The Novelist.

January 16, 2019 DebbieForsterLeave a comment

I wanted to talk about these two lovely miniatures that I painted over Christmas. How they came about was rather strange in a way and I want to share it.

I will show the miniatures first and then tell of their tale.

The images are darker than I first thought but they will suffice for now. I have also never painted tartan before, so please don’t judge me too harshly.

I painted these for Graham McNeill – that is the McNeill tartan, or thereabouts at least, after a conversation on twitter. I have spoken to him a few times here and there and have always found our conversations to be encouraging and him to be exceptionally pleasant.

So, these two came around after a conversation that went a bit like this:

GMN: (after watching the Outlaw King) I want to write a high fantasy novel with loads of warring factions.

Me: Do it, that sounds amazing.

GMN: Alright, but you’re painting the miniatures to go with it.

Me: Deal, but I want a signed copy.

GMN: Done.

I am paraphrasing of course. My husband then suggested I should paint his tartan on the back and I am loathe to turn down a challenge. These two were selected and painted up and the result is for you all to see. Of course, these miniatures now belong to Graham McNeill; when we meet in person, I will hand them over. I am way too scared to ask for a place to send them, though the prospect of meeting someone you really look up to is also rather terrifying. I will have to try not to run away in a nervous fit of excited energy…

Anyway, I do not expect anything in return, the conversation was pretty tongue-in-cheek after all and I would never impose in that way. I am just pleased that it was remembered and brought some smiles about. I also got to paint some tartan, which was fun!

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 · painting

Goals and Dreams

January 2, 2019 DebbieForster10 Comments

I did a post like this about writing a little while back and thought that, seeing as we are in the new year, I would do one for hobby as well. I am a bit more focused on painting than I am writing currently and so I think I will switch to this one for the time being. That does not mean I will stop writing, not sure I would ever be able to do that but it doesn’t mean I cannot work on both!

Goals:

To learn how to create Object Source Lighting when I paint.

Enter Golden Demon with another bonkers diorama.

To push for more commission painting work

Improve on what I am already capable of

Speed up and solidify the three levels of painting I currently offer.

Enter local painting competitions

Dreams:

To be able to get enough commission work to stop teaching.

To win Golden Demon – or at least place.

To win any competition for painting.

Not that long a list really but it doesn’t need to be. I have my mind set on doing this and I will get there, I just need to stay focused and ensure I keep working at improving myself all the time. If I do this well enough, for long enough, things will start to happen!