I’m still slogging away at the King and am mostly updating this week because I have some hobby musings I’d like to share and less because I want to show off something that’s finished. If this week proved anything to me, it is that I’m not cut out to be a commission painter. I’ve never been approached for commission work and I’ve never pursued working in that space, partially because I’ve long suspected that if I’m not excited about what I’m painting because I like the miniature or subject matter, painting is a real struggle for me. That is how working on the Goblin King has been thus far.
When you couple that with the fact that all my detail brushes were pretty much completely worn down and I was waiting (patiently!) for Michigan Toy Soldier to restock their Rosemary and Co. brushes, it was certainly a challenging hobby week for me. Thankfully, towards the end of this week, I finally got some new brushes and can do normal painting tasks again. I was basically limited to glazing the skin which suited this miniature fairly well, thankfully. Here’s a look at where he stands now.
One of the things I struggle with is not only is the sculpt so-so, look at the weird cloth textures it has, for example, but I’m trying to get this done quickly and not be too fussed about smooth blends. That is, of course, not in my nature so it causes some frustration. When I look at this guy, I often see things that can be improved but I have to remind myself that it isn’t worth spending the time on it. I don’t have THAT far to go now so the pain will be over soon hopefully and I can get back to painting things I want to paint which will be very nice indeed.
A little while ago, I talked about tariffs and even temporary shipping “bans” and how it was affecting my hobby and well, a few things have occurred that have shifted my views on future projects. As I speculated a while back, Scale 75 USA seems to be selling off all of their large scale miniatures and I think I’ve pieced together why. I don’t think they’re going to stock them anymore. Kimera Models and more recently, Aradia Miniatures, both revealed that someone else is going to be their US distributor. On face value, that sounds like great news, but that is until you see the prices. Kimera Models were about $60-70 ($8 for shipping as well) for regular-sized 75mm miniatures through Scale 75 USA. This is pretty reasonable for their size and quality and they did have sales periodically to reduce that cost a bit further. I don’t want to speak poorly about the new distributor because I’m sure the prices are out of their control to at least some degree but there is a shocking increase. They charge about $100 for the same miniatures and then you have to add shipping and tax on top of that. $100+ is not an impulse purchase for me and while I know Games Workshop has minis at that price point, they’re huge and deserving of the price. I’m on a limited budget so that affects my views a bit but even if I wasn’t, I feel a bit priced out on 75mm miniatures at the moment. I think the increased price and the difficulty to source these minis in the US is going to affect how many people here paint them as well. Its a real shame as I was thinking about painting something 75mm in the near future and now I’ve unsurprisingly reconsidered.
Instead, I actually decided to pull the Darkoath Chieftain back out of the box and finished assembling him and even primed him since the weather is still pretty decent. I can’t say I was expecting that to happen! I reminded myself that I’m fully capable of painting Warhammer and I’ve gotten gold at MMSI doing so, so I might as well get myself mentally ready to paint Warhammer again. It seems inevitable, especially considering GW’s prices haven’t gone up all that much with the current economic policies. I don’t know when I will work on this mini, but its pretty much ready when the mood strikes! I’m eyeballing other future projects too so we’ll see if I can make Warhammer stick after my dalliance with large scale minis. I may be more limited in miniatures options than I would like but I darn well better make the most of what I can paint is how I look at it. I’d like to have a display painting “identity” again, if nothing else, as it would probably make me feel more mentally “settled”, if that makes any sense.
In the background, I’ve also been thinking about the Monsterpocalypse/Kaiju diorama and was about to buy a display base for it, but my wife was kindly listening to my concerns with the project and unintentionally gave me the idea that I should probably get more buildings before I decide what “shape” of display base I’m going to go with. To my surprise, the supply of Monsterpocalypse minis, especially buildings, which are needed in the game, is shrinking quickly. I was able to source a couple of buildings that are literally only available at a single hobby shop in the US so I bought both of them. I expect the buying spree to continue as I want to give myself as many options as I can. Its crazy how fast the supply is disappearing for a game that is all but dead. You can also 3D print a good amount of the minis and buildings at this point but clearly there’s still plenty of people out there like me that don’t have a printer. Whatever the case, I will get what I can while supplies last and we’ll discuss the diorama’s layout in the near future. I look forward to getting everyone’s thoughts when I get to that point as its going to be a bit more challenging than I initially thought.
Finally, I have had the chance to play Arkham Horror: Third Edition and I’m thoroughly impressed by it and happy with my purchase. The game is a bit long at 3-4 hours playtime but I like how it focuses on one-off games and not campaigns. There are a lot of rules that are similar to the Arkham Horror: Card Game so its not too hard to learn and scratches the Lovecraftian itch that I had. I love board games like Arkham Horror that take you on an adventure and Third Edition does it pretty well. When I think Arkham Horror: Second Edition or Third Edition, I love the gameplay experience your character goes to a location so you draw a card and see what happens good or bad. I think that type of gameplay is well-suited to wargamers as we play games to see what story and events emerge from the gameplay. I’ll talk more about Third Edition as I get some more games under my belt, I just wanted to squeeze in a mention of it because I keep meaning to share that its been a pretty positive experience with the game thus far and keep leaving it out because the last few posts have been long enough as they were.
