Monday 31 August 2015

Connie and Blyde - Adventurers on the run


After getting Kaleb and the chaos androids done, I've kept on ending those half finished paintjobs that have been giving me weird looks for some time...
The 2 adventurers above were first meant to join the crew of Lucas Stern my sensei hero but for some reason they didn't make it into the final list.



They could still be added to the group as you  can notice their colours are the same. I actually left them aside only after I had painted the base colours and skin which makes them really close style wise. The models didn't fit in though for some reason.



Those 2 adventurers are of course some of Colonel Schaeffer last chancers :

Still available HERE
They are some of the very good (imo) releases of the early 2000's and god knows there were not many good ones (still imo) and I find every one of them (but Shaeffer) has its own charm and appeal and could very well be the main character in a good scenario (that makes them really good for Rogue trader games to me). For some reason I grabbed the opportunity to get the amazon and the nerd but the native american, penal trroper and Cossack would all be welcomed in my collection really.



Connie Tyler was born on the 3rd moon of Gynos IV, a planet on which the imperial authority has only been affirmed recently like the Logan System. The Gynos system has been known to host a population whose system is inherently based on equality between genders, ethnies and belief. Lord Verax who has been entitled to "imperialise" the Gynos system has failed to apprehend this very particular mindset. Instead of using it as an advantage thanks to the fact people were mostly good willed and very little keen on violence, he enforced the imperial credo and administrative system with the bluntest of manners. A real pity he did so and a real pity he didn't understand earlier that the Gynos system owed its peaceful position in the galaxy more to the value of its fighters than to the lack of interest of aliens around...
Many of Gynos' finest have been sent to imperial prisons for "reconditioning", their fighting prowess too valuable for a mere execution and their crime far too horrible to deserve death. Connie is one of the girls that were taken. Her adaptability to any situation and her ability to make any weapon or gear found hers is equal to none...





Douglas Blyde (aka, Doogie) has been a very nice man for most his life. His worst sin until he got sent to imperial prison was lying to his mother about who had broken that jar of astromilk. That and being born in an ethny that worshiped the emperor differently, just slightly differently... just slightly differently enough to make Inquisitor Martillo call for a mass deportation and ethnic cleansing on a whole system...
Doogie had been a very good student during all his young years and he came out with an Engineer diploma with no effort, his passion for undesrtanding how things work and how to fix them had always fueled his mind. It didn't take him long to understand how things ran in the prison and how to "fix" this situation..


Connie and Blyde have found a common cause. They promptly escaped from the maximum security stockade to the Underhive  undergrounds. Today, still wanted by the imperium,  they survive as soldiers of fortune. The sabotage and rebellions ignited here and there are often just decoys or ways to say "we live" to the imperium. What some fools with power can rob, some women and men with a brave heart can just take back

So here we are, as you can see, these 2 are not the finest of paintjobs as you can expect of a pair of models painted over a year and a half. If I were to paint them now I'd choose another set of colours as those were good to blend in the Sensei group but less fitting for stand alones like them bu still it works for me and I like to have a couple of modesl tha tare a little less "eye-catching".

While I'm at it I wanted to show you my current painting table. Nothing really sexy really but I've found a way to have a painting range and a photography range both at once. I'll just need to print a fresh backdrop and find something more suitable that this silly cardbox but I like the setting as is, just need to find some proper decoration now.



Oh and I got interviewed by the very kind and excellent Dr Half on his blog (in french but you can translate it). It feels a little weird being interviewed and reading someone else's view on your own hobby but it's fun and it is an honour condidering the people interviewd before me ^^'. 
Merci à toi Dr Half !


18 comments:

  1. Replies
    1. Every model deserves to get painted but let's say some can wait ! Those 2 couldn't any longer !

      Cheers.

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  2. They look great dude! I agree that there are some lovely sculpts from that era that fit the Oldhammer vibe beautifully - you've picked two excellent examples ��

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    1. I think it's always good to stay fair and admit that some new stuff or even some 'not so old but not new either' stuff are really good and perfectly adapted for great scenario driven games. Those are some of such I think. I really want to play some kind of "fugitive" remake with those 2.
      Thanks !

