tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-78490077554026666082024-03-02T09:28:43.075-08:00Mydnight's Hobby CornerMydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.comBlogger153125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-22497813911371359942015-11-28T20:32:00.000-08:002015-11-28T20:32:34.289-08:00Survivor EditionIn my last blog post I mentioned doing multiple updates this past week, but it seems like I'm still having difficulties managing my time well enough to squeeze in writing time. The plan was to make three posts about painting the four survivors, and since I couldn't manage to do them separately I will do them together. Here we go with Survivor #1<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/dkFTVBC"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/dkFTVBC.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Already you're looking at the first two layers. On the left is the basecoat with the right-hand side being the next layer up. I have to say that the sculpt for Survivor 1 was pretty awesome! The musculature is well defined, the pose is dynamic, and everything fell into place wonderfully with this piece.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/uvOtUir"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/uvOtUir.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Here I've added a layer to both sides again. I checked my blog posts for this year, and this is the first of my own pieces that I've painted all year! It was quite a rush. This miniature practically painted itself!<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ZbDl4bU"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ZbDl4bU.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The technique I did for all of my Survivors is called blending, where you take paint from the previous layer and mix it in with the next layer in order to create a smoother transition. While the pics might show the transitions a bit more starkly, stay tuned to the end of the post where I post all four together and you'll see them closer to how they look on the table.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/VxuXzgf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/VxuXzgf.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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With the skin being done I painted the eyes and hair. The eyes on these pieces are still pretty small, and they happened to come out looking a bit crazy. I like the wide-eyed effect and decided to keep it, feeling that it befits a man raising a stone in desperate fury.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/D7izm17"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/D7izm17.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I was originally wanting a nice light beige on the wrappings for my survivors, but in trying to get the shadows I was unable to get a color I liked. What you see is the final color I ended up going with. I'll leave the final pic for after Survivor 2, as I ended up taking that with the two of them together. Speaking of:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Qflyb2u"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Qflyb2u.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Survivor 2 looks ok, but ended up being less fun to paint compared to Survivor 1. The musculature is there but it isn't as well defined, and the back (as you'll see in a bit) looks pretty weird. A class in human anatomy might help change this.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/n5jCb4t"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/n5jCb4t.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The hair ended up being a bit more yellow than intended, but it was another one of those things that I decided to go with rather than change and tone back. Here's the first two survivors together:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/OxZCBrR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/OxZCBrR.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/lxEXosU"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/lxEXosU.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The muscles look a bit weird on the backs, but I'm ok with how they turned out. All four of the survivors turned out looking great, and I am quite pleased with my ability to improve my skills even after 17+ years.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/R3eyvSu"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/R3eyvSu.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The first two layers of Survivor 3. She was a bit of an interesting paint job. The pose is ok, but a bit more on the cheesecake side. I still think it looks nice, but not what I'd expect for someone exploring the dark they suddenly found themselves in.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/UvAsehT"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/UvAsehT.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The back came out MUCH better on Survivor 3 then the first two. One thing I've been working on trying to improve over the past few years is my sense of lighting and shadow, and while I still need more work I at least seem to be making progress.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/jVJCpEy"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/jVJCpEy.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Here we come to my favorite part. I have a soft spot for fiery red hair, and you'll see it on a lot of the female miniatures I paint. The above pic is the first two layers, and the start of the cloth. I had gotten my formula worked out at this point, but it didn't seem to help the paint go on quicker. Or perhaps I was really wanting these models to turn out right:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/xZ0woHh"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xZ0woHh.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/0VAdmr4"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0VAdmr4.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Last but most certainly not least is Survivor 4.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/g7bfm6F"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/g7bfm6F.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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That's just the basecoat, but stay with me now as this is going to get interesting.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/SxXMZvs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/SxXMZvs.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The skin transition is coming along really well. I've started mixing in tan with the dark fleshtone base I had, and I decided to do it again (it worked the first time right?):<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/RvrNtRW"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RvrNtRW.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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This is the point where I should have stopped. It's not quite what I was going for, but it still looked really good and would more than have been acceptable. However I kept adding the tan, and that's when I ended up with a gold colored skin tone. It wasn't horrible, but it was kind of jarring to look at. On the advice of my opponent I decided to add a few coats of glaze. Here's the side-by-side:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8VPU6MZ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8VPU6MZ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/0sCuh7E"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0sCuh7E.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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What an amazing difference 3 coats of purple glaze makes! To make my glaze I used a purple wash watered down with water in a 10:1 mixture of water to wash. My original thought was to go with a natural black hair color, but the more I thought about it the more I felt disappointed by it. After finally finishing the skin, and feeling a bit of a rush from doing my first glaze, I decided to try and keep the white hair.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/tLFmIhf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/tLFmIhf.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Looking back I think I could have done this differently. I started off with a light grey base and then straight washed it with purple before going back and adding in light grey and white highlights, and then topping it off with another purple glaze. I should have done the base in light grey with white highlights and then a few coats of the purple glaze to add a gentle hue. Ah well. Here she is in her final glory:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/gI36AzQ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/gI36AzQ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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And to round it all out, a group shot:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/v3oLqV0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/v3oLqV0.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Originally I had planned to put up a post detailing my trials with the White Lion. Instead I'm going to hold off on that, and I'll tell you why. I have a few miniatures to paint up as gifts, but I can't post those till late December. Instead I'll post the White Lion as well as some of the other Kingdom Death: Monster pieces as well, and talk about KD:M in general, so stay tuned!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-59776967986349769372015-11-22T21:35:00.000-08:002015-11-22T21:35:14.872-08:00Things to ComeSo originally this post was supposed to be a massive wash of pics and writing, but unfortunately I've been a bit overwhelmed as of late. Here's the state of things: I've finished the first four survivors, barely started The White Lion, have lots of reading to do, gotta keep exercising, and the holidays are coming up. This week I plan to do a few extra posts, because here's the four survivors:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/v3oLqV0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/v3oLqV0.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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They all look great, and I have taken a lot of pictures. I just have to get them off my phone and onto my PC, something I plan to explore this week. There is lots to discuss surrounding them, and plenty of progress pics to show off.<br />
