30 December 2015

Deadcember the 30th

Almost late (which would, admittedly, have been apt for the undead), I finally got my unit of skeletons finished. Well, almost. I'll come to that later.

Here we go, pictures or it didn't happen:

Stage... something: I've lost track as I hurried to get them done, but the utterly-lost-in-the-photo shading on the shields was a base of Foundry's Musket Stock Brown 72C, with highlights mixing in some British Redcoat 68A and the magic sword was splodging about with pale blue and metallic drybrushes, then an Asurmen Blue wash to tie it together. Not too bad for a first go at a glowing weapon!

23 December 2015

Deadcember the 23rd

I had this strange idea that I'd have more time when I started my Christmas holiday to get on and finish my skeletal painting for Deadcember. Ha! How naive I was... Nevertheless, I've finished painting the rank and file figures and am bulk painting the shields. The command figures are a little behind.

That's not the reason for this post, though, my self-selected Christmas present is:


18 December 2015

Deadcember the 18th

Deadcember now has its very own artwork! How extraordinarily excellent is this piece of artwork I commissioned from Zhu in exchange for old school favours of which I shall not speak?!

I wasn't expecting anything quite as amazing as this!



So there we go. Cool, huh? If that doesn't get you painting up undead monstrosities, nothing will and you're a lost cause!

Get to it!
Rab

16 December 2015

Deadcember the 16th

Gods, raise these murd'rous gentlemen
as skeletons this day...

Shuffle, shuffle, shuffle towards completion. This time with added metal tarnish, thanks to Jeff McC's advice on the Oldhammer Forum (you may need to scroll down a little to his photo guide). I added a bit of GW Tin Bitz to the mix and it lost some of that orangey quality of fresh rust which was a shame but, highlighted with a delicate drybrush of Foundry 35A - Chainmail, it looks pretty good to my eye! The group on the left have had their final bone highlight (Foundry 9C - Boneyard Light) which I used on the base as well. Their belts and a final thin wash of Army Painter Light Tone Ink to tie it all together, and they're ready for their shields! Nearly done!

The three command will obviously get a little individual attention in addition.

Stage 7 - metal tarnished with a mix of GW Fiery Orange, AP Dark Tone ink, Vallejo matt medium, GW Tin Bitz and water. Then drybrushed (patchily) with Foundry 35A - Chainmail.

14 December 2015

Deadcember the 14th

In the bleak midwinter,
skeletons did moan...

I found a bit of time last night to finish the most recent stage in this unit painting malarkey I've undertaken for this month. Even a simple thing like giving an inkwash to the bases takes quite a while - not a complaint, merely an observation from someone new to batch painting of more than one or two figures at a time!

Stage 6 - metal washed with Army Painter ink "Dark Tone", bases painted with GW "Graveyard Earth" then washed with Army Painter ink "Strong Tone", spearshafts highlighted with Foundry 72C - "Musket stock brown"

The next steps are to tarnish the metal, give a final drybrush to the bone and the bases (I'll probably use the same colour for both - Foundry Boneyard 8C), neaten any spoiled bits, paint the belts, then a tie-it-all-together wash of Army Painter ink "Soft Tone" thinned with a spot of water and some Vallejo Matt Medium. Then it will be the detail on the command group (cloak, some gold/brass detail, the drum, a magic sword for the leader in cold blue tones) and final tittivating of the the bases.

It has taken a while on each stage, but being so close to having twenty four figures painted in 13 days (and I only painted on six or seven of them!) is something close to magical for a slow painter like myself. For things like skeletons at least, I'm a total convert to batch painting - it's so efficient!

Have a good week,
Rab

12 December 2015

Averaigne campaign - session 05


[The story so far]

Session 05 - Cowardice and coinage

Having slain the goblins, the party now had apparently free rein of the rock complex and set to searching for treasure...

8 December 2015

Deadcember the 8th

Aaah, mortisnacht, the traditional Deadcember 8th celebration for the exchange of gifts for necromantic experimentation. Fun for all the graveyard! I remember well the year I got my very own zombie puppy...

From deviantart, by blackeyedcoyote

I must have been appropriately bad this year as when I got home from work last night, not only was my new suit waiting for me (three piece, slim cut, wool-rich, blue with a hint of violet, thanks for asking), but also THREE geeky packages for yours truly.

First, the B/X Monster Reference Index arrived that succesfully kickstarted on October 4th. If only all crowdfunding projects were so focussed and rapid in their execution - I'm still waiting on the Itar's Workshop dungeon tiles which funded on May 18th 2013!!!

This set is an A5 ring binder with all the monster stats from "the original roleplaying game" in its B/X incarnation. It'll prove an excellent flipchart on games nights and a useful reference when stocking dungeons. I like the cover, too.

Nice cover

7 December 2015

Deadcember the 7th

Oh what fun it is to ride,
in a one skeletal-horse open chariot!
Hey!

Why did they ever change from the original words above, eh? Next thing you know, Deadcember will be all about Peace and Joy and New Life For All... 

