2023 Hobby Log

One of this year’s resolutions was to get more games in and so far this has been a failure. For good reasons but still a failure, at least in terms of miniatures games. This project has been focused on what has been getting painted, the fact that games all got cancelled because I’ve been ill.

Cultists, I’m sorry but I’ve been keeping a secret from you all. Not only that but I’ve broken a promise I made to myself several years ago. I feel like I’m living a lie and it is time to come clean.

I have a new love.

I swore I wouldn’t do another FFG card game after Netrunner. I adored that game, played hundreds of runs of it. Possibly thousands. I thought about it all the time; at work I would spend time building decks in my head, I’d read the sub-reddit and chat to people endlessly about the nuances of the game. However, the Living Card Game model, so often touted as being “better” than the TTG model, was still pretty awful if money wasn’t something you had a lot of (and I didn’t! Still don’t). FFG’s usual bullshit about buying two core boxes, having to buy every pack as it came out because availability of stock was rough and the vast majority of cards you never touched. And power creep? Eee gads! Then it died. I was free!

Yeah, now I’m not.

Now, give FFG their due, the model for their card games now is markedly different and they are going to a lot of effort to make them much more new player friendly. Right now they are revamping the whole Arkham Horror line so you’ll be able to easily get any of the campaigns, whenever you are ready for them. I knew that, as much as the idea of Arkham Horror fascinates me, there’s no way I’d play it because FFG aren’t the only one’s who’ve changed in the last few years.

Last year I picked up the Project Nisei System Gateway after a friend took an interest in going back to my old Netrunner love. The is the way that fans are keeping the game “alive” and it is a really impressive job. I sat with it all, the terms flooding back. Then I realised I’ve no interest in building decks any more. I just can’t find the enjoyment in sitting for hours, finding synergies, working out cost curves and tying themes to a competitive deck.

I picked up the core box for Marvel Champions the way I often pick things up; thoughtlessly, without any real idea of why I suddenly think I have time and space for another new game. What I did know about it was that it plays well solo, and has pre-constructed decks for those who don’t want to deck-build.

Most of the reviews you see out there for it, compare it to Arkham Horror and comment on the lack of a proper campaign structure. For sure, if you are looking for the MCU in card game format, this is not where you are going to find it. I’m not looking for another legacy or grand campaign game though. I have RPGs for that.

Stories in Marvel Champions are more like reading a trade for a comic. The way I play it, I sit down and pick which hero I want to play as. Grab their deck. Who is the villain? Pick their cards out the box, grab the five or six universal cards that go into the villain deck and pick out the side plot (called modules in the game). Shuffle up and play.

The core box has five heroes, three villains, several modules (plus cards to make increase the difficulty level); after upwards of twenty games in the last month, I’ve still not tried all the combinations. That’s without deck-building. Clearly being a sensible person, I’m going to stick with the core box for a good while…

Okay, maybe I’ve not changed that much.

I love my friends, I do. They are good people.

I would like, just once however, to go to the pub to meet them and not end up with a new game in our minds to pick up.

A good pal has had a rough couple of years and has been away from the hobby as a result. He’s still been buying things, of course – let it never be said that Wargamers aren’t eager slaves to capitalism. One of our biggest shared loves is Star Wars and over the course of a few pints the decision to play some Shatterpoint was made. He already owns the core box and one of our clubs locally has a great wee skirmish night held in a nice pub so it was easy to agree to.

Then more pints were had.

On payday weekend.

We know what happened, right?

[Drunk Me is a lot more forgiving of outrageous prices]

After the fun of the Nightstalkers project, I figure the best thing to do with this one is just get it done quickly. Build it, paint it, play it.

I can only make it to the skirmish night every second week because of work so I knew I wasn’t going to get everything done before we first sit down. I could get it all built though and then painted for the second session.

The building process was actually lovely.  The models are very straight forward to put together even without any instructions in the box. I got the pdf for the terrain but all in all  everything was done in two evenings. There are very few mould lines and, though B1s remain a pain in the arse even in a larger scale with my fat fingers, I’ve no real complaints.

