Yo Joe!

 Casting about my workbench for figures to work on after finishing the Off-Track Betting parlor, I pulled out a mix of converted metal and 3D printed figures for my ongoing GI Joe project which I'd primed some months back. In a Modern gaming state of mind, I was happy to get working on them. 

First up, a pair of named characters for the villainous Cobra forces: Croc-Master (in the crocodile-skin vest and boots and gimp mask) and the diabolical Dr. Mindbender (in the purple pants). These are definitely sillier characters that were introduced later in the series' run back in the 1980s; Dr. Mindbender was an orthodontist who accidentally turned himself evil and became a master of robotics and genetics (as one does) while eschewing shirts in the laboratory (but not elaborate metal codpieces held up by suspenders). Croc-Master trains reptiles for aggression on Cobra's behalf, and initially joined the terrorist organization after failing to sell "Trained Security Crocodiles" as an anti-burglary system to Cobra Commander. 

I'm making none of this up. And these aren't the silliest characters on Cobra's payroll. These are resin 3D prints of STLs designed by Random Miniatures on Patreon, which my buddy Dave printed out for me a while back. They're a little oversized, but it's less noticeable with these two. 

Next up, continuing with Cobra, we have a machine gun team that I converted from a Crooked Dice "Army Heavy Machine Gun" set, using a set of "ASP Trooper" heads also from Crooked Dice. 

No ineffectual, children's-television-approved, blue lasers here! Once we get a little sanity in this country and the de minimis exemption on tariffs gets restored, I'm hoping to order and convert a few more of these, because I think it worked out very well.

Finally, two additions to the heroic GI Joe team, though probably not characters whose action figures childen were clamoring for in the 1980s. In green, we have "Tripwire," the Joes' explosives disposal specialist, and next to him "Cutter," who was the Joes' token representative from the US Coast Guard. Tripwire is another Random Miniatures 3D print, while Cutter is again a Crooked Dice figure (one of their "X-Commandos") with a head swap to a mustached head wearing a ball cap. I suspect that the number one factor driving sales of Cutter's action figure in the 1980s was that he was packaged with the "WHALE" Hovercraft, which was one of the more impressive vehicles in the GI Joe motorpool. 

You can really see the size difference with the 3D prints here; I'm less worried about it since I don't anticipate Tripwire showing up in a lot of games, but with future prints I'll ask Dave to scale them down slightly. 

So what's next? I don't anticipate doing a lot of hobbying this weekend as Monday morning we're getting a new water meter installed as part of a city-wide initiative - and our water meter is right next to my workbench, which means cleaning up and clearing space to ensure the worker(s) from the city can access everything they need to as easily as possible. After that though, I've got eight Crooked Dice "ASP Troopers" to paint up for my GI Joe project; instead of the usual Cobra blues, they'll be wearing the green, gray and yellow of the "Python Patrol" sub-team, just to mix things up a bit and to justify them having a slightly different style of uniform from the rest of my Cobra troopers. I also want to get started on my next terrain build, an "Urgent Care" building my wife got me for my birthday. It has interior rooms, so it'll be a more complex project than some of my other buildings. 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 133

Wanna Gamble on the Ponies?

 Last weekend, my wife and I were out socializing on both Saturday and Sunday - and given that we're both introverted potato-people, it meant going into the work week feeling absolutely drained. We agreed that this weekend we'd "stay home and enjoy what our mortgage pays for," and I spent most of the day in the basement at my workbench, putting the finishing touches on "Mean Streets Storefront #5" from Atomic Laser Cut Designs. And by finishing touches, I just mean the MDF kit itself; I'm waiting on some 3D-printed furnishings to fill it with. 

I decided I wanted an off-track betting parlor, to go with the sort of run-down, Rust Belt feel my terrain collection has been built around. For the building itself, that just meant a pair of OTB signs - identical to plenty I've seen over by my local airport and even on the main shopping strip near me. I put a sign on either side of the building near the front, since the awning over the door and front window prevented me from putting one over the front, unless I put it up on the roof. 

The walls got some graffiti decals, as I mentioned previously, and to that I added some printed paper posters and signs - "no entry," "emergency exit," and posters for concerts from Blue Oyster Cult and Black Sabbath - the latter in celebration of the late, great Ozzy Osbourne. 

