We go bump in the night

Out of the blue, I got the urge to paint (Been a bit of painting burnout of late.). So I did these lovely sculpts, again, quick and dirty tabletop jobs. The models are by Red Box Games who are fast becoming one of my favourite minis producers; just beautiful, natural looking sculpts in general. These are from their Infernals line, though I think the sculpts are now retired. I’m planning to use them for an rpg campaign that I’ve been putting together in my head.  In game terms, they’ll be probably be my own version of Pathfinder’s Grave Wardens, though with a couple extra class levels added to their stats, a special fear inducing banshee-type scream and custom weapon and armour. I intend for them to be summoned by a Necromancer who’s model is ready for his own licks of paint.

 

Yeah, I really need to take better pictures.... ~_~

So I could differentiate them easily, I chose to paint each one’s skirts a different colour. Their weapons continually drip with blood-coloured acids and boy are these weapons nasty stats-wise. (No negative levels on damage though – I despise level negating effects that D&D/Pathfinder seem to delight in torturing poor adventurers with.) Almost all painting was done with washes – very simple, very quick. Bashing these 6 figs out in two paint sessions was pretty impressive for this ol’ slow-poke painter, if I do say so my self. Pic is a bit rubbish though as it was done right before I left for work this morning so I’ll have to take and post better ones when I have time.

I’ve also been working further on my Tears of Hades, Oracle-Crone and Hecate’s basing and her Lampad torch bearers. The background for these models is still in the works, though as I continue to work on the models, I find I am becoming more confident that this idea might work out to be rather cool to people other than just me afterall! Maybe.

 

These little guys are Lampads.

Lampads light Hecate's path through the Underworld. And yes, these pics are horrendous, but they are all I have man...

I also was lucky enough to get in a couple games of Flames of War:

1. Three small all-armour battles with my good friend Densmol whereby we quickly realized that Brit armour versus German armour is just plain shite and yes, I lost all three painfully.
2. A game with a new player in my area called Joe who has joined the Norcal Flames of War tournament circuit. Joe wanted a practice Mid War game prior to last weekend’s Kublacon tournament in Burlingame in the Bay Area. His Panzer Grenadiers faced off against my British Guard infantry. Sadly his dice failed him at the most inopportune moments and so he lost heavily. It was good to find another player in the local area though and he apparently has two other mates he plays with, so I hope to get some more regular play in for the near future!

Lastly, I put together the remainder of my PlasticSoldierCompany Churchill tanks. These models were a breeze to stick together and look amazing. Their detail blows Battlefront’s own Churchills out of the park and at a fraction of the price. Here’s some pics and comparisons with the Battlefront equivalents. (5 come in a box and I modeled 3 up for my Desert Brit force and the other two as AVRE tanks for an eventual Breaching Group that I hope to run.)

 

These are going to be Churchill tanks from the 2nd Battle of El Alamein from Kingforce. I've started making their dust skirts that they utilised to stop the sand, etc from blasting the drivers in their faces.

I've since added lots more stowage to these.

The two AVRE's. Love these tanks and their "Dustbin Launcher" guns.

Forgot to mention I also got two Churchill Crocodiles. Nasty nasty flame throwing fun.

On the left is also the start of a Churchill IV 75mm. Not sure when I'll get to play this bugger.... On the Right is the second unbuilt Croc.

On to the Comparison pics

No real size differences.

Detail is definitely sharper on the plastic tank.

Post Script - Ever since realising that there's something in Gluten products that has been messing my stomach up, beer has sadly been off the menu. *sniffs* So I have been searching far and wide for a Cider to take it's place. This one was super good. Not sweet and not dry and made with flowers of all things.... strange.

Yum!

Where were your evolved sensibilities then? (Part 2 - The Tears, The Crone Oracle and Lampads WIP)

The first seven of the Tears are completed, as is the Crone Oracle(Center of the picture).

Forgive the roughness of this pic. Lighting was horrid when I took it.

The Lampads need some fire effects on the ones holding torches and a little work done on their little necks, otherwise they too are done.

