New Painting Station (and MOAR STUFF!)

Painting production has been severely disrupted this last week and Amanda decided we needed to do a big room-swaperoo... I'm STILL figuring out storage solutions for all the "ON DECK" items (stuff I want to work on, but am not CURRENTLY working on)... but the painting station is set up and I can get back to work... sort of... 

New painting station.

There isn't THAT much that's new about it... it's just in a different location in the house... 

It's been particularly hard because that Great Unclean One was SO CLOSE to being done... and the disruption has stalled progress on it. Sure, I still have WEEKS until Tanksgiving, it's not like I wasn't going to get it done on time... but when I'm working on something and motivated to work on it and in that "flow state" it is particularly jarring to have to STOP. 

One good thing about the disruption is it forced me to clean up a bit and put things in boxes. I love the idea of reducing clutter and only having ONE (or maybe two) projects out on the table at a time - to help keep FOCUSED... we shall see... 

I haven't been ENTIRELY idle... 

I did make this map for the Path to Glory campaign Amanda and I are playing. 

My drawing and watercolour skills are a bit rusty, so it didn't turn out quite how I had envisioned it in my minds eye... but I'm not redrawing it for what will likely be a very short-lived campaign. 

You can read more about the campaign on the campaign page:

Path to Glory - Methervale Campaign

Finally... to celebrate the new painting station, I picked up a few things to assemble and paint on it... (because i didn't already have enough things?!)

I got myself some faction terrain (for the Nurgle Army) and some Gossamid Archers for Amanda's Sylvaneth army as that will bring the force to almost (or, exactly?) 1000 points...? Also, while I was at the Warhammer Store, they still had the free miniature-of-the-month, so I grabbed one of them as well! 

Awakened Wyldwood

 I'm not entirely sure of the thought process that led me to abandoning plan to finish the Lord of Afflictions and Pusgoyle Blightlord this weekend and instead finish up the Awakened Wildwood... but here were are... 

I think it was a mash-up of a general feeling like I needed to get more terrain bits painted and an earlier discussion with Amanda about moving beyond Spearhead to play more interesting scenarios with different units. Not necessarily BIGGER battles... (Because Amanda has even less interest than I in playing 2000 point battles... even though I COULD with a few of my Age of Sigmar forces, currently!). Previous editions had scenarios for 500-750 point battles, so I'm sure they could be adapted, or the current narrative battles scaled down... 

She seems happy playing the Sylvaneth and so I thought I might try and finish up the few Sylvaneth things so they're ready when she wants to try that and finishing all the Sylvanth means finishing their FACTION TERRAIN! 

Awakened Wyldwood. 

This is the Sylvaneth faction terrain... though I suppose it could be just used as a small wood or copse or whatever. I think that's what these were originally (and Wyldwood is still listed amongst the Citadel Terrain List that can be used in Age of Sigmar Games). I'm pretty sure these were sold in batches of three I wouldn't mind getting a couple more of these. Maybe one I could paint in more fantastical colours and THAT could be the AWAKENED Wyldwood...? 

Or... maybe I'll just use this one and not bother with more... 

Awakened Wyldwood with (most) or the Sylvaneth! 

The last of the nurgle things are still on the workbench and still High Priority... but they've been joined by some other things... 

The last of the Sylvaneth are on the workbench as well...  

I am toying with the idea of picking up the Outcast Spitegrove - the new Sylvaneth Battleforce Box due to be released this fall. It would give the Sylvaneth force a bunch more options (and a bunch more Spite andor Tree Revenants) and they are relatively quick and easy to paint!! 

Skull Altar

I finally finished up the Skull Altar! 

The Skull Altar is "Faction Terrain" for the Blades of Khorne. Most factions in Age of Sigmar have some sort of Faction Terrain that can be set up on the field of battle and gives some sort of benefit. 

I THINK in previous editions, the faction terrain had a point value to it (or maybe I'm just thinking of Endless Spells - I KNOW they did) but there is zero cost to bringing them along (as with Endless Spells, now!)... which is a clever way to get everyone to buy them - If everyone else is playing with them and gaining whatever benefit they give, you're kind of hamstringing youself is you DON'T!?

That's not entirely the reason I bought it. I also just think it looks kind of cool... 

