Dragged into Turbolasers Episode 76: Chatting with Bigbossredskullz about blogging and narrative wargaming

The Nestorian Infestation intensifies!

In this episode, we had the great fortune to talk to a good friend and long time inspiration, Bigbossredskullz. We discussed how he got into the hobby and started blogging and writing articles for Bell of Lost Souls, as well as, how social media like Instagram has affected this. We also talk, at length, about how he approaches and creates models, and how he puts great emphasis on conveying emotion and agony. We delve into what Inq28 and Blanchitsu means to him, and what other sources of media inspire his creations. We also have a great discussion about his Nestorian Infestation collaborative project with Wilhelminiatures, before wrapping things up by talking about Blood Bowl!

Making Death Guard Great Again: Plague Marine WIP

Creeping Death.

After the release of all the Death Guard models this year, we were quite critical of them, disliking their distorted anatomy, with their huge thigh gaps, and their general lack of abdomens. Rather than simply complain about these issues, with the suggestion from bigbossredskullz, we decided to invite anyone interested to take part in a challenge to convert some new Death Guard models to address them. Much to our excitement, we have already gotten some amazing entries, which we are going to share on the blog on December 18th. That leaves a little over two weeks for anyone new to join the challenge. As inspiration, we wanted to share the current progress of our Death Guard plague marine!

Making Death Guard Great Again: A Challenge

“I shall reap a terrible bounty from the death that I sow in your name, Father Nurgle…”

In our last episode of Dragged into Turbolasers we had a lot of critical things to say about the majority of the new Death Guard models. In recent years, we have become increasingly concerned with scale and anatomical accuracy of Games Workshop’s models, and were thrilled when they released the Primaris Space Marines that corrected many of traditional Space Marines’ egregious errors. Unfortunately, aside from Mortarion, the vast majority of the new Death Guard models have not benefited from the Primaris’ improved anatomy, and instead are plagued by massive thigh gaps between their legs and a veritable lack of abdomens, making the range looks awkward and seem like a step backwards. Now, I know that it could be argued that the blessing of Grandfather Nurgle and the passage of thousands of years would have vastly changed their anatomy, so it does not need to make sense. I can accept this to some extent, but I am still doubtful that their proportions were purposefully left wonky to fit with their patron god. But maybe Grandfather Nurgle blesses all of his followers with kyphosis as their first rite of passage? But, I digress… Upon the suggestion from the talented and prolific bigbossredskullz, we decided that we should try to convert a Death Guard model using some of the new models, trying to live up to their storied legacy, instead of simply criticizing. Spiralling from the discussion with bigbossredskullz, together we decided it would be fun to start up a challenge, reminiscent to our Kingdom Death multipart kit Challenge, but open it up to anyone interested in participating.

Between the Bolter and Me: 2016, a year in review

2016 comes to a close!

With 2016 coming to a close, Between the Bolter and Me is now four years old! We began the year updating the look of the blog, changing our logo (maintaining the frog theme, however!) and color scheme, trying to reflect a continuing commitment to pushing ourselves forward in the hobby. We also started a podcast, called Dragged into Turbolasers, hoping to use it as an avenue to connect with a wider audience and meet new people in the hobby. Now that 2016 is over and we reflect on it, we are happy to say that we think it was our most productive and enjoyable year yet! Between two major collaborative projects, The Pilgrym and the Curse of the Alabaster, we met so many wonderful people, and spurred ourselves to create what I believe is our best work yet, painting an unprecedented 20 models (a major feat for us!). We even started to create our own background material and try our hands at writing some short stories. But enough of boring prose, join us below to see a picture recap of 2016!

Kingdom Death Multi-part kit challenge: Bigbossredskullz Amazon

Amazon by Bigbossredskullz 

At the end of last year, we started the Kingdom Death Multi-part Kit Challenge to see what other hobbyists could do with the wealth of plastic pieces from the Kingdom Death boxed game. We were not overly impressed with the multi-part kits, but were confident that something special could come out of them given the proper talent. So, after building a single model from the kits, we sent them away.

A look back: Best Blogs of 2015

We have already discussed our favorite model releases and our work over the course of 2015, but my favorite part of each year is seeing what interesting miniatures that the community creates!  I spend more time than I should each day browsing the internet, looking for little converted soldiers.  If you are reading this blog, you likely do not need me to tell you about how fantastic this year has been for the hobby.  Instead, I will show you some of the blogs and models that stood out to us at Between the Bolter and Me!  This list is not an all-inclusive one, and is listed in no particular order.  Sorry in advance if we forgot to include anyone on this list, the wealth of fantastic models and modelers is too great to ever list in just one place!