A third Screaming Bell rolls onto the scene

Christmas 2020 is upon us and I have a little lot of time reserved to get down to some serious painting. Before the new models pile up I had to get this one photographed and put on the blog. I actually completed this Screaming Bell a few weeks ago, but as I wanted to actually be able to take some time off during the holidays, didn't have the time to photograph it. Anyway, here's my third Screaming Bell in all its glory.

As an aside this marks the second model I've based on an laser cut MDF base. I should do a post about those somewhere in the future.

Bloodbath at Orruk's Drift test scenario #1 Kachas Pass

As far as I'm concerned the best wargames are narrative games. This year I planned to slap Oldhammer and Age of Sigmar together and reimagine a classic. Unfortunately grandfather Nurgle's 2020 tour made it irresponsible to host a day of group gaming. On the plus side it gave me time to actually polish my scenario. To take it up one notch (and because we can safely have limited contact again) I actually tested the first scenario. Now there's a first. Here's some ramblings about applying old school wargaming to new rulesets. 

With a roar the invading Skaven horde stormed the stockade manned by two units of Dark Elves and their commander. 

Classic Screaming Bell painted up and ready to go

"The Screaming Bell is one of the most fearsome creations of the insane Warlock Engineers." With those words GW introduced a large, chariot-like model for the Skaven. To my surprise that was in 1993. I thought the model was older. I remember having the budget back then to get either a Screaming Bell, a Doom Wheel or a Verminlord. As my standard opponent was fielding a Great Unclean One at the time, I picked the Verminlord (and I restored the model a while back). With a recent lucky find on a second hand website I've been able to finally add a classic Screaming Bell to my collection.

Come to think of it, this bell is quite on time for Christmas this year.

Gaslands Refuelled - Mayhem to the Max (and some Gaslands scenery building tips)

 After the first testgame of Gaslands my entire miniature hobby made a 'bootlegger's turn' and screeched into a 'mod your own Hot Wheels overdrive'. Luckily it had the same effect on my brother. This Saturday we went for another match. He made some of his own cars, I updated my scenery and even my wife joined in on the fun. Explosive fun as it turned out. 

I made a billboard by glueing some bits of plasticard together and adding a print from the Futurama's  favorite drink Slurm.

Gaslands test game - Wipe Out on the Kitchen Table

 Last year I got a bit carried away converting hot wheels size cars to the Dark Future/Mad Max aesthetic. After trying my hand at recreating the Dark Future road tiles (and a bit of looking around on the internet) I discovered Osprey Publishing had a much nicer looking ruleset called Gaslands. I picked up a copy of the book, bought some laser cut counters and rulers from a third party, and then promptly never got around to actually playing the game...until this weekend. Finally I had my first post apocalyptic demolition derby I dubbed: Wipe Out on the Kitchen Table.

I started my first game throwing a supercar into high gear, losing control and promptly wiping out in front of both enemy vehicles' front ranging guns.

Nighthaunt's Lady Olyder arrives to complete the court

This weekend I divided my attention between painting a full unit of Die Hard skeletons (not finished yet) and random models around my painting station. One of these was Lady Olynder, the queen of the Nighthaunt. I am rather happy to say that I've completed her paint job.

Lady Olynder, Mortarch of Grief, wobbles in to join my Nighthaunt Army.

Lumineth Realm Lords Light of Eltharion

Between work and my oldest turning five and having his first party, I've had a bit of a busy month. Still in the background I am painting a number of different project. One of those are the new High Elves Lumineth Realm Lords. I am not entirely on board with the humongous horn-helmets of other troops. But the spearmen, cavalry and archers look amazing. As does the floating armor called the Light of Eltharion. I decided to ignore the painting example in the book and try something new (for me at least): a galaxy style cloak. 

I forgot to paint the scabbard when I took the picture, but remedied that at a later point (I just painted a few bits black(ish) and picked out a few details in gold to be honest).

