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blockade23 wrote:The castle Greyskull dice tower is excellent - needs some vines and a lightning bolt background perhaps. As usual, the star wars stuff looks excellent. As far as the OSL on vadar goes - OSL is hard to pull off really well. I think I've only achieved it a few times (generally when I can borrow an airbrush and someone who knows how to use it) but I think it looks good on Vadar. It's not overwhelming and sells the look.

I did consider some vines actually, particularly as part of the gap filling, but instead just added the grass tufts. Thanks for kind comments about Vader! It's a tricky balance to pull off.

muette wrote:That tower dice looks like fun, good paint job on it!

Cheers, and welcome!

To round out the year, finished up the terrain that I treated myself to:

Trying for a badlands/ Ferrix (Andor) vibe.

The building was modified with medge bits

Definitely a legitimate business. Oh my yes. No droid port, their kind isn't welcome here.

The sign is... maybe Deadzone? Definitely not advertising availability of individuals and their wares.


I love that the scatter can be mounted on the roof securely.

Although quite why you would mount this on the roof is beyond me.

Swoop bike and gonk droid. Had to mount him on a base because reasons

Gonky!

And rock formations.

Had an excellent game of Carnevale with the elder spawn yesterday. We decided to break out the giant monsters and see what would happen.

Sadly, my Morgraur (lizard thing) proved absolutely devastating, and whilst the Stryx (bat thing) did cause my leader bother the Morgraur was pretty unstoppable, even in the face of a lot of blood magic (though, bless, the tiny little crossbow wielding thrall came VERY close to finishing it off) when its handler chucked the gypsy crone into the water to be swallowed whole. Fun, if somewhat unbalanced. Then again, the Strigoi (vampire/gypsy faction) are generally a bit underpowered. The rashaar (mythos monsters) aren't necessarily the most powerful but there's a reason the Morgraur is the most expensive model in the game. All looks quite pretty too, though.

2024 was a good year, on balance. I've painted 388 models, slightly down on last year, but I would say generally of better quality. Very broad hobby goals for 2025 include better model photography, finish the sunken brig and perhaps other nautical scatter, more star wars from the classic trilogy and Mando eras, and more board game components (which was actually a 2024 goal but still) such as the ships from Firefly. I have an unfinished old world alliance blood bowl team that needs attention as my lesser spawn wants to try them out, and there will be other gw bits that I've randomly acquired from the combat patrol magazine, too.

Thanks for sticking with me, and see y'all on the other side!
Graven

388 is absolutely spectacular - that's more than one per day, which is awesome! Way better than me unless I count each individual mini on the LI bases as a distinct paint job (which they aren't really). Excited to see the work on the sunken brig and more!

blockade23 wrote:388 is absolutely spectacular - that's more than one per day, which is awesome! Way better than me unless I count each individual mini on the LI bases as a distinct paint job (which they aren't really). Excited to see the work on the sunken brig and more!

Thanks! I'm not necessarily even aiming for those numbers in 2025, just useful to keep track. Tbh that's almost the main reason I use dakka these days. The rise of the metanet and so forth.

I had a very satisfying time with some new shelving, reorganising models on display, getting DC minis out that have long been hidden away, incorporating scenery into displays, repacking hellboy stuff, that sort of thing.

Next, to add LED strips. I also need to make another shelf to give me a bit more room for Carnevale goodies, though that can wait. Even more excitingly, I have convinced lesser spawn to play blood bowl, mostly because he knows he can play it on his PlayStation as well. After a bit of discussing, he's gone for Shambling Undead, which to me feels like a really solid choice. He's quite keen to learn to paint them too, which his brother lost all interest in. Cautiously hopeful this will be a thing for us.
Meanwhile, made a boat!

Sunken brig for Carnevale, which was a supreme secret santa gift. I dislike the edges at the water line, which come with splayed broken boards but just doesn't look right, so need to come up with a solution. Sculpt surf around the edges maybe?
And some progress on my Frugal entry:

Well, the base anyway. First time using fluro paint!

And how it will sit in situ, though I plan to add more stringy goop.