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After those are done I'll be showing off The White Lion, and talking about my experiences with the game itself since I'll have gotten in some sessions by that point. The next subjects of my painting are actually going to be gifts, so I won't be able to show pics of them till mid-late December. In the meantime I plan to assemble some minis that I have waiting to be put together, and talk about them. Once the gift minis are done I'm going to be doing some more Robotech stuff, and then probably dipping back into my own minis. Whether they'll be Super Dungeon Explore or more Kingdom Death remains to be seen yet. Keep watching this space, more to come this week!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-66981318994417146172015-11-08T21:17:00.000-08:002015-11-08T21:17:07.878-08:00Unboxing Kingdom Death: MonsterEarlier this week I got my pre-ordered copy of Kingdom Death: Monster. I had planned to do this blog post earlier this week, and then have a painting post for the weekend, but I ended up being caught up in painting the miniatures that I got side tracked.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Fm7JQ66"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Fm7JQ66.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The box is HUGE! Weighing in at 17+ pounds, and measuring 26" x 16" x 6". There is a lot of heft to this box, and the cardboard holding it all together is very sturdy. Taking the lid off the first thing I see is a rectangular box fitting just inside the top:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/W7PHS2e"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/W7PHS2e.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I'll look at the miniatures later. Underneath that though was the gameboard:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/gIXqpZo"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/gIXqpZo.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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When I saw the kickstarter (couldn't afford to get in at the time) it had a picture of the gameboard. For some reason I figured it'd be really small, but it turns out that the thing is HUGE! 3ft by 2.5ft (roughly). It takes up a good amount of space, and I admit it was a nice surprise. Under the gameboard was a cornucopia of cards, smaller boards, and the rulebook:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Sy0xmlL"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Sy0xmlL.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/36sR1cb"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/36sR1cb.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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The cards and markers all look to be of high quality, and have a good feel to them. I've left things in their containers for the time being until I'm ready to play. The rulebook is paperback, which was dissapointing. 224 pages long and I'd like the covers to be more durable, but they're just like the internal pages. The upside is that the rules is in full color. Glancing through it you have a very engaging intro that introduces you to the game, and then you start in on simple rules, and it appears to walk you through the Prologue, which is the survivors vs The White Lion. I didn't get to read too much, but I definitely see it being easy to read. <br />
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So let's get to the miniatures. At a glance the box for the miniatures doesn't look like it's going to have many in it, but I was easily fooled. There was a good number of sprues inside waiting for me:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8olvzr3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8olvzr3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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In addition to the sprues there were also bases:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Tg2jTDq"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Tg2jTDq.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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There was a bunch of 30mm and 50mm bases, but also a single 100mm base. There's two different inserts for the bases. A generic textured base for the 50mm and 100mm, but the 30mm had these plus ten that were made to be similar to the board games look. I'll end up using the ten inserts, but am not sure if I'm going to sculpt anything for the rest of the bases or use some existing bases I already have:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/KbBmIbh"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/KbBmIbh.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I like the horror aesthetic of the game, and the bases you see in the pic above (right-hand side) are the ones I'm leaning towards using. The 100mm base is going to get something sculpted on it though. I don't like the idea of having a large and fairly major piece (The Phoenix goes on the 100mm base, and I'm already anticipating it being 20-40 hours of work) sitting on a generic textured base.<br />
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I can group the sprues into several sets. You have the base game
pieces which include the 4 survivors, and then all the monsters to be
faced off against during the game. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/xiOoTQQ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xiOoTQQ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The above sprue has the 4 survivors, the White Lion, and the Butcher. The very beginning of the game has the survivors pitted against the White Lion, so I got those assembled first:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/BNrLPL9"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/BNrLPL9.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/TyVL2sF"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TyVL2sF.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/TT3haIO"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TT3haIO.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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The other sprues are sets of 4 survivors decked out in various sets of armor, most of which reflect the monsters that they face off against. As of this writing I've gotten two of the survivors painted, and while I'm eager to show them off I'm also eager to keep painting. Next week, if I'm lucky, there'll be four fully painted survivors to show off! I also need to set time aside to read the rules so I can start playing the game.<br />
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<br />Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-2444083781355145192015-11-01T21:56:00.000-08:002015-11-01T21:59:52.235-08:00Fevered DreamsSo it's been a few weeks since my last post, and the reasons for that are coming down with a nasty fever that took me out of commission, and then a trip up north to help a friend move. Now though, I've had to play catch up. Breetai is finished, so let's take a look at how he evolved.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/895PDXw"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/895PDXw.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/Q7ab8uF"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Q7ab8uF.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I decided on using the very first zentraedi seen in the Robotech series. The pics of it had the under armor looking a bit purple, but I decided to go with a solid navy. Getting the shading on something of this size was a little tricky. On smaller minis it's easier to accomplish because there's not as much surface area, but on larger minis you have a lot of ground to cover in order to get a smooth coat.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ZqmtKj3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ZqmtKj3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/WE4sXgH"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/WE4sXgH.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The armor in the series was brown, so I tried to go with that. The colors were very close, but I think I need to make an investment in new paints soon. I used my favorite sepia wash from Vallejo's Game Color line, and on the upper armor it came out great, but it was kind of off on the lower armor. I checked with my patron who gave the ok on things. It doesn't look bad, but it's not what I was hoping for.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Fq6j0ww"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Fq6j0ww.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Here's Breetai himself, and just himself, finished. The rest of him went by pretty well, and I was particularly happy with how solid the yellow on his insignia came out. Yellow is a very tricky color to work with since it is very thin and colors beneath it will show through very easily. What I did to help get it nice and smooth was to paint the area in a light stone grey since grey is a great base color if you need to paint over (that's also why I use it for primer).<br />
