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Blood Angels Space Marines Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

Hobby philosophy: old and new paint jobs

Here’s a little old/new paint job comparison. It’s not night and day, but I can see the benefit of experience!

From left to right, the Infiltrators are July 2023, May 2020, July 2023; Chaplains are July 2020, July 2023.

I put in a couple sleepless nights getting the three new models ready for a 40k game. It was great to get back to painting Blood Angels!

The biggest changes are attempting proper edge highlighting, pin washes rather than all-over washes on armor, and being sparing with the final highlights. My brush control isn’t where I’d like it to be yet, but it has improved.

Thinking about how these will look in play, older paint jobs mixed with newer ones, reminded me of something I wanted to get up here on Yore for posterity.

A few years back I saw a post on Twitter that has quietly become one of my miniature-painting hobby touchstones. (I wish I’d taken a screenshot!)

It was a photo of thousands of points of 40k models from the same faction, some of which were quite clearly painted differently than the rest.

The poster noted that those were his older models, and that instead of being frustrated they didn’t match he looked at it like this: It’d be sad if they didn’t look any different, because that would mean he’d never made any progress as a painter.

I love that.

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Categories
Blood Angels Space Marines Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

New baseline Blood Angels color guide

I committed to learning to pin wash when I started painting BattleTech minis again, and since my first outing I’ve added it to my toolkit. That also means it’s time for an updated Blood Angels color guide, since pin washing is a big part of my Space Marine painting process now.

Old/new comparisons: Infiltrators (left) are July 2023, May 2020, July 2023; Chaplains are July 2020, July 2023

The pin wash on their armor takes a lot longer than an all-over wash, and requires a level of focus that feels closer to what I put in when I’m highlighting. But the payoff is worth it: It’s easy to neaten up messy bits using my base coat color; it preserves the redness of Mephiston Red, which means I don’t need as many highlights to bring back the red (as I did with my old approach); and the shading gets to do more of its work.

2023 general Blood Angels color guide

As always, these recipes are based on the Citadel studio recipes with some tweaks, and nothing is drybrushed unless noted. Highlighting is a mix of edge and point highlights.

  • Red: Mephiston Red > Agrax Earthshade pin wash> Evil Sunz Scarlet > Fire Dragon Bright.
    • Be sparing with the orange highlights.
  • Gold: Retributor Armour > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Auric Armour Gold > Liberator Gold.
  • Black, including 99% of armor gaskets: Abaddon Black > Eshin Grey > Dawnstone.
    • For grey armor gaskets (like on Chaplains and Death Company dudes, who have black armor): Mechanicus Standard Grey > Nuln Oil all-over wash > Dawnstone.
  • Metal: Leadbelcher > Nuln Oil all-over wash > Ironbreaker > Stormhost Silver. Notes for specific metal stuff below.
    • Go easy on the Stormhost, a little goes a long way for stuff like guns.
    • Cylindrical things: Do a volumetric highlight with the Ironbreaker, hitting just the top surface, then follow up with a tiny bit of Stormhost.
    • Jump pack forward vents: These are a pain in the dick to highlight, so I just do one light drybrush of Ironbreaker (with a tiny brush) and call it good.
  • Eye lenses: Moot Green > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Moot Green.
  • Scope lenses: Pick one:
    • Blue: Caledor Sky > Temple Guard Blue in a crescent from 2 o’clock to 8 o’clock > dot of White Scar at 11 o’clock.
    • Green: Moot Green > 50/50 Moot Green/White Scar in a crescent from 2 o’clock to 8 o’clock > dot of White Scar at 11 o’clock.
  • Bolter rounds visible in magazines: Warplock Bronze > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Brass Scorpion.
  • Purity seal wax: Screamer Pink > Carroburg Crimson all-over wash > Pink Horror > Emperor’s Children.
  • Parchment and cloth: Rakarth Flesh > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash, but keep it light on the flats > Pallid Wych Flesh > White Scar.
    • Writing: Scribble on the parchment freehand with Abaddon Black
  • White: Celestra Grey > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Ulthuan Grey > White Scar.
  • Yellow: Averland Sunset > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Flash Gitz Yellow.
  • Most leather: Khorne Red > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Wazdakka Red > 50/50 blend of Wazdakka Red/Kislev Flesh.
    • If it’s textured (like on the old-school resin Chaplain with Jump Pack), replace the highlights above with a single step: Wazdakka Red drybrush.
  • Purple gems: Screamer Pink > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Pink Horror in a crescent from 2 o’clock to 8 o’clock > Emperor’s Children in a smaller crescent over the Pink Horror area > dot of White Scar at 11 o’clock.
    • Also applies to tiny screens, just with different colors.
  • Jump pack jets: Caledor Sky > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Temple Guard Blue > Baharroth Blue.

