Back 2 Base-ix Paint Rack Review

Last night, the replacement parts for my Back 2 Base-ix Paint Rack arrived! The original shipment arrived heavily damaged, but Back 2 Base-ix's brilliant customer service prevailed and I've now got my completed Paint Rack, and I couldn't be happier with the product. Totally worth the wait!

That's product, and I paid AU$55 including postage. There are a bunch of reviews online available already, all of which have been positive (which lead me to my purchase), and this will be more of the same. If you need a paint storage solution, look no further!

The acrylic pieces come with a peel-off protective coating on both sides (to protect from scratching), which is little tricky to get off if you keep your fingernails short - but the wife and I managed to get them peeled and ready for assembly in 10 minutes.

Now, it was just a simple (and somewhat fun) assembly process, following the instructional videos that Back 2 Base-ix provides. The videos are VERY clear and concise, and they build the product in real-time. The music is quite soothing as well, which rounds off the whole construction experience.
The design of the product is brilliant, considering all the pieces are flat-packed sheets of acrylic.

After about 15 minutes (18 minutes if you include receiving a phone call from Mom) my Paint Rack was complete! Sturdy, functional and stylish. It's the pride of my desk, and I've been glowing everytime I look over at it.
No more rummaging around a drawer for my paints like a chump!

Oh, when I purchased the product, there were options for different styles of paint pot - I prefer painting with the Formula P3 paints, but there are also options for your Paint Rack to fit Citadel, Vallejo and other major paint ranges. You also had the choice of different colours for your acrylic pieces too - I chose clear shelves, with a dark grey translucent chassis (although in the photos it comes out looking black).

I think that's all there is to say really - a fantastic product, from a customer-driven company. I couldn't recommend this product more - if you need a paint pot storage solution, grab one of these bad boys (or another stylish variant from their wide range) today! This was actually a birthday present from my two awesome brothers, so of course a special thank you to them!

Sync out.

Mercenaries - Ghordson Basher

It was only when I got to assembling this model that I realised it had a head - for the life of me I don't understand why the house model used by Privateer Press has the head tucked really low, which makes the model look like it's got it's ass up in the air.
Anyways, this is another favorite model from the Mercenaries line, so I had to have it in my army! I'm slowly getting all the photos up, and there are plenty more to come so stick around.

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Mercenaries - Grundback Gunners

And here are my Grundback Gunners, or as they are more affectionately known 'Gun Bunnies'. I think these models are awesome - super cute, yet deadly.
I wish it was feasible to field a whole army of these dudes - they're awesome! I might look at adding one more to my army list for a trio!

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Mercenaries - Madhammer

I really like the character in this warcaster model - and he's the reason I decided to play Mercenaries! I love his HUGE hammer, which would be great to hit things with... if his Buster Cannon wasn't such a devastating ranged weapon!

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Miniature Photography - eBay Style

I mentioned in a previous post that for my birthday I ordered one of these sets from eBay (AU$35 including postage). It arrived during the week, and I finally got the chance to open it up over the weekend.

I've taken photos of my Mercs, and I'm already happy with the small investment I made. The amount of time I spent looking for the right lamp, the right lightbulbs for the lamp, as well setting it up the right distance from the model etc etc made this a great purchase, which I can highly recommend for miniature photography.

I think I'll dedicate an entire weekend to retaking photos of all my models, and reposting them on this blog over the span of a few weeks. I'll be posting the photos of my WM Mercenaries up over the next week - stay tuned!

Sync out.

Broken Dreams

I was really excited to find a package waiting for me when I got home from work today - and it was from Back 2 Base-ix! My Paint rack was finally here!

Alas, my elation turned to disappointment when I opened up my package to find that there were massive cracks and breaks the pieces. Below are the worst of the cracks, but the other pieces included also had splits through them as well.

Looks like I'll have to get back to Back 2 Base-ix for a replacement. I've heard very good things about their customer service, and have ordered other products from them in the past with no issues before.

