Landy's Hobby Blog
Despite feeling like the work week would never end, somehow it did and now the weekend is almost over too! But that means it’s also time again for another issue of the Hobby Blog, and this week has been a bit of a painting slump, but I’ve been getting my hobby on in other ways. So enough with the preamble, let’s get down to business!
As I mentioned previously, the work week was especially long; one of my coworkers was on vacation, leaving the department temporarily short-staffed. This translated into greater workload during the same amount of time leaving me thoroughly exhausted at the end of the day, without much energy left for painting. I’m sure many of you know the feeling all too well, but rather than just stay totally disconnected from my workbench I forced myself to tackle projects that didn’t require as much attention, namely basecoating some old Grenadier and Ral Partha models for a friend of mine. I’m particularly fond of the orcs and the halfling scout standing on his partner’s shoulders.
While it may not look like much work was done on these chaps, it’s a bulk of the colours I’ve got to repeat on another fifteen or so halfling and dwarf models. Since there were only three orc models they got a little bit more attention. All of the models will be receiving an Agrax gloss layer before I matte them down and then reapply some highlights to make them stand out on the display shelf.
In more typical news, one of the local shops decided to cut their remaining stock of GW products, so I picked up a Primaris Captain on sale. Naturally he got the wolf-y treatment with a head swap and shoulder pads. Once painting is finished on this fella he’ll be right at home with the rest of the army.
In non-painting hobby news, I’ve occupied my time with reading and preparing for my Black Powder set to arrive. A couple years ago, I picked up a copy of a guide titled Wargames Illustrated Paints: Your complete Guide to Painting Wargames Miniatures. It’s quite the nifty resource with loads of step by step tutorials and explanations on achieving great looking miniatures with a variety of techniques. Subject matter ranges from fantastical to historical, with an emphasis on applying different techniques in a variety of situations (I.e. how to paint metallic armour, horses, wood, or uniform colours/patterns.)
As if I knew someday I would get some benefit from a book like this, I’m wishing I could thank my past self for snagging this treasure trove of tips. Especially with the variety of recipes for painting British Napoleonic uniforms. The stars have truly aligned on this project in many way. One of my favorite local shops turned me onto a helpful book first published in the 70’s titled Uniforms of Waterloo in Colour. I managed to find a copy on Amazon (what a shock, finding a used copy of a book on there as it was initially created to do!) The colour plates in this book are another invaluable source of inspiration for the uniforms of the various regiments.
To top it all off, Warlord has kicked off their Black Friday sales this week, and Black Powder is featuring heavily, namely with offers like buying a starter set and getting a free box of troops, and a buy two get one free offer. It sounds I NEED to make a cavalry regiment or two after all! With the Thanksgiving holiday this week I’m looking forward to hopefully having some more hobby time to get all of this stuff put into practice, so I’ll keep you all posted with how I progress with this project as it unfolds.
For now, I’ve got to get started on my entry model, Gaius Pallidus by Red Republic Games, for this month’s Painting Challenge: The Heart of a Gladiator.
Quite the imposing fighter for sure! Don’t forget to get in on the action for this month, as you have a chance to win a copy of Joe Veltre’s new game Sons of Mars. It’s a fantastic game in which players take control of a ludus or warband of gladiators and pit them against other players in a bid for freedom and glory. If you want a chance to win, pop on over to the Paint All The Minis Facebook group and submit a model for the painting challenge. One winner will be announced in a video review of the entries next month so keep your eyes on the page for when it goes live.
Anywho, that’s all from me for now, I’ve got gravy boat wishes and turkey dreams on the brain for the foreseeable future! Hopefully the food coma doesn’t get in the way of hobbying!