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My wife and son are away, visiting her family in Kyushu, meaning I was able to crank out some larger terrain pieces:




The first photo is of three Renedra buildings I picked up on sale, the next two are resin prints from some seller on Amazon. The walls are pretty nice, the rubble piles have truly egregious printing artifacts (what do you call the horizontal strata on 3D prints?).

I also painted up some more post-apocalyptic models from Black Site:











The first model is Gas Mask Girl, the character from the cover are on the This Is Not A Test rulebook. The rest are from the Peacekeepers warband set. I painted the last guy carrying the axe as a firefighter rather than a cop. Once I finish more models from the set, I will select the best to enter in the Dakka comp, take more photos with better lighting and from lower angles and submit them.

Here's a groupd shot:

The theme for this month's Dakka Challenge is Chaff. I painted up some Martian Grunts from Mantic:








Not my best paintjobs by any means, what with the impossible-to-clean restic mold lines, but they are finished, and they look alright at tabletop distances. Working on them, I remembered why I don't enjoy batch painting units very much. I still have a week left, though, so I pulled out some civilian survivors that may or may not get added to my entry:

Look blooming amazing to me bud.

Love them! Restic might suck as a casting material, but danged did you didn’t make those look great! Think you are continuing to understate your skills, my friend.

Valete,

JohnS

Camkierhi wrote:Look blooming amazing to me bud.

cygnnus wrote:Love them! Restic might suck as a casting material, but danged did you didn’t make those look great! Think you are continuing to understate your skills, my friend.

Valete,

JohnS

Thanks, gents.

It's October, so the theme for this month's Dakka Challenge is spooky stuff. I was going to dig into my backlog and paint something Lovecraftian, but Wargames Atlantic just released a boxed set of modern day Suvivors, which can be assembled as fleeing civilians. I ended up buying a box and building a sprue's worth of dudes running away:



All of the models are pretty plain in terms of sculpted details, so I had to add details myself. I based this guy's hoodie on one that my son wears. I'm pretty happy with how the denim turned out.



This one is, to me, the least interesting of this set. The mustache and sweater combo reminded me of Ned Flanders, thus this particular color scheme. The brown of his facial hair blends in a little too well with the rest of the face.



This guy also has a mustache, but is otherwise completely bald. I added some male pattern baldness to add some visual interest. The bowling league logo on the back of his shirt works better in real life than in the large photo in the gallery.



Lots of mustaches in this set. I think the plaid flannel shirt turned out pretty well.



As with so many multi-part plastics, the arms and torsos don't line up 100%, so I did some gap filling on the joins. This guy still had some pretty large gaps, so I put him in a sweater vest. I think the Burberry pattern turned out well.



This guy also had some gaps at the shoulders, so I put him in a varsity jacket. The logo is from Wossamotta U.

The model limit for the Challenge is five. I think Flanders will get cut.

Next up, I have some Wargames Atlantic zombies for these guys to run from.

Looks great so far. Every modeler needs some fleeing civilians (from all eras) to match any and all games.

The patterns on the civilians is great.

I've had no enthusiasm for infantry lately but may have to get the survivors just because I've been demanding fleeing civilians for so long.

blockade23 wrote:Looks great so far. Every modeler needs some fleeing civilians (from all eras) to match any and all games.

I have been thinking this for quite some time. Warlord makes a few sets of survivors, but they're all armed and ready to fight. This kit fills the niche perfectly.

Kid_Kyoto wrote:The patterns on the civilians is great.

I've had no enthusiasm for infantry lately but may have to get the survivors just because I've been demanding fleeing civilians for so long.

Thanks! The bodies are pretty plain and flat, which made fancying them up almost a necessity. I don't know that I'll need more than these six, but the kit also offers masked heads to make terrorists/criminals. Reportedly, they are also working on a set of female survivors as well.

Recently, I have found myself spending less time painting. Not because I'm losing interest, but because I'm running out of places to put the minis when I finish them. That said, I'm still plugging away.

The theme for this month's Dakka Challenge is All Your Base Are Belong To Us. Having recently introduced Predator to my son as part of his education in American Culture, I was inspired to pull out my old metal Catachan Jungle Fighters. I painted a couple on their 25mm bases, then realized that they were kind of boring to look at. I then switched over to 40mm bases, adding some aquarium plants I have left over from Ghost Archipelago. The results were better, but still too green. I sculpted some carnivorous plants to add some variety and color. The results:






The aquarium plants are a little shiny, and would likely benefit from a quick spray of dullcote, but winter is in full swing and sprays won't dry properly for a few months. Also, I see that I forgot to touch up the base edges. I will likely do that as I complete the rest of the squad. For the same of completeness, here are my photos for the comp:





Also, before starting on the Catachans in earnest, I cranked out a sprues-worth of Wargames Atlantic zombies:



Unlike the Project:Z zombies I painted a while back, these guys are super-generic. A variety of heads on the spures let you build zombies for fantasy, Napoleonic, World War, or modern settings. A pretty versatile kit, all in all.

