Work in Progress Wednesday: Oh, that's quite a lot, isn't it?

I've been working through trying to get everything I bought in January assembled this month. First up, we've got the Mighty Nein from Critical Role. It was a bit too windy for undercoating the day I undercoated them, so I might need to redo a couple before painting. They all come re-assembled and are pretty nice figures. I'd say they're high end board game piece in quality.

A friend at the club painted up one of these Humblewood Heroes and I just couldn't not. It was the little owl knight that got me interested, but I have a quiet love for the pigeon wizard at the back.

I grabbed a few Reaper Bones Black models at the same time I got all those Otherworld Miniatures. They should be nice quick and easy paints.

A dear friend got me this Bad Squiddo model for Christmas. He's called David the Cat Warrior. I plan on using him as a Tabaxi - maybe a Paladin or Cleric?

These are Wizkids models again. They're intended to be Doppelgangers in Pathfinder, and the D&D look of Doppelgangers are very different. They'll be useful for random aberration monsters, though.

These Yuan-ti models are moderately annoying me due to the poor quality. There's some really terrible mould lines, and running snakeman on the left's sword is super bent and won't go back, even with hot water. I'm debating a sword swap but the entire reason I get the Wizkids stuff is to minimise my assembly work - I'll probably not buy any in a sulk until I forget again.

Finally, I got the third of the Infamy 54mm models I plan on using for Inquisitor finished and undercoated. They're probably going on the shelf for a bit as I've a few other projects I want to finish first, but they're ready to pick up and paint when I get inspired.

Wizkids Pathfinder Town Guards

A couple of quick tabletop quality Wizkids models this week. They're sold as "Pathfinder Town Guards". I ended up putting a bunch of the weekend's hobby time into having a big reorganisation around the hobby space. There's a post going up Wednesday that shows the huge pile of assembled models that made me realise that I have way too much "in progress" stuff out and cluttering up the work area.

At time of writing, the tidying is still ongoing. I'm hoping that I'll feel much better when it's finished.

Commission Painted Infinity White Company

When Operation: Kaldstrom came out, I picked the box up to get the models in it that would be available in White Company, the new mercenary company released for the fourth edition of Infinity. I sold off the miniatures you can't take and bought a few models that were getting new releases so I'd have plenty of weapon option variations between the two boxes.

I used White Weasel Studio for this batch. They got a little held up because of lockdowns, but I've been impressed with their work so far. I do worry a little about the post Brexit post and tax situation, but as long as we can solve those issues, I'd definitely use them again.

Front and centre here, we have a Guilang Skirmisher, a Yu Jing unit you can get in Kaldstrom. It's a camouflage infiltrator who can either be a specialist to complete the mission or an attack piece. The other four models are Kaplan Tactical Services, a mercenary unit who can form a Fireteam. The Kaplans have some beautiful new sculpts out now, but I wanted the option to vary the weapon profiles.

The three first three models left to right here are Fusiliers - basic line troops you take to fill out a list and provide orders. They can also form a fireteam, but you'll use their Fireteam in different roles to the Kaplans.

At the back on the right is a Nokk troop, an forward deploying troop that can't enter a camouflage state but is very hard to hit. It's an excellent aggressive attacking piece. And on the right at the front is a Kunai Solutions Ninja. They're a well hidden sniper who's very good at hand to hand combat who isn't a very good shot. I am . . . still trying to work out how to make him work.

And finally, we have the last of the commission. The ORC troop on the left is a PanOceanian Heavy Infantry - he is in a weird place because he's quite expensive but doesn't have a really good gun. You're more likely taking them with heavy weapons. Next to him is a Jujak from the Yu Jing list. They have a lot of fire weaponry and can join a lot of different fireteams. On the right at the back is Liang Kai, a close combat specialist character who doesn't have smoke who I haven't worked out how to use well yet. Finally, on the right is a civilian to use in objective missions that need them...

I'm not planning on using White Company for a while yet - I have other things I want to be playing first. I probably need another batch of models painted to be able to make really good lists from a gaming perspective, but these are enough to be getting on with if I wanted to...

Work in Progress Wednesday - Nomad Kit Bashes

Last year I gave my usual assembly service a new challenge. I asked him to try doing some kit bashes I'd planned out for me. First up, I suspected there would be times I'd want to run two Securitate Feuerbachs in a link, so wanted a second. I picked up a solo Securitate from Shae Konnit's split box service, and a Teucer blister.

It's come out really well, although sadly the Securitate's combi rifle arms do not fit on Teucer's wider body.

The second was a much simpler conversion. I wanted a model for either a Wildcat Boarding Shotgun, or a Prowler Boarding Shotgun loadout, as neither profile currently has a released model.

The Ariadnan Spec Ops model was the perfect base for this conversion, and I thought the easiest thing to do would be to simply add the helmeted head from the Vortex Spec Ops.

I think he's turned out really well overall. I still don't have a paint scheme decided for my Nomads just yet, but it's another model undercoated and put away ready for paint once I actually work that out...

Battlemasters Chaos Archers and Otherworld Banshee

I'm feeling pretty good about painting because I've already finished this month's "project paint". These are the Chaos Marauder Archers from the old "Battlemasters" game that was produced in the 90s.

