Last of the Warlocks

 Here are the final two warlocks from the old GW set: We have a Bright (Fire) Mage, and a Gold Wizard (Alchemist).

To be honest, I wasn't 100% thrilled with these two. I think I was running low on inspiration and wanted to just "power through" to be done with these fellas. But I do think they look fine for tabletop and I am happy to have completed the little project I set for myself.

Some recent efforts

 So this one is not technically part of the Warlocks set I've been painting through (2 more of those to go), but he is a old GW plastic figure from the 90s that came in a similar small box assortment. This guy is more of a generic imperial wizard (to me). I also painted this one about 20 years ago. It was not great, so I stripped it best I could and re-painted him as part of this set. I lost some detail because the old paint didn't completely come off. So you can see some less defined areas. 

 

At this stage of my return to painting, I'm just trying one or two new things on the minis and painting what looks fun. 

Next up is a fun dwarf that would be a great addition to a Treasure Hunters warband in Mordheim.

 

I am not sure of this figure's pedigree. He looks kind of Reaper-ish, but has a slot base and I can't find him in their web store. Anyway, I dig the sculpt. He's walking around quaffing ale bare-chested, but with axe & board ready to go.

Next is an ogre from the old WOTC "Chainmail" line. I've have a soft spot for some of the sculpts from this line, so I tend to buy up these old figs when at a con or similar. 

Last up is not a new mini paint job, but a re-basing of an old one. I love this old GW metal orc shaman. I painted it YEARS ago. It's base was horrendous though. It was a GW 1" square slot base painted goblin green. That's it. So I decided to practice making nicer bases by making him a new one with texture paint, cork, and some gravel + flock..

The Light Wizard Approaches

This fella was interesting to paint since there was so much white. I used TAP "Mummy Robes" as a base, then highlighted and shaded from there. "Light" or "White" College Wizards are known for healing, philosophy, and life-giving energies. The manipulate Hysh the White Wind of Magic. The serpent symbol is often part of their image.  

Warlocks 2-5

 So first off, yes I am still alive. I recently got some stuff cleared off the table so I could paint again, but I will likely have to replace some of my paints eventually that are... less than liquid.

Secondly, here is the sorceress from the old box set that I decided was an amethyst wizard.

I'm pretty rusty and the eyes show it if nothing else, but it's tabletop acceptable IMO. I did try to work on shading and highlighting a bit other than just dousing it in a wash.

Next up are some minis from the set that I had painted at various times in the past: We have the blue wizard, a chaos sorcerer, and a jade wizard/druid.

I am borderline embarrassed by the chaos wiz. He's so cartoony. I painted him up originally as part of a diorama (hence the different base). The blue wizard was also a very early mini in my painting journey. The jade/druid was almost 10 years ago but he was done when I was painting more regularly, so he's a little better. (I actually used him as a sample mini in a series of short videos about getting a mini done for tabletop). 

There are still 3 of these warlocks to go: the Gold, the Fire, and the Light wizards. Since i have some time off for the holidays, we'll see if I can get any more done. 

Warlock #1: Amber Wizard

 

One down, anyway.

It was fun and frustrating to work with such an old and, dare I say, crude sculpt? Some of the divisions between sections of the mini were a little undefined, but I did what I could. You can see on the back that the pelt/cloak lacked enough definition in parts to hold the darker wash, but that's OK. Overall, I'm happy with the result. He needs sealing, but January is not the best month for outdoor spray paints.

Ending a hiatus (Wait. I have a blog?!)

I doubt too many people check this space any more, but it's as good a spot as any for what I'm doing. After a few years of letting my painting supplies gather dust, I finally cleaned things up and started trying to paint again. You would have thought lockdown during The-Year-That-Shall-Not-Be-Named would have been the perfect time for painting and scenery projects, but the lack in in-person gaming sort of stole my motivation. Anyway, that's my excuse and I am sticking to it!

So what is this new project? Well, in a word, it's Mordheim.

I have been fascinated by this game since I got back into WFRP (2nd edition). I've never been a big wargamer, but the skirmish levels, the campaign mode, and the setting flavor is just awesome. Not to mention the inspirational scenery and terrain builds online. Games Workshop stopped supporting the game about 7 years ago or so, but the fan base is still very much alive. You can even get a free copy of the rules over on broheim.net, including supplemental materials like alternate warbands.

I won't go into a review of the game, There are far more knowledgeable folks than myself online who have done that. But the Old World has a special place in my heart, so this seemed a great way to jump back into painting and terrain. 

The project I plan to record here is sort of silly. You see, the various warbands can sometimes -if they've been successful enough in making money- hire models to bolster their ranks. Some of these are just normal troops, but some are special "characters," including mages for hire called Warlocks.

Now, it just so happens that I have had a an old sprue of Citadel miniatures from the mid 90s called simply "Wizards." (FT-03) It contains eight plastic figures designed as Old World spell casters.