I also cut some acetate plastic to fit the front window and the door. I find this step really adds a lot to the model when viewed from outside; unlike my previous two kits, I didn't have any signs to glue to the window this time around. Happily, I did manage to get the doors aligned right when putting them in so that they open and close freely. 

So that's it for this building until I've got the furniture ready to paint; I pulled out the Urgent Care Gina got me from Atomic Laser Cut Designs and began test-fitting, but I think that's going to be a much more involved build since it has multiple interior rooms. In the meantime, I think I'll work on some more figures. 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 127

More Modern Terrain and Some Early Modern Monsters

 I made my way to the print shop tonight after work, and printed our some floors and a sheet of posters I'd made by resizing images off the web, which means this weekend I can make some serious progress on terrain. To begin with, tonight I finished off a piece that's been sitting *mostly* done for a few weeks.

This is a construction office made from a shipping container, produced by Things From The Basement, who I highly recommend checking out if you're in the United States. This is my first kit from them, though I have my eyes on a few more; they use a thinner sheet of MDF than I'm used to from companies like Sarissa or Atomic Laser Cut Designs, but everything was really cleanly cut and fit beautifully. Each side of the shipping container is built up in layers to allow more depth to the detailing. 

I sprayed everything but the roof with "Sahara Beige" from Montana Gold spray paints, and did the roof in a flat red paint and primer combo I got at the hardware store. The door was picked out in "Deep Red" from Reaper Miniatures' paint line; I'm not sure why it cracked like that but I think it ended up looking good. 

I tried using some Green Stuff World weathering pigments my wife got me as a gift along the bottom of the container, but it just went on like paint and didn't dry to the texture the packaging promised. I tried to salvage it with a heavy drybrushing of tan craft paint, which I think will remain my default method of weathering model buildings.

Inside, I've glued a table stacked with cash and a money-counting machine that I got from Miniature Building Authority; could it be that there's something illicit going on in here? Money laundering? Drug dealing? Or is this just the payroll office for a junkyard or chop shop? I'm really pleased with how perfectly the table fit. 

Finally, I added a pinup of Tanya Roberts from her time on the TV show Charlie's Angels; I like having my "Modern" games seem to be a blend of everything over the past 40-odd years, with smart phones, CRT TVs, classic TV shows and the like all appearing side by side. I'm planning to put some old "Joe Camel" cigarette ads on some model billboards in the not too distant future. 

In other news...

I'll be returning to Wargames Among the Warplanes for their fall show next month, bringing Devilry Afoot with me; I've planned my gaming around having to paint as few figures between now and the day of the event as possible. I've finished off the last couple figures I wanted to use as monsters in games on that day.

On the left is a Black Dog/Hellhound/Dire Wolf type, intended as Dracula's wolf form, from Crooked Dice's relatively recently released Dracula set of figures, and accompanying it are a pair of animated scarecrows from Crooked Dice's Folk Horror line. These will be appearing as a Barghest and a pair of Bogeymen in the games I'll be running in about 4 weeks' time. All that's left to do for these three is a good coat of varnish, and all that's left to paint for Wargames Among the Warplanes are a pair of Innocents for the Bogeymen to menace. 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 127

Plague Toad or Poisoned Lasher?

 I received this 3D-printed resin "Plague Toad" a week or so ago as a freebie from an Etsy seller; it's clearly intended to be something affiliated with Nurgle, the Chaos god of disease in Games Workshop's various Warhammer properties, but I decided to do something different with it, using the variety of textures on the figure to have some fun with washes and glazes in colors I don't use all that often. I wanted something unearthly and alien-looking, suitable for a future game of Majestic 13. 

Monster profiles in Majestic 13 are intentionally left vague to allow you to fill them with whatever fantasy or science fiction figures you might have handy; I try to use things with wings or other means of achieving flight for profiles that have flying listed as a mode of locomotion, but beyond that I'm happy to be extremely loose with it. 

