Better Know A Blogger: Part 55- The WoffBoot Chronicles

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Stylus and Kraken from the WoofBoot Chronicles.

This is an unusual one this week, as the questions feature answers from both writers of the blog. The WoofBoot Chronicles features writers from Wales and Sweden, a very international blog with two great points of view.

I was first drawn to the WoofBoot chronicles for the fantastic written battle reports that you can find there. Their battle reports feature plenty of written details, great photos of the action and turn overview maps. If you are a fan of the battle reports on St Andrews Wargaming, you will most likely enjoy these battle reports too!

On top of that, you will find some great hobby content, dioramas and reviews.

Here are the answers to my questions:

The WoffBoot Chronicles is a gestalt entity that simultaneously exists in Wales and Sweden. So you’ll be getting two different sets of answers, much in the way we write out battle reports. 

I, Stylus, will be writing in text as plain as stale BelVita 

Whereas I, Kraken, I’ll just go with plain Bold. 

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I was ten years old when HeroQuest came out. Space Crusade followed the next year, and shortly after that, my first copy of White Dwarf. The rest is history. 

I was eleven when HeroQuest hit, but it was too late for me by then – I’d already played Space Hulk at a friend’s house. Much to my parents’ dismay, it was downhill after that. 

Better Know a Blogger: Part 54- Redtoof's Mostly 40k Blog

Today's Better Know a Blogger features Dan from Redtoof's Mostly 40k Blog. 

Dan started his blog earlier this year, and I have been a continuous reader and follower since I discovered it on the 40,000 blogs Facebook page.

On Redtoof's Mostly 40k blog, you can find a great selection of content, including battle reports, hobby updates and codex reviews. He's also been featuring on a number of video battle reports recently, including a great game with his Tyranids against Winters SEO.

A great recent article was on tournament preparation, featuring some great advice on what to do when you are getting ready for a tournament, delivered in a humourous way.

Apologies to Dan for the late posting of this. I've had it sitting for a few weeks and just haven't had the time to put it together.

Here are Dan's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

I started getting into gaming at some point during primary school in the 90s and I was about 10 when a model shop arrived in my small hometown in Devon that stocked Citadel Miniatures. I instantly thought I wanted some of that and started collecting minis, mostly based on what looked cool. A little while later 3rd edition 40k came out and I got into playing the game ‘properly’, and I haven’t really stopped since.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 53- Another Wargaming Blog

This week's Better Know a Blogger features Merijn from Another Wargaming Blog. 

I first came across Merijn's blog a few months ago, drawn in by some of the awesome terrain work that he showcases on the blog. It was his Veerhuis construction and WIP shots that drew me in. I love a good piece of scratch built terrain, and this looked to be an awesome project that was shaping up. 

Looking at the finished photos, I think you'll agree that he has done a fantastic job, creating a piece that would fit into any fantast-type or medieval game. 

Not only will you find fantastic terrain, you will also find some fantastic painted models, most recently focusing on Age of Sigmar Orcs. 

Merijn, in all his glory!

You will also find some really cool comic book style battle reports from his narrative campaign. I love a good battle report, and it is nice to see a different style of reporting to my own. These are really easy to digest and a quick and fun read. 

Here are Merijn's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I started way back in 1985 when I was 10 years old. My older brother convinced me to drop some pocket money in a shared buy of a new-fangled game called ‘Oog des Meesters’ (translated from Dutch: ‘Eye of the Master’). It was a roleplaying game which required us to gather more friends to actually play. We did. I never stopped roleplaying after that. The Warhammer Fantasy Battles 3rd edition launch two years later started my wargaming hobby. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 52- Languor Management

Better Know a Blogger is back, and kicking it off this week is Iapedus Maximus from Languor Management. 

Languor Management has a strong focus on Iapedus' T'au army, with frequent painting posts, and tournament reviews to sink your teeth into. You can also find a whole host of ebay rescue stories and unboxings of the latest goodies from GW.

A recent post that caught my eye was his aim to go a whole year without buying any new miniatures. Madness, I hear you cry, but I wish Iapedus every joy with his foolish endeavour!

Be sure to check out and follow his blog, it is one of my regular reads and a great blog that I keep coming back to. I really enjoy the tournament reports, its a great insight into playing a different army competitively and seeing the experience of other people at events.

