Tuesday 5 July 2011

Yes I'm back, and I'm tanned!

Well two weeks in Cornwall were great, I ate too much, drank too much, played with the kids until I was sore and tetchy and they were shattered and MADE love to my wife under the stars (and the canvas, we're kinky - but we ain't that brave, plus who would mind the babies?)

Needless to say, I looked tanned for a total of my holiday - the day my holiday stopped - I start peeling, It's like an allergic reaction, what's a guy to do?!?

So back to the grindy thing and the email mountain (200 emails, 700 spam emails - I think I got off lightly really)... work become and paychecks Kaching and all that.

On the hobby side - well nada really. I do have some LURVELY forgeworld, specialist and GW priceyplastic to build and paint however and I'm easing back into it gingerly.

Llugft Huron in Terminator Armour - lush.
Abbaddon in priceyplastic - a winning at the BlogWars (yeah!)
Several lush Infinity models.
And a Pirate band...

So no worries.

EXCEPT: DIY beckons and the wifey's foot is tapping, plus World of Tanks has turned into somewhat of a total obsession in the obsessive mind of your truly.

My 'garage' is heaving with some pretty pathetic tanks, but take a look:

M2 Medium Tank

It's completely rubbish, but I'm totally in love with it. It has pretty paltry armour for a medium tank (some German Panzer mediums rival Russian heavies), but the beauty of it is the variety of games you get dumped in. Sometimes I'm going head to head with a KV (huge russian ball breaker, kills me in one shot and crushes my burning remains), other times I'm playing the 'mini-KV' in really noob games taking everyone out with kill shots. Armed with a 75mm howitzer it's totally overgunned for it's play level and a really really fun tank.

PzKpfw II Luchs

This was a joy of a tank until they nerfed it on a recent update. Not the fastest scout tank, but turns on a dime and doesn't slow for hills either. Running around causing havok and playing the 'target' is what this little Luch is a beauty for. It can take a half decent gun too, although ditching it in favour of a super-light pop gun is very tempting and then you just race about annoying people. Even less armour than the M2, but at this speed?!?

VK 1602 Leopard

The latest (and best) tank in my garage. It's almost as quick as the luch (and faster downhill), but with double the armour and a good gun. The downside, every game you are going into battle against tanks that never fought in WW2, IE really really really big tanks that make the IS and KV look well a bit silly. Fun to drive though.

SU-85B

A tank hunter. Up until today (I've been playing a month), I didn't like tank hunters. Basically a huge gun on a shit chassis. That said, I'm gaining respect for this beauty. Hunting is all about the position and the waiting and taking the shot that counts. I'm starting to rack up quite a tally with this beauty - with an eye set on the SU85 ... which is a really dirty tank.

Ram-II

The first of my premium tanks. It has a average gun on a tough medium tank. Good armour though. Won't face down much 1-2-1, but in a wolf pack, this tough nut shines.

T14

My only heavy tank, premium and a bit rubbish. It can take some punishment, but its armour ain't great and it's gun is only good for picking off the supporting tanks. Sometimes however, you manage an outflank with this beauty and the look on their face when a T14 rolls into their base - lush! The biggest asset, this baby earns $7-15,000 credits for every game. Which I can only spend on my other tanks. Nice.

M37
Finally I have my only SPG (Self-propelled gun). I'm not a big fan of these boys as they play (again) completely differently from my style. That said, they are cool and can rack up kills behind a good team no problem.

Conclusion

If you haven't tried it already, do so. World of Tanks is a world of awesomeness. It's free unless you start stocking up on Premium tanks like me (which kinda works) and I've spent a total of £13 on it in a month. And I don't need to spend anymore (at least for a while ... honest!)