2014 Roundup

When I started this blog back in March, inspired by the many other brilliant Oldhammer blogs out there, it was to give me the impetus to actually paint some of the classic models I had started buying on E-bay.

Has it actually achieved that?

Well I painted seventeen models in the last ten months, which is infinitely more than I had painted prior to starting the blog. So I can't say I'm displeased with the progress I've made. Plenty more still to paint, and somehow I seem to keep acquiring more :)

Certainly my painting has improved (not to the standards of many others in the community but good enough for me).

So what are the models I did get painted.

The whole lot.

Smyrk's Crew, Arbites and the Emissary

Necromunda Eschers

Cursed Xenos

And a lone fantasy dwarf... (who managed to avoid appearing in the group shot).

So whilst I'm happy with my progress so far it seems customary to set myself some targets for the coming year. So here goes...

1 - Paint at least 17 models. Knowing my work rate and the distractions of real life and other hobbies I'm not going to set too high a target for this.

2 - Base all my models. Its notable with all the models I've done so far I haven't actually properly  finished any of them... As such a definite target is to actually base them all and do the same for all the new ones I paint.

3 - Manage at least one post a month. Looking at my post history for the blog there are two big gaps in August and later October and November where I didn't post anything at all. So next year I'm going to try and keep a more even flow across the whole year.

Right having got that out of the way it just remains to say have a Happy New Year and see you all in the next annum.


Cap'n Smyrk

One (or three...) last thing(s)...

So I managed to bash out three last minis for the year this morning which brings my total for the year up to 16, which is more than I actually expected to manage.

The first one is Montgomery "Squatty" McAlliber Captain Smyrk's squat engineer. I imagine that having been declared a heretic by Inquisitor Tycho Smyrk lost all his Adeptus Mechanicus support but Squatty not being AdMech has hung around.

Can't really see it in my rubbish photo but I'm pretty happy with how his shades turned out.

Check it out! More hazard stripes!

Smyrk and his crew aren't going to be very uniform in their colour scheme and so I realised that I needed something to tie them all together and so as I'd already put some on Smyrk I decided to use hazard stripes.

Then there are the two Adeptus Arbites that I've painted up to accompany Psi-Judge Anjersen.

Arbitrator Joeb, front

And back.

And Arbitrator Luke, front

And back.

Finally I've added some pages as galleries for some of the factions I'm painting up, just Captain Smyrk's crew and the Arbites at the moment as they're the only ones I've got several of but will expand them.

I'll probably do a yearly round up post closer to new year but this is it for now.

Til next time.


Cap'n Smyrk

She Is The Law... (And a Merry Christmas to all)

So Merry Christmas to the blogosphere.

Sorry it's taken so long to get these photos but once I'd recharged my camera my lack of a proper photo setup meant I had to wait until I had a day off work and was actually at home in daylight.

Anyway as an early Christmas present of sorts here's the pics of Psi-Judge Anjersen ;)

I'm quite happy with the way she's turned out so much so I've already started to paint up two of her comrades using the same basic scheme although as they are mini's from two different Arbites ranges there's some variation.

Anjersen is actually quite, shall we say, petite compared to her comrades but that doesn't bother me that much.

Joining the Arbites in the painting queue is the next member of Cap'n Smyrk's crew his faithful Squat engineer Montgomery "Squatty" McAlliber.

Hope to have these three done by the end of the year, as festivities and visits to relatives allow.

So I hope you all have a good festive season and til next time...


Cap'n Smyrk

Here comes the Law...

So I've managed to maintain a small amount of momentum and have painted something else, this time the first of my Adeptus Arbites.

Although technically she isn't actually an Arbite being a GW Judge Dredd Judge Anderson figure.

Unfortunately although I've got her painted my camera battery is flat so I can't show you any finished pics yet but I'll get on that once its recharged.

My intention is for her to be a Psi-Judge (in homage to the original character) armed with a Needle pistol (represented by her lawgiver) and will lead a small team of Euphoria's other Arbitrators.

Hopefully I'll be able to get some pics up fairly soon.

Til then, happy hunting.

Cap'n Smyrk

Cap'n On Deck (Part 2)

Captain Smyrk is now finished, Ive touched up a few details, repainted the scarf like I was considering and giving him a coat of varnish.

I think the scarf definitely works better this colour even though I liked how the shading and highlights worked on the brown...

I've drawn up the stats and background for his rest of his crew but am still deciding on what models I want to use for them.

Got to choose what to paint next as well, ah decisions, decisions...

