Workbench: Digital Ghosts In The Zona Alfa Floral Department?!?

Wow have I been crazy busy, at least in my free time.  Our 5e game has transitioned over to Roll20 so I needed to learn the basics of not just playing but DM'ing with their system in last week and a bit.  Add to that my decision to make JPEG maps of some of the locations since I've gone completely off the rails from the written Ghosts of Saltmarsh game and yeah, not a lot of free time.

That said, I'm quite happy with what I was able to cobble together using a pdf program in such a short time.  Here is the first floor of the Sutton estate that my players psycho-pumped.

Unfortunately the 2nd floor and basement didn't look quite as finished as all the details I was adding were really bogging down the program I was using, but I'm still really happy with them overall.  I am looking at getting a Pro subscription to Inkarnate.com so I can do more work for the campaign... and because it just generally is kind of fun.  Crazy, I know, but I'm looking forward to bringing more of this game to life using the digital tools that are out there.

Of course this means that I've had no time for physical painting, but I'm okay with that.  Hobby is hobby after all, and I'm really enjoying running our insane little corner of the world.

This doesn't mean that there hasn't been any hobby though as I've stumbled on some great bits I'm going to use for some terrain pieces.  A week or so ago, I stopped by Hobby Lobby to grab some canvases for my daughter and decided to swing through the floral section just to take a looksee.  I've got a lot of regular terrain, but I was looking for something more alien.  Zona Alfa has recently caught my eye and I've been had some ideas stewing in my brain for some terrain pieces to build.  I wasn't holding out much hope though since this was a craft store so imagine my surprise when I found these little gems!

These two were the first that really jumped out at me.

Thistle pom pom pick

People have done some pretty cool prints for anomalies but since I'm 1) lacking a 3d printer and 2) always looking for the cheap option, these seemed like they might work.  As I explored some more, I had some other options catch my eye so I might just use them as alien plants instead since they would tie in nicely.

The next two were these, with colors inspired by the first ones.

Thistle stem

I can see these being scattered around as ground cover, bizarre little growths that are overrunning our native vegetation.  Or I could group some of these together on a base to create a zone hazard that could be encountered.

Next was this one which just looks bizarre.

Blue green microberry spray

As an added plus, the piece is also really long.  The crazy bubbly stems are over a foot long and there are at least a dozen of them on one plant.  It might be tricky to cut them down without having the bare stems exposed but I'm willing to give it a try to see what I can make.

The final one is a doozy!

Red protea stem

I have already made a carnivorous plant but the center looks pretty floral.  This one looks far more dangerous, almost like some kind of gigantic land anemone.  I can see this fitting in perfectly as a "creature" for Antares.  Some great finds, especially since I really wasn't expecting them.  Now I just need to start making some structures as well so I'll have somewhere to explore.  So many projects, so little time.  Oh well, at least I shouldn't get bored in the next few years as I work my way through all of these!  Until next time...

Workbench: A New Crew and More Elves!

I've continued working on my Runewars elves this week and I am enjoying painting these minis.  There is a good depth to the details and they are at least 32mm which is a great combination for painting.  Makes it a little challenging to mix them in with other minis, but I have enough floating around to field at least 750 points for Erehwon and whole lot more in SoBH so this shouldn't be an issue.

Beyond the two army boxes that I've picked up (at less than $25 for 22 minis, how can you go wrong?), I've also added a box of swordsmen and the command attachment to my collection.  There are still a couple more of the leaders that I'm considering adding but even without these extras, I have enough options available to me with just these figures to field a well rounded army.  Standard for the Runewars line is a variety of poses as well.  Within the infantry units there are four distinct poses, while cavalry and large critters have two poses, letting you avoid the carbon copy appearance that you usually find with cheap miniatures... which these normally aren't.  Unit boxes MSRP for $25 but since FFG dropped the line, the surplus has been lurking on Amazon for over a year now for some great discount prices.  As I've mentioned before, they are a bit larger than your typical minis (kind of the Legion minis compare to the old Imperial Assault minis) but for the price they really are hard to beat.

