15 Years

Today marks the 15th year since I started painting miniatures.  It's been a long road with its ups and downs, but overall an amazing journey.  My skill has increased, and the more I paint the more I learn.  I've met many amazing painters and have listened well to their lessons.  While I've been having a hard time building up the motivation to paint I think I might be finally starting to get back into the swing of things.  With the Robotech Kickstarter in its final hours I decided to finish my Zentraedi Battlepod, and I want to share it with you.

For the first pic I have the Battlepod in the base colors I planned to use:



Not a bad start, and if I really wanted to paint things in large quantities I could probably leave it like this so it'd be good enough for tabletop.  However I wanted all the nooks and crannies to have definition.  Using Games Workshops Nuln Oil, which is a very thinned out black wash, I gave it a once over.



As you can see even though it's pretty thin the black wash still makes it look really dirty.  This is exactly what I don't want.  I started to put more and more white on, but it takes a lot of precision to keep the definition while still getting nice white areas.



That looks MUCH better.  I'm loving the wet palette, but using it with white is requiring multiple layers.  Anywhere from three to five layers.  Here's the reason why:



White is a difficult color to get a solid coat of.  Even a very thin layer of a black wash can be difficult to coat.  It takes about three to five layers to get everything nice and clean.  When I went on to to lighten up the black I had put on earlier, the grey only required one coat.



There has to be a better way to get the wash on without requiring fine precision to clean things up.  I have a friend who is showing me a few tricks to try out next time I get my hands on some more Robotech models.  Until then, here's the completed product:

Trying New Things.

As I try to work through all the trials generated by the car accident I begin to get more time little by little.  In the world of painting there's been one thing I've been wanting to try for a while now: a wet palette.  A wet palette is a way to keep your paints from drying out by using a constant source of moisture through various means.  You can buy them professionally or you can explore a number of do-it-yourself setups.  There are a number of different tutorials out there, but this is the one I chose to go with.

I was a little skeptical at first since I only had non-waxy parchment paper, but the results were astounding:



What you're looking at is the white paint I put on the wet palette while I was working with some flesh on a miniature for a friend:



The flesh tones were also on the wet palette.  What blows my mind away is that the white paint was a test.  I put it on there while working on the flesh colors, and this would normally cause it to dry out on my normal palette.  When I went to dip my brush in though, it was still fresh!  The real icing on the cake though is that the white you see on the Battlepod's legs above is 100% of what I put on the palette.  100%!  For years I have been letting paint dry on my palette, or in its well.  As paint sits it dries, and as it dries it loses its smoothness/flow, and ends up taking more time to paint a larger area than fresh paint would.  So the obvious benefits to a wet palette are smoother coats, and less time spent re-filling/re-thinning paint.

I closed up the container I was using (I'll post pics later), and ended up testing it again this morning.  More than 36 hours later and the flesh paints I had used were still wet, but had separated due to moisture!  This makes me insanely happy as it means that I can mix up a color and leave it for an extended period while it still being relatively fresh.  All that I need to do is figure out a good moisture to paint ratio.

Getting Back On The Horse

Following my accident a couple of weeks ago I noticed a drop in my interest towards miniatures and miniature gaming.  Part of me was worried that I had lost my passion for this hobby that I had been such a big part of my life.  When little bits of inspiration or the desire to assemble models came up I let myself dive right in.  I've assembled my Skorne Battle Box that I got from Adepticon, along with the Regault Battlepod, and I've even got some pictures from a tutorial I'm writing up for a later post on making a simple wasteland base.  However one thing has started to overshadow my other interests.



I had gotten my Sedition Wars: Battle For Alabaster mid-late January, and while I got some of the models assembled I ended up pushing it off to the side to focus on Malifaux.  Last night I grabbed a bag of miniatures from the box and put them all together.  For something so simple it was rather exciting and fun!  Right now my main goal is to get things assembled and start playing.  Once that's done I can start throwing paint at these guys.  Especially with news of an expansion already circulating.

First Glance At Robotech RPG Tactics

I had originally intended this post to go up early last week, but it seems that being in a car crash wasn't enough as I got sick shortly after my last post, and have only recently begun to recover.  So without further delay let's dig in to one of the exciting finds at Adepticon.



The nice gentlemen from Ninja Division are running a Kickstarter for Robotech: RPG Tactics.  The game uses iconic mecha from the classic anime series Robotech.  The above picture is one of the Veritechs/Valkyries painted up as squadron leader (fans of the series will recognize the paint scheme as belonging to that of Rick Hunter as leader of Vermillion Squad).  I got to spend some time talking to the great guys from Ninja Division, tried out a demo, and took plenty of pictures. 



