And now for something completely different...

I've never really been one for big robots.

Pacific Rim was 'fine', I prefer my Anime with cyberpunk ninjas, Tau don't float my boat in 40k,  and I only own Battletech because Pete is trying to bully me into playing it.

Obviously, I was into Transformers (and their cheap knock-off cousins the Gobots) in the 80s, although I only owned three proper Transformers, Ramjet, Grimlock and Slag.

All of which makes me most recent purchase a bit odd.

I've gone Gundam, or Gunpla, or whatever the correct terminology is.

Why?

Well, I'm starting to find that social media influencers actually have an ability to, well, influence me (although I'm not at the buying bathwater point...yet) and several videos suggested that building these things is fun.

So I thought I'd give it a go.

I picked up an Entry Grade (Beginner) 1/144 Lah Gundam for a tenner at Hobbycraft as I figured I don't dmt want to go too deep down the rabbit hole to begin with.

It's all very Airfix when you open it, but just a moments perusal and you start to notice that not only is there quite a lot of plastic for ten quid (at least by GW standards), but there's different coloured plastic...on the same sprues!

Sorcery!

There's an extremely well laid out bilingual instruction booklet that also comes with a bit of background about the model and the builder that is a little confusing about whether it's talking about in world information or a profile of a real designer.

I only figured it was the former when the builder profile started talking about battling against Mask Lady.

The instructions suggest a lack of need for any glue or clippers, and although technically true, I was only two parts in when I decided having clippers on hand would help prevent sprue marks.

However, the sprues are laid out really well, numbered parts are in sequence, most pieces pop straight off and slot together perfectly with almost zero mould lines.

There are one or two companies that could learn a thing or two from Bandai.

Before long, I'd put together the head with pretty much zero fuss.

It's a bit like building a Lego kit. It's relaxing following instructions and slotting brightly coloured plastic into place and watching a model come to life before your eyes. It's almost meditative.

Fortunately, unlike Lego, I didn't need to sell a kidney to join in.

I know this is a beginner kit, but the level of engineering in making it have multiple articulated joints is fascinating. I can only imagine what the more advanced kits are like.

There's also a limited degree of customisation available, even in a cheap kit like this. Alternate backpacks, helmets, knee joints and crotch plates mean that you could easily buy the same kit a second time.

However, this was the one failing if the instructions as they don't always make the options clear and it's only one thing I worked out at the end of the process.

Before long I had a fully poseable mini just waiting for its weapons: a halberd, a rifle and a shield...a combination that doesn't feel like it works together.

I like the halberd best as it has a glowy blade made of semi-transparent plastic and breaks in half to slot on his backback.

All in all, I really enjoyed this process. It was quite therapeutic, especially because I don't now have to paint the bugger.

I will admit that I'm not a massive fan of the look of Gundam robots or their primary coloured aesthetic, and so I'm not sure I'll suddenly become a massive collector of them. 

However, I will now keep my eye out for affordable kits that might prove useful.

For now, this chap might actually be destined to turn up in a game of 7TV fairly soon.

Path of Damnation: Damned, but not Lost

Regular readers of the blog will know that just over a year ago I sold my soul to Nurgle and set out to create a Warriors of Chaos army for Warhammer: The Old World using only models that were collected in the dim and distant past by a teenage me.

I have now put the finishing touches to that army by adding a handful of models and a command group to the Chaos Marauders, the unit I began with.

My own personal rule for this army was that it needed to fit the Oldhammer brief and only feature miniatures which were produced in the early 90s or before, and there were to be no duplicate models.

The aim was to get an army which evoked the cover image of Realms of Chaos: The Lost and the Damned).

I've drafted in every metal Chaos Warrior, Chaos Thug, Beastmen, Chaos Dwarf, Barbarian, Minotaur and monster that I could lay my hands on, supplemented with a handful of plastic miniatures from Heroquest and Warhammer Quest.

Perhaps the most recognisable model in this batch is the dynamically posed, and taller than I remembered, Warhammer Quest Barbarian.

He will take the role of unit champion, but I may need to lighten his skin at some point as I think he lacks a little definition.

Also from the boardgame department is this Zombie from Heroquest. I've come to really like this sculpt and have started to look for ways to use more of them in other projects.

Although he's joining a unit of, very much alive, Chaos Marauders, he's also a nod to the fact that the first Nurgle army list did allow units of Plague Zombies and Plague Skeletons.

I've also been drafting in a handful of Blood Bowl star players, who are very much Chaotic in nature and add a flamboyant amount of mutation to the army.

This is Dieter Hammerlash, one of a very early batch of star players, whose star card I first got from a copy of White Dwarf.

Although he could quite easily have been given a Tzeentchian flavour (he has a touch of the Pink Horror about him), I've gone for a more fleshy look and just added a weapon.

