End of 2016 Sumup

 About time I did this before we get into 2018 right?  Well first up is those miniatures you didn't see but which I did paint up in 2016 but did not post because I was tired/lazy/unreliable (delete as appropriate).
  First up is a unit of Not-UNIT which will find themselves fighting off Daleks and Cybermen in a Doctor Who game soon. A pity a lot of Crooked Dice Miniatures' Not Doctor Who range is disappearing under the watchful eye of BBC lawyers, in the advent of the official Doctor Who game from Warlord (if it ever comes...)

Next up some miniatures needed for a Mordheim game at Warhammer World this weekend. Some for the random encounters table; the big guy for my own warband.

The ogre is from the Attack of the Ogre Horde Heroquest Expansion. Because the best thing about Heroquest is it's figures here he is with every other Heroquest figure I have that is painted (wizard not painted by me by the way)

I did have some Judge Dredd and a Sea Devil photographed too but I messed up the focus. Like I said   - unreliable.

127 models painted this year compared to 73 last year. Wowsers (yep I'm gonna use that word). I put it down to the challenges I put myself under. The Four Gamers and my own challenge to paint a Blood Axe warband certainly kept me going. I'm not particularly motivated by quantity - if I painted one fabulous Greater Spined Dragon all year I'd be happy - but it's a good measure of my painting speed and my commitment.

Gaming highlight of the year. This monster! - http://littleleadpeople.blogspot.co.uk/2016/08/bring-out-your-lead-epic-warhammer.html

OTT, slow, insane and all consuming - I needed to go home after it. But a mind blowing gaming spectacle I'm likely not to experience again anytime soon. Thanks to Snickit, Garth and everyone else's name who I have already forgot for the experience. Incidentally it was also my post with the highest views this year. Over 600.

Release of the year - Blood Bowl. Yes I know it's not a new game and really the tinsy number of changes GW have made to the league rules and Gutter Runners are over-powered or insignificant but it's back and thousands of people are playing  across the world who have never played it before.

It's a fantastic game (in my humble GW's best game) and it always has been and it's great to see that passion for it back among so many even if the core of the game has not changed one jot. And it means I can get games of it without travelling on a train to Rotherham or Doncaster which can only be a good thing.

On top of that I admin'ed the Oldhammer Facebook groups for a while which was hard and in the end too hard (started to feel like kinda like a job). They're great groups but as with that type of forum there's a lot of crap which is unrewarding that comes with it. Shout out to Warlord Paul, thansants, Steve Casey,  James Taylor, Steve Klatcheff, James Armstead and Chris Sabick for protecting the community from the spammers and monsters.

Image courtesy of Realm of Chaos 80s blog

Other highlights included finding an amiable bunch of gamers spread thin but wide around the North of England ( a few of which are Oldhammer admins or were at some point) but play like minded old games but sometimes D&D and sometimes less common fare like Pulp Alley.

2016 was a great year for gaming. Next year more GM'ing, more scenery, finish the Four Gamers challenge, more focus ( I have a project spreadsheet!) and a MASSIVE Doctor Who game in March co-GM'ed with thansants (more on that later). On top of that I'm getting married. Peace.

Heroquest Evil Sorcerer and Skeleton Command group

Finished this evil sorcerer from Heroquest a couple of weeks ago. Yet to decide how to base him other than with a grey coat but thinking cracks and maybe some moss should be added. Loving the resemblance to that villain of my childhood Skeletor!

Also finished a skeleton drummer and standard bearer from '93. Models are pretty gawky but I think they have their awkward charm.

I'm fairly happy with my first attempt at hand painting a banner design.

Back from the Dead

Things have been very quiet on blogging front recently. Mainly this has been because I hit a painter's block through all of December. I've really missed the best time to post up one of those full 'Here's what I did in 2015, here's what I'm gonna do in 2016' posts so I'll keep it short and sweet.

  More painting, less buying, more focus and gaming with what I have rather than picking up the next best thing. I want to play more and better with what I have and not head off into the undergrowth like a hound after a rabbit when something shiny and sparkling new comes along.

  To that end I'm trying to combine projects where possible. I am lucky enough to have a fantastic charity shop bargain hunting fiance who found me Heroquest for the lovely sum of one pound fifty for Xmas.

