Hey Everyone! Today I am happy to bring you another interview with Dan Moyes who is a member of The Rend 4 Age of Sigmar Club. You might recognize Dan from my Weekly Hobby Update posts as he was the gentleman who was pushing me to Hobby as much as I did over the past few months. Dan is local to Colorado but met Neil at Adepticon last year which is how he joined the club. It was fun getting to know Dan better through some friendly competition and soon we will be sharing a drink at Adepticon together as we recount the tales of our recent Hobby rivalry.
Chuck: "Dan, how did you get into the Hobby?"
Dan: "I was a long time Warhammer 40k player (going back to Rogue Trader days in fact). My small gaming group of a few friends would play 40k on a regular basis. Age of Sigmar came out and we picked up the starter set and gave it a go. We immediately liked the faster play, having rules in one place and the thematics of medieval style soldiers and monsters fighting over strange lands. I was always a fan of fantasy, but the requirement for large blocks of infantry was always a turn off in terms of financial costs and the time sink of getting all those models ready for the tabletop. Sigmar seemed to offer the medieval/fantasy flavor on a smaller skirmish level which was a big attraction to many 40k players like myself."
Chuck: "What do you currently have on your Hobby table and what are you planning for the future?"
Dan: "Currently more Seraphon and some Stormcast that have needed paint for forever. I do have various miniatures from other game systems that I would like to get painted as well. During the Rend 4 Hobby Hero competition, I did complete all the basic heroes (and Tzeentch heroes) that came with Silver Tower and would like to get the rest of the miniatures painted up as well as include some exotic adversaries for a future season. My son, who is 10, will be attending Adepticon with me this year and playing Sigmar teams with me and is entered into the Sigmar youngbloods competition. I have some last bits of a Seraphon army to get tabletop ready for those events."
Chuck: "What is one of your favorite memories of this hobby?"
Dan: "For me, the allure of AoS is those games that come down to the wire and hinge on one last dice roll (or several last dice rolls) that decide the fate of the game. One that I remember fondly in our group was the remaining Seraphon had the last Khorne model, a Bloodsecrator surrounded, in cover, on the objective, and unwounded bottom of turn 5. The Secrator was rocking a crazy save and was eventually whittled down to his last wound with nothing left to strike except for the Kroxigor jaw attacks (that are usually uneventful). Jaws like a Steel Trap was triggered (6 on wound) that causes a dice off between them and their victim. Final dice off for the game (Khorne would be tabled and lose the objective to boot), Khorne rolls….a 2…Seraphon roll…..a 3! And cause one mortal wound, the last wound, thus winning the game. It doesn’t really get much closer than that.
I also have great memories of my first Adepticon trip. My friend and I basically on a whim decided to go last year and booked at the last moment. The events that still had slots at the time were mostly Sigmar (and we both decided against any 40k events). The AoS crowd was pretty laid back and fun and I learned a lot about the game since I was pretty much the FNG at that point. We played AoS until we puked doing Vanguard, Teams, and Championship all that weekend. I actually got matched up against my buddy in round 3 of the Championship which was unexpected. We also got paired up with Ben Johnson and Robin Cruddace in round 3 of teams which was a complete surprise (and we were thoroughly crushed)."
Chuck: "How do you balance Hobby, Work, and Family?"
Dan: "It was tough up until recently. I had been on 12-hour shifts at work with an irregular schedule, so I was always tired and worn out. Hobbying was my balance to Work and Family since I tended to de-stress whilst painting and planning my next build, color scheme etc… My kids always like to see what I am up to at my paint station."
Chuck: "What is your favorite part of this hobby?"
Dan: "For me it is the painting and converting and coming up with new techniques for miniatures. I enjoy spotting items at stores that I can quickly identify for a terrain project or basing material. You never know what may crop up."
Chuck: "What is your least favorite part of this hobby?"
Dan: "Probably assembly. Many times I am rushed to get models on the table and things get put together quickly. Later on, when I go back to paint I have to spend the time to get things fixed before I paint."
Chuck: "We recently battled it out over the Hobby Hero award as part of The Rend 4 club's winter event season. What can you share about your experience?"
Dan: "It was exhausting I had retaken the lead after doing my hobby board and was determined to keep you beat down in points till the end. By the end of the season, I had perfected knocking out models to a tabletop standard in as little time as possible. That did give me new confidence in being able to compete large projects quickly. During the season I managed to complete a Flesh Eater Courts and Seraphon army and have a good chunk of a Slaanesh army complete. I also put a dent in the Silver Tower set which the family loves to play. We both cracked 300 points which is basically a 2k army worth of stuff a month for the last 6 months!"
Chuck: "The competition really pushed us both to squeeze out as much Hobby time as possible. What tips can you share about painting plenty of models within a short time frame?"
Dan: "Plan ahead both your time and models that you want to tackle. Plan ahead a color scheme and keep it simple, 3 colors (primary, secondary, tertiary). After all the planning, execute until it is done! If you can make hobbying a part of your routine then that is even better. I started to set aside some time almost every night to get at least a few things done. An airbrush which is a big expense in many people's hobby budget will save you loads of time. I use mine mostly for base coating and for some effects."
Chuck: "You recently began a small Facebook page dedicated to producing armies quickly and to nice tabletop quality. What can you tell me about the page?"
Dan: "There are a gajillion painting pages out there that you can get techniques and tips from. For me, it seems that many people get bogged down in the psychology and motivation of getting their armies on the table and cannot see the forest for the trees. That is what I want to focus on, the psychology of hobbying. The recent competition helped me overcome some of those hurdles and I would like to return some of the knowledge to the community. We can also talk about the challenges of getting younger kids into the hobby since I have started down that path with my son so far and my daughter has shown interest as well. Come over to GOML (Get Off My Lawn) Painting and join in."
Chuck: "While the Rend 4 Club is located in Northeast Ohio you are based in Colorado. What type of Age of Sigmar and 40k scenes do you have out that way?"
Dan: "I am wholly unqualified to answer that since I typically just game with a few friends and we like to game in what I call a “friendly competitive” environment. We try to not cheese it up too much with lists and be “that guy” during games. We game at each other’s houses and we are fortunate to be able to have all the additional items that come with the hobby when you home game (game tables, terrain, game mats). We have played at our LFGS before but it is overrun with Magic."
Chuck: "If there is any way someone might be able to reach out to you for a game in your local area?"
Dan: "My group is looking for additional players that share a similar game mindset and people that are looking to learn the game or get better in a low-stress setting. We are very laid back and will be joking and messing around the whole time having fun. We cannot game every day as work/life balance is decidedly more towards work but we try to fit in a game night once or twice a month. If you are looking for a game just send me a message on Facebook and introduce yourself."
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I hope you enjoyed today's Player Spotlight with Dan. If you live in Colorado be sure to reach out to him about meeting up to play some games!
Until next week, Happy Hobbying!
~Chuck Moore