Well, not quite “masters”… minions, more like… these Battlemasters baddies are coming to a dungeon near you…
I’ve just finished painting up my latest handful of miniatures. If you’ve been following along, you’ll know that I’ve been dabbling with Dungeon Saga. I wanted to populate the dungeons with my own unique miniatures, so I have formed up a party of heroes, and some Lovecraftian horrors to pit them against.
I had a few miniatures from the classic Battlemasters game of my childhood lying around. I decided to put an orc-goblin duo to work as dungeon minions.
This Chaos Dwarf is another old monopose plastic miniature getting a lick of paint and a fancy shield. I found him in my nephew’s Lego toybox of all places. His spear is slightly bent, probably an injury inflicted by a Lego batman or something. He looks slightly better than he did, in any case.
I didn’t put the Chaos Dwarf in the dungeon because I’d already been painting this fellow. I am sure I got him from CP Models.
Not had enough 90s throwbacks yet? Fair enough. We move from Battlemasters to Warhammer 40k, and the pious loudmouth that is Redemptor Kyrinov, Confessor of the Ministorum. He’s backed up by two Warmonger Miniatures’ Plague Apothecaries. This is all part of my sci-fi dystopia project.
Kyrinov will be placed in responsible charge of these endoskeleton miniatures from Terminator Genesys.
That’s all for now, though. We’re all waiting to see who comes through that dungeon door next. Will it be more Battlemasters characters? Someone from HeroQuest, perhaps?
A few months ago I talked about getting into Dungeon Saga, a cracking dungeon crawler game by Mantic. I also picked up the Adventurer’s Companion supplement which gives you the tools to create your own scenarios, campaigns, and characters.
My first move was to put together 4 mighty heroes, and I picked out miniatures from the Oathsworn range, which are a favourite of mine. I posted pics of the finished characters in my Dungeons & Badgers article.
The next step was to populate the dungeon with some new and interesting baddies…
Long-term readers to this blog will know that I’m a big fan of Midlam Miniatures. They have a range known as Cult of the Kraken Lord, and, being a fan of Lovecraftian fiction, I was immediately drawn to them.
High Priest Kroll comes on this nautical-themed toilet. He’s been on there a while because the person before him forgot to replace the bog roll.
Cp Models were a company on my radar since writing my Oldhammer miniature companies roundup. I placed an order with them recently, and threw in these Spectres with Scythes. The bases on these guys are from Warbases.
Kraken Cultists queue outside the toilet, waiting on High Priest Kroll to be done.
Meanwhile, the spectres titter away at the shortage of bog roll for those squid-faced buffoons.
We’re not done with the puerile commentary yet either. Here’s another one from Cp Miniatures, known simply as ‘Night Horror’. Yup…
Sir Verlburch, Squirrel Knight, has spotted some nuts, and he’s about to have them off with that big axe of his.
I look forward to my anthropomorphic dungeon delvers ploughing through these Kraken Cultists and Spectres. I’ll be doing a bit of solo play soon to test them all out.
Meanwhile, would someone please fetch poor Kroll some newspaper or something? Seriously, he’s been in there a long time…
Traditional Spooky Characters
Lovecraftian creatures weren’t all I’ve been painting in this batch of dungeon baddies. I found another couple of nice minis on the Midlam site, and thought they’d make great Boss characters.
The first is Lady Clarissa De Collate.
The second is that old clock-watcher himself, the Grim Reaper.
“My head’s been all over the place since we last met. I don’t think we should see one another any more.”
So there you have it, my latest bunch of miniatures moved from the “to-do” pile to the “done” pile. Next up, I’ve a bunch of 6mm stuff I might focus on as a bit of a palette cleanser.
This time around, it was time to build a Chaos Beastmen Herd. There’s a lot of great beastmen miniatures in the Knightmare catalogue, so I picked out my favourite 10, along with a Greater Daemon to lead them.
The big guy came with wings, but I didn’t stick them on in the end. Help keep his feet on the ground and all that…
Drakkon Skullcleaver
This fellow is a sort of three-eyed Highland Cow. Udderly terrifying.
Thrakor Triclaw
Also coming in threes was this beastman’s arms. He can dig the garden whilst making a sandwich at the same time.
Morthak the Ravager
This chap has the only pair of feet in the warband that aren’t cloven. Hoove had thought it?
