The Lazy Painter’s Army List – Soulblight Gravelords

Posted by johnnya10 on 26/05/2021
Posted in: Lists and Tactics. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

Welcome to the first in a new series of articles from me – the Lazy Painter’s army lists. Let me explain…

I don’t have the patience for armies so much these days. I like painting my single minis, small scenes, maybe minimal sized units… but not much more. I am become lazy, destroyer of ambitions. But, I still like the idea of working on armies, but they have to be the armies that suit this lethargic style of mine. What’s more, I want to paint the good stuff – both the great new miniatures that come out with the army, and also some of the classic pieces as well. Oh, and smaller units will be a priority as well – units over 5 have to be very easy to paint to get a look in.

And I want the army to play with a bit of fun. I am in no way claiming that this list is “competitive”, but I don’t want it to totally suck and have no synergy whatsoever. But I’ll use a Warscroll Battalion and try to think in terms of tactics so at least this won’t totally suck on the tabletop. Hopefully. I’ve been wrong about these things before.

I also want to say thank you to Games Workshop for sending me the Soulblight Gravelords book to take a look at, and just remind you again that this is more about painting than gaming. So here goes:

soulblight gravelords

Soulblight Gravelords Army List – Like A Bat Outta Hell

This list, coming in at 1980 points, is built around speed. You are going to hit hard, hit fast and hopefully do enough damage to give your opponent pause, while getting a bit of healing in as well.  And with a few powerful single minis running behind the main core of your force, you will eventually be able to give your speartip some boosts.

Dynasty – Kastelai

All the Vampire dynasties have some great lore, but the Kastelai have some words written about them in this gorgeous battletome (these books are just getting better and better)that gave me some really good ideas. They have a translocating castle known as the Crimson Keep which means you can really pick any of the realms as the basis for your army quite neatly. What’s more, they are all about the warfare. This means trophies, battle-damage and lots of blood spray if you want a returning army, or lots of clean lines and gleaming shields if you want one going out to war.

This Dynasty also confers some nice buffs to Blood Knights (like setting them up in ambush and giving them perks if they kill units) and seeing as Blood Knights gain the Batteline trait in this dynasty, that’s not bad. Kastelai hosts are also often entirely mounted armis and that certainly helped me pick my Warscroll Battalion…

Warscroll Battalion – Red Banqueters

This Warscroll gives you the ability to heal up to D3 wounds to each unit in this warscroll each round, and we can get most of our army in here (including lots of Blood Knights) so that’s great news. Now we can take lots of Blood Knights, make them extra durable, and get some of HQ choices a bit of help too. Now, the units…

blood knights

Battleline

We’re going to be taking four Battleline units here, and three of them are Blood Knight Units of five. With all the above buffs, it seemed silly not to take plenty of them and it gives the army a huge amount of speed. 15 Blood Knights is a lot to paint, but they make up a huge chunk of the army so it’s not so bad. And they look awesome. I think the new Blood Knights might just be my favourite of the new units to come out and offer a great deal of scope for any painter. The banner alone gets my freehand brain thinking of plenty of fun.

And, just for some variety (but also coming in with plenty of speed) we have 10 Direwolves – another beautiful new unit that would suit a bit of speedy Contrast Paint painting down to a T with all those shaggy manes meaning this one won’t stretch me too much. 

dire wolves

Leaders

This is a good mix of old classics and new wonderful things. In order to complete our Warscroll Battalion, we’re going to take the Coven Throne which is a stunning classic in the range that is full of flavour and fun. It too is super fast and full of tricks in combat. It’s also practically a little scene to paint, rather than a unit, so that adds a bit of variety in there too.

Rounding out the Battalion, we have a Vampire Lord on Zombie Dragon, and the new Vampire Lord model as well. Zombie Dragons are so much fun and the fact that this thing moves and hits like a tank is a great bonus. And the new Vampire Lord miniature is utterly gorgeous and no wonder the community has been coo-ing over it for a while now. That one will be a real joy to paint.

new vampire lord

And speaking of a joy to paint, I’m sticking in Prince Duvall and the Crimson Court as my 4th Leader choice. Now, I’m not necessarily a fan of Underworlds Warbands in big armies, but these are the prettiest vampire models ever. I have them, I can’t wait to paint them – so excited. And while they don’t necessarily belong in a big mounted force, I like the idea of these four, along with the Vampire Lord, running after the cavalry and piling in where needed. And they each have a 6” move with fly so that’s not achingly slow. Oh, and Prince Duvall is a Von Carstein and it’s always nice to squeeze one of them into any Vampire army.

crimson court underworlds warband

Other Units

Three Fell Bats. That’s it. I like the models, I want to paint them because they’re pretty monstrous as bats go, and they’re fast. Combining them with all the knights, the wolves, the throne and the lord on dragon, and my opponents won’t have many turns to manoeuvre into a good position, especially with ambushing Blood Knights.

