Wednesday, July 27, 2022

88/100 almost there

Look-it, I painted some Vikings.

LOLOLOLOL, I'll go get my sandwich.


But first:

Thanks to everyone who left a comment on my BIG 5 YEAR POST.  It definitely generated a lot of comments, WAY more than I thought.  It was the most fun I'd had on the internet while keeping my pants on.  Moreover; it proves that you'll never get if you don't ask.   Inspired,  I asked the wife for a little something special for my 5 years of bloggings.  That was a hard NO but the exception proves the rule....

Especial Thanks to the folks who wrote me a a little 5 year bump on their blogs.  The idea being that anyone who comments on your blog (and you probably comment on their blog) might enjoy reading and commenting on this one; and I of course would return the favor and then We All Would Have More Fun. Stroking my delicate teenage girl ego is only of secondary importance.  

Time will tell if the experiment worked.  I've added a bunch of people to my blog roll (the main way I keep track of blogs) so next time they post I'll write something and we'll see if  over time we become best blogging buddies.  Or maybe we'll just sporadically write comments when something strikes a cord.  And no big deal if nothing happens.  It's like we all met at a party for friends of friends with friends.  Hopefully I didn't miss anyone.  

Now that I garnered all this attention like a histrionic Reality TV persona; I feel this pressure to make this PB&J post the best damn PB&J ever (if there can be such thing).  Such a set up for the fall, because all I have are these barely adequately painted Vikings....


88/100



Today, 12 more Vikings are ready to take the whale road to distant parts and different peoples to beat them up and take their stuff.  Vikings really were kinda jerks.  Lucky for them history loves a bad boy.

Heroes of the hour.
10 Viking Bondi (complete with movement tray) and 2 Berserker types.



Now for some close ups.  Just so that you can actually see the miniatures, not because the painting is all that ah-mazing.


Just like leaders are always waving their swords in the air,
it's a rule that Berserkers are either covered in animal pelts or naked.
I know which one I would choose.

These two kinda look like they just finished some good drugs.




These two are brothers who had a falling out over a woman.
The left one is hoping the right one dies so he can snatch the helmet.





Some glorious Foundry miniatures with their characteristic fabulous beards.

I've already warned my wife that it's a rule that every man at least once
has to grow their beard out COMPLETELY.  As in Viking / ACW / LOTR dwarf style
and that she can expect such fabulousness from me one day.


No need to show the rest of the miniatures.  You get the idea.  You have your own miniatures so you know how it goes.

Easy Terrain Bonus



4Ground kits are pretty easy to make, even if they do say on the package "This kit is Complexity 3."  I got these Dark Ages houses recently. 



"Our House,
is a very very very fine house.
With two cats in the yard
Life used to be so hard...."

Now that song will be stuck in your head.  But only the chorus, because that's the only part anyone knows.

 

These were especially easy because they were just given to me by my friend Mr. PC.  Basically threw them at me from his car while yelling "TAKE THESE SUCKER!" and there was the squealing of tires and the smell of burnt rubber. 
Because Mr. PC is at the stage in a miniature wargamer's life where he has more stuff than storage space, and I reap the rewards.  Especially since all my dark age buildings are 4ground, so these fit right in.


Almost There in the End


Only 12 more miniatures to go, to get my self imposed target goal of 100 painted dark ages miniatures.  I keep getting closer and closer the the end of this long trench but the end never seems to come fast enough; and I feel like this guy from Star Wars..

WHAT???!! A Star Wars meme in a Dark Ages post??
I respect NO boundaries.


So it's an exciting time at the paint table these nights, I have the whole seat but I only need the edge.  I'm rushing the bedtime routine with the kids, practically throwing them into bed saying "Go to sleep already!!! Daddy has some painting to do.  Read your own damn bedtime story!!"  
Or something to that effect.  
Maybe I'll get that something special from the wife after I paint 100 miniatures; because I am full of achievements.   



Thanks for Reading.
Double Thanks for writing a comment.
Till next time.


