Phat S'lann - Giant slaver toad from Katsina

The end of the year is clearly not the perfect time to get anything meaningful done hobby wise but in the wirlwind of emergencies before leaving on holiday, I did manage to finish ONE final model !

I am very pleased I could get this particular one done as it's one from Katsina Miniatures run by the most excellent Doti and Seán.

There are new dwarves in spaaaace !

Long time no see heh ? Well I didn't want to spoil you so kept those little fellows secret until now... 

Now I suppose every self respecting oldschool enthusiast has a fondness for short hairy guys. Models. Short hairy guys models I mean.

Well lucky us, Uscarl Miniatures have decided to give us the possibility of getting our hands on brilliant space dwarves without having to sell a lung as well as plenty of other cool things !

The best part of it all ? Probably the fact those were sculpted by an oldschool legend : Kev Adams !

Monster manual special : The Cockatrix !

OK, let me get this straight right away, this is going to be one of those stupid posts, just so you know. You don't have to say anything nice about it, I won't mind (much).

OK now James Holloway from Gonzo History has initiated a little contest to create new monsters like those you can see in the original monster manual.

You know, the kind of monsters when you have more imagination than money or models !

The first step being to find a cheap toy, I found exactly what I needed !

Warhammer underwolds Shadespire - Steelheart's Champions

Guess what I'm back with ? Well there's not much to guess with a big picture to open the post but yeah, I've painted Stormcast. Again.

After trying Shadespire at my friendly local hobby shop, I had a really good time and immediately saw the opportunity to play this one with my non wargaming friends (the weird kind who like to play games but without miniatures only).

The bow set coming with 8 models and the bands being set as they are, I also knew there was little risk for me to say... start an new army or that kind of non sense.

Trash Bash competition - The outpost

Brian Roe from Roebeast's magical house of sunshine has organised a new edition of the Trash Bash competition on the Facebook page.

I have to say trash bashing has never been my forte so I thought I'd use the occasion to take part and come up with something for once !

You can read the full rules on his blog but the main points were the following :

Contestants will construct and paint a vehicle or structure inspired by the terms ASSAULT/SIEGE. Concepts do not have to be military in nature and can embody any ideas that the entrant sees as viable.

The required bit is a medicine package. From pill bottles to blister packs, any bit that once held or dispensed some sort of medicine is valid

So I tried to look in my stash for suitable pieces I could repurpose and came up with those :

Life in 2 colours - a painting exercise

And now for something completely different and a little unexpected, here's a little painting exercise ! I've decided to take part in a little online painting challenge a couple of weeks ago. The rules were pretty simple : the only pots available had to be black, white, turquoise and orange !

Working with a limited palette should be OK, I'm used to it I thought... And then reality struck me in the face...

If model painters are ranked from "tournament minimum 3 colours" to "master level multi awarded god" well.... I guess I'm firmly stuck somewhere in the grey area in between.

Now what drives my painting ?

Orks, orks orks, get ready for some love !

Orctober is a good month, not only becaus eit is the month that saw me come to this world or because of the trees getting coloured in all sorts of splendid colours from green to yellow, orange and red but because thanks to Erny, it's become the international month of celebration of orcoid love.

Now I've taken part a few times in Orctober now and felt like giving it a go once again this year. I didn't have any big plan for it but a quick look at my desk told me I had some fodder (don't we all ?).

The lone shacks - Fogou Models

I've recently spent a lot of time on scenery from all sources and although it has made progression on models a bit more complicated it's starting to pay off. I have a convention planned in half a year and I would really want to be able to fill a fancy table so there's no other way to achieve this than to roll my sleeves up and get dirty !
I have many projects of scenery on the go but the first I've finished were those lone shacks from Fogou Models.

Factious Wastes - GenCorps field operatives

Following the luddite and neoprimitive I painted earlier, here are a couple of GenCorps field operatives for the Factious Wastes game by Oakbound games.

Ordo Biologis acolytes

There are some ideas you just don't see coming although they've been in your head for a while. Well these guys are of that kind !