UPDATE: Within 12 minutes of contacting Back 2 Base-ix, my issue is resolved and replacement parts are on the way. Customer service does not get any better than that.

Hopefully I won't have to wait another 12 days to receive my birthday day present :(
UPDATE: Looks like I won't have to wait that long!

Sync out.

WM/H League - Week 2

Onto Week 2 of the WM/H League at the LGS, Good Games CBD. After my dismal performance last week I studied my models and their cards, as well as reading through some tactica and the few battle reports I could find online - I was locked and loaded and ready to better myself on the battlefield!

This week the league bumped up to 20 points, no Siege Engines (until 30 points) and no Colossals (until 40 points):

• Durgen Madhammer
• Basher
• Steelhead Halberdiers (min)
• Steelhead Halberdiers (min)
• Dougal MacNaile
• Reinholdt
• Thor Steinhammer
• Gunner
• Gunner

Battle Report 4 - Menoth

• Kreoss
• Reckoner
• Redeemer
• Temple Flameguard (min) + UA
• Wracks
• Choir
• Vassal

There were a lot less teething issues and nooby mistakes in this game, and I was quite happy to lose considering my opponent is a wargamer of the highest calibre (and also a super nice guy). On the top of turn 2 he even said something along the lines of "Don't cast that. I'm going to feat next turn and wail on your warcaster, so if you don't need to cast it, you're best to camp the focus." He could have killed me that turn, but because I camped the focus, I lived for another 2 turns! Opponents like this really make learning to play so much nicer!
There wasn't really much to report on this game, and I managed to get a few good licks in before he won by caster kill.

The only thing I really managed to do right was using Durgen's Buster ability Carpet Bomb, combined with Artillerist from Dougal MacNaile, and even using Double Powder Rations on one turn for some extra kick. Oh, and Reinholdt's Reload too!
That was pretty much it... I mismanaged my warjacks (more on that in seperate sections below) and because my Steelhead Halberdiers weren't able to be Primed they weren't of much use (although I think I played them well as tarpit units).

A few notes I'd like to make on Menoth though:

• Menoth's Defender's Ward makes killing infantry with AOE unlikely
• Kreoss' feat is awesome for killing things - clearing a LOS to otherwise protected warcasters, or stomping on infantry and warjacks while they're down.
• Kreoss' Purification nullified Redline and Primed, which are two awesome abilities that would have really liked to use. Denied!

Lessons Learned

Arcing Fire - Durgen's Buster
Arcing Fire - Lets the attacker ignore intervening models (except those within 1" of the target) when drawing LOS. Doesn't mean he can ignore clouds, forest or buildings.
Below is an example of how Arcing Fire on Durgen's Buster is able to target seemingly protected models. The picture on the left shows the table as it is - and under normal circumstances, Kreoss would be safe from ranged attacks.
The picture on the right shows the table after applying the Arcing Fire ability to Durgen's Buster, which gives Durgen has a clear shot on Kreoss. The Basher and the two front-most Flameguard are ignored, but the Dervisher and back-most Flameguard are not as they are within 1" of the target - nonetheless Durgen is able to target Kreoss though the middle of the two models.

Deployment - Getting off to a Good Start

I seem to be really having trouble with my deployments - in my last two games I've managed to deny my own flanks. Both times my opponents deployed first, I saw where they were, yet I still managed to deny my own flanks.

