The Final Push – Lawnor approaches 100% painted

I’ve finally finished all the core models from the base game.  I won’t be touching all the optional armour sets, at least until after my first playthrough.  That’s another 29 models to go that I’ll be ignoring for a looooong time.  I took these pics late last night and I’ve a busy weekend ahead of me.

I plan on coming back here with a group shot of everything when I have time.

The Spring Clean Challenge starts this weekend and I’ll be focusing on models not included in the ubertotal for a while so I’ll be ignoring this project.  I’ll be working on my Dreadball minis from my Box of Undesirables.  The stuff I didn’t care about and was thinking of selling and generally ignoring.  Most of them I’ve been ignoring for 5-6 years.  They’re long overdue some attention.  A bulk airbrush priming and base coating begins this weekend.

I found out a work colleague has his own lathe and enjoys mucking about in his new woodworking workshop.  He’s also a nerd so I explained what I do and that if he’s got some suitable offcuts heading to the bin I’d love a hew plinths for some upcoming busts.  He’s made me these as some test pieces and they’re great.

Right now they’re raw wood.  I’ve never had real plinths before.  What should I be looking to treat them with on a budget (I don’t want to buy 20l of high end wood stain and then only use 20ml of the stuff!).  Should I be doing any kind of treatment before or after?  I assume priming and painting them black with acrylics, varnishing and then polishing isn’t right?  I don’t know the first thing about woodwork or care.

I’m UK based.  I assume that’ll affect what products and brands are available, and where I can get them from

I’ve finished the Phoenix, which just leaves The Hand and The Kings Man to do, ideally before the Spring Clean Hobby Challenge starts in two weeks on Sunday 20th March.  it should be doable.  I’ve done the metal on both of them and begun work on other colours already.

The Phoenix was sadly too big to fit in my light box.

Update 05/09/2022

So how did I paint him?  Apparently I didn’t write it down.  I’ve just painted the matching armour sets and I’ve had to recreate it from memory and some photos of paint pots.  Lets make notes for future me.  The flesh was painted using the Forces of Warmachine: Cryx recipe for Pallid Flesh.

Phoenix Feathers
Darker Base: 50/50 VMC 70.966 Turquoise / VMC 70.808 Blue Green
Middle Base: Blue Green
Lighter Base: Blue Green mixed with Scalecolor SC-49 Caribbean Blue
(All washes were either applied as a pin was along recesses, or targeted to darker areas to bring the tone down.  Don’t just slap all over without thinking)
Shade wash with Reaper 29813 Bright turquoise
Darker wash with above with added VMC 70.309Panzer Aces Periscopes
Darkest wash with just Periscopes
Highlight each area with the base tone from the next lightest area.  Blur this between regions
Higher highlights were done using just Caribbean Blue, and eventually Caribbean Blue mixed with VMC 70.918 Ivory (On armour kits because I forgot what I’d used before), or P3 Sickly Skin (on the bird)

This week I finished off the watcher.  I’ve also made good progress on the Phoenix.  His feathers and main flesh colour are done already.  Tonight I start work painting all the little hands to look like human flesh, while the birds flesh is much more pallid.

There were lots of washes involved, so lots of down time while they dried.  I spent that time doing some prep work for my Spring Cleaning Hobby Challenge: All the Dreadball in my Box of Undesirables I’ve been pretending don’t exist.  This appears to be about 92 models, but there’s some duplicates in there.  Pretty sure I’ll be getting rid of at least 12 of them.

I’ve a question about Dreadball bases, as I’ve more models than bases.  Do any models other than players actually need a base?  Does anyone else have a facing that matters?  Refs, coaches, cheerleaders, medibots?  Do prone players have a facing or need a base?  Do you even need them, or are you better off laying down the model or using a token?  Anyone other than players?  I don’t want to spend £5 delivery on £3 of bases from Mantic and I don’t think my FLGS will have any.

I finished the Gold Smoke Knight this week, and laid down some base colours for the Phoenix.  At time of typing I’m mostly done on The Watcher too.