The above pieces are what you would call prototypes.  They're all cast in pewter and made up as special demo crews for cons, and were painted by the talented John Cadice shortly before the con.  The final product is going to be cast in plastic, which in this case isn't a bad thing as the minis I got to hold all had some heft to them.  Plastic Robotech minis will be a lot more durable, especially the battlepods.  Speaking of Battlepods there were some special Battlepod promo minis given out each day to the first 100 people who came by at Adepticon.  While I was unable to grab one myself a friend of mine, hearing about my car accident, grabbed one for me.



Needless to say I was very happy about this find.  I currently have the guy assembled and standing on my desk waiting to be based, but haven't decided if I'm going to sculpt a blasted street or if I'll do more of a ruins.

I got a chance to play the demo itself, and it seems pretty straightforward.  You're either the Zentraedi or the UEDF (United Earth Defense Force), and you utilize a number of squads.





There was only a small selection of models for the demo.  The Zentraedi was all Gulag Battlepods while the UEDF had a squad of three veritechs and a pair of Tomahawk Destroids.



The Gulag Battlepods had a style/scheme that gave them the potential to have more Battlepods swarm onto the field at the end of each turn (replacing ones destroyed during the turn), unless you entirely destroyed that squadron.  The UEDF had smaller numbers, but packed a lot of firepower.  Interested in checking out the rules?  Well they've given a sneak peak at them!  PLEASE NOTE:  THESE RULES ARE *NOT* FINAL!!!  These are still a rough look at things, and the final product could differ wildly from what you read.

While you're reading the rules, how about a look at the Veritech in Gerwalk/Guardian mode as well as fighter mode?







I was VERY impressed with the detail.  They definitely caught the feel of the original designs in my opinion, and when cast in plastic should look just as good as what you see here.  For a, "quick and simple," paint job John Cadice really captured all the flavor of the series I remember growing up with.  One thing worth noting is that each Veritech has three forms: Fighter (Jet Fighter), Battloid (transformed), and gerwalk/guardian (legs and arms extended in Jet Fighter mode).  While switching between modes is simple (done when the squad activates), it does mean three models painted for one figure used in the game.  Given the overall durability and power, it may as well be three models in one.

For the demo we were given Squad Cards which had stats and traits for the squads used during the game.





Again please note: THESE ARE PROTOTYPES AND NOT FINAL VERSIONS!!!  Even though they're not necessarily the completed project they're very easy to read and follow.  I think the general format they use is very solid, and will help the game along.  You can see weapons and general stats occupying the left 2/3rds of the card while armor/life points occupy the right.  A quick look shows you that those Battlepods need swarm tactics with how easily they'll be shot out of the sky.

While there weren't any on the board there was a Defender Destroid that had been painted up and on display.




And for those of you interested in the recently unlocked Roy Fokker Veritech here's a sneak peak at what it may look like painted:



While it may look like the range of models is rather limited I'd like to remind my readers that these are the figures that were cast in pewter and set up as a quick demo crew before Adepticon.  The Kickstarter has already reached multiple stretch goals and unlocked:

Gnerl Fighters, Sentry Pod Upgrade, Mk. II Monster (YES!!!), Spartan & Phalanx Destroids,  Support Battlepods, and Zentraedi Male Power Armor!

The rumor goes (according to some guy with the initials K.N.) that anything from the Macross Saga is fair game to be a piece in the game.  I did ask about the limit, and so far the agreement between Ninja Division, Harmony Gold, and Palladium Games is for the Macross Saga.  However it stands to reason that if things do well enough we could see Southern Cross, New Generation (Genesis Climber Mospeada for you hardcore fans), and Sentinels!

However far this goes the prospects are already exciting!  I still have a few clinging details from the excitement of Adepticon to attend to, but soon I hope to get a post up about a painted promo Battlepod.

Excitement At Adepticon

I have mixed feelings about Adepticon.  Overall I had a great time, and got to see friends from the Malifaux community located in many different areas.  My Thursday night warmup, the Cake tournament, didn't go so well.  My friends and I teamed up and enacted the Zen-Rock method of competing.  Simply put it is, "Be as stone, sink to bottom."



Our reward for such enlightenment is the above plaque and artful postcards.  I shall find a place of honor on my geek wall for this prestigious reward.  It was a great game, and we all had a lot of fun.  Even though we lost, we still had cake, and thus, we won!  Everyone wins when cake is involved.

