2016 end of year post

Ah, the annual end of year retrospective post, wherein I analyse loosely how little my yearly output matched the aims that I had set out the previous year, and then waffle on a bit, glad that the Tally resets to zero and I'm finally back in the black (also known as 'the most wonderful time of the year')

Tally

56 vs 343 = -287

2016: -287 (56 painted)

2015: -96 (59 painted)

2014: 0 (80 painted)

2013: -416 (25 painted)
2012: -103 (68 painted)
2011: -173 (122 painted)

Not my worst year, and not bad considering the Tally mostly took a hit when I came into possession of a very large box of warhammer all the way back in March. I'd actually been doing pretty well up until that point (although in the interest of full disclosure that's because I was saving all of my hobby pennies for the annual outing to Salute, but that admission paints me in less of a 'saintly paragon of self control' light). Once again Zomtober was a fairly weighty contributing factor to my painted models total, as I got a bit carried away and went somewhat over the one model a week target for the month...

Whilst writing this, I've discovered a mathematical error in the Tally as it appeared in my posts thus far, and so have adjusted the finished total accordingly! In my defence, I'd only missed one acquistion (the freebie on the first issue of the relaunched White Dwarf, which it seems I added to the Tally but forgot to keep on the total the post after...)

Posts

40 posts this year - apparently I was chattiest in 2014 when I managed to make 69...

Aside from posting nothing at all in June (having moved house at the start of the month, all of my paints and miniatures were boxed up until I got my hobby basement sorted!) it seems that I've actually managed to post semi-regularly this year - this feels fairly surprising, as now my daughter is getting older I seem to have less hobby time (gone are the days when she was basically a beautiful sleeping potato, these days I tend to find miniatures in her doll house or she wants to sit on my lap and paint too).

Starting an Instagram account for my painting seems to have helped with engaging with other hobbyists too, as I can post WIP pictures and things rather than having to have something finished to show as tends to be the case with my posts on here.


Projects (according to last year's end of year post)

Star Wars

Only one miniature finished for this project (the Talz Copilot), but a few bits half done.

Every time I go to prep the rebel miniatures I have to make an opposing force for the stormtroopers that I painted way back when, I end up browsing for more to fill in the gaps in my collection to make useable forces, and can't justify the cost to buy from the states- does anyone have any they want to trade so that I can kickstart this project and actually get something painted?

The same goes for Zuckuss - my lack thereof seems to have become a bigger mental stumbling block than it should, really, and I've vowed to myself that I won't paint my nice shiny (and now long Out of Print) Knight Models Boba Fett until I've painted 4-Lom and Zuckuss, to make a complete set of the Bounty Hunters from Empire...

ASOIAF

Only the Wights and Others that I painted for Zomtober were actually finished and posted up on the blog, but there have also been a few bits converted or half-painted behind the scenes over the year, so the project endures...

Batman

A couple of bits finished for this, but as ever in a disorganised fashion as things struck my fancy - I even actually finished the Bat himself this month! Still haven't started any of the expensive official Knight Models miniatures that I have though...

Zombies

Nothing modern finished this year, just the fantasy zombies for Zomtober. It's one of those projects that I can always add something to though (and have plenty of things assembled or undercoated, ready to go whenever it takes my fancy)

on the back burner:

The Last of Us - still haven't made any real progress on this, other than occasionally taking out the bits I had put aside, sighing, and then putting them away again (although my Joel and Ellie miniatures were pulled out as backups for this year's Zomtober, but ended up getting shelved in favour of the direction I ended up going) - with The Last of Us 2 being announced though, maybe that will swing my hobby focus back this way...

The Thing -I dug out my selection of gribbly bits from my bits box, then got distracted googling other people's conversions for gaming The Thing in 28mm, and got a bit disheartened because what I found other people had done was really good...

