Work In Progress – ToadChapel

Another 10,000 Strokes

I told you, the muse is sudden & insistent!

I guess I wanted to go nuts making a zillion tiny hatch marks again. There’s something very (pardon the word) meditative about it. You have to balance discipline (don’t vary the size of the strokes, alter the angle & density of the marks, AVOID PATTERNS) and an empty mind (don’t trace, don’t fix every apparent mistake, AVOID PATTERNS).

I love this kind of art: finely textured, sort of halfway between realism & abstract, and a little obsessive. I also like it when merely a glimpse is represented. Perhaps I’ll create another scenic vignette soon to further embody these values. First I gotta finish this little guy up, though.

This is the image I used as a basis for the drawing. You can see I’m more inspired by than adhering to Nature’s ‘original’. I use the photograph to draft very basic textural zones in pencil, then refer to it for some preliminary advice. After a while, I put it away and concentrate more on what I’m trying to achieve.

My daughter & I found this nice moss on our walk through Allegheny Cemetery this morning. It was a gorgeous day!

Playing the Flame Game

Sorry it’s been slow in ToadChapel lately. My schedule has been hectic. Things have cleared up now, though, and I plan to be productive in the weeks ahead.

Here’s a little combi-flamer toting veteran who’s coming together step by step. It’s been a while since I’ve played a game of Kill Team, so I can’t wait to get him & his mates onto the battlefield!

The Vanguard Cometh

I’ve put together a pair of Infiltrators to frustrate my opponents’ plans.

With these single pose models I usually just add a bit or a bob to give it some character, swap the head, and call it a day.

I figured these Infiltrators were a good place to start from the Shadowspear box. I’ll probably build some of all the Vanguard models, but the high cost of the Suppressors and the low strength of the Eliminators’ bolt sniper rifles put them farther down the list of priorities. The omni-scramblers, however, seem useful and the concealed positions rule seems fun & potentially effective for grabbing valuable real estate.

Pick up Shadowspear on Amazon and support ToadChapel

Attennnnnnnnntion!

Here comes another sergeant to help keep order among the Eremoi.

With Elites adding the Outflank tactic to threaten the back line, it’s all the more important to bring survivable, close combat ready leadership. This intercessor should serve the purpose nicely.

He’s got a cool augmetic arm, too!

Congratulations on Your Promotion, Soldier!l

This former Tactical Gunner was granted Veteran status overnight.

I figured I ought to do what made the most sense for gameplay purposes, even if the fuel canister looks kinda dumb sticking up like that.

Now he’ll have some game outside of 8″. Moreover, the combi-flamer is the best weapon to fire both profiles with, as the bolter shots are essentially free, since the flamer automatically hits. Bully!

Running to the Barbeque

This guy’s cooking up something sweeter than ribs, he’s grilling some heretic shish kabobs!

Unfortunately I kitbashed this Tactical Gunner just before Elites dropped, or I’d have called him a Veteran and given him a combi-flamer. I guess I can chop him up, but I do like the way he looks now. The Veteran, in addition to the superior weapon, has an additional attack and better leadership… and costs less. Maybe that makes the decision for me!

Did Somebody Say Xenos?

“I hate xenos! And heretics! And mutants!”

This grumpy sergeant is underway. I’ve not tried out the sarge-only loadout of carbine + knife, so that should be fun.

Reivers paint up pretty quickly, so hopefully I’ll get him on the table in the next week or so.

Can’t wait for my copy of Elites to arrive!