15/100 - A Master Burglar for an Unexpected Journey

Every once in a while you paint a model and everything works smoothly.  The model is clean and simple.  The colours you choose work well.  You may even try out a new technique without a hitch.  Bilbo from the Unexpected Journey box was such a model.

It was a little unnerving how much the model actually resembles Martin Freeman.  It is a simple enough model; the biggest piece of flair on it is the scarf and jacket buttons.  I was worried that I was not going to be able to finish a project this week.  However once I got paint on the model it came together very rapidly. 

When I paint I tend to keep shades and highlights simple.  I paint the raised areas brighter and the deeper areas darker.  I don't usually consider the lighting a character would be under.  The result is models that tend to have a uniformed plastic appearance.  So for Bilbo I tried to keep a fictitious light source in mind when I painted him.  I figured that Bilbo would have the sun above him at Mount Erebor, so I did not highlight the underside of his sleeve much.  I also shaded the stones surrounding Bilbo darker to capture his shadow (which is fairly lost since I dumped snow on it). 

Now Gandalf has his burglar.  Time to start on some of the dwarves.

I also finished painting 3 stands of Ethereal Hosts for my Warmaster Vampire Counts army.  Models tend to paint up fast when it is 95% grey with a wash.
 

I am going to jump back to Batman next week.  I want to try and get a new model painted in time for the Lords of War Birthday event.  Cyborg will be boom tubing in! 

Kevin

11/100: Bring Out Your Dead!

I decided to get a start on two of my hobby goals I set for this year.  First up was some more units for my Grand Alliance of Death for Age of Sigmar.   I have a lot of undead stuff.  I have been collecting the various incursions of the Games Workshop undead for twenty years.  The fist models I ever bought were a box of skeletons. However one of the problems that I had last year was that I did not have a set goal.  I said I wanted to paint a full army, but there was no structure.   So I wrote a 2000 point army list last week to help me focus.  Now this list is not set in stone.  I am sure as I play more games I am going to drop units and add new ones.  But this gives me a start.

I worked on 3 units for AoS this week.  All of them where old models that I was re-basing and touching up.   I made a new large base for a Corpse Cart.  This is one of my favorite GW models.  It already has so much character.  I added a few tomb stones and graves to the base for ambiance. 

I also re-based and added some highlights to a converted wraith.  I made this guy out of a plastic Empire Wizard and some extra skeleton bits.  

The last unit I worked on was two bases of Bat Swarms.  I do not like the really really old plastic bat swarms.  I do however really really like their rule that gives all enemies within 12 inches -1 to hit.  So I dug out my Lord of the Rings Bat Swarms.  These are great models.  I know I have at least one more somewhere but I am hoping I have a second one to double my unit.  

I was also able to complete my first member of Thorin's Company, Gandalf the Grey.  It seemed fitting to paint Gandalf first for two reasons.  One: he organised the excursion to reclaim the lonely mountain. Two: one of the first models that I painted last year was Gandalf from the Battle of Five Army game.  Maybe this is a new tradition, new year = new Gandalf.   I do have Gandalf the Grey on horseback lying around...

                     

I kept thinking that it was going to be an easy model to paint.  Just a bunch of grey, right?  Trying to find different ways to paint various shades of grey became very challenging.  I almost gave up while working on the robes.  I hated the first highlight but the subsequent layers brought me back and I am very happy with the finished product.  The unique feature that I have found with the Lord of the Ring models is that I can see a very clear progression of my painting skill/style over the years.  Because I have painted the same character in different posses from different sets at different times, I can sit them side by side and compare.  Here is my most resent Gandalf with one that I painted at least three years ago (but it could be from longer ago, I am really just guessing here).  

That is all for this week.  Next week I am going to start on Bilbo Baggins and some Ethereal Hosts for my Warmaster Army.  

Kevin

6/100 - Castle Play-Set

If you are going to have a bunch of toy skeletons, you have to have the haunted castle play-set to put them in.  This week I took a break from painting Warmaster infantry to paint Warmaster terrain.  I finished up three more sections of the old Forge World Warmaster Castle.

There is only one more wall to paint but first I must rebuild the battlements, which have already apparently seen combat (the back room at the old GW Bunker must have been a rough place).

Next week I am going to try and finish up the Gandalf that I started.  I will also be working on a few stands of spirit hosts for my Vampire Counts Warmaster army.  I do have to say that working on this Warmaster is really getting me pumped to finish up my Death army for Age of Sigmar... 

Kevin

3/100 - 42 Skeletons Done!

First models for the year are painted.  I went "big" for my first painting project, with 42 skeletons.  Now to be fair, those 42 skeletons are 3 bases of Warmaster skeletons, but there are at least 42 bodies on those three bases.

I am continuing with the Warmaster army that I started at the beginning of December.  I finished up my second unit of skeletons that are in my original 1000 pts army list.

