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. :)

Back in Black. . . err, Bleached Bone

Whew. It's been a while. Three months can really fly by in blogland, eh?

It was quite a summer of discontent for me, hobby-wise at least. I spent nearly all of my free time from June through early September working on these doors and portals for my commission painting client:

This project was enough to break me- I have hung up my mercenary brushes for the time being, as there is simply not enough time anymore in my life to paint for someone else. I have way too many projects of my own that I really want to get through, and having the feeling of commitment to painting someone else's stuff has turned my hobby into another job.

But no more.

In a flurry of excitement after I mailed the doors back to their owner, I dove headlong into my own minis and just put the final touches on the wonderful armored skeletons from (who else?) Otherworld. Sculpted by the one and only Kev Adams, these fellers are insanely characterful, old school, and really fun to paint. My admiration for that company grows with each batch of their minis I finish.

Attack of the stripy shield brigade

I was so sick and tired of painting brown and stone after all those portals that I had to paint these guys in a riot of color, at least for me. Ochre, brick red, Prussian blue, and dark green are my four go-to colors, so that's where these ended up. Again, this was so fun and so reinvigorating to do.

I hope to continue getting through my projects. I used the proceeds from the portal job to buy one long-term dream mini of mine. What is it? Stay tuned!

Happy hunting, brothers in Pb.

Something Old, Something New

Greetings, all, from the land of sunshine and orange juice. Today I bring good tidings of reconditioned lead.

First up is a quick blast from my not-too-distant past. I've never been a huge fan of Chaos, much preferring to play good guys normally, but a couple of years ago my older son and I were playing a LOT of Delaney King's Skulldred, and I managed to put together this little war band to use in that game. They are all fairly common Citadel Chaos baddies from the eighties- figures I am sure you are all very familiar with, so I will spare any further discussion of where to get them. The standout here for me is the unmasking mage in the middle- that is such an inspired pose. I feel fairly certain that I read that that is an Aly Morrison sculpt- fantastic.

Next up is my most recent addition for my (very slowly) growing dwarf force. When I saw this figure listed for the first time on eBay, I was immediately struck by the Kev White-esque balance in the pose and the interesting visored helm. I am pretty sure that this is a more recent Ral Partha sculpt (please correct me if I am wrong) and I wasn't disappointed in the least when he showed up in person. Really nice details throughout, and I love the larger-sized crossbow on this model.

I got a few more Otherworld NPC's done this week- this time it's a couple of men-at-arms and a wee gnome thief/illusionist. They are all from OW's current range and highly recommended- the two fighter types are particularly well sculpted and have some very cool little additions like wood grain on their shields and rivets on their armor. Very well done.

And finally, my most recent commission job was this mostly resin Wizard's Den. No idea on the manufacturer here. The alchemist's desk was a fun piece, and you gotta love those anatomically correct demons; every thing else here was a bit unremarkable, but I suppose it will make some room in my client's dungeon a bit more interesting.

That's all for me this time around. I have a topic I am dying to write about, but family demands and no time and blah blah blah. . .

I hope you are well wherever you are. Thanks for the peep.

My Kingdom for More Earthtones

Well, that was fun.

After several very long weeks, I was able last weekend to put the finishing varnish coats on what can only be described as "the country's single largest collection of corpse models in miniature." My original count of 43 was actually off a bit- turns out it was 48. And that number includes a few minis that feature multiple "bodies," meaning that I am fairly spent on painting dead guys now for a while. Here's the family portrait of the bunch; nary a healthy, strapping young warrior amongst them:

1000 internet points if you can spot the AD&D reference

And with the (eventual) posting of said family portrait, it means I also get to share a few of my own collection, painted as usual using excess paint on the palette in between base coats. I am continuing to plug away at the wonderfully sculpted Otherworld adventuring party, destined to visit a barrow near you in the future.

Barbarian, Thief, Acrobat. . . no, wait. . .

When I added these three to the rest of the group I already had done, I noticed something rather striking- I am getting quite addicted to earth tones in my old age. It probably serves me right- my first painting attempts way back circa '96 were Space Marines daubed in in bright, lemon yellow power armor with fire engine red shoulder pads. Quite an evolution to my new style, which is brown, dark brown, tan, and more brown:

Perhaps I should just start buying my brown paint at Home Depot

Man, I love that fat friar. There are simply not enough fat human miniatures in my collection, and I resolve to remedy that. I am starting to think that all your super-hero looking skinny dudes are a thing of the past. Give me some girth for adventurin' wif.

And finally, one little parcel of Ol' Skool Citadel. I mentioned way back at the beginning of this blog that I was going to try to adhere this year to a "five out, one in" method in an attempt to thin out my lead herd a bit. Back in February, after finishing my first few dwarf crossbowmen, I "rewarded" myself with this little gem from the mid eighties- the "Dwarf with No Name." He'd been on my most wanted list (no pun intended, but hell- I'll take it) for years, and very serendipitously popped up for a steal on fleabay just as I was looking for a bargain. In a sort of homage (a concept that seems to be poppin' up more and more these days in the Oldhammer movement, no?) to a childhood fave Friz Freleng, I went with a version of this Citadel classic decked out as Yosemite Sam:

I'm the hootenest, tootenest, shootenest bobtail wildcat in the west 

It's probably been done before, but when I saw that pose, this was the only paint scheme that made sense to me.

