Grimdark, "Black Metal" Rat Ogors, Part 3: The Ice Rat, Progress(kinda) Blog!

 I realized I never posted like, a progress blog. Actually it's gonna be a little hard to post one here because I forgot to take pictures of him besides the initial drybrush, but I can at least show that one. 

Disclaimer to those who don't know: I'm a relative noob with some paintbrushes and not some expert or teacher, so take any of this stuff at your own risk. I'm just showing off what I cobble together. 

I started with a drybrush zenithal deal over black primer. I did a dark grey and then a very light grey over it. I'm not using many speedpaints(I do use some for effects, though), but I do this mostly to get an idea of where I'm putting stuff. I kitbashed on some chains and barbed wire before this, though I might be adding one or two more things before he's done. I also added some AK corrosion texture to the metal parts. 

Then I did some underpainting on the skin with Blanched Berry from the John Blanche set. I wanted the skin to have a bit of a purplish tint at first underneath(it's going to have some frostbitten parts later, near the edges especially.) I brushed on some thinned Dark Rust(also from AP) all over the metal, because rat ogors are not smart lads and don't really maintain their equipment. I then drybrushed Heavy Metal over it(also from the John Blanche set), and then added Grim Rust(from the same set). I'll be doing more stuff with that later on. Some of the metals(that are hard to see in this pic) are done with Vallejo's Aged Metal drybrushed over an underpaint of Abyssal Blue and a wash of Verdigris to make it more like bronze. 

Now, in a "draw the rest of the owl" moment because I didn't take any pictures between then and now, I did a basecoat of Ironclad Grey(the JB set again), with a touch of Uniform Grey, before adding a mix of Grey Castle and Dusty Skull to the fur. The skin was built up with Abyssal Blue, Phalanx Blue, and a touch of Barbarian Flesh, and the claws done with Dusty Skull. The eye is Fiery Vermilion(JB set my beloved) and the nose area is Moldy Wine. Then the whole thing was washed in Grimdark Shadow wash(JB set), because I really want to try to sell the frostbite look to some parts of him, plus I really dig the color it turns everything. When it comes to grimdark stuff I really like the unifying washes(I don't use them on everything; some figures I only use them on a couple of small parts, but when I do the particularly grimdark style stuff, I quite like them.)

After that dried, I did a small drybrush and did the fur part again(mostly the longer fur) with some Dusty Skull; this is going to get the slightest hint of ivory for a dirty white. The skin got a drybrush of Phalanx Blue mixed with Ice Yellow and a touch of Barbarian Flesh to keep it with a more sickly look. I also started taking some Grimdark Shadow and Brownish Decay to fill in some of the parts I want to resemble frostbite. 

The next session I started to make the skin look frosty and rime-covered by using a mix of Ivory White(JB) Fenrisian Grey(Citadel) and Skeleton Bone, and also did a bit of rime-covering on the fur. Then using Brownish Decay speedpaint I started adding the 'frostbitten' effects near where the skin meets the fur in the torn parts. This gets a few covers. Drybrushed on some of that 'rime' mixture to the armor, chains, and wire too(more will be done at the end, along with a bit of work with AK's icy effects.) Also added more rust, started trying to darken the rust a bit, and added in more odds and ends like some verdigis. Decided to make his kilt-thing dark brown leather and the belt red leather to counteract all the cool colors, threw down a basic basecoat on those without  weathering yet. Also started on the warpstone. It looks flat right now since it's just the base tracing of it, going to be adding the effects and everything. I'm deciding on what color to make the tubes. Making them a similar green to the warpstone could look cool(I did that with the first rat, whom I affectionately call 'Filthgrinder'), but I'm still debating. I just painted the one in a basecoat to see how I felt. I might decide to make it another color. 

I am definitely buying Dirty Down Rust next week when I take my trip to the other hobby store. 

This session was more refining of various parts. Weathering the leather kilt(also distressing it physically, scratching the actual surface of that and the belt), using buildups of the previous colors(Blanched Berry and Brigandine Brown) mixed with more and more Grey Castle and Skeleton Bone. Washed it all with a slightly medium'd Desolate Brown wash(and the belt with Dark Red Tone), I use a messy-bristled brush to give it a less 'neat' look building up a little more.  This is a rather stupid lad who again, does not really take care of his stuff. 