On we go!
Graven

Thanks! I'm not necessarily even aiming for those numbers in 2025, just useful to keep track. Tbh that's almost the main reason I use dakka these days. The rise of the metanet and so forth.

Yes but Dakka makes it way easier for me to see what I've actually done since it's all in one 'channel' - my problem with all the social medias is that I cannot keep track of what I posted where at times. Plus who wants to go back and see facebook posts from 3 years ago?

As far as that carnival sunken ship, I think putting them on a base, building up some tissue paper waves or similar to show it 'going down' would be excellent. Alternatively sand off all the rough edges so it lies flat on a board.

blockade23 wrote:

Thanks! I'm not necessarily even aiming for those numbers in 2025, just useful to keep track. Tbh that's almost the main reason I use dakka these days. The rise of the metanet and so forth.

Yes but Dakka makes it way easier for me to see what I've actually done since it's all in one 'channel' - my problem with all the social medias is that I cannot keep track of what I posted where at times. Plus who wants to go back and see facebook posts from 3 years ago?

As far as that carnival sunken ship, I think putting them on a base, building up some tissue paper waves or similar to show it 'going down' would be excellent. Alternatively sand off all the rough edges so it lies flat on a board.

Well quite, and trying to trawl through instagram posts is even worse. Good shout out the waves btw, that's got me thinking.

So here we go... the Sunken Brig



And some details




So, I really enjoyed this kit, and I've built a lot of mdf in my time. NGL, having built one of their boats and found it very challenging, I was delighted by how straightforward it was. Really superb, well designed, adaptable (I added water, barnacles and weeds with gs and a mix of technical paints and uhu glue). Great kit!
It's been quite nice not painting Star Wars, for all I love my Shatterpoint.
So...
Next, my entry for this month's dakka contest, which is a Space Marine.
There's a lot of Star Wars coming, but other than that, well... not sure. We'll see.
Till then,
Graven

Ooh, I like that boat. There is a Frostgrave scenario it would be perfect for!

JoshInJapan wrote:Ooh, I like that boat. There is a Frostgrave scenario it would be perfect for!

Thanks! Well, if nothing else, TT stuff is very cheap. Or at least I assume it is relatively so to Japan?
Next item on the never-ending pile of shame: a frugal Space Marine!

Captain Terens of the Storm Lions

3D Printed marine, MDF offcut base, free mini of the month Tyranid, uhu glue, and actual gravel from garden. He's named for our school technician, Terry, who is a former GW store manager. He definitely didn't print this on the school's printers.

Also, first time use fluro paint, which was fun.

He's a nice addition the random assortment of Storm Lions I did last year for the kitbash project.

Not my usual power weapon either, and quite low key osl for me

Not painting as much just now, ccgs have distracted me - old school Highlander and 7th Sea, current Dr Who MTG and Lorcana - as well as getting back into the board game pile. However, that may encourage me to start painting tiny spesssheeps, whether they be Firefly or Star Trek. We shall see. Also, the spawn's Shambling Undead have arrived, so we'll be tackling ( )them together.
Make it so
Graven

Love the wrecked ship graven. The frugal marine is pretty awesome too. More like a flamboyant marine!

Looks cool to me!

Gitsplitta wrote:Love the wrecked ship graven. The frugal marine is pretty awesome too. More like a flamboyant marine!

Thanks matey. Loved doing the boat. Marine was fun, and I'll do another ... in March I nabbed the first issue of Combat Patrol for its big cheap sm and a couple of the big nids in passing, also, for that matter.

Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Looks cool to me!

Thanks buddy! You are a troublemaker with all your terrain-ing!

Right. Projects! let's do this... Real Quiet Like.

Special guest: my finger. I have dithered over this for a number of reasons, but mostly, I hate doing camo. However the VJ model color range, which I got for Xmas, has plenty of military greens and browns, so I've no excuse now.

The Han sculpt is just perfection. Although I'm not sure why there's a bit of IG droid on his base (other than to complement Chewie)



The Chewie is a bit cartoony. He's good in game but more likely to use the other sculpt.



