Before I reveal what surprising thing could possibly have happened two days into the new year, I want to share a bit of hobby progress. Both things I worked on took up a fair bit of time so I haven’t been quite as productive as I expected but I can’t complain too much since I’m happy with the results.
First up, I finished a large piece of terrain which is something that I have needed to do so it felt good to get this shipping container done. I don’t know if it was the battle report or what, but something lit a fire under me and I just grinded away at this project until I got it done. The process was hardly smooth however. I bought two of these MDF shipping containers from Multiverse Gaming and I botched gluing the first one together so there was a sizable gap along the top as you can see that I tried to cover with milliput in the picture below. I then broke the handlebars that go on one of the ends trying to get them out of the MDF sheet. Once the milliput I put on started coming off while I was sanding it down, I knew it was time to trash this one and start over.
Not ideal but I wasn’t happy with the quality of my assembly and I hoped I could take what I learned and improve upon the next one. Fortunately, I glued the second one better, except for the handles which I put upside down and had to try and remove. They deteriorated in the process because they’re too thin and frail but otherwise, painting the shipping container came long nicely and I gave it the usual rust effect. I chose a bone color but I suspect that future shipping containers will have brighter colors to help them stand out on the table. I figured the bone color would blend in nicely with the other terrain I have for the first one anyway. While I do wish that Multiverse and provided instructions with this kit, I can’t fault the quality of the finished product and other than their long processing times, I’m happy with the purchase and will get a couple more down the road when I’m ready to paint some more. I’ll be happy to have a bit of a break from them in the meantime!
The other thing I finished painting was a Courser for The Institute. If you recall, when I painted the Gen 1 Synth, I said there are more advanced versions of synths. Coursers are the most advanced and are elite agents/assassins for The Institute. To make them even more scary, they can stealth and show up at your doorstep without any warning! I thought the Courser would be quick to paint but after referencing images of these enemies in Fallout 4, I saw that they do not wear black like on the box art for the miniatures but brown instead, so I painted him up accordingly and I think it paid dividends and looks more realistic which is once again a humbling result to achieve. I will say that this sculpt is a tough one because there are ridges on the shoulder plates that are not well-defined so you end up having to freehand them. Mine are not perfect by any means and I think freehanding them is likely more difficult than most painters would like. I think this is an example of how designing these miniatures using game art and 3D models and not thinking about what painters can actually paint can cause some issues but I thankfully was able to overcome this and now I have two Institute minis done.
So that is my hobby progress for the last two weeks. I did get a few nice things for Christmas that I wanted to mention. I don’t ask for a lot of miniature related stuff (as it seems just as easy to just buy it for myself when I want it) but I did get the following Fallout minis:
Both of these boxes have minis that have their own scenarios (as do most Fallout releases actually which is really cool of Modiphius) and I’m happy to have them as they’ll help build out the variety of enemies I can use in games. Eventually, I’ll have enough painted to play the Settlement Mode of the game which pretty much requires having all kinds of different enemies to throw at a side. I’m excited for that and I hope it is as fun as the scenarios have been.
So that’s Christmas out of the way, I’m not all that big into celebrating New Year’s or making plans for the new year truthfully so I don’t plan any reflections on 2020. I painted and stayed inside a lot. It was frequently boring and hard not to see family, especially the farther into 2020 we got, so that’s that. I took a look at my “plans” for 2020 (which I had truthfully completely forgotten about) and my goals were to keep painting and getting ready to play Scouring of the Shire scenarios for MESBG and to make a diorama. I completely have fallen off the first goal due to a lack of storage space and the second, I thankfully did complete. I mentioned wanting to do a samurai and Wild West diorama, neither of which happened. While I will rectify this in 2021, this topic will come up again in a minute so hold that thought!
