Editor’s Note

I sit here editing and collating the fantastic updates by our diligent warlords, the final ones of the year, on a bullet train heading south from Tokyo. Not the most typical of the locations I’ve been known to work from but a fitting place to tie the bow on this fantastic year of hobbying by both myself and the fantastic warlords that have shared their work with us over the course of the year.

I wanted to take a minute before diving into the incredible work of each of the artists to thank the incredible team here at UCH. Each of these men has inspired me and made me work to be a better hobbyist. I started this series in an effort to get more done over the course of the year, and I have accomplished this in spades. I was thankfully not alone in this, dragging 5 other hapless fools onto the year-long journey that you have read through this year. I am incredibly thankful for their writings, and insight. I hope that we can continue to entertain, and maybe even inspire you into 2025 and beyond!

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Austin B.

November Progress

Before I move onto December, I actually have to catch you all up on what I was able to accomplish in November! Not that it was very much, hence in part the lack of a post from me in the last month. But I got some work done on some of the new – and older – Shatterpoint boxed sets. I am hoping to get a bit more done before the next set of Rebel and Empire boxes drop sometime in Q2 2025. And I have a bit more to paint up for an event in February. (Events are a great motivator…)

With all the holiday preparation as well as some business at work, I didn’t get as much done as I had hoped, though finally finishing off the “This is Some Rescue” box was nice, and Lando’s box is actually pretty close to completion as well, with the Wing Guard half-way in progress.

December Progress

Now paradoxically, December ended up being a much more free month for me, despite having yet another holiday to prepare for. While it’s also not as much as I have done in some other months, I did get a good few heroes done for my Middle Earth armies in preparation for the new edition, including the Three Hunters: Aragorn, Legolas, and Gimli. Mounted, even!

Gamling joins them, as does a mounted Rohan banner bearer – his dismount having been painted over two years ago at this point for my footslogging Rohan army (that I showed off in the first ever post, actually!). I was unfortunately unable to get Theoden done as I had hoped to, so he remains unfinished (unprimed, even), as the model did not arrive till after I returned from my holiday celebrations. Expect him in January, alongside some fitting foes!

Atop those, I actually finally finished my Vampire team that I have left lying unfinished since before the start of this year! (Another item I showed off in the first post, as something “to be done!”) I painted them up to participate in a local event, and even walked away with Most Touchdowns! (Again, events are a great motivator…)

This is a bit of a cheat, since 9 of the models had already been completed (the Vargheist and 8 Thralls) last year. As was Wilhelm Chaney, who is here posing for the family photo. But I had to get those 6 Vampires done eventually, and actually base the whole team, and it was finally done! The project and event also finally got me to base Chaney, hence his inclusion in the photo, despite the fact that he’s been fully painted since his release in 2021!

Year in Review

And that’s it! That rounds out the year! Honestly, for what I wanted to do when I started on my posts, I have admittedly failed. My initial task was to get an army done for Warhammer: The Old World, and I have made significantly little progress in that regard. But as a general motivator to paint, I’m fairly happy with what I have been able to accomplish this year. I have abandoned some projects, most notably that Old World army (for the moment…), and I have certainly hopped around a lot in regards to what I am painting (how many times did I say “this is what I’ll be painting moving forward” only to change it the next month, or come back with some Shatterpoint models instead?), but posting for this blog has at least kept me painting, which isn’t quite something I could say about myself in years prior. Why do you think I have so many incomplete projects? I haven’t always posted consistently, either because I’ve felt I haven’t done enough, or because I was just too busy to get a post ready in time, but every month I have at least done something.

But to sum up what I have done this year:

-10 Squigs, 5 Squig Hoppers, and a Big Boss on Squig, all for The Old World (and all that was done for that game…)

-A whole, rather large Bolt Action army in the First Special Service Force, which consisted of 80 infantry, 2 mules, 2 guns, and 4 vehicles and their crew, completed in a month. As well as another tank and a few accessory pieces completed for the British (which I may have not shown off, oh well…)

-Three whole Blood Bowl Teams (Shadow College, Gnomes, and Vampires), and a small selection of Star Players and accessory models.

