Seeing the red in Dreadtober and a special package from Raging Heroes arrives

 Scurrying along through reds and yellow metals... it's finally starting to look like something!

 The throne is the only real sub-assembly... everything else hangs off this more or less directly so once the inner, hard to reach, bits are finished it'll be time to put it together.

This will be a battle worn throne... not pristine but still very proud... and very JUDGY!

 I see you XENOS SCUM and I meet you with the fire of intolerance and the closed mind of the fanatic!

GUILTY, GUILTY, GUILTY!

What do we do with the guilty?

BURN THEM!  CLEANSE WITH FIRE!

For the Emperor!


Whew! It's kind of a workout to be a nutjob!  But it does set the mood for the paint scheme!






And then a package arrived from Raging Heroes!  I'm always happy to see these and this one was kind of special!

 I think this finishes out the TGG1 except for the Art Book.  It contains the rest of the Jailbirds, an extra trike for each faction, an additional Nepharya (in metal), the larger (nominally 54mm) miniatures, and the Connoisseur box of hand poured resins. Also the super cool drink coasters!  I get a lot of comments on these and have to keep a close eye on them when company is about!

 I'm using the cool drink coasters for a scale indicator... DoH beer abuse!

Anyway these are not 54mm... this is the 28mm Kiki the Bulldozer, Human Biological Experiment Survivor...  She's really enormous!

 The 54mm mascots.  They'll be great to paint at this scale and look good in a cabinet!  Of course they'll also be right at home as objective markers! 

 And then there was this... the Connoisseur Box!

Bubbles and security tape....

 Shiny black box.....

 Oh... interesting inside!  Some certificates of authenticity, very cool looking!

 Individual paper sleeves for the girls.  Each with their name and faction affiliation.

A box of chocolate?  How sweet!

Er... ack!

That's Nepharya in there!

I really like that they boxed her although a coffin shaped box would have been totally awesome for the Necro Priestess ;) !

The Connoisseur box was only partly about the miniatures for me.  It does have one of each of the Heroines from the Toughest Girls in the Galaxy Kickstarter in High Quality hand poured resin.  That is cool as far as it goes... but it also came bundled with two video conferences and these turned out to be amazing!

The two online sessions with the Benoit and Mireillle learning about the design process, art direction in general, some really nice zbrush instruction, and, the real gem, the ability to chat with the team and ask questions about the direction and scope of their plans for the universe... pester them to make vehicles... tell them what kind of vehicles and suggest some styles for the different factions  These session went a lot longer than originally planned (probably 6 to 8... or more hours each session) so we ended up having many hours of time together.  It was exciting and I felt a strong, and very personal, connection to this project and to the amazing little company that is Raging Heroes!

The funny part is that without the box of miniatures.... I might not have done the video sessions and would have missed out on the really great experience.

Warchimera Bunker and a Reaper Dumpster

 I love when stuff is  ready to paint right out of the box/bag.  Cleanup and prep has to be the most onerous task in the hobby for me.  So I was very excited when this Bunker from Warchimera required zero clean up... which means it gets to move to the top of the paint queue!

I'm trying out a new workflow to mix up my paint subjects and add in a single simple project that can be completed in a short sitting before proceeding to the more complex job of the day... kind of a warm up piece.  This Bunker is one of those.

I like the paint and glue friendly resin on this and painted it largely with various primer sprays (all Rustoleum this time since they were on sale for $3.00 a can...  flat black, for the floor, Camo Beige and Camo Green for the walls and roof) before adding some weathering effects via Forgeworld powders and GW technical paint.

 I added some signs from Verlinden spread the Forgeworld Powders dry and then set them with Rustoleum (That sale again!) Matte Sealer.



One-Shot Blondie has discovered Charlie rooting through the trash! 

The Dumpster is from the Reaper Bones II Kickstarter and is really a white hard(ish) plastic and not terribly similar to the rest of the bones material being , thankfully, quite rigid.  It opens up so will be great for hiding stuff during games. It was the another basic session starting piece done with green camo spray paint and weathered with Secret Weapon Washes, GW technicals and dolled up with some signage from Verlinden.

Tarja and Shashenka: Kurganova Yagas

 So.. here I was painting up Tarja and Shashenka, two of the Kurganova Yagas,  when I was inspired (probably by the very personality driven sculpts) to write up a bit of background fluff to guide me on my themes!  So.. here are Tarja and Shashenka and a close encounter with One Shot Blondie.