The commandos are great sculpts and great in game too. I'm really pleased that Endor lists are a viable subfaction. I just wish we'd get a useful Luke.
And a quick snap with the bunker

I really hate my phone camera

And, continuing the classic saga vibes... We Don't Need their Scum.


IG-88-B. Is this the one Han and Chewie have taken out?

It's a mystery.


Bossk:

Dynamic sculpt, but I don't know that I love it. He is, however, hard as nails in game and a dirt cheap tank.


Boba Fett!

Boba Fett? Where?

I can't believe that I had to freehand the logo
.
Please excuse the shoddy pic. Definitely one of my fave models in a while.

And, the deadliest of them all... Dengar!

Brilliant sculpt when you consider how mocked he is.

Phenomenal in game, too. He's my eldest's favourite sw character, so had to be done.

Also, I decided that, after the success of using some of my Shatterpoint terrain to add height to my storage, I'd do a couple more Carnevale themed risers.

And in situ


Now. Inspired by Nevelon, I am doing a wee stock take.

Carnevale:
6 Mascareri - these have been sitting primed on my desk a while. They're lovely models, but actually quite intimidating. However, there was an excellent strategy guide for them posted the other day which has got me thinking about them again.

Raft of the Damned: this is a terrain piece, really, but will he next month's dakka contest piece - the theme is SURPRISE and what could be more surprising than a great white lodged inside a wooden raft?! Brilliant disguise

Shatterpoint:
Plo Koon, Ahsoka and the Wolf Pack - built and primed. No excuse not to paint... other than the freehand will kill me.

The rest are at best unbuilt.

Mandalorians - I have the Mandalorian covert and Djin/Grogu, Grieff and IG-11 to tackle. They are... interesting in game, politely. The Covert are great, Djin etc is disappointing. But I'll get to them. They'll be fun in a multi-coloured way. Gameplay wise the covert give the base game Mandos (Bo Katan and Gar Saxon) much more choice.

Lando Calrissian - Lando, Lobot and Cloud City troopers to do. Lando is my favourite SW character so I really have to do him right. He's very meh in game, and Lobot has a really derpy sculpt, which isn't great motivationally.

Fearless and Inventive: Episodie VI Luke, Leia (Boushh), Lando and Chewie. Not great in game, but hella nice scuplts.

Moff Gideon - this set includes a death trooper and dark troopers, and is among the best in the game. High priority to run in any number of empire lists.

General Veers and Snowtroopers - aside from the fact that this is a seriously stupid set idea, they're very good in game. I have quite mixed feelings about playing empire tbh. But then I think, well it's only a game. It's not like I play Space Marines...

25 Shatterpoint minis, 7 Carnevale. I mean... that's actually not much of a to-do pile, is it? In the grand scheme of things I mean. And, yes, there's other random models kicking about, but nothing I have specific plans for.
Hey ho
Graven

Nice work on all the Star Wars stuff. Really bringing it to life.

Love those risers - did you make them or buy them?

Nevelon wrote:Nice work on all the Star Wars stuff. Really bringing it to life.

Thanks man.

blockade23 wrote:Love those risers - did you make them or buy them?

Cheers! They are 3D printed, part of the Serenissima II set from lordkorhyl on myminifactory.

Those Shatterpoint minis are looking spicy, great job!

You like Bossk because he looks like the original Star Trek Gorn who battled Kirk... which is the best sci-fi character ever created! Even looks just like him... just re-named for a new franchise.

You continue to do impressive work on all that Star Wars stuff!

Great work on all the SW stuff. The standout model for me is Boba Fett. All of his gear looks sun-faded and worn, just like in the films.

muette wrote:Those Shatterpoint minis are looking spicy, great job!

Many thanks!

Gitsplitta wrote:You like Bossk because he looks like the original Star Trek Gorn who battled Kirk... which is the best sci-fi character ever created! Even looks just like him... just re-named for a new franchise.

That AND his costume is a re-used Dr Who costume I am fond of him, it's true.

aku-chan wrote:You continue to do impressive work on all that Star Wars stuff!

You're most kind sir hope you like the next wave

JoshInJapan wrote:Great work on all the SW stuff. The standout model for me is Boba Fett. All of his gear looks sun-faded and worn, just like in the films.

