The Butterfly's Tally 2022

Happy New Year! 2022 has drawn to a close and as is customary this calls for a tally of what I painted, comparing it to my resolutions from the start of the year and make some new resolutions.

Final Miniatures of 2022

Pict 1257: Blitz Bowl Face Off

Pict 1258: Blitz Bowl Dwarves

Pict 1259: Blitz Bowl Dwarves

But first, here are the last few minatures I managed to paint in 2022 – the Dwarf Blitz Bowl team. As with the humans, I did not go for my normal painting standard but a bit below that. I'm not perfectly happy with them, but they look good enough to play with. The major hurdle was the orange... I really hate the bottle of Lava Orange by The Army Painter, I have here. The paint simply does not cover well. But then again, I don't paint that shade of orange that often, so I did not want to buy a similar colour by a different manufacturer and powered through.

With that I've finished a grand total of 131 minatures this year. Just a little bit more than 2021 – a double success! And with this number in mind, we are already into...

The Hobby Tally 2022

So, these were my resolutions for this year:

• 20 Warhammer Fantasy / Age of Sigmar miniatures
•  19 models painted plus 10 Blood Bowl balls and markers – I'd call that one done
  
• 10 Infinity miniatures
• not a single one painted...
  
• 10 MESBG miniatures
• easily done by Erebor Dwarves alone
  
• 10 miniatures by independent creators
• only the five Mjowls from the very start of the year...
  
• 10 pieces of terrain
• about half way there with a set of dwarven doors, the 5 pieces of the crashed Aquila Lander and a few bits of 40k scatter
  
  

Looking at it now, that is still quite a lot of stuff and while I managed to fulfill about half of these promts, I fear the hobby butterfly effect really prevented me from getting to the rest. For example, at the start of the year, I did not imagine painting the Blood Angels (more on those later). And the models also reflect the games I played or did not play – since I mostly dropped out of Infinity, I did not paint a single miniature for this system... Still I'm pretty happy with what I achieved and looking back at these goals will inform the resolutions I want to make for this upcoming year!

And if you want so look back at my 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

 

Other big projects of 2022

There are some other projects I want to highlight, looking at my Middle-earth miniatures first:

Pict 1136: Mordor Troll Chieftain

Pict 1139: Mordor Troll Chieftain vs. Aragorn Elessar

Right at the start of the year, I converted and painted two Mordor Troll Chieftains – the second one stepping on an unfortunate Aragorn. I'm still really happy with the two of them and they take a place of pride in my cabinet.

Pict 1196: Númenorean Banner Bearer

In June I painted this Númenorean banner bearer to enter into the Middle-earth painting competition over on Instagram. While I did not make it that far in the competition, I really enjoyed the opportunity to challenge myself, especially with the freehand on the banner itself.

Pict 1210: The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur

The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur were a great project to do over the summer. For one I did not have that much time to paint during august and september and the Ringwraiths seemed like a nice and enclosed project to get back into the swing of things. And of course I got to experiment with texturing the cloth which came out great. If I were to redo the banner bearer from earlier, I'd do that to the black and white textiles for sure!

Pict 1163: Howling Griffons Sternguard Veterans

Other than my adventures in Middle-earth, I mainly spent the year painting Space Marines. I had not thought it possible (man, I still love the little space mans!), but first Arbitor Ian got me back into them with his series on the Badab War; the result of which are these Howling Griffons.

Pict 1260: 2022 Blood Angels Legion

Pict 1232: Blood Angels Contemptor

But of course the big thing was the release of the new edition of the Horus Heresy. First up, here is a photo showing my painted collection as it stands right now. I'm pretty impressed with myself that I was able to stick to it so well. It's Arbitor Ian again with his Tale of Four Gamers series that's kept me on track here. And of course participating in Dreadtober was a highlight for the project! Posting progress every week and seeing what everyone else was up to was great fun and amazing to get to know other bloggers!

Hobby resolutions for 2023

Seeing how I did and did not achive my goals last year, I want to set my new targets with an eye to playing the games. I find that to be one of the best motivations to actually paint my models. But of course I will always get swept of track, so my first three goals are somewhat small asks. I also want to try and finish some more terrain and especially get some progress on with the modular gaming board. Lastly, I again want to paint over 100 miniatures in total. While I have not painted less in the last few years I still want the ecouragement of a goal to keep me in line. And of course I want to try again and paint / sell more than buy...

