Thursday, November 8, 2012

One fucking garden gnome down

It's been a while since the previous post so it's high time for some hobby summary.
Surprisingly there was pretty lot going on so without any more unnecessary bullcrap...

Few weeks ago I spotted Undead Legionaires blister on internet auction: 
didn't think twice and 3 days later postman delivered 2 zombies to my place =D
I know these are really ugly sculpts yet since Warzone is no more I felt it's my solemn duty to save that part of hobby history.
For the same reason some I got 2 more abominations from Warzone range: nepharite of Algeroth and Ragathol (special character). 
The nepharite was one of first models I saw in Mutant Chronicles zine and surely one of models which lured me into endless labyrinth of the hobby. I'l really like to give it paintjob similar to the Paul Bonner's artwork below but we'll see: there're still many models to be painted before I can start playing with this one.


And as you can see reality is damn ugly compared to the amazing artworks =D




As for other new toys since the last post I've been testing the Dremel toy and I must say I can already see it was one of the best hobby purchases I've made in years.
Sure I've been dealing with pinning using hand drill (or whatever it's named) but new tool makes things so much faster! Especially when it comes to assembling large, metal models. As for the test I decided to pimp one of my plague zombies:
it's probably the 3th or 4th copy or the sculpt I have so the decision was made to modify it. My first thought was to make some kind or standard bearer for Necromunda (for missions with special winning conditions, scenarios or whatever) but after the job was done I found better destiny for that lil' bastard.
The pic was taken just to show the pins I managed to put into model - all using new power drill. Right arm was repositioned because I got model with broken limb - all in all I should be satisfied, because I could give it slightly more dynamic look.



And since we're next to Necromunda I also managed to prepare 2 more models to be added to plague gang: another plague zombie (what a surprise...) and second scaly.
Small conversions were made just to give the models bit of personal touch: zombie got new melee weapon (also pinned with Dremel tool) and scaly got shoulder pad - it should contrast nicely with greenish flesh.


Now the big news:
one of garden gnomes I got for painting seems to be finished: there are some minor jobs to be done after the client consulted with his co-workers but 25% or this fucking nightmare seems to be behind me.
If I can give you any advice about painting such a monstrocity here it is: DO NOT.
The size of that mammoth works absolutely demotivating, model takes lots of time to properly prepare, pin and assemble not mentioning lots of time, paint and varnish to finish the task.
The only thing I hope for is the next models will be painted fast due the experience I got while struggling with this cocker.
Anyway here it is - pic is really poor but the t-shirt was the only background available for such a caliber of model. I will try to write short review of it on CofC sooner or later.




Another big news is the fact I finally started some works on one my fav models ever: old zombie dragon (which is cool despite horrible rider model...).
Well to be frank proper works are made on the base but still I am really happy there's a chance that block of lead might be moved from the unpainted pile to much better place: display cabinet.
I also used some old models to keep the project in Oldhammer mood: wight, skeleton and zombie standard bearer. There are some paper banners planned yet I haven't decided yet which ones - old Warhammer Armybooks offer so many to choose from.
Hope you like current stage of works - the next update will contain dragon for sure. Big thanks to Skrit for providing wight model (Cheers matey! Good luck with miniatures business!)






I think some clarification is required: I am vegetarian so I didn't kill any poor crab just to put it's corpse in the display cabinet. The one used has been found dead on Spanish beach  (it was nothing but empty carapace to be honest) so adding swamp creature was no moral problem.

And the very last thing: small technical announcement:
since my appraisal site is being risen up I decided to finally finish the whole Plinth Country mess: tutorials have been already moved to proper blog section and the gallery to my Picasa album. It's already linked to the button in the right panel.
Not sure it's better than Photobucket but pica can be umploaded much faster and it seems to be more user friendly.
I also moved there some pics already stored at Chest of Colors gallery section and if I find old hard disc drive - some more will follow.

That's it for now - hope the nest time the second garden gnome will be painted =]

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Zombies, zombies, zombies....

Howdy ho!

Believe or not there's more Demi spam!
I myself can actually barely believe it considering pathetic small amount time I can spend on the hobby...
Anyway the first thing is the fact I managed to re-take and replace pics of Barry, the bolter massacrator, which have been published in the previous post.
If you remember the old pics they were really poor, if you don't: well just consider yourself lucky guy ^^

While I was taking that photo I also managed to take some shots of latest plague zombie (which turned out to be 16th model painted in 2012 anno Cthulhi).
If you know the original model you can see this one has been slightly modified: gun holster on right hip has been replaced with water container from placcy IG model and the bone club in right hand was replaced with fuel canister.
There are 2 reasons for this:
- it's the second same sculpt in the gang so I wanted them to differ a bit
- I got it on Ebay together with some other models and apparently previous owner "borrowed" club and holster.

