2020 Wrap-Up

2020. What a year.

Looking back at my 2019 wrap-up, and what I thought 2020 would hold for me.

 

 

The definite goals:

• Old World Army Challenge 3 (Wood Elves) - Success!
  
• Giants in April -Fail!
  
• Deadcember - Success!

 Although I didn't paint any giants in April, I exceeded my expectations for the Wood Elf project I planned for the Old World Army Challenge.

By the time December got here, the year had been such a trainwreck, I felt like I would be OK with painting just a single undead figure to keep distantly in the spirit of things. When I got a little time to paint more than that, I was thrilled -- even if none of it was anything I had planned on painting.

 

 

INSERT PIC

 

 

In addition to the above "definite" goals, I had  a list of "dream" goals.

 

The painting:

• Hobbits/JTC. I'm having some issues getting the remaining figures to round off my ideal regiment sizes, but I think I'll go ahead and get going on what I've got.
• Humans/JTC. I've probably got near 100 infantry and 12 light cavalry.
• Misc. Humans. To be used as bandits, outcasts, militia, low-grade mercenaries, etc. Roughly 60 infantry, 12-15 heavy cav.
• Shields for the sea elf spear unit.
• Sea elf fish mage, banshee, and finish the shore riders.

The gaming:

• I would like to play some more Temple of Elemental Evil. Preferably with other people, but solo if not.
• I'd also like to play some Rangers of Shadow Deep or Sellswords & Spellslingers. Again, preferably with others, but solo if not.
• I would really love to meet up with some other Oldhammer fans and play some 3rd ed. Or 6th. Or maybe even something else. As long as it's not some sort of competitive tournament.

Well... painting wise, I didn't really do any of it. But I'm OK with that - I had fun painting some other figures (more on that below.) In terms of the three gaming goals, I only did one. But I enjoyed playing Sellswords quite a bit this year! I had hoped to get back to some more gaming in the latter part of the year, but life got hectic. I'm planning on some more solo gaming in 2021. Maybe more Sellswords, maybe something else. Maybe both.

On to the figures painted in 2020. Not all of them, but many of them. It was a decent year for painting. I started two "new" projects -- some generic daemons in the form of Cauldronborn Powrie & some of the old Crucible goblins, and the long overdue Meet Hating Robot Pirates. I added to the troll, half-orc, giant, and undead collections. And then there was Fistborkus -- one of the highlights of my year.

(I realized I left two figures out of this pic right after packing them all away...)

Goals for 2021?

After 2020, I feel like just getting through each day will be good enough. But there are a few things I'd like to paint in the coming year:

• Old World Army Challenge 4. I'm painting oldschool Rogue Trader era Eldar Pirates.
• More Meat Hating Robot Pirates. It took a long time for me to get started on this project, but once I did I started to have fin with it. Plus, if I paint a bunch of figures maybe I can put together some sort of solo games vs. the Eldar as I paint those up.
• I recently received the figures from Midlam's second hobgoblin KS, so they will be joining their comrades above from the first KS, in the half-orc (hob-orc) faction.
• Undead. Obviously.
• A giant. Obviously, again.
• A dragon. I painted one (technically, two) as part of the wood elf OWAC in 2020. I have a few stashed away and have been intimidated by the prospect of painting them. I'd like to give one a shot in 2021.
• Dwarf mercenaries. I failed to get very far on this recently, but I'd like to finish off the small force of landsknecht style dwarfs I've got. I have a scenario idea, as alluded to in my recent Beers Unnumbered entry....
  

Gaming:

• If I can find the time, I would really enjoy another Sellswords campaign.
• Might like to try a Rangers of Shadow Deep game or campaign to test new solo gaming waters instead.
• As I paint more robots, Eldar, and possibly other sci-fi stuff, I'm looking at possible solo sci-fi games.
• If the stars align (pandemic gets safer, I get some time, etc.) I would LOVE to play a game or two against actual human beings! I had planned on making 2021 the year of "Althammer 2021" and trying to play a bunch of games with friends & acquaintances as a way to celebrate the fact that I turn 50 this year. That's probably not going to happen the way I had intended. But the dream is to still do at least something.
  

Other:

• I want to try my hand at sculpting again in 2021.

Deadceber Roll Call & End of 2020

I surprised myself and finished all 10 skeletal cavalry by 12/31! They're admittedly fairly simple to paint....

 

 

Rehashing the rest of Deadcember, the month's total is 10 cavalry & 8 infantry for the necromancer, Dellamorte, and an assortment of 6 old metal skeletons for the horde of the Ancient Dead. Plus a bonus Demogorgon, who's note undead but should still count for something -- right?

