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That is a chonky box.

I was kinda interested in picking it up for the teams, but didn’t care for the terrain. Which makes up a lot of it.

Great paint work here.

I would guess the Micro Sol dissolved the glue under the decal and the old glue got redeposited off to the side. Old decals will do that.
Micro Set might help in the future, but you need to wash off the old glue before using the Micro Set under the decal.
You soak the decal and then use a paint brush to wipe off the old glue and the use the Micro Set.
It's pain, but it does work.

@Tommy - Yeah, Micro Sol and Set have been used liberally. Maybe I didn't let it dry long enough before hitting it with Varnish. Corrected now, and lesson learnt.

@Nev - Chonky is an understatement. So much good stuff in there, and always a great dopamine hit opening boxes like that!

First things first, I'm going to be opening a Showcase thread. Once I finish my Eldar models, I'll be collating them and dropping them there. Now that I've finished the bases on the Jet Bikes and the platform, I have my first 2 units to drop into that thread. It will be updated as I finish bits, and maybe drags a few more eyes to this blog.












Nothing new here, but it's all finalised and finished off.

I put together the Ynnari box too. The Visarch was assembled when I got it in the trade, but the sword had broken. A quick fix. But the Yncarne was horrible to put together. I broke a piece of it taking it out for this picture. It will be a long time until I get past that building experience and to decide to paint it.

Very cool model, though. It looks impressive, at the expense of being a PITA to build (and I suspect, paint).

Lets talk Kill Team.
After a few tests of freehand patterns, I decided that the Dire Avenger was just going to get some gems to acknowledge his heroism.

Nothing else looked right. This is very subtle, but I just needed to make a decision and shift it from my to-paint pile.

I have put together all of the Tomb World terrain, and primed it all. What an epic. There is so much!


The terrain is super cool. I've got a test piece in progress for the paint scheme - it needs to 1) look good and 2) be quick and replicable. I think it'll tick that criteria. The primary colours are Necron green and stone/yellow on the plastery bit (pretty much the GW scheme). The stone/yellow is a bit of a concern to build up to from a black primer, but it is the secondary colour and there is more dark green... I'll manage, but I think I'll be layering up yellow for a while. There is some cool detail in there too, and I'm thinking about giving some OSL a go on some of the orbs. But we'll see how intensive it is to paint it all first.
I need to investigate a sensible way to transport the set too. The thought of these pieces rattling around in a box doesn't fill me contentment - all this time painting for it to chip in transit is not the way to go. They stand up in a 4 litre Really Useful Storage box perfectly, I think that might be my route to market... To be investigated further.

I also finished a little side project that I don't think I've made reference to here. A dice frame.
I have so many dice - absolutely loads of them. I made a point at ETC to go around collecting dice from other teams too. My plan was to turn them into a framed piece. It has paid off, and I think it looks amazing. I'm really happy with it, and will display it around the house somewhere. It was easy enough to make, a £3 deep frame from a hobby shop and a friend kindly 3d printing the white frame to fill the empty space.


Of the 10 years I've been playing T9A, I have been collecting dice from opponents and events the entire time. All here. Tiny little mementos, each with a memory. It's very sentimental. I'm considering getting a little plaque added reading "The Ninth Age". From my most recent ETC where I scored in 80-something of 200, to my first ETC where we drank an Italian bar dry of Lemoncello, to The Cardiff Open where I placed dead last and took the spoon... I'm pretty sure I can explain very single dice:

It was a bold claim to know every dice. But knowing 67 of 81 dice is pretty good going.
I'm really happy with this frame as a piece of house decoration that is personal to me - it subtle, sentimental, and a great talking point if anyone asked. I am looking to do something similar with all the ETC Team Shirts I've traded over the years. I'll cut logos and emblems out. Naturally the frame will be a lot bigger, and probably won't make it to hanging on the wall downstairs - but it will be proudly displayed above my painting desk in the spare room.

If I can get my first Tomb World piece finished soon, I'll give you a sneaky mid-week update on it.

Beneath the pallid light of a dying star, the tomb world of Somneft slumbers in eternal silence. Its surface is a cracked mosaic of obsidian and ash, veined with glimmering necrodermis conduits that pulse faintly like the heartbeat of a buried god. Towering monoliths, half-submerged in the dust of millennia, loom like sentinels over a landscape devoid of life but steeped in memory.