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Let's talk about the sculpt itself. When it was originally announced Palladium noted that Breetai would have an open hand that you could put something in. Their suggestions was a veritech head, or arm, or some other conquest of battle. My patron jokingly made the comment, "What about Minmay?" This got me thinking. I still had my Wyrd's Orphange Accessories pack, which had a small girl doll in it, and well...<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/IZ8izyv"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/IZ8izyv.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/vto3XS6"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/vto3XS6.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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It's better than what I could sculpt I'm sure, but it came out pretty creepy looking. Perhaps it's the world's largest Minmay Doll? I don't know, I'll leave that to you to decide.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/foOryPs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/foOryPs.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/cAmG1Ku"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/cAmG1Ku.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Here he is in all his glory. I used Games Workshop's Agrellan Earth to give the base a different look. The last time I tried this I learned that you needed a darker color underneath in order for the cracks to really shine through, and trying it out really shows how right I was.<br />
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Now that I had Breetai finished I decided that I wanted to get a seal coat on all the models painted thus far. So I sat down last week, broke out my paint on seal coat, and went to work. Disaster struck though:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/TEK1AlR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TEK1AlR.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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UGH!!!! How horrible! All that work just pretty much down the drain. It seemed to affect the green and the grey, but I couldn't get the frosted look off of the model. This meant I'd have to do some retouching up the hard way.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/LFMyMhG"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/LFMyMhG.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I was working on two more models in an attempt to catch up with my opponent, and started putting more green down. Since this was a finished model I wanted to just get as much distance as possible, but it wasn't going to look finished until I went the distance. Here he is now:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/gYh767U"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/gYh767U.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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MUCH better. This leaves me with the dilemma of finding a new way to seal models. I switched to the paint on because of a similar experience with spray on, but if the risk of paint on is going to be the same I might just switch to a spray. The only problem there is that it comes with temperature and humidity considerations. Either way it's going to take some thought and research, so you'll hear about it later.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ZG5i8Pg"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ZG5i8Pg.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Being out for as long as I was caused me to fall behind. <a href="http://bleachedmodels.com/" target="_blank">My opponent</a> got a fire lit under him thanks to the lead I had at the time, and now leads me by one mini (11 to 12) even after the above two and Breetai. Thankfully he's going on vacation later this week, so I'll have some time to pull ahead. My order of Kingdom Death: Monster will be arriving tomorrow, and I've received permission to switch out minis so I can have fun painting. I'm going to be painting at least 5 KD:M minis, possibly a few more, so I'll be returning to Robotech in the future, but I'm taking a break to paint some of my own models for once. In closing I leave you with a couple of group shots:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Atr1Rvr"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Atr1Rvr.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Three guardian mode veritechs painted, two to go.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/RVJ0tKH"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RVJ0tKH.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Five painted fighters, flying in formation. This is a thing of beauty. Each, "Veritech," in the game has three modes, and thus 1 unit in the game has three miniatures to go with it. With all five fighters completed I've completed 1/3 of a group of five veritechs. Technically it's more, but I'm enjoying the satisfaction of knowing that all the fighters are done.<br />
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Later this week I'll be doing an unboxing of Kingdom Death: Monster. Stay tuned!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-56733548453925916042015-10-11T20:50:00.000-07:002015-10-11T22:02:55.986-07:00Layer-By-LayerSo today's post is going to be a bit more involved and a bit pic heavy (at last count, 22 pics). I've been posting on the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/1440349382851175/" target="_blank">Unofficial Robotech RPG Tactics</a> page on Facebook, and have been getting comments that people like the paint jobs that I do. So I figured that these guys might like to see how I paint up these guys layer-by-layer. Let's start with the very first coat of green:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/XpjOeGt"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XpjOeGt.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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When I originally started these I asked my friend what color scheme he wanted, and the response was a dark green trimmed in black. The bottle for this green looks dark, but it's very thin and goes on thin. Right from the beginning I knew that this was going to take multiple coats of green. First though I applied a coat of Nuln Oil (a black wash) to help get things started:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/F8LgWDX"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/F8LgWDX.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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That is MUCH better already, but as you can tell the color isn't quite smooth yet so I applied another coat of green:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8Mncill"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8Mncill.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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You can get to this point by doing a basecoat, wash, basecoat, or by doing two basecoats followed by a wash. The two layers of basecoat give you the solid dark green color, and the wash darkens it even further, but more importantly it gets in the cracks/recesses. You want that to happen when you start painting the layers on top of what you already have so the eye will have an easier time distinguishing the separation of plates/pieces.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/FZz3ir3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FZz3ir3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I got a bit ahead of myself here. The next step I did was to add a bit of highlighting. On the right you can see the first level of highlights, and on the right you can see the covering wash I did afterwards. Overall I've been having a difficult time getting down how I want to highlight robots. Turns out that flat planes are more difficult to do than spherical surfaces. So what I tried to go with was picking out the edging of the plates as if the lighting was coming from the front and above the plane. I didn't do the best job, but figuring out lighting schemes is still a bit new to me.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/XyMR0r8"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XyMR0r8.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Here's a comparison pick of how things look compared to a finished fighter. When highlighting I like to take a brighter color and mix it in with the layer below it (in this case the basecoat), and I tend to err on the side it being brighter knowing that I like to do a wash over the layers when I'm done to help smooth things out. Next up, the start of white!<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Au2wfg6"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Au2wfg6.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I've talked in the past about painting white and I'll say it again. When painting white make the brightest white the highlight and start with an undercoat of grey that's close to white. In this case the layer you're looking at is a very bright grey, but it *LOOKS* white. If you held up the bottle of paint though you'd see it as grey, and it's a nice subtle detail that works. Here's proof:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/QPn0hPj"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/QPn0hPj.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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As you can tell, the one on the left has a much brighter, "White," coloring to it. In my experience that's the trick to painting white, and the inverse for black. Make white the brightest, and black the darkest. Now I'm going to put the white on:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/pgXR1TB"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/pgXR1TB.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
It may not show up as well in the pic, but if you look closely you can see the grey next to the white both in the cracks and, "At the back," of the white (since the light is coming from the front I want the brighter colors at the front). If you've been watching the missles in the past couple of pics you'll have noticed that I cleaned them up by painting them in the same grey, and in the above pic they have been washed with Nuln Oil:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/rxDluxc"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/rxDluxc.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Now I've gone over them with a creamier, more off-white grey. The reason for this is because when I was painting the fighters I figured that if I kept them at the same grey I used to undercoat the other white parts that they'd be overlooked on the model and then forgotten. Using the grey that I did (more of a lighter stone grey) they pop out a *LOT* more, but don't detract from the model. This is one of those instances where something turned out really well. When painting over the plating be sure to leave some of the darker layer visible. This is usually the little recessed area between the plates.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/wQ2w1bl"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/wQ2w1bl.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Another instance of me getting ahead of myself. With the majority of the fighter being done I have moved on to more of the details. On the right you can see the base layer for the, "Metal," that I used for the gun, thrusters, and head cannons. On the left is the highlight layer. The thing that always strikes me when doing highlight layers is how bright they appear. I have to remember that paint will dry darker than when it goes on, and that I also like to use washes to help smooth things over:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/u6QNtcx"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/u6QNtcx.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
