Finecast

   A few weeks ago I attended a small tournament 1500 pt tournament.  I ended up taking second place and as a prize I received credit to the store that hosted the tournament.  I decided to pick up my very first Finecast model.

This Vampire is a very simple model to put together so I figured it would be a good first test for me on Finecast.  If any of you reading this blog do not know what finecast is, you either are not a table-top war-gamer or you have been living under a rock for a LONG time.  Put simply, Finecast was touted as the "end-all and be-all" of model medium.  Better than plastic and better than metals, finecast was supposed to be the choice material for models, but...it didn't quite work out that way, now did it?
      See, when finecast was released it had a lot of problems and was quickly labeled as "failcast" by those not to happy with Games Workshop for making the change over.  So here is my first finecast model.

As you can see from these two pictures, this model has a lot of flash on it, particularly on the sword and on the very top of the vampire.  I also inspected a lot of other fincast models spanning different ranges and they all seemed to have a lot of flash on them.  this seems to be a common thing in finecast.

  Now, flash isn't a big deal, it comes off easy and you usually don't know it was ever there after the model is assembled and painted.  The bigger problem is if there are air bubbles and miscasts in the model.  This has been a problem since the Fincase release.  I inspected the model and could not find any miscasts or air bubbles.  the sword was even straight.  Win for me.

     I was able to get the flash removed from the model very easily.  I normally hate scraping mold lines and flash off of a model, but finecast is much softer and the flash came off so easily.  not a problem

It even came off of the sword very easily and no damage to the sword its self. very easy to work with and very quick.

And here it is fully assembled.  it was also very easy to glue together, much easier than plastic or metal.  in conclusion, I loved working with finecast.  I think it is very good medium when you get a good model with no defects.  The problem is that people have been getting defective casts and that pisses them off.

What We Geeks Listen To

As an avid Warhammer player and an enthusiast of the hobby that it includes, I just thought I would take some time to discuss the Podcasts that help all of us keep on trudging while we scrape off mold lines or put on one more highlight.

   I first discovered the Warhammer podcast, as most people probably did, with Jeff Carol and Podhammer.  Though Podhammer has been in hiatus for quite some tome now, Jeff inspired many new podcast to come forth.  The show went through it's ups and downs, but i loved every moment of that show.  I will always love Podhammer for what it has brought me, hours and hours of entertainment.  Jeff Carol is the father of the Warhammer Podcast, and for that, I am very thankful.

    You see, I work at a job that has me working alone for much of the day, and were it not for the podcast's that I listen to, I would have god mad ages ago.  Were it not for the Warhammer podcast's we would not have the warhammer community as strong as it is today.  Through these podcast's I have connected with people from all over the country and the world.  I would like to take a moment and recognize some of my favorite podcast's.

Garagehammer- the first American Warhammer Podcast that I listened to with two GREAT hosts...well one great host and one great former host.  Dave, you are a hobby machine and you inspire me to push through my own Vampire army.  If you can do 200 zombies, I can do 60.  Chris, You are such an amazing podcaster and your voice will be missed.  you two have gotten me through countless long days at work.  GREAT PODCAST!!!  Also, I love the fact that it is "family friendly."

Ohiohammer- another great podcast, but amazingly what got me hooked on this one was Andy's love for College football and the Ohio State Buckeye's.  I guess it just helps me justify the fact that I am a HUGE college football fan my self and my passion for the University of Utah Utes is at least as great as Andy's love for OSU.  If he can miss tournaments to watch OSU, then I can miss a tournament for a Utah game.  Most of my geek friends don't understand, but I know Andy does.  This podcast has been great so far, and I expect great things in the future.  The cast works well together, and has given me a lot of laughs.  GREAT CAST.

Wisco Dice- Great insight from the two hosts.  I love the "Consey's Rant" segment and have always agreed with him.  They always have great main topic, and tend to stay on-topic more than some of the others.  Also a GREAT CAST!

The Deployment Zone:  This cast is great for me because it is more "local" for me.  Most of the other casts are centered in the Midwest, and this one is based in Oregon, much closer to Utah, thus their meta game is much closer to my own.  Brian always has great hobby advice, and Josh and John always have great info for all to have.  I also love the "Diary of a Bad Gamer", it reminds me of...well, me!  GREAT CAST!

These four are my favorite and have been posted in no particular order because, well, I love them all!  Thanks for all that you podcasters do for the gaming community, even if you weren't mentioned here, you are awesome!!

Do Lizards Eat Cake?

A little over a month ago was my 29th birthday.  I had a very good time.  A tradition in my family that has really taken hold the last few years is that of the Birthday Dinner.
   My wonderful sister took it upon her self to start cooking everybody their favorite meal and a cake on their birthday.  Now, my sister is a wonderful cook and great at cakes and she made this one just for me.
   She typically makes cakes that reflect the interests and hobbies for the birthday boy or girl.  She got my wife to steal some of my models and dice to put on top(I may have to re-evaluate my security system).  You should see some of the cakes she has made for others in the past.

My 28th Birthday (Big Cubs Fan)

Her oldest daughters 12th birthday

Her third child's 7th birthday

Our fathers birthday March 2012

   Everything on these cakes is made by her.  That's right, the Cubs Jersey, the Drum n' Feather logo on my dad's cake and the everything else all done by her hand.
   I just though I would take a moment to show you how great my sister is and how awesome my Birthday cake was!