Every year during the holiday season, I seem to get really motivated to paint and start thinking about all kinds of potential projects. I’m pretty sure the same thing happened to me last year. It didn’t help that I read a pretty interesting book on gladiators and beast hunts in Roman times which got me thinking it sure would be nice to do some historical gaming…
So I started looking at any and every wargame and even board game that might interest me and there are a lot as I’m sure you can all relate to. Gangs of Rome would require too much terrain to get going and it doesn’t seem to be as well-supported by Footsore minis lately as I would like. SPQR has middling reviews and would require a fair bit of painting on my part to get up and running so that has scared me away from it thus far. I’d love a wild west game or even a weird west game would be even better but there isn’t anything solo friendly and the terrain would once again be a big problem so that was unfortunately out. I even checked out board games, which wouldn’t require any terrain and couldn’t talk myself into anything there. I circled back to GW games like Kill Teams, Warcry, and Necromunda and the terrain issue kept popping up there. Necromunda is a game I’d love to play but it looks too complex for solo gaming and the buy-in is massive at $300 currently. I even gave Battle Companies a thought for MESBG as a way to rekindle my gaming in that arena but even that didn’t seem like a good fit for me right now for reasons I’ll explain later. So I kept looking and ended up a place I didn’t expect and I bet none of you would have either!
I started looking at Kings of War: Vanguard which is a high fantasy skirmish game from Mantic games. It presented a lot of advantages:
- Skirmish gaming is pretty much the only thing that works my painting speed so the fact that Vanguard is low model count is a plus.
- I do have some decent trees and hills for MESBG sitting around unused so that is ideal too.
- I started looking at the armies for the game and realized that most of them are spiritual successors to old Warhammer fantasy armies which is a big plus in my book.
- While Mantic’s sculpts are not as good as Games Workshop, there are some good ones and I found myself wanting to create warbands for several factions which surprised me. It reminded me a lot of how I felt when I wanted to get into Warhammer fantasy which is a great thing and this time, I wouldn’t have to paint 150 models to get a game in. A modest 10-30 per side would do the trick.
- Another advantage is that painting minis for this game would encourage me to get creative with color schemes and basing in a way that Fallout and MESBG do not. I generally try to match the design in the movies or video game in question which is great but to push your painting skills, it is a good idea to do other kinds of painting as well.
So after a lot of thought, I decided to pull the trigger and for around $80, I ordered the rulebook and my first warband! I have to be honest, it feels like a bit of a betrayal to MESBG which is a game I was loyal to for quite a long time. As crazy as it sounds now, my goal and what motivated me in the hobby was to create the best looking miniatures, terrain, and battle reports for the Hobbit campaign initially and then, I decided to focus on the Scouring of the Shire which was more achievable (or so I thought). It may sound a bit silly but it seemed like a hobby goal that almost nobody else had really done and that really motivated me to take on something so ambitious. As you all know, I unfortunately can’t achieve this goal now and indeed, I’m not so sure that it was ever realistic due to how much time and storage it requires. I burned myself out trying to achieve it, in fact, and finding Fallout was a real blessing for me which I can’t say enough. So there is part of me that is a little sad that I’m moving further and further away from MESBG. Battle Companies would have made a lot of sense considering I already have enough goblins and hobbits painted up that I could do some gaming with those alone if I wanted to. However, MESBG, for me anyway, REQUIRES terrain that fits whatever gaming I’m going to do. So for me, that means I’d ideally have terrain that looks great and lines up with either the movies or how I envision a particular part of the world looking. I just can’t settle for anything less than that and my desire to stay true to the source material becomes a bit of a shackle over time.
Over the course of this year, I feel less interested in gaming in MESBG and I have realized that even if I achieved my goals, I don’t think I ever would have gotten the hobby acclaim and respect I had hoped for. The Hobbit diorama I finished received a good reception but I’ve had other things that were less ambitious get less attention, for example. While obviously, painting to please other people is not something I generally focus on and I would encourage each of you to do the same. I still find myself seeking greatness in my life and I pour a lot of that energy into my hobby. I have no idea where I’m going beyond having a great time gaming (which Fallout has been delivering and hopefully Kings of War does the same) anymore so that is probably also where a bit of my sadness comes from with turning away from MESBG. Maybe I should try some painting competitions and see how I feel about that. I think and hope that with time I can figure out what my new long-term hobby goals are and I will certainly try to maximize my fun in the meantime.
