It's not about the mummy, mummy

Don't worry about the price tag because these MILPs (Mummies I Like to Paint) were straight out of the bits box.

Why am I painting Mummies?

Well, basically, as I said, I've discovered over time that I quite like painting them. I find it quite relaxing and therapeutic and suitable subject for when I'm in an odd headspace.

I think this was a discovery that evolved out of painting bandages and wraps on models and really took root when I painted the Mummies in my Heroquest set.

Speaking of which...

That is exactly where this chap is from. He's one of the chunk of spare Heroquest miniatures I have in the bits box and so I carefully removed from his base, plonked him on a round base and got to work.

I slightly change my approach to the bandages as I didn't start with a bone colour, but when for a Ghoul Grey (from Colour Forge) undercoat, then hit with a coat of Skeleton Horde followed by Agrax Earthshade and picking out each bandage with Ushabti Bone.

This second sculpt is from a board game called Dark World, which I bought for the miniatures (some of which were truly awful - the Mummy being one of the best). He has more awkwardly thin bandages and more flesh in show... especially in his MASSIVE hands.

For the flesh I went for green rather than my usual blue-grey as the wash I usually use was coming out too blue. Plaguebearer Flesh contrast paint followed by Agrax Earthshade did the job.

There's really not much more to say, other than they are going with my rather miscellaneous collection of pulp miniatures for 7TV. I don't have much that fits with ancient Egypt, but I might be encouraged by this to at least put together enough for an epic desert adventure.

Acquired: -73

Painted: 405

Lead Mountain: 367

Path of Damnation: The Frog Prince

I've been slowly painting Chaos Marauders cobbler together from some of the oldest miniatures in my lead pile for a while now. However, having reached the point where they might actually be a functional unit, I decided to reward myself with a character model.

Not one to start small, I opted to honour,in a small way, the insane conversions of the The Lost and the Dammed, from which my inspiration for this army is being drawn, and kitbash together a Daemon Prince to lead my burgeoning horde.

As ever, the limits of my kitbash were defined by what I already had access to in my bits box and lead pile.

Fortunately, after completing my Heroquest project a couple of years ago, I still had a second Gargoyle, which was in fact the damaged one I had originally owned back in the eighties.

Way back in the mists of time, I had intended to use my Heroquest Gargoyle as a Bloodthirster, but back then, I very rarely acted on my intentions beyond buying a few random packs of miniatures (at one point I owned a whopping three Bloodletters) before the next idea struck.

Obviously, in it's original form, the Gargoyle looked to much like a Daemon of Khorne, and so I combined a metal head that I believe comes from a very old modular Chaos Spawn, a trophy rack from a plastic Daemon Prince (to hide the break in the wings) and the tail from a plastic Screamer of Tzeentch (to cover up where the hideous glue I'd used to fix the wings had filled up the chainmail).

I then threw in a weapon swap (the whip evoked it's Bloodthirster-like origins) and a couple of metal Nurglings on the base, and ended up with something that could work as a Nurgle Daemon.

They don't all have to be fat. It's Chaos.

When it came to painting, I opted to go for green skin. I'll admit that this decision worried me. 

The model has been sitting in my queue for some time because I was concerned that if I went for the traditional Nurgle green, there was a chance that my converted Daemon Prince might bear more than a passing resemblance to Kermit the Frog with teeth.

Fortunately, I opted to go for Elysian Green and give it a wash of Agrax Earthshade (along with everything else) and it seemed to work. He's still fairly reminiscent of a Kroxigor, but the wings, spines and Nurglings do root him firmly in the Chaos family.

There's nothing particularly clever going on with the painting, but liberal doses of Nihilakh Oxide, Nurgle's Rot and Blood for the Blood God technical paints were used to cover any inadequacies not drenched in Agrax Earthshade.

I should point out that I was surprised at the level of detail in the Chaos Spawn head, there it quite a lot going on, and it serves as a good focal point to draw the eye away from what is, to be honest, a some what simplistic sculpt from Heroquest.

