Mixed Bag 16: Clean Up on Aisle 16!

Since I last updated this blog I've been chewing away at finishing up some projects that have languished on my painting table or in my bitz box. These are projects that I always meant to do, but got side-tracked from completing - I have to say that it feels really good to have these projects done.
First up was a trip to Warhammer Age of Sigmar-land.

These five Blood Warriors have been on my desk for an eternity, but now they are
ready to bring destruction to the foes of the Blood God for an eternity! These guys
bring me to two ten-man units of Blood Warriors for the whole army.

Staying in a fantasy theme, I decided to turn my paint brush to my Oldhammer High Elves. I've had a unit of Dragon Princes that I've been nattering away on for months - doing one model at a time - mostly because I just found painting them somewhat tedious. Its not a bang on the sculpts, I think I'm just coming to a conclusion that I really don't dig painting cavalry!

These cats took way too long to get on the field, so I'm sure they will die horribly
on the battlefield without making an impact. FUN!

Next was a command section and a handful of bowmen to round out a new High Elf archer unit. Once they were done, I decided to finish the Elf Prince mounted on a Griffon that came with the Isle of Blood starter so long ago. I plumbed for a wild green color - I wanted something different and reflective of the Chaos-ey nature of the monster. I realize it's not going to be everyone's cuppa tea, but that's was kinda the point. 

SCRAAAW!

Finally, having picked up the new 40k Apocalypse rules-set I decided to try and round out my Nurgle army for some giant games. This led to the assembly of a third Foetid Bloat Drone. The Bloat Drones are pretty powerful units - nearly on the level of some tanks - and were a quick way to add some firepower to my army while only having to raid my bitz box. 

Three happy little daemon engines all ready for a good time!

This brings my yearly total for models painted to 241 so far. Still a bit to do to get to 365, but not too shabby. 

Cheers!

Quick "N Dirty Hobbit Holes

"In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit. Not a nasty, dirty, wet hole, filled with the ends of worms and an oozy smell, nor yet a dry, bare, sandy hole with nothing in it to sit down on or to eat: it was a hobbit-hole, and that means comfort."

With the addition of some more models to my Halfling army, I realized that I'd need some bespoke terrain for them - to act as scenario objectives and/or add character to battlefields that the little legion would play on. I wanted to create some cheap and fast Hobbit Holes for my army to live in. I saw that Games Workshop was putting out some nice resin facades to build off of eventually, but I just didn't want to wait or spend the money. I looked for a good tutorial online for building what I was looking for, but I just didn't find one. So I guess I had to do one myself.

The material list isn't too long and mostly consists of stuff I had lying around. You'll need:

     -  Some 2" thick insulation foam.               - A plastic drinking straw.

     -  A blank CD to act as the base.                -  Some scrap cardstock/cereal box cardboard.

     -  Some balsa wood strips.                          - A push pin.

     -  Various flock/plastic flowers/tufts.          - Xacto knife and a box cutter with an extendable blade.

     -  Hot Glue gun.                                          - Wall joint compound

     -  Wood Glue or Elmer's Glue

Step 1: Cut a slab of foam about 1/4" deep, 5" long and 2" high.
Using a ballpoint pen, I drew out the windows, door and stonework for the
front of the house.

Step 2: Using a sharp Xacto blade, cut out the windows and door.
I also removed some of the non-stone area to recess that a bit and bring
the stone forward.

Step 3: Glue some scrap card onto the back of the front piece.
It'll give you something to glue the door and window bits to.

Step 4: Using a hot glue gun, I attached the 2" foam to the CD as a
base. I then used a box cutter with an extendable blade to shape the hill
until it matched the approximate curve and height of the front piece.

Step 5: I then attached the front piece using hot glue. Any gaps or joins were
hidden with some wall joint compound. I then glued a bit of drinking straw to the hill to
form a chimney. A few thin cuts of foam were added to make a walk.

Step 6: I added a door and cross beams using balsa wood.  A dress maker's
pin was used to make the door hand. I also soaked a piece of balsa wood in
water until I could bend it into a curve along the top edge and then affixed it
with hot glue. A small cap was added to the chimney with some cardstock.
Finally, sand was glued down to the front porch area. 

