New Year New Army Completed

Good tidings dear reader(s) wherever you may be.  I hope all is as well as they can be amidst the uncertainties of our time.  It's been some time since I've given a hobby update and while the blog has been quiet, it's been busy on my end!  As I mentioned in the earlier post I've been using painting as a way to do some self-care for my own stuff and as such, I've managed to reach some goals for the year!  So let's dive right into some of what I've managed to get done!

I didn't quite realize that it's been...a few months...5 maybe...since my last update.  It's been a wild time for everyone across the globe and typing things hasn't been on top of my list.  As much as I've been busy with work and managing life, I've been painting a lot as well.  I've taken myself to a challenge of "let's see how many I can paint in a single batch" and just kept increasing the number.  Right now the highest I've painted as one batch is 60, but looking through some of these pictures it's been large group after another it seems.  Let's start off with the smallest group size of 10, the ladies of the Escher gang in Necromunda!

I toyed around with using the color green throughout the models.  I wanted them to be an Escher cult of Nurgle that started to dip into toxins/poisons with their diseased patron and so I went with a cooler/pale flesh tone with some hints of green.  I did part of their armor using Scale 75 Orcs and Goblins set green and also contrast Warp Lightning with some highlighting/shading.  Overall I was really pleased with the vibrancy of the green compared with the pale skin and the black leather pants!

The Pox Walkers are the models that started this whole "see how many I can batch paint" deal because I grabbed one randomly to show a friend how "you can get quick decent results with contrast, see?  I hate these models but with contrast...huh...well...I actually really like that...damn I guess I need to paint these nerds up."  So 40 Pox Walkers later with majority contrast and some weathering/rusting effects and here we are!  I aimed not to do any sort of prep work other than what I already had, so if the area didn't have a strong primer presence then it just became natural shading.

So next came the Plaguebearers which I went off of the mutations in the Pox Walkers being blue, so then naturally they needed to be blue too!  Another set of 31~ miniatures using mostly contrast paints with some highlighting and selective shading.  In this case, I took an "I don't really care" attitude because my goal was speed and tabletop "good enough" rather than effort for a display piece.  I think I took more time with the skirmish game sorts because they tend to have smaller numbers of models whereas Pleaguebearers I can remove en masse.

 Then came the big project.  The Ossiarch Bonereapers.  This time I was going for something a little bit more than just "slap the paint on" as I did with the previous two.  My goal was still to try and get them done quickly as I could, but now to a new level of quality.  I managed to knock out this whole army in about 7 weeks time with taking breaks here and there.  Overall I am very pleased with the overall outcome and the tone of the army.

Finally, I've started a new army project, this time I'm going to knock out the Hadross from Wrath of Kings.  I started experimenting with airbrushing some inks on some of these models and I've been learning a good chunk of stuff on how to use them.  My biggest takeaway is that I have discovered that I really, REALLY, like using white ink as part of zenithal priming.  Prime the model in black/grey, and then hit them with some white ink.  It takes about 2-3 passes but for smaller batches of models it really stands out!  I've had some issues with white priming since contrast paints came out but this technique was smooth, effective, and gave me some great results.  Another thing I've learned is that you should probably get familiar with the intensity/color of your ink before airbrushing them...because I didn't realize it was going to end up looking that intense...I still like it and will work with it but yeah, just be careful.

PURPLE

A year later after contrast was released I've come to realize a lot about my own painting style, approach, and attitude.  It's truly been a game-changer for me and painting without contrast kind of sucks for me.  As I painted these Hadross Deepmen mostly without it, it's been agonizing and I just haven't enjoyed it as much as I might have if I had just used contrast initially.  I just don't like it as much and truthfully I'm not trying to become a Sam Lenz, Vince Venturella, or Angel Giraldez.  I'm just a dude trying to get his models pained so I can play games with painted models, and they look somewhat decent.  As a podcast, I've listened to (link right here to Trapped Under Plastic) mentioned, that I am going to paraphrase, a good 85% of the work is the base coating and shading and the rest are the highlights and details and I've taken that to heart.  Contrast knocks out 85% of my time with decent results that I then build on with the rest of the details.  Whether I choose to put more effort into that 15% or not is up to me as most of the model is done already.  I love it and for all the flak I give GW it's a great product I will continue to use.