The air is thin and metallic, tinged with the ozone scent of ancient energies. Cyclopean structures rise from the gloom—ziggurats of black stone etched with glyphs that whisper of conquest and catastrophe. Beneath them, labyrinthine catacombs stretch for miles, housing legions of dormant Necron warriors in serried ranks, their forms locked in stasis, waiting for the command to awaken.

Occasionally, a flicker of green light dances across the horizon, a sign that the tomb’s systems stir in anticipation. Somneft is not dead—it dreams. And in its dreaming, it remembers empires lost, enemies vanquished, and the cold inevitability of return.

We are all systems go on Tomb World.

My test piece:



I'm quite happy with it! It was reasonably quick to get to this point, although layering sandy yellow over black/dark green is the longer bit. I hope it's replicable. The recipe:
For the green: Black Forest Green drybrush, Irati Green drybrush, Irati Green edge highlight on very select points. The sandy wall is layer Sahara Yellow untill it is a solid colour, wash with Sepia, touch up with Sahara Yellow, then highlight with Tenere Yellow. Gold is Elven Gold and Agrax. From the Scale75 and cidatel ranges.

I just have a LOT more to go now:


I did also get a game in. An 11-10 loss to the Kasrkin.




I'm hoping to keep up some sort of pace on the terrain so I can be playing with painted terrain sooner rather than later.

Looks good! Love the effect.

Do you have plans for active terrain? Glowing runes and conduits and such?

I think I'm going to be keeping the terrain as low maintinence as I can. There is just too much of it to go all out, and as long as the majority of it looks good as a backdrop, I'm happy.



Thats another few pieces done. Remaining, I have; 3 single wall pieces (like above), 8 double wall pieces (twice the size of the bits above), 4 bits of scatter terrain, and 8 pillars. Quite intimidating when I list it out like that.

I went to a 1 day Kill Team event yesterday.




It was marketed as a beginner event. But a few moments in my games were a bit frustrating (gamey). I got 2 losses and a draw. I realise I didn't really know the rules as solidly as perhaps I thought I did. So things were coming up and I'd not even considered it. Or the way I thought things worked were wrong, and it caught me out. There was quite a funny situation in my first game where my opponent asked me if I wanted to do something 3 times, and I said no each time. He then went and spoke to the TO. The TO came over and coached me quite a bit and I ended up ultimately saying yes to what I was trying not to do. I can't imagine what my Oppo said to the TO - probably something like "I'm about to curb stomp a noob that has no idea - can you come and help him out so I don't feel too guilty" I also got a few compliments on the paint job of my team, which is always nice. The TO gave me the TO's choice award, which was nice and unexpected. Probably because he spent a lot of the event coaching me which garnered some pity - and because of a nice Team and my first event... He is due to add some credit to my store account, which I'm hugely grateful for!

I do like KT as a game, and I'm currently having an internal debate about whether I enjoyed the event or not. It's a fun game, realatively easy going and fast paced. But some parts of the rules are frustrating and silly (my oppo could see the top of my DA's helmet crest, subsequently he could then shoot it and killed it - silly). But maybe that is just my inexperience with the game? I'm not in a massive rush to play another event, but I think I'll likely do a few more. It was £15 for a day of gaming, and it was 90 minutes away - all in all quite a low drag committment that I would probably do again.

I've been away with work for a week, and not had much time to drive forward the Tomb World painting. It's coming along slowly.

I did get a £20 voucher from the KT event last week! What should I get?!

Another kill team? New dices for your kill team? Few new paints?

Those Eldar are looking really nice, mate. I like the reds, there's a certain level of mute tones but also it looks kinda weathered (esp. on the jetbike canopies) and I really like that. Nice basing too.

I vote another Killteam with that £20 but good look finding something at that price

Hi everyone!

Wow, 6 weeks since my last update. It's been a while! 3 Weeks away with work, 2 weekends out, a new course taking some of my leisure time... There has been a lot going on, and unfortunately not a lot of it was hobby.

For the majority of the last 6 weeks, I have been chipping away at my Tomb World.


