Space Marines! (My Own Take on Salamanders)

 

I recently felt like painting some space marines, like the ones I had as a kid. I don't mind the new style ones, but there is something about the old 'beaky' marines that just takes me back. Thankfully, Games Workshop now produces just such a kit as part of the Horus Heresy range (and I am a fan of the book series).

I got a box and split it with my 8 year old son, as a project we can work on together.

My son decided to paint his as Imperial Fists, because he likes yellow.

I decided to paint mine as Salamanders, for a few reasons. First, because they could be used for both the Horus Heresy and Warhammer 40K if I so desire, as the chapter was around for both. More though, the Salamanders are, in my opinion, the closest thing to a 'good guy' chapter, as they are known to go out of their way to protect others, even at the expense of personal safety or strategic efficiency. 

I enjoyed the painting process, which is pretty easy compared to most other miniatures of any kind on the market - probably part of the secret of their success. So easy, I had to give them a little extra challenge, painting the flames on one leg and the stripe down the helmet. I was going to use decals for their chapter symbol, but found applying decals to the curved shoulder guards a real pain. So, in the end, I painted the chapter symbol myself - but with my own spin. My Salamanders have an 'S' stylized as a dragon spitting fire. I like how this makes them Salamanders and yet my own unique version at the same time. I'm sure some 40K (or 30K) purists are gasping, but hey - my toys, my rules! 

I gave them a very neutral base so that I can happily use them on a spaceship, in a dungeon, or in rocky terrain!

Now that we've each got two done, I think we might use them for a game of Deathship One. 

I'm looking forward to painting a few more.

Frostgrave is 10 Years Old!

Frostgrave is 10 Years Old! To celebrate, I have written the story of its creation, as best as I can remember it, and put it up on my Patreon free to everyone.

As part of the celebration, Osprey Games is releasing a Special Edition of the rulebook.  You don't need it - it doesn't contain anything new - but if you like beautiful books...

 

Rangers of Shadow Deep: House of Spiders

Can your Rangers uncover the secrets of the House of Spiders? This new Rangers of Shadow Deep mission is available in PDF and Print on Demand from DriveThruRPG!

The Briarwood Bombers!

 

I finished painting my Wartnose Jousting team! I had a lot of fun with these guys. They are painted with a mixture of traditional and speed paints (the goblin skin, as well as the bodies of the centipede and mole rat). I really enjoyed the bases as there was plenty of room to add bits of scenery - so lots of skulls and broken weapons. 

I've now got one Hairfoot team and one Wartnose team. I figure that way I can meet any challenger on equal terms, or run the game myself pitting the two teams against one another. 

The Wisdom of Agatha Christie

'The human mind prefers to be spoon-fed with the thoughts of others, but deprived of such nourishment it will, reluctantly, begin to think for itself - and such thinking, remember, is original thinking and may have valuable results.'

Agatha Christie

from The Moving Finger

Dungeon Update

 

Not the best photo, but I just wanted to show a quick update on my Dungeon progress. It's been slow and steady work, fit around a lot of other painting and modelling. I've still got a bunch of pieces cast, enough for several more sections. 

I've decided my goal, for stage one, is to have all of the dungeon tile pieces that came in the Advanced HeroQuest box set. There is no specific reason for that. It's just something to shoot for and should give me plenty of pieces to make small dungeons.

Gnome Adventurers

A pair of recently painted gnome adventurers for my Dungeon Crawler project. I didn't really have any specific need for gnomes, but these guys just looked fun to paint (and they were). 

Again, these are Reaper Bones figures, I believe from the most recent Kickstarter.