Heresy Work in Progress, Disappointment and Getting Boring Tasks Done

 

I've now settled on the colour scheme for my Alpha Legion. It's following a Warhammer TV tutorial, with metal base, then a coat of Gryph-Charger Grey over everything, then blocking in the panels with Akhelian Green. I started trying an alternative scheme using Kroxigor Scales to block in the panels but it was far too green for my liking, so I stuck with this option.

Also, I was an idiot for fully assembling this miniature. Base coating the cloak was an absolute nightmare. I'm now going to drop in the rest of the colours to get him finish off, then move on to the Terminator.

The bases, however, I'm not loving. The crackle paint isn't as robust as I'd like, and the colours I've gone for just aren't appealing to me. I'm going to base up a whole bunch of 25mm bases and blitz a ton of colour options until I see one I like.

I was hoping to get out for my first game of 9th edition 40K, but a combination of circumstances including not being able to find one of my Deathwatch cases from where its been tidied to meant we called it off for now. It's frustrating, but it's highlighted to me how much there is still to do at the flat.

I've also started on the not at all photogenic job of tidying up the black undercoats on all the remaining O-12 I have that aren't ready for paint yet. There's a lot of half finished jobs lying around I'd like to finish up before the end of the year if I can, and this is one of the biggest.

Product Review: D&D Frameworks Mind Flayer

 

I wanted to look into the new Dungeons & Dragons "Frameworks" line and picked the Mind Flayer as my review / test model. My logic was that my picking an iconic D&D monster, rather than one that was a bit more generic, I was giving the Frameworks line its best chance by picking part of the D&D IP rather than a generic monster like an Ogre or Orc, or a common adventurer.

The models come with some "rocky" bases, which I am unsure if they are intended to cleverly match with the bottom of the models. I was trying to match them up and at times it felt like there was something clever going on, and at other times they didn't. I decided to glue them onto some of my own bases because I'm not a fan of the thin plastic discs Wizkids use for bases (and they don't match anything else I have).

The plastic is board game style, has some notable mould lines and some pretty chunky connection points into really obvious spots, detail, and fragile details. Managing all three of this trifecta of sins is disappointing, but perhaps its because of my experience with more experienced companies in the field doing much better in this regard.

The Mind Flayer did have alternative arms and a head, giving an option of a more open tentacle mouth, and letting him hold a brain instead of a staff. The other arms had less flappy bits hanging off them as well. I was sure I took a photo of that, but now can't find it. Whoops!

The Intellect Devourer wasn't heavily advertised on the box (the front says "1 miniature"), but a second free "themed" monster was a nice addition that isn't a complaint. The two halves of the brain did not connect at all well, leaving a really quite significant gap between the two sides. Do real brains have that? I don't want to google it, I'm squeamish.

Some of the connections were also quite dubious. The arm connectors were tiny and flat, meaning there was nothing to make sure they properly lined up. I'm used to this, but if these models are being picked up by a "new" hobbyist, it isn't the most user friendly.

I added some basing paste around the sides of the rock bases to create a more realistic basing set up. I then spray undercoated them with an off white, with the intention of painting them with contrast.

The Intellect Devourer was a nice quick job - I used a flesh tone for the legs and a light purple for the brain meats. The large gap / line in the middle of the brain looks fine, I guess. The forward foot has a bit of a mould line still visible on it if you look closely, and feels a bit blobbier  and less defined than the foot that's resting on the floor.

The Mind Flayer was painted with contrast then a little drybrushing and washing. The detail was unfortunately a little shallow and inconsistent. The head was lovely, but then loads of the layers of the cloak were soft and blended into each other. This meant that Contrast didn't do as good a job as it could have, and the drybrush wasn't enough to really save it. The paint job is OK, but I've painted minis that took contrast, drybrushes and washes much better.

So, would I recommend Frameworks?

That's not an easy question. I'm definitely not singing their praises and buying all the kits. For character kits for D&D, these kits are pricey. This character cost me £13.49 from a bulk retailer - I think he's £15 RRP. The higher prices really impact boxes like Kobolds or Orcs, where you need a bunch - so that will add up fast!

As an example the Frameworks Kobolds are £50 RRP for seven models. But you can get nine painted minis through the Icons of the Realms Kobold Warband for £45, or twenty unpainted with nine unique sculpts from the Epic Encounters Shrine of the Dragon Queen box.

For the Mind Flayer, the quality is only a small step up from the Wizkids Nolzur's line, and you can get two Mind Flayers for £5. There's a massive range of 3D printed miniatures you can have printed for you on Etsy for well under £15, though that's likely less accessible to someone starting out. Reaper do a wide range of metal options in the £7-9, and some Bones options for under £5 to compete with the Nolzur's line.

