Journeyman Painting Log # 24

You can never have enough Shredders. 

Today was my most productive day of painting probably ever, but certainly since I made my triumphant return to wargaming.  While finishing the Angelius yesterday I got a start on a trio of Shredders.  That's really a bit generous since my "start" consisted of a single layer of my flesh base, which was already present on the models when I got them from EV.  My plan for today was to finish off the Shredders and get a similar start on the remaining Swordsmen, though I hoped to proceed further with the Swordsmen than the Shredders.  I was confident that I'd finish off the Shredders since they're so small and relatively simple sculpts, but the Swordsmen were less certain.

Journeyman Painting Log # 23

Engage place to put picture mode.

Actual post to follow.

Update: Painting has outstripped blogging.  Bad news is that this is now an actual post.  Good news is that there'll be another up soon(ish).

Journeyman Painting Log # 22

Spell or sword?  Why not both? 

Finished up the Blackfrost Shard yesterday.  Turns out they had as little left to do as I thought.  The most annoying part was the scabbards, which I had neglected during prior session and thus needed to be worked up from scratch.  Of course "annoying" is relative here as the scabbards only needed 4-5 layers, mostly with colors that I was working with anyway.  This is all a roundabout way of saying the BFS finished up both easy and quick.  This is a boon at any time, but especially with the Nova Open getting closer by the hour.

Journeyman Painting Log # 21

Nearing the finish line. 

This is an odd post to write.  The pictures are from yesterday and I'm writing just before I sit down to paint today so the content won't be current (for me) for too long.  Your experience will be unaffected though.  The Blackfrost Shard nears completion, which is good since I still have plenty to paint for the Nova Open and not much time left to get it done.  I finished off the skin and creamy bits, plus sort of finished the orange bits.  All that remains now is detail: hair, rivets, glowing runes, leaves, scabbards, little metal bits, anything else I find.  Really not much...

Tournament Mode: Soft to the Core

A different kind of softcore. 

This will be lackluster when compared with my other tournament recaps.  Hardcore timing does not encourage in-game photography.

Yesterday there was a Softcore event at my FLGS.  Perhaps you've seen murmurings about it on this very blog?  There was a good turn out, 14 in all I think, with a decent spread of factions.  There was uncertainty as to the turn out, in terms of both numbers and geography.  There was only one non-regular contender. of whom I'll speak in a bit, with the rest being part of the cast you'd likely see on any given Thursday at Game Parlor.  While I always like playing against different people, in a way it was nice to face familiar opponents as it removed one variable from the equation while testing a new(ish) list and format.  The previous post is about the list I ran and my rationale behind it, so if you've stumbled across this post and want some context just hop back one.  This post will wait until you get back, it's patient.

'Twas the Night Before Softcore

Not quite 100%. 

Before I start, an unrelated bit of head-scratching.  If you dare, turn off safe search on Google.  Search for "hardcore" images, then repeat for "softcore."  You might be surprised by which search turns up more porn.

Further note before beginning: I try to keep the jargon to a minimum and explain things so that just about anyone, provided a modicum of wargaming knowledge, can figure out what I'm babbling on about.  This time, not so much.  This is as much an exercise for me as it is a post for you, so if you don't know much about Legion, Hardcore, or Warmahordes you'll either want to pick a different post (there are many to choose from, all high quality) or bring yourself up to speed.  Battle College is a handy resource that should do the trick.

Journeyman Painting Log # 20

The best I can say is she's finished. 

Depression and elation in today's post.  I will begin, as you might expect, with the bad.  But first, the good part of the bad: Annyssa is finished.  What's the bad?  Look at the picture and you'll find out.  I was really looking forward to painting this model, which may well be the first cavalry model I've ever taken to completion, but as I progressed through it I became more disgruntled with each brush stroke.  Nothing quite turned out like I wanted it to, with (perhaps) the small exception of the hooves.  The face in particular caused much grief as it went from bad to worse before finally settling on a pretty good impression of Aughra from the Dark Crystal.  I'm no psychic so I can't know what the sculptor was shooting for, but I feel confident saying that they probably drew inspiration from a different source.  To close this paragraph in the only way possible I present an apology to whoever sculpted this model: I'm deeply sorry for what I've done to your work which deserved better, despite the ginormous gap between Annyssa's butt and the saddle.  I'll let the game developers take credit for the game entity having no melee weapon when the model has a big sword strapped across her back.