I was very excited about the release of the objectives box along the new 8th edition of warhammer 40k and one model had especially grabbed my attention.

Factious Waste - Ludite and Neoprimitive priest of Consumar

Last BOYL, I was lucky enough to come back with an outrageous amount of models and amongst those, some very particular ones since they haven't been released yet !

Why haven't they ? Well because they're due for a Kickstarter coming very soon.

The Six Sinners - Grimdark Slaanesh cult

What a pleasure ! What a pleasure it is to get a project done. A couple of months ago, I was playing with a bunch of old Slaanesh champions from Jes Goodwin and I ended up with a bunch of converted cultists which would very well fit with the first guy I had done in December.

Of wrinkled bones - Story of a Skolleyton

Hi all !

A few days ago, I saw a very nice proposition on the Oldhammer FB page, the kind you can hardly say no to...

Stuart K. offered a handful of Olley miniatures to the people who'd claim them first at the only condition that those models were painted within a month.

Now I do like to be challenged and I love Olley models even more ! This is how I ended up bagging this magnificent skeleton !

Halo Troynib - Life of a mutant in the underhive

OK, so like always, when you have a deadline, you always believe you have plenty of time just to realise 2 days before you don't. ALWAYS.

This time, there was a modeling challenge on the Emporium FB page and though I really considered giving up, the idea to get my model judged by Andy Chambers was too exciting to falter.

The Paladin of Law - Champions of Law season 3 !

For those who've read about BOYL, you'll probably know that the wondeful Kev Adams is usaully around, available to customise the modle of your choice for a small fee donated to charity.
This year, I just had to get another model !

Morcar and and complete set of oldhammer exclusives !

Ok so after painting Curtis' sculpts for BOYL, I had to finish one last model to complete the set of Oldhammer events exclusive models. This one was sculpted for BOYL16 by Geoff Sims from Oakbound.

You might either have recognised him or just understood who he was from the title of this post but in case you have no clue, here is Morcar of Heroquest fame.

Ramshackle Oldhammer exclusives !

OK, so after painting Olivia a few days ago, I thought I'd finish all the models that I've got from previous BOYL events. Just as a reminder, BOYL (Bring Out Your Lead) is the Oldhammer event in Newark every summer to celebrate the joy of oldschool gaming.

One of the traditions now is to get a free model (sometimes 2) designed and produced specifically for the occasion because let's face it, nothing pleases us as getting new models !

Olivia Headhunter - Oldhammer special

Results over manners. That could be the definition of Olivia's state of mind and practical way of handling missions. Not that any of her employers have had anything to say about it so far.

Olivia is a special character, not only because she's one of the most fearsome female imperial guard models you've seen in a while but because she was the gift model at this year's BOYL.

Brattish authority - Leader and Juve

Painting is like riding a bike it seems, it comes back pretty rapidly even after a long pause. To get a bit of motivation back I had put all chances on my side though : Goodwin models, a sculptor I enjoy and whose work I'm familiar working with, Confrontation models, one of my first loves and limited edition ones on top of that. 

Well it worked out exactly like planned for once. Pleasure was here. Oh yeah , sweeet sweeeeeet pleasure, my hair caressing their... erm... Good fun, if you see what I mean.

The lightbearers - Pilgrims and colonists

Now this feels odd. It's been a month I hadn't painted nor blogged anything, one month out, vanished. It wasn't exactly wasted of course but painting is a bit of a metronome for me so it felt weird getting back. Weird and pretty hard actually.

I've had the idea of this little group for quite a while but had always postponed them for more flamboyant projects or model required for games and events. But here they are.

Shadow wars campaign at Warhammer World (with extra)

Last friday, just before attending the annual Oldhammer event BOYL, I had the pleasure to meet up with old friends in the halls of the Warhammer World for a Shadow wars campaign. 

A couple of us had prepared a campaign with a few special events and roles to make it even more enjoyable.

What a better way of starting 3 days of hobby orgy than a series of games with old friends !