In short, my experience with this Frameworks model is disappointment. It's marketed as a premium option for hobbyists without having the quality of sculpt to merit the cost. They paid attention in getting the detail of the IP specific head right and really quite nice, but then much of the rest of the model seems to have been phoned in, both in terms of the detail on the miniature, but also the attention to detail that leads to the quality of life you expect around ease of assembly and choice of material on a premium product.

I would have been fine with this model if I'd paid half the price for it, but when you compare it to the older Games Workshop character figures you can pick up for the same money, it's a disappointment that doesn't compare. I drafted and deleted a longer rant about this, but I think it better to simply finish with "Hasbro could and should do much better".

Work in Progress Wednesday: Unidrons

A few more models I picked up during the Defiance Kickstarter. They're Unidron Remotes for the Combined Army, and the Onyx Contact Force. They were part of the Onyx Contact Force "Reinforcement Pack". I sold the Umbra on as I still intend to get the Combined Army Starter Pack it came with, and I've already got the Fractaa and Xeodrons ready for paint.

Unidrons have received a moderate boost, at least in terms of reputation, from the recent FAQ that confirms that you can Enhanced Reaction them - and the sniper is going to be the one you'll want to do that with. But I have heard from at least one podcast that it's likely that Marksmanship may still be better statistically. If I start playing Onyx competitively, I'll have a nose into that.

Weekly progress: Egg Car, D&D, Horus Heresy

 

With a lovely relative visit in the past, my huge "what I've been working towards" goal is gone. With an awful lot of worry about getting things tidy in time suddenly evaporating away, a bunch of stress related chemicals had nothing to do any more other than make me feel bad for no logical reason.

I decided to try and cheer myself up with painting. It was marginally successful, but time and some other bits and bobs worked together with it to pull me out of the slump. I've finished the Frameworks Mind Flayer and will be writing a longer review post of Frameworks in future.

Needing a little "quick win" to give me a boost, I gave this egg car a quick paint job. The model was made by the sadly no longer trading Antenocitis Workshop. I was playing around with Magmadroth Flame contrast paint for the orange and was very impressed by it.

I didn't get everything right on this model - there's a couple of splotches that I've spotted since I did it. But I played around a lot more with blending and highlighting while painting this model and really felt like the regular painting I've been doing has helped me get better. Sometimes, I instinctively know how much paint I want on my brush or where to move it to get the effect I want. Not always, but its not something I've experienced before. It made me feel like I'm really growing as a painter.

The other "non project" model I'm working on at the moment is this griffin I picked up from Iron Gate Scenery at Salute. I carefully blocked in the basic "skin" fur and the warmer longer fur. I've then wet blended a sepia and a dark brown for the feathers. That's turned out really well on the top of the wings, but with three layers of feathers on the underside of the wings, that's going to take a little more time to get done.

My big project, however, is the Alpha Legion test paints. Because they require layers of contrast, and the next stage involves carefully painting the inside of panels, I haven't got very far with them, but I'm enjoying the process I've done so far.

This has really highlighted to me the importance of having some "easy" paints lying around to do alongside any complicated project. There's going to be times when you're tired and aren't up for doing a detailed or fiddly job, and having something else to do means that the time isn't wasted - and I've got three models finished this week as a result!

November Review - Nearly the Year End

 

Like October, I managed to get ten models painted in November, although four were some rubbish orcs and four were some crates, so its slightly less impressive than last time.

On the table at the moment are my Horus Heresy test paints and the Frameworks Mind Flayer. This does mean that I finished off all my "half done" stuff from last month - it feels reasonable to aim to do that again!

With the crates finished I don't really have any "simple" paint schemes lined up for projects. I've got test paints for Horus Heresy and O-12, along with my Viktorias crew for Malifaux, which I haven't worked out the paint for either.

I might drop into painting a Shasvastii or too if I want a painting project that doesn't require thinking. I'm working on prepping up a bunch of Battlemechs which will be nice simple paint jobs, and I might try and get the Defiance doors and other accessories prepped up so there's a few simple options amid the more complex stuff.

I did manage to get the hobby room cleared in time for it to be used as a spare room, which was excellent. It has, however, really highlighted I have too much stuff, and that the pile of things I intend to eBay is actually huge. With Christmas coming, my plan for now is to list stuff scheduled to go up over Christmas weekend so I can post it all in the New Year.

In some ways, this does all feel a bit over-whelming. I've only been looking at "getting the hobby room clear", and looking up from that to see both how many things need doing and also the choice of things I have to do can cause a little bit of panic. I need to work out in my head what "next thing" to focus on to get that done rather than panic at how much there is to do, and in turn not do anything.

