First ever Space Marine

I don't know quite how this happened but I played my first ever game of 40K this week.

I really enjoyed it. 😱

I had a box of Blood Angels that I'd recently bought to paint and sell. I think I'll be keeping them now. A friend at my gaming club is also building a Blood Angels force, so I'll be switching my focus to Thousand Sons, but I do like the Blood Angels. Some of their elite units look rather good.

Anyway, here's my first ever 40K figure. It's still wip, I need to finish his jumppack and standard whilst I think about what should go on his right shoulder.

Games Workshop Undead

These two figures are the first 'modern' Games Workshop miniatures I've painted and I'm impressed.

Small kits of around 6 parts on a single sprue may be common knowledge by now, but it's a real novelty to me.

The figures go together easily and are a joy to paint. The plastic kit format allows for sculpts that would be impossible to cast and otherwise far too chunky to properly represent a spectral being like these.

Luckily I had the presence of mind to undercoat them while still on the sprue. It saved a lot of potential awkwardness trying to get the paintbrush into places it won't fit easily! That more than compensated for a bit of scraping to ensure a plastic on plastic bond when they were glued.

I am selling both of these on eBay at the moment, the links are below.

First up is the Cairn Wraith. A truly horrific sculpt that really is the best wraith type sculpt I've seen. This was the figure that tempted me back into a Games Workshop premises.

 https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172809873587 

The other figure is the Tomb Banshee. Having been drawn in by the Cairn Wraith, my eyes wandered until they landed on this spectacular model. Another really creepy figure that uses the plastic kit format to good effect!

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/172809878361

Cthulhu Wars - Hastur

After a brief hiatus, I am back on the Cthulhu Wars trail, this time with Hastur.

I probably enjoyed painting this chap a bit more than I should have; for a predominantly yellow beast, I used a surprising amount of green, purple and red washes. If I didn't have more to paint, I'd probably still be adding to him now!

Petersen Games are about to start their third kickstarter for Cthulhu Wars, so this is quite timely.
http://cthulhuwars.com/

The Beast Handler, finished

Finished.

At just over 70mm tall, the biggest head I've painted if you don't count my own, and let's not go there.

Really enjoyed my first bust and I know which one I'll be painting next. Watch this space...

...or don't, it doesn't really matter.

You can get The Beast Handler from http://thegoldfishofjustice.com/shop

The Beast Handler

Still a work in progress, this is my first attempt at painting a bust. It's something I've wanted to do for a while but haven't been able to decide which one to try.

This piece came up on my Facebook feed, I think it was the first bust by this company. It was quite inexpensive and available for pre-order so I thought I'd take the plunge.

 

This is the result of the first afternoon's work. I'm pleased with it so far, but the photos highlight parts that need improving more so than simply looking at the model does.

 

I may not get back to this piece for a week or so, but I hope I can then patch it up, particularly the five o'clock shadow, smooth out some of the skin tones and finish off the clothes.

It's been good fun so far.

 

The Beast Handler is available from http://thegoldfishofjustice.com/

Bianca, Ghost of Gaia

Another Ghost of Gaia finished, Bianca this time. I love this sculpt! 

I went for a bit of NMM on the power sword, not perfect but I'm getting there.

I'm trying to get all 10 finished in between other projects before the current kickstarter ends and I have 13 more to paint!

 

Current kickstarter campaign is here:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1512506318/ghosts-of-gaia-two-reinforcements-28mm-scifi-femal

 

Thrud the Barbarian

I bought a set of Andrea paints at Salute this year to see what they're like. It was the flesh colours set, so I had a look for a suitable figure to try them out on.

There can be few (tasteful) figures with more flesh than Thrud. I've had him partially painted since I bought him new. That's a while ago now...

 

The six paints appear to be grouped into two groups of three, with a dark, mid and light tone for each. I used five of the six in this chap, with a fair bit of mixing.

 

The paints have a nice creamy consistency compared to the thicker Scale 75 paints that I usually use and they're not as light-suckingly matt as Scale 75. They thin well with plain water and the coverage is good over black. I haven't used Vallejo much so I can't really compare those.

