Gotham City Streets Mk II – Weathering

While the construction of my latest Gotham table continued, I decided to try my hand at implementing two more elements to the table – 

• Stamped concrete pavement
• Weathered Concrete

After all the work that was put into the constructionprocess and the painting, it seemed like a bit of a cop-out if I didn't try and make this table as cool as it could possibly be.  Besides, I felt that the concrete was too light in colour and could benefit from a bit of weathering.  Armed with my trusty felt-tip pen and numerous small containers of powdered artist’s chalk, it was time to dive in. 

Gotham City Streets Mk II – Painting

Sourced from http://www.aneelneupane.com/cityscapes/ 

Continuing the progress I’ve been making on my latest gaming table (first part can be found here) I’ve begun the painting process that will hopefully transform this table into something spectacular. 

BMG Update: Gotham City Streets Mk II - Construction

As some of you might be aware, part way through last year I attempted to create a modular BMG Board that used magnets to hold everything together while also providing me with what I thought would be an almost endless stream of variations as new board sections were created.  No plan survives initial contact with the enemy though and after a while it became readily apparent that I needed a new strategy.  The pieces I had ordered didn't fit quite right, nor did the pieces that I had cut to act as the ‘pavement’ to provide a distinct recess for the road sections to pass through.  In the end, I decided to admit defeat and look for a new approach.  A new opportunity arrived in the form of a sizable piece of MDF coming into my possession that was close to the dimensions that I required for a Batman table.  Sure it was a little larger, but that’s all part of the fun right? With a surface to work with, it was time to play Town Planner...

Batman Update - On the Case (Pt 2)

Continuing our look into alternative storage options for your BMG miniatures, we look at what happens when your collection gets so large that it can no longer be contained within the books.  When you reach this point, it is an entirely legitimate tactic to go out and buy yourself a dedicated case from a specific bag making company (personally I'd recommend either Battlefoam or KR Multicase if you're going to go down that route), or you can be daring and utilise those skills you initially developed while working on the book case (punny I know...) to take your storage potential to the next level.

Batman Update - On the Case (Pt 1)

Hey all!  After spending quite a bit of time focussing on RL stuff, I’ve finally gotten some time to sit down and compose my thoughts regarding some of the progress I’ve made on one of my (many) BMG projects I have currently going on.  Of the many irons I have in the fire, the first one I wanted to cover was my attempts at creating viable alternatives for storing and transporting BMG miniatures.  

Batman Update: Crikey!! Killer Croc Emerges

Pic done by the very talented grimbro over at Deviantart.  

The other week I found an offer on one of the various Facebook Buy / Swap / Sell groups that specialise in Batman Minis.  Specifically it was for Killer Croc who was NIB.  Eager to see how the big lug would go in my band, I went over to Bat-Builder to see if they had any articles specifically related to his use in game.  Lo and behold, the good people over at Critskillpeople have done just that.  After completing the article I promptly inquired about the model.  A few messages later, Killer Croc was in the mail, hurtling towards by location at the speed of a starving croc descending on some unsuspecting prey at a watering hole (or at least as fast as Auspost could manage).  Upon arrival I was greeted with the wonderful sight of a vastly oversized blister pack containing the reptilian thug nestled safely inside.

Batman Update: Raising Gotham

With my efforts in painting miniatures bearing considerable fruit, it was time to get started on building an actual gaming table to play on.  BMG runs an unusual table size (at least unusual for me) of 90cm x 90cm which is a bit of a departure from the old 4’ x 4’ table I’m used to playing on with GW games or Wrath of Kings.  Armed with this knowledge, I set out designing a gaming table that would allow me to bring Gotham City to life...

Batman Update - Joining the League

Once the past week I've been determined to build all the models I have for my League of Shadows gang so I can start playing some practice games in against the upstart Joker Gang being run by Nathan.  With the almost limitless opportunity for narrative play, I have no doubt that these early games will be the beginning of a long-running campaign for control of Gotham's seedy underbelly.  With that in mind, the more resources I have at my disposal, the likelier it is that the League will be able to establish a beach-head / power-base.

#TerrainTuesday – The House that Trev built 2nd Edition (pt 1)

As a means of raising a bit of extra cash, I’ve recently started to build terrain that will be going up for sale on eBay in the near future.  For the most part, the type of terrain up for sale will vary between Fantasy and Sci-Fi, but to start with, I embraced the skills developed from previous endeavours and began my own housing development. 

WoC Update - Let your freak flag fly (WiP)

After choosing Nurgle as my glorious patron for the upcoming tournament, I sat down and decided to at least finish painting the Standard Bearer for my warriors unit.  After sitting in my army case for several years now, I felt I could at least make an effort to get them painted.  With the musician already done and the Champion well on the way to completion, getting a fully painted command group seemed like a reasonable goal to have.  Besides, they would look totally awesome once they were completed.