Total Model Count: 35

Total Points: 1980

How To Play: Run fast, hit hard, heal loads.

And there you have it! Our first Lazy Painters army list is done. 35 minis including some older classics and plenty of fresh hotness. The biggest unit is 10 wolves and they won’t take long to paint at all, and while 15 Blood Knights might seem a lot, you can paint each one up in a different set of colours for variety. The Coven Throne will probably eat up the most of your time here, but even that can be done speedily and well with the right techniques and it’s a real treasure of a mini for painters anyway. I think it’s time for me to take a closer look at some Vampires with my paintbrush in hand. Until then, may the Children of the Night sing you to sleep. Onvards!

Skaven Warlock Bombardier

Posted by johnnya10 on 06/05/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . Leave a comment
Skaven Warlock Bombardier

Another miniature rolls of the Heresy & Heroes production line and this one was a real joy. The Skaven Warlock Bombardier (whose name, for some reason, I can never remember) has to be one of the most joyful miniatures to paint, but also build.

A couple of years ago, I had to build 15 of these guys for a project. And I had no instructions to help me, but because this is all logical (just build biggest piece to smallest piece) and because I couldn’t find a single mould line, it was a treasure to put all of those together. And since then, I always wanted to paint one for myself. So I did.

And again, I’m happy to say that it’s one of the best things I’ve painted. It’s really nice and encouraging to feel like that, and even though my photography continues to let me down a little, I wanted to show it off. You can see the vague shape of it!

There are so many favourite bits. The robes are great, the tail is a lot of fun, the glowing eyes, the lightning… honestly, it’s full of all those fantastic details. And the back pack is almost an entire miniature on its own, full of brilliant details. Fun fact with that piece; I painted all the metals of the backpack in silvers and used contrast paints to turn them into grimy iron, brass and copper.

There’s lots of subtle blends and weathering all over the piece. I’m really happy with the greenish smoke too, which I lifted from the Eavy Metal version and in fact, the official scheme is really spot on for this so it was great reference material.

The rocket’s so much fun, and the little rats are a joy… overall, it’s one hell of a single mini to paint and if you put another down in front of me right now, I’d happily paint it all over again. And, the rate I’m going, it would be another success for my painting. So much positivity around here today!

On to the next project then. Not sure what that is yet, but I look forward to finding out. Until then, I hope your brush points always stay sharp, and your paints ever moist. Onwards!

Badgers & Burrows – of Mice and Miniature Painters

Posted by johnnya10 on 04/05/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Product Reviews. Tagged: . Leave a comment

From time to time, the grimdark gets too grim, and too dark for me. Every now and again, the horrors of the 41st Millennium, and even the Mortla Realms, can get too much. As all here know, I am a huge fan of the Warhammer setting, but when I can’t face it, I have a secret remedy – Burrow & Badgers. Perhaps the most delightful miniatures game and series of miniatures ever.

bodger and badger

No, there’s no mashed potato involved. I discovered Oathsworn Miniatures from a friend, and it’s magical. Truly magical. There are tinges of Narnia, Redwall and all of those wonderful, anthropomorphised animal comics and cartoons that you might remember from your youth. And while these critters may be at war, it’s not some grim, dark, universal conflict complicated by endless agendas and nightmares – it’s simple battle in skirmish form. And the miniatures are, quite frankly, adorbs. 

shrew-zerker

There’s a Shrew-zerker. A gorram Shrew-zerker! How awesome is that?! But not only that. There’s a Praying Mouse, a Mole Mercenary, a Hedgehog Alchemist, a Frog Fixer, a Rat Buccaneer… it doesn’t end. A fantastic list of beautiful, charming, funny characters, and a fantastic menagerie of marvellous  miniatures and delightful animals that are bleeding brilliant. They’re just so full of humour and wonder. 

burrows and badgers

What I love about this is the imagination involved. it stays within the woodland realm, but it’s bursting with charming (there’s that word again), funny, intriguing and enjoyable ideas that just make you smile. How can you not crack a smile at the idea of a ‘Pug Bounty Hunter’? It’s factually impossible to do so. The whimsy is endless, and you’re bound to find plenty of the little darlings that will call to your imagination – there are loads to choose from.