The pics are pretty grainy which was caused by using zoom while taking them. Next time I will try to take them from a distance - similar to the family postcard.
   
Last Tuesday the Dremel multi-tool was delivered.
Good news is there was a promotion: I got free LEGO set so looks like my kid will get a nice present when he stops trying to eat everything he can put into his gaping mouth ^^


But there's also bad news:
while I was getting the tool there was an information there are all drills and pieces I needed (to assemble the big models).
Unfortunately when I opened the box it turned out that was just a Dremel propaganda ><
So I had to visit local power tools dealer to get the missing part. Can you imagine this small thingy costed nearly 20% of the whole Dremel set?!?!?
It is equally fucked up to ordering single bits from Forge World...
Oh well - it's an investment after all so now there's not turning back.

And something funny for the end:
about last weekend I read I won WD subscription limited dwarf model on masterminis.net bloggy (thanks Zaphod!). All I had to do was adding that log to the watched list ^^
Looks like I know who will become leader of my small Mordheim warband.

That's all for now - the next updade should appear when the big models are assembled.

Laterz!

Tuesday, October 9, 2012

Daddy got some big toys!

Hey again,

Once again I am quite surprised about hobby activities  here:
few months back I was unable to get few hours to paint a single model and now new stuff is coming out every week!

So what is it this time?
For starters I managed to finish the little gift model  (still have no idea about the manufacturer). Painting such a small bugger was interesting experience but I'm afraid that's it for me: I definitely prefer 25/28 mm scale stuff.
As you can see some tuft was used on the base - I am really glad I got this material, so there'll be lots of it used on the next project*
I know it doesn't look spectacular but remember it's pretty tiny thing. Too bad I didn't take a photo of coin or sth in background to show the scale - the model is on the way now so maybe the recipient will do that.


An update without anything about Necromunda is wasted update so this time it's something else then another zombie.
Last week I borrowed a few of my opponent's gangers, chose one I liked the best and decided to slap some paint on it. The guy doesn't paint at all and I am going seriously sick and tired of playing against barely undercoated models - especially now, when I can field 100% painted Scavvies and Goliaths.
The ganger below (Barry) was painted using some colors tested recently:
1. to fit the photo - background
2. to fit colors I want to paint the battlefield with.
Single Van Saar model doesn't make Scavvies take their stuff and leave the Underhive (even ganger using fucking bolter...) so I hope to paint few of his buddies shortly.


And now something big.
Something REALLY big. It's not only bit but there are 4 of these! O_o
Yesterday I went to post office to pick up the parcel. I was expecting to recieve painting commission models.
Then I saw the box my fitst thought was: OMFG, the guys probably wants me to paint the vacuum cleaner ^^  Just check the size - little thing in the white circle is Barry.


Inside there was no vacuum but 4 smaller boxes...


And inside them there were such toys:
 

The plan for coming days is cleaning the model and assembling it somehow. Looks like I am forced to get Dremel multi-tool after all. Since it was made using 3D programming the parts should fit well. I cannot imagine correcting any mistakes on such a monster.

These models will surely consume lots of time so don't expect new zombie-spam from me shortly. Unless I decide to share pics of assembled that is.

'Till the next time!

*next not Necromunda related project that is ^^

Thursday, October 4, 2012

The bunker is not empty yet

That's right:

not only it's not empty, but there are still some rotting bastards coming out!
Just like before a plague zombie came out searching for some fresh brains.





It surely came out for lured by fresh corpse aroma but also by small painting contest organized by Tuffskull on his bloggy: Paintmaster 2012.
I don't think it's  typical contest entry - especially it's just another member of my gang, but I like the sculpt so much and also the way it turned out I just couldn't resist using it for anything more than cannon fodder during game.

I already mentioned photo station has been moved into new spot which result you can see here - especially on the last photo: it's way too much light on the model =/
I regret I haven't noticed it earlier but what the hell - all what matters is the model look nice behind the glass, together with rest of the gangers.

