A bone to pick...

Due to being awfully busy lately, these mini's took a long time to finish...
It even got close to the point that I feared frustration over my lack of progress would lead me to abandon them for the time being.

But here they are, my skeleton spearmen:

And from the rear:

This means that, apart from three skeletal beastmen (which aren't really part of my undead warband proper), all my rank and file undead are done!
What is left to do is two skeleton minor heroes, two major heroes (the Skeleton King and his Dread Knight), two Wraiths, a Banshee and a Necromancer. All individual or semi-individual models, with a lot less bone to paint...
I do want to add some zombies to them at some point, but I'm a having a hard time finding a way to neatly get the Mantic zombies I have onto the round 20mm bases I want to use.
I'm in no hurry for the zombies anyway, as they will be random restless dead/things to get summoned by any practitioner of the Dark Arts, and are not part of "The Court of the Skeleton King", like my skeletons are.

Oh, and here is a teaser for the next model on my painting table:

See you next year!

Warning, lots of words, no pictures...

Wow, has it been a month already?

So, what have I been up to? Not much really, at least not hobbywise.
I started a in new job/project last week, and with it comes an increase in hours and travel time, leaving me knackered when I get home, at least until I get used to it (and the high-speed barrage of new-job information/training slows down).
The weeks before that were mostly spent getting the job in first place. And organizing things so that those parts of the daily care for my son (he is, as they call it these days, a "special needs" kid) I normally care of are picked up by other folks when I am at work.

Less daylight also means less hobby time, as I need natural light to paint, somehow my eyes just don't adjust to artifical (day)light enough to properly discern shades of the same colour. Which causes rather ugly and abrupt highlights. Assembling and converting in the evening is no problem however, so evenings should go to waste by default.

Normally I, in situations like these I would have left the hobby by the wayside, for the time being. Often for months at a time. But I found this usually left me either feeling disconnected from the things I was working on, or having settled into a schedule/daily rhythm where there was no room left for hobby stuff. Which made it hard to get going again, so I put hobby off a bit longer, further raising the barrier, etc.
I didn't want that to happen again. So, the moment I started this job, I decided to consciously keep doing hobby stuff, and plan time for it.
All work and no play makes Modhail a dull boy and all that (not mention cranky and depressed...).

So, last Sunday and Monday evening I took the time to finish basing a few figures (the wife, kids and druid from two posts back). And today I reserved time for painting a second group of skeletons I was working on. They're far from finished (spent a lot of time waiting for washes to dry), but it's good to see progress.
Will I keep this up? Who knows... I have to be realistic here. My work hours won't magically shorten again, and December is a very busy month for our family (there's the usual holidays, and somehow about 3 friends/family celebrating their birthdays every week). There's also the lure of video games, I just got the Diablo III expansion, so that is drawing me in again, Warmachine Tactics has left the beta, and Darkest Dungeon is getting more of my attention as it draws nearer to early access.... A hiatus might still occur, but at least it won't be from me not even attempting to do something fun/hobby-related. :-)

But this is a hobby blog, not a Modhail's Real Life Stuff blog (thought the two often interact and/or intersect).  So I really should also add some hobby content to this post, beyond just quickly remarking what I've been painting today inside a wall of unrelated text.
Clearly I'm still mainly in the mood for my Dungeoneering/Generic Fantasy/Chivalry project, so we'll see where that goes.  I've been giving some thought on how to proceed with this:

-One thing that is increasingly bothering is me, is that currently my heroes are at risk of outnumbering the monsters and villains... So I really should be focusing on making and painting more opponents. It's just that heroes, being single, individual models, are more fun to paint!
Hence the slogging on with my skeletons, but also simultaneously working on a Paladin to keep my interest. Maybe this pairing up of a hero and a group of enemies as a joint painting project is the way forward. I will need to experiment. It does mean I can keep painting while paint or wash dries...

