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Savage Core and Hellboy – Neanderthals and a Homunculus

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Its good to be back after taking a week off. There’s plenty to talk about so I won’t waste any time. The first thing I got done was another caveman. Like the previous two, these minis don’t take long at all to paint so it was nice to get another done quick.

I showed off the back of this mini because it had a fair large hole in the bottom pelt and I green stuff’d it and sculpted a bit of fur and honestly, you can’t tell! Hopefully that means I’m getting better at sculpting little by little. One other thing you may notice is that I actually based this guy. And yes, that means I went ahead and based the three I’ve finished thus far at once. Its nice to see them in their natural environment a bit more. It was fun to do a grassy base as I haven’t done one in quite a while. Probably not since I was still playing MESBG.

One thing I realized is that I’m short a base in one of my Neanderthal blisters. I should know this for as long as I’ve been in the hobby but I’m stumped. Does anybody know a manufacturer who produces round lipped bases like this? It doesn’t need to be slotted either, just have room for a metal base to fit on top without sticking out too much.

Next up is a very fun character from Hellboy and B.P.R.D, Roger the Homunculus! Roger is brought to life by Liz’s flame powers and it nearly kills her. Roger is more less like a child and doesn’t know much about the world or humanity. He ends up being a brave and loyal friend to everyone around him so he’s a bit of comic relief and an earnest foil to Hellboy who is cynical and sarcastic. Roger’s skin tone is a bit different depending on who colors him in the comics so I did the best I could to match what I think he looks like. Unfortunately, the sculpt was not very sharp and it once again had me wishing I could paint the resin version which has much better details. The paint job is definitely not one of my best but I was more focused on getting this one done quick instead of right.

Oh yeah, one other key detail about Roger. He wears no pants. So get ready for the most X-rated picture to appear on this reputable website.

You’re welcome. I did hear back from Mantic Support and they sent me a PDF of the missing Lobster Johnson card. So I’ll have to figure out a way to get a copy made or printed off so I can use it in-game. A replacement would have been preferable but the Kickstarter came out quite a while ago and its understandable that they wouldn’t have any extras now. I appreciate that they did something for me anyway.

Finally, I generally don’t pay a lot of attention to them but I took a look at my website’s stats and thought I’d share a few interesting findings. This first part is only noteworthy for those who visit and comment regularly. First off, I found who the top 5 commenters are and the results didn’t surprise me too much but I thought some regular visitors would find them interesting. The leader is none other than painter extraordinaire, Azazel of Azazel’s Bit Box. He and I have followed each other’s work for a long time now so that makes sense. Bret, aka, Mapper and Grumpygnome are in second and third which seems appropriate because the three of us love Middle Earth and comment on each other’s work regularly. We have been online friends for quite some time too. John, from Just Needs Varnish! takes 4th place which is no surprise because he is easily the nicest guy in wargaming. Shockingly, Justin from The Solo Meeple, just managed to edge out Dave Stone for 5th. Justin writes excellent reviews and has great taste in board games and Dave is a beacon for sculpting in this blogging community. You won’t find anyone better! Why did I share this? To keep you all commenting of course and to hopefully stir up some competition naturally! In all seriousness, I thought some of you may find it interesting and/or get a kick out of it. I certainly have appreciated your time and thoughts over the years too and this is as good of excuse as any to say it.

The thing I was actually curious about was: has my site grown in views over the years and what content is drawing people here? The answer is yes, my site is slowly growing in views year after year. I may hit 20,000 views this year which is not bad at all in my opinion! I have no real metric in mind and quite frankly, I just enjoy having regular visitors as much as anything.

And yet, I also really like it when I write something that brings in fresh visitors. For example, I wrote an article about why I like Arkham Horror: The Card Game better than LOTR: LCG and that got a lot of page views and it was not from the regular visitors either. Almost everyone who read it came from outside of this blogging circle. I feel a lot of gratification from that because I put a lot of thought into that article and I think and hope that it might help people decide which of the two games is right for them.

As I think about it, I’d like to do more of that sort of thing in the future if time permits so you can expect me to write some more review articles for games I’m playing (Fallout, Hellboy, and Arkham Horror mostly) but I’ll also try to write more articles about getting into Fallout and what the strengths and weaknesses are of the game too. By far, my most popular article is actually Getting into MESBG. I wrote this to be a resource because there wasn’t a lot about it at the time. So this was an article that also made proud. Unfortunately, it has fallen out of date and I don’t play MESBG anymore so I’m not sure if I can update it or not. My hope is to provide the same type of articles about games I do know well currently at the very least. Writing those articles feels like my way of giving back and hopefully inspiring others to take up our hobby which is always a nice thing to do. I don’t know if I’ll be able to crank them out very quickly, maybe once a month or something like that but we’ll see what I can do and where the site goes next year.

