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One of the (few) perks of being divorced is that there is nobody to tell me not to do stupid things with my money. Also one of the drawbacks. I need to adult all on my own. But I can go from stealing space for a photo op to nearly the whole thing:

I realized it had been a while since I grabbed a full shelf shot, and I picked up a few acrylic risers to help decompress. I should take everything out and dust, but that seems like a lot of work.

I moved the undead up to the top shelf of the glass fronted bookcase, in the spot that used to be the Eldar’s. I should do a skeleton retrospective. I’ve got like 4 generations in there, and that’s not including the new CC ones I just finished building, or the ones still on sprue.

--



So a little painting progress. Popped the big guys off the bases so I could get a brush on their pants. Enough gaps in the coat that you could see, but not reach. I think I’m going to do the cuffs black as well. Wasn’t sure if they were gloves, but look to be part of the coat. It will balance with the black boots. Sister is plodding along. Getting there.

No work done yet this weekend, as The Boy had a long weekend home from school and came over to visit for a bit. I should try to catch up now.

Enjoy your weekends all!

Blue china is always a classy look.

That is a mighty impressive horde of smurfs

I wonder if my horde of Ultras can out-horde my skeletons? Let’s take a look!

Ranked up and ready to dance


Only 90 some odd. So falling below chapter company strength. But to be fair, they have lost far more to edition/rules changes then the Ultras.


The oldest bones in the crypt. Most of these were picked up before I even started playing WFHB, for use in D&D. The standard bearer/musician were added later. Those were from the day when your rank and file were plastic (if you were lucky) but command were sold in metal blisters.


The oldest plastics. Bodies were one part, but the arms/heads were separate. Mix of hand weapons, one spear and one scythe. So if you wanted anything besides sword and board you had to get creative. There was a chariot and mounted box from the same era that had some extra bits. Like bows if you wanted to make archers. I think. It’s been a few years...


The next multi part box could be built either S&B or spears. Which is why most of mine were built that way. With just a few hand weapons to fill out ranks. This kit also included stuff to make a C/S/M so you didn’t need an extra kit. I think there was even a tomb king box that included a metal blister with extra parts. I think I have that unopened in a box somewhere. Torso and legs separate IIRC, and you got a beastman skull for a little diversity.


But if you really wanted to go multicultural, you wanted these guys. Dogs of War regiment with a conquistador guy who traveled the world, collecting skeletons along the way.

Now there is a fine line between wights and skeletons. You could take wights as champions for skeleton units, or field them on their own.

These are the old guard. Painted before I really settled down on a coherent theme.


Some command. I think the ones with axes were billed as skeleton champions and came with the musicians/standards.


I think the command guys might have released with these guys. Not sure if this was the change from “wights on foot” to “grave guard” as we know them know. They did rank up a lot easier. Felt more like a rank and file unit, where the early ones felt more like heros and champions, who sometimes teamed up into a squad.


Armored skeletons. If you wanted to field a unit of skellies with armor, there were a few armor bits on the early spues, but you could also get them in metal. One of these guys was the top of my wight centaur conversions. On the table I’d sometimes use them as the front rank of armored skeletons, or to fill out the back ranks of wights.


Because what’s a shambling horde of undead without a few necromancers to keep their numbers topped off and cast the danse macabre to get them moving? Generic necro, Kemler, one of the better sculpts of the day that still holds up well, and an empire light? wizard from back before TK split off.

The true heart of my old undead were these guys:

Did I abuse the heck out of their rules and pricing? Sure thing! These guys were a pure deathstar unit. And kinda PTW. Metal calvary, like $7 a blister at a time when a box of 12-20 troops were like $20. From an rules PoV, their points were different then most units at the time. Most armies were if you had a foot and mounted version, the mounted one was twice the cost of the foot, plus the coast of the steed. Wights? You want death poneys, just add that to the cost. No doubling. Now we did miss some options (like lances, maybe barding (not that I’d want that)) but it kept the cost down lower then it should have been. They kind of hit like a wet noodle, except agasint some very niche targets. They were there for the banner and rank bonus Because in a world where a vast bulk of things were based on a human statline, they were T4 with 3 wounds. It took a LOT of work to whittle them down. And by the time that happened, the Vampire Lord at the head of them would have reduced your army to a fine red mist. The cherry on top was the crown of command; this magic item (which I pretty much always took) let them make break tests on unmodified leadership. Toss the battle standard bearer in there for a re-roll, with the Ld 10 vamp? I can’t say they never broke and crumbled, as it happened once memorably in a masters of evil 3x3 team game, but they were rock solid.