Step 7: I primed the whole shebang with a bit of flat latex black house paint.
Then I painted the whole thing up in a pretty standard way.

Step 8: I then flocked the hill to match my game boards and added some
tufts, clump foliage and flowers to really make the hole feel homey.

And that's it. Each Hobbit Hole took about an hour to make and cost me pretty much nothing as I had all the materials to build them laying about already. They aren't the most amazing pieces of scenery ever made, but they will really add something to the games I end up playing with my Halfling army. Hope this inspires!

Cheers!

A few nights work and I have my own little Shire to defend!

Foul Blightspawn and Noble Elves!

Last week I posted a work in progress shot on a Foul Blightspawn for my Death Guard army and I managed to sort out a base for him up shortly thereafter. Here he is in all his feculent glory:

Feculus Spew is ready to spread death and decay.

                                 

The weather here in Seattle has turned pretty cold, so its not optimal priming/spraying weather. Instead, I turned to models I already had primed before the weather turned; so that means more High Elves. The army is getting pretty sizable now. I've only got to complete four cavalry models and I should have enough to play a reasonably sized game now. 

Finally finished up a command group for these spearmen. 

Then I cranked out five more Lothern Seaguard to bring that unit to a full twenty troops.

Then I added five more bowmen and a champion to bring that unit to fifteen guys. This photo is super weird. The angle
I took it at makes the bowmen appear to be shrinking. Its like if MC Escher painted Warhammer.

Finally, I did an additional five guys for the other bow unit as well as finishing a wizard who is pretty fuckin' metal.

With the cold weather, I've also spent a bunch of time assembling models. I've got some more Death Guard stuff on the way as well as a Knight Castellan. Oh, and more Imperial Fists. Of course. 

Cheers!

More Elves March to War

Lately, I've decided to start growing my High Elf army. I've played a handful of games of Warhammer Fantasy Battle and Kings of War with what I have now, and I'm re-learning a lesson that I'd forgotten: namely that most massed battle games aren't as much fun as smaller games. Its not that games I've played haven't been fun per se, its that feeling that they'd be so much more interesting with more units. To that end, I'm putting some more paint on some new units for my High Elves.

This weekend, I managed to get a 15 man unit of classic Spearmen painted up. I still need to finish four more guys, paint the unit's bases and wait for a Champion model to arrive from Ebay.

These old models paint up so quickly with assembly line techniques. And the nostalgia I get painting them keeps me well motivated, so this should skip along pretty fast. I'm going to graduate out the command models currently in my missile units to serve in melee formations, so I've been painting up some bowmen to replace them.

These two will replace the standard and musician snatched away
for melee units.

I also finished up a test model for my Imperial Fists Assault Squad. It uses two different kits and the shield and jump pack are resin models from Kromlech. After all the bits and extras, I probably should have just ordered the standard assault squad from Forge World for cheaper - but this feels more unique and more "mine". 

"For Dorn! For The Emperor! For Terra!!!"

I hope to get at least the first half of this squad finished in the coming week. This should be the last infantry unit for my Imperial Fists for a good, long while. I'm kinda excited to finish them and then dig into some tanks!

Cheers!

Mixed Bag 13: Bits and Bobs

After a big project like my Nurgle Knight, I have a tendency to slow down a bit for a week or two hobby-wise and pick off small projects and this time was no exception. I first returned to my High Elf army and knocked out a couple of extra Lothern Sea Guard models and a Sword Master that I had laying around. These models will just add to the existing units to bulk them out a bit. I actually played a game of 6th Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle against my buddy's gorgeous Goblin army, but sadly forgot to take any decent pictures.

The addition of these cats will really help out their units. In our game, my regiments felt
painfully small.

Then it was a quick trip to Age of Sigmar Land to finish off a character from my Kharadron Overlord collection. This time it was an Aether Khemist, a very useful character model that can buff ranged attacks for nearby units. I have a feeling he and my Grundstok Thunderers will be the very best of friends. 

