[Weekly Top X] One Grind Or Another

Back at work, and already counting the working days until the next half term (21 at the time of writing; 19 by the time you read this). We'll be a little light on editorial this week, largely because I don't have all that much to say for myself for a change. Let's skip right to the Top X, eh?


Bugger me sideways but this display board on The Back 40K is good. I tend to experience pangs of guilt and shame when shuffling up to tournaments with my paint-stained tea-tray as it is (display boards and long train journeys don't really mix), given the number of people who've produced multi-tiered scenic wedding cakes with hand-carved slots for every warjack, but the provision of a four-part diorama for an entire team's armies, which to my eyes looks big enough to play an admittedly rather imbalanced game over... that's something else. My ghast. She is flabbered.

I See Lead People has some beautiful things to show us too, in this case a glorious Raven Guard army, complete with objective markers and other useful tokens. Put this on a super shmexy display board and you're laughing.

If you're interested in achieving similarly gorgeous effects on your nerd game miniatures, Coloured Dust has got you covered with this neat tutorial on how to use a spangly dark steel pigment and do wonderful, wonderful things with sci-fi weaponry. For those on my end of the painting spectrum ("git 'er dun!"), iWargame has sourced a saucy replacement for the sadly-mourned, all-encompassing Devlan Mud (good job too, 'cause mine's started to rot and Hark won't actually let me open the pot indoors any more, it smells that bad...).

That just leaves the small matter of the play aids, and BDS40K is here for you with a quick and simple route to getting those objective markers, status trackers and other useful thingummybobs down and on the board. Plus, you'll have to drink things that come in bottles with metal caps. That can't be bad, can it?

The perfect fusion of board manufacture and play aid, however, is achieved this week by The Aspiring Resurrectionist, who's working on a themed board or two for Malifaux, and showing the heart of a true skirmish gamer by looking for ways to build in the status trackers and generally keep clutter out of the play area. It warms me cockles greatly, so it does, and makes me sincerely regret that the Castle von Von doesn't really have room for that sort of thing. (It barely has room for us...)

Veering away from the hobby side of things now: 3++ Is The New Black has prepared and distributed a helpful guide to the welter of acronyms with which we discourse hounds tend to discuss the miniature wargaming hobby's poster boy. Leaving aside the... heated debate, shall we say, which must have inspired this post and continues to seethe and sputter in the comments section, this is actually a neat idea - while most of the acronyms and nicknames are comprehensible in isolation, especially if you know what you're talking about, the sheer number of them that I've seen used in some people's army lists, tactical tips and general 40K discussion can render them a little bit overwhelming and a little bit harder to grasp. There's nothing wrong with specialised terminology, but there's nothing wrong with glossing and accessibility either.

I'm always into identifying strongly with characters, and Im Memorian features something inspirational in that line; be sure to check out the short essay on different Inquisitorial styles and achieving contrasts in fanfiction while you're there, or just marvel at the collection of visual representations that Karri has to offer.

Mr. Frontline has broken the surface again, just to let us know that he's not dead; he wants you to share your stories of how blogging's helped you out and kept you going, and while I'm preparing my contribution, I think you should go and compose one of yours. Do it now. I'll be here when you get back.