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It's new year's day (well down here in NZ it is)
and I've made all the usual new year's resolutions; eat right, exercise more, meet new people, plot the downfall of the human race for the glory of ancient gods (Iä! Iä! Cuthulu fhtagn!)
and most importantly to finish more of my hobby projects. (sorry Shub-Niggurath world domination will have to wait, I have space marines to paint)

I've tried a blog to focus before...to less than successful results.
That failure was caused by two things,
-life getting in the way
-a single overly ambitious project.

since then, life has gotten out of the way and I've moved away from large perpetually unfinished armies for the likes of 40K and WHFB (to small perpetually unfinished warbands for the likes of TnT and DZ)

To help mix it up (and satisfy my old school wargamer's soul) I've made some D6 tables to help pick my projects (colour coded to match dice)

ACTIVITY
1) Terrain
2) Models
3) Special (writing lore, game aids, pimp tokens, etc)

TIME PERIOD
1) Historical/Fantasy
2)Modern/Pulp
3) Future/Sci Fi

SETTING - HISTORICAL/FANTASY
1)Myth
2)Warhammer Fantasy (using Open Combat, Dragons Rampant, Frostgrave, Kings of War etc)
3)Zombiecide: Black Plague
4)SAGA
5)Test of Honour
6)Special (boardgames, new/minor systems, etc)

SETTING - MODERN/PULP
1)Zombiecide
2)Shadows of Brimstone
3)Bolt Action/Konflikt
4)This is Not a Test
5)Steampunk (Dystopian Legions, In Her Magesty's Name, etc)
6)Special (boardgames, new/minor systems, etc)

SETTING - FUTURE/SCI FI
1)MERCS
2)Imperial Assault
3)Dreadball
4)X Wing
5)Warhammer 40,000 (using Deadzone, Rouge Stars, etc)
6)Special (boardgames, new/minor systems, etc)


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Can I have a drum roll please (badum-dum tish, see what I did there?)


The First Roll!
2= Terrain
4= Modern/Pulp
4= This is Not a Test

Today will be a Crate day! before you get too excited I mean shipping crates, not beer crates (Kiwis and Ozzies will know what I'm talking about, not sure if the rest of the world celebrates crate day?)

(edit: updated roll tables)

Quarter 1 Complete

Ace! Be watching this with keen interest.

It was less a crate day and more of a crate fortnight but I got them finished.


TnT caravaneer Scale-bar Sally checks out some pre-war containers in hopes of a lucky find.

Crates are done for now, I want to revisit them later with some chipping, weathering and graffiti that matches the source material but I'd burnt my self out just getting this far (...so much freehand...) and would've ended up rushing it. However I'm pleased with how they came out and had fun coming up with the registration numbers (all with references to the source material)


can't have a nuclear wasteland without some fallout.




yes, the blue aperture crate is upside down (and not just in the photo, I actually painted it upside down by mistake ) but with the addition of some snarky this way up graffiti it will become a feature


the blue sun crate was supposed to be a colour swapped pair like the aperture crates, but after painting the first logo...no...just no. Unfortunately I started with the reversed colours, but I couldn't even bring myself to do a proper job of the logo on the reverse side, just half arsed it and plan to cover it up with River and Simon wanted posters when I revisit the crates.

Time to Roll!
4= Modeling
2= Historical/Fantasy
6= Special (in this case a new system - SAGA: the crescent & the cross)

and I remembered a before pic this time:

Work will be on the Warlords for my two starting factions; Jean Dupont Toulemonde a Turcopolier in the Knights Hospitallier and his nemesis Fulan AlFulani leader of the opposing Mutatawwi'a warband. both are going to get minor conversions to alleviate the 2D nature of the one piece metals. this is going to be a more idealised Hollywoodish project to save my self from the quagmire of the slavish pursuit of historical accuracy. (I know from personal experience that that way lies madness.)

Painting Finished!

On his journey to the holy land Jean Dupont Toulemonde found he had leprosy and had to resign from the hospitaliers and join the Order of St Lazarus, the so called leper knights. (that's why he looks so sick, also it didn't show up well in the photo but the mottling on his cheek are sores from his leprosy) the bases are unfinished as I'm waiting for some that I ordered online to arrive.

I have received some shinny new D3's and edited the tables in the first post to enable their use.


2= Modeling
2= Historical/Fantasy
6= Special (continuing with SAGA, 8 Arab archers)

Awesome work as always my friend! Loving the containers. What's the plans for the archers? .. dem D3's are super shiny gubbins!

Finished the next batch and in decent time too (was also probably the most minis I've painted all in one go in a long time)


still waiting on the bases.

Next roll!

1= Terrain
2= Modern/Pulp
5= Steampunk

This one took some thinking as I didn't have any Steampunk terrain ideas pre-planed but I've been wanting some terrain that provides a LoS blocker without providing big chunks of cover to hunker down in and what could be more steampunk than plumes of steam?

the Idea is a steam vent for some sort of underground industrial...thing.

