Nofore Pleh - Slaanesh cultist in the grim darkness of a far future

So this year, the WIPsters have come up with the fabulous idea of doing a secret Santa. Every does that I know but since the group is relatively small, there was a good chance we'd get a decent present under the Christmas tree at least !

A family like any other - First generation hybrids

Despite the pause for other subjects, the cult has been gathering forces... This time, I wanted to have something a little stranger and a bit weirder (yes, stranger and weirder than alien hybrids I know). Something a bit more sinister that would use the roots of genestealer covens.

The outsider - Zombie for Deadcember !

Well, with the end of the year in sight, winter spreading its wings all over the place (at least in the northern hemisphere), it seems apt to celebrate the dead, or even better, their living kind.

That must have been the thinking behind this all (or probably something better) when our esteemed Rab came up with his Deadcember idea following the success of orctober.

Illustration by Zhu

Flasher dwarf... or squat...

TADAM !

Ok, sorry for the lame introduction, and by introduction I don't mean... erm... nevermind. So, here's fun one. I've been lucky enough to get a flasher dwarf and I do have to say that although it would have never occured to me to look for it, I didn't say no when I got the chance to paint one.

Gras doux - A fresh new old dwarf

After yesterday's post about the first sculpt of 2 from my friends, I've decided to finish another sculpt that was handed to me by his creator Mandrin (check out his Painting videos in french).

You might remember we met some time ago during our french Oldhammer event in Lyon.

the Interplanetary Merchant - when you're surrounded by talent

Every now and then, despite the fact you think you know them well, your friends can amaze you. I suppose that's part of why they're your friends in the first place but see, it still so very nice to be lifted up by such people.

You might already be aware of Theottovonbismark's Bizaza Guards and many of his other projects, well lately I had the chance to get my hands on Jon/Axiom's very first full sculpt.

I invite you to have a look at his Blogpost for the full story behind it HERE. 

The Scavvy King returns from the underhive

It's been a while since I last dwelled in the depths of the underhives of Necromunda. Luckily, I've been given 3 great opportunities to get back to it.

The first one is a little challenge on the Palatine Hive Facebook page, a page dedicated to that wonderful setting that confrontation is.

The second one is the very near release of Rogue Stars, a sci-fi skirmish game by Osprey which just happens to have several common points with Confrontation and which I'm really eager to play with. Oh, the fact there's a competition for the french version of Rogue stars might have motivated me as well...

The third reason is that I've had the luck to put my hands on a rather rare model and few things motivate me as much as putting my brushes on such minis !

Let's have a look at all the guys :

My entry for the Temple of Morikun Challenge !

"Why on earth are you showing us an empty base JB ? Are you that lazy you're not even painting your models now ?"

Pleaaaase, let me explain a bit.

You might remember in August 2015 I made a space ashigaru for an online competition to celebrate Morikun's 300000 viewer. Well this year, he's decided to celebrate his 600000th viewer (he isn't losing time as you can see) and he's therefore organised a new competition.

Since he's spent quite a lot of time and energy preparing something huge, I thought it was only natural to submit something this year, especially since I managed to grab something last time.

40kthulhu Chapter 3: At the stars of madness...

Here's the third chapter of the 40kthulhu project after Axiom has written the 1st chapter and Gretchin the second one.

This project is recorded on the ammobunker forums and is an opportunity to tie the Lovecraftian myth with depths and mysteries of the grim darkness of a far future...

+ + + + + +TRANSMITTED: Providence

+ + + + + +RECEIVED: Ganymede

+ + + + + +DESTINATION: Terra

+ + + + + +DATE: 3123456.M41

+ + + + + +TELEPATHIC DUCT: Astr. Delphinus

+ + + + + +REF: Inq/90840958940324323432/LA

+ + + + + +AUTHOR: Inq. Gimenez

+ + + + + +SUBJECT: Investigations on Providence (part 1)

+ + + + + +THOUGHT: "Hallowed be His name"

I fear sanity and hope are a luxury I no longer can afford now. In trying times, faith and duty shall be what drives my action and they compel me to record my investigations and make sure they reach the right hands...

Rescued by a plastic monopose monstrosity AKA the Heroquest Chaos Sorceror

Over the Scale Creep, we've had a little challenge implying to paint every single model from the Heroquest box. To do that we've had the help of guest stars.

Now it's been a couple of weeks since I last produced anything, mainly because of busy week ends, Marvel series in Netflix and lazyness.
When painting mojo is going scarce, I usually pick a stand alone model to get in the swing of things and this time it was this lovely bloke.

Genestealer Ork Hybrids for Orctober !

Long time no see huh ? Well I haven't totally been slacking off ! For a little time now, I've been working on some excellent and very original models, something of a niche inside a niche if you want.

