Sunday, December 25, 2011

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!

To everyone,
and to reflect on the sense of the season.

I have been busy, and unproductive, of late...for various reasons, some of which are very good.

Here's hoping 2012 gives us all the good fortune and peace we could hope for. (excepting on the tabletop, where we hope for a brief respite before returning to an eternity of war in the 41st millennium!)

Sunday, December 18, 2011

KrystalKeep Combat Patrol, and a fond farewell....

So,
this weekend marked the final yearly 'Combat Patrol' tournament at the KrystalKeep.
As usual, Jim Williams ran a fast, furious and funtastic event full of much cursing, screaming and gnashing of tzeentch (and, of course, smiles).
Many a brave soldier(xenos, infidel, traitor)died yesterday, only to rise again shortly thereafter to wage the war eternal in the 40k 'oonivers'.
Final standings showed how strong, balanced and fair players and scenarios were, with a 4 way split for 1st!
Edge T (TAU)
John W (Orks)
Stephen (?) (Orks)
Nick S (Orks)

I had a blast, as is usual for Jim's events (and events that have been run for years up at the Keep).
But alas, this marks an end.

December 30th, the store will be closing for the last time.

Rick, Raj and the others who have contributed to the store, with their heart and souls, have finally had enough.
The economy, coupled with other major, and minor, factors beyond their control have taken their toll.
KrystalKeep has kept its doors open throughout the most trying of economic times, worse than any I have seen personally.

Those times began, for me, over 3 years ago in Fla. With the collapsing economy there, I found myself laid off (twice in two years), along with my wife. I moved to Ohio 3 years ago, fearing the loss of my hobby and friends due to a new environment.
I should never have feared.
I discovered the Keep quickly, and moved in...realizing that I had found a new 'home' in more ways than one.
The staff became friends, the players became friends, and within 6 months I felt as though I had regained my old community, with all new faces and ideas! I could never replace the 'old' guard, but I could sure start with the 'new'...and it was a grand beginning.
I fell in love with the community all over again.
I wanted to share that particular anecdote, not to make the changes coming about me...but to emphasize the impact the Keep has had on a great deal of people.

A club, a forum, an arena AND a place where 'everybody knows your name'.
EVERYONE I know, who frequented the place (and there were many in my 3 years of attendance) saw KrystalKeep as a 'home away from home'. A place to leave behind the trials and tribulations of life, sit down with a mental 'pint', and just be.
I have known few places with this sense of family attached to such a business, and doubt I will know many more.

I know I'm going to miss all the weekends, all the events and all the 'BS' sessions over our little 'toy soldiers'.
All these things that were made so much more satisfying due to the environment within which they were set.

I want to wish the guys who ran our little home all the best luck in their future endeavors, thank them from the bottom of my heart for providing all the joy they did.
I wish to thank all the players who accepted me from the git-go, and all the heart they put into their play, and their friendships.
And I wish to thank all those who sacrificed their personal time, effort and heart to run the events that kept us all in the loop!

a hearty salute to the end of an era, and now....


"Dice Down, gentlemen...Dice Down"

Monday, December 12, 2011

Wraiths Wraiths everywhere, and not a model to build!

Okay, so whadda ya do?
No, really...what do you do, when GW supplies you with a grand unit that you really can't get models for AND they tease you with artwork that appears to be model representative, and looks great?

Well, I started hacking...
it isn't a grand conversion, more a desperate kit-bash, to produce a Wraith for play...but,

Taking parts from the seat assembly of an Annihilation Barge (don't like the pilots on the vehicle), sprinkle in Triarch Praetorian bits for a Torso, arms from the warriors that come with the Ark kits and add the repair feeder to same and voila, something VAGUELY passable...and 100% GW bitz boyz and gels!

I started with a triarch, as it has all the 'techy' elements that would make them jump infantry. Just seemed to fit, somehow.

This is a WIP, the first model in a unit of 4.
I will obviously be cleaning up joints, getting rid of a few things that seemed a good idea at the time, as I progress through the unit.

Any thoughts on improvement are always welcome!