Sam's All Star Blood Bowl League - The Final Whistle

So its that’s time of year again where we put a wrap on the challenge. This year was really formative for me as a painter. Painting the classic vibrant BB teams really helped me understand how I want my models to look and where I want to be as a painter. I was always a little afraid of going all in on a vibrant 90s style paintjob and went 80% in or the like. Well, this year I threw caution to the wind and made everything eye wateringly vibrant from top to bottom. I also tried my hand at free handing all the numbers on every team, which was a lot of fun. And from my own perspective they’re some of the best paintjobs I’ve ever done, so really very happy with how things turned out.

And that’s about all I’ve got to say, so on to the pictures:

Don't mind Dave he's passed out on the couch again

My fav team, love how they turned out

Second fav, dwarfs are such fun to paint

The team I had the most trouble with, but beautiful sculpts

Least fav but still real happy with how they turned out

Finally for next year, I’m eyeing up either taking a break or getting some paint on the massive WHF pile of shame I seemed to have accumulated out of nowhere… I mean it’s not like I’ve been buying more miniatures or anything, I would surely never do that!... would I?

Peace out

Sam

Sam' All Star Blood Bowl League - Reikland Reavers/Marauders

This month I had the most brutal schedule I’ve had in some time with work, so it really was a struggle bus of epic proportions. Fortunately though, this is my favourite team and I adore the sculpts.

This metal team is one of a couple of exclusives to the re-release of 3^rd Ed. BloodBowl in 97/98. Also on the rarer side due to the game being packaged with a plastic human team and humans being on the average side in power lvl. So I was pretty chuffed to get a complete set for a reasonable price last year.

Lore-wise I’ve always preferred the Marauders to the Reikland Reavers. However, I’ve never liked the earlier version colours scheme of red and white, and being a man who likes to paint his miniatures to the “sunglasses advised” level of vibrancy the later Marauders scheme of dark navy and yellow is a bit too drab for my tastes as things were starting to edge towards the grimdark at GW. So to that end I decided to blur the lines and make a scheme that is a halfway house between the two. That way I can call them either one from one day to the next, perhaps an away kit of sorts for either.

Overall, I’m very happy with how they came out. And looking forwards to squeezing in a few games with them, hopefully in the near future.

So that’s it for another year. Time to get them all out for a spicy pose and wrap it all up.

Peace out

Samuel

Sam's All Star Blood Bowl League - Champions of Death

This month is the first one where I had a bit of a procrastinate due to the models. Basically the original scheme for the Champions of Death just wasn’t to my liking. the colours are okay, but there just isnt enough of them and the parts feel forced. So I really felt it just doesn’t fit the models quite right, it’s a little bit too one dimensional. So that delayed me a bit and required a bit of trial and error before I was happy. In the end it was just a matter of adding another spot colour and accentuating certain features that were overlooked in the originals paintjob in favour of simplicity.

Anyhow, in the end I think they turned out pretty bangin’ so I’m happy with them.

I saved my fave team for last as a final stretch motivational booster. So on to the humans (yes I’m a basic bitch). The promised land is in sight! Let’s do this!

Peace out

Samuel

Sam's All Star BloodBowl League - The Star Players

The last few months have been pretty hectic with work but I was determined to stay in the challenge and finish my BB quest. Last month saw me have to throw down the mulligan and this month was a down to the wire kind of situation. So, with the limited time I had I though that the Star Player month would be the best way to go. Low model count and each one being individual so better to paint one by one in a start to finish approach for some definitive progress each time.

Star Players really were the lynchpin of the characterful atmosphere of 3^rd Ed. BB and they really gave each team a centerpiece model to work around from an aesthetic perspective. All of them have such amazing sculpts and associated artwork. And as I’m aiming to have a complete set of everything for my All-Star League, they really are the center of the concept.

During this challenge I will be painting Chaos, Dwarf, Human and Undead teams so the Star Players I focused on were those that fit those teams. The only missing one that I’m still hoping to find (for a reasonable price) is the Death Roller.

Enter the Players:

First up the infamous Lord Borak the Despoiler

 

Next up the unstoppable Grim Ironjaw

 

The undeniable Count Luthor von Drakenborg

The unparalleled Griff Oberwald

The Might Zug

And finally, no All-Star BB league would be complete without the iconic Morg ’n’ Thorg

Peace Out

Sam

Sam's All Star Blood Bowl League - The Grudge Bearers

 Okay so February is always a tough one, and this year was no exception. Work kicked my ass, I got Tonsilitis for a week, I’m mid driving test (I’m one of those lazy city boys who’ve never need to drive until recently) and was away for a week internationally also with work. So yeah, whilst I began with good intentions doing some of the base coating in the first week, I found myself with about 3 days to go still not having finished the base coats! Enter Mighty Morphing Power Painting Mode!!!

So the idea with the shorter month of Feb was to paint the dwarves for the logical reason that I have a models or so less of them than other teams and they are smaller models generally. However, the logic didn’t quite play out how I anticipated, as whilst its true they have less surface real estate they are packed with details. So overall I think they were more difficult to paint in a reasonable timeframe than the Chaos team last month. But that aside, they are truly gorgeous models, and as I came towards the end even in my rush I really started to enjoy how they were coming together.

 

Enter The Grudge Bearers:

 

As with the last team I also have Grim Ironjaw (and am on the lookout for the Deathroller) who will be painted during my Star Player month.

Other than that, looking forwards to catching up with the other entries and dropping some comments (been a bit lax this year due to lots of commitments).

Peace Out

Samuel