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Savage Core – Prehistoric Progress

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While I have quite a few projects on the go, I’m happy to share a couple of finished miniatures this week. First up is another Savage Core Neanderthal. I wasn’t trying to make this one the best yet but I think it ended up that way. Maybe the sculpt is just a bit better (there is undoubtedly more detail on this one) or I was really on it when I painted it, I can’t really say. Either way, here’s a look.

I’ve got four of these done now with three to go. I probably only need 4-5 to start playing Palaeo Diet but it will be nice to get them all finished. At that point, I can focus on painting the prehistoric animals and updating some old terrain. I’m still a ways off from using these miniatures in a game but I feel like I’ve made some progress anyway.

But wait, there’s more! I also painted up one of the Heavy Console terrain pieces for Fallout. It was pretty straightforward and I got it done quicker than the Neanderthal which surprised me. I enjoyed the process on this one and look forward to getting more of these done. As I mentioned an update or two ago, I want to do some kind of scenic/cinematic looking photo with these behind the Institute stuff I’ve painted. I don’t have a larger building where I can pull that off yet but I may have to make that a priority later in the year.

And finally, there are a few developments in Arkham Horror corner. First up, I read something Arkham Horror related! That’s right, Arkham Horror has its own line of books which were recently relaunched by a company called Aconyte Books. When I was younger, I read a lot of Star Wars novels and enjoyed them. I was hardly a discerning reader in elementary and middle school but it was cool delving deeper into those universes at the time. Since I enjoy Arkham Horror so much, I figured why not give it a shot and see if it could be fun in a similar way.

Fans of the Black Library may recognize the author, though he was new to me. I definitely walked away from the book impressed. Wrath of N’kai is a detective story where a thief is hired to steal an occult item but is foiled when someone else nabs it. The mystery builds as people are murdered and everyone is looking for the stolen item. It was definitely an entertaining and satisfying read. It captures the pulpy, Lovecraftian fun of Arkham Horror really nicely. I was also impressed that Josh Reynolds referenced characters and locations from Arkham Horror in a fun way but never made those references important to your understanding of the plot. In this way, the book is very approachable to anyone, including someone who doesn’t know Arkham Horror at all. While I can’t say its a great piece of literature, I enjoyed it quite a bit and I plan on reading some more in the Arkham Horror novel series.

One goal for 2023 that I probably haven’t mentioned previously is to “pimp out” my copy of Arkham Horror a bit more. There are some cool upgrades out there for the game that I’d like to own, mostly because I love the game and there are also some things I can grab to make playing the game easier. I purchased some new colored Dragon Shield card sleeves to help me visually track the cards better. I always play two-fisted (in other words, I play the game for two players even though I’m playing on my own) and I’ve found it easy to misplace cards or pick up the wrong hand at the wrong time while playing if you use the same colored sleeves. Thankfully, with these new sleeves, I’m finding it much easier in the new campaign I started yesterday. Its a small thing but it makes a fun experience that much better.

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42 thoughts on “Savage Core – Prehistoric Progress”

  1. I’m really liking those Savage Core models, what a cool range and you’ve done a really nice job painting them. That fallout computer came out great too, love those little bits of detail. Sleeves are almost a must have for card games that get played often,it really makes shuffling easier and preventing the cards from getting scuffed is a nice bonus too!

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    1. Thanks, Nic and I’m glad to hear you like the Savage Core minis. Lucid Eye Publications certainly know how to make high quality metal sculpts. If you haven’t taken a look at the full line for Savage Core, there are tons and tons of minis available. I’ve only painted Neanderthals and there are lots of other things I’m tempted by, especially if I like gaming in the Pulp Lost World setting.

      As a fellow CCG fan, I couldn’t agree more! Dragon Shield seem to be the best ones on the market but whether I’m playing a card or board game, I always try to sleeve the cards up as early as possible to keep them “crisp”!

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      2. I don’t know if Savage Core fits into any current projects you have but you might be able to find a new one to start. I know I see some miniatures that they have that I want to find a gaming purpose for, if I can 🙂

        Liked by 1 person

  2. Very nice post. I agree that your newest neanderthal is the best one, it’s a great pose. Looking forward to seeing what animal they tackle.

    What I really like is the chipping you did on the side of the console, very well done.

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    1. Glad to hear you enjoyed it! I have quite a few critters to paint though I’ve been holding off on them because I don’t have a great storage solution, yet. I’ll have to see if I can’t get that sorted sometime soon. Thank you for the Instagram like as well. You’re one of an elite company of nine people to like it! I knew it wouldn’t get a lot of attention and I was not disappointed.

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      1. I saw the Instagram post first and thought, cool, someone else is painting these and I need to tell you, and then I saw who posted it! Likes are all about the hashtags if one is interested in “internet points”, which I don’t think either one of us are.

        Liked by 2 people

      2. Haha, well I’m glad you liked it. I was curious if I could get a reaction out of Lucid Eye but they have not done anything thus far.

        I probably won’t share more pulp/prehistoric stuff on Instagram since there was so little interest. I find that Hellboy gets a pretty muted response too so I may stick mostly to Fallout and display projects going forward on Instagram which is fine by me. I just know I should post on there more than I do so we’ll see if I can do any better about that this year or not. I always say that I’m going to post more and never do.

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  3. Lovely work on the neaderthal, he looks awesome and fits in really well with the rest of the group. I like the way you’ve used subtly different shades on the fur clothing to differentiate them instead of making them the same colour.