If you're one of the Oldhammer crew you probably know of this game. For thirty somethings like me it what probably drew us into the fanasty mini painting and gaming hobby in the first place. It's a dungeon crawler with very simple rules, created by MB games and Games Workshop with many of the monsters and tropes that carried onto into the Warhammer World. 

   It's like a lite version of recently released Dungeon Saga from Mantic. (although Dungeon Saga was probably inspired by it and not the other way around)

   So in the spirit of keeping things simple I've decided to combine the project of getting these board games minis painted up with an Oldhammer event I'm going to in March run by Orlygg over at the Realm of Chaos 80s blog.

The mission is to take two units (one good, one evil) to the event and they must be of roughly equal sizes. For my unit the evil side will be taken up by Skeleton Grim Reapers. 

Yep the bases need more ornamentation and there's a named character, standard bearer and musician to come. The latter two will be rebased and make their way into my undead Warhammer horde after the event is done while the rest will go home to the board game.

See - nice and simple. 

Found: Wayward Heroquest Skeleton at Medieval Fair

Sorry I have been a bit AWOL from the blog recently. I have plenty of exciting stuff coming up soon what with the promise of a game of Necromunda at our next meet - yay! This has meant plenty of researching colour schemes for my goliath gang as well as realising I don't have appropriate minis for heavies or my leader. Much pondering and I have realised I will just have to cobble some together from the Catachan command boxed set - even if this gives me a perfectly valid reason to break my oath not buy any more minis *whistles*

I already have a juve almost painted up and a pic will be on its way once I have made my lightbox...

As well as this I finished off my Chaos Marine Sorcerer and started painting my greenstuffed skeleton pirates.

Speaking of skeletons check out my wonderful girlfriend's purchase for me at a medieval fair! Can't think of anywhere more appropriate to find this little guy....

(PS. In case you are wondering that is not my girlfriend in the picture but a friend of hers who found the smelly)

Mini Oldhammer Day

Yesterday there was a get together to be had and it was goooood. I've been in contact with Captain Crooks from the Oldhammer forum and he invited Count von Bruno also and we got together for a day of Gorkamorka, Heroquest and 2nd edition 40K goodness.

Gorkamorka was a blast. We went in with three gangs with a simple 'grab the scrap scenario'. My guys were all bikers with grots. It was made all the more entertaining by poor Von Bruno's driving - he charged his vehicle at the Captain's only to lose control at the lost moment, leaving his back end exposed to the Captain's flamers. There is a real atmosphere of chaotic fun to the game and I would definitely play again - my grot ended up driving the bike after its driver fell off and landed in the dirt...

Okay - next game we played was Heroquest (and this time I have pictures).

The mechanics were simple, ALL the miniatures were painted and the company was great (couple of extra participants for this one). Probably the most fun I had all day. Above is my friend's elf in a standoff with a little goblin - I can just imagine the Sergio Leone music as the camera flits between their eyes.

  My attention deficit disorder barbarian recklessly opening yet ANOTHER door..

And lastly a badly lit pic of the undead picking on the Count's dwarf while a goblin blocks the rest of the party from saving him...

Last up the Count and I had a small game of 2nd ed 40K - his Squats and Space Wolves versus my Chaos. I like the old lists - Chaos was not specific to marines with a smattering of demons and you could field beastmen (not that I had any..).

  

The troops march to war...

Trench warfare...

Needless to say I was trounced. My missile launcher did little to dent his space wolves and their returning bolter fire was ruthless leaving one man of the squad cowering behind a building. On the other hand the cultist's fight was rendered ineffectual by the squats' flame thrower as well as the commander's grenade throwing skills - it promptly went off in his own hand taking out a couple of members of his own squad, breaking their morale!

Yep I have done a little bit of painting since my last post. All this Oldhammer influence has induced me to go back to my Chaotic Warhammer fantasy 3rd edition roots. Much browsing of eBay has brought back nostalgia for the chaos thugs. And much to my surprise there were female ones. Well only two, but I am sure other ranges can fill out a jazzy Slaaneshy female chaos thug warband. 

  Here be the first..

Yep lets say the colour combo might hurt the eyes but this Slaanesh after all - this is what she/he/it would approve of!

  'Til next time...