Here are Iapedus' answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

I must have been about 10, and was visiting some friends of my mothers who's kids just happened to have got a copy of Heroquest for their birthday. Up until that point I didn’t really enjoy going around their house to visit, but from the moment I saw all those little figures and doors being setup and was handed my little scrap of paper to note down what happened to my character, I was hooked. From then on I always looked forward to going round, sometimes even convincing my mother to let me stay on and walk the mile home through the fields and lanes just so I could finish the quest we were on. It was great. 

Better Know a Blogger: Part 51- Aura of Dark Majesty

Better Know a Blogger is back, this time with another first. This week's highlight features Jon from Aura of Dark Majesty. 

Jon has actually appeared on the series before with his blog, Kaptain Von. He contacted me a few weeks ago to let me know about his new blogging venture, Aura of Dark Majesty. He now has the honour, nay, the privilege, nay, the audacity to appear on Better Know A Blogger once more!

Aura of Dark Majesty focuses on Jon's Age of Sigmar Vampire Counts army. After reading the first few blog posts, I was amazed at how similar our experiences were in collecting the army.

White Dwarf 211 was where it both started for us. This was the first issue of White Dwarf I ever bought. I had just started playing Warhammer and was collecting Orcs and Goblins. However, after seeing the fantastic new studio Undead army, I was sold. I immediately picked up a few boxed sets of skeletons and started a fledgling Undead army.

The second edition of Age of Sigmar has tempted Jon back into the game, with some great new releases for the Undead on the way. You can check out Jon's descent in the wonderfully named "How I learned to stop worrying and at least tolerate Age of Sigmar".

Here are Jon's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Really young - about six or seven. A Fighting Fantasy choose-your-own-adventure book is one of the first things I remember reading on my own.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 50- Must Contain Minis

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Jacob from Must Contain Minis. 

That’s me, playing a game of Bolt Action. Photo by Jeremy Cada of Forbes Hobbies.

The first thing that strike me about Must Contain Minis is that it is a very well put together blog. I know we all do this for fun, but a great looking and laid out blog is a great draw to readers and commenters to want to get engaged. 

Jacob's blog has a strong focus on games reviews and showcases. It can be all too easy to get stuck in our 40k bubble, so this is a great way to check out other great miniatures games that are out there, with some great insight into what to try next time you get burned out by 40k.

For those of you with your own blogs, be sure to check out his recent article on effective use of social media to promote your writing. 

Here are Jacob's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I was 9 to 10 years old when I got into gaming. My love of gaming started with the discovery of Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Books followed by Fighting-Fantasy Novels and ultimately a book called Dungeoneer (an RPG based on the Fight-Fantasy Series). From there, I explored other Role-Playing Games including various editions of Dungeons and Dragons, RIFTS, Palladium Fantasy, Star Wars RPG and GURPS. 

Over time, I realized that I was more of a roll-player than a role-player. I was even trying to create small skirmish style miniatures games using the Dungeons and Dragons Red Box Set and later the RIFTS RPG. 

At the time, I did not know about miniatures games even though I was trying to recreate them with graph paper, paper terrain and miniature-sized paper standees. GURPS was the first game that I got into that had better Miniatures type rules followed by D&D 3rd Edition. It became clear to me that RPGs weren’t filling the niche that I wanted to scratch. 

When I was 18 or 19, a friend introduced me to Necromunda (my first true miniatures gaming experience). Wow!!! I found what I was missing! Using a “loaner” gang I was able to able to play through a campaign with some friends. 

Unfortunately, some aspects of my life kept me out of the miniatures gaming scene for a long time. I was 26 when I bought my first true miniatures army. That army was the Space Marines for Warhammer 40,000. 

After that, I bought in and out of Warhammer several times. Each time I left, it was for the same reason - the price of new models. Their models are beautiful, but pricy for someone on a budget. 

In my early 30s, I finally dived deeply into the world of miniatures. After some time trying to scratch the tabletop wargaming itch by painting board games with miniatures, I went to my first miniatures wargame convention - Hotlead in Stratford, Ontario, Canada. It was awesome! 

At Hotlead, I played a game called USX: Modern Day Heroes by RAFM. I had a lot of fun at that convention and learned that you can game on a budget. There is no reason to limit yourself to just a single game. For the price of a single army in another game, I can buy into multiple other systems. There are so many options out there!!! 