Gorath Darkwing
I reckon the shaman is a bit bat-like. A bat with hooves, though.
The customary ‘three miniatures walking through a castle gate’ shot.
Vraxor Goatskull
A beastman who’s gran is always asking him if he’s eating well.
More of the big lad.
Uthrak Bloodhoof
The ‘get off my lawn’ beastman.
Kragoth the Putrid
Spot the Nurgle worshipper. There’s always one…
Drugar Warhoof
Smug youngblood with golden earring and ideas way above his station.
Murgoth Krakenborn
I imagine this guy spends a lot of time thinking about where he should actually live. Under the sea? In the forest? Dry tentacles or wet fur? What’s the lesser of the two evils?
As usual, I stuck them on a Warbases tray so they’ll work equally as well in big rank and flank games as they will in small-scale skirmishes. Remember to also check out my Chaos Warrior Warband and Goblin Archer unit – both of which are made up heavily of Knightmare miniatures!
You don’t need to look far (or hard) online to find a better miniature painter than yourself. That’s as relevant to the seasoned pros as it is to aspiring plodders like myself.
As I keep saying on this blog though, you can only really compare your work to your older work. That’s the only true barometer when it comes to miniature painting progress.
As it’s January 2021, I thought I’d take a look back at my progress this year. I’ve posted monthly hobby updates since I launched the site, so it was easy to skim through. I’ve picked out a few examples to post here.
Let’s kick off though, with my most recent work. This beast herd was finished up around the New Year period (full report coming soon), and I’m pretty chuffed with how they’ve turned out.
My Early Work in 2020
I was pleased with these paintjobs at the time (and I still think they’re acceptable), but I feel I’m capable of a lot better, one year on.
The Middle of the Year
Those heady days of spring and summer brought a bit of a step up in my techniques. To be honest, I probably got a bit better at taking pictures, too.
Into the Autumn…
Not too much of a difference between these guys and their spring/summer counterparts.
Winter is Coming…
Perseverance, practice, curiosity, and an open mind led me to taking another baby step forwards.
So there we have it, a year in pictures. Is there an improvement there? I’d say so. If I can just keep practising and learning, then I’ll be able to kick on even more in 2021, too. The main thing above everything else, however, is to simply enjoy the process.
Once again, you can look over my full year’s worth of work in my monthly updates. As ever, thanks for taking the time to read this humble blog 🙂
Alright so there are no badgers in my party, but I am of course making reference to Burrows & Badgers by Oathsworn Miniatures. They’re the company behind these lovely little furries.
I’d been dying to buy more stuff from Oathsworn for a while now and this seemed like the ideal project. First up, I replaced the Human Barbarian with this hardy looking anthropomorphic rat. I’ve named him Stinky Bob – there’s a plant theme here, for some reason.
Sir Velburch (say it aloud) is a proud looking Squirrel Knight. He replaces the Dwarf Warrior.
Chickweed is my Mouse Ranger, replacing the Elf Ranger. He’s heard a rumour that the dungeons he’ll be looting are a lot like the ones found in Elder Scrolls: Oblivion – jam-packed with lots of cheese wheels.
Out goes the Human Mage, in comes the Hare Mage. Her name is Rosa Rugosa, and she’s a prickly one.
Godspeed my bold adventurers. Delve forth and kill skeleton minions and stuff. Perhaps I’ll find a vet miniature to act as an Apothecary if things get tough down there.
Not content with working on my Retro Chaos Warrior warband, I’ve been putting together a goblin archers warband too.
Greenskins were my first love. It goes back to the first hobby related product I ever picked up – a deck of ‘Goblinoids’ Citadel Combat Cards in the very early 90s.
As someone who’s spilt a lot of green paint on a lot of different carpets, I decided to push my luck and tempt the fates by picking up these little guys. They’re from the excellent Knightmare Miniatures’ Green Skin Wars range.
I’m not sure if they were sculpted by Kev ‘Goblin King’ Adams, who I know does a fair bit of work for them. But they certainly have a classic Oldhammer aesthetic.
They were a lot of fun to paint. Nothing too complicated, but each model had enough variety and unique character to keep things interesting.
I’ve housed them in a movement tray from Warbases. I find these ones work really well for little warbands of archers.