There's nothing like seeing the colors do what you want them to do! Alright, now I'm quickly approaching the end. The two things left to do are the cockpits and the bases:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/mUeLjWs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/mUeLjWs.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
If you look closely you'll see that I've started the bases at the same time as the cockpit, but what you might've missed is that I used the same color. The blue I used for the basecoat of the cockpit is thin like the green I used for the rest of the fighter. When I first tried this on a cockpit I was annoyed, but then I thought, "Wouldn't it be cool if you painted this onto the base, and got the effect of the fighters rushing over water?" I tried it out, and looked great! There were some other things to do, but first I wanted to finish the cockpits:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/rYyxoNy"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/rYyxoNy.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
As before, when doing a higher layer try to mix in the brighter color. You'll end up with a better transition that isn't as jarring as if you'd just painted the next layer straight on out of the bottle. Mixing is really easy to pick up, and shouldn't take a lot of experimentation. Usually for me it's just a drop or two of the brighter color because brighter colors will lighten up darker colors MUCH quicker than the other way around.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/3p3wCTO"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/3p3wCTO.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Just a few swipes of paint and the cockpits are done! Now to focus on the bases again. The blue looks good, but on it's own it's rather bland. To try and mix things up a bit more I drybrushed some green onto the, "Waves," to help give them even more variation. Looking at them now I'm tempted to add some brighter white to it and see if that doesn't actually bring things out.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8kq72g3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8kq72g3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
You'll have noticed that I brought the blue up on the stand holding up the fighter, and that's because I didn't want to just paint a stand that was all, "Air," and figured that some water being caught up in the flight would be a nice touch. It's a personal choice in the end.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/hiDYvC0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hiDYvC0.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Another instance of it being difficult to see in the picture. On the left is the one with the green, and the right is just plain blue. You can see why I'm thinking about adding some white to get more of a wave effect.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/h0Abmus"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/h0Abmus.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Here I've started on the, "Air," part of the stand. It's a very very light pastel blue. The reason I went with this is that I want a very, well, air look to the stand. The next step will be to drybrush over it with actual white. This will have the added help of bringing out definition on the stand while keeping the lighter colors:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/3iiTxEb"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/3iiTxEb.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
One thing to note is that I toned down the height of the blue. I like more subtle/smooth transitions, but am not sure how well it turned out in this case. I'm happy with it though, and it's not jarring to look at, which is the intent.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/mtsd6Fh"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/mtsd6Fh.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Now I have two pics where I've got the red down on the missles (again, making them pop a lot more), and the wing lights. I followed my normal procedure of dark then light, but the pics didn't pic it up very much. Looking at the models I can see it, but my camera just didn't capture it. Now that I've just about reached the end of this week's entry I'm remembering that I forgot to do the thrust, so I'll have to sneak that in next week. Speaking of next week, I got the urge to do a little work on him:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/9QW10wk"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9QW10wk.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
More on him next weekend. My blog posts are likely to show up on Sunday as the rest of October my Saturday's are pretty busy. I leave you though with a picture of four finished Fighter Mode Veritechs:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/LhTasha"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/LhTasha.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
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<br />Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-37336874913039308732015-10-04T16:45:00.000-07:002015-10-04T20:15:41.521-07:00A Day Late and a Dollar ShortOnce again I'm late on my, "Weekly," updates. The past two weeks have been quite brutal. Work has been very stressful, my Grandfather passed on, and all the while I still try to study, exercise, and paint. Here's the sum total of what I would have posted last week:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/caGRUqx"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/caGRUqx.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/JmKVIfT"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/JmKVIfT.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
I had started out with the intent of getting the green done on two fighters, and was in the zone and ready to put in a good amount of time. However I hit a spot of hidden water from when I had rinsed these miniatures, and was forced to set them aside. I had intended to return to painting later that day, but became lost in other things.<br />
<br />
This past week I redoubled my efforts to complete the fighters, and have been successful!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/i26GcwU"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/i26GcwU.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/fYZWDQo"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fYZWDQo.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
In spite of things the fighters painted up very quickly. A lot of the surface area is tucked underneath, which makes it easier to paint. The order of difficulty for the miniatures would have to be, from easiest to most difficult: Fighter, Guardian Mode, Battloid. Originally I had thought to vary things and mix it up with battlepods and the remaining destroids, but having a rhythm and an eye for the colors I feel more inclined to finish up all the Veritechs first.<br />
<br />
Normally I do a regular brown for the bases, but this time I did something different:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/8AlDdnd"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8AlDdnd.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Given that the fighters sit on top of a stand and don't contact the base directly I decided to paint them over rushing water. I used a blue that doesn't go on solid, and dry-brushed some teal on top of it before covering it all with a turquoise wash. I think the effect came out pretty well. Another thing I altered slightly is how I did the cockpit:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ABE1ar4"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ABE1ar4.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
It may not be as distinguishable in the pic, but the fighter has a slightly smoother shine as the top layer on the cockpit. The difference between the fighter and the guardian is that I blended the brightest color into the layer before it rather than just use it straight (as I did on the Guardian). I would have taken more pics, but every day this past week was a struggle, and I admit I was in a rush. Here's how the veritechs look in all their forms:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/9tMrErI"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/9tMrErI.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