mouse knight

There’s one £20 rulebook (Also available as a cheaper pdf when the book is out of stock) with all the rules you’ll need, and the minis are single piece metal toys that are so amazingly reasonably priced you won’t believe your eyes. Occasionally, I have a slight tipsy splurge on these minis and it never comes out at more that £30. And when my order arrives, it comes in this:

oathsworn miniatures

How nice is that?! A handwritten “thank you” on the box, lovingly packed with gorgeous little characters. It’s a fantastic customer experience. And I’ve been working on my first little skirmish force, made up mainly of tiny critters (mice specifically) led by a cat who has them dancing to his tune. I love that you can do that with this game – it’s got such a delightful innocence and joy to it all. There’s a great amount of flexibility and you really get the sense that the imagination is the driver here, which is great.

mouse shieldmaiden

You’ll have seen the wee critters scattered throughout this post, but I can’t wait to paint more. I’ll always be a devotee of the Warhammer universes, but it’s so wonderful to have a bit of Burrows & Badgers in my hobby too. A soothing woodland yin to Warhammer’s all-out, massive and blood-drenched yang. And when I paint these, I spend more time trying to get the feel of innocence out of them, rather than pushing myself to paint them perfectly. It makes such a pleasant change, and quite the palette cleanser.

a different mouse knight

I hope you’ll consider supporting Oathsworn Miniatures – they’re a small independent operation that deserve a bit of love and attention from all who love the hobby. You will get nothing but joy from these miniatures. I promise you, it’s a wonderful thing you’re bound to enjoy. Oh, and you can follow Michael who’s responsible for this treasure of a miniatures line on Twitter too – right here. I hope you’ll give it a go – Onwards!

The Ashen Stars – My Stormcast Eternals

Posted by johnnya10 on 03/05/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . 2 Comments
Ashen Stars Stormcast Eternals Liberator

“What land is this?” Barakros watched as the golden colour of his armour drained away to nothingness. Flecks danced in the dull, blood-tinged light, glittering as they spun away from him.

Long shadows fell before him and he looked to see his own kind. Great warriors of Sigmar, strode silently towards him. It was only as they drew closer he saw the rust and grime of their armour. Bare metal, streaked with grease and splashed with now dry blood. Upon their shields, a lone black star.

“Brother? What land is this?” he asked again.

“State your name” the only forthcoming reply.

“Barakros. Liberator of the-“

“Liberator is fine. You are no longer part of any other host. Quickly now, present your shield”

The stranger took from a worn leather pouch at his waste a brush, like one might use for painting decorations upon the walls of a home, and moved it over Barakros’ shield. A sticky black substance traced the black star upon the face of it, and moments later it was applied to the shoulder of his star-forged armour. 

“The symbol will protect your armour. It stops it from being lost to the chill winds of Ulgu where you now stand. You are one of us now. We are the unreturned. We are those whose Sigmars voice could not reach, and whose lightning could not summon back to our home. We are the Ashen Stars, and we have use for a warrior like you…”

=][=

That’s the idea that started the Ashen Stars. When I first moved up to Nottingham, I received a “Start Collecting!” box of Stormcast Eternals and if I’m honest, I had very little interest in doing much with them. I think they’re a really fun faction, but they never really caught my imagination. That and I’ve never really enjoyed painting gold – just got a bit of a blind spot for it. Of course, gold isn’t a necessity, but I suppose, the way they were presented, I never really found a soft spot for them.

And I didn’t know too much about the lore either – something I would learn more about later. But I did like that they arrived and left the battlefield as bolts of lightning sent from Azyr. So I thought; what if that went wrong? What if, when a host returns, every now and again, a single warrior remained. And the warrior’s armour started to lose its colour until it was bare metal and began to rust. But they’d always find their way to Ulgu, and would be met by others who had encountered the same fate. They would teach the newcomer the sacred symbol that would protect their armour – a five pointed black star, painted using the ash that flows across the realm’s winds. 

