30 December 2017

One Last MIni for Deadcember '17



Skeletal dragon from Reaper.




And a pic for scale. Dragon's on a 50mm square base. Small dragon, obviously.



29 December 2017

Oldhammer Legacy Crew '17 (40k)

I previously posted the underhive gang member painted for the annual Oldhammer forum legacy crew. I had trouble deciding what to send for the other (Inquisitorial) faction, which had a black & white theme (vs. the gang's rainbow scheme.) I figured I'd paint two, and pick the better and/or more appropriate one to send...


...and I still can't decide which to send, although I'm leaning towards shipping the commissarial looking lady on the left.  I'd better decide soon -- I'm already late in sending these out.




26 December 2017

Christmas 2017



Merry Christmas, again!

I actually got some gaming stuff for Christmas this year, thanks in part to Netflix.


(Mini photographed on top of a Moorcok book for added oldschool gaming cred -- even if it's not one of his tradtional/pulpy fantasy books.)

To be honest, the mini was of no interest to me until Stranger Things. I've been wanting one since that first episode. And now I have it. Also have an old '80s Ral Partha hydra that was sold with it.


For Christmas, I usually buy one or two "from Santa" gifts for the whole family. This year I had the urge to pick up this...



...which I did. When I was a kid, a friend down the street had the original and I remember enjoying it. It wasn't exactly a gateway into D&D for me, but I enjoyed board games in general, and it predated my being introduced to RPGs.

For various reasons, I backed out on actually wrapping it & gifting it to the family and will probably return it to the store in a few days.


On the other hand, I have been considering picking up something for myself for solo play. I don't have the space for solo miniatures gaming any more, and I think I am close to admitting defeat in trying to force myself back into the hobby of playing games with other humans. (Same time & scheduling problems, etc.) So I've started looking into computer games and solo board games. Some of the modern D&D board games are supposed to be decent for solo dungeon crawls.


I'm torn, though. I like the idea of getting away from digital screens. And although they are board games, they still have a tangible element, including miniatures. Not wargames or battle games, though.

Computer games seem like they offer more in terms of depth & responsive AI, and I can find some larger tactical battle games. I'd rather reduce my time in front of a screen than increase it, though.

I guess each option has its pros & cons.


22 December 2017

Mercenary Undead


Combining my fondness for the undead, and skeletal undead in particular, with the desire to create a larger pool of "regiments of renown" style mercenaries, I started working a few initial figures as a sort-of proof of concept...



The Tilean city-states are well known for the rising and falling nature of the many fortune seekers looking to profit from the unending intrigue and war.  Maurice Dellamorte is an unusual product of that environment. A mage of middling abilities, he spent nearly two decades employed in both courts and battlefields. A practical man, what Maurice lacks in arcane talent and social skills, he makes up for in shrewd tactical creativity.

After failing to rise through the ranks of either social and military circles, and meeting failure at his initial attempts to found a mercenary company of his own, he turned to darker methods. Although he did find some employment, desperate use of his company of "skeletal commandos" was viewed with distaste by most of the populous -- friend or foe.

Having worn out his welcome in Tilea, Maurice has taken his company on the road. His travels have recently taken north to the Wasteland, advertising his services with progressive slogans as, "Mo' Death for your Money" and "Silent But Deadly." 


---

I like the way these Maurice and the two test skeletons turned out. So I plan on painting the rest of the unit like this. It's a long lingering idea I've had for a necromancer who paints his skeletons black an uses them for night raids.

In practical game terms, I'm thinking about making them something like scouts or flanking unis. Or, obviously, scenarios involving night time raids.

I think I need to come up with my own catchy alternative to "Regiments of Renown."

Mercenaries of Murderous Machinations?

Sell-Swords of Sinister Services?

Uh... maybe I need to work on that a bit.


17 December 2017

Mounted Necromancer (Wraith)

Mounted necromancers are hard to come by. Even then, I want something less human, more undead. Like a "lesser liche" or some other alternate. Basically just an undead thing, mounted on an undead riding thing, who summons & controls the other undead things. So here's the first that I've been able to come up with...



Mounted wraith from Celtos.

My last planned Deadcember project is some more non-human skeletons to bump a smaller unit up to a larger horde, but for whatever reason I'm just not feeling it right now. In fact, I'm not really in the mood to paint up much of the undead I already have. I think the major factor in play is that I don't really feel like cleaning & assembling a bunch of minis. Everything requires a bunch of pre-painting work, and I'm just not in the mood. I'm sort of wishing I had a big model to work on, or something(s) already prepped and ready to paint. Or a pile or rank & file already prepped. I'm completely in painting mode!


Only half way through Deadcember, though. Even though I'm prep-impaired, I'm still motivated to get a big heaping pile of undead done by the end of the month, so maybe I just need a day or two to relax & think about what to tackle next.


16 December 2017

Skeletons


Done with the latest batch of skeletons. I ended up putting two on individual bases, since I had some trouble fitting 4 on every 40mm base. So I end up with more "footprint" than planned, the regiments will still look full, and I have a start on my "singles." So it's a win/win/win.



Deadcember Progress... and Beyond




Finished painting some more of the second gen. Citadel plastic skeletons. Still need to base them, probably going with the 40x40 group bases I've used previously -- though I feel I should have at least a few individual 20x20 skeletons...


I'm still daydreaming about a crew of Eclectic Meat-hating Robot Pirates. So, to that end, I am very excited to have acquired...



My plan is to paint The Dead through Deadcember, work on some High Elves for a friend in January, and then in February... Febrobtary...? Febotary? Whatever. Paint some bots.

11 December 2017

Skeletal Cavalry Standards



I finally got my hands on some more of the old Citadel plastic cavalry. They were painted, and in slightly rough shape. But definitely something I can work with. The minis below were partially disassembled, reassembled, added banners, and repainted.



(EDIT: Photo size/quality fixed... maybe?)

When playing KoW recently, I learned how awful undead standard bearers on foot are. They just can't keep up with the rest of the army. So next time I will try mounted standard bearers. Alternately, they can just go in regular units of cavalry. In fact, I can add these to my previous 8 re-paints for a nice, round unit of 10.

10 December 2017

Background Musings


Been busy lately but finally got a minute or two to start hitting the Deadcember minis. Just a start...


Skeletons to round off another horde, and a couple of mounted standard bearers.


I've been thinking a lot about the back-story for my campaign ideas and I think it would really be fun to run with a certain degree of mystery. At least on the undead side. Maybe something that floats back and forth between an RPG and a miniatures battle game. I really need to find some players! (And time... and gaming space...)

On the other end of things, I've been putting more thought into the Jackrabbit Trading Company, and have developed the idea behind the Boar Cleavers further, to the point that there is now a second "named" regiment in the company, the Deep Root Guard, aka "the Deep Roots." I've sketched out an outline, and will write out more later. The latter unit will be getting painted in early 2018.



03 December 2017

Armo(u)red Skeletons

Finished the skeletons. I started them early, in November, but completed in Deadcember. Close enough for me. Mostly old Citadel, a few Black Tree Design mixed in.