Adding Some Pop - Candy Crossover, and Updated Lion

Starting off with a fun little bit of editing, since the fight didn't really make sense for a cold lantern to be shining a warm light source.

Now With New Hat! - Converted Guild Ball minis

A quick one today. Mist and Blackheart's additional hats gave them kind of a steampunk/weird west look, with a bit of a shabby classiness IMHO. I think Mist in particular would feel at home as some a western-fantasy shaman character.

I Fell in to a Burning Ring... - Kingdom Death Flower Knight

I happened to just start fighting a Flower Knight for the second campaign as I was painting this guy, and it reminded me, it's really got to be one of my favorite showdowns.

Little Things Hitting Each Other! - Silver Tower Familiars and Dwarf

I like the familiars, a lot. I think they have quite a bit of charm, and even if they're not original (the book and moon headed guy are updates; the Skeksis is a common Tzeentch bit; the fish guy is at very least basically from a Mordheim drawing, if it never had a model), they're still a lot of fun.

A Knight at the Opera - Kingdom Death Lion Knight and Manhunter

The Lion Knight is just one of my favorite minis in Kingdom Death, think it's a great melodramatic piece.

Mellow Yellow - Kingdom Death Watcher

So, I'd originally planned to do my Watcher monochrome in teal, but now I've done a few of those and another natural, so I wanted to try something more experimental.

Have a little Faith - Warhammer Quest Silver Tower Sigmarite Heroes

Okay, the Stormcast have grown on me a little.

Rolling Along - Kingdom Death Dung Beetle Knight

A quick one today-- another version of the gold Dung Beetle Knight color scheme I tried before, this time a bit more stylized. I think I got the glossy effect on the carapace and the wings looking particularly interesting this time.

The gloss gets into some effects I haven't done a lot recently, where in order to get the right effect, you need to go against instinct with coloring to the form, and instead just stipple it like there's no texture there and it's a flat painting, which makes a less-regular, more natural looking gloss that compliments the form rather than following it.

We've Got Movement - Space Hulk Review

When Games Workshop mentions cinematic, what they're talking about is some dumb randomizer or making up rules on the spot for a handicap, or taking as many fully painted models as possible, or conforming to some silly requirement, or being able to take an army of whatever hodgepodge you want to because it sells better, or ignoring the fact that even rough point values make better balancing mechanics than nothing.

What I think of when Games Workshop mentions cinematic is Space Hulk.

With the reprint here, I felt it was finally time to get some thoughts down on Space Hulk. Despite its typically overwrought Warhammer 40,000 stylings, I consider this game basically as close as one can get to a minimalist masterpiece while still being a wargame.

Craaaww! - Silver Tower Tzaangors

I have a particular love-hate relationship with these Tzaangors.

Behind You -Kingdom Death Slenderman

Meme or no, this guy's pretty darn cool, in my opinion. Based on his shadow theme, I gave him an extremely dark, inky color scheme that, except for extreme highlights, stuck to a range between bluegrey and black.

I've only fought one so far, but thought that the fight was pretty darn entertaining, even with some abysmal rolls.

Advanced Infiltration - Deathwatch Overkill Genestealer test

After my general love of Space Hulk (more on that another day), Deathwatch Overkill was basically a non-choice, whether the game was good, or I just used them for the (sadly defunct) RPG line or old editions of Space Hulk.

So, this is my first guy, based on the same color scheme as my Space Hulk set, which also had me starting to clean up my Genestealers, since it's been some years and I could have done some better darks. Pretty happy with the orange light, and tried to make the ribbed armor very distinct from the ribbed exoskeleton bits while looking coherent...

Money Ball - Guild Ball Union

My first foray into Guild Ball involved many hats.

Tough Love - A Follow-up Kingdom Death Review & Analysis

With the upcoming Kingdom Death: Monster Kickstarter and some sort of edition update, I've decided it's time to reflect.

Final Form - Kingdom Death Dragon King and People of the Stars late campaign

 Rounding out the Dragon King set...

Rekindled - Tzeentch Horrors

I'd always liked the splitting theme with the Horrors, so I was pretty excited to see this mechanical element finally return after (I'm pretty sure) more than a decade of absence.

Art, and Censorship, and "Censorship" in the context of Kingdom Death

(I'll come back to this Sunstalker later.)

I'll be writing about Kingdom Death as a bit of a case study on censorship and its perception in gaming, and in general.

From Ashes - Kingdom death Phoenix + Phoenix Surviviors

So, another take on a teal Phoenix, this one's more of a departure.

Play it Again, Sam - Kingdom Death Watcher and Gorms

 Collecting a few minis I've been working on, for whatever reason, I've had a disproportionate number of clients asking me to repeat color schemes I've done before, for Kingdom Death. Either way, it's an interesting challenge since, well, it's an art, not a science.

Free Prize Inside! - Review of the New White Dwarf Format

So, this was my first White Dwarf issue purchase since, IDK, early high school?

I bought it because $9 for a magazine and a $30 model (that I could sell to make back the cost if I didn't like it), seemed completely risk-free. Plus, I do generally enjoy GW's board games and wanted to check that out.

Telling it Again - Kingdom Death First Story

A quick one, today-- I've done a few of the First Story sets by now, but I think this is the best I've gotten the lion-- my client asked me to include a light source on the base, which had me shifting the angle of the source light strictly to under-lighting (with general allowances for what made an interesting look), and the result, I think, was a pretty intimidating lion.