Die Hard Chaos General, Witch & some friends

With the Townscape complete, I finally have room on my desk to get back to painting miniatures. As a starting of point I decided to give a few special models extra attention before getting back to my usual army painting shtick. Front and center where two models from an order I placed with Die Hard Miniatures. Lets get started with my brand new Chaos General. 

A wonderful sculpt by Die Hard and, thanks to the latest General's Handbook, I can make an appropriate AoS warscroll for him.

My Warhammer Townscape is complete

After a rather dismal failure involving a Killa Kan project last year I decided to cheer myself up by building the old Warhammer Townscape from foamboard and coffee stirrers. To be honest I did not think I would see this project through to the finish. But as of this weekend, I can proudly say I did. There I said it: I finished the Warhammer Townscape. Its also a bit more terrain than I'll ever need for a single game :)

"This is madness!"
"Madness? This is Frugelhofen!"

Castle Drachenfels is real?

"The first recorded observations of Castle Drachenfels, the accursed house of hell, were brought to us by Oskar Lefevre and Jean-Pierre Lafontaine of the city of Quenelles in the year 184 (Imperial Calendar)." Not in my wildest dreams did I expect that this staple building of Warhammer's Old World could be real. But there I was in the year 2020 (Gregorian Calendar). And what started as a pleasant visit to the 19th century (faux/neogothic) castle Drachenburg turned into a (potentially) harrowing journey to the darkest place imaginable.

Castle Dragenburg is a very pretty castle. If I ever do find a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow I'd very much like to live there. 

Townscape page 3 all buildings completed

Yesterday I finished the final two 'buildings' for the Townscape: the outhouse and the two tents. Let's just start with these and kick this quick post off.

Finally a chance to go camping in the Old World (or on the Mortal Realms).

Battle for the Comet

This Sunday Goblin Grot Spider Riders, Skaven and the Oger Ogor Mawtribes fought against Dark Elves, Fyreslayers, Dwarves and Bretonnians (*cough* Flesheater Courts *cough*). Seers foretold three precious comets would land in the (wisely) abandoned village of Schweifsternheim. Whoever could claim the precious rocks would gain untold power and riches. Reason enough for a good scrap.

 

With a deranged roar the packed Ghouls stormed a horde of Skaven Clanrats.

Warhammer Townscape page three progress

Buoyed by the completion of page two I've gone to work on page three of the Townscape. Only thirteen buildings left to build (and paint). Perhaps only twelve as I'm still on the fence about building number 35, the Tower. It just looks so wonky compared with the rest of the buildings. With that said, lets go for some work in progress pictures of the last batch.

Now to illustrate social differences in the Warhammer world: the huge Manor House next to the cottage. 

Warhammer Townscape second page finished

Warhammer Townscape is an iconic eighties Games Workshop book. Its hardcover holds cardboard cutout buildings to be used in fantasy wargames. October last year I decided to fulfill a long held ambition: rebuilding the entire set using foamboard, balsa and other materials. To add a challenge (and to make sure I'd build all of them) I decided to use the numbers in te original instructions as the order in which to build the entire set. Yesterday evening, after putting the project on the back burner for a bit, I finished page two (of three). Here's half of this lot.

Here's the first set of page two in the Townscape instructions.

Skaven Verminlord Warpseer Rikittar Slysnout (and an old school metal friend)

Over the course of last week I've finished a Verminlord Warpseer that has been staring at me in partially painted condition for way too long. Using one of the utterly marvelous Character Name Generators at Realm of Plastic I can now dub this painted fiend: Rikittar Slysnout, Conniving Usurper of Torn Realities.

I've been painted and I have a name! What a day, what a lovely, lovely day.

Adeptus Titanicus scenery tutorial

After building my Legio Ignatum titans I had to make some scenery for them. You can't have your poor titans stomping around an empty field after all. GW offers some pretty nifty kits to build scenery with. But (in my very humble opinion) you don't quite get enough scenery with just one kit. Also simply building ready-to-go plastic terrain doesn't quite scratch my hobby itch. So I went a bit wild with the Manufactorum Imperialis kit and made this.