Path to Glory - The same story as ever - the entire warband is sat undercoated in the tray of WIP miniatures in the top of my hobby desk. When White Dwarf relaunched and had a free Khorne Champion on the front, I speculatively rolled up a warband for him, but it didn't spur me to actually build or paint anything...

Mass Effect -Still waiting on finding some suitable helmets for the Cerberus Assault Trooper conversions. Also, my friend that currently has access to a 3D printer is changing jobs soon, so it might become even less likely to happen...

ROTPOTA- I really need to get on with painting some monkeys. I have some lovely monkeys, but most of them have fairly hefty integral bases, and when it comes to choosing how to spend my limited hobby time some relaxing painting or kitbashing with Perry bits tends to win out over grinding off lumps of metal with a rotary tool...

Whilst Fallout wasn't specifically a listed project in last year's post (merely being alluded to) the number of completed miniatures increased four-fold, although admittedly that's because it was only a single miniature strong before this year started! 

Once again, still no Sanity Claws for Christmas. Mostly because I only ever really think about it at this time of year when it's way too late to get one in time for Christmas, and I'm too broke to get one anyway!

Projects for 2017:

Star Wars - I saw Rogue One last week. I really want to convert some Commandos. Or kitbash some fancy black Stormtroopers using Stormtrooper bodies and helmets from specialist Clone Troopers. And maybe buy Star Wars Imperial Assault. Seriously, anyone with old WOTC minis to trade, get in touch.

ASOIAF - I'm going to finish this project before GRRM finishes the book series, so no rush.

Japes aside, I still enjoy converting and painting miniatures for this project (plus, I have quite the stash of bits for it) - maybe I'll even work on some long-plannede conversions, as hinted at by my choice of image...

Zombies - I'm aiming to do Zomtober again this year. Although technically it was AE:WWII that got me back into the hobby way back when after my teenage hiatus, it was the zombie project that was my first real project, and so a main project it will likely always stay. I've probably painted more zombies than I'll realistically need over the last few years, but there's always something else I can add, whether it's more zombies from the various stashes of miniatures in my hobby drawers, or more survivors, that can be used interchangably with the majority of my other 'mildly post-apocalyptic' projects like The Last of Us or Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

On the back burner:

Batman - I'll still pick at the occasional model, but without worrying about what. I think in part I'm moving this project out of the spotlight to trick myself into getting something done, as that seems to be the case when I focus on something else...
Fallout - it would be a main project if I had more minis that I could use for it. Who knows though, maybe I'll actually properly read the Salute guide this year and find out if Brother Vinni is in attendance before he's sold out of all of his Nuclear Sandlot miniatures... Then again, I've actually had a chance to sink a few hours into Fallout 4 over the festive period, and been inspired to convert some miniatures that I have squirreled away, so you never know...
The Last of Us - as previously mentioned, it's a solid maybe. If I end up placing that order with CP models though...
Path to Glory - I should probably drop this off of the list, given how long it's beenon here (and how many unposted WIP pictures I have of the conversions), but part of me still wants to believe that I'll be able to turn my focus onto these and knock them out fairly quickly. More likely, however, is that I'd probably pull out the tray they're in and get distracted by the basecoated 3rd edition Human Blood Bowl team that's sat next to them...
ROTPOTA - hangs on by a thread, because really all I need to do is paint some apes!

So, place your bets on what actually gets painted next year!

...and to all a good night!

As alluded to over on Instagram, I'd been working on something thematic to post for Christmas:

Pulp Santa!

Recently rereleased by Artizan Designs, I actually got this miniature when it was originally given away as a freebie for placing an order (5 years ago or so, I think?)

He hasn't photographed particularly well here (especially the snow!) but I'm fairly happy with how he turned out!

He was based on a 30mm DS base rather than a 25mm round, as I figured if he ever got used on the tabletop it would most likely be as a thematic festively themed random event with my zombies rather than anything else...

