Tuesday 13 June 2017

A Twig Blight Is An Awakened Plant..."

"Its branches twist together to form a humanoid-looking body with a head and limbs."
These three 22mm tall metal models of some Twig Blights were produced by “Wizards Of The Coast” as part of their “Dungeons & Dragons” range and, before they went ‘out of production’, could be bought as Code WOC40049. Described as “a small, evil plant creature that looks like a woody shrub when rooted in soil” the diminutive monster with “a thirst for blood” first appeared in the Third Edition of Gary Gygax’s fantasy role-playing game, in the 2000 adventure “The Sunless Citadel”.

Originally undercoated with “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna, the Twig Blights were all subsequently washed with “The Army Painter” Heavy Strong Tone Quickshade, before being dry-brushed with more “Vallejo” Heavy Sienna. As a final step, in order to try and bring out even more of their ‘wooden’ detail, all three of the figures were highlighted with Heavy Brown.
"Mage Knight" Column WIPs - The bloody piece of scenery has been primed, washed and dry-brushed"
As I actually plan to use these miniatures to play "Expedition To The Barrier Peaks" using the rule-set "Mutants And Death Ray Guns" by "Ganesha Games", I have been busily pouring over the Plant Physical Mutation Table for some suitable traits. In "Dungeons & Dragons" the tiny tree-like creatures are armed with a poisonous piercing attack so in addition to having Short movement, the Forester, Dim-Witted and Photosynthesis characteristics, as well as being "immune to poison and unaffected by drugs" themselves, the small plants will also potentially inflict a poisonous wound upon an opponent "every time" they win "a Combat roll."

Sticking with "Dungeons & Dragons" I have also based and started re-painting some fantasy-themed objective markers. This column comes from the "Mage Knight" Dungeons Artifacts Set 1, and possesses "unique powers you can use in your game to create new and exciting adventures." It's actually been sat in my painting queue for a couple of years now, but I've finally found the hobby-time necessary with which to prime, wash and dry-brush it.
Hoagy WIPs - Sam Slade's assistant has been primed, washed, dry-brushed and had his eyes 'picked out'
In addition, I've found myself becoming increasingly drawn to the world of the British comic book "2000 A.D." and the miniatures I own that are based upon its characters. I actually bought this "Wargames Foundry" model of Hoagy at "Salute" 2016, and, despite undercoating it, soon 'packed' the badly over-sized metal figure away in a drawer with a load of other long-forgotten purchases.

Initially I had thought about using the robot as one of the worker automatons my adventurers would initially face upon entering the crashed spacecraft in "Expedition To The Barrier Peaks". But soon set such a notion aside due to Sam Slade's "idiot understudy" being too recognisable and woefully out of scale with all the 'officially licensed' "Dungeons & Dragons" miniatures I wanted to use.

This change of plan hasn't however, made me rethink painting Hoagy up, and having re-primed him, on account of the original undercoat peeling away from the figure over time, I am now in the position where the robot simply needs his eyes and chest plate to be 'picked out' before being finished. Hmmm... Perhaps I should paint up my accompanying miniature of Robo-Hunter and have the pair of them travel the the ravaged "mid-25th century" landscape of "Gamma World"..?  
The "Warlord Games" website - Featuring someone's "Awesome battle report..."
Recently I have had a little trouble with a couple of the plastic Daleks produced by "Warlord Games" for the excellent miniatures game "Doctor Who: Exterminate!". Ordinarily, I would have chalked such assembly issues down to bad luck, but on this occasion I followed the sage advice of Hils (of "The Game Cupboard" fame) and contacted the company's customer services department.

The result is that I now own a nice new sprue of Daleks, and, having been put in contact with the brains behind their promotion for the Doctor Who Miniatures Game, have even had my recent "Doctor Who: Exterminate! Battle Report: The Daleks Verses The Cybermen" featured on the "Warlord Games" website as a tweet. I genuinely don't think you can beat that for service and free publicity...

58 comments:

  1. I'm not a big fan of the "Twiglets" but if you need them, then fair enough. The multi-faced column is more interesting.
    But the best of all is Hoagy. You should definitely get Sam Slade painted up to accompany him. They're a team. They need to be together... although Sam would probably argue he's better off without Hoagy!
    Kudos to Warlord Games. Great customer service.

