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Gaslands – Game On (Score So Far +9)

Varnish is on and although these photos do not do them justice the cars are looking far less new and shiny.  The Rust effect (when wet by the varnish) blends in and spreads out slightly as well.  All making it less heavy or obvious.

My starting line up with stats.

The Plan for the game: The Racer in Pole (or at least at the front of the starting grid) The Hammer in second line.  The Shooter in the back row.

The plan never made it past turn one.  The start had both front row cars rolling poorly and never getting past gear one.  This caused all the cars behind to bunch up and swerve left and right.

The Hammer started to ram whatever was in front of it, as it was in gear 2 by that time, and on a roll.

My Shooter had to swerve away from the pileup and left me needing to perform a hard turn in turn two to stay on the table (should have been simple enough). In the end I rolled a slide that I could not cancel and slid right off the table…  Out of the race in turn two…

After a few turns of car-nage (see what I did there?) the racer was cruising away while The Hammer was blocking most things (mainly Coronasan’s two buggies). However, as Coronasan’s Truck had passed the first gate, his guns came to life and the Racer started to feel more vulnerable.

Past gate 2 and I thought I was away.  Sadly Coronasan’s truck was not far behind and upping gears to match the supposedly faster car.

I managed to get an oil slick out the back of The Hammer but at the cost of not ramming for one turn and Coronasan’s truck found time to pull away (although those buggies found it hard to get by still.

In the end my Racer managed to pull over the finish line with only one hull point left after Coronasan got 2-3 effective shots on target.

On such a small board its hard to get out of range of a Heavy Machine Gun Turret.

The back field was left with cars pointing in all directions and no hope of getting past gate 2 let alone finishing the race…

Game played.  On The Plan…  Hugely enjoyable…

Score for post +1 point / Total score +9

Gaslands – More Finishing Touches (Score So Far +8)

Well, I haven’t gotten round to starting my war rig as yet but I have started to weather the (extremely clean looking) original crew.  I have been adding small details, here and there, as and when I pick them up. Today we can see the addition of wire mesh windscreens for two of the cars and a rather heavy coating of rust to all of these cars.

My Racer (a performance car) didn’t have any guns or additions in the original build, so gets a driver that is more interested in firing his hand gun than steering it would seem.

As the Racer will be tasked with actually running and finishing the race, the others will be the blockers and chasers in our next few games.

Firepower is limited in this 50 can team but an MG on the bonnet of a second car will give the option for a second race contender if the Racer gets taken out.

The Hammer is there to take out as many cars as possible over the first half of the race (as I don’t expect him to be at the front of the pack at any point).

The rust is looking a bit stark at the moment but it is a water based paint that, when varnished, will change colour and blend in more (you might have to trust me on that one…)

A Gaslands game is on the Plan.

Score for post +1 point / Total score +8

Frostgrave – Prep For A Game (Score So Far +6)

The Plan has number of games listed on it. These are games that we are planning on trying to find time to play this spring.  These are mainly games that we have liked, but neglected, for the last few months (or years).  We have Frostgrave by Osprey on that list, and recently we managed to get it into our schedule for a Wednesday in the shed.

The last time we played Frostgrave was December 2015. Neither of us could believe we had not played it for so long.  I for one, had lost my original paper wizard sheet and had to dig out a whole new crew for this game.  As I had to build a new crew, and as I had time to plan slightly, I decided on painting up a new body for use in the game.

As I wanted to field a few War Dogs in my crew a tracker (as their handler/ keeper) would make a nice addition to the crew.  Surprisingly, I haven’t got any medieval bowmen with a rural look in my collection and certainly none that were painted.  So a slightly more professional looking bowman would have to do.

He got the usual 45min paintjob using whatever colours were in front of me at the time…

Worryingly I dug him out of a box with another 24 unpainted bowmen in it.  Lets not get distracted again by models that may have been neglected for the last 4 or 5 years.