Why this is happening? Who knows. Maybe Morathi has done something. Maybe Nagash. Maybe there’s a flaw with the process of creating a Stormcast Eternal? Who knows. But over the last couple of years, using a very quick and easy scheme that lends itself to this sort of thing, I’ve built up a small army of the Ashen Stars, and I thought I’d show them off here. So let’s take a little look:

I wanted the army to have three distinct parts. Heavy Support, a strong Core, and some Fast Attack (to borrow from 40k’s terminology). 

stormcast eternals artillery

The Heavy Support so far brings some nasty ranged power, augmented by the Lord Ordinator I painted for the recent Heresy Vs Heroes project I embarked on (more on that soon). And protected by the raven-like Aetherwings who can strike out at anything that gets too close and harass any nearby threats.

stormcast with crossbows

I think my favourite unit here are the dudes with big crossbows (name escapes me right now). I like the old fashioned weapons given a high fantasy twist. 

stormcast eternals liberators

There’s not much to the core yet. Some Liberators and Stormsire’s mob. I love the old sword and board combo, and I don’t care if hammers are better – the swords just look cooler. I went for a dull red glow to contrast against the typical bright blue glow that the faction is known for. 

fast stormcast units

The Knight Azyros leads the Fast Attack portion of the army which so far is made up only of Prosecutors (that’s their name right?) and my favourite Gryph-hounds. 

Gryph-hounds

The hounds were a lot of fun to paint. I wanted the animals in this army to have a similar affliction to the Stormcast so I studied Albinism and Melanism to get their colours right. A very enjoyable project. 

There’s more to do, though when I get the time, who knows. I need to expand that core to make it a playable army, and I want more in that Fast Attack section. I’ve got the minis, but not the time. One day. And until that day comes, I wish you happy and successful painting! Onwards!

The Gift of Going Green

Posted by johnnya10 on 20/04/2021
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff, Uncategorized. Leave a comment

There are many wonderful things to enjoy in the Warhammer hobby. Thanks to the different settings, the vastly different factions and armies, and the different characters, there really does seem to be something for everyone. What’s more, if you’re like me, and you like to sample a little bit from each area of the hobby (just call me Mr Magpie), there is so much there to thrill, excite, enjoy and it can be a whirlwind of different ways to play, different ways to paint and so much more. But as with too much of any good thing, eventually, the broad horizons can often mean that there’s too much of a trudge between points. Miniatures that once looked as if they were cast in glittering gold can fade into fiddly, frustrating finecast and laborious lead. You can be overwhelmed by obligation, and crushed by the pressure of the grey tide. It can all get too much, but I’ve found the magic colour – green.

Whether you call them Orcs, Orks or Orruks, I just wanted to write a post about why I love greenskins and everything that they have brought to the game and the painting desk. They are, to me at least, an oasis of perpetual enjoyment when I am lost in the desert of pressure, fatigue and overburden. They are honestly one of my favourite things about the hobby, and I’ve never even painted an army of them. Heck, I’ve only ever painted a small handful and they still find their way to my list of the best Warhammer things ever. And while they may have come from a different fantasy setting, over the years, within Warhammer, they have become something wonderfully unique.

I’ve got a few projects on the go at the moment, and for at least a couple of them, I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself. I want things to be perfect in my eyes and that can lead to a lot of time when I should be painting, spent instead worrying and debating with myself – almost a painter’s paralysis. One particularly tough project had me fretting, changing things, thinking I’d found solutions and then finding they caused more problems… it was daunting. So what did I do? I decided to paint something green and now my hobby block has gone and I’m constantly raring to go when I get the time to put paint to toy soldier.

But why do greenskins work like this for me? It’s a question I’ve pondered over several decaf black coffees today and I think it’s a combination of things that I will now elaborate on. I think the first point to make is that all greenskins from Snotling Blood Bowl teams to Ironjawz, from Grots to Mega Nobz, have an inherant sense of humour to them, both in terms of the models and the lore. Oh sure, there are some fierce Orruks and Orks, but even in those we can find humour. Gordrakk may look fearsome on his Mawkrusha, but just try and get the image of that fat dragon trying to actually fly out of your head and I’m sure you’ll at least smirk before it’s gone. They have a unit actually named “Nobz” for Mork’s (and Gork’s) sake!

More over, the humour is usually far more overt. From the gretchin being sucked into the Shokk Attack Gun, to the very idea of a Megatrakk Scrapjet, and to the entire cast of the Gobbapalooza. Tankbustas strapping missiles to sticks and using them as hammers, the gloriously gobsmacking guns of Flashgitz, that rumour that big Ghaz’ name is somehow a riff on Margaret Thatcher’s name… this list goes on. And I like that. I need that. The grimdark can get all too grim and far too dark sometimes and it’s just layer after layer of agenda and one-upping and that gets so dull so fast… and then there are the greenskins. They like fightin’. That’s it. So as well as being funny, they are also not too serious. Sounds like the same point, but I’d argue it was two. 

