Q&A Dragon Wings

hey guys question..where would be a good place for me to find say wings for a demon prince???

You can order Balrog wings (or other types) from GW.

Sometimes you can find a workable set for cheap at a local toy shop (by scavenging from a toy of some kind).

Look up "McFarlane Dragon" on eBay. These resin kits are really good and there are like 40 types of wing on them. They cost about $20 each though.

Pandora's Army Update

I am holding out two more spots for this during this week. I plan on ordering materials this coming Monday. I have been meeting with both assemblers and painters talking about the possibilities.

More to come.

Beads for Land (part one)

Before we begin today's exercise, I want you to first think about your income. How much do you make every month? Now I want to think about that as your life. Out of the eighty years on this earth, how many of them will you spend at work? Money is a representation of your time, an ultimately limited and invaluable commodity.

Additionally (by way of preface), please do not take the tone of this article as conspiracy-theory, or a rant against the injustice of the system. Think of it more as a product review, or perhaps a customer's feedback about a company or an industry.

When a bank receives money on deposit (say, from you opening an account) it is allowed to put this money "on reserve". This means that the bank can loan out ten times that amount. This is called "fractional reserve banking". They keep a fraction on reserve.

So, if a bank has $1000 on reserve it can make a loan for $10,000.


Now, let's say that you walk in and want a loan for, say, a car. If the amount of the loan is $15,000 the bank is allowed to make that loan on the basis of $1,500 in deposits (the reserve). So, where does the other $13,500 come from? It doesn't come from anywhere. That other 90% of the money wasn't saved, invested, or deposited. The bank did not have it. It was conjured from nothing based on your signature to repay.

This is called "fractional reserve banking". It's not conspiracy theory, just a fundamental fact of how the banking system works.

But this is ever so different than how the common man thinks it works. I always thought the bank loaned out money that it got on deposit. That's how it's explained in "It's a Wonderful Life".

Let's go back to your car loan for $15,000. Let's say that over the course of the loan you pay back the principle plus $3,000 interest. What is the bank's profit? $1500 on reserve has doubled to become $3000 in interst payments from you. Not only that, but you also paid back the invented money to the tune of $13,500.

You paid back money that never really existed.

The real kicker is that it's possible that you were the very person that has the $1500 reserve dollars on deposit. Because the bank is allowed to leverage your money at ten to one you have made yourself an indentured servant.

One more time, slowly. If you keep $1500 on deposit at your local bank, and then take out a loan for $15,000 from the same bank, you will pay them back $18,000 over the course of X years. On your own money.

Look it in the eye: a bank is a creature that produces no tangible good or service. It takes an apple, stores it, lends out ten fake apples, and collects thirteen real apples. A bank is not only the least valuable business on the street, it actually has a net negative affect on the community in which it resides.

I'd like each person reading this to think of his or her private debts. Now imagine that each one is only really worth one-tenth of its value.

In some cases, reserve money is leveraged out at even more ludicrous rates of 30:1 or 40:1. Your home could possibly be backed only by $5,000 of reserves.

This is worse even when considering the purchase of a home. Let's say a man buys a modest home for $200K. Conservatively, he will pay back $100K interest on top of the $200K in principle, representing perhaps two or three years of his life working to pay money for only $20K of real money on deposit. He has been made an indentured servant.

Right now you are paying into this system. Even if you rent (you're just paying indirectly through your landlord).

It is through this means that the banks are able to buy up the town and make everyone squatters on what is now their property. Seriously, think of what the total property value in your city is. Let's take a town with 10,000 homes in it, each worth a value of say $200K. So, a bank with 200 million on deposit can effectively provide loans for everyone to "own" their home. The truth is that they have traded beads for the land and made every inhabitant a feudal serf. A well-dressed, well-fed, well-housed serf.

This leveraging of money (ie taking deposits and then inserting ten times that in invented money into the pool) also makes prices higher. About ten times higher. Houses and cars are so expensive because of the inflated money supply. Easy credit makes prices go up.

It is a swindle of mind-breaking proportions.

By the time you die you will have indirectly built a summer home for a Banker somewhere. You will have built his yacht without so much as a thank you in return.

