Free Giveaway at Spikey Con and my online store!

Hey Folks!

I am giving away a free copy of Horus Heresy board game Saturday at Spikey Con!

What do you have to do to get a chance to win?

Buy one of my The Jawaballs Way DVDs at the store!

Buying one of my DVDs at the FTW Games 3rd Birthday celebration will enter you to win a new Horus Heresy game.  It is opened, but unpunched. I will hold the drawing around 8pm EST at the store. Yes you will need to be present to win. (Im not shipping this monster.) I will be selling my DVDs at a special Spikey Con birthday rate. Come and get em!

FTW Games is having a BIRTHDAY SALE on Saturday! So come on in, grab a sweet deal, pick up a DVD and get a chance to win a sweet prize! Also, if you wish, join one of my display board seminars or just throw some diced with me and Fritz!

See you Saturday!

Oh, and just so no one feels left out. Any one that purchases one of my DVDs off my online store between 9am EST on June 27 and 12 midnight on Sunday the 29 will be entered to win their choice between a Warhammer Lizardman Stegadon box set (Opened but on sprue) and a Tyranid Warrior Brood factory sealed. HERE is my new easy to use webstore! I will ship the box set and DVD for just the cost of the DVD shipping from my site. Be looking for more sweet giveaway from my online store soon!

Jawaballs

For the Greater Good!

Reinforcements have arrived.

More to come.

See you at Spikey Con this weekend!

Jawaballs

Fun and Games and a FREE WRAITHKNIGHT

It has become Spikey Con.

The annual birthday celebration down at FTW Games, owned by my friend and all around decent dude Rob Baer.

Spikey Con is this weekend.

What is going on you ask?

Well, nothing but an entire weekend of gaming craziness at the store!  Lets get to the good stuff first.

Rob is giving away an Eldar Wraithknight. But he is not just giving it away guys, you have to earn it.  It is a conversion contest!

HERE are the rules.

The winner will be chosen sometime in July.

But that is not the reason to go to FTW Games.

Go for the games!

You can find a rundown of all the awesome that will be happening at the store over the weekend HERE.

I will be there painting on tanks for those willing, demonstrating how to make Custom Display Boards and taking on all comers on my own personal Jawa Table.

But most importantly, I can't wait to chill with Fritz, Goatboy, Paul Murphy and Kenny from Next Level Paintnig. These are some of the most extreme dudes in the game, and all of that gaming brain power will be under one roof and willing to spray it upon the world.

I mean seriously...

Lol, that picture and the word seriously do NOT go together.

So make the trip for the fun!

I will be doing my seminars from 1 to 5.  Other than that, my schedule is open to rock the games and take on all comers. Come challenge me and Fritz, past doubles tournament winners, for a shot at the glory!  Come learn with me how to airbrush from Kenny!  Come get your stuff drawn on by Goatboy!

Finally we may have appearances by Redemption of the Fallen painters John Steining and Tim Williamson, and maybe even Dave Taylor if I can get him to come!  We will all have our WIP models there for you to see.  Redemption of the Fallen is a charity army build project sponsored by The Nova Open. Click the link at the top right of my page!

See you this weekend,

Jawaballs

Finished World Eaters full sized banner.

World Eaters Banner

I finished off the Full Sized World Eaters chapter banner today.  Take a gander!

Here is some video of it from Youtube.



The client wanted a simple Pre Heresy banner, with a metallic main image. I talk about how I made it in the video so I won't type much here about the details. Enjoy!

Here are some pics of other banners I have made. If you would like one, let me know!  jawaballs@hotmail.com

Me winning Best Banner at Gamesday with a full sized Ultramarine Chapter Banner.

Death Company Banner for FTW Games.

The Hogs of War gaming club.

You can see many more of my banners to the right. Look for the links!

Up next? Lamenters!

Jawaballs

World Eaters full sized banner WIP

World Eaters Banner

Here is a work in progress shot of my newest Full Sized Banner. The World Eaters!

I still have to do a white edge on the inner sides of the banner and some details, but it is mostly done! Simple and cool. :)

I will be doing five banners this week. I finally got the banners in hand from the seamstress, who for some reason disappeared for a couple weeks...

Up next? Lamenters and Black Templars Battle for Armageddon!

