The ADHS Diaries - part 11

 

Well with one thing or another *cough*brain gremlins*cough* it has been a while since I posted a diary here - but nevermind, let's run through where I am with various things that have been done since the last post!

Bolt Action
The antifascists' tractor came and is prepped.  As is the North Korean and American forces for some Korean War gaming.  I think that'll be it for Bolt Action, unless a) I get massively inspired by some relatively obscure battle and b) Pendraken have the options for me to do it.  Not like I haven't got plenty of forces to be cracking on with painting!!

Burrows and Badgers
I have the TTCombat Ancient Beacon from their Savage Domain range to build - looks a bit fiddly though so it has sat in cellophane for a while now.  I aim to get the new giant Bear from Oathsworn soon, but otherwise this collection is complete... until something else is released that'll fit in The Bear's Wood setting we have!

Carnevale
The models I mentioned last time arrived and have been prepped.  There's still a few I'd like to pick up at some point, but as it would require more cobblestone bases as well they aren't a priority. Still, got lots to be getting painted now!

Gorkamorka
I built the TTCombat Orc Lookout - and added a couple more hired gun type dudes using the new (by my standards) Necromunda minis; a krump-mad Digga (Goliath with a couple of Orky glyph bitz) and a sneaky Mutie on his bug-like steed (Dustback Helamite). That should be it for now; but maybe some more scenery if anything crops up!

Hardwired/Reality's Edge
The printed minis I'd ordered have all come - including cool versions of John Wick and Tybalt (Baz Luhrmann movie style).  Still need to decipher from Reality's Edge what else we might need in terms of NPCs/random encounters/programs but think the character-side is mostly there now unless Papsikels or UNIT9 release more cool minis 😅

Malifaux
As things stand the only things left to prep are Plague/Vermin, Amalgam, Tri-Chi, Swampfiend, DUA/Umbra, Syndicate, Wastrel and Frontier keywords.  I've got to get more bases to finish the Resser versatiles and there's a few Big Hat and Kin minis also to prep.

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game
Everything is prepped, primed and actually sorted.  I've also prepped and primed the Gondor ruins from the starter box and the Gondor Tower I picked up.  I've got the four hobbits coming - only need a Boromir and Gandalf the Grey and I've somehow ended up with a Fellowship (OK, well not got Bill the Pony either).

Moonstone
Regular readers will know that when I don't have a good plan come a new hobby fund period that I get a bit impulsive... well that happened in April.  Thanks to a show special that Goblin King Games kindly made available on their website as well I picked up the starter set, rule book and expansion book.  To each of the forces (Commonwealth and Dominion) I added an airship and a big dude (giant/troll).  I'm planning on just using pretty much the same scenery as for Burrows and Badgers so don't anticipate needing to go too wild with this one.  Just couldn't resist the Labyrinth vibes!

Of Gods and Mortals
I'd got two gods/goddesses for the Greek force already (Ares and Athena) so figured it only fair to add second options to all the other forces we have.  They are all here (mostly via 3d printers on Etsy) - Wadjet for the Egyptians, Tyr for the Norse, Vishnu for the Indians, The Morrigan for the Celts and Perun for the Slavs.  The scales are a little mixed across the various gods and goddesses, but they are all significantly taller than the 15mm stuff I've used for troops so I'm happy enough!

Punkapocalyptic
So... what happened in April (see Moonstone above) happened again in May - I got the Punkapocalyptic starter set (Gangers and Mutards) as well as the Ganger and Mutard boxes.  I also got the Children of the Black Blood box, Momma Nutritora and a couple more Children.  I also got a couple of 3d printed Warboys - although they are a little taller than the official models they'll do to pad out the gang.  I do need some suitable post-apocalyptic terrain now though!

Rampanthammer
Everything is prepped and primed for the Empire, Nurgle and Skaven forces.  Just a matter of painting now!

Sengoku Monster Hunter
I've prepped a few more monsters from Alternative Armies that I hadn't gotten round to picking up.  Also got a gnarly 'final boss' style mini from an Etsy 3d printer - it's called 'Shrine Keeper' and looks like something out of a Sengoku JRPG.  Pretty much a must get then eh?

The Silver Bayonet
I got the Carpathians expansion - managed to find a suitable Forest Witch mini (via the Joan of Arc boardgame and a boxsplitter in France no less!).  Now to find some of the other options in 15-18mm...

