I can’t believe it is Slapchop

Believe it fanboys! Of course after my slopchopping I then carefully or at least quickly painted on one or more highlights on each Nurgling then I may or may not have put a wash over top. And of course I used not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, well it might have been six, but I meant to use seven different rust effects.

It was another busy week at work, stuff may have even gone wrong, but that didn’t stop us form partying and going to a Stampeders game on Friday, after all the markets were closed. All this combined with my determination to at least try to lose weight meant I basically painted Sunday. I didn’t even paint that hard, but I finished three stands of Nurglings.

Hockey season also started but I may have lost in my head-to-head league but last I looked I was winning in my keeper pool. Go guys I drafted. These are the same Nurglings I blogged about last week and as planned, I highlighted overtop of the slapchop. So the paints I used are not important but they were a mix of OOP Citadel paints, Reaper, Nostalgia ’88, Vallejo, Secret Weapon, and Wargames Foundry. I did use some Two Thin Coats but honestly they don’t impress me and they have the worst pot design since the original screw top bolter shell.

I’m going to re-watch it someday soon, but I’m giving a shoutout to Vince Ventrulla. I’ve followed him for a while and I’m not a hardcore fanboy or miniature painter. But if I had to recommend one of those YouTube guys I’d recommend Vince, so his paint recommendations are probably more well thought out than mine and he’s probably not drinking while he types.

Other painters and bloggers I like are the Polish. I also follow an obvious French blog, but when I upgraded my MacBook Pro to the latest MacOS recently, I lost all my RSS feeds again. I will rebuild from 2018 again if I have to, but in the mean time, check out Vince and Stahly. They get my Sunday night shoutout. Some famous miniature painter followed me on Instagram yesterday, so you should probably follow me over there too. Apparently I am big in Germany and the Scandinavian countries.

I may require a third beer to finish this blog post, but I’m also listening to one of my latest playlists, this one is called “Mmm, Chicken” and let me tell you beer and music are integral to my painting methodology. Actually I probably paint better without beer, but after a hard day painting, I enjoy a cold beer or three and update the blogosphere about my exploits.

But I didn’t come here to blog about beer or even music, I came here to blog about painting rust or rust effects. I was going to use seven different rust effect paints on the weapons the Nurglings are crawling around, but then I think I ended up using six, but if you count silver or Army Painter Strong Tone as part of the rust effect then I used eight!

Newsflash Nurglings, you don’t need to use seven different rust effect paints. Even three rust effect paints is probably overkill. I know everyone loves Dirty Down but I get better results from some Vallejo stuff I bought and actual rust coloured pigments, particularly the set I bought off of AwesomePaintJob dot come which is apparently no more. I’m still experimenting with which order I should apply the rust effects and like I said at the top of the paragraph three rust effects may be enough for the average miniature painter.

So I decided to consult the wayback machine because not everyone commits to the hobby for twenty plus years like me. AwesomePaintJob dot come seems to have peaked in 2019, but I likely ordered from Lester Burley sooner. His website started in 2009. He last posted a video to YouTube four years ago. Life is hard. One of my oldest gaming buddies died this week, my oldest gaming buddy died many years ago. Don’t put off living forever.

Now I’m sad or at least melancholic. I don’t have infinite sadness. I already made a token post in tribute to Angus. And I definitely haven’t forgotten Kev but yeah some of my old gaming buddies are still alive, I saw Owen this year and I’ll have to try to see some more of them next time I’m on the Island around Christmas time.

One of my big accomplishments this week was upgrading my home office, so I can now edit pictures on a new bigger monitor. Despite some goading I haven’t played any video games on my latest video gaming monitor. I’m just not a hardcore gamer anymore, if I ever was. I guess I was back in the early to mid 90s. Anyway, maybe I will play a video game again, but I’m trying to focus on painting and trying to make time to go to the gym and read books.

If you have thoughts on melancholy, infinite sadness or painting rust effects you can leave a comment below.

