The Assault Phase

One of the things every army needs for a large tournament such as Adepticon is a display board.  This is a tray that will hold your figures and serves two purposes.  First it goes into judging of the paint scheme.  Second it will be used to quickly move your figures from one table to the next, as opposed to sticking them in and out of their foam cases.

My first step in going about this process was to think about framing.  There was an old GW article that provided some pretty detailed steps on making a display board.  Thy suggested using a basic picture frame.  I wanted a more detailed frame with scroll work or something ornate.  Unfortunately those can get expensive.  I decided instead to make my own frame our of molding which you can get even detailed molding for $10 at the home improvement store.

For backing, the GW article suggested using foam board on top of the normal picture frame backing with slats of some kind to hole the base in against the frame since it has that lip and all and would stick out.  This seemed cumbersome to me.  Plus it wouldn’t work with my self built frame.  The foam board would be marked where the figures were to go and then holes cut out.  Good idea, but I did not want to be constrained to only one set force organization.  I wanted to be able to reuse my display board as often as I need.

Materials: Cost me in total around $30

• A couple 30×40 Black Foam Boards
• 8 ft detailed wall molding
• Liquid Nails

First thing to do is decide the size of your frame.  Cut your molding at 45 degree angles such that the shorter length is on the inside of what your frame should look like.  When you have 4 equal lengths, or 2 sets of equal length boards, arrange them on the table or on one of the large foam boards to make sure your measurements are what you expected

Depending on the thickness of the molding, you will need to know the measurements for the inside square and the outside perimeter.  My outside perimeter was 26.5 by 21.5.  The inside was 17 by 22.  Cut the foam board to those specifications.  What you are doing is making the backing and the insert.  Then using your liquid nails, glue the boards to the larger backing.  It should fit perfectly.  Make sure you glue the joints of the frame as well.

Let that dry for a few hours.  Then you should be able to place the insert foam board into the frame and it should be snug but not tight.  If it’s tight, shave the edges a bit.  The insert is going the be the piece that is cut specific to your formation.  You want that to be able to slide in and out so you can switch formations if needed.

When you have all these pieces you are are done with step one.  The next step, which will be posted later, will be to cut the holes and do the terrain for your insert.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: March 27th.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00
1850 Point Lists

Prizes: (PBKW Store credit towards GW Merchandise)
1st place: $15+50% of pot.
2nd: $10+35% of pot.
3rd: $5+15% of pot.

Prizes will be rounded to nearest $5.00 increments for sake of organizers’ sanity.

Now for the details!
Scoring will be our normal format with each game worth 20 points.  Certain missions will have secondary objectives that may change from tournament to tournament for a slight boost in points.

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You must have a clean written army list with you to show your opponent. It’s unfortunate that this needs to be reminded to people.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

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By rjstreet

On March 13th, we’re going to try something a bit different at PBKW and help out your local Second Harvest food bank at the same time.  We’re hosting a charity 40K tournament where your entry fee is paid in cans of food donated.  But we’re not going to stop there…oh no…  In addition, we’ve devised some rules to allow you to tip things in your favor during the course of your game (for a few more cans of food)…of course, your opponent can do the same thing, so you should stock up.  In all seriousness, this is a great way to help support your local community and enjoy a fun afternoon of some 40K to boot.  The full flyer is available at this link and details are below.  We hope to see you there!

Where: PBKW Comics
 & Games
Entry Fee: 5 Cans of Food
Points: 1500
When: March 13, 2010
Time: 11am-6pm
More Info: rjstreet@newmyths.org

Prize Support
Best Win/Loss: 
$50 in GW credit @PBKW
Runner-Up: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
Most Cheating in a Game: $25 in GW credit @PBKW
*Ties will be resolved through kill points

FoodHammer is a unique event where you get the opportunity to throw down with some of the best Warhammer 40K gamers in the region and contribute to a good cause.  When you donate a can of food to Second Harvest at the event, you get can points (1 for veggies, 2 for fruits and soups) that you can spend to bend and break the rules to your advantage – or stop your opponent from doing the same!  Its all in good fun and for a good cause!