But back to skeletons:

Building these guys this morning. While “new” to me, they are an older kit, and there are more recent skeletons out now. These guys suck. They lean forward too much, the torsos are separate, but don’t want to attach right. Detail is soft. Just not a fan. Clipped all 10 from the sprue and cleaned up the 3 spearmen I’m building from them. Other 7 are going to have hand weapons. This way when added to the CC ones I’ll have 10 of each. Not that it maters in the curent rules, as it’s all “ancient weapons” but I like to keep things organized.

And for completion’s sake, here is the recent pick of the CC skellies


And now I kinda want a box of the new skeletons. They look nice!

Anyway, enough retrospective. Off to do constructive things with my day.

Laying down paint is good. Another step done.

I love the generations of skeletons. Although can you have generations of the undead?!

Always appreciate a retrospective. The original metal skeletons and the Dogs of War are really great models. I much prefer the old Wights to the later Grave Guard. They make for a better unit, but individually the Wights were far more interesting.

Nice bones. All you're missing is some Nightmare Legion for the very old generation.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Laying down paint is good. Another step done.

Getting there

inmygravenimage wrote:I love the generations of skeletons. Although can you have generations of the undead?!

Absolutely! and if you raise dead at a family mausoleum, you’ll get a number of generation in one casting!

youwashock wrote:Always appreciate a retrospective. The original metal skeletons and the Dogs of War are really great models. I much prefer the old Wights to the later Grave Guard. They make for a better unit, but individually the Wights were far more interesting.

So true. I think a lot of the older sculpts gave next to no bothers about ranking up neatly, or being a coherent unit. The artists making them just went for what they thought was cool. Gave us a lot of awesome sculpts, but some less useful as game pieces then others. The the vampire lord who’s cape took up an extra space in the rank and file...

Cap'n Facebeard wrote:Nice bones. All you're missing is some Nightmare Legion for the very old generation.

I’m not tracking down old lead just for fun. New stuff, maybe...

So finished building these guys:

If you ever have the chance to pick up skeletons of this generation, don’t. They suck. They go together poorly, look ugly, have bad poses. The list goes on. I was questioning myself as I finished building them. Would I ever paint them? Would I ever field them? At best, these guys are going to be like that 7th tactical squad that you need to be fielding the exact wrong kind of list to ever even vaguely need. They are on the right bases for AoS, so have that over the 90+ better looking skeletons in my collection. But that’s it. And they have enough crappy detail on them I can’t just slap a quick bit of paint on them and call it a day. They are going to get so dusty in the Pile of Shame.


Thugs getting closer. I used to have a better pale blue paint I used for wight flesh. I put a wash on these guys to try to get something similar. not happy. The whole model is going to get a nuln oil wash, so am not overly concerned about some of the details. Still a bit of cleanup left to do. And a bit of detail work, like picking out the exposed bones.

Also put the blue ink on a terminator waiting in the wings. They need to get done. I’d like to get as many legitimatly done before October. Because next month I’m popping everyone off the handles and getting as many spooks done as I can.

Not the best pic, but these guys might be done, bar the bases. Just put the eyes and teeth on them. Should probably do a detail check before I pop them off the handles. Now that I think about it, they needed some work done on their beards last I looked that I never did. Almost done.

Thugs looking properly thuggish. I like the grunginess and that skintone is pretty cool. After the Nightmare Legion comment, I had to go check my own collection. Turns out I still have the unit champion. Great old mini. There's enough of us old-timers on Dakka, we could probably put together one heck of a GW retrospective.

 youwashock wrote:
Thugs looking properly thuggish. I like the grunginess and that skintone is pretty cool. After the Nightmare Legion comment, I had to go check my own collection. Turns out I still have the unit champion. Great old mini. There's enough of us old-timers on Dakka, we could probably put together one heck of a GW retrospective.

I do consider myself a “Living Ancestor” from the old squat lore. My job to keep the old fires burning, and tell the tales to the youngsters. And post pics of minis older then them. Heck, I might even be at the point where I’ve got minis older then their parents!. Crap I’m old.

