+ inload: MMXXIV +

+ Scouting out MMXXIV + 

+ A felicitous Sanguinalia and Annual Re-Cycle to you all, and – once more – my thanks to all the autoscribes, rubricists and postlocutors that read this little corner of the noosphere. +

+ As a blog, +Death of a Rubricist+ doesn't have many traditions, so there's no great round-up of things – it's all too easy to let plans get in the way of enjoyment of the hobby. Instead, I thought I'd simply pop up what I've been working on:

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+ The Ashes of Armageddon +

+ The inter-continental scrap between Waa-Ghazghkull and the Steel Legion moves to a new scale, as I've been painting up both Salamanders and Goff orks for Epic. +

+ Very pleased with how the Salamanders have come out, and thanks to a bountiful Christmas, I've got rather a lot more to paint up! I've spoken quite a lot about this in the inloads leading up to the new year, so let's have a look at the forces in the other green corner – the orks: 

+ These figures are by Wakes Emporium [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+], and are charming little figures with a great variety of poses and unit types. Highly recommended: I had a grin plastered over my mug the whole time I was painting them. +

+ I used a very simple scheme:

_1  Spray prime with Halford camo brown.

_2  Base as you like – I used the same Armageddon scheme as for my Steel Legion, which is essentially lots of drybrush layers of increasingly light yellow-browns.

_3  Pick out the skin with various green paints – the more the merrier.

_4  Paint the weapons black, then pick out some areas with Iron Warriors (the new Boltgun metal).

_5  Wash with Agrax Earthshade

_6  Pick out details – this was essentially adding a couple of highlights to skin here and there, along with various bits like hair, back banners and so forth.

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+ The figures scale well with the new Legions Imperialis models, standing ~8mm tall. Note that the integrated round base adds another 1mm or so, making them as tall as the new marines when on flat bases (like the new Epic ones, or the tupenny bits I'm using). +

+ If that bothers you, then look for bases with recesses. Personally, I don't think this is noticeable at table-height, so unless you've intending them for display them besides other figures, it's not really a problem. +

+ Having said that, the little roundels are a personal bugbear of mine. They're hard to hide, awkward to paint around, and generally make painting more of a chore. With the increasing relevance of 3D sculpting and printing in the hobby, I hope that there's a trend to offer models both with and without the little roundels as options. I'd much prefer to paint them separately from the bases then attach them. +

Scale comparison with Legions Imperialis tanks and Marines. Note the right-hand ork base is a Nob/Warboss.

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+ Heroes and Villains of Armageddon +

Work-in-progress

+ There's a challenge event running for The Ashes of Armageddon, which you can read about here [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+]. In short, it's an invitation to paint up a leader or important personality for the Orks or Imperials by the end of January. +

+ I'm using the opportunity to create a General for the 7th Steel Legion Army Group, a fairly simple head swap that combines parts from the old Cadian Senior Officer model with bits from a Steel Legion lieutenant. +

+ I'm quite pleased with how he's looking, and while he's not going to win any prizes, he'll fit right in with my army. More importantly, he'll be popping his head over the trenches of Instagram to remind/spread the word about the event. + 

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+ In other news +

+ '2023 is the year the kroot get painted', I said – and a mighty half-dozen or so emerged... Not quite the battleline! However, with the promise of a PCRC campaign gearing up, I've pulled my finger out and started painting these charismatic figures once more. +

+ My first model of the year, therefore, is a Kroot – you can see him nearly finished alongside the WIP General. +

+ Eats-the-Fingers-First is currently picking his way through the jungles of Paradise XXII, and with a geekend meetup scheduled around the start of February, I'm aiming to have at least a Kill Team completed, and hopefully a little more. +

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+ Some Things Are Best Left Forgotten +

+ ...and with a suitable rest and recharge, The War of the False Primarch will conclude this year. If you've not heard of this project, or fancy a refresher, there'll be a summary article up on the blog [+noosphericexloadlink embedded+] soon enough – and in the meantime I encourage you to explore the existing shadowy lore. Just watch out for the Inquisition! +

+  My aim is to add the final mysterious polish by September, in time for the (yikes) eleventh anniversary of the +Death of a Rubricist+ blog. Once again, thank you one and all for continuing to read. +

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