This is London calling. And a shout out to a wonderful man with a wonderful project.

Thursday last week, Devil May Cry 5 released (no, I will not be wargaming DMC...) and a few of my favorite streamers started playing it. The game is about fighting Devils in a ruined, London-esque metropolis. Which triggered memories of an old favorite... Hellgate London!
Not the best of games, but an excellent setting to explore.

Friday a week ago, me and some friends had a hobby evening. Inspired by the DMC 5 footage I decided to build some extra Hellgate London demons to add to the few I had already converted a few years ago.

The rough and ready basics were done on that friday night:

Together with their older siblings:

During that weekend, the greenstuff phases followed:

This Saturday, the airbrush was employed for primer and basecoat (and as I was at it, a second project also got some paint sprayed on).

 Which, today, resulted in painted miniatures:

Here's how they match up with their elders:

And as I waited for paint to dry on the demons, I used the downtime to progress on the vendomats:

Dirty and grimy and worn, perfect for cyberpunk, post-apocalypse or any current era metropolis....

Ofcourse I couldn't help set up a little scene:
Templars fighting to reclaim a base lost to the demonic incursion:

Maybe next weekend, I can try to get some paint on the Hunter faction (soldiers and engineers) miniatures I have lying around. Then I just need mini's to represent Cabalists, and  I can start finding a suitable ruleset to modify and playtest. (Currently thinking about IHMN and its derivatives, but perhaps this summer Reality's Edge may prove to be a good match?)


As an added bonus, yesterday my sister came over (she builds 1/12th scale dollhouse style rooms, I guess it runs in the family!) to help me get over my nervousness about soldering LED circuits.
Baby steps, but so much options for terrain:

Now, I also mentioned a shout out to a deserving man with a wonderful project. The man in question is Mel Bose  a deeply likeable man with a very informative Youtube Channel about building wargaming terrain. What makes him especially interesting is that he regularly collaborates with artists from other disciplines to exchange techniques and knowledge.  Why mention him now?
Well, he has a Kickstarter to publish a book collecting all his accumulated know-how in physical format. While I have seen most of his videos (and I advise you to watch them too, if you have an interest in terrainbuilding!) I am somewhat fond of terrain-building books, and I know his is guaranteed to be a good one!
Check it out here:
Terrain Essentials Kickstarter


See you next time!

the Shire Defense Force mobilises!

Today, my first package of the Westfalia Miniatures Halfmen Kickstarter arrived, and they are glorious:

Tomorrow a second package should follow, containing the last few miniatures, and then I should have everything in my hands.
I had a quick look at them, and once again Westfalia Miniatures really impresses. (They already went well above and beyond coordinating with me to make sure my miniatures wouldn't arrive when I was away from home.)

Their choice in resin is excellent, it's light and takes detail very well, transferring every detail of the absolutely marvellous sculpts, while being ever so slightly flexible, which is great boon to actual wargaming use for this miniatures.
The casting is virtually flawless, with barely any mouldlines and little excess resin to deal with. (The only flaw I could find after checking every single miniature, was a slight misalignment of the mould on the visor of one my Goat Knights. Nothing a stroke with a file and maybe a dot of putty won't fix. Which for working with resin, and the sheer amount of miniatures I got, is so minor an issue it doesn't even properly count.) There are the usual slight bent spears and such that are part and parcel of resin minis, but even those are few and far between. And knowing Westfalia, all their shipments are to this standard of quality. They're just gobsmackingly amazingly good and very, very dedicated.

The sculpting is just exquisite and very, very clean. These will be an absolute joy to paint up.
I'd better start clearing my hobby table... :)

Hopefully they'll make their way to the Westfalia Miniatures online store, as I can certainly see myself expanding the collection.

So, what are my plans for these? Well, they'll get fed into the greater Dungeoneering/Chivalry/Fantasy monster project. I think they'll get divvied up into groups of a single Knight and his/her retinue, similarly to what I did with my Bretonnians. And mayble I'll cherrypick a few of them to accompany a Halfling Wizard to raid the kitchens and pantries of Frostgrave for frozen treats...

