I’m back! Where was I, you ask? I was lucky enough to have a week long vacation in Arizona with my Dad and brother which was my first time traveling since before the pandemic. I haven’t had time to go through all of my photos but I do have a few I can share. We went to places you’d expect like the Grand Canyon but for me, Antelope Canyon was awfully cool, if a bit crowded, as you slowly make your way through the slot canyon.
There are also petroglyphs in the park which are Native American rock carvings that were messages left to others. I don’t know exactly how old they are but it reminds me of my interest in prehistoric wargaming which we’ll get onto soon enough. Either way, I thought it was cool to see something old like this.
And finally, while the park is pretty desolate looking, there are some beautiful stretches like the painted desert which has some amazing colors. Arizona as a whole has some amazing looking rocks and is a cool place to visit if you like to be outdoors. I’m not that outdoorsy and I still had a good time.
While I’ve been a way for a bit, some of that time was taken up by vacation so I don’t have quite as much done as expected. I did get a second shipping container done for Fallout and I managed to improve upon the first one I made in the process.
As I learned the hard way on the older one on the right, the metal bars are extremely easy to break but thankfully, I was able to get them properly installed this time. I will say that the rust doesn’t show up against the red paint quite as much as I expected or hoped but I guess that is to be expected considering how close all of the colors are.
I also tried using wood filler on the various gaps this time thanks to Dave Stone’s suggestion a while back and I do think that it smoothed out some of the surfaces on the red shipping container and made it look less like an MDF creation and more like a model of the real thing which is always nice. I know these pictures aren’t that great but with a new dining table that I’m not allowed to game on, they are the best I can do for now!
In addition to the Fallout terrain, I also got my first Neanderthal miniature done. This is a metal miniature from the Savage Core game which is made by Lucid Eye Publication. Maybe I’m just from the younger generation who only painted metal miniatures for a few years before plastics replaced them but I’d much rather deal with plastic or resin than metal. The details aren’t as sharp and there is less you can do as a painter with metal sculpts as well. Painting this mini made me a bit nostalgic in good and bad ways. I like the weight of the Neanderthal mini but its really hard to basecoat the miniature because there are all these nooks and crannies where paint will never go unless you find it and hit with your brush. At the same time, I feel like I’m back to painting LOTR minis because of the metal and because I know I’ll have a little “squad” of seven Neanderthals when all is said and done with a fairly uniform look. In fact, I’m going to borrow my technique from painting larger squads for LOTR SBG and not base these guys until they’re all done so I can be sure and make them unique from each other. Anyway, here’s a look at the mini before it gets properly flocked.
These Savage Core minis are good for drybrushing (like many metal minis are) and so you can bang them out quick if you want. While I like how this guy looks, I’m going to see if I can’t vary the colors with future ones and get a bit more contrast than I managed on this guy as well. I’m not in a huge hurry to finish the Neanderthals and will slowly paint them up as I have the time and am in the mood.
Speaking of, I placed an order from Acheson Creations because they’re closing down at the end of this month for a large number of their prehistoric animal minis. There are several companies that make animals from this era but I think Acheson look like the best quality and they’re in the US so shipping was free. Once I get those and the Neanderthals painted, that is all the miniatures that I will need to play a couple different Prehistoric wargames which is pretty cool and a big reason why I’m dabbling in this less popular wargaming space.
Finally, does anybody out there collect video games? I’ve been all over the place trying to find something to collect over the last few months. I’ve more or less stopped buying Star Wars and Marvel cards as I talked about quite a while ago and am slowly working on selling some of my collection off but I still find that I want to collect something. I’ve always collected video games in the sense that I play games and if I like them, I keep them. A while back, I started buying more rare and expensive games, some of which have grown in value since I did so. I find the speculation part of that fun, as well as, seeing the price/value of some games go up. I really only stopped because I ran out of games like that which I wanted to buy. Perhaps by rediscovering this thing I used to do, I’ll have something to buy when I don’t want to add to my already huge backlog of miniatures. Only time will tell as I have yet to figure out how to stop collecting something for my entire adult life!
Kuribo's Painting 
Videogames collector editions tend to be the main physical product theses days – but I don’t know whether there were collectors versions of the Fallout games. Maybe those, if they exist?
At the moment my collecting is limited to one of each Magic card illustrated by Nils Hamm. Though I have caught myself wanting to collect one of each Horus Heresy release and keep it sealed. I have already failed there since my models of Fafnir Rann and Zephon are assembled and on the tray for painting!
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I completely agree that the collector editions have taken over the physical market, especially in terms of what is valuable, which used to turn me off because they come with a lot of extra stuff which can be a bit of a mixed bag. I don’t own it, but I believe Fallout 4 came out with a wearable Pip Boy which is both silly and cool all at once. That is the type of thing I wouldn’t mind owning now so it seems like we’re on the same wavelength! 🙂
Collecting Magic, even of a single artist, is enough to keep anyone going I would say! Having all of the sealed Horus Heresy releases would be ambitious and cool as well but I think painting them up is the way to go. I’m always a fan of opening collectibles that are meant to be used and enjoyed so I think you’re doing the right thing!
