iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 02/10/2026

A big 'ol Cyclops for Warriors of Athena. The Northstar ones aren't big enough for me, but this one from Crooked Dice might actually be *too* big for his statblock! If so, I'll just promote him to Giant and look for a medium sized one. Background by @handiworkgames.bsky.social

A model of a cyclops, as tall as stories say he should be (18-20ft) towering over three Greek warriors on a plaza with a pillar in his hand.

020

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 30/09/2026

After a slightly longer break than I'd intended, I've posted another review to The Finishing Touch, this time reviewing another Siege Scenics product - Urban Decadence. It's not particularly urban *or* decadent, but is it at least a decent basing material? #wargaming #scenics

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

Siege Scenics "Urban Decadence" Review

000

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 09/09/2026

Finally bought my first hobby saw for a very tricky #kitbash : sawing the heads off some banditos, filing the shoulders and sombreros smooth, then cutting pinning & gluing some alien heads in their place. The saw, a Zona SA35/050, whips ass: handle's sturdy but light & handles metal minis great!

010

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 30/08/2026

This month at the Kill Team social we did a big blowout Joint Ops mission of Space Hulk; 5 terminators vs every tyranid I own. Went really well for a somewhat informal scenario, & we're going to refine the rules and have another go soon! #warhammer #killteam More pics: www.reddit.com/r/killteam/c...

040

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 04/08/2026

I finished my #warriorsofathena scatter terrain from back in June! Glad I got all the painting done in one big batch, so I could keep the scheme and basing consistent. I was going for stuff I can rearrange as light obstacles, clear ground and places for objectives. ##wargaming #miniaturepainting

0102

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 01/08/2026

Another set of #oldhammer turn-ups I found in a craft/charity shop's eBay store. I found the chaos dwarf super cheap & decided to check their other listings. Boom! A necromancer, and a whole pack of grotesques and haemonculi for my retro Dark Eldar mislabelled as "crypt ghouls". Always check!

A set of old miniatures - a plastic chaos dwarf, unpainted, a metal necromancer from the 90s, and 5 grotesques and 2 haemonculi from 3rd edition Dark Eldar, in various states of paintedness.

1163

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 26/07/2026

Eight Different Products, six different *kinds* of product, all labelled as "Snow Basing Materials" for #wargaming. And I've gone through them all, and some of the ways you can use them. We've got Citadel, WWScenics, Krautcover, Siege Scenics, Army Painter and Geek Gaming Scenics. Check it out!

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

Hobby Roundup: The Ultimate Snowdown

It's Christmas In July (kinda) here at The Finishing Touch , and I've got a big scenery project coming up that's going to need a lot of sn...

020

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 22/07/2026

Doing an article on modelling snow & finding a world of pain in trying to convey the differences in 6 kinds of white powder that all look almost identical to a camera but not to the naked eye. Pictured: a 2nd round of samples using different glue, which might look different to eye, camera or both.

181

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 15/07/2026

New 📌 post time In my spare time I run a website about #wargaming basing - reviews of basing materials, and articles & guides on how to enhance your projects & make your models look their best. Because remember - your model isn't complete without the finishing touch!

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

The Finishing Touch

040

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 13/07/2026

This review has sat in the drafts for... no real reason?... while I worked on other stuff, but I finally sat down & polished it off. While Krautcover is still a little pricey compared to other brands, this time the extra materials are largely worth it, bar a few quirks. Check it out!

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

Krautcover Basecover "Soil of Sparta" Review

Pricepoint Krautcover's Basecover range comes in at £6 for a 140ml tub; this is at the medium point when it comes to their prices, owing to ...

010

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 12/07/2026

This weekend I finished my second #turnip28 army, the Ginseng Heavenly Kingdom. Inspired by the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom (the closest thing to an IRL Turnip army in history). The Sichuan Opera face colours and Chinese writing were maybe over-ambitious at 28mm, but I'm still happy I tried. #wargaming

170

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 09/07/2026

While buying some Chaos champions for a little ##oldhammer project I'm working on, I found this guy - no idea what context he's from other than from '88-'89 per the tab and him being from that amorphous crossover period where guns & chainswords could turn up in WFB too. Pricey but lots of potential!

A metal miniature from 88/89 of a "chaos champion" wearing a hood and gas mask, holding a knife in one hand and resting a jezzail rifle by his side.

The same mini from behind showing his pouches and a backpack tanker for the gas mask.

030

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 02/07/2026

My copy of The Highlands Burn by @jkass99.bsky.social that I ordered at, like, 9pm on Tuesday was delivered the way I like my Chinese takeaway delivered: suspiciously quickly, and with 3x more content than I was expecting!

A colossal 423 page paperback copy of The Highlands Burn by Joe Kassabian, held at an angle to show how thicc the book is. I'm visibly struggling to get my hand around it. It... it's so big... I don't know if I'll be able to fit it inside me...