I've not based them because they get mounted on big square base. They're a club project with each club member picking up a unit to do. I picked the archers because I had the idea of the pride flag mohawks, and I'm really pleased with how they came out. The rainbow mohawk was definitely A Choice, but I managed to get it done in the end.

I've also knocked out this Otherworld Banshee. Looking at her while I was sorting the photos, I think she needs a couple of tufts on her base, but that's not hard to get done.

So, my painting goal is hit, and I'm powering through the assembly as well - I only have the Malifaux figures and Blackstone left to go. I might pick up a Shasvastii to paint over the rest of the month in between the assembly, and I'll definitely knock out a few more D&D figures as well.

Work in Progress Wednesday - Infamy 54mm and Wizkids

I managed to get a whole bunch of assembly done in the last week of January. I'd picked up a whole bunch of Wizkids pre-undercoated models for Pathfinder and D&D in a sale in December, and the plan was to not let them sit in boxes out of sight.

While the models come pre-assembled and pre-undercoated, there's some pretty bad mould lines on some of them - I'm going to need to do a little scraping on the dwarf wizard on the left before I paint her.

The familiar set resulted in me having another fox model. I guess I'll live.

There were a couple of civilian types as well. I've been impressed by the range of different types of miniatures Wizkids have put out in their range.

Most of the "hero" models come in packs of two, with the idea being that it's the same person at lower and higher level. The higher level one gets a more dynamic pose and fancier gear.

Sometimes, this gets you a lot more flexibility with what you use the models for. The additional of a helmet to the "high level" version of this half orc means you could use him as a plate armoured baddie very easily.

Quite a few come with clear plastic that can be painted with inks or contrast to be spell effects. They vary in how good they are. The wizard on the left's staff looks like a lollypop, and I suspect that painting it is just going to make it worse.

On the other hand, sometimes you get badass fire effects. I've not tried painting one of the ones with see through effects yet, because I'm a bit scared of it.

Inspired by Gonzo History Gaming's post on Inquisitor on the cheap, I've been on the look out for some interesting 54mm models to get on that band wagon. An opportunity came up when Infamy announced that a bunch of their 54mm range was going out of production.

I picked up three very different sculpts to use for Inquisitor, although I only managed to get two of them assembled in January. I haven't quite yet worked out how I'm going to paint them - and they're a bit intimidating - but they'll go onto my "ready to paint" shelf for the moment I get some inspiration.

Bad Squiddo Hooty McOwlFace

While I'm knocking through this month's painting project, I wanted something I could drop in and out of to keep my motivation up (and for something to do while waiting for Contrast or washes to dry). I decided that the delightfully named "Hooty McOwlFace" (yes, that's her official name) fit the bill.

She's a good model for a generic druid or nature spellcaster type. I decided to try painting darker skin, as I felt it suited the miniature. I think it turned out OK, but there's still some definite room for improvement there.

Hooty is another delightful Bad Squiddo Games sculpt, which I keep turning to when I want an easy, restful paint job. There's something about the sculpting that means they're super easy to paint with my painting style.

Feature Friday: Geekgirlbookworm Painted Owlbear

I saw this adorable little fellow on Geekgirlbookworm's Ko-fi page and I needed to get him. She'd even painted him so he doesn't add to any backlogs.

He's from the Reaper Bones Black range and I kind of regretted not getting him when he came out. Well, I have one now, and one day he will eat an adventurer for me.

Work in Progress Wednesday - Otherworld Miniatures

At the end of December, I had a tragic online shopping related incident when Miniature Heroes announced they were going to stop stocking Otherworld Miniatures and that they were having a clearance sale. They arrived at the start of January, so I got them off to one of my assembly guys to get ready to paint straight away.

While most of their Otherworld stock is now gone, they're also an excellent stockist of Reaper Miniatures and I'd definitely recommend them based on my existing customer service experience.

Fittingly, the first miniatures to show off are some adventurers' hirelings, carrying a lantern, torch, and some loot.

Otherworld definitely stock a good range and I absolutely adore many of their sculpts. Here we have a tavern bouncer, a dodgy looking halfling, and a half orc fighter type.

I am less fond of their clerics as many of them go very "old school" and still have crosses rather than more fantasy religious symbols. I hadn't noticed that on the lad on the right, as his hand is covering the cross. Not sure if I'm going to keep him or pass him on now.

On the left we have a banshee, who I'd muddled in with the spell casters because I am not smart sometimes. There's a good variation of types of things like magic users, so there's a good chance of finding someone who resembles your idea for a character.

There's also some civilians, like this rat catcher and elf bowyer. Maybe I should have put the bouncer with them?

An older and younger magic user, flanking an elf bow user with scale mail. You can really feel the character of the sculpts.

There were also a couple of monster models I grabbed. I've been look at getting this sensibly dressed medusa for some time. A were-rat is also an excellent challenge for a party just starting to get out of the low levels.

And finally, a unicorn! It's a nice, simple sculpt that should be fun to get some paint on.

Erm, that's quite a few miniatures. Whoops. They were super, super cheap and I may have gone a bit far...

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.