RGMW weekly mini-FAQ

From: rsingers@hotmail.com
Newsgroups: rec.games.miniatures.warhammer
Subject: [FAQ] rec.games.miniatures.warhammer weekly mini-FAQ
Followup-To: rec.games.miniatures.warhammer
Organization: Evil facist reg cabal for peace harmony and pyronecrobeastiality
Summary: Information for posters to rec.games.miniatures.warhammer

Last-Modified: December 28th, 2006
Version: 1.1
URL: http://www.rgmw.org
Copyright: (c) 2006 Robert Singers
Maintainer: Robert Singers


RGMW Mini-FAQ or how to avoid being flamed.

This mini-FAQ is a direct descendent of a mini-FAQ written and posted for years by Blank Dave and Alistair Hutton. It has been rewritten to avoid infringing on any copyright held by those two fine gentlemen and to bring it up to date.

What to do.
-----------

1. Read the FAQ.
If you are new to the group please read the full FAQ at
or when it is autoposted to the group.
It contains an expanded set of answers on getting value out of this news
group.

2. Learn about Usenet.
RGMW is just like many of the newsgroups. Check out
and .
NNQ has a web site at http://members.fortunecity.com/nnqweb/

3. Apologise if you make a mistake.
If you make a mistake or say something stupid, apologise as quickly as you can. It will create a good deal of respect for you with the other posters and make your posting life easier.

4. Learn to use the Usenet Archive.
Learn to use the Usenet archive at and search for previous threads before asking a question that has probably been asked many times before.

5. Learn to use a search engine.
Learn to use a search engine such as Google or Yahoo. Don't expect the other member of the group to do your work for you.

6. Check your punctuation, spelling and grammar.
A newsgroup is a written forum, good writing is essential to being understood. Usenet is also a global medium, good English is essential to allow everyone to participate.

7. Post and Wait.
Usenet is not a chat room or IM session. Posts don't propagate instantly. Post and wait. Don't post the same message over and over, and don't hijack other threads because no one has replied to you.

8. Learn to recognise a dead or dying thread.
Sometimes it's better to let a thread die than prolong the agony. If you're like a dog with a bone you may just find yourself in everyone's kill file.

9. Learn to quote correctly.
Don't top post. Don't post your entire response at the bottom of a post without snipping extraneous text, making the post longer and longer causing people to scroll down all the time. Learn how to post inline and could just the material you are replying to. NNQ has an excellent guide here.

10. Learn to use a Kill file.
There are plenty of arseholes on Usenet just like real life, if you can't stop yourself replying to them learn to use a kill file. You'll make yourself look smarter. Check out for information on how to use kill files with various newsreaders.

What not to do
---------------

1. Don't post binaries.
RGMW is not a binary group, do not post binaries to it. This means text only. In any event most servers will filter out binaries in a text group.

2. Don't ask for common web addresses.
Do your own homework. If you can't work out what Games Workshop's URL is, use a search engine.

3. Don't annoy the regulars.
No poster is perfect but the regulars have been using the group for a long time and are bound to have a lot of friends. Pissing of the regulars will quickly devalue your experience of the news group and you may never recover any credibility.

4. Don't ask a question without giving any specific information.
Feel free to ask questions, but make sure you provide enough information to help answer your question. For example if you want help creating an army lists, include which miniatures you already own, which you'd like to own, which miniatures you hate, and what theme you may be considering for your army.

5. Don't post on these topics
Don't post on these topics: splitting the newsgroup, race, sex, gender or sexual orientation, religion, gun control, nationalist or patriotic themes, Games Workshop's business model, requiring painted miniatures, copyright and theft of IP issues.

You may think you're smart enough to discuss these subjects but chances are you're not and you'll end up severely flamed.

6. Don't ask us to reply to
If you want to have a discussion do it on the news group, don't ask us to reply to you via e-mail or on a web forum. If you don't want to give us your time, we sure as hell aren't going to give you ours.

7. Don't ask "can you make me an army list for"
Once again we won't do your homework for you. If you want help then ask specific questions.

8. Don't repeat the same thing over and over
Be wise enough to realise when people disagree or aren't interested in what you have to say. Repeating yourself makes you look foolish, not your audience.

9. Don't post in HTML
Don't post in HTML, RGMW is a news group not a web page. News groups predate what you probably think of as the Internet.

10. Don't spam the news groups.
Don't spam RGMW. It's rude and annoying. It won't get you business and will get you a lot of complaints to your ISP.

Outtakes for November 2007

Sorry, I am a little late. Been busy but never fear, they are here. There is a theme here again:

* * *

I sometimes think Games Workshop should sue themselves for diluting their own product line...

* * *

Yeah, but where's my Hop-Splat gun? 

are you sure you want an answer to THAT question from THIS newsgroup?

I'm just glad the SAG is back. 

Can we leave your mother out of this?

* * *

Well, that's cheaper than buying from ForgeWorld, anyways.

So is buying real estate in Manhattan.

Hell... buying Hookers in Manhattan is cheaper than buying Forgeworld. That's even including the Penicillin afterwards.

* * *

Is there anything a Dremel can't do? 

Cuddle?

* * *

You know, when I read the news coming out of Pakistan that Musharef had declared martial law I was pretty enraged. Then I read he was rounding up and beating lawyers.

I don't know what to think now.

* * *

people who nitpick and criticize other folks' work ain't worth listening to

* * *

Gotta love those super salty seamen.

* * *

This *stab* is not *stab* a personal *stab* attack *stabstabstabbitystabdonkeypunch hatefucksplitdownthemiddlewithsomeK- Yandachansaw*.

* * *

That said, you are cordially invited to traverse, and autocopulate.

* * *

when have you ever been with 500 feet of a stripper pole? 

Sitting in the parking lot before the girls got the restrainer order doesn't count.

* * *

no i not a retard sir and english is my primarny langauare sir.

Can someone please bitchbeat this poor bastard soundly 'bout the head and shoulders with a dictionary? It might improve his intelligence.

* * *

You sound like a Slaanesh sympathizer to me, you kinky bitch.

* * *

robdark1... Rob... ROBCPW1... Rob... Waitaminute...

* * *

yeah, i could use some of them too ... been checking on ebay, but it seems nobody's had the initiative to dismantle a baneblade kit and sell the bits yet :(  this might end up being a job for Captain Plasticard.

He sounds like the bastard offspring of Kirk and Picard.

* * *

azjol-narub

Hey!  I think that guy just called Blackheart an asshole!

It's actually Orcish for "Avatar of Chuck Norris".

* * *

Link doesn't display anything but a header for me.  I'm hoping that was a good thing.

* * *

(I'm suddenly beginning to feel like I wandered onto fark.com by mistake)

* * *

"It contained gamma-butyrolactone, the main ingredient of the illegal drug GBH, or fantasy."

Umm... It's GHB. Get yer acronyms right, you mentally challenged asswit. You know, it's journalism like that that made Baby Horus cry.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gamma-Hydroxybutyric_acid 

Then again, it's the ravers who call it "GBH", which I guess means Great Big Hangover, or summit.

