#my source is that i have warhammer minis

[bolters-and-rivets]

Iron without! Resin Within!

sometimes I do warhammer things I have a 3d printer, I tend not to touch upon it much in relation to warhammer because I know it can be a testy subject (not to mention that in using the dark arts I bar myself from ever entering official tournaments), but when I'm borderline broke but I have a resin & filament printer at my disposal? I'm going to make use of the resources I have to hand rather than pricing myself out of a hobby I enjoy. that tangent aside, I've been printing myself some squads, because I've managed to accrue enough files to start my own production of infantry squads, so long as they're wearing mk.3 and mk.5 plate that is.

my first squad is a squad of chosen, donned in some relic armour inspired by rogue trader era artwork (I can't find an OG source apart from an etsy listing for a framed print)

I didn't really ahve anything in mind with this squad apart from giving myself an elite squad to use that looks cool, poses are a bit jankey on a couple of the minis because it was my first time building resin figures

second squad being worked on is one which, to me, to really demonstrates the potential of 3d printing; Iron Warriors Rubric Marines! I wanted a squad of flamers which don't look like they've walked out of an egyptologists wet dream, and with the right files I was able to do just that. I just need to print off the heads, backpacks, and shoulders, and they'll be ready for paint

that's about it, I'm posting this to test the waters for sentiment around 3d printing, so we'll see how it's received

[painting-warhammer]

Lelith Hesperax in the style of Sylvanas Windrunner (Warcraft)

To date, my greatest failure painting. Commentary under cut.

The Lessons Learned

#1: Don't Base Your Model Right Away

While the nook where the skeleton lies isn't what people will pay attention to, it still needs to be covered up by paint. The way the model is tilted too made painting her left leg absolute hell, in addition to the glyphs beneath it.

#2: Citadel Paints Are Not The Best

I had twelve-year-old brain and thought gold would be much cooler than her silvery-white accents. And as if that weren't bad enough, I decided to get the Citadel version. Which by all accounts, is the worst one you can get.

Mentally, I was in a position that I wanted everything to be as "official" as possible. To get everything from Citadel meant I had to be doing something right, almost as if I could get "customer support" if my figure looks like shit.

Now that's not to say Citadel doesn't make good paint as a whole. Most of my paints are still from there. But as time went on, I branched out to some Vallejo, Stuart Semple, and Green Stuff World. More than that, there are "formulas" for mixing paints.

I would eventually get a really good gold that I'll post a sample of when I do my main army reveal, but so as not to bogart the secret, I'll drop it here.

#3: Get Rid Of Sprues, But Learn To Love Battle Damage

I didn't think much of sprues initially. What's the big deal? I was too afraid of accidentally shaving off detail. Moreover, if you look at the Vriska post (specifically the shoes) you'll notice something is missing.

Yep, that little jewel.

I was cutting this outside and really struggling to get that little nub free when my clip blazed through and sent it flying. I had been working outside, and it went right into the tall grass where I suspect it remains to this day.

While I definitely freaked out, my best friend had friends into gunpla and mini painting that told me about "Battle Damage", which is the affectionate way of describing the chips and dents and errors you made painting. It is representative of all the violent campaigns your figure has been in and it makes them more unique. In the end I was okay with it, as honestly it would have made Vriska look dumb if she had some cowboy spur on one foot.

You know what can't be explained by battle damage, though? The giant horn of leftover sprue extending Venom Snake-style out of Sylvesperax's ponytail.

#4: You're Going To Have To Paint Everything, Especially The Parts You Don't Like

So in my last post, I said that I kinda didn't dig the Harlequins all that much--at least, not enough to commit to them. But I had a good idea for all the parts involved.

To this day, the Drukhari are my favorite faction. I saw them as the fun kind of michievous and devious, although I'm quite aware they are a lot, lot worse than that. Sylvanas Windrunner is also one of my favorite characters, and so I thought I would be okay with painting up a whole army of devious space-pirate Sylvanii.

Here was the reality: The only ladies are the harpies, Lelith Hesperax, the Succubus, and less than half of any given Wyches unit.

On first glance, that's not too bad. But then I realized that they had individual guns I'd have to paint. Spears. Swords. Knives. Utility belts. Some were less important than others, if they were in scabbards. But things like swords held aloft, I couldn't get around.

With Sylvanas, I panicked because while she does have a sword (in some cutscenes) it was just a basic, boring silver thing. I thought I knew better and tried to remake the Twin Blades of Azzinoth from Illidan.

When they looked as bad as they did, I pretty much called it quits then and there.

The guns would be their own beast; with Vriska Solitaire, I at least could just make the Warhammer of Vrillyhoo to reference, but I didn't know what to do for a sudden army of all this. I was suddenly adrift because I was relying a bit much on source material and beginning to mix the things that shouldn't be. Illidan looks good holding the twinglaives, his color palette reflects that. Sylvanas does not.

It made me realize that this wouldn't be the first or last time I encountered this problem, so I decided to spend more time thinking about who my main faction would be (especially since I did and do still have some Drukhari Boxes of Shame™ in my cupboard already, and I didn't want to go deeper before it was too late.) For the time being, I would just paint what I wanted to paint and when I came up with something that I could commit to (which I would!) then I would commit to that army.

This is to ultimately say that if there is something you consistently dread doing, and it's less of a skill issue and more something like "but I don't even have any idea how to make this interesting," then don't hesitate to shop around until you find something you like.

#5: Understand How To Catch The Eye

The last brief point I'll mention is knowing how color contrast also means you should catch your viewer's eye.

You want it on the figure. The only thing I could day I did right is that Sylvesperax is very dark so you could argue she is stealthy and fast, and nothing but a blurry shadow on the orange Martian surface I placed her on. But that's a complete and total cope, lol. And I fucked up the glyphs again: I wanted a yellow glow to a reddish background, but the flow messed up and it stood out too much.