The most obvious Blood Bowl player of the bunch is also the most fitting for a Nurgle army: Bilerot Vomitflesh.

I was presented with a conundrum of how to get his very 'football' look to fit in, and so I opted to turn him into a musician, by giving him a bell ( which I think is from the Grenadier Undead Mammoth I wish I still owned) to dangle.

I also added a shield on his other arm to make him a little less sporty looking.

The final miniature and standard bearer for the unit is Slarga Fourstrike (which I've discovered the internet often, wrongly, refers to as Slarga Fourstrike - check his card).

I commited Oldhammer sacrilege and pinned the banner, which was cobbled together from my bits box, in place and left him at that.

I'm really pleased with this one.

And there we have it.

A 2000 point Warriors of Nurgle army for Warhammer: The Old World. Admittedly it's probably not very good and needs a hefty chunk of magic items to get across the points threshold, but that's pretty normal for Chaos armies.

This army has been at least 37 years in the making and I'm actually a little bit choked up to finally have the Chaos army (or at least a variation of it) that I planned so long ago.

In other news, I've printed and painted some rock formations.

They're not really exciting enough for their own post, so they're here.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 79

Lead Mountain: 698

Rough and Reddy

After focussing on Fallout and Carnevale for the past couple of months, I decided to turn my attention, for simplicity's sake, to some models I've had assembled and undercoated for a while.

Namely a squad of Cataphractii Terminators for my every expanding Blood Angels army.

I say 'army' but in reality this unit is probably the most significant step in them becoming 'armies' as it will now push my Indomitus pattern terminators (the normal ones) into being a purely 40k unit, leaving just my Dreadnoughts, Baal Predator and Rhinos straddling both armies.

I've wanted to add some Cataphractii Terminators for some time, for several reasons.

Firstly, they look cool. Secondly, one of my character models is similarly equipped and mismatched armour in a unit leads to experiencing the worst aspects of both choices.

The third reason is that in the second edition of Horus Heresy, Cataphractii Terminators can take a Land Raider Spartan as a designated transport, whereas the Indomitus Terminators couldn't.

This seems to be simply because Games Workshop insist on making the units in the pdf supplements just a bit rubbish.

Anyway, this frees up a slot in the overworked heavy support section of my army, and allows me to use more of my units.

Their equipment is a bit of a mishmash largely because I picked the unit up of eBay.

I bought them pre-painted because it looked like, from the photo, that they were already painted red and I could quickly and easily touch them up to add to my army.

Unfortunately, the paint job of the models seemed to have been done by a blind badger in the dark whilst drunk, with thick layers of badly applied paint.

What's more, there are several areas of some of the models where far too much glue had been applied or there had been carelessness cleaning up the model leaving them a bit battle damaged.

In short, I think I've finally learned my lesson about buying painted models off eBay unless the photograph is really clear.

However, despite this, I managed to clean them up and paint them in my usual (tediously slow) manner and the will fit right in.

Additionally, I took the opportunity to paint a regular Terminator that I picked up for 50p at a show to add to my 40k unit.

I've realised I've run out of suitable transfers for his shoulder pauldron and so I need to source some more.

I will continue to add to this unit, taking them to a maximum 10 models as other come available.

Acquired: 15

Painted: 72

Lead Mountain: 705

The After-Party After-Party

Whilst I've been occupied by all things Fallout for the last month, work was suspended on my Venice gaming table project for Carnevale, despite having already printed several buildings and a significant number of street tiles.

However, the February installment of the Carnevale MyMiniFactory tribes rewards hit my inbox and included a way to get get back on track prompted me to finish off the remaining contents of the World's Faire After-Party starter set: the Patrician's.

I think.i mentioned when I painted the Doctors that I really appreciated the fact that the forces in the box fit very well with the particular flavours of both factions that I have already collected.

The Patricians in the starter set are partying nobles and their servants, much like what I already own, rather than the more military or naval options available to the faction.

The premise of the story in the starter set is that Viviana, a Barnabotti, has decided that she wants to steal a unicorn rumoured to be on display at the World's Faire. The rumours are actually a trap laid by the Doctors.

The Barnabotti model representing Viviana appears more daunting to paint than it actually is, and the miniature responded well to contrast paints, with the hardest part of painting her was all of the gold trim, even though the details are all very crisply detailed.

To help with the theft, Viviana hires an experienced Cat Burglar (nobles who steal from their peers for kicks) to lead the expedition. 

The Car Burglar is actually a Hero model, rather than a Henchman like the Barnabotti, and so is the actually leader in the scenarios in the box.

To aid her venture, Viviana has forced one of her servants to accompany her, probably to deal with the messy business of handling a unicorn.

Armed with only a poker, he will attend to his mistress' needs, no matter how bizarre.