* * *
This mal-informed rant brought to you by a man on a completely bitch-beaten sleep-schedule.

* * *

man, you need a hobby.  have you ever considered collecting and painting miniatures?

News Group Charter

You can find the original news group charter for rec.games.miniatures.warhammer here.

Alternate Paints to Games Workshop Paints

Specialised Model Paints

HMG Paints of Manchester

Originally marketed by Games Workshop in a flip top bottle these paints have reappeared under the Coat D'Arms and Foundry Paint System brands.  Both can be found mail order on the Internet.  FPS from Foundry's web site.

Vallejo

Vallejo make several ranges of model paints.  "Model Color" aimed at they historical modeller and "Game Color" aimed at the fantasy and science fiction gaming market.  they all come in dropper bottles handy for dispensing just the right amount of paint.  You do need to make sure you keep the nozzle clean though or you can end up with a surprise.

Vallejo can be found mail order on the Internet and it many Hobby stores.

Ral Partha

Once common Ral Partha paints are now being manufactured again by Ironwind Metals.  They can be found mail order on the Internet and from Ironwind Metals.

Reaper Pro

Reaper Miniatures make a range of paints to compliment their miniatures.  They even have a gruesome severed head-shaped agitator in every bottle

Tamiya

Widely available Tamiya have a range of acrylic model paints.  Mostly suitable for vehicles as they tend to form a 'skin' quickly.

Humbrol

A large number of people started painting miniatures with Humbrol enamel model paints, but they also have a range of acrylic paints.

Testors

Testors have Model Master, Floquil, Poly Scale and other ranges.

Other Acrylic Model Paints.

Gunze Sanyo, Armory.

Artists Paints

Windsor and Newton

Windsor and Newton make ranges of paints useful to model painters because of their depth of colour.  They also make good brushes and inks.

Lukas

Craft Paints

Delta

Delta make a range of craft paints called Ceramcoat.

Plaid

Plaid makes a range of craft acrylics such as Apple Barrel and Folk Art.  These tend to be far cheaper and more readily available than model paints.  Even if you don't use them for miniatures they're a great paint for basing and scenery painting.

Special Effects in Warhammer 40K: The Laser Russ

By Steve Satak

Front quarter view of a Leman Russ equipped with a laser pointer, sound and lights in the lascannon and heavy bolters, and a phased array radar.

The radar is lit, and is mounted on the back of the turret. Bolters and Lascannons

Another view from the left side. The radar lights chase each other around the radar dome. Note the material removed to reveal the bogies.

This close-up shows the heavy bolter LED is concealed inside the barrel. This was something I was told had to be done for the model to score points at a Tournament.   Note the additional detail afforded by revealing the bogies.

As you can see, the battle cannon laser actually works (actuated by my son John, who at 6 is eager to help Daddy with his tanks!)

Final rear view of the tank, showing the location of the radar dome and the exhaust stacks. The ammo box at the back conceals a slide switch, which, depending on its position, allows you to press a single button in order to fire the lascannon OR the heavy bolters.

Special Effects in Warhammer 40K: The Land Raider

Hello, all!

Latest in a line of projects featuring 40K vehicles, I just completed a Landraider Mark III. The owner was willing to part with $150 for the entire thing ($50 for the model, $100 for the electronics). The only stipulation was that (a) the lights had to be concealed within the barrels so points would not be deducted at a GW Tournament, and (b) the batteries had to be easily removed and replaced - no soldering!

I think the hardest part of this project was installing the LEDs in the lascannons - I had to ensure the wiring harness leaving the gun could hold up to repeated turning, etc. Nothing is more frustrating than having a gun go out permanently due to metal fatigue! Some thick, flexible wiring and removal of quite a bit of plastic behind the gun (to ease the angle of bending) served for this trick.

I also managed to get some nice, bright LEDs in the heavy bolters, LEDs which were barrel shaped and perfectly suited for the HB.

Next, I installed some reasonably bright (about 300mcd) yellow LEDs for each of the 4 headlights, and last, I cut out the gaps in between and behind the grills and exhaust fins, and installed LEDs there for a high-pro powerplant "glow".

Wish I had more time to modify these lights, because I wanted them to pulsate softly while they were on - as though the powerplant were throbbing up and down with power. Well, maybe that analogy is a bit risque', but you know what I mean.

The inside of the model was very roomy, although obviously you weren't supposed to be looking there during normal play. The battery packs and sound boards fit well; I chose to make the entire top of the Landraider an access door, held on by four screws. Works pretty well. The owner was quite pleased!

Pictures

Rear View. The rear view of the power plant lighting. Inside each exhaust stack were five bright LEDs, one for each gap between the fins.

Side view: Ventilation. Another side view, a closeup showing the backlighting of the ventilation grilles on the sides. These look very cool when lit from behind. Each vent is lit by a “block” style LED array, ensuring diffused lighting over a small area (vice point-source style lighting from standard LEDs or light bulbs).

Front view: headlights. A front view, showing the headlights to good effect. There are a total of four LEDs, cranking out about 1.2 candlepower of yellow light. Naturally, there are brighter LEDs out there – even white ones rated at over 5.6 candlepower EACH. But the owner wanted yellow “fog penetrator” style lights, so that’s what he got. The switch for the headlights is at the rear, under the power plant exhausts.

The heavy bolters and the twin-linked lascannons both use the same barrel shaped LEDs. 

The LEDs are rated about 30 mcd – not much, as such things go, but still surprisingly effective.  The firing button is located at the top of the hull, as you can see from the position of the finger, and the selector switch is in the back (switches between the gun lights and sounds

Sandbags - How to make your own.

by Myrmidon

To make or to buy.

First there's just flat out buying a bunch of them. Tamiya (the model making company) makes a load of 1/35 scale World War II military items including tank traps and sand bags. It's item # 35025*300 (last I knew) and their sand bags are 25mm x 12mm and about 5mm thick.

The sandbags are hollowed out underneath making them light weight, and are made of standard modeling plastic so they can be glued together and painted easily using standard methods. These should be available any place that carries the Tamiya line of military or car models and come with about 40 sandbags to the box.

The second and alternative method is making your own out of clay or epoxy resin as others have suggested, but I've got a few extra tips that will help you out...

What you'll need.

Clay, putty, or other mouldable material that can be moulded by hand Piece of old T-shirt cloth material (or other expendable cloth material with a surface texture you'd like on your sandbags. Scissors. Pencil, or other item with a small narrow tip or edge - the narrow edge of a screwdriver would work too. A flat surface to work on, and a cookie sheets or other item to bake your clay on as needed.

Rolling and sizing

Roll out your clay or putty in long tubes by rolling it between the palms of your hands. Try to keep the tube roughly the same diameter along all of it's length so that your sandbags are all approximately the same size.

Getting your tubes consistently sized and rolled out so that the sandbags come out the size you want takes a bit of practice - don't hesitate to practice first with PlayDoh or children's oil based (non- drying clay) until you get a bit of practice at controlling the size. 

