Mutated Stunties for Rogue Trader

I am not someone with a lot of personnality... Whenever I see a good idea, I feel like giving it a go...

You may remember Axiom and Colin recently had a go at creating little mutated creatures for rogue trader and this gave me the will to try to do some myself...

But why would one want to create small, weak, painful to watch, useless models ? Well because they sort of define the kind of setting you want for your games I guess. You want a world full of characterfull heroes ? Good for you. I do prefer (matter of taste) having a bit of everything making the average guys look handsome and villains making normal dudes look like heroes.

A Christmas Tale - Dadhammer episode 3

 This time of year again...

The everlasting battle between chaos and law, evil and good is finding another battleground on this holy day....

"Come on Vixen ! I'm telling you that awful thing with Prancer and Comet was just an accident ! Look, I brought you a present, now come here will ya?"

"Do you think I'm a newborn Claus? You think I didn't see how you got rid of Cupid and Dasher? I know you mean to sell these sacred woods, why would you need them when you've already fired most of the elves"

Flesh for... - Rogue Trader Civilians

As my friend Willy Idol, would say :

But this is the future right ? Flesh for Rogue trader anyone ? OK, time for silly puns is past...

To give some company to my space metalhead, I thought I'd populate the streets of my rogue trader games with more civilians and unarmed characters just to add depth to it. They will probably be quite useful for story purposes in games I expect to play.

So here they are :

A pair of hookers to give warmth (and venerial diseases) to the mercenaries, thieves and other space brigands my games can lead me to play. But why hookers? Why another sordid concept after a drunk? Well, in all honesty, things were not planned that way at first...

Space metalhead - Rogue trader civilians

Here he is, my space metalhead ! You right remember that this model was first intended as a space drunk in this post. Well Erny suggested to tie it to one of the other Oldhammer bands and this was a great idea I had to use right away!

This meant I was going to give the Mushrööm Klöwds their first fan model !

Just like any other real proper band, the Mushrööm Klöwds have to tour, and just like for any real proper band touring, fans need Touring dates T-shirts :

Rogue trader robots

When people think about Rogue trader robots, they often think about the imperial set of robots :

This range and the rules that accompanied them in WD are well renowned, especially for that "robot phase" where the Robot's behavior was decribed by a set of "Goto" commands which made it VERY long to play.

But this time I'm going back a little further and will be considering robots as portrayed in Rogue trader.

Dadhammer - episode 2 (where I scrathbuild a spaceship and a dragon)

Real life sometimes robs you of your hobby time (when real actual robbers don't actually really rob you ...).
Amongst the many forms it can take, it seems real life favours that of young children, those creatures seem to be like "life elementals" or lesser demons of "life".
Any true man has to stand firm and be up to his responsabilities. This does not mean one has to lose opportunities to have some fun hobby time. So for the second time I decided to use my hard-earned modelling techniques for some Dadhammer (see episode one HERE)

When my 4 year old lesser demon of life asked me for a spaceship, I saw the challenge in it. A big cardboard box and some clever cuts after that, I had the frame for it...

A little scale test and pannel check...everything seems to be OK...

Just draw shapes and mask with tape....

Imperial Guard Commissar - Save your models !

Yo may remember the late mutant I painted some time ago...

This model was offered by Colin from the Leadpile and I had great time painting something fresh. I decided to launch an operation to get all those models we convert but never truly finish, done once for all. 

The idea is simple : you just drop pictures of models you started but will unlikely finish and someone picks one or more to finish them. Everybody wins, those who post pics can pick some models and the time they've spent has ot been pointless since the model got finished in the end. It's also a great opportunity to work on something different thought and prepared by someone else and that's what I like most about it.

This is the model I picked in the lot from Theresponsibleone :

What I picked was this : 

A solid kitbash, well prepared (though I had to remove some mouldlines and drill the gun barrel) with a very neatly applied basecoat. It took me something like 2 or 3 hours to get this one done and it was a pleasure, time well spent really !

Painting wise I opted for something really simple as I think commissars don't need to be covered in bling to do their job. Though its is a plastic model I think it' smore in line with the Rogue trader range than any modern model. It's simple an dthough the gun is a tad on the large side, I think it works wonders.

If any of you feel like giving a second life to some of your models or are willing to finish what others couldn't, head for the Oldhammer Salvation Army page : HERE

Marauder Venator - Test and first on the line

Venators... Funny how these guys have been playing with me since 1996 when I first discovered them in the White Dwarves where the confrontation rules had been published. I had just bought this lot of old magazines in a hobby shop and when I came home my mind was blown into atoms.