In other news I picked up a copy of<a href="http://shop.kingdomdeath.com/collections/in-stock/products/kingdom-death-monster-preorder-special" target="_blank"> Kingdom Death: Monster.</a> I saw the kickstarter for this three years ago, and thought the sculpts of the minis were great, they were ultimately not what I was looking for. Earlier this week I read a writeup of the rules on <a href="http://www.cad-comic.com/cad/20150930" target="_blank">Ctrl + Alt + Del </a>and decided that I needed to have the game. Thankfully it was less than 24 hours later that pre-orders became available again. While I wait for my copy of the game to arrive late this month I will continue painting Robotech. Next up is Breetai!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-86501343169463751582015-09-19T16:03:00.000-07:002015-09-19T16:03:39.854-07:00On TimeIn my last post I had made some really good progress on the two guardians. I finished the green and had just put a coat of wash on it. The green is the majority color so overcoming it is a big chunk of the miniature, but it always seems like getting the little details on takes an equal amount of time.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/OfNRctF"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/OfNRctF.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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This is the point where things are starting to really come together. As always I put down a layer of grey before I paint white because it helps the white to go on smoother, and I use the white as a highlight. I'm still figuring out lighting, highlighting, and shading on robotic models, but it's coming along.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/aAYWyf4"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/aAYWyf4.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/vvvF8TV"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/vvvF8TV.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
There's the final product. One of the things that stands out the most to me is that the missles on a lot of other people's veritechs, and in the show itself, are all white. Since I've got white on there as well I wanted to go with something different, and ended up with a dirty grey. As I started to paint them I wasn't sure if it would work, but I like how it turned out and feel that it pops out more than if I had painted them white. Let's see how they look next to the battloids:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/2h1zMvp"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/2h1zMvp.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
I had teased a metal model last time, and while I had originally planned to paint it next the humidity has been pretty brutal lately. If you apply primer to a mini in high humidity or low temperatures then the primer doesn't go on quite right and it gives the miniature a texture. I have a backup plan for what I'm going to do next though, so I'll let you take a guess at what it might be.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/wjy4xRq"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/wjy4xRq.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-75233182521715400312015-09-13T17:54:00.001-07:002015-09-13T17:54:53.340-07:00Weekly Bi-WeeklyWhen I originally set out on this competition I had resolved to do a blog post once a week at least. Here we are at the end of week four, and I'm on my second post. In my defense I've spent the past two weekends running tabletop RPG's, so it's not all bad. Let's start off with my first two finished pieces:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/QGLvPQm"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/QGLvPQm.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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A lot of work is going into these models, which is why it's taking me longer to finish them. So let's dive into next pair of models - two guardian mode veritechs:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/fl1Ail2"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fl1Ail2.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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On the left you can see the first basecoat, and on the left is what it looks like after a wash (note that the wash was still fresh in that pic). The green that I used looks dark when it goes on my palette, but once it goes on it's a bit more thin and spreads out easier. The end result is a slightly lighter and messier finish. It takes a few coats to really get it solid. Here's what it looks like after the wash and another coat of green:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/cHCH0Z9"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/cHCH0Z9.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Multiple coats is what it takes to get the colors smoothed out. This adds more time, but in the end it looks much better. Next up is a few layers of highlighting, but this presented me with a dilemma.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/xsm8NjR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xsm8NjR.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
I liked how the two Guardians looked after the layers of highlights. I felt that the colors had really come together and were really working. I encounter this problem from time to time whenever I'm painting up a group or unit that has some kind of consistency to it. You've got some that look the same, but then one or two guys look different but really stand out well. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/sbWHV42"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/sbWHV42.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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In the end I asked my friend what he wanted to do, and he voted for consistency. So in the end I washed the two models, but took care to not put on too heavy of a coat least I lose the finer details. I think they turned out pretty good.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/fKwJ84A"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fKwJ84A.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
This was about Tuesday when I had gotten the wash done, and I had been hoping to get more progress in before the weather changed and threw my energy/motivation levels for a loop. I should be finishing them up this week, and then I get to go a little off-schedule.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/OggkTHA"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/OggkTHA.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
When me and Matt were discussing the terms of our competition we both agreed that we could swap out three models from our list. I knew one of these models would be the special edition Breetai figure that was a Gen Con & Kickstarter Backer exclusive. I got a few exclusives myself, including: Miriya in Super Veritech Guardian Mode, Max Sterling in Battloid, my very own Breetai, and a Greel Zentraedi Male Power Armor. I don't know what I'll use the other two swaps for, and I'm holding them in reserve in case I need a break from painting Robotech models. Then again I keep eyeing my Super Veritech in Guardian mode.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-47929919685522415182015-08-29T16:09:00.000-07:002015-08-29T16:09:15.334-07:00Progress<br />
So time for my first blog post following the challenge. This should technically be my second blog post, but I have a good reason for missing it. Here it is:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/NG4o5Su"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/NG4o5Su.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Last weekend I was in the Chicago-land area participating in my other hobby of running. I got to run 3 nautical miles on the Great Lakes Naval Base, and it was a wonderful experience. The base was great to see, and part of my run took me right up to the shore of Lake Michigan. I will definitely be doing it again next year, and with luck I'll be doing the 10 nautical mile run!<br />
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But you didn't come here to hear my tales of running. No no, you came for the minis:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/MvyZrox"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/MvyZrox.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I've started to resume my usual practice when I have a commission of this size, which is to spend at least 30 minutes each night painting. It may only result in one layer, but steady progress helps me go forward. I also end up spending more time than the 30 minutes. So let's dig in:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/LNcCoFU"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/LNcCoFU.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/YCT39Hz"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/YCT39Hz.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The first two pics are the base layer of dark green and a bit of highlighting. One of my big worries was how the colors would look, and I felt that looking at the color here that these guys could be right out of an episode of Robotech. There is something very satisfying about getting a color right when painting.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/FV6Swzv"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FV6Swzv.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/8nX2KeM"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8nX2KeM.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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One of my standard tactics is to do a wash or two. Usually I'll do it to help smooth over the layers, add some definition to the recessed areas, or to help darken a color that is too bright. When I asked my <a href="http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">friend </a>what color he wanted I was told dark green, and that's what I'm going with. If you look closely at the pics you'll see that there's two styles of shading. In one of them I'm doing a bit more lining/highlighting, and the other has me trying to shade plates more to help create a sense of lighting. After some consideration I have decided to go with the more lining/highlighting style. It's what I'm <strike>good at</strike> practiced with and I feel that it looks better overall.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/SalS6Ml"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/SalS6Ml.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/b0V45Bo"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/b0V45Bo.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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These last pics show off the progress I've been making. With the green done I've started on the white part. I've said it before that white looks better as the top layer/highlight of whatever you're painting, so the, "White," that you see is actually a grey called weathered stone (also one of my favorite colors to use). Up next will be me putting in the actual white, and moving on to the misc items (feet, gun, visor, and so forth). Look for finished pictures next week!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-17990907024237260772015-08-13T21:48:00.000-07:002015-08-13T21:51:24.977-07:00The Heat is On!Lately I haven't been doing as much painting. While I have been doing other stuff, I feel that I have neglected my hobby and my blog. My fellow painter and friend, <a href="http://bleachedmodels.com/" target="_blank">Matt</a>, has also been lacking motivation. Through our frequent conversations we both came to find out that we have a small pile of unpainted miniatures (about 29). So Matt decides that competition is a great motivator and issued a challenge:<br />
