Motivation Monday – Community Spotlight – Maciej Kulesza
17th Jan 2022
Jonny Mann
Hello and welcome to Motivation Monday!
This series of blogs will delve into the wonderful Mantic fanbase to find stories and interviews with some of the most well-known and loved members of our community, with the hope and intention of inspiring the rest of us to dust of those sprues, pick up that brush or take the leap into a new game.
Today, as part of Armada week, we speak to … Maciej Kulesza. Keep checking back all week for more great Armada content, including tips, faction guides and the brand-new Salamander fleet going up for pre-order.
Hey folks. My name is Maciej Kulesza and I am a passionate wargaming hobbyist. Some of you might know me from Scarhandpainting.com, a commission painting service and a hobby blog I have run since 2015. My hobby adventure started about a quarter of century back, when I got introduced to wargaming by accident during school [Ed's note - yep, that's how it got me too]. Easy to say I fell into the rabbit hole and am actively exploring its depths to this very day.
What’s your favourite Mantic game and why?
Definitely Kings of War: Armada. The game stole my heart at first glance and I am devoted fan since. During my years as a hobbyist I played many different flavours of miniatures games and I always craved for a fun, fast-paced naval game, set in a fantasy universe and with a range of beautifully designed miniatures. When I first saw Armada the artistic side of me started tingling and I knew we were meant for each other. Miniatures look fantastic and I love the scale. As it turned out the game delivered on all the aspects, including rules. It is fun to play, very rewarding and perfect to roll some dice with friends and family.
What is your favourite faction/army and why?
This one is very difficult to answer. I am rather new to the setting of Pannithor and am still digging into the lore side of things. I adore Basileans for incorporating high fantasy aesthetics with classic vanilla human [Ed's note - 'Classic Vanilla Human' is the title of my autobiography] looks in an elegant and tasteful way. At the same time Empire of Dust brings fantastic undead Pharaoh vibes to the board and I dig their playstyle and aesthetics a lot. And, of course, I love me some of them orcs, running jagged scratch built and very menacing looking ships. That's not to say all the other factions do not appeal to me, they do a lot! Gotta catch them all I guess. Torn between the three I collect I'd say Empire of Dust, but by a small margin.
Do you have a favourite mini?
I do and it is a converted Orc Ripper Hulk. It is called “Rubble Hulk” and is made of two Smashers, a Bombboat and a Hammerfist cut and packed together to create an insane apparition of top level goblin technology marvel. It packs a lot of guns, a giant harpoon at the stern and even a Slasher landing pad. An army of one that was extremely fun to build and paint. Of course this is the ship that I dropped and broke during a game. Now it's refitted, even more scarred and menacing than ever before!
What’s on your hobby desk at the moment?
My workbench is more of a busy harbour, rather than a calm docking bay. Projects come and go constantly. Just recently I finished a set of scratch built Armada related scenery which turned out pretty neat. I Am now working on a small commission which should be done in few days. Then it's another project. I am currently scheduled for about six months in advance so there's really a lot work in progress going on. No rest for the wicked. The colour wheel must spin!
What’s next in your hobby plans?
I have great plans for Armada reinforcements, especially Basileans which you can see in the picture below. I would love to bring Basileans and Orc collection to EoD current size. I would also like to revisit a scenery set me and my friends play on and enhance it a bit. Finally I wait for studio pictures of the Salamanders fleet and the Northern Alliance. Both seem very exciting and am considering adding them two to my personal pipeline.
Do you want to add anything else? Perhaps you’ve got an event or club you’d like to promote.
Kings of War: Armada is an exceptional game and although it got released in a rather difficult time for the world, it is easy to get into. If you are considering this game but fear of not having friends to play with, just go for it! Once you show your painted ships to a local community things are guaranteed to sail in the right direction. If you happen to be from Poland I invite you to join our national Armada group. If you're in for some hobby tutorials and/or Armada related articles, head to scarhandpainting.com/blog. Finally, I am excited to talk all things Armada so don't be a stranger be it at Facebook, Instagram or in the Mantic forum. Have fun with the hobby and sail on!