Except the lightsabers.

They can go do one. There’s no way I’m not snapping them by the end of the first trip out of the flat. I thought I’d be really clever and replace them with brass rod but sadly I have neither rod nor drill bit thin enough for how tiny the hilts are. I tried. Anakin had a brass rod then he went back to his plastic one. I predict by the time we get to the first game, he’ll have nothing left.

Everyone got magnets on their bases before I glued the models on for once. Then I realised the box I was going to put them in isn’t tall enough so they are flat in a foam case after all.

Getting things done quickly means going with what you’ve got so when I had a free afternoon to paint terrain, the colour choice was limited. It doesn’t feel overly Star Wars but it is painted.

Buildings:
• Humbrol Dark Brown and over top with Humbrol Olive Green. The two tone effect here wasn’t as strong as normally I’d try for but it’ll do. We’re mostly going to be playing in a pub backroom, no one will notice.
• Drybrush with lighter green
• Drybrush metal segments with the remains of my Army Painter Gunmetal. Wash of Nuln Oil and then a small drybrush back up with gunmetal
• Paint over buttons and screens with white paint and then just some Blood Angels Red and Stormfiend for the buttons. The screens are Hexwraith Flame but I might come back to them later, I’m not a fan
• White over the lights as well and then a mix of Gryphcharger Orange and Gloomspite Yellow air to make cartoony lights
• Painted a couple of cables with Black Legion – this was mostly just because the sides they were on needed something to break them up a bit
• Sponge weathering with a dark brown
Platforms:
• Prime with the remains of my Colour Forge Black – excellent primer if you can get it
• Big makeup brush to drybrush everything with Gunmetal making sure not to go to heavily so I don’t have to bother with a wash
I didn’t get round to the other bits like the crates and console things just because I’m running dangerously low on primer. I’m also out of varnish but it’ll do for Monday night’s game.

I have been working on a couple of bigger projects recently but I don’t want to say much about them right now. I did make a little time for painting today and wanted something that could be done in a single sitting.

The Tiffany Aching series within Discworld is amongst my favourites and one of the bigger projects I’m working on is tied into it. This was a lovely wee thing to work on.

Two weeks from now is the Claymore wargaming show. I didn’t think I was going to get to go this week but thanks to someone else needing a shift swap, I’m now free that weekend.

I don’t have a lot of money to spend on hobby these days (or indeed last year) and I know that most of the projects I’m working on for the rest of the year aren’t going to benefit from anything at the show. There are a couple of wee things I’m looking for but mainly it’ll be about the games and tables on display.

Last year I only really bought one “big” purchase which was the 6mm Confederate army pack from Baccus. I really like them and started working on them as soon as I got back.

Obviously being me, I didn’t finish any of them. They got packed into a box where they have been since. So over the next two weeks, I’d like to get through as much of the remainder as I can. Going to the 2023 show knowing that the 2022 purchases aren’t languishing in the pile of shame would be nice.

Coming back to a project after a year away when your memory is as crap as mine is always an interesting time. I remember what I intended this army to be the stepping stone for but those plans are so far in the distance that it is almost not worth thinking about them.

They were for Altar of Freedom, I know that much. I don’t remember that decision but they have a very useful section on their theatre books which breaks down how many bases you need to for each army for each battle in the supplement. I have a note of what I needed for the first two legs of the original plan. That was good of me.

Even better, I wrote down what paints I used and the basic order for what I had already painted. Well done Past Gorram.

Before I get into the next batch though, I need the painting sticks back so this lot needed based. Thankfully Past Gorram also put a pack of bases in the size she’d intended to use in the project box (60mmx30mm).  After a bit of playing around, I worked out what strips were going on each stand; two rows with some skirmishers in front. Each stand has a flag in the centre of the front row but this could easily be chopped off if I don’t end up needing them in the future.

Next up I was going to mix some filler with paint because basing at this scale can be messy but I hate obvious signs the models are on strips. After sitting thinking about what I needed to do for a full 30 minutes without actually getting off my arse to do it, I noticed that I have three tubs of Stirland Battlemire perched on a shelf much closer to me so, que sera, sera. Each stand now has Stirland Battlemire instead. Not a strong economic decision but an energy one for now.