That being said, I'm thinking I'll treat this as a "Poisoned Lasher" in game - a monster with extended reach due to tentacles, a poison attack, and the ability to grab player characters and drag them around the map inflicting additional damage. I think he's a perfect fit for that description! 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 125

More Terrain Building

 I'm not sure what it is, but there's something just very peaceful and relaxing about making terrain, even if it's just building and customizing a kit. Gina got me a pair of modern MDF buildings from Atomic Laser Cut Designs for my birthday a few months ago, and I decided to pull one out and get it built up and customized. This particular kit is "Store Front 5" from their "Mean Streets" line of brownstone buildings, a single-story shop with a removable roof and opening doors. Despite the pulpy 1930s aesthetic of the Mean Streets line, there's plenty of buildings that look exactly like this within easy travel of my house (fun fact: because Buffalo, NY has so many old buildings still standing, films set in the first half of the 20th century are often shot here), so it's more than appropriate for the Rust Belt aesthetics of my modern games.

The pieces have been spray-painted, and I've applied graffiti decals to the exterior walls and given them a tan drybrush to weather the brickwork. The decals are a mix of Green Stuff World and Dave's Decals - the GSW decals go on more smoothly, but honestly half the decals on the sheets are misprinted and cut off, limiting their usability. I'll probably be putting another order in with Dave's Decals in the near future - I want to add some two-story buildings to my table, and "Ghost Signs" on the sides of the second story would be very fitting. Dave offers a variety of them. 

The fit on Atomic Laser Cut Design's buildings are very tight, necessitating some sanding on the pegs before painting - a lesson I learned the hard way! These were well-sanded before I got out the spray paint, but it's always worth it to continue to check fit as I go:

I'll be printing out a paper floor and some miscellaneous signage to glue in - a "no entry" sign on the back door, things like that, maybe some "lost dog" posters to stick to the sides near the front. I might talk to my 3D printing guy about printing up a rooftop air conditioning unit to add up top as well. I will be needing him to take care of printing some wall-mounted TVs and a bar for the interior. 

Speaking of the interior, I sprayed it a fairly obnoxious orange, with the intent being for it to look like the interior decorating hasn't been updated since the 1970s. 

I think it works.

To offer another update, I've finished pouring the resin for my gator-infested swimming pool. I haven't had a chance to get to the game store to pick up a bottle of "Dirty Down" moss effect, but I'm debating whether I even want to bother with it; this looks fairly decent as is.

The most I'd be doing with the moss effect would be some dirtying up of the rim. Not sure if that's worth spending $20. 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 124

WIP: Pool's Closed

 The mood struck me to start working on a bit of modern terrain again; I think this might be becoming a "hobby home" for me, something I can just always get stuck in with and putter for a while and have a smile on my face while doing it. 

This week I got out a piece my wife got me for my birthday - an above-ground swimming pool from Bad Goblin Games. The product photo on the website adds an alligator and UV resin "water" and I knew I wanted to do something similar. I'd gotten a pair of crocodiles from Wargames Foundry, and dug one out and got it primed and painted this week, with a coat of gloss varnish; they're a bit smaller than the one in the product photo but that's fine. I figure any crocodile in your swimming pool is a problem. 

The pool was sprayed white inside and out, and then I masked off the outside and sprayed the inner surface a bright blue. I gave a tan drybrush to the bottom of the outside and applied some Reikland Fleshshade as "rust" around some of the mechanical bits. 

After that was all dry, I started adding layers of UV resin. The first layer had a bit of GW "Athonian Camoshade" mixed in, a dark olive green shade. The second layer I mixed a bit of OOP GW "Waywatcher Green" glaze into the resin, which is a brighter green; once this layer was spread out but before I cured it, I put the crocodile in. The third layer also had some Waywatcher Green mixed into it, and was poured around the crocodile to help submerge him. 

I'm thinking I'll do one more layer of resin - I'd really like to have the crocodile mostly submerged. Then maybe apply some washes or glazes to really sell the algae-scummed look. 

This has been a really fun and really quick project; I'm now half tempted to get another swimming pool from Bad Goblin and make a "clean" version! Maybe see about getting a 3D printed pool floatie to have on top of the water in that version? 

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 124

Majestic 13: Operation Acid Reflux

 It's been a few months since my last game of Majestic 13 from Snarling Badger, and I decided this week I'd get the table cleared off and and play a game this weekend. A big part of that decision came in the form of a complimentary 3D printed "Giant Plague Toad" (totally not a Nurgle beast, scout's honor) I received from an Etsy seller, TableTopTradesman, earlier this week that immediately struck me as an excellent monster for Majestic 13.

