Just a placeholder for now

So, I am going to have find somewhere to host some pictures properly. Until then, I am parking these here.

Long time, no update.

Well, aside from that aforementioned "Liberty or Death" set, I have also added the King and Country starter for Pike & Shotte.  And, while some models have been painted so far this year, I am very much in the hole indeed.

Off to continue painting, but I thought that I should start trying to post more often anyway.

And I was doing so well. . . .

So, I had been painting pretty much every day.  Even 15 or 20 minutes at a time is starting to add up, and pretty soon, I should actually start seeing some of those orcs near completion.  The nice thing about assembly line painting is that, once things start finishing, lots of things start finishing.  The downside is that, for a long time, you may not feel like you are making any progress.  But the orcs are indeed coming along, and today I took a break and started on the Milites Christi for SAGA. 

But I had only purchased one mini for the year - a pre-painted TIE Striker for X-Wing.  Sure, some Warpath models had arrived, but I am not counting them, since they came from a KS pledge a year ago.  Likewise, some other X-Wing models arrived - not counted because (1) pre-painted; and (2) ordered in 2015.

But I just placed an order for the "Liberty or Death" set from Warlord Games.  I went from virtually nothing for adding another 300 models to my pile of unpainted plastic.  On the plus side, if I can get my SAGA stuff and the Dystopian Wars painted before it gets here, I will only be in the hole by 150 models or so.  Possibly even less.

Yeah, it's going to sit on a shelf for a couple months, but it was on sale at price way too good to resist.  I just have to clear the queue now, and I hope this provides some decent incentive.

(And, I might wind up picking up another round of minis in the next couple of days.  Big project, for late this year.)

A long-overdue update

So, the painting is continuing, which is good, because AdeptiCon is 69 days away.  I think I need to finish about 3 models per day, on average, in order to make it.  And no, I will not finish 3 models today.  That's not going to happen.  So, where do I stand?

The Warmahordes model is running a bit behind.  I have the main colors done, and now am doing detail work.  He will be done and mailed on Tuesday, but I will not make tomorrow's post.

The Orc army for Kings of War - all of the axe and great axe minis are assembled.  The boars are put together, but need some hot water and green stuff to get them to work.  Haven't even started on the riders yet.  All foot troops are primed, and I should have skin tones on about 40 of them done today, and move on to armor and fabrics.  Another 20 or so are currently primed black, and I will start on their skin tonight or tomorrow.  Or possibly Sunday - I really could use a couple days where figures really start to look like I am making progress.

SAGA army #1 - Anglo Danes.  I have started on a couple of guys, but it was mainly an excuse to fire up the airbrush and get it working again.  I plan on spending some quality time with these guys in the next week or so, and moving them away from primer white.

SAGA army #2 - Milites Christi.  I haven't done anything with these guys, and that needs to change.  So, again, sometime this weekend, I plan on spending an hour or two putting some paint on them.

Arena Rex - still primed, and they won't be changing for a while.  It is not an AdeptiCon event, so they are kind of low on my priority list.

Guild Ball - I have three teams (though two of them are just starter boxes with an extra model or two), but I am hoping to start block out some paint on the Brewers next weekend or so.

Dystopian Wars - I chose a fleet, and I think I have a paint scheme.  Now, I need to build some armies and start painting.  Fortunately, 1/1200 naval (or whatever the scale is) paint fairly quickly, at least to the 3-color, tabletop standard required by AdeptiCon.

So, my painted models for the year right now is 0 models, and 0 pts for the WM 365 challenge.  With the year already 3% done, and nothing to show for it, I would be worried, except that I think some models will start wrapping up in the next 4-5 days, and then things can really get moving.  And, I haven't actually purchased any models this year, aside from some pre-painted Star Wars X-Wing models.  And those don't count.

No news is not good news

So, I have been painting and assembling models, but nothing is actually fully painted yet, and I still haven't finished assembling all of the KoW models.  The orcs are almost complete - I need to green stuff the boars and assemble the riders, but I took a break from that and worked on the great axe warriors, and those are now about 50% assembled.  I hope to get most of them done tomorrow night, and then everything primed on Monday morning.

With any luck, I will have some time open to game on Tuesday.  If so, I might be able to take the orcs to show as a WIP to the friend whose army it is.  I still have months to get things done, but I will feel a lot better once finished models start making their way across my table.

So, how's it going?

As I said, I have some pretty big short-term painting goals.   How are those progressing?