Of course, the bread and butter of this website which are weekly hobby updates aren’t going anywhere either. They don’t get a lot of page views but they’re fun to do so I have no intention of stopping them.

There’s plenty more going on including some goal setting for the future and I’ve started working on something for Golden Demon but its very early days on it. If I can get moving on it, there might be something to share next week. We shall see. Either way, there is likely to be plenty more to discuss next week!

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49 thoughts on “Savage Core and Hellboy – Neanderthals and a Homunculus”

  1. Love those savage core minis, you’ve done a great job in them!
    I think it’s kinda nice to call out those regular commenters! I’m rather new at this hobby blogging game (although just passed 2 years somehow!) but I have to say the community is so proactive with commenting, it’s really nice to see people comment on each other’s stuff on the regular. Makes for a nice space to post updates, away from the whims of algorithms and swift scrolling through photos.

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    1. Thanks, Nic! I try to promote other people’s sites whenever relevant or useful and from what I can tell in the stats, it does direct some viewership to their websites which is really cool. I started posting regularly at some point in 2019 so I haven’t been doing this too much longer than you. The top commenters are really just the people who have followed me the longest and regularly comment so it isn’t really that much of a competition in that sense. I couldn’t agree more on the interactions on social media as well. Whether it is Instagram or Facebook, you’re lucky to get either a comment that says you did an amazing job or it is a person asking how you achieved something so they can try and do the same. That is pretty much as far as the interaction goes sadly.

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  3. Nice work on the cavemans. Those bases are pretty common, but sadly we’re a bit far apart for me to dig one out and hand it off to you.
    This might be more than you want to pay for them -but they’re usually findble pretty easily on amazon and ebay

    I’m not familiar with Roger (well, *this* Roger, anyway!) but the model looks very good regardless – and great to see you keeping in mind that not all your work can (by definition) be your best work. At least you didn’t go full goatse!
    Good enough is good enough and is what gives you time to spend the extra time on the models that deserve the extra time to be spent to be better than good enough.
    I hope you enjoyed that convoluted sentence, by the way!

    I likewise find that my posts generally fall into one of roughly four categories
    – ones that garner little attention, even from the usual suspects – things like a few crappy D&D models, or a few small pieces of scatter scenery.
    – ones that gather what I’d call a “normal” amount of attention – my usual painting updates – with some variation depending on the model – for example, SPEHSS MARINZZ garner a lot more attention than most boardgame models.
    – “controversial” discussion posts. I don’t do a lot of these, but when I bitch about or defend GW, or Army Painter, or so forth these tend to get a LOT of hits. I guess when these are timely they attract attention from google or the twitter machine, so they can blow up a bit in terms of views, though they don’t really get a ton of new commentators.
    – lastly there’s the “long tail” posts. My most popular post by far is the repost of free printable D&D maps that I basically just posted as a signal boost during lockdowns. That’s followed by things like my AK Interactive spray reviews and things like that. I don’t expect my 15mm terrain reviews to ever do big numebrs because the products are pretty niche, but I expect they’ll just plod along for a longer time as they also stay relevent for longer.

    Regardless, I do look forward to reading some more reviews and guides and the like from you in the future!

    love,
    your #1 fan!
    😀

    Liked by 8 people

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    1. I don’t follow Reaper much at all so I had no idea they likely made these bases. I’ll look around and see if I can find a cheap set of them on eBay or something like that. Half the battle is figuring out the right search terms for these things or you’ll get buried in worthless results.

      Thanks for the kind words on the painting and your philosophy really rings true for board game minis. Unfortunately with Hellboy, a lot of the “base game” minis are not as good as the expansions or at least that’s what I’m seeing with my set. If I can get through these sub-par minis, I think a lot of the rest will be sharper and more fun to work on.

      It sounds like we have drawn similar conclusions on what draws people to our website and what doesn’t. I didn’t mention it but “News” posts do very well for me but I generally find them unexciting to write so I steer clear of them. I’m not even remotely tempted to employ a clickbait strategy like Spikey Bits uses either… I’m glad that you’re looking forward to the reviews as because I often think that my core audience of hardcore commenters are generally disinterested by those articles, especially if it is about Arkham Horror, because they aren’t interested in card games. I totally get this and it shows that you can’t win them all, well, at least not other than your Number 1 fan! 😉