One thing of note is the swag bag.  Those who register early qualify for what I like to call, "The Super Swag Bag."  Here's what I got in mine:



I got some quick start rules, the con mini, other bonus minis (it looks like this year I got a WWII tank!).  You might notice the Skorne battle box from Privateer Press.  I used to play War Machine long ago, but got out for various reasons.  They keep trying to real me in it seems, and they just might've succeeded this time around!  I have taken to calling my Skorne guys, "Angry Men With Pointy Sticks," because that's what they look like.

Friday was the team tournament.  I got to team up with my best friend, and we brought a really good game.  We ended up taking 9th place over all (about halfway), but it was much fun and we surprised some players.

That night on my way home my car was struck by another driver.  I don't know if he was drunk at the time, but I suspect he was.  I was very nearly killed, and thankfully a moment's hesitation kept me from being seriously injured.  Right now I seem to be ok with no broken bones or open wounds, and the ER didn't diagnose me with a concussion.  The unfortunate outcome of this is that I was unable to compete in the qualifiers for Malifaux.  This was a bit of a downer.  I feel elated that I'm alive and with little injury, but all that time I spent prepping, playing, and painting leaves me feeling a little upset.  For the time being I'm thinking I'll leave Malifaux aside, and focus my painting on other projects (like Angry Men With Pointy Sticks).

I spent Saturday and Sunday hanging out and talking to people, but I didn't spend a lot of time there due to my feeling wonky from the crash.  I did however pick up some swag:



I spent some time in front of a Reaper Master Series paints section.  My thought process at the time was, "Ooooooo, pretty colors!"  I grabbed about twenty paints that I need to break in.  I grabbed some promo minis (notice the Robotech one?  More on that later this week), some bases (I think I finally found one I can use for my Nightmare Edition Lord Chompy Bits), some funky dice, and some magnets.

Aside from the events of Friday night I had a good time meeting new people and seeing my friends again.

The Moment Before the Strike

Wow!  Adepticon is looming overhead, and tomorrow at this time I'll be on my way north to join the fray.  The past few weeks have become a bit of a blur between work, sleep, and Malifaux.  Last week I finished up the last of my miniatures that I would need for Adepticon, and now I can finally share them with you!

Let's begin with the Brutal Effigy.




Everything about this model came out perfect!  The shading, the colors, the Object Source Lighting.  I have too much fun just looking at this piece.  It's definitely one of those where everything just came together.  The OSL came out much better than I expected it to.  When I first put it down I had tried to lightly drybrush the layers down.  I went with orange, and then some shades of yellow.  The only problem had been that the drybrushing came out too heavy.  I had some wash mixed up for the coat and went with a few alternating layers of wash and drybrushing to help lower the effect, and the overall result looks fantastic!

Moving on, our next subject has taught me a valuable lesson:




I will not buy a base that has as much stuff going on as the Mechanical Rider's!  I love how the piece itself came out, and it looks great!  The cape came out looking really good.  It could use a little more definition, but overall it doesn't look entirely like a flat color.  The flames were a bit of a different style for me.  I had been getting tired of using the traditional color of fire, and while I wanted to go with a little more blue in the purple, I'm happy with the end result.

Last but not least is the man of danger, Willie:




This is one of Wyrd's newer plastic miniatures, and I was a little surprised.  When he was unpainted he looked like he'd be a little tricky, but as I started to actually put layers down it quickly became clear that he'd be a lot easier than anticipated.



If you take a glance you can see traces of a lit fuse.




For as simple as he was, I have to compliment the face of the sculpt.  It is very dynamic, and has a lot of character to it.  So much is said by how he's posed coupled with the look on his face.  Willie is a great example of what Wyrd can do with their plastics, and I hope their future models hold up to this caliber.

Over the weekend I'm going to be snapping photos of miniatures and tables.  I plan to share my finds with all of you next week.  If you're at Adepticon feel free to keep an eye out for me.

The Moment of Anticipation

Adepticon is fast approaching and my waking hours not spent at work are dedicated in some fashion to Malifaux, whether painting or playing.  As of last night I have managed to finish painting the remaining models I'll need for Adepticon, but I have not gotten them fully photographed.  Instead I figured I'd give you guys another peak at the WIP pics I've snapped as I go along.

First up, the Mechanical Rider:



The big lesson I've learned with the Mechanical Rider is to not buy overly detailed bases.  I'll talk about that more in my next post.

The other model I've finished is Willie:



Another fun model to paint.  Overall a simple job, but still a great model.