Tag Archives: Painting

Games Workshop

Hobby Update – Reaper War Mammoth

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Reaper Bones War Mammoth

I’ve cracked it – a quick scheme to get some models done and then I can use them for scenery (or maybe a cheeky Kings of War army if I can work out the basing)… the scheme will be familiar to regular readers of the blog as I’ve used it on a bit of terrain recently, including on some Age of Sigmar terrain, Guardian Idols, and some Reaper Giants.

This week I’ve gone big… and I mean line of sight blocking big. And what is bigger than an elephant… well a wooly one! The Reaper War Mammoth.

Reaper Bones

For those who have not seen them, Reaper are a miniature company in the US who predominately deal in figures for RPGs and painters. As such they can be used for any game system and I’ve definitely seen them in Kings of War armies before where the different base sizes are not too much of a limitation… just put as many as you want to on each unit base.

I picked him up along with my Reaper Giants on the last Kickstarter, and unfortunately he’s not on the website yet… but he is a beast.

Pictures

How do they play?

So I’ve painted mine as Terrain so he’ll be blocking line of sight on a table near me, once I work out the basing for him. In the meantime these models could easily be placed on square bases and used for Kings of War.

Woe Points and Hobby Bingo

This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -2 for him (although I’ll be seeing if Peter will be nice and give me a few more) and a monster square on Hobby Bingo. If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.

Paints Used

The painting scheme used is the same as the terrain from the last 3 weeks, repeated here with another sparkly new picture! (Eagle eyed viewers will notice he blends into the background better as I’ve been undergoing an intensive week of training on the IT we use at Woehammer from Peter!)

Buying a Box

I got mine through Reaper Bones Kickstarter. This is not available anymore and he hasn’t reached the website yet; but no doubt he’ll there soon as he’s a lovely looking model and was a joy to put together and paint.

— Declan and Eeyore

Games Workshop

Hobby Update – Reaper Bones Giants

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3 Reaper Bones Giants painted as statues

After a few weeks of painting terrain I’ve discovered I can paint the scheme I’ve got quickly and with multiple disruptions. This is great and still keeps me painting and doing hobby! A win, win!

Reaper Bones

For those who have not seen them, Reaper are a miniature company in the US who predominately deal in figures for RPGs and painters. As such they can be used for any game system and I’ve definitely seen them in Kings of War armies before where the different base sizes are not too much of a limitation… just put as many as you want to on each unit base.

I picked up these models (1 Storm Giant and 2 Yephima, Cloud Giant) via a Kickstarter. They are nice and large and imposing and the Storm Giant could definitely be a statue of Sigmar on the battlefield. I would guess that Yephima will be a little more of a marmite model (love it, or loathe it), but I think she works well as a large statue to join my ever growing pile from the last few weeks.

Pictures

How do they play?

So I’ve painted mine as Terrain so I’ll definitely need to combine them to make a table at some point! In the meantime these models could easily be placed on square bases and used for Kings of War.

Woe Points and Hobby Bingo

This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -6 for these group and three squares of Hobby Bingo which I’ll ask Peter to update for me! If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.

Paints Used

The painting scheme used is the same as the terrain from the last 2 weeks, repeated here with another sparkly new picture!

Buying a Box

I got mine through Reaper Bones Kickstarter. This is not available anymore and the larger Storm Giant hasn’t made it onto the website yet, but Yephima (the Cloud Giant) is. The good news is that Reaper now sell and ship within the UK both to FLGS and direct from their website!

— Declan and Eeyore

Games Workshop

Hobby Update – Age of Sigmar Guardian Idols

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2 Guardian Idols for Age of Sigmar Battlefields

Once again I find myself in the situation of taking my own advice on Hobby Slumps. It’s not really a slump, so much as no tournaments to aim for and not enough time to do models that need a lot of detail. So, following on from last week’s terrain I’ve got the bug for painting grey (strangely) and I went into my still to be painted box of terrain and picked out two new Guardian Idols to build and try.