With the genestealer hybrids becoming mainstream again thanks to the release of the amazing new stuff lately, my contradictory self had to play a bit...

Luckily enough for me, Uscarl Miniatures, private commissioners and no other than Citadel helped me get Orctober right.

Weathering heights - How to clean your palette with mud

Like often, I've engaged myself in a stupidly vast amount of projects at once... The good thing is that I'll be able to show you plenty of cool stuff at some point and that things get done. The bad thing being it takes some guts every now and then to get started given the amount on the table. But hey, this is not me whining or anything, just explaining why I needed a little break.

One of my favourite ways of avoiding hobby burn outs is to actually paint. I mean paint something I don't care much about and that can potentially provide rapid and high return on investment.

So here we are.

French Oldhammer Day at the Octogone !

Just like last year, the Octogone convention in Lyon this year was the occasion for a few of us to gather and have a healthy dose of vintage fun !

To celebrate the event like BOYL last summer. our excellent friends Geoff from Oakbound and Curtis from Ramshackle had had the delicacy of sending us a load of special event models ! I don't know what your definition of classy is but this one definitely stands in my top 3.

An intriguing monk carrying an old hammer and no other than Morcar from HQ fame !

But let's get on with the main reason we all gathered : GAMES.

Beware, there's quite a large number of pics to follow so grab a bag of crisps and a good beverage and fasten your seatbelt !

The Mutant Brotherhood

Alright, here's the last pair of mutants I've painted (for now) for my group. They're probably my favourite models of this group so far. The first one being a mutant dwarf armed with a powered pickaxe and the other one being some sort of leader or engineer.

Pack Mootant - Mule of the Wastelands

OK, I kow I've been posting quite a lot lately but today's a bit peculiar. It's been 2 days I'm stuck at home with a bloody headache and nausea. Bless paracetamol and a stupid stubbornness that won't allow me to end a day without at least one small achievement. I've decided to paint what felt like an easy model.

25 years of painting (or so) - Battlemasters Ogre

There's a lot of stupid things that come in this hobby of ours. There is. But amongst all of them, there are ideas that made me want to paint an old plastic Battlemasters Ogre rather than one of the many unpainted Jes Goodwin ones I own...

Oh but wait, there must be some kind of explanation, some kind of logic behind all this surely ?

Sort of, yes.

To understand why, we'll have to go back in time a little. I started this hobby back in 1990 by reading (meaning looking at the pictures in) WD and other GW publications (in english, a language I didn't know a word of at the time).

At the time I was painting Revell kits like these :

Of course these kits were way beyond my technical skills (I was 9) but coming from the Lego School of life, I just loved it. I then  started to get my hands on some Citadel models so I got my paints out.

My first models were a blister of 3 tzeentch champions and the first two models I started on were those 2 guys (How I regret I stripped them before taking a picture...) :

But I could feel there was more than what my skills allowed me so I left them aside and when the Battlemasters box was released in 1992, my brother and I were like maniacs at the idea of having 100 models in a box. I decided to start working on the ogre because he was the biggest and most badass model I had ever had in hand.

He incidently was the first model I ever finished !

Here's a little comparison since I'm lucky to still have the guy (with the 25 years of dust that he's gained).

Painting wise, I tried to echo as much as I could bear the original PJ so blue shirt, green on the trousers, red belly plate with freehand, black shoes and loads of blood on the mace ! ^^

See below how I used to just draw lines of darker colours with undiluted paint in the recesses to suggest shades ! See the fabulous basing with a Battlemasters base sawn to roughly the size I wanted and with goblin green sand (and railway flock after that). 

Only enamels right here, no dilution.

Just to be perfectly honest with you people, I did alter him a tad because some parts were just too shitty.

And just for fun here's a little comparison shot along his buddy Hrothyogg (painted a while ago).

As of now I'm feeling quite good with my brushes, they're just the right fun I need, let's hope it stays this way for a while !

Female magus and ranger - Genestealer hybrids

Hi all, here's another couple that goes with the 2 I did last time ! Here's something a little different, a female magus and a ranger !

By now all of you cult lovers should have seen pics of the new releases by GW and I believe we're all excited as hell to get our greasy little hands on the boxes. I have to say I had tears in the eyes at some of the nods like the webber and a few other items.
They're pretty excellent and the proof GW has been very cautious about what people desire for a little while now. I'm eager to add some of the new cultists to the mix honestly !

Space Fleet - Full tyrannid force

AAAhhhh, the sense of achievement when you finally finish an army ! It's been a very long time since I last tasted that sweet taste. And It's probably the first time in my life I've managed to make it happen in a day !

You might recognise those from an earlier post where I was shamelessly showing off bare lead and exposing plans for the future... Well Thantsants' report about his Space Fleet games at BOYL were enough to ignite a fire in my heart.