45 comments:

  1. "Nice looking figures." ^Click^

    Being the beneficiary of a fellow wargamer's 'downsizing', always a joy. Getting close to your own target, something rarely achieved in wargaming. Good on ya. Kids! Help your father out with his important work! Really enjoying your wit.
    Regards, James

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    1. Thanks James. I’m glad you enjoy the lame humor. I’m always telling people how funny I am. 😀

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  2. Your cry resulted in a great mustering of support. Very well done! you are not alone in this Universe.
    Excellent work on your Vikings. with only 12 figures left, my early guess of an October completion date seems to be slipping through my fingertips. Or did I declare September???

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    1. Thanks Jonathan. Maybe my previous post will prove to be an opportunity for many to engage with each other and not just me. 😀
      You did say October: which is a fair guess given my previous rates of paint progress. Though this is the first time I ever kept track. 😀

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  3. Always good to figures off the painting table.

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  4. Life has given you a tight schedule at the moment, yet here you are, with a project and goal almost complete, which just goes to show that a journey of ‘plodding on’ does get there in the end and that we gamers should approach our painting in a sustainable steady way that fits in with life, rather than getting frustrated by it (me :-) ).

    The 4Ground kits look great, hugely helped by the teddy bear matting giving the thatch effect.

    Hopefully Mrs. Stew won’t recognise your achievement by buying you another 100 figures that are exactly the same :-)

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    1. Thanks Norm. You seem to be regularly commenting again. Something I enjoy. But I do wish you would turn comments back on your blog so we can pay you the same courtesy. I think I get why you’ve done so but the interaction from your best blogging buddies is fun and something you’re missing. 😀
      Anyway, painting a hundred dark age miniatures should be an easy goal as it takes neither skill nor talent but just time and effort. It helps to have no deadline to worry about. I would describe almost all of painting as plodding on. 😀

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  5. Congrats on approaching your century! In an odd twist I too have done 100 Vikings…and 100 Saxon’s to oppose them…that’s what watching the ‘Vikings’, ‘Vikings Valhalla’ and ‘The Last Kingdom’ on NetFlix gets you!

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    1. Thanks Mark. Yeah watching those shows will do that; but if you go strictly by them you’ll need at least 200 Saxons to face the 100 Vikings. 😀

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  6. Great to see you nearing completion of your goal, despite all the real life distractions of bed time reading for the kids etc. Not far to go and then fingers crossed we get to see them in action! I always have a soft spot for Vikings, ever since watching the superb Kirk Douglas film, which I never really tire of seeing. The theme tune is just brilliant!

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    1. Thanks Steve. I’ll figure out a way to get the whole collection on the table sometime. I never did see that movie (Warlord I think).

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  7. Great stuff Stew - I wonder if you will get 107 comments on how well you are doing with your target and what an excellent father you are and how unlikely it is that your beautiful wife will consider ANY "something specials" for any achievement relating to painting or playing with toy soldiers.....a large pay increase at work....maybe, if you are lucky....but mini related successes - not a chance, buddy boy!

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    1. Thanks Kieth. I doubt this will see such a comment explosion; but I’m hoping for a few more than usual after all whining I did. 😀
      I do get a pay raise this month as it happens…

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    2. Aha - well then, maybe you DID get a special something after all - 40 odd comments on this post, too, so the whining definitely worked - did you use the same tactic to get the pay rise? :)

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    3. It’s a marvelous tactic when done properly. My children know. 😀

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  8. Excellent work Stew on the Vikings! And especially as you need to get the kids to bed each night before painting. And I can't understand your wife's attitude, doesn't she realise she is married to an internet celebrity who got over a 100 comments on one post - :-) Unbelievable!

    The buildings look great - although if I was a Viking the first thing I would think of when a saw them would be "They will burn well!"

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    1. Thanks Ben. It is a busy family life and I only really get any painting done late at night. So it is.
      Half of those comments are just me responding so not really that high of a number.
      I’m sure Vikings thought the same thing. 😀

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  9. Almost there indeed! But, who knew that there was so much drama amongst the Norse...

    Remember to braid and bejewel your beard when the time comes.