Going forwards I’ll probably just update this guide rather than writing a new one for every type of unit.

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
Categories
Blood Angels Space Marines Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

The paint-play-paint motivation cycle (and a Chaplain color guide)

“I’ll get to play with these” has been a powerful motivator since I got rolling in 2020, and I’ve always speculated that “I played and I like/didn’t like X, I need to paint some Y for my next game” would be similarly powerful.

Kill Team has produced that cycle for me, except instead of X being my team and Y being something new for my team, Y is just more teams. Every time I play, especially when I’m “curating” the whole experience in home games (providing the board, terrain, minis, rules, etc.), I want more options available.

That cycle has now kicked into gear with my Blood Angels, my largest and oldest 40k army. I’ve played two short games, enough to get an idea of what I like in play and what I wish I could field, and now that I’ve got a larger game — 1,000 points! — on the calendar for this week, I’m scrambling to paint three minis so I can field them right away.

Helix gauntlet and comms array Infiltrators on the left, Chaplain on the right

I want a sixth Infiltrator to form a complete kill team (joining the five I already have painted), and he and a seventh have the wargear I didn’t model on my Infiltrator squad because it wasn’t free in 8th or 9th and I needed the points. Now that it’s free, and I’ve seen that Infiltrators are fun to play, the helix gauntlet and comms array should come in handy.

I had to kitbash the helix gauntlet, which doesn’t come in the kit. Google turned up a great idea on Funnyjunk, of all places: use the comms array guy’s arm, shave down a couple of grenades for the medical lights, and add a needle. I had an extra comms arm; I trimmed off an Infiltrator backpack antenna for the needle.

I’ve also shied away from fielding my Death Company lads because of their mechanics: They’re not as good without a Chaplain, but they have jump packs and my Chaplain, Arrius, does not. So it’s time to paint a jump-chap, and hey I have this resin guy just hanging around…

Hello, resin, my old “friend”

Chaplain with jump pack color guide

Same base as my other Blood Angels, of course, and as always these recipes are based on the GW studio recipes with some tweaks. Nothing is drybrushed unless noted.

  • Armor: Abaddon Black > Eshin Grey > Dawnstone
  • Metal: Leadbelcher > Nuln Oil all-over wash> Stormhost Silver
  • Armor gaskets and helmet tubing: Mechanicus Standard Grey > Nuln Oil all-over wash > Dawnstone
  • Gold: Retributor Armour > Reikland Fleshshade all-over wash > Auric Armour Gold > Liberator Gold
  • Skull mask: Celestra Grey > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Ulthuan Grey > White Scar
  • Eyes: Moot Green > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Moot Green
  • Purity seal wax: Screamer Pink > Carroburg Crimson all-over wash > Pink Horror > Emperor’s Children
  • Parchment: Rakarth Flesh > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Pallid Wych Flesh > White Scar
    • Then scribble on it freehand in very fine Abaddon Black
  • Crozius handle: Khorne Red > Agrax Earthshade all-over wash > Wazdakka Red > 50/50 blend of Wazdakka Red/Kislev Flesh
  • Knee pad, shoulder pad, bolt pistol housing: Mephiston Red > Agrax Earthshade pin wash > Evil Sunz Scarlet > Fire Dragon Bright
  • Jump pack jets: Caledor Sky > Drakenhof Nightshade all-over wash > Temple Guard Blue > Baharroth Blue

It’s been ages since I painted a purity seal, and I’ve forgotten what color I used to scribble the freehand “writing” on the parchments. This time I wrote it down!

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Categories
BattleTech Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Warhammer 40k

Miniature painting maxims that have helped me for the past three years

I like maxims and I like self-reflection. This post combines the two: a little look at some of the maxims that have served me well over the past three years of painting, and some reflection on them — especially in light of actually getting to play.

Any progress is progress

Since I got properly into miniature painting in 2020, I’ve done something to make forward progress on miniatures every single day. Sometimes I’ll go months where I’m literally scraping one tiny piece of mold line just to check that box, but those periods are banking the fire so that it doesn’t go out entirely. This isn’t my only hobby, and when something else is bringing me more joy I do that instead.