Unfortunately, last night I had to take my wife to the Emergency Department at our local hospital following an accidental over-ingestion of medication. While she was discharged after a few hours, neither one of us slept much (or at all, in my case) afterwards, so I'm more than a little foggy-headed and prone to slight nod-offs currently. Naturally, this is the best possible state to be in when playing a game and writing an after-action report. 

The Force Discreet were once more deployed to a wilderness battlefield, this time to oppose a creature called an Ichor-Spitter. These creatures are capable of flight, ignoring terrain penalties on movement, and can spit powerful acid. 

Left to right: Javier, Pilar, Ortiz, Emilio, Anna-Maria

Secondary objective was a medical supply pickup - each of those neon green radiation symbols marks a piece of terrain with a supply point on it. I got a little hosed in two different ways with this mission:

1. Rolling for bureaucratic foul-ups as part of the mission generation, I got "Drop Zone Confusion," meaning my team deployed in a randomly-selected board quadrant. 
2. Rolling to see which terrain pieces on the table would be Clear, Difficult or Dangerous terrain, I rolled abysmally. Almost every hill and forest, plus the bridge and cabin, were Difficult Terrain, meaning movement was halved moving over them. One hill was Dangerous Terrain, meaning figures would potentially take wounds trying to cross it. Trying to obtain secondary objectives just got twice as difficult. 

Rather than do a full play-by-play since my brain's packed to capacity with cotton right now, I'll just touch on a few highlights:

• In my mentally fogged state, I was looking at the "Phase 2" profile for the Ichor Spitter (in Majestic 13, once your team has a certain number of victories under their belts, the monsters upgrade to a second, more difficult unit profile) for the first two turns, meaning it was hitting my operatives more easily than it should have and the negative side-effects of its attacks were harder for them to resist.
• The Ichor Spitter caught four of my five operatives in an "Acid Spray" blast, wounding and blinding half of them because they'd stayed clustered together pouring firepower into the monster instead of spreading out. 

• On turn 3, I rolled for the game's FUBAR mechanic, came up positive, and rolled on the results chart. A randomly-determined terrain piece, in this case one of the escarpments along the riverbank, collapsed, injuring any figures (human or monster) within a certain radius. Only Ortiz was in range, and I rolled almost minimum damage; I think he only took three points of damage from the collapse.
• Javier got caught in one Acid Blast too many, and was reduced to a steaming puddle on the forest floor.

• Ortiz scored a critical hit with his light machine gun, dealing an exceptional 34 points of damage to the monster in one go, which was enough to put it into its "In Extremis" state - every monster in Majestic 13 has an "In Extremis" threshold, where if it's reduced below a certain hit-point total it gains an extra action, but also takes extra damage as its body consumes itself with violent rage to fuel that extra action. 
• On Turn 4, Pilar successful performed a Call for Aid, calling down a drone strike on the Ichor Spitter and finishing the terrible beast off.

I didn't really accomplish the secondary objective of collecting all three medical supply drops; I got one, but the Force Discreet really is spec'd around pouring as much damage into the enemy as possible, and everything else is a bit of an afterthought. 

In the post-game:

• While Agent Javier did die of his wounds, he was successfully cloned and Javier Jr. will be ready to join the team in the next game. 
• The Force Discreet filed requisition requests for two Medic Kits and received one. Requisition requests to add a rapid response helipad to their base were also denied and/or lost in the bureaucratic maze. 
• Ortiz and Pilar used accumulated XP to improve their Dexterity scores, while Javier Jr. put XP carried over from Javier-Prime to improve his Combat score. 

Next game is a Special Mission, pitting the Force Discreet against the shadowy puppetmasters dropping these alien monsters on Earth. 

Additionally, in the aftermath of last night's Emergency Department adventure and my willingness to sit up all night making sure Gina didn't experience a seizure or cardiac troubles relating to her accidental overdose, Gina asked me to fill a shopping cart with miniatures she could buy for me. I had a coupon for 30% off from Etsy seller TableTopTradesman (see the top of this post), so I picked out enough gribbly 3D printed monstrosities to get us free shipping and we placed the order. So soon enough I'll have another five twisted brutes on 40- or 60mm bases ready to try and gnaw through the Force Discreet. 