One Shot Blondie stopped short and held up a fist.  The pack of children known affectionately as "The Lulus" stopped instantly and in complete silence.  Blondie had been their guardian and commander since before the evacuation.  She wasn't effusive, and rarely spoke other than to tell one of the kids..."its gonna be all right sweetie"  The Lulus loved Blondie and hung on every word, every gesture, so  it was no surprise when the typically precocious gaggle of children froze like statues at Blondie's signal.  Blondie scanned the woods with a sniper's critical eye and whispered to the only other adult in the group..."Yagas... Bernie keep them here."  Nurse Bernadette nodded in silence.  She'd keep The Lulus here for five minutes and then fall back to the rally point.  In these haunted woods rally points were frequently noted and she'd likely run into Mimi the Radio on that interval.  If Blondie wasn't back in five they'd need some help.





Trusting the Lulus to "Mad" Nurse Bernadette Blondie ghosted forward.  In spite of the pink Minnie Mouse ears that she referred to as "Neko Mimi"  and the loud colors that she wore to cheer up the Lulus, Blondie practically vanished from sight when on the hunt.  It was one of the tricks that she was teaching the Lulus, and one that they derived endless pleasure from, Bernadette put a rubber gloved finger to her lips, stifling the collective gasp of amazement that Blondie's vanishing act was certain to provoke, then chopped her hand quickly downward.  The Lulus performed their own vanishing act.  It wasn't as instantaneous or dramatic as the one their mentor was famed for... but it was fast, quiet and thorough.  Fifteen seconds later the only person visible to the casual glance was Nurse Bernadette.  She was sitting on a fallen tree as the focus and bait to complete the Lulus' camouflage... this was the sort of thing that had earned her the title "Mad" and the very sort of thing madness that was required to earn the trust Blondie placed in her.  The Lulus would be safe until Blondie returned or Bernadette wouldn't have to worry about answering for it.




Some of the other Jailbirds whispered that Blondie was a Psyker with a chameleon ability.  The Jailbirds had no real psykers of their own and the idea that Blondie might be augmenting her famous skills with some witchcraft was quietly popular among the outcast Jailbirds.  Fortunately for the Jailbirds the gossip held a grain of truth.  Blondie had mad skills... really good trade-craft... and she was a null.  Being a null made her odd and off putting.  She didn't mix with the unit she supported other than with the Lulus and Bernadette.  She just felt wrong.  Most people chalked that feeling up to the immense body count that the notorious "One-Shot Blondie" had racked up.  No one was that efficient a killer without paying a price.  The upside to being a null was that real psykers could not sense her.  She was invisible to Witch Sight, and many psykers relied almost exclusively on Witch Sight in the field, while conversely Blondie could 'feel' the presence of psykers herself.  She'd honed this ability over time and could track her prey with precision.


Stalking her prey Blondie moved silently, but at speed, fixing on her targets.  "Yeah" she thought "targets..."  One Yaga was bad... two was a nightmare...  and these two felt familiar.  Yagas were the Kurganova house psykers.  They tended to manifest elemental powers within the family.  Earth, Air, Fire, Water.  The current slate was full with four masters led by the immortal Baba Yaga who could use any elemental power and aslo manifested Death Magic.  If core Yagas were here, instead of lesser 'trash' witches, Blondie needed to know it.

Coming to a halt she saw a unit of Kurganova Storm Troopers setting up tents for the night.  Through her scope she searched the camp for sign of the Yagas.  It didn't take long to find them.


"They are close!"  shouted Shashenka, punctuating her ire with a burst of flame that seemingly leapt from her yellow eyes.  Shasenka was the famously hot tempered, Pure Blood, Kurganova Household Firestarter... a psyker and Master of Flame.
"...and they will still be close in the morning sister." came the measured, icy, response of Tarja the Water Witch. Tarja was the elder sister and was tired of Shashenka's displays.  "We will rest tonight... we will rest here... and we will rest now." she hissed then spun on her heel and stalked toward her tent.

One-Shot Blondie sat completely motionless.  She decided that taking down Tarja would be the best option.  Shashenka was impulsive and would descend into a blind rage and pursue Blondie...  allowing  Blondie to kill her in short order.  Having determined a course of action Blondie lined up a shot on the Water Witch... then the Howling began...

Blondie froze... as did everyone in the Kurganova camp... That was a hunting howl...  one of the Kurganova Werewolves was on the hunt... three more howls voiced together... shit!  it was a pack!

Blondie moved with fluid grace and trained speed.  The hunting pack would keep the Yagas contained for the night but the Lulus were the likely target of the pack.  Blondie would make sure that the wolves had other things to worry about and trust Bernie to find Mimi and call in the cavalry.

It was gonna be a long night.