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Wednesday, February 15, 2023

My latest Warhammer 40,000 miniature

Behold my new Ork big mek with kustom force field:

This is a model that I assembled three years ago, in the initial days of the COVID pandemic.  It seemed there wasn't going to be much travel for awhile, and there were a few Warhammer 40,000 minis that I had accumulated but never gotten around to giving much attention toward.  It was as good a thing as any to occupy myself with.  I put this together and it finally dawned on me that the lockdown could last months instead of weeks.  So he just kinda lingered unpainted on a shelf.

Anyway it's now 2023 and Warhammer 40K is hotter than ever and poised to get even bigger.  And I wanted to see if I still had my mad mini-painting skillz.  I'm rather pleased with how this little fella turned out.  So far as in-game mechanics goes, a big mek carrying a force field bestows a good level of protection for nearby friendly forces against enemy fire.

I need to come up with a name for him though.  I like to name my minis.  Gives them a little personality as they fight their way across the board.  I've already got my warboss Kaneegutz (left).  He's a character that I cobbled together from eight different kits.  That's a photo from a few months ago though.  Since then I've widened the base he's standing on with an adapter, and textured the base with astrogranite technical paint (available on Games Workshop's website and many game stores).  So he's "good 'n proppa" for battle.

Next up: a box of the new Ork boyz.  Unfortunately they don't have the pose-ability of the previous boyz minis (which I love) but I'm going to give the new guys a similar paint scheme and spread them around the units.  Infuse my squads with a little extra flavor.  Or maybe I should grant my lads some heavy support and get a deff dread.  That's one of the things why this is such a fun hobby: there's no one correct way to play.  Just go however it feels right for you.  Who knows, if I get good again I may put together a list and enter a tournament sometime.  That would be a lot of fun :-)

EDIT 02/19/2023 12:57 a.m.: I've decided to name my new big mek Erk DeffWelda.  After my good friend, true renaissance man, master welder and professional Santa Claus, Eric Smith.  Who has taught me much about life and he deserves being immortalized as a Warhammer miniature.  I look forward to unleashing him on the field of battle!


13 comments:

Charlie said...

Greetings from England! Your painting is very good. I mostly play Imperial Guard, it would be a great honor to have a game with you and your lads one day. Keep up the great work!

Chris Knight said...

Thank you! I'd be down for that :-D Would love to see your minis too :-)

Daryl said...

Looks great Chris! Well done.

Have you heard of a minis game called Flames of War? You'd probably like it. It's a World War II miniatures game. They make all sorts of tanks and other vehicles for it. I played it once and had a great time.

Chris Knight said...

Hi Daryl, thanks :-) I have seen Flames of War being played. It indeed looks like a lot of fun! Maybe I should look around and see if anyone in driving distance plays also.

MaxSpeed said...

It looks like you got into the hobby by way of the Assault on Black Reach set. That was the gateway drug for a lot of people playing 40K. At the time I bought two of those boxes, they were such a great deal, hey the dreadnought alone justified the cost. Good to see you're still in the game and excellent work on the big mek.

Chris Knight said...

MaxSpeed, aye. That's how it started. I actually owe a bit of my mental health to 40K. I was going through a very rough patch in my life at the time. Needed something to get my mind off of real life a little. I'd read a review of the Assault on Black Reach set and it got me really curious about WH40K. I decided it was something I wanted to try, so I went to my friendly local game store and ordered a box. I had a LOT of fun putting those miniatures together and painting them. They provided the distraction I needed then. I also got back into playing Battletech a bit too around the same time. Love me some 'mech action :-)

There is just something about playing a game against living breathing people across the table from you, as opposed to a video game where your opponent is a continent away on the other side of a screen.

JeffY said...

Nice job Chris!

JeffY said...

I went to Games Workshop's website and looked up orks. You should do Ghazghkull next!!!

Chris Knight said...

"You should do Ghazghkull next!!!"

NO! Not yet. Still getting my bearings as a mini painter back. I want to be REALLY confident in my skills before I take on Ghazghkull. That mini costs seventy bucks, I do NOT want to mess it up. But I appreciate the sentiment :-)

Kyle said...

Very well done Chris. You may want to consider thinning your paints with a small amount of water. It looks a little thick on his face. Otherwise this is an excellent return to the hobby. Welcome back to the WAAAGH!

PVader said...

What you need now are some Meganobz and a trukk. Load the 'nobz and the Big Mek with force field aboard and drive them into the heat of battle. Disembark all the passengers together and start krumpin'. If I were to make a suggestion since you already have some Boyz then start work on Meganobz.

Chris Knight said...

Kyle: thanks! That's good advice. I'll try to do that from now on.

PVader: am way ahead of you :-) Got six of the old-school metal meganobz already put together and painted from ten years ago. And I've also got the trukk built and painted too from that same period. I've been told that the meganobz from the 4th/5th edition or so are pretty comparable/compatible with the plastic ones made today. They will be a force to be reckoned with. WAAAGH! indeed! :-D

PVader said...

Yes, get another trukk and get all your megas on the board. I'm jealous, those metal ones are great!