While I don’t have a lot of painted miniatures or terrain to show off this week, I do have a range of things to discuss from Fallout, to MESBG, to Cool Mini Or Not of all things so there is a little bit for everyone hopefully.
Fallout – The most significant hobby progress I made was on another super mutant. As I mentioned a little while ago, I wanted to get this one done because he is carrying a sledgehammer which is what the first few scenarios call for. Now that he is done I’m ready to play the next scenario and expect to do so within the next couple of weeks, possibly over Thanksgiving break at the latest.
I happen to really like how this guy looks too so I really slowed down and took my time on him. I blended his armor to make sure it was smooth and I also really took my time on the skin and glazed everything to make sure it looked good. It was time consuming but I think it is well-worth it. I was a bit stumped by the metal beams on his base as I thought about making them more colorful but ultimately, I’m glad I didn’t as the heavy rust effect looks great and balances out the blue armor nicely. I think I might have gone a bit too light with rust on his armor but I did want this guy to look more elite than the previous super mutants so I think that goal was accomplished anyway. One source of frustration with this mini is that he does look a bit glossy still (especially on the back) even after matte varnish was applied. It hurts the quality of the photos a bit which I don’t like. I may have to try using something other than Vallejo’s varnish as that is what seems to be giving me this problem. Fortunately, I don’t have a ton left as it is so this something I can experiment with in the near future.
Here is a look at the super mutants in resin that I will keep and use going forward. Not only do they look miles better than the first one pictured below, they are quite a fearsome bunch now that this squad is filling out.
Putting them together also made me realize how much better the skin looks on the most recent super mutant compared to the previous one that had a fair amount of skin showing. The level of contrast is much higher and the skin more lifelike too. I’m sure that spending more time on the latest one is a big part but it also seems that I’ve gotten better at painting these with practice too which is nice to see.
I’ve been thinking about what I own for Fallout and have been reminded that I still need to build up my terrain collection more than I need to paint more minis. My Fallout terrain collection feels a bit too sparse and I need to get more of it and get some things that will give it some life. So after doing some online browsing, I noticed that Multiverse Gaming, a Polish terrain maker, sells some great storage crates and wooden pallets, both of which is the kind of terrain I could use. So I ordered some and I’ve been waiting for nearly a week now to get a shipping confirmation. Their website says almost all items have 28 day availability so I’m guessing it could take up to that long to ship something which is a bit crazy. Part of me wonders if I didn’t give $30 to a Polish pyramid scheme but I guess time will tell! I will be looking forward to receiving my order in 2021 🙂
MESBG Diorama – I have good news but not too much visual to share here unfortunately. I got everything for the diorama glued back together and the super glue really did the trick as the rug is much flatter looking than before. I also painted one of the last two things I need to finish the dio this week. Unfortunately, I can’t share it with you because it will give away the main effect of the diorama but it does look nice and I am excited to finish the diorama. While I’m facing some challenges with him, I jumped into painting the Master of Laketown and once he is done, I will basically have the diorama done. So expect at least a WIP update on him next week and hopefully this lengthy project will be coming to a close in the nearish future.
Cool Mini Or Not – Lastly, this may not seem relevant to you but it actually is. After trying to squeeze posting on CMON forums more regularly, I’ve realized that I just don’t have the time to keep up with it. I CAN do it, but it cuts into my painting time on the weekends and I’d like to maximize that as much as I can and keep getting things done. Truthfully, I am finding that interacting with all of you in the blogosphere is more enjoyable and rewarding for me than being on CMON. Its hard to explain but CMON forums feel like a somewhat disparate group of people who share their work and while many people paint Warhammer or busts, I always felt a bit like the odd man out painting LOTR since they tend to be more gaming minis than painter’s minis if you know what I mean. While I obviously have a bit more variety in my painting queue than I did a year ago, even upon my brief return, I still felt that way. I also feel like the amount of useful feedback (or even just general enthusiasm) for what I share on CMON went down the longer I posted to where it hasn’t felt that satisfying to participate in the forums there. That feeling quickly resurfaced when I tried to go back to posting regularly.
When it comes to this site and all of the sites I follow, no matter what your interests are, I still find them interesting and I enjoy reading your thoughts on your hobby. I feel like I know a bit more about each of you by reading your updates and that you know a bit more about me and that enhances our appreciation for each other’s work. That kind of connection and the sense of belonging is something I haven’t experienced elsewhere and that has made me come to enjoy blogging much more than any other way of participating in the hobby. So all this is to say, thank you for your support and for having me be part of this community. It is an awesome space to be in and it has quickly become my favorite way to be active in the hobby. If you like to write and share your hobby with others, then I would like to invite you to come join us! There’s always room for more in this awesome group of hobbyists.
