It's a wide angle shot of the workbench this time, as, I'm just about to start the next 40 zombies (121-160) and as most of them are just spinal cords, I figured it was easier to leave them on the priming sticks.
Stick of zombies yet? Stick. Geddit?
I'm hoping to get through these over the next few days, the combination of being off work and them only being half miniatures should make progress good, so, hopefully the 40 of them will take about the same time or less than 30 full sculpts.
Speaking of which, I've finished up Zombies 91-120, the last 2 Grave Marker objectives, and 2 Black Numenoreans (one with a weapon replacement) taking me to 140 miniatures painted this year.
Just grabbed a quick shot rather than laying them all out, as I'd moved the rest to clear the mat for playing Warmachine. Picked up a cheeky clock win with Heretic (Bump) playing into Zaal2 (Exalted) was grinding down the Immortals eventually but could probably have played a bit more aggressively if I'd remembered Spellward...
Finally, both my worms from Heresy Miniatures, and my Warlords of Erehwon pre order turned up, so I can get them cleaned up to get on with my Hordes of the Things stuff next month, and start figuring how many Zombies I can run for WoE. I think this might be a game we can also play in 15mm, and I'll work out lists for my Copplestone Barbarians and Ral Partha Beastmen. Really hoping to get a lot of 15mm work done next month truth be told, got the bug for it again.
Skeletons. With seperate feet. Seperate. Feet. No wonder they are giving them away...
So, that is pretty much it. I'm not sure if I'll hit the 200 models this month, still have 60 to do, or 20 once this batch of zombies is done, but I also have to get more games in before Belgian Masters next month, and write my extra blog post. I also don't know what I'd do for the last 20. I don't think I want to just add more Undead that wasn't in my original list, although, some Skeletons could be an idea for WoE, but I also have some critters prepped that I was planning for Rangers of Shadowdeep so...
First up, the workbench shots, that's why you are here right? Well, sleeping pattern is shot as usual so it has changed considerably over the course of the day. Got in from work and it looked like this -
Couple of hours sleep and a quick basing and base coating session, and it now looks like -
Zombies 91-120...
Which means the side looked/looks like this -
So, after starting the Wraiths yesterday, I basically got everything done bar the basing, curse varnish drying times, but, still, they've taken me to just over 100 minis painted this year, so... on track to hit 200 for the month. Pretty sure that covers Impact! for the #talesofinstahammer theme. The paint job is super quick and lazy, and ties them in with the rest of my Undead/Draugr stuff. Quite like the sculpts, although the heads are a bit on the small side, but if memory serves, they were one of the first Mantic resin/plastic hybrid kits, and nobody knew how much the sculpts would shrink in the manufacturing process.
You'll notice that there is a load of paint sitting there too, basically I rearranged the workstation a bit to get all the Army Painter ones within easy reach, rather than languishing in a case, so I had to jiggle the Foundry and P3 ones around. I used the bottom step to hold all the GW texture and drybrush paints, as I won't be transferring them to dropper bottles. Managed to clear out a few of the duplicates from the AP ones, seeing as they rename some colours for different sets.
In other news, the orders arrived from Northstar and The Outpost and I managed to find the Goblin army, so now have the Trolls to complete my OG&M list, they are a lot smaller than I imagine them, so they might get changed out for alternatives in future, although, not the new Games Workshop ones, not for any reason other than they don't fit the aesthetic, although I do love the new sculpts.
Still waiting on my worms turning up for my Hordes of the Things elements, but it's fine because I'm pushing the 28mm stuff this month. I'm hoping to get to them next month, along with more pre-release stuff for 4A Miniatures, if Andy posts it, and a Blighthaven Warband commission for Sam of 15mm Skirmish Supplies.
Speaking of which, got my first game of Advanced Song of Blades & Heroes with Sam and Sarah, my hastily cobbled together Copplestone Northlanders vs. his Dwarves and Sarah's borrowed Undead.
We played a very basic game to get an understanding of the rules, which was basically a big fight in the middle of the table with some loot counters spaced out equidistant from each force. My Barbarian Warmage was a poor commander choice, or maybe she was just protesting at being included in a force with some gaming standard paintjobs, but, she did almost nothing the entire game. Ultimately the Dwarves were wiped out in full, well, one routed from the table to tell his friends about the massacre, and the Undead managed to grab some loot and drag it off the board.
Copplestone 15mm Fantasy
Obviously the upshot of this is that now I want to paint a load more 15mm fantasy. But I have to be strong. For the remainder of this month at least. Then I can get on with the HotT and Dragon Rampant stuff.