I found a page online that identifies the individual figures as: 

Back Row:

Shaman

Chaos Sorcerer 

Fire Wizard 

High Priest 

Front Row:

Astronomer 

Alchemist 

Druid 

Sorceress 

Now to use Warhammer terminology, the "Shaman" would be an Amber Wizard, the "Astronomer" a Blue, an "alchemist" would be a Gold Wizard, a "Fire" mage is known as a Bright Wizard, and the "Druid" a Jade Wizard. The Sorceress' skull motif could make an argument for an Amethyst (Death) wizard or a Necromancer. The "High Priest" looks vaguely Egyptian/Tomb Kings-ish, but perhaps there is another cult that fits the bill. EDIT: Consulting with the nerdosphere, I think an argument can be made that he is a Light Wizard ("White College") which uses the wind Hysh. They are known to use a snake motif sometimes ("The Serpent of Light"). So that's good enough for me!

And the chaos sorcerer looks like just that. 

I had already painted the Blue, Chaos, and Jade figures years ago (and it shows). I even made a short series of videos showing me painting the "Druid." but the other five lay there, still on the sprues, untouched for all this time. So for fun, I am cleaning them up and getting them ready to paint as potential warlocks for hire. The old GW sculpts are crude by today's standards, but like the Heroquest orcs, they have a charm to them I really enjoy. 

So far, the five have had their mold lines cleaned up and put on bases. I've also added a little gravel to the bases for texture. Then, since we had an unseasonably warm day, I sprayed the with gray primer. Here's where they stand now:

Gold Wizard

Amber Wizard

Light Wizard

Bright Wizard

Sorceress

The next steps will be applying paint to brush. I want to do them in old-school color schemes, but still make them fit Mordheim's aesthetic and hopefully with better technique than I had twenty years ago. I'm a bit out of practice, and my eyes aren't as sharp as they were, but I'll do what I can. 

Minor update on the Table

The dice trays looked great, but the attachment method I used wasn't that strong; small wood screws from underneath that only went partway into the top sheet of plywood. One of them popped loose with only slight pressure. So I got some brass "furniture connectors" and hex nuts. The tops of the connectors are visible on the table's surface, but look pretty nice, actually.

NOW I think I am done!

Table: Final Assembly!

(warning: image heavy!)

While technically not 100% done, the pieces are all in place. I just need to fine tune the cable management under the table and screw down the top panel.

First off, I attached the legs to the base:

Next up, I put in the outlets, Chromebox, and the TV screen:

The screen had to be raised up a little in the frame, but that wasn't too hard to do. I just used some piece of spare wood as blocks under the TV. I was disconcerted to find that the frame that's holding the screen is slightly off level (not sure how/when that happened) but the screen itself is flat.

The audio speakers are just held face up via a quick & dirty cardboard frame that steadies them in that position. I didn't want to fasten them down permanently in case they needed troubleshooting or replacing.

Once the outlet plates were screwed in, I installed the power strip on the underside of the base and plugged stuff in. When I was sure all the plugs worked, I fired up the TV and Chromebox for a test.

I swear I "dry-fitted" the wood panel that covers the screen opening, but it didn't want to drop in all the way. So a little sanding of the edges later and it was passable. I'll need to re-stain those parts, though.

You can see the grills I installed above the speakers. They are just cosmetic. I'm using the speakers down at the DM end of the table instead of the TV's audio so that the output is far enough from the far end's microphone so as to avoid feedback. 

Finally I placed the top panel on. I also re-cut the old sheet of Plexiglas from the tabletop frame to size. It's not perfect, but it fits. It cracked at the corners when I screwed it down (even with starter holes), so I may end up replacing it. Cupholders were dropped into place and you can see what the final product looks like. 

(the little 'dot' in front of the TV panel is the microphone)

Lessons learned:

The main thing is that I am not a master builder! There are a half dozen or so small-to-large errors in the construction that bug me. Most are minor cosmetics and/or fixable, but I'm sure they could have been avoided with more care or skill. There are things like minor gaps or poor fits or edges that are not quite true that irk me. I tend to get overenthusiastic about projects and rush things.

One thing I plan to change is that the table seems a little low. It is usable, but I am going to get some large casters for the table legs to make it easier to move and raise it up an inch or so. On paper the dimension seemed ample, but looking at it assembled, I worry it may be a little small. Of course, that's why I added the "cubbies" for people's books, to save tabletop space. Another is that the magnets that are supposed to secure the panel that covers the Chromebox. It's okay the way it is, but not as stable as I hoped. I think I just need to use slightly bigger magnets.

Once the top is screwed in place, I'm going to test the Roll20 maps and maybe have someone log in remotely while someone else sits at the table with me. We'll try out the sound pickup and the whole virtual tabletop/face to face hybrid gaming and see if that works as well as I think it should.