See you next time!

Edit: I feel these might come in handy at the painting stage... ;)
Food in Heraldry
The Wiki on food in heraldry

Nerd Bounty

No new hobby news, the muse is still on vacation. :(

But, today the postman was kind to me...
Last year I had participated in a Kickstarter for gaming coins, these coins were large, sounded well and were generally wonderfull, their self-claimed "legendary" status was deserved. Their only flaw was that their size and small number made them not entirely practical for actual RPG use, as they couldn't cover small day-to-day transactions.
So I turned to kickstarter once more for a batch of smaller coins to supplement them. These arrived today:

(More pics and loot after the break:)

Happy New Year! (And a quick look back)

Well, it's begun, let's hope it's a good one! :)

It's only fitting that I start the new year with what I ended the old one with:
Toads!

They are, of course, the new toad sculpts coming out of Toad King Castings "Warts and Wings" Kickstarter. (I didn't get the stirges, nor did I get the largest of the toads, due to budgetary reasons. But looking at how much fun these are to paint, I'll certainly be getting the largest toad once he hits retail!) While I didn't get these as scarily realistic as the previous one (these are after all clearly fantasy creatures, and their extremely warty skins hids my attempt at mottled patterns somewhat), I'm still well chuffed with them.
Especially as they're another one-day paint, and painted while still recovering from New Years Eve, to boot!

Here's looking at you...

Looking back over the past year hobbywise, it's been a pretty good year for me. (real-life wise, 2015 wasn't one worth remembering...)
I've painted 73 miniatures, which, although isn't heyday productivity, it is one of the most productive years since acquiring child and mortgage and such.
It's also been a remarkably focussed year, with all minis painted, bar 13, being for the Fantasy/Dungeoneering project. I've built a few models for other projects in the past year, but none them have actually passed through the painting queue.
I didn't build the dungeon terrain I had planned to build this year, but oh, well, there's always 2016. ;D It'll get built eventually. I'd rather not rush such a big terrain project and there's no deadline for it to be finished.
I've also played several games this year, thanks to Johan/Gunbird and Frostgrave. Which also puts this year far above previous ones, where the average number of games was roughly 0.
All in all, I'm pretty pleased with 2015 as far as gaming goes.

See you next time, and have a nice year!

I almost croaked...

Look who I found, puttering about in the back yard:

Something good from Sweden, part 2.

Remember back in March when I told you about a Kickstarter by Järnringen to get their RPG Symbaroum translated into English.
Well, today my book arrived! And it is a thing of beauty. The book is well made, feels nice and solid, pleasantly thick pages. The art is beautiful  and evocative (It's part of what pushed me over the edge into pledging on this one), the lay out is pleasant to look at without being overbearing.
I especially like the rounded spine and the fact they thought to include a woven bookmark. Good stuff.
I had a quick leaf through, but I can't wait to read the entire thing cover to cover.
Have a look:

I'll be doing lots of reading this weekend!

Shire Defense Force

I've known this Kickstarter was coming for a while now, and was really looking forward to it, and now it is finally here!
The Westfalia Miniatures Halfmen Army Kickstarter

 It's a project to fund and start a range of Halflings in a more professional military vein, rather than the quite pastoral and merry style usually seen.
Their armour and equipment of the pint-sized belligerents is styled after late 14th/early 15th century gear, which I really like the look of and coincides perfectly with the era I'm most interested in. It's the era which my setting/headcanon for the fantasy games I play is derived from. So you can see how I could not resist pledging! My collection of heroes and "good guy" warbands has been rather humanocentric so far (with the odd elf and dwarf thrown in), this Kickstarter will go a long way towards correcting that!
The sculpts are very good, nice and clean and the test sculpts sent out to some select wargamers for review have gotten very positive feedback concerning the resin chosen and casting quality.