–A staggering 46 models for Star Wars: Shatterpoint, in an eclectic mix between Rebels, Imperials, and some Scoundrels.(Though I still haven’t finished those Ewoks…)

-A small handful of Necromunda models.

-Two random mechs? Haha!

-48 Landwehr and some Commanders for my Prussians (most of those never made it on these posts either, woops! Maybe when I do another army update… I also have some cavalry in progress, so perhaps they’ll make it in the next posts in January or Feburary!)

-Plus the above 8 models for MESBG!

I have also built those several dozen German infantry and vehicles, also for Bolt Action, but painting has been delayed as I reassess how I plan to actually paint them, unhappy with my few test models thusfar (hence why they haven’ty been shown). That, and the army book coming in late January means the army will be getting some revisions and new additions.

So my hobby progress has been very mixed, jumping around as I usually do.But it’s still fairly impressive. I certainly managed to churn out more in some years prior, when I was less busy (or at least pretending to be), but I am happy with how far along I have come on some projects, such as the Prussians and my ever-growing Shatterpoint collection; very happy with what I’ve completed, in the various Blood Bowl teams, and especially the FSSF; and fairly interested in what I have planned for the new year. Though I won’t spoil too much of that just yet…

As for my favorite model of the year, it was a bit of a three-way tie for me between Lando, Legolas and Gimli on horseback, and Darth Vader, but I have to say that the Darth Vader I painted way back in June remains one of my most impressive models. It was really fun trying to get some subtle differences between all the different blacks and really make the miniature read and pop without looking too dull, and I am very happy with what I was able to achieve with such a reduced color palette. 

I’ll leave you all on that. Happy New Year! Hope to have more for you in the next!

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Kevin C.

Dismounted Warriors of Rohan

I had a lot of older Rohan miniatures that I purchased from a friend, and I figured I should finish painting them before getting new Rohan miniatures. These miniatures were quite old – one even had a broken spear point – but I was determined to paint them in the same scheme as the riders. While they are not my best work, they will be good pieces to have in a scrap.

Hail Theoden King!

My friend ended up selling me not one, but TWO Theoden sets (so four miniatures total – two with helmets, two without helmets). I decided to do a little experiment in painting tutorials.

In my painting, especially this year, I use a lot of online painting tutorials. My academic conditioning has trained me to be as forthright as possible in citing them. There are two online painters that I have used, and they both happened to have painting tutorials of Theoden – Warhipster with Contrast+ (https://youtu.be/HYLbQpBF1fI?si=kic1rImVIe4m3X0W), and Pete the Wargamer (https://youtu.be/4vVjtCGy9RY?si=ByF2r_g0mJrcmhP7). I’ve used Warhipster for some of my terrain pieces, and I’ve used Pete for some of my earlier Blood Bowl teams. So, I figured I would compare the two and see how I felt about the results.

For the helmeted version, I used Warhipster. Admittedly, I was nervous about the free use of contrast paint all over the place, and it made it hard to control much of the borders between colors. That being said, I really loved how the miniature turned out, especially the steed.

I used Pete the Wargamer for the unhelmeted version of Theoden, which I suspect was made before the advent of contrast paints, as none were used. I was less pleased with this result, and I found it more frustrating to paint in his style. A lot of this frustration was due to hard-to-reach places and difficult effects to accomplish, such as lightening the raised designs of the armor.

All in all, I believe I liked the Warhipster scheme more, and so I used his method for some of the other miniatures I painted this month (more below).

Eowyn and Merry

I only had one set for Eowyn and Merry, so I decided to wait until after the experiment and copy which paint scheme I liked best. Even though Warhipster did not have a video tutorial for this specific miniature, I used his scheme for the horse, and more or less copied the method I used for the regular Riders of Rohan for Eowyn and Merry.

One thing I did change from the film adaptation is that I maintained all heroes’ horses as white. I plan to continue this with Haleth, Hama, and Hera (coming soon!). This is different from the films, which have the heroes on all different color horses, but I want this to be a visual cue for me when playing pieces on the board.

