Getting back on track

Let's return to the main event!

The painting of the arena is basically done, so there are some details that need to be taken care of.

Such as the pillars!  A nice big batch of pillars.  There were a few colors laid on on the palette... a light a middle tone and a dark.  Working quickly, I rotated the pillar in one hand as the brush moved across it with the other.  I was able to keep the paint wet enough that I could blend the colors together right on the surface.

The track is now fully painted, and the Emperor's platform is now in place.  There is a metal sheet on there, for structural stability and strong magnetic hold.

There was one other element that platform was supposed to hold (and hide), and that was one of my under-cabinet lights.  This would get some light on the inside of the arena in the darkness of the tournament room.

Ironically, the room would be even darker as day turned into night with the extreme storms.

You can also see the finishing post in place for the first time.  The wolf statue and the column were both magnetized.

Just about ready to get the columns glued in place.

Before the upper levels could be glued in, I had to do some freehand work.

And here it is.  You can see the mosaic and the patterns drawn out on a few of the surfaces.  Look familiar? It is on as many of the bases as I could replicate, particularly the troops and bikes, etc.  

I used a permanent marker to create it, which was perfect.  It would have been extremely difficult to work out with a brush, given all the walls that would make the angle very awkward.  Time was also very short, and this took no time at all!

With the freehand complete, the upper level could finally be put in place!!

There was more freehand that I would have liked to try, but nobody would have seen it.  I sort of learned that lesson on the Tomb Kings board.

Check it out!!  The painting is done.  I added some flock to this to get a hint of colors that were not present on the board.  It also gave a bit of texture.  I will try and get some images of the army on the board for you.

My plan is to put the army on here again, and take some video.  A little practice using the microphone for voice overs.  I don't expect to do that very much for the painting videos, but I want to be ready just in case. :-)

A brief interlude...

I am going to step away from the painting the the Basilica Canus for the moment.  I was able to dig up all the images I could from the WFB tournament and process them.

There are not as many as I would have liked, but let's just say that some of the rounds were finished in a prompt fashion.  In a game where 1st or 2nd turn wipeouts are common, things like this can happen.

Here are a few shots of the army on the board right after I walked into the room...

This is the only shot I have of game one.  The Heirophant died on the first shot of the first turn, the skull catapult blew itself up on my first turn, and it was all downhill from there.  There is some kind of magic banner for the orcs that negates ALL magic items, which lead to the King getting wiped out easily in one turn.  That was the clincher.

The next game was the only one of the tournament to go more than 4 turns.  It was also the only victory for the Tainted Pharaoh.  This one was vs Ogres, as you can see.

There were some pretty dramatic instances of catastrophic rolls for the Ogres, which ultimately lead to their downfall.  Lots of whiffs on critical charges, leadership tests, and so on.  The biggest early moment was the casket taking out the mounted cannon of the ogres, which allowed the Heirotitan to survive.  You will see how important that was later...

The card in the middle of the table behind the chariot unit was the other big game changer.  I was able to get the Speed of Light spell on various units all game long.  This was vital in keeping them around.  Before this set of games, the secondary priest was always a Death Mage.  Of course, one has to be fortunate enough to roll that spell, and so on, even at level 4.

An example of Speed of Light in action.  You will also notice the Titan on the left engaging the big monster near the casket.  That purse fight would continue for at least 3 turns.

Sneaky snakes vs some fat guys...

King of the hill!

This view shows very few ogres.  Where the casket (and several other units and monsters) used to be is a big void.  That's what can happen when the casket blows up, as it did.  Everything in a 12 inch radius gets nailed with D6 S6 hits, no armor saves of any kind.  That blast took out the Titan, a bunch of ogres, and the Stonetusk!

This win put the TK at table 30, against lizards.  Unfortunately, there was not much that TK can do against them, given the leadership characteristics of the scaley folk.  They failed very few checks, while the TK failed lots of LD 10 restraint rolls, and so on.  I believe I failed 3 in a row at one point on a single turn.

This lead to the Tomb Kings being in very bad spots, and thus losing the game.

This was an interesting item which a loyal Wappellian brought up to me when the day was done.  Some of you might recognize this as the skirmisher base for my chameleon skinks.

However, this was not made by me!  This was created by a blog follower using one of the step by step tutorials!  How cool is that?