Daemonworld Done! Sort of?

Somehow I managed to pull together enough daemonworld terrain to create a table for my club's tournament yesterday. It proved an adventure, though.

I fiddled for the better part of two weeks painting the "showpiece" terrain elements ... and meanwhile dithering about how to base them ... and meanwhile procrastinating.....

Finally, with the tournament looming on Saturday, I cut out and beveled the bases on Friday morning:


My original plan for these was to texture some caulk to create some kind of bubbling landscape effect -- something that would look chaotic and profoundly unstable but that people would be able to put models on easily. But then, of course, it rained on Thursday and really rained on Friday. I bought some quick-drying caulk, hoping it would firm up despite the humid atmosphere, and slathered some on a trial piece. After six hours it was still soggy.

So on Friday midday I switched to plan B, applying a coat of PVC to my terrain bases and sprinkling kitty litter on top. But by this point it was pouring rain outside, so even that hadn't dried by 6:00 p.m. My younger daughter was in a play which I had to go to Friday night. At this point I realized I had to prime them early Saturday and see what I could do in the four hours or so I'd have before the tournament started.

When I got back from my daughter's play, I painted until about 1:00 am that night.

This effort brought things close to a presentable state -- though by no means finished:


Thankfully, Saturday turned out to be a clear, dry, beautiful day. So I woke up at 6:00 am and primed the bases:


and


Then I hurriedly applied a few coats of painting and dry-brushing, slapped things together and packed them in time to drive at 10:30 to the tournament.

The results were fair, I think. The table looked kind of sloppy, but it did create a certain atmospheric setting. Here are some pictures I took of one of the games played -- pitting Ragnar's Fallen army against Todd's Ultramarines:


Kind of cool, I think:


I do plan to spend some time over the next few months polishing the painting.

And meanwhile architecting weirder elements. I'd love to work up stuff unbound by the laws of Newtonian physics....

Tournament List

My club, Dorka Morka, is running a 1750 point RTT this weekend and I've worked up my list.

Bloodthirster, with Blessing of the BloodGod
Herald of Tzeentch on a chariot, Bolt, We Are Legion, Master of Sorcery
3 Flamers
4 Bloodcrushers, 1 with Icon, 1 with Instrument, 1 with Fury of Khorne
6 Fiends, 1 with Unholy Might
7 Plaguebearers
7 Plaguebearers
6 Horrors, 1 with Bolt
6 Horrors, 1 with Bolt, 1 is Changeling
Soul Grinder (nekkid -- no maw cannon upgrades)
Daemon Prince, Mark of Tz, Bolt of Tz
Daemon Prince, Mark of Nurgle, Iron Hide, Unholy Might, Cloud of Fliest, Instrument

The list is meant to be dangerous, but I realize it's not optimized or honed to razor-sharp edge. That's because my club promotes what it calls "full immersion 40K." We try to discourage WAAC attitudes and "internet lists" that spam only the "best" units in any given codex. (If that's how you role, hey, that's cool. We're just looking for a more well-rounded gaming experience.) Accordingly, the tournament emphasizes "soft" scores (making up a bit more than half of total points to be had) and incorporates "comp" criteria.

So my list is meant to be dangerous, as I said, but also to put different kinds of threats in front of my opponent. None of my hq, elite, or heavy options repeat.

And then I confess, the list was also assembled with an eye to putting my favorite models and conversions on the table, displaying the Harrrowed in all its twisted "glory."

Warp Gate fully formed

I've finished sculpting on the Warp Gate. In characteristically ravenous chaotic fashion the thing has consumed an absurd volume of greenstuff. And, literally, a measure of blood as well (when I cut myself on a daemonette talon while sculpting).

Here's the "membrane side":


And here's the "hand side":

(It's a shame about that crack at the bottom, but at this stage I think I'll have to just make do and move on.)

One more look: here's how it might appear from a player's p.o.v., approaching the gate.


Now it's on to other parts of the table. I've got to pull together an entire daemon-world table over the next week!