And speaking of that other line that was abandoned by FFG, I haven't just been focusing on the fantasy side either.  I've been searching around for some sci-fi 28mm minis to put together my own crew for Core Space.  There are a good number of cyberpunk style prints on Etsy that I'm looking at picking up, but I also have my figures from Imperial Assault that have been sitting around gathering dust (like I I tied that all together there?).  I'm not going to try to stat them up accordingly, I'm just looking at the aesthetics of the figures and then I'll make them as my own characters using the Core Space rules.  Their stories have already been told elsewhere so it's time to hear about someone else, such as the crew of the trader vessel, the Avadora.

First up is Captain Delany Peirson (aka Jyn Odan).

I've always liked this figure though I'd though about staying away from it since she is crouched down.  I usually try to stay away from minis like that as it feels a bit like I'm gaming the system by having a figure with less of a profile for LoS.  I like the gunslinger feel that she has though so I decided she is a must have to lead my crew.

To lend a hand in the role of the heavy is Korbin Donham (aka Biv Bodhrik).

I'd already painted him to go into my GoA privateer list as support trooper with a micro-x launcher so he is the perfect to lend some firepower to the crew.

Next up is Ekaf Noran (aka one of the rebel saboteurs) as the tech.

Originally I was going to use Saska Teft as the tech for the crew, but then I saw this guy when I was pulling out Biv's mini.  This is another mini that I've always liked and for some reason the blue skin tone just makes me happy.  With all his additional kit, he is the perfect fit for the role of the tech as well.

Finally I'm going to round out the crew with Fasrak Pas'deral (aka Mak Eshka'rey).

He is another last mini substitution as I was planning on using Hera Syndulla as the pilot for the ship, but Mak is already finished and this is another mini that I like so it only makes sense to use him to round out the crew.

I want to work up some backstories for them all, but that will be for another day.  For now, I glad to have them all painted up and (almost) ready to go.  Plant life might not be the best match for a game that is set primarily on space ships and stations, but it's gonna work for my guys.  They are just taking being green to a whole new level!  Until next time...

Workbench: Core, Paint, Elves, and Acrylic... So Much At Once!

Man was last week a helluva week!  Nothing life shattering, and in fact more eye opening in some regards, but it did put the blog onto the back burner for a bit.  Life happens, ya know?  Thankfully I've still been able to get a fair amount of hobby in though, so I figure it's time to hit the highlights!

It all started last weekend when my new paints came in!  I knew that I ordered a bunch but actually seeing them was something else.

The top row of nine are the replacements, but the other 27 are all new.  So many options now!  And since I have all this paint now, it only made sense to get a better way to store them as well.

This is 6 shelf acrylic tray that I picked up from Amazon.  I've seen these before at nail salons and the like, but it never occurred to me to pick one up for myself until a friend on mine on Instagram posted pictures of his hobby space.  This makes things so much easier as most of my collection is right there at a glance, though I still have more that don't have homes yet.  Looks like I'm going to need to pick up another one of these in the near future!

I've also been making headway with my Core Space minis.  In fact, the crew of the Ion Hope are now done!

I'm happy with how these turned out, and I really feel like I'm starting to push myself further with them as well.  For example, I used to mostly rely on GW shades to give my paint schemes some depth, but now I'm mixing and blending colors more to create these transitions.  I've also started using a larger brush more, even for the finer details.  It seems counterintuitive but the reasoning actually makes sense.  With a larger brush, the bristles have a larger belly which means it will hold more liquid.  This keeps the paint flowing better than on a smaller size brush, and as long as there is a good tip then it works fairly well.  I feel like I've been getting better control with this approach as well.

I also started working on the crew of the Black Moria as well though I've only started to scrape the surface with this crew.

