Painting Table #6 2016

First off lets start with spending. I spent another $ 24 buying supplies.

I also finished off 3 cats for Frostgrave and 2 more walkways.

The projects for this week and maybe next are skelies and hopefully Pan O starter from box.
Also here is a picture of my oldest trying to teach his friend the first game I taught him with terrain he made.

More as I get is done

aruki

Painting Table #54 2015

Today will be the final painting table for the year. I finished off the pond and last hill/island.

In other news me and the oldest played another cruiser clash type thing in DW. He ended up winning after scoring two rounds of shooting were he dealt 3 critical hits to each ship. I forgot how useless my ships are in range band one and how nasty his are.

That is two more finished pieces. Side not I also updated the tab for models painted this year, check it out if your curious. More in the new year. 

Aruki

6MMRPC/ Painting Table #40 2015

This week I not only finished a bunch of models but also had a chance to play a slightly modified version of DW with my oldest.

Overall he did well especially since he keeps picking the harder fleets and such in games to play as a beginner. Actually only luck kept him from destroying only 1 ship in round two. The second pick was the status of the game at the end of round two.

This week I also finished off the baharus and all the imperials for my warzone stuff.

So that's another 22 models and another 44 points completed. Along with jokers of course. But honestly I stopped keeping track of them since I never use them really. Never mind the only things I would like to get I will probably get as presents. My birthday and anniversary are both this month so hopefully that will work out.

One final announcement for today. I am planning on doing greggles dread challenge this month, mainly because I have 3 dreadnoughts I have to paint at some point anyway. I also really don't want to dig out any of my undead stuff that I have no use  for yet. I will put some pictures up next week of the before stuff for you guys.

I will be away this weekend so later.
Aruki

6MMRPC/ Painting Table #38 2015

The quick update for the week. I finished off the last two broadsides which completes the tau for now. Mainly I say for now because who knows what madness the new codex will bring and there is still a conversion I want to do at some point for fun.

 I also primed all the DE BFG and assembled and primed 30 some odd guys for my warzone stuff.

Finally me and my oldest had are first game of the slim down rules of FSA. I barely beat him, he has the devils luck when it comes to rolling 6s in every game.

This was played on one of my new mats from a kickstarter I backed that showed up last week. Anyway two more models and 8 more points.
More as I get it done.
Aruki

Painting Table #11 2015

Both me and the oldest got down to some good painting time this week. Before I get to that I will be giving my readers first crack at my DZC stuff. I have decided to cut back on systems and this is one I am willing to sacrifice compared to some of the others.

 I did more work on the arms and called it quits and then started on the legs. I hope to finish the legs off this coming week.

The oldest finished of the marauder vehicle thing from Mantic and started working on one of the tyranids he got for his birthday.

 I also spent a big chunk of change earlier this week. I bought all the bits I need to finish off my dreadnoughts, all the models I need to scratch build a 1000 point Dark Eldar fleet, a 1000 point tau fleet, 3 more xv9's with phased ion guns and another broadside. I think that's everything I got but honestly would have to double check. Means I spent $187 more, and I have to tally up the actual models bought which I know is at least 13. Anyway more as I get it and look forward to some reviews. I also plan on sitting down this coming up week and trying to get enough scratch building done to finish off the next tutorial post for the earthshaker.

Anyway
Aruki

Whats been going on

As the tittle says this post is mainly to explain why I disappeared for almost a month. The short of it my whole family, coworkers and myself seems to have all gotten sick at least twice in the past month. On top of that work has been crazy with massive turn over and the beginning of a new school year. Hopefully things will settle down now and I can get back to normal.

I have done a little bit of stuff but I will cover most of that in my painting table post this weekend. The only things I will share today are what my oldest has done.

 And this particular one is actually what my youngest (2 1/2 year old) did. He finally muscled his way in enough that it was easier just to give him a model and a brush and let him go at it. He is actually rather intense when he is trying to do it and demanding when he doesn't have enough paint.

 I have also decided that I am going to get ride of my dropzone commander stuff. Mainly because I would rather expand in other game systems then painting up a new system. Mainly I am planing on expanding some of my epic or merc ranges. Though I still will be getting my ships. More this weekend.
Aruki

Painting Table Saturday #22

Alright this week was ok for getting back on track with my painting. Though I also need to make sure to do my posts in the proper way to make my life easier as well. First up spending, I spend an additional $20 on feebay to get myself 20 more marines for finishing up my planes with them.
So spending for this month is now:

August: -$30.00
YTD: -$285.08

Next up painting, I finished off the 6th company this week and made a bit more progress on the detachments for the 5th company.

So with the 6 stealth suits painted that brings the models painted count up to 606. Points for this month are as follows:
August: 30 points
YTD points: 207.5 points

So I am now getting closer to both my painting goal and my goal of completing the core of the epic SM army, I have only 4 more companies to paint to finish it off.