Age of Sigmar Terrain

I’ve painted two models this week. The guardian idols are from the Realmscape Expansion set and they are very nice models. They are however a little strange for gameplay and for the storyline! They are clearly the damaged walls of a settlement but Sigmar’s followers are supposed to be building new settlements… and they don’t block line of sight very well. However they are very nice and imposing.

Pictures

How do they play?

Okay, so my standard format doesn’t work brilliantly with terrain & scenery, but it definitely helps make the table! However, as I’ve said above, they are a little less impactful for gaming purposes. I think I’ll need to base together on a scenery base to allow them to be ruins! Could help them block line of sight if I set them up appropriately.

Woe Points and Hobby Bingo

This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -6 for these group and three squares of Hobby Bingo which I’ll ask Peter to update for me! If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.

Paints Used

The painting scheme used is the same as the Giant Head from last week; repeated here with a sparkly new picture!

Buying a Box

I got mine through Element Games and you can too and support the show. There are walls in the box as well which I hope to get to later.

— Declan and Eeyore

Games Workshop

Hobby Update – Age of Sigmar Terrain

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3 Scatter Terrain features from Age of Sigmar

Once again I find myself in the situation of taking my own advice on Hobby Slumps. It’s not really a slump, so much as no tournaments to aim for and not enough time to do models that need a lot of detail. So, after finishing off the Warmaster Dire Wolves I’ve decided to step it up, and get cracking into my terrain collection.

Like many people I did part of the Age of Sigmar Hatchette partwork to get some nice toys, and my particular favourite magazines to pick up were the ones with terrain. Fighting over painted terrain that has an affect on the game is great fun, and – whilst I can’t guarantee these will have an effect – they can certainly hide foot characters from shooting and magic!

Hatchette Partworks

Normally these are pretty bad value and aimed at collectors who can’t miss items but for the Warhammer world they are proving to be a great way to pick up some good value toys at a regular drop rate that it is possible to keep on top of… as demonstrated from the below; I’m a little behind on mine though!!

Age of Sigmar Terrain

I’ve painted three models this week. A Giant Head of Sigmar (capitalisation obligatory), and two of his favourite doggos. The head can come with a platform but I got the Warcry box set so already have one like that… and it’s big enough it can just about be used to hide a foot soldier, or keep a small unit alive.

The Doggos are great models as well, and really fun to paint – I’m particularly happy with how the writing came out (Mephiston Red & Caldor Blue) just to add a little bit of colour.

Pictures

How do they play?

Okay, so my standard format doesn’t work brilliantly with terrain & scenery, but it definitely helps make the table! Certainly a step up from books under a green sheet!

Woe Points and Hobby Bingo

This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -9 for these group and three squares of Hobby Bingo which I’ll ask Peter to update for me! If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.

Paints Used

Peter has been diligently working away in the background on some Woehammer specific graphics and one of my favourite is the painting schemes for the Space Marines… so I’ve stolen it for my Hobby Articles going foward.

Buying a Box

I got mine through Hatchette so it’s likely you’ll be able to pick these up on Ebay… or ask your local gaming group – there’s likely to be someone like me who always intended to paint them up. Maybe they’ll be willing to sell them on to help with their own Woepoints! Getting the pieces from GW is not as easy though as they discontinue scenery sets very quickly for some reason!

— Declan and Eeyore

Games Workshop

Hobby Update – Warmaster Dire Wolves

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8 units of Warmaster Dire Wolves (3 bases per unit)

Warmaster is the game of Kings, and it has been kept going by a dedicated group of people as Warmaster Revolution. It’s a great square based, unit game where you can have cavalry sweeping around flanks and infantry bravely holding woods and towns.

I have an Empire army and a Goblin army but as like many wargamers I have a few other armies on the go as well – in various stages of painting (read… none!)