Should get a fair bit of work done on the Zombies tomorrow, and hopefully have them finished by the end of the weekend. At least the 40 after them are mainly just the half body sculpts.
Back again with another update. Been a busy week by all accounts. Current #hobbystreakday9.
On the workbench, just started another batch of 30 zombies, with another 30, a Necromancer, some Wraiths, more Grave Markers and my Copplestone 15mm Picts off to the side ready to go with bases drybrushed and rims repainted. It's been a while, years in fact, since I did some real intensive batch painting, so, part of me is considering trying to beat my personal best of about 200 28mm scale minis in a month, especially as I can churn out zombies pretty quickly. This batch is just started, you can see a few have the skin blocked in as I was using up the last of the paint on the pallet.
I've also put together ANOTHER 40 Zombies using the rising from the ground parts on the sprues, but then I ran out before getting a full 60. I'm planning on doing a large block of skeletons, but ran out of lipped bases so they are on order.
Moar Zombie, Zombie, Zombie...
So much rimming...
I'm looking forwards to getting to the Picts, despite still not having put last years on the table yet. Maybe because I know how quickly I'll be able to get through them. Small victories ya know.
In other news, a couple of rulebooks turned up today, I picked up the Macedonian and Punic Wars supplement, as I have the base rules already, and I'm toying with the (new project) a multibased 15mm Celt/Gaul army that I could also use for Hail Caesar or whatever, and I figured I'd grab the Legions of Battle one because it probably has a similar basing scheme, so I should be able to run the same force for both. Here's hoping. My Northstar order is also out for delivery, so hopefully I'll have the last figures for my OG&M force soon.
On the subject of projects, my first painting one took a hit today, as a surprise Grymkin CID (Community Integrated Development) just landed, adding a few new options to the army, that hopefully should be released this year.
Some light reading.
And to finish off, here's a quick shot of the minis I've rattled through already. 60 Zombies including a Leader, Musician and Standard Bearer, a Necromancer, and 4 Grave Markers/Objectives. Hopefully I'll have another full unit of Zombies added soon enough. Now, you'll have to excuse me whilst I go froth over the Grymkin CID update.
Woah, 3 consecutive days of posting. You people are being spoilt!
So, how does the workbench look after being cleared off for the new year?
Pretty jammed up with zombies right now. The January goal for #talesofInstahammer is to paint a unit and a character model, so I figured I'd try and get through as many shamblybois as possible. Plus they can be used as Levy for my SAGA Draugr and Undead Norse in Of Gods & Mortals. Triple duty for the win. I'm sure they'll have many more uses too. The theme for the month is Impact! so I'm planning on going in swinging and getting all 120 Zombies done, providing I can get the rest primed, along with the Grave Markers I'd made up.
There are another 50 waiting in the wings (30 have the bases drybrushed, 20 including both command groups don't) and a Grave Marker, plus 40 more and the last 2 Grave Markers on sticks to be primed when the shops open for me to grab more spray. There are a couple of miscelaneous Frostgrave figures too, but they were odds on the tray so I figured I'd just prime them, get the bases sorted, and put them on the shelf with the rest.
More of the same. Except Necromancers.
The astute amongst you may have noticed that means there are only 3 Grave Markers to be done. Correct. I'd used one as my test model for the tale, so quickly busted out the other two, and a zombie to get an idea of how it looks. It is pretty much all basecoats and drybrushing and washes, but it works. I'm working on the idea that it has to be quick, because there are 120 of them, and remain suitably dark to match the Draugr stuff.
Not Grave Mistakes
The test Zombie was done with the same colours, and whilst not amazing should look good en mass. At least, I hope it will.
I think that painting them in the batches of 30 should work, I'd originally set out to do 30 and a Grave Marker per week in January, with the 3 odd days to get my Necromancer done, but, as he shares a very similar colour scheme, and I'm not going as far with him as I did on the last version, he is pretty much done too. Iguess that means I can focus on whatever the secret challenge is, and get more stuff prepped for the rest of the year.
Maybe I'll get started on more terrain. Wait, more? That must mean I already have some.
Seeing as I had space on a stick I'd primed this at the same time as the first batch of Zombies, and figured I'd do it as I was painting rocks and stuff anyway on the Graves. One day I'll get to the point of having a full table worth of 3d terrain.
Finally, I figured I would try and get my #hobbystreak back up, started it fresh yesterday to see if I can beat last year's total, so, enjoy #hobbystreakday2.
Back soon, hopefully with a lot of finished Zombies to show off.
Happy New Year folks, lang my yer lum reek and all that.