Battle of Edoras

As a “reward” to myself for finishing the whole Rohan army, I was able to pick up a boxed set right when it was released. I had these guys assembled practically hours after receiving them, but it just so happened that we had more than a week of miserable rain, sleet, and otherwise yucky weather, preventing me from priming them.

I finally did prime them right before Christmas, and I am excited about painting them next month. As an interesting study, I compared one of the new footmen to one of the old ones that I had just completed.

The new ones are clearly more detailed, and just seem much more interesting in scale and posture. I am sad I didn’t have the time to paint these guys this month, but I am excited about having them finished next month.

Gaunt’s Ghosts

While I wasn’t able to finish my Rohan Warriors in time, I was able to knock something off of my shelf in the meantime – my Gaunt’s Ghosts. I have had these guys on my shelf since June 2021, so it was nice to finally complete something extra for me.

As I discussed earlier, I decided to use the Warhipster video tutorial on how to paint these guys (https://youtu.be/MqviEDV03SU?si=GfGTk256Gzi0KGhO). I admit that I was a little disappointed with how the video was laid out. There was a lot of screen time spent on applying the layer, and not a lot of time explaining how one should paint the deviations from Gaunt and Rawne (the two that got the most screen time).

I still think I did a decent job, but I was hoping they would be fantastic. Instead, they are okay, and I am glad that I have them ready to play.

Now, if I could only use them in an actual Kill Team…

Year in Review

I have done more painting in 2024 than any other year previous, which is quite an accomplishment. I have assembled and painted two full armies, nearly completed a third, and gotten a lot of painting projects off my chest. All in all, I painted over 350 miniatures this year (counting those LI infantry 5-on-a-base as one miniature, by the way). 

• Assembled and painted the entire Bretonnian Army Box
  • 12 Knights
  • 3 Pegasus Knights and Lord on Pegasus
  • 24 Archers
  • 32 Men at Arms
• Assembled and painted a huge Legions Imperialis Army
  • Three boxes of Solar Auxilia (12 Sentinels, 12 Ogryns, and 48 Infantry)
  • Three Support Artillery Boxes (36 Rapiers, 36 Tarantulas, and 12 Cyclopses)
  • Baneblades, Malcadors, and Valdors
  • 19 Dracosans
  • 6 Lightnings and two Marauders
• Assembled, magnetized, and painted Titan Maniple (Warlord, two Reavers, and four Warhounds)
• Painted four Blood Bowl teams (Norse, Black Orcs, and two Halflings)
• Painted Kasrkin Kill Team
• Painted Rohan Host
  • 36 Rohan Riders
  • 12 Rohan Warriors
  • Theoden, Eowyn, and Merry
• Random Terrain Pieces

That being said, I still have many other projects on my workbench, so my queue for 2025 is already full.

The Best

My favorite miniature that I painted this year was actually one that I never posted. Austin and I went halfsies on some Brutes for Necromunda, and I am really pleased with how mine turned out. Granted, it died on its first campaign game, but that’s how Necromunda rolls. 

The Worst

I have an unending hatred for that stupid Duke on Pegasus model. The paint scheme was eventually okay, but I really hated everything about this model – assembling, priming, painting. Glad it’s done with. 

What’s Next Year

As far as what I have planned for next year, I already have the queue figured out. 

• Finish painting Battle of Edoras
• Paint my remaining Necromunda miniatures (Cawdor and GSC) in time for our next campaign
• Finish painting my old Deathwatch army (had this on my desk since 2016!)
• Assemble Meduseld

I have a few more projects, but that will last me a while yet. I also got some new drybrushes for Christmas, so I am excited to try these out. 

Until next year!

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Jerry S.

Solar Auxilia: No More Lasrifles, Please.

This year has been very exciting for me, the release of plastic Solar Auxilia has been incredible and I have enjoyed every minute of it. From building, to painting, to playing; my hobby journey with Solar Auxilia has been a blast, even if a little longer than I would’ve liked in the end. As you can see here, I was prolific in my Solar Auxilia painting, the total count of infantry clocking in at 115 models in just 8 months, wow! I was able to finish the last 20 infantry this month, something I am very grateful for as I think I am mentally done with this particular scheme for the time being.