Damned cute if you ask me.

I plan to add them to Hecate's base once I've decided on how I want it to look.

My "Hecate". I will describe at a later date why she looks so repulsive.

Where were your evolved sensibilities then? (Part1 - The Tears)

Something short and sweet to whet your appetites. Something not Flames of War for once as well.

I present the first of the Tears of Hades. (Still a work in progress.)

Liebster Award

The very kind and estimable Kieran at the very well written, witty and thoroughly entertaining blog, Do You Have a Flag? has kindly taken it upon himself to nominate me for a Liebster Award and deserves all the thanks this humble blogger and hobbyist can muster on a hot and all too dry Sunday afternoon.

*I'm now going to be rather lazy and copy and paste all the Blurb regarding what a Liebster is and what the whole phenomenon entails once one receives one. (Some would call this plagiarism, I call it practicality, so forgiveness ahead of time is proffered. .) *

Essentially this is all an effort to help get more traffic on other people's blogs, but in a "benefits the blogging community as a whole" type way, not as a cheese dripping self aggrandizement sordid affair. 

1. Copy and paste the award on your blog linking it to the blogger who has given it you.

2. Pass the award to your top 11 blogs with less than 200 followers by leaving a comment on one of there posts to notify them that they have won the award and listing them on your own blog.

3. Sit back and bask in the warm fuzzy feeling that comes with knowing you have made someone's day!

4. There is no obligation to pass this onto someone else but its nice if you take the time to do so.


Right then.....

10 Truths About Me 

1. I once won a burping competition when I was 18 and still living in Wales with a trophy and everything. I do not own the trophy any longer. 
2. I've acted in a really low budget but rather fun film and a punk music video for local long standing band, The Secretions. (I'm the crap acting baldy in one and wearing a black fedora in t'other.)Funnily enough, my acting career went nowhere after these.
3. I have no educational background, barely passing my GCSE's (and re-sits) and flunking out of Art School twice. 
4. I am a Governing Board Member for my work Union.
5. I am also an ordained minister, even though I'm an atheist. The irony and ridiculousness that it was so easy to fill out the online application to become a minister by law couldn't be ignored (My Great Grandfather, Grandfather and God Father were all ministers and did it the [hard] proper way, through college.). 
6. The most famous person I've ever met was Duncan Goodhew when I was about 8.
7. I can't go near expired vermin, nearly puking on numerous occasions when these small corpses have been encountered.
8. I once head-butted a water melon in half during a visit to the beach and received a standing ovation.  
9. My Mother is an amazing opera singer - if I tried hard enough, I could be too.
10. Secretly, I dig chick flicks.

Right, on to the giving part of these shenanigans. I'd love to pass on this award to some of my very favourite blogs, but better bloggers before me have already nominated them (This hobbying community is pretty tight after all!) , so I'll take it upon myself to pass on some of my other favourites, who I feel a very deserving of a Leibster and the respect that comes with the award. 

In no particular order, 11 lovelies you need to check out:

Pake's Voodoo Studio - Pake is an online mate that I've known for some years now. He's a crazy Fin who has painted the pants off of his beloved Warmahordes collection, has damned fine taste in music and has also strummed fine a tune or two himself. 

Mad Tin Hatter  - Jamie has a collection of Flames of War Scots, based on the very regiment his Grandfather served in that would take the breath away of any lover of WW2 history. He adheres to historical accuracy and detail in a very fine fashion and has some lovely conversions accordingly.

Campaigns of General William Augustus Pettygree - Like well written late 1800's colonial fiction with photographed painted figs to illustrate the story? Seriously, this blog is amazing. 

Tales From Farpoint - Currently posting a series on an alternate and very well thought out WH40K setting, a little less Grim, but still lots of room for Dark.

Enter the Nurgling - Esty's love of all things Nurgle is a delight to follow. His work and style are breathtaking.

Hungry Ghosts Chaos Squats of Khorne - I love 40K Squats. This guy does too. More than me even. We miss Squats.