A game of Frostgrave is on ‘The Plan’ so painting up a single chap for use in that game can be scored in my favour.

Score for post +1 point / Total score +6

Airbrushing And Getting A Bit Off Plan Again (Score So Far +5)

Now, I should be working on that Great Unclean One…  Sadly I am not.  The fact that I have an airbrush that actually works now, has distracted me somewhat.

I could try to justify not getting on with the GUO, and validate the task at hand, by claiming that it is worthwhile practice with a new tool. I could also call it further development of the scenery options within the shed.  The reality still stands: I am off plan again.

Excuses aside, I am going to have to mark myself down for this against ‘The Plan.’ However, it has been a productive couple of hours.  At mid day today these pieces of scenery were cluttering up the smaller bureau at the back of the shed. Neglected and in a black undercoated state (a quick look back in the blog shows they were last seen in late 2015) they were initially supplied by the lovely Veganman who had picked them up off eBay.

They were in slight disrepair even then, with a few broken and missing parts.  Thankfully, being old ruins and ancient stonework, they can get away with a few broken and missing details and call it wear and tear.

A basic layer of primer (Mid Grey) started them off as I got used to handling the airbrush and model. A darker and lighter grey were used to vary the tone of the stonework. Direction of spray can get some shadow effects and further variation as well.  I should have tried putting in a few more colours but for a first try I like the effect I attained.  Variation from dark to light is something I cannot always achieve easily with a normal brush.

Contrasting colours were put on the skulls as I see the flames as being magical in origin and not part of the carved statue. Yellow first then red to the lower half.  Airbrushing is fairly forgiving as simply going back over my mistakes with the original lighter grey was a simple way of tidying up the edge of the flame/ skull.

The tower stair has the same base coat of mid grey primer.  More colours, in the form of brown tones, have been used to the lower levels and the lighter and darker grey used to get a more varied effect on the column and stairs.

I am still experimenting at this point but, for a couple of scenery pieces in a more fantasy style, these will be just fine (and now usable rather than just cluttering up the shed).  The surprising thing for me is that I did not need to use a normal brush at any point on either of these pieces…

With the airbrush proving to be more versatile and effective on larger surfaces than any normal brush technique I have ever used.  I can’t see me struggling to use an ink wash to weather larger pieces again…

Worthwhile time spent experimenting but not on The Plan.

Score for post -1 point / Total score +5

Warhammer 40,000 – Great Unclean One/ February Challenge WIP (Score So Far +6)

I don’t mean to be crass but, by the green tinged skinfolds of the Lord of Flies, this chap has a lot going on in the sculpt…

I have decided to do a WIP post for two reasons.

  1. I just need a rest from holding him. Finger cramp is not often a problem for me but this chap is almost solid lead. It seems to be an old school trend, from the same era as the solid dreadnoughts of the mid to late 1990’s.  Makes me think back to the stories of the original Thunderhawk Gunship.  I never owned one, but it was spoken about in hushed tones, weighing in almost as heavy as a small, well fed, child…
  2. I have begun to notice that every time I turn it over I find another couple of things that I have missed in the way of detail.  Taking a few photos will let me make note of what areas still need to be revisited.

So far I am happy with the skin tones.  Contrast seems to be turned up a bit to far so I will aim to tone down the red, white and yellow a little.

His nails are a touch too clean for a follower of Nurgle so will need dirtying up a bit.

That huge sword may get some more attention.  I have some rust effects that may be used here.

I usually speed paint, as I find some jobs are eventually more taxing than fun.  This figure, however, I am happy to put down, think about it, and then pick up again a few days later…

One thought is to get some Martian Cracked Earth paint onto the base, as the bright desert yellow is making me think the figure is darker than it really is.

Does that actually make sense to anyone else?

Not sure yet about the skulls on the flail. They appear slightly flat at the moment.

