Last night’s progress wasn’t that exciting visually. I cleaned up overslop with the metallics then washed all the Balthasar Gold with Agrax Earthshade to give it a darker tone. Then I took a batch of ten and drybrushed them with Runefang Steel. After that I started up the rest of the areas, like the flesh tones and bone (so far). Not sure I’ll have all 35 finished by this weekend, but I’m chugging along.
Since the new book is coming I thought I’d use that as an excuse/prod/whatever to maybe get my Ironjaws and Bonesplitters finished…finally. Wanted to blow through the ‘ard Boys since although I love me the Black Orcs, painting them is kind of a monotonous drudge. Here’s where I am as of Sunday night, about 30 of them in progress. Next up, cleaning up the steel where I’ve slopped the gold onto it.
They’re supposed to be rusty/corroded looking, and I think I’m getting there. They match the work I’ve completed on some of my Brutes and Gore Gruntas (pix later) as well as my Underworlds ‘ard Boys.
Still working on my Khorne army. Joined a Firestorm campaign group to push me to keep painting. I’ve settled on a paint scheme, but that’s for a later post – once I have better samples of the scheme ready. In the meantime I’ve been trying to churn through the 80 Bloodreavers I wound up with. I know each won’t be a masterpiece, so hopefully I can move with some average speed through the batch. Did the flesh tones wash on all of them one night. Honestly, the Badger flesh primer + the wash = that might be all the work I do on skin tones for these guys, it looks very nice on the bulk of them in person. Group shot:
Been trying to keep up with a consistent amount of painting per week. Tackling what I have already started/will be using next first as that seemed to make the most sense. 😀
These guys have been primed for months but I never got around to painting (shocker). Took the time to put them together and I’m happy with the results. I may go clean up a few details but I’m calling them completed. Not amazing, but I like.
Yep, another one. I may have started collecting some Bloodbound after I picked up Shadespire and the sweet Garrek’s Reavers models within. Always loved the AoS sculpts for Khorne, but I already have a ‘horde’ army with Orcs. BUT Shadespire got me to take the plunge again. I’ve bought it piecemeal over the past couple months and now that things have settled into a dull roar otherwise I’m carving out some time to get working on them. Starting with texturing the bases. Since some I bought were already assembled those took more TLC to get the Vallejo Dark Earth texture product on, but overall after a few hours last night I have all the army’s current bases textured. Hopefully judicious use of the airbrush will get these guys painted up fast. Reds and flesh and metals. Easy, right?
When GW announced Shadespire I was relatively unimpressed. The initial images looked like a hot mess. An uninspired big hex grid map, some cards, some custom dice, and a few models. Nothing about gameplay initially, just ‘here ya go, buy this.’
I ignored everything about it after that, and then a demo copy showed up at Brookhurst Hobbies. I flipped through the box and was a little less sour on it and curious. The models were gorgeous (I’ve always been partial to the Bloodbound models even though I don’t have…didn’t have…any for an army). Then out of pure designer curiosity I sat down and tried the game out.
…and fell in deep like with it. The game is intended to play fast, roughly 20 minutes (GW says, I say more like 40 for 2 players) in length, and can scale up to 4 players. It’s not a miniatures game, it’s a hex map board game. Much more of an arena style combat game than anything else. The beauty of the mechanics is in how you the decks interact with the game elements and allow for some creative tactics. Whether you prefer to strike boldly or maneuver for objectives things can change based on the positioning of the boards at setup as well as what cards the players use to build their decks. I like cards, so this is a Good Thing to me.
Some folks have compared it to X-wing in the card customizing category. I think it should be more aptly compared to Runewars to a degree since you’re buying full warbands in the expansions and not single ships, but that’s a ticky tack debate. The buy model is what’s being compared here. Each warband, including those in the boxed set, comes with its own unique deck of power and objective cards (the two decks used), and generics of each. These generics can be used across all warbands, but no warband’s kit comes with every general card. If you want generic card X for your BLoodbound you may need to buy the Ironjawz box since that card wasn’t in the Bloodbound deck (or starter box at all). Sounds annoying for those who want to chase the cards and play more competitively. But wait, unlike X-Wing or Runewars that Ironjawz warband is self-contained and can be played out of the box as well. You have not only picked up the additional generic cards but another Warband to swap in and out. Since games are very short and the model count so low – currently we have seen the range running 3-7 depending on the Warband – some options for what you play are nice to have.
GW’s putting some effort into this game, even supporting competitive events in stores! Who do these guys think they are? 90’s GW?
This isn’t a comprehensive review of the game, but a quick heads up that you may want to check it out if you have the opportunity. It’s not for everyone, but I hope you find it to your liking as I have.
shiny penny musings 