Time to update the counter:

Figures Acquired in 2025: 127

Figures Painted in 2025: 123

One Horse Cart

 I'd started this "One-Horse Cart with Open Sides" from Wargames Foundry about a month ago, and it had been sitting on my workbench waiting to be either finished or accidentally knocked off onto the cement floor of the basement. I decided I better err on the side of finishing it. 

I've never been a big fan of painting horses (I come by it honestly; when talking with my father about his time painting Airfix figures in the 1970s, he's commented on how much he hated painting horses), but I'm really pleased with how this one turned out. 

I think I maybe erred too far into pale gray in painting the cart as aged and weatherbeaten wood, but I'm not going to go back and change it now. I've got another cart, from 1st Corps, that I'll lean more brown with to make it less aged. 

This will be a piece of scatter terrain and/or a scenario objective in games of Devilry Afoot and historical skirmishes. 

I'm counting this as two figures for the purposes of the counter.

Figures Purchased in 2025: 120

Figures Painted in 2025: 123

Devilry Afoot: The Beast in the Fog

 Well, I'd had every intention of going to Harlequin and playing Warhammer: The Old World tonight, but I slept really poorly last night and just didn't have the energy to fight rush hour traffic, play a 2 1/2 hour game and then drive home and need to sit up awhile to relax enough to try sleeping. I did still want to get some gaming in, however, so I cleared the dining room table and set up for a game of Devilry Afoot.

I couldn't find my roster sheets from last game, so I wrote up some new ones:

• Captain Tennille, a Soldier armed with a sword and musket, with the dark secret Gambler.
• Squire Root, a Gentleman with a sword and lantern, accompanied by his Follower Robert the Musketeer. Root is also a Gambler.
• "Frother" Martin, a Religious hunter armed with a sword, Bible and Hound, with the dark secret Drunkard.
• Goodwife Patience, a Goodwife with a pistol and lantern, with the dark secret Slovenly.

I used the scenario "The Beast in the Fog" from the rulebook, replacing hellhound the scenario calls for with a Werewolf. The scenario would open with four tokens at the corners of the board, each potentially representing the Werewolf; the hunters would be scattered across the board, and a heavy fog would restrict visibility to 4". 

During the first turn, the tokens all moved closer to the hunters, with three of them revealing themselves as decoys. Squire Root and Goodwife Patience moved towards the bridge to rendezvous with their companions; Martin rolled a "1" on his first activation, resulting in his drinking habit leaving him hungover for the duration of the game. Captain Tennille became disoriented in the fog, wandering past the bridge until meeting with Martin. 

On turn 2, the werewolf revealed itself, immediately catching a pistol shot from Goodwife Patience. She rolled phenomenally well for damage, putting three wounds on the monster immediately. It only had 5 wounds to begin with, so it was well on its way to being defeated.

Maddened by its injury, the werewolf charged Patience, but failed to successfully hit her and turned and fled back towards the shadows. Recovering its composure, the werewolf turned back around and leapt at Squire Root, killing the gentleman instantly and sending Robert the Musketeer fleeing off the board.

Captain Tennille charged on to the bridge, firing his musket from the top of the arch (mea culpa - I forgot about the 4" visibility limit) and putting a fourth wound on the werewolf. The beast towards the nearest shadows it could hide in, and then leapt on to the bridge, attacking Martin, who had just staggered up level with the Captain. Wounding the preacher, the werewolf then changed its tactics; it gave voice to a devilish howl, intimidating Martin into fleeing while the Captain struck at the werewolf ineffectively with his sword. 

The werewolf used its intimidating howl again, sending the Captain running. Patience was less than impressed, and shot the werewolf in the back at point blank range, killing the beast. 

The surviving hunters divided up the 60 shilling reward for killing a werewolf between the three of them. Martin, having been wounded but survived, is now infected with lycanthropy. Fortunately, for the low, low price of 20 shillings and a handful of hair off the werewolf that bit him, a cure can be brewed! 

This was a great way to spend the evening, and I'm really glad I was able to get some gaming in after all. I've also submitted to run demos of Devilry Afoot at the next Wargames Among the Warplanes show in September, so this was good practice for that as well. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 120

Figures Painted in 2025: 121

Looting the Secondhand Bin at my FLGS...Again

 My wife is a generous god. Today is our wedding anniversary, and we both scheduled ourselves off work with plans to visit a local greenhouse/conservatory that is having a butterfly exhibition. Unfortunately, it's extremely hot today and Gina's MS flares up when she overheats - so between the fact that it's a bit of a hike from parking to the greenhouse and it's a hot, steamy greenhouse, we decided it might not be in our best interest to go today. Instead, she proposed we take a trip to Harlequin Hobby - I'd been wanting to check their collection of decal sheets for some Orc/Ork decals, and with her blessing I also spent some time digging through the file boxes of secondhand figures. I came away with some real goodies!