So, that's it; here is what I want to accomplish this year:

• Paint and play at least the first of the two Cursed City expansions (it's only 6 miniatures: 3 giant bats, Radukar the Beast, Lady Annika and Carmilla DuSang)
  
• Paint 5 Infinity miniatures and play a game with them
• Paint 10 MESBG miniatures
• Paint 3 more tiles of the modular gaming board as well as the rest of the Garden of Morr (that's 6 pieces of wall)
  
• Paint at least 100 miniatures in total
  

The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur are ready

Man, it's been some time since I had the chance to write up what I painted. But real life taking over meant I also did not have to much hobby time the last few weeks. Here's hopeing it will get better the next few.
Anyways, I managed to finish painting my Nazgûl of Dol Guldur as well as the remaining five Tactical Marines to complete the first squad for my Blood Angels Legion.

Pict 1210: The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur

Pict 1211: The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur

Pict 1212: The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur

These Nazgûl were quite a nice palette cleanser in between all the Space Marines. I used an oilwash on the metals – but I think, with all the highlighting I did afterwards, I could have probably achieved the same effect with Nuln Oil. I also experimented with painting on texture on the all the black cloth to give it some more visual interest instead of my usual method of doing the Ringwraiths. And I have to say I'm pretty happy with the result! With some more experience they would look even better, but for now I'm looking forward to getting them onto a battlefield.

Pict 1213: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Pict 1214: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Pict 2115: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Looks like I'm finally getting how this whole glazing thing works. It's really not that easy to get the right cositency of paint and the right amount of paint on the brush. These five Marines painted up rather quickly and while that might also be the fact that they only carry Bolters and are not that detailed, I also think I'm getting more confident with the scheme by now. Super happy to have finished the first proper squad!

My first Blood Angels Legion Tacticals

These past two weeks, (these past two days, if I'm being honest) I managed to squeeze in a bit of hobby time and finished up the first few Blood Angels Tactical Marines as well as getting a start on a new Middle-earth project with the Nazgûl of Dol Guldur.

Pict 1205: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Pict 1206: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Pict 1207: Blood Angels Legion Tactical Marines

Here are the first five Tactical Marines for my Heresy Blood Angels finished. Of course they include all the neat little toys: a nuncio-vox, an augury scanner, a vexilla and of course the sergeant with his shiny helmet. Afte the vexilla snaped of the second time during painting, instead of simply gluing it back on, I magnetized it to remedy that problem. Seems to be the way forward, when building more of these banners in the future.

I also experimented with a new way to apply the weathering pigments onto the bases using water to dissolve them into first instead of simply brushing them on. I still need to practise this method – I always seem to apply to much at first – but I'm happy with the way the pigment is holding on.

Finishing the remaining five to complete the squad should be next. But first...

Pict 1208: The Nazgûl of Dol Guldur (WIP)

But first, I wanted to come back to Middle-earth for a moment. And the Nazgûl of Dol Guldur seemed like a quick and managable project in between all that power armour. Next up will be some shading to the armour and then onto the highlighting.

Pict 1209: The Dark Headsman and Abyssal Knights (WIP)

I always find myself really appreciating the sculpts on a different level once I get to paint them. And while some of these Nazgûl are somewhat generic, I really like the Dark Headsman with his big axe and the helmet with the menacing nose guard and chainmail hanging from it. But the real stand out are the two Abyssal Knights (Weta listed them as the Ringwraith from Khand – very cool!). I love the armour design with the circular details on the shoulder pads and the striped details on the breastplate. It looks very unique and could almost be from the mind of HR Giger; something that would not look to much out of place as part of the Alien francise.

Old fool! This is my hour. Do you not know Death when you see it?

Once again only three completed miniatures with the Witch-king and his second in command, Khamûl the Easterling. I also built a few more Heresy-era Space Marines; I really should get to painting them, shouldn't I?

Pict 1184: This is my hour!

Pict 1185: The Witch-king of Angmar

Pict 1186: The Witch-king of Angmar

First up is this Witch-king of Angmar. I really like this model that echoes the moment in the book, I used for the title – the Witch-king rinding into Minas Tirith through the broken gates. He's going to be a great leader for my Mordor army.

Pict 1187: Khamûl the Easterling

Pict 1188: Khamûl the Easterling

The other Nagûl I painted while at it is Khamûl the Easterling. Very fitting with the Defence of the North supplement finally released, even if I don't plan on painting any other Easterlings. I'm really happy with the way the highlights on the cloak came out, I managed to put in a bit of tattered texture.
For now, Khamûl will also be part of my Mordor army. To complete my collection of the named Ringwraiths, I'm now only missing two more: the Tainted and the Undying.

Pict 1189: Reaver Attack Squad (WIP)

Lastly, here is another Horus Heresy kitbash that I made in preparation for the new edition: a Luna Wolves Reaver Attack Squad with attached Apothecary. The latter is pretty much stock but with an added jump pack while the Reavers themselves are made from several different kits. The starting point was an Sons of Horus upgrade set. With some MK IV Marines, Sanguinary Guard jump packs and a few more bits and bobs, I'm pretty happy with the way they came out!

