Wargames Factory vs Warlord Games!!!!

So recently I started painting my celts which will be my germanics in an upcomming campaign a close friend of mine and I are doing together. We will be squaring off with him and his imperial romans vs my germanic tribes. Now I must profess it has been some time since I painted historical armies, and it is much more different then painting SCI-FI. As such the first warband is table top as the whole army will be but it is below my personal table top standards. So after pondering it I went downstairs (ahhhh my oo so cool basement not hot ahhh) and looked at some free sprues of warlord games celts that I snagged and compaired the two. Here is my observations of both companies:

Wargames Factory: lots of models, great price, and look great...until you put paint to brush at which point you notice all the flaws. The models are as many have complained way to open handed. This is a big deterance as the hands lack in major definition so painting fingers and thus the weapon makes the models look well tacky. The hands are clunky and rather cheap and after talking with a good friend who knows the sculptor I found out why. The sculptor uses the digital machine, now normally a good graphic artist can produce a wonderful sculpt highly detailed, and down right amazing. This guy has not and continues to produce junk. The models themselves have large indentation gaps between body parts and this is after extensive cleaning of them. All in all out of a 5 star I would give them a 2 as the heads are horrible the body parts are missportioned and all in all you are getting what you are paying for.

Warlord Games: Now I sat there extensively going over the models and looked at my friends which were put together, some painted some not. I have to say the models are well detailed and even maybe a little too detailed in parts(some of which can be derived from these former GW employees), but they are all in all great sculpts. Well detailed faces which paint up amazing, good solid definition in the body parts, and all in all a greater model in comparison to wargames factory. They do not use open hands and though I understand why some companies do to have interchangability it is by and large a bad idea. With clear cut sculpts that are less in pieces then warlord games and because of the flow of the model I give Warlord Games a 4 out of 5. The reason being that though they produce a quality model the shipping+price even if you can get it from the warstore is still a little on the high end, and the sprues don't have to much enterchangability unlike Wargames factory. If they were to add one or two more different poses with the legs and chest then they would most definately have a 5 out of 5.

Well their you have it people, if you are looking at these two companies take it from me. Go with warlord games!

Winds of change!!!

So with just over a month out I have been exceptionally busy pulling together the final details for the boston brawl next month in May. Thankfully I now have a great team surrounding me, not that I didn't before but now we have more so less work spread out, and we are charging full bore ahead. Life is however throwing a few monkey wrenches at me in the terms of my home and stuff and getting some new wiring done and central air installed but hey that all works out for me.

I have been hinting to some that soon I will be pushing my personal company forward into a new genre. I will be working with sculptors to create a line of minatures that will be for sale. I will not yet tell you all but for a hint I will say it is historical and I am hopeing to launch the line with 10 sculpts to start so it will take a few months. I am confident though that once we are pressing the molds that these will sell as I have been talking a lot to people at conventions and found out what time line though would most like to see. With that said I bid you all good night, and good Dice!

Back from adepticon

Well I apologize for not posting these last night as I caught an earlier flight out of my old home town chicago due to being extremely sick. Suffice to say I even left work early today as I couldn't get my temp below 100degrees so ya fun times right:) Anywho was a great event, and loved running into old friends and chatting them up. Joe Orteza introduced me to some great individuals who I count myself lucky to get to pick their brains apart. The premier class off the weekend though was Mr. Matteui Fontaines and let me just say he made it worth going alone. Here is a great guy, and a rather funny french canadian, who was an amazing teacher. Now my class with the Wappels was fun too hands down, but I have decided if I can go next year(possible afghanistan deployment looming over head atm) then I will only do seminars and some historicals.

Now quick shout out to my mates Jason, Dave, and Joe was a blast and hope to see you guys at baltimore. Now on a sadder news I am cutting back my commissions from now on and will only take on 3 clients a year. Now with this I am doing this to concentrate more on getting their progects done respectfully and forth with, also I am trying to advance myself and you may see some minis comming up for sale shortly under the guise of my company Rogue Valley Minis. As a hint ACW, now if your on my list on clients right now I.E Jim then have no fear perminate spots are open, but here next month I will be taking on one more client for the years as I have another already lined up. Onto the pics.

