Well I seem to be having a bit of a mixed time of it here at Spacecow Towers. On the one hand, I have been blasting through putting together terrain and working on my SD Somewhere on the Border stuff but seem to be repeatedly hitting a bit of a brick wall when it comes to all things Farpoint.
I spent a bit of time yesterday painting up an Ork for the upcoming Kill Team game that GW are showcasing but found it largely an unrewarding experience. Having started with huge amounts of enthusiasm, the drudgery of simply getting the lumpen piece of plastic painted was almost more than I could bear and the prospect of painting more of them doesn't fill me with enthusiasm.
Again I seem to be stuck with the problem of enjoying painting my own stuff that I make but not commercially available stuff.
Looking back through my blog over the last nine years (hard to believe!), it quickly becomes clear that my most productive and enjoyable experiences have been based around 15mm or SD scales when I can churn out small warbands over a weekend, put together a bit of scenery without hassle and have a blast playing a small skirmish.
For all my handwringing about it, I just don't seem meant for 28mm anymore and need to face facts! With this in mind, I am going to spend a bit of time going through my 15mm scale collection and do some much needed repair work, doubly so as I never varnish my figures so some of them are a bit chipped.
Secondly, I need to get back to sculpting in 15mm scale as it is quite an enjoyable experience and the scale suits my rather stylised approach and it will allow me to put together to sort of forces that I want to see, especially when combined with judicious use of the extensive sci-fi, fantasy and historical ranges out there (take a peek at the Rdunrundt Dragoons below for example. They are actually Peter Pig WW1 French Dragoons but with a bit of a repaint, they are perfectly suited to some pulpy sci-fi shenanigans)
As I mentioned in my previous post, I also really want to get back to playing some games which I managed regularly back when I stuck to 15mm scale but have struggled with since the temptations of 28mm has struck me.
Looking at the sheer output I managed back then, despite being at either uni, full time work or long commutes I am surprised that I have achieved so little in the last 18 months or so.
Another issue I am becoming increasingly aware of is the lack of space. While I can play a decent game in 15mm on a 2'x2' or 3'x3' board with a few squads and vehicles, attempting anything similar in larger scales is increasingly becoming an exercise in futility as the gubbins I do paint aren't enough for even a decent skirmish and then there's the whole issue of terrain.
Needless to say, one can keep a decent amount of large terrain features for 15mm scale in a shoebox but it's a bit more difficult to do the same in 28mm!
My hobby time is becoming less and less as the years go by and I really want to re-connect with it and if that means taking a step back and re-evaluating what works and what doesn't with the stuff I have, then so be it!
On a related note, I am going to be re-evaluating the assorted SD sculpts I have and continuing to put together small warbands for my own enjoyment as they seem to scratch the itch of a more characterful sculpt that doesn't take long to paint and doesn't need lots of space to play a game!
With that in mind, I am seriously contemplating sculpting some SD characters for a Kill Team campaign like these little Bloodaxe's I sculpted a couple of years back:
It took two weeks to sculpt them and a couple of days to paint them and they were great fun to do as well! I may chunk the newer sculpts up a bit, like the way my Somewhere on the Border stuff is developing but I rather like the characterfulness of them and hope to find an excuse to build and paint some more!
Anyhoo, enough of my rantings and ravings and I think I need to take stock and see what I can put together in the coming week (when I am not at work running the host of events we've got coming up!)
In the meantime, apologies for the ramblings and break in meaningful content. Hopefully with my new enthusiasm coupled with a dose of reality, I will be able to get back to a more interesting read soon!
It's a shame to lose you from 28mm but a man's gotta paint what a man's gotta paint! I do like your dwarves and orks very much. The orks remind me of Jamie Hewlett's work for the band Gorillaz.
ReplyDeleteThese fantastic self-sculpted minis and your 15mm collection are in fact the things that had drawn me to your blog in the first place.
ReplyDeleteIt even encouraged me to try my hand on sculpting some minis myself, even though the results still look a bit abysmal.
With a little conversion work, there isn't a game meant for 28mm scale that also can't be played with 15mm.
So my advice is to just keep on doing what you like to do ;D, it's a hobby after all and it shouldn't feel as a chore.
After a lot of hesitation I finally started 15mm this year. Our motives to do so are quite similar and at the moment I cannot imagine painting a 28mm miniature. I manage five to seven per day in 15mm and my armies grow without any pressure. Keep up the good work, I really like your stuff! :)
ReplyDeleteThere's something pleasing about being able to paint a handful of miniatures a day rather than agonising over one for days!
DeleteMany thanks for the comments and I hope you continue to enjoy all things 15mm!
Can you please tell me who's that big guy above the yellow taxi with the squids?
ReplyDeleteHi!
DeleteHe's a bio titan from the Alternative Armies Space Viking Range that I sculpted many moons ago. I have converted him a bit though so he's got a reworked shoulder pad, face and close combat weapon.
All the best!