Hobby Pitfalls - 10 Things Not to Do!

This picture has nothing to do with the topic. I'm just resurrecting a classic. Jessie and Chester said it best.

So, when you've been around this hobby long enough you see some junk and some stuff; I wouldn't recommend it!

Hobby Pitfalls - 10 Things Not to Do!

1) Don't leave your paintbrush tip down in the water pot!

I know that water pot looks like a nice clean place to leave your paint-covered brush, but leave it in there too long and the water is going to seep into the bristles and wreck them. If the brush is tip down, the contact with the bottom of the pot will splay everything out and leave you with a useless twig headed with something that looks like the ass-end of a witch's broomstick.

Wash it out in the water, re-point the head and then put it back in the little plastic sleeve it came in for next time. You'll thank me for it later.

2) Don't leave bare metal/plastic/resin showing because you were going to paint it grey/metal anyway!

I actually remember an article in an old White Dwarf advocating leaving the new "white metal" on show as it was such a nice metallic tone. I've seen the same thing with plastic though, and occasionally I see marines that are supposed to be grey in bare plastic with one or two yellow details painted on. I feel like it shouldn't be necessary to pint it out, but don't do it. Don't even think about it. Are you thinking about it? Train your mind!

If you want grey, use a grey primer and then paint over it. Trust me the finish is going to be a lot less embarrassing, and you'll be able to effectively add washes and things to get a better tone too. Plus, that sprue-grey isn't fooling anyone.

3) Don't touch someone else's models without asking!

People can be quite particular about their models, and they don't necessarily want your sticky peanut-butter sandwich fingers all over them!

Lets be honest, people's miniatures have a lot of their time and effort put into them, so it makes sense that they value them. Even the crappiest battered and chipped grot might be their favourite, so remember to be respectful.

4) Don't be a bad sport!

We've all seen it. That guy who gets all bent out of shape and upset when he loses. You don't want to be him, it's embarrassing and takes the fun out of the game for everyone.

Worse than that though, it the guy who cheats, and who everyone knows is cheating, and who then brags about all the games he's won. Well, I've got a news flash for you buddy; everyone knows and they're not impressed, so knock of that junk right now!

5) Don't think that you need a wet pallet and a Windsor and Newton Series 7 to paint!

I encourage everyone to try everything in painting, but conventional internet wisdom seems to boil down to telling everyone that they need to be using a Series 7 and a Wet Pallet. How this myth got started, I'll never know, but I have absolute faith that the people recommending this stuff have never actually painted a model to a standard that would be deemed acceptable even among 12 year olds.

Don't get me wrong, there's nothing wrong with either item, and I'm painting with a Series 7 detail brush myself. The thing that annoys me is that this isn't beginner stuff. You don't need expensive brushes and techniques to get a good finish. If you're just starting out, you'll probably knacker your first brushes anyway, and you don't need a wet pallet or a Windsor and Newton fancy pants brush to learn how to apply basecoats, washes and maybe have a go at dry-brushing. The rest can come later.

6) Don't think you can't paint out of the pot!

Open up that pot. See that little thing in the lid that looks a bit like a tray. yeah, there's nothing stopping you from adding in some water to the paint right there and then painting with it. Heresy? I call it living on the wild side. It's how we did things in the 90s and you too can learn this master level secret technique. Paint with your honour and you will win.

I did it. Dare to be different.

7) Don't do freehand without thinking!

"Yeah dude, I was thinking of freehanding like a wolf or something right across his face … and then like a blazing sword right across the shoulder guard … with lightning bolts and junk".

Stop right there weekend warrior, that sounds like a bigger mess than Giorgio Tsoukalos' hairdo. You need to plan things out and then draw them out before you approach that model with the paint brush, or you're about to make a big mistake. And if you suck at freehand, then don't do it. It works for me.

8) Don't build large resin models without pinning them!

Should be a given, but pins are really essential for large heavy parts. Resin tends to be expensive and fragile too.

9) Don't buy more than you can handle! (and don't fall for those new releases!)

