26 November 2017

Deadcember - one week to go till it starts

Yes, folks, just one week until the start of the premier annual "paint a dead/undead minature" competition.

I'll start an album here of the entries as they come in, as well as a thread on the oldhammer forum for users to see the subset painted by other forum users.

What you need to know if you want to enter:

  1. This is a painting challenge for 28mm "scale" miniatures painted during December 2017
  2. The theme this year is (un)dead, meaning casualty figures are as welcome as the usual undead monsters and creatures
  3. An entry can either be a single model, or a group - there is no advantage or disadvantage inherent to either choice
  4. Email a photo of your miniature(s) before painting, and no more than two of the finished item, against a plain background so your painting really shines. Send your pictures to Deadcember 2017
  5. You can enter as many times as you like - the more the merrier - but each entry will be independently considered.
  6. The winner will be decided by me and will be based purely on my honest choice of which is my favourite - quality of painting, oldhammeriness, any conversion work, etc. will all feed in to it, I'm sure.
  7. There is a prize! A new Tom Meier zombie dragon and some skeletons, kindly donated by Ral Partha Europe.

I'm really looking forward to what everyone produces! Check the tab at the top of the page for last year's entries.

5 November 2017

Bombadier beetle shells? We're rich!



Yesterday my two boys (9 and 7) asked me to run a roleplaying session for them, continuing the adventures of the dwarven thief and fighter duo (Gremdullim and Emrin) with their trusty NPC comrades, the human cleric Jerard and fighter Geoffroi. I protested that I hadn't prepped anything, they didn't care - "Just make it up, Daddy, isn't that the point of the game, to make up a story together?" How could I resist their old-school wisdom? Back to Morgansfort we went...

1 November 2017

Advance warning for DEADCEMBER 17


With the dust barely settled on Or(c/k)tober, and the photos of ill-advised dressing up still being uploaded from Halloween, it's time to think ahead to a graveyard themed painting challenge - DEADCEMBER 2017!

That's right, this is your one month warning to get your lead pile sorted and unearth those miniature corpses, ready for your brushwork to cast reanimate upon them.

The theme this year will be "(un)dead", so not only are any variety of skeleton or zombie welcome, but also vamps, ghouls, wraiths, ghouls... AND casualty figures. So, even if you're no fan of shambling hordes or things that go bump in the night, you can still participate and paint up something that will add character to your battlefield or display cabinet

PRIZES - thanks to the generosity and support of Paul from Ral Partha Europe (http://www.ralparthaeurope.co.uk/shop/), there will be prizes of a classic Tom Meier zombie dragon and a "little set" of skeletons from their DSA range!


So, get rummaging, get planning, and get ready for painting. Submission details to follow.