And with that, Deadcember is over. And so is 2020. Don't let the door hit you on they way out, oh year of the plague...

ME DEADCEMBER MORE!!!

As mentioned in my previous entry, I salvaged some second hand plastic skeletons and have now painted them up for Deadcember!

Wait, who's that in the background? A gift I received for Christmas 2017, finally painted! I wish I could get a better photo. There's some subtle colors on the Demogorgon that I'm pretty proud of.

 

 

 

I should really be prepping Space Elves for the OWAC, which starts in a few days...

More Christmas & Deadcember 2020

Still hoping for some last-minute Deadcember painting. I spend some time repairing some second hand plastic skeletons today. 

 

Terror of Maurice Dellamorte

I debated whether these should get painted up as typical skeletons for my growing force of the Ancient Dead, or whether to add them to Mo' Death's Commandos. I'm opting for the latter for a couple of reasons. First the older plastic skeltons are hard to come by and since I used those for Mo's troops already, I figured I would continue to do so. Also, although I initially envisioned the necromancer's force as sort of "regiments of renown" unit or two, I've been thinking about the Lichemaster again.

What does Kemmler have to do with that? Well, I've contemplated trying to get together figures to play the Lichemaster campaign, but since most are extremely hard to come by, I figured I would substitute most of them. That got me thinking about whether I *needed* to play it. I've already mostly re-written the Vengeance of the Lichemaster scenario to fit with my own alternate setting and figures available. (It won't be much like the original.) Why not do the same for the Terror of the Lichemaster campaign? Why not create my own similar campaign based around Maurice Dellamorte and his own twist on commanding the dead to further his machinations?

Currently Maurice has 32 skeletons he can call upon. These additional 8 will round that number out to 40, plus the addition of 10 cavalry. I'll see where it goes from there. I'm thinking he's not much into zombies as anything more than a temporary tool. He can't stomach the lingering stench. But I may need to look into some for single-battle use, when the opportunity for summoning presents itself.

Beers Unnumbered

In addition to expanding the old plastic skeletons, I grabbed one more figure for another stolen inspired scenario idea. The guy on the right is Kandos, former Master Brewer.

"Beers unnumbered ye shall spill; and the dead shall assail you to the last, so that not even the echo of your lamentation shall pass over the mountains. On the Company of Dozens lieth the wrath of Kandos, from the West unto the uttermost East. To evil end shall all things turn that they begin well. Ye have spilled the blood of your kindred unrighteously and have stained the ancient brewhalls. For blood ye shall render blood and perfidiously bought ale, and beyond the brewery ye shall nevermore dwell."

- The Doom of Kandos

No disrespect to J.R.R.T. I'm a big fan. But I had a strange idea for a scenario. Probably a two-part scenario, as my idea is developing at this moment....

Christmas 2020!

Speaking of dwarfs... And my axe!

I got an axe for Christmas. I complained about my lack of an axe through all of the warmer months, and swore that I should have already had one -- but couldn't specifically remember if I did actually own one already. But now I do! Along with an Imp inspired apron, and some fresh sculpting tools, along with other things.

Christmas in Deadcember

OK, so when else would it happen, right?

 

We woke up to just a little snow this morning. Since it's Covid Times, we didn't have any travel plans today, so I guess it's OK. Not looking forward to clearing the driveway in the next day or two though.

I snuck away to the basement to paint some oldschool skeletons for Deadcember. A mix of Citadel, Marauder, and Grenadier.

I hope you're all having a Merry Christmas, other holiday of choice, or just a good day if you've got nothing in particular to celebrate.

End of Year Cluster-F

Typically work slows down for me at the end of the year. But due to the Covid Times (as my daughter refers to the current situation) we had a big period of uncertainty and canceled projects earlier in the year, and now there's a year end rush to make up for some of that lost time.

So I've been working a lot, stressing a lot, and not painting much. Here's what I've got lately...

I painted a second test figure for my upcoming Eldar Old World Army Challenge project. Not as fond of the orange-ish on the yellow. Going to try something different next time. Of course, "next time" will probably be when the OWAC goes live and I'm trying to finish my monthly goal.

 

Also, I posted my intro post over at the Old World Army Challenge page, if you're interested.

December is traditionally Deadcember, and I've been looking forward to that. But unfortunately I'm not getting to enjoy it this year due to the above mentioned year and cluster-fuckery. But I'm not going to let this month go by without painting at least ONE undead. So here we go... a skeleton with a head that was sent in a package of surprise figures & bits a while ago. I think it's from a GW wood elf kit. Thought it would make a good beastman skeleton with a little bit of work.