Now we have something to fight over.

Fixing some ancient Chaos models

With the number of reasons to go out reduced and GW closing down, I've had all the time in the world to work on my backlog. The recent restorations of Maalicia Ironhoof and Lt. Varras motivated me to fix some more models I've owned since I discovered Warhammer. Here is the result.

The good, the bad and the ugly?

How to (speed-)paint Bloodletters properly red

How do you paint Bloodletters properly red as most highlights tend to turn them rather orange. It is quite tempting to say a quick apologetic prayer to the Blood God and just go for white or bone colored Bloodletters. It even has the added bonus of red showing up quite well on white. But I personally like my bloodcrazed maniacs looking red. So for those interested here's my technique. It's a very quick way to get these guys painted.

Do you have a minute to talk about our lord and saviour Khorne?

Chaos Sorceror Maalicia Ironhoof painted

This weekend I plucked another model out of my 'to be painted' box. In this case it was the 1987 Chaos Sorcerer Maalicia Ironhoof. I saved the model because I really like the classic Chaos Wizards. In the case of this one the face on a stick with the faceless hood combination is just so wonderfully Old World. In my mind she's got a perfectly human face until the mask comes off. Then there's the void...

Now to think up a proper backstory as to how she lost that leg.

Imperial Flight Officer Lt. Varras gets a new coat (of paint)

A few years back I bought a couple of large lots of abandoned Warhammer collections. In hindsight I suspect weariness with older 40K editions and blind AoS rage where part of the reason the second hand market experienced a glut of badly photographed shipping boxes filled with random models. This Imperial Officer, Lieutenant Varras, was in one of them. I repainted him this weekend.

Don't rest just yet! You'd better strip and paint my crashed ship as well now!!!

Oldhammer Skaven Jezzail Team

As frequent visitors to this blog know, I'm quite a fanatic Skaven collector. Four classic Jezzail Teams are a part of this collection as well as three of the latest edition (late middlehammer I think). Just before Easter weekend I decided to dip one of my classic teams and give them a new coat of paint.

Oldhammer Skaven in a properly oldhammer setting for the picture. I'm still deciding on an airbrushed puff of green for some OSL around the warpstone pellets. Maybe I'll add that at a later stage.

Finishing my maniple with Warhound titans and Cerastus Knights

Now here's something that almost never happens. After this week I can safely state that I've painted
all models I bought! To be sure for Adeptus Titanicus. But still, quite an (unexpected) accomplishment. The last models I had on sprue were these two Warhound titans and two Cerastus Knights.

Two Warlord Class scout titans march onto the field.

Two Reaver Titans join my expanding maniple

Well there's one thing that really can't be argued: quarantine is an effective lead-/resin-/plastic-pile remedy. This weekend I sat down and finished two Reaver Titans to expand my Legion Ignatum maniple. Only two Warhounds and two Cerastus Knights left and my entire Adeptus Titanicus collection will have been painted (I'm ignoring five Ork flyers from Aeronautica Imperialis). Here's a shot of the two Reaver Titans.

Excuse me was that container yours? 

Aeronautica Imperialis fighters join my epic army

With the Coronavirus in full swing, and living in an epicenter, I have some extra reasons not to leave the house. Oh dear what to do with all my time (aside from keeping a cooped up 4 year old more or less entertained)? You guessed it, more painting! Aside from Adeptus Titanicus I also picked up the new Aeronautica Imperialis Wings of Vengeance set. I never really played this game, but as it might just be made compatible with Adeptus Titanicus I couldn't resist the starter box. This weekend I painted the Imperial Navy fighter wing that's in it.

Hojotoho! 

