Sometimes work is hard. Today, for example, my boss walked up and hurled a pile of Skorne models on my desk and commanded that I assemble them. This is partially my own fault.

Just a few weeks ago I posted a list of the materials to stockpile for today's blog. For quick reference, here it is again: http://privateerpress.com/community/privateer-insider/insider-1-17-2011

Some of you may have picked up on the hint I dropped last week about this week’s battle engine showcase. And I’m certain most of you caught the little easter egg Ed hid in his blog yesterday. Well today I am excited to show you a 3-D render of the work in progress Cygnar Storm Strider.

Here we are, barely into 2011, and the struggle to get models fully painted for an event is the same as it was in 2010. Completing the Impossible Dream Challenge back in November kind of destroyed my will to paint, and December yielded very few painted models from yours truly. Not even the “ooh, shiny” factor of a new Circle army was enough to get me to lift a brush more than once or twice.

I could draw this out and talk about all the awesome contained within this blog, but everyone always says a picture is worth a thousand words. So without further ado, I am happy to present the exclusive first look at the Arcantrik Force Generator!

As Privateer’s retail development and support specialist, it’s my job to help your local game store get everything it needs to create a great gaming experience for everyone. That might sound like a complicated task, but cool stuff like this year’s league coins and battle journals actually make my job pretty easy.

Starting today Privateer Hobby will collect and display the best parts of the Privateer Press hobby experience! Starting with gallery shots of our terrain and figures, we'll soon be adding galleries of our painting competition winners, player submissions, and tutorials for hobby projects! You can check out the new page here.

In addition, I’ll be kicking off a new series of tutorial blogs featuring WARMACHINE and HORDES battlefield terrain. I’ll be showing off some of my secret tips and tricks, and there will be a way for you, the readers, to win the actual piece featured in the blog (more on that later).

We don’t typically give titles to Privateer Insider blogs, but if this blog had a title, it would be: “Mommy, where do models come from?” It’s time for a “birds–and–the–bees” blog about model concepts. The models of WARMACHINE and HORDES are much more than a collection of numbers on a card to us, and some of them have rather interesting origin stories.

Since my job primarily involves logistics and planning, most of the exciting things that happen here are not under my purview. I often find myself jealous of the cool things other staffers get to write about in their insider blogs. I mean, really, did you see the battle engine previews from last week? Today, however, I get some satisfaction. I get to preview something cool.