Something Wicked This Way Comes

It's Halloween. That means witches, ghosts and spooky scariness...or, all three at once.

'Witch' King

Ring'wraith'

And it doesn't get much more spooky and scary than a magic ghost with flaming sword coming at you on the back of flying terror chicken.

Although I'm a long way away from the Battle of the Pelennor Fields in my Quest of the Ringbearer, I've had this model built for months and been a bit intimidated about starting it; it's not only big, it's awkward to handle.

Two things have helped motivate me to finally get this baddest boy painted: I've built up a head of steam this week by getting lots done; and I've discovered the joy of dumping Basilicanum Grey all over models and they dry-brushing my way to victory.

There was very little other painting to do on the model once I'd found a way to address the majority of the model, and mist of that is washes and contrast paint.

Were I to do another of these (and in theory there is a need for at least three of them in the campaign) I would almost certainly not attach the reins and rider until after the model was painted.

My major gripes with the model (it's an older sculpt so it's got visible joins that I'm not massively worried about) are about the base.

Firstly, the plastic rod does not fit into the hole in the model and so getting it to stick was a pain. I ended up cutting off the ball joint an feed the rod into the body.

Secondly, the base features weapons from the War of the Last Alliance and as far as I'm aware the fell beasts ridden by the Nazgul were only ever seen in the War of the Ring...what a disgrace!

Despite this level of pedantic irritation, I'm enjoying The Rings of Power. 

Go figure.

One of the concerns I had with this model was an issue of storing it safely. However, recently I've gained a display case for my gaming room, which means I can can effectively store my larger models without worrying about them getting broken.

I probably need to sort the way I set them out, and I might have to get hold of some transparent stands to make things prettier.

For reference I have a shelf reserved for future giant elephants.

Anyway, that's my spooky Halloween post. I'm really happy to have got this model finished to a standard I'm pleased with and I'm continuing to build my confidence with bigger models as I have another winged lizard in the works.

No. It's not Smaug. This is Cheaphammer after all.

Acquired: -61

Painted: 368

Lead Mountain: 644

Ashes to Ashes, Rust to Rust

Having had a play around with rust effects in my last post, I decided to go mad and create some suitable terrain for Fallout and other post-apocalyptic games.

The base model is a diecast car I picked up whilst on holiday, mainly because it had the look of a car from the fifties and would be suitable for Fallout.

It's missing the circular design in the bonnet, which I think is meant to indicate it's nuclear fuel cell, but it's close enough for my purposes.

I did spend a good deal of time researching rust methods and thinking about how to go about base coating the car to cover the shiny blue paintwork.

Ultimately, after my experiment with the troll, I decided to just slap Typhus Corrosion straight onto the model, and if the paintwork or shiny bits showed through, that would be fine.

I may end up regretting this decision later, but this process was so quick that I'm not really worried about having to fix it up (or down, as the case may be).

I also threw Typhus Corrosion over the windows to make them grimy, swamped the inside with Garaghak's Sewer contrast paint to make it rotten and filthy, and ripped the tyres off.

After the base, I sponged on Mournfang Brown, Tausept Ochre and Ryza Rust again (going easy on the last one as it's really bright). I also added some sponging of Ratskin flesh to get a more muted orange in there.

I went over some of the chrome areas with touches of Chainmail rather than dry-brushing the whole model as I wanted only these bits to have any sort of gleam.

Finally I put some basing material and tufts in suitable places and did some streaks of Agrax Earth shade down the sides 

All in all, I'm really happy with the outcome. It's not pretty, but it's not meant to be, and this was quick and simple enough to be something I can do quickly when I get my hands on other suitable vehicles.

Acquired: -61
Painted: 367
Lead Mountain: 645

It's a Troll, Fol-De-Rol

Not much more to say really.

It's a Mordor Troll.

I picked this chunky lad up at Vapnartak this year for the princely sum of £5.

As Pete and I have been muttering about playing some of the Gondor at War scenarios for MESBG, it seemed like a good time to get him painted.

The kit itself has both the positives and negatives of GW's earlier plastic kits. On the plus side, it was easy to put together and contained a wealth of options, however, on the other hand, it has some horrid seams down its side which I'm choosing to ignore rather than do much about.

I opted to go for a simple coat of Basilicanum Grey for the skin, as in my head that's the colour of these guys as they burst through the gates of Minas Tirith. Reference material seems to disagree with me, but it's my model and Trolls aren't real, so I'm not going to argue about it.