Continuing on from yesterday's write up of 2018, I'm going to lay out my #hobbyresolution2019 plans for the year, and do the write up why, and maybe continue the reward system. I've changed it slightly from last year to be 8 painting and 4 each of gaming and hobby, for no other reason than it sits better on the 4x4 grid. Here goes nothing...
PAINTING (8 resolutions)
1. Fully Paint Grymkin (HORDES)
So, last year I managed to paint over 200 points of Grymkin, along with 4 of the 6 Warlocks, and played them in a few events, most notable Welsh Masters and the World Team Championship. Being a limited release Faction, and my stylized colour scheme, means it is both cheaper and quicker to get them all fully painted. I used the last of my Pressgang Points to pick up a second unit of Murder Crows and 2 Madcaps, along with some other stuff, so I have at least one of every available option for them. The plan is to paint up the maximum Field Allowance for everything (jury's out on a second Death Knell though) with at least 3 of every available Warbeast, with a couple of exceptions. I doubt I'll need 3 Clockatrice when they release in February, so, I'll do 2, and a 4th Cage Rager to run the Pat Dunford (or Mat Hickling, depends on who you believe) Dreamer list, and probably 4 sets of Crabbits, to max out the King of Nothing's warbeast points, or have spares for free cards. I still have a fair bit of stuff to pick up, and more resin bases to order, but if I can even finish the models I own, I'll be happy with that. So, starting Painting Resolution 1 with a target of 79 miniatures.
Reward - this is kind of a reward in itself, I still have stuff to buy for it, and bases, but I'll end up with a fully painted (Limited Release) Faction.
2. 2000 point Death army for #talesofinstahammer (Age of Sigmar)
This was a late addition to the list, but, I was already planning on doing a lot of the models for various Fantasy Dark Age gaming. The 72 Zombies I had planned to use as Levy for my SAGA Draugr soon became 120... I'm not going for a killer list, more, just random stuff that will be useable in multiple settings cobbled together to hit a points limit. I had a lot of stuff already for this, so it's not a huge drain on funds, and might be subject to change depending on what the secret challenges for the Tale are. There is a brief outline of tasks for the first 6 months of the year, followed by a 6 month open period where the plan is to finish the army, as far as I can make out, but, we'll see how it goes. Current list adds 152 models to the tally, with some extra stuff like grave markers to be added.
Reward - Probably has to be a Forgeworld Mournghul. Loved that model for ages.
3. 24pt Tree Folk army in 15mm (Dragon Rampant)
I really need to get back into my 15mm fantasy stuff, so I figured I'd do a Tree Folk/Forest Spirit/Nature based force for DR, mainly so I can throw dice with James and Sam, and it gives me the opportunity to go mad with clump foliage. It's all going to be Demonworld models for this, which I already own, so all I really need is a couple of movement trays. I did have to fudge the rules a little to get everything to fit, but I doubt either of them would care too much as it is thematic rather than gamey. Another 31 models added to the tally (even if they are, mostly, small.)
Reward - No Idea.
4. 6pt Jomsviking force (SAGA)
I've owned a large amount of Wargames Foundry Vikings for going on 20 years now, and maybe 3 have been partially painted... I figured it was time to rectify that, and it would give me a good start on models for Blood Eagle too. I picked the Jomsviking for the sole reason that they can be built as an elite force, so I could get away with the lowest model count army possible. I picked the most heavily armed and armoured sculpts I had, and sorted out enough shields with embossed emblems for them (I'll use the split shields for warrior units, and plain ones for any Levy models I get to. Yes, I know I can't take Levy, but I can if I run them as standard Vikings) 6 Hearthguard units and Warlord adds another 25 models to the list.
Reward - No Idea.
5. Taurian Army pack (Warband)
I picked these up a couple of years ago (Minotaur army, obviously) and figured I'd get them done too, as the Hordes of the Things painting went well last year. This will add another 73 models to the list spread over 8 multibases, so, I'm not really sure how I count them. It's a bit more than the 3-5 on a HotT base. Sadly, I know the correct answer to this.
Okay, 8 Elements it is...
Reward - I'll possibly pick up another of the army packs (Undead) or maybe some random additions for the list.
6. 15mm Worm Cult Picts (Hordes of the Things)
Despite not having seen the field of battle, I really like the miniatures I painted up last year for this, so I plan to add another 8 elements to the army, aiming to do a few new ones, and bulk out some of the options I already have painted. I've ordered more Worms for them from Heresy Miniatures, and they are resin now, which should be lighter on the bases and easier to pin. Again, 8 elements added to the total.
Reward - No Idea.