I do think it's a little silly that BOTH SIDES can employ Faction Terrain... Like, how does that work... two armies approach each other and they say; "hang on, let me build my altar to the Blood God... yeah, you go ahead and build your thing too..." It would make more sense if the party defending got to deploy it... but then, there would have to be some advantage to being attacker. 

Maybe they're all magically summoned... or not-so-magically summoned in the case of the Skull Altar of Khorne!

Ah well... 

Skull Altar

Other side of Skull Altar

Skull Altar with Slaughterpriest (and some friends!) 

What the Skull altar does is while there is a Slaughterpriest on there they gain +1 to Chanting rolls (which is a d6 roll so, 16.67% increase in chance of success) and any attacks directed at the priest hit the Altar first (Which has a 4+ save - better than the Slaughterpriest's 5+ save - and 10 health to burn through before you start affecting the priest). Also, invocations and prayers and other abilities that have a range are measured from the Skull Altar instead of the Slaughterpriest and they can also attempt to Banish D3 Endless Spells within 18".

Maybe not game changing stuff... but benefits, for sure... that are FREE (in terms of the point-cost within the game)... if you spend real world dollars and buy that extra thing for your army... 

Now that this is out of the way and cleared off a big chunk of the workbench... I really need to just finish off those Skullreapers (one or two ARE completely finished, the others just have a strap or two or small bits that need touching up!?) and the Lord of Khorne on the Juggernaut... and then I'm on to other things - probably finishing up the Stormcast Eternals Vigilant Brotherhood Spearhead!! And maybe some other stuff for other spearheads - like the new Nighthaunt one. 

Oh, and maybe the stuff I need for Warhammer Quest: Cursed City - Night Wars, since Amanda is back from England and we were supposed to get back to playing when she returned. 

Dominion of Sigmar: Timeworn Ruins

I finished up the first batch of the Dominion of Sigmar: Timeworn Ruins that I picked up last week.

Dominion of Sigmar: Timeworn Ruins

These eight bits are all the bits that DIDN'T require any sort of assembly (less one of said pieces that I used on Radukar the Beast's base!). 

There are three or four more bits that need assembling... Hopefully I will get to assembling them along with the Skull Altar and Judgements of Khorne. 

These turned out to be a bit bigger than I'd expected them to be, which is nice!

They fit in nicely with the other Age of Sigmar terrain I painted - from the Skaventide box and really "pop" on the reddish matt I'll be using for most battles on the Ravaged Coast of Aqshy!

They're big enough they might actually provide some COVER for units that hide behind them! Should they encounter an opponent with ranged attacks... I'm kind of surprised how many armies just DON'T have ANY ranged attacks!?

Terrain - Slit Trenches

I don't know exactly WHEN I started these... It might have been eight years ago - either when I was working on the Regina Trench terrain or some new generic Urban Ruins terrain...? But it COULD have been as recently as five years ago when I was making Movement Trays (as the process is very similar). Regardless, I'd roughed out four of them - two two-man slit trenches, one three-man slit trench, and one for a crew-served weapon. I'm MOSLTY finished one, and never got around to posting it or finishing any of the others... 

Having started a Five Men in Normandy campaign, I thought these might come in handy, so I went digging through some boxes to find them and finish them up. 

 

The idea was to find a way to show that troops were dug into slit trenches.... that could be placed on a flat tabletop - and could be placed almost anywhere that's flat - so I wouldn't have to build specific terrain tiles for scenarios in which someone was dug into a slit trench. 

I've played around with the idea of doing just a short stack of sandbags, but then thought of this idea and hoped it would LOOK more like the troops were entrenched. 

These were clearly a TEST set, as any of the games I would have been thinking of using them for would clearly need a LOT MORE if an entire platoon - or even a few squads were all dug in!? This number works PERFECTLY for Five Men in Normandy, however. 

Dragon's Den Games - 30th Anniversary

My FLGS, Dragon's Den Games - in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada, is celebrating their 30th Anniversary this weekend! 

And so... there was a sale... 

I feel like I showed considerable restraint... 

Work-In-Progress Wednesday - 7 August 2024

 Welp... Having finished up the Blades of Khorne Spearhead Army... what was I do do next!? MOAR KHORNE!? A new Spearhead Army? Build some terrain? Back to Warhammer Underworlds or Warhammer Quest!? Something entirely different!?

Obviously, I tried to do a bit of them all!? 

And the workbench is a bit of a mess now?!

I started clearing things off after taking this picture... 