Started to do some extremely careful use of Brigandine Brown around the cracks in the skin and added shading to the warpstone along with more effects. Painted the tubes green, but washed it in a slightly diluted Grimdark Shadow for an oily look(might actually come back with some oil stains tomorrow.) Fixed up more rime effects with the same mix as above and generally just refined more. Tweaked the chain since I have a plan for the skeleton for the base and he'll be wearing barbed wire around his neck, which I primed up(unpictured.) 

Today I started the base(no pictures of that yet, I'll grab one tomorrow before I do more of it and post it in a series, managed to get the cork glued and the Vallejo mud paste on it, along with some other bits. Want it to dry overnight, then will prime it up. 

Also to the ratboy, added the start of some blood effects, and his barbed wire/chain necklace with some severed heads. Was a little busy, so that's all I got done(besides a speed-painted little mimic I had been working on on the side while things dried, just a dungeon piece/enemy). The spike on the foot is getting trimmed off, since he's gonna get pinned to the base given the position. 

And almost done! A couple pics of the base in progress, followed by an almost-done fellow. He still needs some touch-ups, the 'altar' at the side needs a little fixing, and just some refining, along with painting the rim and varnishing. I used AK icy crystals and Citadel Valhallan Blizzard, along with Army Painter's snow effect mixed up to get a variety of snow types. Painted the wood in Brownish Decay(with a drybrush mix of frosty blue colors and bony white over top), along with some Battlefield Grey to give some gentle blue hue to things. True Blood touched up the gory stuff and did the glue stringy trick on the hand. (As for the parts, it's some modeling chain, cocktail sticks, some basing resin skulls, and some stuff from outside. Made the trappings from some 3D printed little cups and candlesticks and painted them in bronze with some verdigris.)

And here we have the completed model, after fixing up a few odds and ends, like adding a quasi 'hand of glory' to the inverted cross and fixing up some of the ice and such. This one was a lot of fun. I love doing ice-themed stuff. And we also follow up of the picture of all 3 together finally! 

The 'trinkets'(read: chains, wire, heads, etc), I can imagine, when I'm thinking of the 'story' of the piece which I like to do, despite being on the low end of the Int-scale(I would think these guys might be around a 5 or so on the AD&D scale and I'm being kinda generous), they *are* also rats, and rats like shiny things. IN their cases, they like chains, skulls and other death trophies, and sure, maybe the inverted crosses looked cool. I mean they could be in Warhammer, why not. 

Imagine if these guys ended up in a portal that threw them across universes into Trench Crusade and they're like, the Heretics' new war wolf additions or something, or creations of the Court of the Seven-Headed Serpent, in their cursed factories. 

Anyway, while I'm far from being some high-end painter given I only have a few months under my belt, I thought it would be fun to do a process blog. I will keep pushing to see how much a six-month improvement looks when it's time! (Which will be the end of March! Though I'll be blogging more before that.) 

'Til next time! 

Grimdark, 'Black Metal' Rat Ogor, Part 2: Plaguerat

 Back again with the 2nd rat finished! For now I'm nicknaming him Plaguewielder(the first we'll call Filthgrinder. I am somewhat consistent.)

I probably went a little overboard with the AK-corrosion texture, but I really did want to try to sell the rotted look of the metal that might be on a Nurgle-'blessed' rat ogor, who is already a mass of stitched-together horror and probably does not maintain his equipment at all. I think next week I am going to pull the trigger on the Dirty Down Rust; I know it's got some scent to it, and my painting area is not particularly well-ventilated in the winter(it's Finland), but I already use modeling glue and the like in sparing amounts, so I think using a bit here and there, especially with a mask, will be just fine. (It's a similar reason I've not pulled the trigger on getting some Villainy Inks; I might grab some closer to spring. Plus, and this is a technical thing, mail-ordering paints in the winter can be risky.) It's not as bad when I can open the window in my little area. 

With that aside, here's a few shots of him! I did lean heavy on the Oozing Vomit and Oil Stains(both from Army Painter, along with Nurgle's Rot; mixing Vomit + Oil Stains, or both/either of those with Dry Blood, btw, makes for some really nasty looking effects!) Mix of acrylics and speed paints; one day again I might list everything I've done. 

The third rat is going to be ice-based, and I think I want to base him like he's running down a hill, or on top of a hill, so putting that base together will be fun. I'll of course be utilizing more of the black-metal style trappings in that one, as well. 

