May 15, 2026

Blackstone Fortress: Rein and Raus

By Wudugast

It was after I painted up the Ratlings for my Imperial Guard project the other week that I realised the one of them actually originated not from the Imperial Guard range but from Blackstone Fortress, and he’d somehow got muddled into the wrong pile. Blackstone Fortress contains two of these sneaky little dudes, and so having painted up Rein (or possibly Raus) I decided to strike whilst the iron was hot and painted his brother Raus (or possibly Rein) as well. Yes, I can’t remember which is which. No, I’m not going to look it up.

Whilst we’re here, I happen to have two Ratling themed projects in the back of my mind (both of which helpfully require pretty much the same miniatures). I’ve been thinking about them for a while and with these done I can at last tell myself I’ve made a start. One of them is my all-Ratling Necromunda gang, the Ironhouse East Rat-pie and Mash company, who are a humble and hardworking company of fast food vendors and absolutely not a front for organised crime. The other comes from, I think, an old Chaos Marines codex which included a reference to Abaddon the Despoiler raiding a Ratling planet and leaving behind all the chaos spawn from the holds of his ship as a parting middle-finger to their spirited resistance. To this day the Ratlings organise annual spawn hunts to keep the numbers in check. To me this sounds like a great idea for a game and so it’s been sitting shelved in a dusty corner of my head ever since; never realised but never forgotten either.

Anyway, exciting though it is to have a pair of larcenous space-hobbits around the really big news is that with these two done I’ve finished all the adventurers from the core game at last. Want to see a group shot? Of course you do!

Not only that but I’ve now completed all the playable characters from the series (minus the various ones which appeared via White Dwarf articles. Someday I might add those that I have easy access to the rules for… maybe…).

What’s more these are also the very final models outstanding from the core game, and represent the final step on the project I start way back in 2018.

This isn’t everything I have for this game as there are still a couple of expansions to complete but honestly it’s not far off it now. Might be worth going for a final push shortly to get the last few models over the line.

4 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Blackstone Fortress

April 24, 2026

Forward March – Part 8

By Wudugast

The last thing my Imperial Guard needed was a tank. Well, no, the last thing they needed was to see a horde of orks charging at them, but that’ll probably happen anyway. However the last item on my list of things I wanted to add to the army by the end of March was at least one tank. I do have another but once again my eyes were bigger than my stomach and it shall have to wait for another day. This one rolled off the production lines a few weeks ago (a little bit after the deadline for the challenge but we’ll keep that between us eh).

Fun fact; I’ve been doing this silly hobby for well over 20 years now and this is the first time I’ve ever painted a tank (not including ramshackle ork vehicles, chaos daemon engines and other things which fill a similar function to a tank but aren’t).

I’ve not managed a whole lot of painting since I finished this project but as ever I have about a million things in mind to tackle next. Some of them might even be guardsmen – seeing the army gathered together kickstarted my enthusiasm for it once again, and there are always a few more units I’d like to add… For now, time to pop the cork on the metaphorical champagne and call this challenge successfully completed. A big thanks once again to IRO for keeping me on track (not that this means I’ll go easy on him when Orktober rolls around a few months from now!)

9 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Imperial Guard

April 20, 2026

Forward March – Part 7

By Wudugast

Where does the time go eh? I meant to get this uploaded ages ago but the start of April coincided with the Easter holidays and our two little rascals were home from nursery and in need of entertainment/general looking after, which ate up what little free time I had left over after work. Anyway, it’s time for me to take a look at where I’ve managed to get to with my Imperial Guard army project. Way, way back in a time now lost to history (November) my blog brother IRO and I each declared that we’d get an Imperial Guard army painted up by the end of March. He achieved it long ago of course, and now its time for me to hold my brush aloft and declare victory.

Is the army finished? Hell no – for one thing no army is ever finished and for another my eyes are notoriously bigger than my stomach when it comes to painting miniatures. Still, I’ve achieved pretty much everything I intended to so I’m happy to call this project a success. Let’s take a look at the latest recruits shall we?

First things first I knew this army needed a leader, a general fit for the worst battlefields the 41st Millennium has to offer, ready and willing to sacrifice the lives of his men for the Emperor. This guy, I thought, was just perfect for the job. Enter General Marius Gaius Valerius IV.

