#ArmiesOnParade2023 - A Decade of Parade

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity it's #ArmiesOnParade and after enjoying the 2022 Parade in store at my nearest Warhammer in Liverpool, I was desperate to get in there again this year. This time I was going to parade my 4 'new' #BloodBowl teams on a scratchbuilt Megabowl 7's pitch and I've been working on it, adding to my teams all year. I managed to secure a bronze pin for completing the first quarters' challenge but the silver and gold eluded me because the tasks are set up for 40k and AoS, rather than the Best of the Rest category. And, some of these figures had been painted in previous years, just never had a chance to parade so they weren't completed within this time frame.

 Anyway, it is all moot. After preparing everything, Parade Day in Liverpool coincides with Liam's 50th birthday! Now I love AoP, but I love my hobby crew even more and the promise of a weekend gaming with these guys is a much better proposition. And, thanks to COVID there are still entries online and although I have no chance of winning I'm still taking part virtually.

And that means this will be my 10th year of taking part - a decade of parade and although I would love to be there in person I've entered in absentia and online previously. I have my bronze pin for the year, so I'll take that as my participation badge. And, I can share on social media, so I'll still feel part of it at the very least.

Anyway, the Parade. As mentioned it's my 4 teams and these have all been shown before but never altogether and I went to great effort to get decent lighting - 3 daylight bulbs, a ring light and 2 other room lights, so at least the colours are decent on the Porkbelly Stuffers

Sadly the Rotspawn is just a little out of focus here, but the rest of Anaplastic PXA look pretty cool.

And my old skool 2nd edition team colours of the Middenheim Marauders.

The Orcs were loosely based [just with a lot more rust] on Robin Cruddace's 'Da Badland All Blacks' and as I still have zero ideas for my own novelty name I may as well acknowledge the inspiration and henceforth they will be Da Badland All Blacks.

I mean that's an unholy mess right there for a match start. Of course I've put a full team in each quarter, when in fact there should only be 7 players a-side for 7's but it was the rule of cool on showing off the entire team.

I'd still love to parade instore with this, but the Manchester Parade day is the day after Liverpool's and Liam's 50th is a weekend of gaming at Otty's. I may have another chance with Warhammer Wigan, if they have a parade it might be on the 25th [the day of the online winners stream]. We'll see...

Whether this gets held over to next year I don't know, unlikely as I think it might be my Tyranids [again] but this time featuring as much of the Leviathan additions as I can. Although I suspect the Leviathan category may be lost for 2024 it still feels like the best plan.

Thanks to the 3 Kurnoth Hunter Treemen and 2 star players the substitutes corner is pretty cramped. But they added to the team, which otherwise would have been just the basic squad, with no heavy hitters. Now, it's got the best line-up, though I still suspect they'd get squished.

I do fancy a Rumbelow Sheepskin to complete the team but I'm not that precious to drop £23, despite that being £2 cheaper than a plastic Techpriest Manipulus, which I also fancy for some reason.

I rotated the board round to see it from every angle.

The Nurgle team. I added the additional infected rotter, from a Poxwalker for the Parade. 

I do think at some point I may buy a Lord of Plagues to convert to go with the team. It's an iconic figure, so much so I think everyone should paint one and for £12, maybe as a star player - a Bilerot Vomitflesh proxy perhaps [not a huge fan of the sculpt], it's decent value [again, see the Manipulus].

But more players for teams I don't play with seems a nonsense at this point.

I've had visions of a Karla Von Kill conversion from a Necromunda Escher gang member for years.

Haven't done it, so perhaps I can resist the temptation to adding to these teams.

But the fun is in the painting, as variety from nids and Dark Angels. Of course they're all done now so it's either dig out some of my old skool 2nd edition teams, or there's that Warhammer Underworlds Vampire warband to take forward.

Da Badland All Blacks [getting used to the name]. 

These were the main thing I painted for AoP2024, the whole team and two star players.

I had looked at doing a backdrop, but I no longer have access to a large printer.

Additionally, I felt it obscured other folks boards last time, little knowing that wouldn't be an issue. 

I could have painted one from scratch, straight onto a piece of board, but I did not have something 2' wide. 

I suppose I could have bought some more MDF, but I just didn't think it was warranted. 

If I ever think to parade it in person I may go to the effort to do a single sided backdrop, but for now I'm happy with it.

Worth noting the 2 balls in the centre of the board.

And the Dwarven referee - short-sighted and deaf - the best ref!

That's mostly it, just 4 three-quarter diagonal shots to get a feel for the board, enjoy!

And, because I can, I'm gong to give myself a Bloody Great Big Bloody Stamp of Bloody Approval!

'nids part 360 - #DreadTober Screamer Killers - TO DONE!!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity it's the 3st of #DreadTober and I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Tyranid Screamer Killers. Did we manage to meet the deadline? Of course we did!

 As #DreadTober comes to an end I'm less guilty about my headstart as without it it would never have been completed in time. It looks like I judged the effort needed to perfection and rather than feel bad about that I'm going to embrace it from now on. 