<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/htTuJhO"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/htTuJhO.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<div style="text-align: center;">
That's me on the right</div>
</blockquote>
<br />
The Goal: Paint 29 miniatures before the other person. Make at least 1 blog post a week if not more<br />
The Stakes: A care package of goodies from the other's respective country.<br />
The Start: August 15th<br />
The End: However long it takes.<br />
<br />
We both have the same amount of miniatures, but not the same type. My 29 miniatures are all Robotech. Here's my lot:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/6OTXalG"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/6OTXalG.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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A more comprehensive list might help(NOTE - I grew up with Robotech and use the older terminology and not the new ones given in Robotech RPG Tactics):<br />
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5x Veritech Battloids<br />
5x Guardian Mode Veritechs<br />
5x Veritech Fighters<br />
2x Spartans<br />
2x Raider X's<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/jRvFtfW"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/jRvFtfW.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
6x Battlepods<br />
2x Artillery Battlepods<br />
1x Recon Pod<br />
1x Officer's Battlepod<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/FF8NX9N"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/FF8NX9N.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
So far my miniatures are ready to go aside from some primering I plan to finish up tomorrow. Otherwise it's a matter of figure out what to paint when so as to keep things interesting. There is a LOT of veritechs in various shapes, but I've got a Forest Green/White Trim scheme in mind, and if I don't mix it up then things will get stale REALLY fast.<br />
<br />
Overall the challenge is going to be slightly balanced. My miniatures are all decent sized on 40mm bases, but with no basing. My opponent's are a mix of sizes consisting mainly of 30mm but with some 50mm thrown in. His are all based as well, which will add more painting time to the mix. All in all I think we're equally matched.<br />
<br />
There are no losers in this. The ultimate goal is for us to re-invigorate our passion for painting and to make a dent in our respective backlogs.<br />
<br />
That being said I'm looking forward to some German chocolate :DMydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-48639811695559203942015-08-09T20:40:00.000-07:002015-08-09T20:40:38.903-07:00A (Hopeful) Return to WritingSo it's been a long time since my last post. I have run in a race, gotten surgery, struggled with depression, and tried to muddle through as best I can. Unfortunately I have not been painting as much as I'd like. I have managed to make some headway, and plan to share that with you now.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/EZ1p2lf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/EZ1p2lf.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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My primary focus is getting a large commission of Robotech miniatures done. So far I've gotten the lot assembled (the complexity of the Wave 1 Kickstarter models is something I have grumbled about endlessly), and out of the 33 models I have completed...four.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/PLiAEq3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/PLiAEq3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Painting robots has required a different approach from painting normal models. The big thing is that there's plating, which doesn't shade as well as the folds of clothing or armor. The lighting is a bit different and that's a challenge.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/TEA3vIJ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TEA3vIJ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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My theory on this so far is to try to get the light hitting the right areas. I start with a base coat, mix in the mid tone and hit a lot of the raised/visible areas, and then top it all off by mixing in the highlight and picking out the uppermost areas. It's going to take some fiddling, but I'm starting to get into the swing of things already.<br />
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Let's take an in-depth look at the Gladiators I painted. For the most part I've been asked to do the classic paint schemes for all but the veritechs in the lot of Robotech figs. The main color on the gladiators is green.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/MLAPRri"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/MLAPRri.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Whenever I paint a model that has a large portion in the same color (in this case 80%) it becomes difficult to discern progress. I like a dark base coat and then picking out the medium and highlight layers, but when your target color is in the medium range it takes a while before you begin to truly appreciate your progress.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/C07ZWF0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/C07ZWF0.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Even though there wasn't a lot of white as soon as I started applying it I felt like the model had finally begun to come to life. It still surprises me how much of an effect you get when you add a little color to a model that is almost entirely monochrome.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ihBRHh8"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ihBRHh8.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The colors for the gladiators were: Green, White, Red, and Gray. In that order of use. I have to admit that I'm quite fond of the end result. When I get around to painting my own models I'm debating about whether or not to use the standard schemes or try my own. These make me want to try this out again.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/UITiZPz"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/UITiZPz.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/DMkdmmq"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/DMkdmmq.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
I wanted to get these guys finished up for a very specific reason. A friend of mine has challenged me to a paint off starting August 15th, and I have accepted. I'll be posting more details later this week, but it's a great motivator to get more painting (and blogging) done.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Mg7v0tc"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Mg7v0tc.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-58404372455074719192015-03-06T11:36:00.002-08:002015-03-06T11:36:43.712-08:00State of the BlogIt's been quite a while since my last post, and I wanted to bring everyone up to date on things. The holidays were crazy, and I've spent the last couple of month fighting off the winter blues. It may not sound like much, but somedays it took my all just to push through and get to the end.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/d18dG9s"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/d18dG9s.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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But that doesn't mean I haven't been doing hobby things. I've been working on chainmail, scalemail, Robotech miniatures, and even some Malifaux. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Pir39LI"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Pir39LI.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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With the return of more sunlight I hope to be making more posts. For a few months posts I will be doing more catching up on what I've done since I am training to run the Mini-I challenge in the Illinois Marathon (running is a hobby too), and this kind of limits the amount of time I get in an evening.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/yUNtsFS"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/yUNtsFS.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
Most of what I'll be doing during the week is assembly of miniatures, with some painting time here and there, but mostly on the weekends. With that in mind, how about a few pictures to get to what you're really here for?<br />