Space fleet is a very dear subject to me as I've already said HERE and HERE and for some reason I've decided to start with my Tyrannid fleet.

Trooper and Magus - Genestealer hybrids

Following my last post about the limited edition hybrids, here's a couple of new models from a bigger set. If you are wondering about what these sculpts are, well, they're brand new and sculpted by Bob "Patriarch" Olley. I cannot tell you all about it for now but believe me there are some very very nice models in this project, definitely must haves for any old school enthusiast and Hybrid lover.

Undead astronauts

OK, I have to say last Saturday was a VERY exceptionnal day for me. I took full advantages of a shitty weather and a sore feet from too much sport the day before and I engaged myself in a painting marathon. This marathon was made more than enjoyable by skyping with Paul and Colin, and I have to say being able to talk non-sense (even though I'm the silent one due to language) and seeing other people lick their brushes was a real pleasure and help as we managed to sit for 6 hours straight (almost).

This means I managed to finish 10 models in a day. The first 5 being the INTERNAL OGRANS BROFIST from last time.

Now here's something a little different, it's a little more in line with my zombies from earlier.

Internal Organs Brofist - Death metal band of the future

For some reason, Heavy Metal and painting are completely linked in my head. Well, actually Heavy Metal, miniatures and comic books are sort of a Holy trinity for me. I've already talked about my passion for comic books from the occidental side and the oriental side before so let me develop the musical side a bit.

The rise of the Cult - Genestealer hybrids

This project here has been growing for long time really. It's taken quite a while to gather a good load of models and it's taken another good while to get started on them.
I wouldn't have got round to them actually if it wasn't for an offer I simply couldn't refuse/resist. You'll know a bit more about it but let's get back to our main topic here.
Go back a couple of years back and I got lucky enough to take part in a private commission project that saw the release of a few Genestealer hybrids that filled a few gaps in the blank space GW had forgotten in the old days. Those were mostly sculpted by no other than Bob Olley. I think about 50 sets were made at the time so if you're looking for those... well... I advise you to just fall back to the good old ones or the new excellent ones  released in Overkill.

Ork weirdboy and handlers

I suppose it's been the same for many of us but this beginning of a new school year has been an utter catastrophe for my painting time for me. Working on a big project also requires some inertia and motivation so being force to stall midway is not exactly the most helpful way to do things.

Like every time I need to get back to something, I do something else first, just to restart the engines and warm up a bit.

This time, the model almost chose itself. Last time I had the pleasure to visit my pal Goulven, the poor guy didn't bear to see me winning (in a scenario where noone has never won while playing the orks) and he forced me to go back home with this model to punish me :

Models through another Prism(a)...

My favourite "creation" (I mean creation as in import photo / add filter)

Sometimes, spare time is used for great achievements and sometimes it's not so much. Sometimes it's even worse and it's spent playing with a smartphone and this can lead to the purpose of this post.

Following Blue's exemple, I played a bit with Prisma, a free app for your smartphones (unless you have a bloody Googlephone) that let's you tweak pictures in a simple and very effective way.

The doctor is in ! - Mad doctor for 40k

OK, I've been working on a project lately which has proven to take more time and energy than anticipated so I've decided to treat myself with a candy model just for fun.

See, I often read about hobby burn outs but it seems to me that generally doesn't come from a lack of pleasure more than anything. Just to break the monotony of working on many models at once, getting a stand alone out just for fun makes you complete something which is the kind of rewarding feeling that fuels me at least.

So while you'll have to wait a bit for this bigger project, here's what I decided to do.

Dragon Rampant and the future of the champions of Law

Hey all !

Once again, the champions of Law are today's topic ! After having used them for Mordheim and Frostgrave, I've decided to go a little bigger and try Dragon Rampant !

Let's face it, this force started almost like a joke with a single model but I've grown so fond of them and have kept adding it new models so I need a plan now !

Upgrading the force from a single model to a skirmish force then to a full grown army seems an achievement in itself so I'd like to put borders to this to make this an enjoyable process till the end rather than stopping because I'm bored.

So here's what I've planned, let's have a look at what we already have !

Prastok Imperial City - New scenery for 40k

Bit of an unusual post for me today since not only have I painted 14 pieces in a WE but I've painted scenery !

You've heard me whine about my total lack of any good scenery for quite a while for the most patient of you so I thought I had to use the opportunity to have the house for me alone to paint some buildings and ruins.

A little time ago (2 years at least), I realised I had plenty of bits from now old GW kits and thought it was high time to use them to make... SCENERY !

Hess Poison Breath - take 2

Life's an eternal circle of doing the same things isn't it ? Well my painting life surely revolves a bit and I've recently had to come back to an old acquaintance after our first encounter...