If you want a full sized banner, let me know! This is about 3x7 feet just to give you an idea of size. Check out my other banners to the right.

Jawaballs

Nova just got more fun!

I posted last week that I was going to be doing seminars at this years Nova Open. That still holds true!  I will be doing seminars on Display Board building, and Hand painting and painting in general.  More on that in a bit.

My Sanguinor from Nova 2011. Winner Best Single Miniature!

But that is not why I am typing now!

I will be joining my friends Bill McFadden and Simon Lean in the Trios!  I had originally resigned myself to the fact that I would not be playing much 40k at the Nova. I will be working as a paint judge and selling my stuff as a vendor. But Simon and Bill put out the call for a Trios third and I answered! This is great because it allows me a bit of competitive 40k, a HUGE amount of good time gaming fun against the likes of Troy and Team Bastard, and it gives me an excuse to paint a new army.

What new army? Well, I vowed not to buy the Tau codex. Well... Bah.

I now have two months to build and paint a Tau army!

My list?

Loosely:

Suit Commander
Ethereal

x3 Fire Warriors in Devilfish
x1 Fire Warrior squad on foot

1 Kroot squad

1 Marker drone squad

x2 Skyray

x3 Broadsides

And of course a Riptide. I just cannot resist the flashy toys!

I need to get the codex and look at all the options and such but that is the bulk of the army.  I have never played a shooty army before, except for my Shooty Blood Angels that I won Mechanicon with, but they don't really count.

So now I have to get in 6th edition shape! I need to spend the next two months playing games and painting minis.

And what of my Nova seminars?

I am doing one on Custom Display Boards and one on Hand Painting and painting in general.

VISIT THIS PAGE and scroll down. You will see where to register for my seminars. If you are not playing in the Nova GTs, perfect! Just get a day pass and come join the seminar fun.  I also think there is a complete seminar ticket as well. Hell, there should be enough teaching and learning to keep any one busy! The Nova is NOT just about playing in Grand Tournaments!  I may have to get myself in on that Craft Beer seminar.... mmmm beer.

Any way, I hope to see you at Nova. I will have my personal gaming table set up in the Vendor section where I can take on all comers plus I will be happy to do some classic Jawa hand painting on your tanks!  And I believe Jim the Stout Smurf will be there as well with his Ultramarines and Gnome Wars!

So if you are going to The Nova, or live in the area, make sure to come see me!

Jawaballs

Finally, Gamesday 2012 coverage is up!

Me winning my 4th banner competition at Gamesday

GW finally posted the coverage of Gamesday 2012!  See it HERE.

Above is a shot from their site of me claiming my prize for the fourth year in a row. This one was tight though, I wonder if it is because of all the Ultramarine haters out there!  The banner competitions are a great and fun experience and I thank every one who screamed their heads off for me. (The winner is selected by the banner who gets the loudest scream.)

Sadly though, this will probably be my last win. I won't be attending Gamesday this summer. I decided that if I am going to fly some place, I would rather fly to Colorado for Feast of Blades, or the west coast for any one of the awesome events thrown out there.

The GW exec's quote saying that Gamesday is about fans getting together to do what they like most, buy GW product, affirms my resolve. While I like to buy some of the limited things available at Gamedsay like the Gamesday miniature and some of the limited edition lithographs I got last year, buying GW product is NOT the reason I go to Gamesday.

I started going to Gamesday about six years ago, and every year I noticed a trend. The cool hobby stuff (the REAL reason I go to Gamesday) became less while the retail store selling mountains of boxsets became bigger. This culminated in last year's Gamesday where there were hardly any club tables, and virtually NO GW Studio painted models or other cool things to see, but the biggest retail space I have ever seen.  It was not Gamesday, it was Salesday.  (At full retail.)

Man, I just can't write about GW lately without griping! Ironically I have been accused in the past by some of the less creative comment trolls as being a GW Fanboy.  The sad part is that I like the company. I do believe they put out an outstanding product. But aside from the banner competition and chance to play games against people I would not normally ever meet, I don't have much reason to fly out to Tennessee.

Any how, if you are interested in owning that banner. Send me a shout!  I'm pointing at you Smurf Lovers! Jawaballs at hotmail.