Following the narrative of the world, I’ve painted him to be wearing a White lion pelt.

Here’s the recipe I used on the gold, mostly through an airbrush:
Zenithal preshade

Base with Darkstar Bronze, allowing the preshade to do it’s think.

Enhance the preshade with an upside down zenithal coat of Darkstar Aged Copper.

Restore the base coat, leaving the Aged Copper in the shaded parts.

Side and top down spray of Darkstar Royal Gold

Diagonal and top down spray of Darkstar Braid Gold

Top down only spray of Darkstar Pale Gold

Pin / targeted wash of GW Seraphim Sepia

Drybrush and edge highlight of Pale Gold

A while back I heard about a place that not only sells dice, but does cheap blind buy packs of dice and I’ve been tempted ever since.  They do 3 ranges of acrylic dice priced from £7-£10, which seem to come in a tin.  They also do a blind buy tinless pack for £5 which could come from any of the ranges.  I’ve been tempted ever since.  It was my Birthday last Friday so I thought I’d treat myself to a couple of sets.  When I found a 10% discount code I upped it to three sets.  Postage is free, too.

I got a free sweetie (Nothing unusual there these days, but still nice) and they threw in a metal D8 too, which I was not expecting.  They also do a range of metal dice and a similar blind buy bag for them, it’s just more expensive (£30-£35, or £20 for blind buy)

If you’re tempted please use this link: http://dndice.co.uk/?ReferralCode=a99A1F192AVK2S

If you sign up and buy using this link we both get £1.00 store credit back after your first order.  I used the discount code PENANCERPG and got 10% off.  Dunno how many times each of us can use it, or how long it’ll stay valid for.

Yes, I’m shilling, but who doesn’t love fancy dice, and who doesn’t love cheap or even free fancy dice?

God damned double posts!  I check this time too.  There was nothing here so I posted again, and now this is here and I can’t delete it.  Grrrr.

Ah well.  may as well use the space to test if Gif’s work here

Nope.  Not as a .webp file uploaded as a file or an embed.  Lets try as a .gif.

Nope.  Nothing.  Ah well.

I’ve had very little free time over the past fortnight, but I’ve finally found time to sit down and finish off the four special survivors for KD:M.  I am currently building the last 3 models needed for the game (The Kings Man, The Watcher and the Phoenix).

My housemate has ben moving out very slowly (Very!  We’re 14 months in and still going!) and recently uncovered 2 20 man boxes for Kings of War, which he doesn’t remember owning and doesn’t want.  He gave me the skeletons to add to my unplayed undead force, but I had no use for the elves.

I want to get Kingdom Death and ideally the other models I’ve already got paint on finished before the Spring Cleaning Challenge starts.  I’ve a project in mind for that I want to throw myself in to (A massive Dreadball catch up).

I got the butcher finished this weekend, and returned to work on the 4 special survivors.  I’ve picked out cloth colours for them and work continues.

The butcher looks good i my hand.  Not amazing, but fine.  However, he looks awful in photos.  I hate it when that happens.  He looks like a mess here

My computer blew up last sunday morning and it’s thrown everything off, otherwise I’d have got these guys done last weekend.  My new computer is built and running without a graphics card because theres one on the CPU!  When did that start being a thing??

Work has started on the butcher today, then I might go work on the remaining four survivors.

