Tag: Miniatures

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.

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, 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

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.

Uncategorized

Marvel Zombies: Groot! Groot! Groot!

I love Groot! His miniature from Marvel Crisis Protocol is pretty sweet, but alas, I don’t have a personal aircraft hangar to store MCP figs, so I’ll have to do with these Marvel Zombies figs from Zombicide.

It’s a pretty solid sculpt, with plenty of room to play with tints and really break away from the monotony of painting a guy made of wood.

Here he is with Drax, the galaxy’s greatest saxaphone player!

Miniatures, Workbench

MESBG: Boromir

When I was a kid I thought Boromir was the biggest idiot in The Lord of the Rings. Then, the Ralph Bakshi animated movie came out when I was 8, and I was convinced that I was right that entire time the second he walked on screen.

That helmet. That beard. His stupid, hairy, stupidness. But, even though I had read the books during an ill-advised flirtation with viral bronchitis, I wasn’t ready for the bad-assery that Bakshi unleashed with Boromir’s death scene!

He really took a liking to those arrows! Flash forward a few decades, and I was a solid Boromir fan. And then Sean Bean Sean Beaned his way into our collective hearts with a solid performance as Gondor’s favorite-not-perfect-son… what more could we ask for? Miniatures? DID SOMEONE SAY MINIATURES?

Games Workshop blundered its way into the Lord of the Rings license and somehow managed a hat trick that kept in it business long enough to become the champion of miniature game design and fair pricing that we know today! But I didn’t care at the time, being a new dad and too busy painting a billion points of Tau.

But now? Now I’m playing catch-up. And I’m going to do it with the original Fellowship figures, which are in no way showing their age. Actually, I jest. They’re definitely showing their age, but they’re still pretty sweet!

Somehow the little dude even looks like my favorite walking quiver!

I really wish there was another miniature of Boromir in this costume, there are some fantastic alt sculpts of the rest of the Fellowship out there, but Boromir Arrowshirt only got enough screen time to warrant this one figure. And, well, a Captain of Gondor fig, too, but I want this costume!

Here he is with the rest of the painted figs in the Fellowship:

Hopefully, Gimli will get that plane landed before the Balrog comes!

Miniatures, monsters, Workbench

15mm Wargaming: Dumb and Dumberist

More progress has been made on my 15mm fantasy project, with a couple of thick-skulled gents ready to join my slowly growing horde of greenskins!

For games like Warmaster and Kings of War, these lumbering beauties can be fielded in groups of 3, but for skirmishers like Mordheim one will do!

I’m really impressed with the quality of the sculpts from Forest Dragon miniatures. They still look pretty great scaled up 50%, and I’m getting really excited to see where this army collection is going!

Next up I’m going to have to work on some more character models, and then terrain. Yeah. I need a metric ton of terrain!

Miniatures, Workbench

Moonstone Miniatures Game: Claudia Duvel

My strategy for finishing up Moonstone miniatures is starting to pay off! It feels good to get an actual set of minis knocked out, now I have one less to paint! Here’s Claudia Duvel from the Masquerade box set:

She’s a fun character, I feel like she’s the muscle that backs up the menace and machinations of the Duchess and Creep!

In the Moonstone lore, Claudia is a highwaywoman, but with a heart of gold. She’s known to be a genteel conversationalist, and won’t take riches from her prey at a level that would leave them desitute!

She also refuses to take money or possessions of the working class, which I love. In the lore entry I found on Claudia, she even went so far as to dance with a gentleman who’s wife had been unable to do so since she was suffering from gout!

I absolutely love what a little bit of established lore and fluff can do to make a game setting feel more lived in! With that, The Masquerade is a wrap! On to a farting dog and a quick trip to goblin town!

Miniatures, Workbench

Malifaux: December Crew

I’ve had to institute a “catch and release” program to keep the massive collection of miniatures that I’m amassing in my studio from overwhelming my house, so I’ll be keeping a keeper warband from each game I like, and setting the others free via Ebay. Don’t shed a tear for me, though, the painting is almost 100% of what I love about this hobby, so being able to paint a group, capture it on film, and then move on to the next without stressing out about storage is pretty liberating!

This December crew has some older models from Wyrd, but I love the overall vibe of the crew! This Rasputina in particular is pretty spiffy, and captures a lot of that mid-2000-teens steampunk energy that Wyrd was leaning in to!

The rest of the crew is December Acolytes and monsters!

The Ice Gaimin are transparent blue plastic, so they look pretty neat when the light hits them right. As is the giant ice golem!

Snow Storm is one of my favorite models out there, it just screams menace and intrigue!

I’ll be sharing quite a bit of Malifaux over the months to come! It’s probably my favorite game IP, and I’ve been painting a literal metric ton of these amazing models!