A Long, Strange Road

Six months is enough of a break, Get back to work, slacker.

First off, thanks very much to those of you who have emailed and made sure that I am still of-this-earth. It is nice to feel a part of a global community of like-minded individuals.

I am, in fact, still hard at work painting- it's just that much of the work I have been getting done minis-wise of late has seemed less-than-sharable via this blog. I've been exclusively performing all those mundane tasks that I know all serious hobbyists will nod their heads knowingly about: re-basing warbands (no, NOT for that!), prepping Kickstarter reward packages, and painting minis for other people. These things take time, and they are not the most exciting of topics . . .

Whatcha starin' at?

I have managed to get through two batches of commission work since the last time I wrote. Avid readers of this blog (hah!) will remember that I had given this up earlier in the year to focus more on my own collection. Well, the money is too good and I need too much of it, so it's back on that wagon for ol' VeronaKid.

The first group was this set of beholders. I can't imagine why my client would possibly need so many considering the monster represented is usually a unique addition to a D&D campaign, but hey- these were fun as hell to paint up. My favorite of the batch was certainly the Julie Guthrie-sculpted Reaper version in purple here in the back-left:

The three goofy looking guys that are painted in aqua were also great sculpts, although I have no idea what company or sculptor they come from.

After polishing them off, my client sent me this sweet batch of elementals and constructs, which I just finished off last weekend:


I know the picture here is dark, but I never managed to shoot a decent one of this batch before I sent it back. The huge rock guy in the top right is a killer sculpt from Reaper, and this one in particular was the Bones plastic version, so I assume it is very inexpensive to pick up. My favorite from this batch though is definitely the Albion Fenbeast who is right in front of the rock-hulk. The summer GW campaign that he came from was one of the highpoints of my own personal gaming career. That summer, I must have played WHFB at least three times a week with a really great group of guys. Good memories, and a great sculpt.

Other than that, as I mentioned I have been re-prepping older minis of mine for use as various Skulldred warbands. These were originally all based in very hap-hazard, non-matching manners (different basing materials; some round, some square, some hex-based; etc), so I am trying to "tidy up" the collection, so to speak. Plus, it's cheaper than buying new minis!

Here's shots of a few representative minis from each of the war bands my various family members play in our weekend games:

My older boys' early (Asgard) Goodwin barbarian horde

My recently painted up Skaven

Mostly Reaper lizard men, who usually are mercenary baddies

A couple members of my little guys' greenskin toughs

Wifey's Reaper Amazonians. I can't recommend this line of sculpts enough. Brilliant.

That's really about it. Life has been far too crazy to do anything like actually play games with any of these figures, but I hope to remedy that soon.

Riiiiiiiiiight.

I have to say, I am very amazed at the thunderous silence in this community (and it's associated blog-o-sphere) over the new Warhammer "Age of Sigmar" stuff. I would have expected a much louder outcry along the lines of "See??!!! We knew they would ruin it!!!" I would think that the quiet murmurings simply indicate that old-timers have long since given up altogether. I, for one, still check the GW site frequently. I wouldn't dream of purchasing a plastic figure at their prices, so I haven't ordered anything from them in probably five years now, but I do think, actually, that the new game indicates a step or three in the right direction. Smaller forces encouraged and therefore a smaller initial investment required to participate? Check. Easier-to-digest rules (a la Skulldred, or SOBH) which in turn encourages a younger audience? Check. Elimination of ranked models which in turn eliminates fiddly maneuvers and the subsequent "wait an hour while your opponent moves his entire army" syndrome? Check. It really does feel that the new game is headed back towards its more narrative-driven roots and away from things like Death Star units, killer combos, and out-of-control magic phases.

I do applaud GW for once for not just making the game more bloated and (worse) more exclusive. Blow it up and start anew. Good job.

Hope you are well, wherever you might be. Take care, leadheads. Hopefully the next post here will be before the winter holidays roll around again. :)

They're Only Getting Dustier. . .

I reckon I have put this off for long enough. I've been at this hobby now for all of my adult life- twenty years of collecting, assembling, painting, scenario-writing, and obsessing over little lead soldiers. But few things give me as much joy as bouncing around gaming thoughts and ideas with friends, so why not share all these little adventures with the like-minded amongst you?

I also need to have a record of all the miniature painting I am doing. Hence the blog.

I am currently working on a number of projects of my own, but I spend the vast majority of my hobby time doing commission work. I consider myself extremely lucky to have found a client who values my time and talents enough to keep me almost constantly stocked with old lead that I paint for him; in return, the proceeds from those painting projects almost fully fund my own acquisitions. It's an absolute joy to paint for him- he shares the same love for older miniatures that I do, and the depth of his collection never ceases to amaze me.

So, to kick off 2014, here's a picture of the painting "plan" for my own collection for the year, along with the first completed miniature from the plan- an old Grenadier dwarf standard bearer who will have the honor of leading one of the mismatched, drunken units of dwarven warriors in my growing WHFB (3e) army. The army is based around the exploits of a certain brewmaster, and the alcohol-obsessed entourage of rangers he surely leads across the mountains of the Old World. Many more details on that army will follow. I have the miniatures on the plan already, and to keep me on track during the year, I am going to adhere to a "one-in, five-out" rule. So, before I can even begin to think about getting anything else from fleabay, I still have another four minis I have to finish first. . .

I've used plans like this in the past to good result, but good gravy- that's a LOT to get done

I also managed to put the final ink washes on the first commission piece of the year yesterday. My client's first batch for 2014 is all blacksmith and armoury-related scenery, so to kick off the year I painted up his demonic forge. I suspect this is an old Ral Partha piece, but if anyone knows better, I'd love to hear in the comments.

Lots of different textures on this mini- a real cracker

Best wishes to all of you. It's been a joy re-discovering my love for 80's-90's minis through everyone else's blogs the last few years. Here's to hoping that maybe I can help do the same.

First post done.