But it all adds up. Never stopping means always moving forward, sometimes in tiny increments and sometimes in fevered painting frenzies, and eventually painted forces and terrain start to emerge and multiply.

John C. Maxwell had it 100% right: “Little progress is better than no progress at all.”

I need the prospect of play for motivation

My motivation to paint isn’t solely dependent on playing — I painted for three years before playing my first game with models I’d painted — but it’s a huge factor. I enjoy painting for its own sake; the act itself is fun. But knowing that I’ll be able to play a game with all the stuff I’m painting is the X factor that keeps me coming back to the painting table.

Every time I’ve had a game on my calendar, I’ve kicked into painting overdrive. I spent hours before my first Kill Team game wrapping up the combat gauges and barriers, and then did the same thing again before my second game — a 6.5-hour push to finish a piece of terrain.

It’s almost comical how much “I get to use this stuff!” motivates me.

Paint for arm’s length

I’ve always said that I paint my minis for viewing at arm’s length. That doesn’t mean I phone it in: It takes me five hours to take the average model from sprue to varnished and ready to play. That number likely sounds appallingly low to some painters and appallingly high to others, but it’s the right number for me.

I do get closer than arm’s length to all my minis during play, of course. There’s real joy in getting an eyeball right up behind a tiny head to see what’s in the unit’s line of sight! But much of the game is played at arm’s length.

I also use a magnifier when I paint — though as infrequently as possible. Under good magnification, every miniature I paint needs hours more work than I can give it if I ever want to finish. But if I don’t magnify, I can better balance doing my best and actually finishing stuff.

Write everything down

I’ve been writing painting notes and color guides since 2020, and it’s paid off so many times. Just this past week I finished a terrain piece I’d started in, like, 2021. I could tell where I’d left off and knew how to finish it in a way that was consistent with my existing pieces because I’d written it all down.

I get a lot of mileage out of color guides other folks share, so I also like sharing mine in a format that I hope is easy to follow.

It has to get to the table

So many of my creative endeavors owe a debt to Voltaire: “Perfect is the enemy of good.”

I try to do my best work on every model, but also balance that with eventually finishing the fucking thing. I paint partly to paint and partly to play, so I want my stuff to get to the table…which it can’t if I take a million hours on every model and lose all my motivation to keep going.

Spray terrain, but not figures

I’ve been burned by spray varnish a few times over the years, so when I started painting in 2020 I committed myself to avoiding rattle cans. I brush on my primer (Vallejo matte white) and sealant (Vallejo matte), even though it takes longer, because I have complete control, zero dependence on the weather outside, and a 0% chance of having the temperature or humidity ruin a model.

The exception is terrain, which I spray with Citadel’s primer/base coat rattle cans. Here in Seattle the weather’s only good for spraying minis about 1/3 of the year, so I tend to spray a raft of terrain in the summer and then stash it for future use.

I also made an exception for an army which it seemed silly not to spray: Custodes, which I base-coated gold in one 2,000-point batch. Which leads me to…

Don’t paint in large batches

I told myself not to do this early on, and I’ve only broken this rule once — to my detriment. I have a 2,000-point Custodes army which is 100% based in gold, and has its gold shaded, with a handful of figures further along than that…and it’s largely sat just like that for more than 18 months. Every time I get them out, I feel exhausted at the prospect of working on them.

My usual process is to base coat the whole model, which narrows down from “paint it all” to “paint what’s still white” as I progress, and then to touch up the base coat before shading. Having batch-painted my Custodes torpedoed both of those stages: I hate looking at a solid gold model and hunting for the stuff to paint over, and I hate painting base coats next to shaded work.

Five models is a good number for me to be working on simultaneously at any given stage of the process, or ten at the most. Like right now on my painting mat I’ve got three Tyranid Warriors at the wash stage, five Grey Knights that need priming, and four crates I just varnished. When I want to work on minis, I have three manageable batches from which to choose.

Try not to be hard on myself

I’m notoriously hard on myself about my paint jobs. I have to make a conscious effort not to be, especially as I gain experience and my detail work improves.

But actually playing with my painted minis has made it significantly easier not to sweat it. During the four games I’ve played with my models to date (BattleTech, 40k, Kill Team x2), not once have I been disappointed with my work or thought, “Man, I wish I’d painted that better.”

I’m not thinking about the imperfections, I’m just having a blast playing a game with my opponent and enjoying a table full of painted stuff.