Then again, if you don't have a captain, how can you have the crew?  I'll start working on them soon but I've also started working on another little project again.  Over a year ago I'd picked up a number of Runewars minis for a crazy discount.  My thought had been to use them for a Warlords of Erehwon but then Covid happened and that project was set aside for a time.  Just this past week, I started to get the itch to get some Song of Blades and Heroes to the table so I broke out more of these Runewars minis and started painting up some of the elves.

This archer is the furthest along, but his buddies are close behind...

All of these guys add up to just over 200 points.  Pair these off against some of my human warriors that are already painted and I'm looking at a nice little conflict to push around so I can get back into the swing of things.  I'm even thinking about introducing my daughter to the game since she is on Spring break!  We've played things like Frostgrave before but time always seems to be a limiting factor nowadays.  Hopefully the quick nature of SoBH will help up get past that and have some fun trying to slaughter each other!

Well, that about sums it up for now but it's great to be moving forward with my hobby again!  Can't wait to push around SoBH again, and I might even try to post a battle report as well!  Just pure craziness, let me tell you!  Until next time...

Random Updates: Going For A Hobby Streak!

I recently watched an YouTube video by Dana Howl called "5 Lessons I Wish I'd Known as a Miniature Painting YouTuber in 2020".  In the video, Dana mentions the hobby streak, something which I was unfamiliar with.  My understanding is setting aside 30 minutes a day to work on the hobby, be working on minis or terrain, gluing or painting.  Just doing something to keep yourself going a little bit at a time.  She has been doing this for quite a while now, along with others using the hashtag #HobbyStreak so they can all motivate each other.

I love this idea and have already committed to trying to do the same, though I haven't been posting to Instagram about it.  I just went onto Instagram today for the first time in over a year, and quickly realized why I'd stopped.  Too much content to sift through to get to things that actually interest me, leading me down the rabbit hole and making time just disappear.  Using it is a great idea and I might change my tune in the future, but for now I'd rather spend my time on the hobby then dealing with Instagram.  Besides, I already send this blog out into the 'Verse so that seems good enough for me, even it if is mostly for my own enjoyment.

So far, I've managed to stay on course with the streak for a week now and it has been great!  All of my Purge minis are painted now, plus I've started working on a couple of old GW Talisman minis as well priming all of the other Core Space minis I have.  On top of this, I also received the bag o' Heroclix that I bought from Cool Stuff Inc. and have started working on rebasing them.

I've also been stewing around ideas for a Fear and Faith game but I've been a little stumped on the villain for the game.  What do I have a bunch of bad guys for?  I've got a bunch of zombies from Zombicide Black Plague but the clix I picked up for the good guys are all modern day, plus I have the fantasy village terrain that I'd love to use.  Mix it all together and what do you get?  A Ren Faire Zombie Jamboree!  I need to slap some paint on some minis first but the Jamboree is coming, don't you fear.  Until next time... 

Workbench: Slow But Steady Progress

As I mentioned in the last post, I had a handful of minis in progress and I managed to get through these over the weekend.  Well, except for the basing but that is in the final step so I'm going to count them!

As you can see, it's a bit of a mishmash of figures but it what spoke to me so I went with it.  And no, these aren't anywhere near award winning paint schemes.  I'm too out of practice to get into doing anything too crazy so these are just me getting in some hobby.  So just what the heck are these figures?

Starting in the back row, these are all Core Space minis from the base game; two Purge Harvesters flanking one of the civilians from the game.  Fun to paint but a little tricky as well.  I'm used to harder detail than these figures have on them but at the end of the day I'm happy with them.  I have more Harvesters that are in progress, I just decided to branch out for a bit instead of trying to power through them all as a unit.

In the second row from the left we have a Heroclix witch mini that I repainted.  The original mini is completely dressed in purple but from what little detail the figure has, it looks like the skirt and top are separate.  With that in mind, I hopped onto Google and searched for sweater and skirt combos, looked at some of the combos that popped up, and went with the colors I liked.  Not the way that I usually pick paint schemes but since this figure just looks like you average everyday person, it just seemed to make sense.