There are a few things in the gaming area of the basement that are non-table related that still need to get dealt with before people can come over and really game, but it's highly satisfying to have this done(ish), warts and all.

Table WIP: Dice Trays

I've put the padded foam on the bottoms of the dice trays and screwed them onto the table top. They look very nice and work perfectly.

With the cup holders above the tray, all I can think of is Mickey Mouse.

Table WIP: Home Stretch

All the staining is done. I also put two coats of clear polyurethane on the tabletop and panels. At this point, once the basement is clear, I can take the pieces down and start final assembly.

Table WIP: Part something. Staining

The table legs got stained about a week ago, but weather and schedules made more work impractical for the last several days.

This afternoon after work was gorgeous, so I took the top and the panels out to work on. The base was too heavy to move on my own and I lacked my normal beautiful assistant (my wife).

I'm using a Minwax chestnut that is stain + polyurethane in one.  

The little finger hole in the corner of the display cover is to let me lift it out of the opening more easily. The smaller panel (top) will cover the Chromebox section.

There is some work unrelated to the table that has to happen in the basement before final assembly occurs. But I am getting closer!

Table WIP: Getting There

The top of the table has been cut and sanded. I also cut and assembled the table legs yesterday.

The large circular holes will be dice-rolling trays. The medium holes are for the cup holders. The center holes is for the TV screen. The two small round holes are for the speakers. The big corner cut out is for the "access panel" to reach the ChromeBox inside the table. It runs the TV display. 

There is also a tiny hole on the far side of the TV from the speakers. It will hold a small USB mic for sound pickup that will hopefully allow anyone playing remotely via Roll20 to hear the other players. There is another small mic attached to my laptop that will be at the "DM side" of the table (corner across from the Chromebox). Hopefully the mics will be far enough from each other the speakers to avoid feedback (The TV sound will be muted).

I meant to glue the table leg pieces together as well as using the wood screws, but I forgot. Each leg is held together by three screws, so they are pretty secure. I still need to drill the holes for the securing lag bolts into the frame and the legs. There will be two per leg. 

If the weather holds, I will stain the table this weekend. Then I will be able to run the wires for the outlets, etc. and attach the tabletop to the frame. The legs won't get attached until I can bring it inside and down to the basement.

Some progress

I managed to complete the framing of the 2x4s this weekend and cut the holes for the cables. I also marked out where I need to cut through the top piece of wood for the TV screen. etc. I bought the stain and I had to get some more 2x4 for the table legs. If I can get 2-3 more sunny days, I can finish this thing off. At least the parts that need to be done outside.

Curse of the weather gods

Have I mentioned how all this rain is getting seriously annoying?

Table WIP, Part 2: Layout

Another sunny day. A little more work done. The short pieces around the edge are not attached yet. The cross beams by the TV frame are screwed in. I also cut holes for attaching the table legs, but I later realized they'll need to be a little bigger.

The stuff lying about the table is me trying to make sure things will fit where I want the. The cookie tin is standing in as the template for cut-in dice rolling trays. You can also see the cup holders, speakers, and the power outlets.

The Chromebox will run the player-view Roll20 interface on the TV screen. You can't see very well in this shot, but I drilled several "vents" into the board underneath for airflow purposes.

Table WIP pics, part the first

The sun finally came out, and my wife & I had a chance o do a bit of work on the table.

The frame is to hold the TV screen. The particle board will be the bottom layer of the table itself. I wanted the screen slightly offset from center to give the "DM's end" a little more room. We then traced where to cut an opening for the frame.

Once the hole was cut, we put he frame inside. It was a pretty tight fit, but that's good! The, because particle board doesn't have a lot of structural strength, we glued and screwed two 2x4's on either side. these will also be part of the frame that holds the top layer up and divides up the 'cubbies' that the players can use for books, etc. 

At this point in the afternoon, we need to let the wood glue dry and there was food to cook and children to ferry to activities. The next steps should go fairly quickly, as we'll just be cutting and attaching lengths of 2x4's to complete the framing. After that, we'll work on the top of the horizontal surface. I also need to cut out the corners of the particle board to make room for the table legs.

Rain, rain, go away

I haven't forgotten about posting WIP pics. Progress on the table has stalled because it will simply NOT. STOP. RAINING.

Initial materials

So the first batch of supplies for the gaming table have arrived via Amazon. I'll be getting more into the details later, but just to give you a hint, the box contains:

• Cupholders
• Power/USB charger sockets
• Speakers

To be continued...

New photo tent picture-taking

It's not the greatest paint job to show off, and I think I need to fiddle a bit with the camera settings. The box does do a good job of eliminating background shadows and the like, though. 

Some movement

The ebay auctions are done. I've got about $250 to spend on the in-screen table construction. The power tools have arrived as well.

I also ordered a LED photo tent so I can take some better pictures of minis if and when I finish any! Maybe I will try it out on the bugbear I finished at the painting club.