Anyway here's Plaguewielder! (And extra shots of him with Filthgrinder.) If I ever play Skaven in AoS any day soon I'll have some big boys, at least. 

So far, time painted: About 4.3 months! I look forward to trying to challenge myself with a 6-month piece. If I can get ahold of that old Konrad Curze model, that may be a nice one; otherwise I will have a lot of Trench Crusade minis soon here keeping me busy! 

Paint Starter Sets, some of my favs!

While enough reviews of paint starter sets exist, I figured to do something a little different and list a few of my favorites for folks looking to get into the hobby. You can go on youtube and find lots of paint reviews of the big GW sets, but I think for the sake of this blog I'll list my three favorite starter sets for folks, why I like them, and the ups and downs of each one(there is no 'perfect' one I think.) I haven't used every single paint in every single line(and I think even painters who have come close probably don't remember every single paint in every single line), but I've used and own paints from all the companies on this list. 

After studying a lot of sets and thinking over what a new painter needs, I see what criteria of mine each one hits. I look at these as if they are for someone who wants to try mini painting and see how they like it, or know they wanna get into it, and are looking for a set to get them grounded. This is not an exhaustive list by any means, though the number of starter sets could be higher! 

The criteria I look for isn't much: 

-Can they get started RIGHT out of the box? (Only one passed this.)

-If not, what else do they need to buy? 

-Availability of the sets(you can always order online, of course, but I'm thinking in-store, like someone could go in and see them.)

Only a few questions, really. So let's get started! (I'll be listing a price range since I usually end up seeing stuff within a 5 to 10 euro range depending on what store you're getting it from.) 

Honorable Mention: Vallejo Game Color Basic Set(45-50e)

This one's down on the list since it *only* contains paint. No brushes, tools, minis, primers or anything; just paint. But you do get sixteen bottles of quality paint, of a variety of colors, and they're 18ml bottles, as well. If you're someone that has, say, a hobby brush lying around and a 3D printer/access to a 3D printer(preferably one that makes good-quality smooth prints), then you may find this one to your taste since you really do get a wide variety of colors here. You even get 3 metallics in the box! But, again, since you do need a supply of your own other things to get started here, I have it as an honorable mention; also, Vallejo is occasionally more difficult to get in some areas than others and you may need to grab this online. 

3. Warhammer 40k Introductory Set(50-60e): 

This big box has a very solid array of things to get people started painting, and even playing the game if they want! It has sixteen minis(some Space Marines and some Tyranids), five paints(black, wraithbone, blue, purple, and gold), a starter brush, a set of clippers for the minis(which are push-fit), as well as a playing mat, dice, a rulebook and a ruler, all for about 55e. If you're someone looking to get into the hobby in general, as well as the gaming part, this will additionally give you a taste of wargaming. It ranks third, though, for me, since it does have its limitations. It's big, winning points I think are the inclusion of the clippers(getting a tool is nice), and the fact it's got the most minis available in a starter set, at a whopping sixteen, as mentioned(and these have both humanoid and bugs, to give starting painters a couple different things to paint.) And it's Games Workshop, so they're pretty widely available. 

If you aren't into the specific games-like, if you wanna paint for TTRPGs, or just a different wargame, the rules additions and all of that stuff might just be extra stuff you don't need. Also, there are limited colors in these, though you do get a bit of a variety(color, metals, Agrax Earthshade which is pretty legendary in painting circles, and even a technical paint for your bases.) Finally, you need to assemble these, thankfully they are press-fit, so glue is not necessary(you might find even snap-fit or press-fit minis need some glue, but if you're just starting out, you might be okay.) Finally, no primer is included, so you'll need to grab that, too(rattlecan, air, brush-on-you can brush on air primer, btw.) But for the price, you get a *lot* here-lots of models to play with, and you get a set of clippers for future models, to boot! It is, finally, the most expensive of the bunch. 55 to 60e(depends where you grab it from) starts to become a little more of an investment, especially when only five paints are involved. And you do need to buy primer(a small bottle of brush-on primer can be less than a fiver, though.) Finally-one personal little annoyance-I prefer dropper bottles over Citadel's paint pots, but I think for a beginner it's more about getting paints and getting into the hobby. 