The Rule of Cool still rules

When I assemble a mini, the Rule of Cool prevails — from wargear choices to pose, I do whatever I think is cool. I do look at the rules and let them inform some of my choices, and I’ve noticed an uptick in that after actually playing (which makes sense), but Rule of Cool usually trumps optimal loadouts.

Similarly, I often like big, sprawling, dramatic poses…which are a real detriment in Kill Team, for example, because they make the model easier to see from more angles. But in play? I’ve never once thought, “I wish I’d made that dude more boring so he’d be harder to shoot.”

The same goes for wargear choices. For example: Both of my Tactical Marine fire team leader choices for Kill Team have a pistol and a melee weapon, and after two games I kind of wish at least one of them had a Bolter instead. But I’d rather just paint up a third leader than fret about my Rule of Cool-driven choices.

Painted models are worth the effort

This is Miniature Painting 101, but it wasn’t obvious to me until I actually played. Almost all of my wargaming until this year has been played with unpainted minis or cardboard tokens/models, plus the occasional game with factory prepainted models.

When everything on the table is painted, my mind is there. I immerse myself and try to live the battle no mater whether stuff is painted or not, but it’s much easier, and unlocks a higher level of immersion, when everything is painted. And I’d take any player’s best efforts over any factory prepaint; the personal investment also makes a difference.

That investment is key for me, too. I feel invested in my army — the one I sweated over for an average of five hours per model, trying to push my skills and stay motivated — in a way that’s unlike my investment in any other style of game.

That’s all I can think of for now. Happy painting!

July 14, 2023 update: I forgot one, naturally — and it’s a biggie. I gave it its own post, but TL;DR it boils down to your old and new paint jobs not matching up being a good thing.

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The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
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Finished miniatures Lightbox photos Miniature painting Miniatures Terrain Warhammer 40k

Catching up on lightbox pics: 40k terrain and a mantis

I snapped these back in January, of stuff I finished in December of 2022, and then forgot about them until now.

Sector Mechanicus dome/stack

I had a lot of fun building this piece. All of these sets interconnect so well that it’s satisfying to play around and find ways to work in “off-book” connections.

Ferratonic Furnace

I have a couple of these, so I felt free to assemble this one as a single piece — no modular lid. The Wraithbone railings and pipe fittings tie it to my Sector Manufactorum terrain.

There’s something therapeutic about drilling little bullet holes in terrain.

To matched the blasted and ruined look of my Manufactorum pieces, I added battle damage to the railings.

I assembled the platform and railings such that it can play nice with almost any walkway piece. The corner with the hazard stripes has a bite taken out of it with my hobby nippers.

Sector Mechanicus walkway

I clustered the railings in the center, leaving both ends and the “sides” of the ends free to connect with other walkways.

All of my ladders are carefully placed to as to mostly play nice with other terrain pieces.

I wanted this to fit in with my blasted-up Manufactorum stuff, so I used clippers and my hobby knife to tear chunks out of the platform. I kept the holes small enough to avoid being hazards for the actual miniatures.

Thermo-Exchanger Shrine and miscellaneous tank

Shipping containers and misc. bits

The bottoms are fully painted too, but not interesting enough to photograph. I paint the bottoms because these are so modular that they look good at weird angles, on their sides, etc.

Giant dire mantis

My kiddo, Lark, loves preying mantises, so I painted this giant dire mantis (a 3-D print I bought on Etsy) as a Christmas present. I used some glazing and progressive drybrushing layers to try to make it look natural, and the overall model uses something like 19 colors. It was a ton of fun to paint.

And that’s it, I’m all caught up! Now back to assembling Brôkhyr Thunderkyn for my Votanni army.

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
Categories
BattleTech Godsbarrow Miniature painting Miniatures Tabletop RPGs

Housekeeping updates

Hark! A wild round-up appears. I usually find writing housekeeping posts super boring, but things have been quiet here and I wanted to post a little update on the irons I have in the fire. (This post wasn’t boring to write.)

Godsbarrow and the Gilded Lands book

I haven’t posted any new Godsbarrow material here in months, but not because I’ve lost interest in my setting — I’m still working on it every day!

I really want to put out a second book, so the new stuff I’ve been writing is all part of The Gilded Lands: Godsbarrow Guidebook 2, which will hopefully be out this year. (I published The Unlucky Isles: Godsbarrow Guidebook 1 [affiliate link], in November of last year.)