Finally, we continued the painting lessons this week with my oldest, he went with bright yellow boots, bright blue skin and green pants. Cant say much for his color taste on this one.

More as it happens
Aruki

A late update but for a good reason.

Why is it late, well a few reasons. I have been busy doing actual modeling stuff and I have been doing a lot of research for further posts on the whole Mantic thing. So first up the 6 finished stealth suits.

So that's 6 points to august etc etc. I also spent $10 and picked up a Manta battle carrier for FSA. So that's minus $10 on that.

I also finished assembling the first counts as earth shaker on heavy carriage. It's not perfect but I learned a lot about using green stuff and assembling in general. Not bad for my first scratch built model I think.

Front

Side 1

Rear

Side 2

Top view

 Following that I started assembly of the next two Heavy carriage Earth shakers.

Finally I started to teach the oldest how to paint, specifically base coating. Tomorrow he will prime his own orc and then we will move on to the next step. He is now 4 1/2, I have also started working on remembering and writing ABCs and such using his Battle tech manuals.

More as I can and hopefully another comparison post on Wednesday.

Aruki

Kid Gaming: Mobile Frame Zero edition.

I found another great source for Lego related kid gaming, Mobile Frame Zero. This one is a rule set for Lego based robot combat.  Overall, the rules are mostly straight forward but with the different types of customization it makes it a bit to complicated for young kinds. I tried parts of it with my 4 year old, mainly the different dice colors for different things and it was too difficult for him as I expected.

 

Used without permission from the Mobile Frame Zero website all rights reserved to them

So I would rate this rule set best for probably 8 or 9+. The rules for movement and such are straight forward and easy enough I think for them. The great thing is the rule set is free and includes some instructions for making a few different robots out of legos. However, you don’t have to use the robots they give you. There are quite a few other designs on the forums and all over the net that can help those of you who don’t have the skill to create off the top of your head. For me I particularly like how you can customize the equipment on different robots so you can fulfill different roles. Another interesting aspect of this game much like brick wars is that the terrain rules are not only simple but most terrain is destructible, with a few exceptions.

So check it out here and please remember to donate to it if possible even though the rules are free.

Aruki 

Kid gaming: Junior general edition

For those of you that haven't heard of it there is a great website called Junior general. Now lets talk about why this site is great. It is all paper craft and completely free. Now I know some people look down on paper craft based models or games but I think that they are great. Specifically for those of us with young kids. This literally combines not only crafting activities but encourages them to learn about history and learn to enjoy it. The categories covered range from ancients all the way to scifi and alt history. There are many scenarios and rule sets all included on the site and from what I can tell a rather active forum.

no not that paper craft

closer to what we are talking about

Now I have yet to use any of these but I think they will be a huge asset in the future. Now I'm not talking just buildings to play with but models you can actually build, never mind buildings, terrain or whatever else you can imagine. Lets talk about why this is so great.
1. Free
2. Paper based
3. wide range of eras
4. wide range of types
5. designed with kids in mind

now that's what we are talking about

For me number 5 is one of the biggest points that make this site stand out. From the few scenarios with rules I have looked at I think that with minimal tweaking many of them would be suitable for 7+ without a problem and maybe even 5+. There is so much on this website that I am still trying to filter through it all and figure out what to try first. I will let you guys now how it goes when I do. But in the meantime give it a whirl and let me know what you guys think.

Aruki

Kid gaming: Fighting Plastic edition

Fighting plastic maybe a game you have never heard of but should have. It utilizes a toy that at least when I was a kid every little boy had.

Copyright (c) Strategy Wave Studios. All Rights Reserved.

That's right plastic army men. Now the best place I have found to get the rules is here. Mainly because the original website for it no longer exists. However, the creator but the author gave blanket permission to use it with little to no restrictions. I would love to buy the creator  Corey Butler a beer if I ever meet him for this rule set. This game is great because of the overall simplicity of it. The game is designed to just be easy and fun to play. So its perfect for younger kids. Now at present I haven't played it mainly because I have no plastic army men and have never seen them for sale here. But when my son gets older I am sure he will get some. Now the only side not I would make about this rule set that is a little strange is everything is done in feet. That's right feet not inches. They also suggest a rather large model count for the game. However, this can easily be changed to suit any playing space. I believe children of at least 5+ can probably handle  most elements of this game as their are very few modifiers. Mainly movement, shooting restrictions and bonuses for cover.

The game has four phases with only movement not being done simultaneously. Three of the phases are for shooting different weapons. The great thing in my opinion is that there is no real down time for either player also even if a model dies during that turn because the actions are simultaneous they can still shoot for you. This I feel will a great thing for kids and adults because I know I hate just waiting around for the other person to finish there turn.

So check it out.
Aruki

also just in case:
This game is copyright 2000 by Corey Butler.  It may be freely distributed in its original form, with this notice, but not sold.  Modifications and house rules are encouraged and should be labeled as such.

kid gaming: wizkids edition

Wizkids make some great models to use in games and I know in the past there different clix games were very popular with the preteen and teenage kids who definitely couldn't afford mainstream wargames and many adults. Now of course the ones I will be showing they no longer make but can easily be bought. The mechwarrior line they did. I picked up 150 different mechs, vehicles and other things for like $20 a couple of months ago.