It breaks a fundamental law of the universe: "by the sweat of thy brow shalt thou eat thy bread all the days of they life". Or if you prefer, "you can't get something for nothing."

So, what to do about it? Here's what I'm working towards. First, pay of my debts. Sure, it rankles me that they are collecting on money that doesn't represent an honest investment. But that's all right. It is not for me, but for God to deal as he sees fit. I hope He is merciful to them.

Then, I plan on taking the maximum amount of my deposit-money out of the system so they can't ensnare other people into debt with it. I will deal in real commodities directly with my fellow man.

Where necessary and possible, I will keep my debts with fellow-citizens and pay interest to them instead (PS- I am looking for an investor in BTP).

I will do what I can to provide my children with homes that are paid for so that future generations can live free.

I will live humbly and live within my means.

Now, some may be thinking that the "services" (so called) that banks provide are voluntary. No one has to buy them. That is true to a great extent, and ties into the call that I am making with this article (which is to get as far away as possible from this dirty business). Bear in mind the effects of the inflation of the money supply. You can't get away from this because everything you buy (especially a house, car, college education) is significantly more expensive because of the effects of invented money.

Imagine that a band of counterfeiters moved into your city and printed off millions of dollars to buy local goods. They could argue that they are enriching local businesses and indirectly making it possible for them to make their house payments. But the fact is that the town is drained of actual goods and services that are transferred to the counterfeiters in the net transaction. It gets worse. There is now an increased supply of dollars chasing after the same amount of goods. They have caused inflation.

Of course, the federal government would say that the counterfeiters are "stimulating" the economy!

Even though it (fractional reserve banking) is legal, this is the same net effect that a bank has on the local community.

Imagine
It is my opinion that the banks mask the real value of things. If they were to be cut out of the loop, a home might cost only $10,000 or $30,000. You really could save up and pay with cash (or even better, commodity-backed money). Divide everything by ten.

"But Shawn," I hear someone wail, "don't you know that the labor and materials just to build a home is on the order of $70,000." Yes, perhaps, but its $70K of inflated money! The lumber, nails, and labor were all distorted in value by the vast ocean of credit.

As Pete Schiff has pointed out, all the Credit is not the cure, it's the cancer.

Now imagine for a moment a world where there is no lending on interest, and there is no fractional reserve banking. Puzzle it through. How would that play out? Would everyone be in the streets with no home, no car? I suggest to you, gentle reader, that the opposite is true. You would own your home, own your car, own the land, own your life.

Now this can't be right, because wages would be a tenth, wouldn't they?

Other Misc.
You cannot opt out of this system. Taxes are levied in order to ensure the existence of the banks. I'm talking about bailouts. Bail out the toilet paper factory. At least they are producing something you can use.

Government should never provide bailouts. If a company needs an influx of cash they should get it from customers and investors. If there is no customer or investor then that business has no right to exist. We should all be very leery of something

Right now there is talk of setting up regulatory systems by which a "systemic" company (read: too big to fail) can be kept straight. No! If a company is that big it needs to be broken up vis a vis the anti-trust laws. Government should ensure fair play and healthy competition. Is that right?

I'm hearing often now cries out against "Fascism" or "Socialism" but never a peep about "Oligarchy".

[PS- as usual, I am open to hearing new information. This is what I have so far. I am a political explorer.]

Pandora Still Going Strong

Still accepting project for Pandora. There's been a great response, better than any other special to date. This morning I sat down with some of the Artists and went over some ideas and we had such a level of excitement for it that we want to do more!

Update: for Warhammer Fantasy we are accepting five "nixes" (three for 40K). We are flexible on this matter. If you own four armies we can guarantee no duplication.

Crunch-tastic

The underslung death rolla was really not sitting well with me. Not proper orky-like. So I got this new one from Forge World (a client piggy-backed it for me on an order).

Daddy likey.

Change to Trade-in Program

You don't need to have the retail values for your trade-in list. No need to look that up if you don't want.

If They Ever Found Out

Deep End

It was stormy last night. I was pacing up and down in front of my house, thinking, last night, watching dark clouds gather overhead. The pitter patter of rain drove me to the porch. My soul was singing, deep and beautiful. Then it began to rain in earnest, raindrops the size of bumblebees dive-bombing the pavement. Then the lightning and resounding thunder as the summer grew dark. The whole family gathered on the front porch with blankets, milk, and M&M cookies, counting the seconds between sky-rending flash of light, and foundation-cracking cloud-grumble.

