GenCon! NOVA! Hobby updates! Well, only two of those three things...

Rumors of my demise are highly exaggerated! Though with the galloping Con Crud that I contracted following GenCon, it wasn't too far off target... Apologies for the radio silence of late, but between a massive work project eating up virtually all of my brain then haring off to Indianapolis for a week for the 50th anniversary of GenCon I haven't made any hobby progress of note - there's been some desultory build time on some NuMarines but bare plastic doesn't make for thrilling photography.

GenCon 2017 was a hoot - It's all pen'n'paper rpg gaming for me though, so no fun pictures of miniatures. It being the 50th anniversary of the con, it had sold out and meant there were nearly 70,000 people in attendance (the picture above was fairly indicative of the crowds). That did really strain the capacity of the city, and in certain cases meant some frustrations and absurdly long wait times, but the group I was with took it all in stride and we had an absolute blast.

Hot on the heels of last week's vacation is another week's vacation (and believe me, I'm getting some stick from my co-workers about skiving off again next week), with the NOVA Open 2017 kicking off next Thursday. Heading out there with the Thousand Sons in tow to participate in the always-awesome 30k narrative campaign weekend - Really looking forward to that! It's only a half joke that part of my excitement for NOVA is just to be able to come back and auction off the Thousand Sons. They've been done for a month and a half now, and I'm getting antsy to start the next project which I can't justify financially until I sell the current army!

Speaking of, I'd be remiss if I didn't point out that the fine folks at NOVA are hosting a number of miniature auctions to benefit several worthy causes and time is ticking down to get in on them!

I was honored to be asked to participate in the charity auction army painting again, and my contribution this time around was a pair of Thallax units for the Heresy Mechanicum force. A small in number but high in damage output force, it is definitely a fearsome army!

The other side of the Heresy force on offer is a brilliant Sons of Horus Orbital Assault force, led by the big man himself. Another terrifying army that's designed to get up in their opponents faces and hammer them into pulp!

These are just two of a whole slew of armies and models up for auction, including not only Heresy and 40k stuff, but also Blood Bowl, Flames of War, X-Wing, Guild Ball and more! Tickets range in cost from 2-5 bucks and winners not only don't need to be present to win, but don't even need to be remotely nearby - The winners will have their prizes mailed to them anywhere in the world, and in fact over the past few years there have been prizes sent out to all points of the globe!

I highly recommend checking out the various auctions and pitching in a few bucks on anything that catches your fancy! Check 'em out here!

If you're heading to NOVA this year, stop by and say hi! I'll be the guy watching his Thousand Sons get murdered, even though they actually have real legion rules, finally! Hah!