So far my experience with the first book is holding true: about 50% of The Gilded Lands is new material. Revisiting and expanding it is a hoot. The best days are the ones where I get a wild hair about something, write it, and it feels like I’m just describing something that already existed because it fits the setting so perfectly. (On the days I’m just not feeling it, my “safety valve” is doing the bare minimum: jotting down a name, tweaking a snippet of text, etc.)

All of my Godsbarrow energy is going into fleshing out the Gilded Lands.

#dungeon23

My #dungeon23 project, the Black Furnace, is ticking along nicely. I write a room a day (which is the whole idea), and I’m currently about 75% done with level 2.

So far the pace is manageable, and the empty room safety valve is there for days when I need a break. Even if I don’t finish my megadungeon (not my plan, but you never know), I’ve already designed my largest-ever dungeon.

Miniature painting

I’m still working on BattleMechs, just much more slowly than I was in January. This is the third of my “do it every day” long-term projects, and at any given time one of the three is just getting prodded along without any meaningful progress. Right now, that’s painting.

Once Lark and I play a game with all eight painted minis, I’ll be more motivated to finish the next four.

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
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BattleTech Finished miniatures Lightbox photos Miniature painting Miniatures

Second lance of Long Nights ‘Mechs

Today I finished painting my second lance of ‘Mechs, two heavies and two mediums for my Long Nights mercenary company.

No outdoor shots today, just the lightbox — but I remembered to use my grey backdrop this time!

L to R: Rifleman, Warhammer, Phoenix Hawk, Blackjack

I sometimes regretted combining two colors that are notoriously difficult to paint — white and yellow — in the Phoenix Hawk’s color scheme, but I’m happy with how it turned out. Walking the line between looking like an anime mobile suit and looking like a BattleMech without being too twee about it was an enjoyable challenge.

It also gave me a chance to try Soulblight Grey, GW’s new grey wash, for the first time. It’s interesting stuff, almost feeling more like a contrast paint than a shade paint; it’s kind of milky. But it walks a pleasing line between no wash and a black wash.

Butts

I’m not sure how long it will last, but my goal is to never repeat a paint scheme. “They’re mercenaries” is a great excuse to just experiment and have fun painting whatever feels right at the moment.

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
Categories
BattleTech Finished miniatures Lightbox photos Miniature painting Miniatures

My first lance of ‘Mechs in 16 years

Today I finished the first ‘Mechs I’ve painted since 2007.

L to R: Valkyrie, Archer, Marauder, Wasp

This lance for my Long Nights mercenary company is full of firsts: essentially my first time doing camo (I was about 10 for my actual first time), pin washing, flocking, detailed glass, and really pushing for subtle edge highlights.

Natural light close-ups

Sigourney “Lucky” Long’s Marauder
Ragnar “Night Sweats” Thorpe’s Valkyrie
Gabrielle “Dozer” Baudin’s Wasp
Ishida “Beef” Toyokazu’s Archer

Lightbox shots

These didn’t turn out as nice as the natural light shots above, but I took ’em so here they are anyway.

The whole lance
Marauder (my favorite angle)
Marauder front
Marauder rear
Valkyrie front
Valkyrie rear
Wasp front
Wasp rear
Archer front
Archer rear
Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
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Deathskulls Orks Finished miniatures Kill Team Miniature painting Miniatures Tyranids Warhammer 40k

My 2021 and 2022 in miniature painting

In early 2021, I did a year-end retrospective photo for 2020 — the year I got back into miniature painting. I painted 97 miniatures that year, and I had a blast; returning to an old hobby I’d never quite clicked with (it’s complicated) was a perfect lockdown activity.

By contrast, 2021 saw my enthusiasm flagging. I started the year strong, but finished just keeping my hobby streak alive. I didn’t do a year-end photo.

2022 was about the same as 2022. I wasn’t planning to do a photo for last year, either, for pretty much the same reason: I figured it’d be disheartening.

But in December I got back into BattleTech, and also saw how close I was to finishing some killer 40k terrain pieces, and got excited to crank some stuff out. So I finished the year stronger than expected, and that led me to get off my butt and take retrospective photos for 2021 and 2022.

Everything I painted in 2021

In 2021, I painted Deathskulls Orks for my Waaagh!, Moonkrumpa’s Megalootas

I painted 15 models in 2021: two Killa Kans, Skraggit (left) and Stikkit (right); a Deff Dread, Facepeela; my Taurox Trukk conversion, Da Fancy Wun; and a squad of Boyz, Thragg’s Deff Ladz.