Going at this a second time, I think what I would do is try to make her brighter, i.e. less shade paint, and the ground duller; an ugly orangeish-brown clay like in Minecraft. Also, smaller detail brushes I would get in the future would be a godsend. In addition to her overly shaded blue form, you might see her eyes seem stylistically darkened when in fact, they were supposed to be red and I could never get the shader out.

So, big bummer with this one, and a step down from the Vriska Solitaire, but definitely a bigger learning experience. And a humbling moment, where I realized just how many mistakes I could make in one sitting. But no worries: the next one would have even more mistakes, and I would be a lot better at coping with them and I'd definitely start to develop more as a painter thanks to it. See you next time on that post!

[skitariiposting]

Skit's Mini Painting Journey Pt. 1

Going to split these up into multiple posts so I can tag them correctly.

Long before the time of Jerry Skitariiposting, there was no blog, nor webbed site I was posting pictures to. There was not even Warhammer. There was, instead, 3D printed Heroforge miniatures that I painted for my friendgroup's D&D games.

This is the first miniature I felt proud enough to take pictures of. Looking back, it's alright. The pictures don't show it well, but it did have some different coloring of brass on the wings and underbelly.

Of course, if you give a mouse a mini, they'll want a party painted next. So here's my group's party from back in the day. Largely flat colors, no shading really, and I have no idea what I was doing with the bases back then, but not bad for the early days. I'm still proud of Robert Goblin in the middle there.

Of course, the group needed something to fight, and in a campaign filled with sentient ratmen, I figured I'd get some fodder painted up. These are where we can start seeing noticeable improvements. Shading, some color variety, a little more attention given to the detailing. These are starting to move in the right direction!

A Flesh Golem was requested for a friend of mine's campaign, and so I gave it a shot. This fella's certainly got some more detail work going on, but could use a bit of work in the facial region. The bruising is surprisingly well done for this time period. The dunking of Nuln Oil didn't quite work too well on him sadly, though this would be the inspiration for the oil soaked cloaks of my Admech later down the line.

And finally, I began my first foray into OSL (Object Source Lighting) with this cursed tree monster. I'd say it turned out pretty well, and it is the perfect precursor to lead us into part 2...

[maitaiwiththecorpses]

That Time Mat Went Batshit (Pt. 6/???)

So, idk if I've ever mentioned this, but I have kids. Like, little kids who look up to me and I make sure to check in with every day. They're my babies. And I need to do a character profiling exercise, so I'm going to introduce you to them in the most batshit way possible! (I will not be using their real names, obvi, but enjoy!)

Griffin:

shitposts in the group chat all the time

does not know the difference between a controversial joke and an unacceptable joke.

has???? a minimal???? amount of rizz????

knows everyone's secrets

can be wise when he doesn't wanna be an ass

the best techie EVER

The Jalapeño:

bby bisexual

addicted to Warhammer and Zelda

watches too much anime

forgets drink water

DnD DM

so. many. allergies. It's so fucking hard to feed him.

misled from time to time (reddit is his news source so we've had to have talks about what's fake news and real news)

is a gentleman (will give u his sweater if u accidentally bled thru ur pants no questions asked)

Stylish Arguer:

forgets she's desi all the time

too much tik tok

hot cheeto girl /pos

Gets into stupid arguments that I have to defuse 24/7

wears flared yoga pants >>>>>:\

the BEST hair of all time

so so good at basketball

Am I Your One And Only:

Will scream at you from backstage bc you're being a dinkwad

sexually frustrated lesbian

so many younger sisters

probably has committed a homicide

volleyball girl

wears slides everywhere (?????????)

Sam I Am:

OH MY GOD IF I HAD TO BE WORRIED ABOUT ONLY ONE OF MY KIDDOS FOR THE REST OF MY LIFE IT WOULD BE HIM

depressed

needs therapy desperately

misinformed (reddit and twitter are his sources)

bitter at the world and needs reminders that sexism is still real

actually such a nice person tho

dyes hair, shaves hair

carries a suit in his backpack all the time

Abraham Lincoln:

has a dog :D

my og kiddo #1

NOT my fav tho (or maybe he is... we'll never know)

always gives me his ramen

is a gentleman (will give u sweater if u bled thru ur pants... but he'd ask so many questions and when he finds out... so embarrassed)

despite being uncomfortable about puberty, learns everything he can for his baby sister

baseball boy

mini golfs so much

can be a bit of an icarus (aka: jackass) from time to time. But if u yell at him about it, he will cry. So. Find a new way to tell him he needs to cool it.

smort boi

MENDOZA, IN MY OFFICE:

so much character growth from him!!!!

my og kiddo #2

NOt mY FaVoURITE i SWEAR-!!!!1!!

always lets me take his hat (it's his hat in my pfp!!!!!!!!)

learned how to be an intersectional feminist over night for reasons that will be disclosed later on

also baseball boy

bffs w abe link ^^^^^^

has minimal rizz, still pulls

mischievous

finds pics of me and my worst enemy and photoshops hearts onto them

steals my food. Easy to feed.

anxious

asks a lot of questions abt sex. I'm happy to answer, but really HOW MUCH does he need to KNOW??????

