Hobby Progress Report: Railhead Rumble

 So I’ve been in a mad dash painting the last couple weeks for my first regional 40K tournament, Railhead Rumble! All told, I converted 2 Hive Tyrants, out-fitting them with a good proxy for Twin-Linked Devourers from the Tyrannofex kit. I’ve also assembled 2 Hive Crones, 2 Exocrines, 2 Tervigons and 36 Termagants and got them to a similar quality in paint as well as based all of the models. I’ve not coated any of the models as they’re all still WIP, but hopefully they won’t get too chipped in travel and during the event. I’ve got a force I’m proud to play with this weekend!

Quick Tip: Magnetized Wound Counters

This isn’t an original idea, by a long shot as extra models have been used as wound counters for almost as long as there has existed miniature wargaming, but I wanted to use it for my Tyranids as having a die sitting on their base is not aesthetically pleasing and can lead to arguments on whether you’re counting up on wounds taken or down on wounds received (but honestly people, why would you do anything but count down?).

So, in order to do this wound counting that no opponent could be confused by, I decided to use Ripper models as my Monstrous Creatures’ wounds. That along with 1/4" by 1/16" magnets and a strong adhesive like Gorilla Glue and you’re in business.
 

The first thing you want to do is test which way the magnets are drawn to one another by stacking two together. Then, separate the magnets and glue one to the bottom of your wound marker. If using Gorilla Glue, be sure to lightly wet the surface of the magnet which will be connecting to the bottom of the wound marker before putting the glue on it. Then place the marker in a manner so it will not fall off the magnet as it is drying.

Your next step is to glue the underside of the base for the Monstrous Creature model. Gluing to the underside of the base serves two purposes. The first is that you don’t have a tall stack of magnets showing on top of the base. The second reason is this will reduce the risk of the magnet tearing away from the base through use, as when you remove the wound marker from the magnet attached to the base that magnet will not be pulling away from its adhesion surface. Once you’ve placed the magnet in the glue, if your marker has already dried, you can place it opposite the magnet you’re gluing on the top side of the base to hold the magnet in place until it dries.

After the glue has dried, I generally wait a good 3 hours before even attempting to remove the wound marker, you should paint the magnet so as to disguise it and not ruin the aesthetic. So far I’ve only painted black around the magnets of the models I’m taking to Railhead Rumble, but eventually I will add paint to make it blend with the base itself. The end result is easily removable wound markers that enhance the look of your Monstrous Creature models and give you an easy method of keeping track of the wounds on said Monstrous Creature.

What to Do With Your Old Army

So now that you’ve begun your journey with a new army, you may find your old army is just sitting on a shelf or languishing in a stack of foam. There’s no reason your army couldn’t be doing something more!

One of the first thing you should consider is whether you plan to play the army again. Perhaps there were models you wanted to add, but never got around to. Or maybe there was a new formation released that changed how you think of the role of a particular unit in your army. As always, careful thought at this stage can prevent a hasty decision. I’ve talked with many players who lamented the fact they played an army, switched forces and got rid of the original army only to want to play them again a year or two down the road. So take a good, long look at all the money, time and talent you’ve invested in your original army before deciding to unload it.

If you can’t see yourself playing your first army again, one of the best ways to give it new life is to use it as a tool to get somebody else into the hobby of miniature wargaming. It can be daunting to start a time-consuming hobby such as ours, but if you have models already assembled and painted you’re not going to use, you may find it easier to convince a buddy to try the game out. I’m not suggesting you give your hard work away for free. Perhaps your friend has something in his possession you would be willing to trade your original army for. Trading among friends has two benefits as it allows you to expand your player base with somebody you already know and enjoy spending time with, as well as gives you access to the army should you ever change your mind and don’t want to have to re-purchase the models new. You could, hopefully, trade again and get them back! Regardless, there is something wonderful in seeing a buddy get enjoyment from running the models you put together and painted and knowing your old Champions are still seeing play, even if you’re not the one playing them.

If you don’t know anybody in your local scene willing to take them off your hands, you should give serious thought to selling your army. Those models you lovingly assembled and painted might be able to finance additions to your new forces. Even better, as with trading your army, they can be a great start to the hobby for a new player! The pitfalls of this, especially if you’re selling on eBay or Craig’s List, is that shoppers on those sites want to make a deal, so you’ll likely be getting less than you paid retail. For some, already painted/based models actually cheapen the worth of the force to the potential buyer as it means time will need to be spent removing paint, bases, and possibly components to get the army to work in the specific way the buyer may require. Keep that in mind, but know what your rock bottom line is. If you can’t let your 2,000 point Chaos Space Marine army go for less than $500, it’s better to re-list an auction than to let it go at a loss you cannot bear.

Those are simply two options for ways to keep your old army active in the 41st Millennium. Though, if you’re like me, you’ll not be able to bring yourself to do such a thing. If you’re fortunate enough to have the space, creating a display cabinet for your forces can be worthwhile. Just don’t let them sit idle too long. Hopefully, if you decide to keep your army, the day will come when you’ll want to through them feet-first into battle again!