(As a side note, there is also an Age of Sigmar introductory set, but it lacks both primer AND clippers, so you'd need to go buy both. It's otherwise set up similarly. I'm not sure why they left the clippers out...but if you'd rather get into a fantasy skirmish game, it might be worth looking at.) 

2. Army Painter's Gamemaster: Adventure Starter Role-Playing Paint Set(Around 50e)

This one is packed with stuff. 15 bottles at 18ml each of the Warpaints Fanatic range(these also come with mixing balls in each bottle, which is awesome), at a variety of colors. In addition to ten colors(black, white, gray, blue, green, yellow, red, brown, a light skin tone and an orange), there's two metallics, a wash, a blood effect paint and a brush-on primer. There's also a brush in the box, and five free snap-fit minis. All of this runs you about 50 bucks, and even though the characters have names and little blurbs, they're very system-agnostic and you can pop them into any fantasy game that has elves, humans, dwarves, tieflings(or the Pathfinder equivalent), and so on. You could keep them on hand for whenever you tabletop game and someone needs an 'approximate' model or whatnot! It doesn't have the beasty-models like above, but five minis is nice. (There are two other sets, but they only have one mini each.) 

One thing I really love about this box(and the next) is the inclusion of a brush-on primer. Primers are a necessity, and it's rare that they are included in starter sets. I really wish more boxes would come with it! (Specifically, a brush-on. While you can get inexpensive rattlecan primers from hardware stores, not everyone is in a situation where they can just rattle-prime minis. You need outdoors areas for those.) Army Painter is also generally quite widely available, at least that I've seen. I've never had trouble finding their products in stores. 

The downside here is that the models are unassembled(also snap-fit, at least), and has no tool, so you are going to need some way to detach the models, and thus this will also need another purchase if you don't have some sort of clippers around the house/something to clean up the mold lines with. But besides that, it has a whole lot for the value here. Instead of having to buy the primer(since it comes with brush-on primer), that cash could go to buying a set of sprue clippers. At 50, it's the second-place cost wise, but I think because you get fifteen bottles total, along with the five minis, it becomes a more pleasing deal, hence its spot on the list(along with being pretty system-agnostic-these could work for any fantasy game.) But unless you have some wire cutters or something around(not ideal, but usable in a pinch if you absolutely have to), be prepared to shell out about an extra 10, so in the end it could run you about the same as the first option. 

I will say as an aside for both 3 and 2, at least the tools/primer you need to buy will end up coming in handy for later stuff, and if you want to get further into the hobby, you'll be getting them anyway.  

1. Army Painter Fanatic Starter Set(30-35e):

This one's my personal favorite. I mean, it's in the number 1 spot. It comes with a fully assembled mini, a brush, and 11 bottles of paint, including a brush-on primer. Paints are basic; 2 metallics, a wash, and 7 colors-black, white, blue, green, brown, yellow, and red. The little tray the paints come in can even be used as a palette! All you need is a cup of water and a paper towel and you can paint. The price is about perfect for a birthday gift or some such thing, as well. It's simple, but it has absolutely everything to paint your first mini; you don't need to buy tools or primer, you don't need to assemble anything, and there's a solid array of color choices, even if they're basic.

That's the only little downside to this one. It's got a more solid color array than the 40k set above(all your primaries are present and some neutrals), but it is more limited than the Gamemaster set(I'd personally like to see purple and orange make an appearance.) But, hey, color mixing is a thing, we learned it back in the day, after all! (Some colors mix differently depending on pigments used, which is the only reason why I'd like to see the orange and purple show up.) I will say that perhaps having a more 'core' set of colors may actually be better in ways for a starting painter, though. Less choice paralysis. And its price point is legit in the realm of a 'pick-up', where the other two, leaning into the 50+ range, are very reasonable for what you get, but still a little more out of the 'pick-up' range. Also; this does only have one mini. But-I don't think that's bad for an introductory set. It is mostly just to give people a taste of the hobby, and at the price point, it's much less of a 'buy-in' feeling. Try it to see if you like it! 

--

So yeah. Just a basic little rundown here. And I am just one painter of many-there are tons out there way more experienced than me(I've only been doing this for real for what, four months now?) that may have different opinions, but overall this is mine. 