The left hand side is finished, just awaiting a varnish. The right hand side is yet to go. It is so much terrain, and it's been bumming me out a little. I'm about half way, which is a good milestone, but I've made the decision to park it for a few more weeks and do something else. A little break would do me good, I think.

I've spruced up 2 Warlocks. I think I've shown them in pictures a way back - I didn't get refreshed pictures. I will wait until they are varnished and flocked for their glamour shots. Not a huge committment to paint, but an easy option for a few evenings. I also have a Farseer on the go (no pictures again, sorry!). The 'Seer should be done in a week or so, at this rate. Although it isn't anything fancy.

This weekend has pulled me back into the swing of things. My subscription of White Dwarf landed. Its the 50 years of GW issue. I read the long article on a morning this weekend, over a pot of coffee. I really enjoyed the read, and would thoroughly recommend picking it up (especially if you don't regularly get a WD). I've been hobbying since I was about 11 (20 years ago!). I'm not particularly attached to the the nostalgia of the 90s WH stuff, but some of the minis from the 2000s got me. I was an Eldar and Space Marine collector back then (and Dwarves and Lizardmen...). While all of this was great on its own, something else happened on the weekend: my Made to Order Eldar kits that I impulse purchased back in the summer arrived! I remember having the Warlocks and a teen, and Fuegan was my best painted model for a long while - Fuegan became my online handle for a lot of things as a result. Anyway, all of this promted me to go back to my Eldar trade and unbox things a bit more. A LOT of the stuff I got was pinned to cork handles for airbrushing - it was a bit of a pain to store and taking up more room than it should. So I went through as much as I could to remove and base properly. So much old metal goodness. And while there is something satisfying about handling metal models, I'm glad its not a regular occurrance - glueing Swooping Hawk wings has broken me!




There is a huge amount of stuff there. No realistic likelihood of me painting it any time soon. But I'm ok with that. I'll play the long game with it, and dip into them every now and then!

I'm trying to get hobby back into my usual rotation in a week. It should be doable from here on out. But I'm starting to look ahead to the Christmas period. I'm lucky enough to get 4 weeks off work over Christmas - I'm having an internal debate about what 'project' to take on. I want to set a goal before hand, and spend my holidays chipping away at it. A new (small) army is a potential. Taking a chunk out of the pile of shame is also equally valid. I'm also toying with the idea of a small display (it would be my first - All of the old Phoenix Lords and the old Avatar on a little display board..?). Plenty to think on, but maybe I can get a little head-start if I decide sooner rather than later.

Good progress over terrain, it's large set and like gallowdark it's consume huge amount of time.

That’s a heavy weight Eldar army! I like the sound of the display board of the Phoenix Lords joined by the Avatar as a Christmas project. Should give a good bit of variety as well as being really cool!
Your tomb world terrain is looking good, and you’ve made way more progress than I have.

That’s a chunk of heavy metal. Love the old eldar, and glad they they have kept things similar with the new plastics. Good luck with picking and working on a holiday project.

kabaakaba wrote:Good progress over terrain, it's large set and like gallowdark it's consume huge amount of time.

Oh, I know... But at least gallowdark was a quick one - make it silver, then make it look grimey. Easy. This is necron coloured walls, with plasterboard over it. So many layers of yellow!

gobert wrote:That’s a heavy weight Eldar army! I like the sound of the display board of the Phoenix Lords joined by the Avatar as a Christmas project. Should give a good bit of variety as well as being really cool!
Your tomb world terrain is looking good, and you’ve made way more progress than I have.

The display board has been in my mind for a while. I think I have an idea...
If you google Court of the Young King, you get pictures of the Avatar surrounded by the Phoenix Lords. Now imagine that with the classic Avatar and PLs, but the back drop is a Webway Gate. Some scenic floor / surrounding... The idea has potential. I then went one step further and thought maybe I surround the PLs with 5 of their aspect warriors. The board gets a bit bigger. Then, I had a crazy crazy idea. Mirror the board on the webway gate, and on the opposite side do exactly the same with the current Avatar and PLs. So, you can look at the court of the young king from one way, see the classic models with the webway in the background - then walk to the other side and the contemporary models in the same layout with the same webway gate behind them. Call it a 'step through time'. Might need a diagram to explain.
I'll let that idea fester and see what happens.

