Month: December 2024

Workbench

The Year in Review!

This is a first for me, I don’t normally post enough to warrant an actual year in review, but I’m getting healthier and a steady posting schedule has helped keep me motivated! The unpainted horde is slowly shrinking, and that’s a good thing, right?

I started out 2024 in the hospital after a nearly fatal bout of necrotizing pancreatitis, which I’m still dealing with today… and probably will for the rest of my life. My motor skills were shot, and I had lost nearly a third of my body mass from atrophy. It took a few months, but I was eventually able to control my hands well enough to paint for more than a few minutes, and now, rounding out the year, I’m back to a pretty steady level of quality and able to chip away at the horde.

I also came really close to throwing away a couple of big, horde type armies, one a Tyranid group that was doing nothing but piss me off, and the other a Kruleboyz army that was just gathering dust. Spearhead helped me get over the Kruleboyz blocker, and I’m close to finishing off 1,000 points of painted figs for AOS, which will be cool.

The Tyranids were a whole other story! I have always loved the bugs, but I struggle with painting the same damned pattern and color scheme on a hundred models. I got bored. I changed my color scheme a hundred million times. I also played a game of 10th edition 40k, and freaking hated it. I go You go HAS TO GO!

Since then, though, I’ve played two games of boarding actions, and had a bit more fun. It’s still a giant pain in the ass, but I see some fun to be had here… only because my game group is amazing. If I was playing modern 40k with random folks? I would become a hermit and leave society altogether.

I also settled on a color scheme, which is essentially ALL THE COLORS. I’m happy with that, and the combined effect of all these colorful bugs makes me happy. I’m close t0 500 points of painted bugs, mostly chaff, so I’ll be sure to fill that out in the future.

The Marvel Zombicide figs are coming along, with about a dozen figs finished out of several hundred. I’ll be making steady progress on those in the year to come!

My Frostgrave/Five Parsecs/Mordheim project finally got off the ground, but it’s mostly assembled figs with very little paint. Still, it’s progress, and I’m having fun getting the stories for the characters together and have started building out terrain.

I’m also plowing right back in to Necromunda, mostly because it’s a great game to kitbash figures from. I’m hoping to build out some scenarios in the future, but for now I’m focused on building out my warbands and terrain for the game.

Warcry is also something I should be focusing on more, it’s probably the best modern GW game, but I went overboard on it and have too many warbands. But, that being said, I did get a chunk of the terrain done and was able to use it at a Spearhead retreat back in September, which I loved.

My Malifaux projects have been getting wrapped up a bit as well, with several gangs getting finished up. I had grand plans towards collecting entire keywords of Malifaux figs, but I had a change of heart that has me strongly considering divesting a large amount of the figs from this game, and probably all the games I play.

Moonstone has continued to be the salve from Grimdark burnout, the minis are cheery and whimsical, tons of fun to paint, and look great on a shelf. Plus, my wife likes them, so that’s a plus! The other side effect is that I find myself painting my other stuff with a much brighter palette now, which is making me happy.

15mm minis took a huge amount of my attention over the summer, which was a welcome break. I really love painting the smaller figs, and the scenery is a ton of fun to paint up as well. As much as I dream of playing 15mm Mordheim, however, I’m not sure it’s ever going to happen, unless I paint up entire warbands for other folks to play. Still, solo play is an option, and I really enjoy looking at these tiny models!

The last big project of 2024 was realizing that I am only one person, and that during my rehabilitation period I spend a bit of time feeling sorry for myself and buying models that I will never get around to painting. I made a goal to re-home a lot of the unopened boxes, especially from games that have been sitting in storage for more than two years. That’s resulted in me gaining back a lot of space in my studio, and has helped me focused on prioritizing what I want to do with whatever time I have left in this world to do it.

That sounds a little glum, but it’s actually the opposite. The effect of nearly dying last year has been a rally cry for me; I don’t want my hobby to be a chore. I want to celebrate these toy soldiers, and I want to really explore how painting and collecting, mindfully and with purpose, makes me feel! It’s really cathartic, in a way, and has helped me cope with my new reality in a way that I never thought possible.