Journeyman Painting Log # 19

Got some bolts that need throwing?  Call this guy. 

Today I turned away from the scattershot, "economical" approach I employed during my last painting session and went back to what's been working for me lately: finishing off one project without worrying about others.  You can see the results to the right, but if your image loader is broken or you're otherwise unable to see the pretty picture I can instead tell you that it's a Nephilim Bolt Thrower.  While I had no problem applying my scheme to the model, the results were (as usual) a bit surprising.  Looking through the PP gallery, the Nephilim as a whole lack the extensive armored plates that feature on the other beasts.  Considering this it isn't so surprising that the Bolt Thrower came out as white/blue as it did.  The armor covers up some plates on the head which would stick a little more orange/brown in the scheme.  Variety is a theme I keep coming back to and this is no exception.  Armor on beasts is a strictly Nephilim thing that helps set them apart from the spawned-from-blood beasts that I've painted up to now.  I'm taken by a desire to photograph everything I've painted so far together as a group to see, and show, how they all look standing next to each other, but that will have to wait until closer to the end of the Journeyman league.

In other news I (mostly) finished putting together the second set of Ravagore bits.  All the pieces are together, they have magnets, they just need a bit of putty around the elbows to smooth the transition between pieces.  Hopefully I do that puttying tonight while also addressing the exposed wire on the second Angelius, which would allow me to prime them when I seal the Bolt Thrower, which would leave me with a large pile of stuff that's ready to paint.  I'm finally getting into new stuff now, models I've never put on the table before, which will be a nice change from just painting stuff I've been playing with but haven't finished yet.  A lot of the new stuff is very shooty and, with any luck, will work so well that it shakes up my list building process which has settled into some well-worn grooves, if not yet ruts, of late.

Journeyman Painting Log # 18

Still dark despite my best efforts. 

After a longer than anticipated delay I returned to the painting table today.  The current crop of victims has been on the sidebar for a while but hadn't suffered from my attention until now.  My initial plan was to focus on the Blackfrost Shard and apply any paint left in the well on the other models.  While assembling them, I decided to make the BFS a little more colorful than the rest of the army.  This was spurred on in part by the vast swathes of multilayered cloth requiring some sort of color variety to keep them separate visually, but also because they're a character unit and merit a little extra kick.  The plan is as follows: cream cloaks with orange trim, purple interior clothes with possible orange trim, the rest of the model as usual.  Of particular note here is the catastrophe in the center.  I dropped the leader while painting which busted his hand off.  This unfortunate occurrence had extra punch as I was thinking this morning about all the glue + greenstuff I'd used on the latest batch of assemblies, how poorly that worked out with pIrusk (who lost his glue+gs-attached sword hand while coming out of the bag one day), and how bad I felt about not pinning said latest batch in my zeal to get them assembled.  I hoped it wouldn't bite me in the ass, but it did all the same, and now the leader's hand is just jammed in the bluetac while the rest of him gets painted.  I think I'll finish the body, varnish it up, reattach the hand (this time via pinning), paint the hand, then varnish again add snow and all that jazz.

Journeyman Painting Log # 17

Coming to single wound infantry in your backfield soon. 

Today, and this past weekend, were nice and productive.  First, I finished off the lingering Deathstalker.  While you can't tell so much from the picture, the model ended up a bit darker (or at least browner) than anticipated.  This isn't a bad thing as Striders are all stealthy, ambush-through-the-woods types, so being covered in dark leather makes plenty of sense.  It's a bit outside my scheme, but when I get to the Striders that won't be as much of an issue. 

Speaking of Striders, there's a segue to the rest of my productivity.  I have begun, and in some cases finished, assembling the following:

• Annyssa Ryvaal
• The Blackfrost Shard
• Striders
• Succubus
• Swamp Gobbers
• Nephilim Bolt Thrower
• Angelius

Some of these items have appeared previously.  In particular the Striders still need arms, while the Succubus needs...love? work? a miracle?  Hopefully the model grows on me, but I have my doubts.  It looks to be super smexy on the table though, so I'll power through the model itself.  Maybe a paper bag?  In the meantime I'll be hoping for a break in the humidity so I can seal the Deathstalker and prime the swathe of new stuff on deck.  As for painting, maybe some Shredders?