2022 Reflections

2023 comes to a close, so its time to review the year and what I achieved in hobby terms. Despite quite a lot of work travel, including 3 months away visiting in Japan, USA and Canada and well as another few months at sea, its been a quieter but very satisfying year.  As ever the Analogue Painting Challenge was a highlight, starting with Season 12 and Season 13 now underway.

Convention wise I missed most of them, but the Lad did have his debut Bolt Action tourney at Wintercon, coming a most impressive 5th of 23 participants with his 101st Airborne army that he painted this year (https://tasmancave.blogspot.com/2022/08/the-101st-airborne-drop-into-wintercon.html). 

I did manage to get to MOAB though, but seem not to have blogged about it for some reason - really enjoyed it though, and here is a pic of a long overdue catchup with Nic from Eureka Miniatures

Game wise Reilly and I have dug about skirmish level games with Warcry and Kill Team with great success. The release of new new Horus Heresy also got us into a tizz and we have enjoyed a number of 2 and 4 player games of that - we really like the system and the great narrative behind it.

I enjoyed making this chunky lad for my World Eaters force

Other highlights included

2022: the year I discovered Turnip28, to the dismay of all my associates

Battlegroup Stalingrad fighting in the multi-level Apartment complex I made this year

Playing DungeonBowl in the local GW store and having our teams put on display!

Plus:

The Lad turned 21 this year

Expanding and finally using myWar of the Roses Army!

Back to my lists of hobby aims and objectives...did I do them all? no. Did I get distracted? An inevitable yes. Did I have fun along the way? You bet, so thats a win overall!

On the reading front I finished my 10th consecutive Goodreads reading challenge, something I started with my daughter while deployed at sea and have continued ever since.

Finally, while I don't usually mix work and hobby, visiting a USN Carrier at sea and then ride in the back of a Super Hornet this year were rather awesome highlights too :-)

May 2023 bring you all health and hobby happiness aplenty!

AHPC XIII: Last War Trenchers

The Living will Envy the Dead...

The battleground of the Last War is inhabited by the despairing, entirely without hope. Former causes have now been extinguished by an endless struggle for pointless survival. Equipped with the failing relics of industry produced by once proud nations, these scavengers now scrap over the dwindling remains of this once proud world...

I enjoyed making this base and the mysterious signage...

The Last War system has players controlling small bands (5-6 figs) of Trench fighters in narrative style scenarios to fight battlefield horrors in a desperate bid to win resources to enable their continued existence. Encounters can be head to head, coop, or solo, which provides a lot of great play options.

Posed in front of the pdf rules cover

My first trenchers are styled after the Kaiser's army but now reduced to desperate survivors.Models are by Knucklebones miniatures and I have added some extra bits (stick grenades, Grenade satchel, backpack, trench shield) to customise them. The dog came from another sculptor on 3dcults.

I've painted them in a thematically Grimdark style, experimenting with adding textures and using some Abteilung 502 oil washes.  I also spent far more time than usual scratch building each base and liberally applied Vallejo water gel effects to give it all a sodden, miserable vibe.  

The glow from the gasmask lenses and complete lack of visible flesh tries to convey their devolution and reduced humanity. But I could be overthinking it.  On the bright side, they have a puppy to keep their spirits up! ('Trench companions' play a valuable role in the game).

Love the tattered rags adorning these models

In their bunker they have a damaged pianola, salvaged from a long destroyed Chateau and now haunted by a powerful but unknown spirit.  And if one wishes to hear it play, homage must be paid to the duck with the curiously bleeding eyes inside its rasping gasmask...  (Piano also by Knucklebones)

Yes, in my obsessive madness I painted each of those keys individually...

I had a lot of fun obsessing over these models, so yes it was (yet) another of those 'sweat all the details well beyond any points efficiency which is irrelevant' projects :-)

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/12/from-paulog-last-war-trench-squad.html

Trencher Modelling Notes

Digital sculpting by Knucklebones Miniatures, printed at 95%

Trench Shield https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/game/riot-shield-bobbo01
Duck with Gas Mask https://cults3d.com/en/3d-model/various/gas-mask-duck

Bascoated in Acrylics and Oil Washed with Abteilung 502 Burnt Umber and Smoke

AHPC XIII: Reilly's Cawdor Gangers

And now the Lad has his first submission posted for AHPC XIII also!

