EXT: A Copse Near The Fort

Happy New Year!

Because of the season, this is pretty much what I can see out my window right now. Melting patches of snow in a bare wood. All you'd need to do is substitute plastic bags for all the skulls and it'd be perfect.

In the interests of starting as I mean to go on, and also because I've got a Skypeboot booked with General Kas tonight and feel twitchy using it unpainted, here is some of the stuff I got for Christmas.

The Citadel Wood is a good bit of kit, let's be honest. Nothing spectacular, certainly nothing very original. If it makes my battlefield look a little more like everyone else's, I'm willing to pay that price for a versatile, sensibly-designed kit that works well in game and looks good too.

It's the detachable trees more than anything else. I've got plans for some alternative insets so it can fill various slots in the terrain (think swamps). If anyone has plans for a bunch of plastic leaves, let me know - you'll be welcome to them. Doing the trees dead and snowy isn't just so it fits in with the rest of my army theme, it's also because I really couldn't face hand painting a bunch of tiny individual leaves.

Painting Guide:

• Base coat - Rhinox Hide over everything
• Trees and fallen branches - Nuln Oil wash, then a bit of patchy drybrushing with Deathworld Green
• Rocks - Abaddon Black, Eshin Grey and Codex Grey drybrush
• Skulls - XV88, Agrax Earthshade wash, Bleached Bone and Tyrant Skull drybrushes
• Rope - Skrag Brown with Agrax Earthshade, Ungor Brown highlight
• Dead Vegetation - Steel Legion Drab with Nuln Oil
• Snow - 50/50 PVC glue and baking powder with a bit of White Scar mixed in, plastered on with a thick brush then left to dry for a couple of minutes before poking it about with the same brush to get the shapes right. More baking powder sprinkled on after, then left to dry overnight before spray varnishing.

Even Warhammer teddy bears have picnics.

Anyone got miniature-based resolutions for the new year? My only one is to try and get a battlefield sorted out, so I've got something to put all my hard work from last year on. That and finish the Dark Elves, at any rate!