Weekly Update #5 - 2/2/18

Nurgle is pleased.... there is some kind of plague scouring this town. The fly flu! Or FLIES part DEUX? However you want to label it we got fly problems around here. 

Well not a problem exactly. Putting these two Pusgoyles together was pretty easy. Maybe the easiest kit I have assembled from GW in quite some time. They really improved on the regular fly minis I have already built. Those were quite fiddly, especially the wings. These wings were set in just one way and nicely secured. Still some work to do on the bases but I am waiting to finish assembling the other two Pusgoyles I purchased. The fly lords will not be stopped!

Speaking of not being stopped...

More Gloomhaven in the bag. This time out we had to fight bears, imps, and earth demons. It was pretty tough but Sledghe is now level 3 and quite adept at smashing things. Especially hounds!

Weekly update #4 - 1/25/18

Nurgle! New Nurgle minis are really fun and I am excited to add them to my miniature forces. I picked up the new book and a couple boxes of Pusgoyle Blightlords. Just the name alone is worth it!

But before I can break them out of their plastic grey prisons I figured I should first finish building my horned gardener. A cool little model but I wanted to reduce/redirect the goofy eye powers and thus...

In the background you can see a few new Plaguebearers including a slight conversion of the standard. More about those guys next time out. I also managed to get a game of Gloomhaven in last week. Our 7th and 8th adventures out and Sledghe the Inox Brute is almost level 3!

Didn't manage to take down these two Inox Bodyguards though.... but the rest of the party did!

Weekly update #3 - 1/16/18

Where did that last week go? 

Really interesting colors out there in the wild

Spent most of it camping in a cabin here in MI. Got out and enjoyed the cold and snow then spent more time getting warm back in the cabin. It was a relaxing and peaceful time but did little to get any painting done. 

Did manage to get a bit of paint on some of the Malal force I have had on my desk off and on since last year. Really just want a reason to paint up these old Chaos minis with a few I added. Here is a Dragon I made out of a toy conversion. 

Here it is with a Chaos Lord on top made from another toy conversion. It was once white/glow in the dark. Now it is very dark. Grimdark even.

And here is some other guy pointing at something in a menacing way. Maybe he is picking  out toppings for his favorite chaotic sub sandwich? I tried to cover one half of his face with "tattoos" but I don't know that I was successful. 

Today I broke down and ordered a couple of the new Nurgle GW models. Specifically the fat guys flying on fat flies. And the new Rotbringers book. I also caved and backed the HATE Kickstarter because...

1. Adrian Smith

2. I like the comic and own that

3. Violence and skulls

4. Post apocalyptic low fantasy cannibals

I vow now that I will not buy any other minis this year (unless I do because you never know what you might come across and I have a taste for Oldhammer goodies). 

New year - Hobby Resolutions 2018

Hello out there whoever still read this! It's been a couple months since my last update and not much has happened on the hobby front. After "finishing" The Greenboyz I didn't get much more painted in 2017. 

The last tabletop gaming I did was playing in 2017 was at Underworld Cup where I decided to quit playing Blood Bowl. 

Okay maybe not entirely... though I do feel the need to cut it out of my life for a bit. I had some of the worst luck I have ever had in that event and it was just an onslaught of misery. Lots of fun hanging out with my friends but the time spent in game was pretty dismal. Maybe we'll see things turn around after I attend Adepticon this year and play in the Stupor Bowl for the first (and last?) time. 

Most of the fall/winter was spent passing my college courses. And I accidentally ended up with a piece in a monthly art show too? 

Self Portrait 2017 - Charcoal on paper

Still chipping away at an illustration degree! This next semester will be spent studying Photoshop and illustration history. While I am still not entirely enthused by any of my work I am learning things as I go. Have a couple comic projects in the works that I am excited about for 2018 and beyond. 

On the gaming/painting front I did manage to get a game of Gloomhaven going with some friends. We're about 4 scenarios in and having a lot of fun. I'm playing the Brute character who likes to smash things first and ask questions second. His name is Sledghe. 

This box is over a foot thick and weighs about 30+ pounds

Most of the party beating on the first boss encounter

In what has become an annual tradition it is time to look back at the 2017 Hobby Resolutions and set some new ones for 2018. From last year...

• Play games more regularly (I played games here and there. I wouldn't call it regular)
• Paint at least one miniature to tabletop standard each week (I didn't paint one mini each week but I did paint well over 52 minis over the course of the year)
• Don't buy more miniatures than you paint (Yeah... not even close)

Alright so one out of three isn't so bad right? Now here is a list for this year!

