Tuesday 22 April 2014

£5 Wargamer Challenge!

I thought I'll brush up (no pun) my painting experience by part-taking in the £5 Wargamer Challenge! that's on Facebook.  The challenge entails you to purchase a miniature for £5 or under (excluding postage) paint it up and sell it on eBay again with a starting price of 99p. The participant with the highest winning bid will win a gift from the the group and bragging rights!

It's seems like a fun project but also get me to start painting again having been sidetracked by work.

This is the second challenge this group have set with the current theme being 'Mayday' or 'For the Emperor', or on both if you like! 

I'd purchased the Dark Angel Librarian model from the Dark Vengeance set since there were a lot of cheap auctions of this model going.  I managed to win this at 99p though delivery cost was £2.  The model is with me now and I've already base coated part of the armor, though it shows I need a lot of painting time to even get it to table top standard.  Well post more progress soon!

If you want to join this challenge please head to the following link: https://www.facebook.com/events/235847326607244/.


Monday 21 April 2014

Darklands: First Edition II Kickstarter Mierce Miniatures



I just backed my first kickstarter project from Mierce Miniatures.  This is a fantasy skirmish game set in a alternative history.  The models produced from Mierce are fantastic, the best in the market in my opinion.  Mierce have done a great job in sourcing the exceptional sculptors to bring their characters to life.  They have Stephane Simon on the project who I'm a big fan of. 

I've already purchased a couple of models when I was at Salute 2014, so I'm excited to see these new concept designs brought to 3D. 

This is their 3rd Kickstarter project which will end in a couple days' time. If you enjoy fantastic sculpted models don't hesitate to pledge, you won't regret it!  Follow the link to the Kickstarter page.


https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/mierceminiatures/darklands-first-edition-ii


Monday 14 April 2014

Jakob Rune Nielsen - Post-Centaur Painting


I recently purchased a mini-booklet by Jakob which showcase 20 projects he did from 2011 to 2013.  The book is in A6 format and the works are stunning.  It shows how his works have developed in a short period of time and looks into his character building and use of colours for the themes they were set against.  This is a fun little book to and have inspirational models.

This is the first batch of 100 and priced at 14euros. Worth having in my opinion. You can see more of Jakob's work and how to purchase this book here http://miniatextures.blogspot.co.uk/.






Saturday 12 April 2014

Salute 2014


Today I went to my first major miniature show in the UK with a few local people including Jodell (thanks for the drive). The event was held at the ExCel London,brilliantly organised by The South London Warlords.  The event was amazing with majority of your typical traders and gaming company there, except for GW.  There was a lot of gaming tables, though I didn't get a chance to play since there were so much to see.  Also Salute gave out goodie bags which contained a WWII figure and a dice, which was pretty nice.

I have to say at one point I was overwhelmed with the amount of miniatures available to purchase.  I did spend quite a bit and majority of my cash went to Mierce Miniatures on Angrislaug, Draiggoch of Eryri and Druc Meat-Hulk.  If I had cash to splash I definitely would have purchased a lot more, but I now have a collection of grey plastic/resin models that require painting. 

It was fun to see the different games that genres that was on display. One particular game that caught my eyes was Freebooter which is a fantasy/pirate skirmish game, the characters were nicely designed would have like to had the chance to play.  I came across SphereWars which had some excellent fantasy elements to it.  I would have like to purchase these starter sets if I was minted. 

I was surprised by the turnout of people, I didn't know there was so many people into tabletop gaming, which is good since it shows that consoles having dominated recreational gaming.  I did see a few people that I follow on Youtube, though I didn't greet them since it's awkwardness you get when you know the person and they don't really know you, maybe next year I try harder to say 'Hi'.

There was also your typical painting competition with different entry categories.  As always some amazing work and conversions.  It was inspirational looking at the pieces on display. 

Overall I really enjoyed the show and was proper geeked out.  I will definitely be go again next year and be prepared and have a mindset what I want to buy and to do.  It was overwhelming since the amount of stalls available to browse.  

You can check out my random photos here.













Sunday 23 March 2014

Military in Miniature Event (Guildford 22rd March 2014)

Due to work I've haven't had chance to update this blog or do any painting or gaming.  It's been tough going not to involve yourself in something you're interested in.  Hopefully now I can pick this up without much disruption.

One thing that I want to get do more is to attend model events.  Having done some research I found that there are numerous events in the UK held by local clubs.  There are big events like the Warhammer ones and Salute which most people know, but I want to attend these smaller ones just to see what the local communities were doing and also see the local artists.

I've already missed a few since the beginning of the year, therefore I didn't want to miss anymore.  Scouring the web I found that the next event was Military in Miniature held in Guildford.  This event was held in partnership with the Guild Games Club and British Model Soldier Society (BMSS) and I'll believe it's the first one they've done. The Guild Games Club had games available to introduce newcomers or to have some fun.  The (BMSS) held a painting competition which consisted of different categories.  All of the models on display were really well painted, though there were two entries that really caught my eye which was a customised Sci-fi ogre and a Imperial Guard diorama.

There were also a few traders on show which was interesting to see though the only product I bought was a cheap Reaper figure, since the traders there were attending the Salute show, I'll be saving my money till then! On show was an interesting new gaming company introducing their skirmish game Anyaral: The World of Twilight.  I spoke to the owner (completely forgot to ask his name!) and I was intrigued by what was on offer and the world he has created.  This is a new Kickstarter set which I have came by before online. The models created were unique and offer something different from the games available.  

All-in-all I was pleased I'd attended the event.  Everyone was welcoming and was nice to speak to gamers and painters alike to get their insight of the hobby.   I left before the winners of the painting competitions were announced though I got the feeling not as people participated as they would have liked.  Though since this is the first event BMSS have held in collation with Guild Games Club I'm sure it will grow and I'll definitely will participate next year.

Please find photos of the event, or view them here




























BMSS Competition