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and here starts yet another House O'Grady distraction...

The Emprah's devout cult followers set out to carve a sector of the hive for their own

 

After a long time coming, and a long time collecting, curiosity got the better of us O'Grady gamers and we finally took the delve to start playing some Necromunda after being prompted by the release of the Ash Wastes Expansion. This was a project I have always been somewhat dreading to start because I was afraid of having to learn the intricacies of oils in order to make these bottom feeders truly filthy, but they seemed like a nice break to start off the challenge from my Horus Heresy force of Emperor's Children which tends to become an stressful and fruitless exercise in chasing the precious perfection... 

The Gang's founding leader, Kayn the Klenser accompanied by his left and right hands, Ezekiel the Devoted and Shambles respectively

Thus the sewer saints after being "shelved" in the pile of potential for a good 5 years, finally received the emperor-sent blessing that is pigment. When brainstorming the colour scheme, I've always like the look of gangs that look the part of men-at-arms with proper medieval heraldry that has just been bastardised for the use of scum at the bottom of the hive. I settled on filthy rags nicely offset with Bone and Purple patterning all over the uniformed high collars and tabards while the rest was just filthy rags, bloody bandages, and rusty scrap armour.

The three Blunderbuss-toting 'Blunderboys', Squats, Squelch, Squints
 

This being my first adventure with oil paints rather than the traditional 'Eavy Metal approach to painting with gazillions of highlights, the base coating process left me quite horrified and hesitant to continue, but I adopted the gang's mantra and let my faith in the god-emprah carry me onwards. The very second the oil hit the test model I knew it had not all been for naught as I absolutely loved the result and riding that high, finished the entire starting gang roster in the next two days. 

The three slum-crusaders(Juves) the gang is starting with,
Slicey, Scramble, and Sizzle

I'm absolutely in love the end results and I look forward to continuing the gang in the new year with more redemptionists with their trademark flaming heads, rats with a remarkable amount of grenades strapped to them, wayyyy too many juves, and the eventual Klovis the Redeemer (and his once rival, now lectern servitor companion, Deacon Malakev)

Thats 9 x 28mm figs for 45 points please. Entry submitted this Yule feast day, M2.022

Patrolman Andre about to learn why
they call him "the Klenser"...

Happy Holidays and Happy painting all,
Right Stuff

http://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/12/from-reillyog-emperahs-sewer-saints-45.html

Merry Christmas!

 Merry Christmas everyone - I hope Santa was good to you :-)

AHPC XIII opens with the Last War

AHPC Season 13 has opened this week and I've had a submission scored before Christmas- always a win!

My opening entry for Season XIII is also my first salvo for a small side project. Last War is a small indy produced skirmish level game with a Weird/Horror WW1 theme, with the premise that the War goes on, never ending, with only death awaiting all. You can find a digital copy here https://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/396497/Forbidden-Psalm-The-Last-War

On that cheery note - Merry Christmas!

What really got me was some wonderful digital sculpts by another small indy company called Knucklebones Miniatures (whom you can find on Facebook, Patreon, and MyMiniFactory).  I just couldn't unsee them, and so (with Reilly's technomage assistance with our 3d printer), here we are. 

Pics thematically taken in front of the Rulebook Cover

While my first Section of Trenchers is under construction, here are the first of their battlefield antagonists - barbed wire beasts. These "Spandau ballet" undead are kept in agonising pain by the cursed barbed wire that is now enmeshed in their bodies as they hunt the living across No Man's Land...  

I sculpted the bases to represent the eternally muddy and moist Western Front 

Great to be back and always good to get onto the scoreboard before Christmas - hope you all have a great one!

https://thepaintingchallenge.blogspot.com/2022/12/from-paul-og-last-war-barbed-wire.html

Modelling notes

Digital sculpting by Knucklebones Miniatures, printed at 100% (would probably drop to 95%)

Bascoated with ArmyPainter Barbarian Flesh, Brybrushed with Pale Flesh

Buboes washed with GW Cathonian Camoshade Green, Drakenhof Nightshade Purple and Vallejo Transparent Red

Highlights with Pale Flesh

Puddles are a mix of Vallejo Water effects gel tinted with GW Zandri Dust