I wasn’t entirely happy with his hand, close up it looks like a glove (which is what I was going for) but when you step back to “table-top distance” it just looks unpainted so I went back and painted it flesh-coloured. Couldn’t be arsed to rephotograph it though!

For those not already familiar with him he’s a House Greim Krieg Mester from Necromunda. House Greim are one of the noble houses of Necromunda, and usually spend their days sipping the finest of wines and haw-hawing with their peers in the spire, far, far above the grime and gang-warfare for which the planet is notorious. However the gentlemen of House Greim also fancy themselves as military types and, for a fee, will descend from on-high to offer their proxies – particularly among House Goliath – a few pointers as they battle it out in the Underhive. As soon as I saw this model I thought he’d be perfect as a pompous oaf to command my poor, downtrodden Guardsmen (although I’m sure he’ll manage to do double-duty by appearing in Necromunda from time to time too).

Next up we need some muscle! Enter my squad of Ogryns; Odo, Gump and Bern – collectively known as the Bruise Brothers.

And whilst these lumbering abhumans stomp around bringing brute force and ignorance wherever it’s needed, their smaller colleagues the Ratlings scurry along in the shadows, picking off targets with their sniper rifles and helping themselves to the contents of your wallet, your rations and the fillings from your teeth…

Then we have the heavy-weapon team of Privates Fabian and Stone, to lay down some covering fire.

Next up we have a servitor. I quite like the idea of having a small squad of these in the army but as yet that hasn’t happened. A project for the future though, as I said this army will probably never be completely “done”.

Another thing I hoped to add if time allowed – and in the end it didn’t – was a squad of Imperial Navy Voidsmen. I did manage this test model however and he was pretty quick and straightforward to paint so there may well be more of them in the near-ish future.

I do have one more thing to add here but as I sat down to assemble this post I discovered that I’d not actually taken any photos of it. However as this is quite long already, and well overdue to boot, I’ll save it for tomorrow…

8 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Imperial Guard

March 13, 2026

Forward March – Part 6

By Wudugast

So having seen (belatedly) everything I managed to complete in February let’s seen what I’ve managed so far in March. With the deadline for this project now hurtling towards me at a terrifying pace I moved my focus onto these four remaining Death Korps of Kreig.

With these done I now have enough for a full squad of these dour, faceless fanatics ready to fight (and die of course) for the Emperor. I still dream of expanding them into an army in their own right but I have many dreams and not all of them are going to reach fruition today (or even in the near future).

And now we’re caught up at last with everything I’ve painted. What’s that? The end of the month will come around before I know it? Better grab my brush and get back to the trenches then!

16 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Imperial Guard

March 12, 2026

Forward March – Part 5

By Wudugast

I’ve been a bit lax on updating the blog lately, but then again I’ve not had masses of time for painting either. However despite life keeping me busy I’ve not entirely taken my eye off the ball when it comes to my big Imperial Guard project. For those who’ve forgotten, or only just arrived here, the aim of the exercise was to spend the winter working through my backlog of unpainted Imperial Guard alongside my blog-brother IRO, with the aim of having an army wrapped up by the end of March.

Since my last update I’ve got whole heap of things partly painted but the only thing I actually finished in February was this sentinel.

Being completed last month this model also counts as a (belated) entry for Dave Stone’s Paint What You Got challenge. Meanwhile more reinforcements are being rushed to the front for March but I still need to add finishing touches and get them photographed.

10 Comments   |  tags: , , , | posted in Imperial Guard

March 11, 2026

House Stark – Part 9

By Wudugast

Once again, you don’t need to remind me – I’m meant to be painting Imperial Guard. However for some reason there’s something about being way behind with a big project and messing around with other things instead that makes me think of George RR Martin so towards the end of February I picked up my final six Mormont She-bears and made a concerted effort to get them done. I’ve been stalled on my Stark army for a couple of years now and it’s way past time I got these ladies finished.

With these done the squad is complete and it’s time for a lovely group shot.

Whilst I was about it I also painted Sansa Stark. First time I read the books I wanted to throw something at her but she’s a character with a lot of depth (on the page, let’s not talk about the show…) and one of those that I’m most interested in seeing develop further if George ever gets around to finishing Winds.