I might leave them alone until the base is coloured though, as they seem to be hiding in that yellow, but may contrast better against the final red earth colour.

If you are wondering about that hole in the base (I know you are unlikely to be that bothered by it, but I will tell you about it anyway). This figure came with a few Nurglings as you would expect for a plague daemon.  The problem is, I put them somewhere safe in the shed, and I don’t have any other Nurglings left over from other kits.  I appear to have scavenged them all when I built my unit of 6 Nurgling bases.

I guess a trip onto eBay awaits me.

Work done on an item listed on The Plan, definitely a point in my favour.

Score for post +1 point / Total score +6

 

Steam Wars – Heavy Dive Suits (Score So Far +5)

Focus boy, focus…

And off he goes again…

One of my favourite armies is my Steam Wars US Navy Marines.  They are a Steampunk army with flying ships, steam tanks and steam walkers.  Coronasan has written a great set of rules for the setting and we actually have a spot on ‘The Plan’ to play a game of Steam Wars before summer.

Sadly, doing anything towards expanding the Navy Force is actually written as forbidden on ‘The Plan’.

I found these divers on eBay and they are perfect as a small unit of heavy infantry in Steam Wars.  They come from a game called Shadows of Brimstone.  I have to admit though that I know almost nothing about this game.  It appears to be a board game released though kickstarter, but that’s all I know

Lots of board games feature some nice figures these days.  Many are in hard plastic too, rather than the soft bendy playing pieces of old.

Obviously made for ease of construction but should also be easy to paint up. (Voice in my head: No, don’t do it, its not on the plan…)

Mouldings are crisp enough and it will be interesting to see how a base colour takes to the plastic.

Although all three have exactly the same parts, some variation of pose is still achievable.  The figure range for this game is incredibly varied and may hold some useful items for other games that we play.

Even though the time spent putting these together was worthwhile they are forbidden on The Plan so must be a mark against me on the tally…

Score for post -1 point / Total score +5

eBay Purchase – A Project For Later In The Year (Score So Far +6)

It couldn’t last now could it…  Six points up on the tally means I’ve managed to keep my focus on the plan for a few weeks straight…

It was inevitable that some ‘shiny’ thing would draw my attention away!

In this case it was an eBay auction that caught my eye after our last Dust Tactics game.  Coronasan and I were discussing the possibility of building a set of airfield scenery. Mainly so that our collection of fliers for Dust could be used as scenery or objectives when they were not being used in the actual game.

Coronasan has a mind to build an old style control tower in MDF but I will let him get into that one over on the Loft Full Of Lead…

That leaves me to populate said airfield.  And what better than a HUGE transport plane to do that…

This is the result of that eBay auction.  It cost me only £2 and cost twice that to get it posted to me…

A simple childrens plastic toy (the lights and sounds no longer work sadly). It appears to be a good scale for most 28mm(ish) games figures and vehicles.

She looks mighty fine alongside the other Dust Tactics planes I have as well.

I will be shelving her immediately so that I don’t get distracted (that’s if I have a space on the shelf that is big enough for her to fit into).

Definitly not on ‘The Plan’.  However, as its not going to be touched until summer (or at least until Coronasan gets a control tower built), I am not going to score myself down.

Score for post 0 points / Total score +6

Warhammer 40,000 – Does This Herald A New Age? Unlikely… (Score So Far +6)

February brings a new vigour to the shed, with the achievement of some mild successes.  Not only have I started on my Nurgle Daemon backlog but I have also managed to get some use out of my airbrush for the first time.

The Great Unclean One (likely to be used in games as a humble Daemon Prince) has had some layers put on to him.  I may still cock this up by not knowing when to stop with the airbrush and revert to a normal brush.

My Herald of Nurgle also got a few air brushed layers as well. If all goes well this may be a good way to get some quick base colours on the other Nurgle Daemons too.

I don’t expect this to be my new ‘normal’ method of painting figures but it does allow me to try a few new things.