1351

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 01/07/2026

A late night painting session, this mini is a birthday present for a dear friend at work who's leaving at the end of the year, who's a superfan of the Queen, so I wanted to do something special. I even had to look up HRH's favourite flower & make tufts of it! Mini by @badsquiddogames.bsky.social

1376

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 30/06/2026

Back to the reviews on Finishing Touch, delayed partly due to the heatwave and partly from doing all those Greeks for the themed basing article! This time it's my first review of a Siege Scenics basing mix, Mangala Plateau: #wargaming

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

000

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 22/06/2026

My first Hobby Corner article for my site, this time on how you can vary up your army by starting with a basic theme & then iterating on it in different ways while still using the same materials. Been awhile since I wrote a longer article like this, so please let me know what you think! #wargaming

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

Hobby Corner: Iterating on a Theme with your Bases

In this first non-review article for the site, I'm going to go over how you can easily add more variety and visual interest to your army tho...

081

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 21/06/2026

My birthday present to myself last year was 3 large job lots of #mesbg Uruk-Hai, which once I added a handful more models would be the basis for 3 Isengard armies. Well I got the last few minis recently, & it's so hot out that I put on a film & spent 2.5hrs sponging (1/2) #wargaming #lordoftherings

1111

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 13/06/2026

Currently on a quest to make "interesting open ground" terrain a thing, using these broken up flagstone plates from @fenrisgames.com & some additional bits. These will be cut up into blobs to lay down as stuff to move over & around in more melee focused wargames where cover isn't as necessary.

1323

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 30/05/2026

My first review to break 100 views is now also the first to pass 500 in just 2 days 🥳 There's been a bunch of positive feedback on Reddit, too - I was prepared for this site to just be something I did as a hobby that maybe 10 people would see, but people seem to be really finding a lot of use in it.

A screenshot of my Blogger dashboard showing my most recent review (linked in the post this post is quoting) has 657 views since it was posted on Thursday evening.

000

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 21/05/2026

Just finished these girls from Dragon Bait Miniatures. I don't usually go in for racier models like these but they had such a cool Leiji Matsumoto vibe that I wanted to use them in Stargrave. A moon princess & her handmaids looking for a new home planet maybe? #wargaming #miniaturepainting #scifi

10 models of retro anime styled space princesses, with dark blue skin, purple eyes and white hair. They're armed with cutlasses, long rifles and retro blaster pistols, and are wearing skimpy outfits of thigh high boots, silver bandoliers and purple bolero capes. You can see their boobies, but not in a lewd way, more like a "space amazons" kinda way. Please don't judge me, I swear the rest of my models usually have clothes on.

071

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 13/05/2026

I'm retiring my current #killteam and wanted a completely different playstyle, so I figured I'd take the opportunity to do a pretty out-there colour scheme. I figure these Raveners do a phosphorescent light flash when they burst out of their tunnels like deep sea fish. #wargaming #miniaturepainting

2122

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 29/04/2026

I had some (pretty bad) Warlord Games hoplites I got for free recently, and felt like experimenting, so I did them in a "Greek Pottery" style. Since they're so smol and wonky, I'm going to use them as Spartoi (summonable artificial soldiers) rather than humans. #wargaming #miniaturepainting

2273

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 08/04/2026

So here's a project I've been planning since last year, but am finally taking the plunge on: starting a review website about basing materials for model wargaming! Weird, yes, but here's the first post where I explain why. The first couple of reviews are written and will be going up next week!

finishingtouchbasing.blogspot.com

Welcome to Finishing Touch!

Hi, I'm Rob, and welcome to The Finishing Touch, a review site about basing materials for miniature wargaming and terrain. That seems like a...

020

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 01/04/2026

Possibly my least glamorous miniature project ever - even terrain sometimes has skulls or scifi doodads on it! - a couple of herds of livestock and some critters for hunting, for an upcoming campaign. #wargaming #miniaturepainting

A selection of twenty-some painted miniatures, mostly horned sheep and goats, with some boars and deer. All except the deer have baby ones mounted 3-4 to a base, to make for more tempting prey for predators and players.

161

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 30/03/2026

Using a Warbases buffalo as a base, I sculpted an homage to a favourite illustration from one of my childhood myth books of the Sumerian Bull of Heaven for #warriorsofathena. This is the most freeform sculpting I've done on a single mini before, so it's still a bit rough! #wargaming #wargames

072

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 03/03/2026

If you need a brawny, blonde, bare-chested hunk to accompany Xena Warrior Princess in your games of #warriorsofathena there's only one natural choice, right? That's right, Dar from 1982's The Beastmaster! Partly because I love the film, but also fuck Kevin Sorbo, AKA "Boy Xena" Hercules #wargaming

Miniatures of Dar from 1982's The Beastmaster, his black tiger Ruh and love interest Kiri, from Crooked Dice Miniatures.

