From the workbench of the esteemed Horati0nosebl0wer

An update to my painting armory is in order. As I’ve been in need of fleshtones lately I’ve considered investing in restocking my Vallejo paints. Due to a recent swap at my regular monthly painting group I’ve come to own a couple sets of Cuttlefish Color paints. I am very pleased with the results as the selection of color is easily placed for what I need

The names are not set to your standard expectation from some other lines and they can be overlooked for purpose. You only need to pull them to mind when you restock. The consistency and how matte the final result turns out are really where these feel better for me.

This is now going to be my standard for skin as how they flow out of the bottle, with only shaking and no thinning, just feels good and yields beautiful results.

I think these rescue operations for minis is appropriately titled. I have snagged a group of Dark Eldar Incubi created before they were Drukhari and made of other material.

There was high hope seeing all the pieces with what looked like little effort for restoration. I was wrong on my assumption. The single in front that is in pieces came apart easily as it seems that rubber cement was used to stick them together but it might just be a fluke. I will be dropping these into The Stuff (not that B movie stuff) and cleaning them before seeing if they need pinning. With luck this will be very simple.

To a better tomorrow for these figures from yesterday.

This really is a rant against an overarching government as it happens to hit gaming (look at the impact of the publishing industry in the not too distant past) and how I would like to have input from abroad on visual weirdness for tiny fighting men.  I can pore more over this for academic purpose but my point is to stay on track for the hobby industry as it relates to my very small) global presence.

My plan is to one day build a Chinese mythology army based around the many afterlives one might be subject to after death. It would be fun for a miniature agnostic system, take SAGA for example, where my mind could run naked and free in the same manner as a Phil Foglio character. It is heavily swayed by the fun time film ‘Big Trouble in Little China’ and thinking back to the quick reading of White Wolf’s ‘Kindred of the East’ books outlining their take on Asian vampirism. I will complain that I have found quite a bit of Japanese undead and some from other cultures but none from China. I blame the Chinese Communist Party and their affiliates for this cultural let down to impede my merriment in exploring mythologies through miniatures. Yes, a first world problem but actually relevant to our hobby as a whole.

Is there something to be said about a Eurocentric hobby mostly encircling the western portion of the continent? Yes, it’s definitely something to point out and see cultures that have the economic level to afford time and possess enough technical means of producing models for mock warfare. I will refer to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs and say we as gamers have hit the big time beyond just scraping by for sustenance.

Do I think that the rest of the world should have some shot to show of their weird and wonderful stories with cultural idiosyncrasies? Hell yes, is my answer to that. I like exploration and finding new things to pore over visually. Here is the crux of the matter that I find most vexing. There are cultures in the world which do not allow for the free exercise of imagination; The People’s Republic of China is one of them.

This jumps into the realm of the political with the destruction of The Four Olds and The Cultural Revolution. The Chinese economic model for prosperity is great for analysis but out of the scope of the observation for the moment; I won’t touch on recasters in this post.

As a hobbyist I want to have my mental fun to bring to the tabletop and amaze other’s eyes. I’d like to be able to promote people who actually know the intricacies of folklore better than I. I can’t do that without pushing against another society’s norms and values. My interpretations are from the outside and cartoonish (not animated illustrations but the original definition). For a society with so much ambition to be seen as moden and developed internationally this seems like the smallest of benchmarks but could prove to be as difficult as making the roller balls for ballpoint pens.

So I’ve put together the box of Steppe Warriors and Mongol Cavalry box that I ordered a couple of months ago. I thought doing a force for SAGA would be fun but I have no need with so many armies of my own queued up. I have made amends with my conscience and wallet that this is going to be the starter force for the son of someone I know at my FLGS. The father plays SAGA Age of Crusades so I can play him occasionally with my figures as is barring monsters. On the flip side he would need monsters and his knights would fit right in. To give the young lad something to do I thought it best for him to have his own army which he could also face off against his dad with. Bringing in a young pup to chew on something other than 40K is alright by me.

As a quick aside I think Gerry might recognize some Amazons, in a lovely tote in the background, which may get painted at some point.

The recent commission that have been bundled with other things previously covered. I’m not keen on doing tigers in future.

Giftmas to be launched this week!

