"Directive: Reach For The Sky!"

 Nothing too exciting to post about today, but I did finish a few more figures.

This set of Robot Lawmen/Bounty Hunters from Diehard Miniatures has been sitting primed and unpainted for *cough*a couple years*cough* and I decided I had a use for them with my next Fistful of Lead demo at Harlequin Hobbies.

The yellow casings on these figures were inspired by my days working in a factory, back around 2009-2012. The dents and scratches sculpted on to the figures reminded me of the battered old machines I used to work on, so I copied their industrial paint jobs. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 40

Figures Painted in 2025: 52

Demo Day AAR

 So yesterday, March 8th, the game store I've begun visiting locally - Harlequin Hobby in Cheektowaga NY - held a big day-long event (literally, noon to midnight) for people to demonstrate games they love and stir up interest. I signed on to run quick demos of Wiley Games' Fistful of Lead - the only truly indie game there, everyone else was running games with global distribution networks and marketing budgets that the store already stocked. 

Since I didn't need as much space as something like Warhammer 40K, I got put in the upstairs gaming hall - something I didn't even know the store had until yesterday! I got set up alongside a guy running Marvel Dice Throne and another running Marvel Crisis Protocol. My demo scenario was pretty simple - small gangs of orcs squabbling over division of treasure after a battle. Scaled it down to a 2' x 2' board and created warbands of just 3 figures apiece using my Oldhammer Orcs. 

The first hour and a half were pretty quiet, but a couple people walked by and asked about my set-up and I gave my sales pitch of what the game is and why they should play it. A lot of people were wowed by my painted metal figures as well. 

From 1:30 to 4, I ran four 20-30 minute demo games in pretty quick succession, and gave my sales pitch to probably 10 additional people, including a couple of store employees who couldn't sit down and play for 30 minutes. I only remembered to take photos of the last demo game, unfortunately.

Everyone who sat down at my table had fun, and left with a smile on their face, which is more than I could say for some of the other games I witnessed. I didn't get a chance to wander the demo games downstairs in the main play space, but a bunch of Warhammer 40K players showed up and decided to take over some table space across from me for a pick-up game, to practice for an event next weekend. Those guys just looked miserable the entire time they were playing, and an argument over rules broke out between a pair of identical twins - imagine the Marx Brothers mirror gag with Harpo and Groucho pointing furiously at PDF files on an ipad and you've got an idea. 

At 4 o'clock, after my last game wrapped up (and I was only scheduled for noon to 4) and I was putting my things back in my bag, a guy who'd drifted by and glanced at my table a few times came up and asked if I was still running games because he wanted to play. I apologized, let him know I'd only been booked for noon to 4, but informed him I'd be back to run more in the coming weeks because it's a game I love and there's definite interest at the store for more. 

Magnetize, Magnetize!

 Not much exciting going on at the moment on my paint desk, but I am working my way through magnetizing all of my orcs and goblins' bases and their movement trays. That's where the bulk of my hobby time has gone for the past week.

The movement trays are 3D printed, with spacers to convert to Warhammer The Old World unit footprints (which is a lot more appealing than rebasing 200-ish figures). Each slot in the base has a depression for a little magnet, so I'm gluing magnets into the trays and gluing squares of sheet steel to the underside of each base. Once the weather improves I'll hit the movement trays with a coat of green spray paint and flock the tops so the bases blend in. 

As you can see, there's a couple units here left to paint and even more in boxes behind them. The biggest limiting factor is going to be that the green I use for their skin is no longer being made, so once my stockpile runs dry I may have to stop. 

Finished Goblin Regiment

 I'm trying to work down my leadpile, and this regiment of goblins has been staring at me waiting to be finished since October. I painted the first dozen back in 2021 as part of the Old World Army Challenge, then came back to them last year to try and round them out to a regiment of useful size for Warhammer: The Old World. I got bogged down last year with seven figures left to go to reach my target of 40 figures. 