From a converters perspective, they are a gift. Want to turn a Necron Monolith into a buggy? Do it. Want to turn that Dunecrawler into a helicopter? Have at it. Want to turn Nagash into some sort of Squig? …well, I mean if you can do that, I really want to see it! Some might argue that this is converting on “easy mode” but so what? It’s fun! And honestly, when you try and convert with anything else, it’s like you’re looking to create character, but with Or(ru)ks, the character is intrinsic. You’re simply bringing out what is already there rather than trying to implant something artificial. You are only limited by your own lunacy and I love that. Be mad, be free.

The lore is full of gems too, and I shall merely scratch the surface over this paragraph. From Gloomspite Gitz constantly tripping balls as they gobble up mushrooms, to the fact that Ork guns work because they put a bullet in a box with a tube on the end and they believe that’s what a gun is so of course it has to work. I adore the idea that Orks are keeping the Emperor of mankind alive because they believe him to be the biggest baddest boss in the galaxy and so he has to stay around – and their collective will is keeping his withered old heart beating. Humour, often so missing from modern Warhammer, has been allowed to grow and develop in the greenery.

And I will say this too – the game. Like I said, I don’t have an Ork army (which may be another reason why I love them – familiarity breeds contempt after all), but if i did, it would be a hundred Boyz and a load of big stompy shooty things, and I’d get to roll a billion dice and be fine with most of them missing. I’ve never come across an ork player who wasn’t fun to play against. Anyone who could literally use a shovel to pick up their dice for one round of shooting and expect to hit maybe 5 times, and does it with a smile on their face is aces in my book. Ork people are the best people.

That’s all the reasons I have to love greenskins. I’m currently having such a blast working on one of the Gobbapalooza and it’s bringing me so much enjoyment after a week of hobby-struggle. It’s so relaxing and pleasant.What’s more, it makes me smile because it’s bonkers. A real treat, and I hope you’ve enjoyed me extolling the virtues of going green every once in a while. Honestly, if you ever feel stressed out painting, and you want to have fun, pick up an Orruk, or an Ork, or even an Orc and have fun with it. Leave that confusing and frustrating project you were working on to one side, and spend a couple of days just having fun and giggling about “Nobz” – I promise you it’s an excellent tonic. In a hobby that can take itself too seriously by default, the greenskins remind you that you’re meant to be having fun. And with that, this little love letter is done, and I’m going to get back to my brushes. Onwards!

Heresy & Heroes – A Virtual Tour!

Posted by johnnya10 on 16/04/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling, Silliness and Stuff. Tagged: . Leave a comment

So, it has come to this. Video. I recently spruced up my hobby room and I wanted to show it off a little bit because it’s looking hella dope (I don’t think anyone says that anymore, do they?), and you know how I am with photographs. Couldn’t tell my F-point from a hole in the ground, or an aperture from my elbow. So then I had a crazy notion; why not shoot a wobbly, single cut video using my phone and, it turned out quite nicely! And I ended up not showing off the room, but more my miniatures because they are looking, well, in focus!

I’m putting this video up for anyone who would like to see my collection. It’s like 10 minutes long so you certainly don’t have to watch all of it, and it turns out my voice can go a bit higher than I thought it could, but if you want to see all of my favourite minis from the last few years, you can see them all here. I’m also putting it up here because I want a record of it as it is now. Hopefully I’ll shoot another video in a few years and there’ll be more shelves and more minis I’m really proud of too.

Top 7 Observations when I watched this video back after uploading it:

  1. “How and why is your voice going that high?!”
  2. “You have way too many unfinished projects, dude”
  3. “I wonder how much money I’ve spent on mi- lalalalalaicanthearyouiamnothtinkingaboutthatlalala…”
  4. “How have you got a face for radio but a voice for mime artistry?”
  5. “Like, way too many unfinished projects”
  6. “You say ‘errrr’ way too much”
  7. “Why is it flashing! What’s with the weird white flashes!?”

But there you have it! A 10 minute virtual tour of what I joking call the “Heresy & Heroes Studio” (if I can remember the damn name of my blog – good grief) and lots of fun minis to look at at. I even say “Onwards” at the end because that’s something I do.

Anyway, I’m off to go drink too much beer and enjoy my weekend – I hope you have similar or better plans too. Onwards (again)!