The reason behind all this is that I've inflicted myself an embargo on miniatures and any modelling supply requiring paint. This embargo has started in May and though I've stupidly (and unwillingly) broken it by getting a set of scenery, it has changed quite a few things in the way I get new models. Apart from trades (my favourite way of dealing) and gifts (thanks to the generosity of many) my only resort is to pay in paint. 

I therefore got a Nurgle champion I was looking for against a paintjob. The model happened to be a Jes Goodwin chaos sorceror so I was really pleased !

We can do it anywhere - Holiday chaos conversions

I believe you've already noticed that summer was upon us and that with comes Holidays and jours of sunbathing, hiking and visits all around...

All of this is nice and good but does that mean that the vast flows of creativity that inhabit us just just because we're abroad or too close to a beach ? Of course not.

There are always opportunities with kids napping or sleeping at night, little hobby havens for those who just can't really take a break from their little toys...

Since reading cheap literature and taking naps myself is not for me, I've recently opted for a good way (for me) to use free time in holidays (I might reconsider things when I'm not single).

GORECHOSEN : Willy Gutshagger

Long time no see huh ? Well I've been in holidays for a while now and this is still a model I painted before leaving but since I'm getting access to a computer, I thought I could post a little something !

This guy is part of an ongoing challenge with my fellow WIPsters on Scale Creep and I was meant to select an oldschool chaos model to make myself a character to play in the upcoming game GORECHOSEN by GW.

The idea of playing with small lumps of lead against titans of plastic was just enough to motivate me even if the word CHAOS is generally sufficient for me.

Warpriest of Law - Champions of Law season 2

A bit more champions of law today but this one has a little something special !

I've been in contact with Gretchin from Greenstuff Gretchin recently and we've been sharing common interests and ideas for future projects. You might remember she and Axiom did a joint project about an astropath and she's proposed me to convert a champion of Law !

Given how talented she is, I was obviously thrilled !

ZOMBIES ! - I survived the Apoculyps...

Alright, I've just realised the life of a necromancer might actually be VERY tiring. 

How do I know that ? Well you might have seen my brother James and I engaged in a stupid penis measurement challenge earlier.

In short, we were to each paint 8 sci-fi undead from Mantic and the winner would be whoever could come up first with his models done.

Now I fully know it was a foolish move from the start to challenge a man who is able to combine quality and quantity with ease but after all, you only get better by challenging the best !

Aaaand that's how I WON !
Just take a look at the progress report on the Scale Creep and drink the tears of sorrow of those who failed, I've just taken a bath in them so they should still be warm..

If you're more into how it all happened, here's the story :

The Dragon Master ! - Champions of Law season 2

WOOOOOOHOOO ! I've actually painted a dragon ! 

Of course there's nothing to be particularly proud of since almost everyone has but I have to say I'm pretty chuffed with having this box ticked ! 

I got this model when I went to knavecon in May to play some Frostgrave with my knights of Law along with my WIPster friends. I got the model from Captain "dragonmaster" Crooks and I have to say I was very eager to work on it even if a little intimidated...

HE IS THE LAW ! - Champions of Law Season 2

As always, the champions of Law are my happy modelling place and though I'm not working as quickly on this 2nd seasonas with the previous one, I have many ideas of things that motivate me.

Amongst many ideas suggested to me, there was one whih always was a bit obvious : the link with Judge Dredd.

Just what other character apart from Dredd can you think of as an embodiment of Law it self ?

Dark Vengeance - Chaos Space Marine Chosen

Ok, bit of change with those ! As always I'm getting to my first and true love : Chaos...

I hadn't really planned to paint those until a few weeks ago when a challenge was issued on a FB modelling page. The aim of this challenge was to make a point between white primers and black primers. 

Given that the person who initiated the challenge is a firm believer in black undercoats, he made the challenge about painting black marines (raven guard, deathwatch, black templars and so on...). As you can imagine, this choice wasn't influenced by any kind of bad will or any bias...

Well given that I am the proud owner of a black renegade force, I thought I could join and get some models painted !

Rats in spaaaace - Jes Goodwin my hero

Wow, that's quite an achievement here. A relief actually. Space skaven are long term residents at the top of my "to do " list but for some reason I've never quite managed to take the time to fully go into it. The main reason might be I wanted to paint them all at once so that sort of process tends to make things a bit more impressive to get on with.

Anyway I'm glad I've managed to pull some fingers out of some orifices and finish no less than 12 models at once (2 of the little rats above come from my rogue quest project.

But why space skaven ?

The answer lies in one name : Jes Goodwin.

This Rainbow Warrior kills fascists

I suppose I don't have to tell any of you what happened in Orlando recently so I've just felt the urge to let my brushes drain the frustration away. Just yesterday again, a cop's family has been shot down so I could just as well have picked an arbite or a Judge from Judge Dredd I guess.

This was a rainbow warrior I chose to paint though.