One thing I notice in the pics but not in person is that the reflection of the light makes the beards look more grey then they actually are. But that’s just the finish on the paint talking. Going to give them a little grey drybrush. And then finish baseing them by Monday.

We made it to the weekend folks, time to relax.

Lol, "weekend". I work at a Casino. There's no such thing as "weekends" here. In any case, glad to see your progress.

 Warboss_Waaazag wrote:
Lol, "weekend". I work at a Casino. There's no such thing as "weekends" here. In any case, glad to see your progress.

One perk of a soulless office job is that I do my hours, I clock out, and don’t have to worry about work when I’m off the clock, And as long as I get my 40 hours in, they are pretty good with me flexing here and there. And no nights or weekends. I did a stint in retail, where especially around the holidays, the idea of nights/weekends/time off was a laugh. Something to be said for the 9-5 grind. (Well, 7:30-4:00, but who’s counting besides me)



So terminator #2 is off and ready to be based/decaled. Working on clipping some black knights. Sister is plugging along; at the cleanup stage before washes.

And getting ready for Spooktober!


Going to try to burn through as many of these guys as I can in the month, pick 5 for the comp. But in an ideal world, I’d like to get them done by the end of the year. With the addition of the cairn wraith who’s joining them, this is what I need to finish for the spearhead.

Oh, and because I just posted them in the comp thead and not here, the thug brothers:

Good entry there Nevelon.

Cheers,

CB

Thanks



Getting started.

Almost done clipping the knights. Also glued rocks and tufts to the terminator.

I finished one spirit host already, waiting for base work. Started on the next. Wraiths are almost done with basecoats, going to need a bit of clean up.

 Nevelon wrote:


I finished one spirit host already, waiting for base work. Started on the next. Wraiths are almost done with basecoats, going to need a bit of clean up.

How cool, do you paint high point to low? That's some crisp coats.

It’s more scattered.

Generally I start at the lowest layer basecoat, and work from there. Drybrush, tidy up as needed. Normally washes go on last.

So these guys are going to get their robes mostly done, the. The turquoise glaze for the ghosty bits, then a black ink to finish the robes. With a little final touchup, probably a little bright silver to pick out the chainmail.

But what later goes on first is more an issue of what pot is handy, or bits on the model then any sort of directional plan.

Ah, I see. I'm very picky with my direction. And if I use washes I'll try and clean up after, I always go a little to heavy I believe. I'm excited to see the glaze now that I see the basecoats. Been watching here and the evolution.
If I could even ask what does a basecoat layer consistency look like for you on your pallete? i believe mine might be too thick. I'm really curious your layers are so clean

Gost_engineer wrote:
Ah, I see. I'm very picky with my direction. And if I use washes I'll try and clean up after, I always go a little to heavy I believe. I'm excited to see the glaze now that I see the basecoats. Been watching here and the evolution.
If I could even ask what does a basecoat layer consistency look like for you on your pallete? i believe mine might be too thick. I'm really curious your layers are so clean

Must be the bad pics.

In person they are a lot more splotchy.

I paint straight out of the pot. I have a blister pack I use to have a drop of clean water on, which I use to moisten my brush if it need it (which it will). But I adjust thickness on the fly. If I add too much water I dab it off on the paper towel.

This, for those reading along at home, is an atrociously bad habit. Use a wet pallete. I’m an old dog, so have to watch how many new tricks I try to learn. If it was good enough for me in the late 80’s, it’s good enough for me now!

Ha! Oh boy well then tisk tisk. I still think they look great. Adjusting on the fly is some boss level work honestly.

Gost_engineer wrote:
Ha! Oh boy well then tisk tisk. I still think they look great. Adjusting on the fly is some boss level work honestly.

Heh. I’ve distilled decades of bad habits into fairly consistent table-top results. I’m not winning any awards, but have painted a lot of models over the years.

I should really get back to work on the triumph. 2 years. Ugh. More detail work when I’m sober. Which is not now.