Nevelon wrote:That’s a chunk of heavy metal. Love the old eldar, and glad they they have kept things similar with the new plastics. Good luck with picking and working on a holiday project.

I've got a few holiday project ideas too...


I think this will be a big update. I've had plenty going on.

First and foremost, some finished models! (yay!).












They've been a long time in various states of completness (the Warlocks). I pushed the Farseer out in reasonably quick time. I think it might be my updated Dakka picture... (RIP IF Dreadnought, you have served well).

And then there is this:


Wow. What a model, and loads of fun to paint. The lava is awesome. I think I need to drop a tiny bit of white in the bigger yellow areas (thigh, belly button), then it is done. I was quite aware of not being able to do it justice. But I've just parked the expectation and I'm getting on with it, and really enjoying it. I think I paint the fire next!

Last week's WD mag was a great read (50 years of GW). It made reference to an Eldar army in Issue 175(or something). I wen't down a bit of a rabit hole trying to find it, and accidentally ended up with a stack of WDs from 96/97, but not the issue that was referenced...


I'm really not sad about it. They are great. This double page doodle is awesome. I look forward to leafing through them in time.

A few weeks ago, I won a £20 voucher at a Kill Team event. This week, my 'prize' arrived.

They were on backorder for a while, so took a bit of time. Just waiting on the OW bases. They are really cool, modern minis. I think I have a rough idea on their paint scheme, something akin to the Sardaukar from Dune. I think my small Warriors collection will be a christmas project. I have these, a Lord, and 3 Dragon Ogres. Very achievable to get them out over the holidays.

Nice work on the seers. And that lava skin on the Avatar is amazing! great job.

The mirrored aspect/PL/Avatar sounds like it could be a fun project. Having all the squads bumps it from a fun diorama to a much bigger project. Even if you only do them on one side. You could add the “reaching out” farseers on either side, almost touching.

Careful. First you get rid of the loyal IF dread, and now slipping into Chaos? Not a good sign. Did the seers not foresee this? Is it part of some foul xenos plan?

The finished Seers look great, and the Avatar is off to an awesome start. However, the expanded diorama idea with both generations of Phoenix Lords mirrored is downright inspired. I would love to see that happen.

Nevelon wrote:Nice work on the seers. And that lava skin on the Avatar is amazing! great job.

The mirrored aspect/PL/Avatar sounds like it could be a fun project. Having all the squads bumps it from a fun diorama to a much bigger project. Even if you only do them on one side. You could add the “reaching out” farseers on either side, almost touching.

Careful. First you get rid of the loyal IF dread, and now slipping into Chaos? Not a good sign. Did the seers not foresee this? Is it part of some foul xenos plan?

youwashock wrote:The finished Seers look great, and the Avatar is off to an awesome start. However, the expanded diorama idea with both generations of Phoenix Lords mirrored is downright inspired. I would love to see that happen.

The Phoenix Lord idea is growing on me, but a little intimidating. I need to put this grand idea aside and just get paint down.


It's been a slower few weeks in the hobby world. I'm hoping to correct that now. I finished work for the holidays on Friday, and have spent all of my leave days to get a solid 4 weeks off work. I'm just putting together a 'to do' list of things I want to finish over the holidays. The Tomb World set is there (I'm just over half way - it's a slog!). The Avatar is there. I think I want to turn my Warriors of Chaos around too. I also know that I want to do a bit of an audit of the pile of shame and my collection. It's also, more or less, a year since I rebooted this thread. I've had some thoughts on how far I've come, and where I want to take it going forward. I also wonder if it's worth having a quick look at my start of year goals, and see if there are any that I can wrap up in the next week or two.

Next time I have my lighting stuff set up, I will get a nice picture of the Avatar. I've made some progress on him, and I'm excited to show you! I've also made some more progress on the Tomb World terrain, but that stuff literally looks the same and there is so much of it - I'll save you seeing endless updates of my walls!



I did put these together, and really enjoyed it. The models are cool AF. I read somewhere that there was a rumor to have new Chaos Warriors for TOW. They might be in my future...

I did get a few games in too!
Kill Team first:


The Ninth Age:


I'm hoping for another update mid-week.

Damn! That display sounds phenomenal, but also intimidating to start. I hope you pull it off.

Great work on the Eldar Seers look fantastic, nice clean colour and highlights.