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I slept through the night last night.

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Today I managed to finish up the rest of the Ork army (except for the Stompa, which will be a separate deal-- yes, I'm selling the Orks). It's 2400 pts now. Here are the new additions;

14x Kommandos (five from the box set and nine conversions, some from the old ork nob bodies)

1x Painboy (for the Nobz on foot unit)

1x Nob on Foot (bringing the total to seven nobz on foot, painboy makes eight)

1x Burnaboy

1x Snikrot (insanely cool figure-- he also allows the Kommandos to come in from any table edge without rolling, plus they can charge the same turn)

1x Ork Dreadnought (counts as a Troop with Mekboy HQ)

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Ayup, that about rounds it up.

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I've got several takers for the Pandora's Army special, and I'm furiously cooking up ideas for it. The door is still open if you're interested.

Hordes

The Magic cards are gone. That's an albatross off my neck. If I added up all the time I spent on that in the last three months I probably could have painted up two whole armies. And had something to show for it.

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So, anyhoo, we're sitting around in the break room and we're all jonesing for some D&D. Renn and Brigh were in the last campaign I ran, and they have fond memories of it. And the new guy is also an avid fan of the game. And I'm really wanting to run an adventure. But I resisted. I really don't have time for extraneous stuff. I have to focus on miniatures battles.

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Well one thing led to another and we decided to pick up Hordes. As some of you know this is my favorite game. No worries, I plan on doing the same amount of Warhammer Fantasy and 40K.

I already have a Legion army pretty much done. I just need some troops to round it out. Here's what I have:

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http://www.bluetablepainting.com/view_gallery.php?galleryID=2761

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I also have Trollbloods on hand, all new in box. They've been stowed away for about a year. Just a few models needed to get that rounded out to the 600 point mark (what we've decided on).

The round-out models are actually en route. I hope to be painting them up by the weekend. Sweet.

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I'd love to sell that little Space Wolves force. I'd part with it for $175. That'll give some cash to fund new projects.

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Speaking of which, more is coming for the Orks. A Stompa is in my hot hands (it can double as a battlewagon) which brings it up to a sweet 3000 points. What else is cooking? A quite converted unit of Kommandos with Snikrot. And a painboy on foot for the Nobz unit. Oh, and a super-converted Deff Dred. Oh, man it's all so kewl and really pushes this army to Apocalyptic proportions. Aaaand then we're done with the Orks.

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What's next? Hordes.

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PS- I've been cooking up a special for Summer. The deal is $950 for a 2000 point army. The catch? We pick everything. You only choose 40K or Fantasy. We will produce at least a relatively competitive list. And nothing weird for paint scheme. I don't know if anyone will take me up on this, but we'll see.

War Machine: incoming and old stuff

Oh dear. I stumbled on this, a new faction for War Machine called the Retribution of Scyrah. I couldn't even believe how cool these models are. And they're supposedly plastic and modular, even better.

The first book, Warmachine: Prime was released originally in 2003, with a revised edition,

Warmachine: Prime Remix released in early 2007. All of the subsequent books have been expansions of Prime. Each expansion usually introduces new warcasters, warjacks, units, and solos, as well as new model subtypes - such as cavalry units - that add new strategies and complexities to each faction.

Warmachine: Prime - 2003

Warmachine: Escalation - 2004

Warmachine: Apotheosis - 2005

Warmachine: Superiority - 2006

Warmachine: Prime Remix - 2007

Forces of Warmachine: Pirates of the Broken Coast - 2007

Forces of Warmachine is the name of a series of expansions that will focus on a themed army as opposed to having additions to all of the factions. So far, only one book has been released, although it has been stated that more will be announced in the future.

Warmachine: Legends - 2008

Currently under development is

Forces of Warmachine: Retribution of Scyrah - 2009

Warmachine Mk2 - 2010
with a planned release in January alongside stat cards for all the models in the game. Mk2 is a complete reworking of the game, with every model available changed and/or recosted, alongside the changes to the rules set.

