Tag: Necromunda

Workbench

The Workbench: Finished Models for August 16, 2026

I’m trying a little change-up here, realizing that adding some substance to my blog posts like a couple of my favorite bloggers do would be a good thing. Still plan on posting pics, just maybe a little more thought into the context as well!

First off the block is Moon Knight for Marvel Crisis Protocol. One of my favorite characters from the Marvel comics of my youth, he’s like Batman, but the insanity is surface level instead of suppressed. The challenge with a character like him is that white is a bastard to paint convincingly without looking like you had an accident at a chalk factory!

I went really slowly and deliberately with Mark, starting with a pretty bright undercoat of Wolf Grey, then doing a zenithal highlight with White Blue, then layering in some very subtle white glazes. I’m pretty exclusively using Pro Acryl paints these days, the pigment count seems to be pretty high, and very finely ground as well. This really helps a ton, and I’m really happy with the result!

Another MCP figure, this time a mutant menace named Avalanche. He’s also part of the super-hero A-Team, which is guys that have an “A” on their costume, like Apocalypse and Animal Man.

Avalanche also has a bit of white to him, so I used the same technique as with Moon Knight, then my standard super-hero blue. The water was painted with the same blue, just different highlights and shading. I also had some fun with the fire hydrant, which was just blocked in quickly over a dark red undercoat. Sometimes, simple is best!

On the skirmish front I painted up another couple of soldiers to use with Warhammer Empire themed groups, the first is another Witch Hunter. I’m calling her Grizelda Kaine, and she has some of the same bright color choices as my Witch Hunter captain. I’m really enjoying bright color pops in my fantasy!

There’s also a Gallant, which is a type of lesser knight from Age of Sigmar. He’s cool, and has a weirdo frog on his helmet. Since I’m really not caring much about AoS, he’ll see action in skirmish games like Frostgrave and Five Leagues from the Borderlands.

With the new edition of Necromunda coming out yesterday, I wanted to have a color test done for House Orlock. Normally I’m not a fan of this gang, but I wanted to try something quick and dirty to see how it looks.

I underpainted the mini blue with a red zenithal highlight, then went over the upper part of the mini with a lemon yellow drybrush. The bottom part of the figure is mostly washes, with metallics picked out to show some contrast. I spend some extra time on her skin and shirt, and I’m actually looking forward to painting more Orlocks now!

I’ll be playing some Necromunda solo, so if you’re interested in my thoughts on the new edition, let me know in the comments! I was going to try and arbitrate a game with some friends, but I never know week to week if my health is going to play nice with me.

And wrapping things up for this week is Marley the Ghost, part of the Moonstone Shades line that I backed a few years ago. Sadly, that all happened right around the time I got sick, so I didn’t get a chance to get any painted while recovering. Happily, I have a really cool collection of ghosts and zombies to paint now, and plan on having these done for Halloween this year! Goals are good!

Marley was really fun to paint, I used Jade and light Jade from Pro Acryl, and shaded up from there with white blends. The eyes are yellow, layered up from orange, and the robes were terra cotta with lemon yellow mixed in for highlights. This is probably my favorite mini from this month so far, and I’m really looking forward to painting more!

For this coming week I have some Black Templars to finish, as well as more MCP figs. I’m hoping to get some of the new Escher minis from Necromunda on the table as well, but we’ll see how things go!

Until next time, I hope your projects go well and you treat yourself kindly!

Miniatures, skirmish games, Uncategorized

Fantasy Skirmish: Setting Yourself Free

For a lot of us middle-aged wardolly junkies, Mordheim was the Alpha and the Omega of wargaming when it hit in 1999. The art design defined what Grimdark meant without losing that whimsical edge that made it great. Playing with a dozen minis meant you could get a warband together in a good weekend of hobbying. It was also built off of (I think) Fourth Edition Warhammer Fantasy Rules, so it was easy enough to learn one if you knew the other.

Todd, a respectable demon lord, and his personal Valet, Timothy.

And then, like most great things, it disappeared, unloved and scorned by its creator, like the Creature when Victor decides to cast the wretch out to pursue other endeavors.

I’ve been chasing Mordheim now for over a quarter century. The rules set feels a little antiquated now, and while there are modern contenders to the game, I’m not smitten by any of them in the same way.

A desperate thug tries to sneak up on an unwary magician

Necromunda is pretty great in its modern incarnation, but I really don’t want to have to carry around half a library worth of books to get a game in. One Page Rules is fun, but a little too simple for what I want to sink my teeth in to. Frostgrave and Five Leagues from the Borderlands both come much closer to what I’m looking for, but I’m still struggling to find that Goldilocks system that works just right for me.

So, I think I’m just going to have to write it out myself. Something that bridges that gap between crunchiness and simplicity, allows some customization, and, most importantly, is miniature agnostic.

A group of barbarians in search of a hot bath…

I’ll be starting with a Witch Hunter warband, using the ideas I have in my head to get the classic warband on the table. I have plenty of figures to build out a good roster, and that’ll help me get more of my Paint What You Got challenge figures finished.

At first, I was a little daunted about base size, since I’ll be using some modern Warhammer minis in this warband, and they have larger bases. Then I realized that I’m not bound to those restraints, as I’m working my own forge now. So, the first step in setting myself free is setting those minis free. Goodbye, lovely decorative but overly large bases, and hello 25mm classics!

I’ll be mashing up some classic GW sprues with some modern classics from the Frostgrave range, which should allow me to have some fun with the warbands.

Next up, I’ll share some of the ideas I have for the mechanics, because why not? They’re not entirely mine, but after 40 years of gaming I have a billion game systems in my head that I am going to openly pillage.

Now we’ll see how long this conviction lasts, I could do almost all of this with the 5x from x system and be just as happy!

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.

Miniatures, Workbench

Necromunda: House Cawdor Project

This project is short and sweet. A squad of Necromunda figures with an Ambot for backup.

I have only played a couple of games of Necromunda, and while I enjoyed it I found it overly complicated. And there were a couple of spoofs that players could pull that massively wreck the fun factor, so I won’t be playing again since I already know what any opponent will be fielding. Take out the glue guns, and maybe I’ll think it over again!

Still, the minis are incredible and full of character, and will work really well with Stargrave, Core Space, and Zone Raiders, so this probably won’t be the last Necromunda set that I pick up!

The squad was painted primarily with Citadel Contrast Paints over a zenithal primer coat. Highlights were then layered in to punch of the details, then a diluted wash of Agrax Earthshade was given to tie everything together.

My favorite little detail in the Cawdor kit is the candles a lot of these goofballs have just jutting out of their armor, with the dude with the giant crossbow dealing with dripping wax all over his visor! Great little details that tell their own story. Love it!