First up, another blister pack of old metal Night Goblin fanatics, as well as a metal Black Orc standard bearer that had been converted by a previous owner with a resin head. A vintage Orc Shaman and a goblin with a flail that was I think originally a Heartbreaker miniature. 

When I went to pay for these (as well as my sheet of Ork decals), she insisted on treating me. 

Why yes, I did marry out of my league. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 120

Figures Painted in 2025: 121

Old World Wednesday #1: 4-Way Battle

 Last night, I played in my first "real" game of Warhammer: The Old World. Readers might recall I played a 500-pt "learning" game back in April. Yesterday was the inaugural "Old World Wednesdays" at Harlequin Hobby; I brought a thousand points of my Oldhammer Orcs & Goblins, and met up with three other guys for a 2 vs 2 game.

Besides myself, there was:

• Reece, with 1000 pts of Beastman Bray-Herds
• Vinnie, with 1000 pts of legacy Skaven
• Derek, with 1000 pts of Orcs & Goblins!

Derek and I teamed up on one side of the board, our armies complementing each other nicely, and being similarly comprised of older models with paper banners. Reece and Vinnie deployed opposite us. We picked a mission from the new Matched Play book; both sides deployed on a diagonal with victory points scored based on units in proximity to the tower at the center of the table.

Also pictured - my original Warhammer dice from 2001!

We didn't manage to finish the game before the store had to close for the night, but we had a great time along the way. Some highlights:

• I cast the spell "Foot of Gork" right off the bat, instantly eliminating Reece's "Razorgor" under the stomping fury of a spectral green foot. The spell was not dispelled all game, and after multiple semi-effectual stomps on Reece's Dragon Ogres, it turned around and stomped half of Derek's Black Orcs out of existence! Oops!
• Reece had deployed two regiments of beastmen one in front of the other; I used my Doom Diver catapult to target the front regiment, and managed to land a direct hit. It scored enough casualties that the survivors needed to make a panic test - which they failed, despite having their general with them. The front unit turned and fled into the back unit, forcing it to take a panic test as well, which it also failed, sending them fleeing as well. They managed to rally before they fled off the table, but it still put them out of position and on the back foot for the next two turns. 
• A unit of Stormvermin charged into Derek's Night Goblins; they managed to survive the initial charge and deployed their Fanatics directly into the massed Skaven. 

This game was everything I ever dreamed of a game of Warhammer being when I first came into the hobby in 2001. I was entranced by Warhammer Fantasy Battles 6th edition, though I never managed to build an army or play a game at the time. The sportsmanship and camaraderie on display last night was second to none. We were all laughing at the Foot of Gork every turn, and we were all reading and interpreting the rules collaboratively to ensure no one was unfairly advantaged or disadvantaged. 

With this game I also feel like I finally hit a point where I was thinking and playing tactically, instead of hoping for the best while spinning in place playing the Major General's Song on a kazoo. Getting a perfect shot with my Doom Diver catapult that sent two regiments of beastmen fleeing in panic is going to carry me for a while. 

It ended up being a much later night out than I've had in a very long time, so this morning necessitated twice the coffee as usual to get me into some semblance of functional humanity, but I'm glad I did it, and I can't wait for next week's game. 

Returning to The Old World

 I got invited to a group chat organizing regular games of Warhammer: The Old World at my local game store. The people in the group seem nice and are painting their miniatures - and playing at a points value where I'm not going to destroy my back lugging my all-metal orcs and goblins to the store. 

So I sat down and sorted out a 1000-pt army that should be relatively well balanced. I asked for a little bit of help on Reddit, given my past experiences with being left to my own devices to build army lists. If all goes according to plan I'll be playing games on both Wednesday and Thursday this week - and with my wife's blessing and encouragement, no less! 