So it’s time for the Q3 report, now that we are in October. I suspect that this is going to read like “just like Q2, but 3 months behind” but let’s check

Here are my New Year’s resolutions:
1 Paint 8 members for the primaris battle company 7/8
2 Paint at least 24 Tyranids, and strive to keep them PoS neutral. 15/24
3 Paint more than I buy. 32/20
4 Paint at least 3 units that have been in the primed pile/Pile of Shame for 3+ years 1/3
5 Update my blog at least once a week, and maintain a consistent pace of work (1 mini a week).
6 Paint at least two units for 4 different factions. 5/8
7 Enter and finish an entry every month for the painting challenge. If the monthly challenge stops, enter at least one comp in the year.
8 Paint models to be able to field the SM/Nid combat patrols. 5/14


So 1 is not that bad. Granted, I’ve just added one model since last quarter. But only one left to go.
Nids are behind. That said, if I just put a month on them and cranked them though like I’m doing with nighthaunt now, achievable.
The fact that I’m ahead on culling the pile of shame says more about my purchases this year then my painting speed.
I really need to bit the bullet and just put the blue on the stormhawk. I think it’s at that stage. And figure out what the 3rd is.
I feel like my blogging might be slowing down a bit. Still here, still plugging away. I should make my 52 goal, but that’s sad as I know I can make much higher numbers.
Actually doing really good on diversity. I might not technically make this due to how I worded it, but getting it in spirit.
Still rocking the challenge. Even got the triumph finished enough to enter in the bonus round, but it still needs a lot more work.
I’m expanding the last one to cover spearheads as well. But I would still like to make this. I’ve got the terminators as WIP, which I’m pretty sure are what I need for the SM one.

OK, so not as bad as I thought, but still not good.

So what’s the plan?

Finish the nighthaunt The hard part on this will be burning through the 10 chainrasps. I can see myself loosing interest somewhere in that host. But we are only a week into the month and I’m doing good on the wraiths and spirit hosts. This will help my overall volume, add 2 more to the diversity count, and finish a spearhead.

Once they are done I think I need to get back to work on the terminators, which will finish the CP. Probably run some nids across the spare handles at the same time.

What wins the vote for November will shape what gets done in that month. Might go small so I can work volumes of nids across the bench to finish that spearhead.

December is good for batting cleanup. Figure out what goals I still need to meet, and paint on it.

So nothing at Warhammer day sparked my interest. Not that there weren’t a bunch of cool things, but nothing aligned with my needs. Being able to pass on the battleforces does open up some purchase room. I always like to hold out and see if any of them appeal to me, as they tend to be great deals. I might end up grabbing the soulblight spearhead, but that will probably wait until November. Give me something to build over the winter.

The summer was very disappointing at the workbench. I have more time now. Less vacations, and now that The Boy is off at college, I don’t have him every other weekend anymore. Which is another issue, but not a hobby one. I’m hoping the enthusiasm from the nighthaunt continues. We’ll see.

Hope everyone is enjoying what they can of their weekends,

--Nev


Automatically Appended Next Post:

Put the Nuln oil down. Need to let that dry, give the wraiths a drybrush of light blue, then the black ink. After that the turquoise


Building the knights. As there is a lot of interchangeable bits, going to get the horses done, then put the riders together. Just in case I want to swap things around from what I clipped into the blisters.

Keep it up, Nev! Strong finish!

YYD shelf looks good. The Ultras got some cool minis this year.

Did the wraiths yesterday, and the spirit this morning. Need another black pass to blend the robes a bit, and some touch up work. The black ink is very strong, and darkens some things (like the chainmail) more then I want, so that needs to be bumped up a bit.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Did some work over lunch to polish these guys off. Referenced the old guys and did some stuff to match. Final drybrush coat, blued the blades. Probably ready to be popped on and replaced with the next 5. Will do the final check after work.

I used a heavier drybrush on the old guys, but not sure if I want to go that hard. Ready for baseing.



Next batch down and ready to start.

Edit:
And started. Grey seer down.

I always like a good drybrush, but I could see wanting them a bit smoother. Looking like good progress so far!

Keep it up, its already really positive that you have a plan and a regular check for it

Vejut wrote:I always like a good drybrush, but I could see wanting them a bit smoother. Looking like good progress so far!

I can always go back and slap a drybrush on later. Or put a glaze on the old guys. I’ll wait until they are all done to make the call.

The_Retromancer wrote:Keep it up, its already really positive that you have a plan and a regular check for it

It helps keep me organized and on track. Different motivation tools work for different people, this is one of mine.

—

No paint progress, but Amazon is doing a big sale, and the cabinet I had picked up is now on sale for 20% off, so I ordered another.