Til next time


Cap'n Smyrk

Cap'n On Deck...

And so I return after too long an absence, but I have finally regained my modelling mojo and actually have something to show for it.

This time its Captain Julius T. Smyrk himself.

After quite a long deliberation I chose the Imperial Scout to represent Smyrk. Although its maybe not as flashy as a Rogue Trader would normally be, Smyrk isn't technically a Rogue Trader anymore. I think it works well as one who no longer has access to the resources he once did and the hood shows his need to conceal his identity. Shows off his contacts with the darstedly xenos as well.

His clothes are a bit of a homage to his eponymous namesake and I tried to include some good old fashion hazard stripes. I'm fairly happy with how the hand flamer nozzle came out as well. The boots are inspired by the magnetic boots worn by the Starfleet Assassins in Star Trek VI.

He's not quite finished yet, needs a coat of varnish and I am contemplating making the scarf the same colour as the hood, their supposed to be the same thing anyway and the brown tends to get lost amongst the rest of the scheme.

Still working on the rest of his crew including his first mate "Ace" Ryker and head of security Sphinx.


Til next time

Cap'n Smyrk

Thought for the Day: Watch for the Mutant.

A Voice in the Wilderness...

So its been a quite a while, sorry about that.

Various factors have contributed to my lack of progress on this little project, including unexpectedly having to get a new car, concentrating on getting some of my historical models finished, currently working away from home during the week, and I will admit a certain lack of interest...

With this in mind I don't have anything new to show painting wise unfortunately but I have a few ideas I have been mulling over for a while. I've been thinking about adding a bit more structure to the project and start building some small warbands with their own (linked) backgrounds.

This will be linked to the back story I wrote to go with my 'Emissary' a few months ago. In that I introduced a couple of other characters, Captain Julius T. Smyrk and Inquisitor Rastaban Tycho, and it is these two that I intend to start with.

Captain Smirk (and all his thinly veiled Star Trek references) has been my internet nom de plume for several years and was also attached to this blog more or less as an after thought.
I intend for Smyrk to be former Rogue Trader who took the "rogue" part of his title a little too literally and has fallen foul of the Inquisition (in the form of Tycho). He now travels with whats left of his crew always managing to stay one step ahead of the increasingly obsessed inquisitor.

Rastaban Tycho has rather different origins having started out as a background character for some unrealized Inquisitor characters (although maybe the Inquisitors Voth may turn up in younger form in Tycho's retinue...).
Admittedly Tycho's character has changed somewhat from his particularly radical bent in that tale. The new Rastaban Tycho is a little more puritanical. I see him working through a series of agents and underlings to manoeuvre his targets into incriminating themselves before swooping in like a shining paladin of the Emperor's wrath with his Space Marine bodyguards to apprehend them (and take all the credit).
He attempted this tactic on Smyrk but somehow the wily rogue managed to escape and has been doing so ever since. Tycho has become obsessed with bringing Smyrk to justice and is pursuing him across the Imperium.

Well those are the basic ideas behind the two leading figures, I'm working on their respective underlings. Now I just need to acquire some figures to use for them...

Anyway that's it for now. Hopefully I won't be so long before posting again.


Cap'n Smyrk

Wrath of the Ancients

So I've finally actually finished painting something!

Hooray!!! (Rapturous Applause!!!)

What no? Oh well just me then...

Anyway here's some more Eldar.

And here's a group shot with the two I've already done, hmm almost a squad...

That's it for now.

Til next time.

Cap'n Smyrk

And now for something completely different

Nothing new painting wise I'm afraid but I've got a couple more Eldar primed and ready so you may see something painting wise soon.

As I mentioned in my second post my early GW gaming was mostly epic scale with the 2nd edition Space Marine boxset (and later Titan Legions, both of which I still have).
Back in 1997 I was eagerly awaiting the release of the new Epic 40'000. However after reading the various articles and battle reports published in White Dwarf during its short lifespan I was not particularly impressed and so never bought the game (or even tried it out). With its failure as product and the death of support for Epic my main opponent and I moved on to playing Necromunda and my Epic stuff was left languishing in the bottom of the cupboard.

I can't recall exactly what turned me against ruleset at the time, but I suspect it was mostly the dramatic change and the massive simplification that occurred. I do remember that the free form army lists and loss of the higher-level military organisations you got due to the Company cards was one of my major turn-offs.