 So, if you like Halflings and/or fantasy with a strong medieval flavour, go and have a look!
They're already well past funded and burning through stretch goals rapidly.

Hop to it!

A while ago, I backed the "Warts and Wings" Kickstarter from Toad King Castings. Today a little packet arrived, containing this:

For some reason, I got the boozy stirge instead of Terence the pipe-smoking toad as stretch goal perk, but seeing how it's effectively a free mini, and the stirge is cute as a button (the misses took an instant liking to him), I don't mind at all.

During the kickstarter the greens of the toads already looked impressive, but having the casts in hand now, I'm just blown away! The sculpting is immaculate, not a tool-mark to be seen and the texture on the toads skin is just wonderful. The casting is absolutely top notch as well, not an air bubble or molding mark to be seen anywhere. A quick rinse (and maybe a slight sanding of the bottoms, if one is picky about perfect flatness) should suffice to get these models ready for paint.
I'm genuinely impressed by the quality of these models.
The only thing I regret about this Kickstarter is that I didn't have the spare cash at the time to add some of the barrels, crates and the mimic to my pledge as well.
Hopefully Toad King Castings will get a webstore set up soon, once the Kickstarter is fulfilled, so I and others can get their hands on (more of) these fine figures.

It looks like my painting queue may be reshuffled even further...
I guess I'll be staring at pictures of toads this weekend. :)

See you next time!

Catching up (Aka Loot-tober)

So, what have I been up to the last couple of weeks?

Well, reading, as my copy of Badab War arrived:

I've wanted these books ever since they came out, but just couldn't justify the price tag. But recently, as I was browsing the Forgeworld site, I saw that the price had come way down, I guess because the rules inside are now several editions out of date. As I mainly wanted it for the background and decidedly less for the rules this doesn't bother me, so I struck.

A while ago my son expressed interest in painting a mini. The past two weekends we spent an afternoon painting together, teaching him the basics of basecoat, drybrushing and washes.
As I didn't want to paint anything involved while doing this I started on some Deathwing terminators from Dark Vengeance (Yeah, I know, the fact that I don't consider Deathwing terminators involved panting-wise should worry me).
I don't have a Dark Angels army, nor an interest in starting one, but they are useable in Space Hulk and I could put them down whenever I needed to help out or advise my son while painting.
For him I prepped a few spare miniatures (a Chaos warrior, Space Marine, Lizardman and an Ork), being an 11 year-old boy, he chose the Space Marine... :D
He actually impressed me with the focus, attention and calm he was painting with (especially as he has ADHD) and the result is quite nice for a first mini:

A proud parent am I....
After this first taste, he seems to be interested in doing more. Not going to push him on it, we'll see where it goes.

Also, my Gwent decks from the Witcher 3 expansion arrived:

For those that don't know. the Witcher 3 is an open-world fantasy RPG for the PC based on the world/setting of Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher novels. Unsurprisingly it is the third part of the series of games...
Gwent is a (mini-)game within the game, that has become quite loved and popular (with people making emulators to play it outside of the Witcher game and even some making physical cards to play it in real life).
It's quite a fun game, each player builds a deck, of which he draws ten cards for a game. Each card has a value, you play over three rounds, the highest total score when both players pass wins the round, the first player to win two rounds wins the game. You don't replenish cards between the rounds so there is a fair bit of strategy to determine what cards to play, which to hold in reserve for a next round and when to pass. Certain cards mess can influence your strategy even more by either modifying the value of cards or removing/recycling cards from your or your opponents hand. This man on youtube can give you a beginners tutorial.
 The collector's edition of the game contained two of the four decks (I didn't get it, it was too expensive for me at the time of release), but the first expansion allowed one to order the other two decks. I'm hoping the second expansion will allow me a second chance to get the first two decks as well and complete the set.
I'm looking forward to playing this with a real live human.

