Tag Archives: Oldhammer

Last minute BOYL prep

26 Wednesday Jul 2017

Posted by in AoS Undead, OldHammer

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Hi guys, I have a quick bonus post for you today, just a couple of last minute ‘quick wins’ to share before I head off to BOYL. In my last post I mentioned that I would be having a crack at WFB for the very first time – I’m hoping to be up against an Empire army run by Tytus from Gameoftravel. Now, I might be a total WFB noob, but there is one thing I do know about Fantasy, and that is DRAGONS ROCK!!! I have never painted a Dragon before, but recently acquired a Tom Meier Zombie Dragon from way back in the misty mists of 1986… I got her busted neck repaired, and got her sorted over the weekend ready for painting this week. She was an absolute joy to paint – in fact, she practically painted herself to be honest! This is all done with various washes and a bit of technical paint, but no ‘solid’ base colours at all:

 

She’s quite tricky to photograph, but isn’t she a beauty? I think I may enter her into the BOYL painting competition :-)

 

But… that’s not all guys – I also quickly turned out a second kill-team for Necromunda/Shadow War, ready to take on the trials of Helsreach! I got these from a recent Kickstarter by Blind Beggar miniatures – loosely modelled on Marvin from the Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy movie, their goofy charm was irresistible :-)

 

I’m running them as alternative Necrons, with the Gold Tops being Immortals (with the Appointed squad leader in the middle):

 

The Black Tops being stealthy Deathmarks:

 

The Silver Top as a Warrior:

 

And this lovely lady being a Praetorian (with her mighty Handbag of Covenant!!)

 

And here is the game-legal 1000 point starting team:

Bloody terrifying, right?! I know they are low on detail and are just a bit of fun really, but I do find them quite sinister… I’ve seen enough Dr. Who to know that cute & helpful robots always turn on you… I reckon my kids are going to love these, and I can see them turning up in all kinds of pulp/sci-fi scenarios, as well as in games of Shadow War.

Anyway, that’s it dudes and dudettes, I’m heading up to Newark tomorrow so I’ll catch you on the flip side with a full run-down of the weekend – I hope I remember to take lots of photos for you!! Peace out :-)

Operation Desert Storm

24 Monday Jul 2017

Posted by in OldHammer

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Greetings fellows, I have some painted stuffs to share with you today – I have been busy preparing for BOYL, which is kicking off in just 4 days’ time!! For those not in the know, Bring Out Your Lead is an annual Oldhammer extravaganza, which is generously hosted over a long weekend by the Ansell clan, (including Bryan, one time MD of GW), at the family owned Wargames Foundry in Newark. It is an amazing weekend where all the older versions of the core GW games, (and later specialist games), get a damn good thrashing, along with a feast of gorgeous minis from that era. If you can make it, then I really do encourage you to come along – you won’t regret it.

Last year I had a great time playing Rogue Trader, (that’s 1st ed 40k to the younglings), including an excellently GMed multiplayer game. This year I aim to be getting involved in various games based on a board modelled on Helsreach – a rough frontier town on Logan’s World, as presented in Rogue Trader. There will be a rolling campaign based on the Necromunda ruleset and a bespoke game of Jet bike racing, so I decided to put together a desert themed force to participate. I will actually be playing them as Guard as per the new Shadow Wars reboot of Necromunda, so this gave me an excellent excuse to paint up some of my all-time favourite Guard miniatures – the Tallarn. Here is my starting 1000 cred team:

 

Now, this squad is nowhere near my best work – I was against the clock, so I mostly used inks over a Zandri Dust base coat & kept to a very restricted colour scheme, (apart from the freehand on the shoulder pad – my rogue trader’s personal livery). While it is all a bit rough and ready, I actually kind of like the dusty, weathered look on these guys. The flesh tone is a little darker to suit the theme, and I’m also quite pleased with the OSL glow on the two plasma guys.

In terms of fluff, these guys are desert-world mercs – guns for hire, and tough as old boots. This group has been contracted by Rogue Trader Arturo Lamina, (hence the somewhat incongruous use of the Trader’s personal heraldry on the shoulder pads), to go to Helsreach and get stuck in to some potentially profitable shenanigans that the crafty trader has heard about. In my mind, Arturo has forked out on some knocked off Army gear to equip them, and hopefully give them an air of legitimacy that will help them to avoid any ‘imperial interference’. Devana the huntress, from Arturo’s personal retinue has joined the team – ostensibly as a special weapons op, but also to keep the mercs in line on behalf of her boss… any sign of betrayal, and she’ll be behind them to put a bullet in their skulls.

