Five Parsecs from Gaming

It appears to have been a while since I've updated. That's due to the lack of painting or gaming since the beginning of July. 2021 has not been kind.

First, a bit of catching up. Early in July I posted my wrap-up for the 2021 Old World Army Challenge. I've never had difficulty finishing a painting challenge until this year. In fact, I skipped everything other than the OWAC. (No "Big April", "Month of Marsh", or "Orctober" for me.) But at least I'm happy with the end result of OWAC 2021!

https://oldworldarmychallenge.blogspot.com/2021/07/zerotwentythrees-post-owac4-eldar.html

Recently (last two weeks or so) I've squeezed out some time at the painting desk again. Thank FSM. I needed it. Painting is my anti-stress, my meditation. And I needed it.

I've been continuing with the sci-fi theme, participating in the "squad challenge" that the OWAC group does as an off-season warm up or something like that. Essentially, it's painting 10 figures with a common theme over 2 months. I'm continuing with sci-fi, painting some more "supporting characters" for a hopeful solo campaign of Five Parsecs From Home. More on that later.

So the painting...

First 3 of the 10 figure challenge. Nulltron, washed up egotistical robot overlord; Slem, time and space displaced fianna Fimir turned galactic fringe bounty hunter; and Jaz, just Jaz.

David Rattenborough, famed Spaven naturalist & mutalogical engineer, with his field assistant, Gleek. Seen here with a vox caster, no doubt presenting the findings of his latest expedition.

99% done painting. Still need inspiration to hit for something entertaining to paint on the scroll.

Not sure if she's summoning them up from below ground or about to get eaten. Pic could be telling either story.

Stalking the crystal fields.

Small terrain piece kitbashed from various bits of trash.

Mostly I work. This year we had an official OK for costumes on the Friday before Halloween, we decorated like we never have before, and our last hour of the work day was "trick or treat."  So this was my casual Friday look. Unfortunately I didn't have any video meetings. "Yes, behold the wraith who designs your retail stores!"

RoboKali

Forgot to post this. At some point I painted this robo-Kali that I got from eBay. Not sure of the origin/manufacturer. Plastic figure. Quick paint. Eldar included for scale comparison.

Sci-Fi Mix

A little bit of recent painting...

I've recruited two chaos champions as sci-fi ne'er-do-wells. Mssrs. Scum & Villainy. Nothing stopping me from using them for fantasy gaming either, but they do both have firearms and I've based them to match the recent sci-fi/Alt Trader stuff.

 

 

 Eye, Robot. Quick scratch built light hoverbot.

 

Fourth color test figure. I like this. Maybe a bit more towards the brighter end of the gradient, a little less area of dark end showing. For the most part I think I'm going to stick with the green, blue and purple for the infantry. I don't think the yellow fits in, even without the purple present.

I'm working on a couple more space adventurers. Here's one...

'bot

One more 'bot. This is from Warlord Games' Antares range.

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. ;)

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. 

Sci-Fi Future

I've had on & off plans for a return to sci-fi painting & gaming. There have been several project or potential projects brewing for years now, and I think I may not only move ahead with some/all of them, but I'm going to try to tie them all together.

Let me start with the brainstorm I had over the weekend on this topic. It all started with the Gothmower.

Yes, Gothmower. I bought a new electric lawnmower towards the end of last Summer. The start button, for some reason, looks like a green coffin. I usually listen to music while mowing, and last time I decided I should honor the Gothmower by listening to some music in that theme. Because I am of a certain age, the first band that came to mind was Bauhaus. Turns out I don't really like most of their music anymore. So this week I put together a playlist from another suitable band...

That went much better. I hadn't listened to ASF for a long time, but this was inspiring. The lawn didn't stand a chance.

As I rocked out and mowed, thoughts drifted to painting and gaming. What if I started with Rogue Trader as a base, and then drifted off into my own cobbled together crazy space-opera setting/theme, sort of like I started with Warhammer but made it my own Althammer. As the heat and music kept my mind drifting around, I remembered that Rogue Trader was already a bit of an "open sandbox". The 40k setting didn't start getting fleshed out with tedious officialdom until later editions. So I won't really be diverging -- sort of a retro-hammer sci-fi thing.

But I'm not sure how much Rogue Trader I will actually be playing. In fact, right now I'm on the hunt for some solo rules. I just bought Five Parsecs from Home and will be reading through the rules this week. I also have a few others on my radar. But eventually I'd like to play some games with live opponents someday, too.

So here's a brief summary of the projects/plans that I'd like to pull together:

• Meat Hating Robot Pirates. Previously mentioned, and I've already collected quite a few 'bots.
• Rogue Trader Eldar. They were my first RT/40k figures, before I even bought the rules. I just liked the figures. As happened a lot, I sold them in college. But I have been working on collecting figures for next year's Old World Army Challenge, which is opening up for 40k as well as fantasy.
• Spaven. Cheese Stealers. Not sure I'll go any further with them. Maybe a few odd figures if I get inspired in the future.
• Adeptus Mechanicus. I've been planning an AdMech Kill Team force. So I will hopefully break my block on building & painting the figures.
  
• Miscellany. Civilians, mercenaries, beasts... I don't know. I'm sure I'll add some oddball stuff in at some point.
• Gaming surface & terrain. Still thinking about this a bit. Thinking about a dark alien world look like on the Spaven bases, but also doing some sort of semi-modular starship/building tiles -- along with all the accessories.
  

Only one robot painted so far.

Some of the Cheese-Stealer Cult.

Eldar on deck.

10 in 2? EMHRP?