So now it’s back to finishing the second half of my Chaos Warrior warband, and once they’re done, I have a herd of Beastmen who’re raring to get some paint splashed on them.
If you like these miniatures, you can pick them up from Knightmare. No affiliation here, I’m just a big fan, and regular customer. I also have a roundup of Oldhammer-style miniature companies, too, if you’re interested in that type of thing!
Building a Chaos Warrior warband with the classic Oldhammer vibe has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while now.
What finally spurred me into action was publishing a roundup of Oldhammer-style miniature companies. After spending a bit of time browsing all these sites, a purchase or two was inevitable. And so, the Dark Gods came calling (for my wallet).
The first port of call was a company I already know and love – Knightmare Miniatures. This was either my second or third bulky order from them. I picked up a lot of other stuff too, which I’ll be writing about in a future post.
The hulking giant in the gang is Knightmare’s Jötum Icemane (though he’s more of a Redmane for me). There’s a bit of a scale difference between him and some of the miniatures from other companies. This is inevitable when buying from various companies – especially when it comes to the more retro-looking metal stuff.
They could easily pass for Icemane’s sons, proudly dressed up for their first day of Chaos Warrior school.
Back to Knightmare, here’s MallĂĽs Bloodaxe. I still consider myself a very limited and early-stage painter, but I’m quite happy with these guys. I got a lot of great painting tips in the Oldhammer Community and managed to try out a few new techniques.
The final finished miniature, for now, is Knightmare’s superbly named “Chaos Warrior 14”. A name that strikers fear into hearts, from Albion to Far Cathay.
Most recently completed and added to the fray, are these 5 Chaos Foot Knights from Mirliton, bought via Campaign Game Miniatures.
They are quite small miniatures, but mounting them on the plastic bases raised their height a bit.
On hindsight, I’ll actually be puling Jötum Icemane out the regiment to use him as an individual Hero or Champion instead. He’s just a bit too big (and slightly different) than the rest. I’ve replaced him with an old Citadel purchase off Ebay.
I’ve talked a bit on here before about playing in pre-created storyworlds versus building your own. This time around, I’d like to dip into something I’ve been working on in the sci-fi genre.
Grimdark fantasy will always be my favourite sandbox to game in. But as a 90s GW kid, I do have a lot of fascination with the 40k universe. That said, I’ve really no interest in collecting a 40k army (or, playing 40k, for that matter).
In order to get my own sci-fi wargaming fix, I decided to start tentatively developing my own storyworld. I’m a big fan of using whatever miniatures appeal to me, rather than sticking to the collection of a particular manufacturer or game. I recently did a roundup of miniature agnostic games that let you use any minis. For sci-fi stuff, I really like Rogue Planet and Mutants & Death Ray Guns. Check out the link there for more on those.
The main rank and file troops are made up of iconic Terminator endoskeletons from River Horse Games, and Soviet Heavy Infantry from Warlord Games’ Konflikt ’47. The former representing the cold mechanical killers of the state, the latter being the rebellious worker’s movement known as The Rhizome.
Some of my original 90s miniatures have been pulled into this storyworld. Pious 40k loudmouth Redemptor Kyrinov has been primed to become leader of the state’s terror-inducing Inquisition. He’s backed up by two Practicals (yup, I read a lot of Joe Abercrombie) who were originally Warmonger Miniatures’ Plague Apothecaries.
Another old 90s piece was this Imperial Assassin. A great miniature with a lot of character. I figured he could join the side of the rebels. Sidenote – I always wondered just how much time it takes him to make a kill, given that the skin has already rotted from the bones of his last one. Unless he carries that skull around with him to use as a little stool?
I originally bought a box of plastic Necrons from GW to play the role of the robotic state killers. However, I thought they were absolutely horrendous to assemble, and looked a bit goofy, too. I then discovered the endoskeleton miniatures from Terminator Genesys and thought they were perfect for the job. These were tricky to purchase, but I got lucky on Ebay. I promptly moved those ridiculous Necrons on whilst I was at it, too.
Finally (for now), here’s another fellow from the mid 90s. He’s a Space Marine Captain who looks like he’s lived a hard life, and he’ll be representing the state.
Overall, it’s a small collection at this stage, but there’s already the scope for an entertaining skirmish game. I’ll continue to add to both factions over time, as and when I see things that I like. I’m particularly interested in miniatures with an ‘oldhammer’ aesthetic.