Flatten it out most of the way (again - I make my sand bags about 20mm - 25mm long by 12mm - 15mm wide, and about 5mm - 7mm thick.) Don't flatten it out completely - yet.

Applying Texture

Once you have the tube mostly flattened - wrap it in a piece of old fabric with a surface texture that you'd like for your sand bags - I find most old T-shirt fabric is perfect for this and usually easy to come up with on short notice. With the fabric wrapped around your clay - finish pressing the clay into the final thickness desired for your sand bags and then CAREFULLY remove the clay from within the folds of cloth.

This should give you a nice even surface texture on the top and bottom of your clay, and leave you with a fairly long rectangular strip of clay the width and thickness you desire for your sand bags.

Cutting

Once you have your clay flattened and textured, here's where the scissors and pencil/pointed object come in. Starting at one of the short ends, measure in 4 or 5 mm and snip off a piece of clay with your scissors. This should leave you with a < sort of shape to the end of the clay.

Move down the clay roughly 20mm - 25mm (the desired length of your individual sandbags) and snip with the scissors again. This should leave you with a single sandbag with < and > shaped ends when viewed from the side. Repeat this by moving down your clay 20mm - 25mm and carefully snipping off pieces until you run out of clay. You should now have a bunch of individual sand bags.

Scoring

The next step is to take your pointed object and scribe a thin line in the clay down the length of each of your long sides (not the top and bottom) of your sand bag. This line represents the seams in the sides of the cloth sandbag. Once you done that for all your bags, you then want to model the effects of gravity.

To do this, use your fingers to carefully bend downwards the < and > ends downwards to simulate the effects of gravity. (Unless of course you're Games Workshop and have the 'anti-gravity' sand bags that hover in mid-air when used to form rooftops without any supports underneath them). If the clay you're using tends to pick up your finger prints - then simply wrap the cloth you used to texture your sandbags over your fingers when you bend down the ends. You should now have a pile of fully textured, seamed, and sort of floppy looking sandbags ready to be assembled into their final shape.

Finishing up.

You now have a couple of final choices to make. You'll need to decide if you want to put your sandbags together into low walls before they dry/harden, or leave them as individual bags and glue them together afterwards. (Note: If you are using clay that has to be baked - place aluminum foil or other expendable material on the cookie sheets before you bake your clay on them. That way any noxious materials in the clay won't end up on the cookie sheets - thus incurring the wrath of your Mom/Wife/significant other.)

Personally I like to make low walls, bunkers, etc, before they dry, because I can bend downwards any of the end pieces that stick out (again - remember sandbags don't normally defy gravity.) I tend to like making a few larger straight wall sections and some C shaped bunkers, along with some smaller straight wall sections and some L shaped sections for the sides / corners.

These small parts give me some flexibility when it comes to setting up my terrain on the table top, and allow me to add them to the larger parts so I can create large bunker setups, etc. Since I want my sandbags to stay together once I model them into walls etc, I take my small pointed object and make criss-cross patterns in the sandbag surfaces to be joined. Make them small areas in the middle of the tops and bottoms so they can't be seen when the bags are stacked, and simply gently press them together, and stack a final row on top, bending downwards any sandbags sticking out the ends as needed. Then bake or allow to air dry as needed. To date, I haven't had to glue or repair any of my sandbag walls made this day. Once the sandbags are dry, you can paint as needed.

Make your own casualty figures

by Myrmidon

A while back I asked some folks for some suggestions with a project I was wanting to do - namely making casualty figures without bases (like the old metal casualty marine figures from the RT era). I got a couple badly mangled gaunts, and a gaunt model from a box set I ordered a while back (apparently hand sorted with a bucket loader) and I thought it would be cool to use them as casualties when playing.

However, I wanted to make them lying in pools of their own epoxy 'blood' rather than sticking them on bases and then doing the epoxy for blood. The main 'sticking point' as it were was that I had to find a surface I could pour the epoxy blood pools on, and let it harden with the figure in it, and still be able to remove the figure and epoxy from the surface once the epoxy had hardened. So, I experimented a bit, and I thought I'd share the results in case anyone else wanted to do their own.

I tried pouring tinted epoxy on the following surfaces, with the following results...

Plain wax paper - the epoxy set up as normal, but stuck to the paper when I tried to remove it after it dried. The epoxy peeled off the paper, but had fuzzy wax paper stuck to the underside - which is not what I wanted.

Wax paper with non-stick cooking spray on it - the epoxy set up, but the combination of the wax paper and (perhaps to much) cooking spray seemed to increase the drying time and drastically change the tint of the colour I was using - but it did come off the wax paper easily, once the epoxy finally cured and hardened. (Was using Scorpion green for this batch, and it came out like a deep olive drab - not what I wanted.)

Plain Aluminium foil - epoxy hardened just fine, but would not come off the foil - you could cut it off, but then your 'blood' had a mirror surface on the underside. (Which again, wasn't what I wanted to do.)

Aluminium foil with non-stick cooking spray on it - this worked fine allowing the epoxy to harden and then carefully peel away from the foil once it had finished curing. This was exactly what I wanted! Woot!

 

Here's my basic "How to" steps.

1. Decide which minis you want to use as casualties, and decide on their basic placement.
   
2. Do any any modification work required for the mini. In my case, I used a Dremal tool to flatten one side of the gaunts so they'd lay flat on the surface of my gaming table later, and I used a soldering iron to make wounds and bullet holes in various parts of their bodies. I also bent (any of their previously) unbroken limbs and tails down so that they had that 'collapsed in a heap' look one would expect.
   
3. Primer and paint the mini as you normally would - making sure to pick out or highlight their wounds. I typically primer, paint, and then assemble.
   
4. Get a fairly good sized piece of aluminium foil, and fold it over on itself several times (shiny side out) to form a sort of thick, flat (try not to wrinkle the foil) plate for pouring your epoxy and placing your mini on. Better still is to take a small but sturdy piece of cardboard and wrap your foil over that.
   
5. Take get some non-stick cooking spray (I used 'Pam' spray in my experiments) and spray it on your finger. Then take your finger and smear a light layer of it all over the area where you want to pour the epoxy. If you don't think you have enough, spray your finger and repeat. Don't spray it right on the foil as you will almost certainly get to much spray, which can cause your epoxy not to cure properly. The idea is to get a very thin layer so as to effect the epoxy as little as possible.
   
6. Making your blood - I recommend a good 2 part epoxy. A 5 or 10 minute epoxy works best for this. Pour equal amounts of epoxy on an expendable cardboard surface and use a toothpick (cocktail stick) to completely mix your epoxy BEFORE you tint it with your blood colour.
   
   As another poster pointed out (thank you!), if you don't completely mix your epoxy before adding your tint or coloration, it may not mix properly and never cure which will leave you with a gooey mess instead of a cool casualty figure.
   Mix more epoxy than you think you'll need - it's better to have some left over, than to not have enough and have to try and match the tint of your first batch with a second batch.
   
   Tinting your epoxy. I've found you can use almost any typical acrylic paint such as GW's line, as well as Apple Barrel, Plaid, Armory, etc, can be used as a tint. However, there are some things to keep in mind.
   