Work in progress.

Pipes need banding and rivets and the steam cloud needs to be covered in clump foliage before I can get on to painting.

Smoke effect looks cool. Looking forward to seeing the finished product.

Steam-Moat finished



I made some end caps too (allowing for future expansion)

the end caps are not too stable on the small bases, so I may have to come back to these with some sort of lead counterweights.


Roll #5

2= Modeling
2= Modern/Pulp
5= This is Not a Test (TnT)

My TnT warband is not nailed down yet, so time for more rolls, this time on the random creature tables.

7= Dangerous creatures
1= Land Snapper (the most dreaded creature in the wasteland!)

In core TnT, land snappers are giant snapping turtles, however my TnT campaign is set in post-apocalyptic New Zealand and we don't have turtles here.
So in Nuke-Z-land the most feared creature is the "Crazy Yuge Crayfish"

Nice work on the steam moat, it looks really cool.

EDC

Slight change of plans, the crayfish to an unexpected 3 story dive onto asphalt and not all the parts can be found

so re-roll time.

12 X Rad Roaches

Roll #5 is finished and they've already been used in a game
and I also had time to base all the models I've painted this year on the clear acrylic bases that finally arrived.


Scale-bar Sally and friends cornered by a swarm of Rad Roaches. (kinda bummed I didn't think to convert them into Rad-Weta until after they were all painted)

and the next Roll:

Roll #6
2= Modeling
2= Modern/Pulp
2= Shadows of Brimstone
and a flip of a threat card gives us ... Trederran Raiders!



this one will be a bit slower to get finished, My brother's wedding is this weekend. Gives me time to consider what colour I want for the uniforms

Very nice man, loving the clear acrylic on them... I fething hate those raiders.. >.<

Some nice work in here, and I love how you've left what to paint up to chance.

Tredarrians finished!


I went for a mars camo that sort of morphed into a firefly browncoat tribute, and gave them the martian R,G,B goggles from the 1953 War of the Worlds movie.

They took so long (nearly the entire month) because my first scheme (moon camo) didn't work and instead of stripping them and starting from scratch I tried to do the least possible work and
just paint the jacket...then the pants...then the belts...then the...then...etc.
Eventually everything had been repainted (sometimes more than once) and lots and lots of time was wasted carefully not to getting paint on neighboring areas only to repaint those areas anyway.

Roll #7
1= Modeling
1= Historical/Fantasy
6= Special

I should continue with SAGA Crusaders and Arabs but after some games of Test of Honour I'm all about Samurai instead.
I've also thrown my hat into the ring for the League of Extraordinary Riviters "series of tubes" Competition
so this will double as my entry to that.
That's a free piece of terrain with your Samurai painting entertainment.


I know there are no samurai in this picture but my pre-order of ToH hasn't arrived yet, despite my friends copy arriving last week (to add insult to injury he ordered after I did)

Anyway we have reached a milestone and finished the first quarter, I'll be putting a Q1 completion pic in the first post and starting a new completed tally for Q2 (...totally not because I'm sick of pulling the crates and steam moat out of the cabinet to set up the completion pic...totally not the reason...)

I appreciate the comments that have been made in this thread (and those who are watching without commenting) and know I've failed (hard) at replying so far so my Q2 resolution is to engage in discussion on this thread and not lurk my own Plog.

Cheers

Love the thread subbed, really nice work and enjoying the non-GWness.

I really like your style of pain ting and can't wait to see what you come up with for the competition.

Those steam vents are inspired, brilliant work.

Thanks Camkierhi (with belated thanks to hungryp and evildrcheese ... and very belated thanks to Monkeh and Warboss_Waaazag)

There will be some GW if the right numbers get rolled (I don't think my new D3's like the number 3 just can't seem to roll it, of course when I showed one of my gaming buddies he gave them a roll and they both came up 3's) but I've moved away from the massed battles of my youth into small skirmish campaign games, an area better serviced from outside the GW umbrella

Glad you like my painting style, no matter what new techniques I learn, everything I paint ends up looking like this (and more irritatingly takes the same excessive time to paint no matter what time saving changes I seem to make) so I learnt to live with the fact that my style is clean(ish) and defined. I won't be doing any Blanchesque impressionistic figures any time soon

I was very pleased with the steam moat myself and have a few more sections half made (would have been good for the contest if I hadn't already shown them off)
they do tend to tip, you can see a small stack of gold coins ($3AUD) holding the right end section up through a gap in the clouds in the Q1 pic.

Shipping containers are fun, steam moat is great, and I'm intrigued by your dice decision process.

Best of luck in the LOER competition.

Subscribed.

