Making treemen

I said this would be my next modeling project, and I'm getting Dan some wood elf archers for Christmas, so I thought it was time to make some tree men/tree kin as an accompaniment.

These were surprisingly easy to model. So far I've made two tree kin, and it took me only a few hours. I used copper wire and sculpy, and the only tools required were needle nose pliers with a wire cutter and a nail file that I thought looked like a good sculpting tool.

I plan on making at least two more tree kin to fill out a good-sized unit, and a tree man, which should be the same basic design on a larger scale. They will likely not be painted until after Christmas at the earliest.

Warhammer on the cheap, and the art of making snakes

What an expensive hobby this is. Think of the money we’d save if Games Workshop just outsourced to China. Isn’t there a cheaper solution, other than finding a less expensive hobby like chess? It’s nigh impossible to play warhammer for free, but there are ways to save money when building an army.
Method 1: warehouse and used goods
The simplest way is to buy models on ebay. Both unopened boxes and slightly used models are available, the latter being mightily cheaper. The core of my lizardman army is five of the new plastic boxed sets, all of which I bought on ebay or on its links store sites, for $15-18 a box (this was when the saurus and skink boxes were selling for around $25 each from GW). Even better, it is possible to put together a ridiculously cheap army if you are willing to buy the old models, especially if they are slightly used, especially if some bum tried painting them (badly). Dan’s army was bought in such a fashion, with an enormous amount of old edition plastic and metal models, for $60, mostly just put together (badly... looks like he used hot glue) and base-coated. With the addition of one box of the new knights and all their fancy extra plastic components, we had more than 2,000 points with which to make an army.
Method 2: DIY
Totally the most fun option, but requiring a certain amount of modeling finesse. As I was thinking, how am I going to get my lizardman army to 2,000 points, metal models are so expensive, it suddenly dawned on me. I wanted to include a unit or two of kroxigors, but there’s no reason they had to be represented on the table by actual axe-wielding crocodile men, why not have a skink riding a giant python? It’s a cool conversion, and only requires an introductory level of modeling skill. After all, they’re only snakes, I’m sure you had no problem making them out of play-dough when you were a kid. All the models incorporate a saddle and harness for the big snakes, ridden by extra skinks that I had lying around. The models were a bit primitive at first and looked more like lumpy worms, but they gradually got more professional looking.


Step 1: making a wire frame.
All sculpted models start with a wire skeleton, because clay doesn’t really hold its weight. These provide the basic posture of the model, and extra bits of wire should be added for any limbs (which is why a snake is so simple).
Step 2: add clay in rough lumps until the basic proportions of the model are attained, i.e., your snake should be not too fat nor too skinny. I’m not including a picture here because I don’t feel that this should be too challenging.




Step 3: refine the texture, and add surface detail features. I added on a diamond pattern to the backs of some of the snakes, and molded the shape of the eventual skink riders into their saddles. For the snake swallowing a skaven, I molded the mouth around the skaven body. After this was accomplished and I was satisfied with the models, it was time to put them in the oven. Note: don’t glue on plastic components until after they come out of the oven. The plastic may melt, and produce toxic fumes. Also don’t fall asleep while your models are in the oven and leave them in there all night. This also produces noxious gases that will probably have your family or roommates angry with you in the morning.
Step 4: add the plastic components, and any details on them, using air-drying clay. These include the harnesses for the snakes. Note the legs of the skink had to be cut away from the body and widened, with clay to fill the gaps.

Step 5: paint ‘em. A lot of modeling mistakes can be covered up by a halfway decent paint job.

So there were go. I have a unit of four kroxigors, for no more than the cost of four skinks and some clay. Don’t be afraid to try modeling yourself, it takes some practice but pays off in the end.






Next DIY: Treemen. Dan and I are planning a joint wood elves army, and I’m pretty sure we can do it for around $100. The plan: 2 boxes of archers, 2 boxes of dryads, 1 spellsinger, and maybe a unit of glade riders. Including the glade riders, I think we can probably get this for @$120 new on ebay. Not 2,000 yet you say? Well, the rest of the army will be made up of 2 units of three tree kin, and a treeman, all sculpted. Here are my practice trees from our tabletop (in progress shot):

The magic ladder

Appreciating magical middle-game moves: The magic ladder

Among Go techniques, I’m afraid that ladders are usually considered fairly simple. Regardless of level, anyone can use ladders in their games, and once you have learned the trick to them, it’s difficult to forget. But as many players improve, they tend to say that ladders are only good for capturing a stone or two. If a ladder works, then it works, and that’s all that needs to be considered. In fact, there are some real-game uses of ladders that might shake your belief in their supposed simplicity.
This game is from the 20th round of the 2007 Jinli Cup, a major Chinese team tournament. In this game Wang Yang holds white against Ma Xiaobing. If you think that ladders are only played out in novice games, than this example might give you a new conception of Go.

Up to this point, white has cut at 1, and black has strongly resisted with 2. White here is like a predator trying to break out of his cage, but here it seems that the bars are sturdy enough. How should white continue?