      Liked by 3 people

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      1. I know they’re available from quite a few different places – Reaper would just be one of them – but it looks like Matt might have you sorted now!
        The nice thing about the Zombicide models (for example) is that there’s a nice variety of things – so I can put effort into the survivor sculpts or “special” zombies (and more or less effort depending on how much they appeal/are enjoyable to work on) and then just smash out a bunch of regular zombies that will look good on the tabletop.
        And yeah, I’m much in agreement on News posts. I do a bit of fencing on Dakka from time to time, but I have to keep it nice(ish) there. When there’s something I really feel the need to talk about in an unfiltered manner, I’ll post it up on the ol’ blog – but it’s not too often.
        Everyone is interested in different things, and by extension more or less engaged by them – whether that’s broad genres of game (like card, board, eurogame, etc) or sub-genres of miniature games (like Space Marines vs Napoleonics vs Early Byzantine Romans). If you’re not doing it to earn money, then you just gotta go with what you’re passionate about at the time, and can skip the clickbaity stuff or going with all Space Marines, all the time… 😉

        Liked by 3 people

      2. I think I could order the bases from an English source but shipping has gotten so expensive from the UK that I try to avoid that if at all possible. I have started feel the pain of living in Australia when it comes to shipping on English goods anyway!

        It is nice having a platform to say what’s on your mind, that is for sure. You’re right that if you want to make money, you’re playing a completely different game and trying to please as many people as possible. I can’t imagine any of us in our community trying that or being able to pull it off successfully. I know I certainly can’t and I’d guess that being on Youtube would probably be more lucrative than having a blog anyway. Space marines do become dull after you’ve painted a couple, I find 🙂

        Liked by 3 people

  4. Not much that I can add that has not already been said. I had some of those lipped bases in various sizes but put them on eBay awhile back now.

    Your Neaderthals look brilliant! Great sculpts that you have brought to life with your brushwork.

    Engaging with regular commenters is a big part of why I continue to blog. It has been a real pleasure talking with you mate.

    Liked by 5 people

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    1. I know the bases aren’t hard to find if you know where to look so I’m glad people have pointed me in the right direction.

      Thanks for the kind words on the cavemen as well. One day, I will have a prehistoric game but it might be 2025 or later before it happens…

      The same goes to you, mate! I’m always interested to hear your thoughts and as you already know, you’re one of my favorite people to talk to about our hobby and many things beyond it too.

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  6. I have several of those bases, so if you email me your address I can send some to you if you want 🙂

    The Neanderthals look great, especially the way you’ve brought out the texture of the fur and the colour of the leather. Roger the Homunculus is an interesting mini to say the least LOL! Imagine fighting all those eldritch horrors “tackle out”, as Blackadder once put it 🙂

    It’s interesting to read about the types of posts that get the most reads. One thing I have to start doing is adding keywords to my posts… you’d think that, as I spent my last 18 months in work as the web/social media editor I’d know about SEO, but I never paid much attention to it.

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    1. Email sent! I’m glad you like the Neanderthals as well, Matt. And yeah, Roger clearly has a modesty something or other in the front to prevent the character from being naked haha. One would think pants are required to stop Lovecraftian foes but maybe not!

      I’m not as familiar with Blogspot as I am WordPress but I would say that keywords will definitely help you climb the Google ladder of results. Its hard to tell without paying money what terms are bringing people to my site but there are some patterns you can spot anyway. I’m no expert on SEO either. I probably should know more than I do as it does relate to my job too!

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      2. That is ironic considering what I said in it! 😀 I just resent the email to your Mut gmail account. The email title should get your attention or at least I think so!

        Like

      1. I’d be willing to bet they’re higher ranked than me because they have followed you longer than I have. I may need to use some underhanded tactics to try and catch up!

        Liked by 3 people

    2. You’ve certainly won “Commenter of the Day”, though your treatment of Dave may make me have to change you mention of you from nicest guy in wargaming to the meanest haha! In all seriousness, I’m glad we can have a bit of fun with it and thank you for your kind words as always. I certainly took some joy in seeing the results 🙂

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  12. Great work on the resculpting, it’s not noticeable where the work you’ve done is. Excellent work on on the Neanderthal and Roger, especially as his sculpt isn’t great. Was interesting to read what posts get the most hits, and comments, and thankyou for the mention even though I slipped to sixth place ! LOL perhaps I need to follow John’s and Azazael’s idea ! LOL

    Liked by 6 people

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    1. Thanks, Dave! I was going insert a joke along the lines of “Since my sculpting was a success, I’m now one step closer to being formally adopted by Dave Stone and inheriting the family business” but I figured only a couple of us would get it so I refrained haha!

      I’m glad you enjoyed the rest of the content as well and I certainly wouldn’t be above joining in with John and Azazel if I wanted to climb the ranks. Of course, you and I know that you make up for quantity by leaving thoughtful comments each time and that ought set those two straight 😉

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  13. It’s easy to comment when you post weekly and have such interesting things to comment on. Will hold you to having a Neanderthal game at some point, I hope you are keeping track of what you used on your bases, I find that when I get some new figures to paint/base after doing some awhile ago, I have a hard time matching what I had done before.