I decided to focus more effort on having a go at a rust effect without spending money on specific products, and I'm quite happy with the outcome

I had a black base which I gave a coat of Typhus Corrosion technical paint to in order to provide texture. Then I sponged on, in decreasing amounts, Mournfang Brown, Tausept Ochre and Ryza Rust before giving all the armour a light drybrush of Leadbelcher.

I've never really played with rust effects before, but this feels like a decent starting point for me to experiment further.

Acquired: -61
Painted: 366
Lead Mountain: 646

Cry Havoc!

Back to Badab we go...

When I started this project, I had a squad of Tactical Marines and a few bits and pieces to play with. The rest has been picked up as cheap secondhand lots on eBay, something which is always a little bit of a lottery.

And it proved to be the case with this little lot.

This is a Devastator Squad, a Space Marine heavy weapons team which I shall be using in my 'definitely not yet' Chaos Space Marine army for the Astral Claws.

In Chaos terms they will be fielded as Havocs, which are pretty much Devastators with a slightly more edgy name; Chaos being the ultimate edge-lord army.

The unit features a Sergeant with a Plasma Gun, and four Marines armed with a Lascannon, a Missile Launcher and two Heavy Bolters.

Technically, to use these as Havocs in the Combat Patrol list I'll be using, one of the Heavy Bolters should be replaced by a Reaper Chaincannon, something regular Marines don't have access to.

It's something I would need to discuss with an opponent, whether they're happy for a slightly different loadout in the unit, or would prefer me to proxy one of the Heavy Bolters as a different weapon. It's no skin off my nose either way.

So where did the lottery element come in?

Well, firstly there is never a guarantee that you'll get everything that you need in a single purchase. For example, I spent ages looking for the right combination of weapons in different lots.

This one won out due to only being a Heavy Bolter out and the fact that the Sergeant was missing a weapon, allowing me to grab a Plasma Gun from my Horus Heresy stash.

Then there's other issues, such as the fact that the guy with the Missile Launcher isn't actually a proper Devastator Marine. He seems to have been cobbled together from spare bits, including a regular backpack (rather than one with an auto-loader)  an Assault Marine body and left arm which leads to a pose where he's nonchalantly dual-wielding a heavy weapon.

Also there's odd stuff as you end up discovering that the person you bought from used some very odd glue, which started giving up as soon as I started spraying sliver paint on them. The Lascannon Marine collapsed, with both arms falling off and others lost limbs in the process.

Although sticking them back together was easy enough, it does make me worry about the long term durability of the models.

Finally there are details like issues with the build of the models.

There were hefty mould lines still in place on the legs and, if you look closely enough, there are points where sprue gates haven't been cleaned very well, and these are things that are tricky to sort once the model has been built.

Another issue I had for some reason was that the transfers kept sliding off. I'm not sure why as I've not done anything different this time to previously, but it did prove a frustrating process.

All in all, I'm happy with how they've turned out, but they won't win me any prizes.

I've now completed the Combat Patrol I was aiming to build using the rules for the now out of print 40k 9th edition Chaos Space Marine Combat Patrol. Technically I need a Marine with a Meltagun (I'm currently proxying a flamer) and the aforementioned Reaper Chaincannon, but it's serviceable.

I'm using Chaos Space Marine rules mainly because it's a more authentic representation of the First Born Marines that are being phased out of the main line. Also, it thematically fits the Astral Claws, who are a chapter already well on their way towards Chaos by the start of the Badab War.

Before moving the force forwards, I need to find out how the project will be organised on Arbitor Ian's YouTube channel. I do have some bits and pieces left over from my purchases, along with some very old models I intend to use, but I'd like a little direction before making any plans.

Acquired: -61
Painted: 365
Lead Mountain: 647

Freedom Force: In Full Effect

I'm aware that I bounce around my many different projects with little rhyme or reason, often leaving things unfinished only to return to them at a later date when motivation strikes again.

Such is the case with this post where external events (to be discussed later) have brought me back around to my Freedom Force project to (almost) finish off my existing backlog.

The latest surge of miniatures for this project came from a Kitbash Games Supers Unlimited Kickstarter releasing a new team called the Glory Guard, which are heavily influenced by the Freedom Force game and I've chosen to lean into with my painting and modeling choices.