I thankfully still love the muted scheme I created for these models, the dark blue coupled with the greys and worn metals of the fatigues and armor plating really lends itself to the so called “dark millennium” and I think really captures the dearth of hope that is to be found on the battle fields of the Horus Heresy.

Bolt Action

I’ve continued the progress on my Bolt Action American force this month, focusing on completing a couple more Weapons teams, a Medium Machine Gun team and a medium anti-tank team that will hopefully help keep my GI’s alive as they navigate the battlefield. I’ve always loved the idea of overwhelming the enemy not in bodies, but in firepower, just as the American Army preferred in WW2 and these last two teams really help accomplish that idea on the tabletop.

Continuing Adventures in Middle Earth

The last of my true hobby progress was again in the realms of Middle earth. I have along with several others, began forming a regular group of MESBG players at a local hobby shop, playing weekly on Mondays and beginning to attend/plan events across the region. 

One of those aforementioned events was a Helm’s Deep mega-battle. With 6 people on each side and hundreds of minis on either side, this was a spectacle indeed. It was tremendously fun seeing the many, many models I’ve painted for both Rohan and Isengard featured on the tabletop together. Indeed the Hornburg was manned almost entirely by Rohan models I myself painted! How cool is that!

This has been a great experience thus far and I hope that we can keep this progress moving forward into 2025. Speaking of 2025, the first month of 2025 I will be attending a couple events, hoping to bring a force of Gondor using the Reclamation of Osgiliath army in the new edition. I’ve always loved this part of the books and movies and using the Brothers Gondor together is always a fun time. In past editions, I had not used my Gondor in one force, opting to either use the Rangers of Gondor, or the various defenders of Minas Tirith and had based each force differently. This isn’t inherently an issue but I know it would bug me seeing an army on the table using 2 different basing schemes. As such, I set to work rebasing my warriors of Minas Tirith to match their Ranger pals. I gotta say, I love the results too!

To finish this year off, I spent the last week not at my hobby desk, but traveling around the islands of Japan. That being said, I am still a Warhammer junky through and through and as such, made sure to visit the Warhammer cafe in Tokyo. This is a sweet little spot to stop at in Tokyo, a larger than normal Warhammer store with a variety of incredibly well painted “miniatures” to gawk at while awkwardly trying to explain to your friends the differences between a warlord titan and whatever an “Age of Sigmar” is. Something I undoubtedly failed to do even as my friends tried as hard as they could to understand.

I snagged a couple snapshots of some of my favorite displays which you can see below. This was only a fraction of the total displays and if I ever was able, I would love to play a game and enjoy a coffee in this lovely store. In the meantime, I did snag the delightfully odd “Slaves to darkness” book and a lovely hoody only sold at the Cafe.

Closing thoughts on 2024

The year has flown by, and it was a great one by all accounts! I painted around 400 models this year by my counting:

• 115 Solar Auxilia
• 112 Tomb Kings
• 28 Arnor
• 42 Bolt Action Americans
• 35 Word Bearers
• A Thunderhawk!
• A 6×4 Middle Earth board!
• Various miscellaneous characters and one offs.

An absolutely prolific year by numbers and something I am immensely proud of. Even with this wildly productive year, I still have much to do in 2025 and beyond. I was lucky enough to purchase a friend’s entire 40K and 30k collection this year, a great bargain but unfortunately adding to the backlog nearly as many models as I finished this year! UGH!

My favorite part of this year has been the Thunderhawk pictured below. This was an incredible journey, really challenging myself as a hobbyist. I don’t know how I’ll top it in 2025! (Please don’t ask about the Reaver Titan in my closet)

Enough of 2024 though, it’s 2025 now after all! In 2025, I’ve been thinking of what I want to accomplish, and although this list will undoubtedly change, maybe even in the first couple weeks of the year, It’s always a good idea to to start the year with a plan!