1000 Points Vampire Counts Warmaster
 - 2 units of Skeletons
 - 2 units of Zombies
 - 3 units of Grave Guard
 - 1 unit Black Knights
 - 2 units of Dire Wolves
 - 1 unit Ethereal Hosts
 - 1 Vampire Lord on Abysmal Terror
 - 1 Vampire Count in Black Coach
 - 1 Necromancer


I now have the Necromancer, 2 units of Skeletons, and the 2 units of Dire Wolves painted.  I painted up some extra bases of Dire Wolves because I may drop the Black Coach and just have the Count on foot.  An extra unit of light cavalry might be very useful.

I am making steady progress on this army and I am pleased with the results.  Since I have made some excellent headway in my Warmaster challenge, I think I am going to take next week off from infantry and finish off the rest of the Warmaster castle I have been picking away at.  I also want to start the first model of my Hobbit Challenge; Gandalf the Grey.  

Kevin

I am going to start writing painting guides for my self.  This way I can remember exactly what I used to paint something when I go back to it at a future date.  So here is the first one:

Warmaster Skeleton Painting Guide

Bone
Zandri Dust
Agrax Earthshade
Tyrant Skull dry

Weapon Handels
Petroleum Gray
Petroleum Gray + Birch
Nulin Oil

Blades
Black Metal
Trash Metal
Agrax Earthshade

Coffin Shields
Rhinox Hide
Orange Leather
Agrax Earthshade

Purple Shields
Naggaroth Night
Xereus Purple
Leviathan Purple

Stone
Graphene Gray
Mechanicus Grey
Adminitratum Grey
Khemri Brown

Rust
Rhinox Hide + Troll Slayer Orange + Orange Leather + baking soda

Base
Watered down Rhinox Hide
Balor Brown
Tyrant Skull dry

Kevin

2017 Hobby in Review

Another year has gone by.  It was a very productive year (personally as well as hobby-wise).  I did more painting, gaming and blogging than the previous year.  At the beginning of 2017 I took part in the friendly Lords of War Hobby Challenge.  I made a goal to paint 75 models by the end of the year.  This morning I put the finishing touches on model 80-82.   Here are entries 64-82 of my hobby challenge; 4 units of Warmaster Dire Wolves (Actually wargs from Battle of Five Armies), a unit of Warmaster Skeletons, a Warmaster Necromancer, and three pieces of the old Forge World modular Warmaster castle. 

I painted the necromancer like an evil Gandalf.  It seemed fitting for this to be the last model I painted in 2017 since the Battle of Five Armies Gandalf and Frodo model was my first.

 

While I hit my hobby model count, I did not complete all of the projects that I intended.  2.5 out of 5 is not terrible. Here was the original list:
-New Crew for Batman Miniature Game - Completed 2 - Brave and the Bold and Scarecrow's Militia
-Team for The DC Universe Game (Justice League) - Completed 2 - Justice League 60+ levels and Suicide Squad
-Blood Angel Stormtalon (I have been converting this model for years, time to put some paint on it) - incomplete (in my defense I really don't want to paint red on a model this large without an airbrush!)
-1500pts of Undead for Age of Sigmar - incomplete - I made progress but only got about 750 finished 
-New Gang for Malifaux (Death Marshals or The Latigo Posse) - incomplete - not even attempted  

One of the things I was most proud of was this blog.  I wrote more post this year (40 entries) than any year previously (previous top was 28 in 2015).  The frequency of posts also improved, I made at least one entry every month. 

I started to share posts that featured Batman miniatures on the Arkham City Limits group.  Because of this people from around the world read the blog (Germany, UK, Spain, Australia).  I really like that the BMG community is truly worldwide.

The top three most views posts where:
1) Wayne Financial 
2) Arkham Guard Reporting for Duty
3) the DCU WAR Recap event at Lord of War

Here are a few of my favorite models/events/projects from this year:

 

 

 

 

I am looking forward to continuing this in the new year.  I will be partaking in the Lords of War Hobby Challenge 2018.  Not sure what my goal and projects will be, but I have a day to figure it out!  I hope you all will continue to accompany me through next year's hobby adventures! 

Kevin

Hey Lou, get the bean bag gun

It took a while but I finally finished the final Arkahm Guard.  This was one of those models where I was just not happy with how it was turning out from the beginning.  So I ended up putting it aside for a few weeks.  When I finally picked up a brush again it only took a few hours to touch up and finish off. 

This guard has done fairly average in the two games that I have used him.  The stun damage riot gun is decent.  I do like that it has a good range and comes with 3 ammo.  He probably would have done better in both game if I had remembered that he (and all the other cops/guards I was using) had the "Arrest" rule.

All that is left to paint in my current Brave and the Bold crew is Nightwing.  I will be starting on this soon.  However I have been painting a lot of Batman minis this year, I may take a bit of a break over the next few weeks to work on some Warmaster and Battle of Five Army models. 

Kevin