I hope this finds you well, wherever you may be. Happy leadhunting.

How to Maintain Momentum?

I feel like I am in a good groove at the moment, banging through painting projects without ever feeling like I am slavering away over the painting table. I really want to maintain this momentum, but I am not sure what it is that I am doing differently. I normally either feel like I am not getting anything done because I am not spending enough time on projects, or I find myself not wanting to paint because of burnout. This whole good momentum thing is driving me nuts, 'cause I don't want it to go away.

A good problem to have, I know.

I've managed to get a few items from my own collection done, once again with spare paints on the palette during drying stages of commission work. Here's the next three dwarfs for the Warhammer army, another three crossbowmen that actually rounds out the first skirmishing unit of 10. Progress!

Scale differences, I damn thee

I am fairly chuffed with the way the Hasslefree mini in the middle turned out- I am diggin' the orange leather/green fabric combo which, I must admit, was total luck- just the way the ink combined with the light brown paint I used. Again, I am so impressed with the cleanliness of Kev White's sculpt. There's just no other way to describe it than "clean." Very well defined but simple detailing, perfect balance and realism in the stance. I am very, very happy with the purchase there. The Bob Olley Reaper sculpt on the right a little less, but he's growing on me. And that Perry Bros. FTD on the left looks like some sort of deranged mountain man to me. Funny and characterful but a bit odd.

I also banged out a pair from my Otherworld pile. Words almost can't express my love for this company. Richard from Otherworld has bent over backwards both times I have ordered from him now to get me what I wanted, and he's thrown in plenty of extras into both orders. The sculpts are perfect- they actually make me think of my Infinity minis in their level of detail and nice proportions. No flash, incredibly minor mold lines to scrape, multi-part models that fit together with a minimum of filling. . . just all good. The owlbear has good, deep patterning on the fur which begged for drybrushing, and the backpack on this hireling is so detailed it's almost crazy to think about.

Dungeoneering is heavy work

Maybe more like a "GoldenEagleBear," perchance?

Finally, on the commission front this week, I got to paint beds. As in, the things you sleep in with the sheets and blankets and pillows on them. Pretty much all there is to say about that.

Zzzzzzzz

Cheers, wherever you might be.

First Dragon in Ages

I started painting this wonderful model (again, as a commissioned piece, so it won't be around long) yesterday evening, and once I got rolling I couldn't put him down. The model is, apparently, not a dragon but a dracolisk, which is a new one for this old timer. . . guess I missed the "-lisk" somehow all these years.

Rowwwrrrr.

Anyhoo, the model is from a small American company named Center Stage Miniatures. They feature, among others, Tim Prow on their team, who Oldhammerers will recognize from Realm of Chaos as the dude who is sculpting the awesome Antiquis Malleum figs. There are some great PC and monster type figs on their site- highly recommended. Check 'em out.

All Work And No Play. . .

It's been a very workman-like week here at the Clean Palette, Dirty Water Studios Internazionale, so this will be a very workman-like post. Just a quick update to show what I have been diligently slavering over for my orc-like commission overlord. Actually, he's a really nice guy, but man does he have a lot of glued 'n grey miniatures. . . I digress.


Managed to finish up an entire batch of (*insert drum roll here*) tents and huts. Ta da!

After a little digging on the interwebs, I was able to figure out that all of these except for the blue and white knight's tent are from a company called Scotia Grendel, which I had never heard of before looking for these. They are nice detailed pieces and painted up easily. My client was pretty insistent on the patchwork effect, which I wouldn't have gone for myself, but I think they look good on the table. The knight's tent is a metal miniature, and I have no idea where from. The patterning on the tent was a new interesting challenge for me- straight lines on a round, curved surface. I ended up drawing in the segments with a super thin marker and then painting in between the lines. Good stuff.

Family Picture Day

It's been a sparse few days at the painting table since I was able to post last. I did manage though to get the final little group done of blacksmiths done, which means my first commission job of 2014 is in the books! I present . . . Armory Stuff!

So now I guess I will be ordering more brown, grey, and silver from Vallejo. . .

It wasn't the most terribly exciting group to work through, I will admit. But it does pay the bills so to speak.

I was also able to use extra paint during the last few sessions to almost finish off the next group of dwarfs- a group of 5 crossbowmen. Pics to follow soon.

Hope the lead is heavy wherever you may be. Cheers!

Nick Lund Is Also Really Swell

So, of all the things about the Ansell-era of Citadel that I love that have completely disappeared over the years, my favorite may be the box sets of metal miniatures that the company used to release. The Dungeon Monsters Starter Set, the Goodly Knights of Law. . . they were like little bite-sized painting projects allowing you to try out painting characters for new forces without splurging on whole units designed to be part of a giant army. Perhaps most importantly, they allowed for the creation of wonderful little skirmish forces or groups for dungeon crawls right out of the box.

