Looks great with a backdrop! I really gotta paint up the rest of my Star Wars Legion Core Set so I can justify getting more 😛
Two down. Unfortunately it’s a duplicate sculpt, but there are plenty more where they came from
One last project before April ends. Gotta power through this 8E box before 10E lands 🫡
A reasonable-looking head, complete with stubble! 😄👌
It’s taken longer than I’d hoped, but I’m nearly done with these guys. 70%/80%/90% respectively. Bare head leader guy is going to get some fancy checkerboarding on the knee, which is going to extend the process a bit
Checkerboard: success!
To the shelf!
All finally coming together. I wish I could say it makes a dent in my backlog, but I asked ChatGPT to calculate how long I have left and I think the optimistic answer was ‘4 years’ at current pace 😅
Considering today is the first day I've picked up a paintbrush since May, I'm going to say ‘4 years' was the most optimistic of timelines 😂
Just the smallest amount of progress, but it’s a start!

(They'll look like these when I'm done with them. Hopefully…)

https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/110124297447285085

Queuing up some fast ones in the meantime. Rescuing some very old metal minis
Primed and ready for tomorrow
Halfway there, or so. I also looked up the price of these on eBay and it’s not pretty 😅 I’m glad I bought these in the 90s and not today…
Nearly ready for highlighting
…and here’s the rest of them. Gonna feel good to finally finish the lot after 25 years in storage 👀
Enough for now, they can get a basing later 🙅‍♂️
Tiny toys
Progressing the next set of minis in my free time. I’m going to finish the grey plastic pile of shame in my cabinet if it kills me
It's funny how everything mostly looks like crap until like 80% of the way through a paint job. Always gotta remind myself to trust the process: https://mastodon.social/@stroughtonsmith/110121125466943568
Looks better already!
Smaller than you’d think!
One step closer
Final stretch now. Time to stress about painting the flag and camo cloak 👀
Flag kinda worked out ok!
And this one comes to an end. I’m cheating: I’m gonna not paint that cloak until I can do a better job. But I’m going to base everything up and send it to the cabinet anyway
I broke the seal on my Tomb Kings box just so I can test my painting scheme 👀

I’m not entirely sure how I feel after all that…

Once it’s based, I’ll have a better idea if that was a success or not

#warhammer

I’m still unconvinced the effort of painting that the long way is meaningfully better than using Contrast with a highlight instead (middle). Raw Contrast (right) isn’t enough, at least, but the middle option looks kinda good too

#warhammer

1 down, 95 to go

#warhammer

The first step

#warhammer

I trawled the house for more skeleton parts, and was able to piece together a few. The rest may just be lost to the sands of time, but I can rescue these for sure and paint them up to a modern standard
Prepped and ready! Gonna bring them all up to the same level, and use it as an opportunity to test some theories before I try out the new plastics. I’ve had these since 1998

There are few things quite as satisfying as slapping down Skeleton Horde Contrast paint on an actual skeleton

#warhammer

Inching the rest of them closer to the prototype (left)
Before, After

It's not 'Eavy Metal, but it's not that bad!

#warhammer

Little highlights 👨‍🎨
Getting the hang of this; I feel pretty comfortable painting a skeleton now
The rescue process, start to finish
Getting through them in the late evenings 🦴

You did say you wanted the return of classic models…

So enjoy cutting off all the flash and metal gates, sanding, resculpting missing detail, pinning, Green Stuff-ing all the massive gaps, and cutting new slots in the plastic base to fit the actual tabs in the model 😅

This Green Knight sculpt is gorgeous, but I’m definitely feeling the curl of the monkey’s paw

#warhammer

What's on the painting desk this weekend? More skeletons, of course
Easing myself back into painting with an easy project: touching up a model I did 2009-ish. Still need to base it, but pretty happy with the result!

And we’re done! One Terminator Chaplain repaint complete 😄

#warhammer

Things I got painted in 2024: not nearly enough.

I guess the year isn't over yet…

#warhammer

More skellies! Have to search my bits box for the rest of the shields, mind

#warhammer

Shields rescued!
And shields for everybody! Now I can actually call these complete. I only wish more of them had survived since I opened the box (…in 1998?), but maybe I can bulk them out with spare parts later on

Next assembly line up and running. Left is washed. Middle is recess-shaded. Right is finished test mini. Painting is exhausting 😴

#warhammer

I’m still highlighting these Death Guard. Finding all those edges is *exhausting*; I can manage maybe a couple a night

#warhammer

It’s slow going, but next up is the metallics and that will make a big difference quickly

#warhammer

Starting to look like something!

Getting closer to the finish line 🏁

#warhammer

Told you the metals would make a difference 👌

NGL, this has been a marathon project. Certainly in no rush to paint any more Death Guard in immediate future 😅 Can’t argue with the results!

#warhammer

6/6.

Now for the details…

#warhammer

Dat sword though

#warhammer

This has been two weeks of 2–3 hours a night, or two seasons of Hell’s Kitchen worth according to my watch history. It’s real nice to do something analogue for a while
@stroughtonsmith These are very crisp! Really in keeping with the ‘Eavy Metal box art style
@stroughtonsmith such a good detail. Reminds me of the impact that using a hot foil stamp in print can have on a design.
@stroughtonsmith the Lord Of Decay will be pleased.
@stroughtonsmith why make figurines when we now live in grimdark times and president nurgle is about to make Konrad curze in charge of the national killing machine?
@stroughtonsmith the test mini looks super cool!
@stroughtonsmith I’ve only just got into it. But I’ve never known a hobby be so difficult and yet so therapeutic.

@stroughtonsmith What about Yarnell?

…I'll see myself out.

@stroughtonsmith Skellingtons don't care about shields! They've got bone armour!
@stroughtonsmith I found some older 25mm Ancients, but really should paint those Warhammer dudes.
@nygl the only thing better than tiny toys are tinier toys! They look great
@stroughtonsmith Righto, found them. Suppose I should paint them!
@nygl Cawdor minis are always fun
@stroughtonsmith Glad to see someone else skipping the eyes on the Astra Militarum. No matter what I try they end up looking very bug-eyed.
@stroughtonsmith I mean, painting to that quality? It would take me a year to do one of those! Amazing work!
@stroughtonsmith Nice! Did you strip the paint first, or just started painting over the original?
@brunoscheele just painted over. The original paint job was pretty thin
@stroughtonsmith amazing detail and hand coordination!
@stroughtonsmith I do not miss this part of the hobby 😅 but still feel a bit of nostalgia…
@stroughtonsmith I was terrified when I saw what Marco had to do with the metal model https://youtu.be/Zd6eBkhg2hE?si=F4BWkc6JPcWyXvfP
@danteusz you just reminded me I picked up an Archaon a couple years back! I guess I need to put him on a square base now
@stroughtonsmith It surprised me how good it looks for such an old model