And of course by being painted in February these all count towards Painting What I Got – and Fembruary too for that matter!

What’s more this seems like an excellent moment for a Stark family photo.

Gathering them all together like this draws my attention to the fact that I really don’t like that sculpt of Catelyn very much, so I might replace her soon with the newer version. Also, I’ve painted all of the Stark children now apart from Bran (and Jon Snow of course but he’s part of the Night’s Watch faction). Again that seems like the kind of little oversight that would be easy to fix and appeals to the completionist in me.

For now though my initial aim was to get this army up to 40 points (the standard size of a game) and I’ve finally managed it. I still have more I’d like to add to expand this army but before that I’d like to work on my Lannisters so that they have someone to fight. Aaaand before that I really need to get back to the Guard!

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in A Song Of Ice And Fire

February 7, 2026

The Roadwolves – Part 2

By Wudugast

In theory I’m focusing on the Imperial Guard at the moment but as readers will have noticed, other things keep on sneaking in. Today it’s a couple of Orlocks as I drag this gang kicking and screaming up to fighting strength and onto the mean streets of the Underhive.

I found these two when I was sorting through a box in search of more guardsmen and was struck by the fact that they were both ridiculously close to being finished. As I looked at them I realised that they could both be done in half an hour tops, and this line from Dave Stone’s Paint What You Got challenge popped into my head:

“…it doesn’t matter if it the model is almost finished or brand new from a box you got for Christmas it’s about finishing part of your hoard of models!”

…and less than 20 minutes later they were both done.

17 Comments   |  tags: , , | posted in Necromunda

February 1, 2026

Anne’s Assembly Challenge 2026 Final Update

By Wudugast

The first half of January went pretty well for me on the hobby front. Unfortunately the second half was a bit more rocky, with various “life” things happening that I’d rather not get into. However I signed up for Anne’s Assembly Challenge precisely to ensure that I stayed motivated when the going got tough, so I rolled up my sleeves and kept building.

I originally signed up to build six kits and by the time of my mid-month update I’d worked my way through three of them. That left me with three more to do;

Palanite Enforcer Captains & Sergeants

Orcs riding Gore-gruntas

Nurgle blood bowl team

You may recall that I’d got as far as starting on the Palanite Enforcers by building one of the Subjugator Sergeants. Now it was time for the second one…

…followed by two Hardcase Cyber-mastiffs…

…two Enforcer Sergeants…

…and two Enforcer Captains.

Then it was onto the Orcs and the big smelly boars they ride into battle.

And then, filled with enthusiasm I went off on a tangent because I had time to burn and vast reserves of enthusiasm so why not right? And so it was that I turned my attention to my spirit animal, which also has a habit of substituting enthusiasm for direction with sometimes disastrous consequences, and built these mangler squigs.

And that’s when real life intruded with a bang and I spent the last part of the month running around like a blue-arsed fly. No more guardsmen were painted. No more kits were built. The brushes fell silent, the clippers were stilled and nothing moved upon the hobby desk until we reached the evening of the 31st.

Now I could say to myself that I’ve already gone past my target for the challenge in terms of the number of kits built so does it really matter if the Nurgle Blood Bowl team isn’t built? Where’s the fun in that though? So, with only a few hours to go, I grabbed my clippers and…

…built them!

You may be asking where the other Pestigor is – the answer is that somewhere along the way I’ve screwed up and lost vital pieces needed to build him. They’ve been snipped off, for some reason, put in a bag and then vanished. I’ve got a couple of ideas I’d like to play with to convert something out of the remains of him but that’ll have to wait for another day.

Once again a big thanks to Anne for setting up the challenge, I’m pleased to say that space has been cleared and progress made that certainly wouldn’t have happened without the push.

