The Masterwork Guild

2012 starts here

2012-01-01T00:00:00.000Z

First post of 2012 will be a quick review of 2011. I was enjoying getting back into Warhammer and painting the odd few citadel figures, and then Real Life throws me a real curve ball. My mum unexpectedly passed away at the end of November. Enough to say that other things have had greater importance recently. But I'm lucky to say I've got some really good friends who've helped me tremendously.
So with a heavy heart I'm just beginning to look forward to enjoying life again. And for me personally that means once again taking an interest in miniatures.
I think my first task will be to sort things into some sort of order. I have soo many miniatures and only a finite time on earth to actually enjoy them! So I need to rationalise my interests and part with those which have become secondary. Hopefully that will allow me to concentrate and finish whichever project I decide to prioritize.
Anyway that's about enough from me. Happy New Year! And may you be lucky in life and in pursuit of your hobbies!

Elven Cavalry finally based

2011-11-02T10:23:00.001Z

I managed to complete the basing of the elven cavalry. You might not be able to see much progress... But I can! All the horses have been pinned, sand applied to bases and riders glued to horses. No matter how slow progress is.. there is at least progress. A source of lances has been found, so next step is to equip the riders and then its paint time!!!

Destroy all who oppose me!!!

2011-11-01T10:51:00.000Z

Well I survived the Great South Run. 10 miles round Portsmouth in 1hr 39 mins. My legs are very very achy! Not much painting this month apart from this birthday present for a mate. Pinning all the eye stalks and tendrils was a bit tiresome, but hopefully the effect is worth the effort!

Eye of Terror (Beholder) available from Otherworld Miniatures... http://www.otherworld.me.uk/dmseries2.html

Its a dirty job...

2011-09-22T09:31:00.001Z

To get the elf cavalry underway I have to clear my decks. I need to strip a few of the horses but there were already a handful of figures in the stripping bowl. I spent this morning before work, removing gungy paint from the figures with an old toothbrush. I then wash the figures with a high concentration of washing up liquid. The elf cavalry are now nice and happy having their bath in Dettol. They need a few days in there, so I shall try and get them stripped by the end of the weekend. Its a stinky, gooey and dirty job, but these lovely old miniatures (skeletons and chaos beastmen) wont clean themselves!

Turning Lead into Gold?

2011-09-21T13:56:00.000Z

I've been collecting miniatures since the year dot (well its probably only since 1986 or 88 I cant remember exactly), and basically my collection been growing every month since then. Some of it is pretty rubbish, and some of it is pretty decent, but small bits of it are pure gold. I have, for example, this Limited Edition figure in my collection:

LE 4 Space Marine Captain 1991

Still in blister, and looking good after 20 years of storage. Here he is on Solegends. I wonder how much he would get on ebay now? Any Offers? (Im not selling!)

[UPDATE]
It looks like someone on ebay has been thinking the exact same thing as me, with regards to this figure! http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=170699113746#ht_500wt_1361 Hopefully I'll soon get an answer as to how much this figure is worth!

[UPDATE #2]
Well I have my answer. The final price including postage was £48.56! Thats a nice profit for a single figure - But Im still not tempted to sell! (well not yet anyway!)

Slow Progress

2011-09-21T09:07:00.001Z

The last few days have been spent supporting my girlfriend who was running the great North Run, so there hasnt been much time for Hobby fun. Half the elf cavalry have been cleaned up and based. I had originally cut away the supporting tabs under the front hoofs of the horses, but that has weakened the models considerably, so I've had to add some brass wire supports to each horse, which has taken quite a bit of time. Most of the other elf lancers are in the queue waiting to be paint stripped.

Im still on the lookout for an additional archer. I got outbid for one on ebay this weekend. The final bid was about £12. So I should probably insure the rest of my 30 cavalry!

The Painting Table...

2011-09-14T10:49:00.000Z

Everyone likes to have a look at someone elses painting table., so here goes:

A recently finished unit of Elves awaiting a spray of varnish.

Below are pics of my Elf cavalry after a bit of a sort out. I've decided I want 2 units with Bows (so I need another bowman rider!). I also need to find 8 lances. I might have to go with some metal lances as the plastic ones are beginning to be very weak. I suppose they are nearly 20 years old, but Im surprised at how the plastic seems to be failing! Im also wondering about getting a standard bearer for one of the units...

