Author Archives: Alex

Blackstone Fortress Part 9

18 Friday Aug 2023

Posted by in Blackstone Fortress

≈ 12 Comments

Greetings Terrans, how’s it going? Another quickie from me today, and another BS character done and dusted – this time it’s the Eldar Ranger type ‘Amallyn Shadowguide’:

This one was a real sod to paint… I really like the look of Eldar, but every time I paint one I am reminded just how bloody fiddly they are. In this case, it’s more than just the bajillion gemstones – the rifle is ridiculously fragile & got snapped off mid-barrel as I was painting – I really should’ve used a painting handle for this one! The barrel was too thin to glue so I resorted to a small wrap of GS to add some strength… hopefully my crude Monkeigh sculpting didn’t ruin this fine mini!

Frustrations aside, I’m really pleased with how she came out – in particular, the face… I absolutely nailed the eyes, even if I do say so myself :-)

I roughly copied the green/bone scheme from a much earlier Eldar Exodite project, so she fits in with her peeps:

She also works ok with another earlier Eldar that I painted – a converted Harlequin Solitaire:

Anyhow, that’s it for now, I have a few more BS dudes to paint before I’m done with the set – onwards and upwards!

Blackstone Fortress Part 8

09 Wednesday Aug 2023

Posted by in Blackstone Fortress, BOYL

≈ 12 Comments

Greetings Terrans, how goes it? I’m back after another BOYL weekend – great to catch up with some awesome hobby people, meet new ones, and generally soak up another full-on OldHammer extravaganza! I was pretty much winging it this weekend with nothing specific planned, and that kinda backfired on Saturday when the rain forced everyone into cover & drastically reduced the number of tables available. Still, I managed to get involved with a SpaceHulk campaign, played some Frostgrave, tried out a new game called ‘The Doomed’, and generally caught up with folks. A particular highlight this year was having a short chat with Trish Carden – superb sculptor and a lovely lady to boot. Probably most importantly, this was the last BOYL at the current Foundry location, so I really wanted to be there to mark the close of that chapter. I’ll miss the old place, and I wonder if the new one will have the same kind of atmosphere, but I’m looking forward to finding out next year.

Anyway, the best cure for the post-BOYL blues is to get on and paint something, and as you can probably guess from the title, it’s back to the BS Fortress for another adventurer – this time it’s the shouty bashy priesty guy called ‘Taddeus the Purifier’:

The name ‘Taddeus’ always makes me think ‘Tedious’, and honestly, I expected the painting experience to be just that because he’s a detailed mini with a lot going on. However, he’s actually quite a nice thing to paint once you get going, and I did enjoy the process. The colour scheme might seem a bit busy, but green & red are opposite on the colour wheel, and so is purple and yellow, so it works in theory… I’m pretty happy that it works in practice too.

Anyway, that’s all I have for you this week – short but sweet. I’m going to be pushing to clear all the other BS Fortress characters over the next couple of weeks, so expect to see a few more in the near future.

Kruelboyz side project

28 Friday Jul 2023

Posted by in AoS, Realm of Warcry

≈ 20 Comments

Greetings Terrans, I hope this finds you well. It has been a while, but I have been chipping away at a wee side project these last couple of weeks, and now I have a ‘still only counts as one!’ special to reveal. This is ‘Swampboss Skumdrekk’ from the Kruelboyz flavoured Orruk (i.e. Orc) sub-faction, who I gratefully received as a Father’s Day present:

.

It’s quite an imposing model, and is fiddly as hell to paint once assembled… yes, I’m an idiot when it comes to getting carried away at build time & forgetting to do sub-assemblies! Still, while awkward, it was a really nice model to paint, with loads going on across the whole piece. The monstrous mount is particularly characterful:

.

The rider is also pretty nice, but in my opinion, he does get a bit lost in the overall busyness of the model. I tried to mitigate that by converting the helmet to have a raised grill & showing the face off, but to be honest, it’s a pretty bland mug for an Orc! Still, I’m glad I made the effort:

.

Colour-wise, I stuck with the green/yellow/brown look that I had used for the Orcs in my Nurgle warband, so this guy can slot in to that Nurgle crew, or he & his fellows also work nicely as a small Orc warband by themselves:

.

That’s it for this post, of to BOYL next weekend to soak up some OldHammer vibes – looking forward to it :-)