Wednesday 29 November 2017

A Goblin and a Plastic Lady

I've not done much painting this week, because I was away at a steampunk event in the space centre at Leicester (yes, Britain has one, although it's full of other countries' rockets). I have been able to paint another of the mighty goblin horde, and do some conversion work on one of the gangers for the not-Esher gang.



I seem to have about a dozen of this model, which looks rather odd unless you want to make a baggage train. I made him up as he came, although I swapped a severed head for the less grisly horned helmet you can see above. The shading on his skin really hasn't come out well.

This is the start of either a gang leader or a heavy (or just a random maniac). The lower body was from a Malifaux model (hence the tiny feet), the body and arms come from a harlequin, and the head is a Statuesque Miniatures female head. The umbrella was made from a Tau tank hatch and a bit of plastic drainpipe.





 It will all make sense in the end.


Friday 24 November 2017

One Big Nose

Years ago, I had an ogre army for Warhammer. Whenever you bought ogre models, they came with a couple of little minions called gnoblars, with which you could decorate the bases. Gnoblars were small, goblinish things, nearly useless in the game and prone to dying, running off or both.

Anyhow, reading the Tales From Farpoint blog reminded me that I've got a load of these little guys knocking around. I thought it would be nice to paint a few of them. As time's gone on, I've got less and less interested in huge warlords in armour, and more keen on wonky little creatures. I also had some bases from Renedra that weren't doing anything. So this seemed like a good idea.

The problem with gnoblars is that (1) they are very fiddly to paint, and (2) some of the detail isn't great. At least, that's my excuse. Here are the first two in what promises to be a mighty legion.






The guy on the left is hauling a keg of beer - or possibly gunpowder. The one on the right has a club about as big as he is. They weren't converted. If you can't see their faces very well, don't worry - nor could I. Essentially, they're one big nose.

I've got no idea if I'll continue with these or even if I'll be able to take any half-decent pictures of them. But they were enjoyable to paint. Perhaps I'll do a few more - when I'm not painting my Necromunda gang, my heap of Carnivale models, or the kilo or two of stripped metal miniatures. Oh dear.


Sunday 19 November 2017

And Now With Trousers

This week has been interesting, in that I managed to pull something in my back and get a splitting headache at the same time. Unfortunately, it meant that I wasn't able to go to Warfare in Reading, which last year yielded a vast amount of cheap conversion-fodder. I'm a bit annoyed about that.

Still, I have been able to make a start on a new Necromunda gang. Painting standing upright is strange: it's as if you're about to deliver a speech to the model you're holding, like Hamlet with Yorick's skull.

"To be or not to - sod it, I can't be bothered."

 I think the new gang is going to be all female, which I'm always a little unsure about. I'll have to come up with some sort of rationale for this. Anyway, at Newbury I acquired five Prodos games models which would be perfect as Escher-type gangers. I used Dark Eldar arms, because they are armoured but thin enough to fit the shape of the bodies.

The colour scheme was chosen simply because I hadn't used much blue before, and I wanted to avoid the brown and green style of my earlier gang, the Terror Bird Cavalry. I think the models are supposed to be wearing no trousers, but stuff that because it looks ridiculous.


This ganger uses dark eldar arms (they all do) and a head from a Hasslefree miniature.




This models is probably a juve, given her pistol. Her gun arm is dark eldar, and the mechanical left arm came from a Mantic robot with a space marine's hand. The box on her hip is from a Tempestus Scion. I need to do a bit more shading on her face.





 And this ganger has gone for the classic cloak-and-witchfinder-hat combo. Like all these models, the gun was trimmed of some of its twiddly bits, just to make it look more like a human laser gun rather than some strange elf weapon.

I don't want all the models to be Prodos conversions. I've got some suitable miniatures that could be juves or specialists, and I'm very tempted to make this into their leader:




It might take a bit of explaining, though.


Monday 13 November 2017

Deep Thoughts

More Carnivale this week, and this time around it's the Deep Ones. Unsurprisingly, the horrors of the deep have decided to colonise Venice. This is another great metal model, on a base made by Wyrd.

The base is so detailed that it's virtually a miniature in itself.


And the Deep One sits on top.







For a quarter of a ton of enraged sushi, he's a nice model. There are a lot of Deep Ones on the market, but Carnivale's version is the closest to my own mental image of these delightful creatures. I think he could do with a bit more of a highlight on his back scales, but it's hard not to make them too cartoony. I'll have another look tomorrow.

Wednesday 8 November 2017

Two Narns, One Sheik and Some Coleslaw

Narns are chunky alien quadrupeds quite like small hippos. They are beige and greyish in colour, and they taste somewhat bland on their own. Narns are often preyed upon by phallhounds, and can be found around the edge of the Slurry of Curry, soaking up the atmosphere.

In the underhive, where conditions are not suited to larger animals, some locals have trained narns as beasts of burden, and equip them with body armour and metal cases to carry their supplies.


The narns were old epic squiggoths, which came broken. I used the two halves of a plastic barrel as their baggage containers.


Sheik Anvak is a mysterious man who leads a solitary life deep in the wastelands. Although he seems merely to be an old hermit, the raiders take pains to avoid him. Curiously, he never seems to be the man they are looking for. Some claim that he is an ancient mystic, but others whisper that he is really the dreaded crime lord Abdul Goldberg in disguise, lying low in preparation for some new criminal scheme.

Margarita Coleslaw is a respected trader and matriarch of the powerful Clan Coleslaw. The wastelanders say that if it moves, she can get a good price for it - which might explain where several of her more troublesome siblings have gone. 




The sheik was a model from the Spectre line. He was, unsurprisingly, a sheik. I made his hand a bit bigger to keep with the proportions of the other citizens. Madam Coleslaw started off as a Privateer Press miniature called Dannon Blythe. I repositioned her left arm so that she would have her hand on her hip. It was originally holding a sword on her shoulder, which was a bit medieval for my tastes. It's hard to see, but she is holding a coat over her shoulder. I really like the sculpting and the nonchalant style of the model.