One of the pics has been added to the WH40K gallery so if I manage to keep this speed all of my models should get there in about 50 years ^^

Speaking of Necromunda - because I had a day off for donating blood and recently we hired babysitter I was able to sneak out to gaming room in the middle of the day (!) to work a bit on the game table in peace and quiet.
So far the only thing done is base layer of styrofoam but I already have the idea for the next (and the last) module so finally I can use all remaining bits, throw away unused junk and clean the fucking mess in the gaming cellar! There's not a chance to see the table finished yet this year yet I'll do my best - it's one of the things I promised to myself after passing the exam. Here's current stage of works:



What else?
While painting the scaly (actually while waiting for washes to dry) I picked another model to be painted next. This little fucker is sth quite special:
- it's the only model I have in 10mm scale (I guess it's 10mm that is) 
- I got it from great buddy of mine - mahon
- it will become a gift for someone even more special: my bro =]

As for the jar thing - all guests on my brother's wedding got souvenirs: some olive oil and some olives in small jars (3 years of living in Spain has finally blasted his mind).
I thought it will be nice surprise to prepare a model dedicated to the wedding  so decision was made to make a small diorama which could be placed in the jar. And it turned out the archer was the only model suitable for the job. Don't think painting can take more than 2 evenings but I will do my best to give this model some character - we'll see.




Heavy support for my gang has arrived: ~145 credits worth scaly armed with spear gun.
I am very happy the model is finished and even more happy I cannot field more than 2 of these. Even though I love most of original Necromunda line scalies are fucking awful models... But colors used should make them blend into the gang pretty fine and using originals instead of really big troll-based model is quite game-wise ^^

The spear gun is also strange device: in theory it can act really nasty but takes lots of time to reload, costs lots of credits and scaly is not the best sniper material. But is has the potential: I remember only one situation of piercing 3 models with a single shot and since then scaly spreads aura of terror among models keeping too close together on the battlefield =D
Anyway here it is - not as nice as I was hoping for but more than enough for the campaign:




And the last thing: actually the cherry on the rotting cake ^^
Since the scaly makes nearly half of the gang painted the way I want (more-less) I dragged the models to the gaming bunker and you can see the result below.

After a few shots I chose the most sharp yet using some GIMP  was necessary. I am afraid when all the models are ready I will have to buy crate of beers, pack the models and visit mahon for the photo session. Scavvies deserve everything the best =]



Cheers!

Monday, September 24, 2012

Looks like I didn't forget how to handle a brush

Heya again!

Finally there's something serious and worthy mentioning:
the paint has been slapped on an old plague zombie model. It didn't turn out spectacular BUT at least my Scavvy boss got one more painted gang member.
True - dead, and also true - worth 0 credits but on the other hand it can stagger into the most deadly machine gun fire, take some hits and still spread the plague! 
In fact I am so glad one more deader got painted, that the decission was made to put it on FUUK online painting contest. Don't think it will get much chances but what the hell - zombie doesn't care so why should I? ^^
Hope you like it - the next one is to be painted shortly - deadline for Chest of Colors contest is coming fast!


There's even more!
Mario from Gameforces zine was such a kind dude and sent me the issue with scavvy bunker step-by-step article printed.
It's bit silly but my fat ego has been pimped once again and it feels sooo great =] 
I mentioned Mario about plans of preparing big text about modular gaming board (for which I scavenged more materials during the fucking moving) so lets hope I will be able to bring the whole thing into existence. Especially that one of things I promised myself after passing the appraiser exam was finishing the goddamn table:
playing Necromunda deserves only the very best setting =]




Since were at Necromunda topic another model has just left the painting station.
I've been waiting for this sculpt for a very long time and it made me extremly happy when I got it: alternative version of Scavvy boss (in my opinion this corpse lover looks much more mean than boss included in oldie starter box).
Sadly the paintjob didn't turn out as fine as I was hoping for (I probably shoul have painted some more zombies as a training) but screw this:
I like it and the paintjob fits the rest of re-painted gangers. Besides this guy and his plague zombie sidekick bring total number of painted minis in 2012 to magnificent level of 11! ^^ About 7 more and the whole gang of Scavvies will get new colors - including 2 original, armed with ranged weapons scalies. Sadly there are another 7 waiting for being re-painted.
This should be quite a surprise for my opponent...




And last but not least - last Sunday night we were having quick Call of Cthulhu card game match. We got the base decks some time ago but this year because lack of time for tabletop gaming we got a few boosters so Ancient Evildoers can confront The Good Guys properly.
Never was fan of CCGs but having quick (45-60 mins) card game instead or rolling dices is great change. And on that eerie night worshippers of Cthulhu ate really tasty Syndicate/Miscatonic supper muahahahahahaaa... ^(;,;)^

That's it for now - cheers!