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A commission that I did for a friend, but have kept secret since I entered it into an online painting contest:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/RyqH6t7"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RyqH6t7.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/ucL6j7O"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ucL6j7O.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/i1HUp4I"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/i1HUp4I.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/lGAOeK3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/lGAOeK3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/3maZpHX"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/3maZpHX.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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This is a piece that has gotten a lot of compliments, and is probably one of the better pieces I've painted. I was quite surprised at how much time I had to put into it given the limited range of articles to paint. It was a lot of fun regardless, and my friend was very happy with the finished product.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-22746110040813281932014-12-17T13:26:00.000-08:002014-12-17T13:26:10.608-08:00Cheering Up A FriendSome days are better than others, but then there are days that <a href="http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/2014/12/a-4th-thing-added-to-list.html" target="_blank">make the list.</a> In case you didn't click the previous link, my friend recently had a really really bad day. My response was to keep up a constant stream of pictures from the latest (and eagerly awaited) commission for him. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8G5bt37"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8G5bt37.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<br />
That's the start. I was told platinum blonde hair, but not too white. I used a very light grey with some yellow wash, and then started picking out the highlights with the same base color mixed in with a dash of yellow, followed by highlighting up to white and topped with a yellow wash. BONUS: The eyes came out looking absolutely lovely!<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/sIoMK7P"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/sIoMK7P.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The shirt came out looking great. The character, named Alta, is an NPC sailor on the ship, "The Virtuous Maiden," in an ongoing fantasy campaign I'm running. When I asked how her shirt was to be painted I was told, "Blue, like the water." I broke out a nice turquoise and started with that. I tried a nice light green wash, but stopped using it pretty quickly when I saw that it wasn't going to really show up in the recesses. Instead I went with a dark blue wash, and starting with the base color again highlighted up towards a mint white. I like smoothing things over with a thin wash after I'm done highlighting, and so I used the green wash from earlier and it turned out perfectly.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/5kPXE4E"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/5kPXE4E.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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When originally looking at the mini from the front you can see what might come across as kneepads, but it's actually her knees showing through. Turns out that the leather guard on front is more a pair of chaps. There was some deliberation as to whether or not her knee or pants were showing. Checking out the back of her legs you can see some natural folds that don't look quite like skin, and thus resulted in the above.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/hoL0hCs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hoL0hCs.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/GwZKQAI"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/GwZKQAI.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Trying to gauge how close to completion a miniature is can be very difficult. Sometimes it looks like you're nowhere near done only to find out that you just have a few minor details left, and other times it looks like you're 95% done for an additional four hours of work. Alta ended up being the former. There was a lot of spots of leather, and normally I like to vary it up a bit and make some of the leather black or a darker shade of brown, but I was requested to keep it as just leather. I'm glad I did, and I think the worked out very well. I may have to change how I approach similar materials on miniatures in the future.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/qpv4sap"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/qpv4sap.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/yxtWKL0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/yxtWKL0.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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So that's the finished miniature right? Well, not exactly. She's fully painted yes, but I still wanted to add more to her base. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/80nBPST"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/80nBPST.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/n06hVo1"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/n06hVo1.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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Alta's companion has already been painted up <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2013/06/lictalor-strongbow.html" target="_blank">previously</a>, and I wanted her basing to match his. This way they could stand together on the table and be in unison. My friend was very happy with the final result, and now Alta and Lictalor are<a href="http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/2014/12/love-is-in-air.html" target="_blank"> together at last.</a>Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-83827198137973420262014-12-02T18:32:00.002-08:002014-12-02T18:32:41.745-08:00All Aboard!It started out like any other evening. Work was winding down, and I only had one stop to make on the way home. The previous day I had received a notice that a package was waiting for me to pick up from the post office. I hadn't been expecting anything, and my curiosity was piqued. After I retrieved my parcel from the postal teller I noticed that the sender was simply labeled as, "<a href="http://www.chaosium.com/" target="_blank">Chaosium</a>." Thinking nothing of it I returned home and began to inspect its contents:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/wwwp8gB"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/wwwp8gB.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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What did I find inside? <a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/448333182/horror-on-the-orient-express-a-chaosium-publicatio/description" target="_blank">The beginning</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/lknFZ23"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/lknFZ23.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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A treasure trove of lost knowledge and artifacts had been sent to me. Tickets, passports, postcards, a map, and books started me on a European tour that I would never forget, try as I might:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ZrcgDZo"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ZrcgDZo.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/rNg2CgB"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/rNg2CgB.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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<br />My hands trembled as I removed the blasphemous knowledge from its sturdy cradle. I struggled to understand the curvilinear hieroglyphs that seemed foreign yet strangely familiar to me. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/yTDXL0d"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/yTDXL0d.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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Names, places, danger, and terror beyond comprehension flashed through my mind as my fingers danced across the tomes. I wanted to turn away, to leave the precipice of discovery at which I stood, yet something sinister kept drawing me in:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Kc7963t"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Kc7963t.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br /><br />
I finally reached the last of the box's contents.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/DXIubnA"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/DXIubnA.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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In my hands I held diagrams of some profane and alien nature. What lost and ancient evil threatened to consume me? Could I survive such a journey, and would I want to? My eyes looked out the window to the dawning twilight, and in my ears I fancied that I could hear the distant whistle of a train calling out to its passengers. The Orient Express awaits.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-62677151572726878762014-11-21T12:23:00.000-08:002014-11-21T12:25:10.598-08:00Fun Times at Windy ConEven though I'm entering into the new weekend I'm finally posting about my experiences at Windy Con from the previous weekend.<br />
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Windy Con is a small Sci Fi con held at the Westin in Lombard, which coincidently is the same place I've gone to for Adepticon (though Adepticon is going to be held at a new location this year). Overall it's a small con, but nice. While my big attraction to the con was seeing friends up north, I happened upon some really neat costumes. First up is a member of the <a href="http://www.501st.com/" target="_blank">501st</a> on his way to judge a costume contest:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/fxLPcFg"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fxLPcFg.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Unfortunately I either didn't get his name, or forgot to write it down, but he had important business to do. I've been following the 501st on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/The501stLegion?ref=br_tf" target="_blank">Facebook </a>and admire the group. They have a very positive message for people who want to costume, and are very anti-bullying among other noble qualities. Getting to meet one was pretty awesome!<br />