Last of the Stormcast

 

This isn't quite everything, in truth, because a couple of models still need some repair from transit, but I've photoed everything else before putting them all away. First up we have twenty Judicators I picked up from the Mortal Realms magazines.

I wasn't sure if the bows or the crossbows were good, so in the interests of classic indecision, I got ten of each painted. It will mean I can do a bit of experimentation to find out what I like by playing some games.

You know, when I actually play some games.

The Aetherwings are some nice visual variation from chunky armoured warriors. I hope they do something useful on the battlefield so I can use them now and again.

These are Vanguard Raptors, and I understand the Longstrike Crossbow version is super good, so I had them all made up the same.

I think the Exorcist was one of the first models I got from the Mortal Realms Magazine.

I haven't quite learned all the names of all the massive assortment of Stormcast characters yet. This one is a Knight Zephyros who does some . . . fighting stuff? I do worry GW have made slightly too many slightly different Stormcast characters.

This is a Knight Incantor, I think from a "Getting Started" pamphlet or something?

And finally, this is the Mortal Realms exclusive Knight Incantor model with a head swap, because I wasn't a huge fan of the original head.

Work in Progress Wednesday - Combined Army Xeodrons

 

I finally finished prepping the two Xeodrons for painting. I got one from the Defiance Kickstarter, and picked up the other from Shae Konnit's Split Service. I had a little nose through my collection and have noticed I've got an awful lot of the Onyx Contact Force models.

This means I've got an interesting option at some point in the future to play a few games with Onyx as a break from my main forces. The recent FAQ has given the Unidron defensive link (a staple of Onyx) a huge boost by confirming that the Enhanced Reaction programme stacks with link bonuses.

The Xeodrons are light TAGs who use lighter weapons than some of the more conventional bruiser TAGs. However, they have the Super-Jump skill and a good choice of anti infantry or anti armour guns depending on preference. In Onyx, they then gain the extra benefit of being able to form a fireteam, and bringing along Umbra Samaritans or Nourkias, who have excellent close combat and options for specialist troopers that the Xeodron profile lacks.

I've got oddly keen about all this. I've not done much with TAGs up to now, and while Onyx aren't the strongest of forces at the moment, messing around with list building for them has built a little keen. We'll see where that takes me.

Weekly Update - Warlord Games Orcs, Basing Woes and Frameworks Progress

 

Painting wise this week, I've finished up these orcs that are now produced by Warlord Games (previously they were made by Wargames Factory). These models are awful. While multi-part with an assortment of weapons, the weapons are separate from the hands and the posing is mediocre. The quality of the detail is also pretty poor, with sections of detail fading away or blending into other parts. For cheap models where you want shades and dry-brushing to take most of the work, and the shoddy detail makes this much harder.

I experimented with using GW crackle paint for my Horus Heresy characters. I came back the following morning to find that it still hadn't finished drying.

Coming back that evening, I found that leaving it a full day seemed to have worked pretty well, until I picked them up to give them a coat of varnish...

... as a lot of the crackle just fell off! I'm told that doing a coat of PVA before undercoating may help the crackle paint stay attached. I'm trying to decide if I persevere with this method or move to a different basing scheme. The uncertainty of the crackle paint isn't endearing it to me... 

The Frameworks Mind Flayer is turning out pretty good. The Magos Purple Contrast paint got me a good pale purple Mind Flayer skin colour which I quite like.

The Intellect Devourer is also nearly done, but if he gets finished first, I'll wait until the Mind Flayer is done to photograph them together.

Tidying up the Stormcast

 

I mostly spent last weekend tidying, but that did mean I finally started putting away a huge pile of Stormcast Eternals that Squiggle's Studio painted for me. As a happy bonus, I managed to get photos of a bunch of them while I tidied them up. First up being the original test model Liberator who can be bundled into some of my Stormcast Underworlds Warbands to make a Retributor unit if I need to.

I picked up these Castigators as part of the Warhammer Underworlds Starter Set. I need to dig out their card deck and work out if its a valid Rivals Deck, or if I need to use one of the "any warband" decks instead.

A Lord Imperatant with his noble Gryph Hound. The character model from the big starter box, I'll probably end up taking him in some early games while I start learning the rules.

The Praetors seem to be a bodyguard type unit, though I think the rules for such things have changed since I last looked.

I had to check the Games Workshop website to make sure I didn't call this model Flappy Boy 1, and his brother below Flappy Boy 2. He's a Knight Azyros, and his lantern does cool mystical stuff.

The Knight Venator is a fast shooty boy. I think I prefer the Azyros looks wise, but as I had a second one I didn't see any reason not to have one of each and find out what's different about them.

Anyhow, that's enough excuses for not tidying - I need to get back to putting things away!