5 Things That Can Help Your Hobby That Don’t Involve The Hobby

Posted by johnnya10 on 15/04/2021
Posted in: Silliness and Stuff. Leave a comment

I’m guessing you’ve probably stumbled across several (if not hundreds) of lists of things that can help your miniature painting that involve paints, brushes and all the sensible things that are actually involved in miniature painting. They’re often very useful and informative, so there’s no real point in me doing another one of those lists here. But, what if I told you there were things that you can do to help improve your painting and enjoyment of painting that have nothing to do with brushes and paints? If you called me mad, you’d not the first one to do so, and though you may be right, I’d say you were wrong here. Here are my 5 tips that will help you to paint from beyond the hobby.

Work Out

I am about as far from a gym bunny as you can get. More of a couch elephant, actually. But I do lift weights. Not big ones – but weights big enough for me to (and I immediately apologise for using this term) feel the burn. By doing this, it tightens up all the muscles in my arms, and makes them stronger which makes them steadier. After a little while doing this, you will feel things tighten up and as you paint, you’ll notice how much steadier you are with both your brush hand, and the hand you hold the mini with. Obviously don’t try and paint immediately after lifting weights as you’ll be wobbling all over the place like a jelly on trampoline that’s being bounced on by couch elephants, but if you give it a bit of time, you’ll eventually see the results. 

Ditch the Caffeine

Speaking of wobbly hands, and without wanting to sound all preachy about it, but you should probably drop the caffeine. Again, this will remove a little tremor from your hand. A few years ago, I developed a somewhat dramatic intolerance to caffeine (panic attacks are a hoot) and so switched to decaf (still love me the taste of a black coffee). The main benefit to this is of course not feeling like I’m going to die all the time, but another benefit involves the steadiness of my hands, and also, my energy levels. While caffeine gives you an initial hit, it burns you out faster, so if you like painting long into the night, ditching it can help a lot. I do have the rare Irn Bru, but that’s part of my heritage so allow it.

Go To Art Galleries & Museums

This may seem very obvious to some, but it’s always worth reiterating. When they reopen after lockdown, go and check out every museum and art gallery you can. It doesn’t even matter what’s on really. Inspiration is everywhere and whether you’re looking at Raphael or Rembrandt, Blake or Banksy, you will gain so much from seeing how they applied their paint, how they framed their subjects, how they work with light… all incredibly useful. And in museums, you may find inspiration in weaponry and armour, but you might find a new way to paint wood while looking at a Chippendale (no, not those ones), or a new way to paint glass while admiring a Steuben. Again, Inspiration is everywhere.

Go On Holiday

And leave the paints at home. While painting everyday is a great way to get good, everyone needs a break from time to time. Another one for when we come out of lockdown; go away. Doesn’t matter where. As with above, you will find new things that inspire you from different foods to foreign soil, from sandy beaches to streets you’ve yet to tread. Then, when you return in a week, you’ll be rested, full of ideas, and raring to get painting again with a head alive with new sights to interpret through the bristles of your brush. When it’s safe do so again, go see a bit more of the world.

Have Another Hobby

Warhammer can be a bit, how shall we say, “all consuming”? There are rabbit holes to get lost down, and then there are 40k rabbit holes, the depths of which are so low, even the Duardin couldn’t mine them. Have something else in your life to balance things. Read books, collect stamps, play football… just have something else because if you let yourself drift under those tides you will find yourself drowning beneath pressure, resentment, disassociation and a one-dimensional existence. I’ve been there, and the way to get out is to have something else you can turn to to help you deal with the times when the grimdark gets a bit too grim and dark. Take up knitting, pick up some watercolours, bake a cake… just have something else.

So those are my tips. I hope they are in some way useful, and I hope they lead to a more enjoyable hobby for you too. If you’ve got any other non-hobby hobby tips, let me know in the comments below. Until then, Onwards!

Painting Pressure

Posted by johnnya10 on 11/04/2021
Posted in: Uncategorized. 2 Comments

As lockdown winds to a close in the UK (I can actually go for a pint tomorrow!) I find myself in an odd and strange place in my life. I’m not going to give you a run-down of all my personal stuff that I’ve got going on (none of your beeswax) but in hobby-terms, I’m kind of in heaven right now. And yet, I find my angelic ideal with its wings clipped through only my own devilish shortcomings. And that’s what I want to talk about right now. A bit of hobby darkness that I find myself falling victim to too often – the pressure of painting, and everything that goes with the hobby these days. It might only be for me, but I’d be shocked (shocked I tell you) if it didn’t apply to you at least a little bit. Let me set the scene.