Cans – Benefit

1 – Reroll any attack or armor save roll (yours or your opponents) or prevent a reroll (by matching the bid); the cost to use this cheat increases by one every time it is used during a turn

1 – Measure the distance between any two models

2 – Reroll any morale or vehicle penetration roll

3 – Move terrain 5″ before start of game (may only be used once)

3 – Ignore difficult terrain roll (take maximum possible result)

5 – Prevent deep strike scatter (no roll required)

5 – Grant one unit a cover save (usable once per turn)

10 – Force opponent to deploy a reserve or deep striking unit as a standard unit (usable once prior to start of game)

Stop by the forums to read more and respond: http://www.assaultphase.com/assaultphase/?page_id=76/warhammer-40k-1/foodhammer-charity-tournament-pbkw-on-march-13th/#p1904

Last month was a very good tournament.  Lots of new people came out and yet nobody play Tyranids!  Ryan doesn’t count….  The increase made for a very nice prize and bonus to folks.  Let’s pack the house with this one since I’m going to be going to Adepticon next month and will miss the tournament in March. 

- SuTech

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: February 27th.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: 10.00
1850 Point Lists

Prizes: (PBKW Store credit towards GW Merchandise)
1st place: $15+50% of pot.
2nd: $10+35% of pot.
3rd: $5+15% of pot.

Prizes will be rounded to nearest $5.00 increments for sake of organizers’ sanity.

Now for the details!
Scoring will be our normal format with each game worth 20 points.  Certain missions will have secondary objectives that may change from tournament to tournament for a slight boost in points.

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You must have a clean written army list with you.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

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Come out from 5pm to 8pm to paint. Share and learn painting techniques for any type of minature.

From the iTunes store 40K

New in Version 2.0:

* Added the options to re-roll failed to hit and to wound rolls.

* Changed the to hit scores in the vehicle assault section  so that it can calculate the odds against walkers.

* Added probability calculator for scattering

* Added a section for more complex statistics.

A very good piece of software (that is now working MUCH faster on my newer iPhone 3GS) made even better.  Seeing updates to this software is nice.  Much of what you find on iTunes is one hit applications for developers looking for a buck, but rarely update the app.  With that in mind, I’d support a developer that continues to make improvements any day.

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mathhammer-40k/id313256207?mt=8

http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/mathhammer-fantasy/id316675203?mt=8

Also just released by Kevin Timm for Warhammer via iPhone

Rollbot 40K

Rollbot Fantasy

A. Timm Software – Mathhammer 40k – iPhone

I’m not sure how well the Blue Scribes will do in a tournament like Adepticon. I’ve still been working on them none the less. Here i’ve done most painting and some inking. The blue horrors are done and I just need to do some highlights around the disk.

This is in essence part two of my Battle Foam review.  I’ve had all afternoon to dig the models out of the display case and painting area and put them in their slots.  Everything is fitting like a champ.

I previously mentioned that I did not order any of the Battle foam bags.  Not for lack of quality or anything, the Battle Foam bags look great.  But I was looking more for something sturdier even still and relatively secure.  At the last tournament, I spotted Royce laying his Tyranids on top of towels and such into a snazzy looking case his father had given him.  It was a black box with a lock on it made by a company called Idea Stream.  The product line is called Vaultz. 

A quick glance and I realized, the dimensions on this thing look peculiarly like that of my new foam I was thinking about ordering.  With Royce’s permission I measured the inside and it looked like a perfect fit.  The inside dimensions were 12 3/4 X 15/34.  Battle Foam is 12 1/2 X 15 1/2.

I looked online and found the Vaultz Locking Mobile File Chest cheapest at Office Max.  It has roller wheels, a telescoping handle, and two combination locks.  All for only $50.