White Lion recipe, for reference later, when I come to paint armours made from bits of him:

Zenithal Preshade
Airbrush from under with VMC 70.884 Stone Grey
Airbrush from side and above with VMC 70.986 Deck tan
Airbrush above and diagonally with VMC 70.918 Ivory
Airbrush from above only with mix of ivory and white
Allow to dry

Shade hair with thinned Stone grey and VMC 70.988 Khaki
Shade everything with 2:1 ish mix of VMC 70.990Light Grey : Khaki

Highlight with thinned mix of Ivory and white

Screamin antelope paint scheme:

Flesh

Zenithal preshade
2x glaize with 2:1:2 Vallejo 72.086 Red Ink: Vallejo 72.091 Sepia Ink: water
Drybrush with P3 Ryn Flesh or VMC 72.003Pale Flesh
Glaze again as above

Fur

Base Vallejo 70.867 Dark Blue Grey
Highlight P3 Thornwood Green
Highlight P3 Trollblood Highlight
Wash Jan’s Magimix (6 GW Agrax Earthshade, 6 GW Nuln Oil, 2ish GW Athonian Camoshade, 6-8 GW Lahmium Medium, no water.  I always keep a bottle mixed up)

Kingdom Death actually arrived!  it turned up between Christmas and new year.  it was almost 11kg and huge.  There looks like 10-15 sprues inside.  I’ve taken out the first 3 I want and it’s let me build 13 models so far so who knows for sure what’s on the rest.  I think there’s about 45 models in the box, so I’ve added that to my MTG total for now.

While waiting for it to arrive I started work on the last 28mm 3D prints I had, but I ditched them to focus on the big black box.  So far I’ve finished 4 survivors and I’ve begun work on more.

Here’s my progress on the rest of the stuff on my table.  I could use opinions on the red lady.  She’s a red Tiefling wearing a red dress which will have gold trim.  The leather is a black-green.  I thought perhaps I could get away with that front sash thing being white, but it looks all wrong.  I don’t know what colour to make it.  Any suggestions?

I’ve finished the final model I wanted to get done this year.  DPD are telling me KDM is ready for them to pick up and have sent me a tracking number.  Will it get here before January 1st?  We will see.  I’d like it to not be held against next years numbers.  I’m looking to play KD:M painted only so I’ll likely hold off starting another model until it arrives, or I decide it’s not comming.

If anyone knows what order the minis are likely to be needed in so i can paint them in that order, please let me know.  I know its the 4 base survivors and the lion, and then the antelope, but I don’t know about the rest.  I won’t be touching some of the optional models until I either need them, or I’ve played through the campaign and have decided I want to play again and know what I want to do with them.

Right.  I’m off to push through the current season of Diablo 3.

I’ve finished 7 more adventurers.  Only 1 more model to go this year and I’ll have painted more than I’ve gained, even if KDM turns up this year.  Its supposed to arrive at the distribution hub today, but no word yet and I think the EU cores were two days behind schedule.

Just a reminder that this 13 MTG is not the whole story.  I’ve 2 kickstarters and a Guildball team not arrived that aren’t in that number yet.  There’s also the Box of Undesireables which I’m ignoring still.  Its stuff I was trying to sell on ebay but I’ll probably end up painting next year.  There’s hopefully less than 80 models in there, but I’m not 100% sure.  I’m looking to do most of it as part of the Spring Clean Challenge so I’ll do a better catalogue at the time.

These models look better in person.  I cut corners and used speed techniques where I could and the camera is showing all my sins.

Monkeys With Fire’s final community challenge piece arrived recently.  A dwarf from Kromlech.  Something of a casual piece compared to most of the other challenges and it was nice to relax with this one.  I also finished of four more of my 3D prints while working on him.  This leaves me with 8 more minis to paint before 2022 to have painted more than i gain, assuming KD:M arrives.  Mr Poots says its on it was to distribution hubs, but we will see.

That’s 3 more Bloodcrushers of Khorne, taking me up to a max unit of 12.  This leaves 25 models left to go.  If I can paint 13 more models this year I’ll have painted more than I’ve gained, which is my goal.  I’ve already passed that goal if my KD:M 1.6 core box doesn’t turn up this year.  I only ordered it last Black Friday, and it was only due Q1 2021.  There’s no word from Poots about if or when it’ll ship at this point (Last estimate had it in the post already, and possibly delivered).

Last weekend I finished off the models I’d started before Alexandra.  I’ve also made a strong start on the final three Khorne Bloodcrushers I need to make up a max unit of 12.  40K has some silly unit sizes for a non rank and flank game  I don’t know why I’ve ended up building a horde army again.