This blog is a testament to my progress when it comes to painting. Despite the 3 year gap when I was working for GW, it’s tracked a lot of my painting progress. And I have progressed – something I’m very happy with. When I started this, I wasn’t even edge-highlighting, and now, with some of the pieces I’m most proud of, I’m not even edge highlighting (that makes sense in my head). I’m actually at a state now where the miniatures I paint when i put my all into it, often surpass, one after the other, the best thing I’ve painted. That’s something of which I am very proud. 

But I have fallen into the trap of late, mainly due to my own perception of how the hobby is perceived on social media, of trying to fart out basic stuff because i want the likes and adoration and attention. That being said, I find myself sat here disgusted at myself for trying to “keep up’ with the people who rely on this to give themselves a sense of value in the hobby. And that’s not a knock – if you’re having fun, and it works for you, it’s cool, but it ain’t for me. So, that beggars the question, what is for me?

Well, I make no bones about it, that I want to win a Golden Demon. When that competition returns, I will be throwing everything I have at it. And that may still not be enough. I may yet need to go back to the drawing board, especially after a year in which so many talented painters have had all the time in the world to master their future entries, but even if I get knocked down, I will get up again. You are never gonna keep me down *plays Chumbawumba on iTunes to psyche myself up*.

However, pushing myself to that extent hurts my love for painting toy soldiers. Last weekend, I spent 3 days pouring everything i had into painting a Titan Head, and it sucked the life from me. People think I’m being lazy because it’s taken me years to paint even a fraction of that huge model, but what I’m trying to do saps the life out of me. After a spell like that, I sit at my desk, look at my miniatures and I just think “No. I don’t give a shit about this. I don’t care one bit. Fuck it”. At which point, I walk away. To keep my brush hands going, I spent a week messing around with an old restoration project that I’ve since given up on, and while I’m moving on to the next thing now, there were points in the last week that I could have thrown my paints and brushes away. Hell, if that room wasn’t my hobby room, I could rent it out and make my mortgage payments from it. Sounds handy right?

That’s not really what I want though. But ain’t that the trick. What do I want? Why the hell am I painting toy soldiers? What’s the damn point of it all? These are important questions that need answering. Am I doing it to “get fans”? Am I doing it to make other people in the hobby think I’m better or best? No. Down that route fragile self-worth lies. That ain’t me.If it’s you, more power to you, but it’s not me. So why am I doing this?

And that’s when it hit me. I asked myself that question, stared in the mirror and the face in the mirror replied “because you like doing it”. And mirror-me was right. I love painting toy soldiers. Through all my 37 years, it’s the thing that has consistently brought me the most pleasure. Through everything that life has thrown at me, it’s been a peaceful and pleasing constant. What’s more, now that I’m in a good place and able to paint to a standard I’m happy with, and that I can use as a springboard, I can feel myself getting closer to my dream. It may still take me many years, but if I’m 65 and picking up my first Golden Demon I’ll be happy. I never stop trying because when I commit to doing something, I do it, even if it breaks me. I guess I can be stubborn like that.

So the pressure is there, but I don’t care anymore. There’ll always be that pressure to try and get more likes, and subscribes and followers, but I don’t care. I am in a ridiculously privileged position in that i don’t intend to buy a new mini for the rest of the year because my unpainted pool of opportunity (read ‘grey tide”) that i own is so wide and full. That may sound like a humble brag, but I want to type out, for my own benefit, what I’m happy about, and honestly, having all these minis to work on…

…feels great. I am lucky. And I need to enjoy that. And the only pressure that I’m going to feel is from myself. Make that blend smoother, make that contrast deeper, make that edge brighter, etc. I need to be my own hobbyist, and while I’ll always continue to encourage good hobby, I won’t ever compare myself to someone else’s efforts again. That’s for Golden Demon judges to do.

Has painting pressure ever gotten to you, because it has gotten to me.

That’s my little rant fo the day. I actually have had a pretty rough time over lockdown, and while I have helped a lot of my friends through their own personal hells, I’ve compartmentalised a lot of the pain and horror that i’ve been going through, so now it’s time to let that out and deal with it as best I can. Which means I’m going to be pretty quiet on social media for a while. I think. I’ll be back, but I do find the whole thing massively unhealthy for me – it’s my nature to see it as a competition and I like winning and, well, there is no winning . Remember, if you’re going through shit, reach out to your friends and lean on them as you would allow them to lean on you – they won’t blank you and run away if they’re real friends. And if they aren’t, you won’t ever need them in your life. There are therapists, trained individuals who can help, or, if you’re like me, you can always fall back on alcoholism and self loathing. 😉 (that was a joke obvs). 