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    1. Thanks Greg. The Vikings are actually full of drama. Whiny girls all of them. 😀

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  10. Twelve figures out of a hundred means you are basically there! (this fine math is courtesy of my daughter who was assuring me that I was basically 45 now, instead of VERY FAR AWAY FROM) Anyway, I hope you have a celebration when 100 is reached. Time for a comprehensive miniature army review? Buy yourself a little something? (you know these guys need some Reaper Frost Giants to lead them)

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    1. Thanks David. That is some fine math skills on display. That’s a good idea for a big army photo shot.
      And stop pushing me into fantasy lol😀😀

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    2. I thought giant fellas with horns, beards, and big weapons were pretty much canon for vikings...

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    3. But where did the horns come from for the giant’s helmet? Giant cows? This is why most fantasy is lame. 😀

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    4. Maybe it's a rib from a male giant? I think there's a lot that can be made from one of those...

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  11. Tried PB and J today. It’s not that bad! The whole “look it - I painted something” could soon become an internet meme of its own, seen it on a few blogs today. Back in the day (2004 - 2008) I did historical re enactment with RegIa Anglorum. Grew my beard right out and horrified the wife by plaiting it and sticking a bone bead in it too. She was not chuffed. It did look daft…but it had to be done. Lol.

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    1. Thanks JBM. Was it grape jelly? That’s the best. It might be a trend for awhile but we were already doing it anyway.
      Glad to hear that you’ve done the full beard. That punches the man card. 😀

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  12. More great looking figures Stewart, and almost there to the end goal, keep plugging away, Im sure you'll get there soon. Nice buildings that your friend gave you too.

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    1. Thanks Dave. Being on the last 12 is a big motivator. The 4ground kits are pretty nice even in their basic form.

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  13. Good looking scandahooligans, looks like you're ahead of schedule, well done, full beard is better in the winter I found, my wife has banned it, can't blame her!
    Best Iain

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    1. Thanks Iain. But see, you’ve done the full beard at least once. Manly. 😀

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  14. Not too many more of those Vikings to go now! The houses really look sharp as well. 4ground really made some nice products and its a shame they're gone. Good luck getting any rewards from your wife after that big milestone. I've spent months on a display piece and show her and the most I get is a "Nice."

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    1. Thanks Jeff. Well, everyone knows that wives can’t appreciate skillfully painted miniatures: that’s what blogging buddies are for. But I might have a slight advantage as 100 adequately painted miniatures looks more impressive than one really great display piece to the untrained female eyes. 😀

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  15. Love those houses, just got a batch from 4Ground myself. Sadly seems like they've stopped production.

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    1. Thanks Dino. Yeah, when the company announced going under I picked a few stuff just to round out the collection. Haven’t built them yet though. 😀

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    2. You'll have to get on it once all 100 vikings are done ;)

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  16. 4ground are (were) within walking distance from me. When I asked if I could pick an order up rather than wasting p&p, I was given short shrift so I refused to buy their stuff on principle. And see what happens when my terrible wrath is incurred! Worse, I would often see them despatching orders at the post office in the local garden centre I frequent, so they could have given me stuff there!

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    1. Thanks Jeffers. Serves them right I say. Now look at them. Remind me to never get on your bad side. 😀

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  17. When I painted up my 15mm carthaginians I found shields super tedious. I ended up splurgin on little big man decals. How you finding the shield pattern inspiration going?

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    1. Thanks David. To be honest I used LBMS on almost all my dark ages collection; I just happened to run out of them and didn’t want to waste time waiting for more to arrive. Shields are super tedious and in my case also not very good. 😀

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  18. Statistically speaking, the “88% mark” has been identified in the wargaming world as the point in a project where a wargamer is most likely to say to themselves “well, this won’t take long to finish up, so perhaps I’ll give myself a massive pat on the back, bask in the smug self satisfaction of a job nearly done and start something else before coming back to finish this project” and we all know how that ends….. so be alert to the danger!

    Seriously though, excellent work on these and keeping on target.

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    1. Thanks Jamie. Ain’t that the TRUTH. “These are basically done so I’ll jut call these done and move on…”. Not that I’ve ever done it. No not me. I have laser focus. At least in miniatures. In home repairs I do that all the time. 😀

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    2. I'll just wait to base these guys when I have more to make a full lot.....

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  19. Nice band of vikings there Stew! You’re right - they were utter jerks!😄

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    1. Thanks Mike. And yes they were. 😀

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