It's been a rough ending to the year on the vehicles.

In the Freestar, we had the alternator replaced. Three times. I've had alternator trouble before so I knew to have it checked out when the dash lights started throbbing. I replaced the plug on the block heater. Then we just had the thermostat replaced as it's not getting good heat.

For the Uplander, we had the check engine light cleared when the car was having trouble starting. We had the fuel injection system adjusted. We just had to replace the wipers when one tore with the ice. Now we just had the 'reduced engine performance' message. It seems that the throttle body will need to be replaced. So. it's ending 2018 in the garage to be picked up on Wednesday.

So, all-in-all, it's been a fairly pricy year.

Avengers - graduation

After my Avengers Alliance facebook game ended last year, I finally started playing the Avengers Academy game. Based on the recommendation from cosplayer Riki Lecotey from Riddle's Messy Wardrobe.

I like it very much. I started with the second edition about a few challenges in and, after a slow start, have gotten deep into level 7 out of 8. They just announced that it too will be shutting down at the end of February. They gave a big pile of rewards to help to complete the quests and get the remaining characters.

New GW boxed sets

So there are more boxed sets coming out from Games Workshop. Since they use the same figures as their regular lines, they are a lot more expensive than an introductory game would be.
Some I am able to pass over easily. With the close of the Warhammer World I was able to make a clean break and did not get any of the Age of Sigmar sets. Although I do have to admit that the Night Haunts in the new AoS boxed sets look very tempting.
Skipping Age of Sigmar made it easy to skip the new Warhammer Quest set, as well as the Shadespire boxed game.

The new Necromunda looks very good. I had the old set and might be tempted but there is so much of the new set, with the gangs, and terrain, and all the rule sets that I will probably pass on it as well.

I am definitely going to take a pass on the new Titans sets. With the new scale and the amount of figures needed, I am not going to be able to afford it. If they come out with Tyranid Biotitans and one of my friends gets the main set, I might be tempted, but would only get some if one of my friends has the main set.

I still haven’t picked up any of the boxed sets or rules for the newest 40K edition yet. I’m still likely to get it, but am not in any rush as I will have a lot of codices to pick up. The choice is harder with the three boxed set levels to choose. The smallest set is only $50 but the set with the Hardcover rules is $180.

Kill Team seems like it might be a good way to ease back in to 40K. But there are already 2 big box sets for it as well as a lot of figures. I will likely pass on it as well. The second box set with the Rogue Traders is very tempting though.

Speed Freeks is the new Ork racing game. It comes with 2 vehicles, 6 bikes, and a bit of terrain. So far, it isn’t really grabbing me.
As I do have figures for an Ork army, the vehicles would probably help to bulk it out. To get the boxed set (2 big vehicles and 6 bikes) plus the other 4 big vehicles would cost $400 though. It is not one I would rush out and get but I might have to pick it up due to the pricing. It is not quite as good a deal as the Gangs of Commorragh box was but it is still cheaper than getting the figures alone.

I am already getting a fair amount of the new Blood Bowl stuff. I have the boxed set, the extra rules Almanac, two big figures (Ogre and Troll) and two of the extra teams (Skaven and Dwarves). I will definitely get the Undead team, and probably the Elves, and Dark Elves.

When they advertised Warhammer Quest Blackstone Fortress, I was figuring it would be an easy one to pass over. But, even though it is called Warhammer Quest, it is really a 40K game than an Age of Sigmar one. The figures look good so I might have to pick it up. I just hope they don’t start churning out expansions for it like they did for Kill Team.

Figure Painting Total - October

Not many figures bought this month. I started painting one of my Blood Bowl team, but nothing finished yet.

BM/DCU Justice League Dark – 3
BM/DCU Suicide Squad – 3

Oct figures bought – 6, figures painted – 0

Running total 2018 – figures bought 180, figures painted 0

Facelift

I had used the remains of two cans of spray foam when filling some holes in the outside of the house to fill in the chicken wire on the tree.

I tried painting it to see how it would look and decided that I definitely need to give a coat of monster mud. This is made from patch filler, glue, and paint mixed together and used with torn-up pieces of cheese cloth just like paper mache.

After this dried, I painted the eyes and mouth black with spray paint.

I followed up with a mix of brown paints to cover the rest of the face.

When that dried I went back with drybrushed with a lighter brown to make the features pop.

Figure Painting Total - September

While we were in Thunder Bay, I popped into the two game stores and picked up a bunch of the new Blood Bowl figures and rules. I have 4 of the new teams, and still have figures I can use for others, but I would have liked to get the Dark Elves and maybe the Elves to round out my sets.
I have already assembled, based, and primed the Blood Bowl figures.

Burning of Prospero - 47
Revel – Fokker E-III
Revel – Nieuport 28
Savage Worlds – Texas Ranger Male – 1
Savage Worlds – Texas Ranger Female – 2
Chronoscope – Andrew Lane “The Ghost” – 1
Chronoscope – Wichita Witch – 1
Chronoscope – Frank Buck – 1
BB – Dwarf Giants – 12
BB – Skavenblight Scramblers – 12
BB – Ogre – 1
BB – Troll – 1


Sept figures bought - 81, figures painted – 0

Running total 2018 – figures bought 174, figures painted 0

Books read May through September 2018

May
VOR The Maelstrom by Mike “Skuzzy” Nielson
40K: Sanctus Reach: The Red Waaagh! by The Games Workshop Design Studio

June
40K: Sanctus Reach: Hour of the Wolf by The Games Workshop Design Studio
40K: Shield of Baal: Leviathan by The Games Workshop Design Studio
Artful: A Novel by Peter David

July
Looking for Calvin and Hobbes: The Unconventional Story of Bill Watterson and his Revolutionary Comic Strip by Nevin Martell
Monsters by Vincent Price and V.B. Price
Last Days – Zombie Apocalypse by Ash Barker
Serenity: Big Damn Heroes Handbook by Cam Banks, Jennifer Brozek, Jim Davenport, Jason Durall, Tony Lee, Nathan C.S. Rockwood, and Clark Valentine
Egyptian Mythology by Veronica Ions
Werewolves by Jon Izzard

Aug
Poseidon’s Warriors – Classical Naval Warfare 480-31 BC by Mark Latham
The Boardgame Book by RC Bell
Dracula’s America: Shadows of the West: Hunting Grounds by Jonathan Haythornthwaite
The Guide to Writing Fantasy and Science Fiction by Philip Athans
The Mysterious Maya by George E Stuart and Gene S Stuart
Batman Arkham Knight campaign by Mark Latham
Rolling Stone: The Complete Covers 1967 – 1997 by Fred Woodward