I know there’s a lot of debate around the question “what is Oldhammer?“. I personally feel that it’s just one of those things where you know it when you see it. To me, it’s a certain aesthetic that reminds me of leafing through the pages of White Dwarf as a kid.
In fact, my first point of contact with the hobby back in the day was Citadel Combat Cards. The miniatures on those cards really captivated me. They had bags of character, and a subtle sense of humour. I don’t deny that modern-day GW miniatures are excellent from a technical point of view, but aesthetically, they do nothing for me.
Fortunately, there are more miniature companies out there these days than I’ll ever know of. Many of them create miniatures in what I’d consider as the “Oldhammer aesthetic”. Some even utilise the talents of some of the legendary sculptors who created old school Citadel Miniatures many moons ago.
My Favourite Oldhammer Miniature Companies
One of the first ones I discovered following my return to the hobby after a long exile, was Knightmare Miniatures.
My Chaos Raider Champion, from Knightmare Miniatures
Knightmare have 3 main ranges – Pantheon of Chaos, Green Skin Wars, and Space Raiders. Many of their miniatures are created by legendary sculptors like Kev “The Goblin King” Adams, and Tim Prow. I challenge you to browse their website and not rack up a shopping list in your head that runs into the 3 figures.
Chaos Warrior Warband – A mixture of Knightmare & Ral Partha miniatures
Another company I’ve bought a lot of miniatures from these past couple of years is Midlam.
One of my Midlam Miniatures’ villagers
There’s a diverse range of medieval and fantasy-style miniatures available on Midlam’s website. They too have a range of greenskins by Kev Adams, and I love the stuff created by Josef Ochmann too. The villagers and townsfolk really capture “the pathetic aesthetic” that’s often talked about with fondness in Oldhammer circles.
Mushrooms are on the menu at CP Models. There’s loads of great stuff available there.
Warmonger Miniatures and The Wargames Foundry are two sister companies I’ll frequently buy from, too. They have a wide scope of figures available, including an ex-Citadel range featuring miniatures previously produced by… well, Citadel, naturally.
I, like every other mortal, have a very finite amount of money and painting time available. I’m well aware that the Oldhammer miniature companies I’ve mentioned here are only the tip of a very large iceberg.
I’ve been asking around for other recommendations so that I can try to list them all in one place. Here’s what’s come up so far. Obviously, I can’t vouch for anyone I haven’t bought from. But there’s a lot of fantastic looking miniatures here and it’s likely all of them will receive my custom at some point in the future.
Painting motivation. Even the most enthusiastic hobbyist goes through stages where they’d rather do anything other than pick up the paintbrush.
The ebb and flow of motivation is all part of human nature. There’s a quote I’ve heard often in the creative world though. I had to look it up, and it’s attributed to photographer Chuck Close.
“Inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work. If you wait around for the clouds to part and a bolt of lightning to strike you in the brain, you are not going to make an awful lot of work. All the best ideas come out of the process; they come out of the work itself.”
So “just sit down and do it” is a tip that we can’t ignore. But are there other things you can do to make the process more desirable? I certainly think so. That’s why I’ve put together these 8 tips to rekindle your miniature painting motivation.
You put the undercoat on us about 25 years ago. Any chance of… y’know… finishing the job!?
Consume Content About Painting
Whether you’re an avid YouTube watcher, podcast listener, or blog reader, consuming some hobby-related content can help shift your brain back into its motivated state. I’m a big fan of the Paint All The Minis podcast, and there’s never an episode I listen to that doesn’t get me up for cracking on with my to-do pile. The good thing about podcasts, too, is that you can actually keep them on whilst you’re painting.
YouTube tutorials can be really helpful for painting motivation too. Just seeing someone applying a splash of paint and making a good job of it makes your brain think “Okay, my turn”. You might even find blogs like this one useful. I mean, that literally is the point of this post, so I’d hope so!
Be Like Hemingway
I don’t know if Hemingway ever picked up a miniature, but he sure knew a lot about getting stuff done. One famous piece of advice he gave to fellow writers was to finish a session mid-sentence, when you know exactly what comes next. That means it’s much easier to sit down the following day and get started.
This can easily translate to painting miniatures. End the previous day knowing that there’s a nice big simple bit to do next. That way, it’s going to be much easier to feel motivated than if you were sitting down and thinking “well, I suppose it’s time for the iris on this Epic 40k snotling”.
