2023 Hobby Log

I love my friends, I do. They are good people.

I would like, just once however, to go to the pub to meet them and not end up with a new game in our minds to pick up.

A good pal has had a rough couple of years and has been away from the hobby as a result. He’s still been buying things, of course – let it never be said that Wargamers aren’t eager slaves to capitalism. One of our biggest shared loves is Star Wars and over the course of a few pints the decision to play some Shatterpoint was made. He already owns the core box and one of our clubs locally has a great wee skirmish night held in a nice pub so it was easy to agree to.

Then more pints were had.

On payday weekend.

We know what happened, right?

[Drunk Me is a lot more forgiving of outrageous prices]

After the fun of the Nightstalkers project, I figure the best thing to do with this one is just get it done quickly. Build it, paint it, play it.

I can only make it to the skirmish night every second week because of work so I knew I wasn’t going to get everything done before we first sit down. I could get it all built though and then painted for the second session.

The building process was actually lovely.  The models are very straight forward to put together even without any instructions in the box. I got the pdf for the terrain but all in all  everything was done in two evenings. There are very few mould lines and, though B1s remain a pain in the arse even in a larger scale with my fat fingers, I’ve no real complaints.

Except the lightsabers.

They can go do one. There’s no way I’m not snapping them by the end of the first trip out of the flat. I thought I’d be really clever and replace them with brass rod but sadly I have neither rod nor drill bit thin enough for how tiny the hilts are. I tried. Anakin had a brass rod then he went back to his plastic one. I predict by the time we get to the first game, he’ll have nothing left.

Everyone got magnets on their bases before I glued the models on for once. Then I realised the box I was going to put them in isn’t tall enough so they are flat in a foam case after all.

Getting things done quickly means going with what you’ve got so when I had a free afternoon to paint terrain, the colour choice was limited. It doesn’t feel overly Star Wars but it is painted.

Buildings:
• Humbrol Dark Brown and over top with Humbrol Olive Green. The two tone effect here wasn’t as strong as normally I’d try for but it’ll do. We’re mostly going to be playing in a pub backroom, no one will notice.
• Drybrush with lighter green
• Drybrush metal segments with the remains of my Army Painter Gunmetal. Wash of Nuln Oil and then a small drybrush back up with gunmetal
• Paint over buttons and screens with white paint and then just some Blood Angels Red and Stormfiend for the buttons. The screens are Hexwraith Flame but I might come back to them later, I’m not a fan
• White over the lights as well and then a mix of Gryphcharger Orange and Gloomspite Yellow air to make cartoony lights
• Painted a couple of cables with Black Legion – this was mostly just because the sides they were on needed something to break them up a bit
• Sponge weathering with a dark brown
Platforms:
• Prime with the remains of my Colour Forge Black – excellent primer if you can get it
• Big makeup brush to drybrush everything with Gunmetal making sure not to go to heavily so I don’t have to bother with a wash
I didn’t get round to the other bits like the crates and console things just because I’m running dangerously low on primer. I’m also out of varnish but it’ll do for Monday night’s game.