WoC Update - Ridden Hard and put away wet

So it turns out that the Centaur idea I was toying around with the other week has taken on a life of it's own, resulting in a pair of the humanoid-quadrupeds being assembled.  Hopefully this will add to the fluff surrounding the unit, acting as scouts and messengers for the huntsmen, whilst also working to flush out the bigger critters so that Bessie can do his thing.  In gameplay terms, these models will act as mini-fillers, taking the place of two individual warriors each.  The creation of a viable (some might say breeding) pair of mini-fillers will mirror the effect I've attempted to produce in my other units of chaos warriors.  Of all my conversion projects, this one has to be the most complicated that I've ever attempted.  The real skill of course, is making it look good...

WoC Update - Touched (inappropriately) by Nurgle

With the imminent demise of 8th Edition (and the Old World, but we don't like to talk about that one...), my local gaming group has decided to hold a Farewell Tournament for 8th Edition in May.  As soon as I heard about the tourney I had two choices - take a fully painted Tzeentch list or try out an army list that is totally different and would have absolutely no chance I getting painted in time.  Guess which route I took?  As a result, I've taken the opportunity to put some paint on my Nurgle units to see if I can't make at least some progress on what has turned out to be a stalled army project.

Hobby Update – Restanding the Triple Helix Project

With the recent sale of my Legion of Everblight, I’ve been considering a number of different gaming systems that might act as a suitable replacement for the third ‘strand’ of my triple helix project and after jumping between a multitude of different gaming systems (including, but not limited to Helldorado, Wild West Exodus, and Bushido), one seemingly fell into my lap after a Kickstarter I funded about 2 years ago arrived....

Salamander Update – Into the Breach(ers)!

As part of my ever-expanding collection of conversion pieces and specialist kit, I purchased a set of boarding shields a year or three back, intent on creating a unit of Boarding Marines as described in Imperial Armour Volume 9.  With my Heresy project picking up dangerous levels of speed, I decided to finally use the boarding shields in my collection and combine them with a unit of 10 Marines in Mk4 armour to create a Legion Breacher Shield Squad that looks pretty sweet despite the distinct lack of Mk3 awesomeness. 

#TerrainTuesday – Bus Stop Short Stop Complete!

It seems that for me, 2015 is about getting partially completed projects done and maximising the organisation of my gaming space.  To this end, I’ve been spending quite a bit of time revisiting old projects and working to get each one finished before moving onto the next one in a flurry of paint cans and weathering powders.  As a result, I’ve not only finished the bust stop, but I’ve also managed to complete several more besides.  Those others are for later though.  Right now it’s all about the Bus Stop

Salamanders Update - Accessories are your friend!! (a sequel)

Hey-ho all, just a short article today (though short is a relative term at this blog) about a line of 3rd party bits that I've found to be really useful while working on my Salamanders.  While there are two distinct companies I'm using at the moment, I thought I'd just focus on one for starters.

Hobby Update - Mandatory New Year's post incoming

So as I sit here, I'm perusing my blog feed, catching up on the adventures and progression of a myraid of projects / undertakings from a vast swathe of gamers, painters and all-round awesome people and in the process I'm reading my fair share of 'New Year' posts and as a result I'm feeling inspired to improve my own offerings to the peoples of the Internet after a pretty dismal effort during 2014.  Last year was a travesty solely due to a lack of drive on my part to actually sit down and transform my poorly-written notes into something legible and when I did, I never found the time to take the pictures necessary to make the article more like something that has the potential for entertainment and not some giant wall of text (think I failed on that one anyway, but hey-ho, that's just the way it is I guess).  But that's what these types of articles are for really - granting everyone a clean slate, a fresh opportunity to transcribe a more positive future for oneself.

Hobby Update - Let the Heresy Commence!

During this past year I've been making a start on a new project - a Horus Heresy Era army. Now, when I say make a start, I really mean that I've read a whole bunch of unit breakdowns, all three HH Rulebooks and a swathe of Heresy fiction produced by the amazing authors of Black Library. On top of this, I've been trolling EBay for bargains and I have to say, I've not been disappointed. Much resin crack has been purchased for this project and now awaits the gentle caress of my paintbrush to bring it to life. As another exciting development, I've finally found a purpose for a number of models that have been sitting around in drawers collecting dust that I was struggling to get into my standard 40k army. The biggest question left to answer was - which Legion was I going to collect?

#Terrain Tuesday - Bus Stop Paint Shop

What do you get when you cross a low hobby drive and no internet?  Nothing! And that's exactly what's been happening with this blog the last couple of weeks.  Thankfully though, I'm a stubborn bastard and I'm not about to let this blog die just yet.  Yeah I know, you thought you were free of me, but guess again! You're stuck with me for at least another week or so.  The thing is, with little hobby drive to build terrain, I'm a little limited on the progress I can share.  Limited, but not incapable...

Salamander Update - Flame on!

This week has been a bit of a kerfuffle with life demanding much of my attention once again.  Added to this, a freak heat wave of sorts has meant that getting anything painted has been a bit of struggle.