Mini Me But Not Quite:

got louder over the course of eight months

big hamilton, heathers, beetlejuice, in the heights, [insert every musical here] fan

BANGER music taste

LOVES percy jackson, heartstopper, the owl house, amphibia [insert all quality media types here]

another bby bisexual

is the reason MENDOZA, GET IN MY OFFICE became an intersectional feminist overnight (that night was the night they started dating)

material GoWrl

is totally not my favorite

NPC:

blonde.

an amazing singing voice

came out of her shell bc of me??????????? T.T

does fortnite and tik tok dances all the time

gets into some dumb arguments

shit talks everyone

so kind

works so damn hard and she KNOWS it

not innocent.

fav Lover song is Paper Rings :D

Ham Boi:

doesn't understand hamilton refs despite being a hamilton

so dumb

Is The Jalapeño's bff

easy to feed

thinks you need to be 'one of the guys' to play DnD

knows what a chancla is (now.....)

is the baby of the group

needs positive reinforcement 24/7

LIGHT:

got drama

quiet

so fucking loud after she met me

judges everyone.

has a good sense of Girl Code

SO stylish. My girl will coordinate her skirt, her hijab, and her JACKET in the same color family and show up to school lookin FLAWLESSS

thinks that I am a replacement for health class (I am)

makes such amazing art it makes me cry

writes so well and works so hard

I won't even deny she's up there with the favorites.

BASICALLY, THEY ALL MAKE ME FEEL OLD

(i beg u to look at the tags. they're so fucking random)

[practicingtechpriest]

Titan Project LOG_0000000

BEGIN LOG_00000000

Forge world acknowledging request for Warlord Titan production.

Processing…

DATA_SOURCE_0000 RECEIVED

Multiple data sources detected…

DATA_SOURCE_0001 RECEIVED

Processing…

DATA_SOURCE_0000: DATA INCOMPLETE

DATA_SOURCE_0001: DATA DEGRADED

Error detected with schematics. Consulting cogitators…

Active data source found, designating.

DATA_SOURCE_0002: ACTIVE

Processing…

DATA_SOURCE_0002 NO_MATCH

Alternative data source requested…

Active data source found, designating.

DATA_SOURCE_0003: ACTIVE

Processing…

DATA_SOURCE_0003 DATA_MATCH DATA_SOURCE_0000

Alternative data source requested…

Data archive found, designating.

DATA_SOURCE_0004: ACTIVE

DATA_SOURCE_0004 DATA_MATCH DATA_SOURCE_0000

DATA_SOURCE_0005: ACTIVE

DATA_SOURCE_0005 DATA_MATCH DATA_SOURCE_0000

DATA_SOURCE_0006: ACTIVE

Decoding…

DATA_SOURCE_0006 DATA_MATCH DATA_SOURCE_0000

Processing data…

END LOG

Ok so a bit of an explanation is needed, I’ve recently reached the end of my warhammer project (a 3000 point Lizardmen army) so I was looking of a new project probably a 3D printed Skaven army, or Adeptus Mechanicus (Obviously) but I am not interested in playing Admech at the moment I just love the lore and enjoy making the minis. Anyway a person at the club i play at has printed a titan and it came up in conversation so i asked for the files and ive got them now!

The problem is that the files were missing or a bad quality upload so I had to do some digging. I found some files but they were also low quality so I did more digging. Basically the problem is that no one is making the it obvious what the file that Games Workshop hasn’t found is called or even what site its on, so I asked around and to my delight I was pointed in the right direction (thank you, you know who you are) and i also reached out to a small YouTube channel that had printed the “gold standard” titan about 2 years ago, and there was a note in the description saying email me if you want the files and i did and to my surprise a got a response the next day. And I was given a link to a google drive with so many files!

So the next step, I want to make a program to print out these logs like an old school mainframe (or get it printing on my BBC Master, yeah I have one! But I would need to learn BBC Basic and get the drives working) to make this a bit more appealing. Speaking of “this” I'm planning to print a Mars Pattern Warlord Titan and paint it Legio Ignatum, and document the process with the flavor of a forge world producing it. So track all the stats like volume of parts, time to print, failures, actual runtime ect. 

Ok actual next step needed is I need to check all the files I have and cross compare them, so I'm probably going to write something to do STL comparisons… 

Anyway wish me luck, the flesh is weak but the spirit is willing, praise the Omnissiah blessed be his servants, may he grant them the motive force to fulfill his will.

PS. I plan to tag things titan_log, and if it actually has titan content ill add titan. If i'm missing tags let me know, oh and i need to name my forge world… I’ll make a separate post about it…

[dndeed]

Crit Role Miniature Rollout: C3E37 From the Boughs

With Andrew Harshman

An archive and analysis of the minis used on CR.

Wooey what an epic tree! Very metal! -errr, I mean lumber, very lumber! But more on that later. Rad storytelling and mechanics on display in this episode / combat. How many times are they going to have to fight ol’ Delilah B anyway? She just won’t quit!

♬ When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall ♬ [dice roll] and take 5d6 damage, it’s time for Crit Role Miniature Rollout Campaign 3 Episode 37!

The List

Mats by Mars: Shattered Soil Tabletop Play Mat

Dwarven Forge Wildlands Set

Dwarven Forge Mountain Peak Pack

Dwarven Forge Mountain Elevation Pack

Dwarven Forge Wildlands Tree

Real Game FX Fog Monster Fog Machine

Hagglethorn Hollow Sundial

Campaign 3 Party Wizkids Sculpts

Warhammer Underworld Shadespire: The Sepulchral Guard skeletons

Monster Menagerie #07 Specter

Skeleton #45 Lords of Madness

Tomb of Annihilation Skeleton Key / Skeleton

Halloween tree decoration with custom clay sculpting

Excellent question @eldritch_DM thanks for soliciting this answer from Matthew Mercer. Wow, what a crafty dungeon master! Check out them trunk sculpting skills. 

Quite the improvement over the early Campaign 2 swamp troll stump (meaning no offense of course). As I said, a mighty epic tree! The Sun Tree deserves no less.

