The triumphant return!

Hark! Is that the distant sound of angels trumpeting?

No! well, maybe. I can't really be the one to keep track of that type of thing... But what I have kept track of is how long it's been since I made a post last, almost 5 months! But worry not, I haven't died or anything equally horrible. Basically, me and my girlfriend moved in together and i got a new job - which didn't really leave all that time for hobby. But everything's settled down now, and thanks to the new job, don't need to worry about money for a little while. So everything's working out pretty good.

Ok, so, first. I've actually painted some models! (this is further evidence toward the end of days theory I opened with). I've not really settled on a particular project yet, so I've been mostly painting individual models (most of them from my big box of Reaper Bones) with the hope of incorporating them into some sort of hybrid Mordheim/dungeon crawl type game:

Purple (ish) Worm

Stone Golem

Some sort of Zombie Blood Well... Shrine.  

It's a trap! A Chest-Trap. 

Ok, so. I've painted 4 models. That's still 4 more than normal.

Well, that's about all for now. Hopefully my next post won't be in 5 months - there's so much that's happened in the hobby in the past couple of months, it's really a good time to collect toy soldiers.

Plastic Daemons and Kickstarted Reaper

First things first: New Daemons! Next month a whole load of Daemon models are getting a release (have Daemons finally gotten their, fabled, 'Second Wave'?). There's quite a few interesting bits to the release, but the thing that's caught my attention the most is the plastic Nurglings and Plaguebearers (finally...):

(I've not posted all the pictures since, by now, you can probably find them all over the blogs/twitter/BoLS)

From what I can see, i like the models. The Nurglings in particular are a nice touch (they look much more like the artwork now) but they might look a little samey if you have more than three tho (that does depend on how multi part they are). I'm reserving judgement on the Plaguebearers until I can see a higher quality picture (this Saturday).

Because I've only seen this posted on warseer, here's the full list of releases for August:

(as an aside, the last few scans from white dwarf have been released the Tuesday before the preorder opens - like clockwork. Can we all stop calling it a rumour leak? It's clearly an advertisement aimed toward those who like to think their 'in the know'. In this case, anyone who reads warseer. Myself included. And it works. Every time.)

In other news. My current fanboy flame, Reaper Miniatures, have gone and got themselves a Kickstarter to help produce their new Bones range. I'm already in for $100, but unlike some recent kickstarters (looking at you sedition wars) I'm probably not going to increase my pledge with the stretch goals. Of course, I remember saying I wouldn't be backing Sedition Wars, so who knows.

 

Leprechaun on Owl, Finished!

This painting-at-work is probably the best hobby idea i've had. Well, most productive anyway. He's now sitting proudly on my fake windosil (it's a real window, it just points into a store room).

As a side note, this was the first time i've painted eyes on a model, bloody hard, anit it?

Something Like a Review of Reaper Bones

The base was an experiment, i'm not
too happy with how it turned out.

So, i've managed to tear myself away from Skaven for long enough to finish painting up this guy (Reaper Bones Ogre Chieftain) so i though i'd throw together a quick review to answer some of the questions i had about the Bones range of minis.

First impressions:
Now, this is probably the biggest thing people seem to want to know:  If you buy one of these expecting a plastic model, you're going to be sorely disappointed. It's probably more accurate to describe the material as a hard rubber, rather than a soft plastic. if you get what i mean.

The downside here is that, whilst minimal, mould lines will need to be 'cut' off rather than scraped. which can cause some problems. The detail is also a little soft in places (you can't see it that well in the picture, but the mammoth on the gutplate - parts of the front of it's head just kinda merges with the plate without any real defining line) but, for the most part, the detail is crisp and well-defined (the face on the club is a stand-out part of this model)

Hobby Prospects:
Reaper say that these models can be painted straight out of the blister without any priming or prep. I, on the other hand, primed my models using an airbrush with Vallejo Acrylic-Urethane Black Primer (because i'm all fancy like that) - i have read that some primers can react badly with the polymer ('never dry' badly, not 'explode, kill you' badly) but i experienced no problems whatsoever (i've also read that the Army Painter line of primers work fine, but i've not tried them out). The Main reason for priming, for me, was that the models are cast in white plastic, and i'm not a fan of painting over a white undercoat.

As for converting? I was left a little unimpressed. The problem i've had is back with the material again - it's a little too flexible to give you a clean cut with snips, so any clipped off bit need to be cleaned up with a knife - not a huge problem, but still an inconvenience. Aside from that, green stuff sticks to it fine (probably better than plastic, definitely better than metal) and super is your go-to type of glue.

Summary:
I feel that this review comes across as a bit negative, but i actually like these range of models (the Gnoll Warrior is a bit iffy, tho). Plus, that guy up there (if brought direct from Reaper) will set you back £1.62. So, while i'm not the type of person who defines quality by frugality it's very hard to argue with a nice looking model for less than a bottle of coke and a packet of crisps (or a single pint, depending on what you order). Like some of Mantic's stuff, i'm willing to overlook some minor issues if the price is low enough.

If i had to give the Bones range a rating out of 5, i'd probably give it a high 3.5 - it loses a couple of points because of the small issues i mentioned and the limited selection currently available (although this last point will be invalid once they start expanding) i'll be picking some of these up again in the future.