Tonight, I finished those last seven figures, giving me a unit of 39 goblins with a full command, accompanied by a shaman. There's still a few shields to paint and affix but overall I'm happy calling them done. The figures are a mix from Knightmare Miniatures, Harlequin/Black Tree Design, and Midlam Miniatures, all sculpted by Goblinmaster Kevin Adams.

My favorite figure in the unit is a bit of an easter egg in the back row - a goblin eating a meat pie (with a rat tail hanging out of it) and apparently burning his tongue on it. 

I've also knocked out a trio of treasure markers - I'm going to be running some demo games of Fistful of Lead on March 8th at my local game store, and I've put together a simple scenario with groups of orcs squabbling over the division of loot following a battle. I'm hoping I can lure a couple people in. I forget where the treasure pile with the shield and chest came from, but the other two are from Reaper Miniatures - and all three have been in my bits box for the better part of a decade. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 40

Figures Painted in 2025: 47

Red Ninjas

 Fresh off the painting table - a trio of Ninjas from Crooked Dice, painted in red clothing to represent the imaginatively-named Red Ninjas from Marvel's GI Joe comic book in the 1980s. In the comic books, the Red Ninjas are renegade members of the Arashikage ninja clan (of which GI Joe member Snake Eyes and Cobra assassin Storm Shadow are also members) who end up working for Cobra saboteur Firefly.

I actually don't have a figure for Firefly in my collection yet, but in the meantime I'm sure this trio will find employment under the command of Storm Shadow.

Figures Purchased in 2025: 40

Figures Painted in 2025: 37

New Arrivals: TAG African Militia

 Following on the heels of my last post, another group of modern African paramilitaries - this time three packs of "African Militia" from The Assault Group, armed with AK-47s. Leading them is a figure marketed as "The General," whose cigar and aviator sunglasses give him a lot of personality. 

Given the more ragtag look of this bunch, I think the Crooked Dice figures I painted last week will be national army troops, and these will be rebels. This does swing me back into the red (though not by much) in regarding figures purchased versus figures painted, but I anticipate moving that needle back into the green before long.

Truth be told, I haven't had a lot of spare cash for hobbying this year. My wife and I have been getting hit with surprise bills one right after another since the turn of the year - veterinary bills for Atticus' passing, deciding to adopt a new cat and having adoption fees, this cat promptly managed to scratch his cornea necessitating a veterinary visit, the toe gave out on my winter boots in the midst of a polar vortex - and getting hit harder at the grocery store, so I have less and less money available for my hobby. 

Fortunately I have an extensive backlog of figures I can work on. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 40

Figures Painted in 2025: 34

The Governor-General's Army

 Another eight figures finished - these are two packs' worth of modern African paramilitary soldiers from Crooked Dice, marketed on the website as the "Governor-General's Army." These were a semi-impulse buy for me a few months back; I placed a big order with Crooked Dice and I tossed these in among everything else. I had some vague ideas about using these as local forces in GI Joe games - the fictional African nation of Kalingaland appears in Marvel's GI Joe comic series in the 1980s, with the Joes team helping ensure free and fair elections in Kalingaland in the face of Russian interference. So these might appear in my games as the Kalingaland national army receiving support from the Joes, OR as anti-democratic forces receiving support from Cobra. 

I'm really happy with the camouflage on their fatigues, and let me write it down here so I can recreate it later if needed:

• Basecoat Warpaints "Venom Wyrm"
• Wash "Agrax Earthshade"
• Heavy Drybrush Warpaints "Woodland Camo"
• Brown splotches in Reaper "Brown Sand"
• Dark markings in Reaper "Woodland Brown"
• Light Green splotches in Pro Acryl "Faded Green"

Honestly I could probably ditch the Venom Wyrm - it's a warmer green than Woodland Camo, and I could have done a basecoat of Woodland Camo, washed Agrax, then drybrushed with Woodland Camo again and it would have looked fine. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 27

Figures Painted in 2025: 34