Third BOYL for a bloody lucky french !!!

Back at home after a few weeks on holidays and plenty of nice stuff done and people met. Like a couple of time before, those holidays ended with the Oldhammer Grand reunion : Bring Out Your Lead aka BOYL.

It's funny how after a couple of previous editions, everything seemed so familiar this time, people, the place, it felt like home in a way.

Like for the previous years, I was determined to making the best of it again so tried to squeeze as many games in as I could.

Let's have a quick look at the games played :

Three flies and an eagle in the hive. Inquisimunda battle report

Holidays mean little painting or modelling but actual gaming so I guess it's an added bonus to seeing friends and getting some fresh air !

I had the privilege to get a game of Inquisimunda with Martin Grandbarbe and his band of Nurgle worshipers facing my Inquisitor retinue.

Let's play a game - Just what are space marines ?

Yup, that's what you think it is. A bunch of the new primaris models from the Dark Imperium. I'm not better or worse than any other and with painting in mind as always I wanted to test how a truescale marine would feel under a brush so I picked a few.

With little time before leaving on holidays,n I couldn't help but build them and see how they looked next to some of the rest of my models.

Completed Imperial Space Fleet - The Red force

If Space is the final frontier, then someone better guard it well ! After painting a tyrannid and Eldar fleet, I had to paint the last remaining faction for this jewel of old school gaming that Space Fleet is.

I won't bore you (again) with what Space Fleet is but if you're still wondering, hen you can check these posts to get a better understanding.

Back to basics - Hacking old lead like in the old days.

If you've ever read the little text at the top of his page, you might have guessed I'm a bit of a Jes Goodwin fan like many. Now the thing is, I started my journey into the hobby by buying chaos champions and warriors of his in 91 and although I did paint the first 2 as they were (with thick coats of enamels), I quickly tried to do my own conversions, inspired by the magnificent exemples in the books and magazines.

Those essential basics... - Making modelling sand

Don't know about you but there are ingredients in my hobby I rarely think about but which are actually essential to it.

I usually buy a huge pot of PVA glue every 4 years or so, 10s of drill bits every year, modelling knife blades too. Basing sand is one of those, but I only think about it every 5 years or so.

The Emperor of Mankind

The Emperor of Mankind... What more iconic character in the vast 40k universe ? None I reckon. To date though there still isn't an "official" model of him despite the many depictions of him throughout the last 3 decades. I was kindly offered this version in a trade and with the renewed interest in 40k due to the release of its 8th edition, I thought I'd finish a model that had waited half finished for too long.

Bullock Jet bike

BULLOCKS ! As you might have understood, this post will be 0 non sense...

So... Bullock Jet bikes... You know, those weird jet bikes with no handlebar and absolutely no consideration for health and safety, an utter ode to danger and bad assery :

Those bikes are partly why all beakies looked like they were trying to take a poo.

Well our good pal Mr Papafakis has decided to update the concept with a scratch built version of his own to match this most excellent illustration by Pete Knifton (and brilliantly coloured by Brian Roe) :

Check out Brian's excellent post about Pete Knifton

Studio/9/art give away !

Blogging about models I didn't paint myself is kinda of lame I know but this one was one I won during one of Studio/9/art's give aways !

The model is a converted Goblin King from the Hobbit set with tyrannid pieces and it's been skillfully painted by Stéphane Guèbe.

Joff Zuckerman - RogueTrader

Rogue traders, the last front... oh wait, I'm getting things mixed up sorry. Rogue traders yes, what more iconic character in the 40k universe than those that gave their title to the very first edition ?

There are a few which have had their name written in the stars of g33k fame but this one is probably my favourite.

The Bratts - Modern nobility of the upper hive

Bratts are a real funny bit of the Necromunda lore from ages ago. I won't bore you again with all the stories about them so if you fill like you could need directions about who they are, I suggest to read a sum up post I wrote that compiles most of what I know about them.

Shadow wars Scenery : Part 2

Quick one today, just wanted to show some close shots of the scenery I painted for my games of Shadow wars and other skirmish games.

