A detailed account of my various commission/hobby projects.
Warhammer 40,000 – I’m not sure this headline is entirely accurate, but it seems like it could be the case given the number of Custodes projects I’m seeing has increased significantly.
This project is all resin from Forgeworld, painted in the traditional color scheme.
Age of Sigmar – Some of the best designs for miniatures are coming out of the Age of Sigmar line, taking the property from a generic fantasy setting to something that reminds me more of the Masters of the Universe mis-mash of stuff.
Board Games – AMC’s Walking Dead TV show has spawned a bunch of licensed games and merchandise. Most of which is just sticking some images from the show on existing products and charging a premium (The Standard License Model that’s kept USApoly in business for years).
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Dungeons and Dragons – Having your character class as a cute animal miniature seems to be a more of a thing in recent years. I’ve painted plenty of sets of Dungeon Doggies and Catacomb Cats, but this is my first set of Reaper Mouslings. These little guys are very cute and there’s enough variety of them at this point that you could run a full campaign or even mix them in with some of the Mice and Mystics models for some variety.
Warhammer 40,000 – This Iron Hands Successor Chapter just keeps growing. Just when I think I’ve painted the last of it my client finds a few more marines that he needs done to match. Which is great since I love this color scheme and it’s relatively simple to keep unified over the course of several batches.
Jungle Cruise is a really nice looking game!
Board Games – I’ve always loved the Jungle Cruise, the idea of exploring the jungle always stuck in my head as something really cool when I was a kid. Indian Jone, Romancing the Stone and all the rest of the films of the genre really stuck with me. I remember my first trip to Disney riding this at night as one of the last rides we did, I was probably in about third grade and at the time I thought it was the coolest thing ever.
It looses a bit of the magic as an adult but it still holds a place in my heart. The recently released film looks like fun and I can’t wait to see it. Earlier this year my wife and kids gave me the Jungle Cruise: Board Game as a gift. The game is based solely on the ride and not the film property.
First off the game is beautiful, the components are sturdy, well designed and cohesive. I was super excited to get this game out of the box a try it. I own Jaws which was made by the same company and really love the look and feel of that game as well as the mechanics of play.
My first play-through was a two-player game and it became apparent very quickly that this game s more of a roll and go experience. Very few of your decisions in the game matter. You have a bunch of things to do, move around passengers, search for clues, choose your speed, pick the dangers and roll to avoid them . Ultimately it comes down to who gets to the end first with the most “chosen” passengers.
The game is thematic and full of the terrible jokes from the ride, it’s not strategic and is almost completely luck based. For me the theme is strong enough that this will make it out to themed game night every now and then or just as a simple game that gets the family around the table.
Board Games – I’m sure I’ve said it before but Shadows of Brimstone reminds me of RIFTS/GURPS, in so much as it appears to be a mis-mash of any crazy thing you could imagine happening. I’ve painted aliens, cowboys, natives, crazy monsters and space stuff so it was no surprise when a dinosaur, rock people and rats made their way to my table.
I honestly have never played the game or read a ton about it, but the models are all decent quality hard plastic that have just enough detail to make painting quick and simple.
Board Games - Gloomhaven is a massive game and it’s popularity has spawned several expansions. Jaws of the Lion seems to be more of a “prequel” geared toward a casual crowd.
Hardened mercenaries working together to achieved their goals, is the way the game is billed.
Board Games – Dark Souls is a project I’ve been working on off and on for some time now. I’ve finally been able to finish up all the expansions for the game.
This last batch includes the Last Giant, Gaping Dragon, Black Dragon, Explorers, Phantoms and Adventurers and the Iron Keep.
Board Games – Now that things are getting back to “normal” in my part of the world we’ve been able to resume a weekly game night with another couple. Our go to game is Marvel United we’ve played several games each night and have yet to tire of it.
The game is really fun and the cooperative nature means you can easily have a whole group of people around the tale giving input about how you can beat the villain. So even though the adults are playing the game it’s easy enough for the kids to jump in and figure out what’s going on. It’s rare to have a game that flips this easily and still keeps both groups entertained.
I’ve been using a mix of Contrast Paint and traditional techniques on these Chibi miniature and am really loving the results.
Historical – I’m really not sure what these models are used for other than display but I recently painted up another set of Chibi Style German Soldiers. The models are well done and give a comical look to these historical figures.
Historical – Americans and Afrika Corp squads for Bolt Action.
Board Games – Another Glorious Day In The Corp is starting to feel like Groundhog Day. This board game is proving to be very popular among my clients, which is great because I love the property and the minis are well done.
Board Games – Gale Force 9’s Aliens game has been pretty popular with my clients, I think I’ve painted 2-3 sets at this point. From what I’ve read the game is very fun but has limited re-playability since it follows the events of the film very closely. I’ve heard the game is loosely based on an older game that’s very hard to track down by Leading Edge Games. One of my clients was able to track down not only original game but the expansion as well. Rather than use the cardboard standees that came with the game he’s going to use these really neat chibi-style mins.
Warhammer 40,000 – I’ve painted several Space Wolf forces over the years, each one of them follows a similar color scheme and style to this latest project. One of the nice things about well established chapters is the depth of lore and the fully realized look of the army. Once you figure out how you’re going to cary out the look it’s pretty straight forward.
I always start with a slate grey color as my base, it’s a lighter cool grey color that I then apply a heavy wash over using Nightshade. You can get a similar look by applying the Contrast Space Wolves grey, but I tend to stick with tried and true techniques I’ve used before. The yellow is Iyanden Darksun which when you’re painting yellow is a lifesaver, a quick wash of Cassandra yellow really bring out the color. To paint the pelts I combined Contrast colors with traditional techniques.
Warhammer 40,000 – Blood Angels Terminators were at one point the most ornate models GW produced, that mantle has been passed on to newer releases, but these guys still hold up.
This batch was painted for a client that will be running a big Space Hulk event this fall and he needed a few more guys to fill out the game.
Warhammer 40,000 – I’ve painted Eisenhorn a few times now and each time I enjoy it. The sculpt captures what I imagine the character from the novels looks like even if he rules aren’t the best.
Warhammer 40,000 – The Eversore Assassin is unique in the fact that it’s not a stealthy option, this killing machine is kept in stasis until he’s released on an unsuspecting target to wreck as much carnage as possible.
This pose is pretty cool, even though the (what I imagine is) wrecked stasis pod is an odd choice for the base.
Historical – This little tank was pretty fun to paint, I imagine it’s the first piece of a larger force.