The Monsters/Villains

Delilah Monster Menagerie #07 Specter Mini image sourced from minisgallery.com

Why does spirit form Delilah look like Imogen’s hair? It’s as if when she lost her hair, it animated into a malevolent wig wraith. This Specter mini doesn’t photograph super well, but it has a certain pop to it in person. Decent miniature choice. But such an infamous villain is deserving of a more loft model imo. If/when Delilah returns, I would expect a custom model.

Skeletons Warhammer Sepulchral Guard skeletons

An interesting skeleton situation in this episode. We have two of the best in the biz appearing onscreen alongside some of the worst. The Warhammer Sepulchral Guards are metal af. Spectacular poses and cast fidelity. With the exception of Campaign 1 final form Vecna, it is a rare occasion that a Warhammer model appear on Critical Role. But here we are. What a delight. The downward swing skeleton is one of my all time fav skellies.

skele-poots Tomb of Annihilation Skeleton Key / Skeleton Mini image sourced from minisgallery.com

Gods awful. Garbage. I own these models, I don’t have the heart to throw them away, but I actively avoid using them on the tabletop. There are so many variations on this figure, what an absolutely waste of plastic.

Skelington Skeleton #45 Lords of Madness Mini image sourced from trollandtoad.com

There is a subtle brilliance to the posing and sculpting of this figure. A certain slackness, jerky, distinctly reanimated appearance to this pose. Also, the skull of this skeleton actually looks like a skull, unlike the skele-poots. This model also comes in an axe variant, which I think I might prefer, because, let’s face it, this sword looks busted. 

See ya next sesh!

#critroleminiaturerollout

[therealfelicia]

Factions of The Lighthouse Canon

Here's a sketch of groups of interest (and their franchise of origin) that I'll use in my personal wargaming campaign. The list will probably change based on new ideas and whatever cool minis I find on Tabletop Simulator.

Earthly Factions:

-Xcom (Xcom): The international organization dedicated to investigating and stopping extraterrestrial invasions, specialized in squad-sized operations and reverse-engineering alien tech. --The Terran Forces (Terran): The armed branch of Xcom for larger scale operations, equipped with less advanced but easier to manufacture tech. -EXALT (Xcom): A collection of secret societies, cults and corporations dedicated to acquiring and studying alien tech for personal gains. Led by a semi-mythical individual called Kane. --Umbrella Corporation (Resident Evil): Pharmaceutical corporation, secretly works for EXALT in studying alien biology and developing bioweapons. -The Genestealer Cult (Warhammer): A cult/human subspecies dedicated with allowing earth to be invaded by "the swarm" (non-identified alien group), focused on infiltrating and sabotaging earth defenses.

Galactic Empires: -Ethereals (Xcom): A psychically powerful species dedicated to invading and conquering other species in search of a "perfect subject to fight the coming darkness", transforming those who fail into gene-modified slaves. -Tau Covenant (Halo/Warhammer): A theocratic multi-species empire founded and led by the Tau High-Prophets. Their main objective is the conversion of other cultures into their religion of "greater good", except for humanity who (for reasons unknown) they decided should be erased from the galaxy. -Sith Empire: Another cult-like multi-species empire, although leaning more into social-darwinism and a vague entity called "the dark side". Extradimensional Invaders: -The Combine (Half-Life): Multi-dimensional empire said to have conquered entire universes. Has conquered an alternate-timeline version of earth ("Lambda-Earth"), where they detected Lighthouse-Earth (and immediately decided to invade it). -Hell (Doom): A hyper-hostile dimension inhabited by hyper-aggressive beings that could (and will) be called demons. Information about them is very scarce, but their destructive intentions are made clear whenever they find a portal to earth.

Alien Raiders: -Dark Eldar (Warhammer): Higly-advanced species with a taste for black armor and spikes. Seem content with "just" abducting large groups of sapient beings whenever they appear. -Orks (Warhammer): Humanoid fungi with the aesthetics of a Mad Max villain and the attitude of football hooligans. The entire species is motivated by an atavistic need for war and violence. -The Cartels (Star Wars): The largest criminal groups in the galaxy, acting just outside of the empires. Some find earth a good source of slaves and loot.

Alien Allies: -The Hoxxes League (Warhammer/Deep Rock Galactic): A company/civilization of dwarf-like aliens, more interested in trade agreements and job contracts with Xcom than raiding and killing, which makes them earth's best friends in comparison to... Well, everyone else.

...Yeah, that's it. That's earth only ally (for now?).

Ancient and Unknown: -Dreamers (The Secret World): Briefly mentioned in Ethereal archives (taken from downed ships), they are seemingly ancient beings of lovecraftian proportions stuck in a state of forced sleep.

-The Filth (The Secret World): the Dreamer's Dream manifested in reality as a black substance. At first it seemed like "just" a zombie virus that infected the living and turned them into monsters, but them it started infecting machinery as well, spreading not only through touch with the black substance but through radio waves, written symbols, repeated phrases and so on.

-Reapers (Mass Effect): Colossal super-powerful beings who "wait outside the galaxy for the harvest" (according to other Ethereal archives). Their objectives and true nature are unknown, but they have active "servant" active in the galaxy.

--The Strogg (Quake): Army of machine/organic hybrids, created by a forgotten civilization as a military force before turning against their creators. At some point they met the Reapers and became their servants.

-Necrons (Warhammer): Robotic species, only known through reports from the Squats. Seemingly slumber in ancient temples of "unfathomably advanced tech".