Using this blog to chart my progress has been really healthy, and has helped keep me motivated towards finishing projects. I have some huge, but attainable goals for next year, so stay tuned!

I hope you all have had a positive hobby journey over this last year, and here’s to hobby tranquility in 2025!

Malifaux, Miniatures, skirmish games

Malifaux: Woe Crew

You know, the kind of guy that planned things and had a strategy for his blog posts would have realized that his December crew for Malifaux would have made an amazing post for Christmas day, but I am not, nor have I ever been, nor will I ever be that kind of guy… so here’s my Woe crew, led by the always charming Pandora!

This crew has everything. Freaky Scarecrows. Dememnted Teddy Bears. Evil, stabby babies.

Baby Kade was a challenge, babies are not a thing that come across a painting desk that often, and I wanted his skin tones to be smooth and buttery, which is kind of the opposite of how I paint!

Iggy leads three Aversions, and they’re a ton of fun! Puppets, brain removal, and nose picking, woohoo!

The sorrows are also pretty neat, and really lend themselves well to oil washes.

The Poltergeist is last of the traditional Woe crew, and I painted it up like the Aversions and Sorrows:

Now, because Baby Kade needs a teddy, one is allowed in this crew!

And we’ll round out the Woe crew with The Carver, one of my all-time favorite sculpts from Wyrd!

This crew has been successfully re-home through my wildly popular catch and release program, which allows me to keep painting miniatures without filling the house to divorce levels of crazy little figures.

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game, Miniatures

MESBG: Rangers of Gondor

I really wish I had started these sooner, but I really didn’t even dip my toe into the Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game until this year (maybe last?), so I will be playing a bit of catch-up.

The Rangers of Gondor are a pretty good kit, especially considering they are mono-pose, push-fit miniatures. I was expecting a lot of sameness with the figures, but I’m actually finding that a little color variation can go a long way towards breaking up any repetition!

I’m holding off on painting Faramir (the true best boy of Gondor) up until I get the rest of the rangers done, but I’m having enough fun with these that I think I might, just really might, play a game with these guys!

Miniatures, Moonstone

Moonstone: Doug the Flatulent

I am so happy to finally have this guy done! He is literally the first miniature I saw for Moonstone when it was first teased way back in the dark ages of my memory, and he’s one I was a little stressed about finishing, because he’s so damned iconic.

Moonstone is already an incredibly thematic, atmospheric game. It’s also the only game that I know of that has a mechanic bake into it that allows for a farting dog that is used as a mount for a jousting goblin knight, so if that gets your gaming engines revving, this game was made for you!

That goblin knight’s name is Pubert. He kills folks and steels their money, but he also seems to be really attached to Doug, and I can’t hold much malice towards someone who is that devoted to their dog. I can’t imagine Doug is the best choice of mounts, after all. I’ve known far too many pugs. They’re like the drunk sidekick in every relationship; entertaining, gassy, and just a bit wobbly.

Doug and Pubert are also my first Goblin mini for Moonstone, and I’m really thrilled to be heading into this faction for the game!

Miniatures, skirmish games, Workbench

Fantasy Skirmish: Moranna, Warrior Heir of House Pike

It’s been a bit of time since I’ve worked much on my Frostgrave backlog, but it’s always in the back of my mind, keeping the other oft-neglected flights of fancy in my mind warm.

I decided to get back to it recently, and picked up a bunch of the “2” boxes of Frostgrave kits. The 2 means not male presenting, and I had been putting the 2 kits off for ages because I didn’t like the face sculpts on the female warriors much.

Turns out, a lot of that was the paint. But they still have a bit of a feline characteristic to them that I’m not a huge fan of. Luckily, the kits are still amazing, and Moranna of House Pike is the first mini in the new push to get my Frostgrave/Mordheim/Five Leagues from the Borderlands collection back on track!

House Pike was established in the 82nd year of the New Imperial Reckoning, recognized officially by Imperial decree four years later. The house sigil is a horned fish in haurient position, and the house colors are yellow and red.

