Review: Know No Fear

I just finished reading this book over the weekend and I can say that this has become my favorite book in the Horus Heresy series so far.  It was a masterfully written war novel with a vivid, epic feel.  I was very impressed with the portrayal of the Ultramarines, a chapter that I have not had much interest in collecting, but now I'm starting to see the potential.  But we'll see.  So, in short the book an awesome read and I got through it in about three days.  It's been some time since I've actually read a book that I could not or would not put down. 

White Dwarf #390

  Got out to the Orland GW and picked up my copy of White Dwarf (June 2012).  I've two issues left before my subscription runs out and they tried talking me into renewing, but I heard that unless I have it sent to my house, I won't be able to received before the actual store release.  Which, for me at least, defeated the purpose.  I know it's a pretty decent savings, but I"m just getting tired of Games Workshop not doing enough to keep their current customers.  I don't want this to turn into a rant, but it seems they just make one stupid business decision after another, such as the ridiculously high price increases that occur every summer.  I'm not sure how much longer I'll be staying in this hobby before I start searching for greener (and cheaper) pastures.

Speaking of green, you may have noticed that I deleted my Aurora Chapter posts.  That'll be a story for another time.  I think right now, I"m going to sit down and check out my new White Dwarf.

I'm Free!!!!!!

Yay! I'm free! I get my life back!! I have fulfilled my last obligation for the school year and I am now a free man. My life has been non-stop kids sports and activities since early September.  I have three beautiful daughters, all of which enjoy sports. So living by the philosophy that a parent should take an active part in their childrens' lives, I decided about seven years ago to start coaching.  Needless to say, I only had one kid participating back then.  Well now it's soccer, volleyball, softball and cheerleading (I'm only a spectator at cheerleading).  As the school year comes to a close, I treated my daughter's 8th grade volleyball team to a round of Buffalo Wings.  We had some laughs and tears as we all realized that our time as a team was now over.  I don't regret a minute of it, but a part of me is glad its over.  For the summer at least.  I now intend to take some Dad time and get back to some gaming.

This weekend I'm going to dive into my Space Marines and do some reading and maybe sit up 'til all hours watching DVDs. I'm really looking forward to summer this year.  As I said, it's been a hectic year with the kids, a new job, knee surgery and whatnot.  I can't wait to get started.

Venturing Into Unexplored Territory

As you may have guessed, I've fallen a little behind in my Aurora Chapter army.  The good news is that I haven't started any other projects.  So in an effort to catch up, I'm  pulling out the spray gun that I bought last year, but until now have not had the guts to use.  I stopped in to visit my good buddy Tim at the Chicago Battle Bunker and he gave me some useful pointers on how to use GW's spray gun.  My goal is to finish up the SM battle force that I started before breaking into any bigger tanks or adding any other units to my army.  I did base coat 5 tactical marines with a brush, but it's taking a little too long, so I'm going to go ahead and give the spray gun a shot this week.  Once I"m caught up, I'll get a game or two in and then expand the force and maybe turn my gaze toward a Necron battle force. 

A Night Off

Last night, I spent a relatively quiet night around the house.  The rain kept me from having practice for my oldest daughter's softball team and my wife had to a training class for some school related thing.  So, I gathered my paints and models (yes, paints), flipped through the DVR to catch up on last week's episode of Fact or Fact and set to work on my Aurora Chapter.  I chickened out on the spray gun and grabbed my tank brush and started base coating my Tactical Squad.  I still haven't found out what ration of paint to water that I should use with the new paints, but I just haven't gotten around to calling my local Games Workshop.

Anyway, I got down to painting and got two models base-coated then took a break and checked out GW's daily blog and saw some awesome-looking Raven Guard models. After shaking off the trance I was in, I stepped away. But the damage may have already been done.  I want a Raven Guard army. Starting to panic, I ran back to my green paint and got back to work.  I need to stay focused.  Aurora Chapter, Aurora Chapter, Aurora Chapter.......

Glue Gripe!

I don't know if it's some new formula Games Workshop has switched to, but I have to say that I'm getting more than a little aggravated at the quality of their plastic glue. It doesn't seem to fuse the joins as well as it used to.  In fact, it doesn't seem to fuse them at all.  I was just base coating one of my space marines and the arm fell right off!  The bond is no where near what it used to be. Thanks GW! Someone let me know if there's a better glue out there (plastic) that works with GW plastic kits.

6th Edition Rumors As Motivation

So Fait 212 is reporting some 6th Edition background (I hate the word 'fluff') rumors.  The rumor mill is essentially reporting that the Tau will become a Xenos race that will fall under the protection of the Space Marines (an effort led by the Ultramarines).  If this turns out to be true, then I  would imagine that many chapters descended from that chapter will follow.  Well it just so happens that the Aurora Chapter just happens to be one of them. It also sounds like the new background is going to fracture certain elements of the Imperium.  Can't wait for the release.  Head on over to Fait 212 to read more.