Head of State - Dragon King Expansion's Tyrant & Survivors; Continued Campaign

The Tyrant, IMHO, basically defines a stylish use of the swagger stick.

The Watchmen - Kingdom Death Watcher + some survivors

This is the first time I've done a basically natural-looking Watcher, and I'm quite happy with how he came out.

The Six P's - Kingdom Death Strategy Guide

Okay, this is a bit of a weird one for me. I'm trying to write a tactics article about a game where you're fighting a cardboard computer instead of other players, and trying to not spoil anything. I guess that makes this my first strategy guide?


This will focus on the early game and some tips for planning ahead, because by the time you're through the mid-game, you'll be pretty well-versed in the system, so this is mostly about getting off the ground and setting up a strong settlement/hunting party.

Grumblins! - Silver Tower Scuttlings

A quick little post today, the Grot Scuttlings are some of the better-designed basically snap-fit models I've run across, in the tradition of GW making (IMHO) better board games than miniature games, when done right. I gave these guys a variety of blacks and browns to get a hodgepodge effect that I think mostly came across.

Don't Take Any Shit - Kingdom Death Dung Beetle Knight and Survivors

The Dung Beetle Knight definitely ranks highly among my favorite monster designs in any game.

Eye Spy(der) - Kingdom Death Spidiculese Review

A review of Kingdom Death's resident spider with a foot-wide footprint.

Golden Ener-gyyyy - Kingdom Death Nemeses

 Another set playing with source lighting...

Itsy-Bitsy - Kingdom Death Spidicules

Continuing to experiment with some lighting effects... (this one's probably worth zooming for).

The End of the Beginning, the Beginning of a New End - People of the Stars Continuation + painting

The Dragon settlement gave me the opportunity to play with a different aesthetic for Kingdom Death.

The Meteorite is Source of the Light - Just Working in Lighting Effects

Another experiment in basically just source lighting.

Building A Religion- Silver Tower Acolytes

Having missed the train with Warhammer Quest back when I was a kid and not that in to board games, I decided the new edition was a good time to try it out. I went with the goons first, and did a few variations on the Kairic Acolytes, in part to be able to tell them apart, but mostly to break up the repetition.

Inner Beauty - Kingdom Death Gorm & Survivors

 So, anyone who's been following my work knows I like source lighting quite a bit, but I've started experimenting with taking it further, to the point where it's the majority of the paint job.

A Rosy Disposition - Kingdom Death Flower Knight

The Flower Knight's one of my favorites of the Kingdom Death set, being one of the more elegant models, with a much more subtle horror sensibility than most of the setting (plus I think it makes for a neat, different style of fight).

Bringing Some Justice Back Into the World- Death Marshal crew

 The first edition Lady Justice will always be the iconic version, to me.

A Twinkle in His Eye - Gorm & Twilight Knight, and campaign years 5-14

 Kingdom Death's Gorm is an ugly, ugly model. But I embraced the ugly, and think it paid off.

The End, My Friend - Final Cryx Batch for sale

So, this is the fourth installment of my cleaned up Cryx army, and as much as I like these zombies, I decided it's time to consolidate my WM collection to its core, so these guys'll be up for grabs...

Dressing For Success - Kingdom Death Armor Sets

This was a pretty amusing commission to receive the models for, since, with all the ways of gearing up survivors, these are pretty darn close to what my group plays with, too.

Join the Mob, Join the Mob! It's All Over. - Dark Vengeance Chaos Cultists

 I've been pretty thoroughly impressed by Games Workshop's snap fit minis for the last few years, and their Cultists are no exception.

Lost Their Way - Lost Patrol 2016 edition review

So, this game's like Space Hulk's younger, lamer brother, much like the featured Blood Angels Scouts are Terminators'.

Top of the Food Chain - Kingdom Death Phoenix and Watcher

The Phoenix and Watcher encompass a lot of what Kingdom Death is, in my opinion--

Drop-Dead Gorgeous - Seamus and His Belles

It was time for Seamus, in all his egotistical glory, to get a face lift.

Death From Above - Sisters of Battle Canoness Conversion

I think this severe lady's one of my best 40k conversions.

Company Men - Kingdom Death King's Man and Hand

The Hand's a really interesting concept where the model, narrative, and rules really matched up perfectly.

Something to Fight Over - Mats by Mars review

Having played a few games with Mats by Mars' vinyl, umm, mat, I've donned my reviewer cap again to talk about my first honest-to-goodness functional game board.

Screaming Out of the Darkness - Kingdom Death Monsters

The Screaming Antelope's one of my favorite monsters, in how quietly really gross it is.

Aquatic Assault - Cryx Pirates

I really liked the undead/pirate theme since all the way back during the first edition Prime. The only problem was Skarre was really ugly, but fortunately this was remedied with a resculpt.

Back in the Truck Again - Kingdom Death First Story Models, and Beginning a New Campaign

After a bit of a gap, another combo painting and KD campaign report...

The Family that Slays Together Stays Together - The Sisters / Viktorias crew

In 2nd edition, the Viktorias got a lot more of a punk vibe, and so I tried to turn that up to 11 with color choices, while sticking to a stock scheme.

Cold Climate Gear - A few Warmachine solos

So, a less-unified set than I typically shoot, these guys are just linked by their environment.