I now only have a single miniature from the Glory Guard Kickstarter to paint: Enigmiss. Unfortunately, the member of Freedom Force that she looks like is Alche-Miss, who I've already converted, so I'm considering alternative uses for her.

Anyway, back to the matter at hand. The latest models to get paint on them are a somewhat contrasting affair, and not only because they have largely been done with contrast paints.

We have the monochromatic Tombstone and the eminently more vibrant Quetzalcoatl, both of who are characters which turn up in the time-travelling sequel, Freedom Force Vs the Third Reich.

Quetzalcoatl is a character which plays on the superhero trope of ancient gods bestowing power on a suitable mortal in the manner of Thor (the original comics version) or Shazam. In this case it's an Aztec god who imbues Jonny Azotl with a range of powers appropriate to a giant flying snake.

This model was the most fragile of the set and in fact I managed to snap his ankle whilst cleaning the model. However, it's also probably the most detailed and took the contrast paints and washes really well leaving me really happy with the outcome.

On the other hand, there's Tombstone. The vengeful spirit of a man executed for a crime he didn't commit who no stalks the guilty, bringing them to justice. Deadman meets the Shadow, if you will.

When it came to painting this one I have arguably relied too much on contrast paints and the initial reference picture I used made it clear that his colours are black, grey and silver.

However, the reference material varies and, as you can see, there were options for a more colourful approach. Adding in the fact that the Basilicanum Grey paint has left him looking quite dirty means that overall I'm not very pleased with the outcome.

I think I'm found to revisit him and highlight the black with purple and clean up the grey to see if I can get an outcome I'm happier with.

As the Glory Guard came with stat cards for both Super Mission Force and Pulp City, I can now field a version of Freedom Force in both games along with 7TV, where I've been using custom profiles.

However, it's Pulp City that provided the motivation for me to get back to these two models, and this is the reason...

Kitbash Games are currently running another campaign, Pulp City: Full Effect, this time on Gamefound to fund the first additions to the main Pulp City setting in a long time (this was originally due in 2020, but 'stuff' happened, if you remember). It's also the first time that the rulebook has been available since the company changed hands, so it marks a real relaunch of the game.

The campaign can be found HERE.

I have somehow now amassed five teams and a motley selection of independent heroes for Pulp City, and so I'm looking to pick up any members of Red Republik or the A.R.C. (such as Simian Jones above) that turn up in the campaign, and with more stretch goals (based on both funding and backers) I'm checking back daily to see what else to add.

I'm also toying with the idea of starting another team, Settlers Green, simply as an excuse to buy the somewhat intimidating Tri-Bal model. There are three members of the team currently available in the add-ons section at the bottom of the page with more that have been teased.

Alternatively, there is a brand new team, Discord, available as a multi-buy, new versions of older characters and with Pulp City's mechanic of being able to build teams in multiple different ways, you could just grab the models you like and go from there.

Am I shilling for the company?

Well, yes. Leon is a friend and I'd like to see him get the game back to where it was. Partly because I want him to do well, but also because it's a really good game that I'd like to play more.

Acquired: -61

Painted: 360

Lead Mountain: 652

It's Scum To This

Whilst I've been making a brief visit to Necromunda, I decided to increase my in game options by painting up two Underhive Scum that habe made their way back into my possession after many years spent selling their services to my friends.

In case you didn't know, Underhive Scum are Hired Guns that can be recruited into gangs at a cost. The advantage of them is that they bring in expertise as they start with upgrades and skills and so can be quite deadly.

On the other hand, in addition to their fairly hefty price tag, those abilities and skills are randomly rolled and they don't gain experience, and so never improve.

Scummers come armed with pistol weapons, such as the two bolt pistols above, and clearly lean into a western gunfighter theme.

As such for this model, I leaned into the muted colours and earthy tones of someone who travels from places to place, with the exception of a red neckerchief for a dash of vibrancy.

In general, he was done with contrast paints and there's no getting round how much I wish these had been a thing when I was first collecting.

The coat took a bit of dry-brushing followed by a wash. There are parts that I didn't get quite right and have come out a touch blotchy. However, to my eyes it gives the effect of standing and marks on well-worn clothing, so I'm happy.

The second model has the slightly odd combination of a bolt pistol and a hand flamer, leading to the possibility that he gets shooting skills he can't really use due to the fact that the flamer automatically hits.

When it came to painting, I initially went for a more military vibe, but as I began highlighting the green it started to look more like piping. Combined with the pointy beard, this lends him an almost Elizabethan look, which I like.

