Weekly hobby update #2

Time for a new weekly hobby update! This week was actually great — I managed to do a little bit of everything:

• Assembled my unit of Scarab Occult Terminators and started building the Rubric Marines.
• Finished painting my Treelord Ancient.
• Played my first game of AoS Spearhead! I took my Bitterbark Copse (Sylvaneth) against my friend's Cities of Sigmar, and we had a blast. We both really enjoyed it — so much that he has now ordered a bunch of minis and started building his own Cities of Sigmar army. 😄

I’m really, really happy with how the Treelord Ancient turned out. He’s probably one of my favourite models I’ve painted so far.

I also decided to take a different approach to photographing my miniatures, and I think the results are way better than what I’ve done in the past.

All in all, a very satisfying hobby week!

Weekly hobby update

I haven't posted anything here for a while. I'd like to change that — but rather than trying to write big hobby articles regularly, I want to start with something much smaller.

So, here's the first post in a new series: weekly hobby updates.

The idea is simple: each week, I'll post a picture or a short article about whatever hobby-related thing I managed to do. It might be Warhammer, but it could just as easily be a board game, card game, RPG, or something else.

I really believe in small actions accumulating over time. I've seen it work for myself, not only with hobbies but with other things as well. And when you have a family, a demanding job and a dozen other things competing for your attention, I think there's something valuable in simply doing something each week rather than waiting for the perfect opportunity to devote an entire weekend to a hobby. Sometimes you assemble a few minis, sometimes a few units and sometimes you paint something. And you just keep doing it. And hour here, 30 minutes there... in a few months, you might be surprised with what could be achieved. 

This week, I finally decided to start assembling models for my Thousand Sons army.

I love Tzeentch daemons, and I've had a few Thousand Sons units sitting around for quite some time. The funny thing is that none of them had actually been assembled yet.

Well, that's finally changing. I've decided it's time to build the army, starting with the unit of Scarab Occult Terminators. I will probably use this army mostly for Incursion, Combat Patrol and smaller WH40K games in general. I have absolutely no desire to get involved in 2,000-point affairs. 

It might not be much, but that's kind of the point. One small hobby project started (among several others already in progress :D). Let's see where it goes.

Looking back at old paintjobs: Sylvaneth

Sylvaneth are my primary army — and the main reason why I started playing Age of Sigmar back in its 1st edition. They are also the closest thing to the Wood Elves I loved in Warhammer Fantasy Battles. I have a few other armies that I enjoy collecting and painting, but there will always be a special place in my heart for the forest spirits.

However, Sylvaneth were also the first AoS army that I fully painted. Most of that work happened between 2016 and 2019, and my painting skills have progressed significantly since then. As time went on, I started noticing that the paintjobs on some of my favourite models no longer matched the standard of my more recent work. That left me wondering how I should approach the problem.

I did not want to fully repaint the miniatures. That would feel excessive and, in a way, those older Sylvaneth models are a snapshot of my painting skills at that point in time and a clear reminder of how much I have improved over the years. At the same time, I also did not want to leave them completely untouched.

Eventually, I realized there was a middle ground. Instead of repainting the models from scratch, I could strategically touch up certain details and areas to make them stand out more while still preserving the character of the original paintjob. 

The first of the models I worked on was the Treelord I wrote about some time ago. Next were the unit of Kurnoth hunters with scythes. I love those models - Kurnoth Hunters are my favorite Sylvaneth models as wells as some of my favourite Age of Sigmar miniatures. The original paintjob was a bit "flat" when it came to the details: everything was precise and clean, but there were no highlights or emphasis on specific parts of the model. Also, the bases were pretty simple and did not help in makind the model stand out. Below you can see the pictures of the models before the refresh: 

I wanted to perserve the original identity of the model (which I liked a lot), while improving "readability" and atmosphere. I think the bark has much better texture now, the green foliage/branches are not so overpowering, the weapon gradient is much better and the base actually frames a miniature (instead of being just some mud with grass).

Looking at the models side by side, the changes are not too dramatic, but they make a surprisingly large difference overall (at least to me). The original version was already clean and precise, so I did not want to repaint it from scratch. Instead, I focused on improving contrast, adding selective highlights, and making certain details stand out more clearly. I also reworked the base to give the miniature a bit more atmosphere and visual framing.

The end result still feels like the same model I painted years ago, just viewed through the lens of the experience I gained since then. And that was exactly what I was aiming for (and seeing the result, it's clear that the repaint would be such a mistake)!

Pink Horrors

Over the past few weeks, I have focused on painting my Disciples of Tzeentch models - primarily the daemons, since I can use them both in AoS and TOW games. My plan is to have fully painted Tzeentch army by the end of the year (or be very close to that). I made some pretty good progress and this week I have also managed to finish a unit of Pink Horrors. I was able to find colour scheme that I could replicate quickly, with just the right amount of details. On the pictures below, you can see them on the movement tray I painted as well. 

Brimstone Horrors

Today I have painted a unit of Brimstone Horrors for "Warhammer: The Old World". These little guys were fun and quick paintjob, done within an hour. I just need to buy another pot of Yiriel Yellow, because I did not manage to do the highlights I wanted. I wanted to represent the "Swarm" rule, so I placed two models on each 40x40mm base. With 6 wounds and ward save, thes guys should be pretty annoying on the battlefield. I am also finishing the unit of Pink Horrors, so expect more photos soon!