Venators and confrontation aren't familiar?, Have a read at THAT first then ...

See? What's not to love in a group of professionnal bounty hunters dressed in leather and chasing psykers and mutants.

Rogue trader Squats - The return of the Heavy Industrialist Union

After their summer adventures in the foreign lands, the ranger squad of the Heavy Industrialist Union have finally got the last bits of paint and have even gained a friend in the process.

If you want to read their summer adventures, here they are :

Episode One

Episode Two

Episode Three

I hope you'll excuse me the poor photos but I haven't bought another camera and have to take my pics with my wife's phone for now (Christmas should hopefully solve that matter...)

Although it took me almost 3 months to complete this little war band, I had real fun with them. The aim behind building this gang was to have a team of scouts or rangers, the sort of squats you send on remote locations to explore hence the limited militaristic look of them and the fact that 2 of them don't even have weapons.

I need a drunk - How to turn Willy Pewken Rogue trader ?

You know what? this world is far from perfect, and I'm trying to make it better any time I can. Today I 've realised we are in dire need of drunks in Rogue trader, why don't we have any? WHY?

Warhammer has got some :

Taken from Solegend

Well that's enough, by the power vested in me by Green Stuff, here's a drunk hobbo for Rogue trader :

You can recognise Willy Pewken form the picture above. His face, his pose and the way he seems about to fall added to that bottle hidden in a bag leave no doubt about his state : he's totally Boracho.

For those of you sensitive about altered old models, let me just say that the model was not damaged in any way and I only added some putty here and there, a good acetone bath could make it good as new if needed !

How to make a fantasy model look futuristic ?

- Add a punk crest, what better way than a punk crest to say "Rogue trader"?

- Add a pair of good ol' Chuck Taylor converses (YES it DOES look futuristic)

- Add a digital walkman but beware to leave one with a wire, otherwise it will look like one of those stupid bluetooth kits. No you want the real deal, the one with a cassette player and an ear plug at the end of a wire !


For now I'm looking for critics and comments, do you think it does teh job, I'm balanced about changing the head set and adding another speaker on the other ear to have a real retro 80's look...

A lot will be achieved with painting (I plan on using the sleeveless shirt to perform so silly freehand but have no idea of what so far (ideas welcome too).

EDIT  :Just to make things a litle clearer, her'sz what the model looks like BEFORE :

 

Mutant rescue

After enjoying one of those week ends where some shitbags decide to break into your house to rob you of all your technological possessions with the photos of the kids and music they contain I somehow felt like changing my mind with something relaxing. I have a squat warband on the line but felt like taking a break. 

Good thing is humanity is not entirely made of human waste. There are actually some people who just give you stuff instead of robbing it...

A while back, my pal Colin Murray of the Leadpile had a mutie feeling lonely... He took the decision of letting it go to clearer shores so that he might gain some attention.

Well, while I have tons of unattended models myself, I just couldn't resist the look of that one. He's definitely the kind of kitbashes I'm not able to come up with and he would make a perfect mutant for my Rogue trader Setting.

For some reason, some postman (we will never know on wich side of the channel) decided to use the package to play rugby or something but not only did the model take a month to make its way from UK to France, it arrived in the state you're seeing below...

Nothing like the view of a defenseless model smashed to bit by some indelicate post officer to help you gain back your faith in humanity.

Well, good thing is, seeing a gift in this state left me little choice but to fix the mess because it just didn't feel right. So a couple (or two) of hours of modelling and painting after that, here's what the mutie looked like :

The mutant you see is called "Big tooth Ed", he is natural mutant born in the underhive, he's a nice guy with a bad temper but yuo have to know he's been mocked by everyone because of his rather particular physique. His left lower canin is indeed far bigger than it should and this gives him a peculiar face. The cruelty of men knows no limit and time earned him his nickname "big tooth"...

I hope you will excuse the rather poor quality of the photos but I had nothing left but my wife's phone to take pictures right now...

Couldn't help but put red and checkers on that one, damn you John Blanche !

Well, now I've completed this one, I'd really like this idea to evolve a bit. I mean we ALL have unfinished models, part done conversions or models we converted but which never saw any paint... I think it could be really cool to exchange those with people enthusiast enough to finish the job. What better way to share the mojo around ? Anyone who has those kind of unloved models lying around, take a pic and ask to the community ! I'll be looking for some to share and look forward to painting some done by others !