I was literally going for quick and dirty with the paint job on this fella.
I managed to crank him out in about 2 hours.

This guy has a ton of details, but I just wanted to keep him simple. I think it
helps him feel cohesive with the rest of the army.

Afterwards, I made an about face and headed back to more Elf-y goodness and completed a second unit of armored Archers and another Bolt Thrower. I think this firepower will really help the army in the long-run. 

This should help me dominate the shooting phase and make Orlando Bloom happy. 

I reversed the color placement from the scheme I used on the original unit. This way, each unit feels slightly distinct while still maintaining the feel of the army by using the same colors.

Finally, I also swung into the world of DIY paper miniatures for my D&D group's latest adventure. We play a super stream-lined version based on the original D&D rules that takes a more narrative "theater of the mind" approach and normally eschews the need for miniatures and maps. This adventure was the culmination of a year-long story arc and would be pretty complex. The characters were attempting to get a hold of a magic hammer and destroy a cursed gem in the midst of a battle between Cthulhu-esque Cultists and undead Dwarves. It was also a lot of fun to quietly do this and pull it all out for the final encounter. Everyone enjoyed it a lot and I was really glad I made the effort. 

The intrepid adventures prepare their plan to run the gauntlet and claim the Hammer of Creation from the Temple of Arra.

All the standees were designed to folded into place.
Also pictured: My tubby mug explaining something. 

The hammer was floating over an altar between two massive statues. It was a simple effect to pull off and really sold the
adventure.

The evil High Priest and his army of cultists and Deep One allies nearly managed to thwart the
players' efforts, but the forces of Good won out in the end.

I really enjoyed making these paper-craft items. There is a certain simple charm in them when they are done. 

My next "big" project that I'm gearing up for is building a Storm Eagle gunship for my Imperial Fists. Its a lot of work with resin and I feel like I need to mentally prepare for it before jumping in. Wish me luck.

Cheers!

High Elf Army

This week sees me putting the final nail in the 1000 points of my High Elf army for Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th edition. I plan on expanding the army, but I'll probably try to get a few games in and squeeze in some other projects before expanding it.

The army in all its glory.

I'm really happy with how this all turned out, and the whole project has been a great mix of old and new sculpts to work on. 

The commander model is a classic Jes Goodwin sculpt. I love the balance here of elegant elf-y-ness with an almost
Celtic barbarian-ness.

On the other end of the spectrum is this High Elf mage who takes advantage of every modern part separation trick
to create a wildly dynamic model.

A unit of Lothern Sea Guard, which is one of the best sculpted incarnations
I think GW has produced.

These Sword Masters of Hoeth are great rendition of otherwise classic designs. 

This archer unit brings back some more classic sculpts by Jes and the plastic guys just have a special place in my
cold, black heart.

And the Reavers... well... we love the Reavers anyway...

So there it is. My little host is ready to march to war - against some invading goblins and their ilk, it looks like. Blow the horns of war and make ready your swords! We seek our glory or our doom!

Cheers!

A Sensitive Bit of Horseflesh!

On most projects I work on, there is always a kit or unit that I leave for last. Usually, its because it looks like a nightmare to build or a pain to paint and most times I'm pleasantly surprised that it wasn't the chore that I thought it was going to be. For my High Elf army that unit was the Ellyrian Reavers. And man, was I NOT pleasantly surprised. This unit was a chore from start to finish, but they are thankfully done!

Unlike the rest of the High Elves I've been working on, these guys were a nightmare to assemble AND
to paint. I don't know if was that I just wasn't in the mood to paint cavalry or what, but I could have
done a better job if I wasn't so hell bent on just getting them done.

This did lead to some re-working of my original army list, as I had factored for a full command with the Reavers and those sculpts weren't part of the set. That free'ed up some points and I now have room to add another Hero to the army. I think the army will benefit from the leadership boost and the extra melee attacks.

I'm using a classic Jes Goodwin sculpt for the Hero. I've still got to sort out a shield and
his base and then he's ready to lead my army to battle!