It could be better, to be honest.  But, the orc troops are now assembled, and will be primed in another day or two.  I've started working on the boars - I have to do some significant green stuff work to get their bodies to fit together properly, but I might have everything at least glued together tonight.  Might even get some of the great axe troops assembled tonight or tomorrow.

On the actual painting front, well. . . . the WM model continues apace, and should be nearly done by the end of the weekend. I have started on some of the SAGA miniatures, mainly just basic color blocking for the chainmail.  Some of them might start looking done-ish in the next few days.  I'm working on a couple of lists for one of the Dystopian Wars fleets, to see how many models I need to paint, and working on a color scheme inspired by WWI naval cammo patterns.  Arena Rex and Guild Ball will be at the back of the queue, but since (1) those are pickup games at AdeptiCon right now; and (2) very low model count, I am ignoring them in favor of the 80-odd SAGA models and 100 or so KoW models that need completing first.

I also want to average one new resin mold per week in 2017, and start selling resin terrain items as a business (etsy store, advertising on TMP and Bartertown, etc) sometime before March.  Need to decide on a DBA name and fill out the paperwork first though.

Another new year, another chance to miss some goals

Declaring my painting goals for the month, so that I may be held accountable.

<K-2SO>They're high. They're very high.</K-2SO>

I'm trying to commit to painting 365 models this year, and also painting 365 pts worth of Warmachine/Hordes models. (Yes, I am going to double dip). So, this month, I need to do the following:



Assemble and prime an orc army for Kings of War that I am doing for a friend.
Paint a WM model for a holiday exchange (deadline is in 2 weeks)
Start painting my fleet for a Dystopian Wars event in April
Start painting 2 armies for a SAGA tourney in April
Start painting a Guild Ball team for some pick up games
Start painting some Arena Rex models for the same purpose


Or, put another way - paint like a madman for the next month, and see where that gets me.

Even if I miss these goals (and I will - I won't get everything done by the end of January, or even February.  I expect to be working on almost all of the above projects on the ides of March), I'll be more along than if I sat on the couch and did nothing, right?

The best-laid schemes o' mice an' men gang aft agley

So, yeah - I'll be posting again soon, I hope, but life kind of kicked me below the belt, and I haven't done much gaming, painting, or anything along those lines lately. 

Finished, not perfect

Finished, not perfect is the message of a video that I've seen several times on Facebook in the last few days.  The basic point of it (and it's not long, so go ahead and watch it if you wish) is that "Finished and imperfect is far better than perfect, yet unfinished."  I'm trying to make it my mantra as I work on painting (and other projects).  It's really an update on the adage about letting the perfect become the enemy of the good.

So, the Norse Irish DBA army is done.  It's been painted, flocked and sealed.  Completely done.  I'm going to be putting them up for sale or trade.  (It's nothing against DBA - I deliberately bought a bunch of armies so that I could paint some to pay for more.  Any system where my armies at that small in number is something that I am going to keep around, just because it's a nice feeling, to have a fully painted army for a change.)  Anyway, I offer proof:

I also have already assembled the Obsidian Oni.  I think the next project is going to be assembling 10 soldier models for Frostgrave.  In fact, I will pretty much be assembling and priming models for the next week or so, before beginning my next painting project.  But, there is more painting on the horizon; just changing gears a bit first.

But what about September?

So, I have some goals for this month.  If I state them publicly, I might even get them accomplished.  With that in mind. . .

This month, I intend to continue my project of working on only 2 things at a time - DBA army, unit of 10 models, that sort of thing.  I hope to get these done this month:

DBA Norse Irish army - going to finish these guys
Assemble Bunraku, Obsidian Oni, and the new Ten Thunders master box - but only one box at a time!  Prime each box when it is done.
Assemble 8 warriors for my SAGA warband, prime same
Assemble 10 soldiers for Frostgrave, prime same
Prime & paint 1 frostgrave wizard and apprentice
Paint another DBA army

Proof! I have proof!

And better pics than you can find of Bigfoot or Nessie.  Well, clearer, at any rate.

As I said, the Cygnar was a quick paint job for the demo set at my FLGS.  As long as they are a good three foot standard, I was fine.

And the DBA figs?  Well, a good washes covers up mistakes pretty well at 15mm.  Hope to have some more bases finished today - just need to make some pretense of fixing errors before I actually hit them with the wash and base them.