Vampire Counts

Vampire Counts are an interesting army in that they can’t use initiative to charge. This means that things can get a little difficult when the enemy gets within 20cm, as the enemy can auto-charge and the Vampire Counts can’t. But there are two big compensating factors available for the budding general – no -1 command if within 20cm effectively meaning that the Vampires are as good at Command as Dwarfs when the battles get close and combat is joined. The second factor is the ‘Raise Dead’ spell which can generate new skeleton units directly into combat… a real game winner if used welll – just roll 6s!

Vampire Count Dire Wolves

In common with all units in Warmaster the Dire Wolves have an easy attribute line: 2/3/- (2 attacks per base, 3 hits per base, no save). But they also get an additional +1 attack when they attack in the open – so although they have no save they can hit like a tonne of bricks all for 40 points a unit. It is no surprise they are limited to 4 units per 1,000 points.

Pictures

How do they play?

As above, they are very good! I think they are essential in the army although when you start losing them you will risk your break point. Remember to run them away if you need to!

Woe Points and Hobby Bingo

This also contributes to two of the methods I’m trying to use to reduce the pile of shame or potential! Woe Points is -24 for these group and three squares of Hobby Bingo which I’ll ask Peter to update for me! If you want to be involved in either of these aides to clearing the pile of potential then join us on our Discord Channel.

Buying a Box

I bought mine from Printing in Detail but they have since stopped trading. But good news – the sculptor is Forest Dragon and there are some resellers available (who have bought retail pledges from Forest Dragon to allow them to print for resale)

— Declan and Eeyore

A tale of painters, Declan Walters, Games Workshop, Painting Guides, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Hobby Update – Horus Heresy Blood Angels

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Space Marine Spartan Tank

With 40 Space Marines completed I now need to move onto the remaining four models. As one of them is quite big (very, very big), I realised I needed to get started on the Spartan.

As I’ve been playing mostly Fantasy and Age of Sigmar in the last decade I haven’t painted many tanks, so I needed to go back to basics and remind myself how to do it!

Assembly was a long process, but very straight forward apart from a small error with one of the top hatches. Once I’d worked that out it was completed and ready for undercoat.

Undercoat / Step 1

All my models have a black undercoat as I like the slightly darker affect it has on Mephiston Red. It also means there are no grey / white spots left even if I miss a bit! So I can always pretend it’s deliberate shadow.

I decided I would mask off the tracks and some of the weapons to ensure that these remained black as building back over red is a little pointless when it’s already there. If you’ve not done this before just make sure you take a little of the ‘stickiness’ off so that it doesn’t remove the paint when you take them off!

Step 2 – Red Undercoat

With the Mephiston Red undercoat on, and the masking tape removed it’s starting to look a lot like a Blood Angel tank. Next up is some pin washing (which I’ve never done before) with Nuln Oil and a little tidying up of the tracks where the red undercoat has snuck through!

I also need to finish the Lascannon Sponsors of course but they fit on very nicely to allow some movement of the model.

What’s Next

I need to finish the tank, and complete the remainder of the Age of Darkness Box Set. It’s great to be getting close to finishing a starter set!

— Declan & Eeyore

A tale of painters, Declan Walters, Games Workshop, Painting Guides, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Hobby Update – Horus Heresy Heavy Support Marines

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Legion Heavy Support Squads.

The last of the normal marines… having painted 10 Terminators and 30 Space Marines I am now on the final stretch (before characters, Dreadnought and tank).

And what a final stretch… for these I cheated a little bit and bought a second box set.

Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters

I selected these, because the Missile Launcher is iconic from the RTB01 box set and my first foray into Warhammer 40k, so long ago.

The iconic RTB01 box for the original plastic Space Marines

Missile Launchers

Missile Launchers with Sergeant

Heavy Bolters

Space Marines with Heavy Bolters (including Sergeant)

It was great to have a bit of a change following the 30 Tactical Marines and the weapons themselves are easy to paint – especially given the simple scheme for the Blood Angels. Fortunately Black and Red go together!