Easier said than done, I know that much. You need to have  reasonable chance of finishing this stuff. I always see people clambering for the next box-set, but next week's set is last week's forgotten memory or unfinished project. Don't get tricked into backing yourself into a hobby corner as it can cause burnout as sure as anything else. Nobody likes to look at their huge "to do" pile and realise they'll never see the end of it. I've known a lot of people who end up selling unopened kits by the dozen for armies they never even started, and all it does is cost them money and cause misery.

That said, sometimes you need a change of pace, or just deserve a present. Just try to be sensible about it!

10) Don't buy competitive units just because they're powerful! 

The rules change so often that it really is pointless to power play like a freak unless you're a dedicated tournament player. After a long time in the game, I've seen a lot of armies hit eBay 5 minutes into a new edition because they were created only to abuse an obviously under costed unit. Remember the Dark Eldar Venom Spam? If you don't, it's probably going pretty cheap right now. Just remember to pack them full of Trueborn with blasters!

The good thing about a balanced force is that as the power levels of different units wax and wane, the force tends to remain more or less level and perfectly playable in any edition.

11) Don't use exclamation marks on the end of every sentence to try to make an impact!

If you've made it this far, I salute you. You've run off the bottom of actual advice and reached the reflective part of the article where I consider my own writing style..... Not really.

Y'know this week, I was walking to work. I look down the road, and there's a car full of stuff parked up by the pavement. As I approach, I notice a few things on the ground. It looks like makeup or something. A few more steps and my eye follows this trail of so called "breadcrumbs". Then I see it. Right in the middle of the footpath; this big honkin' flesh coloured dildo just flappin' about in the sunshine. It's times like those that inspire me to write Bungo. 

Ok, not really but it did happen and it was weird. Well, the flapping part was pure artistic licence, but the rest is true.

Oh, and number 12 would've been - Don't make 40k/Jamie Oliver crossover memes! (No matter how diabolically delicious it may seem at first)

Squaduary 2018 - The Pledge, 40k Skaven

After the success of last year's Squaduary, I'm entering again this year; with a vengeance!

For those who missed it, Squaduary is a community event where bloggers pledge to paint a squad in February with updates every week. The event is usually split across the 4 weeks; with one week for building, one for basecoats, detailing and basing respectively. It doesn't fit my style that well though as I suck at batching!

Like last year, the event is being run by Stepping Between Games (http://steppingbetweengames.com), so be sure to check them out for more info and to see how the month unfolds. Entry is open to everyone via social media, so you don't have to have a blog as such.

Last year I hit my goat of a completed 10 man squad, and this year I want to do even better. I was torn between a few different projects that I could potentially work on, as I really wanted to do something interesting and different.

Some miniatures I painted for last year's Squaduary

Handily, a few years ago I made a rather half-assed attempt at starting some 40k Skaven. At the time, I got hung up working out how to actually build the infantry. I was left with a box of Stormvermin, some Clanrats and a few fanciful ideas. This Christmas I was given  a box of Storm Fiends by my brother and I was again captivated by Skaven in an instant. With that, the project sprung back to life, and I set to work picking up the last few bits to make it a reality.

For this year's event, I'm pledging a unit of 10 Skaven equipped as Skitarii Vanguard. I'm also going to try to complete a Skaven Dominus to lead the force as a stretch goal if I can make good progress on the infantry. I think the rules for Adeptus Mechanicus will line up well with what I have envisioned for Skaven in the future; kind of tech-oriented with a lot of pyrotechnically impressive weapons!

More than the painting, I'm worried that I won't be able to build them fast enough, so I'm trying to keep the conversions fairly intuitive. This is going to be important for the force going forwards as well, as I need to be able to produce them quickly enough that it will actually be possible to complete more than one or two of them. They need to look plenty futuristic though, or the project will be a failure. It should be quite a demanding. 

I also have the Storm Fiends which I plan to use as Kastelan Robots with a bit of conversion as they are heavily armoured and about the right size. Maybe I'll be working on them for Monster March if Squaduary goes well!

...and I'm gonna do it all, in 4 weeks!

100,000 Hits - A Benchmark in Blogging

Well, I finally got to 100,000 hits! I haven't been very active on the hobby front for a month or two, as I've been taking a bit of a break from all things Wargaming related to focus on a few other hobbies that I have going on at the moment.