If you're looking for a place to exchange thjose unloved models, here's the place, the Oldhammer Salvation Army  has its arms wide open !

Space Ork Raiders - Final entry for Orctober 2 !

So here we are ! Less than a month after the launch of Orctober, my entry is ready for some action !

As you may have recognised them, I've settled for some Space ork raiders this year. Last year my entry consisted of some orks from the second release of Rogue trader that went along Waaaagh the orks. The reading of this classic piece of background for all self-respecting future greenskin had really inspired me and somehow made me far more interested in them than I ever had before. It somehow sealed a sort of tradition that though I'd never truly collect orcs or orks, I would take the opportunity to paint some once a year.

And that time of year had come again !

Last year's entry was heavily influenced by the look of Warhammer 40 2nd edition and its red predominance.

This year, I wanted to get back a little farther in time to the early days of Rogue trader. What better range of orks than the original Space ork raiders !

The Helpful Hobby Guide - How to store models ?

We hobbyists all have one thing in common, no matter what game or range we use, no matter if we're painters, collectors or gamers mostly. STORAGE. That's right storage. This hobby has an unavoidable problem : it takes space. The more models you collect, the more you paint, you will have to put them somewhere... every time you finish a model you can hear it, that is the sound of inevitability Mr Anderson...

So what I'm offering today is my take on the subject. It's probably not the best solution ever and there are many ways to solve the problem but this is the one I found and have used for 10 years now.

"I'm super excited, how do I do that ?" I hear you say. Alright, alright, here's my recipe. (Just bear in mind that all measures will be in metric system and currencies in euros, but I promise it won't matter much really since all of you wonderful people are super good with google).

The Journey of a necromancer...

Let's start with a fitting soundtrack

Times are hard for a poor old necromancer... 

The battle of the maisontaal abbey... what a waste... what a shame...

Heinrich Kemler has recently heard about the return of Nagash and the coming end of times. Maybe he can still find a little place in this world, maybe he can regain some of his past glory...

It's time to move on if you want to take your piece of the pie...

 

Stranger in a strange land - The give-away prize

Please let me suggest you some music to go with the post to come :

You're fine? Good, let's begin then.

You may remember, I organized a little give-away to celebrate my 100th follower?, Well you may also remember that Warlord Paul won it. The little challenge associated with this event was really simple, everyone who felt like participating only had to pick one model amongst those I submitted and give 2 flavours to go along.

And here is the result !

Orctober the second.

I have been waiting for this, I have been preparing for this. I knew it was to come . Unless you have read the title of this post, you may be wondering about what I am talking about. Well, the answer is easy : Orctober.

I have participated in last year's orctober and I have to admit it has been kind of a revelation for me. 

Erny "oldhammer superstar" from the most excellent Erny's place has launched that event that year and brings it back to us this year and it shall be one hell of an event !

Citadel devout cleric...and some muscled reinforcments

Alright people ! Some of you may remember that I am currently engaged in a 2nd edition Dungeon and Dragons campaign on the Oldhammer forum. This campaign is run by the most excellent Captain Crooks with fellow players Gaj/Weazil, Count von Bruno, Penddraig and Weismonsters.

The party has reached the 3rd chapter of its adventures and as the time goes by, the bound between players and the fun had is ever growing.

If you fancy having a good read with adventure, laughters, great cultural references and all, I strongly welcome you to give them a read. All the player's and GM's notes are hidden to make the story clear and nice to read but you can see how the work goes behind the scene (if you wish to) by clicking on the spoiler boxes. The 3 chapters so far are :

• 1st Chapter : The Quest for the Abbot's cheese
• 2nd Chapter : The chase to the Crystal city !
• 3rd Chapter : The temple of Pieter Onne-Dray

 

Back in March, I decided I wanted to have new models to represent our characters in the  campaign and while I clearly knew I was going to use the classic paladin from the Citadel adventurer starter set, I learnt that my friend Bruno found the devout cleric to be close to what he had in mind for his Spellsword Rambulge.

So here he is ! The devout cleric is now officially going to be a Spellword, or spellmace since Rambulge is more comfortable with a cudgel than with a blade.

Project Alchemy - A Wargaming Charity Project

 

Just after yesterday's light (both in quality and quantity) post, here's something I'd like you take part in.

Axiom over Magpie and Old lead along with other members of the  Oldhammer forums, Oldhammer Facebook group and the Collecting Citadel Miniatures Yahoo group has launched a marvellous initiative of charity project.

Considering the amount we spend in models, paint, games and all, spending even a fraction of it for others is the right thing to do.