So yeah, I’m excited about getting Kings of War soon and I have realized that I need some variety in what I paint and painting gaming miniatures motivates me so I might as always pick up a second game to give me something else to work on. I also hope that the give of you (Azazel, Bret, Stew, Gero, and Grumpygnome) who follow me and know me from MESBG will continue to do so and enjoy the content here on the site. I have a feeling you will but I still wanted to mention it because really appreciate your patronage! 2020 and now, 2021 have led to big changes for me hobby-wise and I don’t know where I’m going but I’m hoping I’ll figure it out along the way and that it will be enjoyable for everyone involved along the way.
Kuribo's Painting 
Well, this all sounds good, Jeff! 🙂 Some new painted stuff and a new project! I’ll look forward to following your progress! All I would say, though, is enjoy it for your own reasons and because it is your hobby!
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Glad to hear it and thanks for reading that wall of text too! 🙂 While I might be abandoning one goal, I am doing something that I think and hope will be fun so that may just have to be good enough for me.
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Very nice, good work on the crate – bone coloured terrain is always tricky I find but works really well when you pull it off (as you have here). The Courser looks great as well, especially the scuffed leather. I must admit you’re making me very curious about dipping a toe into Fallout myself. Need to clear my backlog a bit first though! Likewise curious to see what you do with Kings of War, another range I’ve been tempted by. Which faction is your first warband going to be (or will you be keeping us in suspense ahead of the big reveal)?
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Thanks for the kind words and I’ll tempt you to start on Fallout yet! Its payback for all the times you’ve made me want to get Necromunda, I figure 😉 I can divulge that I bought Abyssal Dwarves since I like the look of those minis. Absolutely no idea how I will paint them up but hopefully I can get that worked out soon. It is good to know that someone else with an interest in Kings of War will be following along too 🙂
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The painted stuff look great, especially the leather coat, which can be a hard thing to pull off. The container looks like a good background piece as well, though I probably wouldn’t have been so quick to junk the other one. A saw and a base could have quickly changed it into a half-buried container, or lean into the gap (so to speak) and bend up the edges to make it look like it’s been damaged and come apart, or just tip it over, base it and then build up enough dirt inside and outside to cover the gap with some tufts of grass and flock.
With terrain, a lot of it can be imperfect, either due to casting QA issues, or our own assembly mistakes, but with these scenic objects – especially industrial terrain, ruins and wasteland stuff the best way to “hide” it can be to lean hard into it and see what creative solutions you come up with. The nice thing about it is that it gives you an opportunity to turn a mistake into a unique piece that stands out which you may end up liking all the more for it. Forced creativity, essentially!
Good to hear that you’ve found another game that will allow you to continuie enjoying the hobby. I got Vanguard in the Kickstarter due to some nice models, though I never had any real interest in playing it. Too many games, not enough fellow gamers (also, lately, a pandemic). Remember also that you can use some of your SBG models in Vanguard, and especially – most of the terrain will cross over very easily! I look forward to seeing where you go with it!
Oh, one last thing – if you want to paint for an appreciative audience, then paint Space Marines. They’ll get you more attention and feedback than anything else you can do. It’s all about the built-in audience. KoW Vanguard won’t get you nearly as much feedback due to the nature of the beast. Either way, do make sure to tag both your posts and images with what they are to increase their chances of being seen when people do a GIS.
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That is a good point on throwing it away. I’m too quick to throw stuff away and don’t do a great job of thinking outside the box. The idea you suggested is brilliant and definitely could have worked. I’ll try to remember this for the future though I can be a bit hard-headed at the best of times 🙂
I thought you might know of, if not have some minis for Vanguard. Since it seems like it plays fast and isn’t too complicated, I figure it could be a good secondary game for me. We’ll see once I get some stuff painted up and get it on the table!