• Finish my Solar Auxilia army! This should be relatively easy as I’ve only need to paint the tanks still
• Finish my Tomb Kings Army. Again, this should be an easier task as there is only the various monsters and characters yet to do.
• Paint MY 40K Deathwatch Army. I’m copying Kevin on this, this project needs to get done this year lol.
• Tie up the various odds and ends for the various projects I’ve not finished. This is a broad goal, I just want to finish some of the odd characters and squads I’ve picked up over the years for my various armies.
• Finally finish painting my Zone Mortalis board
• Build and paint either my Warlord or Reaver titan.
• Do more character and one-off projects. I’ve been doing a lot of Army painting the past few years and I think it would be rewarding to spend some more time on fewer models, challenging myself in new ways. 
• Expand the Urban Cowboy Hobbies network. I’ve often thought about starting a YouTube or podcast arm of my media Empire, maybe this is the year to do so!

Until next time!

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Michael S

As the year comes to a close, it’s the perfect time to reflect on the progress and joys of hobbying. The last few months have been a busy time for me, balancing a new job and the holidays has left less time for Warhammer. December hobby time for me was mostly 30 minute chunks after work and I was pleasantly surprised with how much I was able to accomplish by adding one or two coats of paint each day. Despite the lack of dedicated time, I was able to paint up and build a few miniatures this month to show off.

December’s Work

My Imperial Fists have taken most of my attention this month. I was able to build a set of terminators and scouts I’ve had on sprue for a while now. I am also about halfway through a squad of Hellblasters (not pictured) bringing the model count up to 15 for the month.

For painting, said Terminators and Scouts received a heavy spray of yellow. 4-5 passes with an Airbrush was the price of a consistent coat of Bronze Brown. Another pass with Golden Yellow brought some color and saturation to the muted yellow-brown basecoat. One final highlight was applied to the most raised surfaces using Light Yellow to push the highlights. 

Once I got the worst of the painting behind me, I went in by brush to apply the rest of the colors. The Terminators took around a week and a half of periodic work. Batch painting for 30 minutes every day made short work of this squad.

The Scouts were a bit different, since I was unsure how I wanted to paint them. In the end I settled for using a mix of colors for fatigues boots and leather. The sergeant came out nicely with pretty minimal effort. My next goal will be getting the rest of the squad to the same spot before moving on.

Year in Review: Finish the Damn Model

2024 has been a great year for me in hobbying! While I still find myself flitting from one project or model to another, I’ve painted more complete units this year than in most years I can remember.

Not counting basing, I’ve managed to fully paint the following units.

• 5 Imperial Fist Terminators
• 5 Imperial Fist Sternguard
• 1 Imperial Fist Apothecary
• 5 Black Templar Assault Intercessors
• 5 Black Templar Terminators
• 1 Black Templar Terminator Captain
• 5 Death Guard Tactical Marines (25 more of  them just need me to apply some weathering; Missed opportunity to cash in BIG on hours of work.)
• 5 Death Guard Terminators
• 1 Imperial Guard Sentinel
• 20 Tomb Kings Skeletons
• 1 Lumineth Light of Eltharion

Furthermore I’ve built the following models, but haven’t had the chance to paint them fully.

• Imperial Fist Command Squad
• Imperial Fist Impulsor
• 5 Imperial Fist Intercessors
• 5 Imperial Fist Hellblasters
• 1 Black Templar Marshal
• 20 Imperial Guardsman
• Imperial Guard Command Squad
• 2 Imperial Guard Heavy Weapons Teams
• 5 Kitbashed Fire Dragons
• 20 Tomb Kings Skeletons
• 36 Tomb Kings Skeleton Archers
• 16 Tomb Kings Skeleton Horses
• 1 Tomb King Necrolith Bone Dragon

While the list of unpainted models is still long, I’ve been way more engaged with the hobby this year and am looking forward to 2025! I can safely say this is the most productive hobby year I’ve had in a long time if not my entire history playing Warhammer. My goal moving forward is to just finish the damn model!

2024 Superlatives

A final article of the year wouldn’t be complete without a visual review of some of my work and things that stuck out in my mind. I’ve got a few superlatives to award…

Favorite Single Model:

My Imperial Fists Apothecary turned out so much better than I expected white armor to. This was one of my first forays back into oil washes in some time, and I loved the fact. The armor looks crisp but still has definition from the recess shading. I was most proud of the tabard, including a nice helix symbol and freehand outline that looks believable. A first for me in painting cloth!