It’s been very quiet from me here on the site but it’s not been so with regard to my hobbying. The volley of Giftmas presents is almost ready to send and I’ve been catching up on long overdue work I promised to get to my regular patron. On top of that I was caught up on being sick and have more inspiration for projects that I may or may not work on. Terrain-fest will get my addition as Sundancer, Brennon and Ewokkebab (among so many others) has shown that doing the table dressing is manageable. I think it’ll be a good break as I continue to bounce around different hobby aspects to stay motivated.

To plan for the future beyond what I have set now and have a quick reference for projects to build as crossover points between historical and fantasy wargames (“Take SAGA for example”… some wookie we all know) here is a list of ideas I’ll have simmer for consideration and fuss about with as I feel moved to do so.

Jason and the Argonauts

Mongolians

Warring States Chinese

Ayutthaya Kingdom (medieval Thai)

Medieval Japanese

Aztecs/Toltecs

Dark Age Irish

Israelites

I picked up some new cheap nylon brushes as my current ones have been beaten pretty hard. I’ve done pretty well with the Royal & Langnickel and Dynasty. My FLGS has some Chinese made Ghost(?) brushes which I’m playing with right now but are priced a tad more.

I’ve worked with (size 1?) and have made a change to size 3. It is a bit of a jump but it’s made quite a bit of difference as the bristles actually have some spring in them. The point is useful with minimal curling and the reservoir (not much of a bell to speak of) holds enough moisture in my arid environment to allow pretty good work. I’ve also invested in a small spray bottle to moisten my wet pallette with occasional misting. As I’ve said, the place where I live is pretty dry (lately mostly around 45% depending on the time of day) and shortens the working time my paints significantly so this seems like a no-brainer. Here’s a way to check what kind of conditions you might get with your own humidity levels.

Meteored Humidity Map

Right now painting goes well and masses of minis are getting color. Good luck to you all slinging paint.

I’ve dragged my feet for a while on finishing my Arabian Knights and have tried to keep the forward momentum going with doing other stuff. Here is what I’ve been up to.

I’m not a very intelligent person but I think there are sparks of insight that hit me from time to time. After going over a podcast on the matter and getting input from the Jonston brothers over a few episodes I think AI is a disruptive technology and it will affect our gaming world. We are a subset community of our societies at large and we have unique aspects of analyzing information around us. I want to take present information, as I see it, and take a slow process without Discord to mull out where we are and might be headed.

The evolution of sensory input of animals/plants

Pressure (?)
Chemicals
Energy waves

On the basest level one might be able to look at the sensory input of any organism and find pressure. The neural firing of a particular set of cells signaling physical relation.

The upward evolution is the sensory input of organs meant to take in environmental data is that of chemical stimulus.

The latest input is that of organizing and interpretation of patterns in variable energy waves. Could the “psychic sense” just be attenuation of individual perception to other wavelengths beyond those more broadly experienced? (Topic of a future thought experiment).

With AI coming into our lives does the human experience of life and living, utilizing factors of sensory experience outside of waves (sight/sound) become more important? I think that the generation of having “experience vacations” and the glorification of the self and sensory input is manifestation of just such a thing. How does this affect the gaming world? We need to damn well play as social human animals. Building up experiences between other humans via tribes of supporting members that “fight” and play with each other in decentralized social environments that isn’t automatically generated for our minds and bodies is key to surviving the AI future as a species.

Am I advocating for “the good old grognard days” where gaming was invisible? No, it’s fun to have friends and know I’m not alone. I think that there is value in having human connection and exercising the input of my whole being other than what television could give me.in that aim I will start to put away some pennies to perhaps see some of you out there in the great wild world… if I only paused buying minis. (Plan: paint the minis I have and save money to travel?)

Is this revelation or just a crackpot idea?

Decoupling the mind of want from need is not easy. If I entertain my brain on wants then they appear as needs. These wonderful toys we play with are wants and we see new ones all the time. Do we need new things? Did the old toys which came before get gifted or were they lost to time and/should they be replaced? I think that there might be more to be said for “legacy toys”.