Yesterday I went to Crisis, a Belgian wargaming show hosted by the Tin Soldiers Of Antwerp. A great show, especially now that they seem to have settled into their new venue quite comfortably.
As usual lots of great and good-looking demos and participation games, nice and friendly traders with a good mix and diversity of products and ranges and a well-run bring and buy. (Though I couldn't buy much at her stand, due to previously reserved funds, I especially enjoyed the visit to the Dice Bag Lady. Cheerful and friendly service and I quite appreciate her intention and effort to find and promote miniatures of women that are sensibly equipped/dressed and capable. While I enjoy the occasional cheesecake, I have set myself  a goal of making my collection of Dungeoneering/Fantasy heroes as gender-equal as possible and found myself surprised at how difficult that actually turns out to be.)
The bring and buy, while always good, had an unexpected treat for me this year, as I managed to snag a very good condition copy of the Realm of Chaos- Slaves to Darkness hardcover for a mere €25, whereas it usually goes for a princely sum on Ebay. Now I can only hope to have similar luck someday with the companion book, the Lost and the Damned, which usually goes for even sillier money online...
On the miniatures end of Crisis, I acquired a wizard and apprentice from Frostgrave (Sigilist as I like the minis, not sure if I'll actually use them in Frostgrave or for something else entirely. I'm somewhat eyeing an Elementalist for Frostgrave with regards to spell selection) as well as the populations and livestock for a medieval/fantasy village through Foundry and Warbases:

So now I'll have to (re)research appropriate colours for medieval livestock and village buildings before I build and paint them. Maybe I'll even have to rewatch Tales from the Green Valley again...
Ah, the toils of knowledge... ;P

I kept a little bit of cash set aside for things that I wanted to get, but weren't available at the show itself, which I've now ordered online.
Even though it's in November, the visit to Crisis wonderfully concluded what I've come to think of as Loot-tober this year as, in addition to the above, this month also saw the Heresy monsters Kickstarter delivered, along with the last set of coins from a coin Kickstarter. :D
It also effectively concludes my hobby purchases for this year, aside from a little bit of currency reserved for a Kickstarter I know is coming in december (Late 14th/early 15th century styled armoured halflings, I just can't resist!), I'll talk more about that when it starts.

See you next time!

Fulfillment...

Of a Kickstarter, that is.

Today I picked up my Heresy Miniatures Kickstarter package (Apparently  previous delivery attempts had been made. I assume by one of those  "stealth"-postmen that don't use doorbells and delivery cards, as I had been home that entire day and hadn't seen or heard anything... If they'd used a regular postie, I'd have had my stuff a week earlier...)

Here's what came out of the box:

As usual, Heresy miniatures shows the excellence the  "Forum of Doom-collective" has become known and loved for. The package was sturdy and caringly wrapped, with a nice thank-you note and some candy. Little touches that really make you feel appreciated as a customer, and the fact that Heresy keeps this up, even with the insane workload of the Dragon and Kickstarter fulfillment really speaks of their dedication and deeply entrenched customer care.
But it was the contents that really blew me away this time. Heresy Miniatures metal casting has always been very good, especially considering that essentially it has always been a one man operation. (Two man now, wouldn't want to ignore "Minion Dave")
But with the resin casts from the Kickstarter Heresy really kicks it up a notch, they are just near perfect! Clean neat detail, all perfectly cast with no bubbles, no flash, barely any moldlines at all!
Really looking forward to building and painting these.

So what did I get?

I didn't go crazy overboard (My budget nowadays simply doesn't allow it anymore), but I got some cool bits to make my dungeon that more dangerous:
6 More Gribbly Slugs, the six I already had simply weren't enough, I really want to swarm my adventurers!
3 Maggotmen to serve as herders for the above.
1 Terror Grub, a huge, hideous maggot to serve as a mother/living god to the Maggotmen. Perhaps, at some point I'll also add the Maggotmen Leader to this crew of creeps.
And two trolls, a Dungeon Troll, who gets to stay just as he is, and a Snow Troll, who will get horns and hooves to become a Highland Minotaur. The latter is a conversion I had wanted to do since I first saw the snow troll, but never got around to while he was available in metal.