[dritakk]

Warhammer stupid game

#Warhammer stupid game full

The science fiction version rapidly became more popular, and the guy who made Laserburn went on to join the company and then take it over in some kind of wasp eggs in a caterpillar type scenario. By 1985 they had a virtual stranglehold on the entire United Kingdom gaming community, and they decided in 1987 to steal a bunch of shit from Laserburn of all fucking things and make a science fiction spinoff of their fantasy monopoly. When they realized that they could become a vertical monopoly they did so in 1984 – becoming their own distributor, producer, and store. Games Workshop made shit for D&D in the 70s and in 1983 they decided that they should probably release some half assed rules for playing games with their fantasy minis. The origins of 40K are basically pretty stupid. In all reality, I believe we're going to run out and drink “whatever is left in the cupboard.” The label says “Premium British Beer” and I definitely agree that is British. For this I nominate Trooper, the Iron Maiden flavored beer. In any case, we should probably be drinking something appropriately British.

#Warhammer stupid game full

You don't fucking know enough people who have Full Thrust or Critter Commandos miniatures to have a league so those games might as well be written in Farsi. Was it good? Bad? Compared to what? In table top miniatures, most games are literally unplayable outside of gaming conventions. So right around the start of the 90s, WH40K eclipsed Warhammer Fantasy Battles as the biggest minis game, and that meant that when the third edition of 40K came out in 1998 it was already going to be the best minis game by definition just because of playability. Without another player who has spent hundreds of dollars on their miniature army, this is all you can do with your toy soldiers. You need other players and other players are only going to exist if they know there are other players for them and so on. This means that it very much isn't like an RPG that one of your friends can lend you the book after badgering you to give it a shot. The sad fact of that matter is that the barrier to entry to start playing is hundreds of dollars worth of little army guys, and if you want your army to not look like ass it's going to take hundreds of hours painting and assembling it. And in the tabletop minis business, popularity is quality. Probably the biggest questions you have going into this are probably “What the hell is Warhammer?” and of course “Why should I care?” Well, WH40K is a sci-fi spinoff of a fantasy tabletop miniatures game, and you care because it's the biggest game in the tabletop minis sector and has been for more than twenty fucking years. With Koumei taking the heavy lifting of someone for whom 3rd edition was a gateway drug, I guess I'll be playing the part of someone who had already been playing 40K when 3rd edition came out. Seriously, check out the individual vehicle damage tables back then. Looking over old Codices, which had crazy shit. Various tales and references by others.Ģ. So the take-away of this is that my knowledge of prior editions comes mostly from three sources: It was actually an exciting time in Warhams, because a new faction was released (and was spiky and edgy even before goth turned into “new” emo, and their basic Troops were multi-pose with lots of bits) and the iconic SPACE MARINES were getting new plastic kits with all sorts of bits and pieces. What this means is my first purchase included some plastic palm trees, the rules, dice and templates, two plastic measuring sticks that really hurt when you whack someone on the forearm with them (probably why they stopped using these), and two Tactical Squads, a Land Speeder and some number of Dark Eldar Warriors. Your average army probably had 30+ of those. I first walked into the store and asked about getting started just a few weeks before 3rd Edition 40K hit, so they set me up to pre-order the box set, and an extra Tactical Squad (the exciting new one that wasn’t all snap-fit mono-pose!) Also elves are almost always better than orks in both games (regardless of edition). Warhammer 40k and D&D both have some interesting similarities: I started with 3rd Edition in both cases, and 3rd Edition is the best Edition in both cases.

[starsofbloodauthor]

I have done it. I have recreated one of my most enduring OCs as a Warhammer 40k mini. Doctor Scientist.

The basis for this model was that of a biophagus from the genestealer cults. The original arms were removed, replaced by an autogun and power maul from the neophyte hybrids kit. But since doctor scientist doesn’t like ballistic guns, the barrel of the gun was severed and replaced with a lasgun barrel. Then the magazine was cut away and replaced by a spare plasma battery from my primaris hellblasters. His backpack was also sourced from that kit.

After all that he was painted up in colors directly inspired by the enclave scientists of Fallout 3. Really proud of how clean the white turned out.

[voluptuarian]

So my youngest brother is a big Peter Cushing/Christopher Lee fan, like made-custom-minis-of-them-for-his-warhammer-army big. He is also, by his own admittance, an asshole, a bore, and someone who only really cares about/is interested in himself. So last year, almost out of the blue he tells me that because on the occasions when we we're together I apparently wasn't doing a good enough job helping him pretend I don’t know what he's like, that he didn't want to talk to me or have a relationship with me anymore, and that it was my fault since I should have been happier while suffering through his bullshit. We have not really seen each other or spoken since.

He also gave my sister a similar-- though more forgiving-- speech, the ultimatum being "I don't really have anything against you, but if you want to have a relationship you'll have to do all the work because doing my part is too much work, and also if you don't singlehandedly keep this relationship alive we'll drift apart and it'll be all your fault". They have also not been in contact much since, what a surprise.

The irony is that now both Lenore and I have seen these:

And under normal circumstances, especially since his birthday is in August, we would have at least been racing to tell him about them, if not trying to figure out a way we might pool resources to gift him one.

But since he doesn't care enough to even spare us the most basic familial feeling or respect, he has no line of communication with either of us, and so, unless he should stumble upon these through some other (unlikely) source, will probably never even hear about them. It's very satisfying to think about, I have to say. Sorry, bro 🤷

[wolffyluna]

It is time for the yearly arrival of the Source of Cheap Warhammer minis (aka the second hand and “second hand” stalls at my local gaming convention.)  And I’m torn.

I haven’t actually done any mini painting in a few months. I already have a pretty big backlog of minis. I don’t actually need any more?

But equally, it’s not like minis ‘go off’. I can totally leave them in a cupboard for six months. And maybe what I need to get back into the groove is a new project, eg “I am going to take someone’s old unwanted warhammer fantasy minis and turn them into something beautiful all of my own.”

