The second model of my second company of 2nd Edition style Blood Angels is complete. Work has kept me from enjoying  hobby time lately but I was able to finish this Intercessor in my spare time. After posting this picture, I noticed how chunky the highlights on my chest aquila are and the other highlights don't pop very much.  #Warhammer40k #miniaturepainting #spacemarines40k #bloodangels #astartes 

I took the Ultramarines version of my homebrew chapter of Space Marines, the Rampant Lions, to an RTT this past weekend. I've been playing my orks a lot lately, and whilst I was a little rusty, I felt like it was my most competitive army to beat the, 'meta.' You can't go wrong with Guilliman and Marneus, right? My first game was against an Imperial Knights player who brought the net-list Knights army. I fared pretty well until turn 4 when the wheels fell off but I felt like I had played decently.. except that I was playing all of my lascannons as strength 9, not strength 12. I should of been wounding on 2s most of the time and I didn't realize that until the next game. I've been playing so long that lascannon strength was ingrained at the lower level and I felt like a fool. Oy. Also, I wished my opponent good luck before the game and he didn't say anything back. I thought that was weird and for some reason, that really chapped my hide. What kind of try-hard ...

This is my test model in my new 2nd Edition style Blood Angel army. He still needs some markings, but I think I've settled on the colors and process going forward.

This is Dumbaz, Da Ork in da Iron Mask. I actually hate this model. When I picked it up second hand, it was primed yellow to eventually be painted as an Evil Sun nob. The paint was nice and even so I thought that I could paint over it without stripping it. Oof. That bright yellow turned out to be such a pain to cover up and as a result,  I have gummed up some detail. Plus, it was everywhere! I normally prime models in black or silver but this vibrant yellow was in every nook and cranny. Hard to reach spots shown like a bright, evil sun and painting this lad took twice as long as usual. So, I hate it.

  Just a couple more photos of new boys with their warpaint.

I needed a break from painting orks, so I finally got around to painting an assault terminator, slightly converted from the new kit. The new Horus Heresy box set that features a Saturnine armor in the Salamanders colors, and the upcoming Armageddon campaign book, has me excited about my own Salamanders again. I have been absolutely loving painting orks lately but repainting all of my old orks (plus new models) is quite a Sisyphean struggle. The hit of serotonin from sharing photos and playing with them has been fantastic though and I've really enjoyed converting, painting and playing the green skins. But I also pre-ordered the new Space Wolves box set... I may be an addict. 

This is one of the most helpful guides for using Greenstuff I've ever seen. I reference this graphic all of the time!  

  Lootin' Song Bashed in da gate wif me iron boot, Smashed up da walls, nicked all da loot! Gold and shinies, swords and meat, Grab it all fast, no time fer neat! Boss says "Smash!" and smash we do, Clobber da guards, stomp a few too. Pocket da jewels, snatch up da brew, If it ain't nailed down, it’s good as new! Sing it loud, boys, grunt and hoot— Nothin’ beats da smell o' loot!

Painting, or repainting in my case, can feel like a real grind, especially when you have a pile of grey plastic mounting up.  Batches of three models seem to work best for my work flow/patience. More models than that, I feel it's too repetitive, less than that, I dont feel like I'm getting enough done for my time investment. Having said that, I'm still having a blast painting these orks!

This old guy looks like he's shaking his fist at snotlings to get off his lawn.  Within an hour of posting this photo on Bluesky, a 3D designer who follows me, posted a new scult based on my model! I'm so flattered! I mean, I didn't design the original figure, but I'm still gobsmacked. Give this guy a follow or buy something if you're inclined!  Josh Butin 3D

This bad boy just left the painting bench! I love the Meganob models - they just need an extra attack or invulnerable save to make them a bit better. 

I painted up this old Warzone Imperial Trencher model recently.  My buddy Kraig is interested in Trench Crusade and this figure might be a good fit. Although, if I could get my hands on 70 more, I'd make a proxy Astra Militarum army.  However, in Warzone, Mishima was my main faction but I owned 5 or 6 armies at one point. I loved that game! #warzone #trenchcrusade

A couple more nobs are ready to mob up! #Warhammer40k #miniaturepainting #orks40k #waaagh #deathskulls #armageddon40k

This scruffy boy still writes checks at the grocery store. #Warhammer40k #miniaturepainting #orks40k #waaagh #deathskulls 

This nob got his job because his father was the boss nob. #Warhammer40k #waaagh #dakka #orks #orks40k #deathskulls #miniaturepainting

There isn't a grot or git that Grady the Grot Grabber can't grab with his git grabbing gaff. #Warhammer40k #waaagh #orks40k #deathskulls #miniaturepainting #armageddon40k #gorkamorka 

GW has made some cool announcements at Adepacon 2025, including some new models fighting on Armageddon. Strangely though, this didn't include any info on Orks or Black Templars. Will this be the 4th war for Armageddon?  There also isn't any talk of Ork snipers... #orks40k #deathskulls #waaagh #Warhammer40k #28mm #miniaturepainting

This ugly git always unscrews the salt shakers at restaurants.