So now as it stands, my army list is as follows:

Heroes

Hero - Mage upgrade to Level 2 - 130pts
Hero - Commander w/heavy armor and shield - 76pts

Core Units

Archers - 10 w/standard and musician - 148pts

Lothern Sea Guard - 12 w/shields and command - 179pts

Special Units

Ellyrian Reavers  - 5 w/ bows - 120pts

Swordmasters - 15 w/command - 225pts

Rare Units

Bolt Thrower - 100pts

Total - 978 w/22 points for magic items

I should be able to finish up the Commander this week, then I'll take a few army shots of them all to show off. For all intents and purposes, though - I've finished up my first 1,000 points for Warhammer Fantasy Battle 6th ed. Hopefully, I'll be able to get some games in soon.

Cheers!

Moar Elfy Goodness!

I'm within striking distance of finishing the first 1000 points of my High Elves for 6th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I've shifted my list around just a bit which means that I'll need to paint another three or four guys, but its nothing huge.

I finished up the command group for my Swordmasters, so they are pretty much ready to go. I still need to make some
banners for the Archer unit, though.

Over the course of the week, I finished the command section for my Swordmasters, bringing me to three playable units! Then I turned my attentions to a few quick units to finish this weekend. First on deck is a classic Repeater Bolt-thrower. I loved these when I was younger, and I still need to scour eBay for another.

"Hurry up and load! I want to shoot over there!!"
"I know, I know! Shut up Gary!"

Then I cranked out my General at this level - a High Elf Mage. This model was a lot of fun to work on, but I think I still miss some of the old models who are throwing out devil horn gestures. So, it may be back to the Bay of E to hunt for one of them as well.

Surf. Is. Up.

To close out the weekend, I finished up a test model for the final unit in the army - the Ellyrian Reavers. I found these models to be a nightmare to assemble and I know painting them is going to be a slog. I find I usually need to really be "in the mood" for painting cavalry, and I'm regretting saving these until last. But, 1/5 of the way done, I suppose!

So much whiteness...

If I can dig deep and keep working on the cav for the week, I should be able to put a pin in this project by the end of next weekend at the latest. Here's hoping!

Cheers!

Seaguard and Swordmasters, Oh My!

Work continues apace on my High Elf army for 6th edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle. I've continued to build momentum with project pretty easily. I owned a reasonably big High Elf army for the 4th and 5th editions of Warhammer, and revisiting the range has been a ton of fun. I'm aiming to complete a 1000 point list within the next month or so.

Over the last week, I finished up the Lothern Seaguard unit's command section.

Stalwart spearmen AND archers, the Seaguard is really versatile unit. 

I always find that when approaching any kind of project army lists help me to plan purchases, maintain focus and dole out little "rewards" to myself in form of characters and war machines. Here is the list that I'm working off of for this project:

Heroes

Hero - Mage upgrade to Level 2 - 130pts

Core Units

Archers - 10 w/command - 160pts - DONE

Lothern Sea Guard - 12 w/shields and command - 179pts - DONE

Special Units

Ellyrian Reavers  - 5 w/ bows and command - 155pts

Swordmasters - 15 w/command - 225pts - IN PROGRESS

Rare Units

Bolt Thrower - 100pts

Total - 949 w/51 points for magic items and such

I've only got about 13 models to finish up the whole first leg. Later I'll add more units to bring it up to a 2000 point army at some point.

The Swordmasters of Hoeth have been a real pleasure to work on. I've loved their design for a long time and the latest (last?) incarnations of them are just as great. I still need to finish the command group, but that should be easy enough to do over the course of the next week.

Big hair and big swords - I'm looking forward to these guys smashing some face.

One of the things I'm doing with these guys is magnetizing their bases. The movement trays are going to be cut from sheet metal, so I keep a nice low profile for the bases.

I found a sheet of magnetic material with an adhesive backing. It was
just a matter of cutting it up into 20mm x 20mm squares.

Once attached,  it just takes  sharp blade to trim up everything
nice and neat!

I've got to assemble the Ellyrian Reavers once I finish up the Swordmaster command. Before tackling the cavalry unit, I'll probably take some time on the Mage as a break. With any luck, I'll be done with this force and playing some games by the end of the month!

Cheers!