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Tag Archives: scenery

Odds and ends

27 Monday Apr 2020

Posted by Alex in Frostgrave, OldHammer, Terrain

≈ 32 Comments

Tags

Oldhammer, Painting, Rogue Trader, scenery

Greetings Terrans, I hope this post finds you well. I have a bit of an assortment of odds and ends for you today – just a wrap-up of various items that I’ve completed in and around other work. First up, I painted a small group of Rogue Trader beasties prior to me running the Wolf Time campaign a few weeks back – I remembered regretting not having some way of balancing the game back when I ran it at BOYL, and was determined not to make the same mistake. I had a rummage in the lead pile and turned up a pair of ‘Crawling Insectoids’ (with slightly converted jaws) and a ‘Xenoursid Predator’ – all made by Knightmare Miniatures – they are clearly designed to match the Ambull and the Cthellean Cudbear in the Rogue Trader bestiary, (hence the purple coat for the Cudbear):

I’m glad I did do these guys – I didn’t need the Ambulls in the end, but the Cudbear came in handy when he attacked the Marines in the rear as they entered Kulo’s Castle. It killed 8 Space Wolves, and made for a much more balanced game in the end.

While I was in the ‘creatures’ section of my lead pile, I also grabbed this fella – not sure where I got him from, but he makes for a nice warp creature:

And here’s a quick pic of these beasties attacking my Olleyan Mercs – just to give you a sense of scale:

 

I also did some painting with the kids – here are three ‘Time Warped’ wizards from Wargames Foundry. My youngest painted the chap with the pink beard, (with a bit of help), My eldest painted the not-Gandalf, while I did the turbaned chap on the right:

 

We were going to play Frostgrave as a trio of Wizards, but my eldest got a bit teenagery about it all, so it has just been me & my youngest son playing co-op. We deliberately went for non-fighty wizards to start – he went Illusionist, and I went for Soothsayer. Neither has any combat spells in their starting deck, and we haven’t taken warbands either, so we’ve been a bit crap really!! 😊  That said, the illusionist can cast ‘Monstrous Form’ or ‘Beauty’, and my son and I agreed that it would be good to have minis to represent this. We roped in a mildly converted Knightmare Miniatures ‘Hook Horror’, and some random nudie elfin lady that I had in the pile. Both got a spooky glow-type paint job to show their illusory & magical nature on the table top:

We are now two games in, and we have enough money for a couple of Grimoires, so I anticipate some Elemental Bolt action next game 😊

 

Finally, my Frostgrave terrain has been left out & has been staring me in the face these last two weeks. It is lovely pre-painted stuff, and has been worth every penny spent on it, but the lack of detail was starting to annoy me. You can see in the pics above that it is just grey, grey and more grey. Usually this stuff gets packed away straight after a game, so I don’t get to dwell on it too much, but I took advantage of it being left out for so long & gave it some attention. Nothing hectic really – a bit of green wash, lichen spots, the odd blood splat and painting up the wood, but I think it makes for a big improvement overall. I also did the same to my Garden of Morr set to tie it all together:

 

And that’s it in terms of painting, but not in terms of hobby… I’ve just embarked on GMing an experimental rpg campaign/tabletop skirmish thing with a few like-minded hobby pals. It is set in the 40k universe, uses the core Frostgrave mechanics for combat, and is being conducted via zoom using hand drawn maps… Yeah, it’s a lot for me to get my head around – I’ve never GMed an RPG before, and I have only sat in on a handful of D&D games… My hat goes off to proper GMs everywhere, especially those that write their own scenarios, because it’s fucking hard core!!! It is taking up all my hobby time at the moment, (there is just so much work in developing and writing the story arc, sketching out maps, etc!), but I am absolutely loving it. Luckily, the party seem to be enjoying it too 😊

Anyway, that’s me for now dudes, I’ll catch up with you all the next time I have something painted to share – until then, stay safe and be excellent to each other 😊

Get to the chopper!

14 Tuesday Apr 2020

Posted by Alex in Terrain

≈ 27 Comments

Tags

Rogue Trader, scenery

Greetings Terrans, how goes it? So, week four of isolation eh? Anyone else really really pleased they have enough hobby projects on the back burner to outlast any virus? I know I am – otherwise I reckon I would be climbing the walls by now.

So yeah, last week was fun. I had a week off work, (or a week of not having to work from home at least), and so I ran the Wolf Time campaign for my kids. The eldest one dropped out after the warm-up games due to some spectacular nose removal of the face spiting variety, but my youngest stuck to his Orky guns throughout and managed to win the day! It was a close-run thing though, and we had a good laugh along the way. It has even given my youngest a bit of a taste for the hobby, and he has been working on painting a wizard up since then! We try a bit of co-op Frostgrave next – I’ll let you know how that goes 😊   Meanwhile, I’ve managed a few bits too – some neglected bits that have been taking up space for far too long.

First up, a bit of ToyHammer to make this rough and ready civilian flyer:

This was a cheap drone that my boss bought for himself a while back, and the minute I saw it I knew that I could do something cool with it… I asked if I could have it if it ever broke, and being a cheap piece of crap from China, it duly it ended up in my ‘pile of potential’. Last week was he perfect opportunity to get some shed time in and get busy with the glue & rattle cans.

It’s lightly armed, (being a civilian craft), but I think it works really well as terrain item, or as a plot point in a game of something sci fi.

Scale-wise, I reckon it is pretty much perfect!