Moranna Pike is the daughter of Archibald and Lowaine Pike, Lord and Lady of the rocky, sea crested region in the northeast of the Empire. Lord Pike was noted as being fair to the small folk and brave in battle, and Lowaine was considered kind to all and a practiced hand with a blade when needed.

As the oldest child of House Pike, Moranna assumed mastership of the house guard in her mid teens, and has shown promise in battle. She is currently questing in the Plaguewald, hunting undead, and hoping to show herself worthy of knighthood upon her return to civilization.

Miniatures, Workbench

Marvel Zombies: She-Hulk

I have had a long history with She-Hulk. I really loved the Hulk when I was a kid, which is probably why I love orcs. Big, Green, and Dumb is a default source of joy for me!

I was about eight years old when the first She-Hulk comics came out, and I liked them, but I didn’t get the humor because I was freaking eight years old. As I got older, she became pretty entertaining to read, and as an adult, she became a bit of a favorite.

Turns out Big, Green, and Smart is pretty fun, too!

I even enjoyed the MCU She-Hulk series on Disney+, but that’s not surprising. As most people who grew up with The Trial of the Incredible Hulk as the closest thing to cool live action super heroes will tell you, we’re a bit spoiled right now, and there’s some pretty good stuff being sent our way. Also, I’m easily entertained!

The She-Hulk sculpt from CMON’s Marvel Zombies game is pretty dynamic, and easily captures her in a heroic pose, getting ready to punch some shambler into paste! I’m happy to add her to the ranks of finished models, and it’ll be cool seeing an A-Force team pop up as I get more Avengers models finished!

Miniatures, Workbench

Warhammer AOS Kruleboyz Army Log: Grimmguttz the Shaman

I’m trying my damnedest to keep momentum going on my two horde army projects, but my general apathy towards modern GW games and the high burnout potential of large army builds really puts up some interesting barriers for me! Luckily, I really dig the Kruleboyz, they have a vibe that screams cool, and they’re fun to paint. I don’t know if painting fifty of them will be fun, but we’ll burn that bridge when we get to it.

I’m trying not to use straight up stock miniatures as much as possible, just to keep things distinctly mine. A lot of the Kruleboyz models will be masked, which is an easy conversion by just gluing spare scareshields to their faces. It looks pretty cool to me, and sparked some lore for the army, too!

Grimmguttz was feeling less than kunning. Frankly, he was feeling dizzy, and like he was about to bring up this morning’s double portion of Stankdredd Hash. He decided to hazard a peak, cracked an eye open a hair, and began to spew forth a torrent of hash the likes of which hadn’t been seen since his Stubbins, his steward and personal chef, had been allowed to arrange the Fumpin’ Day feast.

It was only after passing what appeared to be several gallons of noxious, neon vomit did Grimmguttz realize he was rotating about in the air. Each convulsion sent him spinning around faster, the colors of his stomach’s demise liberally painting the already psychedelic landscape with lurid splashes and sprays of color.

Grimmguttz bit back the next retch, swallowed it back down, and held his breath until he stopped spinning, which took close to an hour. No matter, he thought to himself, this was nowhere near the longest he had held his breath. He could wait it out.

Finally, his lurching rotation came to a blessed, lurching stop. Grimmguttz reached out daintily with an outstretched foot, then tried to tip-toe through the air to the ground. This accomplished nothing, so he whispered a threat to Gorkamorka and dove forward, gracefully striking his chin against the craggy ground.

Grimmgutz sat up, running his sore jaw and cursing quietly to himself. He suddenly realized that he wasn’t alone. “CAW!” said the crow, blinking all six of its eyes in unison. It was the largest crow Grimmguttz had ever seen, and the lurching, sickening colors strobing through landscape and air was reflected in its feathers.

“Same atcha, stoopid bird”, burped Grimmguttz, still massaging feeling into his jaw.

“CAW! CAW! CAAAAW!!!” screamed the crow, causing Grimmguttz to scramble defensively back on his ass.