Da Pig Hussas - 5 Orc Boar Boyz (Big'uns), with full command, cavalry spears and shields. Standard bearer has the enchanted Banner of Butchery and the leader is wearing a 'Eadbuttin' 'At.

Dem Wots Got Stickas - 20 Night Goblins (pretend they have hooded cloaks) with shortbows, hiding two manic Fanatics in their ranks. Next to them is Wee Whistle, a Level 3 Night Goblin shaman.

Da Red Bastids - 25 Orc Boyz with hand weapons and shields and a full command.

Harboth's Orc Archers - 15 Orc Boyz with warbows, shields and full command. Behind them is a Doom Diver catapult with an Orc Bully to improve morale.

Big Boss Yorzolg - Orc Big Boss, army general, great weapon, Trollhide Trousers and a Charmed Shield on a Boar Chariot.

How they're shown here is more or less my plan for deployment as well, though if I can put the Doom Diver Catapult on a hill I will do so. Hopefully the Pig Hussas and Yorzolg can hit some enemy units in the flanks and cause some extra damage that way while the orcs soak up some charges and the Night Goblins...well, they're mainly there to launch the ultra-destructive and uncontrollable fanatics into the center of the table. 

Finished: Orc Shaman on War Wyvern (Marauder Miniatures 1992)

 I haven't figured out banners for him that I like, but I'm calling this figure done for now.

This feels like a recruitment poster for being an orc. And honestly, I think the finished figure came out even better than I'd hoped; the yellow skin, the fade to red on the tail, the striping, the tigerskin saddle, the orange mohawk on the helmet, the tarnished bronze bits. I feel really good calling this a centerpiece model. 

I'm counting this as five models for the purposes of tracking - the wyvern, the rider, and the three "Lesser Goblins" on the base. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 115

Figures Painted in 2025: 121

Wyvern Finished!

 I'm proud to announce I've finished the Wyvern half of my Marauder Orc Shaman on War Wyvern. Though I might go back in and re-do the eyes - the yellow pupil is too close to the yellow scales. Now, just need to finish the rider and a trio of snotlings for the base, then flocking and flags!

Once this is finished, I have a unit of Orc Big'uns that I started base-coating skin tones on that I'll focus on, followed by another big centerpiece-y kind of model - a Black Orc Warboss riding in a boar chariot. That's going to be a beast of a model, potentially even heavier than this wyvern! 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 115

Figures Painted in 2025: 117

Lucky Finds at my FLGS

 My area has an absurd number of gaming-related stores. To the point where most of them have needed to engage in some degree of niche specialization to remain viable and not overwhelm the environment. So much like the finches of the Galapagos islands, we have game stores that focus primarily on board games, stores that cater to the collectible card gamer, a few big generalists who have been here the longest. One store also runs Escape Rooms to differentiate themselves. 

My game store of choice, Harlequin Hobby, is almost exclusively a wargaming store. They have a little bit of shelf space dedicated to Dungeons & Dragons and board games, but mostly it's wargaming, with the various Games Workshop games and Battletech getting the most real estate, but a decent selection of Warlord Games offerings for Bolt Action, Pike & Shotte, and Hail Caesar. 

They also have an unbelievable treasure trove of secondhand goods. I think the owner might buy job lots on eBay to supplement old stuff that gamers unload in exchange for store credit to spend on the latest Warhammer releases. There's an entire shelving unit of file boxes; a lot of the relatively recent Games Workshop stuff that's been sold back is sorted by faction for browsers' convenience, but the real motherlode for me are the boxes labeled simply "Fantasy."

I've managed to dig a handful of vintage GW (and competitors!) orcs and goblins out of there, treasures of the early 90s for the most part. There's also a shelf of secondhand rulebooks and supplements.

I stopped by the store yesterday morning because I knew they'd gotten some 6th edition Warhammer goblins in that I wanted to maybe lay claim to. I walked out with more than I'd anticipated. 

I got my blister pack of Night Goblin Fanatics (only 2 in the blister - maybe from 7th or 8th edition? In 6th they were 3 to a pack...) and a 5th edition Warhammer Battle Book, which looks like it was included in the Warhammer Fantasy Battles starter boxed set for that edition. It's got an overview of the hobby written by Rick Priestley, painting guides, an overview of the different armies available, and a series of scenarios to play beyond simple pitched battles. And it's in almost mint condition! I couldn't believe they only wanted $15 for it, so I quickly snapped it up. 