Favorite Unit:

The first unit of skeletons I painted were a ton of fun! The old style kits brought back a ton of nostalgia from my entrance into the hobby and painting these was a breeze with speedpaints. I loved how the colors came together and am looking forward to getting the rest of them ready to paint in 2025.

Least Favorite Model(s):

After converting these characters up for my Death Guard force, I was really excited to get them painted up in white and green. After starting to paint them, my enthusiasm really dropped away as I felt they didn’t quite look the way I had hoped. My captain simply converted from Narik Dreygur I found is below. The model just hasn’t captured me the way it did once I started painting. 

I haven’t totally given up on these three yet. I do eventually plan to get back around to these knowing a complete paint job will go a long way toward making them look a bit less “meh”.

Favorite Base:

This sentinel almost overtook the Apothecary for favorite model, but really the base is what I fell in love with. I put quite a bit of work into building some believable rubble and liquid pigments really helped tie everything together and up the soot and grime needed to sell the effect.

Most Painful Legends Casualty:

These Iron Golems (and 2 units of Untamed Beasts) took me lots of time and work to get looking spiffy in bare steel and the blood of their foes. Despite looking their best, an unfortunately timed retirement via Warhammer Legends meant they never got to see the tabletop with the rest of my Chaos Warriors. Time to start playing Warcry?

Least Fun Model to Build:

It’s a tie between the Skeleton Horsemen from my Tomb Kings and the old Chaos Knights I picked up early this year. Both of these have a lot in common: old models, mould lines, cavalry bases, mould lines, poorly fitted parts, did I mention mould lines?

Upon finishing both of these units, I had to take a sizable break from the hobby to retain my sanity. Enough said.

Favorite Model That Mysteriously Remains Unpainted Despite How Much I Like It:

In contrast to the other Death Guard characters, this captain doesn’t make me disappointed. I still love the conversions and use of a spare Eliminator helmet to give him a hood befitting any good officer of the 14th, but he still remains mostly unpainted.

I blame the result of the other characters I put together, and my frustration with metallics at the time of painting. Instead of powering through, I just left him to sit forever incomplete. I am starting 2025 by pushing him to the top of my priority queue. Hopefully I’ll be able to share a fully completed photo next month!

Looking Forward

In 2025 I am looking forward to another great year of hobbying. My goal is to continue to make progress towards fully completing projects and models instead of leaving them 80% complete for an eternity

A stretch goal would be to have my display cabinet only displaying completed miniatures… Maybe I’ll surprise myself?

IF I can complete that, I also want to branch out in media creation for the hobby and at some point create video tutorials for painting and other aspects of miniature painting. Who knows what the future may hold.

Cheers and happy holidays!

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Joe R.

Well, you might have noticed it’s been a few months since I last participated. I fell off the wagon, got back on the wagon, fell off again, brought some paints on holiday, and here we are.

Blood Bowl – The Half-Shell Universe All Stars – Lizardman Team

This project changed dramatically. I got VERY tired of cleaning and assembling the metal models from Greebo (FYI, Greebo has since switched to resin which is much nicer). So, I decided to switch over to a set of 3D printed lizardmen models from BruteFun. It was faster to 1) download the files, 2) arrange and slice the files, 3) print the files, 4) remove the supports/clean the models, and 5) prime the models than it was to assemble a single metal model. I had hoped to finish these in time for Chaos Cup in November, but that did not happen. My friend Neil let me borrow his excellently painted Beach Shark team instead.

These are still very much on my TO DO list, but I do have a huge highlight from this work. I tried my first ever comic book style miniature! I had tried comic style late last year on some Necromunda bases, which worked out okay, but this was a whole model! 

I follow Thunderbrush on Patreon, who releases guides on comic book style miniature painting. I still have a long way to go, but I was REALLY pleased with how this turned out.

Pathfinder – Keller Feelgood, NG Cleric of the Endless Road

I started painting this model while I was back in grad school (pre-2015). The model was used as one of my many Pathfinder Society miniatures when I was playing 2-3 times a week. He wasn’t one of my favorites, but the name Keller was cemented along-side his affiliation with Desna (the goddess of dreams in the setting).