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    1. Awww... How can you not like some cute little Twig Blights, Bryan? I'm sure, once I get Hoagy finished then I'll start digging around for Sam, though whether or not I can actually find Robo-Hunter or not is another matter. Its been over a year since I last saw him!!

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  2. ooh the Twig Blights are delicious. strange co incidence, I used a couple on the last (5th ed) game I was running. I had the local druids put hallucinogenic paralysing poisons/toxins on their claws, effectively making them a lot more dangerous, as the party found out - almost to late lol. These ones of yours are enchanting, and take me right back to the old (sadly no longer available) models.

    Nice to see you putting the old Mage Knight columns to good use. I don`t think there`s hardly a game session goes by when we don`t use ours on the table for something. They are a great terrain feature.

    hehe, Hoagy reminds me of that old 1960`s mash potato advert from tv, those robots with the Dalek like voices "then they mash them all to bits"

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    1. Thanks Hils, the Twig Blights are without a doubt, one of my favourite "D&D" miniatures, and as I own "The Sunless Citadel" I wouldn't be at all surprised if they don't crop up in that adventure too :-)

      I've uncovered a load of "Mage Knight" scenery which will all be seeing the painting table at some point in the near future, just to help spruce up the tabletop with objective markers etc.

      I know what you mean about Hoagy. Its just a pity he's so large compared to the scale of his comic book counterpart. Still he should look good enough, once he's finished.

      Thanks ever so much for the tip to contact "Warlord Games". They have been superb, and kindly sent me some advanced piccies of up and coming minis; all I'm going to say is " Raxacoricofallapatorius" ;-)

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    2. OOOooooooo Raxacoricofallapatorius or.. the smelly ones hehehe

      Oh how PERFECT is THAT. I`m excited now.

      hey I`m so glad they were nice to you there. We did ask them to be good to you if you got in touch.

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    3. "We did ask them to be good to you if you got in touch." - They are being more than good, Hils, they are currently being awesome :-)

      I'm certainly looking forward to July's release, Steve, especially as I expect "The Woman Who Lived" to be joining my TARDIS crew too ;-)

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    4. >>> as I expect "The Woman Who Lived" to be joining my TARDIS crew too ;-) <<<<

      *sighs in bliss* Nope, things can`t get much better for us in mega Who-verse can they Simon.

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    5. Unfortunately, Steve, these are just the ones I can talk about for now too, but "Warlord Games" certainly seem to be cranking up their production schedule for the game now "Salute" is over and the base-set has been released.

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  3. Great job on the the Twig Blights Simon, the pillar looks great too. Really like the blue tone you've got in Hoagy and result on the promotion.

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    1. Cheers Dave. The Twig Blights are obviously nice and straightforward paint-jobs, but I love 'em. Hopefully the column and Hoagy will be finished soon, and add to my increasing collection of objective markers and robots :-)

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  4. It's a stick up! Great job Simon, but my attention was instantly drawn to the rather gruesome column - nicely done Sir.

    Like Hils, I instantly thought 'Smash' when I saw Hoagy, what a wonderful miniature and well done on the shout out, by Warlord Games, always good to hear of quality customer service.

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    1. Thanks Michael. The column is indeed a bit of a nice find, imho. I presumably have the rest of the "Mage Knight" Artifacts set somewhere, so don't be surprised if more don't crop up from time to time.

      "Warlord Games" have certainly made a customer for life with me, and I'm even more a mad fan of their "Doctor Who: Exterminate!" game than I was before :-)

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    2. forget all our initial plans to D-I-Y Doctor Who, cherry picking bits of the new game here and there. Who are we KIDDING, Warlord Games Doctor Who game is simply the best thing since sliced bread. We are so going to stick with this game to the bitter end, though I think it much more likely to be to the sweet yummy end.

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    3. "Warlord Games Doctor Who game is simply the best thing since sliced bread" - Its certainly derailing some of my painting plans, Steve, and next month should see the release of the Sea Devils and Vashta Nerada - lots to get excited about imho :-)

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    4. I can hardly wait for the Sea Devils, and as for the flesh eaters, woohooo!!!

