Abaddon the Despoiler!!

July 24, 2019July 24, 2019 DebbieForster4 Comments

I finished him! And in time as well. Not only that, but I have a day or so spare so I can go back and tweak here and there if I want to.

I have learned so much from painting this miniature. It is my first real attempt at non-metallic metals, the finest lines on a cloak I have ever done and the first time using layering rather than wet blending.

I am so pleased with how he turned out; it is by far the best miniature I have ever painted (so far) and I really do feel as though I have ‘levelled up’ my painting skills. I just hope he does well at Everchosen on Saturday.

I already know there are things I can improve, but for now, I am going to revel in the achievement I have made here and enjoy it.

Wish me luck for Saturday!!

Abaddon the Despoiler.

March 21, 2019March 21, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

Some of you may be aware that I have a bit of fondness for Abaddon. I didn’t to begin with, there was a time when I painted over the Abaddon part of Abaddon Black, but those days are long gone and I have seen the error of my ways.

If you have not encountered my unending enthusiasm for the character, you might want to head on over to http://www.abaddonandteal.wordpress.com for some of the stories I have told about him. (Warning: contains silly)

So, when I said I would rather like to paint the miniature and get myself a Black Legion force, some friends said I should wait, he was getting a new miniature – that was eighteen months ago and a patient woman I am not.

I ended up with this guy and for a long time, he was my best painted minature:

The Wargames Exclusive miniature was a beautiful mini to work with and far better than the old Abaddon by Games Workshop. I will not put a picture of him here.

So, I still waited in hope of a new one but I had this guy as a back up. He went out, wrecked a few faces, a wall and a tank in one game, and utterly annihilated in another one.

Then new Black Legion miniatures started to be announced. I was very excited. People around me commented on it. I contained it as best as I could.

When the new Abaddon was announced and revealed, I may have exploded a little. Here is why:

First off, he is stomping on a baddie! Awesome.

Second, LOOK AT HIM! The details on that miniature are everything I wanted them to be.

Third, he has three head options. I put up Horus face because it’s my favourite, but you could have screaming mad Abaddon, or face covered by a rebreather Abaddon.

There is battle damage to reflect that the Chaos/Traitor Legions haven’t got access to the same resources as the Imperium and he has been in there for ten thousand years. The Talon looks wicked and the faces on Drach’nyen are still there.

Above all, he is huge. He should be huge. He was always described as huge. (Although Tarik Torgaddon was taller for those of us who remember such details.)

For me, it was everything I wanted from a new Abaddon Miniature. I am really looking forward to getting my hands on him and painting him up. Soon, Abaddon will be the best painted miniature I have, again.

40K · fun · hobby · miniatures. · warhammer · Warhammer 40000 · Warhammer 40k · Wh40K

January Open Day

January 6, 2019January 6, 2019 DebbieForster2 Comments

The trek to Warhammer World is never a hard one, or that far. It’s a couple of hours away at most. We bought our tickets for the Open Day at the Vigilus day and off we went yesterday for another day of exciting reveals and fun. I met up with some lovely people from the Internet and actually played a game!

I am unsure where to start, so let’s begin with that game. Myself and Dave teamed up to play against Chris’ Necrons. I have never played against Necrons before; not hard, I’ve not played all that much. It was a fun game however.

Ahriman, his friend and some demons squared up against some necrons. It started off well, destroyers got destroyed and the battle progressed. However, Death Hex, a much needed spell, was failed by Ahriman and the tides of battle turned.

Before everything had a chance to go horribly wrong however, the Legion of Dave and Fondlechew dropped in. They soon realised they were in the wrong place (era) and hastily departed.

To cut the tale short, Ahriman decided to try and be a hero and went after the warlord. His glory was cut short when the warp said ‘No’ – Perils of the Warp is a huge hinderance to his escapades, though he did float up to the tall part of the board and look mildly cool. The best part of the game was when the Changeling warp bolted one of the Necron Lords and turned it into a Chaos Spawn. Hilarity ensued when the Chaos Spawn started attacking the remaining necrons… It wasn’t enough though. We lost the game in the end. It was a lot of fun though and that is what counts.

The other fun news was the released and the amazing atmosphere that was going on. There is always a buzz at these events and from the moment I met up with friends, new and old to the moment we left, it was fun. I painted Larry, a chaos warrior, in half an hour and he looked decent; pictures to follow.

I also got to meet Josh Reynolds and David Guymer, who signed a book for a good friend of mine in Canada. Both of them were very nice fellows and approachable, reminding me that the authors of the books I love are also people. I have nothing to fear from them and running away is just silly.

Last thing I am going to leave you with is this image of one of the released. The Dark Apostle is exceptionally exciting because Black Legion but… and I am sure you will have seen this on the internet already, this is the really exciting thing. I have circled it just to make sure you all see why I am so excited.

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I do hope the Boss is going to turn up…

40K · hobby · miniatures. · numbers · Uncategorized

Display Cabinets

December 5, 2018 DebbieForster3 Comments

A few days ago, there was a discussion on twitter about display cases and such. I was asked for pictures of them. I also mentioned that there was an entire battle company of Ultramarines as well. I was once again asked for pictures. So, here we are with them…

This is the Black Legion cabinet, within dwells Abaddon, Teal, Falkus Kibre, Khayon the Black and a few pals of theirs. Also some fliers. The rest of the cabinet is filled with chaos space marines and other nasties.

The next cabinet contains the Thousand Sons, the walking around Ahriman and their chums – picture turned out grainy, it is evening and the light is sub par.