What’s Next

I am halfway through the Praetors and Dreadnought and they will hopefully be finished before an October trip to Warhammer World. Meanwhile I have also started my Land Raider Spartan – more on that later!

— Declan & Eeyore

A tale of painters, Declan Walters, Games Workshop, Painting Guides, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Hobby Update – Horus Heresy Tactical Marines

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Legion Tactical Squads.

To say that the Age of Darkness box set is bursting with value, is doing it a disservice. With 40 Mark VIs, 10 Terminators, 2 Praetors, Dreadnought and Spartan Tank; it has got everything you need to have a fun game.

I’ve previously finished my Terminators, and have now completed the Sergeants for the Tactical Marines.

As there are 40 Tactical Marines the obvious answer is to build them as 4 units of 10 to give a good backbone of any army, but I picked up a box of missile launchers and heavy bolters… so I have 3 units of 10 Tactical Marines.

Unit 1

Tactical Squad, including Sergeant with Power Fist

Unit 2

Tactical Squad with Chain-Bayonets and Sergeant with Power Sword

Unit 3

Tactical Squad with Sergeant with Lightning Claw

I really enjoyed painting these models. They have enough detail to be Space Marines, whilst not having too much to paint… no trim! Of course they do have the studded shoulder pads which took a while to get right, but I batch-painted them so got used to it by the 40th Space Marine!

What’s Next

I have finished the Missile Launchers and Heavy Bolters, so the next article will show some pictures of those!

— Declan & Eeyore

A tale of painters, Declan Walters, Games Workshop, Painting Guides, Sci-Fi, Warhammer 40k

Hobby Update – Horus Heresy Terminators

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Blood Angel Cataphractii Terminators.

With the standard marines finished (just special equipment and Sergeants to go), I decided to try to finish off my Cataphractii Terminator Squad.

I needed them to pop a little and then I saw what Mengel Miniatures had done over on twitter.

Putting aside that they are the wrong legion, I loved the breakup of the single colour and the use of gold goes nicely with Blood Angels as well. As if to reinforce the hint, I bought the Astartes (Loyalist) book, and veteran marines in Blood Angels use gold (who knew).

The sergeant already had black shoulder pads to designate him, but a full gold helmet definitely doesn’t look out of place, and I’ve once again taken Mengel Miniature’s idea of white on the legs but moved it down to the knee. This has allowed me to use the black transfers for the legion number, although they are small, so it was fun getting some of them on.

I then added gold trim to all the models in places that felt appropriate and … hurrah they are finished.

10 Cataphractii Terminators for Blood Angel Horus Heresy

And some more pictures for details:

What’s Next

I need to finish the Sergeants and special equipment troopers, the Praetors, a Contemptor and the Spartan Assault Tank. Lots to get to, but happy with progress so far.

— Declan & Eeyore

Games Workshop

Product Review – Vallejo Thick Mud

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Basing Materials for Miniatures

With Games Workshop making some changes to their range and removing some of the basing products, I wanted to try something new for my Horus Heresy Blood Angels.

So I spoke to some friends about what they use and Vallejo Thick Mud was recommended. So I went onto Element Games to have a look at the options and decided that Brown Mud was the one I would try. This is because I’ve used light basing before and it caused me issues when I came to drybrush. I hoped that the Brown Mud would be dark enough that a single highlight would be enough.

It retails at £12.50 which is the cost of 2 GW pots and you get a lot of bang for your buck. There’s no way this will run out soon – it’d be perfect for a display board.

It goes on easily – just make sure you use enough (don’t spread it too thin or it won’t work well). The more the better.

The finished product with XV-88 highlight

Overall I like it; it’s easy to use, looks great with a simple highlight and you get lots. Definitely recommended.

market as well.

— Declan & Eeyore