Elven Heroes: Elladan, Elrohir and Glorfindel

The first real post of the year starts of in Middle-earth with three more mounted heroes for my Rivendell army. After finishing those, I also did some work basecoating five Knights and Elrond to lead them all. And I finished the three Questoris Knights and the Acastus Porphyrion for my Adeptus Titanicus / Legions Imperialis collection.

Pict 1698: Elrohir, Glorfindel, Elladan

Pict 1699: Elrohir, Glorfindel, Elladan

The first few finished miniatures of the year are these three heroes to lead my Rivendell Knights: Elladan and Elrohir, the sons of Elrond as well as the older sculpt of Glorfindel. It took me quite some time to finish them – somehow I found the brightly coloured horses difficult. I'm still not quite happy with Asfaloth, the white horse Glorfindel is riding. For now, it will have to do. But I might go back once I figured out a better way to do it with the newer sculpt and the two Arwen models on horseback.

Pict 1700: Rivendell Knights (WIP)

Next up will be some warriors for all these heroes to lead. I started with the first half of my Rivendell Knights and finished their basecolours.

Pict 1701: Elrond mounted (WIP)

And of course while I was at the basecoating stage with these five, I also did the same for the Finecast Elrond on horseback. I hope to finish this lot rather soon, so I can get to the other six Knights as well as even more heroes.

Pict 1702: House Procon Vi Questoris Knights

Pict 1703: House Procon Vi Knight Porphyrion

Lastly, I also finished up the four Adeptus Titanicus Knights I had finished at the end of last year. I'm really happy with the three Questoris Knights and the Acastus Porphyrion and I'm looking forward to using them in an upcoming game to stand alongside my Blood Angels and Legio Solaria.

The Butterfly's Hobby Tally 2025

Happy New Year! It took me some time to get this tally of my hobby activities together. But now I invite you to have both a look back and a look ahead with me!

Pict 1606: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Army for A Sector Ablaze

The Hobby Tally 2025

As always, I will start by having a look at what I set out to do at the beginning of the year. I had three goals lined up: 

• Paint 2 pieces of terrain each for the SciFi and the Fantasy collection
• I did finish both the fallen head for my Amon Hen table as well as a Cottage made by ForgeWorld. I did, however, not paint any Sci-Fi related terrain. So halfway there!

• Once again paint more than 100 miniatures.
• Smashed it mate! The final tally stands at 219 finished miniatures. Quite an impressive number and the highest since 2020! One additional stat: I posted 169 pictures to this blog and of course took loads more.

•  And again, buy less new stuff, paint the stuff I have and most importantly play with it!
•  While I did buy quite a bit more stuff, I'll still count this goal as mostly fullfilled. Mainly because I really did paint a lot and because I'm happy with the amount of gaming.

Again, if you want so look back at my painting progress of previous years, here are the links to the tallies of the past: The Tally 2017, The Tally 2018, The Tally 2019, The Tally 2020, The Tally 2021, The Tally 2022, The Tally 2023, The Tally 2024

Looking back through notable projects of 2025

• Scenery: The two terrain pieces I finished this year: the head from Amon Hen and a simple Cottage. I quite like the both of them, but I yet have to play a game with them. I really should paint up the Amon Hen ruin and make a board to play the narrative scenarios!

Pict 1529: Amon Hen Statue Head

Pict 1560: Warhammer Forge Cottage

•  Legions Imperialis at Warhammer World: One of the highlights of the year has to be going to Warhammer World for the first time and playing in the A Sector Ablaze narrative event. Winning a trophy for my objective markes was the cherry on top!

Pict 1607: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Army for A Sector Ablaze

Pict 1612: Legions Imperialis Forward Operating Bases and Trophy from Warhammer World

• Heresy at home and abroad: During the same trip to Great Britain, I also got to play in the Discordia narrative event in London. I painted quite a few additional Blood Angels both for this event and the tournaments and narrative games at home! I still have yet to try out Heresy 3.0 and my painting progress has stalled after its release. Right now, I'm focused on small scale Heresy to scratch that sci-fi itch however.

Pict 1617: Horus Heresy Blood Angels Army for Discordia

• DreadTober: Speaking of, this year's DreadTober project of two Reaver Titans and a bunch of magnetized weapon option fits right into the Epic Heresy. I feel like I stepped up my game, especially with the additional decals on them. I really should try and get them to a gaming table!