2021 was my first time trying an ambitious conversion, mashing together a Taurox with an Ork Trukk; I documented the whole process in a five-post series. (Here’s part one.) 2021 also marked the first time I used green stuff as well as the first time I magnetized any models. (Facepeela’s lower arms are magnetized.)

As I got these minis off the shelf for their photo, it was like seeing old friends. I’m not an amazing painter, but every mini I finished in 2021 brought me joy — and they still do. Skraggit and Da Fancy Wun are two of my favorite models I’ve ever painted.

Everything I painted in 2022

I set out to finish a Kill Team board’s worth of terrain in 2022, and while I didn’t quite get there I came pretty close.

All of the 40k terrain I painted in 2022, plus five Genestealers and a mantis

In 2022 I painted 25 models: 18 pieces of 40k/Kill Team terrain, 6 Genestealers (for Kill Team), and a giant mantis as a Christmas gift for Lark.

Terrain feels all fast and exciting at first, with a big ol’ sprayed-on primer and base coat in one, and a big ol’ wash. And then the details start to add up, and add up, and it’s not a breezy summer morning anymore. But it’s still fun!

I enjoy painting terrain. It’s a great palate cleanser, with big brushes and bold sections and — with the vibe I’m going for — plenty of excuses to weather with gusto.

It was also fun combining two 40k terrain lines, Manufactorum and Mechanicus, into what I think is a cohesive dystopian manufacturing facility. Both incorporate tea/bone and dark red, and I’ve built all my stuff to be durable, interoperable, and still offer a decent amount of customization for layouts and variations.

Here’s a top-down shot showing one possible layout.

Most of my finished 40k terrain

All of the walls/railings on the gantries are placed so that pieces can still connect in a couple places. Ladders are placed and oriented with the same goal in mind. And all the ground-level pipe connection points are tea/bone, so (hopefully) the two terrain sets blend into one another.

I guess technically I’m combining the Munitorum line as well, but those containers, crates, and barrels are so plug-and-play it hardly counts. I do them in colors not present in the other stuff, so they’ll stand out.

I’m glad I got all this stuff out an photographed it. 2021 and 2022 combined didn’t match my output in 2020, but I painted some stuff I’m proud of — and hopefully I’ll get to use it eventually.

And I got a surprise in January: Lark expressed an interest in playing 40k and Kill Team. I’m pretty sure I can cobble together two Kill Teams or two 500-point armies, so if I finish my last few pieces of terrain — a huge gantry/tank combo, another ruined building, a sacred radiator, and some scatter terrain — the two of us could get some games in this year. That would be awesome!

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.
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BattleTech Miniature painting Miniatures

Pour one out for my first camo ‘Mech

Well, shit: I just ruined a fully painted miniature by using the too-thick dregs of my varnish bottle and completely fogging it out. I haven’t done that in years! Not since the last time I used spray varnish, at least a decade ago.

I should have trusted my impression that it looked a little thick, but I’d used the same bottle a couple weeks ago with no issues and I was in the groove.

That’s several hours of work — on a model slated for a first game of BattleTech with my kiddo next week, and a ‘Mech I was happy with — just wasted.

This little Stinger, an STG-5M piloted by Ozan “Gatling” Almaz, was the first ‘Mech I ever tried to paint in a camo scheme. Here he is after being base-coated:

You will be missed!

Luckily I’ve got a Wasp partially painted, so I can scramble to finish that one and slot it in for the match Lark and I were planning on next week. If I grind hard and don’t paint anything else at the same time, I might even be able to finish it only a couple days behind when the Stinger would have been done.

It’s a silly thing to be bummed about, but I get invested in the minis I’m painting.

Update 1/8: As luck would have it, I had a light ‘Mech — a Wasp — already primed and fully based, so I spent a chunk of today finishing it up as a replacement for the Stinger. I’d forgotten how quickly this can go when I’m painting a ‘Mech, not a 40k model, and just painting one model, not several. It was a fun day.

Then, after testing my varnish on Brother Test-Mech first, I varnished the first lance of ‘Mechs I’ve painted since 2007. They won’t be done-done until a couple days from now, when I add flocking to their bases; I need the sealant to be bone-dry and fully cured for that step.

First lance WIP, freshly varnished (and still shiny): Marauder, Wasp, Valkyrie, Archer

It’s a real joy to be painting ‘Mechs again!

Digging Yore? Check out my book!

The Unlucky Isles [affiliate link], the first system-neutral guidebook for my Godsbarrow fantasy campaign setting, is available in print and PDF.