   First is, if you want a semi-transparent look to your epoxy blood, use an epoxy that is of the clear & yellow variety, rather the blue & opaque white variety. If you want a more 'thick slim' look, use the latter variety of epoxy.
   
   Second - it takes very little (VERY LITTLE) of your colour to tint the epoxy. A little goes a long way. If you want a transparent look to your blood - then try using inks like GW's magenta for blood, as they are transparent by nature. If you aren't sure about how much colour to use to achieve the desired effect, then it's well worth the extra effort to spend a little time and experiment by making some test batches of epoxy on your greased aluminium foil and seeing which result you like the best, before you do your good minis and end up unhappy with the results.
   
7. Once you have your epoxy completely mixed and tinted you'll only have a small window of time in which to work before your epoxy gets to hard to manipulate. After it's mixed and tinted, take your toothpick, and pour some of (not all of) the epoxy onto your prepared aluminium foil.
   
   I pour a main pool, with several long snaking streams coming out of the main pool to look like it was running along the ground. I then placed the casualty mini in the main pool of epoxy, and used the remaining epoxy to make little streams of 'blood' from the wounds running down into the main pool.
   
   If your epoxy starts to harden before you get all of the wounds done - make a second batch rather than try to force the hardening epoxy into the places you want it. The results of smooth flowing epoxy once it's hardened will look much better.
   
8. After you're finished pouring the epoxy, wait half an hour to an hour and carefully remove the aluminium foil from the epoxy under your mini. (You can use low heat {not high} from a hair dryer to help cure the epoxy if you really think it needs it.) If all went well, you should have a casualty figure with a smooth bottomed, transparent epoxy pool of blood that serves as the base and can be placed on about any gaming surface and not look out of place.

Well, I hope this is helpful to folks out there, and thanks again to all the folks who offered suggestions and advice on my initial epoxy questions thread.

Extra notes of interest.

Having tried tinting a couple different types (brands of epoxy) here's what I found. Epoxy comes in a variety of brands, but basically in two general types, and two application systems.

The two types are the clear two part epoxies (yellowish & clear parts) which dry pretty much transparent - and the opaque epoxies (whitish & light blue parts) which dry with an bluish white opaque colouring.

The two application systems are your standard pair of individual tubes and the plastic 2 in 1 applicators which are supposed to deliver equal amounts of resin and hardener by pushing a single plunger. Unfortunately - I've found that a week or two after opening the plunger type epoxy it almost always becomes impossible to get equal amounts out of the tubes without being a complete pain in the butt. And rarely do I need to use that much epoxy in such a short time.

If you want thick opaque slime you will have to resort to the plunger blue/white epoxy, but it's great for making toxic waste that leaks from barrels and pipes. Better still, you can achieve some sweet multi- layered effects with toxic sludge pools by making your bottom layers of the opaque epoxy of various colours, and then using one or more layers of the transparent epoxy (in different colours) on top of the opaque stuff.

Now for the transparent blood - having tried both the transparent plunger variety and the 2 tube variety of epoxy, I have to say I like the 2 tube variety better for making blood. Here's why....

While both varieties mixed, tinted, and set up ok, the plunger variety tended to more liquid and spread thinly on the foil. The problem with this is it results in thin brittle edges on your epoxy pools of blood that break off easily and leave jagged edges. (Which are not very convincing on a supposed pool of liquid.) You can use small surgical scissors to trim off the brittle parts and then use a small D remal sanding bit to round out the edges again, but it's better if you can completely avoid all of this extra work - and you can.

I'm most satisfied with a 5 minute epoxy called "Devcon". This stuff mixes easily without getting a lot of air bubbles in the mix while stirring (I use a toothpick for about a minute to minute and a half) and tints well too. It's also thicker than the plunger type epoxy which lets me make my initial pool of blood without having to worry that it'll get to thin around the edges of the pool, and then if I let the remainder sit for 30 sec to a minute, I can use the toothpick to dribble / pour the reminder onto the various wounds on the mini so that it will set up before it completely runs off the mini looking like congealed viscous fluids from the wounds.

If I can borrow a good digital camera and get some good shots, I'll put up some pictures of the one gaunt I've done so far. (I'm still painting the other two gaunts.) Though I do think it looks really cool along with the old RT era metal marine casualties minis I have when laid out on the table top with some of the other battlefield terrain I have. :)

One more thing - either due to the tinting material, the non-stick cook spray on the foil, or a combination of both, - your epoxy will take a fair bit longer than normal to set up to the point where you can safely remove it from the foil. Be patient. Wait at least 30 minutes and more likely an hour before you have a go at removing it from the foil. If it still seems to be to soft, wait longer and try using low heat from a hair dryer or lamp to help the epoxy cure and harden.

Rare-earth magnet and Carnifax conversion

At long last I've finally gotten the time to do the article on rare- earth magnets and converting a plastic Carnifex using them. (As well as rare-earth magnets in general for a variety of model conversions.) The pics for this article are all located in my Photobucket web page if you want to look at all of them at once…

What, Where, and Why?

I use the following sized 'rare-earth' magnets on a regular basis.

• NdFeB Disc Magnet, 3/8 in. x 1/8 in.
• NdFeB Disc Magnet, 1/8in. x 1/16 in.
• NdFeB Disc Magnet, 3/16 in. x 1/16 in.

What all have I converted with rare-earth magnets? Lets see…

I've converted Dreadnoughts with standard plastic arms and heavy resin Forgeworld arms, I've used them with Armorcast resin critters,

I've made magnetic mounts on GW Rhinos to convert them into Preds at will, I've made magnetic mounts on weapons hard points to swap out weapons on Predators, Whirlwinds, and Razorbacks.

I've used them on a Forgeworld Hydra gun emplacement to make it extremely simply to disassemble, store, and transport and otherwise expensive and fragile model.

I've also converted IG heavy weapons crews so that I could swap out tri-pod mounted weapons at will. I've done individual marine command figures with magnet shoulder mounts so they can choose between various weapons options without needing to buy, build, and paint umpteen different models.

I've used them to make the aforementioned magnetic Carnifex conversions, as well as on Hive Tyrants - including one with detachable wings for that 'Death From Above!' action.

In short, I've VASTLY INCREASED the flexibility of my army lists for a modest investment of time and minimal amounts of extra money. (Especially when compared to buying, building, and painting additional minis and vehicles needed to achieve those same 'options' in my army list.)

Where does one get 'Rare Earth' magnets?

Where do I typically get my 'rare-earth' magnets? In the past my friends and I have purchased from the 'Wonder Magnet' web site below. Unfortunately when I looked, WM didn't have either of the two smaller sized magnets listed on their site in the inventory any more. In the past we've always gotten excellent service from Wonder Magnet, so if you're interested, you could email them and inquire about the possibility of more of those sizes being produced. (I think they produce their own, rather than resell - though I'm not 100% certain of that.)