The plan is to go for a late stage of the Luna Wolves, about the time of the Ullanor Crusade, maybe a bit earlier. Certainly the Legion at it's prime, with the Cthonian gang culture limited to only a few squads. And pretty much only the Reavers and the Justaerin will be allowed to use the Eye of Horus. We'll see how that shakes out.

The Dead are rising

These past two weeks, I took a bit of a breather from Infinity and painted some more Undead from the Mortal Realms as well as Wraiths from Middle-earth.

Pict 1083: Kritza raising Minions

Pict 1084: C18 Wight

Pict 1085: C18 Wight

Continuing on from the Oldhammer Vampire I painted a few weeks back, I also had this Wight from the same time period. I painted him to match my Cursed City skeletons – maybe he will see play as one of the Ulfenwatch?

Pict 1086: Kritza the Rat Prince

Pict 1087: Kritza the Rat Prince

Pict 1088: Sepulchral Guard Petitioners

Pict 1089: Sepulchral Guard Petitioners

Because the Wight painted up so quickly I also dove into my pile of shame / pile of possibility and came out with the three Petitioners from the Sepulchral Guard set as well as Kritza. The skeletons once more match the Ulfenwatch and are really nice modern miniatures. I do look forward to painting the remaining four from the set! Kritza was converted a little bit: I removed the rat tails trailing from his coat – they were a little to on the nose for me and I do like him better as an aristocrat at first blush. He then also got a simple 32mm base instead of the oval one he came with and I am really happy with the paintjob!

Pict 1090: The Dwimmerlaik and the Witch-king

Pict 1091: The Dwimmerlaik and the Witch-king

Back to Middle-earth! With GW releasing a new Witch-king I thought I should paint up the one I currently own to distract me from the new "shiny". I knew I also had a Dwimmerlaik named Nazgûl in the drawer and painted him at the same time. Now, Nazgûl in and of themselves look not that impressive, but they got the gears turning about other Mordor models I might want to paint...

Pict 1092: Warg Riders (WIP)

After finishing the Nazgûl, I started to work on some Warg Riders including heroes. When the metal Warg Riders were available last year, I snached up two blisters and converted three of them to have some more varied poses. For now, the Wargs themselves are pretty much done and I hope to finish up the Orcs quickly and to get them on a game table soon!

Middle-earth: Shelob and the Betrayer

Only three models finished this time around. Reinforcements for my Mordor army: Shelob and another named, the Betrayer.

Pict 950: Shelob

Pict 951: Shelob

Pict 952: Shelob

Shelob is such a lovely model! She looks great rearing up and ready to strike. When I painted the underbelly I pretty much went over everything I had done the last time I showed her as a WIP, but I'm pretty happy with the blend from black over grey to Rakarth Flesh. For the markings on the abdomen I decided to try stipping. The red dots may be to big to count as such but I'm very happy with the grey highlights and transition to the underbelly.

Pict 953: The Betrayer

Pict 954: The Betrayer

And here is another Ringwratih; he's named The Betrayer by GW and fits with the look of the Haradrim. I decided, however, to paint him in line with the other Nazgûl and keep to black robes and simple steel armour. I really like the horse mid stride and with the flowing saddle cloth.

Pict 955: Valten, Chosen of Sigmar (WIP)

I also started to paint a one-off figure: Valten, Chosen of Sigmar, who is clearly Warhammer's He-Man! I question his choice to stand on a beastman's head like this. I'd probably trip on the horn with the next step...

New Bases for Mordor

Just a quick update post to show the new bases I put onto my Mordor army. Not that much work but a great distraction for one quarter of an hour every evening.

Pict 929: Mordor Army (new bases)

My Mordor originally had all black bases with a bit of grey drybrushed ontop to create some interest. But with the Dark Marshal of last week, I tried a new basing scheme. They should be closer to the other armies I have, especially Isengard, so that I have the option to mix in some Orcs into Sauruman's army. And having grass on the bases just feels right. In any case they are less bland.

Looking at the Orcs again I really like the models and the colours I used... With Quest of the Ringbearer on the horizon, I might try and paint some more for an Cirith Ungol army? We'll see what takes my fancy.

MESBG: The Dark Marshall and WHFB: Shadow Warriors

 Just a quick post today - hobby time is somewhat at a premium these days. But I still managed to paint up another named Nazûl. This time the Dark Marshall. Other than that I did a bit more work on the High Elf Shadow Warriors, finishing one and starting on the base coats of the rest of the group.