2171

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 23/02/2026

With days to go before #warriorsofathena releases, I made a push to finish the two main characters for my party, Xena and Gabrielle, and a bunch of NPCs for them to fight with and against! Minis from Crooked Dice, Lucid Eye, @badsquiddogames.bsky.social and @footsoreminiatures.bsky.social (1/5)

1474

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 19/02/2026

My first two heroines for Warriors of Athena, the left one from @badsquiddogames.bsky.social & the right from Lucid Eye. This project's taking me way out of my comfort zone, experimenting with bright colours like this. There'll be more to come soon! #warriorsofathena #wargaming ##miniaturepainting

Painted miniatures of two ancient Greek women in heavy armour, one in bright gold armour and red&white cloth holding her helmet underarm and leaning on a sword, and the other in purple and white cloth and dull gold armour, with a large plumed helmet, leaning on a gold shield with a serpent design on and armed with a long spear, her silvery cloak flapping around her

The same minis from the back, showing more of the cloth

0171

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 16/02/2026

So I bought a bag of Victrix Greek archers for #warriorsofathena which ended up having a sprue of two slingers in it. When I asked if they could send another sprue they just sent another bag! I'm sure this is WAY too many archers, but at least I have a lot to choose folloers from! #miniaturepainting

091

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 14/02/2026

Just blitzed through a set of simple bamboo forest #terrain for playing games of Ronin, Pulp Alley and other #wargames. It's turned out OK and more importantly is simple enough that I can whip up more if I ever need to. #miniaturepainting #terrainmaking #wargames #samurai

Turns out this'll be a good backdrop for photographing minis... once I've actually painted them!

The base is canvas with the bamboo hotglued and milliputted to it and covered with 2 kinds of texture paste... that are almost completely covered in the finsl build, lol.

The furthest spread of terrain I can cover, slightly over 1x1ft

0154

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 02/02/2026

A few months ago I bought some Saxon body sprues to try & use up my Victrix heads and weapon arms. I was going for a generic "pulp fantasy baddies" vibe so they could work in multiple different settings. Not my best work but I'm sure I'll get a lot of use out of them! #miniaturepainting #wargaming

1122

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 09/01/2026

I've got probably the last #40k game I'm going to play with my #sistersofbattle army this Sunday and I realised I'm now 55pts under 1k. I can't afford any more models right now, so I decided to #kitbash this Inquisitor using only stuff from my bits box. A bit janky but some paint will hide all sins.

A freshly built model of a woman in futuristic armour and robes, with a crowned metal mask, small ornamental wings, a machine gun with a flamethrower attachment and an alien sword with a religious seal attached. A mechanical skull hovers next to her, a long parchment dangling from its teeth.

240

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

This Christmas week I sat down & finally got a load of half finished miniatures for #stargrave #silverbayonet & #pulpalley done. The WW2 stuff was tough going but having the @badsquiddogames.bsky.social and Crooked Dice minis to add a bit of personality helped me stay engaged. ##miniaturepainting /1

1101

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 19/11/2025

This morning I put the last touches to this hefty terrain piece from @fenrisgames.com for my Classical/Fantasy skirmish games. It was daunting tackling this much resin, but I was so hyped to see it finished it shoved everything else off my hobby queue since it arrived! #miniaturepainting #wargaming

A model of a circular pit of sand surrounded by a ring of flagstones and a half-circle of crumbling Greek pillars, mounted on a board of sandy, grassy ground. You can clearly see other, unfinished models on my hobby desk in the background, that have been there for months because I'm bad at project management.

The same diorama shot from above, as miniatures of three lions charge through the pillars towards two female centaur archers, who are tastefully shot from behind because they've got no clothes on and I didn't want people judging me for owning minis with their boobies out. You get to know, though, person reading the alt text. Because I trust you not to tell anyone.

Those lions are gonna get absolutely fuckin wrecked, BTW. Just absolutely destroyed by those titty centaurs.

2304

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 12/10/2025

I finally found a use for all the spare heads and weapons that come with Victrix's Saxons and Rus: Warlord Games' armoured and unarmoured Saxons come as a sprue of just bodies and heads, and they sell them separately! (1/2) #wargaming #kitbashing

1100

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 29/09/2025

Just finished painting up this lovely little Ailthean tractor for This Quar's War. I've not done a tank before, unless you count Tau Devilfish, but I was so excited to try scale modelling tricks on it like netting & weathering that I couldn't put it down! #quar #wargaming ##miniaturepainting

3263

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 27/09/2025

Just finished off this morning, a horde of #oldhammer zombies! For 2ndhand minis the poses weren't too goofy, and my experiment with a blue undercoat for the skin made 'em look nice and pallid. 1st background by @handiworkgames.bsky.social, props by @fenrisgames.com #miniaturepainting #wargaming

2596

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 24/09/2025

My second crew of Stargrave minis - a gang of space spiders! Experimented on in a lab, where they developed super intelligence, their leader gained psychic powers from his brain implants, and led his fellow test subjects to swipe some guns & escape! #stargrave #wargaming #miniaturepainting

A set of ten wargaming models of giant spiders with various cybernetic implants, robot legs and guns. They are led by an albino spider with a halo of brain implants that give him psychic powers.

1184

The Shockmaster @theshockmaster.bsky.social · 21/09/2025

Now I have a proper camera on my phone, I'm going to start using my Bluesky to actually post pictures of the models I paint in my spare time. Here's all the ones I did on my week off for Silver Bayonet, Stargrave and Frostgrave. I'll post closeups with more detail over the coming week.

010