The Final Push – Lawnor approaches 100% painted

I have built, primed and based all the Spires except the Abomination.  I’ve applied two washes to the bone and since drybrushed it all up twice.  I am currently painting the cloth on the Pheromancer and the Brutes.  The shields remain separate as they would just make life very hard if glued on before painting.  Washes need gravity to work well so I have come up with a solution using Blu Tak

While other painters are getting sponsored by Reaper or Firestorm Games or model companies, I’m chasing the dream: a Heinz sponsorship!

End of year totals:

• Unpainted Models Gained: 301 (Mostly from KS’s from last year and one big prize.  Little actual shopping from this year)
• Models Painted: 413
• Difference: 112

All thats left to go is the Spires and the 6 objectives and all thats left is fun solo models to paint (And Kingdom Death: Monster and Aeon Tresspass: Odyssey for delivery mid-late next year, theoretically).

With my Hundred Kingdoms fully painted, I should probably write down what paints I used so in 20XX when Im allowed to play real people again and decide to add to this force I can match the scheme.  I started with a black prime only.

Mission Models: MMM-002 Cold Rolles Steel

Steel:

Airbrush a single thin all over coat so it still looked mostly black.  Single thicker coat from the top and sides. Single coat from above.  Add in some VGS 72.752 Silver and spray from above only.  Myabe a coat of just the silver but Im not sure?  Allow to dry properly.  Targetted wash with GW Nuln Oil only in therecesses and edges, and over any chain mail.  Almost a pin wash.  Drybrush with P3 Cold Steel.

Leather:

Paint the armour P3 Bootstrap and the straps VMC Panzer Aces 302 Dark Rust.  Drybrush with P3 Hammerfall Khaki.  Wash with GW Agrax Earthshade

Flesh:

Base with P3 Midlund flesh.  Wash with Midlund Flesh and P3 Skorne Red mix.  Wash with Midlund Flesh and P3Battledress Green mix.  Wash with Skorne Red and Battledress Green Mix.  Highlight with Midlund Flesh and P3 Ryn Flesh mix.

Red Cloth:

Base with 50/50 Kimera Kolors Red Oxide and Orange.  Takes many layers.  Shade with 3: Red Oxide:Orange and then just Red Oxoide.  Highlight up with 2:1 Orange: Red Oxide, then just Orange, and then 50/50 Orange: Kimera Kolors The White.  These paints are so thin and fluid I stopped adding water to them.

Red Arrow Flights:

Base with GW Evil Sunz Scarlet.  Wash with GW Carroburg Crimson.  Drybrush with GW Wild Rider Red.

Red Plumes:

Base with GW Khorne Red.  Drybrush with GW Evil Sunz Scarlet.  Drybrush with GW Wild Rider Red.  Wash with GW Carroburg Crimson.  Drybrush with GW Wild Rider Red.

Red Shields:

Paint many many layers of P3 Red Ink.  Remember to allow to dry thoroughly otherwise the thin coats will tear.  Remember to work with gravity and switch orientation of shields while drying.

Crossbows:

Base with P3 Menoth White Base or any ivory.  Paint VMC 70.828 Woodgrain (transp.)

Grey Cloaks:

Base with P3 Greatcloak Grey with just a little P3 Menoth White Highlight.  Shade with Greatcloak Grey.  Deep shade with 50/50 Greatcloak Grey and P3 Coal Black.  Highlight with Greatcloak Grey mixed with P3 Menoth White Base.  Add Menoth White Highlight to last mix for final highlights.  This came out more blue than expected.  Perhaps add a final all over wash of GW Nuln Oil to make it more grey in future before applying highlights?

Grey/Black Shoes:

Base with VMC 70.995 German Grey.  Drybrush with P3 Mentoh White Highlight.  Wash with GW Nuln Oil

Horses: I should have wrote this one down sooner.  I don’t remember clearly.  Base with VMC 70.826 German Cam. Med. Brown.  Mix in some VMC 70.883 Flat Earth and highlight up.  Use pure flat earth.  Mix in P3 Hammerfal Khaki(?) and bring up too far.  Wash down with AP Strong Tone

Hooves:

Base with P3 Cryx bane base.  Paint vertical stripes of P3 Trollblood Highlight and then P3 Hammerfall Khaki.  Wash once or twice with GW Nuln Oil

Gold:

Base with P3 Rhulic Gold.  Wash with GW Seraphim Sepia.  Highlight with P3 Solid Gold

Bases

Prime Black.  Airbrush enough VMA 71.043 Olive Drab to tint the ground but not dominate it.  Drybrush with P3 Bootstrap Leather.  Pick out the stones with P3 Bastion Grey.  Wash stones with GW Nuln Oil.  Drybrush stones and ground gently with P3 ‘Jack Bone.

I think thats everything?

I’ve also built all the Spires except the Abomination, and prepared their bases.  The bases need to dry for 8-12 hours before getting a final coat of water PVA and then they want a day or two to dry before priming.  I’m saving the Abomination for after as it deserves more attention and I hope to understand the requirements for painting this faction better when Im done with the infantry, allowing me to plan sub assemblies better.