Friday, September 7, 2012

Still nothing...

Yeah, that's it:

I had so many big plans what to do after the graduation but because of my brother's wedding last weekend and (still) moving to new place I barely can find pair of pants, not mentioning the painting stuff.

 Looks like there's no other choice but waiting patiently until the whole mess calms down - I would love to paint anything.

There's one technical announcement though: because the Plinth Country site is to be shut down as soon as possible all tutorials stored there have been moved into the sub-blog. To get there all you need to do is click proper button in the side panel:


Just be warned - the site is still under construction so it will get new look when I get some spare time for the job.

Hope to bring here some minis shortly

Demi

Friday, August 24, 2012

Back on the road!!!

I did it!!!
That's right: yesterday I fucking passed the state exam so I am now the real estates appraiser!
Looks like I have to get used to cigars and fancy suits ^^ 
 

What does it mean for the hobby?
I can finally come back to the Underhive, paint some stuff and do lots of stuff I had to drop because of the preparations for the exam!

Right, that's it for now: I'll surely post something hobby related shortly!

Demi

Monday, July 2, 2012

Small update

Heya all,

As you can see in the title box this time it's mostly technical update: life issues keep me away from the miniatures once again...
So on the side panel you can see some news: labels cloud and new links pictures. Also I decided to change the main banner: simply couldn't resist not using new display base and some old minis.

As for the old minis - a while ago I started a thread on Lead Adventure Forum about old Warzone models. We want to finally play a game here and nostalgy combined with being-old-fart-ness spawned the idea of such a topic. I know there are people who like classic sculpts but I didn't expect such a feedback! On the other hand when it comes to old and (nearly) forgotten games you can always rely on LAF board =D
Here's small teaser what you can find there...



Brilliant, isn't it?
Whole this Warzone hysteria made me find and start bidding some Dark Legion models for my force - I want them no matter we play a game or not. Painting some old'n'ugly sculpts would be sweet reward for passing the fucking exam finally.

And speaking of painted models - some oldies were also added to my gallery (check Warzone, Warhammer and Warhammer 40K folders). These are mostly pictures copied from my COFC gallery, because I either don't have these miniatures in my possession or the pictures I made were lost (thank you Mahon for saving them!). For the teaser below you can see Zenithian Soulslayer painted for the doctor after successful surgery he performed on me several years ago. Iirc the paintjob was inspired by painting lava tutorial I saw on Jenova (?) site. Cannot believe is was so long ago. Hope he still has the toy ^^


And the last thing: no matter how much shit-stucked I get it can never be SO bad to prevent us from playing a quick game sometimes especially after the success of package run scenario.    
The last evening there was another campaign match in the gaming spot: Scavvies were trying to prevent Orlocks from rescuing the prisioner: I really wanted to keep this fattie: thank to improved strength and toughness it would be just enough to feed my whole gang!

Sadly when it came to dice rollin' it turned out the minimum size raiding squad (4 men strong) was facing a single sentry! I chose Cayman: didn't want to rist loosing more important gang member in 4:1  combat and Cayman has T4, evade skill and the model looks just so nice ^^
Sadly he was no match for the desperated raiders who dealt with him in no time. The alarm was sounded but I managed to bring to the game only one of 3 reinforcement groups - apparently dice god doesn't always work the way I need.

The game was once again ton of fun: all in all there were total 9 models on the table only. It would be even better fun if I managed to keep the prisoner but you cannot have everything I guess.
Below is one of photos I took with my cell - yes, the table is still not finished but I hope posting such horrible pictures will motivate me enough to lock myself in the gaming room with some paints until the battlefield is properly done.
What you can see is the very last moment before Deco decided to bottle out with the released prisoner - lucky bastard didn't allow my scaly to get into melee... ><



That's it for now, deeply hope to bring something more interesting with the next log.

Cheers!

Saturday, June 9, 2012

Selling out

Howdy!

This time there's nothing new painted nor sadly played but there are picures anyway. For some reasons I decided to find new home for part of my miniatures and last week Nurgle champion and my old Adeptus Arbites sentinel found new place thank to Evilbay. Really thought it will be harder for me to give sentinel away but apparently it turns out everything is easier when you get old and grumpy. Anyway here they are - hope to take new pics of these before sending them to the buyer. The gallery desperately needs an update.


What else?