Taking up a lot of prime real estate on the workbench are all these Khorne Dogs that I am rebasing. They are the last of the Khorne Daemons I'd originally based on Warhammer 40K Sector Imperialis bases, Which I've been slowly re-basing to the flagstone and rubble bases I've been putting all the Khorne stuff on so hopefully the Daemons can pass for fantasy or far future... 

Because they're taking up SO MUCH SPACE and will be relatively easy to finish up, these will be the first things off! 

There were also these to Hounds of Chaos... I also rebased, but kept them on 40mm round bases as the larger oval bases just looked too huge for them... the could have been stuff onto 32mm bases... but that looked a little cramped... 

Gorechosen of Dromm - Warhammer Underworlds warband - I was working on these a little but as I was working on all the other Bloodbound for the Khorne army... I decided to stray from the dusty desert bases I've done all the other Khorne stuff for Warhammer Underworlds and tried to do something more like what I've done for all the other Bloodbound... I'm not sure it's worked out. I may just put them onto new bases with flagstone and rubble... 

As with the above, took the opportunity of working on Khorne Bloodbound to try and finish these off... I think I might just pop these off their bases and put them on Flagstone and Rubble bases as well...

The Melusai Ironscale has been joined by a unit of Blood Stalkers in preparation for working on the Daughters of Khaine Spearhead army! 

I'd bought the Arena of Shades Battle Box because it had the other two units I needed for the Daughters of Khaine Spearhead army... but when I went to assemble the Witch Aelves... I discovered it did not have the assembly instructions for Witch Aelves, only the Sisters of Slaughter (the sprues included can be assembled as either... but as the background fluff for the box only concerned Sisters of Slaughter, it only included instructions for those!? 

So, instead of assembling Witch Aelves I started assembling all the terrain from the Extremis Starter Set... But they were taking up TOO MUCH SPACE on the workbench so I've mostly moved them off to shelves nearby... 

Then I decided to assemble all the Stormcast Eternals Heroes from Skaventide!? 

AND I rebased a few more Heroes from the Blades of Khorne army... 

And these guys are still there... (I did do a little work on them this past week...) 

Then there are all of these still haunting the corners of the workbench, which I am loathe to move off because they're all so close to being finished?! 

And I also decided to start painting some control markers for the Spearhead Armies I've already finished... 

and... that's about it... 

WHAT HAVE YOU BEEN WORKING ON THIS LAST WEEK!?

Spearhead Terrain: The Large Bits

 I rushed to finish up the two larger bits of terrain included in the Skaventide boxed set - which are required for playing Spearhead - because Orion contacted me earlier in the day and inquired if I would be available to PLAY some Spearhead! As I'd finally finished the last unit for the Hedonites of Slaanesh force, and was super keen to try them out, I said "YES!!!" and got painting!!

Two Large Terrain pieces. 

They're not all THAT large... I guess it's just in relation to the smaller pieces. 

All four pieces of terrain on the spearhead board (Aqshy side!) 

All four pieces of terrain on the spearhead board (Gyran side!) 

Stay tuned for a GAME REPORT of the ensuing action! 

I need to get a second force done and see if I can convince Amanda (or Finnegan?) to play! 

In the rules it suggests there will be different boards for different Mortal Realms available at some point. I wonder if those will be available in a Gaming Pack with a double-sided board, some new terrain bits and cards specific to the new Mortal Realms depicted on the boards...? Or will they come in new started sets with two complete Spearhead forces!? 

I kind of hope it's the former - just board and cards available separately... And hope they call it Death & Shadow and include boards and cards for the realms of Ulgu and Shyish... 

If it HAD to include two Spearhead armies... It could still be Death & Shadow and include boards and cards for the realms of Ulgu and Shyish... along with a Daughters of Khaine army (but, like a DIFFERENT one that the one currently available) and... some Death army that ISN'T Soulblight Gravelords...? I wouldn't mind Flesh-Eater Courts... but it would probably be Nighthaunt or Ossiarch Bonereapers... All at a price significantly lower than the cost of two Spearhead forces on their own... (Spearhead armies are $175CAD, so.... less than $300CAD...? $275?)

Warhammer Underworlds: MORE Terrain bits

I finished up two more terrain bits for Warhammer underworlds. One is the last of the Beastgrave terrain, the other is just a Reaper miniatures Purple Worm that I've rebased onto one of the wooden hexes I picked up a while ago. 