Pict 1664: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans

• Adeptus Titanicus: In addition to the two Reavers, I also did some good work for the Legio Solaria with four Warhounds. And I painted some of their retainers, the Knights of House Procon Vi with four Cerastus Lancer Knights and four Atropos Knights.

Pict 1535: Blood Angels Tacticals advancing with Cerastus Lancer Support 

Pict 1546: Legio Solaria Warhound Titan on the Prowl

Pict 1563: Legio Solaria Warhounds

Pict 1655: House Procon Vi Cerastus Knight Atrapos

• Ents: Lastly, for Middle-earth I painted two more Ents – one Birch and the third character, Beechbone. I played them in one tournament and had great fun beating up a whole load of orcs while doing so!

Pict 1579: Ent

Pict 1631: Beechbone

Hobby Plans for 2026

Looking ahead, I don't have a specific project in mind. But I want to try and focus on playing and reducing my backlog again. So the three simple goals are:

• Once again paint more than 100 miniatures.
• Paint the stuff I have and buy fewer new miniatures.
• And most importantly have fun and play with my miniatures.

 

A Swarm of Jetbikes and another Legolas

During the last few weeks of the year, I want to try and finish a few more projects that I started during the year but never quite finished. First up are the Legions Imperialis Scimitar Jetbikes from last week and another Legolas.

Pict 1688: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Scimitar Jetbikes

Pict 1689: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Scimitar Jetbikes

As planned, these Jetbikes were quickly done over two more evenings. The pigment on the base always ties the paintjob together and I'm quite happy with them. They look like a swarm, ready to descend on any enemies!

Pict 1690: A Piece of the Battle of Five Armies

Pict 1691: Legolas

Pict 1692: Legolas

I started this Legolas with the MESBG tournament in November in mind. While I ultimately decided on The Black Gate, I also toyed with a Battle of the Five Armies list consisting mainly of Iron Hills Dwarves supported by Beorn and Legolas. With the pivot to Morannon Orcs and Troll Chieftains, Legolas was left by the wayside. Finishing the highlights did, once again, take not to long and I'm very happy to clear the miniature from my backlog!

Pict 1693: Procon Vi Questoris and Porphyrion Knights (WIP)

These Knights do not quite fit in with the rest, because they are a new project. However, the colour scheme does lend itself to a quick paintjob. For now, I put down the base colours. Next will be the deacals and then it is on to the oilwash.

DreadTober Week 4: Reavers are done!

While I did not manage to post last sunday, I have now finished the two Legio Solaria Reavers that I had pledged for DreadTober. Once again a successful year!

Pict 1664: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans

I am really quite happy with the two Reavers! I feel that the decals really help to bring them to life. And of course it is great fun to swap the various weapons around! I can see myself painting more Warhounds or even a Warlord, but I think I done with Reavers. (At least for now...) The final touches I was missing at the start of the week was pretty much only the trim on the main engines. But man – that did take some time! I am, however, happy to have done the additional highlights – it does help with the contrast.

Anyways, here is a bunch of photos of the two and all the weapon options I painted:

Pict 1665: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1666: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1667: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1668: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1669: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1670: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan

Pict 1671: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan Carapace Weapons

Pict 1672: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan Close Combat Weapons

Pict 1673: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan Ranged Weapons

The Contemptor I wanted to do as a stretch goal is very much in the same state I showed it at the start of the month. The hobby butterfly has well and truly distracted me!

DreadTober Week Three: Decals and Oilwash

Lots of works on progress today as I am plodding along with the two Reavers as well as two new projects in Middle-earth.

Pict 1660: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans (WIP)

Pict 1661: Legio Solaria Reaver Titan magnetised attachments (WIP)

The finish line is in sight! I finished up the trim over two evenings and then spend a further evening only applying the decals. The oilwash is just about dry – drying takes quite a bit longer, now that the temperatures are lower once again. Still, I should be able to varnish them over the next few days and then put in the finishing touches of highlights, battledamage and weathering.

Pict 1662: Legolas (WIP)

I was toying with the idea to go to a MESBG tournament at the start of November. But with about 800 points per army I did not quite know what I would want to play. Messing around with some options with the help of Tabletop Admiral, I landed on two ideas. The first one of them being the Battle of the Five Armies using mainly Iron Hills Dwarves but getting help from borth Beorn and Legolas. Something I had wanted to do for a while now. Especially the Beorn and Dwarves combo – I had painted my Beorn accordingly. But I was missing a Legolas painted with a fitting base and so I went looking for a fitting sculpt. This one, from the Heroes of the West box set is not quite perfect, sporting the Galadhrim bow and cloak he is gifted by Galadriel. But he will do the job! For now, the base colours are done and I hope to finish him in between everything else on my desk right now.