Kuribo's Painting 
Enjoyed this post, Jeff, although I can’t really comment on much! 🙂 Have you thought about trying a 75mm 3D printed mini at all to see what you think? All the ones I’ve bought in 20mm and 28/32mm scale have been really nice, although I’m a bit wary that they can be quite delicate!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thanks for giving it a read, as always! I hadn’t thought about 3D printed minis and so I did look into it a bit last night and I’m not sure. The cost is better but still not quite an impulse purchase ($50) and I could see print lines on some of the promotional photos which is what has kept me away from them generally. I think its certainly a case of what you get will vary from printer to printer. I have seen some cool STLs for 75mm miniatures so this is something I will keep a closer eye on in the future to be sure!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Down down to goblin town
LikeLiked by 2 people
Indeed! Its miserable down there for me haha.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That goblin king looks gross, which is a compliment 🤣 So happy to see that sneaky mention of Arkham 3 at the end there – I really love 3rd edition too, but the long playtime puts me off. I think I clicked myself as taking 45 minutes just for the set-up! But it’s a fantastic game, pulling a lot from the card game, so I’m looking forward to hearing more thoughts in time!!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you! Peter Jackson definitely wanted the goblins to look grubby! I’m glad I’m not the only one who wishes the playtime was shorter. The game has some weaknesses like setup time and how much time you actually spend doing things on your turn. Thankfully, neither of those put me off the game all that much. I would like to give Eldritch Horror a try one day to see how it compares as many people seem to prefer it. There will definitely be more discussion of Third Edition and I’m likely to get the expansions when I can too!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eldritch Horror is one of my favourites, I can heartily recommend it. Different to Arkham of course, and in some ways it’s a simpler game, but still very enjoyable. I think it lacks the story element though, so you kinda have to work at that for why your character is running all over the world. Arkham 3 definitely does the story much better – I just wish I could set it up quicker, because I’m sure it’d hit the table more, if that was the case!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Eldritch seems to be the preferred Arkham Horror game besides the card game so I’m not surprised to hear it. I think EH fans feel that the lack of story elements make it more replayable which I can imagine. Mansions of Madness lacks replay value because the story is so strong in the game, for example. I’ve got a Third Edition game going currently so we’ll see if I can finally get a win. It would be a shame to go 0-3 in my first few games 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh, Mansions of Madness is a phenomenal game for the story, yeah – but I found that as time went on, it definitely lost its lustre. I have a really strong memory of sitting back after my first game though, looking at my buddy is just been playing it with, and us both saying how amazing the experience was. Never had that again in subsequent games, even playing different scenarios, so yeah…
If it helps, my opening record with AH3 was 0-3 as well… 🤣
LikeLiked by 1 person
You described my experience very well. Its a shame as that first time you play a scenario in Mansions, it is gold! I managed to eke out a win so I’m 1-2 for now. I’m sure more losses will come my way soon enough 😀
LikeLiked by 1 person
Oh yes, it’s the Arkham way, after all! Expect the worst…
LikeLiked by 1 person
Ah; what to buy, what can I afford, what can I paint, etc, etc. Spoken like a true hobbyist.
After game 7 I will decide if I ever comment on your posts again. 🤔
LikeLiked by 2 people
Half of the hobby is window shopping and coming up with ideas, I reckon!
I’m not sure that that is fair! The Mariners took two games in Toronto and have been doing just good enough not to lose since then. They better find a way to win tonight though I fear either one is going to get crushed by the Dodgers 😦
LikeLike
I blame you. 😂 It would have nice to get to the world series (first time) but I believe you are right, Dodgers will take it.
LikeLiked by 1 person
That was a tough way to go out… I followed along since I knew that I could lose a regular visitor tonight haha.
It is good to know that some other fanbases on the West Coast are as unconfident and hard done as the ones I grew up around. The Bengals, Reds, and University of Cincinnati all have had that effect on me. Not that Chicago teams are a lot better, truth be told.
LikeLike
Nice progress on the Goblin King, especially if you’re not feeling the model. Shame about the 75 mm model situation, hopefully at some point the situation will right itself. Hope you enjoy the GW model, and can find the buildings you need for the diorama. Good you are enjoying the game, and hopefully it will have the longevity you have been looking for.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you, Dave! What is wild to me about the current economic situation is I’d be willing to bet that you can buy the very same 75mm miniatures I discussed here from El Greco for a much more reasonable price. I think Americans are slowly learning about Brexit in our own “special” way.
Fortunately, there are escapes like display painting and Arkham Horror on the horizon to dull the pain a little bit anyway!
LikeLiked by 1 person
It’s good to see you making progress on the Goblin King, but I get why you think it’s a bit of a slog – he’s just not that fun of a mini to me. I’m also right with you about the commission painting, the prospect of having to paint a mini I’m not excited about it not at all appealing. If I understood you correctly your ‘reward’ for finishing the King will be to sell off the whole army at a premium price so at least you’ll see some benefit from your perseverance.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I’m glad to hear you think similarly on commission painting. I commend people who do it and enjoy it but I can’t see myself being a good one.
I will definitely be selling the Goblin Town “army” when this guy is done so that I can clear up some storage space and make a little quid. Eventually it will help me finally buy a display case which is long, long overdue. If all goes well, I’ll be done with the Goblin King tonight so there is a light at the end of the tunnel 🙂
LikeLike
Before I even read the line I thought but that’s not in his nature haha. As much as you’re not a commission painter I’d love to own one of your amazing miniatures OR have you paint of mine in your expert way
LikeLiked by 1 person
Haha, you know me well! A true punk rocker would never sell out and do commissions either 😉 I’d love to paint something for you one day though shipping will be the real killer as I’m sure you know!
LikeLiked by 1 person