“But dey is da gods!” muttered Grimmguttz, shocked at the blasphemy the crow had just uttered.

“CAW! CAAAAAAAW!” yelled the crow.

“I see, I see”, answered Grimmguttz, as a plan bloomed freshly into place in his mind. “But to do dat, dere wood ‘ave to be a heap o’ scrappin’ an frumpin’ first, speshully if’ we’s gunna get dat much Waaagh built up!”

“CAW!” agreed the crow, flapping its wings lazily.

“But even den, da gods wood sees us a comin’ miles away and fess wutt we’s a doin’ fore we had a chance a da trick!”

A wisp of purple energy started to coalesce around the bird, obscuring its appearance. Grimmguttz watched, fascinated and confused as the crow became impossible to discern from the landscape.

And with that, Grimmguttz the Kunnin’ came to in the Stankdredd marsh, sprawled on the ground next to Grakkskull’s hut. The boss looked down at the battered, nauseous wizard and let out a chuckle.

“Nice a yoos to join us, Guttz”, said the boss, strapping his scareshield to his arm. Grimmguttz stared into the face of the shield, a plan forming in his mind. A plan that would make it so the gods, even as formidable as they were, would never see Grakkskull’s krew coming…

… and even if they did, wouldn’t know who it was, until it was too late.

I’ll have more on Grakkskull and Grimmguttz, as they plot to raise enough Waaagh energy to elevate the Throne of Crows to divinity!

Miniatures, Workbench

Breaking the Backlog: The Wight King

One thing about making myself stick to a semi-regular posting schedule is that I’ve been painting more to make sure I have plenty of content! That also means I’m starting to make a dent in my backlog, which is fantastic news! I would much rather look at painted minis than a horde of unpainted potential!

I’ve also implemented a new “Two Year Termination” clause in my contract with my own sanity. If something is still in the original packaging two years after I bought it, I either need to get it on the table and finished, or find a new home for it. Hence, the sudden appearance of six square feet of office space after offloading a ton Marvel United boxes.

One mini that made it from package to finished is this Wight King from Games Workshop. It’s an amazing figure, I’ve always loved it, but never put the time together to finish it up. Now it’s done, and I’m pretty happy with the results!

I’ll most likely be using him for Frostgrave and Five Leagues from the Borderlands, but the rules for Warcry are flexible enough that he can be used in a Soulblight Gravelords list without any real trouble.

I tried to work some patina into the metals, since copper and bronze is going to get pretty grimy over time. I’m flirting with the idea of picking up a few Deathrattle Skellies to help him out, but I’m also keen on the idea of kitbashing some minis from other studios and let GW live without my money for a bit. Time will tell on that front!

I have a couple of more backlog projects I would like to get finished up for the new year, then I’m hoping to get involved in a hobby bingo challenge to keep the motivation rolling for 2025!

Miniatures, Workbench

Necromunda: Big Dugg the Stig Shambler

I am going to pretend it’s the excellent posts at Convert or Die that have me drooling over Necromunda again, and while there is SOME truth to that, I’m also just a basic stim juve at heart with little self control. I have a bunch o’ Mundas laying about the place, so there has been a flurry of assembly going on as I indulge one of my favorite gaming pastimes… getting in way over my head!

Big Dugg is a Stig Shambler I put together for my Cawdor crew a few years ago, but I haven’t posted him here, so I figure while I’m furiously putting models together, I can share some shots of one of my favorite models!

Dugg was an enormous child, and grew to be an even larger adult. He was shunned by most citizens of the underhive, and those that didn’t outright ignore him often abused him or used his massive fists to do harm to others.

At the end of the day, Big Dugg is a gentle soul, and hasn’t really developed mentally or emotionally past a toddler’s abilities. He is quite a sweet natured soul, unless something makes him angry, in which case things can get messy.

Dugg was wandering aimlessly through the underhive, hoping to find refuge from those that would abuse him. He had become friendly with a few members of a Cawdor missionary group, who introduced him to Barnabas, another soul twisted by the rigors of underhive life and cursed with a withered, atrophied body.

