Better Know A Blogger: Part 37- Castigator's Chaos

This week's Better Know A Blogger features Gary (AKA Castigator) from Castigator's Chaos. 

What first attracted me to Gary's blog was his awesome tournament overviews/battle reports. These feature some very quick battle reports of his games, pictures of his fantastic army and thoughts on how he performed in his games.

You should also check out the blog for pictures of his awesome Slannesh-themed Chaos Space Marine army. This is a fantastic force that is really shown off in all his photos.

As if that wasn't enough, there are also a number of other writers who contribute to the blog on a regular basis. This means there is a lot of variety of subject matter and writing styles on the blog, enough to keep you interested and coming back for more.

Here are Castigator's answers to my questions:

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

From a very early age I was always into board games, I used to drive my parents mad wanting to play the latest board game that I’d received for Christmas or my Birthday. As I got older, I would scavenge bits from these old games and design my own. My games would be terribly complicated affairs that nobody but me knew the rules to. I grew up on TV shows like Sapphire and Steel and the Tomorrow People, interspersed with a mix of 2000AD and Marvel comics (yes, they still called them comics back then) so they were invariably fantasy and Science Fiction based games I designed. 

Fast forward several years later and I happened to be passing this new shop that had opened up in Leeds called Games Workshop. Despite the protestations from my then girlfriend, I went in and discovered that the games I had being trying to design as a kid already existed. That would have been early ’87, a few months later Rogue Trader was released and my real gaming obsession started in earnest. 

2. What was the first model you ever bought/painted?

What drew me into the shop all those years ago was a large poster covering most of the window which simply said Judge Dredd. After spending well over an hour drooling over their wares, I walked out with Judge Dread, Judge Anderson and Judge Death and a bag full of paints and brushes.

3. What is your favourite aspect of gaming?

http://castigatorschaos.blogspot.co.uk/2015/04/storms-of-judgement-pandora-cluster.html

I really do enjoy all aspects of the hobby, for me 40k is total immersion. I suppose it depends on my mood really, which is probably why I suffer Hobby Butterfly Syndrome ;-)

If I had to pick one thing, it would probably be designing a campaign for my mate and me to play through. I find a well thought out campaign can really motivate me to build, convert and paint at a frightening pace and often develops into a story that will live on for years. The game is constantly changing but the stories are forever ;-) 

4. Fondest memory in gaming?

Blimey, that’s a tough one; the hobby has given me so many great memories. Doing a battle report in White Dwarf with my Castigators many years ago would be one (an amazing achievement I'm sure many of us would love to have on our gaming resume- Mike). Having a Noise Marine kill an Eldar Avatar by caving his skull in with his Blastmaster in close combat would be another. 

But a better tale would when I was playing for Team England at the ETC in Germany a few years back. At the end of day 1, we were in joint first place with Sweden so we would play each other next morning. We hit the bars around Münster and my mate Neil and I came up with a cunning plan. We would keep them up all night drinking, while the rest of the England team had an early night. It worked like a charm. Everybody was legless, when we left the Swedes, a couple were throwing up and one had even got arrested and missed the game in the morning. Of course the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry. The next day we played Sweden and they slaughtered us, the only points we got against them came from me and Neil who were as hungover as the Swedes were! 

5. What are you working on right now?

With 8th edition just around the corner, I am focusing on a small Path to Glory campaign with my mate Rob. I’ll be working on my Warband and building up some terrain for the next month or so.

6. When you are not conquering the tabletop, what do you do?

For any female readers out there, I’m a graphical reproduction artist, but to everyone else I’m a plain old printer ;-)

40k takes up all of my hobby time, but you can’t beat a few beers while watching a band.

7. What would you say about your blog to someone who has never read it to draw them in?

Err…it’s a blog that wants to celebrate the whole spectrum of the 40k hobby. Painting, Tournaments, Converting, Campaigns, Battle Reports and Stories. It’s very Chaos centric at the moment but despite the name (Castigator’s Chaos), the Chaos part was meant as a reference to my chaotic approach to the hobby and not that it is all about Chaos. 

8. What is your favourite article that you have written?

That would probably be the history of my Castigators and their Chapter history.

http://castigatorschaos.blogspot.co.uk/2015/01/the-castigators-chaos-space-marines.html

9. Which rule would you like to see changed or removed entirely?

There are too many. I really don’t like random charges. My pet peeve is Bikes and Cavalry being allowed to go up levels. But the big one for me is allies, or more specifically Superfriends. I’m not against the concept of allies; I think that Daemons should be able to ally with Chaos Marines or Imperial Guard with Marines. I just don’t think allies should be able to join into one unit or their special rules should carry over to their allies……just say no!

10. Which of your armies is your favourite?

My Castigators Chaos Space Marines. Their background has taken on a life of its own, pretty much every game I play and every event that I go to adds to their history now. They might not be a top tier army, but I still enjoy using them even after all these years.

11. Secret wargamer or loud and proud?

I don’t shout about it, but I don’t have to, most of my mates play 40k anyway.

12. Any hobby tips or cheats to share? 

Thin your paints, is the best advice I can give to anyone. Washes are a great way to paint, they’re brilliant for speed painting when you have to get a unit finished in time for an event and controlled washes can add so much depth to a model and are easy to master.

13. Tournament or Casual?

Err….both really. I don’t like power gaming, so you’ll find me in the middle of the pack in a tournament, but what I really like about tournaments is that I get to meet up with my friends that live all over the country. I prefer casual games to tournaments because I’m one of those who will happily change the rules half way through a game if it leads to a closer and more exciting game. 

14. Nintendo or Sega?

Sega, but only because I had a Game Gear back in the day. I preferred my Amiga 1200, I was mad on the game Dune, it was the first RTS and was the forerunner of Command and Conquer. Lol, how times change, you can play Dune on most android phones now!

15. Xbox or Playstation?

Xbox because I could never get used to the controls on the Playstation.

16. McDonalds or Burger King? 

Maccy D’s sausage and egg McMuffin with black coffee…..the best coffee bar none! 

17. Coke or Pepsi?

Pepsi

Thanks to Gary/Castigator for taking the time to answer my questions. Be sure to submit the the ruinous powers and visit Castigator's Chaos for some awesome 40k blogging. 

If you have your own hobby blog and would like to take part in Better Know a Blogger, please contact me at corrm83@gmail.com