Your next choice would be Amazing Magnets. They have an excellent selection with prices listed. There are also other specialty sites if you look around the web such as http://www.jobmaster.com/ or ttp://www.eneflux.com/ (These folks have a nice magnetic FAQ on their site)

Where not to buy.

While there are some great places to buy magnets, there are some pretty crappy places as well. For example, 100 of the 3/16 in x 1/8 in magnets from Amazing Magnets would run you about $20 including shipping, etc. Buying the same from a retail outlet like Radio Shack will run you about $80 plus tax. (Yikes - Holy Wallet Rape!)

I also don't recommend Ebay or similar sites - 1st of all, the reseller wants to make a profit which means you, the buyer, pays more - and 2nd, you have no idea of the quality of the magnets and virtually no recourse if they turn out to be weak or poorly made.

Personally, I'd advise sticking with a reputable business, you're far more likely to get better products and much better prices.

How does one use magnets for conversions?

Rare-earth magnets are amazingly strong for their size, which makes them ideal for use in conversions of metal and plastic minis. They allow not only quick swaps of various parts, but are strong enough that limbs can be posed in 'normal' positions and don't droop down to the ground from their own weight. (Nothing looks goofier than a Dreadnought in the midst of battle with its weapons pointed at its own feet.)

As an added bonus, if one is concerned that a single magnet on each side isn't strong enough to hold a part in the desired position, one can 'stack' magnets several deep in a shoulder or other area to increase the amount of pull generated for a stronger and more stable mounting point.

As I mentioned before, I've used magnets for even heavy jobs like holding heavy resin model parts in place, and the results have been superb.

WARNING!!!

1. Did I mention that rare-earth magnets are amazingly strong, and that if you stack them together they have even greater force. A good rare-earth magnet the size of your thumb can potentially lift 20 to 40 pounds - or more! Needless to say, getting your fingers smashed between groups of these things that rapidly slam together is going to be painful. Use caution.
2. Check your polarity before gluing! Magnets not only attract, but also repel if you attempt to bring like poles together. Nothing can doom a magnet conversion project faster than not paying attention to the polarity of your magnets until after the epoxy or super glue is dry. Always check the polarity (and recheck if you're not certain) before applying the glue to the magnets. I tend to use a small felt tip marker to mark the side of the magnet that should be facing outward when I glue it in place.

NB: I find that if I'm going to do multiples of the same type of conversion (like IG heavy weapons teams or multiple Carnifex) that it is extremely helpful to do a 'master' version first and then make sure that the rest follow the exact same 'magnetic pattern'. This means that when I'm done, I can swap parts between ANY model of a specific type and not just one particular model. A little extra work in the beginning saves a lot of time and effort later on.

CONVERTING YOUR CARNIFEX

So, how does one convert a Carnifex to allow it the whole range of biomorph and weapons options? Fairly easily. Regardless of whether you're an 'assemble then paint', or a 'paint then assemble' type of model builder, you'll definitely want to add your magnets to the necessary places on the model BEFORE you fully assemble the model. And read ALL the directions before you begin.

As for tools, I'd recommend the following:

• Magnets - for this project we'll be using 1/8in. x 1/16 in and 3/16 in. x 1/16 in magnets.
• Clippers - for removing your parts from the sprue
• Sharp hobby knife - for trimming up the parts and removing burrs, etc
• Small flat file.
• Small electric hand drill, or a variable speed dremel tool with drill or boring bits.
• Epoxy or Super Glue - I tend to favor using epoxy for greater strength with the larger magnets 2 Part resin epoxy putty or 'Green Stuff' - used for strengthening certain parts and to disguise where magnets have been put into certain limbs or parts
• Felt tip pen - for marking magnets and where the center of drill holes should be located
• Wooden rod (like the end of a paint brush handle) - for adjusting magnets
• Metal rod (or thin metal part like the tang / handle of a metal flat file) - for inserting magnets

NB: After examining the new plastic Carnifex model, I discovered that the top most spine on the tail section is made in such a way that it forces the upper body of the Carnifex to hunch over so that the 'standard' model is always looking at the ground right in front of itself like "Oh Damn! I just lost a contact lens - no body move until I find it again!"

Needless to say I found that particularly unappealing, so my first recommendation is to file down that spine (or alternately remove it all together) so that the Carnifex can be modeled standing in a reasonably upright position.

The best way I've found to start on the Carnifex is to begin with the magnets in the torso itself. Since we're using 1/8 in and 3/16 in diameter magnets, it's fairly easy (in the US) to find small drill bits that are a perfect match diameter wise. That said, dremel bits of the correct diameter work just as well. I used the larger 3/16 magnets for the 'in torso' arm mounts, and the smaller 1/8 magnets for holding the heads and carapace pieces in place.

Before gluing the torso together - I drilled holes just large enough to snuggly fit the 3/16 in. magnets in the center of each of the arm placement sockets on the main torso.

Pick one side of the torso and carefully glue in your magnets so that they sit reasonably flush with the bottom of the socket.

I used epoxy from the back side / inside of the torso to firmly anchor mine in place.

Make sure that your magnets are both aligned with the same polarity facing out i.e. either both North, or both South facing out. (This is where that felt tip pen comes in handy).

TIP: Always allow your glue to dry completely before test fitting other parts with magnets. It's way to easy to pull out a magnet you've just glued in, and it's a mess to fix and way to easy to accidentally reverse the magnet with unfortunate results later.

Once the glue is dry on your first torso half, make sure your magnets fit in their holes on the second torso half and that they're aligned so that they don't repulse the magnets in the first half. (You can stick the magnets on the back side of the magnets in the first torso half, mark the sides sticking out, and then glue them in the second half with the marked sides sticking out the socket holes.)

After the glue is dry, you can use some putty on the back / inside of the torso where the magnets are for extra support if desired (I did) and then glue the torso halves together and allow it to dry.

(If you look closely, you can still faintly see the black dots from the marker on the magnets.)

Next up is the magnet mounts for the head and upper carapace.

Since neither of these plastic parts weights very much, the smaller 1/8 in. magnets work fine for our task. Because of the torso's design, it ends up that we'll be mounting them both right where the two torso halves glue together on the front. Due to this, it's far easier to mount the magnets after the torso is glued together.

You can eye-ball the center of the socket for the head and mark it with the felt tip. On the carapace take the actual carapace piece and mark on the back side where you want to put in the magnet. Then measure down from the apex of the inside of the carapace to find your distance. (Mine was about 5/16 in or 4 mm down from the top.) Now measure the same distance down from the apex on the front surface of the torso and mark where you need to drill.

TIP: How to drill without going to deep or otherwise damaging thin plastic parts. The easiest way to control the depth is to put a depth gauge of sorts on your drill bit. Place the magnet next to your drill bit so you can gauge the distance that the drill bit has to go to create a sufficiently deep hole without going to far, and then wrap some masking or duct tape around the drill bit above that point.

That way, when you drill into your parts, once you get to the tape you know you've gone in deep enough to accommodate the magnet without going in to far.

The second thing to remember is 'start small and work your way up'. I recommend on small parts that people start with a very small bit and drill an initial 'pilot hole' if you're going to be putting in a magnet that is nearly as wide as the surface it's being mounted in.