This miniature was also my first attempt at modelling snow - I dug out a pack of snow scatter that I picked up on the cheap at Salute a few years back and wanting a 'drifts of snow' kind of effect, mixed it with PVA to make a paste that I lathered onto select areas with a toothpick. When it dried though, it didn't look fresh and wet enough, and I was inspired by a conversation in the comments on Instagram to try giving it a coat of GW Ardcoat, which gave it a much more pleasing finish! I may have to pick up some of the new technical paint that GW have released for modelling snow bases to try out in the New Year though...

Finishing Santa takes the Tally to:

56 vs 342 = -286

Almost catching up on last year's number of completed miniatures, if I recall correctly...

Anyway, with all the festivities over the coming week, I'm unlikely to be posting anything now until the annual year-in-review post, so I'll take this opportunity to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Nananananananana Batman!

Way back when Knight models were first talking about doing a set of rules for gaming Batman on the tabletop, I had a Spanish-speaking friend translate the beta rules for me. They looked pretty interesting, and so around the time my daughter was born when they released the finished rule book I ordered one (also because by ordering when it was first released I got a Limited Edition Alfred miniature), and told myself that I'd paint up some proxies from my stash of Heroclix to try the rules out before investing in the boutique range of miniatures. Then I went to Salute and bought a ton of Knight Models miniatures in order to get a free Limited Edition Red Hood Joker, because that's the way the world works.

A short couple of years later, Pow! Here's that originally selected proxy Batman:

Wham! Including a shaky freehand Batman logo! I drew it in first with a soft pencil, because I am not good at freehand. I was briefly tempted to use the old school 'bat in a yellow oval that would literally paint a target onto the wearer's chest' but ended up going with a more modern black on grey.

It's not a bad sculpt for a Heroclix figure (which are generally fairly variable) - the musculature is nice, as is the drapery on the cape, although his eyes are a little squiff and took a couple of goes to get to a level I was happy with.

Zap! Bat-cape! I was originally planning on painting him with a black cape starkly edge-highlighted with a very dark blue, but got a bit carried away and ended up going for an overall dark blue cape, from a black basecoat up to Dark Reaper mixed with Caledor Blue (one of the good things about comic characters is that over the years there have been so many different costume variations that you're spoiled for choice when it comes to canon!)

[side note - I spent some time picking out the different bricks on his crumbling gargoyle base with various different coloured layers of paint and shades, and you can barely see it on the finished miniature]

Batman might hate guns, but he'll happily kick a mook while he's drawing a gun so that he shoots his own dick off it seems.

Finishing old tall dark and brooding brings the Tally to:

55 vs 342 = -287

Recently I've been thinking about making terrain a lot (in part due to infovore.tim posting stuff on instagram), but to do so I'd need to clear my hobby desk off of the hundreds of pots of paint currently cluttering it up, but if I did that I know I'd then end up wasting a bunch of time digging for the right paint to finish the half-finished miniatures also cluttering the desk up... I guess I need to set a line in the sand, choose the miniatures that I plan to finish in the next fortnight,and then clear the desk off to build terrain once they're done and dusted. However, realistically, I'd probably finish two of the miniatures, and then get an irresistable urge to start something else, and so the cycle continues...

Ragman

Another miniature finished, this time for the Batman project:

Ragman!

You know, Ragman:

No?

My road to Ragman is something of a convoluted one - I first saw this miniature way back in the misty days of the past in an issue of Inquest Gamer that had a full visual spoiler from the then brand new Heroclix set Collateral Damage (back in the day when physical media was still a thing that you could purchase) and, though it wasn't a character that I was familiar with, thought it was a pretty interesting and dynamic sculpt. Many, many years later, I ended up ordering one randomly whilst picking up some other bits and bobs from Blue Rat Games with the vague idea that maybe I could convert it into some sort of fantasy wraith.

Obviously, I stashed it and didn't get around to converting it.

