A Monstrous Month End

This is going to be a bit of a big post as I finished a couple of things, and I'm going to take a bit of stock at the end of the month. First up, we've got these two gnolls from the Nolzur's Marvellous Miniatures line by Wizkids - pre-assembled figures for Dungeons and Dragons.

I decided to paint them following Sonic Sledgehammer's Gnoll Tutorial. I found it pretty useful, but felt that they came out a little too dark for my tastes, so I added an extra drybrush to finish them off.

The Aenor Miniatures Troll that has been a bit of a nemesis for me this month is also finished. I adored the model, but had mentally filed it as a "quick win" when actually it's a complex, detailed sculpt that needed quite a lot of work to finish. I enjoyed it once I reset my expectations, but that mismatch caused me to lose motivation for quite a while.

With the back of the troll, I've gotten nine models finished this month. That's well on the way to getting a hundred done this year, and a good sign.

I didn't quite manage to get everything I bought in December assembled in January, so it's time to put the brakes on purchases until I'm caught up. I do have a few things ordered in the post, but no new purchases for now, unless it's a limited edition thing I'll otherwise miss out on.

A big pile of Otherworld Miniatures that had arrived in January got back from one of my assembly guys - you'll see their "Work in Progress" blog post later this week. I've got a bunch of other stuff assembled too, but most of it isn't undercoated just yet - I'm dependent on the weather there.

So, as well as catching up January's assembly, lets have a look at what I bought in January that I need to get assembled. First up is . . . oof. Blackstone Fortress. I had deep suspicions this was about to go out of production, and I didn't want to pay eBay prices. It was paid for with stuff I sold, but I'm determined this will get out of the box and see play rather than see it sit on a shelf as part of a stash.

With January behind, I think I'm going to get to this last - it'll be a big job, and having stuff I'm "behind" on as well will stress me out. It's also a good reward for getting caught up.

The Limited Edition Malifaux Candy and Kade arrived, to go with the Witches and Woes set I already have. Ordered months ago, but there's always a big lead time on these sort of things. I'll probably also dig out Witches and Woes to assemble alongside them so they're all table ready at once.

I've gotten majorly into Critical Role in lockdown. Although the current in game social tension due to an amazing dramatic stand off means I'm a little behind as it's sometimes a bit too much stress to watch. It meant that the models of the characters were something I asked to get for my birthday. They're pre-assembled, so they just need some basing sand and an undercoat and will be good to go.

Humblewood is an RPG, but it also has some absolutely adorable figures. One of my gaming club painted one up and I just kind of had to get it to put my own spin on it. Again, a birthday present that I'm looking forward to breaking out and getting some paint on.

And finally, a few Reaper Bones Black and Wizkid's primed models that should be some nice simple paints in between the big projects.

Looking forward, I've got plenty to be getting on with. Here's the assorted palette cleanser miniatures I've got next to the painting area to grab and throw some paint on if the mood takes me. I will say I am deeply pleased with the variety of manufacturers and styles here, and hope to get a good few done.

In terms of projects, with that troll out of the way, I'm making the Battlemasters Archers my top priority project. They're someone else's, and I don't want to have held onto them for a year. For my two "on deck" projects, I think the Shasvastii are a certainty - there's tons of new awesome stuff coming out for Infinity and I'm not picking up any of it because I haven't painted more of what I have. Similarly, with the warbands coming out for Underworlds, getting one of my warbands painted seems like a sensible "third project" to have lined up.