As we now see Ticket to Ride join the ranks of other games with legacy editions can there be a place for minis? I think that with the historicals Gerry has shown on his trips to Scandinavia and those Lloyd has noted in photos (not to forget that huge table of flats at Salute) figures have a place to be legacy items. Applemak and others have shown that gaming with kids is a means of keeping the hobby alive and our collections relevant. The usefulness of wargaming and the figure painting is a pass time, but what happens with the figures after we pass on? I believe Warren has addressed this as a good project with his own dungeon build. The static nature isn’t to my taste as title can only be a display but that is its purpose. I am too mobile in life to have such things but I might do something like board/terrain build if I weren’t.

We hobbyists have an interest and its something that may not be for future generations. If we don’t gain the attention of others to inspire them to be curious about what we do our hobby lies as lifeless as our tiny fighting men.

Having the chance to grab some figures at the paint and take from a recent con I now have some figures to throw at my friend who I’ve not been diligent on finishing commission work for. It’ll be an apology gift that I know he’ll use in his D&D campaign since some of the models are dragon related.

A long overdue piece I thought would be fun to base for display. I haven’t gotten the black paint to stick so well around the bottom but that’s an issue with working with Black 2.0 from Culture Hustle.

To make stuff that looks cool for the new year is my goal. I’ll be tackling old projects before the Spring Clean gets underway because I know myself and how much I am liable to procrastinate. That being said I’ll dig into some one shot pieces and smaller model count stuff to get it off the desk. I know that I have models I’ll never paint so this will help me to confront the fact and make it easier to part with them as they just aren’t worth keeping.

I think I’ll reasonably have enough breathing room to finish some work on my Arabian Knights. Yes, I will finish them this year… likely before some Pagan Rus or Slavs that Lloyd has been sitting on for a while. ?

I found a nugget of wisdom at random and it makes sense as to why I hobby like I do. I am not ok with being bored and I want to be good at something.

Miniatures isn’t an outgoing and spotlight grabbing hobby. It makes for literal small victories against being lost in the doldrums. I’m not great at many other things, but dammit, I can shine here. I put time into this craft to produce better results. There is art in the creation and process of making tangible the abstract ideas which I have. I want to get my ideas out and sharing a vision makes me happiest when others enjoy the un-sane and non banal with similar wonder.

Its a small and perhaps minor thing to think but pithy poignancy produces profound results if allowed to flourish in the tilled fecund furrows of the mind. Upgrade your grey matter cus’ one day it may matter.

Dopamine, a blessing and a bane. The addictive chemical in our heads that lead us to rise or ruin. I call it all this as I take my break from hobby and do some self relfection and general life analysis. I think about the ebb and flow of hobby and all the other stuff I do that are fun. I got to thinking about this after a video on YouTube got me curious as it mentioned high energy lifestyles and adrenaline junkies. My housemate fit the bill, as what they described, in trying to always be on the move doing something but with diminishing dopamine return on the pleasurableand ending up with no free time.

I turned this on its head and got to thinking of the pleasure principle in painting and building. Collecting has been fun but rather useless other than making moving difficult in the past. Gaming might be fun as time spent with others and making memories over battles which haven’t been fought like I play out.

Putting things into overdrive for projects has seemed like a means of dealing with the crap of the world. Finding a little corner of solace with a warm blanket, hot mug of tea and some well worked minis to show off is my ideal spot and really best practice. It beats flailing about in attempts to try and find the next thing to work on badly with poor results. Trying to get the easy return doesn’t make the models any better. Time, patience and some self discipline to say its ok to set down a project (and then follow through to pick it back up again) is good. We deal with our heads and hearts with this stuff. Its good to take a breather and set the models aside for a few to analyze our selves and how we hobby.

An ent and the goblin from the Shadowrun blister for a commission lot. All sorts of pleasure to see more things done and even better to get cash for them.

I had some fun with tufts today and went into another material I didn’t think I had much use for. My local hobby shop had Woodland Scenics light green bushes (SKU: FC145) on offer and I took a chance seeing how it would work. Its honestly been months since I bought them and only now think that this is a good time to use them. I think it came out pretty well.

The figure is Persephone from Reaper (SKU: 03919) and its been given the love of a display piece I wanted to show it. I probably could have obsessed mord and lamented my effort but I’ve gotten it done and now set it into my Case of Completion; its a collective of finished pieces I’m setting into large Chessex dice boxes until I have a proper case again.