Warhammer Underworlds Terrain bits

I figured the wurm might be fun for using in Deathgorge/Wintermaw - especially when playing with the Rimewyrm's Bite deck!

The clouds I tried to copy what I'd done with the billowing clouds of smoke on Skabbik's Plaguepack... but I don't think it's worked out as well here... Instead, it kind of just looks like giant mutant BROCCOLI!?!?

Ah, well... too many other things to do to dwell on it and I'm moving on!! 

Warhammer Underworlds - MORE Terrain Bits

I finished up another little terrain piece from the Beastgrave terrain pack this week. 

Mostly we use these terrain bits to make Blocked Hexes a bit more clear...

But this one (as with a few of the others) look more like they are meant to be HAZARD or LETHAL hexes!? 

Getting to be a few of them.

I'd still like to make a few for the frozen caverns of Deathgorge or the Underseas depths of Harrowdeep... 

I am very nearly finished the Cado Ezechiar model - so close I put varnish on him... and then realized I missed a few little bits!? DOH!!

Also working on the Chaos Gargant and Kairic Acolytes for Warhammer Quest: Silver Tower! 

Warhammer Underworlds - Blocked Hex Terrain Project

Didn't do a Work-in-Progress Wednesday post this week as... well... I hadn't done any work this past week (other than finishing up the three undead for Cursed City). Been having some health issues and feeling a bit down... Hopefully this next week will be better! 

Something arrived in the mail this week, though, and I thought I'd share a bit about that.... 

Now, if you've been following along, you are no doubt aware that I am a little HYPER-fixated on Warhammer Underworlds at the moment. I've played forty games so far this year!? Also, I have discovered that I really do like playing with terrain bits sitting in the blocked hexes! I have some that Games Workshop produced for Nightvault and Beastgrave (here and here and here - and there is still more to paint!). But they stopped after that and so I don't have any specific things for the Harrowdeep, Gnarlwood or Deathgorge settings... So I thought I'd make my own... some reefs for Harrowdeep? Log piles for Gnarlwood? Heaps of snow and ice for Deathgorge. 

I've seen that there are laser cut wooden (or plywood or MDF) hexagons of various different sizes available on Amazon for not-totally-insane prices, so I thought I'd try and pick up some of an appropriate size to use as a base... Finding an appropriate size, wasn't as easy and straightforward as one might think it should be. 

The Hexagons on the board are 50mm from flat edge to flat edge, about 58mm from point to point, and each of the edges are about 29mm . A lot of the listings on Amazon were just listed as "60mm" with no diagram or description of WHERE that measurement was taken... flat edge to flat edge? point to point? along one of the edges!?

Posts WITH diagrams weren't much help either... 

A lot that did have diagrams looked like this!? At first glance it seemed like they were suggesting it was 6cm (60mm) both from flat edge to flat edge AND point to point...? That's... not how Hexagons work!

I did notice, on closer inspection that the lower arrows did NOT go all the way from point to point... so... MAYBE this was... accurate... -ish...?

But then I noticed IN THE SAME LISTING as the for the above 60mm hexagon, they had THIS diagram for their 40mm hexagons!? If these "40mm Hexagons" were, indeed 40mm along the edge, then they would be BIGGER than the "60mm Hexagons" in the same listing that were show to have been measured flat edge to flat edge... sort of... maybe... 

So I decided THAT seller could clearly not be trusted with any measurements... 

Another seller had THIS diagram for their 50mm hexagon!? JFC, WHAT!? How do they not see that those two lines are NOT THE SAME LENGTH!?!?

In the description of the produce it even claimed the dimensions were 50mm x 50mm x 2mm.... WTF!? 

NOT HOW HEXAGONS WORK

Math is hard, I guess...?

I did find another seller that had this diagram, which was much clearer... but theirs cost 4x what the others were selling things for... and I just did not want to spend THAT much money on a little project that I didn't really NEED to do in the first place... 

Also, though... which is it? 2" or 50mm...? I mean, they are CLOSE, but not exactly the same?!

And then I found this one... and it described the hexagons as 50mm ( I think) and had an actual picture of a ruler next to it and that was right - as I mentioned, edges for a Hexagon that is 50mm from flat edge to flat edge would be about 28mm along one of the edges... The only problem was it LOOKED like a plywood... but was described as MDF...!? I decided I didn't care if it was MDF and went for it anyway (They were also marginally cheaper than most of the others)! 