 

Painted another robot a whil ago but forgot to share a pic.

 

Hey... on the topic of Eldar and my OWAC plans, if anyone reading this has the two bits indicated below -- the right FLAMER arm and the small pintle weapon mount, I'm looking for both in order to put together a complete Banshee dreadnought. Hell, I'd even pay the full £3.50 for teh complete kit in the ad below for just those two pieces. ;)

Fistborkus

Everytime I see the Fistborkus meme it makes me smile, if not laugh. I've been wanting to do this for a while...

I kitbashed a Fistborkus!

I don't know who created the original meme, but thank you! 🍻

Botcember?

It's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year.

Yes, I'm talking about Deadcember. My favorite monthly minipainting challenge.

Here's figures from last year that didn't get painted. The wraiths are waiting for new weapons to replace the Bones bendy-swords. Not sure I'll be able to get psyched up enough to paint the Kemmler 2.0. (Really wish I had the original!)

So far, though, I've mostly been working on more 'bots.

Finished the basing on these three and prepped the next few.

Being cast adrift for 40,000 years of unappreciated gardening can unhinge even the most peaceful of 'bots. (Er, "drones”).

Edit: Finished painting them!

Still considering names for the robot pirate's ship. Thinking about Liberator, Autonomy, or Elektro.

Not a new figure, but I finally repaired the damage to paint and base on this old cart...

Unexpectd Bot Progress

Two former security bots recruited (/liberated from their corporate jobs) into the Meat Hating Robot Pirates. Not sure who made these figures, I got them second hand quite a while ago. Still working on an actual ship & crew name...








Works in progress. Almost done with the next two bots. The cruciform "face" on the harvester bot was silver at first, but I think the black works better. These two are from Effin Cool Miniatures' Metamorphosis Alpha range.


As I paint each of the Meat Hating Robot Pirates I'm mentally working out their backstories. I'll eventually post words & pics for the whole crew on here. These two are early members of the crew and rebelled against & escaped from the rogue trader they served. I like the idea of them as a team. There's a third figure from the pack who may join them (below.)






On deck.

In the Grim Back to the Future, There is Only... GOTHMOWER

Finally starting in to my return to sci-fi...

Procrastination has ended (for now) on the Meat Hating Robot Pirates. Got the urge to paint an assassin, a kitbashed hoverbot (based on a kids yogurt pouch lid), and a golden (robo) monkey.

 

 

On the meatier pirate front, I painted a test figure for my next Old World Army Challenge force. This year I'll be doing some colorful Rogue Trader era space elf pirates, with aesthetics & color palettes based on the art of Pascale Blanche and that whole Gothmower thing I talked about previously.

 

 

I haven't hammered out details yet, but it's not all pirates... I still plan on an AdMech faction, and I'm really getting into the idea of a backwater planetary defense force, civilians, etc. 

Dwarfs and Stuff

 I have completed 4/10 dwarfs for the two month sqaud challenge. More Marauder Miniatures dwarfs.

 

I've been a bit distracted by other things, such as...

 

My 10th wedding anniversary. I had planned a nice get-away trip -- but Covid. So instead the love of my wife got assorted trinkets -- the dinosaur suit seemed like a big success!

I've been partially back at the office for a couple of months now. Me and the guy at the desk next to me alternate weeks working in & out of the office. (Attempting to limit numbers and proximity in the building.) On the low wall that separates our spaces, he's got a bunch of finger puppets that look like hands. I've been messing with them each week before I leave, both to entertain myself and hopefully him as well. Bring a bit of levity to an awkward work situation. This week I went a bit overboard. I bought some of the finger puppets as well and sculpted & painted on a pair of them, inspired by a favorite movie monster. I hope he gets the film reference!

 

A while ago, I got a few blank "Sank the Child" art toys from artist Huiyang Guo aka Sank Toys to do with as I pleased. It's taken me far too long to get around to finishing one, but I've recently got some solid work on the first one.

A Little Bit of Orctober

Not many orcs or half orcs left to paint these days, but I still have a few Midlam Miniatures hobgoblins to add to the half-orc/hob-orc contingent. So far this Orctober I've painted a leader and a shaman. 

I have a few more left. They're duplicates that I lan on converting to add some variety. Not sure whether I will get to them this month or not.

Giant Forest Troll

Done! I was intimidated before painting this, but had a lot of fun with it. From the Sandtorm Miniatures Kickstarter & Satyr Art Studio.