All Quiet

Well its been quiet here on at The Masterwork Guild. Having lots of time on my hands hasn't necessarily translated into painting. I've been popping into my local games workshop on a semi regular basis. Not really bought anything but just like to hang out and get some inspiration!  Im currently working on the Banelegions Mantichora:

I painted up and sold some Zulus on ebay. These guys earned me just £41, but the paint job was a little bit basic.

I've also painted up half a dozen old style Gnolls and Bugbears for one of my D&D friends and I also painted a Space Marine Predator tank as a christmas gift for the neighbour kid.

I have painted up 3 more units of Wood Elves, 6 Wild cats, 6 War dogs and 4 Bears all with handlers. I'll take some pictures over the next few days.

So maybe my blog has been quiet but I've still managed to get some painting done...

Wood Elf Army

I've updated my Wood Elf page with new photos of my army. After setting it up I sat and looked at it in awe! Im so pleased with it! Now I really need someone to have a battle with.

I've also taken a few snaps of my growing undead army (see my Undead page). I might take a break from Wood Elves for a bit and see if I can add a couple more units of skeletons.

However first I've got some Black Tree Design Zulus that need rebasing and sprucing up ready for ebay...

Painted Wood Elf Chariots and Cavalry

Some quick snaps of the Elven Attack Chariots I've painted. I need to set up my dining room table with citadel grass mat (tm) and trees etc and reshoot the entire Wood Elf army! I must get used to taking photos with my tripod as these are a bit blurry! Hopefully get this done on Wednesday.

Wood Elf Chariot update...

In between writing the odd job application, I've managed a spot of painting. Hopefully there's not much more to do on these chariots, which will be ready to roll onto the battlefield soon!

Busy Doing Nothing

The good news is that I haven't exactly been doing nothing...

In fact I've finished off my unit of Mordinis Doomed Nightmare Legion Skeletons. However I'm a bit peeved as I've just read they should be green and gold, however mine are purple and silver! Doh! My painted undead army now consists of Nightmare Legion (40), Zombies (30), 80's Ghouls (5), Current Ghouls (10), Liche King, and the old Tom Meier Zombie Dragon!

Anyways clearing off the undead for a moment has given me the space to sort out my Elf Chariots, which I've spent some time this afternoon putting together and preparing for painting...

Some of the cavalry have already lost their tabs, So I've glued to a piece of wood just for painting. The chariots don't fit brilliantly, so some Greenstuff was required. I've also tried some liquid greenstuff, with which I'm quite impressed with!

Anyways these guys are ready for undercoat as soon as I've finished off painting the fence...

My Last Day in Work...

Today is my last day in work. After nine years the company I've been working for has decided to offer me voluntary redundancy. They even made it financially worth my while! Therefore I might have some time off before I go back on the trail of hunting for a job (Software Testing if anyone has contacts! lol)

My hope is therefore to paint some stuff and post pictures and generally make everyone extremely envious! hehe! (Well one has to have a reason to get up in the mornings!!!)

I even might try my hand at a bit of sculpting...

My First Sculpt from years ago!

Golden Gobbo Painted!

One chaos dude painted, based and photographed!

Golden Gobbos...

Well I have a couple of hours free time this afternoon. So obviously the thing to do is paint something... should I finish off those Elf Chariots ( ahem I mean start!) or should I be led down another direction. Well obviously in the spirit of being a true wargamer, I have as much capacity to be focused on one project as a particularly scatty butterfly on a bad day.

So I've decided to try and paint something for the Oldhammer Painting competition - aka 'The Golden Gobbos'. The idea being painting something possibly from the 80's using the old school vibe of bright colours (and maybe even goblin green base!).

Nothing says 80's citadel more to me than the old excellent Chaos range. I therefore searched around and found the first tub of Chaos and tipped it out.

There are some Marauder Chaos Archers in there which are ok, but the rest all give me the tingles when I just think about painting them. So I've chosen one and it is now on my painting table. Unfortunately, due to the highly regulated nature of the Golden Gobbos (In painting competitions apparently there are rules!), I'm not allowed to say which one, nor provide any work in progress updates. Booo!

Im hoping to finish him quite quickly (Just because I dont have much time!). The deadline being the 13th August. I'd better start or else the paint wont dry in time...

Playing around with camera setup

Obviously the Camera phone isnt quite up to scratch for taking photos of 15mm sized figures! So I dug out my old Digital Camera to see what the difference is...