      It occurs to me, during my current mass tidy up (yet again, culling the collection to manageable size) what I end up with TO KEEP... pretty much end of the day is all Warlord Games stuff. Zulus & Redcoats (Rorkes Drift), Liberty or Death (French Indian War/American Revolution), Bolt Action (WWII), Test of Honour (Samurai), Terminator Genisys (erm... that`s terminators lol), and now Doctor Who. That`s more than enough projects for me... or anyone needs in their hobby life haha. Trouble is I also have to make room for Zombicide Black Plague, Super Dungeon Explore and Dungeons and Dragons as well. See why I`m always driven... I really don`t get a chance to stop hahaha :(

      Oh and if you need any D&D minis to flesh out your collection, let me know, I have stuff going begging here. I know how much you are focusing on Barrier Peaks, OSRIC, and Metamorphosis Alpha right now, so if I can help just give me a shout (and let me know what you need. Chances are I may have it going spare).

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    5. "Warlord Games" certainly seem to taking up a lot of genres, Steve, and there customer service is excellent imho. I've sent you an email Ref "D&D" minis. I've a little WIP tease in my next posting for "Metamorphosis Alpha", which once finished should mean I can get on with the first BatRep ;-)

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  5. Cool. Can I go back to the AAR post that Warlord are linking and troll the comments section with advertising for other companies toys ;)

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  6. Really interesting post. I notice you have gone all retro in your posting lately. This always get my excited attention.

    I love that Hoagy.

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    1. Thanks Dave. I'm only going "retro" cause Hils and Steve have got me fixated on "D&D", but there's no sign of their infectious enthusiasm abating soon. indeed, I have a whole host of 'famous' 3.5 edition monsters in the painting queue :-)

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    2. My hardback copy of "Osric" certainly isn't helping matters either, Steve ;-)

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    3. hehe, go on, tell me tell me tell me, is it as good as I said it was?

      ^^

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    4. Do you know anything about Genesha Games "Fear and Faith" Horror Skirmish Rules? I`m mighty interested but don`t know much about it.

      Check this out Simon:

      https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GrIpvbx48CE&t=27s

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    5. Steve, one can not simply walk into Mordor and read "Osric" in one sitting. I'm dipping in, and using it to inform my "M&DRG" conversions; albeit like my 3.5 Edition Monster Manual, it doesn't have Twig blights in it :-)

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    6. Hils, I own "Fear & Faith", though don't think I've played it. I have assembled a Ghost Ranger Team though and some ghosts for it... http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2010/01/who-you-gonna-call.html and http://fantorical.blogspot.co.uk/2010/02/i-aint-afraid-of-no-ghost.html

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    7. Oh excellent Simon. It looks amazing on that You Tube video link I posted last. Sweet, you have "Fear & Faith" already, hmmm I`m sure we will too one day soon. Its not expensive and looks like a lot of fun.

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    8. {{Steve, one can not simply walk into Mordor }}

      HAhahahaa, nicely apt quote. Love it, and yep and I get what you mean too. Damn, shame about that OSRIC bestiary: its missing robots and Umberhulk as well (which I really hoped it would contain). Copyright reasons or something maybe.

      You WILL find Twig blights in 5th edition, but other than that you will find them mentioned in third edition Monster Manual II (and The Sunless Citadel adventure too of course).

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    9. Hils, I'm sure you'll enjoy "Fear & Faith" - I bought it blind based upon my enjoyment of "Songs Of Blades & Heroes".

      Steve, I might pick up the 5th Edition Monster Manual at some point, as I own "The Sunless Citadel" (as part of their "Tales From The Yawning Portal" compendium") and Twig Blights aren't in it. Indeed it simply refers you to the Monster Manual :-(

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    10. oh yikes, you`re right, I just checked. I don`t know where he`s got that idea from. I`m sure it IS in the 3rd ed Monster Manual II though, but without it to hand cant verify that (my daughter has it with her at college).