But until we’re all back drinking in the bars and hugging each other again, I just want to remind you that you’re awesome and you deserve the very best because you are the very best. And I’m going to try and be the best me too. Onwards.

The Warhound Titan Head

Posted by johnnya10 on 05/04/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: . 1 Comment

Well, every year over the 4 day Easter weekend, I like to take on a project that pushes my hobby chops, and this year was no different. So, I rummaged around in the Titan box, pulled out the head, and spent three days doing this:

warhound titan head

Yes, I still own it. No, it’s not much closer to being done, except for this head. It’s taken days and to be honest, I just want to get outside and enjoy some sunshine right now (which is beating down on Nottingham despite the fact it was snowing earlier). But hey, technically, this is the first plate of armour I actually finished on the titan! So we’re still on for that 2024 finish.

freehand miniature painting

The main image is of course still taken from The Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel (as are the other images). It features the King being shown his timer ticking down as a skeletal warrior steals his gold. All very apocryphal of course. It took ages and I’m quite happy with it. I don’t think it’s as good as the carapace piece, but it’s fine. Not bad for the effort spent. In terms of effort, after sketching it all out, this is what I got done in 1 hour:

So, yeah. It’s taken a few sessions. You can see above also the rough sketch that I set down on a lightish background with a pencil. And the other two illustrations were done in the same manor. On one side, we see skeletons hunting people near a beach, and on the other, a skeletal drummer drums as another pulls a man down to the pit below:

That’s me all hobbied out for the weekend. I want some beers and some nicotine and then I’m going to chill out and do as little as possible for a few hours. And hey, 2024 is closer than you think. Onwards

Adrax Agatone

Posted by johnnya10 on 02/04/2021
Posted in: My Painting and Modelling. Tagged: , , , . Leave a comment
adrax agatone

Well that was a lot of fun to work on! Adrax Agatone is the latest completed miniature to leave the production line at Chez John and I’m pretty happy about him. He’s not the best thing I’ve done, but I wanted to paint him as clean as possible. There is pretty much no weathering on this miniature and I’ve used the sculpted base that he comes with. All in all, not bad.

The green used in a mix of Moot Green and Caliban Green (50:50). Once a solid layer of that was down, I highlighted with thin glazes of Moot Green, with spot highlights of Moot Green and White Scar (50:50). I also used glazes of Caliban Green, and Caliban Green mixes with Abaddon Black (50:50) to emphasise the shadows. Finally, I applied a thinned glaze of Warp Lightning across all of the green. It was a long process but fun, and I’m really happy with the results.The bronze coloured metallics are a thin glaze of Guilliman Flesh over silvers. It worked ok, but I could have been more aggressive with that.

Oh, and of course the banner. It’s the only conversion, replacing the brazier that I can use for something else. By my standards, I’d probably give it a C+. Not my best work, but it was fun enough to do. The rest of the banner pole is a bit of a fail. My glazes didn’t blend on the shield at the top, the embossed effect on the ‘3’ isn’t great and it turns out the Salamander symbol is a bit of a pain to freehand first time.

dragon cloak

I went with blues for the cloak to set it off a little differently. It worked well with the “Black” lava on the base (which is actually greys covered in a glaze of Guilliman Blue). Helped marry the mini to the base, while the green helped it to stand out. Also, as always with these posts, sorry for the photo quality. It’s crisp in places and a bit too dull in others. I’ll never learn at this point!

…not always in focus either. Anyway, what can I say about the miniature? It’s amazing. Seriously a joy to work on. All of the Primaris stuff is such a treat, but this character was just so crisp and lovely. He’s got a powerful stance, the flowing cape, his cool weapons… all great. If you fancy painting a Space Marine character, Adrax Agatone is worth your time. He’s also the first Salamander I’ve ever painted so that’s cool.

Yeah, that hammer is baller. A treat to work on too. And my personal favourite bit of my painting might just be the above shoulder pad. I felt that was the best colour shifting I did both on the greens and the metallics.

And why is he on a plinth? Well, I’m using plinths as a way to up my game – as a psychological trick. If I know I’m painting this to display, it means I need to bring my A game. It’s kind of nice that all of the recent display projects I’ve worked on I can say are the best miniatures I’ve done, and I can feel my painting game getting better, but it’s still daunting that I feel I have still such a way to go to get where I want to go. But hey, practice makes perfect, so in a few years, maybe I’ll be there.

So there you have it. We’re now into the four day weekend, so I’m hoping I’ll be able to get some more hobby done over the coming days. I will of course, keep you informed. Onwards.