25 December 2016

We Wish You a Merry Creepmas - Part 3: The War on Creepmas


"Season's Greetings to all and to all a-"

"What did you just say...?"

"I said... seasons... greetings to a- wait! What are you doing? Put that sword down what are youAAAAAARGHHHkttktthhhhhh......"

"Let that be a lesson to ALL of you! I am the Creepmas Elf, and 'The War on Creepmas' just got real!"

22 December 2016

We Wish You A Merry Creepmas - Part 2


In which batch two of the Wipsters manage to get their Christmas themed figures on the computer and displayed for all to see!

Whiskey Priest: A Christmas No-el



'Oh Hello. Err..Do you want to come in for a mince pie and some milk?'

'No'

'Oh, Brandy perhaps? Some mulled wine?'

'No'

'Ok. Is there something else you'd like?'

'No'

'Em. Can I help you with anything then?'

'No'

'So are you just going to stand at my door looking grumpy? I mean, it's not even dark yet and I do have a chimney that you could use. Is it the chimney? Have I not cleaned it properly? The little boy I sent up there said it was all clear right before he... '

'No'

'What is it then? You can't just stand there freaking me out. Are you going to say anything else but no?'

'No'

'Aw come on! This is so weird! Why are you doing this? Look, you must be Santa, you've got the pre-cola look going on, you've park your sleigh in my flower bed....aww come one that with red nose just shat in my water bucket!'

'No'

'He did, i just watched him. He fucking did!'

'No'

'Right. Thats it! Fuck you! Get off my property, i want you and your mob of stupid big antelopes of my lawn'

'No'

'Aaaaarrgggh!' Slam!


Cheetor: Bark the Herald Angels Sing


My local-ish Warhammer Store is running a competition, to build and paint a winter themed Warhammer miniature.

Naughty
After deciding to take part, choosing a model was surprisingly easy.  I painted an old Citadel Space Santa in 2014, so I figured that adding a Space-Xmas tree to accompany him on his interstellar breaking and entering spree would be apt.

My submission would be a motile, bio-weapon armed, skull covered, homicidal Xmas treeperson from space, to hang around with Santa from space.  Why not?
Not Nice.
Because kitbashing space Xmas tree people miniatures is pain in the arse.

Luckily also in 2014 I made a few space dryads (long before the Sylvaneth came along and stole my shtick, sciencedammit) so I had a fair idea how to proceed.


This microproject was quite enjoyably seasonal. I have to say.

There is something very Judge Dredd about an armed sci-fi Santa and his armed Xmas treebeast, so 28mm Mega City One is where I am most likely to get some gaming use out of "Holly" I reckon.

Thats also why she has a third arm/branch holding a big ol' alien gun behind her back.

Festive PEW-PEWs to all.


21 December 2016

We Wish You a Merry Creepmas! - Part 1

With the traditional festivities for the end of the year going on, some WIPsters have decided to celebrate them the best (if not only) way they know: painted models. Below are the first set of festive miniatures, with a second post due if more of our intrepid Wipsters can dodge wrapping things and drinking stuff in order to paint their entries before Christmas is upon us.

Santa is coming.

Now take a seat, a nice drink and enjoy the quiet joy of painted models before the frenzy of calories, children screaming all around, sitting next to your in-laws and such wonderful times.


Asslessman: Nativity in the Hive.


After having both my space Santa and and Sanity Klaws painted last year, I was short on Christmas themed miniatures I must say.
Things is, I'm absolutely not fond of the red and green associated with that time of the year and the thought of giving a red nose and candy stick to some other "normal" model was beyond me...
But then what ? Oh there's this other Christmas story yes, the one about the birth of a kid whose 33 years on earth have changed the world afterward.
Now here's something I feel more comfortable with, I had just the perfect couple of models for it and I had the idea to make this  fun.
So here's my Christmas entry, a sinister nativity scene with the birth of a child that might very well change the face of his world...


Axiom: Candlemas in The Slump

Every year, just around the winter equinox, inhabitants of The Slump gather round the dung fires to share a meal of roast hag-lice and a glass of radshine. Legend has it that the infamous bounty hunter, The Blessed Sniklaus, visits The Slump, delivering gifts to the needy and worthy and summary justice to the good. The Blessed Sniklaus is a barrel-chested man with a booming voice and an expansive dark beard. He rides a sledded grav-sled, laden with packages and pulled by a tireless beast. The gifts are handed out by his grumpy squat happy little helper, accompanied by the festive jingling of his slung ammo belts. So as you hear the jolly "Ho, ho, ho!" and the whine of the grav-sled, you must ask yourself, have you been naughty or nice?




99% of all Space Santas are red with white trim. Fact. Cheetors's is. Asslessman's isn't, but he's a maverick (I am also a maverick. Your maverick measurement criteria are suspect - Cheetor) My Space Santa is less seasonal. More Brian Blessed than Richard Attenborough. Bombastic, unhinged, charismatic, dangerous to know!


Mr Saturday: Santa, Chaos Style

"So, how many skulls did you reap for Khorne this year sonny? Let's see if I have a mutation or daemon-flavoured lollipop in here for you..."

This is my first time painting something festive, and I had just the fellow. I spent some time tracking this guy down, and this was the perfect opportunity to get him under the brush. I give you Chaos Santa. What does he have in his sack for you?


For a rather venerable old sculpt, this lad is pretty big. That's a 32mm base he's striding over. He has a fair few nooks and crannies to get paint into, but he's a lovely chunky fellow and he's going to make sure you have a merry Christmas. The Gods demand it. Especially Khorne. Mad for Christmas that lad. Look at his colours, red, black, gold? All he needs is a big sack of skulls to give out and a fake beard. "HO HO HO MORTALS, KHORNE DEMANDS JOY! RIVERS OF BL- I MEAN JOY. PILES OF SK- AH, MERRIMENT, RISING UP TO THE SKY! CHAOS BLESS US, EVERY ONE!"