-This whole chimaera of a project has flowed from wanting to paint my wife's Warhammer Quest set for her. Guess what hasn't been on the painting table for quite some while? I really should show them some love too. It's just a shame that, as I'm exploring my own imaginary world, the Warhammer one is losing quite a bit of its appeal. GWs recent antics and pricing aren't helping my enthusiasm either.

-There is also the issue of terrain, if I want to go dungeoneering, I will need dungeons or caves. I feel I can't hide from this issue for much longer. I want to find a solution for this terrain that appeals to me, is achievable and that I'm happy with, and then stick with that choice.
This will require some thought. Especially as I will build it myself and it should ideally also serve for Warhammer Quest...
For the Generic Fantasy and Chivalry part of the project, I'll also need suitable terrain.
But before I build it, I need to find/make storage for it. I have the space reserved, but it's in an open rack in the garage, so I need to find storage boxes suited to my need. A need that also depends on the scenery I will be making. The standoff has somewhat of a Mexican flavour.

But for now, none of this need to be acted on immediately. I've still got plenty of minis to happily keep painting and fill the time until I've figured these things out.

Finger Food

Hmmm, all commercial tv channels have filled the entire evening with tacky horror movies, the old cat lady across the street is pouring lines of salt across all windowsills and doorsteps while chanting and I occasionally catch myself muttering "Iä, Iä, fthaghn" under my breath...
It must be Halloween...
I'd better start my preparations!


I made zombie fingers again this year:

They're a basic shortbread recipe*, with green food colouring added and shaved and split almonds for the nails.
*: Take butter, sugar and flour in a 4-3-8 ratio. First mix the sugar and the butter and mix until creamy (at this point I added the food colouring), then gradually add in the flour. Knead into a supple ball. Form whatever cookies you want. Preheat oven to 150 degree Celcius and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Here they are, post bake:

I tend to serve them with a red sauce over the "cut" ends, usually thick cranberry sauce or a red jam.

Now, Halloween isn't really a major event around here, except for shop and pub owners. But if any kids do show up looking for free candy, I can properly give them the finger... :-D

Have fun tonight!

Some stuff

Not much going on hobbywise due to a chronic, stubborn case of Real Life. But, still a little sign of life now and then is nice, isn't it?

Past weekend, a friend of ours threw an arts and crafts day/party. As we had to keep things compact this time the option of taking my miniature painting gear along (as I and a few friend had done previous times) fell by the wayside. Instead I opted to bring my dungeon basing tools along and prep some milliput discs the evening before.
To summarise the party: There was cake, lots of cake, delicious cake! It was good. Cake.... My friends were silly and hilarious, as they are wont to do in congregations above a certain size (i.e. more than one ;P ).
Oh, and I finished the milliput work on the bases for my Knights family, a minstrel, a druid and a paladin. I guess that bears mentioning as well...
This means the minstrel and paladin are effectively ready for paint. The family still needs dirt added and the druid needs erupting plantlife and dirt added before they are ready for primer.
Here they are:

(For completeness sake: the Paladin is a Privateer Press IKRPG Paladin of the Wall with a headswap and serial numbers Menoth Icons filed off, the family and minstrel are from Hasslefree Miniatures, and the druid is from the former Spyglass/Eolith range, now sold by Heresy Miniatures.)

Also some housekeeping: I intended this as a gaming/miniatures blog, but I found that I had an increasing number of medieval/re-enactment related blogs in my blogroll. I consider them relevant to this forum, as a lot of my interests in gaming are inspired by history/historical interest. But to keep things tidy and to prevent confusion, I've separated them into their own little blogroll.

Finally there is this:
An online petition to GW to change their ways and reconnect with their customer base.
A candle in the wind, I know, but I might as well spread the word. For a long time they were the reason I started, and continued, to wargame. They'll never be again who they were when I started gaming, but who knows, the new CEO might take notice? ;-P

See you next time!

"Vade Retro!"

