Farewell Good Readers!

As might be apparent from the title, I, Brambleten, will be finishing writing for Noobs and their Paintbrush once this final article is written. The blog itself isn't going anywhere - that's the beauty of a group blog - cut off one head and two more will rise. Nope, that's Hydra, but its the right message (the more popping up part, not the lopping off of heads).

I have no doubt that there will be someone out there for whom the blog would be an ideal platform for to allow them to create content for an already developed and growing audience. If you think that you are that person, fire Merkeysa a message at noobsandtheirpaintbrush@gmail.com.

Unboxing Purgatory's Moloch

It's been a while since I've posted anything, so here's a little something for your Monday evening - unboxing Moloch from Purgatory.

ArcWorlde Ogre Trooper - Showcase

Last week I shared my Deathwatch Blackstar, something that to me was more of a battle of attrition than actual fun. To counter this, I built and painted one of the models I picked up at Vapnartak a couple of weeks ago - the Albionnican Ogre Trooper from Warploque Miniatures.

Deathwatch Blackstar - Showcase and a dislike of painting vehicles

I detest painting vehicles. I don't paint them often, which may be part of the problem, but there is something about their demand for smoothly painted plates and crisp edges, not to mention the large areas of metal work requiring attention that just doesn't click with me. When I built my Deathwatch Blackstars last year I thought that as they looked cool and were fairly simple builds that I might enjoy painting them. I was wrong.

A Blackstar, barely contained by my photo box.

Icarus Miniatures Alliance Starter Set Unboxing

I wasn't expecting to be posting another Kickstarter unboxing so quickly after the last one, but I got a nice little box from Icarus Miniatures on Monday, containing their Alliance Starter Set. After having a quick peek at the figures, it would be rude of me not to show them off to people!

Rathcore V3 Miniature Holders Kickstarter Unboxing

I spent a large chunk of my work day yesterday wondering what subject to write today's blog on. I didn't fancy a lengthy wordy blog after last week article (which clocked in at over 2600 words when stuck into Word) and I don't have any WIPs worth going through yet. Thankfully a package was waiting for me at home that solved my connundrum -  my Rathcore Miniature Holders had arrived from Germany.

Hobby 101 - What Do I Need To Start Painting?

 Last weekend I got asked "How do you get started with painting as a hobby?" My initial response was "How long do you have?" In all honesty it's not something I've ever been asked directly before - almost everyone I've spoken to about the hobby has either been in the hobby, and thus already started, or are outside the hobby and have opinions ranging from "that's cool" to "how the hell do you paint the eyes on those, they're tiny!"

With that in mind, I'm now going to try and answer the question.

90 Minute Challenge - Imperial Guardsman and Prisoner 01

Well, this is an unexpectedly productive start to the year! I took up the 90 Minute Challenge on Monday to paint up Prisoner 01 from the Batman Miniature Game. Not being happy with the final result, I had another crack at the challenge on Tuesday, finishing my first proper Imperial Guardsman in my new army scheme.

2016: Hobby Year Review and A Look Forward

It's the last day of the year, so what better time to have a look back and see what worked, what didn't and where my painting mojo went!

I recently got a lightbox so included here are a few of my minis from this year!

Dusk Raiders Space Marine Chaplain

It's taken me over a year to get him from built and a base made to getting him varnished but finally my Dusk Raiders Chaplain from the Betrayal at Calth box set is finished.

Behold! The Chests of Conan!

"The adventurer stealthily worked his way into the house through the slightly opened window. Creaping through the deserted mansion, he worked his way through the winding corridors and into the office of the proprietor. There, as promised by his informant, were several sturdy wooden chests, freshly returned from what appeared a lucrative venture at sea. 

As he set about opening one with his picks, he wondered what treasures would be inside..." 

Basius 3 - Texturis Kickstarter Unboxing

Wargames Bakery recently ran a 4th Basius Kickstarter for their brand new mini Basius pads, the Texturis range. I'd previously picked up a couple of larger double sided Version 2 pads so I thought I'd give some of these little ones a go.

By Crom! A Conan King Pledge Unboxing

This week, a year after the expected shipping window, Monolith delivered their Conan board game Kickstarter. I'm not really a board game person - the only other one that I have backed and received so far is Loka, River Horse's 4 way elemental chess game - so the sheer scale of the content is a little overwhelming. Still, that won't stop me taking pictures of everything!

King pledge - Main box, Stretch Goal box with little add-on boxes to the left.

Odyssey Kickstarter Unboxing from JoeK - Argonauts and more!

It's unboxing time once again! Earlier in the week I had a nice box full of resin turn up from JoeK Minis' Odyssey Argonauts Kickstarter -

Before stepping through the drop, this one is fairly picture heavy. You've been warned!

Wild Elf Mascot - ArcWorlde Showcase

Short and sweet this week folks!

This week I've painted up the Wild Elf Mascot from Warploque Miniatures, from their first ArcWorlde Kickstarter back in 2013.

The Mascots - adorable right?

Building the Deathwatch Corvus Blackstar - Which Options?

As I prepare for the arrival of my Conan Kickstarter pledge, I've started to clear out a little cupboard space for the boxes, which are pretty hefty and apparently weigh around 7KG between the two boxes. So, the first box out was the box on top - the recent Corvus Blackstar flier from Games Workshop.

Quick "Small" Greenskin Recipe - ArcWorlde Boglin

Last week I put together a little tutorial on creating easy dirt bases. This week I'll be focusing on the critter to go on the base, an ArcWorlde Boglin, and how I painted up his skin tone.

Five Hour Painting Challenge - Bobby B

During my ongoing hiatus from blogging, I decided to take up Necropocalypse's Five Hour Challenge. I wasn't entirely sure what model to go with to do it but after some nudging, I went for Purgatory's Bobby B, their event only model.

Purgatory's Siren - A Closer Look

For the final A Closer Look for a little while, I had quite a choice to make. In one hand I had the new Toughest Girls in the Galaxy Freebies from Raging Heroes' second Kickstarter. In the other I had Siren from Purgatory. There are probably dozens of blogs and videos about the former already, so I'm going with Siren (whom I like more anyway ;) )

ArcWorlde Unithorn from Warploque Miniatures

Last week saw me playing with my new airbrush and starting out practicing on the Unithorn from Warploque Miniatures. The practice didn't go quite to plan, so instead it became a session of playing with inks and sponge. I continued working on it this week and it's finished!