 I really want to start on something else, to take the place of the Cygnar models, but I said I would get both of these jobs done before moving on to something else.  Back to painting, I guess.

It's been a week

Any progress?  Yes, actually.  That Cygnar battlegroup is done, pending a final clear coat.  (No pics, sorry - I'll take some later and add them.)  The DBA army is coming along slowly - I just did not have any real hobby time.  Still, I have made some progress, and expect to be finishing bases (elements) tonight or tomorrow - after all, it's only two to four miniatures per base, and they are 15mm, so it should not take that long.  Once they are done, I will choose two new projects to work on - right now, I am thinking doing one assembly project, and one quick painting project. 

Sure, no one ever comments, but what the heck, I'm soliciting feedback anyway.  Which should I assemble, out of this group:

Frostgrave Soldiers (10)
Malifaux - Bunraku (3)
Milites Christi (SAGA) - 4 or 8 models


And, which should I paint?

Razorworm (Hordes)
Gaius Pallidus (Arena Rex)
10 BMP-2 (modern microarmor)
Black Powder ACW (15mm, 20 models)

So, how's that painting goal coming along?

Not as well as I would like. I obviously haven't posted in a long time - no excuse, really. So, did I get those Abyssals done? Yes. Yes, I did. And I have some photographic proof, actually.

So, what else have I been working on? Warmahordes, obviously.  My local meta took a big hit between the announcement of MK3 and its actual release, but we're back and playing.  I wanted to do 1 pt of Warmahordes per day, on average, which is a lot easier under the new MK3 point values, but I intend to break 700 if I can.  I'm behind, but here are the most recent.  (I did some other stuff, but unless I post pics, I won't count it.)

So, how many points is that, under the new rules?  The battleboxes all come out to 0 now, so I can't use that metric.  I plan on counting the casters as a flat 10 points, and everything else what the current point value is.  So, that's 40 for the trolls, plus 40 for Menoth and 39 for Cryx, if my pre-coffee math is correct.  So, 119 points, which is better than nothing, even if it is only 12 models.  Need to paint more, obviously.

So, I decided last night to basically clear off my painting table and work on only a couple of things at a time, finishing them completely rather than constantly swapping projects (faction and system ADD is a pain, but I'm trying to get it under control). To that end, the only things on my table right now are:

Cygnar battlebox - doing this for my FLGS

Norse Irish DBA army in 15mm

I hope to have both of those done this week, and then I will do something else. I am going to try and finish only one thing, and then replace it, because then I find that something sits on my desk, unfinished, for months. My goal for the rest of the year is, when I put something on my desk, it stays there until it is done, and I only can have 2* items on my desk at once.

* 2 is a fuzzy number here. Obviously, I have more than 2 items already listed. But I am mentally lumping a battlebox, unit, or DBA army as 1 item, so it's fine.

And yes - I have already selected what will be replacing both of those.  I just can't work on them until those get done.  I might expand it to 3 items on the desk, but, if so, that third will always be a terrain item, not a miniature, so I'm still keeping to that limit.  Gotta focus.  I'm well behind where I wanted to be, but summer is almost over, and I generally get most of my fall painting done in Sept and Oct.

That's a lot of plastic

No pics, because this is a quick post, but I have started working on the Abyssals.  So far, I have a whopping 4 of them assembled, although that number should climb to 15 or 20 by the end of the day. I plan on priming some of them tomorrow, and then I can start some color testing.  It's awfully cliche, but I think the Abyssals will be mainly red and black, and I will use cork to make lava bases.  I hope to have the first of them actually coming off the line, or nearly painted, by the end of next week, and things should really start to pick up after that.

It does mean that my Vikings are a bit on hold at the moment, but only until I get the Abyssals assembled.  Again, hopefully no later than the end of next week, although with 130 plus models to assemble, it might take a bit longer than that.  No too much longer though, since I am on a bit of a schedule here.

That didn't last long

So, I'm hoping to do an average of 1 pt of Warmahordes per day, and one model per day.  In theory, this would mean that, at the end of the year, I probably would have made a dent in my pile of shame.  I haven't finished anything yet this year, but I have been working on things, and I was, in general, feeling pretty good about it.

After all, so far this year, I have only bought (other otherwise been given) 2 Meat Threshers, and an Efaarit scout.  So far, so good.