Regardless of all that, I logged in this morning to the rather pleasant news that Tabletop Apocalypse was still chugging away and that over night Google had delivered the hundred or so hits that I needed to reach 100,000.

I would say that I feel surprised at how successful things have been, but honestly when I started, I figured almost anything on the internet would generate thousands of hits regardless of how interesting it was; I mean there are a lot of people out there and they use the internet a lot right? Blogging should be easy .... right?

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a lot harder than I thought. That said, I get a few hundred views most days now, but when I started it was hard to get a few dozen. In particular, the fiction seems to go down like a wet balloon with several holes in it, but as I enjoy writing it, it won't be going anywhere soon. I guess nobody really wants to read infantile comedy fiction on a blog that is mostly about painting.

Advertising wise, that ad for Play Asia has generated a wallet-crushing $2 of store credit for me. Maybe in another 10 years, I can get something in the sale. Well worth the effort! On the upside, winning the GK competition has left me with a rather large backlog of free anime figures to paint ... probably at least 2 years worth...

Overall though, I'm calling it a win. I haven't been posting a lot lately, as like I said, I've been on a bit of a break. With Christmas on the horizon, I'm sure there will be a few miniatures coming to drive me out of temporary retirement!

Thanks to anyone who reads the blog regularly, as I doubt I would still be posting without  regular commenters and fellow bloggers. If there is anything you'd like to see more of, chuck a comment below and I'll see what I can conjure up! (People want a lot more Bungo the Barbarian right????....right???)

Necromunda Ganger Names List - Over 500 Crazy Names for all Occasions!

Over 500 names suitable for all houses! Inject some interest into your Goliaths, Orlock, Cawdor, Escher and Van Saar gangs; with names suitable for the lowliest juves to the mightiest champions!

Presented in alphabetical order, this table will give you a great source of names and inspiration to spin your own tales in the sprawling underhive. It can be fun to randomise, as I've handily numbered them, or even to pick 2 names to create even more dynamic characters like "Tobias Tripod" or "Felix Fingers"!

A 1)            Abel 2)            Abyss 3)            Ace 4)            Aldah 5)            Alpha 6)            Alphimaxx 7)            Ancient 8)            Annaconda 9)            Antoinette 10)          Armondo 11)          Arrus 12)          Artimus 13)          Arturis 14)          Astro 15)          Atlus B 16)          Baagren 17)          Bags 18)          Bakyru 19)          Ballista 20)          Ballistic 21)          Bane 22)          Banshee 23)          Barbaroi 24)          Bastille 25)          Bauma 26)          Baxter 27)          Berk 28)          Big Boss 29)          Big Mah 30)          Bigmar 31)          Bignimuus 32)          Bipod 33)          Bishop 34)          Bjorn 35)          Blade 36)          Blaggins 37)          Blambo 38)          Blango 39)          Blanigan 40)          Blazdemona 41)          Blaze 42)          Blazmo 43)          Blazmollicious 44)          Blekno 45)          Blorth 46)          Blurnz 47)          Bodybag 48)          Bolt 49)          Bomah 50)          Boomer 51)          Borgof 52)          Bort 53)          Bossman 54)          Braces 55)          Brad 56)          Bram 57)          Branigan 58)          Brannigan 59)          Braundo 60)          Breeze 61)          Breezy 62)          Brennan 63)          Brick 64)          Brierley 65)          Broadside 66)          Brock 67)          Brody 68)          Bro-hawk 69)          Bruckade 70)          Bubba 71)          Bugs 72)          Bungo 73)          Burk 74)          Butterfly 75)          Buzizima C 76)          Cain 77)          Calgorin 78)          Callendim 79)          Callus 80)          Cambo 81)          Cammy 82)          Cannibal 83)          Cerberus 84)          Cervantes 85)          Chaos 86)          Chip 87)          Chlomo 88)          Chrone 89)          Chronic 90)          Clarke 91)          Crash 92)          Crimitus 93)          Cromwell 94)          Crowther 95)          Crystal 96)          Cyber 97)          Cybo 98)          Cygnus D 99)          Damien 100)       Danger 101)       Dangerous 102)       Danziber 103)       Danziger 104)       Danziver 105)       Darneria 106)       De La Vega 107)       Deacon 108)       Death Toll 109)       Decimator 110)       Deco 111)       Del’Ragio 112)       Demon 113)       Despair 114)       Desperado 115)       Devil 116)       Digby 117)       Dinosaur 118)       Dixie 119)       Dogboy 120)       Dolph 121)       Doom 122)       Doughboy 123)       Drella 124)       Duke 125)       Dutch 126)       Dutchess E 127)       Eclipse 128)       Edragar 129)       Edwin 130)       El’Boneus 131)       Elbore 132)       Electrolyte 133)       Elgar 134)       Elle 135)       Estobar 136)       Estovan 137)       Estraga 138)       Eugene F 139)       Faith 140)       Fancy 141)       Fandango 142)       Felix 143)       Fingers 144)       Flaive 145)       Flesk 146)       Flisk 147)       Folvus 148)       Fomus 149)       Fortinbras 150)       Fox 151)       Foxx 152)       Fremus G 153)       Gabe 154)       Gambit 155)       Gambler 156)       Gastonne 157)       Gator 158)       Gazmo 159)       Ghost 160)       Gibbon 161)       Gigmar 162)       Gigmus 163)       Ginormotank 164)       Gizmar 165)       Gladius 166)       Glaive 167)       Gloom 168)       Gnoll 169)       Goblin 170)       Gogan 171)       Gogandantes 172)       Goldengaze 173)       Goomer 174)       Grado 175)       Grease 176)       Grid 177)       Grimer 178)       Grind 179)       Grinder 180)       Guardo 181)       Guiver H 182)       Hades 183)       Hairdo 184)       Handsome Harry 185)       Hardy 186)       Harkon 187)       Harkono 188)       Harkonus 189)       Harper 190)       Harpie 191)       Harpo 192)       Helix 193)       Hellebore 194)       Hex 195)       Hilda 196)       Hogan 197)       Hoolahan I 198)       Illya 199)       Indo 200)       Insomniac