Three weeks later (which was this past week) they arrived!

Maybe it's a super thin veneer over an MDF core...? 

And they happen to be the PERFECT size! 

So hopefully, at some point, I will be posting some scratch-built terrain bits for some of the OTHER Warhammer Underworlds settings... Probably Deathgorge first, as piles of ice seem like they'd be the easiest to knock out quickly! 

Warhammer Underworlds TERRAIN!?

I finished up a few more of the little terrain bits I picked up ages ago. For both Nightvault and Beastgrave, Games Workshop released little terrain bits that could be used for blocked hexes (and maybe hazard hexes?). Some bits directly matched bits on some of the boards, others were more generic. 

four more of the bits I finished up. Not the greatest painting I've even done.. but they are DONE and I have so much to do, I can't get too worked up about it... Calling them done and moving on! 

I'd previously finished two of the bits from Beastgrave and had them handy to use in a game the previous week... so I worked on a few of these in between other things I've been working on all week and managed to finish them off. 

(there was a fifth one I finished... but forgot to bring downstairs.. I'll probably have a few of the others finished up in the next week or so, so I'll include it there. 

While they're fun to throw out on the table for Warhammer Underworlds, they could easily be used as generic scatter terrain in any other minaiture tabletop game. 

Still chugging away on the Asatra Militarum self-propelled artillery... and at least a half-dozen Warhammer Underworlds are being painted in fits and starts - Grinkrak's Looncourt being the closest to being finished now... 

I played a couple of FOUR-PLAYER games of Warhammer Underworlds over the weekend... should have a brief report of that action up tomorrow! 

Fall Terrain Painting Project

 Hasn't been much going on around here, game-wise... trying to wrap up a terrain project that's been going on for FAR TOO LONG - the 1:1 scale endless basement renovation project... It's been a DECADE that we've been chipping away at renovating the house and it feels like we've been in constant upheaval since... First was the roof and upstairs and insulation... then the kitchen... finally the basement, which had some momentum a few years back and then ground to a halt... and then Amanda decided this was the year it was going to be FINISHED!!!

In october it got to the point where drywalling was complete... and that's where I stepped in to do the PAINTING! 

Painting... 

Finished drywall before I got going on it... 

Drywall... 

More Drywall... 

STILL more drywall... 

You get the idea, right...?

Looking into THE BLACK HOLE... basement storage room (which was not renovated). 

Okay.... just about ready to go... 

Not sure why I uploaded so many... 

Now when give and blank wall and paint, the 12-year-old that pilots my brain is always tempted to scrawl rude words and drawings all over the place, but luckily, this time... 

Nope, nevermind, there it is... 

Ugggghhhh... Why am i like this...? 

Hmmmm.... 

Going to need a few coats for that room.... 

Oh, and it wasn't just the ONE room/colour... 

I am nothing, if not inclusive.... If I'm going to go and draw dicks on teh walls, it seems only right.... 

yeah... 

I... Just... 

Anyway.... 

Okay, fun time over.... time to get some actual paint on the walls... 

The hall and what was the kitchen is this lime green... it looks more yellow-ish on my computer screen... it is more lime-grean IRL. 

Hall

Kitchen... or what WAS a kitchen at one point... but is now being referred to as "studio" or "hobby project room"... 

Bathroom. 

Also bathroom. 

Looking from hall into bathroom

apparently one of the minions is moving downstairs... I'm not sure I'm super excited about the idea... but I guess it's a thing. This is their room. 

After I was done with the painting, the contractor was back installing flooring 

... and cabinetry (ikea boxes - I assembled, contractor installed) 

Door on the shower. 

bathroom vanity (again, from ikea - I assembled, contractor installed) 

Things are really moving along fast and it actually feels like... it might ALMOST be OVER!!?!?

Yesterday morning the countertops went in... 

I guess I better get building some drawers and doors!!

Will we ever see and end to it all!? Will the game room actually be accessible BEFORE the end of the year!? WILL WE ACTUALLY START PLAYING GAMES AGAIN!??!?? Amanda assures me all of these things will happen... 

I'm not going to hold my breath, or anything like promise there will be more content on this blog soon... 

I might do some stocktaking and reassessing and maybe it's time to ditch some stuff that I'm never going to get to.