    The console looks superb, the weathering around the case and the detailed buttons and screens is just amazingly good. As for Lovecraftian fiction, have you heard of Noirlathotep: Tales of Lovecraftian Crime? It’s well worth a read 🙂

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    1. Thanks, Matt! I was going to make the cavemen look a bit more uniform but since this is a skirmish game and there will be so few, I’m trying to find ways to not repeat colors to make them all unique.

      Thanks for the kind words on the console and even bigger thanks for the recommendation. I was thinking when I read Wrath of N’Kai, that Noir and Lovecraft really go well together and I’d like to read more of that. I’ll definitely give that one a shot!

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  5. Excellent work on the caveman and console Jeff, two very different styles rhat are perfectly executed.
    Great news you enjoyed the book, and hasn’t detracted from your enjoyment of the subject, and can see the card sleeves making it easier to keep track of the decks

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    1. Thanks, Dave! I didn’t think much of it but they certainly are two very different subjects to work on. Arkham Horror is fun as it is so anything that makes it even better is definitely icing on the cake for me way.

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  6. Very nice work on the Neanderthal and the console Jeff! 🙂 I must admit I do like the Neanderthals so will be good to see more and some animals as well! And nice to be making progress with Arkham Horror with the reading and the card sleeves!

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    1. Thanks, John! I’m glad to hear you like the prehistoric stuff. It is by far the most niche thing I paint so its good to hear there is an audience for it here. I think I’ll try to squeeze in more miniatures for that setting because I don’t need to paint miniatures for Hellboy or Fallout to get my next game in (thankfully!).

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    1. Thanks, Stew! I didn’t even think of it when I was painting (because I’m a real professional) but you’re right that these two are very different.

      I don’t like horror movies or books either. If you can handle Edgar Allen Poe, you can handle Lovecraft or the book I read. It really isn’t scary at all though I guess you have to take my word for it!

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    1. Thanks for the kind words as always! I’m glad you like both miniatures and I think they appeal to you as much as anybody who regularly visits so if they look good to you, then I’d say I did well with them 🙂

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  10. Nice skin tones on the neanderthals and I really like the hides around their midsections. The console turned out really nice too. The chipping is great. Did you use a reference for the colors? Some bits, like the dials, I would have instinctively painted a silvery metal. But they look sort of like plastic the way you painted them, which gives them a unique look. Great job! 🙂

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    1. Cheers, Brian! I do reference stuff from Fallout before painting it. For the computer consoles, I didn’t exactly color match the game because there are some light blue computers but Citadel doesn’t make a comparable color. I thought a duller and colder blue would better fit so I used Celestra Gray and Ulthuan Gray here. The various knobs match the game very closely however so the plastic feel is straight from Fallout 4 🙂

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      1. Awesome, I figured you probably had. I’ll have to look up some in-game Fallout pics. I guess I was too busy running from Raiders to notice the computer colors most of the time! 😂

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      3. They probably would, but I quit playing with New Vegas and that was many years ago. But yea, that’s why I asked if you used reference. Because I couldn’t totally recall the colors on it and didn’t know if you winged it or pulled it from the video game or boardgame art maybe.

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      4. I really enjoyed Fallout New Vegas and I got all the achievements for it but its been so long since I’ve played it and the graphics haven’t aged well, I imagine. I hope that they’ll update the graphics and rerelease it one day but I suspect not since the game was made by someone other than who usually makes the Fallout games. There are Fallout: New Vegas miniatures as part of Wasteland Warfare but I haven’t bought any because I have so much stuff to paint from Fallout 4 and the terrain is completely different (Nevada compared to Boston). If only there was more time!

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      5. I haven’t tried Fallout 4, but it sounds like you have played the computer game? How is it? I heard reviews were really bad at the start. So that, no time for games, and an aging PC turned me off on it. I’m building a new PC this year though, and eager to play some of the games I’ve missed and especially eager to try Starfield.

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      6. Yeah, I played it on PS4 and really enjoyed it. Some people don’t like it as much as I do but I think it is as good as previous Fallouts but with a better fleshed out world and story. If you build a new PC, you should have no trouble with Fallout 4 since its a few years old now. If you like using mods, that will be easier on PC as well.

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  12. Nice Neanderthals!
    I’ve been eying up that line of books for a while now. I almost bought Yasmin some for Christmas but she’s enough to read at the moment. I might get one to try myself now, thanks.
    Good idea on the different coloured sleeves. It’s easy to lose track of things when you’re playing solo like that and everything helps.

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    1. Thanks, mate! I thought you might find the Arkham Horror novel section interesting 🙂 I’d be curious to hear what you think and I plan to read more for sure. I couldn’t agree more on the sleeves. It really does make a difference!

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  14. The neanderthals look really good again – I just watched a Far Cry franchise YT doco last night and I’m getting Primal vibes from these guys – which is a good thing! I very much like the console as well – the little paint chip flecks really work well on it.
    The AH book looks fun – definately a pulpy cover – that’s for sure. Marouda just picked up the Eldritch Horror board game last week which we’ll get to try out one day. Good to see you enjoying the pimping out of your games as well. 🙂

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    1. Glad to hear you like the cavemen! I have never played Primal (I’ve only played one of the early Far Crys and it was fine but didn’t grab me). Perhaps I should give that one a go!

      I hope you and Marouda enjoy EH! I know our buddy, Justin, is a big fan of it 😀

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