Flames of Nerd - I know Rich personally and the NorCal Flames of War scene lost out when he moved away to the desert or New Mexico or something. His amazing work has deservedly won awards, check it out. 

Gardens of Hecate - Ana's . work . is . amazing. That will be all.

Miasma of Pestilence - Tony and Tom have some really cool ideas and seeing as Tony loves Nurgle and does it well, he gets my vote.

Eldritch Epistles - You like Oldhammer? I like Oldhammer. 

Empire of Ghosts - This is one of the first blogs I started following. Ancientsociety was one of (If not THE) authors of the very fun Necromunda rules-mod, Inquisimunda. He is also an accomplished terrain maker and painter.

Kierans's 11 Questions (Which are also Drax's 11 Questions) which are also the same questions I pose to my nominees!

1. Why did you start blogging?
I love seeing other people's work online. It's all art and I'm a sucker for wanting to see amazing work in this hobby. Consider the blogosphere a gallery, I'm not only here to view, but I guess get responses and advice in return from those who typically know far more about this stuff than I.

2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be?
I'd include a rule in any LGS that says, only fully painted models allowed on our tables. Can't stand seeing bare plastic and metal across the table from me.

3. What is best in life? 
A happy family. 

4. Do you want to live forever?  
No. It would get boring really quick.

5. Fame or fortune? 
Fame, I want to die knowing people will remember me for a long time.

6. What miniature are you most proud of having painted? 
I'm still working that one out. has been a while since I've felt super happy with any of my paint jobs of late. But if I had to choose, probably my Nurgle Dreadnought.


7. How do you deal with burn out?
Spend time with my family, play video games and wait for my mojo to return. It does, in it's own time.

8. Why is a raven like a writing desk?
For the same reason that weasels make good stoles.

9. Star Wars or Star Trek? 
I used to be a hard core Star Wars fan, knowing more facts on the films and Extended Universe than any I'd met, being a 501st Legion costumer (Scout Trooper.) and watching the original trilogy at least once every fortnight religiously. Then Lucas released the prequels..... I still like Star Wars, but Star Trek seems to feature on my television far more frequently these days.

10. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be?
If their upcoming alien faction sculpts are anything as good as their current Eisenkern range, then I'll happily buy Dreamforge Games miniatures from here on out. Amazing sculpts and their range can only get bigger and better.  

11. What is your favourite take away?
Chicken Dhansak, spicy with Garlic Naan, Vegetable Pakoras with Tamarin sauce and Bombay Aloo. My mouth is watering as I type this.

Thanks again Kieran, you sir are a gent and a scholar.

A Raffle worth mentioning!

Right now and until May 14th, there is a raffle on at my NUMBER ONE forum that I frequent far too often for a model so amazing, it's something that you can't miss out on.

Yes, a sales pitch, but only one that wouldn't be worth yelling about if I didn't think it was a worthy cause.

Okay, that's it. No more sales. No buyer beware either.

Mabrothrax, founder of the PAPANURGLE.COM forum is holding a raffle to fund this year's costs to keep the forum running. All you have to do is donate via the paypal address he's listed here to have a chance at winning one of these:

Custom (But regular sized) Plague Bearer here for scale purposes

Now when I say that this model is an AMAZING sculpt, take it from me, I couldn't have anything less to say. I own one. (Admittedly still unpainted due to the fact that I'm intimidated by it.... ~_~ )  No really I do. The sculptor (Jon Meechelsen) only made a limited run of them and they are by far the coolest and most disturbing Nurgle-esque sculpts out there. They make GamesWorkshop's own Great Unclean Ones look like they were sculpted by my dog.

If you're a fan of Nurgle things, if you appreciate amazing sculpts in this hobby of ours, if you just like the chance to win a centerpiece plague thingamajig for your Chaos army, just head on over to  Papanurgle.com and donate a measly dollar (or more!).

My next post won't be half as full of rubbish sales technique.

[Please take my word that this is a legit raffle. I've been a member of this forum in respected and good standing for 5 years with multiple transactions between myself and other forum members and also readers of my blog. I like to support the places that support me.]