Jawaballs

Jawaballs and Fritz on our way to Spikey Bitz!

Thats right!  This June will mark the third birthday of my friend Rob Baer's brick and mortar store FTW Games and Spikey Bits!  To celebrate, Rob is throwing a huge party that will last all weekend long.  So Fritz and Myself cleared it with the wives and we are on our way!

FTW Death Company Banner

So what is going on?

Here is the ARTICLE ON SPIKEY BITS.

But for our lazier crowd, let me summarize.

First of all, there are tournaments all weekend, with Magic on Friday and a big 40k tournament on Saturday night starting late and going until we pass out.

But even more, it is going to be a huge weekend of "internet celebrity" appearances.

Goatboy will be there signing and drawing on bags.

Kenny from Next Level Painting will be there doing Airbrush seminars. He is a rock hard painter and player. I myself will be picking his brain on how to use my airbrush!

Kenny's successful army from Wargamescon.

Paul Murphy, one of the top ranked players in the country, will be on hand giving tactical advice.

Paul, Kenny and Goatboy

And finally Fritz and myself doing our thing. Fritz will be dispensing his black knowledge while I am doing my The Jawaballs Way seminar on Custom Display Boards!

I will also have my man cave gaming table set up. You have seen it in our videos, now you get to play on it.

What is my seminar?

I will be doing two runs of seminars teaching how I make my custom display boards.  You need only show up with your army, and FTW Games will provide the rest!  Come and learn hand on how to make your own display, with advice from me on elements of art like space and color, and leave with a completed 2x2 board good for armies on parade, painting competitions, or just for putting on your table at home.

Of course, if you have your own terrain in mind for your board, bring that too and I will show you how to bring it all together.  Here is a tip: Scour ebay or look at Petco for aquarium terrain, or check out Spooky Town by Lemax.  They have lots of great buildings you can smash into oblivion and use as terrain, or decrepit trees and terrain pieces that are perfect for display boards. Whatever it is, bring it in, and I will help you arrange it on a board provided by Rob and you will leave happy! You will need to preregister for the seminar. HERE IS THE SPIKEY POST with more info.

Lemax Spooky Town

When I am not doing my seminar, I will be accepting all challenges. I will have my Blood Angels on hand and ready to rock.  Or bring a friend and tag team me an Fritz!  I am not playing in the tournament which means I will be available for most of the time to take on all comers, dispense painting advice, or just chill! Oh and I will be giving special discounts on my Jawaballs Way DVDs.

Ok then, I hope to see you there. If you miss these seminars, I will be doing them at The Nova Open, Labor Day weekend.  Stay tuned!

Jawaballs

New charity army project!

I would like to announce the newest charity army painting project that I have had the pleasure to be part of!

Redemption of the Fallen: An army painting charity project in support of Doctors Without Borders.

To see the site for the new project GO HERE.

Here is the full banner.

I am very proud to have been part of two army painting projects in the past. The Storm Wardens, and the Heroes of Armageddon.  I think in total we raised about 50,000 bucks for Doctors Without Borders.

This year we have a new organization running the show. Believe me, it is a HUGE amount of work to coordinate a project like this. But the guys at Nova have taken it on, x3!  There are three armies being created for this project.

Also this year, as a nice change, TheWarstore has provided all of the models to be painted.  Previously those were out of pocket expenses.

So what are we painting?

A Dark Angels army of 1850 base points.  This army will include all elements that make Dark Angels special, plus more great stuff like a custom display board!

Here is a work in progress of some of the artwork on one of the Rhinos By Dan Withers from Valhalla Games.

Yes that is hand painted work, and no it is not mine!  It is freaking beautiful though.

And here is a tactical squad by Tim Williamson WIP.

Here is how you can enter to win...

VISIT HERE And purchase tickets.  For every single dollar you donate, you will be entered into the drawing once.  Donate 100 bucks, and you will be entered 100 times.  The more you donate, the better your chances of winning!  The drawing will take place at The Nova Open on 9/1/13. You do NOT need to be present to win. The armies will be shipped WORLD WIDE by 9/6/13. So get in on it!

What am I doing?  I will be painting a Ravenwing Bike Squad and a Ravenwing Apothecary.  I just started so I don't have any WIP yet, but I should have the Apothecary done soon.  More on that later!