The Battle Foam trays fit perfectly!  They slide right in with just enough room on the sides to pull the foam trays out of the box that are in the bottom.  It does help that I have the bottom holding a 6 inch tray.  But in total the box will hold about a little more than 10 inches of foam.  Or in my case, a 6 inch, a 3 inch, a 1 inch, and two divider foams.

While it’s made to carry legal size hanging file folders, if you are looking for a secure and ultra protective case for your Battle Foam, this seems to be a great alternative.

As I have bean gearing up for Adepticon, I’ve had to think about more than just lists and play testing them.  I had to actually think about gear itself.  I have been struggling with my current transportation which is both a mixture of a magnetized Tupperware container for my greater daemons and an old Sabol Army Transport case.

It has worked out ok for most of my models for the most part.  But the foam trays have been less than sturdy and I wanted a refresh.  Then I heard about Battle Foam and their custom designed trays.  I looked through the samples on the site a while back and for the most part then, they had some preformed Eldar and Marine stuff.  Not much in the way of Chaos Daemons.  And it was my three Soul Grinders I cared the most about getting protected.  In the Sable case TWICE I have had to do sword repair.  Recently though, they have some good templates for including the winged daemons and Soul Grinders.

I unboxed everything today and the first thing I notice was just how sturdy the foam is.  The trays and sidewalls were at least 30% more rigid than the Sabol, but still soft enough to not cause problems for the models.  There were also kind enough to put the web site domain etched into the case, which is completely awesome to say the least. 

You can see just how tall the Soul Grinder holders are.  A full 6 inches.  My other problem with the Sabol foam trays and the chaos models are spiky bits.  I’m hoping that this thicker and less porous foam will provide them less opportunity to get horns stuck and spikes snapped off.

And now my Soul Grinders are completely covered, even to the sword top.  I did not order a case along with them, I’m not 100% sold on the large cases Battle Foam had.  I would much rather wait until they have a version of the 1520 with wheels and a handle.  Since I just can’t see that on my back, as large as it is.  Overall, this purchase was completely worth it!

Additional note:  I’ve been working on my Blue Scribes model.  I had a crappy version of it before that I didn’t like much.  This work in progress is going to be more in the lines of how Tzeentch can morph a screamer into a disk for his heralds to ride on.

January is going to mark the second year of Assault Phase monthly Warhammer 40K tournaments.  We have all done a great job spreading the word about the monthly tournament, Assault Phase, and Parker Banner Kent and Wayne, the comic and games store where the events are held.  New this year, based on feedback, we will be upping the army lists to 1850 points.  There will also be strippers and pole dancers. OK, not really.

We will be increasing the entrance from $5 to $10 (still a small amount to play an entire days worth of pre planned events).  This additional money will be used to allow for other random awards during the event instead of just 1st, 2nd, and 3d place.  These will be random and up to the tournament organizers and the store owner.  Examples include awarding the biggest loser, best general, sportsmanship, etc.  This will also allow us to use prize support for other events.

Location: Parker Banner Kent Wayne, 8301 Magnolia Estates Dr, Cornelius, NC 28031
Time: January 23rd.  Registration begins at 10am, games begin at 10:30am
Entry Fee: $10.00
1850 Point Lists

Prizes: (PBKW Store credit towards GW Merchandise)
1st place: $15+50% of pot.
2nd: $10+35% of pot.
3rd: $5+15% of pot.

Prizes will be rounded to nearest $5.00 increments for sake of organizers’ sanity.

Now for the details!
Scoring will be our normal format with each game worth 20 points.  Certain missions will have secondary objectives that may change from tournament to tournament for a slight boost in points.

Games will have a strict 2.5 hour time limit.  There will be 1 hour between the 1st and second game, 30 minutes between the 2nd and 3rd game.

You can help us plan by preregistering at Parker Banner Kent and Wayne before the event.

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