Episode 97 was supposed to be about how assembling large Forge World models is really not as difficult as you think it might be. However, occasionally a show goes in a direction you didn't expect. What we ended up with is a deep dive into the world of Extreme Model Building!

Tim has a background in assembling model cars and trains, but his love of assembling complicated projects has now moved over into the Forge World arena. He is the individual responsible for the incredible assembly work done on Carls Titan and Thunderhawk.

We thought bringing Tim on the show would show people how they shouldn't be intimidated by these large (and expensive) models, however we didn't quite know what we were in for. We think however, you will find some great ideas in this episode and will gain an appreciation for just how passionate some people are about this hobby!

In addition to our regular Workbench and Tabletop discussion, we also present you with The Warrior Lodge #10. Joining us this time around are Ian (aka Crimson Fist Ian), Jason, and Josh (aka Santa Cruz Josh) to tackle a number of topics we have gathered for you.

Last, but not least, we have a quick interview with Teras of Geek Nation Tours. He comes on to talk about Warhammer World (You might have heard Carl went there) and how he can help you get there soon! Sometimes you have to just sit back and enjoy the journey, not necessarily the destination! We hope you enjoy Episode 97 of The Independent Characters.

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Episode 96 of The Independent Characters introduces our new special named Show of Force. This Episode Show of Force covers the Veterans of The Long War. We go into depth about the forces of the Chaos Space Marines. From Where they come from, what their objectives are, some of our favorite units, the models, the support from Forge World and Black Library... we attempt to answer the question "Why should you collect this army?".

To help us out we bring in John French, Black Library author of Ahriman: Exile (and the upcoming Ahriman: Sorcerer) to help us understand this complex villain and the nature of Chaos itself. Additionally, we have input from Alan Dehesa, a tournament Chaos Space Marine player who has placed well at some of the most challenging events around, to give us some insight into how he makes this army perform.

We have the usual Workbench and Games Played segments, but of course the real "meat" of this episode is our coverage. This is our first such episode and we are very interested in your feedback before we move into the next one (3 to 4 episodes from now).

We hope you enjoy Episode 96!

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Episode 95 of The Independent Characters takes a broad look at Wargaming Clubs. Are they useful? How do you find one? How do you join one? And more importantly how do you go about starting one?

To help us with this discussion, since we really knew very little about it to start, Adan has done some research on local Gaming Clubs to us as well as discovered some of the history of a club he belongs to, The 40k Fight Club. In addition, we have conducted interviews from around the world to give us a bit of a global perspective on the scene.

As usual, we have our Workbench and Games Played segments.

We hope you enjoy this episode!

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Episode 94 of The Independent Characters takes a hard look at Commission Painting. Whether you are thinking of having a model or army painted by a commission painter or painting service, or whether you think you have the chops to become a commission painter yourself, we discuss the pitfalls you want to avoid as well as the benefits.

To help us round out our conversation, we also have interviews with Branden from Smells Like Wargaming and Frankie from Frontline Gaming. These are two distinctively different approaches to Commission Painting services and we ask them about how they do business and what others should look for.

As usual, we have our Workbench and Games Played segments where we delve a bit into Tyranids as well. 

Next episode we promise to present you with a brand spanking new commercial for Secret Weapon Miniatures as well as Smells Like Wargaming. So finally people can stop teasing Carl about not having recently attended a class by Mr. Justin!

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Episode 93 of The Independent Characters has us returning to our annual “Year in Review” episode. And if you thought 2012 was full of Warhammer 40k goodness, you ain’t seen nothing yet!

2013 may go down on record as being the most active, and controversial year for Warhammer 40k ever! Between the multitude of Codex releases, the Forge World Imperial Armour AND Horus Heresy releases, the Black Library books and digital content, there seemed to be no end to the constant outpouring of 40k content!

Some was filled with controversy and others celebrated for their achievement, but no one can argue that we weren’t ALL kept very busy!

In our first episode of 2014, we discuss 2013 as it relates to Warhammer 40k. We have a tremendously large Hobby Progress and Games Played section as well. I want to thank Adan and Justin for joining me on this episode and we welcome your feedback!

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Episode 92 is our final show of 2013 for The Independent Characters. We wrap up the year talking at length about Escalation and Stronghold Assault. In particular we discuss the communities reactions to these two supplements and how we are treating them here in our community. 

In additon to that, we have a copy of Imperial Armour 2 (Second Edition): War Machines of The Adeptus Astartes. This is Andy Hoares first IA book since returning to Games Workshop. We take a close look at it and ultimately tell you if we think this book is worth buying or not. We end that discussion with our patented "Bang for your Buck" rating of the latest release from Forge World. 

What they heck, we also include our regular segment of The Workbench and Tabletop discussion. Now with more Hobby Progress!

Speaking of Hobby Progress. Don't miss signing up for the 2014 Hobby Progress Challenge! It starts soon and all details can be found in the links below.

Have a Happy Holiday and an Amazing New Year! We will see you in 2014!

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In Episode 91 we continue our coverage of Horus Heresy 2: Massacre! In the first part of our coverage we went into depth about the Legions involved in the book and how the story played out. In Episode 91, the second part of our coverage, we are going to talk a little bit about the Mechanicus and Titan Legion Forces, and then go into depth about some of the rules, characters and campaign that round out this book.

Our regular segment of The Workbench and Tabletop discussion that takes place as well. And last but not least, we bid a fond and thankful goodbye to Geoff as he leaves the co-host responsibilities behind. This won’t be the last we see of him of course, but he will no longer be the second chair of the show going forward.

We hope you enjoy!

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Episode 89 was supposed to be part one of our two part Horus Heresy 2: Massacre coverage, but due to a delay in receiving the copy of the book, we have had to fill some time. Rather than make you wait for this episode, we had some guests come on the show and do an extended Warrior Lodge segment, which includes some prizes for people who have left iTunes reviews towards the end there!

Of course we cover hobby progress and (lack of) games played. Last but not least, Carl gives us an editorial on healthy relationships and how they intersect with your 40k gaming.

It’s a short episode this time around, clocking in at just about two hours. But our Horus Heresy 2 coverage will begin with episode 90 in two weeks!

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Episode 88 of The Independent Characters is all about Battlefleet Gothic. While all of the specialist games by Games Workshop have been cancelled, we have had this on our schedule to talk about for quite some time. So now that it has been cancelled, we figure why not talk about it!?

We have played a bit of Battlefleet Gothic lately, and while we are no experts at it, we are happy to share our experiences and talk about some of the ins and outs of the game.

As usual, we talk hobby progress and games played. But in addition to that, Geoff has a very important announcement at the beginning of the show that all our listeners should hear.

We hope you enjoy!

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