I am excited to be part of this project and I can't wait to see the finished result.  Check back often for more WIP and check the site, there are links to all of the artists.

Jawaballs

Here are the rules straight from the site:

1. Donation structure:
   • .95 cents of every $1 ticket will go directly to the nonprofit cause as designated by each raffle (listed above)
   • Approximately .02 cents of every $1 ticket will be used to support the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation overhead and administrative costs
   • Approximately .03 cents of every $1 ticket will be used to cover Paypal fees and tax reporting
2. Minimum number of tickets purchased is 10. This minimum ensures that the maximum percentage of each ticket purchased will benefit the designated charitable cause.
3. Ticket purchases, though supporting nonprofit charitable causes as outlined above, are not tax deductible.
4. Buyer’s name will be entered into raffle once for every ticket purchased. The NOVA Open Charitable Foundation will use an accurate, independently-developed electronic randomizer to select the winners.
5. The final drawing in each raffle will occur at the NOVA Open convention in Arlington, VA, on Sunday, 9/1/13. Winners need not be present to win.
6. Winners’ names (plus city/state/country) will be posted on the home page of the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation (novaopencharities.org) no later than Monday, 9/2/13.
7. Armies will be packaged and shipped to the winners before Friday, 9/6/13; tracking information will be provided.
8. No members of the NOVA Open Charitable Foundation, Inc., artist/painters, or sponsor owners eligible to win.
9. No maximum ticket purchase. No percentage chance of winning can be calculated. Ticket p
10. urchase does not guarantee win. Ticket sales are final. No refunds.

New Video of the Week!

Thought it was time to update my video of the week!

I came across this oldy from my first Golden Demon attempt. This squad remains as my favorite I have done yet.  Enjoy!



Jawaballs

Pre Heresy World Eaters full size banner!

Here is the first draft of a new banner commission. Pre Heresy World Eaters!

He wanted the basic World Eaters logo, the chaos star pointed circle with the jaws eating the world, with maybe some chain axes crossed in the back. 8th company.  But he was not sure and left it up to me!  I don't know much about preheresy stuff, but I don't know if the World Eaters adopted the pointy chaos star stuff until after the heresy.

So while the pointy "Gothic" design around the circle enclosing the world may be accurate, for 31st mil Space Marines, I just don't know.  So I decided to go with a more animalistic jaw, using a sharks jaw bone as a prompt.  The Chainaxes need improvement, but I just put them in for place holders, and I need to organize the layout a bit better.

The banner itself is light blue. The field around the logo is going to be black, on the blue banner, with white trim between.  The standard bone colored Jawa Scroll and decorations on the tabs on the bottom.  Is this looking too Space Sharky?  Should I go more with the pointy circle design?

Thoughts?

Coming soon:

Redemption of the Fallen Charity project
Full sized Blood Angels, Lamenters, Black Templars and Custom banners
Eldar Ulthwe
Lamenters back on track

Finally they are here!

I have finally launched my new set of painting tutorial DVDs called The Jawaballs Way: How to Paint Wargame Miniatures.

YOU CAN GET THEM HERE  It was PW protected. I removed that. Should be ready to go!

To go with my launch I created a brand new webstore which has been streamlined throgh Shopify. It accepts credit cards, paypal and even MONEY ORDER!  It is now easier than ever to get my DVDs.

And here they are:

Black and White:

Black and White. This DVD teaches you the ins and outs of two of the hardest colors to paint well, Black and White! First you will get a Masterclass demonstration of how to paint a Ravenwing Biker. Second comes another Masterclass on how to paint White armor, using a Blood Angels Death Company model. Third you will get the in between, a master class teaching you how to paint a blighted black Warmachine Cryx Warjack! This is a must have set for every painter!

Red and Yellow                         

This DVD teaches you how to paint Yellow and Red using models from Warhammer 40k and Warmachine. For yellow you will paint a Lamenters model and for red you will paint with two different techniques. First you will learn how to paint the Jawaballs' Warhammer 40k method of highlighting up from a dark base by painting a Blood Angels tactical marine. Then you will learn the Warmachine method of starting with a light base, and shading down.  You will learn advanced techniques of feathering, fading, shading and line highlights as well as get a good demonstration of "Jawa Grey" a Nonmetalic Silver technique developed by Jawaballs and used on his award winning models.

