With last week being dominated by Trench Crusade, I thought it would be good to check back in with the overall backlog and see how things are moving along!
Black Templars Project
My friend Jackson is just about the best person you could hope to know. I’ve been fortunate to have quite a few friends like that, which is great for me! Jackson has a huge Black Templars army and I was happy to get in there and start painting them up. It’s funny, because this batch is the latest in a project that has been going on for about 7 months, I should probably post the rest of them sometime!
The Battle Standard Bearer is a fun one, still a little over-wrought with fiddly detail for my liking but I can’t deny the final product looks pretty spiffy. (Jackson has his own basing scheme that he likes to do, so that’s why the bases are unfinished)
I have no idea what this tank is, it’s a transport of some sort, but I stopped paying attention to what worked with Space Marines when Primaris stuff came out and made Rhinos useless. Getting rid of Rhinos would be like taking Space Mountain out of Disneyland. I’m against it. Still, the transport does look cool, it’s floaty, and reminds me of my Uncle’s El Camino.
Also not sure on the rest of these dudes, they have swords and shields, and I like knights. So I guess they are knights now? Fun to paint regardless.
And this last guy looks like a Chaplain. A big, grumpy chaplain.
Dracula’s America
Still plugging away at this warband, which I’ll be using Gangfight rules for when they’re ready to rock. There are two Draugur gunslingers and the vampire boss, all are 28mm metal casts from Northstar Military Figures in England. After painting a metric ton of Space Marines, I am really loving the opportunity to paint a classic feeling sculpt. I know they’re lacking in detail, but they just ooze personality, and I love knowing someone sculpted these by hand and cast them the old way. Not a knock against modern production methods, but I love the old method. It puts me in a very happy place!
Marvel Crisis Protocol: The Living Mummy
This guy makes me so damned happy. As previously discussed, I am a sucker for the old 70’s monster craze that hit Marvel and DC. The Living Mummy made his debut in I think 1974, and had sporadic releases for a few decades. He’s never been anything more than a minor character, so getting a really good miniature for him is part of why Marvel Crisis Protocol keeps me in its thrall. Fun stuff.
Warhammer 40,000: Orks
This is the project I’ll be working on the most for the next week or two, just getting the Orks from the new Armageddon boxed set finished. The New Antioch warband project from Trench Crusade was really satisfying to finish, and now I’m thinking that I’ll be approaching most of my projects like that. Just getting into a squad or two and getting them done, and being satisfied that they’re not sitting in the queue waiting forever for me to get to them.
I’m painting these guys up as Deathskulls, which will be fun since they steal everything they can get their hands on. That will help me keep off the boredom once the box set is done, I’ll be taking bits from other armies and adding them to kits to make it look like they’re just booting around with looted gear.
As for 11th edition 40k, I owe it a little debt for the freedom it gave me. I played a couple of games, bounced right off of the rules, the terrain layout, and the constant re-rolls (constant re-rolls feel like sloppy writing to me). This led me to pull out my old 4th edition books, and I remembered what I liked about 40k at the turn of the Milennium.
I like choice. I like fussing about with a list, buying wargear, building out the flavor of the unit. I could care less about meta, I just want to tell a story when I play a game. There is not a single person I know that’s interested in trying 4th out, so I’ll be doing anything I do with these minis on my own.
Which is freedom, frankly. 4th edition is far from perfect, but it’s fun for me, I know what I need to fix to make it work a little better, and I can build narrative lists that tell the kind of stories I want to tell with dice.
I have some Red Corsairs, Space Wolves, Inquisition, and Eldar Raiders that I’ll be building out to help tell those stories, but since this is just for me and NOT something that has to chase new rules collections, I’ll just be taking my time and getting this stuff together as the urge hits me.
After the orks, I’ll be tackling the new Trench Crusade two player box, and rounding out my Konflikt ’47 groups as well.
Until next time, friends! May the point of your brush remain ever sharp!
This is a really strong output! I like that you took the time to do the script on the purity seals as well! I do the same and while it can be a pain and its easy to not do the text in a straight line as you intend, its still absolutely worth it. Particularly for the Black Templars and the overall vibe of that army!
