Gorechosen Schemes
I’ve been on a bit of a Gorechosen/Combat Arena kick lately, and just started painting the models. Here are some great paint schemes. I need to pick a basing scheme too. I don’t plan to go all-out like some of these painters, they’ve outdone themselves! The Khorne models are a bit “samey”, but these painters have done a great job of differentiating the minis. I especially like the blue Skulltaker by Next Level Painting. It’s a little funny that even some of the newest things in my collection are a bit old now.
Finally finished: Aekold Helbrass
Big thanks to biggeek at cmon for an inspirational scheme. I honestly had a hard time “reading” this mini. There’s so much going on that the 14 year old me left it behind and moved on. Really happy with how this one turned out.
New priorities
I’m trying out a new hobby priority: No More Unassembled Models! My M.O. has been: I’m thinking about cutting out a lot of middle and get models ready to paint or play more quickly. I’m not sure how much value there is for me to have unassembled models that I can’t do anything with except hoard like dragon treasure. In fact, maybe that’s what I’ll call pre-usable models. Dragon Treasure. A dragon can’t spend gold, drink out of jeweled goblets, or wear filigreed armor. And I can’t play a game with models on sprue, or unbased lead. So I kicked it off without really thinking about it this past October. I had two spooky unassembled Blitz Bowl teams that, checks-watch, I’ve had for years! Time is literally flying. I asked myself: do I assemble both now or save one for next year? In my generally morbid mindset, I replied: What…
Pros & Cons of resin printing at home
Sometimes I feel conflicted about resin printing. It’s great being able to self-manufacture almost anything you want rapidly. I needed piles of skulls to add to a 3d rendition of the Hall of Death from the Catacombs of Terror. I just cranked them out. I still have a whole bag of skulls for more projects The convenience has a cost; it’s kind of a hassle. It’s smelly, it’s sticky, if you want truly custom models you have to spend lots of time on the computer. But there’s so much to print. Practically infinite amounts of really decent models and fun terrain/accessories. As nice as downloadable models are, they lack some of the magic of a physical product. Especially one bought from a real store. It’s fun to browse, talk to a real person, and look at packaging. Though, some of that magic is fading. And as much as I love…
I wish October was two months long
I printed out this skeleton months ago. It’s from Old Realm Forge. Since he has little legs, I added a tombstone (semi-failed round-base print) to help back him up. Knocked out the paint job in an hour. Super fun. I love painting skeletons in October! I also assembled a Shambling Undead team for Blitz Bowl that I acquired… 2.5 years ago. Gulp. Time flies. Do you have any model kits that you’re sitting on for a long time/special occasion?
Halloween Hobbytime!
This is what I’ve been busy working on this week. I’ve been getting ready to play Castle of Darkness! Sure, sure. Radukar the Beast is for Cursed City Nightwars. But he’s a big vampire, so he counts. I’ve been working on him on the side so he’ll be a surprise when the big reveal happens. I’ve been trying to avoid too, too many spoilers myself, but I know he exists, so I can’t unlearn that fact. Plus, now he’s painted and completes the entire lineup for Nightwars. I’ll post all the minis here sometime. The Dire Wolf proxies, also below, go with Nemesis, but I was on a roll and knocked out 10 more minis from the backlog. Pictures are links to store or 3D source for the models. Note: the big wolf (lower, center) is this one.
Abandoned Blogs
There’s something wistful about abandoned blogs. Someone started a site and poured their creativity into it, then, eventually… stopped. Maybe their interests changed, maybe they got out of the hobby, maybe they got too busy, maybe they had kids, or maybe the march of time caught them as it will catch us all. The most poignant aspect is the lack of a farewell. It’s a normal post with a future ahead of it. But then, that’s it. There’s no wrap up. No conclusion. It’s a cliffhanger. It could happen to any of us, even me. Disclaimer: I don’t know anything about the owners of these blogs. My most sincere condolences to those that are not longer with us. I hope everyone is still painting and playing. Take care of yourselves and others. Hug those kids, even if they’re all grown up! So here are some of the best abandoned hobby…
3D Print Skarburn Zapdakka for Blackstone Fortress
One of the fun things about Blackstone Fortress is that you can have NPCs tag along. Now this is something I haven’t worked into a game yet, but I really want to give Skarburn Zapdakka a try. A brief blurb about Retinue Characters is available here: https://www.warhammer-community.com/2019/12/03/blackstone-fortress-building-your-retinuegw-homepage-post-1 If you can get your hands on old White Dwarf Magazines, or the 2019 Blackstone Fortress Annual, you’ll have all the details. You play a mission to “unlock” the new characters, then they can hop into your outer space adventures. Skarburn Zapdakka appeared in the October 2019 White Dwarf. I’m sure GW a Flash Git model can be procured, but there aren’t many available for less than $30 US. Though I do really like the “Flash Git with Targeting Squig“. So instead of dropping real money on a real model, I went with an amazing 3D print from Lost_Heresy: https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/ork-big-shoota I think it…
Callis & Toll – Saviours of Cinderfall
Callis & Toll have rules up on Warhammer Community. Though I’ve never read any of the books, they look like a fun group of adventurers. They’re ideally suited to go up against the ghouls in White Dwarf 498-499. We now have a ton of heroes with Cursed City rules. It’d be great to have some more rules/adventures with other factions. Skaven maybe? How about orks? Dark Elves are always nasty. Here’s the video from Always Board Never Boring. Individual Character Rundown Armand Callis (Stalwart, Human, Order of Azyr, Saviour of Cinderfall) No surprises here. Callis wages absolute destruction. Hanniver Toll (Executioner, Human, Order of Azyr, Saviour of Cinderfall) Deadly, but less tough. Witch Hunters are cool. Lyssa Revenya (Blade, Human, Soldier, Saviour of Cinderfall) Very fun to play. We house-ruled the grapple to allow her to zip to visible locations, rather than limit it to the current board. Mistress Verentia,…
Diminishing returns and when to stop painting
When to put the brush down and walk away, you gotta know when to quit! So you’ve assembled, you’ve scraped, you’ve filed, you’ve glued, you’ve sanded, you’ve primed. Don’t stop here, you’re not done yet. You’ve base coated and things look UGLY. This looked better when it was bare plastic! Add a wash or shades and it’s looking better. Now you’re on to adding some highlights, maybe some fancy stuff, a gem or two. Now we’re talking. This mini will fit into a merry warband now. But should you keep going? No! Stop here! You have too many minis to paint and if you spend more hours on this mini (and all of your backlog) you’ll never get anything done! Put it down and back away! Now back yourself back to the table because you have more minis to paint! Get cracking!!!