There's a mini challenge on the OWAC group for a squad of 10 in 2 months -- so 5 figures per month. I was thinking about using this as an excuse to really start on the Eclectic Meat-Hating Robot Pirates.


Here were the fist 10 I came up with...

But then I found...

And really, any crew of misanthropic  robot pirates really *should* have a squad of robot flying monkeys. They're Reaper Bones figures, and surprisingly seem decently detailed -- and  very cheap!

Stuff! In the Mail! And a Game!

We're in the week between the end of my daughter's summer day camp, and the start of school. So we've made assorted arrangements to keep her occupied & supervised. Today was, as she called it "daddy & daughter day" -- I took a day off work to spend with her. Unfortunately, bad weather blew my initial plans (mostly outdoor activities) away. But I did have some indoor backup plans. We went out for most of the day and had fun, then came home around dinner.

She's been asking about the Temple of Elemental Evil boardgame, since I've had the box out. We played Dungeon! again a few weeks ago (with my wife as well) and I described it as "kind of like Dungeon! but with a lot more rules. Recommended age is 14+, my daughter's only 8, but she's really bright. A couple days ago she suggested we could play it today, and my wife told me she was talking about it last night & this morning, so who am I to disagree!

We played the first scenario from the campaign. I left out the background about murdered friends and switched the "Massacre Site" tile for the "Oubliette" tile. She played the ranger, I played the cleric. She took to it like a pro -- making me do the dangerous work & act as a tank, while using her archery to pick off all the monsters (and collect all the treasure.)

Her good tactical sense combined with her strong imagination and still being a great age for "pretend play" make me wonder if I should introduce her to some kid-friendly RPG-ing. I follow a few other parents running RPGs with their kids & friends on their blogs & social media. Maybe I should take the dive?

Today I got Stuff! In the Mail! that will supplement several of my ongoing projects. (Thank you Shadespyre!) Half orcs (and one will fit perfectly for a character for which I've been hunting for a figure lately!), high/sea elf, what appears to be a robo-clown (who I'm already generating backstory for) and a witch-hunter.

Also more of the old Citadel "armoured skeletons" which I can probably never have enough of. But this is especially good timing since I recently won an absolute bargain on some of the Black Tree knock-offs, who can serve as back rankers. Add in a few other stray skeleton figures, and I think I've now got a solid sized unit for this year's Deadcember tradition!

Something Old, Something New

I'm not very good at this "not buying new minis" thing. But at least I'm still keeping it to a minimum. And these were both hard to pass up and bargains as well...

I've wanted the Serpentine Dragon since I was a teen. The other is some sort of Kickstarter exclusive mini from a boardgame, and is very fitting for the Meat Hating Robot Pirates.

Stuff! In the Mail!

Everyone else is Bringing Out their Lead and GenConning and I'm just here at home with my newly arrived non-humans skeletons, robots, and zombie Lemmy.

Meat Hating Robot Pirates on the Horizon?

Cleaning up and priming some minis for the Meat Hating Pirate Robot crew....

From left to right, Krakon Games, Effin Cool Minis x 3, and I'm not sure where the two on the far right come from -- they were an eBay purchase.

Starting out easy with some stock figures. Eventually I'll start kitbashing some more unusual 'bots.

Listening to some inspirational music for this project -- courtesy of my wife's old band.

more Stuff! In the Mail!

Another installment of Stuff! In the Mail!

This time, stuff I paid for. From Krakon Games' recent Kickstarter, a few more skeletal ogres. One is a new variant of Slanga. I previously painted the old version. I got two of the new mini, one to leave as-is, and one to repose/convert.

Ugh. I took & cropped this photo with my phone, but now that I see it on a larger screen, I see how out of focus it is. Whoops!

Four figures? What? Oh yeah... I also picked up Krakon Games' "Queenie, Killer Cyborg" as an addition to my Diverse Meat Hating Robot Pirates. I think she'll fit in well with my tiny collection so far --  and the robots I still plan to buy.

Robocrab

A few years ago, I did a "steam crab" amphibious assault craft, as a surprise for someone's pirate/nautical themed WFB army.

I am giving serious consideration to revisiting this idea with a more futuristic "robocrab" for the Meat Hating Robot Pirates. While I do want an eclectic band of robots, I also want to include a a lot of nods to oldschool pirate cliches.

So... something very similar to this (using the same toy as a base) but more sci-fi robot-y. No hatch or tall exhaust, but  maybe a missile rack or something like that.

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.

The Future (is Inorganic)

A little over a week ago I decided I wanted to finally work on my Eclectic Meat Hating Robot Pirate project.

This week I discovered Immaterium Sargassum and the related Facebook group.

So I'm fully switched on with the 'bots now. It's hard finding exactly what I want, and there are a bunch of robots that I'm not interested in for various reasons. I also plan on scratch building, kit bashing, and sculpting. But here's a look at what I've got, what I want, and what I'm still considering in terms of existing minis...

On Board

('bots I gots)

(Only the first one is assembled & painted, rest of the images stolen off the internets.)

Planned Aquisitions

('bots I wants)

From Hydra Miniatures - they have great robots, but unfortunately most are a little too retro '50s sci-fi for this project.

The Warmachine Mariner is at the top of my list.

Another Warmachine mini

Two from Reaper.

There are several I'm interested in, from the above Taban "Eden" minis.

Likewise, several minis from the above range recently acquired by Armorcast.

Not a mini... yet. But I plan on scratch building/sculpting a Pain Bot. Because I need to.

Possibilities

(still undecided)

Ainsty

Mantic (would add guns)

Effin Cool

Taban

Taban

Black Cat

Warmachine

Warmachine

GW (would remove central meat parts)

Reaper