Cheers buddy. Having the correct military paint colours really helped seal the deal. Praise be to Vallejo!
So, we had a storm, Eowyn, Straight Outta Rohan. All schools shut. Tree down blocking the road. Everyone stuck at home. So, along with a bit of Lego Monkey Palace, finished off... Lead by Example!



Plo Koon.

I mean I get why folk are so taken with him. He's so... alien. Plus all the McQuarrie Luke vibes.

Commander Wolfe



Fun with the spider droid eyes, too, drilled one out and used trans red for the lens glaze.

And...

The Wolf Pack!

A different approach for these guys, starting with Vallejo Wash FX black which is their nuln oil analog. Cheaper, thinner, better coverage. So as I move away from gw paints, it's a decent option. Other colours used are model air nato black, deck tan, Wolf Grey and many, many, layers of Arctic White.

They're urban commandos so tried to reflect that whilst adding a bit of colour elsewhere.

All the freehand on the shoulders, and on Wolf's helm. shudder

And finally, Ahsoka!

I love this sculpt. Much more so than the kid padawan one.

Added the Droid general arm for the fun of the thing.

RL update in the block


Horrible weather notwithstanding, the next wave of imperials still got primed today. But I think the Mandos are next - after all the grey scale of the Wolf Pack, I need a bit of colour. Then again, Dark troopers and death trooper shouldn't take long ... and I still have mask makers for Carnevale to do

Hey ho
Graven

Some more awesome progress. How many Shatterpoint minis is that completed so far?

blockade23 wrote:Some more awesome progress. How many Shatterpoint minis is that completed so far?

Oh gosh lol um
...
96
...
Not including terrain, and counting multi-bases (so like a swarm base of ewoks) as 1
Ah, my not-so secret shame

Finally, having bought them as a belated birthday treat in August, I've been working on the Mascareri, or Mask Makers, for Carnevale. They're part of The Gifted (mercenary magic users) faction. This was actually the first faction I got for the game; I never play them in isolation, as they're a bit underwhelming, however this bunch give them a lot more heft.

They're an interesting bunch of characters, who can each be hired by any faction in game to give you access to some of another faction's unique abilities with their magical masks.

For example, Elena grants vampiric attack (hence she is in my Strigoi colour scheme) or extra offence. Very good in any list but particularly nasty with the Gifted's own leader, who's combat- forward but tends to die quickly as a result.

Hydraea grants water creature or fear. Great counter to drowning lists, which in a game set in Venice is a common strategy.

Il Mentore grants Pickpocket (rubbish) or Aerial Attack and Infiltrate (terrifying). I'm unlikely to use her much, though, as I play Guild anyway (who use the latter tactics) and doesn't fit well with Rashaar (because creepy merfolk rarely climb buildings). I might try her in a straight Gifted list though.

Francisco is interesting, as there's not many mercenary Sorcerers in the game.

His ability grants extra Will to another character (rerolls or magic use) so he's pretty versatile.


Gerhard grants Universal Shielding 2, which for my money is the best ability in the game: the first 2 points of damage are ignored from every attack. He can also grant a damage boost, but, meh. He's a point cheap than Elena, so might change the two of them about.

I gave him a little pieta shrine, as he's gifting Vatican abilities (damned shield of faith!)

Marco Leontus is the cheapest, and his ability is to grant 2 extra command points - handy for taking initiative, necessary for lots of faction abilities. His pistol is OK but 8" range is not great, though he's very tough. I'm not sure how viable he is, but he's a cool model. Love his wee monstrous venetian lion face.

A nice change of pace to finish off the month. More Shatterpoint, plus, a sneaky shark next month.


Graven

Another nifty set of minis. My favorite is Marco, especially your work on his coat. I also love that the model is carrying a lion mask, like he modeled it on his own face.

JoshInJapan wrote:Another nifty set of minis. My favorite is Marco, especially your work on his coat. I also love that the model is carrying a lion mask, like he modeled it on his own face.

I know EXACTLY what you mean he's definitely my favourite of the sculpts. And, thanks!