I felt bad when I missed the deadline with the Tyrannofex so at least this time it was all worthwhile. Not to mention I managed 2 Dread sized creatures and a Knight sized one too.

Of course I could have just focused on one thing throughout the month but I'm not sure if that was the most effective and efficient use of my time.

Bottom line I have to balance the community event with my own mojo and muse and September I had the urge to start these early and it was the right decision.

So, no more apologies and I really like how these both turned out, enough that I will not mention the legs again!

In fact I'm going to say how much I like the plasma effect.

The blue is my least favourite glow that I add to things but it's worked out OK here. Just enough to add some variety.

The second Screamer Killer feels like more of a spider, with its downturned talons.

I put this next to a normal Carnifex and I can't believe how tiny the old model looks in comparison. 

Almost like the old one is it's little brother.

The debate now is do I buy one more to make a proper Old One Eye conversion?

I think it's inevitable, but right now I want a bit of a break. Although I feel satisfied with my efforts in the hobby season so far, I think at some point I need to finish those Deathwing Terminators to be truly satisfied.

Possibly with the remaining bits of my Death Guard too, the Blight Haulers and lone marine.

But these are great and alongside the High Rule Dude it's been the best #DreadTober ever.

I've ended up with 3 amazing models that despite the minor setbacks I think have come out amazingly.

Can't wait for DreadTober 2024

And to top it all I get another Bloody Great Big Bloody Stamp of Bloody Approval!

13 year blogiversary

Morning #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity I've been blogging for 13 years now!

That's right, 13 years! I've said many times over that I do the blog purely as a record of what I've achieved. The fact it's proven valuable and entertaining to other hobbyists is an absolute bonus. Although I have no interest in the pursuit of numbers or followers I am fascinated by them, in part because my job requires some awareness of social media and a limited knowledge of metrics. When colleagues asked if a website we'd been doing for a few months was successful with 21,000 page views I wanted to check the blog as I roughly knew I'd been pootling along on 10-15k hits per month! And discovered last month I'd broken my previous monthly record with 58,860 views!

On what I have no idea. I can't work out which posts in September were so popular, although my free templates seem to have had a resurgence. So, although I will have a small whoop of achievement, I don't fully trust the numbers anyway, which brings me back to not caring one way or another. I'd still be doing the blog if no one was reading and as much as sometimes I feel like taking a[n extended] break you can clearly see some months I don't necessarily post as much as I have done. The bottom line is the blog is an outlet, not a chore and as with the rest of the hobby, I think I'm in a place where I can do as much or as little as I want without feeling guilty if I don't.

I've mostly kicked my Twitter habit too. Posts are still automatically going there and I check in once a week or so but it again speaks to the neediness for approval that I am uncomfortable with. That's not to say I don't appreciate all those that still visit the blog, or take time to comment - I really do. I'm just grateful that it's never been a driver for why I do this.

So, 13 year's on and I'll still be doing the hobby, blogging about it and sharing it with anyone who has a casual interest. There's not that many of us that have this kind of longevity, who are happy to share our hobby diaries in such an understated way. But if you're new to hobby blogging that's the lesson. You can enjoy it just as much with no followers, no views, but just pouring your creativity out for anyone to find, or not. Regardless, keep at it.

'nids part 359 - #DreadTober High Rule Dude - TO DONE!

Afternoon #WarHamFam and #WarhammerCommunity it's the 30th of #DreadTober and I've been #PaintingWarhammer on my Tyranid High Rule Dude and here we go, with a final surge of effort I got this over the line.

It's turned out awesome even with a TO DO LIST of 32 parts I feel almost satisfied for my season with this alone.

There are some issues, I would have preferred the head to be a bit further raised. The magnets aren't as effective as usual, but I think that's because the ball joints are perhaps too big for the sockets.

Whatever issues I had with the painting have been resolved thanks to the subtle red/purple shading on the undersides of the arms and legs.

It adds just enough of an additional dimension to help add volume and variety to an otherwise 'samey' bone colour.

The reds have come out really well and despite my concerns about the green glow - I'm always concerned about glow effects.

I think it's turned out fantastic.

Just enough green to add some variety, with the red and yellow adrenal glands.

He's an absolute beast and weighs a fair bit too - as a chonky bit of resin!

I've not idea if I'll ever play him but it's such a cool model and I think my colour scheme adds just that extra bit of detail that perhaps the simplicity of the original sculpt lacked.

I love it, but there were certain elements that could have done with a bit of texture.

I'm no fan of the Forgeworld Hierodule, but it did add texture to the sculpt that the plastics are only just beginning to add [with the new Termagants].

Arguably it doesn't need it with my paint scheme and thankfully it manages to fill the wealth smooth of smooth surfaces.

I love these guns, no idea which is the better - Barbed or Scythed?

But nothing beats its mutant Strawberry squirt gun!

So, the High Rule Dude is complete [white background pics to follow] and I get a, Bloody Great Big Bloody Stamp of Bloody Approval but did I finish the Screamer Killers too, or were they a stretch goal too far? Come back tomorrow to find out!