Next to her is Jyn Odan from Imperial Assault.  I've had her set aside since I painted up Biv Bodhrik for my GoA privateer force but wasn't really sure what to use her for.  At this point, I'm thinking she might become part of a custom Core Space trader crew but we'll have to see who else I can get to go along with her.

Then we have a really old Rogue Trader era astropath miniature.  I have the taller astropath as well, but I've been stumped on a good color for this diminutive fellow until this weekend.  I just recently finished listing to Skype of C'thulhu playing Heir to Carcosa so I just had to paint this guy up in yellow robes.

At the far end of the second row is Rin Farrah from Relic Knights.  I'm honestly not sure how I got this mini.  I had backed the 1st edition Kickstarter ages ago but got a refund after months of delays.  I think it was some time after that when Rin showed up from CMON.  This was a really tricky figure to put together just because she is so fricking delicate!  A total of four pieces go into her mini (head plus hair, body, left arm, and massive sniper rifle), and the barrel of the rifle is incredibly flimsy.  Just look at it wrong and it bends so I've been really hesitant to even assemble her.  In the end she went together easily enough but I've already had the barrel literally bend in half when she slipped while I was painting her.  I might try to replace it with a really thin brass tube to make it more durable but we'll have to see.

The last two figures in the front row are more Heroclix.  The guy in the trench coat I had picked up years ago for Betrayal to be the crazy old man but never painted him.  I will probably dirty him up at some point but for now he is good to fill in for one of the occupants of the house, or a character in Fear and Faith.  The final figure is a Pepper Potts mini I picked up for Betrayal or as a civilian in Mars Attacks.  I actually just repainted her in the same colors as the original figure but was able to give the figure a little more depth with some shade so it works.

Overall not a bad start and it was fun to put a brush to some figures that are just random; no unit colors, no set paint schemes, just paint whatever I felt like.  I've even ordered some more Heroclix to give me some more options for regular folk in Fear and Faith, and I'm looking forward to seeing what I can do with them as well.  Until next time...

Workbench: A New Year, A New Challenge

Last year I decided to try to do the painting challenge of one mini per day.  I started out strong but unfortunately things took a nose dive through the middle of the year.  In the end I managed to get over 100 minis painted which was a very pleasant surprise.  This year started with another lull as we worked out way through the New Year but I've decided to reset and give it another go.

To that end, I sat down and started cranking out some minis over the weekend.  To be honest my cranking them out is more of a power walk compared to some people, but you get the idea.  So far I have six minis just waiting on basing with another two in progress.

My goal for now is to finish up all of these by the weekend (including basing), plus get some more underway.  I'm the first one to say that I'm not going for any awards with these figures so the paint schemes in some cases are pretty basic.  My goal with this is to get more consistent with my painting through the year, and the extra brush time will help improve the quality of my work as well.  Time will tell how I stick with this but I really enjoyed having the goal last year, so I'm hoping to make even better progress this year.  Until next time...

Deadzone: Revisiting the Plague

I saw a Facebook post in the Deadzone Fanatics group that finally go me inspired to work on my Plague again.  Originally I had painted a few 3Z minis using flesh tones as I didn't want to go a purple as they are usually shown.  Then I saw the post that changed my mind.  The author used contrast paints to give them a much more understated shade and I decided to try doing something similar.

Fleshy zombie on the left, grape zombie on the right.

The base paint is a light grey from Vallejo (not sure the shade at the moment) which I then went over with GW shade Druchii Violet, then a quick drybrush with the light grey to finish it off.  Visually I really like this a lot more than what I'd originally tried and it seems more understated than some of the other purples that I've seen done.

I've already got another three that I've finished, and another three in process.  As for the fleshy ones, I might actually leave them that way and maybe even paint a couple more in a similar fashion.  They look alright for modern/sci-fi zombies so I'm thinking I might keep them around just for that.

As for the rest of the Plague that I have, I want to break out the set of 3rd gen troopers I have and start putting them together.  Between those and my zombies, I've easily got enough points to put together a decent force which I'll be able to push around for a solo game... just gotta throw together some more terrain for it first.  Until next time...