April 2009 saw an open "Field Test" of the Warmachine Mk2 rules, hosted on Privateer Press' website. Players could download a full set of rules, plus rules for every model in the game, and post feedback to Privateer Press through an online field test website.

2010 will bring "Faction Books" for all Warmachine Factions, showcasing all faction models for the four factions plus the Mercenaries. Confirmed in a banner on the Privateer Press website for September 2009 is a new faction, the Retribution of Scyrah.

Advice on Eldar from GPK

Hey hey Shawn, working on my list and pics for the Eldar.

And now for a little pep talk. I play Orcs (3800) Tau (6400 points'ish) and Eldar (4420 points'ish) and I just watched your bat-rep video and I must say your army is awesome, just plain great. Your tactics need a little work.

I play lists very similar to yours, and win loss ration with my Eldar is something like 48wins 8losses of those wins 8 are in 5th ed and 0losses in 5th ed.

Ok warwalkers, when in doubt scatter-laser - 3 warwalkers 6 scatterlasers = 24 shots play lady luck (I usually take 2 teams of these yum)
- always ALWAYS try to take a farseer to give them guide, and to Doom your enemy.
^Against marine armies star cannons are godly.

Rangers are good if they are pathfinders, and if a target is 'doomed', a re-roll to wound is massive. (Again farseer)

Don't reserve your scorpions, infiltrate them close to pathfinders, most enemies will try to get your snipers after you start dooming them, and scorpions are my second favorite (tied with banshee's) Eldar close combat choice (harlequins are by far my beloved). If you can get scorpions into an assault against troops, just watch them tear things up, even marines and terminators.

Vypers are good, scatter lasers or bright lances.

Dire Avengers - Must have Exarch must have bladestorm, again play lady luck with these, bladestorm the poop out of some unit and then charge right in!

Ok lets not see any more losses, we here at GPK are counting on you Shawn, we are counting on the Oceanic Eldar to slaughter those uncultured pesky humans.

Sleep Deprivation

Hey all!

I'm up bright and early. Mild-mannered and relatively quiet baby is still an awake baby.

I just put up some new stuff in the For Sale section of our website:
http://www.bluetablepainting.com/for_sale.php

I also have some stuff on the block informal-like here:
http://www.bluetablepainting.com/view_gallery.php?galleryID=1231
I just updated this gallery so I should still have everything.

You can buy it and check out with Paypal (you should email me to let me know, linkback is not reliable) or just email me and pay however you please. I can always take a credit card by phone at 801 372 8545.

I will give reduced rates for bulk purchases (min. 4 listings) and will also combine shipping ($9 max for any number of listings).

Heart of Stone

Another beautiful Sunday.

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I woke up at 4am. Couldn't get back to sleep, so I played around on Army Builder for a while. Then I hit the hay again just around daybreak and slept in to a respectable 10am. My darling wife made me biscuits and gravy with sausage for breakfast. Washed down with some lime-ade in a tall glass of ice. Yumsters.

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Church was edifying as usual; a time to jot down some ideas and get my head on straight. My main challenges as you know stem from business and money. The trick is to keep the right priorities on the top of the list. The rest will follow. That said, the work has to be put in. I don't think I've been working hard enough, or really organzing myself very well. I've got about five ideas to try this week.

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That's the challenge of the young father. I've got to do right by family and community, but also make sure the bills are paid.

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In the new testament, it is very rare for Jesus to do anything for someone that they cannot do for themselves. He provides only the miraculous intervention after the possible has been done. The healing of the man with palsy is illustrative in my view. The man and his relatives had to make a journey on their own initiative, overcome an obstacle (a trial of their faith) first, then the miracle. Even after that, the man is told to take his bed and go home. He is not carried home.

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I think this also shows that Jesus's business is the transformation of souls. I may not have physical deformities (which are for this life only), but I have spiritual leprosy; things that cannot be cured or change on my own impetus. God has the power to change the nature of the human heart-- to convert both body, mind and spirit into something beautiful. This is what I have sought in my life. The first step is to realize that the leprosy isn't getting any better.