For the last couple of years, I've been working my way through a backlist of Batman comics, in in-universe order, starting with Year One, and this year I hit some comics featuring Ragman. A guy with a murderous cloak of rags that makes him kill nazis (well, the Ragman from the era of comics that I've been reading, as opposed to the other that a quick google suggests also exist), although he struggles against it, that I already own an interesting miniature of? Consider me sold!

So, a-painting we did go!

This is a difficult miniature to photograph, given it's dynamic pose...

The angle where you can actually see the rags of DC's 'Tatterdemalian of Justice', each of which is the captured soul of an evildoer. Except for here, where it's just a random daub of paint, which was oddly therapeutic to do...

My original idea was to give the body a wash to grubby it up a little, but I ended up not doing this as I liked how bright some of the colours were in contrast to the rest of the model...

Tally

54 vs 342 = -288

I've dug a random assortment of half-finished bits and bobs out of the painting queue, so we may even see another post or two before the regular end of year post!

In other news, apparently this little corner of the internet hit over 100,000 page views at some point in the last fortnight - even if only 6 of them are real people that have found my stuff and liked what they saw, that's okay with me!

Danger Vault Dweller!

Whilst painting up my Vault Dweller recently, I also painted this 50's style robot from Black Cat Bases:

Having just gone on their site to put that link in, it looks like he might not be available any more. He's more Forbidden Planet than Fallout admittedly, but I think the style fits. 

I bought this miniature innumerable years ago, so long ago in fact that I think Black Cat Bases actually disappeared off the radar for a while and have since come back...

It's a bit of a rough sculpt, but a metric ton of sponge weathering and judicious application of the GW Technical paint Typhus Corrosion in key spots make it look alright I think? The port in his back came with an optional key, which was a fun option but not for me...

Tally:

53 vs 342 = -289

A wanderer, a survivor...

My daughter's new bedtime routine has occasionally afforded me a little bit of painting time recently, which has allowed me to finish off this chap that you might remember from my previous post:

As you can see, I added a couple of pieces of shoulder armour to the conversion to make it look more like the armoured vault suit:

(although I'll settle for 'inspired by' rather than trying to be a direct copy of it). 

The little piece of leather padding on the right shoulder was probably the part of this miniature that took the longest - I just couldn't seem to get a finish that I liked on it, and so wound up repainting it several times...

I was half-tempted to paint the body of the shotgun green to break up the expanse of gunmetal, but ended up settling for a wholly silver body as per the in-game model it was inspired by.

I painted this survivor as having come from Vault 172 - technically non-canon, as there were officially only 122 Vaults constructed by Vault-Tec, but the number has a certain significance to me, so on it goes!

A closer view of the helmet - weathering is just great fun to do! I painted all of his equipment to look dirty, covered in chips and dings, so that it would look lived in and well-worn, from the scratches in his leather equipment to the layer of dust and grime on his vault suit.

And here's a better view of everyone's favourite post-apocalyptic fashion accesory, the Pip-Boy!

This was another miniature of firsts for me: my first time ever painting stubble on a miniature! I guess years of White Dwarf painting tutorials have finally come in handy, as I carefully glazed the beardy bits of his face with a mixture of grey and flesh...

And finally, a size comparison shot with the power armoured chap I previously posted.

Finishing him brings the Tally to:

52 vs 342 = -290

Taking my yearly rate up the the baseline acceptable level of an average of at least on miniature painted a week!

There was also another miniature that I was painting alongside this one that wasn't quite finished tonight, so who knows, we might even get two blog posts in one week for the first time in a little while...