201)       Invictus 202)       Iron-Side 203)       Iron-Wall 204)       Isaac 205)       Isometric J 206)       Jambo 207)       Jamo 208)       Jamone 209)       Janboe Tigg 210)       Jazreko 211)       Jean-Paul 212)       Jehmboi 213)       Jesse 214)       Jessie 215)       John Boy 216)       Jom 217)       Jorick 218)       Jorrmughand 219)       Judge 220)       Judgement 221)       Juggernaut K 222)       Kain 223)       Kein 224)       Kesk 225)       Kibore 226)       Killer 227)       Kindler 228)       Kingsley 229)       Kisk 230)       Knight 231)       Knoll 232)       Krash 233)       Krass 234)       Kraus 235)       Kresnick 236)       Krystal 237)       Kurn 238)       Kurt L 239)       La Flaga 240)       Lacey 241)       Lafayette 242)       Lance 243)       Lariat 244)       Layla 245)       Layland 246)       Lazlo 247)       Lazmar 248)       Lazmo 249)       Leda 250)       Light 251)       Liligrith 252)       Lilith 253)       Lindengarde 254)       Liquid 255)       Lizard 256)       Longinus 257)       Lordaron 258)       Lorenzo 259)       Lorettica 260)       Lothar 261)       Luca 262)       Lucien 263)       Lucifer 264)       Luna 265)       Lunchbox 266)       Lupo 267)       Luther M 268)       Macaroone 269)       Mammoth 270)       Man-Hunter 271)       Manny 272)       Man-Tracker 273)       Marionette 274)       Markus 275)       Maroone 276)       Marv 277)       Marvin 278)       Master 279)       Mastodon 280)       Mastoone 281)       Maudr 282)       Maudrick 283)       Maverick 284)       McNelly 285)       McSteel 286)       Mekno 287)       Meknolite 288)       Mercury 289)       Merrus 290)       Molder 291)       Monk 292)       Monkey 293)       Mordo 294)       Mr McStabby 295)       Mu 296)       Mute N 297)       Nel 298)       Neptune 299)       Newt 300)       Nicodantes 301)       Nicodantia 302)       Nitro 303)       Nobby 304)       Noblar 305)       Nolt 306)       Noober 307)       Noobler 308)       Noth 309)       Nyx O 310)       Odarg 311)       Ogre 312)       Oily 313)       Old Fashioned 314)       Olly 315)       Oni 316)       Ophelia 317)       Orc 318)       Orpheus 319)       Oswald P 320)       Paz 321)       Peclaw 322)       Pecs 323)       Pecto 324)       Pegasus 325)       Perfect 326)       Perfecto 327)       Pez 328)       Phobos 329)       Pixel 330)       Pixie 331)       Plesk 332)       Pluto 333)       Pokaro 334)       Pope 335)       Prefect 336)       Priest 337)       Primal 338)       Prime 339)       Primus Q 340)       Quadraped 341)       Quadro 342)       Quasimodo 343)       Quiet 344)       Quill 345)       Quinn 346)       Quintus R 347)       Rathbone 348)       Reptile 349)       Rhino 350)       Ripper 351)       Riz 352)       Rock 353)       Rogan 354)       Rolendorph 355)       Rolo 356)       Rook 357)       Rory 358)       Roth 359)       Rotor 360)       Rotundicuus the Great S 361)       Saffron 362)       Saussage 363)       Schizo 364)       Screamer 365)       Sellford 366)       Septo 367)       Shade 368)       Shadow 369)       Shady 370)       Shallica 371)       Shalozar 372)       Sheera 373)       Shina 374)       Shogun 375)       Shotgun Smile 376)       Shrendo 377)       Shrent 378)       Sinner 379)       Sirius 380)       Skinner 381)       Skip 382)       Skuzmo 383)       Skye 384)       Slade 385)       Slave 386)       Sly 387)       Slybore 388)       Solid 389)       Sorica 390)       Sorilla 391)       Spazmo 392)       Spider 393)       Stanhope 394)       Statham 395)       Stitch 396)       Strato 397)       Stun 398)       Stunner 399)       Stunty 400)       Styx