Introducing Father Gerhardt:

Father Gerhardt is the monk assigned as a tutor and protector to the children of my Knight (I really need to decide on a name for the guy!). As such he also does double duty as the priest of the village that forms the heart of the demesne.
The figure is Heresy Miniatures' Brother Bude. A lovely figure to paint, the only problem I had while painting was that I dropped him, bending his cross and taking the paint of his knuckles!
His base is done with my usual milliput method, I've detailed and painted it to look like the well-worn stone floor of a family chapel or catacomb. If you look closely near his left foot you'll see some familiar, but faded, heraldry...

And finally, the view most commonly seen by the undead and unholy things that sometimes invade the catacombs near the village:

I just love the determined look he has on his face!
If his faith won't stop you, his mace will...

Doing 'Shrooms!

Well, painting them, that is... You'll learn more below.

I've been in a bit of a hobby funk for the last few weeks.
The desire to do stuff was there, but no real drive or enthusiasm for any one project. So several things got started, but quickly abandonded again with a "meh" as enthusiasms faded as quickly as they took root. I think it's a combination of the weather/time of year and a general malaise/fatigue from a bad case of sinusitis that I just can't seem to shake. I've had Orks on my desk, Genestealers, Space Marines, I even dug out my old Hellgate London miniature conversions, but nothing got me fired up enough to actually get it finished. Quite frustrating.
Now, I know it's October, also known as "Zombtober" or "Orktober", and I have projects that could latch on to those themes, like I have in the past, but as said above, I just couldn't get excited about either. So I've declared this month to be "Do-whatever-the-hell-I-wantober"
To celebrate the start of this month, I decided to tackle this with a small, easy, manageable project, that I could get finished quickly. Hopefully getting something done would give the boost I needed.
So, I did 'Shrooms:

 "Among adventurers, there are stories about mushroom men sometimes found in the more damp sorts of dungeons and caves. Those who hear these tales for the first time, often scoff at these accounts. When you spend your days fighting the likes of Orcs, Ratmen and even worse horrors in the dark below the earth, how could you worry about something as feeble and fragile as mushrooms, they ask?
Do not begrudge them their doubts, my friend. They, unlike those who live near caverns infested in such a manner, have not spent night after night hidden in their homes as these creatures scrabble at the doors and windows, their eerie, sighing cries sounding in the night. They have not seen the fate of those who breathe their spores, lost loved ones to it.
Those who have know the truth; ancient man did not start eating mushrooms for their taste, or for nutritional value, but for revenge..."
From the accounts of Tobias Wärmduscher, widower and former Truffel-gatherer.

The models are the Agarix from the ever-wonderful Hasslefree Miniatures.
They painted up remarkably easily, using mostly Vallejo Paints and GW Washes.
I've basecoated them in Vallejo Medium Flesh and drybrushed them all over in, consecutively;Vallejo Iraqui Sand, Vallejo Pale Sand and finally Vallejo Flat Aluminium.
Then I washed them with GW Seraphim Sepia, thinned about 50% with water. While this was still wet, I added spot washes in GW Devlan Mud on their lower legs, face and the ribs under their cap. Because both washes were still wet, they blended nicely into each other.
I tinted their caps with a number of glazes with GW Ogryn Flesh wash, with an occasional layer of GW Seraphim Sepia in there as well.
Finally the eyes were dotted with Vallejo Green Sky.

The stone parts of their bases are drybrushed with GW Charandon Granite and GW Dheneb Stone, the dirt parts are painted with Vallejo Burnt Umber and drybrushed Vallejo German Camouflage Ochre.

Here they are in a neat line:

Until next time!

Venting...

I took the afternoon off to paint the recently finished Space Hulk corner. I just couldn't wait to get cracking on it!
After a pleasant afternoon painting in the sun, here are the results:

Though I'm calling it finished today, I may get back to it tomorrow and add some fluid leakage to the big fan, maybe grime the high wall grilles a bit as well. I'm not certain yet.

And because I can't help myself, here's a quick action shot, and an overview of all the pieces finished so far:

(7 down, 31 left... Plus 6 rooms and 5 dead ends and any extras to make it fit for 3rd edition. I'll need all the counters and markers too. Oh, dear, this will take a bit of work, won't it?)