I think that Nick Lund's Mighty Ugezod's Death Commandos, released under the Chronicle "sub-brand," might be the best of the bunch. A few years ago, shortly after I picked up this box on fleabay, I read in a few online forums that Lund's sculpts weren't (and still aren't) exactly loved universally. This stunned me, as I think his crouched over, hunched-up orcs are so much more savage and downright "orky" looking than the goofier ones the company regularly releases. There is a wildness and a ferocity to these guys that I feel are lacking in a lot of greenskin sculpts. The shaman from the set has got to be on my top ten list, and all those shields just beg for the Blanchitsu treatment. Dunno- I guess it's all personal preference, but I like them a lot.

My version of Eeza and his boys. Makes for a heck of a good Skulldred skirmish force.

On the commission front, I managed to get the finishing glazes done last night on a batch of tables, headed for a 12th century fantasy blacksmith near you.

Anyone need a file? Pliers perhaps? Maybe an eight-foot pole arm?

That's all for me this evening. Buenos noches, lead lovers.

Worst of the Best

Of all the myriad "little tasks" that one has to perform in order to have a table nicely decorated with painted miniatures and beautiful scenery, there is one task that stands out to me as being the worst of them. I find this task tedious, niggly, incredibly challenging to do at even a satisfactory level. . . and I have never been able to do it at a superlative level. That task is painting standards.

So, imagine my relief when my better half did me a solid this past holiday weekend, took the kiddies out of the house for a few hours, and gave me a chance to put the nail in a couple of dwarf units. Standard Bearers for Bugman's 2.0 and Hammerers? Check and check.

Cossack-style for the hammerers, Chaos stuntie-style for Bugman's v. 2

Painting little designs on little flags is just something I can't appreciate until I either see a very good one (ever see Andy Chambers' Skaven army?), or I get to see the standard where it belongs- as a part of its unit. Same case here- I was very unsatisfied with the standards at first, but after seeing them amidst their Citadel brothers, I think the simplicity of the standard isn't so bad.

My now-completed unit of the much feared hammerers

On the commission front, all of the most recent completions have been a bit boring as well. But the blacksmiths are coming soon (I always leave NPC-types for last to have something good to look forward to painting), and then comes my favorite part of every project I have ever done- the group shot!

Mostly old Grenadier, Heritage, and Ral Partha bits and bobs

Anyone out there have one thing in the hobby that they don't look forward to? Any tasks that are required but mostly dreaded? Do share in the comments below!

Good evening, lead addicts.

Yaaaaarrrrrgh. . .Citadel v. Foundry

Today's blast from the lead past is a batch I painted for my client back in July 2012, one of the first batches I ever did for him and probably one of my absolute favorites to work on. This group is primarily old Citadel pirates, mixed with a few Foundry re-releases, and at least one or two Grenadier minis as well. Enjoy!

Lots of old, filthy searats and . . . one lonely kobold

I am a big, big fan of a lot of these sculpts. The big fella in the blue pants in the center front was one of those magical minis that almost "painted itself." The guy with the crutch leg over on the far left is allegedly a portrait of one of the early Citadel employees- bonus points to anyone who can name who it is!

Buenos noches, Fratris en Plumbum.

Late Night in the Armory

Just a quick update post today showing some more progress on the commission armory pieces. Painting little bits like helmets when they are loose like this is always fun. Blu tac to the rescue.

Ink wash, ink wash. Drybrush, drybrush.

I'm not terribly keen on any of these (particularly the big forge piece) except for the pile of armor and weapons on the floor. That's an early 00's piece from Reaper sculpted by none other than everyone's favorite Iron Claw founder Bob Olley! Hurray!

Have a good one, lead brethren.

Back To the Really Good Grind

Just a quick update post today showing progress on some armory pieces, along with a WIP of the next little group of dwarven rangers. The commission minis are from an assortment of manufacturers, but I know for sure that the big weapons rack with the shields is from the old Heroquest box. I'd guess the other big rack is an Armorcast piece because of the parchment-colored resin that it is cast in (blechhh).

The dwarfs are a mix of C-series and Fantasy Tribes from Citadel. But you probably already knew that. The dwarf thief on the far left is from the BC1 Dungeon Adventurers' Starter Set,  released in 1985. You can already see Citadel's move away from more "realistic" proportions towards the big-head-and-beard shape prevalent in the Marauder sculpts just a few years later. I love the Perry Brothers' sculpting of cloaks in the Fantasy Tribes series- it makes them dovetail very nicely with the other ranger figs, and gives them a rough 'n ready, on-the-trail sort of look.

I usually just use up "extra" paint on my palette during commission work to add glazes to my own minis during the in-between drying times on basecoats. That way, I can get through a fairly large batch of focused, hired work in a month, and still make good progress on whatever I want to get done for myself. Sustainable lead consumption, no?

Good evening, fratris en plumbum.

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.