They're nice enough, and I'll probably buy more, but I prefer Scale 75.

 

Ghosts of Gaia 2

Annie of Bad Squiddo Games is currently running another Kickstarter. Ghosts of Gaia 2 brings us reinforcements for the original range of post-apocalyptic female miniatures.

 

Once again, the main figures are sculpted by Shane Hoyle of Necromunda fame. I think that this time around, the miniatures look more like a cohesive group rather than the rather more eclectic mix of the original set.

There are 13 models this time, with more promised as stretch goals. There's even an ogre in there somewhere! Last time I looked it had funded, so these will definitely be coming, the question is how many will get made?

 

As I said in my earlier post, I intend to use my Ghosts as a crew for Scrappers, but aRogue Stars is also an option, and Necromunda has also been uttered on a recent gaming night, so that may be making a reappearance!

 

Last time we also had guinea pigs and a capybara with guns. I got a full set because... well, just because!

This time it's rabbits. 

There may even be a game pitting said guinea pigs against said rabbits! 

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1512506318/ghosts-of-gaia-two-reinforcements-28mm-scifi-femal

Bad Squiddo Games Lagertha and Jade

It's been a while since I posted, so I thought I'd show off a couple of figures that I painted recently.

 

 

Both are produced by Bad Squiddo Games, makers of "believable female miniatures". If you haven't checked them out yet, you really should. They have some wonderful sculpts.

 

The first figure is one version of Lagertha from the TV show Vikings. I'm not sure who sculpted this one but I think he did a pretty good job capturing her face. Lovely stuff.

Then we have Jade. Jade was one of the Ghosts of Gaia post-apocalyptic figures that I got in their recent kickstarter. I used her as the Commander in a recent game of Scrappers, and will be painting the other nine soon. 

 

 

Chronicles of the Wayfarer

My name was put forward by my Facebook friend and blogger James aka Jimboba to paint some miniatures by a new manufacturer. (Jame is an excellent painter and you should check out his superb blog: http://warchest.co.uk/blog/)

The makers of these figures were (still are, I believe) looking for painter/bloggers to paint some samples to help publicise the release of their "Chronicles of the Wayfarer" 15mm fantasy range. They accepted my offer and soon four exquisitely crafted figures arrived from America.

Follow up emails and posts on their Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/Chroniclesofthewayfarer/) informed me that this was to be a competition, in fact the first of several competitions. They simply asked that in return for the free figures, we write an honest review of the figures.

 Knight of the Kiln Leader (KKL)

They are justifiably proud to produce some of the most intricately detailed 15mm figures I've seen. The only other 15mm figures with this amount of detail that I've seen are the sci-fi figures by White Dragon Miniatures (https://whitedragonminiatures.co.uk/). They are 15mm to the eye, and are realistically proportioned, although the armour is probably best described as 'heroically proportioned". They give the distinct impression that they have been digitally sculpted rather than physically.

 Shield Legion Leader (SLL)

The resin figures come with a textured base that appears to be a crevice crying out to be painted to look like lava, and it all  required very little cleanup. The detail is as crisp as you need at this scale and takes the paint very well. I did wash them in soapy water first; not sure if that's really necessary. One of their painters has said that there may be too much detail. I don't agree. Whilst the detail is probably more than you'd need for 15mm figures, a pale base coat and wash would be all you'd need to show it all off beautifully. For those of you who like to get stuck into the detail, you'll have a field day with these beauties!

 Crossbow Leader (CB1)

There is a definite pseudo-Greek look to the figures, and other figures suggest that they have a background all planned out to drop them into. I hesitate to suggest that a game may be forthcoming, but I wouldn't be surprised.

 War Screamer Leader (WSL)

I'm not sure when the range goes live, how extensive it will be or what the manufacturer's website is yet, but You can follow their progress on the Facebook link above. I'd be grateful for a vote in the competition while you're there if you feel so inclined. 😉
(https://www.facebook.com/Chroniclesofthewayfarer/)

They have previewed some new art to accompany the range by the estimable Todd Ulrich, and that alone should have you clicking away to have a look.

Cthulhu Wars - Cultists