Thursday 12 April 2018

Butterfly Brain?

or Attention Deficiency Disorder??
I'm sure it's something that ALL gamers experience, but I seem to have really suffered with it over the last week and a bit!
I have an excuse (don't we all?!), and blame it on expansionism - I have simply too many projects on the go, and feel the need to keep them all progressing, not really to the point that they're "done", but done sufficiently that I can taste the fruits of my labours and enjoy playing the games I have planned.
Am I kidding myself?? At least I've maintained enough self-discipline to leave the "Test Of Honour" stuff untouched until I've 'cleared' the backlog!!

Anyhow, this week's game didn't happen, so there's no AAR because I maxed-out my hobby time on the modelling bench. In fact, I think this post is only getting done due to 'drying time' between the stages of tackling the eight sections of "Amera Plastics" river currently occupying the work space!

In the absence of any table-top action report then, here's what I've been up to...........

A new recruit joins the "Ladygate Coven". She's a three piece casting from Heresy Miniatures which is why she's been so long in the 'paint queue'.

 Another three part casting from Heresy, this is  what "The Earl" looks like when he's angry!

A trio of characters from Black Cat Bases - the goodwife looks like she'll take no nonsense from patrons, and the mysterious Chirurgian  has a reputation for examining dead bodies. The young lady seems quite keen to display a couple of her assets...

..... but  keeps one of them hidden!

These are the pigs from the Pegasus plastic set - I googled 17th century English pigs, and the "Berkshire" breed came up, which is what I based these on.

Another google result told me that "official records indicate that the last Scottish wolf was killed by Sir Ewen Cameron in 1680 in Killiecrankie (Perthshire), but there are reports that wolves survived in Scotland up until the 18th century, and a tale even exists of one being seen as late as 1888." So they could have made their way down into England in the mid 17th century, and gave me an excuse to paint up these minis from the D&D Ravenloft boardgame!!

I managed to paint up a couple of  'plague doctors', since they'll probably be wanting to explore the mysterious goings-on in the Erewash valley before too long.

Why didn't I think of these before?! Laser cut MDF "Dial Counters" from Charlie Foxtrot Models under some more casualties - perfect for when the body count starts to ramp up!

Now, I know I said that I hadn't started on the Test Of Honour stuff yet, but the Cherry Blossom is out all over the place and everytime I do the cat litter trays I finish them off by raking them over in 'Zen garden' fashion - so I've had a go at a bit of terrain.
These are two types of cheapo plastic Bonsai trees from China. The first one comes in a little plastic 'pot' while the second comes 'unpotted' with some impressive looking roots.
The plastic foliage is awful (as 'tree leaves' but might come in useful for other 'scatter'), so gets removed and the bare tree etch primed. I've stuck this one on a standard tree size circular base.

This one is stuck on a piece of carved polystyrene along with a piece of stone from the garden. After a couple of washes on the trunk and branches I stuck on some "clump foliage" and gave it a spray with dilute PVA.

Finally for this post, while I was rooting about in the man cave, I found this old statuette.
I remember buying it from a Comic Shop years ago, but have no idea who she's meant to be or who the original artist is. Maybe Bryan or Simon will recognise her, but if anyone knows anything about her I'd love to know!

Many thanks for stopping by, and please do leave a comment if you feel so inclined!

EDIT: I forgot to mention, the above photo's are all taken on my new "grass mat" from Lidl - £6.99 for two 3ftx3ft gaming mats is a real bargain! (I plan on keeping one 'plain' and having a fiddle about with the other one)

21 comments:

  1. I know I certainly suffer from a lack of concentration when it comes to the hobby and starting to think about themed months more, it certainly seems to work for Simon. Wonderful additions to the collection and do like those bonsai bases.

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    1. I'm glad to hear that I'm not the only one Michael :-)
      So far I'd not considered "themed months", but a more disciplined approach of one description or another is definitely needed to put an end to my 'scatter gun' approach ;-)

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  2. Hi Greg, I can not tell you how impressed I am that you've done all that in the week, I feel a real light weight.
    The Earl looks suitably scary, and those Black Cat figures are very quirky, if I hadn't been spending money like it's going out of fashion I might have even ordered them.
    The Plague Doctors are great aren't they, I did consider them for sect members, some time - maybe.
    However the piece of resistance are the trees, I've seen the Games Workshop scary trees but these are very close and I bet they didn't cost anything like as much, they are very nice indeed.
    I went to Lidl but no mat so I'm a bit disappointed you are bragging about being able to find one but there we go. ;)
    Shame about the game - I was looking forward to it but there is a lot of good stuff here.
    Well done that man.