You are absolutely right, mate, on your final point and it is a real problem when you have no desire to play 40k again like me. I think I probably have conflicting ideas and goals at the moment in regards to hobbying. The good news is that getting VAnguard is motivated by fun and not receiving praise (which I probably shouldn’t be worried about in the first place but I can’t seem to help myself). Fallout is not any more popular than MESBG (based on the number of members in their respective FB groups, they’re about even) and Kings of War Vanguard is considerably less popular than either of those so the chances of getting much acclaim that way is not likely either. I’ll be giving this some thought and continuing to enjoy my hobbying in the meantime 🙂 Thanks as always for stopping by and sharing some of your wisdom!
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I’ve got a ton of the Vanguard models, as I went in on the KS, though I did so with Vanghuard as a “maybe” while getting models to use in KoW.
I think you need to paint for yourself and just be happy with whatever the reception is that that you get for it rather than painting for others attention and approval.
As I just mentioned in my comment on the newer post, don’t forget that Vanguard gives you freedom of models so there’s plenty of models in the current AoS range that could work in both Vanguard as well as figures that will have a good audience.
On this, you might especially want to look at models in the Warhammer Underworlds (Shadespire, et al) ranges. Some beautiful fantasy sculpts in there. You may have to rebase them if sticking strictly to the Vanguard rules, but c’est la vie.
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I would guess you’ve got a bunch of Basileans and Nightstalkers then which both look pretty fun to paint!
It is easier said than done sometimes to paint strictly for yourself but don’t worry, I mostly paint Fallout which is strictly for me and nobody else. As you pointed out a little while ago, if all I wanted was attention, I’d be painting up space marines much more!
I agree that Warhammer Underworlds does have some nice kits and a lot of those would work well with Vanguard. I will give those a look and see if they get me inspired again.
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That Courser looks great! Go Institute!
I agree with Azazel, both on the terrain suggestion (especially true for post-apoc) and Space Marines for a vocally appreciative audience.
You have surprised me with Vanguard but I understand the thought process you have laid out. I look forward to seeing your future work on this project. Follow your instincts and enjoy the ride!
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Thanks and its great to have someone else excited about Institute minis 🙂
It is good to hear your thoughts on the matter and I surprised myself with Vanguard too. The idea of a fantasy skirmish game fits me really well but we’ll see how I get on with painting them and how much I like the rules. That will determine whether Vanguard sticks around or not. Thank you for the support as always, mate! 🙂
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Sometimes it’s all about the journey as the way the path turns isn’t always what we would expect! I’ve seen entire MESBG armies used in Kings of War games (and they looked fine!) so I wouldn’t worry about that. I look forward to seeing what you come up with!
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That is good advice, Dave and I appreciate you sharing your thoughts. I hadn’t thought there was a potential connection between Kings of War and MESBG but hopefully my skills will carry over across systems 🙂 I’ll be looking forward to showing off some Kings of War minis in the near future as well!
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In my experience Kings of War has attracted older gamers with existing collections, which they have adapted to the game. I have seen MESBG, Warhammer, and other ranges all featured in people’s armies.
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That makes a lot of sense and was something I hadn’t thought about. I think the game attracted me because it captures a bit of Warhammer Fantasy’s spirit. The flexibility to use whatever models you like, really helps too!
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Have fun mate and it certainly looks as though you have plenty to keep you busy and motivated in 2021. The crate and figures look very good to my eye so more of the same for the New Year will keep everyone happy I reckon. 🙂
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Thanks for the kind words as always, mate! I’m going to have about as bad of a pile of unpainted minis as everyone else if I’m not careful so I better be productive in the new year 🙂
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Paint and play what you enjoy! I think I had mentioned it before, but I will continue to read your blog no matter the subject, I enjoy your writing style and looking at your excellent paint jobs! Wargames and wargammers seem to go in cycles, MESBG was big when the movies came out, went down after, started to get back into favor with the Hobbit movies but the figures being expensive turned a lot of people off. The Pellenor Fields box brought a lot of people back but now I’m seeing another downturn happening. I even see that GW is thinking about bringing Bretonnia back – what goes around comes around.
If you are thinking about another ME diorama, shoot me a note on the OR, I might have the figures you need.