Random Workbench Update: Well Would You Look At That...

Over the weekend I managed to get two of the three shelves installed, with the location for the holes marked for the last one.  I'm really happy with how it's looking and it is definitely helping to open up my work space.

The next step is going to be... three more shelves!  Originally I'd planned on putting three 6' shelves over my painting space, but instead I opted for three 3' shelves along a wall next to it instead.  That particular wall has a window in the middle of it so I'm going to put three 4' shelves on that other side of the window.  Overall more real estate for placing things and I think it is going to look nicer than the original plan as well.

That wasn't all I managed to get accomplished over the weekend though.  I also made another mini for one of our companions in the long running 5e Out of the Abyss campaign we are still playing.  Yep, you read that right.  I made this mini.  Introducing Globby!

Globby with my old gnome character Kremermesh Mommanpople for scale

Globby (aka Glabbagool) is a sentient gelatinous cube that we encountered, and we befriended him... her... it... by telling it stories.  We thought he had gone off to explore the wide world of the Underdark but he happened to show up in Gracklstugh.

Globby is made from some clear plastic sheets cut into 2" x 2" squares and then hot glued together.  To give him the oozy look, I went over him with more hot glue, pulling the gun down to the base to give it the appropriate drippy look.  And what's even cooler?

Not the clearest picture but you get the idea...

That's right!  He glows in the dark!  Completely unnecessary but when I saw the glow in the dark glue sticks, I just had to do it!

As for what's next... I haven't decided yet.  I need to get the last shelf up, then I want to dive back into my pile of unpainted minis to see what speaks to me next.  Plus I'm thinking about seal some of my older minis that are going up onto the shelf just for good measure, in which case I might have to set up the light box and take some pictures of them.  Until next time...

Workbench: I Am Kroot

While painting my Trollkin, I decided to mix things up so I threw some paint onto this "puppy" that happened to be on my desk.  It could do with some tidying up and basing, but I'm happy with how the colors worked out overall. 

Many moons ago, I had started collecting a Tau army but I sold it off as I did with most of my 40k minis.  I think the only things that didn't disappear over the years were my Orks, some genestealers, and my Kroot.  I loved the Kroot miniatures and I've been hunting for some way to incorporate them into my gaming.  Currently I have them on the desk to be painted/re-painted as a mercenary force for Antares (maybe proxies for Askar? At least until I get the real thing anyway...) but this hound just spoke to me for some reason.  A quick slap of some paint followed by a wash and now I have a critter that could fit nicely into a desert setting.

As for which setting exactly, that still has to be determined.  I have a couple of desert ideas bouncing through my head right now, the first being the Dustgrave game that my daughter and I were going to play.  Unfortunately things disrupted those plans but now that my Trollkin are done, I want to circle back to building the terrain for that game.  I also need to throw together a warband for that but I've already got ideas for who should face off against her desert wolfen.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: And Then There Was One...

 That's right, I've actually finished my Trollkin warband for Frostgrave, and in what feels like record time as well!

This is the original mini for Madrak Ironhide.  I must admit that I'm not a huge fan of this figure but he will work great for my enchanter.  I'm also really pleased with how his grey sash turned out.  I feel like I was really able to accent the depth of the folds which I was worried about initally.  He does feel like he's missing something to make him pop more but I'm not sure what it is.  Still, he will definitely work for now and I can always add more later if I want.

Now with this said, I do still need to base all of them.  Usually I do just a basic brown gravel with green static grass as I feel like this is the most versatile coloration, but I really think I'm going to explore a winter base theme for this group.  They are meant for Felstad after all, so it would be fitting.  Time to start researching winter basing techniques!  Until next time...

Frostgrave: The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of Kriel Songs...

One more done for my Trollblood warband as my apprentice joins the Kriel!

