Ben's Bits n Bobs

[Ben_S]

Here are the Arabs, probably completed apart from some protective coating. (People in 1:72 groups seem to recommend a coat of PVA or Mod Podge before varnish.)

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I did buy one of the new shades (Mortarian Grime) but found it rather weak for my tastes, so ended up using my stock of old Reikland Fleshshade after all. It was that or wait for another trip to GW. Oh well.

 

[Ben_S]

I've made a start on my YakComp monolith:

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It's a fantasy orc spear, with a pile of scrap around the base.

 

[Ben_S]

While working on this, I had another terrain idea. Take some spare bases and bits of sprue. Sharpen the ends of the sprue into spikes. (I did some with my knife and some with an electric sander. Still not sure which was easier/better.)

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Cut the spikes off and glue them to the base. This could be some kind of difficult/dangerous terrain. (I might make up some house rules - perhaps vehicles can move over them normally, but take a hit to their wheels.)

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I wasn't sure how many spikes were needed for the base, but eight seems a decent number.

I think these pieces could be used in both 28mm and 20mm scales and, come to that, for fantasy as well as sci-fi/futuristic stuff.

 

[Punktaku]

Spikey bases of Khorne!

 

[cainex1]

That would a great way to do Orky armor plates, too

 

[Ben_S]

I made a couple more of those but, while playing around with bits of sprue, I realised that I could also make a tank trap in the style of original GorkaMorka:

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[Ben_S]

Progress has been hindered by persistent wet weather, but painting has now started:

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This is one of those cases where most of the painting will be drybrushing or, at least, 'wetbrushing'. I wasn't sure what order to do things, but decided to do the metal before the bases. If I get brown on the metal, it will just look like rust or dirt (I hope).

 

[Ben_S]

My 'godly erection' (YakComp entry) may not be the biggest or most impressive, but at least I finished quickly...

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[radulykan]

am reminded of the piles of burning orcs in lord of the rings

 

[Ben_S]

Here's my February output:

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8 Strelets 1:72 Arabs and some sprue-based terrain.

I'd hoped to get more done, but a combination of being busy and very wet weather has limited progress.

 

[Ben_S]

I haven't done much for a while, but the other night I did make these guys:

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I did some Undead heroes for Mordheim a while back, but wasn't fully happy with the dregs. Or, to be more precise, I was happy enough with the models I made, but didn't think they really suited dregs. (They looked more like half-orcs or something). So, I thought I'd have another go...

 

[Ben_S]

**Necromantic incantations...**

I ATE'NT DEAD.

There's been little to show or tell for some time now, for various reasons. Let's not dwell on that.

I was working on stuff for ~1:72 (20mm) Gorkamorka. One sticking point there was the limits of Hot Wheel cars. They come in all shapes, but not so much all sizes. Because they're made to fit the packaging, pick-up trucks and vans end up about the same size as small cars.

I think I found the solution thanks to some fairly generic 'Turbo Gears' stuff in Poundland. They had these trucks for £3:

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The little car was included and that's about Hot Wheels size, so I figured that the big truck should also be close enough in scale. Good enough for me anyway. (Opinions welcome.)

I actually bought one of these and started working on it months ago, but then hadn't been able to get any more (despite multiple trips to multiple Poundland branches). Yesterday, I was finally able to get some more. (I bought three, which is probably more than needed - perhaps Poundland have adopted GW's FOMO sales strategy...)

My plan now is to use Hot Wheels for small buggies and some of these things for trukks. (Do I still have time to do one for the current YakComp?)

 

[Ben_S]

These trucks are held together by small screws, so it's relatively easy to take them apart. Only relatively, because one screw on each of the first two seemed to have been over-tightened and simply chewed up the head on my mini screwdriver. I bought a new precision screwdriver set today and have managed to fully dis-assemble one, though I haven't managed the other yet.

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So, not really a lot of progress to show. (That comp deadline is looking less and less likely...)

I realised I hadn't actually shown the first one before It isn't finished yet and most of this was done quite a while ago, though I did some touch ups to the paint job last night. Next step weathering.

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[Ben_S]

Still not much hobbying to show, unless you count buying stuff. (That's a hobby of its own, right?) But, while in Poundland, I also found these little vehicles:

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They're not even screwed together, just clipped. So, you can easily pull them apart. Maybe not so great for young children, but this is what you get:

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It was the bits on the back that I thought most useful. Here they are with some Stargrave figures for scale:

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Not too bad for £2. And lots of other plastic bits leftover, which I expect I can find some use for too (maybe in junk piles or covered by tarps).

 

[Mr. M]

You've got a good eye for scale - those fit right in, especially the open-top dumpster!

 

[MusingWarboss]

unless you count buying stuff. (That's a hobby of its own, right?)

I remember reading somewhere that’s actually how Games Workshop defined their hobby!

Is not playing, not building or painting but just buying it.

 

[Ben_S]

I remember reading somewhere that’s actually how Games Workshop defined their hobby!

Is not playing, not building or painting but just buying it.

I assume they'd say collecting. What people do with it, after buying it, doesn't particularly bother them.

 

[Ben_S]

I've done some washing and drybrushing/stippling. It actually looks MUCH more in the photo than it does to the naked eyeball:

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The tricky thing is that I wanted to give the impression of red/brown desert dust/sand, rather than rust. So, I actually focused on the wheels plus a bit in the back. I'll be adding some pigment powder later too, though I don't know whether that will show once I varnish...

 

[Fold]

Varnish definitely removes the effect of pigment. If you use way more than you want, you might end up with the look you’re after (do test this before applying to a finished model!)

 

[Ben_S]

It's not building or painting, but I did actually play a game yesterday... I used to be fairly regular at a local gaming club around 2014-16, but that tailed off due to a combination of moving further away and GW killing off WFB. Until last night, I'd only been once since 2017 when we moved. That visit was back in February 2020, but something stopped me going back for a while... Anyway, almost 4.5 years later, I went back for two more games of Frostgrave against the same opponent as last time.

He played a Summoner and I took an Illusionist. He won the first game 4-2, but I won the second 3-2, also getting the central treasure. There was quite a scrap over that. He got his treasure hunter to it first, then went to cast Leap, before realising he hadn't actually picked up the treasure. He did pick it up, but I was able to snatch it. I can't quite remember the details. I think I shot one guy, beat another in combat, and Pushed a third, but not necessarily in that order. He tried to stop me escaping by sending an Animated Skull to tie up my treasure carrier, but I was able to Push that away too, not only allowing my escape but also threatening his own wizard. (Though he did end up with the experience both for summoning and then killing the skull.)

I ended the night at level 5, with a small pile of gold, four or so potions and a couple of grimoires.

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Perhaps I'll manage another game within four years next time...