Blood Bowl - Nurgle Team Trio

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer #BloodBowl Nurgle players. Between other projects I would randomly throw a bit of paint on these, with unexpected results. Still lots to do though, but they're at a stage where I'm excited to paint them to completion.

First up, this Rotter. So far there are some things I am very happy with. The raw flesh is working very well and the orange is a great starting point for the subsequent highlights yet to come. The filthy cream is also as expected. The green skin however is both a disappointment and a success.

 

 It's disappointing because this Rotter was supposed to be grey skinned. I wanted to explore a different skintone but when I added yellow to the grey it just ended up green. I should have expected it but I didn't. Thankfully, it looks OK though but it does leave me missing out on that exploration.

 

The albino bloater is also working out really well. Here's my own tip for Nurgle - one thin coat. You really shouldn't be striving for flat colours with 2 thin coats. You want all sorts of undertones showing through and it's working really well so far on his skin.

 

I had hoped to add some pink mold in places, you know how sometimes you can get it in bathrooms and even on bread, but I'm not sure if it'll work now I've added the red shading. We'll see how it goes.

 

I also wanted to explore a foetid yellow Bloater and this too is coming out interesting. I think I need to add some purple in places. Green could also be an option but I worry it'll take it more in that direction and I've already explored some green players. I'm sure colour-theory could provide an answer but it's not just the theory it's how I put down the paint and even with the answer I could blow it on execution.

 

 

Currently I think it has 2 dimensions of the contrast and different tones in the red shading. But I need another dimension in additional tones to show variation in the diseased nature of the skin. The albino has that somewhat already, but it doesn't quite have the finish I'm after yet. 

 

I'll get there in the end. Orange armour highlights and pants next. This will give me more time to mull over the skin and the various approaches I'll take to help them get to the next level.

Blood Bowl - Halfling Team Big Build TO DONE!

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been building my Halfling #BloodBowl team. It was a treat to myself after witnessing PaintedByG's amazing Armies on Parade entry.

Interesting to note they come packaged in plastic inside the box, I don't think the Nurgle team did.

There's not much to say about them, the feet can be fiddly to add. It's perhaps always worth putting them on before you attempt gluing them to the base. 

I also tended to leave them just glued to the base without arms and heads and going onto another one or two before coming back to the original, giving it time to bond to the base a bit more.

I also employed my strips of fun foam to fill the slotta gaps. It wasn't always completely effective but additional grass will hide most of the sand and gravel anyway. At some point I'll need the Kurnoth Hunters for my Treemen.

Not sure when I'll be undercoating them, what with the weather but I'll get them in my Porkbelly Stuffers colours - pink uniforms with crackling shoulder-pads. 

 

Halfling/Treeman

Halfling/Treeman

For now I get a Great Big Granite Big Build Stamp of Approval. 

Hobby Spends 2020

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity 

Following on from previous year's spending record I've kept another log for 2020 [and will do so for 2021]. The final figure of £226.90 was roughly a 30% increase than last years gross spend of £150.42. But there were less vouchers to support the hobby, so my net spend was.£190.90, compared with last year's £55.42!

I had used some of my Element Games [Use this code: DAV910 for DOUBLE Element Crystals] to contribute half to Liam's Adeptus Titanicus foray. But I was never expecting to match my frugal spending of 2019. Almost a third of those spends were on paints though and I will not feel bad about that either.



So my net spend of £190.90 over 12 months is £135 more than last year! My figure purchases were up, but they were also due to magazine purchases - Conquest and Mortal Realms. Conquest got me some great items like the Galvanic Servohaulers and they were even at sale prices.

Mortal Realms was 10% of my spends. Obviously I'm not into Age of Sigmar but we all know it was a bargain, the first issue in particular - so many Chainrasps and Stormcast Eternals, paint too. It was an absolute boon. The most bizarre side effect is despite living in my home town for over 45 years [minus my 4 years at university], every time I drop my son off at school and drive through town I have flashbacks to purchasing these issues of Mortal Realm. So my abiding memory from all this time is buying these toy soldiers - I don't understand it.