Painting.

There comes a point during each miniature's progress from blister pack to battlefield when I suddenly feel the need to edge the base. Not as a final step, but just so that the thing feels framed, and often after I've had to do a slow or awkward part - cleansing the palette between courses, if you like. Yes that was a palette/palette pun. You're welcome.

That moment was this weekend for this unit which, by the way, is the largest group of miniatures I've ever painted in one go - it's a whole new discipline!

Stage 5 - spearshafts in Foundry 72B - Musket stock brown, bases edged in black, metal started (the left hand group have it, the right don't) with a flat coat of GW Boltgun Metal

6 December 2015

Deadcember the 6th

I decided Deadcember had space for some verbiage as well as painting.

As is my wont, I succumb to sales and bargains far too easily, which led to me not only snapping up that unit of skeletons I've been painting step-by-step for your delight and delectation, but also a couple more bits from Ral Partha Europe. Specifically for this post, a pair of undead ogres with two-handed weapons, originally from the DSA/Armalion range!

This is what they look like in their catalogue:


5 December 2015

Slightly older hammer

No skeletons for you today.

I've had a good week or so on ebay, mostly gifts for others but a couple of choice bits for myself. I already showed you the copy of Ravening Hordes I got for a penny under £3, well now I got the rules for 2nd Edition Warhammer for £4. My Hammer just got slightly Older!

Box in pretty good shape - a little rubbing along the corners - but inside....

... the important bit, the books, in great condition, along with a roster sheet and one of the slann cut-outs

Ah, the galling bit - John Blanche and Gary Chalk posters on offer for £2.95, or miniatures for 30p.
Even using a Mars Bar Inflation Index of exactly 1, this would only be £1.28 per miniature!

I unwrapped this with my boys and they were excited "Can we play this, Daddy?", so I have hopes that my Slightly-Older-Hammer will end up being Younghammer as well!

Happy bargain hunting,
Rab

4 December 2015

Deadcember the 4th

The skeleton horde, it came upon a midnight clear...

I'm getting a little sick of highlighting bone now, if I'm honest, but that's ok, because I'm ready to get started on the wood and metal next. Hurrah!

Stage 4 - Drybrush with Foundry 09B - Boneyard

3 December 2015

Deadcember the 3rd

What's that? You can hear sleigh bells? Sorry, kids, those are passing bells...

The gleefully contra-seasonal month of Deadcember shuffles onwards with the next stage in painting these creatures of the night.

Stage 3 - wash with undiluted Army Painter Soft Tone Ink, drybrush with Foundry 09A-Boneyard Shade

2 December 2015

The costs of gaming - November 2015

Jan 2015  -  £00.00 (0/0/0)

Feb 2015  -  £24.99 (5/5/0)
Mar 2015  -  £46.11 (20/7/-13)
Apr 2015  -  £06.40 (2/12/10)
May 2015 -  £07.07 (-25/2/27)
Jun 2015  -  £34.00 (25/0/-25)
Jul 2015   -  £00.00   (-2/3/5)
Aug 2015  -  £00.00   (1/0/-1)
Sep 2015  -  £00.00   (1/3/2)
Orc 2015  -  £34.00 (27/2/-25)

November 2015


  • BOUGHT - AD&D (2nd Ed.) Dungeon Master and Player handbooks £5.00
  • BOUGHT - Ravening Hordes (WFB2 Army book) £2.99
  • BOUGHT - two undead ogres, a liche and a shield from RPE £14.05
  • TOTAL for November - £22.04   (3/0/-3)


Total net. expenditure for 2015 to date         = £197.78
Remaining acceptable expenditure for 2015 = £-47.78

In something similar to the LAF lead-hoarders vow, I'm also recording the number of figures purchased versus the number painted, which is what the numbers in brackets after each month's total represents - (net unpainted acquired/painted/net total for the month). So, here you go:

Net. unpainted figures acquired in 2015   = 56
Of which, painted to date        = 2
Total no. figures painted         = 32

Net. hoarding status -24

Deadcember the 2nd

"Well the winter wind it chills you, chills you to the bone!"

No, hang on, that's not a carol, that's from the muppets... No matter. Today's picture is brought to you by the number 09 and the letter A - a strong wetbrushing with Foundry paint 09A-Boneyard.

Stage 2 - wetbrush of base bone colour (Foundry 09A)

1 December 2015

Deadcember the 1st

Ho-ho-ho, boys and girls it's time to get started with the brush! In case it wasn't clear from my last post, you're all welcome - nay, encouraged - to join in with some unfestive undead painting yourself. Also left unsaid, I realise, was that a unit of twenty-four was not random but the equivalent of the Deadcember calendar doors. I won't say "Advent" calendar because most of them are as utterly unrelated to Advent/Christmas as these skeletal chaps. Don't expect an update every day, though!

Blether over, here is the first exciting instalment...

Stage 1 - thinned Army Painter "Strong tone" ink wash applied