Phone camera on a sunny day...

My old 5 megapixel digital camera with Macro and flash...

A little bit more practice with the camera and a bit more spacing and the results are definitely better. I might have to spend more time painting to get my paint jobs up to digital media standard. In real life my eyes are not as good as a digital camera! (eyes or painting ability!)

I can resist anything except the temptation of something shiney and new ...

So my Elf chariots are currently half made up and sitting somewhere to the rear of my painting table. In front of them stand a half painted legion of 40 skeletons from the Nightmare legion. A skeletal lord on throne from Reaper miniatures feels the occasional touch of brush, highlighting his purple cloak.

Overtaking them all is a new package containing shiney new playthings. Direct from Copplestone Castings, a slew of 15mm barbarians spill out onto the painting table and are hastily glued on to bases as my excitement grows at the thought of painting them. They are truly nice figures. The sculpting is impressive. So many historical 15mm figures have disappointed, but not these. If you have a weak disposition (such as I) then do not hold one in your hand. More compulsive than the Orthanc Palantir. I despair at the infidelity to my own projects! So many half started and so little time.

In double quick time I knocked these up over a couple of evenings. I've also got some Ogres and Beastmen from Magister Militum. I see a force of Chaos growing. In 15mm! So these are will be either Human Barbarians, Dunlendings or Chaos Thugs! Im going to have to start updating my other blog.

For us, there is no spring. Just the wind that smells fresh before the storm!

Found another one

That nice man Gaj sent me an email offering a replacement Prince Lolair for my chariot. I couldnt believe someone would have a spare one without having a complete chariot (obviously they do -because I have a chariot without Prince Lolair!). Anyway, about the same time that Gaj was rummaging through his lead stash to find him for me, I was also rummaging through mine, looking for bits that I could throw onto ebay. My lead mountain is big enough and the girlfriend is rightly worried for my sanity. During my rummage I found I had another elven attack chariot. Complete this time! Heres some photographic evidence of my long term memory loss/ Citadel Wood Elf addiction...

Are two Chariots better than one?

Maybe there are some dwarf halls under my mountain, filled with dwarves that hammer and heat, who fire and forge minerals deep, into exquisite pieces ready for enchantment. It is the only explanation!

Certainly not that I buy willy-nilly from ebay and like most things I buy, this second chariot was thrown onto the lead mountain pile and forgotten! I got a parcel this morning but didnt have time to open it. I think its my replacement Prince Lolair for my first chariot.

I've just seen on ebay an incomplete chariot go for £43.23 plus £2.50 for p&p! link These toy soldiers are beginning to get very expensive! I've gathered a carrier bag of miniatures that I shall be putting onto ebay shortly - I dont think any of them will be interesting to Citadel addicts unfortunately so dont hold your breaths!

Citadel Elven Attack Chariot

I spent a bit of time this morning cleaning up my Elven Attack chariot after its Dettol bath. Im missing one of the characters, the Prince with spear, however I've bought off ebay the chap below who I am going to try using instead. 

Prince Lolair that Im missing from my Chariot

High Elf Im probably going to use instead!

I just have to wait until he falls through the door (with 7 more elf cavalry friends! oops!) before I decide if he's suitable. What do you think?  Im unlikely to find a Prince Lolair on ebay - without having to buy a whole chariot aswell! I think I may spend too much time and money on ebay as it is!

Its getting to the point I feel I must part with some figures otherwise Im going to start appearing on a Channel 4 hoarder program! One day I will take a picture from inside my garage. Be warned it will be quite scary!

In the meantime I've got lots of other stuff to keep me busy...

Im also adding 'Disciples of the Red Redemption' and 'High Elf Maiden Guard' to my Stuff I wants list!

Stuff I want...

Should I buy some more Elf Cavalry or is 40 too many?

So I've painted all my Elven Cavalry and with my 3 personalities on horses that makes 33. Now I obviously have OCD because Im thinking 40 is a nice round number and therefore I happen to look on ebay and I find someone selling seven more Elf Cavalry troopers. Temptation get thee behind me! or Should I?

I've not really done a miniatures Top 10 like everyone else... (that would have meant spending alot of time trawling through Stuff of Legends) and I've got quite a lot of what I want already! but here is a small list of things Im still wanting! - Some of them arent even miniatures! - theres are other things in life as well you know!