12 Comments   |  tags: , , , , | posted in Thoughts and Comments

January 16, 2026

Anne’s Assembly Challenge – mid-month update

By Wudugast

Sometimes life outside the hobby blocks us from getting our little dudes built, painted and played with, sometimes it inspires us and sometimes it’s a bit of both. Right now, for me, it’s the third option. As well as being busy assembling my troops for my ongoing Imperial Guard project I also had to go and retrieve a whole heap of stuff that had previously been stored in my parents’ loft. Needless to say, there were miniatures in there; stashed away during one or other of my various house moves, waiting to be collected “soon”. So now I have a heap of boxes cluttering up the house even more than usual and I need to get them sorted, organised and out of the way before my wife looses her patience. Enter Anne’s 2026 Miniature Assembly Challenge!

The challenge runs until the 31st of January and participants simply need to commit to building as many models as they choose and then actually getting on and building the damn things. I had already promised myself that I would build at least 6 kits in January and so I chose some that I was particularly keen to get on with and signed up. My plan is to work my way through the following:

Palanite Justicars for Necromunda (my Christmas present to myself)
Palanite Enforcer Captains & Sergeants (also Necromunda)
Orcs riding Gore-gruntas (big pigs)
Rockgut Troggoths (that’s Stone Trolls to you and me).
Nurgle blood bowl team
Marauder bombers (Aeronautica Imperialis)

So, with roughly half the month gone how am I getting on? Well not badly actually; halfway through the month and halfway through the list. Of course I’d probably be a bit further on if I hadn’t gotten distracted and built some other things as well but obviously those need done too so it’s all to the good.

My first target was this pair of stone trolls. I painted one of these back in 2022…

…but the other two from the set have lingered, unassembled, until now.

Then it was time to take to the skies with a pair of marauder bombers for Aeronautica Imperialis.

The most recent addition to the backlog are the Palanite Justicars for Necromunda which I got as a wee Christmas present to myself. I’m very keen that going forward nothing is bought only to sit untouched so I cracked on with them next.

And whilst I was in the Underhive I made a start on the Palanite Enforcers too.

After that however, rather than moving on to the other things on my list, I turned my attention to the various boxes that only had a few quick and easy odds and ends in them; things I could build quickly in the interest of making maximum space for minimum effort.

It’s been a while since I did anything very much with my Ogres but they’re a collection I’d really like to get back to. This lumbering Irongut already has several mates in the painting queue, and getting him built allowed me to flatten and dispose of another box.

This chapel comes from the Garden of Morr, and is the last piece from that set to be built. I have a plan to paint up some suitably morbid terrain for my various undead to fight over but as with so many things it hasn’t happened yet.

When the latest iteration of Warhammer Quest – Darkwater – was released I decided to give it a miss (too expensive, not enough time or space) but I wasn’t about to pass up the chance to snag a few Pestigors for my warriors of Nurgle army when I spotted them on ebay. There’s something “old school” about this version – as opposed to the other ones that were recently released – that I really like. Time to get the grubby goats assembled too then.

Lastly we have a load of orcs from the LotR/Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game. I know a lot of people love the Lord of the Rings game but I’ve never got beyond painting a few orcs for it, and these ones never even made it off the sprue until this week. Who knows, perhaps once they’re painted I’ll get drawn in and finally build myself an army worthy of Mordor.

Anyway, that’s where I’m up to. Despite it being a busy month (although when is it not?) I’ve managed a good bit of progress and I’m feeling relatively confident about tackling the remaining kits on my list in the second half of the month. Next on the list; big ugly orcs on big ugly pigs!

14 Comments   |  tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , | posted in Thoughts and Comments

January 13, 2026

Trench Pilgrims – Part 2

By Wudugast

Whilst I was working on the Death Korps it struck me that the colour scheme I’m using for my Imperial Guard is pretty similar (read: damn near identical) to the one I was planning for my Trench Pilgrims for Trench Crusade. Possibly it’s because they’re both grim, fanatical and absolutely love the idea of getting themselves killed in a trench.

Maybe this is actually a topic to get a long post out of someday, but I’ve long since passed the point where I have so many armies and warbands on the go that finding new unique colour schemes for each of them is pretty much impossible. Right now however the upshot is that I decided to kill two birds with one stone and painted a couple of Pilgrims alongside the Death Korps. And of course, these too count towards the Paint What You Got challenge.

I’m happy with how these are looking so I’ll get on with the rest of them soonish. Might even manage a few more alongside the Guard…

12 Comments   |  tags: , | posted in Trench Crusade

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