Pict 924: The Dark Marshal

Pict 925: The Dark Marshal

Pict 926: The Dark Marshal

As you can see, he's very similar to the other Ringwraiths I already painted. They are all basically a humanoid form in a dark shroud with varying degrees of armour. I was happy to snatch this model up in metal to match my other wraiths that are also all in metal and not in Finecast.

I also decided to try out a differnt basing scheme for my Mordor army. It irks me that I can't use my Mordor Orcs with my Isengard army and so I'm considering to change up the bases on my Mordor. The grass is not quite the same - Rohan grass being a bit to lush for my Mordor taste. But this should my not as noticable.

Pict 927: Shadow Warrior

Here is the first of the Shadow Warriors finished. I quite like how he came out even if it's only the orange tabbard connecting him to the scheme of the wider army. The Shadow Warriors should be able to set themselves apart a bit.

Pict 928: Alith Anar and Shadow Warriors (WIP)

Lastly a quick WIP: the rest of the Shadow Warriors from the 7th edition box and of course Alith Anar to lead them into battle. Always great to have an infantry model shooting arrows using the bolt thrower mechanics in game.

Rohan Reinforcements, Nazgûl and a Blue Angel

Pict 829: Rohan vs. Wraiths

Not to be overcome with Uruk-Hai, I painted some reinforcements for my Rohan army and put them to good use in a doubles tournament this past saturday. I also quickly whipped up a few wraiths from Mordor while I was in the Middle-earth mindset. I also put the finishing touches on Bertrand and Hugo that were almost finished during my last entry. To round out my painting, I then got onto a planetar for my D&D games.

Pict 830: Dernhelm and Merry (mounted)

Pict 831: Dernhelm (mounted)

Pict 832: Éowyn (Death of Gothmog)

I started painting the Rohan heroes of with Dernhelm since I needed her for the tournament. My doubles partner (you can see more of his over at SmallThingsModelling) could have lend me his version but nothing is better to motivate me to paint than a deadline such as a tournament. I then threw in the crawling Éowyn from the 'Death of Gothmog' diorama.

Pict 833: Théodred and Rohan Captain (mounted)

Pict 834: Théodred and Rohan Captain (on foot)

After they finished up rather nicely, I went into my drawer of primed Rohan miniatures and took out Théodred and the Captain. Up until now I never had a reason to paint them but the former got a cool new Legendary Legion in the 'War in Rohan' supplement and I might just use the Captain in an all-hero army. I'm still lacking a painted Gamling with the royal banner however so that model might jump the queue?

Pict 835: Riders of Rohan

Other than Dernhelm, the two riders had to be painted for the doubles tournament. While they are not my best paintjobs, I'm happy with how they look. There are now only four more Riders of Rohan primed and if I painted them, I would have 24 in total. That seems like a reasonable amount (there are quite a few more in my box of shame though...) and it might even be doable in the coming weeks?

Pict 836: The Shadowlord, the Knight of Umbar and Castellans of Dol Guldur

Pict 837: The Shadowlord, the Knight of Umbar and Castellans of Dol Guldur

The other list we were running at the doubles event called for a Castellan of Dol Guldur. I knew I had these two primed and ready to be painted but they were rather far down my queue. However since I had them on my mind from the list building process, I decided to slap some paint on them. Of course they are pretty much only metal and dark cloth so they painted up rather fast. Spurred on by the quick success, I also painted the two named Ringwraiths I sill had lying about: the Shadowlord and the Knight of Umbar.

Pict 838: The Bowmen of Bergerac - Bertrand le Brigand, Hugo le Petit and Gui le Gros

Pict 839: Bertrand le Brigand

Pict 840: Hugo le Petit

Bertrand and Hugo pretty much done with my last post. They had to sit idly on my desk though while I went on my Rohan and Morder painting spree. But after I had varnished everything above, I finished the two of them. Again: the models are really amazing, especially for their age (the first mention in a catalogue was from the 1997 Annual with a copyright from 1996, they had profiles in the 5th edition of WHFB). I suppose, they will only be used in D&D but if I ever get around to play Mordheim or Warhammer Fantasy Skirmish, they would be first in line!

Pict 841: Planetar (WIP)

Speaking of D&D: I have some of the bigger models that are primed and ready to go sitting on my desk at all times. (Amongst them a Beholder, a Carmine Dragon as well as two Balrogs.) They always accuse me of not getting a move on and painting them... Last week I finally gave in to their cries and started to work on this planetar made by Gale Force Nine for the D&D Collector's Series. I have to say that the older models of the product line were a bit better: The detail on the planetar's greaves and braces was slightly washed out and I had to resculpt some of the feathers where a big moldline was running right through them. Nonetheless the model looks quite cool and I look forward to finishing it next week.