A second Warlord Titan and six Questoris Knights join Legio Ignatum

Did I ever mention my love of Epic and Adeptus Titanicus? I can't stop painting these models. But I'll have to for a bit as I've finished the contents of the Adeptus Titanicus Grand Master edition (except for a few buildings). A second Warlord Titan has joined my first, extra weapon options have been painted and I've finished the six Questoris knights in the box. I've also added transfers and some extra paint splotches to my first Warlord. All in all, I should get around to reading the rules now...

My two Legio Ignatum Warlords and their Knightly friends.

The earth rumbles as Warlord Titans of Legio Ignatum arrive

When news of the return of Adeptus Titanicus hit, I was overjoyed. I played a lot of Epic way back when the original Adeptus Titanicus and Space Marine boxes were new. And even though the rules were a bit hokey, it was a lot of fun. Then the box actually came out and I took a step back as it was about twice the price I had figured on. Also GW told me at Warhammer Fest no infantry was planned for the next five years. This helped me make my will power save versus buying the box for the next two years. I finally failed last month. And I have to say I've never been so happy to fail a saving throw in my life. Here's a shot of my first titan.

Stomp, stomp, stomp, said the Warlord Titan's feet.

Expanding my horde of cannibal Bretonnians

Recently I got started on a new army of Bretonnians painting a small band of five serfs and their lord Vicomte Pascal D'ascii. Sharp eyed readers may have noticed my army does not quite match the usual expectations when it comes to these feudal fighters of the Old World. That's true. I'm actually painting a Flesh Eater Court army. Deranged cannibals living in a shared delusion of noble grandeur. Recently I added a fresh batch of monsters to this army.

Have no fear, the noble knights of the realm are here!

Freshly painted Fir Bolg skeletons

Last year I painted the Nightmare Legion. This classic skeleton 'regiment of renown' has seen quite a number of (very modern AoS) battles since. Aside from bringing me waves of happy nostalgia, it also brought an advantage of metal skeletons to light: they don't fall apart when subjected to my rather cavalier approach to transport. With that in mind I tried hunting down more members for the Nightmare Legion. Unfortunately people tend to seriously overprice old miniatures, especially when they know you're searching for them Maybe I'll get lucky and find affordable extra Nightmare Legion troopers, or one of these two units someday. As that day may never come, I decided to find different suppliers for metal skeletons. My fist interesting find was this unit produced by Brigade Models for their Celtos Fir Bolg line.

A group of 22 Fir Bolg skeletons reporting for duty to Nagash.

Ruin's End, a Warhammer Fantasy 4th Campaign, sessions 8 and 9 - A night at the theater

<This is the second two-parter to catch up with the campaign>

After consulting with Delsoton in the high elf embassy, the group went to their safe house in Suiddock. The house turned out to be on a typical Mariënburger street. Vendors cried out about their wares against a backdrop of liquor stores, bakers and 'spice sellers'. Almost instinctively the members of the group devolved into the most primary human being there is: the tourist.

A random illustration of Skaven Gutter Runners.

Ruin's End, a Warhammer Fantasy 4th Campaign, sessions 6 and 7 - One way trip to Marienburg

My Warhammer Fantasy campaign Ruin's End has gone unreported, but has continued over the past months*. After defeating a burrowed Skaven war party and robbing Ubersreik magistrate Von Bruner's mansion (for the second time) the party thought it appropriate to leave Ubersreik. With the city gates locked, it was a question of how.

A Skaven Assassin.

For the lady!

I love to kick off a new year with a new army. Last year I broke some personal records painting a newfangled Nighhaunt army in a rather insanely short time. This year I decided to add a Bretonnian army to my collection. First though I had to settle on proper heraldry. As a test I painted Vicomte Pascal d'Ascii and his noble serfs.

Any man who would be a knight and follow a king, follow me!

More Townscape buildings finished

My blog may have been a bit silent, but that didn't mean I didn't get things done. Without finding time to type about it, I've been continuing my Townscape project. With some pride I can now state that I've finished the first of the three pages from the 'assembling a building' instructions. Here's three of my latest additions in a row.

It almost looks like a street if I put them like this.