Games Day Coverage! #1

With Games Day upon us, me and my buddy Vince quickly drove to the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, IL. We got there are about 9:00 AM and were not surprised to see the waiting area filled with many, many gamers. Compared to Games Day Baltimore there were less unwashed gamers as well! Yay!

"Matt Ward Pride"

The Staff Registration went smoothly. I had to sign a piece of paper promising that I wasn't going to get drunk, etc. at the convention, which was fine by me. I also asked if the club members were supposed to get a T-Shirt and after asking around the lady at the counter gave me one of the Staff shirts which were just like the Games Day 2011 shirts, except a beige color. However as it turned out it was not meant to be. ;( As Joe also went to sign up for his badge he was told that we were not supposed to get any shirt. And I guess he then pointed at me... And then they took my shirt.
It would have been glorious..

There were also a bunch of people from the local Games Workshop store that were there an hour or so before the doors open. It's always nice to see some familiar faces in the crowd and I was pretty excited to see what they would think of the Heroes of Armageddon setup.

Unfortunately, as a Club member I had to leave them in line, for you see - I got to get in early. And for free! *evil laughter*

The Gang!

Inside, me and the HoA crew had like an hour to burn before the horde of gamers was allowed to pass. We spent that time mostly chatting with the vendors, other club members, etc. Me and Joe got to talk with one of the guys that made the Ultramarines movie and he told us that if they are looking to make a second movie and that many people want them to do one about the Space Wolves. However that would require a lot of money because of the effort required to animate so many braids and beards. The guy was really nice and gave us some free Ultramarines T-shirts as well.

And then... the gates opened.
Most of you already know what it is to be waiting for those doors to open while not being trampled by the fans who must reach the Forge World line. This year the fastest guy actually completely missed the line and sprinted past it - some GW employees were even waving their arms, signaling for the crazed fanatic to stop. Personally I didn't even bother..

Being on the other side, though.. It's different. It's refreshing.. relieving. But it also has that whole "Oh Shiiiiiit" vibe to it, maybe because gamers are just that crazy. Oh, and a feeling of pride, of course. The fact that you are contributing and somehow making Games Day a better game and a better day for everyone is exhilarating.

The only club (I assume) event that I participated in was Squighopper Races! Why? Because I had a chance to play it last year and the whole game is so much fun. It captures the spirit of goblins riding squigs and it plays like a game of Blood Bowl but with a bunch of extra cards that allow you to drop banana peels, poke people with a pointy stick, fart.. stuff like that.
Me, Joe and Fritz managed to get in the first round of Squighopper Races but failed to win one of the shiny trophy. There's always next Games Day..

The picture you see above is definitely what won the Vehicle Conversion Contest. It is simply mind-blowing when it comes to the attention to detail, all the rivets and wallets that died for this project. I really want to see this bad boy fully painted and on the tabletop. Imagine it tank-shocking a Reaver Titan.. Wowza! Orkz definitely have the upper hand when it comes to vehicle conversion contest simply because you can afford to be sloppy and very, very random.  

Speaking of random... O_o

The Predator Centipede?

The Monstrous Creature Conversion Contest also had some brilliant entries. With every new Warhammer Fantasy Battle army book we see more and more crazy big ass creatures and this is also reflected in this years conversions. There were a lot of models using Tomb King parts from the Necrosphinx. There are even more insane plastic and resin kits on the way as well, so expect to see some phantasmagorian convertions next year as people finally start to use the resin Finecast model range (Cockatrice, Black Dragon, etc.) and the myriad of other beasts (Ogre Kingdoms!) in their conversions. 


Heroes of Armageddon

WHO...IS...DEADLIEST?

People staring in awe at the Heroes of Armageddon table were definitely the highlight of the day for many of us. It was nice to see little kids commenting on the fluff and their excitement to see their favorite special characters on the table. Throughout the day I asked a lot of people which model they would like to be in the conflict for Hive Hades and many chose the Blood Angels snipers or some of the distant Heavy Weapon teams from the Steel Legion. Which was lame.
It's all about the orkz, bros. Why would you choose the Khorne-worshiping pretty boys in red or the oomies who would rather hide in their metal boxes and shoot you with flashlights rather than putting up a good fight? Pfffft. :P

It's all about Sizorfist, guys. Look at him.  

I bet there were at least a thousand pictures taken of the Heroes of Armageddon throughout the day. At one point I was explaining to this family all about the event, all about the fight and the factions involved. The family I was talking to just randomly decided to attend Games Day - without knowing anything about 40k, Games Workshop or tabletop strategy games!!! And at the same time they were ecstatic about everything - the models, the table, the charity itself. The children were asking who was going to win and the dad was having the time of his life taking pictures from every angle imaginable. It felt great. For a second I felt like a Games Workshop employee and I bet I could have sold them like 2 Assaults on Black Reach, teehee.

MiniWarGaming interviewed Dr. Jawaballs, Doctor of Love about the Heroes of Armageddon initiative and the charity aspect of the event. You can see the video below:

Here are some more pictures from HoA:

The Golgotha by Miniature Wargame Conversions

Wazzdakka Gutsmeck by John Shaffer

Ghazghkull Mag Uruk Thraka by Mathieu Fontaine

They call me...... Tim?

Another highlight of the day for me was finally meeting Tim from Miniature Tim. You guys know him. On his blog he had announced that he was going to Games Day and that he was also going to wear a white T-shirt with his blog's logo. God, it was so hard for me to locate him, but eventually I did and I definitely felt like a creep following him as he was having a phone conversation. Hey, I didn't want to miss him, it was find to find him as it was. Tim was a great guy and I guess I just knew that the blogosphere was losing an important member when he was on blogging hiatus. Glad you're still posting, man. Keep up the good work and good luck with next year's Golden Demon entry!

My only regret with the Heroes of Armageddon was that we never got to play with the models. It would have been such a bloody, fast-paced massacre! I know, I know.. They models were not ours anymore and ti would have been a clusterfuck and a half. But that's something to think of for next year. If there is a charity event in the making the models shouldn't just sit there, they should be played with. Oh, did I mention that HoA got Best Theme for Club Tables? Yarrrr...

Jawaballs also made us proud by winning the Banner Contest with his Armageddon banner. Second year in a row. Congrats, Jawaballs! I'm still determined to convince my store to gather some moneycashdollars so we can commission a banner! It's true that the competition this year was barely there. There were a ton of entries at Games Day Baltimore, but I guess people thought that bringing a painted piece of fabric to the Windy City was not the best idea, huh?
What are you going to surprise us with next year, Jawaballs?  You've set the bar so high.. Can you beat it?

Waaaaaaagh!!!!!

Mike Cho from MiCho Miniatures also got an award - A Silver Demon for his Bloodcrusher of Khorne in the 40k Large Monster category! Mike painted an Assault Squad and a Storm Raven (the one with the sweet angel wings on it!!!) for the Blood Angels army from Heroes of Armageddon. I'm certain that he could have easily gotten an award for his Storm Raven as well! Mike is a very nice guy and a skilled painter, so watch out for him, guys. Also watch out for his swords.. On the picture to the right Mike is screaming WAAAAAAAGH! as best as he can... I guess passed... for a goblin. No Lore of the Big Waaagh for you, Cho. You get the Little Waaaagh..

All of the awards together! Shiny!

Alright.. This post is gettin 'uge, so I'll have to stop writing for now!


To be Continued..