Now many of these games are great for kids you have in the preteen to teen range because they are easy to play and often in themes they find popular, superheros, startrek, dota 2 and others. But with my kid the mechwarrior line was the way to go.

These models we just use the simple d6 idea atm that he uses for DW and FSA. In the future we will use the actual rules. The main benefit of the clix range is you can often buy them second hand for rather cheap amount just by browsing ebay. You will also find expensive lots when people try to sell them like actual wargaming models or MTG stuff. The only problem is some of the ranges disappear rather quickly. As for rules they can often be found for free. I have yet to try any of the rules but will let you know when I do how well I think they will work for the under 10 range.

Wizkids current range can be found here.

Aruki

Kid gaming : brickwars edition

Brickwars is a great little game that uses lego or lego alternatives. Now this system will be great if you got kids in the probably 6 or 7 + category. Mainly I say this because there are a lot of mechanics you can get into for the game.

The main game is two phases. Move and attack. This is nice and easy. The rules for both arent too bad but with the variety of weapons available the attack and armor components can get crazy for kids younger than 6 or 7. My son can handle attack and movement with a lot of help but if you want the kids to do it more on their own they will need to be older. After that the game can get really complicated. With there being everything from bare hand to siege weapons available for minifigs to use/operate. There are also rules for all kinds of steeds, vehicles and machines that you can create yourself to use in the game. This part I believe is something that can be gradually introduced along with the different types of weapons. As for dice rolling there is the whole exploding mechanic that spartan games uses. Roll a 6 roll another die idea. What adds further complications is the minifig stats themselves can be generated. This is something I would also introduce latter, specifically there skill level.

I'm going to stop here just because there is so much to write about it's crazy. The way I have started teaching my son this is simple.
We each use 1 minifig with the same stats. We move around, the only time dice are rolled is for attacking and defending with hands. Recently we have moved on to using blasters.

When he gets a bit older I will start introducing more rules. I will let you know how it goes when we do.

Now the greatest thing about this besides it being free is the fact that just about everyone has some sort of lego equivalent running around. My son and I first played this with some duplos because we had no lego minifigs. Now we play with his star wars ones. So check out the rules or drop me a line I would love to hear of your experience playing this with your kids. Oh and here's a link to brickwars.


aruki

Getting your little ones involved in wargaming

My oldest is 3 and has since he started  crawling  tried to play with models, paints etc. The way I dealt with this so far is pretty easy.

First, magazines, rule books and the internet are your friend. My son has an old white dwarf that he constantly has me reading to him. He also regularly has me go through all my rule books with him. Not always reading the text but just talking about the pictures. The same goes for the net, we spend hours just looking at pictures of mechs, robots, spaceships etc.

Now when it came to models I at first let him play with metal sternguard models. These were great because he couldn't really hurt them and he enjoyed them immensely. To the point that he now roams around the house claiming he is a space marine or a crisis suit hunting for tyranids.  When he was about 2 I gifted him the mechs from the battletech 25th anniversary starter. This is when he went into overdrive.
He carries at least one of these everywhere, usually a hunchback or cyclops and will happily tell anyone who listens about them.They have also been rather durable with mainly the smaller ones needing occasional re-glueing of weapons. He loves them so much we often read the different manuals. He can now name all the mechs in the starter and will tell you whether or not they are fast, jump capable and there class. He also regularly uses his legos and duplos to build his own mechs or towns for them to fight in.

Most recently he has moved on to playing with DW and FSA models. He does large ship battles using a simple dice game we play with d6. In the game we role a d6 whoever gets higher wins. He has applied that to the different ships on his own with the smallest getting 1 die, medium two and large ones 3.

Now lets talk about the benefits. For me the biggest benefit is his language skills. My son is multilingual and his primary language isn't English. This is an interest that has massively expanded his English vocabulary and improved his sentence structure, never mind the improvements to his basic math and counting. This is why I happily encourage him to play and talk with me about models, even though my wife isn't thrilled about it. Though it also causes some problems, for example I cant really let him paint yet. Even though he begs too. The other problem you may run into if you don't securely store your models, this  is one I ran into in the past with my tau. I came home one day to find he had taken them all out of there cases and neatly arrayed them for battle against his mechs. Now credit where credits due he didn't break anything and he even did all the flight stands for drones and my devilfish. But keep your stuff looked up or high up if you want to be safe. Cause I also had the time were he decided to try and paint his mechs and upended a whole bottle of black primer to do it, I am still in trouble for that after almost a year.

Now I have been poking around for easy wargames for really young kids and even brick wars is a little complicated. But I do have a few ideas which I will being sharing in the future. Hope this helps any of you fathers or mothers out there.

aruki