Congrats on the wins, dropping an early Marine really can swing a game of KT. I find you’ve still got to be careful as one wrong move after that can swing it back. Always good to see two painted forces on good looking terrain

 gobert wrote:
Damn! That display sounds phenomenal, but also intimidating to start. I hope you pull it off.

I think the secret will be breaking it down into component parts, and playing the long game. A PL and a few aspects here and there... This time next year, I might have the majority of it finished.

So a few days into my holiday break, and I have a bit of a hobby update. I think I have rounded my goals down to painting; The Tomb World Kill Zone, all my Warriors of Chaos models (Lord, 10 Warriors, 3 Dragon Ogres), and The Avatar.
It's not particularly ambitious, but I'm not entirely sure where to go from there. I'm waiting on an update for The Ninth Age army books - it will no doubt change my list. For all the big talk about leaving that game system behind and moving on, I've not quite managed to move on! (I love the game and the people). When it does change my list, I suspect I'll have a few pieces I'll need to paint up. I'm also thinking about a second Kill Team. The Angels of Death team got under my skin, and I can't shake the desire to paint 6 marines in a no-commitment manner (6 marines for a team is too easy). Plus, it'll give me a second team to use if I need to offer someone else an intro game. So I'll continue to chip away at those goals and see where the other feelings develop. Maybe I get something out of left field for Christmas.

As promised, some work in progress shots of my Avatar.




I'm a bit concerned about it turning into a dark red mass on the tabletop. Lighter highlights maybe? Bright red gems? Light brown leather instead of what it is? I'm grinding away slowly trying not to overthink it.

I had a long airbrush session today. The aim was to prime and base layer my Warriors of Chaos, and varnish and base layer some tomb world. It was much longer than my airbrushing sessions usually last, but it worked out well. Over the past 6-9 months of using the airbrush, the trigger has been getting more and more 'sticky'. Nothing egregious, but annoying enough to remove the finer control from the airbrush. Today, it got to my limit and I did something about it. I had previously not done anything, just putting it down to 'wear and tear' (it's my first proper airbrush that I bought back in 2013ish - 12 years' use is a good run!). Today, I had a good fiddle and play with it. I decided to open the Super Lube that came in the packet. I've never opened or used it before - the airbrush had always worked fine. Anyway, a few drops later and it's good as new. Likewise, I had the time to properly play around with paint consistency and thinning regular paint and I worked out the perfect ratio (4:5, thinner:paint). Between those two things, it's like having a brand new airbrush. I'm only annoyed I didn't do this immediately, it would have saved so much time and effort from unclogging it especially when you add that time up over the past several months of airbrushing sessions.



Some easy Warriors. I will do the lord in black armour, and the unit in white... light bone. It's not quite the shade I was going for, but I think I'll run with it anyway and see how it turns out. I don't plan on doing anything mental with these, a nice and straightforward batch paint job. I plan to block in the colours, liberally wash with Agrax, then highlight up. That should get 80% of the model. Details from there.

Lets talk about Tomb World. It's killing me.




So there are 8 large wall sections, and 8 small sections. This is the theme I've gone for, and the first picture shows how I have painted about half of the set. It takes 3 layers of yellow, a wash, another layer, and a highlight to get that look over the green. Frankly, I'm fed up. And annoyed at myself for picking this scheme (although I'm not quite ready to accept the blame, so let's just linger in annoyance for now). I thought; lets sacrifice some pieces to airbrush the yellow to see if I can save myself days worth of time. I'm going to progress the big bit in the second picture to finish and compare the results. If they are very similar, I'm just going to airbrush the remaining pieces. I need to move past this terrain!
(In other news, I bought some foam storage for it - no chance am I letting hours of my time rattle around in a box and risk chipping).

Hopefully some more updates in the next couple of days.

What colors are you planning for the tabard/hair of the avatar? You have enough secon/accent colors that you should be able to break out from the reds.

Although a lighter leather would also help. The deep brown realy blends.

Great job on the Avatar, I think it would help to make either the armour or the skin darker to help them stand out as separate materials? For the gems I wonder if blue or green would work as contrast? Really impressive Aeldari collection you got going!! Looking forward to follow your projects!

Your avatar looks great!