• Play games more regularly:
  Games with Furry, games at events, Gloomhaven almost weekly should have this covered.
• Paint at least 52 minis to tabletop standard during the year:
  And keep track of them! I feel like having a visual record of the work is important and helps motivate me (and possibly others) to get those minis painted!
• Finish painting at least one Warhammer army:
  Most likely this will be my Nurgle army. I have a great start on it. Just need to buckle down and paint some of the larger pieces and new stuff. 
• Don't buy more miniatures than you paint:
  This will be tough but I have managed to hold off on many minis I already want. I don't think I will be able to go without picking up the CMON Hate minis going up on Kickstarter this month. And the new Nurgle stuff coming from GW will also get me for at least a few. 
• Update this blog weekly:
  Should be easy with photos of painted minis and regular gaming right??

Of course working against all of these things are - life, work, school, band, reading, and drawing! Looks like I will have to be better about using my time (and watching less crappy TV). 

The Greenboyz mega catchup post #2 (52 minis weeks ???)

Back for more of that GREEN!?

Okay well let us get right to it with a quick recap from Legends Cup.

And there you have it! The Greenboyz had a final record of 0 wins, 1 tie, and 2 losses. Lost the first match vs Underworld Creepers. Came down to a failed GFI and tripping over the goal line for a tie. Second match was against the Bright Crusaders who pulled ahead early for a 2-0 lead but didn't count on the scrappy Goblins of the boyz coming back to tie it up 2-2 in the end. Last round was a brutal game against the Grudge Bearers who dominated the field and finally outscored a tie in the last turn of the game.

Overall a really fun event I am look forward to the next one now that I have a bit more practice with the team and know the rules a bit better (like you can't throw a Pogoer... oops!).

Hot on the heels of Legends Cup the boyz headed to Chicagoland for Chaos Cup 17. With the theme this year being GOBLINS it seemed like a no-brainer to bring a less than stellar version of The Greenboyz to the pitch for 6 games of Blood Bowl action.

Chaos Cup 2017 - Goblin Power!!

Round 1 vs Khemri (Coach aenir)
First game of the tournament started way up on table 10 or so versus... Khemri!? Got bashed around good and the fewer goblins on the pitch the easier it was to score for some reason. Managed to shut out the Khemri for a 2-0 win and secure goal #1 for The Greenboyz at Chaos Cup 17 - take home at least one win!

Round 2 vs Undead (Coach swerve)
Playing on table 4 (what the) after round 1 The Greenboyz got utterly trounced by the Undead. Not even a close matchup from a player perspective. Ended in about 1 hour or less. Nice coach though! I look forward to playing a proper match sometime in the future.

Round 3 vs Skinks (Coach bluedaybreak)
Finally a good match up for the boyz! At least on paper... this one turned into a snooze fest with the goblins failing every roll they made. It was a disaster but at least I was drinking heavily at this point! Ended up losing 0 to 3.

Round 4 vs Skaven (Coach gaddockteeg)
Ending the day somewhere in the middle/back of the tables (mid 20's) the boyz ended up matched against a Skaven team. I fully expected this to be a blowout but the boyz surprised me by going head to head in a shoot out with Gutter Runners?! Failed a final TTM attempt to tie it up on the last turn of the second half and ended up losing 2 to 3. A really fun game!

After a full day of Blood Bowl it was time to relax and unwind with a little SRG Supershow! Dr. Skullface made his XCW premiere and was promptly smacked down by everyone he went against (mostly by rolling Agility on the dice over and over and over again...). Luckily The Right managed to win the whole thing and bring home the tiny championship belt to Kalamazoo! Alright!! Then it was on to day 2 of Chaos Cup.

Round 5 vs Dwarves (Coach bigstraycat)
Dwarves. How are they even down here on the bottom tables!? Broken. I don't remember much from this match outside of being very pissed off as my opponent decided to stall out after being in the lead by 2. Playing for all the marbles at the bottom tables... good game bro? Just to spite their beardy faces managed a TTM 1 turn score on the last turn to get on scoreboard. Lost 2 to 1.

Round 6 vs Dark Elves (Coach sargon)
Deep into the bottom tables now last match is against... Dark Elves?! I mean wtf... can't I play at least one more fun team? The boyz failed all their rolls, coach hated himself and the game, probably was a dick to his opponent, and finally lost 3 to 1.

Somewhere in the second day I put up The Greenboyz for the Chaotic Brush painting competition. I have entered every year since it began and each year I paint a new team for the event. And each year I received no awards. Now I don't think of myself or my painting as your traditional "painting competition winner" type but I also don't think of myself as a total shit painter. Here's the team.. you be the judge?