Game Stores

Ok, I am posting this out of frustration and a bit of anger, so just bear with me for a min.  I want to talk about game stores and how they can help, and hurt themselves.

  First, i should start with a little back ground.  In 1998, I started playing Warhammer: Fantasy.  My parents got me the 5th edition starter box for Christmas, and soon I was deep into building and painting a High Elf army.  I Read and re-read the rule book several time.  I tried to play some games with my friends.  but try as I might, I couldn't get the rules down.  So I went (rode the bus for two hours) to a game store in a nearby game store called Games People Play.
   While there I was treated well, I learned the game and made friends that I still have today.  It was a great time.  I could be found there every Friday night, except during Football season when i had games.  That was Where i made the jump from 5th to 6th editions, and if you thought the jump from 7th to 8th was big, you 'aint seen nothin'.
   Anyways, this was where I played until I turned 19 (2002) and decided to serve a 2 year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.  I served my mission faithfully in Taipei Taiwan and when I returned, I could not wait to start gaming again.  But my beloved game store had changed.
   They had moved locations (not a big deal) and had fired the manager.  They had stopped getting regular shipments of new things from GW, and by all accounts were on their way to being a full blown toy store rather than a gaming store.
    At this point I moved north, to Ogden, Utah to attend school there.  games People Play was an Hour and a Half away, I had no car and was pretty much stuck on campus.  from 2005 to 2007, I did not play a game of Warhammer.  These were dark times indeed.  at this point, something interesting happened.
    I had moved back to my home town and was playing in a regular D&D group, playing every Sunday night.  In early 2007, two of our number moved out of state, and two of our number were arrested.  This left me and my friend Big Game as the only two law-abiding players in our group, so I took to the internet.
    Games People Play had basically ran off all their gamers, so i knew that wasn't an option, so I went to the only other game store I knew, Dragons Keep.  I went on their forums and pleaded my case.  My friend and I needed a D&D group badly, and the Keep answered.  We went for our first gaming session and i saw people playing WARHMMER!  My heart jumped, I couldn't believe it.  There, in front of my own eyes were people actually playing my beloved warhammer.  I found out when their regular game night was and from that point on I was a regular.  Not only was I a regular, but I took the reigns and started leading the group.
   We started running tournament, campaigns, escalation leagues....anything you can think of related to Warhammer, we did it.  these were truly great times.  but it would not last.  In late 2009 I met and started dating my future wife.  in March 2010 we were married (quick, i know).  With my new family beginning (my wife got pregnant is September 2010) and work and school, i didn't time to go to The Keep every week, then they started shooting themselves in the foot.
   They fired the very employee that reached out to me and my friend and got us coming in. He was very great at helping whoever came in the store, teaching anybody every game they had there.  I know he had his faults, but all the customers liked him.  Then they started moving their game nights.  Warhammer went from Monday to Tuesday.  From Tuesday to Wednesday.  From Wednesday to finally Saturday, where it died.  the problem with having a regular game day on Saturday is that is the day you run your events.  Half of the Saturdays we couldn't play Warhammer because all the tables were being used for other game systems tournaments.
    this Brings us to today.  the Warhammer community at Dragons keep is non existent.  The officially have "Games-Workshop" night on Thursdays combining both 40k and Fantasy.  Every time I go in on a Thursday, there is no one there playing.  they used to run a Warhammer Tournament every other month, but they refuse to advertise for it.  the most they do is, if you buy something for Fantasy they say "oh, were having a Warhammer Tournament Saturday.....if we have enough people."
   Then there is the fact that the employees there are just plain rude.  My wife has gone in there several time to buy something for me for my birthday, christmas, fathers day and in each event, she had to call me to get the help she needed.  she was totally ignored when she walked in.  On a different occasion my friend Big Game went in to pick up the new Empire book.  When he was checking out the employee said "I thought nobody played Warhammer anymore."
   Well, Dragons Keep, nobody plays Warhammer THERE anymore.  The above examples are just a few of the things that have made us feel unwelcome.  We were tired of being thrown around, pushed aside and ignored.  We were tired of seeing every other game system get supported but ours, so we found a home where we were wanted.  Just a short drive to the north and I found a thriving Warhammer community playing at BlackFyre Games.
   Here, on a Tuesday night, were at least 14 players playing Fantasy.  You know why Dragons Keep?  A few simple things. 1) They are nice!  They acknowledge every person to walk through the door.  They ask if you need help and help you if you do.  The go out of their way to make sure your experience in their store is a good one.  2)  They Advertise.  Now, they are not using every thing they have available to do so, but at least they advertise.  they have signs in their store, they post on facebook and twitter and they e-mail.  Guess what, people show up to their tournaments.  3) They support all their games equally.  Yes, one game might not be as popular as the next, but that doesn't mean they don't deserve prize support for their tournaments.
    In conclusion, Dragons Keep, you were good to me for a while, but then you started to make decisions that hurt you.  I even wrote you e-mails, called and talked in person.  I told you my concerns, offered you suggestions and help.  but now i am done.  I have found a new place where I am accepted and wanted.  All I can do is Pray BlackFyre doesn't go the way of Games People Play and Dragons Keep.