Pict 1663: Morannon Orcs and Mordor Troll Chieftain (WIP)

The other idea revolves around the Black Gate and another Troll Chieftain. But since the army now can no longer take normal Mordor Orcs, I'd have to paint a whole bunch of Morannon Orcs. I'd like to try nonetheless. Both because I think the Morannons should paint up quite fast and in a big group and because I had a great test game with them yesterday. We'll see how far I can get! 

DreadTober Week Two: Basecolours and Atrapos finished

Not to much progress, but some is better than none! I finished my Knight Atropos unit and put in a bit more work on the two Reavers.

Pict 1655: House Procon Vi Cerastus Knight Atrapos

Pict 1656: House Procon Vi Cerastus Knight Atrapos

Pict 1657: House Procon Vi Cerastus Knight Atrapos

First up, here are the four Cerastus Knight Atrapos that were almost finished last week. The additional colours on the Lascutter and the Singularity Cannon really help to bring some visual interest into the rather muted colour scheme of House Procon Vi. Having finished these, I really would like to add more Knights to my collection – some Acherons and Castigators first and foremost. And I'm really tempted to also get a Cerastus frame in 28mm scale as an ally for my Heresy Blood Angels...

Pict 1658: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans (WIP)

No that much difference from last week on the main bodies. Only a few more details such as the scrollwork and the cabling. I also did some work on the bases. The next thing will be the trim on the bodies. The trim on the weapons took two evenings and I had to do something else before switching to the engines themselves.

Pict 1659: Vargheists (WIP)

It has become a bit of a tradition for me to play a game or two of Cursed City around Halloween and I'd like to paint up another unit by the end of the month as well. This time around I started on a trio of Vargheists. Once these are done, I'd only be missing ten Grave Guard to have everything for the two expansions. Of course, there are a few more bits and bobs, I'd like to do. But now that a new Warhammer Quest has been announced, I might struggle to get them done before I'm embarking on a new adventure.

DreadTober 2025 begins!

It's October and of course that means it is officially DreadTober! I've been getting in the Adeptus Titanicus mood with my Atrapos Knighs and have made a good start on the two Reaver Titans I will paint over the course of the month.

Pict 1651: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans (WIP)

So, this is how far I have gotten with the two Reaver Titans for my Legio Solaria. After the basic metals of the skeleton, I started with the green armour panels since the stippling is the messiest part. The other armour colours went on pretty fast. I also did the other magnetised weapon options and I'm happy with that progress for now. Details should not take to long. The trim, however, now that's a different story.

Pict 1652: House Procon Vi Atrapos Knights (WIP)

The Atrapos Knights are alomst done. I plan to finish them over the coming week. The one furthest on the left is only missing the pigment wash on the base, while the others still need some more highlights on the metals and more detail work done to them. Still, I'm pretty happy with them! The colour scheme is a very fast one and I'm looking forward to adding more and different Knight classes to my banner.

Pict 1653: Blood Angels Spartan (WIP)

The Spartan had the usual oil wash, but I was not quite able to finish it in time for the planned Apocalypse game. Nevertheless, the Decals on the sides are quite striking and I was happy to try it out. A Levithan with double Storm Cannon took care of it, but I managed to decant my big blog of Despoilers with added Chaplain and Moritat to do some harm at least! Still, the Spartan might have to wait until November to get the finishing touches, because I want to focus on my DreadTober projects.

Pict 1654: Legions Imperialis Blood Angels Mastodons (WIP)

This fate might be shared by these two Mastodons for my Legions Imperialis Blood Angels. I was super happy to see these miniatures announced and I had to get one box as soon as they were available. They seem to be a good ride to get Leviathans up the board and charging. Of course I had to convert one of them with the open assault hatch (simliar to my Thunderhawk) and glued a Terminator in there ready to charge out. I'm really looking forward to finishing these and getting to use them in a game! Maybe

Defenders of Helm's Deep and Blood Angels Reinforcements

It has been quite a while since I wrote a blog entry, but as always I have not been idle. (Of course the last few nice days of summer also demanded attention!) I painted up Théoden, Gimli and a few Rohan Royal Guard for a tournament at the start of September and added to my Blood Angels. The latter got a Cataphractii Centurion, a Librarian, a Vigliator as well as five Despoilers and Assault Marines.

