Project Basecoat (Snowpacalypse!!)

[hodge]

Project Basecoat goes magnetized!

I have been working on magnetizing my army the last couple of days, figured I'd share the process. I recently swung by my local Office Depot and picked up two packs of these:



Nifty little magnetized business card backs. They're cheap and seem to be pretty durable. I picked up two packs for under $10, that should more than cover the movement trays in my Empire army.

The magnets are nice and flexible, perfect for cutting with a hobby knife, or like I did, just a pair of scissors.



Once I had them all cut to size to fit the movement tray, I just peeled off the paper backing, applied super glue to the sticky side and glued it down. The sticky back made it plenty easy, since I didn't have to hold on and wait for it to dry.



After every piece was glued on:



Finally, a rare earth magnet was glued to the bottom of each infantry model. Probably a little redundant, but I had the magnets and they seem to hold pretty well. Not super tight, but well enough that the models do not slide around.



As of right now I have about 3/4 of the army magnetized. The units that I have to finish still are the Huntsmen, the 2nd unit of Handgunners, and the unit of Pistoliers.

Thanks for looking!

Peace!

[hodge]

Ok folks. It's been a bit, but here's a quick update. I'm actually just getting ready to run off and get another game in with the list.

"The Box"



What's happened since my last update?

Finished magnetizing the movement trays, just need to get a few more rare earth magnets for my Pistoliers.

Finished base coating the first unit of 30 Swordsmen.

Finished base coating the great cannon and crew.

Painted/highlighted/dry brushed the bases of the second unit of 30 Swordsmen and the unit of 10 Huntsmen.

Assembled and magnetized a new 5x6 movement tray for the Greatswords.

Alright. Next week I'm hoping to base coat the first rank of the second unit of Swordsmen and possibly paint/highlight/dry brush the bases of the Greatswords and Pistoliers.

That's it for now, thanks for looking/following!

Peace.

[Erik Lindley]

Looking good Brian!

I am glad to see someone is making headway :>

One question, do you not see problems with polarity when you apply magnets to both the base and the model? Seems I remember having that issue when I did it.

-Erik

[hodge]

Thanks for commenting Erik.

You know, I did not have the realization that polarity might be an issue until I was almost done gluing magnets to the bases of all my models. Luckily, it doesn't seem to be much of an problem. They do not have that super strong hold, but it keeps them from sliding off, or shifting around when they are in the car. But, can I pick up every unit, turn them upside down and have them all stay? No, but just about. I only have a few units that lose one or two models when I give them that test. Fortunately I do not have any units of all metal models.

Here's an example.

My Greatswords:





They work out well, because I used a nice sized magnet, however one of my Swordsmen units used a different type and they're having problems passing the flip test.

All in all, they have done what I wanted. I can prop them on funny angles in a game and they don't fall out of their movement tray while traveling.

Thanks for asking.

[powerposey]

I just wanted to say thank you for the tip on using the business card magnets. Bought 50 for $13 at Staples. I needed something to magnetize my cavalry and 40mm square bases easier. I just cut to fit, peeled back the paper, and stuck them on my pistoliers. The cards are 50mmx90mm so you can fit 3 cav bases on one card. I use metal sheets on my movement trays, and the pistoliers stick great on it. I use the same magnets as you do for my infantry.

[hodge]

powerposey, thanks for looking. I'm glad I could help, and I hope they work out well for you.

Updates!

No photo's tonight unfortunately

But what I have accomplished since last update is this.

Decided what to assemble next. 10 Knights with cavalry hammers.
Painted, highlighted, and dry brushed the remaining bases in the army. That includes the Greatswords, the Pistoliers, and the Helstorm Rocket Battery.
Began base coating the next five models on my schedule which is the command rank for the next unit of Swordsmen.

That's about it, nothing too thrilling, but its progress. I'll post an updated pic of the box later.

Peace!

[hodge]

Updates!

Finished base coating the first rank of the swordsmen.

Assembled and filled gaps in my new plastic wizards.

Check it.

The Box



Here's the wizards. The one with the crescent wizards staff is the Wizard Lord who will take life, and the other is my metal mage. Lastly is the Engineer.