You can easily do the initial hole with a pin-vise / hand drill if needed, and then work up to progressively larger bits until the desired size hole is created.

It takes far less time to do something right the first time then it does to repair something that was botched. By using progressively larger bits and light pressure, it's easy to get a clean smooth opening in short order without trashing expensive model parts.

Using a 1/8 inch drill bit, carefully drill out the holes in your marked locations on the torso. If you need to, drill a test hole in a piece of sprue or wood and test the snugness of the fit with one of your 1/8 in. magnets. It should be snug enough that the magnet won't simply be loose and fall out. Once that's done, you're ready to glue in your magnets on the front of the torso.

TIP: How to glue in a magnet when you can't get to the back / interior of a part. If you have to glue in a magnet and the area behind the magnet hole is hollow, it can be tricky not to push the magnet in to far and have it end up rolling around the inside of the model rather than glued in place.

I found a relatively easy method to deal with this.

Place the magnet on the end of a short metal rod (the narrow tang on a metal file also works well for this) with the 'outward facing' side against the metal rod / object. (You are using that felt tip marker to prevent mistakes, aren't you?)

Apply a reasonable amount of glue (I tend to use liquid super glue for this rather than epoxy since the magnets are small and won't be holding a lot of weight) around the edges of the opening where the magnet goes, and then insert the magnet to the correct depth using the metal tool. (Using the metal tool helps prevent pushing the magnet in to far.)

Once you have the magnet flush with the front surface, you'll need to drag or pull the metal object sideways across the surface (rather than straight up) so as not to pull the magnet out of the hole.

If the magnet shifts while you're removing the metal tool, use your wooden rod to gently reseat the magnet so it's flush with the surface of the model or otherwise sitting correctly in the hole.

Using the above method, glue your 1/8 inch magnets into the front of the Torso and allow the glue to dry.

While you're waiting for the glue to dry, you can cut out the rest of your head and carapace pieces, clean up the sprue marks, and glue the heads together as desired. (If you have a real problem with pushing the magnets in to far, you can always fill the hollow neck parts of the heads with putty before you glue them together, but I didn't find it necessary when I did mine.)

Since you already have the measurement from the first carapace piece, you can measure and drill the others.

With the heads, I simply eye-balled the center of the back of the neck pieces, and then marked and drilled them with the 1/8 in. bit.

Now that you have your 'master' torso done, you can zip through aligning and gluing in magnets on your various carapace and head pieces. (Remember - mark and check your magnet field alignment twice, only glue once.)

Next up is putting magnets in the various limbs. For the larger limbs I used the 3/16 in. magnets just like those in the torso itself, for the smaller limbs or where two limbs join (like the Venom cannon or Barbed Strangler arms) I used the smaller 1/8 in magnets.

Normally, trying to drill holes in the round ball ends of the limbs (without the bits slipping or otherwise going in at the wrong angle) can be a major pain in the butt. This is where the flat file comes in.

Since we've flattened out the bottom of the sockets on the torso by gluing our magnets in, filing the end of the limbs a bit to create a flat surface to drill into and place the magnet isn't a problem at all.

Try to file the flat spots on the ends of the limbs so that the limbs will stick out in a reasonable angle (i.e. don't file the end of the elbow and then be surprised when the arm sticks straight sideways), but it doesn't have to be 'exact' since we're using strong magnets. Using the drilling tip above, and marking your magnets, glue your magnets for your limbs into their respective holes.

NB: In some cases there was simply not sufficient room to drill a hole for the larger 3/16 magnets on the ends of some of the larger arms that I wanted the bigger magnets on. In those cases I simply filed off 1/16 of an inch (width of the magnet) or so from the end of the arm, carefully glued on the magnet in the center of the flat area, and then covered the joins with epoxy putty / green stuff that I smoothed out to match the rest of the limb.

Once you have your magnets all mounted, you're ready to use your epoxy putty or green stuff to touch up any areas that still need work. Then you're ready to assemble the body and paint, or to paint your parts and then glue the legs, tail, and torso together. In either case, attach your magnetic parts - and Bob's your uncle.

When I finished the first torso, I proceeded to do the magnets on the heads, carapace, and limbs for all 3 models. After that, it was a simple matter to 'reverse engineer' the remaining two torsos by making sure that the arms, heads, etc worked on each torso. Having done that, I can now mix and match limbs, etc with any of the 3 models without worrying about magnets repelling each other. (That and I can now field the misunderstood and wrongly feared '5 headed Carnifex' - I keep telling opponents "Don't worry about him, he's 'armless.")

All in all, I've been very pleased with the results of my Carnifex conversions, and I've garnered some nice compliments from other gamers along the way. But you can judge for yourself. Additionally it didn't take all that long to do the conversions, it's just taken me forever (as you can tell from the pictures) to actually finish painting up the 3rd Carnifex. Doh!

This same sort of thing can easily be done with smaller models like Marine Vet Sgt. and Commander figures where it would be nice to have a variety of options in wargear / points costs and still be WYSIWYG using the 1/8 inch magnets. (And for the record, I hand drilled all the holes on these bits with one of those *supposedly worthless* variable speed Dremel tools.)

Hopefully that covers the vast majority of questions. If you have any additional questions, or you hire Johnny Cochran as your lawyer - I'LL KILL YOU!!1! Just kidding, if you do have any additional questions, post them and I'll try to answer them as needed.

Hope that helps,

Myrmidon

Brush Care - Questions answered by Myrmidon

Question were asked and Myrmidon answered

I have read (in more than one place I think) that you can / should "wash" your brushes after use. As in with soap.

My question is

(i) Does anyone here wash their brushes with soap (and water I assume) after a painting session, if so do you wash all your brushes?

Yes - absolutely. If not, you already know what happens if they get built up with dried pigment in the bristles.

Only the 'sable' / hair brushes and / or synthetic brushes too?

Everything gets washed - but it's not only that you wash them, but how and what you wash them with is extremely important to the life of the brush too. See the answer below...

And (ii) What kind of soap do you use? 'Normal' hand washing soap (cake or liquid?), dishwashing detergent, laundry soap?

Just so you know, I've got a Bachelors of Fine Arts degree and I graduated with a dual major in Drawing and Painting. If you've never bought professional grade Artist's water colour and oil painting brushes - especially the larger ones, then you probably aren't aware that they can cost as much as $35 - $75 plus for just a single one of the larger brushes.

Needless to say, this alone induces most artists to very quickly learn how to preserve their brushes. It used to be that the best brushes were all natural hair - whether they were the bristle brushes for oil painting, or the natural sables for oil, and water colour, etc. These days, fortunately, the synthetic brushes are much better (though not always the equal of natural hair brushes) in paint application and will stand up to a lot of abuse while costing less than the sables, etc.

That being said, you should still know a bit about caring for natural and/or synthetic brushes. Brushes take on paint through capillary action and draw pigment up into the bristles, where it's applied to your painting surface through light contact.

