Hobby Diary Part 1: Monster March and 2nd Ed. Army Challenge

 

Hi folks,

Every Saturday I am going to try and publish one of these Hobby Diary posts. With so much stuff going on, I think a quick post to show some work in progress will help keep me sane. This week I have started some work on an old 1995 vintage Forest Dragon for Monster March. I have had this one since I started going out with Jen, and we have been together for 21 years now. So it is definitely time to do it some justice. This first week has been spent just cleaning the model up and pinning the hell out of it. I'm hoping to prime it tomorrow.

I have also primed and added the first layers/blends to a Razorback for the 2nd Ed. Army Challenge. I can't express who much of a joy it is to be working on this model. It is such an iconic model of that edition, with some really neat details and opportunities for splashing some colour. 

I don't have any new photos, but I am also still painting the Van Diemen's World heavy weapons squad for my mate Wade. they are taking forever, but in a good way. I have also popped the lid on Laurie's Valkyrie and Marauder. I'll have to invest some time this week to add some more details, just to keep them moving towards completion. Below is the reference image Laurie sent me to use as inspiration; smokin' hot.

Thats it for now. Let's see if I can carve out some regular hobby time over the next couple of weeks.

See across the table,

Marc

Old Stuff Day!

 

Hi folks,

Happy Old Stuff Day!!! With the second round of the 2nd Edition Army challenge just starting and me already hitting up ebay to get ready for round three (and maybe four...), my hobby space is literally awash with nostalgia at the moment. There will be plenty of posts about that stuff sooner or later, so I thought today I would post some links to old blog posts from my favourite 40K blogs. Go check them out if you have a chance and leave them a comment! To start with, if I may do so, I'll draw your attention back to the early years of this blog...

Old School Gaming

It is hard to believe that it has been 6 years since the last Battle for Nurgle's Cookbook. This is a scenario that I have tweaked many times since 3rd Edition 40K, and played many times with heaps of different people. I hope you enjoy this two part battle report as much as we enjoyed playing it! Maybe it is time to have another go at it.

Part 1

Part 2

WeeMen

I usually go here for a healthy dose of old school, but also happened to stumble across this... amazeballs... Lord of Skulls conversion.  

Chucking Monkeys

Last year I posted about the Nids on this blog, and I still can't get over them. Check out this stealth Mawloc (if you don't chuckle into your hot beverage, I don't think we can be friends anymore).

1st Legion Chronicles

So this post is not old by any stretch of the time/space continuum but, hell, if I can't give old school Dark Angels some love today, when can I? 

A Butterfly's Hobby Tally

XarfaiEngel's Uruk Hai projects have been a real inspiration. They have kept me dreaming about what I could be doing with all of the Lord of the Rings models I have stashed away!! It also makes me wonder how many other bloggers are LoTR collectors, and whether it would be worth a community challenge at some point...

262nd Death Korps of Krieg

As an honoured DreadTober alumni, it seemed fitting that I repost this gem from 2016, a magnificent Deathwatch Venerable Dreadnought!

Confessions of a 40K Addict

If you have been in the hobby as long as I have, you will know that it expands beyond just the collecting of miniatures, beyond even the buying of paint. There are tables too. And shelves. And display cabinets. Lights (sooo many lights). Sometimes, even a shed (and a dehumidifier...). Check out Dave's marvellous Man Cave project and go searching for the updates! It is an exercise in carving out a hobby space for yourself and protecting it against the elements.

Well, I have reached the point where I am falling asleep in front of my laptop. I have spent about 4 hours going down the blog rabbit holes of a bunch of my favourite blogs. If I didn't mention you today, I'll try and make it up to you during the year. You are all fantastic and a constant inspiration to me!

See you across the table,

Marc

 

Squaduary: Termagants and Van Diemen's World Vets

 

Hi folks,

The past couple of weeks (or has it been months??) I have been slogging away at a Van Diemen's World Veteran heavy weapons squad for my mate Wade. They were meant to be a Birthday present, and then a Christmas present, and now here we are half-way through February! I love painting them, but they are hard. It is just a really intense project. At the moment I am working on the heads, which have taken 1-2 hours each. I'm hoping that once that is done I will feel better about it all and push through to get them finished at last. 

"Stone the flaming crows, son!"

To give my eyes a break, I also painted a Hive Fleet Numereji Termagant brood for #squaduary. You can hardly see the pigment going on, so it really is a leap of faith when you sweep that paintbrush. After a few coats though, the reflectivity builds up, and if you turn it just so... well... take a look for yourself.

Rainbow serpent, indeed.

I had an Assault Intercessor squad planned for squaduary as well, which feels a bit like madness at the moment. But I achieved more difficult goals last year, so maybe I'll crank them out as well to add to my Iron Snakes (the finished ones... remember?).

See you across the table,

Marc

2nd Edition Army Painting Challenge: 1500 point Army TO-DONE!!!

 

Hi folks,

What I couldn't achieve in 25 years, I have finally completed in 6 months!! I feel like I have been preparing my whole hobbying life for this project and now that it is done, I feel the most profound sense of peace. As I have been saying throughout the challenge, many of these models were gifts from my family and friends as I was growing up. Many had been stashed away in bitz boxes, particularly my dreaded "too hard" box. Now, I think I have finally done them justice. 

During the next round of the challenge (starting in March) I will be painting some more Dark Angels, many of which I have purchased off eBay during the COVID-19 restrictions. Hopefully, I will get a chance to paint my collection of special characters as well; it would be good to include some more robes in this army! I have even started digging up some classic Tyranids, just in case there is a 3rd round of the challenge. Until then, here are some final pics of my completed projects.

See you across the table,

Marc