This is the original mini for Grissel Bloodsong from... well, a long time ago.  I really wanted my apprentice and wizard to be unique looking so either solos or warlocks were the place to look.  Unfortunately I hadn't picked up many of either for the Trollbloods which limited my options but it also help shape my warbands story.  My apprentice and wizard are both sporting massive two handed weapons... making them the perfect enchanters!

I never even dabbled with the enchanter spells when I played 1st edition but it's the perfect fit for this foray into 2nd edition.  That said, there is still one more mini left to paint...  But before I go I've got to mention Stargrave.

Slated for release next April, this takes the Frostgrave system...  INNNN TOOOO SPAAAAAAAACE!!!  Seriously though, this looks really good!  Joseph McCullough has a post about it on his blog, the Renaissance Troll, and I highly recommend checking it out.  There isn't a lot of info yet, but just from what is there I am already set to buy into this game.  There will be more information as we get closer, but at least now I have have a reason to dig out all the sci-fi minis I've got scattered about waiting to be painted.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: An Avalance of Trollkin!

Well, this week has been ridiculously productive and I've finished not one mini, or even two, but five minis for my Frostgrave warband!  First up, there is my man-at-arms.

This mini is from the Kriel Warriors set, just your basic badass warrior with a big old sword and shield.  I might pull in a couple more of these troops in the future, but for now my starting budget has put that on hold.

Thankfully the next three little runts are free, which is good since I don't know how long they will survive.  After all, you can't have a warband without some thieves!

These figures are from the Trollkin whelps pack.  Small and completely unarmored, they seem like the perfect mini to represent thieves as they run around and (hopefully) manage to grab the treasure first.

And last but not least is my only ranged trooper so far.  Why?  Because marksmen are stupidly expensive when you are first starting out!

This figure is from the Trollblood scatter gun unit.  I'd originally planned on using these minis as crossbowmen to represent the slow reload with their blunderbuss but then I realized just how much plate armor he is wearing. I could just hand wave it but I'd rather go closer to WYSIWYG than cause any confusion.  This also meant that I could only field one of them to start with because they are a good chunk of your starting gold as well!

"Everyone smile for the family picture!"

All that is left now is my wizard and his apprentice, then my warband will be ready to go!  I want to give these two a bit more attention since they are the leaders of this group, but I'm still hoping to be able to knock them out pretty soon.  Until next time...

Frostgrave: Another Trollkin for Felstad!

Still more minis done for my Trollblood themed Frostgrave warband.  This time, it's my second infantryman.  This figure is another stone scribe and man does he have an axe to grind!

For this figure, I decided to splash in a bit more color to really make his stand out from his fellow scribe.  I did decided to keep the grey hood though and I think I will try to pull that through to the rest of the warband as I progress.  Another thing that I did change up was his skin tone.  I tend to keep with one tone when I do my painting but this time I decided to mix things up.  Between that and the different colors on the clothes under his hood, I really like how much this figure pops and think they will go well on the field together.

Two down and seven left to go!  Up next is the man-at-arms for the group which I'm hoping to wrap up over the weekend, plus there are some more Marauders for Deadzone in que as well.  Not as ambitious a pace as I'd originally planned at the start of the year but it's still progress!  Until next time...

Deadzone: The Red Caps

 It's been months since I last worked on anything for Deadzone but I finally made a little more forward movement... in another direction... since its not terrain, or Rebs, or Plague...

Instead, its Marauders.

While cleaning up, I dug up my collection of 40k Orks from back around the Assault on Black Reach era (no idea what edition that was...).  I had collected a pretty good sized force back then but I wound up focusing on Warmachine instead so the boyz just went to the wayside and collected dust.  Everything else I sold or threw away but not da boyz.

Fast forward to now and my too-many-projects-that-I'm-trying-to-work-on-but-not-being-successful phase and hey... let's add another!

The thing is, Orks are just fun to paint.  The models have always had tons of character and they were a blast to modify as well.  With me looking at dabbling in Deadzone at some point, this gave me a good excuse to grab a few and put some paint to them.  In fact, I have one done already (minus the base...).