I think if you had me put together my Perfect Set, it would be right in the range of the Starter set above, with an orange, a purple, and a light flesh tone added to what colors are there(Leather Brown makes for a good dark skin tone-it's very close to the Onyx Skin color they have, and mixing that + a light one and you can basically get a very wide range). I might add a second(pre-assembled, of course) mini, as well-perhaps something like an orc, goblin, lizardman, or something of that nature to counter the knight. I just remember the old Ral Partha goblins being a ton of fun to put green acrylics on, so I'd like to include one of those too(and of course, keep the brush and brush-on primer.) If you could keep this thing around the 40 range with the additions(very possible, given the price of the Gamemaster's set above), it'd be even cooler and still in that 'pick-up' range, I think? (Oh yeah, and I do prefer bottles over the Citadel pots, so whoever made this set, bottles, please.)

Hope someone here finds something useful! 

Grimdark, "Black Metal" Rat Ogor, Part 1:

 So in my painting adventure, I had picked up some rat ogors because I always liked those brutes, and decided to play around with making some of them. Using some barbed wire, model chains and other bits I added some embellishments. I have now finished the first! Just a big, nasty brute in a place with a lot of skulls and stuff. 

(The second and third are slated to be plague-based, and *probably* ice-based, knowing me, but we'll see. I might do him similarly to the first. Or similar to the first, plus ice.)

Tried to add cool little effects to the base. I discovered I liked basing quite a bit, and I think when I get all three done I might try to make a bigger thing for the crew. (It depends, though, since I do have that Court army on its way.) 

Here's the first guy, so far! 

Still getting better brushwork and things in there, but for these guys, I admit I like a 'rougher' style, given the aesthetic I was going for. 

I could eventually list all the colors I used for him, but it was a lot of Army Painter(mostly acrylics, some speedpaints), and a little bit of Citadel, Scale 75, AK corrosion and Vallejo. (The latter two were two metal colors.) Basing involved mostly a variety of acrylics and speedpaints, some good ol' fashioned foraging, Vallejo mud, Army Painter tufts and so on. GSW provided the chains and barbed wire and Gamer Grass is where I got the skull bits from both for the base and for the skull flail(I just wanted to make a flail out of skulls.) 

Considering making a chain-belt for the plague fellow. Nice thing is I can see how it looks first before adding it! 

Anyway, keeping this short and sweet, will update this again with some more when I'm done another. (Or when the Court army gets here, whatever comes first!) 

My 3.5 months in Mini Painting So far

 As I've pointed out on the blog, I had ventured into mini painting again after like, 30+ years. 

Back in the day, during the dark ages of the 1990s, I slapped some hobby acrylics onto Ral Partha minis(mostly goblins or orcs)-it was the style at the time. Those old minis had some hella nice charm, though; if you've ever seen them, they looked like this:

                                                            (the goblins were particularly awesome.) 

Back then, we had no idea what we were doing. Most of us just sorta put paint on them and made pretty colors and then put them into little dioramas, usually small plastic boxes with fake plants and stuff. Real 'hardcore' painters back in those days used enamels more often than not(which wasn't something starter teenagers were good with, due to the spirits involved and such. Give a smoking teen a bunch of spirits and I'll give you a kitchen on fire.) 

It didn't really last long and I only ever did a small handful of them, but it was fun, in any case. I had decided to get properly, decently into mini painting again at some point, and after a couple years of saying I would, I grabbed a handful of contrast paints and regular acrylics and messed with some rough 3D prints back in September.

These were a couple of the better ones that I did then(the Tonberry is going to be getting some lighting, now that I know how to better do that.) A few were painted on draft-level minis, so you can't really even see too much detail. I'll mostly show off the ones that have some semblance of detail to the printed models: 

I was going for that Ral Partha look for the dwarf, and it seemed to hit! (He actually got some more shading done later, but I don't have a better pic at the moment.) I also did a black-metal barbarian:

Finally, I did a frost demon(one of THE first I started with), and my ruffian rogue/wrestler from Pathfinder. Again, just playing around with stuff and seeing how shit works:

For the first bunch I was using a mix of speedpaints/contrast paints and acrylics. Just trying to feel things out. Not clean or anything, but I felt like "Okay, I feel like I can do this. I can make miniatures that look like tabletop mans, and if you stand far enough away from them, they kinda work." It was a nice boost to the morale, at least. And they DID look better than those old Ral Partha goblins(I have no pics of them, it was done in The Nineties), where I had no idea about thinning paint first. 