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Reminds me of one of my favorite scriptures:

And I will give them one heart, and I will put a new spirit within you; and I will take the stony heart out of their flesh, and will give them an heart of flesh. --Ezekiel 11:9

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PS- Guess what happens the morning after you eat ten large oatmeal-raisin cookies?

PPS- don't mean to come across as preachy, just thought I'd open the old brain-pan a creak and in case anyone wants to take a look-see.

Redjaw Clan Orks- Army List for Battle Report

1908 Pts - Orks Roster - Redjaw Clan

[missing from list: 10x boyz, 15x Kommandos, 1x Snikrot, 1x Deff Dred]

HQ: Big Mek (1#, 100 Pts)
1 Big Mek @ 100 Pts
Choppa; Kustom Force Field; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour; Cybork Body; Mek's Tools

HQ: Warboss (1#, 145 Pts)
1 Warboss @ 145 Pts
Power Klaw; Slugga; Twin-linked Dakkagun; Stikkbombs; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; Attack Squig; Bosspole; Warbike

Elite: Burna Boyz (12#, 180 Pts)
10 Burna Boyz @ 180 Pts
Burna; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!
2 Mekboy @ [30] Pts
Kustom Mega-Blasta (x2); Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; Mek's Tools

Nob Bikerz (6#, 425 Pts)
5 Nobz @ 425 Pts
Count as Troop Troops; Big Choppa (x2); Power Klaw (x3); Slugga (x5); Twin-linked Dakkagun; Feel No Pain; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; Cybork Body; Warbike
1 Painboy @ [90] Pts
'Urty Syringe; Twin-linked Dakkagun; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour; Cybork Body; Dok's Tools; Grot Orderly; Warbike

Elite: Nobz (7#, 303 Pts)
6 Nobz @ 303 Pts
Big Choppa (x2); Choppa (x1); Power Klaw (x3); Slugga (x5); Shoota/Skorcha Kombi-weapon (x1); Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!; 'Eavy Armour (x6); Ammo Runt (x1); Bosspole (x1)
1 Trukk @ [55] Pts
Big Shoota (x1); Armour Plates; Wreckin' Ball

Troops: Boyz (30#, 245 Pts)
29 Boyz @ 245 Pts
Choppa & Slugga; Rokkit Launcha (x3); Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!
1 Boyz Nob @ [41] Pts
Power Klaw; Slugga; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!

Troops: Boyz (30#, 245 Pts)
29 Boyz @ 245 Pts
Choppa & Slugga; Rokkit Launcha (x3); Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!
1 Boyz Nob @ [41] Pts
Power Klaw; Slugga; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Waaagh!

Fast Attack: Warbikers (3#, 115 Pts)
2 Warbikers @ 115 Pts
Choppa; Slugga; Twin-linked Dakkagun; Exhaust Cloud; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Warbike
1 Biker Nob @ [65] Pts
Power Klaw; Slugga; Twin-linked Dakkagun; Exhaust Cloud; Furious Charge; Mob Rule; Bosspole; Warbike

Heavy Support: Battlewagon (1#, 150 Pts)
1 Battlewagon @ 150 Pts
Armour Plates; Boarding Plank; Deff Rolla; Grabbin' Klaw; Grot Rigger; Stikkbomb Chukka; Wreckin' Ball

Total Roster Cost: 1908

Created with Army Builder
Copyright (c) 1997-2006 Lone Wolf Development, Inc. All rights reserved.

Rumbling Forward

Friday was a fast-paced sprint to the finish line. We managed to get all the Orks done and looking good in time for a battle report (which we played today, Saturday-- I've got 70 minutes of footage to edit for that). Almost everything is caught up. I even spent some time cleaning the place up.

I made a fateful decision today. The Magic has got to go. We're playing it too much. I can hardly expect to be successful at business if I allow such idleness into my life. I haven't played computer games for many years for the same reason. Oh, I want to, but it's just one of those things that needs to get sacrificed. So, I had my wife pick up my collection and stow it. I'm going to see if I can find a buyer.

I am working on getting things booked out to a more acceptable level. I've got to kick it into high gear. So, needless to say, I'm standing by if you have inquiries or orders! There is still one golden spot open for each of the IG specials.