I also have a few more troops prepared to join the squad in future campaigns, (and if the Helsreach game mechanic allows for advancement):

Commissars are also a thing in Shadow War, so I’ve included one of my all-time favourite models to provide a desert-flavoured equivalent, (again, for future games, but also if the Helsreach mechanic allows):

Finally, I wanted a desert themed jet bike to take part in the racing side game, so I did a bit of Toyhammer turned this:

 

In to this:

No… I wouldn’t want to ride it either… :-/

This was great fun to build, and uses some old Hotwheels thing and an old Imperial Guard medic rider as the main components. The rider got a headswap (for thematic reasons, but also because the original was so messed up), and a quick delve in the bits box provided all the doodabs and gubbins, while the saddle is sculpted in Greenstuff. The kids saw it finished and said it looks like something from Star Wars, so I reckon that is a win :-)

Here’s the whole expedition force together, ready for the drive up to Newark on Thursday:

 

So, that’s it for now dudes – I’ll also be taking my Praetorians with me for a bit of RT action, and I am also planning to play one of the early editions of WFB with my Undead. I may get lynched for my heretical round bases, but I’m really excited to give it a go – WFB wasn’t in my local meta where I grew up and I have never played any of the pre-AoS editions, so this is kind of a bucket-list item for me. With that in mind, I’m having a last-minute push to get something ‘new’ painted up for my undead -specifically for BOYL. It’s a little bit special, so fingers crossed I can do it justice & get it finished in time! I’ll keep you posted :-)

A return to the Albino Forest

27 Saturday May 2017

Posted by in AoS Undead, The Chapel

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Greetings fellows! Well… it is done. My final dissertation got submitted on Tuesday, and for the first time in 5 years, I am completely free of any study obligations. Woohoo! Ok, so there is the 2 month wait to see how I did, but, (as I keep reminding myself), that is out of my hands, so I’m just enjoying the peace that comes with wrapping up something that has been a big chunk of my life for so long :-)

Of course, like any good hobbyist I had to celebrate my new-found liberty with a spot of painting, and given that I will be out of circulation for the next three weeks, I thought it best to tie up a few loose ends rather than start anything new, (I hate loose ends anyway, so this makes me happy). Some of this you have seen before, but other items are things that have been languishing in their undercoats, and that you won’t have seen.

Firstly, I went back and tidied up some of the undead I had speed painted for last weekend, and added in some detail where needed. This batch got some highlighting on the bone & I added a spot of OSL:

I also finally got around to adding some detail to this guy’s banner:

 

The Cursed Company got some highlighted to the bone, I did the banner, and painted in some gems on Krueger and the standard bearer:

The bottom scrolls are supposed to say ‘Mors Omnia Aequalia’ (roughly ‘all equal in death’ – seemed appropriate for this unit in particular!):

 

Next up I revisited The Chapel project and finished a few pieces for the Albino Forest, starting with a big tree stump kindly donated by Mark at Heresyofus (than you Mark!!!):

 

Next a Malifaux ‘hanging tree’:

 

You have probably noticed that all of my hollow trees have a collection of heads in the top – sacrifices to appease the forest spirits of the old world, but I really pushed the concept with this next piece. A monster of my own devising – the Charnel Oak was a sacrificial tree like many others, but over the years, the life force of the many victims imbued the oak with a malignant sentience. It became a creeping horror that slowly roams the forest, looking for victims that have fallen into a spoor-induced dream state, are too injured to run escape, or those that have been staked out as a sacrifice. The Charnel Oak drags these unfortunates into its bloated body, slowly digesting the poor victims until naught but their bones remain:

 

Pity those who remain conscious of their fate:

 

Finally, I thought it would be worth posting a high shot of everything I have completed for the Albino Forest to date:

It still looks a bit sparse but I have much more to add in the coming months, which works out very nicely for The Chapel project, and also for a spot of AoS as well:

 

So that’s it for now dudes – I’ll be off the hobby for the next 3 weeks with various travel and work commitments, but I am really looking forward to getting right back into it later in June, when The Chapel project will be my main focus – no doubt with a small side salad of Undead.  Yum! :-)