'nids part 371 - #DreadTober Norn Emissary toxic/plasma glow

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PaintingWarhammerit's with #DreadTober2024 behind us #Nidvember passing without hardly a blog post I thought I'd just give an update on my 'pledge'. Actually it's almost done!

All the green glow effects for bio-plasma and toxic bits have been finished.

I've cleaned up its tentacles and you can also see the Norn Assimilator claws have been painted too. The Assimilator head is also done but I'm only sharing the claws because they had the green bits on too. 

You might be able to make out the subtle shading on the underside of the arms and in some of the shaded areas. This adds a little bit more volume that my usual OTT highlights strips out. 

There are just tweaks to the base and I can start the varnishing, if I can bring myself to complete these last few tasks. I've also progressed the GSC Sentinels and a couple of other things which I'll hopefully get round to sharing when I have the time.

Scott Forrest, 1974-2024

Afternoon, this is a post I hoped not to have to write. It's been 12 years since I reconnected with my gaming crew - a fierce band of friends who had such a profound impact on just 2 years of my life between 16 and 18. Then, when I went to uni we lost touch and it would take a further 15 years to cross paths again. Regular gaming sessions ensured a handful of us continued to see each other and even during the pandemic we had the occasional role-playing session online. 

For some of us it was easy as we live close by, for others who still gamed it was more of a challenge. Every now and again we'd arrange a weekend session or go away to Warhammer World but the real reason we did all this was just an opportunity to hang out with your mates.

One of those friends Scott, lived a little bit further away. So until Otty built shed 1.0 I didn't see Scott as often, but he and Liam lived close by and met up regularly. These guys have been friends throughout all these years and Ben and Scott had known each other since primary school! They'd done everything from medieval and civil war reenactments, holidays and family meals. They were as close any friends could be.

Unfortunately, Scott discovered he'd got cancer a few year's back. He's had operations and radiotherapy and it seemed like he'd beaten it. We celebrated his 50th birthday earlier this year, surrounded by friends, copious amounts of pizza and Dev Patel's Monkey Man! Sadly he was then told he had 6-12 months. He continued to fight, with rounds of chemo and when he could he'd pop to the shed to roll some dice with us.

When shed 2.0 came on the cards we all tried to get it done so we'd have a new space to play and share with Scott. A few weeks back it was clear time was short, he'd got married to his partner Liz but still wanted to see his mates so we rocked up at his house again for pizzas, Deadpool and Wolverine and Space Marine 2 on his X-box. He wanted to go to the shed and fishing one last time, but each attempt proved too much for him. By the following Saturday he was admitted to a local hospice and we arranged constant visits among his many, many friends, which helped him so much in those last few days. Sadly, he passed away on Friday 1st November.

In truth, out of all of my friends Scott was probably the one I'd had least connection with in those glorious years between '91 and '93. But that meant nothing to a person so blessed with friendliness that any time we met up he'd want a hug from me and we'd spend our time together laughing and chuckling. It's small proof of this when he won Throne of Skulls at Warhammer World, in part because of those 'favourite game' votes that are so hard to get, while simultaneously beating the person you're gaming with. It's a measure of the man that he charmed everyone, made them feel comfortable and made them laugh. 

Today we will lay our brother to rest. It will be sad and heartbreaking, but also filled with memories that will hopefully bring smiles and even laughter where a Scott sized hole now resides in our lives. He was a champion of friendship and positivity and we will forever play on with you in our thoughts.

'nids part 370 - #DreadTober Norn Emissary talons, claws and brain glow

Afternoon #Warhammer Community I've been #PaintingWarhammer it's the end #DreadTober2024 and it's bittersweet as I didn't quite meet my pledge. But, last year I started early and was working for almost 2 months to get everything done [in time]. This time I started early [as usual] but didn't work continuously through September. So maybe this is all just delayed [gratification].

As you can see I've added in the orange glow to all the brain bits, the fleshy tendrils and all the black highlights on the talons, claws and hooves.

Unlike the orange brain Zoanthrope I put the highlights in the brain creases rather than on top of the folds. Slightly harder to do perhaps but perhaps the better solution.

The back piece is a little less successful, because it's just harder to get to. Hopefully because it's also harder to actually see it doesn't really matter.

The tentacles have come out OK, messy but not wholly unpleasant. I still think there are some more highlights to do that will help. And also the nodules at the end - the plan is they will be green like the vent glows but I have seen some amazing orange ones and I'm just taking time to make the right decision. Again, I don't want to rush this. Also a close up of one of the talons.

This isn't all I've done, I've painted the tentacles on the Neurotyrant and Neurolids, just didn't get them to a point where I could do their brain glows at the same time. I've also done some highlights on the GSC sentinels but haven't taken pictures. What do I have left to do? 

• Fix tentacles
• Green glows
• Some minor claws on the tentacles need highlights
• Some tonal shading on the bone
• Bone chips on base
• Metallics on base
• Fleshy bits on base
• Odds and sods I can't think of
• Matt varnish
• Gloss varnish
• Blood FX