Oh, sorry about not commenting on your last post on the battle report, waited until I could read it on something other than my phone – keep them coming!
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I appreciate your open mind and I will always be painting something MESBG and fantasy as long as I’m in the hobby because I enjoy the setting too much to leave it for good 🙂 I completely agree with you on MESBG heading for a downturn. I think the lack of tournaments (especially in the UK) is really hurting it and I think also the realization by some people that GW is not going to create tons of new miniatures is probably also limiting its appeal for others. The new ents look great (as did Eomer and Saruman before that) so they are doing good work, I just have a feeling that MESBG is going to be a niche product for GW in the future and they may eventually stop making it altogether though we’re a long way from that happening. At this point, I think many MESBG fans are banking on GW getting the license for the show Amazon is making but I’m a bit skeptical of that happening and we don’t even know if the show’s content is going to translate well to MESBG so we’ll see what happens!
I think I might have asked you about the one mini I need for my next two dioramas before but I will certainly drop you a line. Almost all of the stuff I need is from Forge World which I doubt you have sitting around but I will send you a message about that other mini.
And no worries at all on the battle report. I posted that when most people were busy with friends and family so I expected that fewer people would have a chance to respond and that is totally fine!
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No Middle Earth?!! I’m OUT! Mic drop! Smoke bomb!
In my experience blogs hardly ever stick to one thing bc we wargamers have various interests that wax and wane. My own MESBG interest waned pretty quickly so who am I to complain? Though I am much more of a historical gamer so ME is something of a side interest. Plus I can’t keep up with the GW business model.
Anyway, the recent stuff looks great and I’m happy to follow along with anything. In fact, I’d just encourage you to do anything you like that you will enjoy bc that’s what having a hobby is all about anyway. 😀
Though you gots to figure out how to get more storage. Soon you’ll just be like most of us with SEVERAL projects in various stages… 😀
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Ahhh, I finally lost one! 😉 I can imagine that most people do paint different things in a given year. Its tough painting just one type of thing and I’ve found that I need to paint stuff for a couple of games to keep the variety up and trying Vanguard is as much about that as anything else. I know what you mean about MESBG and GW’s business model. Even with the limited releases (which I know some people aren’t happy about), it is still hard for an individual to keep up with even if MESBG is their main game.
I’ve been thinking about my existential dilemma since I posted and I agree with you that the number one goal of anything I do in this hobby should be fun and I’m going to try and pursue that as directly as I can. It took me a while to see it clearly but I finally have gotten there 🙂
I’m moving this summer so not too long to go now on getting more storage. The pandemic isn’t helping because I have some stuff to sell which would clear space too and I don’t want to do it, until it is easier and safer to go to the post office. Regardless, I really will be in the same camp of too many projects and not enough time! 😀
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Great work on the container and the Coarser. I really like the rust effect, it looks very realistic and really brings it to life. And the leather on the Coarser looks swell.
As several others mentioned, pursue those things that interest and excite YOU most! I’ll keep following your blog, MESBG or no MESBG. I’ve really enjoyed the Fallout articles so far, in fact I might enjoy them even more than MESBG stuff. The reason I think is because it can feel a bit like a bubble if you’re limiting yourself to one (game) system. The Fallout stuff is very new and fresh to me so it’s nice to read about and see pictures of. I think the same will hold true for any other game system or miniature line you might pursue in the future that I’m less familiar with. 🙂
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Thanks for the kind words as always and bonus points to you for using the word swell 😀
Your perspective is always valued but you’ve mentioned something that I would have never thought of! I always assumed the opposite about game systems, in fact. I would think if you don’t play or collect Fallout minis then you would have little interest in the game, especially with battle reports but I can definitely see that I was wrong to think that. I find reports where someone is playing the same game interesting to see how their playthrough varied from mine but I don’t learn much about the rules for example (since I should already know them). So what I’m really saying is not only thanks as always for your support but also for giving me a different perspective on things and seeing the positive side of making my own hobby path 🙂 I will keep this in mind and not be afraid to try new things in the future.
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Love the crate mate. All the best 2021.
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Cheers and same to you!
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