7. Paint 4 Shadespire Warbands
So, I was planning on doing the two warbands from the original box, plus the Farstriders and picking up the Sepulchral Guard, but, seeing as I got the Nightvault box at Christmas, I'll do the Briar Queen set instead. I'm still planning on painting Garrek's Reavers, although it might have been a better idea to do all 3 Stormcast Eternal warbands at the same time. Another 18 models to add.
Reward - I already think I'll be getting all the warbands one way or another, so, to avoid miniatures, I'll probably pick up the terrain set and/or some snazzy tokens for Shadespire.
8. 1200pt Norse Army (Of Gods & Mortals)
I've played OG&M a few times in 15mm with James, but I'm doing this in 28mm to get more of those Foundry Vikings done, and I wanted an excuse to pick up the gorgeous Odin sculpt from Nothstar. I also wanted to paint up some Berserkers (that the Jomsvikings don't have access to, to allow me to run them as standard Vikings) and give me more stuff for Blood Eagle. Got almost everything I have planned for the list, with the exception of a single Valkyrie (should have a female Foundry model somewhere) and some Trolls (also, these are somewhere, but I can't find them right now...) Another 40 models on the list.
Reward - No idea. Maybe a large scale figure suitable for another God.
Total painting target - 361 miniatures/elements/multibases (443 actual miniatures). I'd like to hit 365 miniatures painted over the year, so. getting all this done covers it (in individual models at least.) I'd also like to equal or beat my 2018 total, but really, I'm going to aim for 400 painted miniatures/elements for the year.
GAMING ( 4 resolutions)
9. Play 100 games.
Same as last year, keep hammering out games. Doesn't matter what scale or genre, just keep putting painted figures on the table and pushing them around and having fun. That's pretty much the whole reason for doing this, right?
Reward - No idea.
10. Play 8 New Opponents
Again, stole this one from last year. Probably because I managed it. It was something that I claimed early in the year, but even then, I tripled the original figure. It probably gets harder if I'm only playing one system, travel dependant, but as I add more painted forces to the stable, it should always be a possibility.
Reward - No idea.
11. Play 8 board games.
Again, stolen from last year, but upped the number. HATE should be arriving, and I'm keen to play that, hell knows if I'll ever see Rivals or Torn Armor, but I still have enough of a collection that I can do this.
Reward - board game expansion... modest kickstarter... I dunno.
12. Run APRIL FUEL DAZE 3!
Well, it's not personal gaming so to speak, but to continue the event I started as a Press Ganger, and give other people the opportunity to play, I'm planning the 3rd APRIL FUEL DAZE event. As always, I want it to get bigger and better, and really have an impact on the Scottish Warmachine Scene.
Reward - well... I already won a free ticket to Welsh Masters so...
A bit of a mix between things there, different types of games (no cards, they don't count) just to mix things up a bit.
HOBBY (4 resolutions)
13. Consistent Blogging
The plan is to continue with the same ideal as before, a weekly #workbenchWednesday post, and a monthly review post, showing where I am with my resolutions.
Reward - No idea.
14. Shows and Conventions
Aiming for at least 4 different shows or conventions. Vapnartak and Carronade are pencilled in, I'm sure I can squeeze in a couple more.
Reward - random impulse purchases?
15. Continue transferring paints to dropper bottles.
Herculean effort, glutton for punishment, call it what you will, I'm going to keep on keeping on with this one. A quick count shows 27 Games Workshop, 74 Privateer Press and 366 Wargames Foundry paints (467 total) to be transferred. And that isn't counting the newest P3 colours... I managed most of the GW ones last year, so, hopefully I can at least finish them.
Reward - more paint. In dropper bottles.
16. Even more blogging
I'd like to do at least one extra blog post per calendar month, on top of the weekly and monthly updates. It could be on anything, a painting tutorial, recap of a show or event, battle report, discussion about an army list, I dunno. I guess the plan is to just keep on putting stuff out there and hopefully build traffic on the blog.
Reward - no idea.
Again, a bit of a mix of stuff, one thing I really wanted to do, and had pencilled in for a bit, was get more 3d terrain done. There is a really good article over on Void Spaces about making a Barrow, which would be ideal for SAGA/Blood Eagle/All the Dark Aage Fantasy stuff I am, and have been painting up. It would be a bit of a throwback for me too, to get my hands mucky making terrain, as it's mostly been 2d stuff here, or hard plastic kits. I have some Hirsts moulds somewhere that would be suitable, and, there are probably a few things I would change, but it would be interesting to see the same idea done differently.
Well, that's it for now, I should probably get some sleep before getting started on this years hobbying. If anyone has any ideas for resolution rewards, I'm all ears.
