Sunday 22 October 2017

We are all Negan

"It’s gonna be pee-pee pants city here real soon.”
It seems strange to report that I have not painted anything for a couple of months. Looking back to the now long distant summer holidays the big push to complete all the miniatures and terrain required for my Congo game rather sapped my hobby mojo leaving little more than a husk of gamer, but one that was able to sit back and bask in the warming glow of a job well done.

The middle of August saw the demands of the day job kick in again and as a treat to mark the end of the holiday I bought into Fantasy Flight Games' 'Imperial Assault'*. Guided by the incredibly generous Steve of the 'Game Cupboard' fame, I have been enjoying tinkering with the skirmish game and running a series of solo games.  It would appear that the lure of the Dark Side was just too much with the Dark Templar and Bullcher Feb both falling under the game's spell providing us with a wonderful day of Star Wars fun in September.
*bought into in a big way!

With the return to work proper I have found little time to sit quietly and paint, which has aggrieved me greatly, particularly as this aspect of the hobby, perhaps more than any other, is the one that helps to keep my word in equilibrium.  At times like these sometimes all a chap needs is a gentle nudge to reignite his love of all things hobby and I can’t thank enough the timely intervention of ‘Zombtober 2017’.  With the month almost at a close, I am not going to be able to get as many miniatures done as in previous years, but I am hoping to ease myself back into the hobby by painting at least one survivor and a shambling sack of sorrow!

So without any further ado let me present to you my 'Studio Miniatures' not Negan.  Dean, to give hm his listed name, actually comes with the option of weapons, bat or pistol, but given the now iconic status of the barbed wire wrapped baseball bat, the choice was only ever going to be Lucille. 
It was difficult to imagine how a character so larger than life in the comic books was ever going to transfer to the small screen, but Jeffrey Dean Morgan's portrayal of the psychotic, yet charismatic, leader of the Saviours has proved to be a revelation. As a result when it came to painting this rather nice piece, albeit not the most natural of poses, it was an easy decision to replicate the character's costume from the 'The Walking Dead'.
Just as an aside, a group of friends have taken to hosting the start and end of each 'Walking Dead' season, with Awdry Towers being the venue for the Season 7 finale.  A simple supper followed by the episode was planned, but I decided to try and make something a little different for pudding - Lucille herself!  This was a chocolate covered, Rice Krispie and marshmallow bat, wrapped with strawberry lace barbed wire and served with lashings of brainlike fruit compote.  Great fun, but nearly six months later and I am still trying to get the red food colouring out of my chopping board! 
So with the 'Walking Dead' returning to Blighty's small screens on the 23rd October we have our invite to the opening episode and thoroughly looking forward to the new season, I just need to think of a new show stopper?
“Lucille is thirsty. She is a vampire bat!”




57 comments:

  1. Great figure and I love the pudding idea - a cunning plan and much appreciated by your friends I'd bet.

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    1. Thank you Dan, although the pudding idea was lifted from the 'Walking Bread' cook book - it was was very sticky and sweet.

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  2. The pudding is absolutely stunning indeed! The figure is up to your usual standard, which in my book is as high as it gets, but I have no love for the genre. I tried to watch the series but it's not for me. I kinda liked the new Van Helsing series as well as Wynona Earp but only as mindless distraction from the hugely complicated intricacies of our work.

    Anyway, great to see you're back, sort of ;-)

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    1. Thank you Sander and I must try harder to paint something you enjoy. ;) I like the sound of the series that you have mentioned, enjoying the 100 at the moment.

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  3. You have been missed both here and the other blogs you frequent Michael, good to see you have found your equilibrium again, and the not Negan model looks stunning. The desert bat was an awesome idea

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    1. That's very kind of you Dave, just starting to find my feet again hobby wise.

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  4. Huzzah!! Sir Michael is back!! And posting about pudding's too!?! Great paintjob on (not) Negan, Michael, and it really is excellent news to hear you're back with the brushes :-)

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    1. Thank you Simon, it is lovely to be back, but I need to get back into a routine before the second half of term starts - it promises to be a busy run in to Christmas.

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  5. Lovely work on Negan, Michael - glad to see you easing abck in. :)

    Glad to see Zomtober (likely mixed with the impending return of TWD) has re-stimulated your painting. I k nwo in the past it has doen for me, whcih was the ethos behind it in the first place: to get stuff done, even in small amounts. :)

    The cake looks ace!

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    1. Thank you so much, thank goodness for Zomtober! :)

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  6. Nice ....one day I will get one zombies painted πŸ™‚ I do find that paining is the one thing that keeps me sane so you do need to find that little bit of space/time

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    1. Thank you Matt, one day I will acyually get around to playing a game with the ones that I have painted. :)

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  7. Great work on the colours Michael. But I agree the pose is little odd! One day to go till Series 8!!! Yipee!!

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    1. Thank you Mark, episode 1 of series 8 in the bag, but felt a little cheated seeing that it was the 100th episode and I haven't missed the adverts.

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  8. Strange ose but very effective representation of Negas!

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    1. Thank you Joe, a lot of posturing and not much action - a bit like last night's episode!

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  9. lovely to see you back Michael. Great sculpt and paint job on Negan (shudders at the thought of him, that guy scares the s*** out of me) and I sat in awe looking at him... called Hils over to the screen to look and she was like "WOW" as well.

