With two weeks of hobby time, I have slightly more to show this week than normal though not quite as much as I might have expected at the same time. The first thing I’ll show off was a mini I picked up as a change of pace from General Hondo. Ultimately, I wouldn’t say it brought a ton of joy to work on it and it isn’t one of my all-time great paint jobs but I did the best I could to get her done quickly but still to a decent standard.
The one thing I did on this mini that I do like is I tried to paint the trim on her vault suit like its actually metallic. In the game, that is how it looks (though most people paint it yellow and call it a day which is fair enough) and so its nice to match the game art that little bit more. I’ll certainly try and go for the same effect in the future for anybody in a vault suit. If you were wondering, this lady is just a random vault resident. She might be good or she might live in a bad vault where problems are afoot. That is up to me to decide and is on a game-by-game basis I guess you could say. Truthfully, unless I get some proper vault terrain, I don’t know when I’ll use this miniature in a game but its nice to have her painted up all the same. I’ve got two of the four minis in the Vault Dwellers box done as well which isn’t too shabby.
You can’t see it on her but this miniature is a nice example of where Modiphius can improve their sculpts in the future. She is a little fragile because she has thin limbs but there are a lot of details that are sculpted into the suit’s texture that are not really paintable because they’re so fine. You really can’t even see them in photos either. Her face is also challenging because everything is so small and fine. I didn’t take great pictures of it but her face is painted to a good standard but probably would be better if the overall head was sculpted a bit bigger with more detail. If adjusting the scale ultimately solves these kinds of issues, then that would be good for painters but we shall wait and see on that.
The rest of the time, I worked on Hondo though I don’t have as much progress to show for it as I would like. I’ve been working on his shoulder armor and man, they’re tough to get smooth blends on. Hondo’s gold stars weren’t easy either as they’re really fine. I’m not sure I got the gold on the shoulder armor exactly right and I may go back and try and improve it a bit more once I get the other one done. Here’s a teaser for some of the stuff I’ve been working on. I’ll show it all next week because I’m sure I’ll be working on Hondo all week as I try to push closer towards getting him done. Its going to take at least 2-3 weeks I’d guess for that to happen but we’re getting closer and closer anyway.
Outside of this, I’ve gotten back into playing Sentinels of the Multiverse after taking 2-4 weeks off from it. I’m getting close to playing through and beating everything so I think I’ll write up a review for it in the near future. In the past, I’ve wanted to review more games but I don’t always get around to it or I talk myself out of it, because I don’t feel qualified enough to say anything but I’m going to try and stop doing that. I’ve been trying to think of ways to attract more visitors to this website as viewership been pretty stagnant for about three years now and since reviews do pretty well, I might as well review card and board games I play. I also might try to pick up some more games in the coming months as I have quite a bit of stuff to paint for Hellboy to be able to play new content and the same could mostly be said about Fallout. Who knows maybe I’ll find a game that interests some of you regular visitors too which would be fun as well.
Kuribo's Painting 
Nice work, Jeff! š I find the issue of detail apparent on 3D prints designed for 28/32mm scale when I get them in 20mm – the detail is there but very fine. I’ve bought some figures designed for 10mm scale that have scaled up to 20mm and they’re much better – detail is there, even on faces, but is much more pronounced. Guns, swords and spears etc. can be “chunky” but that makes them more resistant to breakage as far as I’m concerned.
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Thanks, John! And funnily enough, I think the problem you describe is the issue Fallout has. From what I understand, they take the 3D digital models from the video game and shrink them down for the minis. If they can find a skilled sculptor who can work out how to make the details work and be paintable, I think they’ll be able to improve their overall quality.
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Very nice. Your ādecent standardā is my ātry my bloody hardestā haha. Thatās a maybe too.
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You’re too kind, mate! There’s always room for more to dip their toes in the display painting pool haha!
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Nice work on the miniatures! The Vault Dweller miniatures are quite difficult to paint, and from experience, I agree with you. However, I think you’ve done very well with the challenge! š
Modiphius have announced that they are changing the design philosophy of sculpting and designing their miniatures. Slightly less detail, a bit bigger and in heroic scale. So F:WW 2.0 miniatures are going to be much more easier to paint going forwards. š
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Thanks for the kind words and I’m glad to hear that it isn’t just me who found the sculpt challenging, if that makes sense!
I’m looking forward to seeing what they come up with on the scale change. My hope is that they blend in with the current minis alright and solve the painting problem for us. We shall see! š
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The vault dweller looks great, I can see what you mean about the size of the features, they are quite tiny. The gold looks good, a bit more subdued than the bright yellow which seems sensible given the setting! Hondo is coming along nicely too, so much metal to paint! It’s going to be a lot of work but will be worth it in the end.
Interesting to see reviews work well for you. I enjoy reading your reviews so no complaints from me if you do more going forwards. I haven’t dipped my toes in that space, I tend to go back and paint whatever I feel like which isn’t necessarily new things so it always feels weird to review them. I think after finding documenting my silver bayonet games fun I might do some more “me learning a game” type posts which are somewhat review related.
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Thank you for the kind words, Nic! Hondo is definitely dragging on a bit at this point but I keep telling myself that I’m almost 75% of the way there and then it will get easier because the end is in sight!
I didn’t explain things as much or as effectively as I probably could have. The most popular articles I’ve written are anything about getting started with a miniatures game. I’ve only written 3-4 of those and they’re about MESBG and Fallout specifically. The challenge is that I don’t have the capacity to try other games to write more articles like that so I have to look for other things to write about that might draw in viewers.
Reviews are the next closest thing which includes hobby books and wargame rulebooks. I can’t realistically review wargame rulebooks because I won’t be able to play them anytime soon due to how slow I paint, having limited storage space, etc. So finding something like a board or card game that I can just play and then review is the best option for me at this point.
Getting back to the Lair of the Lagomorph, I would think a review of Silver Bayonet, maybe even just from a solo player’s perspective would do very well for you, if you’re interested in writing it. You could also just provide tips or ideas for getting into the solo part of the game, if that’s more your speed. Silver Bayonet is a fairly high profile game and I’m sure there are people who want to play it but aren’t sure about the solo gameplay specifically which is where you could come in. I’ve thought about trying Frostgrave/Stargrave in a somewhat similar fashion even though I ultimately haven’t bought even the rules for either system, a well-written article probably could have probably changed that though!
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Thanks for the advice! A review of solo Silver Bayonet could be fun to write, I have been enjoying it so it would be a positive one too which is always nice. Iām currently reading another gameās rulebook so that might be a good target too when I get to play some games!
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Positive reviews are definitely more fun to write and I’m intrigued by what the other game could be. I’ll be waiting eagerly to find out!
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nice progress all around. The vault dweller looks great to me. š
though I do not understand painting a miniature with no use. š
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Thanks, Stew! I guess using it in a diorama isn’t enough usage for you? š
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I really like the Vault Dweller there. Even if you don’t use her in a Vault-based game she’d do well as an exile or an explorer. Or perhaps add her in with some Raiders as a trophy or a new recruit.
I’m still also very much enjoying watching your progress on Hondo. You might be finding the details tricky to paint to your standard but from my perspective they’re looking amazing.
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I’ll try to find a way to use her in-game down the road. I think she might be a fairly weak unit in the game but I’ll have to dig out her card to be sure.
I’m glad you aren’t tired of Hondo yet. I’m getting there a bit now but there’s still a few weeks of work left to go…
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