The main part was painting the pillars, walkways and platforms as well as all the little details that fit underneath.

Pitch invasion and Oldhammery !

From my reports about Inquisitor Greyfax and the Shadow Legion, you might have understood I attened a gaming convention last Week end.

Well all of this started with a brilliant game of warhammer 3rd edition. The game was organised and masterfully GMed by Nico and I really invite you to go read his report of the game as well as the previous preparation posts. You'll have a look in a true genius' mind.

Shadows over the outpost

Following the adventures of Inquisitor Greyfax last Saturday, I got to play a few games of Shadow wars with my Shadow Legion.

The Journey of Inquisitor Greyfax...

Just had a fantastic WE in Metz and I've managed to not only meet a few friends but also get a few games under the belt ! 

I'm going to review those in a series of posts (about 3 I reckon) so here's the first : The Journey of Inquisitor Greyfax...

Shadow wars tokens

OK, quick one for today. I've recently played a mordheim campaign and i'm about to play a Shadow Wars one and an Inquisimunda one. There's one thing I've learnt so far : I don't like placing my models flat on the table.

Why is that ? Paint chips, bent parts, you name them, that's the sort of stuff I don't tolerate anymore given how much time I spend on my models.

Is there a solution for this ? Yes there is. Tokens are one of them.

Shadow Wars Scenery

Still trying to make the best of the time I have before this WE, here is part of the Show Wars scenery I managed to get done this past week !

I've bought the Shadow wars : Armageddon box at its release (lucky me) and I have to say I'm more than chuffed with it.

Scatter terrain - Munitorum armoured containers

An unsual for me this time : terrain. Or to be more precise, terrain of the scatter kind. 

See I have a gaming WE in a couple of WE and I have offered to bring terrain to make a table for some 40k skirmish action. Problem is, I'm quite poor in stuff to populate my tables still.

That's why I decided to finally get this kit done.

They live... - Scavengers and zombies

Playing all those undead lately must have got to my head... I've never found zombies, ghouls and most undead as appealing as now...

Like some sort of sign from destiny, I was offered the chance to paint a few of the scavengers by Macrocosm. Those just fit perfectly with the kind of characters I want to be able to put on the table just to put a bit of pressure on players.

The Shadow legion

It sometimes takes a good self-kicking in the rear to get some things done...

This has been precisely the case with this project. I got the genesteealer hybrids from the Overkill box about a year ago, build a band of genetically engineered warriors in September 2016 and only just managed to finish painting them after letting them aside half done for months.

The recent release of Shadow wars : Armageddon has proven to be the sparkle that could ignite my interest and after a slow come back I decided to set my standards lower to get them done rapidly.

Shadows under Bogenhaced - Mordheim campaign

Last week end, I had the chance to be invited to play a mordheim campaign with the very same folks as last year.

I was very eager to see them again and play a new campaign with my freshly painted undead band.

Death acolyte

So after getting nothing done on the hobby front for more than 10 days due to holidays, visits at the zoo with the kids, going to the sea, seeing friends, having romantic week ends and things like that, it was high time for me to get back on more serious and important stuff.

Eldar Space Fleet

After showing you a bit of my work in progress the other day, I've finally decided to take the time to finish my Eldar fleet for the simple reason I want to move on to the Imperial one and many other projects !

Corum and Jhary - The eternal champion and companion

The eternal champion, if there ever was universes that inspired the warhammer setting, Michael Moorcock's epic saga has got to stand on top of the list !

Now some time ago, Colin suggested that we could have a game at BOYL including different incarnations of the eternal champion. That idea did hit bull's eye in our minds and like the others I saw the perfect opportunity to tick a few boxes from my ever growing "to do" list.

A little while ago, I was even mentioning something about Corum and the other champions...

Silos for scenery - Thank you Morikun !

Some time ago, I entered an online challenge on Morikun's blog like I had done before.
I was quite lucky to get a couple of rewards for my entry and amongst them a very nice lasercut mdf kit from Systema gaming.