So, I'm breaking one of my rules. I'm going to take these to a tourney (tomorrow at the Chicago Bunker) with no painting requirement. Everything is primed except for the BsB so I don't feel too horrible about it. I'll let you know how it goes. My record with them so far hasn't been stellar, so wish me luck.

Peace!

[hodge]

Yesterday I had the pleasure of playing three games in an ACon primer at the Chicago Battle Bunker. I was able to use my Empire since there was no painting requirement. I had an awesome time and played against three great opponents. We had a decent turnout when you consider the turnout most "bunker run" tourneys get, which is close to none. Alex G. took the helm earlier this week and managed to get the attendance up to 14 players.

I went 1-2, not fantastic but considering how many games I've had with the list I'll take it. My last game went from a massive victory to a minor loss around turn 4 because of a tactical error on my part, but I won't complain, I learned a lot from it. In my first game I snagged the full compliment of points 25, my second I earned 11 putting me over what most got for a draw, and my third I earned 12 once again earning more than some did for a draw. So, when the final tallies were in I placed 4th out of 14. I'm very happy with the result. Is the list ACon worthy? No, but it has potential.

Here's the list I brought:

Empire General w/Laurels of Victory, Holy Relic, and a Great Weapon
Wizard Lord w/Dispel Scroll and Shroud of Magnus
BSB w/Armor of Metoric Iron and Sword of Might
Battle Wizard w/Seal of Destruction
Engineer

2x 30 Swordsmen w/Full command
2x 10 Handgunners
10 Huntsmen

1 Great Cannon
1 Mortar
29 Greatswords w/Full Command and Banner of Eternal Flame
5 Pistoliers w/Musician

1 Helblaster Volley Gun

I'll post some pics and a little battle report later. Like I said I had a blast, I learned a ton about the list, and gained some more energy to see the project through.

[Tom McClure]

Jan 30, 2011 10:21:41 GMT -5 hodge said:

Is the list ACon worthy? No, but it has potential.

Nice work! It has been a few years since I have played at Adepticon. So I am trying to figure out what I should take as well. Can't wait to hear what you are considering changing and what was lacking.

[Chris M.]

Wow really good idea on the magnets. Army is lookin good too.

[hodge]

Thanks for the comments guys.

@chris, thanks man. I was bummed you couldn't make it out to the bunker tourney. I was waiting to see what project you decided to bring.

@tom, thanks brother. The tweeks so far are small. I'm trying to stay away from bringing the big nasties in my usual 2200 list; steam tank, war altar, gun line, things of that nature. What I need to get in somehow is a warrior priest or another unit of pistoliers.

The snowpacalypse is helping my schedule out a bit. I'm getting a head start on base coating my second unit of swordsmen in between working on stuff around the house and getting some school work done.

Thanks again guys.

[Chris M.]

I was bringing Daemons. I had almost everything bascoated.... not three color though. I really wanted to get there but I was so sick... I actually slept all day that day! Glad you had fun out there. I'm gonna get down to the march 12 tourney at the bloomington store. I'm hoping to see some of you down there.

[hodge]

@chris, that stinks man. Well, I don't know if I'll be able to make it down to the Aerie. It sounds like its filled up and I was planning on bringing two guys with me. Oh well. We'll have to get a game in sometime before Acon.

Updates

Snowpacalypse 2011 helped Project Basecoat move along quite well. I had two days off from school because of the road conditions and such. So, in between grading, wedding planning, and shoveling I managed to throw some paint on my second unit of Swordsmen. I ended up getting 25 Swordsmen base coated, every color except black. A huge amount of painting considering my usual speed. Thank you blizzard.

"The Box"



So, only thing completed from last time is the swords.

Right now I'm having a hard time deciding what to assemble next. I think I change my mind daily. While listening to podcasts and painting I keep going back and forth between a unit of 10 Knights with cavalry hammers or a unit of 30 Flagellants. These two units would take my list in two very different directions but I could see having a use for each. I just need to bite the bullet and get cracking.

Who knows...

Thats it for now. Thanks for looking.