There were more goblins I could have gotten...should get...I may go back for those later this week or, more likely, see if they're still there after I get my next paycheck. They must be mine...

Figures Purchased in 2025: 115

Figures Painted in 2025: 116

WIP: Orc Shaman on War Wyvern

 I was able to spend an unexpectedly large amount of time today painting, which was nice. I'd originally planned on teaching a couple of friends to play Devilry Afoot and Perilous Tales, but when one had to cancel last minute due to some health issues, my friend Rick and I pivoted to having a relaxed paint-and-chat session at my dining room table. The two of us and our wives had lunch together, chatted for a while, and then from about 2:15 in the afternoon until probably about 5:30, Rick and I were parked at the table, hunched over our respective projects. 

I finished the primary color for the War Wyvern (a slightly orange-tinged yellow), and painted the tombstone on the base it will be leaning against. I also painted the furs, wood and bone bits on the shaman's saddle, with the furs painted as tiger skins; I've been wanting to do some tiger skins for a while now, and my fur-clad Savage Orcs were a ways down my to-do list. I think it worked out really, really well, and I'm a bit disappointed the shaman will be covering a lot of it. 

The wyvern, saddle and base are still separate from each other, just propped together for a quick photo. The wyvern itself is going to get a pattern of dark stripes down its back and head (and maybe some patterning on the backs of the wings), and I think the tail is going to fade to red towards the tip. Claws and horns in ivory shades, and the inside of the mouth I'm thinking blue. there's a bunch of tassels on the saddle (and another on the Shaman's belt) that I'm thinking bright purple for. Might as well go as visually loud as possible on a centerpiece model, right? 

I also got the skin tones base coated and washed on the rider and a trio of Kev Adams-sculpted "Lesser Goblins" from Alternative Armies, who will be scattered around the wyvern's feet. 

Figures Purchased in 2025: 113

Figures Painted in 2025: 116

Works in Progress

 I've had a couple things moving at various speeds on my workbench this week.

First things first, I've finished a 3D-printed raised pumpkin patch that my wife Gina got me as an early anniversary present:

This will be a nice piece of scatter terrain, adding a pop of color to various skirmish games. 

I received an order of villagers from Midlam Miniatures, to provide Innocents for my hunters in Devilry Afoot to protect. I also got a plague doctor to serve as an additional hunter, and a trio of gnomes who will be sinister "Red Caps" in game. These have all been cleaned up and based. 

I started painting a horse and cart I got from Wargames Foundry as a Christmas gift in 2023; this will be a piece of scatter terrain most likely in Devilry Afoot.

Words fail to convey the thrillingness of this photo.

Finally, I have, well...gotten distracted. I blame Merijn over at Another Wargaming Blog: His recent goblin posts have drawn my attention back to my long-neglected Orcs & Goblins. I've got a fair amount of infantry, a few Wolf Riders, plenty of Chariots and a few big character models that are awaiting paint. And I've bitten the bullet and started looking at advice for list-building. I'd like to play a few games where my loss isn't a foregone conclusion before the end of the first turn, you know? 

One of the pieces of advice I was given, at least for Warhammer: The Old World, was putting my general on a big monster. That, I can do! Going into my project box, the first thing that came to hand was my Orc Shaman on Wyvern. This was a Marauder kit from the 1992 that Games Workshop reissued last year as a brief made-to-order offering. I snapped it up pretty quickly, and then had to scramble to change the delivery address when it took longer to produce than expected and was arriving after our move. It was a huge relief when it arrived! 

Assembly was a bit tough, and I hope I can get away with only one pinned joint, in the neck. I know this figure is prone to drooping due to all that weight being concentrated in the left ankle, so I dug into my bits box and fished out a tomb stone from Reaper Miniatures (it had come packaged with a zombie I bought probably 7 years ago). It ended up being the perfect height to rest the raised right leg on, so hopefully that will help stabilize it. 

After this photo was taken, I finished assembling the Wyvern as well as the two pieces that make up the saddle, keeping the saddle and rider separate to paint individually before final assembly. I'm going to probably scatter a few snotlings around the base as well for added visual interest. 

Transporting it to play games with is going to be a risky endeavor, I'm sure.

Figures Purchased in 2025: 113

Figures Painted in 2025: 116