Obviously enough, you don't want to let paint dry in the bristles as not only will this cause them to splay out over time, it will also reduce the capillary action, and make your brush leave streaks and uneven paint application on the surface you're painting. So, it is vitally important to clean your brush as best you can to keep it in good working order as long as possible.

But, what most people don't take into account is that most brushes (pretty much all the natural hair brushes and some synthetics) have oils in the bristles. You have naturally occurring oils in your hair and skin that work to keep them healthy and preserve them. So do good paint brushes - especially natural sable.

If you use harsh cleaners like gritty hand soaps or laundry detergents, you will strip all the oils out of the bristles - which also can destroy the brush's capillary action and ability to apply paint smoothly to your painting surface. Arrgh!

So, if you want to preserve your brushes in good working order for as long as possible, here's what I'd recommend. First choice would be to visit an Artist's supply store and find some professional brush cleaner. Or find one on the net that will ship to you and order some. (I'm in the U.S. and I use a product called "The Masters Brush Cleaner and Preserver" by B & J.

It's meant for cleaning oil, acrylic, water colour, and stains from brushes.) These products are designed to clean brushes WITHOUT stripping the natural oils from them. The other beauty of a good artist's brush cleaner is that most are designed so that you can leave a little bit of the soap in the brush and then shape the bristles and allow the brush to dry - this also helps to prolong the useful life span of the brush.

2nd choice would be a mild hand soap without degreaser in it. 3rd (and not highly recommended) choice would be a mild bar form of hand soap. I would NOT recommend any product like dish detergent or laundry soap - which tend to have degreasers in them - for cleaning brushes, specially natural hair brushes.

Synthetics will take more of this type of abuse, but even they stop working well eventually when treated with harsh cleaners like this.

It should go without saying that once you've cleaned the brush you'll want to lay the brush on a flat surface or stand the brush upright with the bristles up to allow it to dry.

I do see people who leave their brushes tip down in their water buckets while painting or cleaning (Grrr!) and then wonder why they end up with splayed bristles - Duh!

I ask after seeing my millionth 'favourite brush' disintegrate after about a month of 'reasonable' usage, Oh and I do know about not 'dunking' the brush or letting paint get into the 'base' of the brush, although I will admit that I still loose far too many brushes that way.

The base of the brush is called the "ferrule" - the term derives it's origins from the old metal bracelets the Celts liked to wear around their forearms. It generally means "a ring or cap (usually) of metal put around a slender shaft (such as a hand tool) to strengthen it or prevent slipping.."

On a related note, how do you avoid letting inks/washes travel up the bristles and accumulating at the brush 'base', from my experience this has (over time) much the same effect as 'dunking' the brushes i.e.. splayed and useless bristles.

Mad Mad Propz to Richard Lobinske who wrote the following...

"It is called capillary action (check you HS physics notes). A surfactant (soap) in the wash will prevent this, or making sure the brush is wet with clean water before dipping in the wash will help. I also prefer to use long bristle brushes for this that also help avoid the problem."

Now you know why I recommended the artist's brush clear - where the soap can be left in the bristles in small amounts without harming the brush. If you don't have/can't get a good brush cleaner, then by all means use the 'wet brush in clean water first' method.

Thanks for your advice

Glad to help! And nothing teaches one to properly care for your brushes faster than seeing a College Instructor ripping another student a new orifice... "What the HELL are you doing??? That's a $50 brush you're destroying! I ought to beat you with a 2x4 full of rusty nails!"

Meanwhile every other student in the vicinity is cringing in Ahhh, the joy of college.

Outtakes: April 2007

> You know, I had a point-by-point response all typed up, too. When it was done, I looked it over, and deleted it. It just seemed too caustic, and I didn't want to flame.

This from one of the regulars here? Remind me to start marketing ice skates in hell. :-)

as a reader of RGMW I can empathise with what happens without toilet training.........

and the bumper stickers:

• 'Honk if you love the Emperor'
• 'I only break for Titans'
• 'How do you like my tank shocking? Dial 1-800-EMPEROR'
• 'My other vehicle is a Warhound'
• 'Little Machine God On Board'
• 'If You Can't See my Sponsons, My Lascannon Can't See You!'
• 'I wouldn't be caught dead with a Necron'
• 'Few Sisters of Battle Admit their age, Few Space Marines Act Theirs'
• 'I like Orks - they taste just like Chicken'
• 'Happiness is a belt-fed bolter'
• 'All Librarians present, raise my hand'
• Eldar do it in skimmers
• Freem if you love Marines
• I (heart) Horus
• My Primach went to Armageddon and all I got was this lousy bumper sticker.
• If your this close, my MultiMelta can hit you.

> decided I want an Ogre Kingdoms army, but I have no idea why.

It's the man-boobs.

I ignore it in the spirit of tolerance and brotherhood that RGMW embodies ;-)

Well, I do try to read something OTHER than the witch-hunter codex. And I'm only reading the new Dark Angel's codex 'cause I've been hired to paint the army... That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

> I can't help it. I play Orks. By definition that makes me a sado-masichist.

or just unwashed.

> Oh don't feel bad, I never did love you... and as I remember I said it from over the phone, it was special to me because I wasn't there with you... ;)

So who exactly was it in the back of the donkey costume?

Then I got to this line and lost it entirely. Bravo, sir.

in a fit of rage I destroyed my Daimyo since it is (to be nice about it) a PIECE OF SHIT, worst fucking sculpt ever, it makes L*m*rt*s look like the statue of David.

with enough modeling you can make him look good. then again with enough modeling you can make anything short of nagash look good.

Tank love and Ordinance envy does terrible things, even to a man in a dress.

> i havent even grown an inch.

And you wonder why you can't keep a woman?

>> Lemartes
> GG on killing the thread there champ. Now nothing will save it.
Lemartes is a Nazi? Who knew...

We had a context once, but no one bothered entering because Hwang kept changing the rules...

No, I don't have a post. I just felt a need to make the subject of the thread less ambiguous.

Outtakes: March 2007

it's more like a vast carpet of wet shit-cement. I've never known
poultry to crap in anything so tidy as a pile.

I'm just surprised that you've known poultry.

And people wonder why RGMW has such a fowl reputation!

True, but by RGMW standards thats just chickenfeed........

What a chickenshit comment to make...

You bunch of turkeys.

Surely they'd be worth a guinea or two?

Oh! That answer is down right Cornish!

*sigh* it was only a bit of friendly bantam

That is just egging us on you know.

think the thread needed a crop.

Oh, damn. Is it emu or me? Oh, the talons that we sew.

These are getting hard to sustain now. That one was a bit too much of
ostritch.

I did quail at the sight of that one...but chose not to stick my beak in
at that point.

The animal pun threads are some of the worst. It's like Monty Python
writing the syllabus for a zoology class. The worst part of it is,
one group's crowing on about it, while the other is circling the
thread waiting to descend like a pack of vultures. All these bird
puns are getting quite peckish.

Wait a minute...
Isn't one pun thread enough at a time? Oh, the huge manatee!

i'm not quoting one of the ginormous posts in this latest exchange,
but I just wanted to say that if there had been a bit more cursing, a
"go boil your head" and some pyronecrobestiality, you two would have
completely proven that this NG still has that old spark.