Pict 1637: Théoden and Gimli looking out over Rohan

Pict 1638: Rohan Royal Guard on foot

Pict 1639: Rohan Royal Guard on foot

I only needed three more Rohan Royal Guard on foot for the army list we were playing and fortuitously I had three of them sitting in a drawer. I showed them partially painted in my last post. Now they are done and I'm quite happy what I was able to do with these (by now) venerable sculpts. I also took this opportunity to update the single Guard on foot I had painted in 2019. My paintjob was similar but I'd like to think a bit better by now. The main areas I worked on were the gold and the green cloak.

Pict 1640: Gimli and Théoden, Defenders of Rohan

Pict 164: Gimli and Théoden, Defenders of Rohan

Gimli was the first miniature of this particular batch that I finished. The small hero models from MESBG are both iconic and characterful. Of course there is a lot of reference material out there and thus they paint up really fast. This Gimli was a fun sculpt – the Defenders of Rohan box with the resting poses still holds up. And of course since they depict the heroes waiting during the beginning of the siege of the Hornburg, the miniature was quite fitting for the Doubles tournament. 

Similar to the Royal Guard, I also reworked the Defenders of Rohan Théoden. I painted this sculpt originally in 2018. I am really quite pleased with the result. I find the face and the armour really improved. Originally I wanted to finish a Théoden sculpt with a shield, but did not find the time or motiavtion to do that. So there are a few stragglers from this attempt a Rohan miniatures and I hope to finish them in the next few weeks.

Pict 1642: Blood Angels Patrol

Pict 1643: Blood Angels Cataphractii Centurion

Pict 1644: Blood Angels Librarian and Vigilator

Pict 1645: Blood Angels Librarian and Vigilator

First, however, I am returning to my Heresy Blood Angels. In addition to the Librarian and the Vigilator I had already shown, I also built and painted the Cataphractii hero from the Betrayal at Calth box. During painting, I removed the Power Weapon greeble from the Librarian's Force Staff / Spear and I am now really quite happy with the conversion. The Vigilator sculpt is unaltered while the Terminator had donated up his Combi-melta to my Justaerin Conversions a while back and got a Combi Bolter as a replacement. And of course he is standing on the base topper steps from the new Lemartes kit, that a friend gifted my to use with my Blood Angels.

Pict 1646: Blood Angels Inductii Despoilers

Pict 1647: Blood Angels Assault Marines

I also finished the five each of Despoilers and Assault Marines to fill out the respective Troops choices I have to the maximum of twenty. A comparatively simple paintjob – I tried to go a bit easier on the weathering and scratches this time and I do like the result. I'm really happy to have these done and I'm already thinking about a second big Assault Squad, maybe Veterans. And Veteran Breachers. And Desintegrator Vetereans. And Terminators. And...

Pict 1648: Blood Angels Spartan Assault Tank (WIP)

Next up will be a ride for my Despoilers in the form of this Spartan. The vehicle might be reassigned to Terminators once I get around to painting some, so I'm using a bit more bling than might be necessary for a simple troops choice. I painted the interior ahead of final assembly and am now looking to add a few more decals – especially a band of gold filigree running along the top of the side armour. After that it is on to the oil wash and detail work, once that has dried.

Pict 1649: Legio Solaria Reaver Titans for Dreadtober (WIP)

With October fast approaching, I'm also looking ahead towards Dreadtober. My plan for this year will be to paint the two Reaver Titans for my epic scale Legio Solaria. I built them back in May, but haven't had the chance to paint them yet. The main parts should be done quite fast (except for the trim as always!). I hope all the various magnetised weapons will get done during the month as well.

Pict 1650: Luna Wolves Ghrastak (very WIP)

As is somewhat of a tradition for me, I also aim for an ambitious stretch goal. This time around it will be the last (currently) unpainted Dreadnought in my collection. Another Contemptor, that I want to build and paint up as part of my Luna Wolves. The inspiration is a picture of an individual Sons of Horus Dreadnought named Ghrastak from the first Black Book Betrayal, only at a time when the Legion still was the Luna Wolves.