Things are going great at home. My home is a loving and warm place; like a brood of badgers in a burrow. My wife is upstairs cooking oatmeal raisin cookies and making me a sandwich for dinner. The kids are enjoying a long lazy day-- they stacked every pillow and blanket in the house on the couch. They were proud to show me "Mount Comfortable" when I got home.

Today, the big news today is that I managed a battle report with the studio Orks. There is only one thing left to paint for them: a unit of Kommandos led by Snikrot. That will bring it to about 2300 pts. I'll have part 01 of the batrep up tonight for sure. And I still plan on finishing up the Ultramarines rematch, too.

I will always love you

I fell asleep on the couch with my wife. We were both wrecked. Summer is so draining, but in a good way. Everything blends into one, kids sleeping helter skelter; the smell of sweat, grass, and dirt. What time is it? 10pm, 2am?

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I woke up at 4am with Tamie's foot in my back, my right arm freezing and left arm roasting. So, I got her stumbled off to bed and I started getting some webwork done. I apologize for no videos in the last week. It is time-consuming to process them. I enjoy it to be sure but it takes a back seat. I had a lot of paperwork to get done.

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At the studio things are proceeding apace. The logjam in Assembly is breaking up and the painters are in full swing. Sarah is on summer hours for June so I'm putting in a few late nights. Read: playing Magic with Renn.

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I am currently getting projects set up for July, so inquiries are welcome. We are ready to go!

I am in the home stretch with the Orks. I spent some time in the assembly room putting together the battlewagon (tandem project with Renn).

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After work yesterday the whole family headed to Macey's for some vanilla ice cream and root beer. My wife made a potato and bacon casserole for dinner. I want that for breakfast, lunch and dinner! Tamie is such a great cook. She really has a talent with the spices; to take the ordinary and make it into something so tasty.

Trade-in Rates for June 2009

Here are the trade-in rates for June 2009. I'm offering service credit in trade for models. Read this completely as I have recently improved almost every aspect of this program!
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You can usually get a much better deal going to the secondary market (local shop, ebay) on your own. However, the advantage of trading in with us is that you are likely to be able to unload disparate items without a lot of hassle (e.g. finding various buyers, setting up payment, lots of minor questions).
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If you want to trade in, we need a list with retail values and condition (e.g. new in box, new on sprue, assembled, primed). The rates below are a multiplier. If the entry says 0.30 it means you would get $30 for $100 worth of retail items. Just take the retail total and multiply it by the number. You do not need to figure this out; you can just send in your list of stuff to bluetablepainting@gmail.com
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In the past I have only allowed for half or less of a project to be paid in credit this way. But for the time being I am lifting that restriction.
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I just know there's someone who goes out to their garage, surveys the mass of unpainted models, sighs then turns out the light. This program will hopefully allow someone with the "white primer horde" to finally show up with a painted army. As an added bonus, your models will get a good home where they will be painted and loved.
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We don’t need painted figures. Exception: if they only have a little bit done with them; not too thick, not too many layers. Primed models are OK, again not too thick.
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You can also get a credit of at least $10 to help with your shipping costs. This is on request.
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If you want to trade-in figures, but don't have a project ready, that's OK, I will confirm your total and then you will have it on tap for when you want to use it.
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This trade-in is recorded as a payment on your project. It is non-refundable except at our discretion (eg you can’t refuse the project and then get your trade-in amount refunded as cash). Trade-in can be applied to cost of models, assembly or painting as you wish. This means you can also just get models sent to you (this is limited to models that are commonly available, eg not Forge World).
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Generally, we only need in-print models that are currently in production.
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These rates and conditions may change so it is recommended to check in every once in a while. I am likely to update the numbers about once a month. The plan right now is to update every first of the month. Fairness is the guiding principle.
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Forge World 0.49
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Assault on Black Reach Models:

Complete set of orks $9 credit

Complete set of space marines $9 credit

Space Marine Dreadnought $5 credit

Small rulebook $5 credit

Template sprue (complete) $3 credit

. Chaos Space Marines 0.23

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Daemonhunters 0.20

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Daemons of Chaos 0.29

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Eldar 0.20

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Imperial Guard 0.35

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Necrons 0.20

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Orks 0.25

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Space Marines 0.35

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Tau 0.25

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Tyranids 0.26

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Witch Hunters 0.21


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Warhammer Fantasy 0.25

. Hordes 0.25

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War Machine 0.25

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Battlefleet Gothic 0.11

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Lord of the Rings 0.17

Renn an Immortal?