Bone and Grey:

This video set teaches you how to paint Bone and Grey using models from Warhammer 40k, and generic pewter skeletons. First you will learn how to paint Bone colored armor by painting a Deathwing Terminator. This is a master class level demonstration. Then you will learn how to paint an above tabletop Space Wolf. Third you will get a master class on "Jawa Grey" and learn how to paint a competition level Grey Knight in nonmetallic silver. Finally you will get a table top primer for painting hordes of skeletons fast!

And the rest!

 Basing and Display







Blue and Green

Hand Painting and Detailing

So there you have it! At long last the DVDs are available. They come in full color, shrink wrapped card board sleeves and feature full menus and music!  The DVDs play in US region DVD players and PCs.  You can get THE ULTIMATE PACKAGE HERE Which gets you a discount on the entire set of DVDs. You get a free title!  Full 720p HD digital Downloads will be available soon.  Stay tuned!

Jawaballs

Holy!

It might be a good summer.

If any thing might bring me out of my 40k malaise, this will. My Ulthwe will finally come off that very back burner!

Dammit GW you sucked be back in...

More to come

Jawaballs

Change of pace? Lets try Robotech!

I grew up on Robotech. I used to be up at the crack of dawn every Saturday morning to watch it when I was in 5th grade.  I have always kept that fond love. SO, I was nothing less than pleased when I was shown this new KICKSTARTER!

Palladium Books has launched a Kickstarter for a new revision of their Robotech RPG and Tabletop Tactics game. They have SWEET models and new rules. It is looking like it will be a freeking awesome game.

So there you go.  You can check out the rest for yourself HERE. 

To summarize, they set their goal at 70k and have already hit half a million with over half of the KS time to go.  Now they are in stretch goal time, which only serves to make the rewards bigger, as the more people who back, and the more it makes, means the more they include with the reward tier.  Get behind this Kickstarter and I hope to see Robotech included at some of the major GT cons in the area soon to relieve some of the GW BS that is going on!

Here is an example of one of the bonus Stretch goals.

Who doesn't love Roy Fokker?

Jawaballs

So much to cover!

I've been out of it for a while, mostly due to the huge amount of work and time it took to produce my new set of DVDs, which I will be featuring in a post later this week to celebrate their launch!  But in that time, a lot has come up...

The Tau Codex.

I don't know what to really say. This has been a long time coming and I am sure there was much rejoicing when it was announced it was on the way.  But I'm sorry, I just can't bring myself to spend 50.00 on another supplemental rule book that is not a special limited edition!  They got me on the Dark Angels because I had a gift card.  Even then, I wish I had not given in...  I just can't get behind them despite my love for the models.

Bitz Blocking?

Why?  Surely they have a reason, but I can't imagine that the bits sellers have reduced profits for GW. They can argue that people who want an apothecary would buy the command squad box set if they did not have the option to buy it from Spikey Bits, but in my opinion they simply won't buy it at all. I sure wont.  By the way, to go out with a bang, Rob Baer at Spikey Bits is offering a blow out special on his Fat Sack o Bits. He is clearing out stock and shutting up his bits business.  Go get em while you can!

Cease and Desist...

So a couple of high profile sites were shut down by Google, apparently because of a C&D order due to copyright infringement.  There are a couple issues here.

First, I support GW on this.  It is their privilege to be the first to present their content in their media. It is not the right of a third party website to obtain photographs of those published pages and post them online before the magazine is even released.  GW does need to protect their IP to some degree but I am no lawyer.

However, that is where my support stops.

 I have made this point before. GW owes a measure of thanks to the internet and sites like Bell of Lost Souls, Miniwargaming and myself for their huge growth in the last half decade. It is certainly NOT attributed to their pathetic website which used to at least have loads and loads of background info and images and now is just a hard to navigate catalogue.