$40 Canadian still gets you this USX Starter Set with 17 metal miniatures and a 20-page rule book. The set comes with 5 SWAT Team Members and 12 Deep Ones. If you like the minis, this is a good box to pick up. I think part of what drew me to this game is my love for the old PC Game X-Com: Terror From the Deep and the fact that USX: Modern Day Heroes mixes elements of Cthulhu with modern times. Image from RAFM’s Webstore. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 49- Binx's Hobby Blog

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Chris from Binx's Hobby Blog.

I first found out about Chris' blog when he contacted me on Twitter (@BinxHobby) to take part in the Better Know a Blogger series.

I'm only a recent follower of Binx's hobby blog, but there is a lot of great content to check out there. You can find some great hobby work and some really great battle reports. The photos on them are brilliant and make me think I need to improve mine!

Here are Chris'answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

I got into gaming in my early teens when my cousins used to bring Heroquest to my Nan's house when our families got together during the summer holidays. I then started playing Blood bowl when one of my cousins gave me a copy of 2nd edition. My first venture in to 40k and Warhammer happened at secondary school when I was introduced to it through newly found friends. I was not convinced immediately, but soon got hooked. Strangely it was Man O War that got me really invested in the hobby. I still have all my Man O war stuff, however, it doesn’t get played at all these days 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 48- Hobbyist Girl

This week's Better Know a Blogger features Sophie from Hobbyist Girl/Paint Stained Leggings. 

I first came across Sophie's blog on Twitter, after seeing some of her awesome Ork vehicles. The blog features work on her growing Ork army, Da Bloody Hand Boyz, and features some fantastic conversion work on her Ork vehicles. Most recently, an awesome Big Mek on Bike, based on a Skaven Doomwheel. I can't wait to see how this turns out when fully painted.

You can also find Sophie very active on Twitter (@hobbyistgirl), where you can keep up to progress on her hobby work.

Here are Sophie's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off? 

My gaming, in general, would have started early in life. I grew up with an Atari 2600 and Intelevision game console, playing on that when my parents weren’t occupying it. As video games progressed, I did as well; moving through 8, 16 and 32 bit systems as the 80s and 90s moved on. It wasn’t until High School, around 1993-94, that I moved toward table top gaming. I suppose the game that really broke me into it was Dungeons & Dragons, though we did play this new game that was gaining a lot of popularity called Magic: The Gathering. Most of our attention was on roleplaying games, however. 

I played two games that were a somewhat precursor to my wargaming hobby; HeroQuest and BattleMasters. I used to love playing these, but it was never more than just a board game back then. There was no urge to paint them up. I didn’t turned toward painting miniatures until later on. Toward the end of High School, one of my friends discovered Warhammer 40,000 being sold in a small military war gaming hobby shop. He relayed this cool game that he found, to our group of friends, and it was quickly picked up by everyone. 

Better Know A Blogger: Part 47- March of the Damned

This week's Better Know a Blogger features Colin from March of the Damned. 

March of the Damned is yet another great blog that I have come across thanks to the 40,000 blogs facebook group. 

Colin's blog has recently been focusing on the exploits of his new Death Guard army. You will find hobby updates on progressing his army, as well as some great battle reports using the army. These reports feature some narrative introduction, some great summaries of the key points in the battle and a review of how the game went. 

Not only that, you will also find some great editorials on 40k, such as his recent articles on Alpha Strikes and Smite Spam, as well as on the fluff of the game. You can also find some great codex reviews and new scenarios he has designed for 40k. 

Here are Colin's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

I was 14 when I got into hobby gaming. I had started off with tabletop role-playing games and soon found myself drawn into the Warhammer 40K universe through the pre-release articles in White Dwarf that year. The original Rogue Trader artwork and background grabbed my imagination like nothing else had.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 46- The Brush Wizard

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Scott from the Brush Wizard. 

I first became aware of Scott's blog after he joined Nick's 40000 bloggers Facebook group. This is a great resource for those that have a 40k blog and those that enjoy reading 40k blogs, so check it out. 

The Brush Wizard features some fantastic miniature painting on display. It's not only 40k models, but a range of models for other gaming systems or just really nice models on their own (no harm in that!). 

Not only do you get great showcases of the completed models, you will also find a whole host of WIP posts showing you the depth of work that is being carried out. Scott also has a great selection of painting tutorials for you to check out. These have highly detailed discussions on the colour, as well as step by step instructions with nice photos to illustrate them. 

Scott (on the left). 

