Marienburg vs. the Undeadish (update: undead & spooky stuff)

[DeafNala]

The Dwarfs & Halflings are BEAUTIFULLY painted treasures. VERY WELL DONE!
The nose on the Giant has the potential to be TRULY MAGNIFICENT. Have FUN with the Big Guy.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Thanks. Looking forward to "giant month" again.  




I've started painting up some Westfalia hobbits. 16 figures. 13 crossbow, 1 gunner, and the wizard & apprentice. I think I've hit a turning point in my painting "career": I don't think I can paint the eyes.

I mean, I *can*. And I may paint the apprentice's eyes. But for most of the rank & file they're just too damn small. That's a good thing, in terms of the sculpting proportion & scale. Beautiful figures. But I don't generally paint eyes on 15mm figures, and although these are still a bit bigger than that, I don't think I'm willing to invest the time in it. My own, actual, functioning human eyes are aging. I'm in my mid 40s and I've recently been experiencing some changes in my eyesight (and general eye health, which I won't go into) and I've been trying to just take it as part of the natural aging process and not freak out too much. I did paint the eyes on the sample figures I got from Westfalia last year. I can actually see the eyes on these hobbits just fine, and my hands are still steady enough to do it. But as my time shrinks and there is some extra focus (haha) required to do these details well, I think I'm going to pass on painting eyes on some 25/28mm figures for the first time in my life. I know a lot of people don't bother, even on the human sized figures. And I understand and appreciate the logic behind that, especially in the greater context of what we see at various sizes & perspectives, and the representation of that in any art form.  But I've always prided myself on doing a decent job with eyes, and always painted them. Until now.


I've run into a bit of a paint problem. There are a few off-the-shelf paint colors that I can't live without. I sometimes get a bit OCD about this, and go on epic quests or start hording paints in order to stay supplied One is a sort of dark burnt sienna color whose use evolved from an old Poly S color, which I then found a good equivalent in Ral Parha's (I think) Minotaur Fur Brown, briefly I may have used a Citadel color, but then switched to a Vallejo Game Color equivalent. I can't read the label of the almost empty bottle in front of me, but looking online maybe it's Pestilent Brown? Sort of frustrating, because I need more. I am literally stretching the last bits of paint & pigment as far as I can. But I don't really have any good options (that I am aware of) for buying Vallejo locally. I've been trying to find more accessible alternatives but that has not worked out. I now have an Imperial ton of brown paints of various shades and qualities. I'm on the verge of just trying to mix my own. Like I said, it's sort of like a burnt sienna... but not quite. It's darker, but still retains that subtle reddish color that gives it a great touch of warmth.

I've also been thinking about my plans for the Year of Gaming (aka my mid-life crisis, gaming style, in 2021 ) and have some thoughts. Our new house isn't really a great space for gaming. But one of the trade offs we made with the small house, is a larger yard than our previous homes. And our garage is pretty clean and has, thus far, been unused (by us) for cars. So maybe I could try inviting some friends over for some Garagehammer in the summer. Long day of gaming, cook out on the grill, etc. My table tops are already stored in the garage rafters at the moment. I'm even tempted to make one or two more in order to accommodate larger games. If they're going to be out there, I may as well take advantage of the space, right? Especially if I want to try some all-day gaming. So... just something else I'm thinking about while hoping to get back to some sort of gaming ASAP.


Oh, the drama of a dedicated lifetime miniatures painter.

[ZeroTwentythree]

Starting to write down more concrete info for my long term campaign project. Inspired after finally starting to paint up my Westfalia halfmen (and a painting & collecting a handful of other hobbity folk) I've taken my first shot at a hobbit-centric WFB3 list...

http://www.zerotwentythree.com/2017/02/scrobbleton-jackrabbit-trading-company.html

[ZeroTwentythree]

I've painted the first group of Westfalia halfmen for the Jackrabbit Trading Company (JTC.) These are the crossbowmen. I liked the idea of crossbows because it's a different take on halflings. It seemed to make sense, for some use, to me. Greater draw, range, power than bows or slings. Both of those will still have a place with scouts, rangers, militia, etc. But for the "professional" guard of the JTC, I'm going to use some crossbow troops.



If you look carefully, there is actually one with a handgun. I picked up some miscast figures from Westfalia, with the intention of using them for casualty markers. And I will. But I needed a few more figures for this group, and one of the supposed miscasts was a handgunner that I couldn't find any flaw on. So "Boomstick Bill" the hobbit joined the ranks. Bill's always got to do his own thing.

On that topic, I still wanted one more. So I picked a halberdier from the miscasts, reconstructed his helmet and side of his head (a couple of big bubbles in the casting) and then cut off the halberd and put together a standard. So once this guy is painted, he will join the above unit plus the first sample figure I received from Westfalia, giving me a unit of 16. Or two smaller units of 8. I regret not getting more crossbow hobbits, and if they become  available for general purchase, I would like a second batch.




Yesterday I received (another) package in the mail from Shadespyre. A small batch of the later Citadel armoured skeletons, to match the few I painted up in Deadcember. I knew they were on their way, so I also got hold of a sample pack of similar looking former Harlequin skeletons from Black Tree Design to see how they scaled up. In the photo below, there are three Citadel figures on the left, and three Black Tree figures on the right. Pretty close match!

[Elbows]

Man I do miss those armoured skeletons from Citadel, they were fantastic.

[von Lucky]

Wow, you're hobby output is really crippling

[ZeroTwentythree]

Man I do miss those armoured skeletons from Citadel, they were fantastic.

When I got the first few, I wasn't loooking for them. They came with other figures in a trade. But after painting them, I became quite fond. So I'm hugely grateful that I got some more through the kindness of a fellow undead enthusiast. Seeing the Black Tree equivalents, I'm even happier that there is more variety still being (very affordably!) cast. In fact, I foresee an order of skeletons (and maybe a few other things) from Black Tree in my future, sometime this year...

Wow, you're hobby output is really crippling

Shhh! The only reason I got this done is I'm working on 4-5 hrs. of sleep a night the past week and a half.




I finished the converted pennon/standard bearer for the crossbow unit. I would still like to add a badge to the banner, but have not made up my mind yet. I may plan that out for various units when I get further into the project.




A group shot, including the above figure and champion, the first sample figure from Westfalia. He's painted in different colors, but I will let that slide as a matter of personal choice by the Captain of the Crossbow.




Overall... great figures. Easy to paint & look great. Very happy with how they turned out, and I regret that I didn't get more. So at least one more unit this size is now on my wish list.

[tomrommel1]

your halfmen are really nice indeed

[Little Odo]

That is a great looking unit. Your painting has certainly done them justice. 

[DeafNala]

The are a FINE LOOKING Company of Hobbit Folk. You really do have a WONDERFUL eye for colors & a deft hand with the brush. VERY WELL DONE as always!

[ZeroTwentythree]

I've had a lot of questions about how I paint rust. So here's my two bits...




Seriously, go clicky on the linky and  visit the blog for a better photo and description...

[beefcake]

Hmmmm, "site can't be reached"

[von Lucky]

Try:
http://www.zerotwentythree.com/2017/02/rust-tutorial.html

[beefcake]

Ha, yep. Now I see the problem. Cheers mate

[ZeroTwentythree]

Whoops, sorry. Link fixed now.