Star Wars Legion
Got everything for this that I fancy - bases all sorted now too.  Only stalled because I can't face the LAAT/le build and I wanted to get it all done at the same time 😕


And everything else...
Other than the Infinity collection, everything else is all prepped and primed waiting for painting.  Infinity needs a massive amount of spoons to face assembling so unfortunately will likely sit sorted in their baggies with the resin bases.  As the resin bases are no longer available due to Antenociti's Workshop disappearing I can't really add anything more to Infinity so there's that at least in its favour!


Looking ahead...
Another hobby fund period looms and I'm trying to decide what to go for.  I know I have to finalise my Gangs of Rome KS but I'm not massively inspired by that now so will probably stick with just the rulebook.  Otherwise, the Giant Bear for Burrows and Badgers is an option to cross off the wishlist and I need to buy some resin bases to finish my Ressers... and I have spotted a couple of well-timed summer sales coming up that might mean a project or two I've been contemplating for a while become possible... all subject to change of course!! There's also the new Pendraken Russo-Japanese range that is ripe for a small project if I work out a couple of lists... decisions, decisions!  For a future hobby fund will be the final two Malifaux faction starters (Guild and Ressers) when they eventually drop at least.

It feels like the acquisition phase of my hobbying is greatly slowing down - barring 10mm Sikh Wars and Three Kindgoms China appearing somewhere that is!! 

Which means I may actually get painting and then gaming one day! 😲

Dōsojin and Milestones

One of the things I particularly like about the Sengoku Monster Hunter rules are the various types of encounter that the hunters can have whilst they try to track down their quarries.

The Milestone is one of these - and Alternative Armies has a couple of models to use when they turn up:

Simple pieces but will add a lot of flavour in the game!

Another such piece is the Dōsojin - small statues that ward against evil.  Alternative Armies has a couple of different designs available:

Again simple pieces, but paint up nicely with drybrushing and will amp up the character in games.

Yokai Parade

I've got a real mixture of Yokai to share on the blog today! These are all from Alternative Armies' Sengoku Japanese Fantasy range.

First the Tsurube Otoshi - a monstrous head that drops out of a tree to attack the unwary!

This handsome chap was fun to paint... considering he's just a misshapen head!

Next is the Tsuchinoko, one of the few Yokai who can aid the hunters!

As a flat snake (in effect) it's a bit tricky to get a picture of, but hopefully you can make out the markings I added to the skin.

Next is a Hosta Yokai, a monster plant:

Not the most interesting miniature to paint - but the more variety the better for enemies in SMH!

Here's quite a famous Yokai - the Rokurokubi.  The neck on this mini comes straight and you bend it into position - this was tricky and nerve-wracking but not impossible as you can see:

Another famous one (whose Malifaux cousin has been featured here in the last few days) is the Wanyudo:

I'm pretty happy with how the flames turned out on this one.

Finally one of my favourites - the Kitsune and Kit in human form:

Very cute, I hope you agree! To ramp up the cuteness, here's the rear of the mini:

Look at the Kit's tail!! It must still be learning its shape-changing abilities! 😄

That's a lotta legs!

Today I'm sharing a couple of enemies for Sengoku Monster Hunter - and both are centipede-ic in nature!

First the rather terrifying Greater Centipede Demon:

A tricky thing to get a decent picture of, but I hope you get the idea!

His less terrifying, but more freakish, cousin is the Centipede Devil - I opted for a spare human torso  rather than the head as I preferred it that way:

For both I took inspiration from the Mukade, which thankfully we haven't encountered during our times in Japan! 

Weird and Wonderful Creatures

Today I wanted to share a couple of the most unusual miniatures for Sengoku Monster Hunter (from Alternative Armies).

First, a pair of Baku - despite their odd looks, they are good creatures who eat nightmares:

The colour scheme was inspired by the entry for the Baku on Yokai.com.

An altogether more sinister creature is the Nue:

Again, the colours are inspired by the Nue entry on Yokai.com.

I think both the Baku and Nue show why Japanese folklore is such a rich setting for a game - there are so many interesting and varied yokai!

Sinister Monks

A couple of dodgy monks today from Alternative Armies for use in Sengoku Monster Hunter - first a skeletal monk (maybe he fasted just a little bit too long?):

And the demon monk - a tall, powerful looking entity:

The minis are both two-part (torso and legs), so very simple to assemble. For both of these sinister monks I opted for colours that one might associate with Sōhei to reinforce their 'monk' status.

Sengoku Arachnids

Some more SMH stuff today - this time all spider-related! (nb I don't like spiders).

As always, all miniatures are from Alternative Armies (mostly their 15mm Fantasy Sengoku Japanese range).

Starting with the Spider Devils - on the larger body I used a human torso:

I went for a very unnatural look for this one.