The Greenboyz with sideline bits and stuff. One of these minis I did not paint (the Ogre). 

Well surprisingly a couple things happened. #1 - I saw a few new teams and not the same teams which seem to be entered each year and continue to win awards.

#2 and #3 I won two awards!? Fan Favorite (hell yes!) and Best Theme (Green!). I may not look like it in the photos but I was (and am) super excited to finally win my first miniatures painting awards! Heck it's only taken me 10+ years to get here. Thanks to everyone who voted for and appreciated The Greenboyz! We're already adding new pieces to the team for the next time out.

The Greenboyz mega catchup post #1 (52 minis weeks ???)

Hi blog. Hi couple of you that read this from time to time. Long time no see. Hope things are going well for you in life. Things are going very well for me and I have been quite busy working on a fun little Goblin team for Blood Bowl.

The Greenboyz!

Those Blood Bowl fans out there may recognize The Greenboyz from their one appearance in White Dwarf issue #101 with this little snippet:

Things weren't going so well for The Greenboyz back in that season but they turned it around for the 2487-2488 season when they managed to crush every team in their way to the championship. What happened you ask? Well nobody really knows... but most everyone is pretty sure it had to do with cheating.

"I reckon our win streak in '87 came down to two fings: cheatin' and not gettin' caught cheatin'..." - Kleva Klogz, lead scorer for The Greenboyz

The Greenboyz roster from their winning season in 87-88

Earlier this year I was invited to participate in a special kind of Blood Bowl event that focused on the Teams of Legend from Death Zone Season 2. While I wasn't planning on creating and painting a Goblin team when the chance came up to take on the role of Head Coach for The Greenboyz I just couldn't say no! (and it wasn't even because of the copious amounts of ale I was bribed with I swear)

And so the construction of this mighty team of legend began with...  bunch of shopping and chopping.

My goals for the team were:
1. Create a cohesive looking team of Goblins with various model ranges including GW.
2. Show each of the "skills" for the player in a visual way with conversions.
3. Have fun and embrace the Goblin aesthetic of The Greenboyz.

I'm pretty sure I achieved all of these goals and more! Once the main body of the team was complete I began work on the pieces I wanted for the sidelines. One of these was very important... a way to represent The Greenboyz constant Fame +2. I chose to model stands full of drunk fans and also build an early Mark I version of "The Monstrous Mangler" - the most impressive secret weapon to ever exist, and ultimately the secret weapon which killed off the triumphant Greenboyz in the year 2492. In my version of this secret weapon the Goblins created a way to drive the actual stadium stands on to the pitch in the ultimate of pitch invasions!

Still needed a few more sideline figures like Coaches, Cheerleaders, and the Apothecaries. I managed to get that done as well as the start of the team bus!

My vision for the bus was simple and recognizable. A very famous goblin truck...

With the added sideline complete it was time for a color scheme. Since The Greenboyz did not have official GW colors from the fluff (unlike most Teams of Legend) I worked up a color scheme that was really focused on both Goblins and the name Greenboyz. GREEN

With my test model done I moved on to the massive painting project of all the fans in the stands, the sideline minis, and finally the team. I also managed to bodge up a couple more Goblins for when the stars of The Greenboyz want some back up (or get squashed by other Blood Bowl teams) and to fill up the roster.

Next time... what happened at Legends Cup? Where else did The Greenboyz play (hint: it was Chaos Cup)? What is in store for the team moving forward? Check back here for more details Goblin fans!

Progress Report 7/2/17 - 52 Minis Weeks 24-26

Catching up! My work and class schedule has thrown a wrench into blog posts and painting. While I haven't been posting photos of progress I have been working on a big summer project for an upcoming Blood Bowl event in September. 

The first Legends Cup! Participating with other coaches to build some of the teams of legend from Blood Bowl to play against one another in a theme heavy tournament. Participation in the event was done by invite only so I feel pretty lucky to have made the cut. I was assigned the Goblin team known as The Greenboyz. 

Not much fluff out there for this team outside of a short mention in White Dwarf 101 and a little bit in the new Death Zone Season 2 supplement. I'll get more into the team fluff as things progress... in the meantime here is a test mini for a potential paint scheme of the team. The existing fluff makes no mention of the team color scheme so I have been giving freedom in that regard. 

For this scheme I wanted a medium/dark tones skin with a bright neon green cloth and blue additions. Then a bit of white and metal. I'm liking the 90's era GW paint scheme I ended up with but I am currently working on a slightly different direction (hint - it's lots of green).