Thanks Cleatus,

The dice have been a big help for getting to stay on track, if you can do anything it is too easy to do nothing while you "decide"
It has been a little frustrating when I get some new toys and they don't come up on the next roll (I grabbed R2 and 3PO for Imperial Assault to round out free shipping early last month and was so keen to get them painted)
and I'm going to have to rework the tables to avoid some of the wonky results ( Terrain and any of the Boardgames comes to mind )

I've been watching the LOER competitions for a while, (but only seem to remember to check right as a comp is finishing up)

My Test of Honour box arrived today so I've got a bunch of Samurai to put together and get painting...Hmmm, Warrior Monks or Ronin first?

These are great! I love your reddish-brown Tredarrians - but why clear acrylic bases? I've seen a few other folks do basing that way and it seems odd (although less odd than 'goblin green + flock', so).

I'm keen to see the ToH guys too. Warlord is doing a great job pushing those in their newsletter (Ronin).

The decision has been made and I'm going to start with the Sohei warrior monks, (so baldy heads and orange robes)
naturally the decision was reached after I spent the evening assembling models for everything but warrior monks (Vanilla Samurai, Peasant Uprising and Ronin Bandits)
so that's one more evening to get the Monks ready before I can take the before pic.

I've made good progress on the bonus terrain and will take pics of that too.

@ goblinpaladin
As you can see from my list of games a lot of them are Miniatures Boardgames played on tiles with nice art, the acrylic bases really help the models become part of the scene.
From a Players eye view, in normal games room lighting the bases are much less visible (ironically what makes for good...in my case, passable...pictures of miniatures tends to make the acrylic bases look worse)
I'll try to take some pics to show this.
Also I like my miniatures to have the same basing so that they can pull double duty in any game system if inspiration strikes (need some Nurgle familiars today? maybe the rad roaches feel the call of chaos. Tomorrow they can be scuttling through the mines of brimstone as a custom enemy)
...plus if you shine a laser pointer onto the edge of an acrylic base they light up like the unit selector in a computer game

Cheers
(hopefully I can have some pictures of progress next time)

Made some progress on my LOER entry.


only the tubes to go.

also got the minis for the actual roll assembled.

11pt force for the introduction scenario, just need a little greenstuff to monk them up then on to painting (Orange my favorite colour)

and as promised, a pic showing the reason for the acrylic bases (in spoilers to protect the thread from minis painted outside the context of the roll off)

I ATE'NT DEAD

Wow its been over two months, I've really neglected this blog (and hobbying in general)
That's not to say I've done nothing:

I went to Sydney and kicked off a trans-tasman TnT campaign with Monkeh,
painted some non-rolled for minis (blasphemous, I know)
Made a gaming table,
Made my own gaming mats,
Turned 33,
Had my eyesight rapidly deteriorate to the point I couldn't paint (astigmatism),
Got glasses so I can see again,
Finished my Zen garden for the LoER competition,
WON the LoER competition,
and launched a kickstarter involving huge amounts of artwork and time.

Enough waffle, bring on the Pics:



Finished Zen Garden (if you checked out the LoER competition you'll have already seen these)


WIP of the Zen garden and The sad state of my samurai (was painting these as my eyes went...it shows) I'm going to call these a Failed roll for now and re-visit them at a later date. but at least the pic shows the game mats I made.


New Table (there are actually two shelves that go under it I just haven't cut the wood to fit yet, or added the lights )


Three members of my TnT Caravanners and more of my mats including a shot of the underside and the roads I made to go with them.

I also made a new roll to get back into bloggyness
3 Pimp tokens, 3 Sci-Fi, 2 Imperial Assault
...a bit of a lame roll to start with after a two month hiatus, maybe I should re-roll...
3,3,2
...I probably didn't shake the dice enough...
*shakes dice for a full 60 seconds*...
3,3,2
...The universe has spoken, I'm pimping my Imperial Assault Tokens...

and because I'm proud of it, my kickstarter. (in spoilers because it's not blog related)

My prize for winning the LoER competition was...Making and Judging the next LoER terrain competition!

Click the rivets to go to LoER competition round #23 "Child's Play"


also the curse of photobucket has finally caught up with me
going to have to fix all my image links good thing I have been less than productive recently, less work to fix.

That table and various bits are brilliant work bud, table is perfect. Not too silly not to simple, perfect. Mats are interesting.

Now most importantly congratulations on the well deserved win. Beautiful piece, best of luck running the next one, great theme.

Finished roll #8


and I had so muck fun doing them (not) I had a go at my Test of Honour tokens as well


Now I know what your thinking, what could I possibly do next that could top colouring in the edges of 400+ cardboard tokens with stupidly expensive markers?
the answer of course is GW Sigmarines!

this is my 36 renown AoS skirmish campaign force (we up'd to 36 from 25 to allow more choice for starting forces)

@Camkierhi Thanks, I had a really hard time coming up with a theme I was happy with (and that had a pop culture reference to quote)