I finally managed to write something for the tutorials section - really simple and fast way to build bunker display base I used for taking photos of my Scavvies.
Last week I also found some foliage I was planning to use for jungle or sth similar but the plan has never been executed. My first thought was to throw the whole shit away but then I recalled 2 locations from Fallout 3 game: Oasis and one of vaults overwhelmed by aggressive plants.
I thought such "garden of Eden" would be one solid eye cather on the desert theme table we use: it wouldn't have to be large, just about 12" x 12" space surrounded by walls protecting precious plants from the deadly sun, with lots of pipes arount providing filtered ait, water and the rest of shit required to live. I still have 2 untouched boards so after the exam is passed (sic!) I'll surely give this idea a try.
Anyway - the tut is ready so hit the pic below to be teleported. 


Anything else?

Today we had another Necromunda game: Goliaths vs Van Saars. It was new scenario (Package run) and it was THE fastest game we played ever. At least as long as I remember: whole thing took us only ~40 minutes!
It was very interesting and enjoyable experience and we definitely have to test new scenarios shortly. Important thing is I managed to rip the package off cold hands of Van Saar ganger and get some juicy tous for the boys (flak armour, screamers and grav chute). The next game drawn is Orlocks trying to rescue one of theis gangers captured by Scavvies - and do it before scalies feeding time!!!


Seeya!

PS. Watch out for more models for sale - lots of these are now just getting dust in the hobby case... 

Saturday, May 26, 2012

Such a treat...

So I am back from painting Warhammer Fantasy - deeply hope for a long. Not sure was it the matter of specific model I got to paint or simply painting sth else than Nurgle / plague zombie or Necromunda stuff but I had no fun with the Khorne lord. 
Still it turned out much better than my previous attempt to paint Herald of the Blood God some time ago. Just hope there won't be such problems when I put the OOP juggernaut on the painting station sometimes.
But for now - here's the chaos lord: the client likes it and that's actually the only thing I care about. This and the fact it finally left my place ^^
  

Now as for the proper content of this log: a treat.
While painting the Khorne dude I was also slapping some paint on the scenic base which has been prepared earlier. All in all it turned out what took the most time was cutting the pcv sheets and assembling all parts.
Painting was pretty fast and as easy as possible. Colors were chosen to fit bases of Necromunda gangs I run, as well the terrain features: there are some bunker entrances and tons of oil drums on the gaming board. I also plan to add more posters here on on the gaming table so everything fits nicely. Of course if I can convince some of my friends to contribute photos and therefore become arch villains of the ash wastes ^^




And for the final: last night there was another gang fight in the wastes.
This time outnumbered Eschers were trying to stop nerd horde - Van Saars that is. It was the first time I fielded heavy plasma gun and it turned out nice and nasty: I only managed to take 2 shots but when the hit was scored 2 enemy gangers were put down - seriously burnt by S7 blast =D
Hope the next time the kill will be more deadly.

'Till the next time!

Saturday, May 12, 2012

Quick return to Warhammer Fantasy

Last week the postman made my day by delivering 2 things:
- ticket for Faith No More gig July 4th (YAY!!!)
- solid box from Canada with 4 models inside: missing scavvies and mounted Khorne champion I am obligated to paint in exchange for the Necromunda stuff.
I am really glad I met the client on Lead adventures board bazaar section, because sniping the missing minis one by one off Evilbay is such a huge pain in the ass...


Names for the leader and one of scalies are already chosen but still looking for proper name for another heavy hitter - any suggestions are welcome, after all painted and named models fight better ^^

At this stage we're planning color scheme for the Blood God lord so I can start works (and finish them!) as soon as possible to come back to the Underhive eventually. So many gangers yet to be paint-slapped...
Speaking of this - 2 more cockers joined the nicely painted side of the force: Grinder and Rutgut. This time there's only one model from the past as a company - oldie leader.
That means I will be repainting the gangers shortly. Pic might seem worse that usual because models were varnished shortly before I put them into the photo station: the varnish worked kinda weird - models looked "sweaty" instead of matt.





And the last thing - fucking awful wip shot of the background I'm gonna use for post-apo photos. The idea was nicked from JRN blog - really love his creations and deeply hope such stuff will work fine with my minis. I thought if I ever get bored with such background I will use it for the final scenic base for some of my dark future minis (so many yet to be done).
Also I've been taking some step-by-step photos so after the base is done I should have enough material for medium sized article - hope I can finally bring some solid spam dose to CofC articles section.

That's it for now, take care and don't step on tox bomb!