Viviana may be deluded and irrational, but she's not stupid. The mean streets of Venicame are dangerous, and so she has acquired the services of some Hired Muscle to deal with anyone attempting to prevent the noble teaching her goal or take advantage of her being out on the streets at night.

I decided to print the Ponti di Called Medicanti partly because many of the buildings Ive received from the tribe subscription have been a little large for my Bambu A1 Mini.

Admittedly, the Ponti di Called Medicanti is also large, but it was printable in sections, although I did have to add an extra cut in the base piece.

I painted it with contrast paints and sponges for the most part, with a bit more detail on the bricks without going overboard (it is, after all, meant to be a backdrop).

I added a statue into the alcove on the steps section made from a WizKids miniature I had no plans for.

Finally I printed another two street tiles, on of which is a newer style with steps.

I'm pretty sure I now have enough to fill a 2'x2' table and so I might play out the World's Faire After-Party scenarios on it soon.

Acquired: 14

Painted: 66

Lead Mountain: 710

Fallout Sandbox: Robot Robbery

Elara tried to tell herself that Marlene would have died anyway had they not found her. She couldn't blame herself that the foulness of the Giant Rats had longer to poison Marlene's system than it did Robbin's. Out in the wilderness, there was nothing Elara could have done.

But she still felt guilty. If they'd only made it Haven City sooner.

Now they were here though, they had a job to do. If she could help Robbin save his brother, she might feel the price they'd paid had been worth it.

All they had to do was break in to an abandoned factory and avoid some old robots. If that 'Protectron' they'd encountered in the Wasteland was anything to go by, this should be fairly straightforward...

Arriving in Haven City, Elara and Robbin picked up some 'hard work' to earn some caps, and met some supportive locals (gaining an Adventure Point and also explaining how I gained a contract to retrieve an item in the previous turn). I gained an extra activity this turn but my attempt to study the RobCo factory came to nothing.

After the minor disaster of the last game, I was keen to get on with both the main quest to get back to the vault and the side quest to rescue Robbin's brother. I also have three turns to complete the contract, so it remains an option after this mission was completed.

Rather than using the Into the Wasteland rules, I opted to create a custom scenario. Elara or Robbin needed to get to the computer terminal on the first floor if the central building and perform a computers check. 

Simply doing the action would be enough to track the Super Mutants and move on to the final part of the Revenge side quest. However, a successful test would be needed to download the data that Scope Havelock had requested.

The only problem was that the factory is being patrolled by a Battered Sentry Bot, which had both the toughness and firepower to potentially make a real mess of Elara and Robbin.

They were going to have to be quick and sneaky.

***

Elara wriggled through the fence and made directly for the staircase.

Robbin had been insistent that she be the one to go for the computer terminal as she has both the knowledge to use it and the PipBoy to store the data.

He had bravely volunteered to draw the attention of the Sentry Bot whilst she completed their task.

Robbin was rapidly rethinking his life choices as the huge form of a Sentry Bot rolled around the corner, raised it's weapon and fired.

Robbin's life flashed before his eyes. As did a missile which screamed past his head to detonate in the distance.

Something was clearly wrong with the old bot's targetters. As Robbin turned to run, he prayed that the machine wasn't capable of recalibrating itself.

Terrified that the next shot would be more accurate, Robbin pinned himself into a corner hoping to stay out of sight of the massive robot.

Elara heard the explosion and hoped that Robbin hadn't been caught in the blast as she made her way up the steps and into the factory office.

The computer terminal dimly glowed green in front of her.

Robbin tried to slow his breathing as he listened carefully for the sound of the Sentry Bot heading in the other direction.

However, the squeaking and changing only came closer, and as the hulking mechanical monstrosity lumbered round the corner, its voice synthesizer boomed out, "Intruders detected. Please leave the area. You have 20 seconds to comply."

Elara tapped at the screen. Scope had been right, the Super Mutants could be tracked and she quickly had a fix on the location of the group heading away from Scrap Hill.

The data download took longer. The status bar on her PipBoy moved frustratingly slowly as she heard the mechanical voice echo around the factory.

"Alert! Alert! Intruders will be neutralised!"

Robbin ran. He knew he couldn't outrun the Sentry Bot's weapons, but if he could just get some cover between him an it, there might be a chance.

With a whoosh of flame the bot fired again, but instead of streaming directly towards Robbin, it arced downwards and impacted the ground between the two.

A large blast of flame and rubble engulfed both the Sentry Bot and Robbin, pitching the Scavenger forwards. When the dust settled Robbin lay still and the scratched for form of the Sentry Bot rolled off in search of other Intruders.

"Target neutralised."

The tinny voice sent shivers down Elara's spine as she edged down the steps, her mother nd spinning.

Had that blast caught Robbin? Had she not been fast enough? Was she responsible for another death? Where was the robot?

