ARE YOU READY

 So May is rapidly approaching, and it is the time for Monster May(hem), Keith has already got the sign up post up, and you can find it at his blog angrypiper . So what is Monster May(hem) well you paint up monsters during the month of May, if you want to get a double win you could paint up a Dragon, which counts for Keith's other challenge Year of the Dragon, which runs until the end of the year. For me I'm going to try and use the time to paint up a couple of large Lord of the Rings models, these are from my own collection, not the box of wonders I've been working on, but I'm thinking of selling as well, as I'm never likely to play LOTR. With this in mind, I've done some background pieces for one of them, why do them before the challenge, well there's a whole squad of models needed for one, which would take away a large chunk of time from the actual Monster. So first up today I have the base required, which has almost a squads worth of bodies on it.

Next up are the crew for the monster, I've photographed them as archers, spearmen, and leader.

You'll notice that the bases are just black, as I'm going to sell this one, I'll leave the basing dilemma to who purchases it ( do you go for earth or wicker ?). That's all for this post, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

SKINKS GALORE

 To clear a bit of space on my desk I've finished my squad of Skink skirmishers ( hence the round bases), these are expensive skirmishers as I gave them javelins instead of blowpipes, as they have better range and strength, at some point I need to make a regiment of them as well, but that will have to wait until I get some more models, as these are the last of the Lizardmen models I currently have.

The box comes with 24 models, but I used a champion model that I converted from the Stegadon set to bring it up to 25 models. At some point I expect GW to change the names of these as a Skink is a real lizard, and so they can not copyrite it, but we'll have to see what they do, hopefully next time I'll have some bits to set up one of my Monster May(hem) entries, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

GUARD THIS

 With the starter set of Kill Team that we got for the children, there was a squad that neither child wanted, so I've painted them up to have a different squad for them to face ( this plus the Kroot squad that I wanted). These are Death Corp of Krieg models that come in the starter set, for colours I've gone simple and muted, construction wise I included some interesting options, like a spotter, a sniper, and anything else I liked the look of, it's probably not competitive, but should give the children something to get used to battling.

This now completes my contribution from the starter set, and the rest is down to the children, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

WHAT A PIECE OF JUNK

 No I haven't started work on my old Millennium Falcon toy, but I have finished some junk piles from my children's Kill Team set. I've only painted half the terrain as my daughter wanted to have a go on the other half, but as she is busy revising for her exams, she may get to them by June ! LOL I've gone for an overall rusty effect, then picked out some details that wouldn't be rust coloured.

These were pretty quick wins and actually fun to do, next up will be a Kill Team, so until next time stay safe and have fun !

Cheers Dave

GOING BERSERK

 Not a large post today, but I have managed to finish three models, a trio of Uruk Hai Berserkers. Colour wise I've tried to match the movie reference as close as possible, but I've kept the hand prints minimal, and in different places that I spotted in the movie.

These were a good test for the colours of the Uruk Hai, as I have a lot more to paint in varying forms. That's all for this very short post, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

NOTHING TO SEE HERE

 This week I have been working flat out on multiple painted orders, so have nothing to show model wise, so thought I'd use the time to talk about a couple of things I've noticed recently.

As I comment on multiple different platforms, I've come across a few issues, some are constantly trying to make me resign in, annoying but not a problem, but one platform is causing me issues, so some of the blogs you can like a reply, but for some reason, it doesn't show up when I log in, so it looks like I'm being rude and not liking a responding comment. The blogs this is happening on, is Guru Pigs (used to work, but has since disappeared), Alex's, Wudughasts, and Roger's. So I apologise to all concerned, and I am not ignoring you, if any one knows of a solution please let me know.

The next issue I am currently dealing with is the icons disappearing from my own blog, so I can not add peoples blog's to my blog list, so It's not that you don't deserve to be in it, just that I don't know how to solve this problem, any advice on this problem would be greatly appreciated.

The last thing today is a comment I read, which started me thinking. The basics of it was that their output wasn't as big as other peoples. All of us paint at different speeds, we all paint at different levels and styles, and should never judge what we do, against what others do, as we all have different amounts of free time available, and commitments that we need to sort first. I always try and take inspiration from others, on the way they paint, or the amount they get through, or both, but never judge myself against them, as it's not a competition, I see the blogosphere as more of a support network, where you can interact with like minded people from all over the world, gain good advice to solve problems or elevate your game, and then there are always the challenges to help motivate to get projects finished. In closing I would say use the blogs as a resource, rather than a stick, it will help your mental health.

That's all for this post, next time hopefully I will have some models to show, instead of ramblings, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave

ABSOLUTE TORTURE

 No I am not talking about my holiday, which even though the weather and travel back was bad, it was great to spend quality time with the wife and children, no I am talking about the subject material of the latest commission I've done for one of my regular clients. All of the models shown are 3D prints of torture equipment, they are 3 different sets, and I've photographed them in the packs they come in.

My client liked the painting but asked if I would add some extra bits, a skeleton on the torture rack, and a severed head in the basket of the guillotine, which I have below.

Enjoy doing these commissions, as I get to paint stuff that I may not do for myself.

In other news we have a new addition to our family, Angel she is a rescue dog, that we have adopted, she is very timid, and not sure that she wants human interaction, but slowly she is coming out of her shell, and starting to copy our other dog, I even had a wake up sniff from her the other morning, and even took Loki's normal sleep spot next to my bed. 

That's all for todays post, so until next time stay safe, and have fun !

Cheers Dave