Reminder - The NAG May Hobby Contest - Building Character

This is a contest I'm running at my gaming club, The Northumbrian Adventurers Guild. If you're in the Northumberland, UK area then please come along May 30th to enter!

Sponsored by Wayland Games

Sponsored by Bitz Box

The wargames we play are filled with wonderful bits of background and stories of great heroes and villains who stride across the battlefield like gods. Equally there are many tales of heroic last stands and noble deeds from even the lowliest individuals. For the May Hobby Contest entries will be a mini and an accompanying piece of background.

There will be 3 age categories for entry.
12 and Under
13-17
18+

There are first and second place prizes in each category. Provided by our generous sponsors.
First place will receive a plastic character box set supplied by Wayland Games.
Second place will receive a Mixed Bitz Bag from Bitz Box to help with future conversions.

There will be NO ENTRY FEE so I'd really like to see everybody taking part.

Entries will be judged on the following 4 criteria.

Background. For quality, originality and the ever important rule of cool!
Modelling. For removal of mould lines etc to any conversion work etc.
Painting. For colour scheme, quality and neatness of painting etc.
Character. For how well the model and background tie in, any extra details etc that add to the character of the entry etc.

To go into a bit more detail about what I mean by background - This could be anything from a short heroic story, a paragraph describing the history of the character, rules for the character or a drawing etc. Really it's up to you to interpret this how you please. I don't expect pages of brilliant prose. I'm looking more at quality, originality and capturing the background of the universes in which our games are played. If you have any questions about this bit then please ask and I'll try to explain!
The minis being painted do not have to be Lord/Hero/HQ choices etc. I'm looking for background and character but this could easily be a tank, unit or some such with a rich background or history. You could enter a Special Character but I'd like to see original background for him/her maybe a short story or a drawing etc.

The Mechrite Crisis & Painting The Slaughter-Lord

Made a proper start on Project: Lotsared! Historically, not a favourite colour of mine to paint! I've always used Dark Flesh as a base when painting red but when painting a whole army in red that step seems awfully clunky and time consuming with the Mechrite Red foundation paint in my paint box... or so the idea began. After some infuriating experimenting painting the red I found Mechrite Red to be plain awful. The colour just didn't sit nicely with me and the consistency was far from brilliant. I have to admit I was seriously disheartened by the whole affair and my rather awful looking basecoat on Rogoth The Berzerker when I started him.
Then suddenly, everything changed. I was sitting with my son when he was painting and I noticed that he painted the red on his mini with great ease. It turned out that his Mechrite Red was so very different to mine. His has a nice thick consistency more like the other Foundation paints I have and the colour was a much deeper red than mine. Suffice to say, my son has had his Mechrite Red requisitioned until I get to the shop to replace my dodgy one. I know that's not the most interesting story but it raised an interesting point, at least in my mind. How easy is it to sit and paint in isolation and not be aware of the differences between two paints of the same colour (in theory) and same age. I'd have been absolutely distraught if I'd bought a second pot of Mechrite further down the line having painted half my army to find it was a completely different shade. Out of isolation!

Anyhow, I've now made a start on the Slaughter-Lord of The Gorewing.



Clearly, there is still a lot to be done on this mini but I'm just pleased to have finally brought an end to the Mechrite Crisis!

Zorion The Resplendent on Chaos Dragon Early Mock-up

My Warriors of Chaos haven't been forgotten I'd just been looking for something a bit different to get my teeth stuck into with them. So here's a very early mock-up of what I'm going for.

Obviously, the dragon is still in need of wings. They'll be added on once I get my hands on them.
I've done a fair bit of work to the Carnosaur to get it into the pose I want and to make it a bit more dragon like. Firstly, I bent the tail of the model to a completely different angle, this was for the most part purely about the balance of the piece. Obviously balancing that much metal in the air leads to an element of inbalance so stretching the tail out allowed me to offset that a great deal. The tail was extremely hard work to shift so I kept boiling it and bending it until I got roughly the shape I wanted. I also bent the Carnosaurs left out to make the pose look more realistic as it climbs the rock ready to soar back into the sky in search of prey.

That picture shows the difference in the Carnosaurs pose now. As you can see I've extended the neck to make it longer bodied and slightly more serpentine in shape. The head on the Carnosaur is actually from another Carnosaur but cut further down so that also helped to extend the neck so far. The milliput there at the minute is just to space, I'll be adding greenstuff on top to detail scales etc.

Zorion the Sorcerer Lord rider is still very early in his construction too. For the most part it's the mounted Slaanesh Lord mini but the helmet is from a Dark Elf but with the cone filed down to make a flat top more like an Arthurian Knight style helm. I might add some decoration to the top yet and I'll be sculpting a gem to cover the hole in the helm. The Slaaneshi staff top is the icon from the Daemonettes sprues.
The rock on the base is made from air drying clay for the most part and some milliput under the left foot. Again, there'll be green stuff etc to tidy this up and detail it but for now I'm just getting the underlying shapes down. Imagine wings on him though and you'll have a very good idea where I'm trying to go with this.

The Glorious Banner Exchange

I started The Glorious Banner Exchange to help increase traffic to my blog whilst sharing these viewers with other like minded individuals. If you'd like to join the banner exchange then please email me with the subject line The Glorious Banner Exchange. Or click the email link in the sidebar of this blog.

An example of my banner:


This sits nicely in the sidebar on most blogs and isn't in any way imposing. Please contact me if you're interested.