What's a Highland Minotaur?  Well, imagine this, but bipedal, carnivorous and extremely vicious:

See you next time!

Show me the money!

Well, the first batch of coins (of two, if I recall correctly), has arrived today.
After a bit of struggle with the somewhat "Colombian Export"-style packaging*, this is what greeted me:

Pretty coins, with a nice solid heft and clink to them! Made me a happy camper today, I currently have a set in it's bag laying next to the keyboard, just to shake now and then to hear the jingle and tink. (Yes, I'm that easily amused...)

I'm planning to use these as physical props during roleplaying, but also in, for example, may chivalry and dungeoneering games as a tangible form of "points" for warband building and advancement.
I think, tomorrow I'll go looking on auction sites for cut glass jewels to handle larger denominations of value.

Have a nice weekend!

*: I didn't get a pic of it, I was too eager to get to my prize, but when the next pack arrives I'll hopefully remember to do so, it was quite funny (to me) to open up the envelope and inside the pouch find a tightly taped up package, that looked like the sort you see in movies and tv reports about drug busts...

Dungeon Kickstarter

I've totally forgotten to show you this kickstarter by Manorhouse Workshop in collaboration with Maki Games:
Modular Underground Project
Being plastic and based on 10cm squares, it would be perfect for many a dungeon game, the upcoming Privateer Press Corvis Underground boardgame (though you'd need a fair few sets to remake the board with these sections) as far as fantasy goes. You could also use it for pulp games, or even sci-fi games (it reminds me an afwul lot of Hellgate London's sewer levels, for example, or some of the Metro 2033 stuff.
They've demonstrated its compatibility with several major other modular dungeon systems.
Here's what it looks like, once painted:

It currently seems to be flagging a bit, so please, have a look and if you like it spread the word!

Freaky Fantasy Funds

I've had imaginary money on the mind the last few days.
I recently backed a kickstarter for metal fantasy coins. The makers intend them as replacement/upgrade parts for boardgames. I however am thinking of using them as RPG props and maybe also as fun, physical "army building points/scenario rewards" for my Fantasy/dungeoneering/chivalry games. (While I never really did this before, I rather like the idea of prop-heavy RPG/game playing, I like the physicality and immersiveness of it. Once I start GM-ing again I would like to do this more, hence the investing in coinage...)
As I was figuring out how to get the most use out of the coins and extend the currency upwards, I was struck by how money is used/portrayed in many fantasy games.
If such meanderings of my mind interest you, there's more after the break.

Something good from Sweden

I don't usually endorse (or participate) in crowdfunding projects, but I felt this one deserved mentioning:
Last year I happened across a Swedish RPG by a company named Järnringen. It's called Symbaroum and grabbed my attention; the art was beautiful and evocative, and what I could gather of the setting (My Swedish is way on the far side of nonexistent...) it seemed very interesting.
The art had a mood that I tend to think of as "Scandinavian"; the nature looks harsh and overwhelming but at the same time with a certain otherworldy, dreamlike quality. The culture, people and even monsters shown have a sense of depth, of history. And the setting, while clearly fantasy, is not standard fare, the conflicts aren't simply "good vs evil" or standard monsters. The factions seem to all contain gradients of both aspects. I like that the main source of conflict is the area of an ancient taboo or interdiction and the attitudes of the various peoples towards that forbidden area and its mysteries and dangers. No faction seems to be arbitrarily or universally a good guy or bad guy, but all are driven by a desire to survive and thrive in this harsh, contested land. Add to that a pervasive sense of mystery and I was sold.
If only it were available in English!

Well, it seems that may be about to happen as they have started an Indiegogo campaign to get an English translation released, check it out here.
No deep discounts, no outrageous stretch goals, just a good product seeking a wider audience.
Have a look if it has peaked your interest.
I wish them luck and hope they reach their goals.