    Also being a regular reader/commentor has a advantage of remembering mundane things. Did you ever get a gaming table you liked and what about your buffet table?😁

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    1. I appreciate that and your support over the past few years. I certainly will get a Prehistoric game in eventually. It may be third on my list of priorities currently (and sometimes 4th or 5th) but I’m trying to chip away at it when I can. I don’t keep close track of what I use for basing so I could be in trouble! My only saving grace is that I probably will still have the same materials when I base more Prehistoric stuff because I don’t use my fairly large supply of grasses and flock much other than the odd MESBG mini.

      You’re not going to believe this but the buffet got finished on Friday! What a horrible experience it was. I haven’t wrapped my mind around the fact that its even done yet because it doesn’t seem real. For a gaming table, I bought two cheap folding tables from Amazon and they’ve worked well enough so far. As my my wife and I’s finances permit, I’m going to start upgrading things in my room which is where I pretty much do anything that is fun so I will probably share some progress on it in the future. It will be like HGTV meets wargaming and video gaming but without any forced humor or personality haha!

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  15. Ah! Master Jeff, thank you for mentioning your humble apprentice😉
    Nice cavemen mate reminds me of the armourers I used to work with in the RAF, Lol!
    Would never know there was a hole in the back, great work there.

    Interesting bum crack you’ve painted there, was that with a wash… or without 🤣😂

    In terms of views, I think the more you diversify the more you’ll bring in, unless you really go very specialised. It’s easy to get fixated with stats, I know I was in the first few years, but now I hardly ever look at them, though when I do it can be quite surprising!

    Anyway, whatever you put out I’ll be sure to enjoy reading, thanks.

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    1. I’m happy to mention my prized pupil. Just don’t let it go to your head! 😀

      Your comment about the RAF gave me a laugh and I am pretty unlikely to ever serve the royal family! I’ll have you know that bum was carefully painted with advanced layering and glazing techniques because it is so crucial to appreciating the mini haha!

      I don’t pay much attention to stats but its good to check them once every six months or on a yearly basis, I would think. I probably won’t ever diversify enough to get lots of views and I’m fine with that. I only have so much storage room and I’ve made commitments to a couple of games for years into the future, not unlike you with Bolt Action, I’d say! Either way, I’ll always write about what I enjoy and hopefully there will be others like yourself who turn up to read it 🙂 Thank you for your comments and wit, mate! They are certainly appreciated!

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      1. It’s nice to hear that ever nook and crack of a miniature receives the utmost attention😉
        I wish I could commit to just one or two games, it would be so much easier. Instead, I have a massive backlog of stuff just waiting to be dealt with and I find I can never concentrate on one thing at a time, but that’s the way I am, always dabbling in something new that has caught my attention, however briefly.

        I’ve always been called a ‘shining wit’ – I think that’s right, anyway – so I’m glad you appreciate my good old British sense of humour😁

        Liked by 1 person

      2. Haha, that’s right! And I see your wit alright 😉 For better or worse, you’ve found an American with who has a very dry sense of humor so I like to think that I fit in well with the humor in your land.

        I think I will probably mention my troubles with focusing on one game in my next update so this is all timely. I can relate to the pain you’re describing all too well! Staying focused and committed isn’t that easy as it turns out.

        Liked by 1 person

  16. I like the skin on the cavemen, nicely done. It’s been a long time since I read Hellboy and I only have a vague recollection of Roger. Was he initially grey, like stone? And yea, Mignola had no issue with drawing naked male anatomy in the comics. In a way it showed how powerful a character was, because they needed no protection whatsoever. Blogging –
    I think I mentioned this before, but it took me forever to get to your blog. I had seen your comments on a few other blogs for awhile and finally I started remembering your name and the fact that we seemed to like some similar things. So, here I am! Like it or not, haha! Most my posts don’t get a ton of views, but I did one comparing Mantics Dreadball and Blood Bowl that still gets hits now and again. One of my Blitz Bowl ones does as well. I’m just happy to share some pics and whatever I learn along the way that might be interesting or make things easier for others in the hobby. 😃

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    1. Thanks, Faust! Roger did look either gray or like Rakarth Flesh depending on your perspective. In B.P.R.D. which he played a larger role, he had a yellowish tint to his skin so there isn’t one magic skin tone for him. I just picked what was easiest for me.

      I would say it took awhile for both of us to find each other’s blogs but I’m glad we did. Its interesting what works for one writer or website might not for another. In a lot of ways, we all kind of have our own niches in the hobby and within the blogosphere which is pretty cool 🙂

      Liked by 1 person

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      1. Ah ok, I skipped most of BPRD as a lot of it wasn’t drawn by Mignola. I plan on doing a reread of Hellboy at some point. I have the deluxe hardcovers 1-6. It will be interesting, because there is some stuff that I haven’t even read.

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