Recently, Scott has been doing great work on his Admech force, showcasing some great models in the range. I really liked the basing on his Vanguard and how he added the red dust effects to the lower half of the models. It really helps the models look like they are inhabitants of the universe, rather than just models on a base. 

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

My gaming addiction didn’t actually start with tabletop games, it all started with the Nintendo Entertainment System waaaay back in the 80s. My older brothers had an Atari 2600 when I was small, but it wasn’t until the NES came around that I was actually hooked on games. This was early, probably 1st grade age, so like, 1988-89? Which would put me around 6? I think that’s right.

Tabletop games didn’t start until later. My cousins and I would play board games like HeroQuest or DragonStrike, which had that fantasy D&D vibe, and eventually we got started on RPGs like AD&D and RuneQuest thanks to my uncle. This lead to learning about miniatures and eventually discovering my greatest hobby love, painting them.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 45- SDFnet 40k

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Steve from SDFnet 40k.

I first discovered Steve's blog when he started following my own. I tend to check someone's blogger profile when they follow me, so that I can see if they write their own blog or what blogs they follow.

Steve posts on a wide variety of subjects, including Battle reports, reviews, army builds and general musings on the state of the hobby. 

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

It’s hard to put a specific age on when I first became aware of miniatures/wargames, certainly pre-teen, maybe 9 or 10? I had 2 friends from school each of who owned games that I played a different game that I played at different times. I believe my first exposure to miniature games was Heroquest, I can’t be sure if the set they owned was incomplete or if I/we were just too young to play the game unsupervised but while I have distinct memories of setting up the board etc, I don’t remember playing it too much/the game capturing my imagination. The game I do recall really grabbing me was Space Crusade! The Sci-Fi version of Heroquest from MB Games, my imagination was captivated from the outset! I loved the models, the dividing walls, the setting… I was hooked and always wanted to play that game when I went round that kids house.

As time went on I picked up ad-hoc bits and pieces of 40k stuff but nothing coherent, I had a copy of 2nd edition 40k which the books got such a beating as I would take them to school in my bag and just read the wargear book etc. I also remember owning the old metal Ghazghkull model at one time. I inherited some Space Marine (epic… before it was called Epic 40k) stuff from my cousin at one point who out grew the hobby, I had Eldar stuff, my younger brother had the Imperial, we never really played Epic too much as my force consisted of a bunch old (old design) falcons and guardians, 1 phantom titan, and a small handful of other tanks, while the Imperial side had 2 Imperitor titans, 2-3 warhounds, a reaver 2 warhounds and something like 50 land raiders! So… a mix of my and my brother’s ages and the imbalance of armies meant we never played too much.

Anyone who’s read my blog will know how I go on and on about Necromunda, that game was and is very close to my heart, I also have a really old copy of Space Hulk, but the models are not the cool sculpted ones, they are the naff ones, I liked that game too! Unfortunately, as I aged through school, a mix of studies and social pressures caused me to drift from the hobby, a common story for wargamers.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 44- SincaiN40K

Today's Better Know A Blogger features Todd Sherman at SincaiN40K. 

Todd's blog is one of the more recent additions to my blog roll. I followed the blog after seeing the awesome work that he has been carrying out on preparing his Raven Guard army and display board for NOVA (a huge 40k tournament in the US that was just held this past weekend). This features some fantastic light work on the board, and is truly an amazing display. 

There has also been some great work on his building of a Space Hulk board that should look great when finished. 

Check out his blog for some great hobby content and hopefully some great photos of this year's Nova tournament. 

Todd. 

Here are Todd's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Games in general or Miniature games? Well I’m child of the 70s and 80s, so I started off with Atari and Arcades. Still remember going with my Dad to pick up the brand new Atari 2600 and Space Invaders and Pac-Man. I upgraded to the Commadore 64 and getting into DnD with some of my friends. That is what got me into fantasy and sci fi. Computer games like Phantasee and Talenguard, plus all of the dice games and, of course Star Wars. Around 89 I started seeing Warhammer pop up at the local comic store my friend worked at and one of my friends started to paint minis. I went over to his house and was chilling while he painted (he was painting Squats by the way) and I was asking him some questions about the models. I’ve always been into art, mostly drawing and ink, but the models caught my interest. He gave me some of his extra colors and I went home ready to give it a shot.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 43- Errant Wolf

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Dave G from Errant Wolf. 