On the smaller body I used the Ox head (to match the Ushi-Oni depicted in the Hyakkai Zukan):

I even gave it blue eyes like in the Hyakkai Zukan.

I also ordered the Arachnid Swarm to use as giant spiders:

These are one-piece resin miniatures.  I painted them in a scheme inspired by the Jorō Spider, which we had seen on a previous trip to Japan.

I'm not looking forward to our hunters facing this arachnid menace!

Cats, Dogs and Foxes

Some more Sengoku Monster Hunter today - this time it's the turn of Nekomata, Inugami and Kitsune!

First up is the Nekomata - a cat yokai.  I looked up art to try to decide what kind of look to go for - I couldn't find anything that seemed to be a 'typical' Nekomata but I did come across some cool art that was heavy on the blue ghost fire look, so I decided on blue!

I wanted these to look very obviously unnatural - which I think this has achieved!

Then it came to the Inugami, dog yokai.  I decided on a similar look as the Nekomata - but this time went for red:

Finally in this group - the Kitsune, the famous fox yokai.  These I used varying tones to make each look different - but all inspired by the Ninetails pokemon (which is itself taken from the legends about Kitsune of course):

These three groups of yokai are all available from Alternative Armies of course if you want your own animal yokai!

The Tsukumogami

One of the most interesting classifications of Yokai to me is the Tsukumogami - tools that have acquired a spirit (typically because they have been around for 100 years) - and the Sengoku Monster Hunter range from Alternative Armies certainly doesn't disappoint!

You may already be aware of some - the Chōchinobake, or paper lantern ghost is quite iconic and I really enjoyed painting up this mini version!

Another famous yokai of this type is the Kasa-obake - an umbrella:

A less famous type is the Boroboroton - a rather murderous futon!

Next is the Eritategoromo - a high priest's kimono spirit:

Finally, and not quite Tsukumogami but somewhat related are the Nurikabe - available in both hostile and friendly forms.  I wanted these to look mostly wall-like rather than over emphasise the faces within:

Unlike the rest of the minis the Nurikabe are resin rather than metal.

I love the sheer variety the Sengoku Monster Hunter range includes - and the Tsukumogami (and their Nurikabe cousins) offer some interesting painting opportunities a little different to the usual fantasy fare!

Sengoku Monster Hunter - Oni

Next up for the Sengoku Monster Hunter collection are the Oni - certainly one of the most iconic creatures from Japanese folklore! These are available from Alternative Armies' wonderful 15mm Japanese Fantasy range.

I opted for the classic red skin look, which I paired with white hair to contrast.

First up the Oni Commander - seated and holding his kanabō in one hand and a sake gourd in the other, and an Oni Shaman (who looks like a master of the Shun Goku Satsu...):

Next a trio of armoured Oni - two with swords and one unarmed (well, other than its claws!).  I deliberately went for metal armour on these to show further differences from the humans in the game who will be wearing the lacquered style armour.

Here's a pair of Oni baring their claws:

Next a pair with swords:

And finally a couple armed with the classic Oni weapon, the kanabō:

I really enjoyed painting these - and I'm very pleased with their red skin!  Woe betide the hunters that encounter these monsters!

Animal Yokai

I thought I'd share a variety of animal yokai I've painted for SMH - first up the Onikuma, a demon bear.  I've gone for dark fur and the classic evil eye colour of red to show his supernatural side:

He'll tower over the monster hunters in games; quite an intimidating beast!

Next up a pair of Nobusuma - this is what happens when a bat lives a long time... (a common origin for all sorts of yokai it seems!)

Finally a couple of different Kamaitachi miniatures - first the paired version:

And a pair of the single variant:

I went for a golden fur like the Japanese Weasel (well kamaitachi is literally 'sickle weasel' after all!) and applied gloss varnish to their claws to reinforce their sharpness.

These are all available from Alternative Armies Sengoku Monster Hunter range.

The Cucumber* Crew

Next up are some more monsters for Sengoku Monster Hunter - the famous Kappa!  These amphibious dudes are a staple of Japanese mythology and folklore so it's great to see them represented on the tabletop!

There are three versions available from Alternative Armies as part of their extensive range to support SMH - first up is the Sasumata-armed version:

Next are a trio armed with a type of Eku (paddle weapon):

And finally the Ōtsuchi wielding Kappa - these warhammer swingin' turtle-dudes are my favourite of the three!

Although I suppose this means I need some waterways for the SMH terrain collection... 🤔

*and if you were curious about the title of this post - the most famous favourite foodstuff of the Kappa are cucumbers!