I hope all has been well with you all out there and that you are taking care of yourselves out there.  If you've done any hobbying please feel free to leave a comment/link and let me check out your work!  If not then until next time take care of yourselves, happy hobbying, and good luck out there!

2019: A year in review

Greetings fellow wargamers and welcome back to Wargamer Ramblings!  It's been a helluva year for many of us in this hobby and in our lives so I hope you are doing well and that fortune has favored you in your endeavors.  It's been a year in the making but here is the last wrap-up post on the journey in 2019 where I resolved to "just try and paint more minis."  I can say that compared with a lot of years in my hobbying career that I did just that.  So grab a nice drink/snack, get comfy, and enjoy this segment on your Sunday morning/afternoon/whenever.

In total, I have painted 235 (forgot to include the 8 Battletech minis on the board) miniatures this year which as a ratio of miniatures to days I have painted the equivalent of a "mini a day" for about 62% of the year!  Compared to my historical average of about 0% I'd say that's a pretty nice change of pace.  So what can I say I've taken away from this information?  Well, earlier in the year I had a personal revelation where instead of relying on motivation I would discipline myself to try and do some kind of hobby-related thing daily.  For the most part, this was painting but there were times where I gamed some, assembled some, and truthfully allowed myself a break from time to time.  I think for me personally this resulted in a lot of painted stuff than I would have any other year!

Now I won't say that I'm a pro-painter or anywhere super-skilled compared with a lot of folks out there, but I like to think that I did improve somewhere along the road here.  I've experimented with some weathering powders, started using contrast paints as a base, and trying out different basing textures.  I think mechanically I've got some work to do on things like edge highlighting as they still end up being thick, but now I'm able to go back and fix them a little instead of just leaving them thick and ugly.  Throughout the year I have learned a lot of valuable lessons and have made an effort to try and be less afraid of new techniques in fear that I'll "ruin the model" and "waste money."  I hope in the end I improved my skills as well, which after 235 models I would hope so!

So does this mean my model queue has been relieved somewhat?  Uhhhhh...........

Not really...

I'll get to that in a second but 2019 was a great year in my hobbying world and I have felt great being able to sit back and complete projects that I have for the longest time let fester in my mind.  Some were new and goal-directed, such as the Thousand Sons for NoVA Open, and others because I either really liked the models or the game, much like the 4 Blood Bowl teams and Shadespire bands.  Motivation does have a use in sparking that "ooooh I should paint X next," but in making sure I actually follow through and complete the project I rely on discipline.  It's inspired me to continue the process of painting and I would be interested in seeing the hobby results in 2020.

So now what does that mean for the blog?  Well, I started this blog at the end of 2015 because I love this hobby and just getting my thoughts out there.  Last year was hobby/painting focused and for my resolutions this year I am still keeping "paint more minis" as one of them.  I also want to try and expand my projects from just minis.  In a couple of recent games I've played I kept thinking to myself "man if only this terrain was painted up. We have our armies painted up but the scenery isn't," and with that, I want to (weather permitting) start getting terrain painted up.  First I have to get a gameplan established but then once spring hits I should have some terrain up.

Also, I have recently invested in Age of Sigmar for real this time as I have purchased a 2000 point set of Ossiarch Bonereapers (hereafter referred to as Bone Daddies).  I've dabbled in AoS models but not the game, however, with the release of these Bone Daddies I have taken the plunge and so with that in 2020, in addition to the paint more minis and paint terrain, I will take a monthly look at my progress in building, playing, and painting up these Bone Daddies.  I am very excited about this upcoming prospect and I hope here in the next week or so I should get to cracking down on assembling some of them for a 1000 point game.

So that's 2019 in a nutshell with pictures of models all throughout the year.  I hope your year has been kind or productive, especially both, and that I hope 2020 is a great year for your hobbying.  What are some of your resolutions this year?  Did you keep your 2019 resolutions for the hobby?  I'm curious to hear what you have to say so leave a comment below and as always happy gaming until next time folks!