October came around and after painting at least a little bit every day, I managed to come up with these models: 

I felt myself getting better! I swapped almost completely over to acrylics by this point. I use speed/contrast still here and there, but more for experimenting, effects, or if I literally just want to Paint Something Really Fast. I wanted to get more practice with highlights, shadows, and general brush control, and I felt like acrylics did that better. The Goblin Warchief came from Army Painter's Most Wanted acrylic set; the first paint set I picked up to beef out the collecction. Definitely a worthy purchase. I also had fun messing with some UV resin on the Death Knight fellow along with some fluro paints. All told a good month of improvement! 

In comes November. I feel like again the daily(well, almost, I started to feel a little ill a couple times and had to minimize it) painting has paid off. Been still tinkering with other ways of doing models, and I think this month I managed to do a few that I was *particularly* proud of instead of just 'Okay, I don't dislike this!' The Beholder and the old orc I feel like turned out pretty good all told. I had a lot of fun playing with effects on the Beholder. Also painted up the first of my box of Slaves to Darkness chaos mans, who do not follow any sort of color scheme(I'll be using them for a variety of tabletop things.) I can't find a finished pic of that one for some reason and he's in one of my storage boxes at the moment. The beholder is a 'plague' variant and I was trying to get him weeping and vomiting toxic plague ooze.  

(It should be noted that these aren't *all* of the figures I painted during these times, but I'm picking what I feel like turned out the best of the lot.) 

December rolls around! Now I've been painting for 2 solid months and some change by this point. I started now to get a little more on the dark side, experimenting more with weathering, grime, and the like. I'm trying to figure out what style I like a lot. This is also when I painted the Chaos warrior in the style of 1349's Massive Cauldron of Chaos! In addition, I started the Blood/Frost/Unholy trio(which would be finished in January.) I also did a bit of an amusing Christmas-themed piece, a Dark Elf and a 'Tied in Bronze Chains' themed piece, which was based on Rebel Extravaganza(an album that I've gone into detail about several times and will infodump about it at any given moment.) I admit that last one I'd have wanted to turn out better, but I'll get a larger model(the smaller one lacked some chain detail, and I definitely overdid it on some of the effects.) But, still, pretty happy!

(Note: Large picutre dump here, since it includes an extra pic or two playing with glowy stuffs.) Also messed with more UV Resin for the Frost knight to try to get him more icy! Also-also, started to mess with NMM, on both the Unholy knight's axe and the Elf Warrior's sword. I do want to practice this more! And, well, still getting more into stuff like rust, corrosion and so on. 

Whew. And finally that brings us to January. To challenge myself, I decided to paint up an undead frost giant from Nolzur's(very weird to paint on, the material, that is, not my favorite but the model looks cool), using only the paints and effects in the John Blanche sets, this way I had to figure out how to do some of the stuff with limited effects(only Grim Rust, two speedpaints, and three washes, which to be fair is a lot, but without my blood and other rust effects, along with the rest, it's somewhat challenging; also, no straight up black or white. The Darkness very dark blue, and Ivory White I had, though.) Also I did the Blood Knight, going more grimdark trying to make his constantly-blood-weeping armor look sticky, messy and corroded. Finally, I did another grimdark, rusted and corrupt style fella just recently; just a dude who I might use as a proxy Hellknight, though I am getting a set of Court models soon so I might not have to. 

And from here, working on more! I'd like to keep practicing a variety of styles. More colorful volumetric stuff, classic 'neat and tidy' painting, double-slapchop(which I really liked when I saw), working with oils/enamels and the really nasty corroded effects, a bit of speedpainting and so on. I think after this amount of time I am still finding my style. Which seems to be a variety; for fantasy, I lean toward nastier stuff, except for dwarves, orcs and goblins/kobolds, which for some reason I like doing Ral Partha style, no, I dunno why either. Sci-fi I like a cleaner style. Trench Crusade I want looking as nasty as possible. Guess we'll see where I end up! I like to think that I have improved over the months. I've had, again, other models here and there, some successful, some not as much, some in the middle, but I will keep trying to do more every day. 

I might come back in another 3 months and we'll take a six-month look at where I'm at, and then maybe six after that for the 1 year anniversary! (I'll blog about stuff until then, though.)