And finally my squashed chariot, which needs some love and attention, and I think I'll put on a new base to meet todays rules on chariot base sizes...

Hope you've enjoyed...

So many boxes of old citadel miniatures...

2011-09-12T22:33:00.001Z

Ok - so I'm not very good at updating my blog... but I have a new app for the phone so maybe some quick updates may start appearing. A fellow TMP'er has got me started on warhammer 3rd edition. I like the way he thinks as he's obviously looking at the battle of Forenronds Last Stand; near the back of the WFB 3rd edition book, which requires a force of 30 Elven cavalry.

Now I suggest that that is a big ask of anybody. I can't imagine what they were thinking when they drew up that army list. Anyways it got me thinking. I've got a dozen cavalry painted up for my elves already. You can just about make them out in previous blog posts. So I wondered if there's any more running around on ebay. But I didnt get much success there.

Then, from the dark recesses of my mind, a realisation that somewhere in my collection I might already have some more. An enjoyable half hour rummaging later, I pulled out a box labelled elf cavalry. Anyway the photo below shows what's inside. Not in a very good state, and I will need to get some lances sorted, but definitely enough Elven cavalry to cover a small engagement such as Forenronds Last Stand! I've also got a box of later plastic High Elf cavalry - just in case!

Gratuitous shot of naked Elves riding horses... naked in the sense of unpainted!

By chance I also happened upon my elf chariot. Totally squashed! :(

I've just Googled 'Forenronds Last Stand' and found another 80's miniatures geek contemplating the same battle!

http://ernysplace.blogspot.com/2011/02/drillas-killers.html

Salute 2011

2011-04-19T15:31:00.000Z

The yearly trek into London happened on the weekend. I mistakenly got transported up to the Death Star but managed to escape and buy a few bits from the traders. However all the excitement brought on a headache and I decided to leave earlier than intended. Still a good day out with lots to see.

March 2011 Painting Pledge

2011-04-04T10:56:00.005Z

Not a good month as had very little time for hobby related activities. We've just bought a house, so spending alot of time stripping woodchip wallpaper and painting woodwork, but I guess I cant add that into my Pledge!

I did manage a few hours painting figures early in the month, however that effort didnt finish anything new. I did sell some old Imperial Guard on ebay. But also bought some GW LOTR Elves.

Sold 64 Citadel Imperial Guard

Bought 24 Elf Warriors and 6 Elf Knights (count as 12 figures)

Yearly running total +31

Today I bought a house!

2011-03-18T17:15:00.001Z

When I say "I", I actually mean my girlfriend and I.
I have a whole load of painting and decorating ahead of me! Therefore Im sure I will be doing far less painting and basing in the near future! However, the extra space will sure come in handy for all my miniatures and I hope to be able to report on a little painting area of my own one day! Thanks Babe if your reading this!

February 2011 Painting Pledge

2011-03-01T10:15:00.002Z

February wasnt quite as good as January for painting – but I was away for a weeks vacation (which basically precluded any painting on 2 weekends!) The painting I did is all visible on here and consisted of:

5 Dark Elf Mandrakes (used as Drow Warlocks for D&D)
Chaos Beastmaster and 3 Hounds
Greater Demon of Slaanesh (counts as 4 figures)

Im trying to be really strict and not buy anything – but I still put in a bid on ebay for some chaos thugs, but was sniped at the very end - which I guess is a good thing!

So a total of 13 figures painted and 0 bought for February.
The yearly running total is now +3

Despicable Drow...

2011-02-27T16:51:00.006Z

Despicable Drow

Im calling this my Drow army. I have a large Drider figure which I havent finished painting in the background which makes this definitely Drow rather than Dark Elf. I've painted them with blue skin and white hair which ties them in nicely with the Slaanseh Demon. Hmm... Drow consorting with demons - whatever next!

20 Witch Elves (from Black Tree Design - best described as 'average' sculpts)

5 Cold One Knights (Really intimidating to paint and took a long time!)

Chaos Demons of Slaanesh

20 Dark Elf Corsairs

30 Dark Elf Spears

One Drider (The best figure I've seen for a Drider, but I cant remember where I got her from. Leave a comment please, if you know where she comes from!!!)

This force is also very light on missile troops which I'll have to acquire at some point. I have plenty of D&D characters to add as champions and magic users - I just have to paint them! I also have a 5-headed dragon from Grenadier that Im thinking of adding as the equivalent of a Hydra monster.