And then my KS arrived. I hadn't really counted on that.  Now, on my floor, in a brown box, a small army looms at me.  It's 80 lower abyssals, 10 gargoyles, 40 succubi, 3 molochs, 1 champion, 1 iffrit, and 1 fiend.  So, I'm not 3 models down, I'm behind by 139 models.  Looks like I'll be spending some time assembling and priming over the next few days. . .

Annual belated New Years post

I make these every year about this time (late), and they never seem to actually come true.  Maybe I should change them, and make them realistic - paint less, lose more, etc.  With any luck, I'd fail at those as well.

Anyway, in 2016, I am aiming (once again) to finish one point (for Warmahordes) per day, and one model (in any system) per day.  That's "on average," so despite the fact that today is the 3rd already, and I have not actually finished anything, I am not yet concerned, or even really behind.  (Especially since I am going to be heading to the basement to paint in a few minutes.)

I obviously intend to play (and win) more games, and I have actually gotten in a game (and a win!) already this year.  I did not deserve to win the game (a 50 pt matchup between my Nature of the Beast tier list against a Goatvana list), but managed to do so because my poor opponent had really, really, really lousy dice.  (Seriously, it should not take both a Feral and a Stalker warpwolf, and a Druid Wilder, to kill a Road Hog.)

Right now, the only things I am going to be concentrating on are the things that I need for AdeptiCon, and some Warmahordes minis.  (I did not sign up for any WM events at AdeptiCon, just SAGA and Kings of War, but I have a fair amount of free time, and will probably play some Iron Arena games, so I need to either take my painted Cryx or CoC, or paint something else, probably Minions.)  I will have about 200 Abyssals to paint for Kings of War (yikes!), but I think I can basecoat them with an airbrush fairly quickly, and go from there.  I only have 37 models to paint for SAGA, and they are already at least primed with one color on them, with several actually approaching completion.  If I paint pigs and gators, I need to paint a lot - most models have at least some color on them, and some of the gators really just need the bases to be finished, but it's still work that I need to do at some point.

And, with that, I think "some point" needs to be now.  Off to paint!

Delayed update still counts, right?

So, first off, my Guild Ball models are unassembled.  I hope to rectify that soon.

But, all of my SAGA Jomsvikings are assembled, primed, and have at least one color on them.  I have been working on them, and I hope to have the Hearthguard done in early January.  The warriors will take a little longer, but they should be done fairly soon.

No word on when my Abyssal warriors will ship, but once they get here, I will begin assembling them, with an eye on getting my AdeptiCon army ready.  That one will be a little tight.

And yes, I am still working on Warmahordes stuff.  Right now, it is looking like I will get to actually play in a Steamroller this weekend, so I am trying to work on those models at least a little bit.  Not sure that anything will be done, but nothing will be bare metal or plastic.

Quick mid-day update

Yay!  All of my Jomsvikings are now assembled and primed.  I can start painting on them tonight.  I plan on getting my three Guild Ball brewers assembled tonight or tomorrow, so that I can work on them this weekend as well.  And I have a terrain project in the works, which fortunately should not take much time to set up.

Slow progress is progress

Personal life threw a big honking monkey wrench in my plans the last couple of weeks.  But, at the moment, my Jomsvikings are almost all trimmed and primed (the hard part has been drilling out the hands to put the weapons in).  With any luck (and some hard work), I should have them all primed and ready for painting before the weekend.

The Scots are another story.  I haven't even looked at them.  Sure, it's only 41 models, but they will have the same issue with drilling holes, but I'll be working on them soon enough.  Ahead of them, however, will go my Guild Ball Brewers.  I only have the three, but I hope to add another couple after the holidays.

And, whenever the Abyssals from Kings of War show up, I can start on those as well.  I hope to get in a few games before I have to start putting models together, so that I can figure out what I want to definitely get assembled and painted in time for AdeptiCon.

Just call me Rip Van Gamer

So, yeah, I did very little gaming over the last few months. I joined a few leagues, played a few games, but was busier than I really liked, and did not have much time for anything that wasn't real life.

But, November is winding down, and I actually have more time in December than I do in October or November.  I've registered for AdeptiCon, but only for two events at the moment - a Kings of War event and a SAGA tourney.  I have not really played either game much prior to this, so I'm not expecting to win either. 

More later, but I have some armies to start work on.  I am leaning toward Scots or Jomsvikings for SAGA, but that's not set in stone, and may change in the next month or two.  And I am probably doing either Kingdoms of Man or Abyssals for KoW, but again, not set in stone.  Heck, it would not be overstating it to say that neither is even set in Jello.