Bring out your (Blood) Red
Get Nostalgic
There’s a hobby origin story in all of us, and whether that dates back to the 1960s, or last week, is irrelevant. The point is, there was something that initially stoked a fire in you to get started in the collecting and painting of miniatures. You can lean into this when your painting motivation is low, and you’ll be surprised at how much it helps.
For myself, I have an old dog eared pile of White Dwarf mags from the mid 90s near my painting table. A quick leaf through one of those never fails to capture the imagination. The goblin green bases, the red spear shafts, the photos of staffers with dodgy haircuts. All combine to have me reaching for the paintbrush in no time.
Minimise the Barriers
There’s nothing new or groundbreaking about this tip, but it’s an important one. If a painting session for you means clearing the dining table, putting some newspaper down, finding the shed key, going out to the shed, retrieving your paint box, going upstairs, finding the miniatures you want to paint… alright, you get the picture.
Not everyone has the luxury of a permanent painting area, which obviously solves all of this. But think to yourself “how can I minimise the barriers to getting started?”. What’s the minimum amount of steps you can be set up and painting in? This will be unique to your own situation, but the chances are, you can make it a bit easier than it currently is.
Be Accountable
Accountability is incredibly useful for some miniature painters. You might choose to do this on social media, or in an online community. You might also run a blog like this one and do monthly hobby updates. The point is, even if no one is really paying attention, you know that you’ve come out and declared that you plan to get this next thing done. That can give you the motivation towards actually doing it.
There are loads of painting communities and miniature painting challenges online. Or, you might look into the possibility of joining or creating a ‘real-life’ painting club. When you’re working on your stuff alongside others who’re in the same boat, it can give you that extra nudge through those inevitable periods of flatness.
The stage is set, only for you to ruin the immersion when you turn up with your legion of unpainted soldiers.
Have Clear Goals
If you know you’re testing out that new game with your pal in 2 weeks, and you need to have this warband finished for it – then that’s painting motivation.
The alternative is staring at your huge pile of plastic and thinking “okay, what next?” Here, there’s no real end in sight, so your brain will convince you that it’s really not worth the bother at all.
Take stock of every unpainted miniature you own. Group them into categories, considering things like “why do I own this?”, “what’s it for?”, “when does it need to be finished by?”. If there’s stuff on there that you can’t really answer these questions about, don’t be afraid to cut your losses and stick it on Ebay.
This not only helps with painting motivation, it also comes in handy next time you’re about to buy a new horde of minis on impulse.
Block Out Time & Have Painting Cues
I’ve mentioned the writing world already, and the miniature painting world is very similar in the oft repeated advice of “you should paint every day”.
If you genuinely can’t paint every day, don’t feel guilty about that. Instead, pick out some slots in the week where you have a free hour or so, and block them out. Book a date with your paintbrush, and let nothing stand in the way of showing up. Also, leaning back on some of our other tips, know exactly what needs done, and why.
If you’re in the position where you can paint on a daily basis, but you often don’t due to lack of motivation, then you need to create a cue.
This simply means “when I do this, then I paint”. So, “I do the washing up, then I paint”, or “I have a shower, then I paint”. Take the decision out of the equation and make it automatic. If you miss the odd day due to some anomaly or emergency then that’s absolutely fine. But make this your default routine.
Treat Yo Self
There’s nothing quite like a well-earned reward. Set up some for yourself to keep your painting motivation high as you work towards your goals.
Again, this builds on the previous tips where we know what needs done, why it needs done, and when it needs done by. Make sure your targets are realistic, and perhaps even start this strategy with the bar set low. You want easy quick wins to get you into the grove, then you can begin to step things up over time.
Set a reward in advance of each month. That could be anything from going out for a meal, to buying yourself a new crate of minis (careful now!). Whatever your reward is, hit your target and you can enjoy it guilt-free, and with a feeling of accomplishment.
Better late than never. Now… what about my 600 comrades?
What Are Your Own Painting Motivation Tips?
I’m writing here as if I’ve got this stuff mastered, but I can assure you that’s far from the truth. I’m always keen to learn about how others stay on track and get their work done. I enjoy reading the comments on these posts, so be sure to leave your own in the section below!