First let’s look at the original situation. The first major fight broke out in the upper left, and after a big trade, white lost four important stones in the middle. However, the white stones still have a lot of aji, expecially at the cutting point of A, where the ladder is a potential powderkeg. Right now the ladder doesn’t work, but if the right conditions arise, it could be a catastrophe for black. To prevent any future ladder kill by white, black has made a thick connection in the center, and it seems that this should prevent any ladder breaker. However, Wang Yang 5d doesn’t forget about the ladder, and bearing it in mind attaches to the seemingly impregnable bottom right corner. Black squeezes at 2, showing no mercy in strangling the white stones, and a fullscale corner battle ensues.

Both players should be able to read to this point with perhaps a degree of doubt. With 1 white is already aiming towards a ladder breaker, but Wang still has a long road ahead of him. Up to this point it seems like Ma Xiaobing 4d is the stronger player, but even with all the tricks up his sleeve there is still an undercurrent to the game unknown to him. But is Wang Yang himself even aware of it?
When white leans at 1 and hanes at 3, then extends solidly to 5, he looks very comfortable with his surroundings. Black caps at 6, and I suspect that 9 out of 10 players would do the same. Breaking out with white 11-17 wouldn’t work in most situations, but now both players will have to see past the local result. Here we return to the original problem. Black’s fence has no definite holes, and neither of the cutting points at A or B has any killing power. At this point, would you be able to factor in the ladder into your calculations? If so, then you certainly have a fighting spirit.
If we look at this as a life and death problem, then we should be able to see in under five minutes not only that can white live, but that he can live quite elegantly. Because of the cut at 19, the black “iron triangle” now doesn’t look so thick. White 1, 3, and 5 start to pursue the ladder, and after black is compelled to flee with 2-18, white 19 is sente, and then the hanes at 21 and 13 take the four black stones. However, while white lives with his dragon, he still hasn’t won the game. Even though this is a lightning tournament, both players still feel this in their gut. Now let’s look at how they actually played.

Actually, since the cut at 1 is the key move in this sequence, white can play it before the ladder, setting up an ambush. After seeing this move we should already have a sense of what white has in store, since black has no way to connect as he can at 18 in the previous diagram. This way white’s two lower stones become a “turtle shell”, preventing black from capturing his other group. Now let’s see if white 1 is actually sente. If black tenukis and prevents the ladder with A, white plays B, black C, and white D, capturing the black stones. Compared with the last diagram, this is advantageous for white, since he can live without sacrificing so many stones in the middle. Black cannot endure this result, so he hanes with 2…

After white’s cut on the third line, he starts the ladder right away. Ma Xiaobing overcame his hesitation and played through the ladder, surprising most onlookers, since both refused to abandon playing through the ladder. Up to black 14, the enticement of taking the two black stones in the middle is too great.

In this variation, while white breaks through to freedom, black forcing move at 1 is very big, and black has definitely come out of this trade on top. Ma Xiaobing is certainly hoping for this result, and waiting patiently to play this card.

Wang Yang suddenly paused, and Ma Xiaobing gasped in surprise, realizing his mistake, but it was already too late. White mercilessly played 1 and 3 in sente, capturing the four black stones. Here black 4 and 6 were the best Ma could do to save the situation and try to recoup his losses. After turning out with 5, white uses the ladder not only to save his dead stones, but also to smoothly kill the black group, turning the game around. At this point white should have an easy win.
After seeing this game you should give a cheer for Wang Yang, and have some sympathy for Ma Xiaobing. Actually he correctly read 99% of the Wang 5d’s moves, but his 1% inaccuracy allowed him to “cooperate” in making this a famous game.
Ma Xiaobing never at any point forgot about the potential of the ladder to escape the white stones, and he even saw the cut on the third line as well, but his mistake was thinking that the strongest way for black to play was as in diagram 7. For that reason the result was totally beyong his expectations, almost destroying his chance of victory. Looking at this game, I think it will continue to come to mind for most players as a classic example of a “living ladder”.

DIAGRAM 9

This example comes from the 2002 Korean KAT Cuo between Lee Sedol and Hong Chang-Sik. The bottom righthand corner is a result of the “Sword of Muramasa” joseki, and it is difficult to say who came out on top. The focal point right now is the upper lefthand corner. After black hanes with 1, white 2 and 4 display correct instincts, since right now the ladder is not good for black. Black is now looking for a ladder breaker, but since his bottom righthand stones can immediately be taken, he does not have a strong point where he can threaten breaking the ladder. However, white is being a bit absent-minded with his liberties in the lower right.
DIAGRAM 10

Black ataried the ladder, and white started running blindly through a fog, since it seems obvious that he can escape. White 2 extended without even thinking, and immediately black kept up the chase! White at this point must have been rather surprised, but now it’s already too late to turn back. After black continues the ladder for 15 moves and captures with 31, all the white stones in the corner are dead. After black finally noticed the double capture he couldn’t decide which to choose.