Wedding over and onto adepticon

Well with my wedding over I am now cranking towards adepticon. This week will be light on posts but expect a TON next week people. Just to share a fast pic of my new wife and I having our final dance of the evening.

Criticism vs advice

So recently I was perusing some forums while waiting for data to upload at work,and I noticed some talk about a amature company I really like. Now this company is all about giving new sculptors a break and I for one say cheers to that and as such they have produced some really solid stuff. some realy crappy stuff too but lets be honest even GW has produced some horrible minis(more then people will admit too). Now I mossyed my way over to warseer and read up some threads there and noticed some chatting about this company I so love and read the forum threads post for post and let me just say wow!

Several individuals were just bashing and saying they were offering criticsm and advice, but no were did they say what they would like to see or how to achieve the constant "advice" of "more detail". This was their "advice" in their posts and had nothing to the effect of hey maybe add a holster or a couple of straps across the back in an X shape as this will do this effect. Nope instead was "you suck, they suck, and MORE DETAIL".

Now when do "advice" cross the threshold and become pure negative critcism? Now I admit too I have said some mean things at times to painters,as we all have, but I tell them what I don't like and why. I don't just leave it as "you suck now improve" as this no matter how tick your skin is will hurt your feelings. I was a grunt in the Active Infantry for almost 5 years and am still in the military(computer now though), and if you just kept saying over and over that I suck but not give any actual criticism well I would probably pop you one in the eye. I hate to say that as I am relatively a non-violent person anymore in my life, but that just "grinds my gears(here's to you peter griffon)". So I want everyone to think because it seems negativity is streaming more so into our hobby and people are removing the fun and social side of it and replacing it with the holier then thou belief.

Now I feel if you don't know something then learn it don't complain to others so I ordered myself some dollies from reaper, some brown,grey, and green stuff and some clay shappers, and away I go.

Adepticon entry and trollforged models... OH MY!!!

So fast post here is my historical entry for adepticons rogue demon. I am horrible with photography so if you are at adepticon come see it as the photographs don't do the model any justice. Secondly is a troll forge Big mutant that I am doing cause well I love their site and great models for show. This is just a fast update as I have to pack for a drill weekend with the Gaurd...Cheers!

Saying Thank you for tournies!

Well time is fast appraoching for two mondo events for me this month and I am extremely excited for both. I have my wedding as well as adepticon one weekend after the other. I am not going on a honeymoon this year as I bought a house instead(and I like being able to pay my mortgage), but I did however start a new job that pays better so this will relate into my hobby fund nicely. I wanted to chat for a minute though on tournements and criticism.

Now recently one of my tournies sponsors held a tournement. Sadly I was not able to go as time/money restrictions with everything going on atm, but I stayed abreast of the situation and waited patiently to find out the results. Sadly on the Dakka Dakka forums several people who didn't go there started flamming him over how he ran it due to one persons unhappiness. This ended up turing into one long flame session that honestly made me rather upset. As I have found recently a lot of time, money and heart go into creating one of these events and it shames me when people who aren't even at the event start bashing the organizor.

Now out of 50 people you are never going to please everyone, and this is always going to be the case, but for those few 3 or 4 you don't they will ruin it for others suffice to say as they will often badger the organizor so much that they won't want to run it again and so 4 people ruin it for 46. So here is what I say if you go to an event no matter how big or small afterwards if you were unhappy then have the balls to say hey I think you could have improved on this event for X and X reasons, but otherwise I had fun and thank you and your family for the time you committed for us. It takes months of prep work all for a 1 or 2 days event and weather you won or lost it will be the grown up and sportsmanlike thing just to say a simple "Thank you". No two words will make a person happier then "Thank You". so to that organizor and all the others out there I say even if I am unable to be at your event....."Thank you for all your hard work".