Overall I'm delighted with how my Daemon Prince has turned out. He fits the aesthetic of the army so far and it's clear what he's meant to be. I've also managed to salvage a damaged model and get the first character for my army. I also still have the Gargoyle head that might find it's way into a different project.

Admittedly, he's a little small. Compared to more modern Daemon Princes, he's tiny, but he's also somewhat towered over by the original metal Greater Daemons. However, I opted to raise his base to give the illusion of height.

Also, Chaos is chaotic. If it amuses the Plaguefather to create a diminutive, frog-like Daemon Prince, then who's going to stop him?

Acquired: -79

Painted: 386

Lead Mountain: 383

P.S. This post takes me past a notable landmark. So far this year I've painted more models that I actually have left in the lead pile. That's promising...

"Advance the OLD Guard!"

I hope you all had a nice Christmas.

I had a fairly quiet one and so in the days around it I've been able to find some time for painting some very old miniatures indeed.

I've had most of these Men-at-Arms done the release of Advanced Heroquest in 1989, and I've been intending to add them to an army for much of that time.

At one point they were to be included in an Empire army built with the contents of two reinforcements boxes for Battle Masters, but ultimately they ended up in the pile of shame and we're given to my friends when I moved overseas for a year.

Fast forward twenty years and they've come back into my possession (along with some that belonged to a friend), and with me being caught up in the hype for Warhammer: the Old World, they presented me with the opportunity to paint a unit for 'the game of fantasy battles' for the first time in over a decade.

They are surprisingly good models despite their age, although there were a good number of mould lines to clean (I'm sure I didn't get them all) and there's a circular injection point at the base of the tunics at the rear.

A couple of the weapons had broken off and so I replaced them with sections from the twelve billion spare halberds I have from the 6th edition plastic Men-at-Arms sprues - an example is on the left.

In terms of painting it was almost exactly the same compilation of base coats and washes as I used ten years ago, although I did get all advanced and use Gulliman Flesh contrast paint for the faces.

The shield transfers are from the Reikland Reavers Bloodbowl team that came in the 3rd edition box for that game.

Obviously, monopose models lack the command team that poor quality troops like Bretonnian Men-at-Arms need. Therefore I used one of the of the models with a broken weapon to fashion a standard bearer with bits taken from my metric ton of Bretonnian spares.

Similarly, adding a horn to the belt of another turned him into a much needed musician. It's still WYSIWYG even if you can't see it from the front.

The unit champion is an even older model and is from the Talisman boardgame (actually from the Talisman Adventure expansion) and is from 1986. Clearly a veteran.

The helmet and perpetual Gallic shrug make him blend into a Bretonnian army really well.

I have a number of other Talisman miniatures which I intend to sneak into all sorts of different projects.

Even with the command group, I only had 16 Men-at-Arms, which is not really enough for a melee unit. Therefore I fell back on a tried and tested Cheaphammer practice of using a unit filler.

I had intended to put together a cart full of gear, but I stumbled on some geese I'd inherited from my dad and had an idea 

Using one of the last two archer bodies I still had, I put together a model who could conceivably be ineffectually trying to shoo away some geese that were intent on disrupting the formation.

When put with the rest of the unit it adds a element of comedy, which I think is always important, but often missing, in Warhammer Fantasy, as the unit is essentially being flanked, or, for want of a better term: goosed in the rear.

Recent marketing information has shown that the Bretonnian Men-at-Arms have had a little bit of a glow up in their rules, making them potentially more useful than they were.

Most notably is the addition of the Grail Monk, carrying a blessed tryptich, allowing the unit to hold ground in the face of any enemy for at least a round.

Again, using my last Man-at-Arms body, I cobbled together a Grail Monk to go with my larger (and more likely to get used) unit of Men-at-Arms.

Here he is with his unit, ready to stand against the Hordes of whatever is sent against them...for a short while, at least.