Slapchopping Nurglings

Before it became trendy, I wanted to field a sea of Nurglings. Now all over the Internet people are doing the math to figure out how many stands you can field in a Death Guard army. The answer may be twenty seven, but before you can do that you need to buy and paint all those little beady eyeballs yellow.

I’d already tried Contrast Paints on some Nurglings and of course I tried dry brushing or painting Contrast Paints over a black primed model pre-highlighted with grey, but now drybrushing and shading quickly is called #Slapchop or the slapchop method. People have tried to improve on it, so of course I did too, basically I painted on quick highlights and then threw a wash overtop of the Nurgling skin.

I already posted a finished Nurgling stand to Instagram because it is #MiniatureMonday, but it is also the Thanksgiving holiday Monday here in Canada so I had extra time to paint, go to the gym, and yes blog. My test Nurgling came out well enough especially since I used more than just Contrast Paints. I used Army Painter Speed Paint 2.0 too which some like better, but some don’t, but I also used my lifetime collection of random paints and I stuck to colours I have experience painting such as green and purple.

Of course I used the incredibly difficult to spell Aethermatic Blue, but for the next three Nurgling stands I switched from Dark Angels Green to Ork Flesh, so I can get some Orktober practice in I guess. I painted pretty quickly but besides actual highlights and washes other things I did that may not be pure slapchop was paint pure Wraithbone on parts of the models. I also painted metallics, a steel color made by Army Painter, on weapons. I didn’t leave them grey. I even painted some things Greyseer and Wraithbone that I wanted to look different like a zombie head or some guts on my second batch of three Nurgling stands.

The guts were painted Fleshtearer red which is one of my go to painting techniques. I didn’t give them a wash or anything on the test model, but the metallics got some thinned Army Painter Strong Tone, then some highlights with the new GW silver, whatever they are calling it now, “Stormhost”. My new mixer finally made it useable, so I gotta say get yourself a paint mixer, it will save you time and frustration. I tried the Dirty Down again but was not satisfied so I got out the poisonous bottle of mineral spirits I’ve had for years but never used and my AwesomePaintJobDotCome rust pigments and probably went a little overboard.

Then I was reminded that if you spray matte sealant over your rusted pigments they can reactivate and you end up with a different rust effect than you posted to Instagram. I don’t think Dirty Down reactivates with Citadel Matte spray sealant but it might. This is probably why I moved away from pigments, I want to seal and be done with a model.

Besides Nurglings I spent a lot of time cleaning and trying to fill in gaps on a Forgeworld Nurgle Plague Toad which I plan to use as a Chaos Spawn. You must field spawn in packs of two, because they are sold in boxes of two. But besides one lone Nurgling, I painted one lone Chaos Spawn for the Bolter and Chainsword painting challenge. Tenth edition has been out a while and I hunted down one of these models to be my fourth and likely final Chaos Spawn.

I probably spent too much time with gap filler and liquid greenstuff. I never used to use either. I also pinned the model as one of his legs didn’t fit very well, hence the extra large gap to fill. I also planned to pin him to a resin base, as that is what I like to do for basing models. I think this base is Polish. Hopefully I can get these Nurglings and Chaos Spawn done quickly as I plan to paint more strategically valuable models. I may even rebase some more old models and last of all I plan to paint a greenskin if I can find time this month, but we remain busy at work.

If you have thoughts on slapchop, or hashtags, or Contrast Paints or Speed Paints or Nurglings or excessive use of conjunctions you can leave a comment below.

Slow Progress, is still Progress

I still haven’t played 10th Edition Warhammer 40,000 but I probably could have and maybe should have today, but I was painting and otherwise tidying up my house. I want my army to be tidily boo and I really should read the rules again before I actually play. I did quickly pick out another 1000 point army list, I’m not sure what happened to my first one.

The models I’m painting are for the Call to Arms 2023 over at the B&C. They are basically models that never made it into our 9th Edition campaign the Siege of Vanithros’s Bastion. I also will rebase and enhance bases and the Beast Rabban’s formerly lavender Nurgling is almost done.