As you can see, it's a pretty basic paint scheme.  Since the Marauders used to be part of the GCPS, I thought some kind of standardized uniform would be fitting which is why I went with the grey and black.  The red on the helmet was just going to be an accent to the scheme but as soon as I did it, I knew they had to be the Red Caps.

I already have five more minis lined up to be painted which will give me a 100 point team.  I can proxy them into Deadzone and see how they work... once I make some more terrain...  Until next time...

Frostgrave: For the Kriel!!!

With Frostgrave 2nd edition coming out, there is talk of it starting up at my LGS again.  Not sure when exactly but I picked up a copy of the book and I'm already started looking at minis for my warband.

At first I was going to pick up some new Reaper Bones dwarves because they've got a few that are packed full of character!  I mean a butcher as one the thugs?  Perfect!  But I decided that I should do the responsible thing... and I'm going to field my Trollbloods instead.

I've been sitting on most of these minis for years now and it will be great to be able to use them.  I had initially gotten into them back in Hordes 1st edition but they were really just a ho-hum faction at that time.  Tons of character in the models but gameplay was pretty blah.  Then they went to Mark II and yeah, that was enough for me.

Still love the minis though and I'm looking forward to finally having a reason to get some paint onto them!  I had planned on painting up the lot and then posting but considering how slow they've been progressing I've decided to show them off one at a time.  So without further ado, here is the first of my Trollblood warband!

This model was a test and also let me knock the rust off the painting gears again.  Given the size of the typical Trollkin mini this is a really good use for them!  This particular figure is one of the stone scribes that come with the krielstone bearer though in this case he will be filling the role of man-at-arms in my warband.  I'm happy with how the figure turned out overall and I'm looking forward to moving on to the next one soon.

Plus I might even start working on some terrain pieces as well.  Our LGS is very GW centric so I'd like to bring in some pieces that are all skulls and gothic architecture just to mix things up.  I'll have to see how it pans out but think it will be fun.  Until next time...

Antares: Striking Colors for Strike Troopers

Been able to get a bit of progress on my new paint scheme for my Strike Troopers.  Feel like this ties in nicely with the other pieces that I've already done.

Strike troopers supported a C3D1 drone and its batter drone

I also did some more detailing to the backs of the troopers just to break it up and add a bit of something to their scheme.

Little touches like that along with the black lining that I did on some of the armor really made them pop more than they did.  I've also done similar with my various drones, picking out their propulsion systems with the same blue "glow".

Rear view of the C3D1...

...and the spotter and batter buddy drones.

I still have more Strike troopers and the support team crews to do, but once those are out of the way I'm thinking it's time to finally get my NuHu into the que.  I had started her months ago but really wasn't happy with the direction she was heading so I set her aside.  Thinking this incorporating the new scheme along with some nice orange/red paints that I picked up will make her pop.

Of course with the release of Frostgrave 2nd edition this might be going on hold for a little bit.  My LGS is supposed to have my copy by Saturday and then it's time to start painting my new warband, but more on them later.  Until next time...

Antares: New Colors for the Concord

I had "finished" painting my Concord troops months ago but I was never really that thrilled with them.  The Strike Troopers were okay but once the paint scheme was scaled up to my light support drones and especially the T7 transport... it was just kinda blah.

Then this past weekend I had a bolt of inspiration and so far I'm really liking the change.  Introducing the new colors for the Concord shard of Bastion!

The changes were pretty simple really but I think that they make the model pop more.  The black detailing offsets the light grey nicely and I'm quite happy with how the suspensors turned out.  I might have been aggressive with what I painted up as a suspensor as well but my thoughts are the smaller ones on the fins are for finer control.  Don't know if that was the intention when Warlord designed the model but I like how it looks so I'm gonna run with that.

I've also updated the scheme on the light drones as well.  Again, a very simple change but I think it is much more effective as it makes them more interesting visually.

I still need to go over the grey on these to match it up with the T7 but that should be a quick fix.  Then it's on to the Strike Troopers and weapon crews!  I still need to figure out how exactly I'm going to bring the new scheme across to them but I've got some ideas floating around already, and I'm excited to see how they look!  Until next time...

