Heresy Grows from Idleness
I'm going to be a little a heretical today, and in a couple of different ways. First, I'm going to put my fanboyism aside to talk some shit about Privateer Press, and then I'm going to show off my latest painting project - and it's Games Workshop. Before we jump to conclusions, I'm not giving up on Warmachine or anything, but every so often I need to switch things up and paint something different. When you are working on an army, you tend to paint the same kinds of things with the same colors over and over again. Eventually, my enthusiasm starts to wane and I find that I've gone several weeks without painting at all... when that happens, I usually go pick up something not Warmachine just to "cleanse the palette." Think of it as a sorbet for the painter's mind.
But before that, I just have to ask... what the hell is up with consistency of the Privateer Press range lately? I came back from my trip excited to see what was new on the PP preview pages... I found Molik Karn and the Shadowhorn Saytr. I don't know what it is, but the quality of the sculpts seems to be getting spotty lately. The Shadowhorn isn't terrible, but it's also kind of cartoony and posed horribly. And Molik Karn's face... I'm not sure what to think. The armor looks great, but that face... that mouth... it just looks ridiculous. Maybe I'm still bitter from my 2-dimensional Black 13th models, but it sure feels like they are slipping. I hope they get a handle on the sculpt quality - I got into the game because I had never seen a range of miniatures as consistently beautiful as the Warmachine/Hordes line. I'd hate to see that slide.
Now on to my weekend project. I just haven't had the will to get back to my Sword Knight UA, and so I decided I'd like to paint something other than Cygnar just to get the juices flowing again. I ended up playing quite a bit of Warhammer Online while I wasn't feeling well, and I really think the mounted dark elves in the game look cool, so I decided to try my hand on a unit of Cold One Knights.
They are really nice models with quite a bit of detail. Paining scales is always a lot of fun, and the dinos were definitely the high point. With my Warmachine painting, I don't get to do much drybrushing these days, and I kind of forget what an effective technique it can be.
For all the concern about Privateer Press going to plastic, this just cemented in my mind that not only do I not care - I welcome it. Assembly was easier, I dropped him twice while painting him and my heart didn't jump into my chest, and best of all: I got an entire unit of five cavalry models for $20. That’s not too bad when you compare that to $100 for a full unit of Storm Lances.
I'm still working on my sci-fi RPG plans. I've got some ideas, but I'm probably going to set up a separate site to put all that information on, so I don't overwhelm Gamehole with it. More on that soon.
Labels: miniatures, MMORPGs, RPGs, wargaming, Warhammer Fantasy, Warmachine
I disagree with you on the beast sculpts. I think Molik Karn suffers from a poor color choice on the mask, which I will not repeat when I paint one on commission. And I like the Shadowhorn, though the belt is a bit over done. But I talked with Haley and we have good idea of how this model will look... let's just say the belt won't be out of place. ;)
I like the way you Cold One turned out... it's fun to experiment with different palettes. I think that's why I like painting so many different armies. When I have my shit together, I'm not painting too much of the same thing. This month could be the first time I'm able to do that.
Posted by
bobaferret |
2:11 PM
Okay - beleive it our not, I didn't realize that was a mask on Molik... I thought that was supposed to be his actual mouf! I feel somewhat better - although it's still not my fav. I think I'm also lean pretty heavy to the "robots are cooler than dinosaurs" camp, which makes me struggle with hordes a little bit. I'm interested in seeing your paint on 'em. You made that warpy look awesome, and I hate that model too. I think it's the exaggerated heads I'm struggling with.
I do think it is really hurting PP not having the old 360 views anymore... For example, I didn't like the Sword Knight UA leader at all from the picture on the site, but the actual model is pretty nice, and much more dynamic than the picture implied. I'm guessing some of these new models are that way. At the same time - if they had the 360 view, I would have know that the Black 13th were flat :-D
Posted by
Dangerfish |
8:40 PM