Kuribo's Painting 
Like the latest mutant and nice to see them in a group! 🙂 Nice to hear the diorama is progressing well! Enjoyed reading your thoughts on CMON, since I know you’ve felt that some people there have been quite negative, so I’m pleased you feel that the blogging route is helpful/useful/good for you!
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Seeing the mutants together was pretty inspiring for me too! I had kind of forgotten that I had mentioned the lack of acceptance of my LOTR painting and while it is true that I feel people on CMON weren’t all that inspired by it, they actually aren’t the people I have a grudge against (which makes me sound quite petty now that I’ve typed it out!). I will get into that one of these days when I’m feeling good and salty! 😀 Blogging is a lot of fun because of great people like you, John! Your support is greatly appreciated 🙂
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🙂 🙂
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Looking good as usual mate! And thank YOU for the continuing support and inspiration!
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Cheers, mate! You are too kind as always 🙂
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Nice looking group of super mutants! What are a group of super mutants called anyway? A gang? A Covid?
Looking forward to seeing what you have done with the Master of Laketown, lots of details on that character.
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I don’t think there is a name for them come to think of it. I think a gang or band of super mutants sounds good though! Even running into four like in the picture could mean you’re in some trouble in Fallout as they’re pretty strong 🙂
The Master almost has too many fine details for his own good. We’ll see if I can get into a flow or rhythm painting him in spite of that this week. I’ll be curious to see what you think of him when I do get him done as well!
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Very nice work on all the mutants. Even the earlier one looks great but naturally things improve with practice that’s for sure. I appreciate there are plenty of products out there but I found Humbrol Matt Varnish works a treat. Hope your Polish order comes through OK. International purchases can often be frustrating. Looking forward to seeing the next stage of the diorama and I think you are right to stick with the Blog. I am probably being a little unfair but as a generalisation I have found a lot of other forums are made up of people who are a bit up themselves and provide little engagement or encouragement. We have a great little community on wordpress. 🙂
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Thanks for the kind words and for the recommendation! I’ve heard of Humbrol but I’m not sure how available it is here in the states. I shall do some researching and see what I can find 🙂
I agree with you on the forums sentiment too. I don’t fault the people for not being interested in my work. If you like Warhammer and that is what you want to see, then the vast majority of what I paint isn’t going to appeal to you. Sadly, I think there was a tendency for people who painted other things not to reach out and leave a positive comment as a result. I always try to avoid doing that and it is usually not that hard to say something nice even if it is something I don’t know much about, like painting Napoleonic’s for example. I can still appreciate the detail in the uniforms and the dedication fans of that period of history put into their miniatures!
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As the saying goes, if you can’t say something nice don’t say anything at all. Unfortunately on some of the forums they cannot resist a dig. Sad really.
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Looking good mate
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Never really had anything to do with CMON, but it does seem to be Warhammer and 40k from what the lads at the Wargames club do.
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Warhammer and 40k are a huge portion of the market when it comes to wargaming so it is something you have to deal with and accept to a certain extent even if you don’t play or paint them. I think we both do that well with how we dabble with them and our other interests.
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Great job on the super mutant. He looks quite swoll with all those muscles and dangerous with the hammer. 😀
I don’t have any experience with CMON so can’t say much about it. But I am super glad that you are enjoying the blogging experience. I have found that blogging tends to create a community of like minded individuals and can be very rewarding. Bloggers also tend to be more positive. I do like following your blog and seeing your projects come to life, and I enjoy the way you write and your support of my own lame blog. 😀
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Thanks, Stew! I wanted to come up with a title that embraced sledgehammer or smashing someone’s face in but couldn’t come up with anything witty enough. I’m sure you would have done better 😀
The positivity is what I enjoy most about blogging. I can appreciate many different things even if I myself never play or paint anything in a particular genre. I appreciate that there are likeminded individuals out there as well. You’re being a bit too humble about your blog too. Its always a great read! 🙂
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Title could of been:
“I wanna be your sledgehammer”
Everyone knows that song. 😀
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The only thing I could think of is there was a band called Sister Sledge but all the Super Mutants seem to be male so that didn’t work well. I like your idea best 🙂
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Those Super Mutants are looking fierce and awesome! These poses/sculpts are really cool and you painted them wonderfully. Can’t wait to see them in action in a battle report. 😀
And I agree that blogging is a very nice thing. 🙂 It is very nice to see and read about different hobbies and aspects of those hobbies.
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Thank you and I agree on the poses 🙂 They did a nice job with these and they’re better and more interesting than a lot of human-sized miniatures for some reason.
While the One Ring forums are a very positive space, I think blogging gives you a great window into other people’s hobby and I really enjoy that part of it too 🙂
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