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  3. The Last Chancers are great miniatures conveying some kind of diversity the far future now lacks. The interview was a great pleasure, as is looking at your models or reading your posts about old lead. Keep it going !

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    1. Exactly, it seems only henchmen have character now with the heroes being too over the top and regular troops being copy/pastes.

      Thanks again !

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  4. Now that IS a set up I can aspire to! I love they way you have organised your photography area. Though I have a new space, its not as luxurious as yours, though it does get brilliant light being based in a conservatory. It was great to see the Last Chancers again, and I remember them being released along with Gav Thrope's novels - which were great reads I recall.

    I am off to read your interview now. Can I have an autograph? (;

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    Replies
    1. You can but do not expect for it to get any value over time ! ;)

      It is nice to have a permanent set up though I clearly need to improve a couple of things about it first. I wish I had more "real" light but I'm afraid daylight bulbs are all I'll have apart from the window in my back !
      I never got to reading any of the novels but when they were releases I clearly liked that A-team fro 40k vibe of them.

      Thanks a lot !

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    2. yes, light is vital for me to paint well. For years I just used a standard bulb in a standard lamp, but have since found that daylight is the best form to work from. Hence why I always used to paint Saturday and Sunday morning during term time. Now I am in the conservatory the light is so good, that even on a dull day I needn't really use my lamp!

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    3. Day light is clearly superior imo, you just can't beat the colour rendition and it's the least tiring for the eyes. Lacking "real" daylight the switch to daylight bulbs was a great help to get better results and a more coherent look. Maybe one day i'll afford a place with true genuine natural daylight... ^^'

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    4. I tried painting outside once, when light was a factor for me. It was rather odd to be honest, and the wind was a bot of a pain, blowing over my tissue paper, but I got used to it. Paint doesn't have dry fast on a hot day outside though, so palettes didn't last long!

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    5. Aha, I've grown accustomed to the comfort of my painting table really, if I don't have all my tools and my own light and all I feel lost. During this summer's heat my wet palette wouldn't stay wet for long, it was turning into a crips in a couple of hours !

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  5. Love the last chancers, and when I checked recently they were still available... $35 USD is a great bargain in my opinion, and like you said, each of them can be used in various scenarios.

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    Replies
    1. Yep, I have to say that some of those old references have a very good quality/value, still available and quite affordable so thanks to GW for keeping those alive !

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  6. The Last Chancers is a fantastic set literally designed for use in the sorts of games that you and I favour JB. Its well worth picking up the whole lot I reckon.

    The line between trope and cliché is indistinct, but when I am playing narrative toy soldier games I want the type of character represented by the model to be obvious from a distance, so I tend to veer towards over the top cliche. The Last Chancers embrace that. Definitely one of my favourite GW releases ever. I really must get around to painting mine.

    Nice work on the figures too!

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    Replies
    1. I fully agree, that's why the ones I don't like are Schaeffer himself (random IG captain), the perfectly vanilla sniper or the 'one amongst many' commissar... (even rocket girl is a bit meh for me).
      I'll try and ceize opportunities to complete the collection with some of those though.

      Cheers !

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  7. I'm glad to see you've gotten some well deserved recognition. I wish I could paint like you. Simply amazing stuff.
    Your fan fiction is great, I really think you should do short stories for each member of your sensei warband is how they joined etc. and one from their combined point of view during battle reports. Many out there including myself would love to read them. You have a great grip on the balance between humour and misery in the like of an imperial citizen.
    Great blog!

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    Replies
    1. Well thanks a lot ! It means a lot to me because though I really do enjoy writing those backstories, I sometimes fear that english language not being my mother tongue, I might be unclear or awkward especially when trying to balance humour and misery as you say. Battle reports usually take an outrageous amount of time but telling them in a more personnal tone by identifying with some of the characters is definitely something I'd like to do. It's true the Sensei Warband is one of the very few for which I haven't written anything so far...
      I'll try and fix that when I'll have a bit of scenery to join good photos o what I hope to be a good story.

      As for painting, I've learnt in the last 3 years to take better shortcuts and though it's far from being technically excellent, I'm heading towards a good balance between pleasure and result now.
      Thanks again.

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