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    11. No probs Hils, as I say Twig Blights aren't in the 3.5 Edition Monster Manual either. But are accessible on the internet in enough detail to 'transpose' them into "M&DRG" :-)

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    12. Ooops so sorry, that way my fault. page 230 in "Curse of Strahd2 5th edition hardback. But they`re called Tree Blights. Basically the same creature, just `upgraded` as the Cybermen would say.

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    13. No probs Steve. I got what I needed elsewhere, and they're now ready to rock for "M&DRG". Perhaps once I've created a menagerie of monsters and characters, you'd like me to send you a copy?

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    14. That`s a big `yes please` nod from both of us.

      lol sorry I sounded so startled on the phone, Stevie has completely forgotten to tell me he had give you the number, so I must have sounded like a rabbit in car headlights when you rang *grins** Was lovely to talk with you Simon, and himself is beaming ear to ear now lol.

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    15. The pleasure was all mine, Hils. Steve was certainly more chatty than the one syllable responses I got from you though :-)

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    16. Next time, you will get the full on me lol, I promise.

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    17. Well if that's anything like Steve's "full on", I'll be struggling to get a word in edgeways ;-)

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  7. Great stuff once again Simon. I do like the Hoagy miniature, nice job on that. I've had to contact Warlord games a couple of times to replace damaged items and always been top-notch response. Also I've been told Warlord will be bringing back Judge Dredd hopefully in time for Christmas.

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    1. Cheers Mark. Interesting news Ref "Warlord Games". I thought they were doing "Strontium Dog" first, but as there's a huge "Judge Dredd" fanbase clamouring for more figs post the "Mongoose Publishing" Kickstarter farce, then that would make sense.

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  8. Ooh now that`s actually REALLY interesting. Its been lovely making everything ourselves (and boy, have we made lots, doing it the DIY route) but actually to be able just to BUY from our favourite company instead of slogging to create the endless cast of thousands needed for JD, will be a refreshing change of peace. You can count us in on that one for sure.

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    1. Sounds like a "Fantorical"/"The Game Cupboard" cross-campaign for "Judge Dredd" could happen sooner than later, Hils ;-)

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    2. **you`re on** ai ai my typing at times.

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  9. Lovely stuff. I really like the twig blights and the column, in particular, is a great piece.

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    1. Thanks Gordon. I'm a big fan of the Twig Blights too, and the column is nice and... gory?

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  10. What an absolutely spiffing post Simon, one of your best.

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    1. Cheers Steve, lots of WIPs on the painting table too currently, if only you could see what was coming ;-)

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  11. Great stuff Simon, I like the Twig blights (sorry Bryan), and you column is rather impressive (ooer misses!), but Hoagy is the star of the show, but surly you need a "Boots" figure too.

    well done over the Warlord incident by the way, nice to see a bit of good customer service.

    Cheers Roger.

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    1. Thanks Roger. I've not seen a Boots mini, but perhaps that could be a project for next year's "Forgotten Heroes"? :-)

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  12. The twiglets look good to me and sounds like a very pesky creature too, though I can't say I'm particularly imopressed with the Smash lookalike, despite your excelltne blue tones.
    Good to hear a positive response from Warlords too.

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    1. Cheers Joe. I didn't realise just how overly large poor Hoagy was until I compared him to some of my other 28mm models. Glad you like the Twig Blights and "Mage Knight" column, and, as you can probably imagine, I'm delighted with "Warlord Games" :-)

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  13. Excellent looking creatures those Twig Blights I'd not seen these before. Nice progress on Hoagy as well I quite like the sculpt.

    Excellent service from Warlord indeed!

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    1. Thanks Simon. The Twig Blights took me by surprise when I first spotted them too. Cute and characterful imho. Hoagy is a nice sculpt just far too large...

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  14. Seems I'm a bit behind on my comments...lol

    A very nice selection of figures on show, Simon. I like ALL of them, so not going to pick a favourite. Excellent work and congratulations on the Warlord shout out.

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    1. Cheers Jez. I'm sure both your own "Doctor Who" and "Quantum Quartet" projects are taking up a lot of your hobby-time currently, so now worries about being "a bit behind", my friend :-) I'm really looking forward to seeing your "Forgotten Heroes"!!

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  15. Nice work on your Twig Blights Simon. :)

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    1. Thanks Leon. Simple but cute minis imo :-)

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