. While the standard Menoth paint scheme consists of white and purple I chose to go a different direction. I really wanted my army to feel very imposing and "inquisitorial" so I went with black, red and gold (sorry Khador.) Overall, I'm pleased with how he turned out and now I'm looking forward to painting up some warjacks.

Tuesday, July 27, 2010

San Diego Comic Con Awesomeness!

I just got back from this past weekend's San Diego Comic Convention. It was an awesome experience being in the epicenter of all things geeky. While it seems like the con is now focused on movies, television shows and video games, I still managed to find some cool stuff that us table-top wargamers would be into.

First off, I got to meet the man himself, Dan Abnett. Here's a picture of us (ya we're BFF):

He was a really nice guy and seemed genuinely happy to be around his readers. Dan said that he's feeling a lot better after his recent health issues and he's excited about the upcoming release of the next Horus Heresy novel, Prospero Burns. I got him to sign my copy of Horus Rising and a little promotional picture of the upcoming Ultramarine movie.

Despite GW having almost no presence at the San Diego Con I was surprised to see quite a few Warhammer 40K fans dressed up in sweet looking costumes. Here are a couple of Death Korps cosplayers:

I found some Dust Tactics mini's on display as well. I think the walker-tanks look totally cool:


The actual troop miniatures are nice as well:

Finally, I have to give props to Privateer Press. Just for showing up and having a presence at the big show is impressive to me. From a promotional standpoint, it seems like they're doing a lot of things right. I couldn't resist buying the Voltron miniature game boxed set along with their comic con exclusive Lotron figure. Here's an amazing display they made for the Monsterpocalypse game:


Overall, the San Diego Convention was a amazing. I'm already looking forward to next year's show. Hopefully I'll see you folks there!

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Apocalypse Recap

This past weekend I had a blast playing a game of Apocalypse. Misguided League Bowlers (that's my gaming group's name) in attendance for this battle were Lynell, Tim, Chris, Todd, Scooter and Solomon. This get together actually doubled as a birthday celebration for Tim.

The armies were split up with the theme of "Xenos vs Imperium." Orks, Tyranids, Tau and Eldar made up the Xenos forces while the Imperium forces were made up of Space Marines. In all there were 16000 points of models duking it out in this game! Below is a shot of a Space Wolf Rune Priest standing firm against an oncoming Stompa:


Despite the admirable efforts of the Imperial forces, the Xenos were ultimately too much to overcome. The main reason being the combined might of an Ork Stompa and a Tyranid Hierophant Bio Titan:


Once we called an end to the game, the Xenos had control of two objectives versus none for the Space Marines. Here Warboss Gorgog Badzagga tries to control a valuable objective.:


Big thanks to Tim for hosting the event at his house. Thanks also to Cundo, Jay and Lynell for providing such an awesome table:


Friday, June 18, 2010

Why I am the luckiest man alive

Let's face it, miniature war gaming is one of the geekiest hobbies known to the human species. I myself am an admitted miniature war gamer, a Warhammer 40K gamer to be specific. For me this means a number of things:

1. I am crazy about science fiction.
2. I spend an enormous amount of time building and painting hordes of tiny toy soldiers.
3. Every week I get together with friends, break out my measuring tape, dice, templates and we actually play with our armies of tiny toy soldiers.

So this past week it felt really nice when I received this photo-message on my phone:


I hope my miniature will bring the Lakers good luck tonight. :)


Not only does my girlfriend accept me for the geeky gamer that I am...she proudly decorates her cubicle with a DARK ANGEL SPACE MARINE!

Thursday, June 10, 2010

Ranking the Best 40K Podcasts

As a Warhammer 40k player, I am totally excited about the recent growth in the number of 40K-themed podcasts. While most are simply terrible, there is a handful of shows out there that I enjoy. I've found that listening to these shows can be a great way to keep myself entertained through long painting sessions or even just commuting to work. If anything, it's interesting to listen to the different opinions and ideas that other people have about the hobby.

Here's a quick rundown of my top 6 Warhammer 40k podcasts:

#1. The Independent Characters
These new kids on the block have a very infectious enthusiasm for the 40k hobby.

#2. 40K Basement
A funny group of hardcore gamers. Their "gay-innuendo" sense of humor seems eerily familiar.

#3. The 11th Company
Just a solid show that is heavily focused on the strategy aspect the game.

#4. Imperial Vox Cast
This San Diego based podcast does a good job of covering the west coast 40k scene.

#5. Gamers Lounge
I like that this show encourages more fluffy or themed gameplay as opposed to the win-at-all-costs tournament mentality. They also have a lot of discussion about the 40K blogging scene.

#6. Dice Like Thunder
At times these guys can be good and other times they can be overly cynical.

Well there you go. Give these podcasts a try. They can be a good source of inspiration for your own hobbying experience.

Tuesday, June 8, 2010

Taros Campaign: Assault on Port Kantrael

In an epic battle of mechanized forces, the World Chompas managed to defeat the Imperial defenders. Warboss Gorgog Badzagga successfully captured the planet's sole Space Port.

Friday, May 28, 2010

Taros Campaign: Descent of Angels

Following their defeat at Bastion 13, Imperial command called upon the Blood Angels for support. Scouts reported that Warboss Gorgog Badzagga had left the Bastion, intent on overtaking manufactorum facilities in sector 4. With the Warboss gone, the Blood Angels planned a surprise attack on the Ork held fortress.