I done mucked up.

My housemate has moved out and I’ve removed all the furniture from his room and stacked it in the box room, high enough that it’s almost touching the light bulb, all so I can replace his carpet.  Do you know where all my remaining unpainted models are, once I finished the Bloodcrushers?

You see the pic below?  You see that wall of furniture and rubbish?  You see that red box up the top at the far far back corner that cannot possibly be reached?  Yup.  That’s the models I want.  The new carpet is being fitted early December.

This months MWF challenge model, Alexandra of Macedon, has arrived and I’ve been so lazy in these updates that I’ve already got her painted.  I also finished off what I’d started before she arrived.  There’s one more challenge mini to be revealed and then we’re done and I can get back to focussing on my existing collection.

I’m experimenting with an app called Snapseed to clean up my pics using the advice MonkeysWithFire gave me:

“Basically I used Tune (magic wand) to set a base, used curves to increase brightness to make the background whiter, used healing to remove the shadow line and all the marks on the surface, and adjusted contrast to make the overall image pop.”

I’m loving the cleaner background, but I need to experiment more with the rest of the tweaks.

Under lockdown and furlough I made a point of updating this project once a week on a Sunday or Monday, in time for the Unofficial Hobby Hangout, but since I returned to full time work in the office a few weeks ago I find I lack the motivation to do this as often, and not just because I’m getting less hobby done.  Life was just better when I didn’t have to go in to the office every day.  If you ignore the dangers and the fear, life was better under Lockdown.  I hope the world learns from this.

A few weeks ago the September Monkeys With Fire community challenge model arrived, and yesterday I finished her off.  I’ve also started work on a few other models while waiting for her to arrive, or while painting her skin tones.

I know I said I was likely to slow down as I’m back at work now, but somehow I got 5 minis painted.  I’m gonna get almost nothing done this week unless plans start to fall apart as I have a whole weekend of Gloomhaven ahead of me.

They made me end furlough and return to the office this week so I’m going to slow down production now unfortunately.  Luckily, I’m near the finish line.  I’m seeing only 28 small based casual models left to point and the rest are more interesting or bust type things (I’m still ignoring the Box of Undesirables.  That might form the basis for my next Spring Clean Challenge).  KDM is supposed to ship October (We will see) and if I only average one mini a week before it arrives I’ll still be content.  I should probably try and finish playing Reichbusters before it gets here too.

This week I finished off two more minis.  A black dragon called “Ornithaax the Majestic” by Artisan Guild, and “Female Monk 2” by Ghamak.

I finished the MWF challenge mini. It was a big learning experience. I like the Grisaille / greyscale technique over large areas with folds and shadows like the cloak, but hate it over fine detail parts like buckles. I don’t like it for metal either. Not every paint with ink in its name is an ink or acts like one. I won’t be embracing this technique going forwards, but I will use it from time to time for certain areas but never whole models. I’ve done that before anyway. I learned in the past that I left too much of the greyscale in darkness and the colour didn’t show up so this time I overcompensated and applied too much near-white, which meant I needed more colour to mute that down. next time 80-90% of the model needs to be more or less mid tone, only approaching black or white in limited areas.

I also painted up two of the goblins I’d 3D printed and I’ve started lating down base colours on a dragon.  The two goblins had some misprints.  The chair goblin has one through her left arm, which I didn’t notice until after I’d started painting her.  The chair is also missing a leg, which I’m taking as IC damage even though its a printing fault.  The “flasher” goblin has an error though his hat which I think looks a little like a crook in its floppy peak.  It appears the fault in my FEP was causing issues long before I realised it was a problem.

I hope to finish the dragon and a couple more models this week.  If my calculations are correct, then I only need to finish 28 more models this year to paint more than I gain, assuming no unforseen arrivals.  Unforseen arrivals are welcome though!  If KD:M has another delay then I’m already across that finish line.