More recently however after re-reading many of the those articles in WD I have re-evaluated my opinions. I went so far as to buy a set of the rule books off e-bay and have been reading through them. Certainly the simplification of the rules no longer bothers me, I much prefer simplicity in my rules these days.
The removal of the plethora of special rules for every single individual unit actually seems very sensible to me now, whilst many troop types may have been reduced to single generic entries (as some argued reducing the character of the armies) this makes sense in epic scale, the mechanical differences of units in WH40K simply won't matter at this scale.

Epic is a clash of large formations not of the individual warriors who make it up, and I think now I understand what Andy and Jervis were attempting to achieve.

Sure there are things I would have done differently and there are definitely some flaws in the rules but I do have a hankering to try them out (if only I had the space...).

And yes I have the Epic: Armageddon rules (on pdf anyway) and they certainly simplify the rules and retain more individual character in the units than Epic40K, but still I like the pure compactness of the this system.

Anyway I've probably bored you enough with this essay.

Til next time.


Cap'n Smyrk

The Small and Short of it...

So not much activity from me for, well too long really. Most of my hobby time has been spent on historical modelling projects of late.

However I have done some more on the last two minis.

The ork is mostly just some extra highlights on the skin and gun.

The Fire Dragon has a free hand Eldar rune added to the front of the helmet because it looked a bit bare, now that I've looked it up its not completely accurate but I'm fairly happy with it anyway.

And finally, in relation to the post title I have my first Fantasy mini for this project. I present Hewi Drakkenbak in all his dubious glory.

He is the Dwarf from the Warhammer Quest game and like my Eschers is mostly a retouch of an ancient shoddy paint job. If and when I do other fantasy stuff expect to see a preponderance of dwarves as I am a life long dwarf fan in almost all fantasy settings (must be something to do with being short...).

Until next time (which will hopefully not be quite so far in the future...).


Cap'n Smyrk

Filty Xenos

So a pretty productive weekend as far as I go with two more minis mostly finished.

First up a first Eldar Aspect warrior, a Fire Dragon. Fire Dragons have always been my favourite Aspect, since I first saw these models in the battle report in WD 141 (the second issue I ever bought), despite the fact that they gave a pretty poor performance (probably something to do with Jervis Johnson being in command...).

I've tried to tie him in with the other Eldar I painted so he has most of the main colours used on them on him somewhere and his pistol is the same colour as their weapons. He was based and primed when I bought him (explaining why his base is done, so unlike me...) although the base needs a bit of extra work.

I've currently got three of these plus the Exarch (one of my all time favourite minis) and two of the 3rd edition Fire Dragons which I also like. Oddly I'm not much of a fan of the latest figures despite them harking back to these classics in style.

He is joined by my first Ork, I need to find some more of these I currently have four boys and three bosses... not a particularly well balanced force...

Although I called him finished at the time after another look I think he might need a few extra highlights on his skin and gun.

And here you can see my attempt at freehand, Bad Moons are my favourite of the Ork clans. I'll be going with the old Rogue Trader (and I suppose modern as well) take of having all the orks in the force belonging to the same clan rather than the mix and match approach seen in 2nd Edition.

Anyway that's it for now. Til next time...


Cap'n Smyrk

And now for something a little more Juvenile

The latest addition to my Eschers, a Juve to round out the gang. Again a touch up of an existing slapdash paintjob.

She looks a bit cross-eyed, maybe one day I'll get my eye-painting to be consistent...

Anyway here's a pic of all the girls I've done so far together.

Still two more gangers and the heavy (although she was never actually assembled or painted first time round) left and I'll have done the whole of the gang box set (might have to see if I can acquire some of the others off e-bay).


Til next time.

Cap'n Smyrk

Dark Emissary

So following up my little background piece I have the model to represent the villainous miscreant mentioned in it.

Yes this does mean that I have uncharacteristically painted a model almost as soon as I bought it...

But my excitement about the Star Raven/Time Lord figure was too great, especially after I had the idea for the colour scheme. Any one who guesses the inspiration wins an internet...

I've even written up some stats for him, I don't see him as much of a fighter relying on his psychic powers, mutant abilities and minions to keep enemies at bay. I've also tried to restrict his psychic abilities to mind manipulation and telepathy effects (plus teleport and an Aura) no pyrotechnics.

The Emissary

M	WS	BS	S	T	W	I	A	Ld	Int	Cl	WP
4	3	3	3	4	3	3	1	10	10	10	10

 

Weapons: Laspistol, Force Rod.

Armour: Mesh.

Equipment: Breathing Filters, Energy Scanner, Photo-Chromatic Drops.

Mutations: Evil Eye, Hypnotic Gaze.