With my Hundred Kingdoms fully painted, I should probably write down what paints I used so in 20XX when Im allowed to play real people again and decide to add to this force I can match the scheme

Here’s the first 12 Men At Arms all painted up.  I’ve started work on the next 12 and hope to have them done before the new year.  I also painted the red of the flag objective at the same time to save time later.

For the record, that steel looks a lot smoother in person.  Sometimes the camera shows all the flaws with my airbrushing that the eye cannot see.

That’s me done for 401 models this year and 100 more models done than I’ve gained.  Time to start work on the 24 Men-at-Arms, possibly as two units of 12.  I’m also one mission in to Heart of Glorm (Mice and Mystics expansion 1).  Playing through this is part of my 2021 hobby pledge.

Monkeys With Fire had their first Annual Community Hobby Awards last week.  Only 4-6 entries per category, but I picked up Best Bust for Brisket.  I think I actually came second, but he wanted to spread the prize support around and SuperSarah1313 had already won something.  I also won two joke awards.  Best Miniature Booty and Mini Painting Machine.

My pledges for 2021

During a recent week of work I played through Mice and Mystics just in time to pick up the first expansion cheap during Black Friday.  The box turned up the following Friday afternoon, and I got them painted on that Saturday.  Here is Neré and Glorm ready for a Christmas playthrough.

I won the Conquest starter set here a month back.  I’ve finished my first unit and as such tested the paint scheme.  Now to power through the rest of the Hundred Kingdoms.  If I can paint 3 more models I’ll have painted 400 models this year.  A new personal best and hopefully the last chance I’ll have to do this.  One more on top of that and I’ll have painted 100 models more than I’ve gained this year (I do not recall buying 300 models and yet somehow this happened).  So, next up is the 4 cav models from the box.  The metal was done earlier and I’ve already painted the horse flesh and based half the leather.  I’ve 2 weeks left and some time off due.  Pretty sure I can do this.

I’ve finished the final four models from my Aeturnus Continuum starter set, but I spent some money on Black Friday and bought Kingdom Death Monster 1.6 and Heart of Glorm, the first Mice and Mystics expansion.  KDM isn’t turning up until Q2 2021, but Glorm arrived today.  Its only two models and they are currently primed and rying awaiting my attention in the morning.  I’m going to get these two done and then play it over christmas, I think.

EDIT: I won a golden button for these guys.  Probably because I’m the only person here with a painted set, but a button is a button.  I’m half way to doing up a shirt by now I think.

I had a week off work and with my pile of naked plastic mostly under control I thought I’d play a game. I was able to completethe Mice and Mystics core box, and then order the first expansion cheap on Black Friday.

I was drawn to this game because of its sheer charm.  Its a fary tale in a box.  A kids story as a self contained RPG board game.  Whats not to love?  Well, the game has different ideas.  Its harsh.  Its swingy.  The timer is brutal and never gives you a moments rest.  There are workarounds though.  Here’s what I did to make it enjoyable

1: Take a picture of the game state after you complete each tile.  That way if it goes horribly wrong you only need to replay that one room and not the whole mission.  You will need to repeat rooms no matter how well you play.  Its swingy and the dice and cards can wreck you through no fault of your own.

2: Keep all found equipment between missions, instead of just one card per mouse.  I did this by accident and didn’t notice the actual rule until mission 9.  This helps counter any spikes against you and makes more sense.  Who loots a dungeon and then throws away all the gear you found that kept you alive?

Here’s my two big examples of swingyness ruining the game:

1: Theres a rescue mission early on.  Save Lilly.  When you get to her she is at the far end of a long corridor right next to the two baddie spawn points.  Fine.  I drew the initiative cards and it started with all the monsters, and then Lilly and then me.  Monster go first and run towards the nearest model and then spread their attacks evenly amongst targets working down the initiative order.  Turn 1 they can only attack lilly.  Turn 2 even though I’ve gotten close enough she is still their priority target.  I never had a chance to influence this and on repeated attempts she would always die and I couldn’t stop it.  Redrawing initiative made this room much more manageable

2: The final boss of the final mission.  The one we’ve been working towards facing.  She has 4 hit points and an armour of 4.  The most anyone has had up to now is 2/4 or 4/3.  She’s brutal and gets to attack 4 times in a round.  She’s a major problem.  Except one character one hit killed her before she even got to activate due to a fluky attack roll and an even flukier defense roll and they started her backed against a wall, meaning she takes even more damage.  I did 6 points of damage in a single swing, which is more than was possible at any other point in the game.  With her dead, the final level was a cake walk with no real challenge

Oh, and level 1 appears to be famous for being stupidly hard.  You have been warned.

The game was fun, but not what I expected.  I adjusted the rules this way to make it the game I wanted, not the arduous torturefest it would have been otherwise. YMMV.