Yep, it’s nothing fancy, just using it as metal track practice.
The last couple of years, for Christmas my wife has bought me a Metal Earth model. They’re little aluminum models punched out of flat sheets that you then bend to make 3D again. E.g.:
https://www.amazon.com/Fascinations-Metal-Earth-Tiger-Model/dp/B00BERG8FY/
They aren’t anything super involved, but they’re pretty neat to look at. I made that tank previously, I have a tractor that I need to take care of next.
Metal Earth models are surprisingly fun to make. As you said, not overly complex, but just something fun to do when you don’t have time/space to dig out a more full project.
Hey! I have the hobby bug thanks to Games Workshop. They put out a game called Warhammer Underworld: Shadespire last year and I really dig it. They sell warbands of 3-7 figures, all easy to put together with custom bases. I bought all 8 war bands and I’ve painted 6 of them so far.
Nice! Shadespire sees really cool and I’ve considered picking it up myself. At this point it feels more feasable to play a game like Shadespire than a full blown game of 40K.
I’ve not heard of Shadespire – is this a new iteration of Necromunda/Mordheim/Gorka-Morka?
I mean, I guess I could probably just Google it… but who has time for all that typing?
Huh. So a boardgame, a CCG, and a miniatures game all rolled up into one. Anyone care to give a review?
Its kind of Warhammer-lite. It has fun gameplay with plenty of dice chucking. It is a great product for people who are interested in Warhammer, but don’t want to plunk down $500 and spend 200 hours painting and army to play. Gameplay-wise its about as deep as Summoner Wars. I’d say its totally worth it for the price. I think the expansion factions are a must for replayability.
I’ve got a “Guys Gaming Weekend” coming up at the end of the month; I think I might pick it up. We all pine for our marathon WH40K games, but no one really has the energy to try and collect or paint full armies any more.
I might perhaps know of a miniatures game that you can play in an hour, requires no painting, and is highly flexible.
I think Shadespire is really good. My only complaint is that it is sort of LCG with its use of cards for power moves and scoring. This means you will want to collect all the factions to maximize card access. That said, it is WAY cheaper than other GW (or non-GW even) offerings and each faction is pretty cool with a unique focus.
From a hobbyist perspective, it lets you dabble in the GW universe with really cool lore and models without breaking the bank or needing to put together 5000 models just too play a short game.
From a gamer perspective I think calling it Warhammer lite is grossly misleading. It is a very good skirmish game with lots of think heavy choices and psychological dueling with your opponent. I think it is one of GWs best offerings in a very long time as they tend to be all about pushing models sales with bare bones dice chucking design strapped on. Shadespire is very tight with a very few number of activations in a game so you really need to think things through. With so few activations, luck mitigation is big here like in something like Blood Bowl. This also means it plays really fast with next to zero down time.
I really like Shadespire. The only reason it does not get to the table much is that I don’t really have a play group anymore for competitive skirmish games. If I did, this one would be king. Most of my game time is solo or co-op stuff now. But a cerebral 20 minute game with Skaven, Orks, and golden resurrected Valhalla Knights? Totally worth it if it fits your game group.
If you plan to take it to a game night, get the main box and one or two faction boxes. Games play really fast and the variety of different factions/ cards really make the game shine. Also, the factions in the main box are thematically opposed, but maybe the driest matchup with out of the box (starter) card options. Before your session, I’d also suggest putting the models together while watching the Watch It Played training and gameplay videos. While technically push to fit, dabs of glue and an exacto knife are probably a good call. Still, super easy models, low count, and they look great.
Short take comparison: similar to X-wing or Summoner Wars.
That is a great description, Chaplin. The card play and deck building is a major component, and so I think it is deeper than Summoner Wars. And as you said, the game would really shine with a couple of dedicated friends. Sadly, my warhammer friends are starting families, so that’s a downer. I play with my kids, and I’ve had a great time painting the models thanks to Duncan’s videos.
Also, shadespire has given my heroscape set new life.
Who gets to roll the Mind Probe dice? 🙂
The new edition of Age of Sigmar (new Warhammer Fantasy) managed to make me actually try and paint some minis. Still working on highlighting them without making them look super sloppy, but I’m reasonably happy with the results.
They look great! I like the weathered look a lot.
I would suggst figuring out some sort of basing scheme to really set them off.
I was planning to base the whole set at once (I have a bunch more to paint). Any tips on how to do a base that is desert themed?
Here, use this:
I’m a big fan of using some sandy grit and static grass.
Cover your base with glue (I typically use superglue) and dip it into a small container of the sand/grit. take it out, shake off the excess and let it dry for a bit.
Paint the base with a watered-down, dark-ish, warm, brown color, then gradually dry-brush on lighter browns until you get a shade that you like. I usually just add white or a stock tan to the base color so it’s easy to reproduce for later bases.
Add a small spot or three of superglue to the base and then dip the base into a bowl of static grass. Remove and shake the excess loose. This ought to create small tufts of “grass” coming out of your dusty desert.
https://www.amazon.com/Static-Grass-Flock-Shaker-Medium/dp/B0000WS7C6
Dry-brush the static grass with your lightest shade of brown to blend it into the base better and make it look more like… dry brush. You know, brush that has dried in the sun.
They sell little tiny pebbly bits of stuff (cork maybe) that will give you a rocky desert look. That might be cool.
I put a thick coat of brown paint down anf sprinkle the base material (genrally flock in my case) onto the wet paint so it dries in. I like this method for flock since you don’t paint flock. I bet some glue (even maybe just white Elmers) would work wel for pebbly stuff to be painted.
If you have a spare base try it on eone of them and see what you get.
Nice work on those skeletons. I primed the night haunts from the new starter box tonight and I will work on them over the next week or so. I plan to use a lot of washes and try to get through them quickly. I haven’t played Age of Sigmar yet, but the hype train has me firmly in its grip.