Psychic Mastery 3, Psi-Level 33

Level 1 Powers: Immunity from Poison, Steal Mind, Teleport 1

Level 2 Powers: Ectoplasmic Mist, Rally, Sense Presence.

Level 3 Powers: Aura of Recalcitrance, Cause Confusion, Rout, Telepathy 3

Now I just need find a suitable figure for Inquisitor Tycho...


Til next time


Cap'n Smyrk


Today's Thought:  Purge those who are Unclean

Incoming Transmission...

Imperial Record      IR 01/886

Cross file to:           Office of the Inquisition OI

Planetary ref           Euphoria A3 Atar System

Input ref                  Personal Log, Inquisitor, Tycho, Rastaban
                                43/968 ES367

Input dated              0672968.M41


My pursuit of the reviled heretic and scoundrel Julius Smyrk has brought me to this unremarkable planet on the outer reaches of the Imperium. I am at a loss to explain why its founders chose to name it Euphoria, there is certainly little euphoric about it now.

Unfortunately Smyrk's trail appears to have gone cold but my investigations continue nonetheless. More worrying is the presence of a previously unrecorded heretical cult upon the planet. This cult appears to be spreading widely amongst the planetary population and the Imperial Commander and his forces seem unable (or possibly unwilling?) to stem the tide.

I have contacted the local Arbites precinct and gleaned as much information from them and other sources as I can. The cult denies our most benevolent Emperor's light and instead directs their worship towards a shadowy entity/deity referred to as the Incandescent Star Wyrm.

The centre of the cult revolves around a mysterious individual known only as the Emissary. This individual purports to be a messenger or prophet of the aforementioned Star Wyrm. I have been unable to acquire much information about this 'Emissary' who seems to a be able to travel great distances in an impossibly short time. He has so far eluded all attempts to apprehend him.
Reports do mention his miraculous powers and inhuman charisma.

My suspicions are that this 'Emissary' is in all likelihood a psyker, probably a dangerously powerful one. Other evidence points towards his being a mutant or possibly some form of alien infiltrator. Certainly he represents a clear and present threat to the people of Euphoria and the Emperor's interests.

I will therefore call a temporary halt on my search for Smyrk and concentrate my efforts on the destruction of this cult and its malign leader.


Rastaban Tycho


Thought for the day:        There are no shadows without light

Lord of Time

So no painting progress this week, mostly due to having to do a lot of extra traveling for work but I have managed to to get my hands on a figure I've been seeking for some time, in fact it was seeing (and just missing out on the chance to buy) this that really started me on my Rogue Trader kick.

Its one of the Iron Claw Space Pirates range called Star Raven (although interestingly marked Time Lord on the tab...)

I've even decided on a scheme for this little beauty (although when I'll get round to actually painting him is another matter) very much inspired by the mini itself. Its even got me thinking of scenario ideas revolving around him (if only I had enough space to actually play...), some sort of rogue psyker or insane prophet perhaps...

He was a bit pricey but my Ebay bid-fu is weak especially on such rare figs. Still I'm well chuffed to finally get my grubby little hands (literally, I'm an archaeologist) on him.

Better go before my excitement gets out of hand.

Til next time.


Cap'n Smyrk

Loose the Harps of War

So heres the latest work for my Rogue Trader eldar.

What else would the Eldar need when going to war but a little musical accompaniment :D (either that or sonic weapons are not just the purview of Slaanesh...).
Still needs a few little details finishing up (gemstones, varnish, base...) but he's mostly done.

Til next time.

Cap'n Smyrk

The Long War...

So... umm... whoops...

My normal snail pace of progress continues it seems.

Still I've managed to update another Escher ganger, although I've run out of matt varnish so she still needs that (and her base of course...).

Didn't get her skin quite as good as the other two but after three attempts I think this will have to do.

And here's a couple of pics of all the girls together.

Working on another Rogue Trader Eldar at the moment so will hopefully have that done soon.

Til then,


Cap'n Smyrk


Wisdom is the beginning of fear.

Progress... of a sort

Well going back to work after a week off certainly puts a dampener on things, still managed to finish off the Eldar, although I certainly need more practice at painting gems as they didn't come out quite as I'd hoped.
He still needs a coat of gloss varnish on the gems (and of course his base finishing...).

Got some better pics of the Escher ganger as well.

Have just about finished another Escher ganger repaint but haven't got around to photoing her yet, not so happy with her skin might repaint it.

Anyway that's it for now.

 Good Hunting!


Cap'n Smyrk