Next up, more zombies, and whatever I decide to paint for the December comp.

I think those bases are a lot of fun! Great job

Heyyyy, it's nice to see some more people painting Jungle Fighters, and the gorgeous old metal sculpts too!

I love the skin and variety you gave them, and the bases are very creative (the Barnacle plant is so cool)
The Sarge came out very well and I like the effect you painted on the Meltagun's barrel.
Good stuff! (I hope you don't mind me taking a little inspiration from your scheme)

Great bases!

Damn! Looks like my Eoforwich troopers fell to the plague after-all?

Fantastic work on the very British zombies. And lovely job on the metal cats! Some lovely minis. I've fond memories of those myself...

inmygravenimage wrote:I think those bases are a lot of fun! Great job

Thanks! I was a little leery working on the first one, but they were a lot of fun in the end.

bullisariuscowl wrote:Heyyyy, it's nice to see some more people painting Jungle Fighters, and the gorgeous old metal sculpts too!

I love the skin and variety you gave them, and the bases are very creative (the Barnacle plant is so cool)
The Sarge came out very well and I like the effect you painted on the Meltagun's barrel.
Good stuff! (I hope you don't mind me taking a little inspiration from your scheme)

When painting Catachan Jungle Fighters, you have to pay homage to Bill Duke and Carl Weathers. The Pitcher Plant with the barnacles is from a plastic coconut tree that I cannibalized for a couple of the other plants.
I wasn't sure that I pulled off the effect on the meltagun-- I did it with paint rather than inks-- so I'm glad you liked it. Feel free to steal anything you like!

aku-chan wrote:Great bases!

Thanks! They were a lot of fun to make.

osjclatchford wrote:Damn! Looks like my Eoforwich troopers fell to the plague after-all?

Fantastic work on the very British zombies. And lovely job on the metal cats! Some lovely minis. I've fond memories of those myself...

I know, right? Looking at them with 2025 eyes, they are kind of grotesque, but they were a lot of fun to paint.

The jungle fighter bases are excellent.
Keep the plants shiny, gives a great jungle vibe. Also consider crushing up some old dried leaves and sprinkling them on the ground as mulch/leaf litter. Sell the jungle aesthetic.

 Waaagh_Gonads wrote:
The jungle fighter bases are excellent.
Keep the plants shiny, gives a great jungle vibe. Also consider crushing up some old dried leaves and sprinkling them on the ground as mulch/leaf litter. Sell the jungle aesthetic.

That's a good idea. I'll give it a go.

Great pieces, Josh!

I'm using the same type aquarium plants for my Space Samurai/Imperial Army jungle fighters- definitely add the ground litter as suggested above, but a compromise might be to dull down 50% or mor eof the leaves, leaving some shiny to 'pop'. I'm not sure myself if I'm going to really do that, or leave 'em as is and call it good.

This work looks great.

Great looking jungle fighters!

I have a Lizardman army on a jungle theme base, so I sympathise with trying to get jungle bases to look good! You've done a great job. What I learnt is that some foiliage does wonders - I use GS World's leaves to break up the spaces. I think it could take your bases to the next level.

Thanks for the advice, guys. I do have some leaves-- like the ones I used on the vine, but in different colors-- that 'll try adding the these guys. I'll post photos when I do.

This month is the open round for the Dakka Challenge. I've decided on these guys I got from Midlam a few years back:



The first two ne'er do wells are basically done:



apart from basing, of course. I'm not sure what to do with the eyes-- they are big enough to paint, but are sculpted more like little pits rather than actual eyeballs, so I'm not sure I can get them to look good.

Meer_Cat wrote:
Great pieces, Josh!

I'm using the same type aquarium plants for my Space Samurai/Imperial Army jungle fighters- definitely add the ground litter as suggested above, but a compromise might be to dull down 50% or mor eof the leaves, leaving some shiny to 'pop'. I'm not sure myself if I'm going to really do that, or leave 'em as is and call it good.

This work looks great.

Zambro wrote:Great looking jungle fighters!

I have a Lizardman army on a jungle theme base, so I sympathise with trying to get jungle bases to look good! You've done a great job. What I learnt is that some foiliage does wonders - I use GS World's leaves to break up the spaces. I think it could take your bases to the next level.