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Wonderful scenery photo’s Jeff, and great you had a good time. The new container looks great, and you’ve found the reason a lot of those containers are painted that colour, it hides the rust ! LOL As for the broken pieces, have you considered replacing them with plastic rod, less likely to break. Your caveman looks excellent, and look forward to seeing the prehistoric animals you get and paint. Collections, I tend to stick to just the models these days, but used to collect DVD’s of all the films I liked, but it takes up a lot of space ! LOL
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Thank you, Dave! I think you’re right on painting containers red to cover up the rust. I know this is for the post-apocalypse but one doesn’t have to look hard to find rusting shipping containers in the real world! 🙂 Using plastic rod is a good shout. I’ll have to remember that for the future as it would be cool to add something to bone colored container.
I kind of collect movies as well but I am a bit disillusioned because when a format gets improved upon, it tends to make all of the older formats obsolete. Very few people collect VHS tapes anymore, for example. I can already see that Blu-Rays, which I have a decent amount of, are becoming obsolete which is annoying. The good thing about models is that they don’t suffer from this problem! Well, except for maybe GW ones… 😉
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Looks like it was a brilliant holiday mate!
Great brushwork as usual. Excellent sculpt which you brought to life.
I would say collect Fallout games and paraphernalia. I never played Fallout 76 but a good friend gave me a collectors version of Fallout 76 and it came with a very cool life sized Power Armor helmet. It sits on top of a vitrines in our hallway and constantly tempts to return to Fallout in some manner. I have bid on life sized Vault Tec lunchboxes and Pip-Boys s always sold for more than I wanted to pay.
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Cheers, mate! I hadn’t thought about focusing on Fallout games specifically but that is a good thought. There are tons of various Fallout merchandise out there. Way more than I knew. Someone on Instagram follows me and that is all he posts. It is amazing both how much stuff he has and what he has obtained. As far as eBay goes, I was outbid today on a rare video game I really wanted so I know the pain you describe quite well!
It takes a lot of persistence sometimes to get what you want on there.
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Looks like you had a nice vacation, the SW is one of my favorite areas to visit.
Looking forward to seeing more Savage Core fighting Fallout boys in an alternative universe! 😄
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The Southwest is beautiful if you like desert plants and/or landscapes!
I’m not surprised to hear it coming from someone who has Mordor Orcs facing off against the Centurions! 😉
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Great photos, looks like a nice holiday! On the painting side the containers are really nice, you’re right about the putty, looks like weld lines. I’m also of fan of that prehistoric model, nice paint job! What rules will you be using for the setting?
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Thank you for the kind words, Nicolas! 🙂 I own Palaeo Diet: Eat or be Eaten, which is centered around prehistoric animal hunts (though there is a pulp rule expansion too which I don’t own). There’s also Primevo, which is more campaigned centered and lastly, there’s Prehistoric Settlement, which truthfully, I don’t know much about. The fact that there are so many rulesets to choose from and you don’t need tons of minis, definitely attracted me to this setting.
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Yeah that’s a lot of options! Great setting choice, looking forward to see what else you paint up for it
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Oh wow your trip sounds and looks cool.
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Cheers, mate!
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Arizona does have some beautiful bits; I visited in 1989 and saw the Grand Canyon, and it’s hard to come up with the words to describe how magnificent it is.
Love the shipping containers, and the Neanderthal is beautifully painted — you’ve really brought out his character!
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It is a bit different than Vermont or Illinois for the matter, innit? 🙂 The Grand Canyon really is huge to be sure. Thanks for the kind words on the painting as well, Matt!
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Sounds like you had a great vacation – the photos are really nice! 🙂 And I like the Neanderthal – reminds me of the film Night In A Museum 2! Can’t help with collecting other than why not just collect miniatures?
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Thank you, John! I don’t think I ever saw the sequel but I definitely enjoyed the first one when it came out. It sounds like maybe I should give it a watch!
This may be a longer answer than you need but I have a set amount I generally spend on fun things for me and even though I’ve upped the amount I’m spending on miniatures and have added to my backlog as expected and intended, I’m finding that I have money left over that doesn’t feel fun or satisfying to spend on more miniatures or terrain. At a certain point, it just feels like I’m increasing the to-do pile too much. That is why I’ve been trying to find something else to collect and spend money on basically. I already collect video games in the sense that I buy whatever I want to play and if I like it, I keep it so I’m just putting a bit more effort, attention, and money into that. Hopefully that will help me satisfy my collector bug. It really is an illness! 🙂
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Sounds quite sensible to me, Jeff! 🙂 I think I tend to be the same way with books!
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Nice pic sof sun purrty rocks! Glad you finally got a vacation in.
Containers look functional and solid like the ought to. The caveman looks awesome, like a real brute. 😀
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Thanks, Stew! It was certainly nice to get away from Chicago for a bit. I’m glad that you like how I painted one of our ancestors too 😀
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Looks like a great holiday mate, and you done that metal model proud.
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Cheers, mate! I appreciate your kind words as always!
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Wow Jeff! always love to see photos of other folks countries, your desert ones are similar to a large part of Auss that we call the red center. we have a petrified Forrest and guess what its on a beach, an ideal spot for you and your wife to see when your over here!
You have certainly done a great job on the containers, well done.
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I’m glad you enjoyed the photos and I imagine that Arizona or New Mexico would feel right at home to someone who comes from the desert part of Australia. That is amazing that the Petrified Forest is Australia on a beach as well. I’d love to visit that part of Australia one day. I’ll be sure to pass that info along to the missus! 🙂 Thanks for the kind words as well!
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If I get down that way I will take some photos of it and post them, maybe a trip in the spring is in order.
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