If all you have is a choppa, everything looks like it wants to get crump't. I took the boyz out for a game against Jim and his tricksy Eldar. It was a narrow loss but I love how the Orks Green Tide play. They are more durable than expected and the Go Get 'Em strategem is incredibly problematic for my opponents. Jim's flop sweat was hilarious because he was afraid to shoot anything... I'm super pumped for my Orks at the moment. After 25 years, I've finalized my ork skin process and Deathskulls blue scheme and I'm enjoying the heck out of painting my lucky blue gits. I can paint 3 Orks in the same time it takes me to paint a single Space Marine so now the volume of painting isn't intimidating.  #Warhammer40k #waaagh #orks40k #deathskulls #miniaturepainting

This git is the kind of guy who wears his "nice jeans" to weddings and funerals. #Warhammer40k #miniaturepainting #orks40k #deathskulls #waaagh #dakka #orks

Marneus Calgar and his Victrix Guard painted in the colors of my custom Space Marine chapter, the Rampant Lions.  He recently heroically intervened and took out Magnus the Red. Maggy did flub all of his saving throws - but it still counts! #spacemarines40k #Warhammer40k #marneuscalgar

Last weekend I played in the Freestate Games Grand Tournament in Holton, Kansas. I have been practicing with a Space Marines Ultramarines list that features both Marneus Calgar and Roboute Guilliman as well as twin Whirlwinds, twin Predator Annihilators, and a cadre of my silver marines, the Rampant Lions. A very similar list beat up my Space Wolves at the Las Vegas Open and I hoped to duplicate that army’s success. My practice games gave me some victories but I wouldn’t consider it broken or game breaking, and my game play at the tournament bore that out; going 2-3. I must admit, that my two wins were against opponents who had worse dice than I think I’ve ever seen and demonstrated no real skill on my part. Here’s a brief recap. Game 1 vs. John Indelicate and Genestealer Cult John, also known as Archon John, is a fantastic player. His cultists cut my army down and while the game felt closer than the score, I was clearly outmatched. I had beaten Quinton’s GSC in a practice game recentl...

For the upcoming Freestate Grand Tournament, I just finished these Victrix Guard to protect Marneus Calgar.  These fellows, along with Marneus and the Company Heroes squad are a force to be delt with. In my last tournament preparation game, these guys stole my opponents home objective (and burned it!)

I've been playing in a Crusade league, plus a pick-up game a week, and occasional GTs with my various Space Marine armies. I win about 1 in 10 games. Oof. I've tried "net listing," watching videos, picking other players brains, etc but I just can't get over the hump. I can't even get to 50-50. I've done everything except paying for online coaching. This last weekend I played two games, one with a player about my level, and another top-20 world ranked  It's weird to say, but a famous player moved to a tiny town near by and he reached out to me for a pickup game. Of course I said yes, hoping to glean the secrets of the winning ways of War-hams from him.  I had a blast but he whooped me good. He gave me some tips, especially on army building and I've been toying around with points to craft the perfect 50-50 list for a Grand Tournament coming up in two weeks.  I'm planning on using the Guilliman-Calgar combo with lots of armor. I keep tweaking it b...

@minigamerdusty.bsky.social I've started a new account on Bluesky. I've just been posting mini pics and basically using it as a second Instagram account. Meanwhile on Instagram, I just scored 3,000 followers! I think most of them aren't bots or porn spam. It fluctuates a little as people are fed up with Meta and are deleting accounts but I've been excited that I've hit that 3k milestone.

My first LVO was in 2017. There were 390 players in the Warhammer 40k Champs bracket. There were 1055 registered in this year's 40k Champs. How amazing is that? Finding this old photo brought back some memories. Back in 2017, the Bally's hotel was packed and there were more gamers there than I had ever seen in one place. I've played Warhammer all over the world (well, the US and a game in England) and odds are that the gamers in your neck of the woods are just like the gamers everywhere else. In Vegas, there were a LOT of gamers that reminded me of the gang back home.  I brought my Adeptus Mechanicus War Convocation list, including an Imperial Knight. Like usual, I didn't do well on the gaming table but I got to meet a few "Internet famous" folks like Reece from Frontline Gaming, Lawrence from Tabletop Tactics, a professional violin player, and I think I played Brian from Tabletop Titans (long before he started his channel.) The player who might be Brian, slow...

Judging by my win-loss record, I've had a terrible year playing Warhammer 40k. Needless to say, I'm flabbergasted at the final rankings of the 2024 ITC season. What?!? I placed in the bottom 10% at the LVO; I placed even worse than players who dropped out after 3 games, so I'm not sure how those points and placings are tabulated, nor how season points are calculated but I'm in the 2,000s for the USA rankings? One bonus though, I'm the top "Dusty" in the world.

I had a blast in the Warhammer 40k Champs at the Las Vegas Open. I went with my buddy, Kyle and slugged it out for 3 days of gaming, big crowds, and casino food. Here are a few pics from the event. I only went 1-5 in the Champs and 1-1 in the Sunday RTT but it was still a great weekend of playing games. Two of my losses were a combined 5 points and I felt so close to having a .500 weekend.  Pro tip: Thunder wolf cavalry are tough to play in GW/WTC/Frontline terrain maps. You end up bottlenecked in your own table half. I was my own wolf jail... I'm a little embarrassed by my score, but I learned quite a bit and I think I'm going to focus on my silver Space Marines or Orks for the next year.  #Warhammer40k #lvo2025 #spacewolves40k 

I just finished this Space Wolves Vindicator for my Las Vegas Open army. The "casino cannon" has been pretty effective in my limited game play with it, so I hope it pays off at the LVO.