I have been asked to paint an army of Votann miniatures, so there will be a fair few posts about how that is going in the future! It is a substantial amount of mini’s, and is a little daunting to think about how many I am going to be working on. That said, I have not painted a lot of them before, so I am looking forward to exploring the range and seeing how they turn out.
I have started with two sets of Cthonian Berserkers, one with axes and the other with mauls. I’m very pleased with how they have turned out, the dark blue is a great colour to get depth with, and the fire axes in particular stand out very well. It is a good start to what is going to be a big task!
It’s been ages since I painted a miniature made with Hero Forge. The latest one was made for a friend who is playing a warlock. It’s his first character for a long time too.
I enjoyed the colour scheme, but tried not to make it too Christmassy, which can be a challenge with red and green. I am especially pleased with how the ball turned out. The shiny effect works well for Eldritch blast!
Last weekend, I was fortunate to be invited to be a part of the Land Rover Life Facebook Group stand at a show. I have never been to a Land Rover show, and as this one was only a couple of hours south at Market Harborough, it seemed like a good place to start.
It was great fun! The weather helped, as it was gloriously sunny, and I got to meet some amazing, like minded people.
I was fortunate enough to be a passenger in Blackberry – a 2019 Defender – going round the off-road course. I have never done this before, as a passenger, and it was great fun. We climbed hills, sploshed in mud and went through a lake that was a bit deeper than we thought. We also got to rescue another Defender, which got itself stuck on some rocks.
The afternoon was spend in the sun either walking around looking at the other Land Rovers, getting ideas for what I want to do with mine, or talking with everyone there. The crowd was very friendly and welcoming to a couple of newbies; it helps that we all share a common interest. I was not quite brave enough to have a go in a left hand drive, no power steering, series vehicle though… maybe next time.
The evening was great too – there was a group on who played a mix of tunes while we toasted marsh mallows over a small fire pit. The camping was an experience, and I believe we are good to go again. Everything fit in Larry, even the dog, and although there was not a lot of room to spare, we got there and back without issue.
The attempt itself was also a lot of fun. Every Land Rover – that I could see – lined up and we drove around the show ground in a parade lap. Unfortunately there was not enough cars there to make the attempt, but it was worth while doing the drive around. There were plenty of honking horns and a fair bit of mud too!
It was a great first event for us, and I hope that the attempt grows year on year. There are a few bits that could be added – more toilets, showers and maybe a first aid station, but it did not detract from the fun we had. We shall certainly be back to see it happen!
So, something a bit different today. Some of you may know that I am a listening volunteer for Samaritans. A service that listens and offers emotional support for those who are suffering from emotional distress. I have been doing so for about two years now, and it is truly a wonderful experience.
A friend of mine from the branch is currently training to run a marathon on the charity’s behalf, and I wanted to do a shout out for her. A marathon is no mean feat and to undertake such an endeavour on the behalf of those in need is admirable. I am not capable of doing such, but I can support her in other ways.
Her words on the subject:
‘As many of you will know I have been a listening volunteer with the Samaritans for over 2 years. The support we as a charity provide for people who are struggling with their mental health is critical. Please support me and my colleagues as I train for and run Edinburgh marathon 2024 in support of the Samaritans‘
A few years ago, I did a ‘daily head’ for several weeks as a way of practicing painting faces. It has been a while since I have done any faces and I knew I wanted to get practicing again.
This time, I want to try different skin tones as well as faces. I started off by gluing heads to ‘spikes’ of sprue so I could undercoat them. I now plan on painting at least one a week so I can get some of that much needed practice.
I have done two so far. The first used dark purple and brown tones to get the skin done, and various washes to the recesses. The eyes need refinement. As I said, this is a skill that needs practice – I was once good at this, now not so much.
The second attempt was going very well, and looked good too. Then I dropped him in a cup of coffee and the paint on his nose rubbed off. I stopped painted him then and just moved on.
I am half way through the third and so far, so good.
The moral of the story here is don’t drop your miniatures in coffee…
The other half of the Nemesis board game was painting the game characters. They were a lot of fun to work on, as they were all different. They all have individual roles within the game, as you would expect, and I tried to paint them to look like they did on the box.
I particularly liked the space raccoon, as this one was a bit of fun.
The other miniature I am please with is the one with the metallic cloak. I used pale metallic blue and green to create this effect and I am pleased with how it turned out.
Last year I painted the miniatures for the board game Nemesis. This year, I am painting the newest releases!
The new base set is based on vampire aliens, so I went for browns and reds, the expansion is plants, so I got to do some more neon green!
The plants were relatively easy because I already knew how I was going to get the effect I wanted. The vampire aliens less so. I started off using dark blue, then drybrushed over it with a red-brown (Rhinox hide). Khorne red followed, then Mephiston red, followed by Wild Rider Red then the last layer was trollslayer orange on the claws and selective parts. The idea was to work up through from brown to bright red building up the colours.
The owner was thrilled with the outcome, which is the main thing. I am rather pleased as well.
One of my favourite techniques to do involves using neon paints. I have done this several times now and I always think it looks striking. This time, I used it to great effect on the mounted Wight King for Age of Sigmar. This time last year I used it on a flying Night Haunt, so I wanted to see what it would look like on a mounted one.
I used the same technique, and then painted in some metallic silver on the armour. All in all, I feel it looks decent – sort of like the undead parts are glowing, which I like. It was a good practice mini, and it’ll fit in with the other undead I have too!
Another miniature that I have had kicking about the place is Sigvald. I decided to use him as some non metallic metal practice. It has been a while since I did any and I don’t want the skill to go to waste. I wanted to get a cold gold look for him, which I did using cool browns as the base rather than red based ones.
The gold looks alright to me. Maybe it could use some more mid tones, but for me it works. The silver is another matter entirely. I feel as though this has not worked out so well. I shall be working on practicing this soon so I can get better at it – one shield at a time!
I am also pleased with the galaxy I painted on his cloak – this is another skill I like to practice so I don’t lose it!
I have had these guys kicking about the house for ages now, and as I like the look of the miniatures, I thought I would give them a paint. I did not want to spend ages on them, so I kept the scheme pretty simple. I used red tones browns for the clothing and picked a range of different skin tones too. I like to think that gangs formed in any sort of game like Warcry, or Necromunda, would come from a wide range of backgrounds. Besides, I like painting a mix. I kept the silvers muted as well as I wanted the fire to be the part that stood out. For the gold, I used a red hued paint, to keep it in touch with the rest of the minis. Here they are:
I am pleased with how they turned out, and they were fun to paint as well, a good set to get me back into the work mindset certainly.
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Heretic Deb! 