If you are reading this, than it is possible that it is a site like mine that has initiated or rejuvenated your interest in 40k. That translates to numbers.  Through my site and my Youtube channel, and as evidenced by the literal thousands of testimonial emails I have received thanking me, I would lowball estimate that at least three thousand people are into 40k because of me.  Or at least got into it for a brief time.  (Yes, I have received thousands of emails and comments thanking me for the inspiration.) I think some where there is a numerical value per new customer... I would guess that is around 500.00.  So if I took my estimate of 3000 people, and multiplied that by 500, we are looking at 1.5 million!

Like it or not GW, the hundreds of blogs and sites dedicated to your merchandise are ADVERTISEMENT for you! You owe a portion of your success to us.  We feed the machine. I am not saying that GW needs to put up with copyright infringement, but they need to reconsider their approach to the online community. They did not create it, we did.  While they were ignoring us, BoLS was taking root and Fritz and I were launching a massive Youtube trend of tutorial videos and recorded batreps. Take away BoLS, From the Warp, Beast of War, Miniwargaming, Spikey Bits, and little guys like Myself and Fritz and where is GW?  I dare say they are not launching 50 dollar codex books.  Are we the cause of the current situation with our hobby?

Any way, it is my opinion that GW needs to embrace the internet and the fan sites.  Don't fight BOLS, work with them.  Get some progressive, internet savvy PR guy in place to work on reversing public relations and using the massive traffic that BoLS gets for the good of all!  Give BoLS some exclusive sneak peek "leak" images before a launch!  I am pretty sure that Larry would post them for free and GW will get the promotion they want.  Both parties win.  (This will also cut down on the piracy that they are trying so hard to banhammer.)

Those are the thoughts for the day!

Feel free to sound off.

Jawaballs

Something useful from Spikey Bits!

I know I have been quiet of late. I have been really busy with my Kickstarter, and also taking a hefty break to let my hand and arm recover. Tennis elbow and arthritis combine to make Jawa and unhappy boy. I have also been saddened by some of the decisions made by GW lately, and how they are hurting great guys like Miniwargaming. But I came across this article from Rob Baer that sorta helps.

Right on the heals of our bi-monthly "Miniature Market" videos that are a great way to pick-up some great deals on used miniatures, we have come up with yet another way for you to save even more on the hobbies you love' The Spikey Bits Trade-In Program!

The Happiest day of the year?

It is Easter Sunday, and I just bought my ticket for Mechanicon!

The Mechanicon is one of my first, and most beloved GTs. I love Tony Spino and the guys who run it, and I love the event. The tables are fantastic and the dude love is exquisite. :)  In other words, good games, good tables and good people makes for a good event.

Mechanicon is being held at The Warstore Weekend on November 1-3.  This is probably only one of two that I will make this year, the other being The Nova Open.  Mechanicon though is at a super sweet location in Northern NJ, convenient for every one from upper New England to Lower DC!

I will write more about it soon. But for now, don't wait, get your ticket! I just got mine.

Jawaballs

Miniwargaming Content!

Hey guys, post topics you want me to tackle on my live show here!

Jawaballs

The Kickstart ends in just 7 hours!

Get in on the fun while you can! Click the link at the top right. I included a few special rewards where you can grab sweet deals on some of my painted models too.  Don't miss out! CLICK HERE

Jawaballs

It's official!

With just over a week left my Kickstart promoting my new line of painting tutorial DVDs called The Jawaballs Way has reached it's mark!  Now it is time to push it with some new rewards. I will be posting up additional rewards today, offering great deals on stuff I happen to have around. So grab yourself some painting tutorials and some sweet swag!

In the meantime, here are some pictures of the actual painted models for the tutorials. Check out MY KICKSTART and get in on the deal! You get two free DVDs through the promotional preorder price on the kickstarter. 

Cryx Warjack!

This model is part of the "Black and White" disc. I will

also be painting a White Assault Marine and Ravenwing biker.

I also teach how to make this base on the "Basing and Display" disc.

Khador Mechanik Officer!

I use mostly P3 paints on the Warmachine models and do my

own interpretation of the recipes straight from their army books.

Some Jawa Grey! I do a full tutorial on how to do it.

A humble Blood Angel tactical marine! Part of the

"Red and Yellow" disc

A Space Hulk Tyranid from the "Blue and Green" disc.

Not every model you paint needs to be epic!

Thanks to every one for their awesome support!

Jawaballs