All in all, I'm really pleased with these two and I'm looking forward to finding space for them in my gangs and then regretting the decision when I roll badly for their abilities and they become a significant drain on my finances.

Ah, fun times in the Underhive...

Acquired: -61

Painted: 348

Lead Mountain: 654

Green Troops

When the latest batch of old miniatures were returned to me after twenty five years in storage, they included a few bits and pieces to go with projects I thought I'd completed.

Namely a couple of Braves for my Necromunda Ratskins and a single Gorkamorka Ork.

As I've been focusing on quick wins, they pushed their way to the front of the queue.

The Ratskins were done exactly like the rest of the gang which I won't repeat here, but there's nothing too exciting to talk about.

The only real points of interest is that I gave them yellow hair ties to give me a way of telling the Brave with the musket apart from the other one with exactly the same pose. Also, I previously didn't have a blunderbuss armed model in the gang, however, I'm.not entirely sure how effective a 'move-or-fire' close assault weapon will work out.

The Ratskins did actually get their first run out recently against Matt's Orlocks. I have to admit, I was somewhat worried that my inexperienced gang armed with black powder weapons were going up against a gang that has already fought three or four times in our ad hoc campaign.

I was especially worried when we rolled up the 'Hunters' scenario, meaning that my gang would be spilt up and Matt's whole gang (the Tunnel Snakes - named for the Fallout reference) would be bearing down on just a single solitary Ratskins, whilst the others were forced to stand back and watch until the shoot out (execution) was over.

The poor soul selected for this suicide mission was one armed with a shotgun, which turned out to be fortuitous as I managed to get the drop on them and fire the first shot...a scatter shell.

Some how, the blast not only took out it's intended target, the Tunnel Snakes' heavy, but also punch a hole in the tightly packed Orlocks.

It should be noted that this formation had been somewhat forced on Matt by the terrain and the deployment rules.

To add insult to injury, Matt's entire gang's shooting only managed to knock the Ratskins down, and he was able crawl away to safety.

When the rest of the Ratskins opened up from cover, the Orlocks were thrown into disarray and put onto the back foot for pretty much the whole game. They perpetually has three or four gang members down and we're making bottle tests from about the third turn.

The leader of the Tunnel Snakes did manage to launch a counter attack by himself, partly through daring and bravery, but mainly due to his terrifying meltagun.

He took out three or four Ratskins by himself, before being ganged up on and defeated by the Ratskin Chief.

The rest of the Ratskins slowly tightened the net on the Orlocks, constantly peppering them with shots, whittling down their numbers and reducing the Tunnel Snakes' ability to provide meaningful answering fire.

Pinned down in a kill box, the Orlocks tried to withstand the barrage of fire, but really started to have trouble when the Ratskins Shaman got in range with his Ghost Walk ability (represented by the token below).

It turns out that there was a touch of cheating from me on this front, as I was getting the rules for this wrong. I still think the outcome would have been the same if I'd got this correct, but realising my mistake did take the shine off.

The Orlocks eventually bottled out, but not before both sides had been bloodied. In the post-game sequence injury was piled upon insult when a couple of the Orlocks died of their wounds.

For my part, the Ratskins came out largely unscathed, with plenty of experience earned. I was even able to move my hideout from a useless wasteland to a clean water hole. All in all, a good first outing.

I also painted an Ork this week. It is Orktober after all.

Acquired: -61
Painted: 346
Lead Mountain: 656

Bleep-Boop-Beep

I'm a bit pressed for time this weekend, so I decided to look at getting something painted that wouldn't take much time or effort. Robots usual fit that bill the best, requiring little more than a silver base coat and a wash for most of the model.

With Terminators, Necrons and assorted Space Marine support cleared from the backlog (for now), my best source of robotic quick wins is Fallout.

These are a pair of Robobrains I picked up from the Modiphius stand at the UK Games Expo earlier in the year. I actually got them for free as my purchases passed a threshold (something that's easy to do given the cost of their stuff).

Annoyingly, I don't have a game card for Robobrains and so will have to print one. It's not a major problem, but it will be different from the other profile cards, which will annoy me.

Painting was a doddle, as expected. Silver undercoat, Nuln Oil wash, Black Templar contrast on the arms and treads and Brass Scorpion on a couple of pipes got the first one close to this artwork.