401)       Su 402)       Sydell 403)       Sykes 404)       Syndro 405)       Syndrone T 406)       Tabby 407)       Tag 408)       Tammy 409)       Tank 410)       Tankjr 411)       Targarro 412)       Tarquin 413)       Tartarus 414)       Tattoo 415)       Tekno 416)       Teramorph 417)       Terraformer 418)       Terror 419)       Tesla 420)       Tessic 421)       The Baron 422)       The Beast 423)       The Body 424)       The Boss 425)       The Butcher 426)       The Master 427)       The Mule 428)       The Toupee 429)       The Unit 430)       Tiberius 431)       Titan 432)       Titanicoor 433)       Titus 434)       Tobias 435)       Tony 436)       Total 437)       Tribore 438)       Trick 439)       Tricks 440)       Trip 441)       Tripod 442)       Tripp 443)       Troll 444)       Twin 445)       Tybun U 446)       UFO 447)       Ulf 448)       Ultimatum 449)       Ultimore 450)       Ultus 451)       Unicorn 452)       Ururu 453)       Utilitus V 454)       Vagabond 455)       Valeria 456)       Varnogrand 457)       Verrick 458)       Vex 459)       Virus 460)       Voldo 461)       Volton 462)       Voltron W 463)       Walleye 464)       Walloon 465)       Walton 466)       Wayland 467)       Weapon X 468)       Werewolf 469)       Weyland 470)       Whistler 471)       Wiggins 472)       Wild Cat 473)       Wild Dog 474)       Wilderness 475)       Wilf 476)       Willamena 477)       Willendorph 478)       Wintleberry 479)       Wirt 480)       Wisk 481)       Wistler 482)       Worthy 483)       Wrinkly 484)       Wyrt 485)       Wyvern X 486)       X 487)       Xander 488)       Xill 489)       Xorpo Y 490)       Yanus 491)       Yeoman 492)       Yoof 493)       Yosef 494)       Yugo 495)       Yulantee 496)       Yurem Z 497)       Zack 498)       Zak 499)       Zandimuus 500)       Zardon 501)       Zeelix 502)       Zephyr 503)       Zill 504)       Zillonia 505)       Zoltan 506)       Zonethrope