Here is the dreadnought attached to ‘Special Squad’ – a place dedicated to all questionably painted miniatures. Try and guess why he was sent there…

Between the Black Legion and the Thousand Sons is the Ultramarines. Nervous and unsure, they are all there to ensure no uber violence occurs when I am not about. Primaris and Guilliman at the top, regular dudes occupy the rest of the space.

Then there is the Death guard…

This is the whole lot – one wall of our house… There are also minis in many other places dotted around the place too.

40K · figures · hobby · painting · space marines · Uncategorized · Warhammer 40000 · Warhammer 40k · Wh40K

We’ve come a long way…

November 12, 2018 DebbieForster3 Comments

It has been a while since I posted anything here. For shame! Not for lack of time or content, just because I got busy drawing stick men, painting miniatures and playing 40K that I neglected this place for a while.

I have not stopped painting, I have not stopped creating content either, I just fell off the wagon a bit. I returned to working as a full time teacher and that has had an impact on everything I do. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy the job but it is sapping all my time and I am finding less and less time to enjoy everything else. This has to change. I want to be more than a teacher.

I am thinking of seriously picking up commission painting. I have improved so much in the last year that I feel this is now something I would be capable of doing. I would drop my hours to maybe 3 days a week and spend the others painting. If it doesn’t work out, so be it… but what if it does? I want to see the year I am in at school out – that would be fair on the kids in the class but after that; well, we shall see.

If this is to happen, this is what I need to do:

Learn to airbrush.
Overhaul this space so I can use it to showcase mini’s.
Advertise.
Get some amazing pictures done.
Keep practicing,
Figure out price tiers.
Research and see if this is something people want from me.

I have time to work this out. It is not going to be an immediate change. In the meantime, have a look at some of the things I have painted over the past while. This is not an inclusive list, but ones I am pleased with thus far.

By the way, there is a whole new version of Ahriman being painted up at the moment and he will get a post all to himself when he is done.

40K · book review · Uncategorized · Warhammer 40000 · Warhammer 40k · Wh40K

Review: Black Legion – Aaron Dembski-Bowden

August 31, 2017 DebbieForster8 Comments

BLPROCESSED-Black-Legion-cover This book is so awesome I am going to leave the picture huge. I was fortunate enough not to wait long for the second installment of the Black Legion series, which was a relief seeing as I loved the first one.

The story picked up a ‘few’ years on from where the last one left off, once again being told through the eyes of Iskandur Khayon, former Thousand Son Legionary. He has become Abaddon’s assassin and seems to be struggling with the role. I won’t go into details because spoilers but I will say when he overcomes these inhibitions, awesomeness ensues.

The narrative of the novel is in the first person once again, something I found well crafted before and was not let down this time. The voice of Khayon comes through clearly throughout; you can definitely tell that he was a member of the Thousand Sons before his change of allegiance. When he is explaining things to you, he does so from the stance of a scholar – it is a little like being in a lecture. Instead of detracting from the pace of the novel, it explains things about the Eye of Terror that the reader doesn’t know. Khayon never gives up the opportunity to enlighten the reader about the trials and tribulations he and his brethren face on a daily basis!

Although the book deals with the serious, and often deadly, threats that face the newly established Black Legion, there is no shortage of funny aspects either. Each character is well established with one another and there is no shortage of bickering and sniping a one another, which provides the novel with some much needed comic moments. We all know and understand that life in the grim dark future is just that but these interactions remind the reader that there is humour too.

Also: Abaddon fights Sigismund… Well paced, perfectly written and oh my word what a page turning ending to the novel! Just amazing! The rest of the fight scenes are amazing – highlighting the brutality needed to win and the lengths of the character’s ambitions too. There is also a wicked space battle that had me turning the pages quicker than I thought possible.

It is a perfect follow-up to an epic start, I just hope the next installment isn’t too far in the future!

book review · Uncategorized · Wh40K

Review: The Talon of Horus – Aaron Dembski-Bowen

August 1, 2017 DebbieForster2 Comments

Well, I read this one a bit quickly! The Talon of Horus had been on the shelf for a little while now and I fancied reading something that wasn’t in the Horus Heresy saga. Those of you who know me well will also be aware that I have a bit of fascination regarding Abaddon and so this book seemed like it would be an interesting read.

The fact that I managed to read it in less than three days whereas the last book took more than a month says a great deal about how amazing this read was. I was a little wary of the first person narrative to begin with. I’ve read a few books written in this style and they have been absolute rubbish. Not the case here. The narrator has a very clear voice and it never loses focus through the novel. The reader is never left with a sense of disembodiment and the point of view is clear and maintained throughout the tale.

There are plenty of moments in the novel that made me laugh out loud too, I don’t want to spoil any of the details but there are a few well thrown punches and dry quips that are golden. The World Eater character can be relied upon to act according to his nature in moments that are utterly brilliant. One of the things that really resonated me with this novel was how the narrator highlighted how inhuman he was and yet in other parts would act in very human ways. He is very aware of the differences and is very keen to remind the reader of them yet his actions, at times, show the opposite

The pace of the novel is perfect. The blend of action and narrative is just right and it kept me turning the pages late into the evening and well into the day when I should have been doing other things. The action within the novel is well written, engaging and never seems to drag on as it has in some other stories I have read.

Within the pages of this novel there are some tastefully used metaphors, something I don’t normally pick up on. I am not known for subtlety after all… The part when the main characters are walking through acid rain and the colours of their former legion is washed off is just too poetic not to mention. Especially as the novel deals with the birth of the Black Legion! Hats off to you Aaran Demnski-Bowden

All in all, this was a devastatingly amazing read. You should go and read it right now. You’ll want to join the Black Legion afterwards, but that’s alright; what’s a little heresy between friends?