The Current members:

Bases For The Gorewing

I did a quick test game against my son at 570pts I think it was (using Space Hulk termies as proxies for the Gorewing) and was delighted to see Rogoth 'Berzerkerate' the Ultramarine army he was up against! Dual chainfists are absolutely hillarious on a Lone Wolf so I've learnt! My Slaughter-Lord did himself proud too, punching out a Librarian and a Vindicator with his powerfist. I'm really enjoying my foray into 40k...

Anyway, bases for Rogoth and Kaldor:



There are holes there as I'm pinning these guys to their bases. I'm so sick of having to rebase my Warriors of Chaos all the time and these guys are chunky enough to pin their feet with minimal effort.

Space Hulk Post #2

Made a start on Lexicanium Calistarius (or Mr. Mephiston to the rest of us!). The blue power armour needs some tidying up but I was aiming for a high contrast between the edge highlight and the mid-tone. I think it might need a little blending back but will see how it looks once the red is down.

Any thoughts so far?

The Glorious Works Painting Service

I am looking to start taking painting commissions -

Obviously without knowing your needs its difficult to give prices. The cost will depend on the specifics of your project so please email me with all the details you can so that I can produce the best possible quote for you. Prices will include basic assembly of minis and basing as required but more extensive conversion or difficult assembly work will mean a slight increase in price.

Once painted I will send pictures (and can and will do so throughout the project) and finalise payment details including delivery costs. I'm quite happy to work with overseas customers just please be aware that postage may be higher as a result.
If you require I can purchase products on your behalf (doing so means I will require at least 50% of these costs up front). I will always try and find the best possible price for these. This option may be particularly useful for overseas customers to avoid having to incur the delivery costs twice. Again, if you email me with your needs or questions and I'll be able to discuss them further with you.

Painting Space Hulk Post #1

One my main priorities at the minute is to get my Space Hulk set painted up. So on that theme...


Image property of Games Workshop

Try not to be overwhelmed with excitement!

Plastic door stands for the win! I'm trying to impose some self-discipline when it comes to getting Space Hulk painted so I've first painted all of the door stands. Which means I can now move on to all the other more exciting things!

Rogoth The Berzerker & Kaldor Foe-render WIP

Done a little bit more work but not as much as I'd have liked to.

Rogoth The Berzerker



I've extended his arms and green-stuffed the flexi armour in the gap on each side. It needs some tidying up and some more Khornification. Then I cancel out all the tidying up by making him look like he's Berzerkerated (new word!) his way through umpteen battlefields

Kaldor Foe-render, Slaughter-Lord of the Gorewing



I really love this mini. I debated long and hard about the cloak he comes with and I just didn't like it, didn't seem savage enough for my tastes so will get him painted without the cloak but have a couple of ideas I will try out afterwards too. Couple of little details to stick on to him and the odd gap to fill and he'll be ready for painting. His base still needs to be done too.

Rogoth The Berzerker - Early WIP Picture

Slowly but surely getting there, adding little details as best I can to make his Khorne allegiance clear. Any thoughts so far?

Rogoth The Berzerker - Very Early WIP

Made a start on Rogoth The Berzerker, my counts as Lone Wolf with 2 Chainfists, here's his WIP base.



And the WIP right handed chainfist.


It's a Wolf Claw with the claws removed, holes drilled and two Imperial Chainblades attached to the knuckles of the fist. It's a long way from finished as I want to add some decoration and detail with green stuff etc to hide all the joins in a similar style to the left handed chainfist


Image copyright of Bitz Box

I also have Lord Zhuthor from Forge World due to be delivered this week so will get to make a start on Kaldor Foe-render my counts as Logan Grimnar.

The NAG May Hobby Contest - Building Character

This is a contest I'm running at my gaming club, The Northumbrian Adventurers Guild. If you're in the Northumberland, UK area then please come along May 30th to enter!

Sponsored by Wayland Games

Sponsored by Bitz Box

The wargames we play are filled with wonderful bits of background and stories of great heroes and villains who stride across the battlefield like gods. Equally there are many tales of heroic last stands and noble deeds from even the lowliest individuals. For the May Hobby Contest entries will be a mini and an accompanying piece of background.

There will be 3 age categories for entry.
12 and Under
13-17
18+

There are first and second place prizes in each category. Provided by our generous sponsors.
First place will receive a plastic character box set supplied by Wayland Games.
Second place will receive a Mixed Bitz Bag from Bitz Box to help with future conversions.

There will be NO ENTRY FEE so I'd really like to see everybody taking part.

Entries will be judged on the following 4 criteria.

Background. For quality, originality and the ever important rule of cool!
Modelling. For removal of mould lines etc to any conversion work etc.
Painting. For colour scheme, quality and neatness of painting etc.
Character. For how well the model and background tie in, any extra details etc that add to the character of the entry etc.

To go into a bit more detail about what I mean by background - This could be anything from a short heroic story, a paragraph describing the history of the character, rules for the character or a drawing etc. Really it's up to you to interpret this how you please. I don't expect pages of brilliant prose. I'm looking more at quality, originality and capturing the background of the universes in which our games are played. If you have any questions about this bit then please ask and I'll try to explain!
The minis being painted do not have to be Lord/Hero/HQ choices etc. I'm looking for background and character but this could easily be a tank, unit or some such with a rich background or history. You could enter a Special Character but I'd like to see original background for him/her maybe a short story or a drawing etc.