My blog's fifth birthday is today

Unbelievable how fast time passes when you're having fun. Today marks the fifth year I've been blogging about my hobby. I'd been planning to start earlier, but I kept finding excuses to put it off. Chief was wanting to keep it all in my own hands. In other words: as long as I didn't take some time to build my own site, I wouldn't write. Well enough of that - I thought five years ago - you're a copywriter for #@$@'s sake. Just produce some content on blogger and take care of the rest some other time. This marks post number 286, but I'll move someday soon....sure I will ;) Anyway enough bla bla. I was planning all kinds of spectacular posts, but to be honest I've been to busy with work, life and unfinished projects. Instead lets just reminisce about my favorite projects. I'll start with 'Buddy'. 

Who's a good boy? Buddy is!!!

Finished my first Stormcast unit and it belongs to...drumroll...the Sigmar's Children Stormhost

Stormcast are the face of Age of Sigmar and I've had a lot of trouble with them from their release. Not the  regularly encountered 'they are the faceless face that killed my hobby' sort of trouble but the 'how do I paint these properly kind. I found this three year old post documenting my search. Short version of my troubles: painting them gold does not work for me, black makes them fit in a bit too well with my Undead and Skaven and Stegadon Blue made them look too much like science fiction warriors. In the end it took a bit of cynical Scifi theft to get my own Stormhost and pick my colors. I proudly present a unit of liberators from: Sigmar's Children.

I had a lot of fun experimenting with paint techniques on these guys, one of them was using blue to paint shadows (in stead of adding a wash). 

Making some Warhammer/AoS scenery: High Elf waystones/Lumineth spires

As Warhammer scenery goes High Elf waystones are a staple, and I think they fit on any AoS tabletop as well. I've always wanted a few in my collection but all my previous attempts turned out badly. With the Lumineth closely mirroring the High Elves (thank you GW) I thought it about high time to make a couple. And here they are.

Get off my lawn! 

Classic Nagash shuffles into my collection

Earlier this year (actually Christmas last year) I finally assembled and painted the new Nagash model. As I mentioned in the previous post the classic model was high on my wish list. Apparently I have a genie stuck in a lamp somewhere around my paint station as classic Nagash made its way to me through a second hand site at a reasonable price rather sooner than expected. Now I had a real challenge: giving a model named 'the ugliest model ever made' a paint job that would make him look like a proper villain. Well there's no accounting for good taste, but I think I succeeded, and (as usual when I paint a model I don't really like) I like him now (as a model, not as a monstrous necromantic deity). 

Classic Nagash is out about the town...

Bloodbath at Orruk's Drift test scenario #3 Linden Way

With another lockdown lifted, I got a chance to test scenario number three from my reimagining of the classic Blood Bath at Orc's Drift campaign. This time the villagers of Linden Way had to escape while a small visiting army tried to hold the little town against yet another invading horde. As with the previous scenario's I first had to reinvent the table layout as wargaming tables have shrunk (while quite ironically the models keep on growing  #scalecreep). Here's the Linden Way table for the Blood Bath at Orruk's Drift campaign.

Linden Way reimagined for a smaller table. I made an improvised lake by cutting a plastic tab divider to shape and covering the edges with moss.  

Prince Imrik rides forth again

A while back I found yet another mystery bag in my box of old miniatures. I upended the contents and out rolled an original Prince Imrik. That was a stroke of fortune (well to be honest I was looking for old High Elves to add to my Lumineth, but lets ignore that bit and focus on the sheer surprise ;) ). Long story short (yes I cut and pasted a too long intro that was originally here): Prince Imrik rides forth again. 

"I walk through the Dreaming Halls and I feel change in the wind. In the rhythm of their slumber, I see omens. Minaithnir tells me that he, too, feels his brethren swimming towards consciousness." <- hint hint GW, please make more dragon riding High Elves Lumineth

The Eagles are coming!

 Back in 2017 I got started on rebuilding the Grudge of Drong scenario for a new age. Part of my then attempt was painting up enough High-Elves to have a fully painted army that matched the one in the campaign pack. That meant I needed three Great Eagles. I got them and then never applied a proper paint job. That changed this weekend. So I can finally join Bilbo and Pippin and state: "The Eagles are coming!"

No clue why, but I think a High Elf army cannot call itself complete without adding at least a few Great Eagles.