Fallout Boy conversion wip

I know, the actual mascot is called Vault Boy, and it annoys a friend of mine when people refer to him as Fallout Boy, but that's the sort of awful, lazy wordplay that I can only assume keeps you coming back here (I'll see if I can work in an Atom and his Package reference next time to raise my indie cool points score back up)

Some time ago (back in the hazy days of early 2014) I decided to replay Fallout 3, as my original save had been lost in an unfortunate Xbox 360 crash, and I think the initial Fallout 4 rumours had started leaking out. As tends to be the case, I was inspired to dig out my knives and files:

When I started the conversion, my character in the game was scrappily armed with a combat shotgun and some rather sparse scavenged armour, and so this was my inspiration. A Crooked Dice minion was my starting point, as I figured that it's weird raygun looking weapon would be a good starting point for building a Combat Shotgun:

So, I cut of some extraneous bits to leave the body of the gun, which I planned to build on:

It did not go particularly well. I tried a variety of bits and bobs (both from cut up miniature weapons and miscellaneous other sundry materials) and nothing seemed to quite look right - the stock from a rifle was much too skinny, every donor drum magazine just looked wrong... So off came the lot, left hand and all, under the assumption that I'd be able to find a suitable combat shotgun as a whole:

And that was really as far as I got, way back in January 2014...

(Well, truthfully I also crudely fashioned some straps and a knee pad out of some green stuff and part of a heroclix riot cop, but that step was sadly not documented in picture form anywhere that I could find...)

And so, into a baggie went the pieces, to await me being able to find a combat shotgun that looked enough like the one from Fallout to satisfy my nerd OCD - the drum magazine was the main sticking point for me.

I kept playing Fallout 3, but very soon found a suit of power armour, and so from that point on my character never looked like my planned conversion again. Regardless, I kept the idea for it squirreled away at the back of my mind...

[time passes - imagine a montage where clock hands spin, pages tear rapidly off of a calendar, a pair of cartoon squirrels are born, run around eating nuts, and age to the point where they are sat in a pair of tiny rocking chairs]

Then, idly browsing the internet, I found a suitable donor - one of Heresy's trenchcoat gangers had a likely looking weapon:

So, I tweeted Andy at Heresy to ask if they were available seperately, and he told me that it was something he'd been meaning to get round to, but had been unable to with being so busy with his kickstarter. I asked him again at Salute, and Andy told me that he still hadn't had a chance, and suggested that it was probably worth just buying the figure and cleaning it up myself, so I did!

It's a little large (as Heresy tend to run on the larger side of the scale and Crooked Dice tend to run slender), but the only one of it's type that I was happy with!

With some careful cutting and filing, I was able to remove the arm and hand, leaving the shaped gun butt. Unfortunately, given the position of the arms on the receiving miniature, it didn't fit with the gun butt, so off that came too:

Then began the painstaking, repetitive process of filing and dry fitting to get a result that I was happy with:

I found a donor hand from a Perry miniatures set (the same piece as I used for my Eddard Stark conversion) to gave him a left hand resting casually on his weapon, and then I pinned everything to within an inch of it's life.

Then came the other essential identifier for the character - the Pip-Boy! As with my previous Pip-Boy equipped model, I carefully cut out squares of Green Stuff on my thumbnail, and then cut and shaped them using a variety of clay shapers, knife, and a pin liberated from my wife's craft room until I had this:

A Crooked Dice head sprue provided a hard hat wearing head to finish off the ramshackle look of the low-level Fallout character, although I wasn't sure about it at first, and spent some time googling pictures of  hats from the Fallout series. Nothing seemed to amuse me quite so much as the hard hat though, the sort of thing that you wear when you're desperate for any point of damage resistance that you can get! Plus, when it comes to painting, it should be fun playing around with weathering to make it look suitably scrappy!

Which leaves me with this chap awaiting some basing - I enjoy how the pose turned out: so calm, composed, in control; completely at odds with how I actually played the game, manically running head on at threats and using VATS to shoot them in the face (as opposed to shooters like Halo, where the general tactic is to run backwards away from the threat shooting it, occasionally hiding in a room that is extremely far away from any threat in order to wait for your shield to recharge).

Taking a short break from writing this post to fill the gaps in the base, I was suddenly struck with an idea: 'how hard would it be to add some more ramshackle armour, like a shoulderpad?'

Hopefully it takes less time to paint him than it did to finish the conversion...