I decided to not try to do any detail on the brain casing as I was aiming for fast and I don't think it would have worked out. Instead I decided to lean into the yellowish fluid more typical of the Fallout 3 version.

The yellow isn't as bright in real life and there is a more patchy nature to it's coverage that doesn't come out in the photos; partly due to the light and partly due to the gloss varnish I've used to evolve the glass dome.

I'm happy enough with them.

I want some variation between the two, as they are the exact same model with the exact same base, and slightly different arm poses didn't do enough to distinguish them.

Therefore I went with a more military look, painting some areas oh the carapace in Vallejo US Dark Green and highlighting with Loren Forest. I got the paint quite thick in places, but this actually serves to give a slightly blistered and weathered look.

A bit more weathering was done with sponged on Leadbelcher, which was added after a transfer lifted from a Bolt Action sheet to provide a serial number.

Modiphius sculpted based are easy to do with a mix of contrast and dry-brushing.

All in all, I'm really happy with them and they add to the number of random threats to be wandering the wasteland when I return to Fallout: Wasteland Warfare, or could even be recruited by Settlers for additional security.

Acquired: -61

Painted: 343

Lead Mountain: 659

Bring Out Yer Dead

So far, my journey into the maelstrom of the Badab War hasn't required very much in the way of creativity, and has largely involved spraying some old models silver.

However, as I move past the basic troops and units, I can start to look at some of the more unique elements of the Tyrant's Legion.

For example, the Corpsetaker Apothecary.

'Corpsetakers' is a name given by the human soldiery of the Tyrant's Legion, to the Astral Claws Apothecary Vivisectors who would stalk the battlefields of the Badab War looking for dead and injured Space Marines, much like any chapter's Apothecaries.

However, unlike other Apothecaries, the Corpsetakers would not limit their search to those of their own side, they would also track down the enemy Marines and harvest their gene-seed, whether they were dead or not, to help expand the Astral Claws chapter.

To be clear, according the the rules of the Imperium, this was NOT ALLOWED!

In the Tyrant's Legion army list that featured in the Imperial Armour: The Badab War books, the Apothecary Vivisector could be fielded with a unit of between two and ten Dissection Servitors.

For my purposes, as I'm using Chaos rules for my Tyrant's Legion, I'll be using the profile of the Dark Apostle (who conveniently comes with two Disciples). It's not a perfect fit rules wise in the main game, but it works really well with the version that appears in the old Chaos Combat Patrol - which conveniently is the one I'm using for the next stage in the campaign.

The Apothecary Vivisector is really nothing more than a standard Firstborn Apothecary that I picked up second hand with the second squad of Tactical Marines.

The white armour was done with a base of Grey Seer, a was of Apothecary White and a dry brush of Heavy Titanium White (from Pro Acryl). I'm happy enough with how he's come out and he does look better in real life as I always struggle to photograph white models.

However, the fact that the Dark Apostle comes on a 40mm base gave me some room to be a bit creative.

Taking some inspiration from a Pete The Wargamer video, I set about using some spare and damaged bits and pieces, along with chunks of cork, to put a dead Space Marine on the base, and as this was a Corpsetaker, I could make it from one of the Loyalist chapters to give a nod to the nefarious background of this unit.

The Salamanders ended up being the unlucky chapter, mainly because I had a single transfer left from using their iconography for some undead cavalry (it's starting to look like I have an issue with the sons of Vulkan), hence the reason why the unfortunate soul has black skin.

Also, choosing Salamanders gave me the opportunity to use this ancient pot of Emerald Green paint, which is still in good condition, despite being as old as the original Badab War article in White Dwarf.

I decided to add chip damage with a sponge to the symbols on the shoulders as it seemed appropriate given that a building has fallen on him. However, it also covered up the fact that the transfers, which are also pretty damn old, had started to tear.

The two Dissection Servitors make use of some free models I got at Salute several years ago. They are appropriately from a game called Maelstrom's Edge and have been robotified with the use of spare heads and other bits.

All in all, I'm really pleased with this little unit, and it means that I'm only a squad of Devastators/Havocs away from completing everything I need for the Combat Patrol part of this challenge.

I'm a little bit gutted that I won't be able to attend the Kill Team tournament that's being held as part of Arbitor Ian's Tale of Four Gamers due to it clashing with a family event. However, it does mean I don't need to learn a new set of rules by November.

Acquired: -66
Painted: 341
Lead Mountain: 656