Barnabas and Dugg became fast friends, with Barnabas keeping Dugg away from malicious gangers, and Dugg keeping Barnabas safe from bullies and thugs who liked to prey on him.

When Big Dugg is pressed into battle by his Cawdor friends, Barnabas bolts a shield to his harness that will protect his friend from seeing the violence he meets out on those he faces in battle. Many a thug has met his end with the visage of a fluffy, cartoonish face rushing up, out of the darkness, with a flurry of fists and flames following behind.

art drop, Miniatures

Breaking Up with a Game

Sometimes, you love a game with all your heart, and a relationship is kindled that lasts a lifetime. For me, Mordheim, and to a lesser extent, Necromunda, have been huge anchors for my love of the hobby. Other games, like 40k and Malifaux, have been fun excuses to paint up armies and hang with friends. And then there are those select few that come along, make me incredibly happy, and then fizzle out after a bit (I’m looking at you, Wild West Exodus!). But nothing, and I mean nothing, is worse in this hobby than falling in love with a game and realizing, years later, that you just can’t stand it anymore.

The game in question (this time, at least) is Corvus Belli’s Infinity. I stumbled across the game around 2014, found the models breathtaking, and there was a community of really fun and entertaining players already invested in it at a game store that just gelled with me. Now, 10 years later, that game store has moved two states away, a good chunk of that community moved with it, and I’m finding myself staring at a bunch of Infinity models that I have no interest in playing with.

I’m also wondering if I ever liked the game at all, or if it was just that community? Now that they’ve moved on, my interest in gaming in general is pretty abysmal. Sure, I’ve always been a painter/modeler way more than I’ve been a gamer, but there was always the appeal of getting together with friends and rolling some dice that just fueled everything else.

And don’t get me wrong, I still have a local community, but we’re largely dependent on the one person in our group that has enough room and is centrally located, and we all have tricky schedules. A good game store really is a freaking asset, nay, a treasure, that you don’t realize you’ll miss until it’s gone.

Infinity has some of the nicest models in the world of miniatures, and some of my friends swear it’s one of the best game systems out there. I always found it mechanically tedious, and felt like I was doing a math bee in my underpants every time I played.

And seriously, I delt craps once upon a time. I can handle some pretty complex mental work. Infinity just beat the hell out of me.

Now, for a multitude of reasons that I won’t get into other than missing my store and half my community, I just can’t stand the game. I don’t want to play it, I’m completely uninterested in new releases, and I have several hundred miniatures staring at me and making me feel guilty as hell. What am I going to do with all this pewter?

The obvious answer is to sell it all, pay off some more medical bills, and make more Necromunda magic happen in my life. But that gets complicated. There’s a bittersweet, personal history with a lot of these minis.

When I found Shiv Games, I was more alone in my hobby space than I had been in decades. Since moving back to Salt Lake City, I had lost my regular gaming group, and was just going through the motions. After Shiv, I had a good group of people to hang out with. I painted my own miniatures, and even took on some commissions from the crew there.

All said and done, I probably painted close to 2,000 Infinity miniatures. I even ended up working at Shiv for a while, and painted the Jeff’s Shock Army, which I now own and can’t bear to part with.

Every single one of these models has a memory, whether it’s happily painting away at the shop and talking to the crew, sharing a laugh and a story or two. Or helping folks get their armies ready before tournaments, or building a table of terrain that I still think is the best work I’ve ever done.

And now, I have a bunch of models that make me a little sad. I really have no idea what to do with them. Part of me thinks they would be cool as models for Stargrave or Five Parsecs from Home, part of me wants to just build cool displays for them, and part of me just wants to launch them into the sun.

Sheesh. I only meant to write a few paragraphs, and now I’m being maudlin as hell. This is tricky. I’m not good at tricky!

So, this is where I’m going to ask you folks what you would do in this situation. I may not act on any of it, but I am genuinely interested in what other people might do!

Thanks for reading, and may all your rolls be entertaining rolls.

-Leigh