We stumbled on this old photo of the 1812 Kentucky Dirby winner.

Ork Horde Gathers

Sorry kids. Daddy can't push you on the swing today. He's busy painting his Orks.

Over the weekend I managed to bring the horde to the following counts of stuff that is all painted:
30x ork boyz (40 more to go)
1x Mekboy with Kustom Force Field Projecta
10x Burna Boyz (with a mekboy in there, that makes 11)
1x Warboss on Bike, the Forge World one
9x Warbikes (can be Nobz)
1x Trukk

Still to be painted:
40x ork boyz
1x Snikrot
1x Ork Dreadnought conversion
1x Battlewagon (kitbash of ork battlewagon kit and a baneblade)
15x Kommandos

And that easily makes 2000 points.

My goal is to really hit the brushes and get them ready to play a game this coming weekend. Models that I actually have on hand add up to 1850 points. I ordered a box of Kommandos and plan on rounding that out to a unit of 15 with converted regular models, and the Snikrot which I already have. We're set.

Got a Little Captain in You?

When I was about thirteen my father's alcoholism intruded on my consciousness. When he was sober, which was most of the time, he was a great hero of a man; a well-read-genius-early-riser-entrepreneur. But when mom left on vacation (?), and he fell off the wagon, he was pitiful, disappearing from our lives and from work. Friends would come by looking for him. His best friend (a woodworker) was also our neighbor, and he would check in on me to give me quarters for the arcade and to be sure I had enough food.

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One night, mother laid sheets out over the bed, and a bucket nearby for the puke. Well, for some reason I can't remember I was alone when he came home. He missed the bed and ended up vomiting everywhere. Looking over this scene I made a quiet, but dead-serious decision. I decided to never drink. Not one drop as long as I lived.

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I saw how it destroyed our family. And how hard it was to leave it. It is only in hindsight that I see clearly the purpose of the AA meetings.

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When I chose to be baptized as a Mormon at age 15 it only reinforced the decision. Mormons observe what is called the "Word of Wisdom" which is a vow to take care of one's body, eat properly, and stay away from harmful substances (specifically mentioned are coffee, tea, alcohol and tobacco-- though proper use of the last two are outlined e.g. alcohol for cleaning wounds).

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Naturally, during high school my friends discovered the liquor cabinet. On occasion, they would try and prevail on me to join in, but to no avail. I found that after standing my ground a few times, the group would not only let the matter be, but defend me. I was the constant designated driver.

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One time, they put vodka in my chocolate milk as a prank. I tasted it, and went and made myself throw up. Point made.

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There was one time, while my friends were in college (I did not go until I was 23) and I was feeling particularly worthless. I was sitting in the dorm room looking at the mini-fridge thinking I'd do anything to numb the pain. Maybe getting hammered would to the trick. But in that timeless moment I turned away.

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How much easier it is to nip bad habits in the bud. Or not even start. I would highly recommend making this vow to any young person. I think it has removed a major complication from my life; sweetened it as it were.

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I find commercials for alcohol laughable. Superimposed over it I see my father, pale-faced, ralphing his guts out. A great man brought low. How can they paint such a pretty picture when in a certain percentage of cases (not everyone ends up an alcoholic) a man's life is ruined? And children.

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A line from a song by Cake: "excess ain't rebellion, you're drinking what they're sellin" It occured to me that by not drinking I was a sort of rebel against the status quo.

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After my father passed away, I got to speak with his friend (our neighbor). He said that whenever life was overwhelming for my dad, he would hit the bar and go on a binge. But that after he got the news that he had cancer, he was walking down the street with him, and he passed by the bar, only pausing briefly on the sidewalk. I think in the end he put his demons to rest.

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But how much better to stay clean from day one.

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PS- I make my usual disclaimer here. I don't make or pretend any claim to supersalient virtue. I am just a regular man, with problems on my own. It is my hope that perhaps one reader may be influenced for the good.