He's probably a Space Wolf scout, they like to come at you from behind.

My eyes!

My brain!

My sense of humor!!!!!!

I must hate you now.

I know the reality from my end.

You forgot to compare him to Hitler and say that he lived in his mom's
basement.

C'mon... You're new to this Usenet thingy, aren't you?

1st player: "What are these?" [picks up orc mini]
2nd player: "Street grade orcs."

1st player: "KEWL! Where did you get them?"
2nd player: "Out of my ass."
1st player: "YAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!" [drops mini and runs away]
2nd player: "Works everytime."

Outtakes: February 2007

Yes, but right now I can't even afford a paintbrush. Or shoes.
Clothing. Food...

I'm sorry to hear that you've "gone native"...

"...Meanwhile, a man urinates on a wall and a woman watches him, looking pleased..."

Funny est, but a tag of warning would be appreciated on things like these... some of us are viewing these landmines from a corporate structure. :P

It was a link posted on RGMW. What more warning do you need?

I'd offer you my phone number but I'm unsure of the nature of your crotch parts.

Hardrock, who can browse porn at work

You may have the two words in your name backwards, at least after a bit of "work."

Oh, and the next time? Remember to stop typing after the punchline.

Now that would be an interesting army, you have your normal Orks which are prone to doing wacky things and using overwelming numbers to win and then you have your "Chaos Orks" a well oiled no nonsence fighting machine... ;)

P.P.S. Okay, I admit it, I'm a closet Queen fan.

P.P.P.S. No, no, I said a closet Queen *fan*, not ... oh, what the hell, I'll go with it.

Blair and Bush are probably slapping themselves - 'well, with hindsight,'
they cry :)

They should have listened to me...

They should come to RGMW. . .

You know the best thing about neoconservatism? The fact that coining the word neoconservative" turned old-style conservatives into "paleoconservatives", a word that sums up George Bush better than any other I can think of.

Outtakes: January 2007

It's low quality and not nearly as entertaining as the stuffing I get here daily.

I've bought some Magic stuff in its place, but mostly the almost non-existent spare money I've had has been devoted to music, books and travel.

Yeah yeah we all know that's a euphemism for party drugs and cheap whores.

Outtakes: 2006

if I saw a unit of models hit the table at a points cost of 40-45 points each (with 1 measly wound), i'd be on them like Nurgle needs a breath mint.

I couldn't understand a thing you wrote, but I agree 100%!

I can see why they've outlawed firearms in the UK. People like you wouldn't have any toes left.

> We're still waiting for Codex: Squats, if that's what you mean.

So they're not in the food chapter of Codex: Tyranids?

>> Isn't WD the definition of foolishness?

> Well they could hardly call their magazine "World Domination" now could they...

Good point

we need to go back to scaring the living shit out of Fat Bloke....

If 40K were a produce section, the Organic section would be very small
indeed.

There's a small but vocal group within the imperium that advocates the
teaching of Incompetent Design theory for any race that had a codex
written by Gav.

"Mr One's more like a urinal puck - something that gets pissed on when
it's around, but isn't really needed or missed when it's gone."

> and I greet him with, "Is that a servo-arm in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"

... the answer was? :)

Is 'push my forehead button' the ork equivalent of 'pull my finger?'

I can't brain today. I have the dumb.

So...does anybody know if there are any lady necrons? The codex doesn't
say. Some of the models look kinda cute so I was just wondering...

I hate it when a worthless thread degenerates into a semi-useful
discussion. Never again!

You forgot to compare him to Hitler and say that he lived in his mom's
basement.

C'mon... You're new to this Usenet thingy, aren't you?

> I have 70 lbs of sheet plastic...

That would explain why there's always a trail of sheet wherever Jim goes...

> *Insert witty sig file here*

This is it. Currently your newsreader software fu is weaker than a Google user.

There is no hope, only futility.

"Usenet is like a herd of performing elephants with diarrhea -- massive, difficult to redirect, awe-inspiring, entertaining, and a source of mind-boggling amounts of excrement when you least expect it."

> i have to spend 24 hours in swindon in a couple weeks' time, and that's about 25 hours longer than i can really stand :(

I see what you did there you mis-typed '17 years' as '25 hours'

A long trek through the snow, only to be crushed by the weight of their own ludicrous hats

Well, now we know what happened to the Chaos Dwarves.

>> I think I need to take the goggles off when I'm reading the Codex...

> Are you trying to say that the goggles actually did something? That's very uncommon indeed.

I was wearing them when my brother finally found the White Dwarf with a picture of Lemartes in, and showed it to me, and I haven't keeled over dead. Yet...

> Pah, it's just as bad down there. Australian Rules Football is just rugby, and has as much do with "football" as said sport. :P

Sorry but I think we've established this before. Aussie rules is a big gay fight without the handbags.

But no there was a gap of time between when I cut and I pasted; and I then decided to tell Jim where it was on the page because he is so lazy. But so apparently is my memory :-)

Ah, the twilight years ... a bit like the Twilight Zone, only spookier.

your local pet store doesn't have squiggoths?!

>>> How do you keep them from running around the table? Dip them in varnish?

>>> Varnish them with dip.

>> Prozac.

By nailing their feet to the table... just like collecting butterflies

... you mean they're not supposed to? :(


I wouldn't say it's much of a loss though, he can't paint to save his life (hence all the bare metal!)


I did a google image search for cheap and easy rough rider and there wasn't anything, not even porn!

> This is not an assault on you but I just feel like that.

Of course it isn't.
You aint in range :p

> from WD and reprinted in the compendium in 1889

Wow, that's an OLD white dwarf!

>> No. The potent squig taste will completely overpower the more subtle grot taste thereby ruining any grot stew.

> What about grot casserole?

*shakes head and sighs*
You've got a lot to learn about preparing Greens.

Donovan "I'm buying your f'ing orks, one arm at a time" Borman

DON'T DO THAT ! I've run out of tissues . . .

>>> No-one wants to hear about you beating the drum.

>> Shaking my maracca then?

> You have a man-boob? Initiate of Slaanesh I presume.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b266/borscope/ze_goggles.jpg

> Maybe he has a memory block over the incident...I hear that's common in traumatic situations.

I like this excuse over adult-onset senility. :)

Just because we're horrible, undead soul-eater doesn't mean we can't feel GOOD and look FAH-Bulous, dahling.

Roll a die....

1 : The rule operates like you thought it would.
2 : The rule operates in the opposite way you thought it would.
3 : The rule now functions in the same way as a fast open-topped skimmer landing in dangerous terrain on top of a monsterous creature with 1/2 a wound left.
4 : Continue playing as if a vortex grenade had hit this page of the rulebook.
5 : Both players roll strategy ratings. Winner wishes GW would get their act together.
6 : Roll again, ignoring any rolls of 1, 2, 3, 4 or 5.

> (You can walk using a wooden leg, but you can't see using a glass eye!)

I really don't see any reason to