This year I was asked to join a Pathfinder campaign in progress by a colleague I met in Kansas City. Turns out she was in DC now! I was a little apprehensive. My gaming group in North Carolina was really exceptional, and I was intimidated to find my place in another group. Thankfully, this has turned out to be a really wonderful group. I decided to revive Keller in Pathfinder 2nd Edition. Keller became a cleric of the Endless Road (a pantheon which includes Desna) with the edict to travel, explore, learn, and help. This incarnation also became an herbalist and brewer, striving to find new ingredients to improve his brews.

Since joining, I’ve worked on this model a couple of times. Each time he moves a little closer to being something I’m proud of. He’s also great for experimentation, since I’m really the only one who cares how he ends up looking on the table. Everyone else is using pre-painted D&D miniatures, so he already feels a little special.

Necromunda – The Junktown Jesters – Escher

I decided to take my paints with me for the holiday. It was a bit of a bust, BUT I did end up working on two additional models for my Batman villain themed Escher. 

These are still a work in progress, but I think you can see my progress as a painter reflected in the model on the left. She represents Punchline, a relatively new Batman villain. I got this all done in… 2 hours? And that included playing around with some highlighting. The other one, if you can’t guess, is Mr. Freeze inspired. The skin needs some work still, but I’m fairly pleased with the “bones” of this model. I’ll even try doing some actual plasma effect (probably with dry brushing) and see what happens!

What A Cowboy/Dracula’s America

I got really into western miniatures this year. I don’t know why exactly, but my friend Neil is ALSO into western miniatures. We played a game of What A Cowboy and have  aspirations to try Dracula’s America, Dead Man’s Hand, and Dead by Lead in the New Year.

I picked up a batch of metal lawmen from Dead Man’s Hand and was kindly gifted some Wargames Foundry western miniatures for X-Mas. I think this is going to be my next project. 

I have already cleaned up the Dead Man’s Hand miniatures (including some shotgun repair work). I really DO NOT LIKE that these miniatures come attached to a mini metal base. So I took a 3D printed base file and messed around with it in TinkerCAD to remove a section. I then put the miniature in and applied Stucco to fill the rest of the hole. Not bad eh? Now I just need to do this for… 25 other western minis. I will still apply some basing materials over this Stucco base.

I also 3D printed a ton of western miniatures. I test printed several to get them in scale with the traditional models. I think it worked out alright. I’ll be mixing and matching as I get things ready to play a mini campaign with Neil. Or maybe all the Warlords will decide westerns are cool and clammer to join in on the fun.

Some Light Reading

I finished off this year by doing some light reading.

Both of these books came highly recommended to help advance novice painters. They have both been exceptional for completely different reasons. I will need to read Figopedia again to truly retain the knowledge it contains, but I walked away understanding significantly more about light and color theory. Tommie Soule does a great job of walking step-by-step through lots of things I’ve ignored over the past several years of painting. He also does a great job encouraging you to play, not stress.

A Year in Review.

Even though I missed participating in the last few months, 2024 has probably been one of the most successful hobby years I’ve ever had. Let’s recall what got accomplished this year.

• I arbitrated my first ever Necromunda campaign and played in another!
• Joined a Pathfinder Campaign! And ran a 3-session Super Hero adventure
• 6 Escher styled after various Batman Villains
• Necromunda bases for said Escher
• Dipped my toe into Comic Book Style
• 1 Chaos Chosen Ogre painted almost entirely through glazing
• 1 Blood Bowl Dwarf Team
• 1 Blood Bowl Chaos Dwarf Team
• 1 repainted Blood Bowl Halfling Team
• Assembled several MDF kits for Necromunda
• Assembled Ork Kommandos for Kill Team
• Assembled Angels of Death for Kill Team
• Assembled Hernkyn Yaegirs for Kill Team + Necromunda

When you look at what the other Warlords have done, this list seems pretty paltry. However, this is probably the most engaged I’ve been with my hobby since moving to Virginia 5 years ago. Much of that comes down to the wonderful community of gamers I’ve surrounded myself with. It’s been wonderful to hang out here, with the other Warlords, and grow into a fledgling painter.