    Amazingly happy to hear you are enjoying Imperial Assault so much, and with the new big box game (and mini packs) having just hit the shelves, it`s never been a better time to enjoy that game.

    I`m sooooooo glad I spotted this post as I had completely forgotten the new season of Walking Dead starts tomorrow *gulp* can`t wait :-)

    Great post, and thanks for such an enjoyable read.

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    1. Thank you Steve, I can see Imperial Assault quietly gaining momentum in the background and it is interesting that since our exchanges over the summer, I have stated looking at the collections and rules that I have and seeing them in a completely different light. I am currently thinking of revisiting the Witchfinder world, but using the Donnybrook rules, but creating my own scenarios. I don't know if it will come to anything, but it has been jolly fun sitting with a cup of coffee and thinking about it. :)

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    2. Witchfinder General: Days of Revelation, and Donnybrook are both truly excellent rules and game world to explore, especially for playing solo or with small groups of friends who like the idea of deep game immersion. Dont need a ton of miniatures for them either, just lots of nice atmospheric terrain, mmmmm.

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    3. Absolutely, is it wrong that I have been looking at smoke machines? :D

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    4. I was surprised how reasonable they were. ;)
      https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00W5VI7Y8?psc=1

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  10. It it good to see you back to blogging!
    Edible baseball bat looks hilarious. :)
    Negan is most certainly painted to your usual high standard of quality.

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    1. Thank you Mr. Nimrod, slowly but sure edging my way back in.

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  11. Great to hear you got a break from work and finished that superb character figure - as well as that interesting dessert! Nice work on the leather jacket particularly.

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    1. Than you Dean, there always seems so much to do, but prioritising some hobby time seems to be the way to go.

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  12. I lost interest in The Walking Dead in season two. That said your painting is excellent.

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    1. Thank you Phil, I can understand that. it has been a bit of a love/hate relationship for me too. I have to say that I growing tired of the mid-season breaks and the stretching out of the storylines, but having stuck with it so long, I almost feel obliged to keep going!

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  13. I was already in fear this years Zombtober would pass without you producing anything to marvel at. Here's hoping you'll find enough time in Dinovember ;-)

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    1. Thank you Nick, still cling on by my fingernails! Hopefully a couple of entires for Dinovember in the pipeline. :)

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  14. Nice to see you back online, Michael. What with Roger gone AWOL and then you, I was becoming a little concerned. Glad to hear you've been gaming in the quiet period, even if you haven't been painting. Guess you'll be trying to catch up on all your favourite blogs now.

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    1. Yes, sorry about that Jez, it all got a bit busy at work, still is if I am honest. I hope Roger is ok? I have certainly been enjoying your latest efforts from the shadows - illuminated pumpkin patches et al!

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    2. Glad you're enjoying my humble efforts. It's been a lot of fun chronicling the adventures of the stalwart officers of the Black Museum.

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  15. Excellent work on the figure and the cake Michael :)

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  16. Nice work as usual, and glad to have you back. I'll be waiting until Season 8 is on Amazon, but don't worry about spoilers, it's not like the comics haven't told me where things are heading.

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    1. Thank you Kieron. I think I might do the same now having watched last night's episode. So many adverts and not a lot of plot development, especially as you say we all know what's coming!

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  17. Realistic and fantastic job Michael!

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  18. Glad your back modeling figures and food.

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  19. Lovely work Micheal! It seems many of us fell off the radar more then usual this summer, but many are now trickling on back to include myself.

    Christopher

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    1. It certainly seems to have been a bit of a time for lots of us. I tried to keep the Instagram going, but missed the intersection that the blog brings.

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  20. Great looking figure, nice looking edible bat!
    Best Iain

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  21. Glad to see you back! I can see what you mean about the pose, but great job.
    I am waiting for the last series' dvd to come out (always a season behind) so no spoilers!

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    1. Thank you Mike, not the most realistic is it? I suppose the pistol might have looked better? I promise no spoilers, not that there was much to see last night!

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  22. Glad to see you back Michael! Your Negan turned out well & I agree with you that Jeffrey is making Negan infamous! I will actually be sad to not hear his quips & diatribes when he finally succumbs - whenever that may be, as I've not read the books/comics. Not sure they could have found a better actor to portray him!

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    1. Thank you Terry and I couldn't agree more, what an inspired piece of casting!

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  23. Great job on Negan...and Lucille!

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  24. Great to see you back behind the brushes. Especially when the results are so, so good!

    Hope the half term is restful!

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  25. Glad to see you back! I can really feel you on the lost mojo. Focusing on finishing a project can really sap out all the will to paint for a while.

    Still cracking work on not-Negan! The portrayal in the series was definitely top notch. Great tribute to the character with the mini!

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  26. Fantastic work, Michael. Your Not-Negan is wonderful. But....did you listen to "Easy Street" on repeat when painting him?? Top work, Sir!!

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  27. That's an excellent paint job sir. And for a moment, just for a moment, I did a double take and swore I saw Rick in the mini, then it was Negan (or is it not-Negan) again. We are all Negan indeed. :)

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  28. Thank you, Steve. I can see Imperial Assault quietly gaining traction in the background, and it's interesting that since our summer exchanges, I've started looking at my collections and rules in a completely different light. I'm thinking about revisiting the Witch finder world, but this time using the Donnybrook rules and creating my own scenarios. 8 Ball jacket

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