I have always thought of myself as a ‘basic’ painter.  I am a ‘colour in up to the lines and try not to go over the edges’ kind of guy.  I like miniatures that have well defined edges sculpted into them, that I know I can stop at.  Lots of new figures, like these Nurgle Daemons, are appearing on the market which have softer transitions and require more blending of colours to get them to look good in my opinion. That is something I have never been comfortable doing with a brush.

This airbrush thing seems to be one way of getting that blended effect that I like onto figures like this…

My Herald is definitly on ‘The Plan’.

Score for post +1 point / Total score +6

Warhammer 40,000 – Papa Nurgle Meets An Airbrush, AKA The Neglected Model February Painting Challenge (Score So Far +5)

Now that I know what I need to paint up first out my collection of Nurgle miniatures, its time to actually paint something.  I seem to remain reluctant though, as my motivation levels remain a bit flat…

So, the answer, aim to get two successes in one go to reboot the old sense of achievement…

Azazel over on the Bitz Box Blog has started a small painting challenge for February.  The brief is to paint something that has been started, but has then lain neglected for the last six months or more.

Boy, do I have a few things like that hanging about…

As this chap has been undercoated, and has then sat on the shelf for more than six months, I guess he qualifies.  He is also on ‘The Plan’ so if I get him done before March I get a double whammy of successes.

I also had a new, ever so cheap, Chinese airbrush turn up this week.  If you put two and two together you get a reason to start painting and you can call it airbrush practice too!

Now, I am a complete novice with an airbrush.  I have had a basic airbrush setup for the last year. I bought a compressor and two airbrushes as a kit for £50 so you can guess the quality right there.

The airbrushes that came with the kit were very heavy and only really worked if you put half a pot of paint in the cup…

True to my usual form, I went online and picked up a smaller cup airbrush and it actually works…  Fairly well…  If only I had some skill with it, it would be great.

Thank the lord of rot that Nurgle daemons are not the tidiest of creatures…  Helps to hide my ineptitude you know…

Even after 3 or so colours he is starting to look like he may come out ok.

After an hour of fiddling and painting tentatively I realised that the taste in the back of my throat was likely to be a warning sign I should take note of…  So I invested at the local DIY store in a face mask. (Should really have done that at the start when I realised I had no extractor in the shed…)

So February has started and so have I.  Azazel has posted up photos of his own recently completed Great Unclean One and if I can get mine to look half as good as that I will be happy.

This chap is on ‘The Plan’ so scores me a point on the tally.

Score for post +1 point / Total score +5

Warhammer 40,000 – Nurgle Daemons Planning Stage Part II (Score So Far +4)

Looking at everything that needs doing on ‘The Plan’ that I listed, to get the Nurgle force finished, gives me the feeling I may have asked too much of myself this Spring.  To make it more achievable I have therefore put together a ‘first game’ list. That way I just will focus on the figures I need to finish for the first planned game, and not be put off by it all…

The list is likely to be less than game winning (as most of my armies are) but appeals to me as it is a bit more thematic (the excuse I give when I lose to a more focused list).

  • 1x Great Unclean One (Mother of all worms)
  • 1x Daemon Prince (Old GUO)
  • 1x Daemon Prince with wings
  • 3x Heralds of Nurgle (Pox Bringer, Spoilpox Scrivener, Sloppity Bilepiper)
  • 6x Nurglings

  • 30x Plague Bearers (mixed figure unit 15 older PBs and 15 Proxies)

  • 30x Plague Bearers (mixed figure unit 15 older PBs and 15 Proxies)

The force needs some work with a paintbrush and some rebasing to get it ready, but it is an achievable amount of work.  It also lets me practice with the army colour scheme again (I haven’t painted anything for this force for a good few months) before I attempt the largest figure in the force, my Glottkin…

Still just moving stuff about so no points this time again…

Score for post 0 points / Total score +4