And it might be time consuming, but the tomb world terrain looks excellent too. Out of curiosity, what foam are you planning to store them in?

Your Avatar is looking great, love how you’ve created the molten lava look. How long has it taken you to paint it so far?

And the tomb world terrain is looking smart as well, I like the contrast of the colours you’ve chosen for it!

That gimongous Avatar looks like it will be a lot of work. Are you planning to darken the reds? At this stage the molten innards kind of blends in with the main body.

Whatever you do, I'll be keeping an eye on this project-- glowy heat effects a really difficult for me, and I want to see how you tackle it.

Loving the avatar, that gold is really neat and pops well against the red. If you’re worried it’s a bit homogeneous I like the idea of going brighter with the red gems, that should give some good variety.

Good luck with the tomb world terrain, it really is a lot to paint… you’re making me a bit worried, though the scheme I’m planning might be easier… I hope! I also like the sound of foam to store it, what set did you get?

Nevelon wrote:What colors are you planning for the tabard/hair of the avatar? You have enough secon/accent colors that you should be able to break out from the reds.

Although a lighter leather would also help. The deep brown realy blends.

Nilfisken wrote:Great job on the Avatar, I think it would help to make either the armour or the skin darker to help them stand out as separate materials? For the gems I wonder if blue or green would work as contrast? Really impressive Aeldari collection you got going!! Looking forward to follow your projects!

Thanks guys. I think it will be a white / light grey tabard and hair. I'm toying with the idea of taking the armour right down to a dark (almost black) red. Undecided on the gems for now.

JordySteve wrote:Your Avatar is looking great, love how you’ve created the molten lava look. How long has it taken you to paint it so far?

And the tomb world terrain is looking smart as well, I like the contrast of the colours you’ve chosen for it!

I couldn't accurately tell you how long it has taken so far... At a guess, maybe 6-7 hours?

JoshInJapan wrote:That gimongous Avatar looks like it will be a lot of work. Are you planning to darken the reds? At this stage the molten innards kind of blends in with the main body.

Whatever you do, I'll be keeping an eye on this project-- glowy heat effects a really difficult for me, and I want to see how you tackle it.

Thanks Josh - I think I am going to darken the reds.

Piousservant wrote:
Your avatar looks great!

And it might be time consuming, but the tomb world terrain looks excellent too. Out of curiosity, what foam are you planning to store them in?

gobert wrote:Loving the avatar, that gold is really neat and pops well against the red. If you’re worried it’s a bit homogeneous I like the idea of going brighter with the red gems, that should give some good variety.

Good luck with the tomb world terrain, it really is a lot to paint… you’re making me a bit worried, though the scheme I’m planning might be easier… I hope! I also like the sound of foam to store it, what set did you get?

I get my foam from Feldherr. I have worked out a way to get it into 2 pick and pluck foam trays. I'll share a picture once it arrives and if it all fits (it was a tight squeeze!).


As far as hobby updates go, I got my Warriors to a decent point.


All of the details are in. I put a wash of Agrax onto it, and I plan to go back and highlight up. Although, the wash hasn't come out great imo. It really has stained all the bone coloured arour. Not quite the intent I was going for. We'll have to see how much of a pain it will be to highlight up again. I picked the wrong colour to start with on them, and now the wash hasn't quite come out as intended... A little bit disheartening.

I also got chatting to someone at the club, who very kindly gave me 3x push-fit Marines. It was in the context of talking about Kill Team, and how I think I'd like to get a second (non-Aeldari) team to have. It would enable me to offer intro games to new players if they don't have a team. An Angels of Death team would be great - easy to use and quite a straight forward team. So now I have 3 test marines to try a scheme. I poured over various different colours and chapters, and landed on Raven Guard - I've done White Scars, I've done Imperial Fists, time to give a fair crack at black power armour.

Here they are, base coated and ready to go. My aim is for a team that looks good on the TT, looks interesting up close, and is relatively quick and easy to replicate. We'll see how the test marines come out - Black and white is quite a striking colour combo, and with all the gizzets and bits that can go on a SM they should be interesting up close. I just need to identify a painting method that works too.

I hope everyone is having a good festive time.

It's been a little slow on the hobby front this past week, for obvious reasons. I did a long gaming day yesterday (a few games of The Ninth Age), and have cracked a few more pieces of the Tomb World set. But the main update I want to talk about today is the Angels of Death Kill Team test miniatures that I have finished.






