Wednesday, August 28, 2013

War Council Episode 4 is Live, Now we're Swinging!



Four episodes in and War Council is finally finding it's rhythm.


Primarch In A Can for $20 buck!!!

more info... ...
  Three Little Words . .  . Not a Conversion

Thursday, August 22, 2013

Light Em' Up! Photographing your Miniatures 101







Painting miniatures can be a rewarding experience, but how do you showcase your work in the best possible light. Here are 5 easy tips to improve your lighting studio set up to make photographing your minis that much easier!

Monday, August 12, 2013

White Metal Games launches War Council . . . a 40k podcast from two definately non-competitive players

Greetings fellow wargamers!










Well, we did it.  We jumped on board the podcasting band wagon.  You can find our first three podcasts here


Every podcast has their thing.  Some are more narrative driven, some are more tournament play driven or competitive in nature. 

I like to think of our podcast as a dialogue between two wargamers who are keenly interested in wargaming culture, trends, balanced play, rumors, and getting a better grasp on the rules. 

We don't spend a lot of time focused on game mechanics or strategy, we spend much more time focused on the passion of wargaming, what drives us to pursue it, understanding the wargaming mentality, and the like.  It's the perfect engine for me to talk about recent commission, kit bashes, upcoming releases, and its the perfect venue for Justin to combine his academic vernacular with his unabashedly encyclopedic knowledge of the 40k Fluffiverse.

So if you're a wargamer like us, a beer and pretzels style gamer that just likes to have fun, this might be the podcast for you.  We share some similarities to the Screaming Heretic Podcast, another podcast that is just a bunch of good friends have a few laughs. 

All of the podcasts are uploaded on our website but we will also be uploading them to itunes soon.   

While your on the site, be sure to peruse our gallery of almost 10,000 images of custom kit bashed miniatures, painted samples, full armies, terrain, and more!

You can also check us out on facebook and follow our updates, respond to queries we post on the show, etc.  


So . . . have a listen, take us for a spin, comment on the facebook page and let us know what you think, and until then .. .

PUT YOUR  MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!

Caleb, WMG


Thursday, August 1, 2013

Still in Bitsness? Bits-World continues to thrive despite GW's smackdown

Greetings fellow wargamers:

 

I was recently contacted by a repeat client who wants a customer squad of 'The Eight' created.  The Eight are the members of Ta Commander Farsights personal bodyguard, consisting of a handful of crisis suits, a broadside, and a riptide!

Needless to say I was overjoyed at the prospect of building this squad, not only because it just came out ( the Tau Farsight Enclave) but because its so rare that I get to kit bash me some Tau.  Tau just aren't one of those armies that get modified that often.  Not at least in the same way that Nids, Chaos daemons/marines, or Orks do.

Since I don't have the supplement yet, I was a little confused on what sorts of bits I'd need to do this.  I read something about Fusion blades, sort of a lightsaber for Tau, and heard you need twin linked fusion guns to do it.  So I immediately tried to find some.

I found these from the Riptide kit and bought up a bunch right away.

However, in doing a little more research only ONE of the Commanders carries a TL fusion gun and thus has access to the fusion blade.  So I was stuck with all these extra bits!  While I could have hoarded them for future work, I felt it would be better, for both me and community, to turn them back over to the vendor and release them back to the 2nd hard bits market.

I emailed the vendor, explained my situation, and waited to hear back from them.  In hours the situation had been resolved amicably and the purchase was refunded.

This is a complete 180 from a situation that happened to me a few years ago regarding Hoard O'Bits, a bits provider.

Now with Spikey Bits no longer offering bits sales, the bits market is getting harder and harder to work through.  If a client wants a specific model modeled up, it can be a challenge to get all the bits you need.  My situation with the Looming Horror model a few days ago was no exception to this.

In many cases it might actually be cheaper for modellers like myself to buy up several kits, use the bits we need, and then keep the spares on hand for other projects.  But this isn't always the best solution, sometimes you just need that ONE BIT.  And without the second hand market to make that happen, it's getting harder and harder to provide that service to clients.

So I'd like to make two points.

Firstly, I'd like to publicly praise Bits World for their outstanding customer service.

Secondly, I'm curious how companies like Bits World continue to stay in business with the recent shift in GW policy regarding the second hand bits market.

Are bits providers like Bits World a dying breed, hunted to extinction, and if so, what's a miniature studio to do when clients have custom orders to fill?

I've requested an interview with the owners of Bits World to let us see the men (or women) behind the mask.  Stay tuned for details . . .

And until then . .  PUT YOUR MINIS WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS!


Caleb, WMG