The answer to her final question was answered almost immediately when the robotic brute moved impassively to block the foot of the steps, its terrifying weapons slowly coming up to target her.

Elara braced...

...and leapt.

She flew over the railing and down to the ground. Without pause she was up and running, scrambling, half falling asleep she desperately scrambled towards the hole in the fence she had wriggled through, expecting at any moment to be wrapped in flame shredded by shrapnel.

As she hauled herself through the fence, she risked a backward glance at the terrifying form of the Sentry Bot, it's weaponry pointed directly at her.

"Intruder has left RobCo grounds. Return to patrol route."

***

Another closely fought battle in which Elara and Robbin (to an extent) benefited from really poor accuracy on the part of the Sentry Bot. Even the shot that took Robbin down actually missed and he was unfortunately caught in the blast.

I ended up using another of my campaign lifelines to save Robbin's life, as I wanted him present for the final chapter of his own side quest, which I will probably do after trying to complete the contract as I think I could do with the money to recruit some extra firepower. Mind you, the News Travels phase threw up some sewers beneath Haven City that might need exploring.

***

Elara breathed heavily. She didn't know how Robbin had managed to drag himself clear of the factory boundary, especially with his damaged arm, but he'd done it.

The mission had been a qualified success. They were both alive, they knew where Ravage's Super Mutants were, and Elara's quest to return home was a step closer to completion.

She supposed that this counted as a good day in the wasteland.

Are We The Baddies?

A sinister cabal formed from the remnants of what was once the government, and led by an inhuman president, send agents and armed thugs out to manipulate, misinform and just plain destroy any sense of community, creating the chaos necessary to maintain control.

Anyway. Enough about current affairs. I've painted some Enclave.

This little patrol has been put together for a couple of reasons. Firstly, I've made Fallout 3 the focus of which Fallout Wasteland Warfare miniatures I acquire, and as the big bads of the game, they were the noticeable gap in my collection.

Secondly, I realised that some of the miniatures in the Star Saga game I've had for some time bore a passing resemblance to some of the Enclave's operatives, and I'm always up for a bit of proxying.

Thirdly, I started my solo campaign recently and decided that I would include the Enclave as one of the threats. They haven't turned up yet, but I needed to be ready if they did.

Obviously, a few proxied officers and scientists weren't going to cut it as a 'threat' to my little corner of the wasteland, and so I needed to pick up some heavier troops in the Enclave's signature Tesla armour.

And so off I popped to an online store and picked up the Enclave Soldier set (as they looked pretty easy to paint)...only I didn't. I ended up, due to poor eyesight and suspiciously similar packaging and labelling, with the Enclave Tesla set.

These are also wearing Tesla power armour, but appeared to be much more fiddly to paint, having cabling and what looks like fairy lights all over them.

However, my fears were unjustified as they turned out to be remarkably easy to paint.

After a bit of research in which I had to challenge my own personal Mandela effect where I was utterly convinced that the armour was green, I settled on a fairly straightforward approach to painting these two models.

I used Black Templar contrast paint over a Ghoul Grey primer before drybrushing the whole model with Leadbelcher. Finally, a wash of Nuln Oil finished off the metallic black armour.

The Tesla coils were just picked out in Brass Scorpion, which is actually more of a coppery colour, and the little were highlighted with more Leadbelcher. The lights were painted white and then give a coat of Magos Purple contrast paint.

They eyes were painted white and then given two coats of Cassandora Yellow.

All in all, I'm absolutely delighted with how these have turned out. And when I do actually pick up the Enclave Soldier set, they'll be really easy to do.

The Enclave Scientist is similar to the model of Elara in a hazmat suit, and I'd actually had the idea to use these for the Enclave before I'd started the solo game.

I drybrushed white over the Ghoul Grey primer and gave the rest of the suit a coat of Apothecary White contrast paint. After that, it was a simple case of doing the face, boots, gloves and metal parts in a fairly standard way.

It's not a perfect replica of the Scientists as they appear in the game, but, as I've mentioned before, these suits have more of a Fallout 4 look.

I have two more models in hazmat suits, similar to those I've already painted, and I think that for at least one of them I might have a go at sculpting the signature Enclave golden visor.

The models from Star Saga that triggered my thoughts about starting an Enclave force were the security guards wearing caps, which bear enought of a similarity to the Enclave officers that appear in Fallout 3.

I've kept things very simple here with Skeleton Horde contrast paint for the overalls followed by black and silver where appropriate.

I have several similar models available but I don't want to do too many officers right now. The model will serve perfectly well as a Warrant Officer, and I might add a Lieutenant when the Enclave presence in the region grow.

I'm really quite chuffed with this little lot, with the Tesla soldiers being the stars of the show. Expect the Enclave to start turning up in my campaign soon.

Acquired: 13

Painted: 59

Lead Mountain: 717