The remaining Ork defense proved to be too much for the attacking Blood Angels. Lead by Big Mek Zodgor Waznagga, the Orks threw hordes of heavily armoured tanks and walkers at their attackers.

The Blood Angels offensive was spearheaded by a Land Raider occupied by a squad of tactical marines. The tank shot all of its weapons into the side of the most dangerous Ork vehicle, the Battlewagon. To the surprise of the Imperials, the lascannons only managed to inflict glancing damage onto the Ork vehicle. In reply, the Battlewagon rammed its mighty Deffroller directly into the Land Raider, causing it to explode. The surviving marines piled out of the wreckage only to be assaulted by a mob of 19 blood thirsty shoota boyz. The Astartes stood their ground and fought valiantly, but ultimately were overwhelmed by the sheer numbers of the ork mob.

The rest of the Blood Angel units arrived via jumpack deepstrike. Furious from the loss of their ancient Land Raider, the unit of Sanguinary guard wrecked the Battlewagon with a well placed blast from an infernus pistol. This small victory was short-lived as the remaining Blood Angel assault units found themselves ill-equipped to deal with an Ork Deff Dread accompanied by a squadron of 3 Killa Kans. Eventually, the Astartes fell as they were withered down by salvo after salvo of weaponry from the Ork Walkers.

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Taros Campaign: Battle for Bastion 13

The campaign in Taros has seen little progress as the Orks and the Imperial forces have been locked in a virtual stalemate. The Imperium, desperate to make further ground into the desert planet, attempted a daring assault on an Ork controlled bastion (Territory 13.) The Cadian 420th, accompanied by a small contingent of Grey Knights, were given this assignment. Below is a map of the planet:


The World Chompas, lead by Warboss Gorgog Badzagga himself, managed to successfully defend their bastion. The Imperial forces came to the battle armed to the teeth with heavy weaponry, Chimeras and Leman Russ Tanks. The Ork defenders were immediately bombarded by the powerful arsenal of the Guardsmen. The humans were shocked to see that almost every shot exploded before its' target was reached. Noticing a shimmering effect of static electricity after each shell impacted, they soon realized that the Orks were employing the use of a Big Mek's Kustom Force Field. With the humans unable to crack this energy barrier, the Orks were able to drive right up to the Imperial gun line and charge into assault.

Severely outmatched by the Orks in hand-to-hand combat, the only remaining hope for the Guardsmen was the arrival of the legendary Grey Knight Terminators. They eventually did arrive via deepstrike, but to the horror of the Imperial Command, a mishap of technology caused the Terminators to land so far from the battle that they were rendered ineffective.

The 420th were dealt severe casualties during the raid. This blurry image is the only transmission that Imperial Command was able to receive from the failed mission.


(No, the autocannon was not able to destroy the Deff Dread)


Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Skarbog and the Skabz

"No 'umies can escape my 'arpoon!"
-Nob Skarbog

This unit was loads of fun to paint. Without a doubt I had the best time painting up the Nob leader, Skarbog. I like the look of his half orange face as well as his grim expression. If you look closely, his power klaw is actually a harpoon-looking device! I have no idea if that bit was actually meant to be used as a power klaw, but it looked way too cool to pass up:P The rest of the unit, the Skabz, is made up of one boy with a big shoota and ten boyz with choppas and sluggas. Mean, dirty and bloody - that's my motto when it comes to painting this ork army.

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Warboss Gorgog Badzagga

"Blood for da Blood Boss!"
-Gorgog Badzagga

Introducing the Arch-Killa Warboss Gorgog Badzagga. This fella is the very first miniature that I've painted for my custom Ork Clan, Da World Chompas. I wanted the army to pop out on the tabletop so I chose to give them an orange and white color scheme. No sophisticated painting techniques here - mostly just basecoats and washes. After putting a dull coat on the model, I went back and put a gloss coat on the power klaw to give the blood a wet look. Overall, I'm really happy with the result.

Gorgog's story is that his clan was lost in the Warp for nearly a century. During that time, he fought countless battles with monsters, daemons and chaos space marines. He was so impressed with the ferocity of the World Eaters that he named his Clan Da World Chompas. Now he is driven by his ambition to become greater than all of the Chaos Gods that he encountered in the Nightmare Realm. I still have a lot of fleshing out to do with Gorgog's fluff. Hopefully, the Taros campaign will provide a lot of cool stories for him:)

Pew! Pew!


(cat armor by Jeff De Boer)

Welcome to the very first post of PEW PEW EXTREME! I thought my friend's blog, Cadian 113th Shock Troops, was so cool I felt inspired to start my own. In the coming weeks I hope to fill this blog with pictures and stories covering all of my geeky wargaming exploits. Subjects will include battle reports, campaign news, hobby projects and some of my own gaming inspired artwork.

Currently, Warhammer 40K is my primary interest when it comes to game systems. So expect to see a lot of posts covering my two armies - Orks and Dark Angel Space Marines. I'm also looking into the games Warmachine and Infinity.

I'm expecting a lot of feedback from my gaming group, the Misguided League Bolwers:)

Well that's about it for now. Keep checking back.