Pinball Expo 2010

Went to Pinball Expo over the weekend. Yes, pinball machines. Yes, with the silver ball and yes they still make them. :) It was held at the Westin in Wheeling again. Had a great time. Got to meet old friends and even made new ones. Of all the times I went to Pinball Expo this was by far the most entertaining.

Thursday, for the first time I actually went to most of the seminars. Overall they were pretty informative. Later that day I invited a couple of old gaming friends that I haven't seen in awhile, met at my first Superdawg for dinner, and played 'til about midnight. Oh and completely out of the blue, someone gave me a bottled present.

Friday, was more of the same minus the seminars. Not as much gaming but whole lotta people were there- a nice young crowd even. Always nice to see that. Stayed around until 1AM. I would've stayed a little longer but my feet were killing me.

I went back Saturday night for the banquet where Python Anghelo- famous artist in the pinball community- was speaker. Heavy on the accent, maybe had a few to drink, and possibly the longest speech in expo history. Started clean and got really 'colorful' towards the end. He was definitley the highlight of the night.

Like previous expos Thursday and Friday were the best times. Thursday is great because there aren't that many people so you can play the games. Friday is great because that's when the crowds, young and old, come in. By Saturday a chunk of the machines were sold and packed away. Same goes with the merchandise. I waited too long to pick up a couple of souvenirs.

I wish I had taken more pics. Always next year I guess...

Skaven Update #22

Worked on the globadiers past couple of nights and got most of the basecoating and washing done. Details and highligts are next.

Althought the paint scheme is rather basic and unoriginal I hope to convert up a champion for the unit. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to find a suitable body to start with. The obvious choice I thought would be to use either a plague monk or a packmaster as a base. But, when I put one next to the unit I saw a size difference. The plague monk is significantly smaller than the metal globadiers. Maybe add basing material like rocks to stand on to compensate for its smaller stature? Hmm, I'll have to think about that.

I started this little guy too.

Oh and look what I got in the mail yesterday!

As you probably have guessed from my previous posts I ended up choosing Imperial Guard as my prize. To be honest I'm not terribly excited to assemble and paint all these dudes but what I am excited about is that my long time dream project of making a Cobra-themed army is finally coming true! Well, it's one step closer.

The shirt is way cool. I was actually expecting the traditional white tee with the logo silk-screened. It's a collared gray shirt with the logo embroidered. I'm impressed. Very professional looking. I even got the title 'Logo Master'! Hmm, I wonder if there is a 'Logo Keeper' too...

Thanks again to Battleroad Games and Hobbies for choosing my logo!

Priming for Winter... or Not

Haven't been painting much. Life stuff. Work stuff. Anyway I'm thinking I might need to start priming any miniatures I plan to paint before winter comes along. Fortunately I paint slow so I don't really need to prime much. :P Then again I already have plenty of stuff ready to paint. :P :P

Possible priming contenders if I choose to prime:
20 Empire Spearmen
16 Empire Handgunners
an old WE Treeman
30 Clanrats with spears.

I've started basecoating my 6 Globadiers. I'll post pics when I've basecoated the whole unit. Like I said I just started.

I had this idea of a simple conversion for a weapon team in the back burners for awhile now. I think I have all the bitz to put it together. With another UE painting competition coming up I should aim to finish it.

I still haven't figured out as to what Battleforce/Battalion set I should pick up. Here's what I've come up with so far...

1) Space Marines- Solid choice if I've got nothing else to choose. Probably go Black Templars if I pick them. Then eventually get a Crusader Land Raider (drools).
2) Orks & Tyranids- Although there are some great minis in their line, I don't think I can handle another horde army. However, I wouldn't mind picking up those Black Reach Orks sometime in the future.
3) Imperial Guard- I guess this could be categorized as a horde army as well but I've been really wanting to make a Cobra (yes G.I. Joe) themed army for the longest time. It would be a good excuse to finally start one.
4) Tau- Not enough minis I like to jump into. I only like the Piranhas actually.
5) Dark Eldar- I never had an interest in the army to be honest. Not even an inkling. But after seeing some of the new sculpts that have started to trickle in on the internet I am quite intrigued. Eh, I think I'll end up liking some and hating the rest much like the Tau.
6) Empire- I have units already from the previous starter set as well as the current army book. It would seem like the obvious choice but I really hate GW dropping the Pistoliers from the set. It would have been a no-brainer I think. Now I'm not too crazy about the set.

The rest of the armies either has little to no interest from me or there just aren't enough minis I like in the army to justify getting a Battleforce/Battalion set. After writing this it sounds like I may be leaning toward IG after all...


Nope, still not sure.