The Case of Completion has been an idea I started a few years ago for dispay pieces and things I’ve done as an answer to my Hoard of Shame. Seeing my progress as I continue painting is helpful and it sometimes gives me that pick-me-up to keep going on. With moving so much I’ve not been able to do this and I get my dopamine rush from seeing my regular customer display the items in his own cases. Now, onto more stuff.

I feel rejuvenated. I went to the monthly meeting of a local painting group and I found myself at home among painting nerds. The joy of slapping small people (and other assorted creatures) with paint came back to me as I watched others do the same. I think the lack of physical community was really the dearest thing I’ve been missing for the longest time. This group will give me the extra push to paint better as well as most of them regularly go to Reapercon and some have placed in competition (a couple actually have painted for the company I think).

My general brush control seems to be on par with my fellows who were there and I don’t believe that my technical skills of dexterity were any different. The idea of some of the freehand still seems daunting. The general assortment of gadgets wasn’t any different in minimal variety of figure holders/brushes/travel cases for stuff. I did see that there was a gentleman who was using a pair of small daylight LED panels used for photography which were on tripods. I believe I have a few things now for my Giftmas list in future (I already caved yesterday and got a vortex paint mixer).

Beyond all this I found myself with a realization of what I consider my next step forward (really a step I think I forgot/glossed over) to progress from where I am. I will be utilizing my wet palette much more for my high end painting. I’ve also seen Kimera paint in person today and I believe I possess a hobby hard-on right now. I’ll potentially drop all my current paints to that end for what I want to press toward competition. I will be brutally honest with my self assessment in the thought that my layering has been shit for a while. I can and will do better with it. This fact should be evident with upcoming photos as I implement this consideration. I’m curious to dabble in the use of inks through my airbrush again but more often. I’ve only done it a couple of times but without concerted effort to test the medium and my tool.

All in all this has been a good day as I also sealed the figures I’m shipping to one of my nephews this Christmas. I’m not pushing the envelope with effort. Last year I gave one of his brothers other stuff I painted so I themed this batch for the little guy’s love of dinosaurs. I also made sure to cover it with a little extra varnish in order to protect to paint. I don’t know if it’ll help, as I remember my own toys, but it should last a bit better than the regular spray. Now its time to get on to the next bit of stuff.

Good news for working again. I start tomorrow… er today for you European types, subtract a few hours in the past. I suggest watching the Korean Netflix series Sisyphus might make more sense on that time travel thing. Anywhat, more minis are done and I feel good at pushing through more commission stuff. I don’t recall the caster of the viking. The troll is a Ral Partha for Shadowrun fom 1991. More stuff is on the way in future.

Building up armies or developing the grandest Golden Demon winner in my head is not as good as finishing a skirmish level warband or painting pieces for the tabletop. In the end I have nothing to show for my time spent other than an empty project with only information and ideas. Drawing down the big think to something manageable and tangibly concrete really should be done instead of chasing the dream all the time. Like in many other parts of life, you can dream but it won’t get you anything but frustrated unless you do something about it.

Here, I’ve got big ideas which I’ve put to private and have them collect dust because I have limited time/money. I kick off the dust from time to time and play with concepts. The best part is showing off the big things when you build them, even as I myself build my own, takes time to consider how to go about the big build. An organic piecemeal approach is great for the disjointed and nonlinear/not uniform creation but larger effort needs a little planning and creativity sometimes just is sporadic.

I think, perhaps, it would be good to look around you lot and start to nurture minds to the direction of my thoughts that these things are done for me. *curls his mustache, steeples his fingers and sits back against the comfortable high back chair that suddenly appears* As any good villainous mastermind, one should aim to move the pieces without even needing to touch them… mwahahaha.

All jokes aside, finding the right level of engagement and production for the scale of idea might be something for any hobbyist here to consider. Try not to bite off more than you can chew, you’ll end up with a Pile of Overwhelming Potential (aka Pile if Shame) if you don’t.

Some patron painting done as I keep a move on finishing more from the PoOP. Both are from Reaper respectively. The troll came with with a rock or pig option to fling and stands about 60mm to the top of the mohawk (roughly 90mm to the top of the pig).

Bertok, human barbarian SKU:02924
Two headed troll (Bones) SKU:44120