Tag Archives: Warhammer

Happy Holidays, You Bastard

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So I’ve taken the name of this update from one of Blink-182’s classier little ditties, though it has less to do with the song and more to do with an upcoming project I’ve set myself for my two-week break from work. (Though if you decide to YouTube that song, be advised that it’s very much NSFW!)

The Plan is to paint up a fully functioning army to use in Mantic Games’ Kings of War. I’ve had the makings of a good half-dozen or more fantasy armies for many years now, stashed away inside various boxes and figure cases. All never likely to see the light of day in between not having really properly played Warhammer Fantasy Battle with any regularity since 3rd Edition and my general misanthropy when it comes to going out to clubs or FLGS to look for games.

With the advent of Kings of War, which is apparently fast, elegant and easy to learn, and some online battle reports like this, my interest in Fantasy Battles, with Armies has been reawakened. I have to say, while I’m not usually a fan of Battle Reports (WD has put me off over the years) there was just something about the combination of old-school, DIY, fully painted and a little bit rough around the edges of the pics in this report that really reminded me of WHFB 3rd ed. Not the Mantic rules (which I admit, I still haven’t read), but the feel. Mixed figures, paintjobs other than the stale GW studio armies. Real people’s work (which is one thing I always preferred to see in WD).

So anyway. With the help of my mate, JudgeDoug of DakkaDakka and Mantic Forums fame, I’ve decided to dedicate all of my hobby time during my two and a half weeks off to cleaning off all the random stuff from my painting desk. He’s kindly agreed to write up the army lists based on what I have available, and I’ll take care of the rest.

My Painting Desk. Last week. Also, today.

But it’s not just going to be 2 weeks of solid painting. I’m sure we’ll also go out for meals, play computer, board and console games, have friends over, sleep in, take my mum to the Zoo, watch TV, DVDs and BluRays, fix the back fence, mow the lawn, clean up the garage a little more, and… Maybe I’ll go out until 5am and update my tumblr, too! well, you get the drift! So while I’m hoping to get a lot done, who knows how this will turn out?

With bases, because I’ve always liked them more for aesthetic reasons, I’ll be giving everything 25mm round bases rather than the 20mm squares that are traditional for both Warhammer and Kings of War. This is because:

1)      I’ve always preferred Round bases and have never especially liked square ones.

2)      After more than a decade of not playing WFB, I figure the “just in case I want to use them in Warhammer” excuse to not paint them because I’d rather use rounds has expired.

3)      I do like those games based on books about Rings. You know the ones. They use both round bases and also round-slot movement trays to drop them into.

4)      I’ll use those trays.

5)      If need be, the fantasy figures can do double-duty in those games about Rings. Even if they don’t look exactly like what WETA produced.

Since I’ll most likely be using these figures in friendly games in my own home, everything will be based consistently, and so there’ll be no “advantage” to one side over another based on unit base size. Besides, I be playing for teh funz0rz.

The contestant(s) for this challenge will be a Kings of War “Elf” army, made up of Citadel’s High Elves (and maybe a few Wood and Dark Elves as well).

The Elves. Now.
Well, a lot of them, anyway…

In the unlikely event that the Elves actually get finished, I’ll then be starting phase 2, which will be the second contestant – an Ogre army, made up of my very old-school Citadel models, some Ogre Kingdoms models, and the metric shitload of Mantic’s own Ogres that we have coming as a result of the Kickstarter – which are (hopefully!) due to arrive anytime now, and hopefully before the holidays begin.

The Ogres should have a much smaller (I hope) model count, and with the already finished figures thrown in, as well as how much I enjoy painting the big old brutes, should also be achievable – at least theoretically.

So in short, I’m going to put aside all the random crap on my painting desk, and the painting ADHD that I have in order to focus for a short, specific time, and hopefully have something tangible to show off and even use(!) at the end of it.

While I’m going to wait until next Wednesday night (18th September) before I allow myself to start painting, I figure I’ll allow myself to assemble, base and prime figures before the date.

From the Painting Desk 3.5 – Mini-update, and Goblin Aid!

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I realise I haven’t updated in donkey’s ears. While I have been doing by best to get more painting done, it’s been restricted mostly to the weekends, since I’m pretty much pooped on weeknights after work, and Mondays are a particularly trying day that involves me putting out spotfires all day with no actual breaks from about 8:45am till about 4pm (and I get in at 7:45am). This sets off a cycle of not really wanting to be arsed with anything aside from shooting things on my PC and sharing abuse in online forums until the weekend comes, when I slowly cycle back into a painting mindset  ….just in time to go back to work on Monday morning.

Anyway, the shitty midwinter weather here has been ok for painting, but not so good for photographing, so here’s some quick snaps of figures I’ve been working on recently.

First up is a pair of the Wardancers I’ve been updating.

This pair were last shown in WIP post #3. The one charging with the sword and shield has had little changed. I brightened up his armour a little (it looks a bit shit in this photo) and basically just touched him up here and there. The musician had a lot more updated. I redid his leggings in a similar colour to the original, and touched up his boots and leathers. The biggest change, obviously, is his tunic. A friend noted that it reminded him of one of the Croatian National Football Team strips. While it’s unintentional, I will say Pozdrav mojim Hrvatskim prijateljima vani!

I’ve also been working on some of my Orc & Goblin figures recently. I’ve been rebasing them as I have my old Elves, to use in games like Pathfinder, WFRP and perhaps Mantic’s Kings of War ruleset once I have enough done. I think I’m done with WFB, though I still like many of the models. These three are notable as they’ve been part-painted for well over a decade. The two with static flock on their bases are finished, their mate with the club is close but not quite there yet. Still need to highlight his clothing and do a few spots of detail and cleanup. If I hadn’t spent the afternoon cleaning the house (got to love going through “junk boxes” after a house move!), he’d have been finished as well.

Click to go to the Goblin Aid page on Facebook.

For anyone who hasn’t heard, Kev Adams, the sculptor responsible for the iconic Games Workshop Orc and Goblin look was brutally beaten in a home invasion a couple of months ago. Gamers have banded together to help Kev with his recovery. A large number of sculptors have gotten together and donated sculpts for the cause, and they’re being cast up by Ral Partha Europe. Foundry Miniatures is also donating all funds (excepting VAT) from the Kev Adams Self-portrait figure (with a bunch of snorklings included).

What those fucking cowardly dogs did to Kev.

Harlequin(?) Miniatures Skeletons

The last bit of my own work this post are a couple of skellys that again were part-painted for the better part of a decade. I finished these a little while ago, but haven’t had a chance (or the light) to photograph them properly. That’s the nice thing about finally moving into my own place. Being able to dig stuff out of old cases and make it finished. Nothing super amazing here, these guys are for gaming, not Crystal Brush. As Jaokonovski said: “The way I see it, a painted figure is a painted figure and makes you a better person.” Thumbs up to that!