The Good

My two favorite projects this year were the Chaos Chosen Ogre and the Halfling Team. The Ogre is the only model I “finished” all year, meaning I varnished him with no intent to ever adjust him again. I wasn’t able to get the Halfling Treemen where I wanted them, but those Halflings popped during that whole tournament. It didn’t hurt that I went undefeated either! 😀

I’ve also gotten much better at playing while I paint. When I just decide to work on a model and try something new (instead of rushing towards a deadline) I end up really enjoying myself. My skills have definitely improved because of this.

The Bad

I still struggle to find time to finish my models. I’m able to basecoat fairly well and provide some interest around the model, but I rarely have time to highlight a model to the point I call it finished. Out of all those dwarves I painted for Blood Bowl, I think 2 are actually done. That doesn’t even include their bases (see below)! 

Thankfully, I’ve come a long way with regards to highlighting. I used to be scared to even attempt. Now I’m willing to do it and just see what happens and learn along the way.

The Ugly

I am bad at working on bases! Those two or three Necromunda bases are the best I’ve ever done. I am barely finishing the models, let alone spending any time on the bases. However, I have started keeping my models separate from the bases so that I can more easily access hard to reach spots on the model. That’s some progress right?

Next Year!

Another Necromunda campaign is in the works. Hopefully it’ll be done in Mid-January. I might even share it here if Jerry lets me! And with that, I want to thank all the other Warlords for their support over the year and for letting me bask in their greatness.

Special thanks to Jerry for being so enthusiastic about my participation and always working to keep us all on task!

Happy New Year!

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Mike P.
Painting My Empire Army for Adepticon: 12 Weeks, 102 Models, and a Dream

With 12 weeks left until Adepticon, I’m staring down a monumental challenge: painting 102 Empire models to complete my army. Thankfully, my general on griffon is already done, and he’s looking fantastic—he’s the centerpiece of the force, and I’m using him as the visual anchor for the rest of the army. Now, it’s all about getting the rest of the troops ready in time for the big event.

Week-by-Week Strategy

I’ve broken this project into manageable chunks: about 9 models per week. It’s still ambitious, but it’s doable if I stick to a plan. My approach is to focus on one unit or type of model at a time. Here’s how I’m structuring it:

1. Core Troops First: I’m starting with the infantry. They’re the backbone of the Empire, and getting those blocks of state troops painted will give me a sense of progress early on. I’m batch painting them, working in groups of 10 to 15 models to keep the momentum going.

2. Special Units and Heroes: Once the bulk of the infantry is done, I’ll move on to the knights, artillery, and their crews. These models have a bit more detail, so I plan to give them some extra attention. After that, I’ll tackle the heroes and other supporting characters, which will be fun because they let me experiment with more intricate techniques.

3. Final Touches: The last few weeks will be all about basing, finishing details, and making sure everything looks cohesive.

Staying Consistent

My general on griffon has set the standard for my army’s color scheme: rich reds, deep blues, and gold accents inspired by Altdorf. I’ve painted a couple of test models for the infantry to make sure the scheme translates well across the army. The key is to keep things consistent while still adding variety with unit markings, banners, and other small details.

Weekly Workflow

Here’s what a typical week looks like for me:

• Monday-Wednesday: Prime and base coat the models. I’m keeping it simple with a black primer and working up from there.

• Thursday-Friday: Apply washes and highlights. This is where the models really start to come to life.

• Saturday-Sunday: Focus on the details—faces, weapon hilts, feathers, and any other bits that make the models pop.

The Challenge and the Fun

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed looking at the sheer number of models left to paint, but breaking it down into smaller goals keeps me motivated. I also remind myself why I’m doing this: to field an incredible-looking army at Adepticon. Seeing the blocks of troops come together and imagining them charging into battle makes the effort worth it.

Looking Ahead

I know the last few weeks will be intense, but I’m already planning for that final push. Once the army is done, I’ll add some finishing touches—like weathering and flocking the bases—to tie everything together. If I have time, I’d love to create a display board to really show off the army.

There’s a lot of work ahead, but I’m enjoying the process. Every painted model is a step closer to the goal, and I can’t wait to see my Empire army in action at Adepticon.