Left to dry overnight, there wasn’t as much shrinkage as I was expecting and a quick layer of some Fine Turf and they are done. Probably should have left some bare patches of ground but I was half sleep. Five down.

The next batch is the remains of the the base infantry. Everyone gets a soapy, warm bath and a rub down. If you want a project to go well you have to really pamper the minis a little.

Strips are then put onto tongue depressors with some blue tac. You could spray them at this point but I find I have more success getting into all the wee crannies without getting too thick a coat by using a brush on primer.I like the grey for smaller scales mainly because I can actually see details. Speaking of which…

All ready to go and then I remembered that since I last painted at this scale, my magnifying light stand broke so we’re off until tomorrow and some of those sexy magnifying glasses with the light on them arrive.

Funny thing about the way my brain works, when my soul goes into squalor goblin mode, my brain just blanks out on things. Might be conversations, birthdays, or plans. This interlude is brought to you by one of those blanks.

The Space Ducks is a community army project that will be put into a raffle. The draw is in October but the raffle opens in September. All the proceeds are being split between two mental health charities. You can find out more about them on their Instagram page.

I offered to get involved and was asked to paint up a drop pod. I bought the kit, put it under the desk to work on “soon” and then forgot all about it. My cats were playing under the desk the other day and lost their tin foil ball – fetching it like a responsible cat servant, I came across the drop pod.

I’ve not done a drop pod before so building it was an interesting evening. Recently I’ve been trying to focus on done not perfect but as this is for a prize army, I want to put more effort in. Two sub-assemblies to make for easy painting.

The chapter symbol for the Space Ducks is a slice of bread so a bit of green stuff over the included chapter badges and we’re good to get priming. I have a lot of black and white primer but the temptation is to just buy a yellow one. Normally I’d stray away from buying a paint for such a minor project but it is a large model so brush painting will be a pain in the hold but I also have another army in mind coming up that the yellow would be good for. There is a show on here next weekend so I’ll have a look there rather than buying online and having to pay the shipping premium.

Not much exciting in terms of hobby the last few days other than working on stages of other projects. In the realm of hobby though, it was Claymore this weekend in Edinburgh. Up until two weeks ago it didn’t look like I was going to get to go but someone at work needed a shift swapped so my price was my Saturday on.

Claymore is run by one of the local wargaming clubs and is mostly historical themed though there are usually a table or two of other stuff in the mix.  It is a great show though I’m really not a crowds person. Didn’t take a huge number of photos but there were some cracking looking tables. There were a couple of mediocre ones too but fair play to them for putting on a game.

I spent several months’ worth of hobby budget for a project I’ll be updating soon. I also managed to grab the yellow primer I wanted for the charity drop pod. Sat last night and progressed it a little watching a stream. The Pro Acryl Titanium white is a lovely paint to work with. White is still an arse to get good coverage over the yellow but the paint is thin enough out the bottle that building up layers it nice and smooth.

I started a little project, well I guess it is quite big. It will involve painting to miniatures but it is for work. Can you tell what it is yet?

The Work project is a stupid idea. I don’t have the time but once I make a stupid decision I want to follow through on it. I just need to keep reminding myself “it is only for a display at work, it’ll be taken down in a fortnight”

So it’s a treasure hoard. Who could it belong to? And who is that sneaking round the side?

Yep, it’s Hobbit Day and as a library staffer it was the perfect excuse to go over the top. I 3d printed the dragon but had to carve some bits off as the original model came with a saddle. No one could saddle Smaug.

In time I’m sure I’ll dive into tweaking the stl before printing to fix this kind of thing but I’ve only been printing for ten days. The resin being translucent meant I couldn’t really see what I was doing for gap filling so I primed the model in black. This is when I realised I hadn’t got the saddle point as low as I thought I had. Oh well, I have 15 hours to get it ready (and to sleep). Wish me luck