In more recent years, I’ve seen the sentiment you’ve expressed about metal miniatures somewhat often. Sometimes its even quite a bit stronger like metal miniatures are the only miniatures an individual wants to paint. I’m generally the opposite and prefer plastic and resin every day of the week, but I can see where people might be nostalgic for miniature models that are simpler and easier to crank out. I think the Dracula’s America minis ooze personality as well. The gothic colors you used really worked a treat!
For as many Marvel comics as I’ve read, I’ve never seen the Living Mummy appear but its a great sculpt and I love how your version came out as well. Its almost ethereal looking!
It sounds like you’ve got plenty of good projects lined up for the coming weeks and I look forward to seeing how they turn out in the near future!
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Thanks! I have been insistent on painting purity seals for decades now, haha!
I hear you with the sentiment about metal minis for sure. I have some friends who stick only to one manufacturer, a few who paint a couple of brands, and I’ll paint literally anything that lands in front of me. I just love painting minis, especially really crap castings and board game minis, because there’s a challenge there to get something good out of it. I also think it’s important to challenge yourself to paint outside your comfort zone in order to grow, I think you know exactly what I’m talking about! I’m certain you noticed changes and improvements to your approach to smaller minis after you started doing 75mm stuff!
I’m pretty sure The Living Mummy has appeared in less than 20 actual issues of comics in the last 50 years, which makes him having a mini kinda crazy. The first appearance I can find of him he’s attacking people in the Gaza strip, which is identified as part of Egypt at the time. Wild stuff!
The productivity for me is definitely going up, I guess there is a silver lining to being forced into early retirement… I have a lot more time to paint!
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Its good to know someone else who is insistent on doing those seals the “right way”!
I do kind of understand how people get set in their ways and find what they like and refuse to deviate. That can be comforting in many respects. Having said that, I think trying new things is really important and gives you opportunities to learn and grow. Painting 75mm and a bust definitely helped me look at miniatures in a new light and I’m thankful I tried them even if the first 75mm I painted humbled me in a number of ways.
20 issues!? That is crazy, but so is attacking Gaza. Old comic books can definitely be a bit kooky which is part of their charm, I’m sure!
You’ve giving me hope that retirement will be worth the wait! I’ve got quite a ways to go and I still find myself thinking I’ll do X and Y when I get there pretty often like most people do.
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My retirement ended up coming on me unexpectedly, fortunately we were in a position that my body trying to shut down didn’t hurt us. So I found myself looking at “retirement” ten years early, and fighting my pancreas for energy from time to time. That being said, I would be lying if I said being a retired hobbyist was boring. It is anything but! On good days I get a lot of reading and painting in, it makes the bad days seem okay when they hit. I am definitely NOT bragging, I loved my job and miss it sometimes, but it really is nice to just chill and chip away at the backlog!
So, long story short… retirement, for me at least, was certainly worth the wait. I know some people who went right back into the workforce, but I’ve got plenty keeping me busy!
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Retirement can be good or bad. Forced or voluntary and while I always want to assume that retirement means good things, the reality is sometimes different sadly. I’m glad to hear that its working out well for you and what you describe is what I hope for. If it is more peaceful than working, then I will be very happy indeed.
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Great output, and a varied bunch as well. Couldn’t answer the marine questions, as like you took no interest once the Primaris arrived, but excellent painting of them. The netherworld models, from both Dracula’s America, and the mummy, are very evocative of the darker side. Excellent skintone on the Orks and shall watch with interest as I’m helping my sun with his Deathskulls.
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Thank you, Dave! I noticed quite a few of the more seasoned gamers like us seem to have wandered away from 40k when the Primaris era hit! Not to say there isn’t fun to be had with 40k, it’s just not as appealing to me as it was 25 years ago!
Really cool that your son is doing Deathskulls! How big an army is he doing? I loved doing hobby projects with my kids when they were younger, how old is he? Wargaming is so good for younger folks!
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So far he just has a Kill Team squad and a building I built for him, getting him off the tech long enough to decide what he wants to do next is the tricky part ! LOL
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Hahahah! That’s the hard part for sure!
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Super painting as always. I love how cleanly you’ve painted N’Kantu, and the way the red and blue helps the whites to come out is excellent. May he serve you (and Anubis) well on the tabletop!
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