Sunday 22 October 2017

Zomtober: I Hate Horses!

As promised, this week's offering for Zomtober is Rick, on a horse, from Mantic's Walking Dead game booster called, 'Rick on a Horse', which features a model of Rick on the aforementioned horse, and a zombie, one of the aforementioned walking dead. It's an example of extremely clear labelling from Mantic, something that other companies could possibly learn from.


Taking a similarly Ronseal-like approach to labelling, the post title for this week, 'I Hate Horses,' is because I hate painting horses, and Rick's horse is no different. I think it's because the smooth contours of miniature horses don't really suit my wash 'n' go style of painting, and I lack the inclination to become better at painting them because I hate painting horses.

My antipathy towards painting horses has caused many a wargaming project to falter in the past:
  • my Bretonnians for Warhammer never really got past 1500 points and featured far too much infantry,
  • I abanadoned my Bretons for Saga before I really started assembling them,
  • there have been some Napoleonic Dragoons for the War of 1812 sat in my lead pile for at least half a decade,
  • my Bolt Action Russians will never be joined by Cossacks, 
  • my 6mm ACW Union army is distinctly lacking cavalry or artillery (which are pulled by horses) for the same reasons.


And so you can understand why I approached this week's offering with some trepidation.


And I have to say, I'm still not happy with the horse. I think I need to go back and maybe put a bit more effort into highlighting it. However, I always reach this stage, where the horse is passable and any attempt to improve it, might actually make it worse and cause me to have to spend even more time painting something I dislike painting. Have I mentioned that I hate painting horses?

Also, looking at the pictures, I've not only noticed that I've forgotten to do the eyes properly, but there's an ugly mould line above the left eye that I'd not seen.

Gah! I hate horses!


What I don't hate, is Rick. Another cracking and characterful sculpt which I've painted to match the version on foot that I finished at the beginning of the month. I'm very happy with how he's turned out. So much so, that he probably does a good enough job of drawing my eyes away from the hated horse to make my not worry too much about it, especially as this isn't a model I can see myself using all that much. The horse only features in one of the solo scenarios, and in regular games I'm not sure how useful the horse would be, as despite making a character much faster, it also causes lots of noise and so will constantly be moving zombies towards it.


As well as hating horses, I also hate free-handing writing on models, it never goes well. Therefore I love it when models have raised text sculpted onto them, as it helps me out immensely. The lettering on the police bag is an excellent example, and adds a nice detail to what would simply be blank if it were left to my 'skill'.

And so there we have it it for another week. This coming week is half-term for me, and so I have plenty of time to work on what will hopefully be a decent finale for this year's Zomtober. I also hope to find time for a few solo scenarios now that I have the necessary models, and so there might even be a return of my comic strip game reports if you're lucky. See you then.

By the way, I am fully aware, that if they are reading this, my usual gaming group will now be plotting to get me some horses should they draw my name in our annual Secret Santa. Yes, they are bastards. However, so am I, and I am also plotting along similar lines. Mwahahaaaaaaa....

28 comments:

  1. Hmmm... I think you're doing your job on that horse a great dis-service, Kieron. It looks fine to me, and in many ways the subtle palette you've used for it makes Rick's sculpt stand-out all the more - something I'd suggest a horse-rider's model should do. So top marks in my books, and the promise of more of your wonderful comic strip game reports - splendid news indeed! :-)

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    1. Thanks for the kind words. I think it's because my painting of other stuff has improved and I've started to have 'standards' that I want to keep. It's certainly not awful, just not as good as I want it to be.

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  2. Are there any cavalry that featured horses riding other horses that we could get you for Christmas?

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    1. Why am I now worried about receiving a display model of horses mating?

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  3. Nicely done Kieron, despite your dislike of painting horses (at least i sense a dislike of painting horses - I had to read between the lines there to tease that stance out of your post as I don't think you stated it often enough! :P )

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    1. Well done for spotting it. Not much slips past you.

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  4. I feel the pain. Second only to hating painting all figures is my hatred of painting horses (and soon to equal to other animals).

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  5. I think you are being a tad hard on yourself Kieron, this looks like a great job to me. Mind you I know what you mean about painting horses, I have shelved projects simply because they contain too many cavalry units.

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    1. The only project I ever completed that had the requisite amount of horses was my Wood Elf army which contained over 20. However, I cheated and made them all white. Not dappled, as white horses really are, but actually white because...

      ...well...elves!

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  6. I completely understand the frustration regarding painting horses - believe me, I live on a horse farm! It's extremely challenging getting the tones right, but I do think you've been a bit too hard on yourself - the only thing I could possibly suggest is maybe some white above the hooves on a few of the legs. The model itself is pretty weak IMHO, the neck looks all kinds of off and no horse has a tail that short lol! Great work on Rick :)

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    1. The model is a bit stodgy in horse terms. However that idea about the white on the hooves is not a bad one. I'll have a think about it, although I'll probably chicken out. Thanks.

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  7. I think you are very much in the majority on your opinion of horses - on the whole I find people that don't mind painting horses are usually the ones who's horses look the worst.
    Your horse really isn't bad. I tend to rely on a photo copied page from The Wargamer's Compendium on horse colours, personally.

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    1. Thanks. It's not awful. That's fine for me.

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  8. I agree with the above comments Kieron, and reckon you've done a great job painting the horse, and Rick, from the Rick on a horse booster :-)
    Do I detect a little antipathy towards painting horses in your post?
    Yay - looking forward to the game reports :-)

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  9. Horses are a pain to paint so I know what you mean. That said, you’ve done a good job so don’t worry 😉

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  10. I empathise with your equine woes. I've found my experiences and (non-)preferences to be similar - if there's any way to avoid mounting a miniature on something, that's the road I will take.

    I think it also has something to do with the extra time commitment when painting a model. I have a fairly consistent attention span when it comes to finishing a miniature off - if it takes more than two weeks or so of painting bursts every few days, then I lose interest and want to start something else. A mount of any sort messes with that time frame (as do overtly detailed minis). I'd much rather have two completed models over the same period.

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    1. The extra time is definitely a factor, and it's extra time doing something I don't enjoy. Double trouble.

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  11. HAHAA Nothing worse that spotting those pesky mold lines after the painting is done...happens to me all the time! Also I don't think I've ever painted a horse since my early D&D days where it was just one colour. At some point I will take the plunge, though it will need some video / painting guide support! Good thing most zombies don't ride!

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    1. Oh yes I am not laughing at you, but with you, as another who shares your woes!

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    2. I know. The bit that bugs me about mould lines is that I genuinely can't se them until the picture is taken.

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  12. I think this post would make a great song title. I agree wit the comments posted you've done a great job.

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  13. how do you follow this blog, there is no `widget' on the side?

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    1. Erm...I don't know. I'll look into it...

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    2. Found it!

      It's down underneath the links and followers on the left. View it on the web version rather than mobile.

      Hope that helps.

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