*shrug*

[flowing-paint]

Alternative miniature manufacturers

Riding the wave of last week’s post, I decided to create a collection of all the alternative miniatures manufacturers I know of. You can look for the best proxy using the info in this thread or just start a gang for some minor rules-only game. I wish Tumblr had the possibility to make “sticky posts” but they seem not to exist so I hope Google will index this page for ease of reference. I will, of course, keep it up to date with all my new findings as I stumble upon them.

I had this thread in mind for some time but I still don’t know how to organize the contents to maximize readability. The first solution I came up with is writing the name of the site and link the various section and/or link the more prominent miniatures below. Feel free to suggest improvements if you so wish.

Kromlech

This site has huge amounts of Ork models. I mean... A LOT! And they’re also super-cool so if you are an Ork player, give this a good look. For example:

Goliath mines - cute moving mines. Not being an Ork player I don’t know if they are playable but they are really cute.

Ironshark jetbike - simply wow!

They also carry a wide selection of scenic bases and many Nurgle proxies so you might be interested even if you don’t play Orcs.

Warmonger Miniatures

I came to this site looking for paint combinations. It seems they also have their colors system but they surely have a huge line of fantasy miniatures. They are in the old Warhammer Fantasy Battles style and will probably fit as proxies or additional units for out of production units. The pictures on the site say more than words so, be sure you check out all the different factions! Here I just show you some good looking models:

Plague doctors - They’re simply awesome.

Karliki - I’m not the dwarf type of guy but this dude is great!

Elven spearmen - These can be easily painted to be Dark Elves!

Eureka minis

This is another huge site to source your miniatures. Maybe it’s not ideal to source Warhammer proxies but the amount of figures they sell is so vast that you may easily find something you like in there! Their range of miniatures varies between fantasy miniatures and realistic modern warfare figurines that also come in multiple scales. They have so many minis that you should really sit in front of their site for half an hour to get a grasp of the whole picture. Moreover, they are the home of “Pond Wars” one of the cutest miniatures lines I’ve ever seen. Check it out! Here are some minis I love:

Frog king - Reminds me of WHFB second edition Slann... may work as a replacement too if you don’t own the original.

Ethereal - You can use this in your undead armies, whatever the game you’re playing. It’s just a piece of floating cloth but they make it look so dynamic!

Soviet NCO - A Soviet agent with a gas mask! Fuck yeah!

Ironclad Miniatures

I already mentioned this site in the previous post about proxies because I bought two of their Steam Tanks to use in my Death Guard army. However, they’re not just that: they also carry many 28 mm figurines and terrain pieces like bunkers and trenches.

Ruins - You can use them in all kind of wargames ‘cause, you know... war=ruins, no matter the setting.

British Grenadier - Go and fight with that hat!

Sanwar - Star Wars, anybody?

Miniature Scenery

Another Aussie site that mainly consists of laser cut MDF terrain but also sells vehicles. The quality and complicatedness of the design are awesome... I was seriously thinking about buying their heavy tank for Warhammer 40k purposes but then I moved to the cheaper and more fluff-oriented steam tanks choice. You will agree with me that this tank can easily proxy all those kick-ass Forgeworld tanks easily. It is pricey but I think it is worth. I will probably buy one someday... If you need MDF terrain this site may be one of your best bets.

Imperial ruins - To use in 40k

Pagoda - To use in MERCS or Infinity

Dwelling - To use in Fantasy or Age of Sigmar

Buzzard - Viable Heldrake proxy?

Well, you have a lot of terrain and vehicle choices that do not really look like cheap MDF... they do come at a slightly high price though.

TTcombat Scenics

I have been eyeballing this site for a while because I wanted some cheap MDF terrain pieces for my Warlord death army (the project is sleeping now ‘cause I have nobody playing this game around me). They mainly sell their own MDF terrain but they recently became Dropzone/Dropfleet commander authorized retailers so you can also buy miniatures for those games from them. This is particularly juicy for me as I will need DFC miniatures in the future and I can combine shipping this way! Here I link you some nice products I’ve been looking at for quite some time:

Cyber defense platform - Nice to use as terrain in a Necron army! Too bad I don’t play Necrons...

Industrial Hive - I would like to buy this to combine with my Pegasus Toxic plant but then I will need a full house just to play MERCS or WH40k! It’s super tempting though.

Riftgates - The cheap alternative to the Baleful Realmgates in Age of Sigmar. You save something like 90 $...

Ramshackle Games

This is a small miniature company in Nottingham, like GW back in the days... but way grungier! Take a look at the vast selection of post-apocalyptic miniatures they offer and you will agree with me they can be used in a lot of futuristic miniature games. They have a semi-complete catalog to download here. Take a look at these great miniatures:

Gorillagon - May work as a proxy for some Nurgle dude

Chicken - He may be swollen and overweight but he always eats his cereals for breakfast!

Rhebok tank - This may be the perfect Plagueburst Crawler proxy!

This company does not only make miniatures but they also commercialize games. It seems they also had a successful Kickstarter in 2017 for a game called Mini Gangs but I didn’t hear of it and, therefore, I missed it... looks like an awesome gang game though so, I’m a little salty. I hope they release it soon. Meanwhile, I will download the free version of their Nuclear renaissance game (pdf rules here) and see if it looks interesting. I may buy the book if I find the system interesting and IF I find somebody to play it with...

eBay

I go with this last as everybody knows it. It is not strictly a “miniature” manufacturer but you can find almost everything in here. I usually source the test models for my color schemes on eBay and also many proxies. As I wrote in the previous post, most of my Chronopia proxies come from eBay but I also found 2nd edition 40k models and a bunch of Tyranid gargoyles on sprue for a ridiculously low price. If you are into that kind of thing, “Forgeworld” models are also available for reasonable prices. You should definitely check it out if you can. I write here a couple of shops that always carry interesting deals or interesting models:

The Troll Trader - cheap used GW models

Games Thriftshop - cheap used GW models (This may have somewhat lower quality models but is probably the cheapest. I tend to favor this one)

Warex Mini - Original resin models designed to be used as Warhammer 40k proxies. Mostly Chaos and Tau but they also have all the other factions. You just have to use your fantasy to match the names. Have a look at some completely dope alternative sculpts:

Typhus

Mortarion

Leman Russ

Tau Lady sniper

Ok, let’s say I put an end to this post for today but I want to keep it updated as I find new pages and new miniature manufacturers. I hope you like the idea of having a hub to put all the info together. If you want to contribute, please write your preferred sources in the comments and I will be very glad to add them here!