Random Chaos

2011-02-27T16:01:00.002Z

A few bits of random chaos!

Chaos Troll

Chaos Spawn

2 Greater Demons of Nurgle

Slaanesh Beastman

Chaos Sorceror

Greater Demon of Slaanesh

2 Nurgle beastmen

10 Lesser Demons of Nurgle

6 pink horrors

Chaos warrior of Nurgle

Chaos sorceror

Chaos beastmaster and hounds

Greater Demon of Slaanesh Fresh from the Painting Table

2011-02-26T11:41:00.001Z

Heres my Greater Damon of Slaanesh. He's not quite 100%. Its funny how you notice things when you take photos of your miniatures, The camera is better at spotting mistakes than my own eyes! Anyway he will go back on the table for the final touches. I used long exposure and no flash on this shot. Hope its better!

Well theres nothing going on the painting table for the rest of the weekend as we have guests...

Chaos Beastmaster Fresh from the Painting Table

2011-02-24T20:58:00.011Z

Latest recruits for my chaos forces passing out from the painting table. An old Marauder Miniatures Chaos Warrior and Chaos Hounds. These were originally released in 1990 so these are only 21 years old! http://www.solegends.com/marauder/mm93chaosbeastmaster.htm

Next up on the painting table is the old Citadel Keeper of Secrets, Greater Demon of Slaanesh also from about 1990!

Tasty New Miniature I'd love to have!

2011-02-24T14:09:00.004Z

I love this Octo-God from Khurasan Miniatures! Ive been good and managed to not spend anything in February so far, but Im moving house next month, so I wont be ordering it now. It might end up at the wrong place! But hopefully in the next couple of months this beauty will join my collection! $37.99 (~£23.50) including shipping to the UK. 75mm tall resin figure available from http://khurasanminiatures.tripod.com/little-carinthia.html

Drow Warlocks Fresh from the Painting Table

2011-02-16T08:11:00.004Z

Here are some Dark Eldar Mandrakes from Games Workshop. I finished painting them last night and they will go towards my February painting total. I dont collect Dark Eldar but thought these guys would look great as Drow Warlocks for D&D!

Return from Skiing!

2011-02-15T10:55:00.003Z

Something completely off topic - To prove I've not had much time for painting miniatures this month: some pictures of my recent trip skiing to Selva Gardena in Northern Italy. To say it was the best holiday I've ever had just doesn't do it justice! Both Liz and I can now do Blue runs comfortably but Reds can still scare us!

Lizzie and Me

Some Blue runs near Plan de Selva

But now its back to life - back to reality...

Painting Comparison...

2011-02-15T10:41:00.002Z

I thought I would try and add some photos to my blog!

These show off my painting style and best of my ability compared to Games Workshop!

I've been painting since I was a lad and have different styles depending on what Im trying to achieve. I dont paint like this for large units!!!

My painting style...

My Inspiration - Games Workshop!

Proof that Original Citadel Armies had more character!!!

2011-02-04T22:22:00.006Z

>> Jon's Wargaming Blog <<

Nice work Jon!

I really like the old style citadel miniatures. Here's my 80's/90's Wood Elf Army. There's a few more units now but I'll do a proper photo session with the whole army soon...

January 2011 Painting Pledge

2011-02-03T16:16:00.005Z

I wasnt very good at recording my Pledge successes (or otherwise) last year and felt I lost my way a little bit without it!

This year I've done quite a bit of painting!
20 Dark Elf Witches
20 Dark Elf Corsairs
5 Dark Elf Cold One Knights (which I count as 2 figures)
3 Roleplaying figures (Wood Elf 2 weapon fighter, Vampire Spawn, Spectre)

So a total of 53 painted this month! (which is very good for me!!!) but unfortunately (for the Pledge!) I have bought:

1 Vintage Marauder Chaos Warrior and 2 Chaos Warhounds (3 figures)
20 Chaos Beastmen
10 Chaos Marauder Horsemen (20 figures)
Large Hydra figure (Vintage Grenadier Dragon) (which I'll probably count as 10 figures)
Vintage Citadel Skeleton Chariot (which I'll also count as 10 figures)

So I have bought a total of 63 figures! (Total spent £66.35)

Month of January balance of -10 figures. February holds a week of skiing in Italy. Im also in the process of buying a house. So I doubt I'll make up much ground this month!