 

 

While I was on a roll, I also got this finished:

It’s an MDF storage crate from Grumpy Old Tin – I think it’s a BOYL special, and I was lucky enough to get it handed to me at BOYL last year. It has been half done for months, but I pulled my finger out and finished it off in and around other things. Here’s a few more shots:

And all together:

 

That isn’t the sum of my hobby last week – I got a whole range of Oldschool minis cleaned up, based, primed, and ready to pick over as the fancy takes me, so you can expect to see some classic Bob Olly goodness over the next week or two. I also finished the main build phase on a real bucket-list project – a small army that 14 year old me could only dream of owning! You’ll have to wait and see what it is though – I’m keeping it schtum until I’m finished and ready for the big reveal… feel free to try & guess of course 😉

Until next time!

The Wrath of Seros

06 Friday Mar 2020

Posted by Alex in Daughters of Khaine, Warcry

≈ 24 Comments

Tags

Painting, scenery

Greetings Terrans, how goes it? I wanted to put out a quick post to elaborate on the four DoK Melusai I did for Fembruary – they are intended to grow the small DoK warband I started last year, very much with Warcry in mind. Collectively named ‘The Wrath’, these four outcasts have sought Seros out, as rumours of her status as prophetess have spread:

I’ve gone for a 50/50 split between hitty Bloodsisters, and shooty Bloodstalkers. I also built one as a Bloodstalker Krone in case I wanted her lead the warband some time instead of Seros herself (who will count as a Bloodsister Gorgai).

 

Speaking of Seros, I originally built her without a specific weapon loadout in mind, and she needed a big shitty spear to roll as a Gorgai. I didn’t want to mess with the model, so I had the idea of converting a male Dark Elf retainer to carry it for her, along with some yummy squeezy-heart drinks:

As he took shape, I decided that he represents Kaulgar from the background fiction that I wrote last year. (TL;DR, Kaulgar was Seros’ lover before Morathi found out about the couple & got all cursey and shit). Kaulgar won’t have an active role in-game, and is just there for fluff reasons.

 

I also used some spare bits from the Blood Cauldron to create some themed scenery – nothing fancy, just using up bits to make some themed scatter:

 

And here’s the whole warband as it stands, ready to make their way into the Bloodwind Spoil:

 

 

Finally, a bit of accompanying fluff – I want this warband to be really driven by the narrative, and for them to have a good reason for venturing into the Bloodwind Spoil. If you like, you can read more about Seros’ background here and here, before you get the latest instalment:

 

For many months, Seros continued to grow her strength during her exile in Chamon, the Realm of Metal. Increasing numbers of would-be followers sought her out, but most failed to survive the venomous ‘kiss’ she used to single out the worthy. Those that did undertake the ritual consistently displayed the blood-red flesh and ruined face that characterised her followers, but more extreme mutations also began to manifest themselves.

Seros intuitively knew that the mutating power of her venom would increase in potency as she grew in power, and with growing excitement, she observed that some Aelves undergoing the ritual began the painful transformation to forms that resembled the half-snake Melusai, or graceful winged Khinerai. However, they always succumbed to her increasingly potent venom, and her Chamonite lair became littered with the bones of such failed aspirants.

Fused femurs and ribs were mixed with twisted and elongated spines and the bones of vestigial bat wings, and the skeletal remains began to pile up in drifts. Seros made no attempt to hide these remains, and her reputation as a rising power ensured that new aspirants continued to arrive and subject themselves to the ritual in spite of the danger. Their mutated bones continued to join those of their predecessors, until eventually the day came when a quartet of Aelves proved strong enough to withstand the transformation to Melusai. These four became the first of Seros’ elite foot soldiers, and were thereafter known as The Wrath of Seros.

The creation of The Wrath was a pivotal point in the rise of Seros – for the first time in history, Melusai were created that did not originate from Morathi herself. Seros knew that her power had passed a crucial nexus, and that her former mistress would not bear another to share her ability to reshape Aelven souls to create new life. Seros began to get restless – she knew that she needed to move on from Chamon, but was unsure where to strike out. It was at this point that a lone Warlock found her lair – the first male Aelf to have done so.

Her followers immediately surrounded the Warlock and were about to execute the intruder out of hand, for Khainites have little tolerance for males within their society. Seros stayed their murderous instincts, for she recognised this Warlock as none other than her former lover Kaulgar, and her heart broke anew. Kaulgar also recognised Seros, and while his heart and soul were no longer capable of feeling love thanks to the Doomfire runes were burned into his flesh, he certainly remembered their time together, and he remembered the vengeance that they owed to Morathi.

This was why Kaulgar had sought Seros out after all this time – he had travelled widely since the fateful day that they were cursed, and had learned much. He spoke to Seros of a wild and dangerous place called the Eightpoints – a bastion of chaos, but one littered with items of  vast power. He proposed that they venture to the Eightpoints via the Bloodwind Spoils, seeking such artefacts, looking to grow the power they would need to overthrow Morathi once and for all. We join Seros and Kaulgar as they leave Chamon and embark on their quest for revenge against a goddess.

 

So that’s it for now folks, I hope you’ve enjoyed this update to the narrative. I think I’ll be adding a few winged terrors to this warband over the coming weeks, and maybe a few surprises as well – we’ll see how March goes.

One thing for sure, I’ll be starting my prep for BOYL in April, so expect a pivot back to the Oldhammer scene between Easter and Summer 😊

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