... game on!

[jacksonhenry297]

Warhammer 40,000 Indomitus Sold Out in Minutes

Warhammer 40,000 Indomitus, Games Workshop’s new exclusive limited-edition box set was released for the public online to pre-order. Astonishingly, everything was sold out within minutes. Game Workshop is now planning to dole out extra units. This will be something that hasn’t been done before by the tabletop making company. And the pre-orders have already started for people who were left out and did not receive the game in one go, without any premium, and at the original listed price of $199.

Warhammer has been a game-changer since its very inception. Before it ever came out, miniature wargame rulesets were designed. These used generic models since they are available with multiple manufacturers but Warhammer was designed to use proprietary models. The game was initially called Warhammer Fantasy Battle, as it carried a medieval fantasy theme, where different armies battle it out. The results of the fights are decided by dice roll and simple arithmetic.

The game comprises extensively detailed warrior miniatures that the players use to battle. The battlefield itself is full of different terrains, like buildings, trees, hills, etc.  Created by Rick Priestly, the game takes on fantastical elements such as dragons and spells even though it is primarily based on warfare from the medieval times.

The new launch was carefully planned ahead

The pre-order was launched across many different international time-zones; even then all it took was a matter of minutes. With the speed with which they were running out of stock, the limit per person was shifted from six to three, and now it is one per person.

One box set comprises 61, brand-new minis of Space Marines and Necrons. And the new 9th edition ruleset for Warhammer 40,000. After being thrashed by social media for not getting everyone a copy of the box set, the British makers came out with strong statements to curb the anger of the masses. A news release by the company on their website talked about how this wasn’t what they had planned, and the company understands how many people were unable to get themselves a copy. The company plans to make that right.

They also stated that this was the highest number of box sets produced. And still, they ran out of stock so fast. Even they were surprised by the overwhelming response. And thus, to rectify, the boxset will be made available on a Made-to-Order basis, although only for a limited time as well as there’ll be another round of production undertaken at the Games Workshop factory in Nottingham. If you’ve ordered it from a game store, you’re likely to receive your boxset by the end of the month.

Jackson Henry. I’m a writer living in USA. I am a fan of technology, arts, and reading. I’m also interested in writing and education. You can read my blog with a click on the button above.

Source-Indomitus Sold Out in Minutes

[thecrazymakernerd]

LAST DAY TO ENTER MA' NERDS! Go find the post and enter! To show thanks to all my awesome followers, I have sourced a rare minature of Grimgor Ironhide to give away to ONE lucky winner. Not only that, but I've used my scenic skills to make a one of a kind base for him! The mini has been sprayed in metal primer and base coated in Deathguard Green so he's ready for your special touch. The base has also been coated so everything will stay where it should. The competition runs from 15th June to 21st June, with a winner announced the following Monday! #CrazyMakerNerd #Warhammer #PaintingWarhammer #WarhammerAgeOfSigmar #WarhammerFantasy #Fantasy #Warhammer40k #40k #MortalRealms #WarhammerMortalRealms #AgeOfSigmar #Minis #Nerd #Nerds #WarhammerPainting #PaintingWarhammer40k https://www.instagram.com/p/CBscYcZn0rm/?igshid=18kqq2384o15k

[tabletop-rpgs]

I've always been curious of where people find minis for their games- is there a post with a guide to getting started with miniatures? I've usually gone without in the past.

Hi Anon,

For the longest time I was getting by with chess pieces, cut outs and candy but now my most used minis came from the following sources.

Board Games

The Legend of Drizzt, Castle Ravenloft and Descent provided me with some nice varied minis, heroes and villains. The Heroes probably won’t fit the PC’s your group makes so keep them for villains and NPC’s. The minis are good, but not great though rank and file enemies don’t have to be. I used Imperial Assault minis for Star Wars and the quality was great! The board games can be expensive though but the tiles you get can serve to build out your map.

War Games

I had some old skeletons and zombies from the beginnings of an undead Warhammer army. You can usually pick up a regiment at an okay price and there are some decent character options. Warhammer, Malifaux and Hordes are all War game options but they can put a serious dent in the wallet. Their LotR Orcs are a better option than the Warhammer ones.

Single or Multiple Blister Packs

When I needed specific race class combinations for my PCs I went to the reaper minis website and found what I was looking for mostly. I picked up some bones (cheaper, plastic) and some metal ones. Some races are harder to find the right minis for, Tieflings and Dragonborn for example. Reaper are not the one option out there, Redbox (though I ordered a wizard from here and the scale was off a bit), Otherworld, Dark Sword, Gale Force Nine, and the one I am currently looking through is Oathsworn Miniatures who have a series called Heroines in Sensible Shoes which are female minis dressed in more realistic adventurer gear, meaning no boob windows or high heels, they also have some cute animal adventurers for their Burrows and Badgers game too. I have stuck pretty close to Reaper, most minis are a couple of bucks and there are some nice sculpts. Wizkids Unpainted Minis are pretty decent too, they usually come in two packs and the heroic figures sometimes come in a lower level look and a more tricked out version.