Workbench: Ghar and Algoryn and Distortion, Oh My!

(Just a quick note...  I took pictures of these minis again with my highly advanced, extremely expensive light box.  Yeah, it's made out of a cardboard box, some duct tape, and a sheet of printer paper.  Really advanced, let me tell ya!  Anyway, these are cleaner pics so I thought I'd update this post but nothing else has changed.  And now back to our regularly scheduled Dispatch already in progress...)

As I mentioned previously, I have been making some good headway with the  2020 Painting Challenge.  I was going to wait until the month was finished and just do all of my minis in a massive update but I've also had very little time for the blog since I've been painting... and watching the Office.  Damn you Tim!

But I digress...

Instead of waiting, I've decided that I should post them as I go since I am painting units at a time.  Far more efficient plus it makes it easier to maintain the same color scheme when it's fresh in your mind.  So without further ado, here is the start of my Painting Challenge!

For my first ones out of the gate I had to go with my brand new Ghar tectorists.  I've wanted to add these to my Ghar army for a while now but I haven't been able to pick any up until earlier this month.

These troops act as probes for the Ghar forces, scouring the battlefield for enemy targets and helping their own troops rain disruptor death on them!  Mechanically this lets a Ghar unit reroll one miss if there is one or more Tectorists within 15".  Always a handy thing plus I really like the models.

In addition to the tectorists, I also decided to slap some paint onto one of my spare order dice (Which I forgot to include in the picture.  Oops!  I'll be sure to post a pic of it later).  This is a special die that is used when there are Ghar forces on the table.  The archaic technology highly unstable and even distorts time itself!  In the game, you are supposed to add one unique die to the bag with the other order dice, making the distortion effect a result of the order die pull in the turn which I think is a good way to handle it.  And since it is supposed to be a unique die, I decided to kick it up a bit and paint it like I've painted the plasma reactors on my battle suits.

Next I decided to hop factions and finish some of my unit options for my Algoryn.  Even with all the troops that I've previously painted, for some reason I just never got to the rest of the spotter drones so it was time to amend that.

As with the tectorists, spotter drones also allow rerolls but unlike the Ghar troops, these little robots hang out with their assigned unit.  In the case of these four, the three in green are for my x-launcher teams and mag cannon while the more traditional red is for my assault squad.

And speaking of the mag cannon, I finally finished painting up this imposing piece of support weaponry.

The mag cannon only rolls a single die when it fires but if it hits... well, if it was a person, they are now pink mist and vehicles won't fare much better.  Not only does it pack a massive punch, its maximum range is 100 inches!  Of course you still need line of sight but that's still an insane range for a table top miniature game... until you look at the next one.

This is the first of my two x-launcher teams.  Unlike the mag cannon, the x-launcher doesn't need line of sight if you have spotter drones that can see your target.  This lets you hide them behind cover and still lob shells down on the enemy.  This is also one of the few weapons that has five optional ammo types besides it regular explosive round.

And when you consider that you can lob these shells up to 120"...  Sure, you might not hit but just the threat is enough to make your opponent take notice!

With all these extra troops fighting for Algor, it was only fitting to command squad so they can lead them all into battle.

Unlike regular AI troopers, the command squad is equipped with the slightly more potent plasma carbines.  These have slightly less range that a standard mag gun but make up for it with two modes of fire, one with better penetration while the other has a higher rate of fire.

I also decided that it was time to change up the scheme on my AI troopers as well and repainted their shoulder pads so they had the traditional red.

I think this ties them in better with my assault troopers and its also easier than doing the tribal pattern on each shoulder.  I am thinking about going back and doing a different mark for each squad as well but one step at a time.

And that's what I have so far!  21 minis not including the repaints but there is more to come soon, hopefully with some better lighting if I can remember to grab a light from home.  So there might be more pics of these guys in better light as well but fear not... the Hukk is coming.  Until next time...