Here they are, all subtly different.

I like the centre one the most - the black is much of a much-ness and so similar it really doesn't matter. The paints used in the last update got a Nuln Oil wash and that is it (as far as paint schemes go, quick and easy). But I think it comes down to the highlighting that makes it. I didn't highlight every panel, just the obvious ones to keep the shape and definition of power armour. I'm drawn most to the centre model, which has 3 highlights compared to the others with only 2. Is a dot of almost white on the highlights significant enough to draw me to a model? I don't know, but it's the only difference on the 3 sets of power armour between the one I like and the other 2. (My eye is drawn to the thigh panel and helmet, which both have the almost-white corner highlights).
I like the darker metal on the left hand model. So that will copy through across them all.
The right hand model was a bit of a test for a few things. I watered down some brown and gave the weathering look a go. I'm not a fan. Extra steps for not a great deal of return (unnoticable on the table, very subtle up close). So I think they stay parade-clean. I also tried some extra red on the chainsword. It looks too 'black templar' for me, so I might have to keep the red to a minimum (company shoulder trim only). It doesn't help that I accidentally went a shade of red lighter than I should have. It only reinforces the slightly darker red is better. I went red with the weapon casings too, to break up the black. It works on pistols I think, but not on pistol+chainsword.
Obviously the white also plays a big part in the scheme. I'm happy with how it has come out, so the recipe is nailed down (middle guy again, particularly his left arm). They won't all get left arms - I will use it sparingly. But as a minimum, helmet and chest eagle will be white. I did some rough free hand on the left guy, just to see how the black would be broken up with white. I think it will be fine with shoulder markings and squad number on knees. Here is something outrageous I learnt: Space Marine decal sheets don't contain RG transfers by default. That is craziness. It's been like 7-8 years since I bought a box of SM, so I can't quite remember exactly what was on the transfers. But I know that the Raptors' iconography wasn't on it before - since where did that change?!

I actually sourced a box of Space Marines out on my travels this past week. A very impulsive buy, but the Intercessors are the crux of the Angels of Death Kill Team. So they'll fit in well. And now I've nailed down a scheme, I can press on with painting them once they're built.

Good looking set of triplets. I think you’ve made the right choice on the highlights and the darker red. I quite like the grime on the right hand side dude, but your probably right that it’ll be hard to see on the table top

Hi all.

We're a few days into the New Year, and everything seems to be returning to normality. I took some time recently to take stock of my Hobby during 2025, and consider where it'll go in 2026.

This blog has been alive for just over a year now. Revived from the archives, I have you have kept it me going for a year now. Thank you. It's nice to have an outlet in the form of a blog. A photo dump, running commentary of what I'm doing with my thoughts, and of course, interaction with the wider community. I sometimes wonder if a social media account would be better, but I always come to the conclusion that a blog is a 'real' space to chronical my hobby - it's more for me than anyone else, where I feel that social media is all about servicing other people via chasing those likes, as it were. I digress.

A year ago I set some goals for myself.

1) Play at least 2 in-person games a month.
2) Paint more than I buy.
3) Attend The Ninth Age's ETC with Team Wales and play a fully painted army.
4) Update my blog at least once a week.
5) Paint 10 models for each of the following game systems; The Ninth Age, The Old World, Kill Team, 40k.
6) Attend a tournament for The Ninth Age, and place in the top half of players.
7) Visit Warhammer World in Nottingham.

Some mixed success!
1) It was 50/50 whether I played 2 games a month or not. According to my rough notes, I played 16 'pick up' games (mostly Kill Team), and 24 Tournament games (mostly The Ninth Age). With some months playing no games and others with just tournaments, it felt a bit inconsistent.

2) 64 models painted, 31 purchased. Not including the Tomb World boxset (how do you even quantify terrain?!), nor the Dark Elf/Eldar army trade. I'm happy with it! My favourite work from this year..? My Aeldari Guardians were crisp and clean and quite quick. Likewise, the Dire Avengers. And obviously a fully painted fantasy army at ETC!