Prince lolair gilandiril (which appears to be missing from my elven attack chariot! doh!)
Citadel Mutant Chaos Ogre - you know exactly who I mean. you wouldnt read this blog if you didnt know him! Anyways I've always wanted him but never got round to getting one.
80's Citadel Dwarves in general! - but definitely the 2 boxed regiments!
*Added Disciples of the Red Redemption!
*Added High Elf Maiden Guard!
A Dremel Stylus - I've never used a one but I reckon it could be useful!
A proper camera for taking better pictures of my painting!
A miniatures display cabinet - no point hiding away all my hard work!
A fellow Warhammer nut to play 3rd edition against!

and time to paint everything! - not much to ask!?

1980's Citadel Elf Cavalry finishing touches

Last bits of touching up and now they are at least playable. I'm still thinking about pennants and shield designs. I might make a start on the elven chariot...

Painted GW Wight King fresh from the painting table

So in between painting all the Elf cavalry, I've been doing other bits to keep me sane. This is a GW Vampire Counts Wight King. I've already got plans to use him as a Lich in my D&D campaign. Im really pleased with his paint job, helped by the fact that, although it is plastic, its actually quite a good model (the chainmail is very crisp, however the fur cloak not so good). As all good salesmen seem to say... the photos, from my phone, don't do the figure justice!

GW Wight King

Elf Cavalry Painting update

A quick photo update...

Elf Cavalry Progress...

A quick update showing a bit more progress. I've almost finished with the horses' flesh tones and some base colours on the elf riders. But Im thinking the lances will have to have pennants made for them and Im not sure whether to have a shield design similar to the LOTR Riders of Rohan. Any suggestions?

The Aftermath of Salute 2012

What a long weekend. I decided to drive up to Salute from Guildford this year. Normally I'd go by train but I thought I would see how it was driving. It was fine apart from the Blackwall tunnel! I parked at 9.40 and paid my £10 for 6 hours parking. Then realised that by doing that I'd miss out on the 4pm painting competition and prize draw! Next year I know not to arrive until at least 10.30 or later...


Anyway a quick list of my purchases:
KR Storage case for £22
A couple more Reaper figures for £10
Unit of 20 goblins from Heresy for £40 (normal price £50! *cough*)

And a "UNGEFELIC" a MANTICHORA from Banelegions for £40 (normal Price £48!):

So I spent £112 (plus £10 for parking) and got 22 figures, a monster and a cardboard storage box. Ouch. Might have to start playing golf as its cheaper!

Then on Sunday I travelled up to London at 6am to support my girlfriend who ran the London Marathon in 4hrs and 50mins. She raised over £2000 for charity! but it was another long day!

I've got a big D&D session that Im preparing for so looks like no more progress on the Elf Cavalry for a little while yet! :(

I have found my painting table again.

I've not really felt like doing anything miniatures related. I've had too much to do sorting out the affairs of my mum. But that's beginning to be more under control I've allowed myself some time to do a bit of fixing and painting. Long awaited progress has been made on some elf cavalry.

Sorry for the poor picture quality. It was a rushed photo from the phone this morning. You'll have to trust me that its Elf cavalry. Why they painted green? I like green - but they will hopefully end up white with a greenish tinge like the cavalry in the rear rank.

I'm finding the sheer number of them quite daunting, so Im painting other things to keep me sane at the same time, Reaper Fire Elemental, Citadel Night Horror and one of the new offerings from GW a Plastic Undead Wight Lord have all felt the touch of a good brush (Pictures to follow at another time).

Also I'm looking forward to Salute. A couple of miniatures companies I wanted to see aren't going (Copplestone!) but I'm sure there will be enough there to keep me happy.

2012 starts here

First post of 2012 will be a quick review of 2011. I was enjoying getting back into Warhammer and painting the odd few citadel figures, and then Real Life throws me a real curve ball. My mum unexpectedly passed away at the end of November. Enough to say that other things have had greater importance recently. But I'm lucky to say I've got some really good friends who've helped me tremendously.
So with a heavy heart I'm just beginning to look forward to enjoying life again. And for me personally that means once again taking an interest in miniatures.
I think my first task will be to sort things into some sort of order. I have soo many miniatures and only a finite time on earth to actually enjoy them! So I need to rationalise my interests and part with those which have become secondary. Hopefully that will allow me to concentrate and finish whichever project I decide to prioritize.
Anyway that's about enough from me. Happy New Year! And may you be lucky in life and in pursuit of your hobbies!