This represents the last of what I have available to paint my Bretonnian army, although I do have one thing that I want to work on, but I need to get my hand on a knight first.

Here's the current army in all its glory.

Yes, I'm aware that I need more knights.

Pleasingly, I now have more than the equivalent of the Bretonnian army box for the release of Warhammer: the Old World, and the rulebook is going to be available separately, meaning that I don't need to buy the box.

The only thing I would be missing out on is the new Royal Pegasus kit, but they will pop up on eBay, I've no doubt. Also, the thing I'm trying to work on might address that issue too.

So that's a sizeable chunk of miniatures painted: 21 if you count the geese as individuals (which I do) but accept that the Grail Monk was in the bits box...bits.

However, astute readers will possibly be asking themselves, "if he has the Men-at-Arms from Advanced Heroquest, does that mean...?

Yes, yes it does.

I have 31 Advanced Heroquest Skaven, along with 16 plastic Clanrats from different generations, 22 Giant Rats, 2 Rat Ogres, a Beastmaster and Grey Seer Thanquol.

On the up side, that's the beginnings of a new army and a potential project for next year.

On the other hand, that's 73 miniatures that are worth about 500 points, and most of that is Thanquol, who can't be used in small games anyway.

And I've still not finished counting all the additions to the Lead Mountain.

However, Christmas was quiet on the gaming front, and the only hobby-related gifts I got were a Horus Heresy character model, and 3 Gondoliers, a Gondola and some more cardboard terrain for Carnevale.

Which, with only a couple of days to go and yet more to count, leaves the current totals as:

Acquired: 290
Painted: 323
Lead Mountain: 589

Ouch!

Ending the Quest of 2021

As 2021 dwindles down into it's final hours, I've played my final games of the year.

Fittingly, these were several games of Heroquest in which we rediscovered the joys of 1980's game design ("Is there anything to stop us just standing by the stairs searching for treasure?"), taking the Barbarian, Dwarf and Elf on quests for gold, hostages, gold, vengeance and gold.

On the journey many lessons were learned, including: 'always search for traps'; 'never be first through a door'; and 'stand close to the injured guy so you can steal his stuff when he dies'.

My favourite part of the whole game was when mercenary behaviour fully kicked. The 'team' inched their way along a corridor towards a single Orc, risking only a square at a time for fear of traps, hoping that the others would take all the risks.

Heroquest remains a good game after all these years. It has some issues, which is to be expected, but I'm really glad I've finally got it painted and played.

Looking Back

Attention now turns to my resolutions from last year. Let's see how I've got on.

1. Paint more than I acquire - SUCCESS

If you read my last post you'll realise I've achieved this with room to spare - Acquired: 165, Painted: 232. I've been helped in no small part by being not allowed out for several months, meaning that I was able to focus on painting.

Not actually painted this year...

However, I've also rationalised my purchasing habits; I think I only started one totally new project (the Tzeentch Daemons) this year and turned my attention to working on many older projects I already had miniatures for.

Newer doesn't always mean better

2. Play the games I have been planning - PARTIAL SUCCESS

Being able to get back to gaming eventually has turned my attention to more planned games than previously, with me not only returning to the Bolt Action Stalingrad campaign with Pete, but also getting quite some way into the Quest of the Ringbearer with Matt (and beginning War in Rohan).

Fleeing the Black Walkers

Some projects and campaigns, such as Dropzone/Dropfleet, have remained on the back-burner, but these have give way to other campaigns like Lurkers from the Deep for 7TV which is started and will hopefully be followed fairly soon by Orsa the Fearless.

"Maybe I'll go round the back..."

3. Experiment more with solo gaming - PARTIAL SUCCESS

I actually did quite a few solo games during the year. Mainly this was using the excellent Five Parsecs From Home rules. I really enjoyed playing this and it's probably the best solo miniatures game I've ever played.