Anyway, I had an OK year. 2021 might be a bit odd. Lockdowns may still be in place and having gone a year without a game it'll be a challenge to get back into it. I don't have anything that is 40k 9th edition, but the Dark Angel Codex is due, which I will get and then at some point I will have to get the rules, whether I look at one of the starter sets - I've little interest in the figures though, who knows...

'nids 302 - Tyranid Warrior & Hive Guard TO DONE! White pics

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Tyranids. OK, the finished showcase pictures on a white background, you know the deal by now.

I was really pleased with the maroon highlights on the Impaler Cannons. Adding a little Bonewhite to the Khorne Red gave them a different tone, something I've seen them do on the GW painting guides.

I had thought the backs were a bit scruffy but they look OK in these pics.

There are still some bits I've missed, there's a claw missing on one hand that needs some blood adding, for narrative reasons.

But I need to consider how and when I may look at the 4 original Warrior to Hive Guard conversions and bring them up to this standard. I may wait until after the new Codex as I fear they may very well get some kind of nerf that makes having 6 ludicrous.

The same goes for the Warrior's brethren. There are 4 of these and their Primes that need a little bit of titivating to be up-to-date.

 

There's nearly a decade between them regarding my skill level and the evolution of the paint scheme.

 

As you can see here, the two outer ones are nearly a decade old, the 2nd from right might be 6 years old...

You can see how that one has slightly more defined striations on the chitin. But all of the older generations have Khorne red weapons, whereas I randomly went Bloody Red on my new one. I'll have to decide whether to keep or match them when I do look at a revamp.

As you can see the chitin is where the biggest improvements can be made, although some extra recess shading elsewhere and 2nd level bone highlights will easily match up.

The 2nd from right is almost up to standard with the chitin, but I'd probably bite the bullet and redo it anyway. Perhaps if I do all the bone first it'll give me an ide of whether it's worth it.

Anyway, that's a project for late 2021, or another year altogether. I've other priorities for '21. Now I tend to have mixed feelings hobbywise about a new year. Everyone starts making hobby resolutions/promises. Now, I've never really held to the concept of resolutions as they're too easily dismissed. I do make TO DO! lists, usually jobs around the house. But hobbywise, I make my TO DO list at the start of my Hobby Season, so I'm out of sync with most other hobbyists, which makes me like the inevitable promises made tomorrow a little annoying. Don't mind me though, I'm just bitter and envious I chose Betamax instead of VHS! 😉 

Have a happy new year, there's no magic wand that will render all the troubles of 2020 gone at the turn of the clock. No doubt we still have many months of lockdown and social distancing to come. But it is a turning of the corner, with vaccines on the way we may well come back to something approaching normalcy next year, and for that I am hopeful. I look forward to games and actually using these models I've painted. So, all the best for 2021.

'nids 301 - Tyranid Warrior & Hive Guard conversions TO DONE! Red pics

Afternoon #warmongers and #warhammercommunity I've been #paintingwarhammer Tyranids. These were almost complete for #NomVember #NidVember but I just missed the deadline and as my blogging was tied up with Armies on Parade there was less incentive to get them completed.

So when I had other priorities just getting those last bits, like the teeth, varnish, even some of the bone chips on the Hive Guard, was just to much to contemplate.

The festive period has gifted too much hobby time, but that's OK. However, I usually like to build something at Christmas but that didn't end up on the cards, so the least I could do was get these finished.

It was a few nights work, that first one with the the teeth and varnish and then I realised I hadn't done the bone chips and the lone toxin sac [I know they're not an option, it was already on the donor Warrior when I did the conversion and I couldn't be bothered to remove it].

So another night to finish up the painting and one more session for all the flock.

One bonus for the night of flocking was I had leftover PVA, which prompted me to soak some string fibres and actually add some nerve fibres to my Tyranid Void Shield Generator!

That's right folk I have some progress and I think I may well get some more done on it ready for an attempt at the final few nights of sculpting it needs!

I really like how this Warrior turned out, the pose in particular feels quite threatening.

He'd definitely be in my Kill Team if I did one, surrounded by Termagants, although he'd probably have been better off with a bonesword perhaps, maybe a lash whip. I don't know I never run them with anything other than Scything Talons.

A few of my other mid-sized beasties in the background.

Y'know for desktop patterns and such.

And the Hive Guard.

And so I gets me my Great Big Granite Stamp of Approval - TO DONE!'