Simple 1000 Point List

• Blightlords 175pts
• Green Plague Marines 200pts
• Purple Plague Marines 200pts
• Terminator Lord 100pts
• Nurglings 80pts
• Nurglings 80pts
• The Droning 10pts

Basically I want to run a big block of Blight Lords because they are right hard and once I’m done my pledge optimizing that squad will be a priority as will a couple more cultists. Then I’ll probably alternate between plague marines, HQ, and a tank because I want to do at least two tanks for this army and edition. I might do some of the smaller daemon engines but honestly I have so many points so even if we switch to 2000 points I don’t really need to paint anything, but I want my army to be a bit better and to paint some of the models released since my hiatus.

A Hellbrute will likely be in every list I make, I’m not sure how many plague marines is optimal, but I decided to start with two big blocks. I could probably run cultists and my spawn instead of so many Nurglings, but flooding the table with Nurglings has been my dream for a long long time and although they take work, but they are kinda fun to paint because you can do them however.

The latest batch is Plaguebearer Flesh Contrast paint with a dry brush of Vallejo Game Color Dead Flesh which matches really close so then I hit them with watered down Baby Poop which I think is an old Secret Weapon wash. I plan to do more dry brushing maybe even some slapchop in 10th and try to do as few models with tiny lines as possible, I think the tanks will not have them. My army looks good enough even my older poorer paint jobs don’t look so bad among the see of primer you see on tables these days.

If you have thoughts on how the Diseased Sons should be run or how best to paint tanks or Nurglings you can leave a comment below. I just wanted to get some painting done and a blog post in, because I must chip away at my pile of unpainted models and complete my vow.

More Nurglings and 90s Necromunda

Longtime readers may recognize these models were started a while back. Real OGs will remember the D-Cup Debutants from the Delta Quadrant. I wonder if I can find that old gang sheet in my mom’s storage room, but Necromunda is on hold, my dreams of a horde of Nurglings is also on hold as Bill is all about a Warhammer 40,000 narrative campaign now.

None of these models feature in my starting 50 PL, but they could get drafted, the Escher could become a temporary Chaos Cultists and I’ve actually gotta have 50 Necromunda models that will become Chaos Cultists, I bought another box on an impulse last week.

This is not my best work and taking a high resolution photo reveals I did not do more highlights and washes on the tiny skulls. Sometimes my hodgepodge paint collection lets me down as I have old poorly mixed paint which I try to apply in a hurry late at night. But it is a poor craftsman who blames his tools. Those of us who’ve been painting since the 90s blame our eyes.

I actually did a pretty good job at the eyes of these models, though sometimes I’m too subtle for my own good. All the Nurglings have beady yellow eyes and I think I used a new yellow paint, that I bought at the Sentry Box. The Escher has tiny blue pupils and I discovered that I’m better off taking off my new stronger prescription glasses to paint fine details. Someone even suggested I get reading glasses just for painting, maybe later this year or next.

These models let me try out a bunch of new paints from Contrast paints to oddball ones that I got back in the day or bought recently. I have big plans to order some specialty paints and already have an order into Warcolours as I need some Nostalgia 88. But I also plan to get some fancy rust paints and various vomits, grimes, and bodily fluids.

I doubt I’ll go full grimdark, dunk your model in magic sauce then dab on rust, gore, and vomit, but I want to try some new techniques and products especially if they speed up painting. I will try to match the various greens and purples I’ve used in the past on the Diseased Sons and that is why Nostalgia 88 is a big help.

Next up on the painting table is of course more Nurglings, but mainly to test paints and to infest objectives. Bill likes to have Nurgling infested objectives to fight over, right up until he sees what I have planned. I ordered another something something from Curtis over at Ramshackle even though I don’t think I used the last batch of bits I ordered and I got all sorts of odds and sods I’ve stashed away over the year, there is no point in saving anything now. I think my best painting days may be behind me, but can’t I still convert cool shit?