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    1. Thanks John, but I cannot tell a lie, it was an eight day week ;-)
      The plague doctors are great (and historically accurate with the "beaks" which were stuffed with herbs etc to 'filter foul vapours' and protect the wearer). My only gripe is having to choose a pack of all bare headed or all wearing hats - I would have liked a mixture.
      The trees are ridiculously cheap INCLUDING postage all the way from China... quite ridiculous really :-)
      Bragging?? Moi? I just wanted you to see one under different lighting conditions because I knew you were unsure about the colour :-)
      I too was looking forward to a game, and am determined not to let it slip another week ;-)

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  3. The hobby butterfly effect as a mate of mine calls it & yes I think we all suffer from it, but looking at what you've got done Greg I'm not sure I'd call it suffering :) a fantastic bit of work

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    1. Thanks for the kind words Frank, it was definitely a more productive week than this one's looking set to be ;-) The paint table has stood idle all weekend!

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  4. I think it comes down to how an artistic mind works, and we flit between what's engaging us from one moment to the next.
    The figures and scenery you've got don look great, so no time wasted and a very productive time

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    1. From now on I'll put it all down to "the muse" Dave, so thanks for the insightful comment :-)
      I suppose it's also due in part to the multi-faceted nature of the hobby, and time has to be allocated to reading and research, painting and modelling, culminating in PLAYING.... and you can't have one without the others :-)

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  5. Totally agree, and there is always real life issues that can eat into hobby time, the best analogy is one of those people who used to spin plates as entertainment, if you don't keep the momentum going on all the aspects, they end up dropping off

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    1. Excellent analogy, but you forgot the bit at the end..
      and rolling off somewhere out-of-sight and forgotten, only to be rediscovered when you're having a clear out later ;-)

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  6. oooh now I do like that painting, really nicely done.. and would be a pleasure to play with on the table top for that cool immersive 3D aesthetic experience.

    I`m impressed (and highly respect) your discipline with the Test of Honour. We do the same thing a lot of times, and Black Plague and every single kick starter expansion/stretch goal extra stayed in its big box, and sealed in its cellophane until we had the time to do the game justice, about a year later (which then felt like Christmas as we got to unwrap it all and play with it, like a brand new toy). Likewise with Last Night on Earth, and my beloved Zulu wargaming armies, I waited until I had time and concentrated on the projects in hand, rather than dilute the experience by trying to tackle too many things in one go. Well done :-))

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    1. Many thanks Steve - I'm flattered by such a comment from a brush master :-)
      I keep trying your "wash" technique for speed painting, but at the moment I've stuck with maintaining a limited palette and block painting, followed by a shading wash.

      I love your "feeling like Christmas" comment - it's put the eventual unboxing in a new light :-)
      Previously it was nagging in the background noise of my brain, but now it's sitting quietly just waiting for the right moment!

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  7. It's amazing what can be done in a short time period (relatively speaking), when one is even just a tad motivated isn't it ?
    I rarely get so motivated so I'm very impressed with all the above that you've turned out.
    Job well done I'd say (and the carpet looks great too!)

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    1. Very true Joe, and motivation can come from different directions as well - in this case I was aware that free time was available but would be a bit limited over the next couple of weeks!

      Thanks again for the tip off that the Lidl mats were in store, I've been hankering after one for AGES and certainly wasn't disappointed when I finally found one :-)

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  8. Yes, we all do the "butterfly" thing, don't we :-) ? But it looks like you're making good progress on a number of fronts, for all that.

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    1. Thanks Hugh, though this week has been almost flatlined hobby-wise.

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  9. Yep, too many projects on the go is something that I've realised I've got at the moment. Not helped by the fact I keep buying The Walking Dead All Out War stuff. Doh! Least I've not started on them yet, but the desire to is beginning to erode my self-discipline.

    Anyway, I love that finished tree you've done. Brilliant! And the casualty markers look the business. I passed on your suggestion to Col. Bill concerning the Devil's Whore character, though Stu hadn't seen the program so didn't have a clue what I was talking about (not for the first time, lol). He'll have googled it by now, as he's always on the look out for new ideas. Cheers.

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    1. Cheers Roy - so you're in the same boat with the Walking Dead that I'm in with Test Of Honour :-)
      As Stve says though, it'll be "like Christmas" when we finally allow ourselves to crack them open and get started (It might even BE Christmas!!)

      I've googled the "Devil" from The Devils Whore and come up empty handed - I'll run the DVD again and pause it to take a shot with the camera :-)
      But probably not this evening.... I 'accidentally' dropped The Last Jedi DVD in the shop-pain basket while I was out this morning ;-)

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  10. Oh, how I can relate to your problem about having too many projects on the go. I'm certainly guilty of that. I try to keep it down to three at a time, which I can manage just fine. Having multiple projects helps keep your interest going as you flit from one to another. I'm sorry I don't recognise the female "statue" but she is a stunning figure. All in all, a fascinating post.

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    1. Hiya Bryan. Glad to have you back :-)
      Yep, I think 3 is the magic number - so maybe mulitples of 3 might work?! LOL
      I've solved half of the mystery regarding the statuette, it's taken from Simon Bisley artwork (so you probably HAVE seen her somewhere before). I've just no idea who "she" is yet.

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