I had never used snow effects before, I used some slush and snow from Hudson & Allen I've had for years. It turned out pretty okay I think, I even found a bauble to throw in there.

It might be Santa, but he still has a nice meaty axe tucked into his belt. That ain't for cutting down the Christmas tree I'll warrant.

Stay tuned for Creepmas Part 2!

18 December 2016

The Heroquest Hero Quest: The Second Goblin

When I got invited to participate in The Heroquest Hero Quest, I was courteously informed that the pickings were fairly slim in what was left to paint. I recalled the HQ goblins being decent miniatures, and had a vague recollection of one residing in one of my shoeboxes of old WHFB miniatures. Some digging followed, and I was on board with this little fellow:

"Decent" status debatable
As you can see from the photo, I had done a wonderfully clean job back in the 90s of removing him from both his integral base and his right foot. I had then cleverly circumvented the problem by simply ignoring it and gluing his stump of a leg to the base - a 20mm square to befit a goblin in WHFB.

The basing provided me with a bit of a problem, and I wondered whether I should try to rebuild the foot out of putty and if I should give the poor goblin a more prestigious base. The 20mm slotted square, after all, combined several poor elements: it had a huge slot in the middle, it was small and cramped and due to its size I hadn't even been able to glue the poor gobbo facing directly forward.

I decided against changing the base, however. I felt a weird sense of obligation to an 17 or so years distant version of me, who had decided that this was the way to go with this particular goblin. Who was I to argue with teenage me, full of enthusiasm for a newly started hobby, after all. So the 20mm square stayed on. This left just the problem of the foot. I decided to follow the same principle, and not rebuild the foot.

I left the stump as it was, but designed the base to suggest that the goblin was wading in mud and the foot was just submerged. I had long wanted to try out Citadel's Stirland Mud texture paint, so this was a good chance for that as well.

Instead of painting the goblin as a greenskin, I went for a mustard yellow/brown skintone. I had tried this earlier on some goblins and liked the result a lot. This combined with my aversion to painting green skin (after years of painting orcs and goblins for WHFB) sealed the deal. This would be a pale and pasty creepy little murderous underground dweller - or in a word, a goblin.

I kept the paintjob simple, with a basic brown robe, grey boots and a worn, rusted axe blade. I painted the axe haft red as a nod to that 90s orc and goblin aesthetic, but kept the red dark and toned down to fit the mini.

I puttied over the slot in the base, slapped a lot of Stirland mud around, slapped a lot of brown wash around and slapped a lot of gloss varnish around. Add in a few tufts, and voilá! Goblin standing in deep, icky mud it is. So rather than working on a teenage mistake, I had just literally ended up burying and glossing it over as an adult. Art imitates life and all that...

Anyway, here's the finished product, hope you like it! It makes me happy to finally see this mini painted. After all those years and that chopped off foot, he deserved it.





12 December 2016

The Heroquest Hero Quest: The Gargoyle


The big lad of Heroquest ladies and gentlemen. The guy you call in when you've just had enough of adventurers messing up your gaff and killing your minions. I mean, who wants to interview another batch of orcs for entry level dungeon lurking after the barbarian has butchered your entire staff? This lad is the very fellow for re-establishing dungeon harmony. I give you the gargoyle.

A certain amount of confusion surrounds this plastic fiend. Is it a statue? Is it the smallest bloodthirster ever created? Was Khorne having a laugh after too many craft ales on a Friday night? "Ha ha, make him smaller, but angrier!" Tzeentch giggled, spilling his gin while looking over Khorne's shoulder as he brought the smallest greater daemon ever into existence.

08 December 2016

HEROCULTS


Out of nowhere, while the WIPSters were casually talking about yoga breastfeeding, the nutritional content of vampire urine and the merits of different epoxy putties, the subject of the sad Heroquest 25th boardgame arose. That's when Crooks found that picture and everything changed forever...

(beware, non-sense ahead...)

05 December 2016

The HeroQuest Hero Quest: The second Orc

Sitting on a rotten bench

Eyeing little grots with bad intent

Snot running down his nose

Greasy fingers smearing shabby clothes

Wattalung!

It was such an honor to be invited to join the HeroQuest Hero Quest on such an august group as Scale Creep. Okay, maybe "invited" is a bit of a mischaracterization. Maybe it's a little more accurate to say that I begged and whined until they couldn't take it any more and let me participate. If there is one thing I've learned from my children, it's that if you whine long and loud enough, you will get what you want!

Those that heard me on the Veteran Wargamer Podcast will know that I grew up with HeroQuest. I'd dabbled in Science Fiction and Fantasy prior to that, but it was the introduction to HeroQuest that set my course forever. This was the first fantasy game that I would sit around the table with my parents and/or friends and play. I've even been working on my own HeroQuest project to paint all the models from the main set and Return of the Witch Lord.

So when it came time to choose what model to paint, I was left with a bit of a conundrum. I've already painted all the undead and goblins. I didn't want to be rude and request a hero, those should be left for the bloggers that are actually part of scale creep. And the same applies to the Chaos Sorcerer and the Gargoyle. So that left the fimir, the chaos warriors, and the orcs. Several of the fimir had already been claimed and I felt uncomfortable claiming a chaos warrior; so an orc it was!

I've been removing all my HeroQuest models from their integral bases and attaching them to some very nice Dragon Forge bases. So the first step was to choose several orcs from my pile (I always batch paint) and attack them with the razor saw. 

Here he is removed from his plastic stand