Spoiler:

Freehand eyes? Yikes. Not fun. Maybe because they aren't sculpted that gives you mor liberty to do as you please, though.

 inmygravenimage wrote:
Freehand eyes? Yikes. Not fun. Maybe because they aren't sculpted that gives you mor liberty to do as you please, though.

The eyeballs aren't sculpted, but the eyelids are, which made them even more unpleasant to paint.

I had a fairly productive end-of-year. Here are the results.

First, my Dakka Challenge Entry: Ne'er Do Well from Midlam's Down and Out on Grubb Street KS:

Moneylender and Thug:



Pickpocket, Gambler, and Rat-seller:



and a group shot:



I went on the paint the rest of the set next.

Old man and woman:



Beggars:



and let's call this guy the Street Cleaner:



Another group shot:



Finally, six more zombies from Wargames Atlantic:



These are from the same set at the World War zombies I posted a while back, but with different hats. The six bodies on each sprue, along with the arms, are extremely generic, with torn cloth and shambling poses, but there are a bunch of different heads with a variety of headgear ranging from fantasy/medieval through Napoleonic and WWI/WWII, through modern civilian types.

These models take my 2025 count to 152 plus some larger models. Not too bad, especially given that I'm running out of storage space.

Thanks to everyone who reads and comments. Here's to a hobby rich 2026!

That's the nicest collection of scum, villains and riffraff I have seen in a long time Josh.

Those Midlam townsfolk are really nice, full of character.

The new zombies are cool too, sounds like great flexible set with tons of extras for converting our own zombies.

What's your recipe for the green skin, it looks properly sickening.

Tommygun1918 wrote:That's the nicest collection of scum, villains and riffraff I have seen in a long time Josh.

Thanks!

Kid_Kyoto wrote:Those Midlam townsfolk are really nice, full of character.

The new zombies are cool too, sounds like great flexible set with tons of extras for converting our own zombies.

What's your recipe for the green skin, it looks properly sickening.

Midlam has a quite eclectic range of minis. I get a lot of use out of their Wizards' Apprentices in Frostgrave.

The WA zombies and suvivors are pretty solid kits. Warlord's Project:Z minis are probably better from a technical standpoint, these zombies are more versatile.

The skin is just Army Painter necrotic flesh with an acrylic Burnt Umber wash. I don't really do any highlighting or whatever as these are going to be cannon fodder.

Nice job on that crowd of medieval street-folk!

That's interesting about the zombie heads for different time periods. Do you have any plans for them? Nice painting, as usual Josh. I'm glad you had a productive year. I'm looking forward to what you do in 2026.

aku-chan wrote:Nice job on that crowd of medieval street-folk!

Thanks. They were a lot of fun to paint.

Syro_ wrote:That's interesting about the zombie heads for different time periods. Do you have any plans for them? Nice painting, as usual Josh. I'm glad you had a productive year. I'm looking forward to what you do in 2026.

In theory, they'll be used in Last Days or County Road Z or some such modern zombie game. This assumes, of course, that I find time to game anytime this year.

I've not checked this blog in while, so I had to go back a bit. Some great stuff mate; that Ogre is my new desktop background (previously it was the assassins)

 PaddyMick wrote:
I've not checked this blog in while, so I had to go back a bit. Some great stuff mate; that Ogre is my new desktop background (previously it was the assassins)

Wow, thanks! Now I'll have to up my game even more!

I've not posted anything since the end of the year, but I have been painting. The theme for the Dakka Challenge this month was Shiny New Toy. Coincidentally, I had a KS pledge arrive in December, just in time for Christmas:


These are, of course, Women of the Resistance, from Bad Squiddo. Check out the shop for some mini-bios.







These first five are the models I entered in the comp. They are all members of the civilian resistance in various countries, and I tried to lean into that, painting them in brighter colors than I normally use. Here's a group shot:


All of the models in this set are relatively simple, requiring only one real painting session (excluding drying time for priming and basing), so I managed to paint quite a few more:






The last one is Agent Zo, a Polish Resistance fighter, and the only woman parachuted into Poland by the SOE during the war. I just finished reading her biography, which I highly recommend.

At the same time I was working on these, I also pulled out some Oldhammer Chaos models.

\


Dakka's own Mad Doc Grotsnik proposed a themed group project, and as a Chaos enthusiast from way back, I just had to jump in. Both of these models carry two-handed swords, so in my mind they are the same character at different stages of their Path to Glory. I plan to roll on the Followers table in either Slaves to Darkness or The Lost and The Damned (they are subtly different) and grow the warband over time.

Glorious!

Now I need to catch up on my own proposed project!