Heroforge

At Heroforge you can custom design your own miniature with a variety of options and print it out in several materials. Don’t bother with the cheaper option, you will get a mess. I plan on getting a Tiefling made through here, they have Sci-Fi, Modern, Western and more options and add poses, accessories and gear from time to time. I have not purchased a Heroforge mini yet, the info above comes from reviews I have read and impressions from ones I have seen.

Videos

Matt Colville, because he is a river unto his people, made a video on minis a while back, it is through him I found out about Otherworld and Gale Force Nine, he covers the topic in depth so here is a LINK he also has one on terrain LINK

Painting

There are plenty of tutorials online though none beat watching someone work and for that I recommend Sorastro’s Painting guides, in particular I found his Zombicide: Black Plague videos a good way to see the difference in approaching a hero or boss mini versus rank and file enemies. Here is a LINK

Good luck!

[neshtasplace]

essereparte said:                                                                                                                            How is getting involved im whfb at age of sigmar? I mean, classic whfb was something revolutionary… back im the eighties Realms of Chaos was… different, al least. Aos looks so “standard fantasy”… while in this very years wh3/40k is getting so deep. What do you like about Aos?   

What do I like about Age of Sigmar? Hmm, that's a nice question to be asked, as most people just ridicule the game/me for playing it. Well what do I like? Man, there's a lot to gush about with Age of Sigmar, but allow me to start off with this: I understand WHFB is very beloved, and that it is a totally different wargame than 40k. Whereas 40k is a skirmish mini game, WHFB is more of a rank and file, large scale wargame. So, I don’t think that anyone who loved and was attached to WHFB is going to really find what they like in AoS.

So, The short answer: I like AoS because the story is fun and light, the system is easy to grasp and surprisingly deep, and it’s easy to get into. With no need to buy books just for rules, and fewer models needed to play. It’s easy to get on the table and just play the game. If you want more depth it’s all there in the battle tomes and supplemental material. I can play a game in 90 minutes and feel that I got a very satisfying experience. Honestly, for those who tried the game at first and were soured on it. Try it now, the General’s handbook has added much-needed balance and more depth to the system. Go ahead and give it another shot, I recommend it highly.

For a massive essay on all the detailed reasons as to why I like this game, see under cut. Warning: I am TERRIBLE at writing and this is going to be a mega rambling, incoherent mess!

1. The delivery method - Here’s the thing: I love books, and I love source books even more. The idea of buying a codex/battle tome and reading all about an armies history and lore, its very fun for me. I’ve already bought two battletomes and will most likely buy more of them. But, what I love about AoS is that in order to play the game, I don’t HAVE to buy any of them, I don’t have to drop 50$ on top of all the money I spent on models, paint, tools and so on JUST to play the game. And on top of that, I don’t have to buy ANOTHER 60$ rule book, all I have to do is download the PDFs for the warscrolls, and bam. I can play. This makes a great entry point to just get the game in players hands and get them to fall in love with it. I love that AoS is easy to get into, and easy to play. It’s amazing in that sense. You want to go barebones and basic? You can play. You want to buy every supplemental material and go hog wild? You can also do that.

On another note, it’s nice that fewer models are required to play the game. Most units are a base of 5-6 models. I like this because it’s honestly, less work to get started and bring something to the table. With the start collecting boxes, and now the battle boxes it’s even easier to get into the game! I like that GW seems more aware of the barrier of entry for their games, and are conscious about lowering the bar.

2. Simple to learn, complex to master – Now, I know that this is the main point of contention for a lot of fans of warhammer, at first glance AoS’ system looks dumbed down and overly simple, but the reality is that there is A LOT of nuance to work with. I’m a firm believer in the ‘keep it simple stupid’ principal of design, and I think AoS hits that perfect sweet spot. To be honest, I love how easy it is to grasp, and how simple the combat works in this game! There is no toughness, so strength, all you do is look at YOUR warscroll, and everything you need to know about that unit is on there. No need to check a chart, or consult special rules. You look at the warscroll, decide what to do, and act. Position, attack priority, and usage of hero abilities become extra vital in this game. When there are less numbers, tables, and complex rules to worry about, you tend to focus on the actual game more. There have been many battles that were decided simply by how I chose to position my units, and more importantly, when to charge and who to attack. I love this system, because I can grasp it easily and it leaves me the brain power to actually think about strategy. Another thing about AoS, it takes 90 minutes to play an average game. On a typical gaming Saturday, I can get like, 3-4 games. It’s fun, fast, and deceptively deep.

3. The lore is fluffy and fun – Yes, at odd as it is to say for a post-apocalyptic game, the lore has a kind of overall high-adventure and fun tone to it. Now, I have not read everything for AoS, I haven’t touched the novels and I don’t have every battle tome. From what I have read, I get the impression that it’s trying for something far different from the grim dark, which I like. Honestly, I’m not much of a fan of the grim dark, I don’t mind if my fiction has clear heroes and villains, hey, I am a Star Wars fan after all! Each of the factions stands on solid ground narratively. The Stormcasts are these shining good heroes, and the forces of chaos are clearly evil. Death is death, I mean come on. And then we have destruction, the fun, awesome, brawly faction. The Ironjawz are SO fun, and their battle tome has been a joy to go over, they are bad I mean, they have done some real damage to the world. But in a way, the Orruks are just here for a good scrap, it makes them a fun and unpredictable group of greenies. Also, I love that AoS has SO many female characters and models, I mean, it’s not perfect, but it’s a good start. Also the Stormcasts are able to be men and women none of this “no girls allowed” space marine nonsense, a good move on GW’s part.