Bill and I are playing tomorrow so I’m a little sad I painted models I can’t use, but they were in the way. I’m going against my better judgement and in addition to Nurglings will paint four cultists and a converted Chaos Space Marine Terminator with Death Guard Forgeworld bits. This will serve as a Blightlord with a Plague Belcher or Spewer. I can never get the names straight, the heavy flamer one, as Nurgle terminators can’t have heavy flamers in the current Death Guard Codex.

Rumours of a new Chaos Space Marine Codex are online and there are rumours of a World Eaters Codex too. I got Khorne Bezerkers that have been used in one game, but I think me using Black Legion or Night Lords rules are more likely than World Eaters, I have Forgeworld Night Lords stuff, at least I think I ordered it back when I had money.

My days of being poor may be over, but I don’t need more models, I need more time, energy and better eyes. There is no way I can paint four models per week or even three. Both my recent batch of cultists and this odd squad of Escher and Nurglings were not done in a week. They were converted, assembled, cleaned, and primed and started previously. This is why I will take this long weekend to clean and likely prime a couple more things as after work, maybe I can get in an hour or two of painting, but I can’t drag everything out and look for old obscure bits.

I wanted to get another blog post written as this month has actually been the most successful one on this blog in a long time, but as I was telling Bill and I also left some comments on Cadian Shock’s website but they don’t seem to have appeared. Short story I used to have the top ranking page in Google for Nurgle, now I don’t rank so well. But some people remember and if you know how to use Google you can find a lot of models I’ve painted.

Kids these days don’t know how to surf the Internet

#ThrowbackThursday along with #MiniatureMonday is when I’m trying to post to Instagram. A lot of hobby content is on social networks now not blogs, forums, and certainly not mailing lists. I need to time my postings and write sexier headlines and take better photos, but every time I post and hashtag spam I get more likes. Growing my followers is slower going but you can buy them if vanity metrics matter to you that much.

If you have thoughts on optimal painting technique, search engine optimization, and social media domination you can leave a comment below.

Finished Some Nurglings

Sorry for the extended time between posts but I was earning badges on the Internet. I can’t really blame Covid-19 as I’ve done better than most during this trying time. I did some Microsoft certification exams, I worked, I played Sid Meier games, and even some Warcry but I’ve done very little painting. My next apartment will have a dedicated painting spot, not just share a desk with two laptops and a bunch of other computer equipment.

This is actually my second blog post of the evening and I basically had to finally take some days off because I was getting burnt out. Even if you avoid catching Covid-19 this has been a stressful year and I’ve gained weight despite many bike rides because gym access is limited. My diet has also been challenged. My previous blog post was about a disappointing hard drive purchase.

WordPress keeps changing. It is complaining my header image is too small. The size I chose was to fit in with the rest of my web empire which I just don’t have time and energy to maintain very well. I need to upgrade to PHP 7 and probably fix a lot of code, but even publishing two blog posts required taking a day off.

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There is nothing special about these Nurgling bases other than I ordered more square bases as GW no longer packages them with these models. When these plastic Nurglings first came out, they came with both square and round bases, now they just come with round bases.

The bases are just beach sand held down by thinned white wood glue and covered with cheap black paint. The first two browns were also Delta Creative brand and were selected from when I was trying to make an entire trench table. The final highlight dry brushed on was Dheneb Stone because it wasn’t dried out. It was a bit different than what I usually used, but so many of my paints dried out over the years in storage. I don’t even remember my old recipes but most are written down in this blog.

My continued plan is painting Escher Necromunda figures of which I may have the largest collection in Calgary, Nurglings, and a few more goblins because the only GW game I seem to play is Warcry. I eventually lost a game, but I think my goblins may have Bill’s number or at least the number of one of his gangs. He seems to have several.

My dream goblin Warcry gang would have more squighoppers, more netters, and of course archers because why would a goblin want to fight an ogre in H2H?

If you have thoughts on basing, Nurglings, the new version of 40K, Warcry, Necromunda or defective hard drives you can leave a comment below.