Fortune's Fools

On top of this I messed about with solo games to teach myself rules, such as with 40k, or to try to create my own rules, such as with Icons. However, my solo playing notably ended when the opportunity to play actual human beings reappeared in the summer.

Red vs. Blue

I'm not sure that I am naturally a solo gamer, clearly preferring more social games, but I do enjoy telling stories, and so I probably will return to the crew of the Fortune's Fool and revisit the Avengers in the Savage Land at some point.

Overall, I'd call 2021 a success. Notably, my gaming has taken a much more narrative turn this year, and it's something I have really enjoyed; probably more than the abstract smackdowns more typical of wargaming.

Looking Forward

Turning my attention to the future, I'm going to stick with the three resolution format, as it gives specific goals, without losing focus.

1. Paint more than I acquire

Lead Mountain, Colorado

It's tried and tested and keeps me honest in terms of getting painting done and not constantly buying into the next new shiny thing to come along. Also, storage space is really becoming an issue, and so without some sort of limiting factor I might even have to consider the horror of selling painted miniatures...

2. Continue telling stories

Heroes of the Tractor Factory

I really like narrative games ang so I want to ensure that things like Quest of the Ringbearer, War in Rohan, Stalingrad, Fortune's Fools, Avengers: Breakout, Lurkers from the Deep, and Orsa the Fearless continue to progress. No doubt other stories will join them, but this is where my heart lies in wargaming.

3. Just play more games

A Humongous Crash

The last couple of years have had a severe impact on the amount of games most of us have been able to play. I like playing miniature wargames, especially the social aspect of it, and so I just want to get more games in. This probably means going to events, but also making myself more available to play and putting the effort in to make arrangements with those people who I don't play as much as I'd like to.

And so there we have it. 2021 is done. Bring on 2022.

Happy New Year to you all, and I hope that next year sees even more of a return to pre-pandemic normality, but if it doesn't, at least we're getting used to it. In the wise words of Lord Vetinari of Ankh-Morpork:

"If it continues long enough, even a reign of terror may become a fondly remembered period. People believe they want justice and wise government but, in fact, what they really want is an assurance that tomorrow will be very much like today."

Orctagone

Get it?

They're Orcs. They're gone from the painting queue. There's eight of them.

Orc-ta-gone?

Tough crowd.

Basically, I've finished the Orcs from Heroquest just in time for our annual Crimbo shindig, this year with added festive lateral flo-ho-ho (that cracker joke credit goes to Pete, before he complains).

I don't know whether it was the fact that they were the last stretch; that there were eight of them; or that the sculpts are probably my least favourite in the box, but I really found painting the Orcs a bit of a chore.

Added to that, there were a much larger amount of problematic mould lines and flash on these models compared to everything else in the Heroquest set, meaning that I've still not quite cleaned up several areas.

There was a single broken weapon to fix, which was done once again by using the oversized weapons from the old GW Zombie sprue.

Although these guys aren't great, they are done and I've painted the entire set in just over a month, which doesn't feel like bad going.

These are likely to be my last finished models of the year, meaning that unless there are some VERY generous gifts in the post, I have significantly beaten my target of painting more than I acquire.

Acquired: 165

Painted: 232

I shall be back in a couple of days with my traditional resolutions and round up of the year post.

Changing Rooms

My bid to get all of my Heroquest set painted before the 30th continues apace, with all of the furniture finished.

I genuinely think that the terrain that came with Heroquest is one of the things that really made it come alive, and, despite the simplicity of the mechanics, added to the immersion.

It's one of the things that I think games like Imperial Assault or Descent miss out on with their 2D tiles, and one of the reasons I could never really engage with Heroclix and its maps.

I've not done a lot with any of the pieces, as a lot of the colour is added by the cardboard elements. The throne was probably the simplest to do, just going with a base, a wash and a light drybrush.

The two tables were done in a similar manner (as was all the wood), just with the support bar underneath and the central detail on the kegs being done silver to add a different colour.