Errant Wolf is one of the most recent additions to my blog list and has been an entertaining read ever since.
I have been following with interest his recent posts about constructing a board and an army for the upcoming Armies on Parade. I've never entered one of these myself, but am interested to see how much work and planning goes into such an event, especially when you are starting from scratch. 

In addition to that you will find some great hobby photos of his brilliant Space Wolves army, as well as some great Shadow War battle reports and reviews on kits and other products. Dave also posts his own series of interviews, where he talks to some big names in the gaming community to find out about their hobby history.

Here are Dave's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Oh man, way too long ago, probably when I was about 12, but I really got into 40k, Space Hulk and Necromunda when I was about 14 in the early 1990’s. Space Hulk is my one true love and is a game I’ve played throughout my life. It’s easy to learn, hard to master and can be played with almost anyone.

Around the same age, I started collecting my first Space Wolves army, and again, I’ve never been able to escape the Wolves. I’ve tried plenty of other armies over the years but always come back to them. I’m on possibly my 5th incarnation now, which is a Horus Heresy army.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 42- Chucking Monkeys

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Luke (AKA Monkey Chuka) from Chucking Monkeys.

Monkey Chuka's blog was one of the first that I followed when I started reading 40k blogs. I was initially drawn in by the awesome look of his Tyranid army and found some really great hobby posts, littered with humourous and random commentary from Monkey Chuka himself. 

One of my favourite series of posts was his work on building a Tyrannocyte conversion. Luke set himself the immense task of converting a Tyrannoctye to feature a sleeping Carnifex inside it! From reading the posts, you can see it was a labour of love and hate in equal measure. Without a doubt though, the end results was absolutely fantastic and a real insight into his hobby skills. 

At some point last year, he stopped posting on a regular basis, leading me to stop following the blog for a while. Fortunately, the return of 8th edition 40k seems to have heralded the return of Chucking Monkeys and I was very happy to see new blog posts appearing on my blogroll, as well as comments appearing on my own and other great 40k blogs. 

His most recent work has been focusing on his amazing Red Scorpions Primaris Marines. This is gearing up to be a fantastic looking army, with ever new post leaving me drooling over the amazing paint jobs he has achieved on the units. 

Here are Monkey Chuka's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

Early teens. I was born in Salford, England, less than a mile away from Old Trafford where football is etched into your neurons at birth. Getting the bus into Manchester and spending the day at Games Workshop (back when they still sold TSR products) taught me that there was another way. I tried emigrating to the opposite face of the planet in order to escape the sports mad crowd but Kiwis are just as obsessed with rugby as Britons are with football. However, New Zealand is Middle-Earth and re-ignited my interest in hobbying, so there is that.

Better Know A Blogger: Part 41- Heresy and Heroes

This week's Better Know a Blogger features John from Heresy and Heroes. 

I think what first brought me to Heresy and Heroes was the pictures of John's brilliant 30k Blood Angels army that kept popping up on the Faeit212 blogroll. After checking out the thumbnails a few times, I was keen to see the rest of the army. 

One of my favourite recent articles on the blog, was the ones showing the completed Rhinos for the army. These stalwarts of the Space Marine army have been painted to a very high standard by John, and show off well the models, which seem to be a mix of the latest Rhino kit and the classic Rhino chassis from 2nd edition (a firm favourite for old gamers like me. I still have a couple of these kicking around). He did a great job on them, with some great weathering to show that they have been in fairly heavy use. Fortunately, he put together a great tutorial showing how to achieve the same technique for your own vehicles. 

As well as some great hobby goodness, you will also find a lot of editorial pieces about various aspects of the game and hobby. These include more recently a tribute to White Dwarf and a discussion on whether 40k has too many armies? Be sure to check out his top posts of 2016 for a great flavour of what the blog has to offer. 

Here are John's answers to my questions:

1. What age did you get into gaming and what started it off?

I blame the entire thing on Henry South who runs 4gotowar.blogspot.co.uk. It’s all his fault. We were about 8 or 9, and he came into school with a couple of these little metal dudes, and a copy of this crazy looking magazine called White Dwarf. One visit to the GW store in Reading, and I was hooked. I bought the 2nd Ed box set (which also played a huge part in getting me addicted to little toy soldiers from the 41st Millennium) within a couple of months (had to save up pocket money and do some odd jobs to earn the cash) and that was that. I had a bit of a break during my teens when I discovered girls and rugby, but even then, I still kept informed. I think I’ve been interested to one degree or another for about 25 years now.