Passed a pile of models onto a fellow nerd who's hit a painting doldrum and they were surprised, so I explained the Circle of Geek to them. I mean that's a thing right? Pass on the nerd love, and all that? They'd never encountered it before, which makes me sad. I always think of ours as a really generous community.

Not been painting much, bit of a breather. Distracted by a combination of TCGs, Work and smallest spawn's birthday.
However, got this done:
The Raft of Damned





A Shark in disguise is fairly surprising.
Reaper Bones make some fun stuff
Back to Star Wars next, been good to have a break. A bit brittle atm, tbh, but hoping painting mojo is back.
Graven

Nice work on the camouflaged shark, he does not look too healthy.

aku-chan wrote:Nice work on the camouflaged shark, he does not look too healthy.

It's just a scratch...
Hello all,
Been in a bit of a slump. RL busy, work frustrating. However, turned the corner and started building primed minis.

So this push includes RotJ Luke etc from Jabba's, Ep. V Lando and the gang/Snowtroopers, and team Mando vs team Gideon. The other mandos from the show are still on sprue, as is the damn kid's Shambling Undead team
Also got the Embergard starter for Underworlds from Gw for my school club so building and painting that is a priority.
Who knows, might even paint something else this month
Graven

There's a lot to look forward to in that group. Go, go, gadget Graven!

Well, indeed. But I think I'm going to take a bit of a dakka hiatus. I may return. Probably will. At some point, anyway.

Nice shark, Graven'.

Have a good 'un.
Hope to see you about the internets or back here when our rotations meet again.

 inmygravenimage wrote:
Well, indeed. But I think I'm going to take a bit of a dakka hiatus. I may return. Probably will. At some point, anyway.

I'm sorry to hear that. Yours is one of the few P&M blogs I always read. I hope to see you soon.

I'll look forward to the day you return. The end of February has been brutal here too. I'm lucky if I even get five minutes to watch tv, much less paint. Minis will always be here for you to come back to.

Dr H wrote:Nice shark, Graven'.
Have a good 'un.
Hope to see you about the internets or back here when our rotations meet again.

Cheers matey

JoshInJapan wrote:
I'm sorry to hear that. Yours is one of the few P&M blogs I always read. I hope to see you soon.

See, now I feel a little guilty and rather appreciated .

blockade23 wrote:I'll look forward to the day you return. The end of February has been brutal here too. I'm lucky if I even get five minutes to watch tv, much less paint. Minis will always be here for you to come back to.

Sound advice.

I wonder, in some ways, if I have made a rod for my own back in recent years by keeping score / doing a self imposed 365 challenge. I was not feeling in the mood to paint and so... didn't. But that has its own associated guilt.
Thank you all, though, for your support. And funnily enough, not posting gave me a little burst of end of month energy, despite some primer issues.

Moff Gideon, Death Trooper Sergeant and Dark Troopers.

For the Darksaber I used Vj Gloss white which is SUPER bright and a Gloss varnish.

I used these guys to play around with a different black recipe.

Prime grey, VJ Model Air Nato black - which is really an ultra matt, thin, very Dark grey - vj Wash effects black and then vj gloss black inside the panels. Whilst I wouldn't necessarily use it for all things I think it works here. The Dark Troopers are amongst the best supports in the game. Gideon is a bit meh and the Death Trooper Serg is situationally useful.

Next, General Veers and Snowtroopers.

In a monochrome imperial mood, it seems.

I like the Veers sculpt but think he's a silly idea (albeit very powerful) in game, he never gets out of his ATAT.

Snowtrooper sergeant. Both him and Veers come with optional bases. I do like have extras for scatter.

And the Snowtroopers aren't bad in game. Pleasingly, they're all rather good with Vader.

After that, I felt like some colour:

The Return of the Jedi!

Boushh. My kind of Scum

It's Lando. Shh!


And on that, into March!

Certified Guild

Din Djarin & Grogu. Amazing sculpt

Greef Karga. That's a lot of brown.

And IG-11

and the... back?

Hurrah for extra bits!
Up Next...

This is the way.
If I feel like it
Graven