The cupboard and bookcases had rats and skulls to do. The skulls are just Wraithbone with a coat of Skeleton Horde contrast paint. 

The rats were done quickly with a Rhinox Hide base and drybrush of Ushabti Bone, followed by Kislev Flesh for the tail, legs, mouth and ears. All of this was then washed with Agrax Earthshade.

One of the rats was missing its tail, so rather than try to mend this, I've just given it a bloody stump with Blood For The Blood God technical paint.

The rack is probably my favourite piece of the bunch for nostalgia reasons. Young me revelled in its gruesome nature.

Again, nothing particularly to note in the painting, although I did paint holes on the leg manacles (you can't see them here), which were otherwise solid blocks.

The alchemist's desk has a surprising amount of detail to pick out, including letters in the half open drawer. It seems odd that this has so much going on compared to almost everything else in the set.

You may be aware that it is missing the separate scales. I left these out of the box the last time I played (last year) and since that point they've been floating around my game room, I'm just not certain where theyvare right now. I'll add them when I can lay my hands on them.

I've done the weapon rack with the red and blue theme of my Bretonnian army, which is something I did with the armour piles in my Mantic Terrain Crate. It at least allows them to be consistent should I use them together, even though these weapons are ridiculously large.

Yes, I've just noticed the blue spot on the scimitar. That will be fixed.

For the treasure chests I moved away from the brown base to go with gold to suggest metal banding. I'm not sure it was the right decision (silver might have been better) but it's done now.

Of all the Heroquest terrain pieces, these are the ones I'm least likely to use outside of the game. They are the most odd looking and I have all the chests from the aforementioned Mantic Terrain Crate to fill that particular niche.

So, I'm on target to succeed with only the Orcs left to go (and they are mainky finished). Also, that's another 12 models done and a fairly low key Christmas (in miniature terms) has only added 4 models to the pile so far.

Acquired: 165

Painted: 224

Heroes of Legend

Having churned through the minions of Morcar for Heroquest, I decided to take a break from batch painting to tackle the four heroes: Rogar the Barbarian, Ladril the Elf, Durgin the Dwarf, and Telor

the Wizard.

One of the things that I never really appreciated until I actually started painting them is that the red plastic the models are made in reflects the colour palettes of these four in the artwork.

Ladril the Elf mixes the ability to fight with the ability to wield magic (he's clearly a bard). When I played as a hero, I used to favour this ability to do a little bit of everything over the specialisms of the Barbarian and the Wizard.

I experimented with using Apothecary White contrast paint for his hair and I like the outcome enough that I suspect that a Geralt of Rivia might be somewhere in my future.

I remember painting Telor as an Elf mage to go with the plastic High Elves that came in the 4th Edition Warhammer Fantasy Battle box, so it was nice to revisit the model.

I'm slightly concerned that the red gloves and cape give him a bit if a superhero vibe, but Khorne Red washed in Agrax Earthshade and then highlighted is a bit more subtle than a certain child of Krypton, so I think I get away with it.

Durgin the Dwarf is the character chosen by true connoisseurs of the game. His abilities are subtle yet powerful in ensuring the heroes survive their quests.

I've always wondered whether Durgin was based on the White Dwarf magazine logo, or the logo was based on Durgin.

Rogar the Barbarian wielding his mighty Browdsoard. Heroquest easy mode. Look at the muscularity!

Actually, please don't, I've messed up the legs and probably need to revisit them. However, I can at least feel confident that my painting has improved since the last at time I did this model.

Another 4 down (only Orcs and some furniture to go), and I'm feeling confident that I'm going to meet my goal. I'm also feeling confident that no matter what Santa brings, I have enough of a gap to still be in the black by the time the new year rolls around.

Acquired: 161

Painted: 212

There won't be any more posts until after the weekend, so I'll take this opportunity to with all my readers (both of them) a Merry (and safe) Christmas.