In both instances a large piece of LOS blocking terrain was in the center of the board which threw me off somewhat, so I'll have to make more of an effort to think through my deployment in a way that ensures that all my models are able to fulfil their purpose and function cohesively as an army.
A few general basics to deployment I should learn:

• Do not deploy slow units on the flanks, deploy them centrally to ensure that flank is not denied.
• Deploy long ranged units or faster units on the flanks
• Keep heavy hitting units central, so they threaten more of the table and respond if required
• Keep the warcaster in the middle, to centralise Control Area and Feat
• Attempt to keep ranged units in forests

Battlegroup Organisation
This was my first game with a Jack Marshall, so I knew that I could expect a few bumps here and there.
The first and silliest mistake I made was activating my Gunners before activating Thor! Which meant they couldn't benefit from Thor's abilities and Jack Marshall! Silly silly...
I didn't think that Thor Steinhammer made a good Jack Marshall for my Gunners anyway though - with their range of 12" and Thor's 6" Spray, it meant that Thor needed to advance ahead of them to be pose any offensive threat.
I also found that the Basher with Madhammer didn't play out too well either. Madhammer is a ranged warcaster, and the Basher is very in-your-face melee kind of warjack. With the Basher speeding ahead to engage, and Madhammer staying back to lob his Carpet Bombs, Madhammer was left highly exposed and vulnerable.
So it looks like next week I'll be switching them around - I'll have Thor with the Basher (using his Drive: Pronto ability, as well as Tune Up), and I'll try sitting the Gunners back with Madhammer so they can be a little turret of death.

Sync out.

Birthday Update!

I have been painting like a madman since my last post, and I’ve almost finished off what will be my [WM] Mercs 20 point list for this week’s WM/H League at Good Games CBD, continuing tomorrow night (I'll post on that after the fact).

This weekend was my birthday, and while I did spend a few minutes contemplating my passing youth, I was actually more excited about PRESENTS! Most wargamers know that we are quite difficult to shop for – I know that at any given time I could be focused on any army/faction from any game/system. This makes it hard for friends and relatives to buy me what I really want, and almost as hard to try and slip that subtlety into conversation.

So the system we have for these situations is that everyone just gives me money, and I go off and buy what I want. This seems to work out for everyone, and this year my relatives have actually taken to adding stipulations to what I can do with my birthday money – which is great because it feels like they are adding a little bit more thought to their gifts!

The Paint Rack - Back to Base-ix

My brothers said: “With this birthday money, buy something that you want, but would never buy for yourself because you’d think it was too expensive.”

So something fancy, but unnecessary... I had the perfect thing in mind! I ordered this last week, so it should be arriving any day now.

  

AU$52 including post from the Back-to-Base-ix website

All my paints currently live my desk drawer, and being Formula P3 paints, are a nightmare to sift through to find the right colour. As all the lids of the paints are white, I usually have to lift up each pot one by one to inspect the colour, before finding the one I am looking for. For army painting, I pull out the paints I use frequently, and scatter them across my desk so I don’t have to delve into the drawer to find them again. This gift fits my brothers' criteria nicely, and looks pretty freakin sweet.

Mini Photography Studio

My Dad said: “Buy something that would make your hobby easier.”

Yeah, he's a practical kinda Dad. The paint rack above would has suited Dad’s criteria as well, but one thing that's harder for me to work around is taking photos of my models - this causes me a world more pain than sifting through paints, so this product I found on eBay should do the trick. I know I could make my own lightbox, but I thought Dad (who likes his cameras and gadgets) would like to see me using something like this.

AU$35 including post from eBay

A New Army...

My wife said: “Spend this cash to start a brand new army of your little toys with. You’re not allowed to buy models for an army you already own.”

My wife knows that I like bouncing around game systems and armies/factions within game systems, and that I get a real kick out of painting models for a brand new army for the first time. Given that I’m currently immersed in painting through my [WM] Mercs army for the ongoing League, I’ll hold onto this birthday cash for a time until another army tickles my fancy!

I’m pretty happy with my birthday this year, and although none of this stuff was particularly expensive, the little bit of extra thought my family put into their gifts made their gifts more meaningful. I haven’t actually received anything yet, but I’ll post some quick reviews when I do. Oh, and when the mini-photography studio set comes in, I’ll get around to taking photos of my [WM] Mercs!

Sync out.