3) Big tick here. A fully painted army at ETC, the premier gaming event for The Ninth Age, is such a good feeling. And what an event too. Talavera, Spain. Excellent company, with Team mates I have been friends with for easily 5 years (for some, 10+ years!). A joint holiday, gaming, good company, and incredible food (I swear, there is something about food on the continent that makes it head and shoulders better than the UK). And the bonus, I placed in the top half of players with 66/120 points - such a huge flex when you consider the top tier global player base, and I'm using the worst performing army according to the data.

4) Weekly blog updates unfortunately did not happen. I was pretty consistent, but as it tends to happen, life gets in the way and the hobby takes a back seat for a while. I will endeavour to be more consistent this year around!

5) I easily managed 10 models for Kill Team, The Ninth Age, and 40k. I did not manage it for TOW.

6) Another big tick here. I first managed this in February. Then again at ETC!

7) I went to WHW, and just wow. What an incredible place. I should go back, and try to make it an annual event of going to WHW.

I've been considering how to stay focussed with my Hobby through 2026, and I think these are the goals that I have landed on:

1) Play 2 in-person games a month.
I have a local gaming club that is 10 mins drive from me. They play twice a week. It is a slight detour on the drive home from work. It would be rude not to. I will make every effort to get games in here.

2) Paint 150 miniatures*.
The immediate question is; how big is a miniature? I don't know, but I think I'll just make a judgement call on comparison with your average infantry bloke. A space Marine is 1, a Land Raider is probably 5(?). I am aware that this is more than double my output from this year. I think goals should be a little out there - let's see what happens.

3) Maintain a hobby blog, and post weekly.
I've found a reasonable rhythym with posting. I should just be more conscious of the ups and downs of hobbying. I would like to maintain this blog for another year, and I'm sure I will. Weekly updates is the aim!

4) Play a tournament/event in Warhammer World.
I've known for a while that I want to go back. It's just a matter of picking the right reason. I'm keeping an eye on the events page for something that seems fun. I'm not sure I'll go with a super competitive event. Maybe a doubles event, or a narrative event..? We'll see.

5) Have a net reduction in my Pile of Shame of 10%.
Note the wording: reduction. Not a matter of painting it all (although that is the ideal), but naturally things are released from my attachment and sold. I have let go of a few Kill Teams that I have that I have not, and will not, paint or play. I think chipping away at this over time is the key to success, but also mindfulness about what I am buying will help.

These goals are very generic. I'm a bit between projects at the moment, so I think the goals are a reflection of that. I don't know what I want to focus on this year, but I'm sure something will come up - and I have plenty to paint as it is...

I went through everything that I have in my pile of shame. A bit of an 'audit', I suppose. Just to see where I stand. This is my Pile of Shame list.

I make that about 470 infantry equivalent miniautes. I have Ebayed the 3 Kill Teams in my pile of shame, so that is a reduction of 30 models so far. But I did buy 10 Intercessors before the end of Dec, so it went up at the last minute. Lets paint some now!

So I am pressing ahead with the Tomb World Kill Zone.

These are the final 3 pieces. Then it's varnish. I am totally over painting terrain. Please please please talk me out of buying a terrain set next time I think about it. I am pushing to try and get them done this weekend. It's been a few months in the works, I will be glad to see it finished.


Here is the start of my Intercessors. I got excited and made a good start, before getting second wind to complete the Tomb World. They are on hold for now, but I am very much looking forward to circling back to them. I have some thoughts on them, too.

I am also looking at my Chaos Sorcerer.

This was the only mini I was gifted at Christmas. I think I will jump back into the monthly painting comps. The theme is shiny and new, which this was. I think the monthly comp themes could keep me focussed on my pile of shame - pick something from it that meets the theme to keep progress ticking forward. But not until I put the Tomb World behind me...

Oh, and I manage a few games between Christmas and the start of the new year. Fantasy all the way!





I hope my next update is a full display update of my complete Kill Zone: Tomb World. Then onwards and upwards!

It’s always good when you get to go back over your goals and manage to tick lots of them off - when you write it all down it’s an impressive tale, you have had a good year, especially with the gaming events! And painting more than you buy is always a win (something I am going to try and achieve). I’ve deliberately stayed away from the documenting my pile of shame, as it will probably provide good justification not to buy anything else!

The intercessors are looking nice, I’m looking forward to seeing them finished in all their glory.