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As if meeting one of the 501st wasn't awesome enough, I saw an incredible fallen Chamberlain costume from Jim Henson's The Dark Crystal:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/XO0eCHB"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XO0eCHB.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/vl6EPTn"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/vl6EPTn.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Seeing a costume like this is always a wonderful treat, and there was a lot of hard work and TLC that went into this. I was so taken aback that I didn't think to get a picture *WITH* the Chamberlain. I'll not be so surprised next time!<br />
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Last but not least is a bit of swag that I came across:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/niKQPAK"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/niKQPAK.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I was surprised to come across these two gems. I have been hunting for Nyan Nyan and Captain R for a while, but they have been in short supply with no relief in sight. The dealer's room at Windy was a bit lacking for my tastes since it's more of a sci-fi/local con rather than a gaming con, but coming across those two minis was a pretty nice find!<br />
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My painting has been lagging behind a bit, but now that the <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-shadow.html" target="_blank">ZOE-miniatures</a> are done (and on display this weekend!) I'm back to focusing on commissions with a few pieces of my own mixed in for flavor. Currently up on deck is a Snow Storm model I'm doing for a friend. The first piece, Snow, is done and below. You might notice the start of a holiday theme, but it will become more apparent once I've finished Storm:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/fNUhLIQ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fNUhLIQ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/M9QdwQR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/M9QdwQR.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Now that I'm not traveling as much I hope to get some more painting time in on the weekend. Once Snow Storm is finished I'll be painting up an NPC referred to as Alta which uses an Elf from Reaper's Warlord line.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-42963734516382108492014-11-12T12:54:00.000-08:002014-11-12T12:54:28.425-08:00The Shadow!So the final piece of the puzzle is now in place. The <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2014/11/the-heroes-gather.html" target="_blank">heroes </a>have a villain to face off against:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/R7Kx5Mu"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/R7Kx5Mu.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/XAeLLFP"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XAeLLFP.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Being as he's called, "The Shadow," I decided to go with a black on black motif. There are a few ways to approach painting black that I've discussed before. My preferred method is to lighten up black to a grey, but the alternative way is to use blue. In this case you can see that I used turquoise. I am exceedingly pleased with how the final result came out. I was worried that I'd struggle with getting the right shade of blue, but using a turquoise worked a lot better than if I had used a straight blue. Now to look at the cloak, starting with the inspiration pic:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/wS0Epsj"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/wS0Epsj.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The big question I had to ask myself is: What color is his cloak? When I look at the above pic I keep alternating between grey and a very light/silky beige. In the end I decided to combine the two and go with a beige base and highlight up to a grey:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/oZ252rg"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/oZ252rg.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/ApqNwJK"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ApqNwJK.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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The end result is pretty much what I was hoping to get, and I feel that it is a good representation.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/VMoaqCz"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/VMoaqCz.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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If you haven't guessed by now it should be pretty easy to tell that I am a fan of <a href="http://zombieorpheus.com/" target="_blank">Zombie Orpheus Entertainment</a>. I've had the pleasure and honor to meet the crew and cast on multiple occaisions at Gen Con, and when I asked if they would like to display them at <a href="http://zoecon.net/" target="_blank">ZOE-Con</a> I was given a very enthusiastic response. So stop on by ZOE-Con if you're in the area and check out these lovely pieces in person!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-17922814112351157442014-11-05T12:37:00.000-08:002014-11-05T12:37:06.163-08:00The Heroes GatherIf you've read the title then I'm going to assume you're here for the heroes. Let's start with the finished (and <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/theres-37-more-of-me-asshole-yea.html" target="_blank">alive</a>) Flynn the Fine:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/47rt61k"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/47rt61k.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/adYAwj7"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/adYAwj7.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Out of all the miniatures from the Zombie Orpheus Entertainment group that I've done; this one is the most detailed. I feel that he turned out very nice, and there are only a couple of differences from the movie costume. On the right shoulder there is more of a guard rather than a ruffle (like on the left), and there seems to be an extra arm guard on that arm as well for some reason. The other noticeable difference is that the face is clean shaven. It's like the sculptor mixed up the two heads for <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2014/10/working-in-seclusion.html" target="_blank">Sir Osric</a> and Flynn.<br />
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With the completion of the original party there was only one thing that needed to be done: A group shot.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/i1RRtsQ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/i1RRtsQ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Seeing everything come together is one of the most satisfying parts of painting. Each piece fits in its place, and then the whole group together seems to take on new life. The only thing that's missing from this picture is a good villain. Oh wait:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/sBI7xFS"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/sBI7xFS.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Guess what's up to be painted next?Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-75482507416343776692014-10-30T12:34:00.001-07:002014-10-30T12:34:35.791-07:00Unboxing Robotech RPG TacticsIt finally arrived! My wave 1 Robotech RPG Tactics Kickstarter pledge:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/42nb13M"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/42nb13M.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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This is by far the largest box I've gotten for a kickstarter, and it's only the first wave. While it had some space inside, there was still a lot to be found waiting within:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/2cAUbwX"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/2cAUbwX.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Once I got it all out it took up a pretty big area on my bed:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/CJ1YDFa"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/CJ1YDFa.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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While I have another wave coming with a bunch of expansion stuff, this is definitely the lion's share. This was a good buy, to be certain. In the above pic you can see a couple of prints I got for adding on a Homecoming pledge onto my original Battlecry pledge. Both pieces of art are ones that I like, and they were printed on semi-glossy paper that has a good feel to it. They will look great on my geek-wall once I get them framed. There's also the art print I got from my Battlecry pledge, and it is a great piece as well. So much art!<br />
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Ok, let's take a look at the inside of the box:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/POJiAmJ"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/POJiAmJ.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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That's not a site that I feel comfortable with. It looks like the sprues were just placed in their haphazardly. Considering the amount of shifting/turning that can occur during shipping this could become an issue. That being said, my box arrived shrink-wrapped, and not a single piece was off the sprue, so my concern may be misplaced. <br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/HVoImxi"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/HVoImxi.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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The books and cards were undamaged, and on the bottom of the box, so they weren't affected by any shifting. I haven't done a base count yet, but I should. Normally I'm not as worried about bases as I have a good stock of pre-made bases as well as extras. The bases for Robotech are different, so I'm going to have to manage what I have. One problem I did notice was that the bag of RDF dice was open, and the dice had spilled all over the inside of the box. At first I didn't think anything of it, but after counting I noticed that I was missing two, and one of them had an extra drop of plastic on it that must have been a manufacturing defect:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/e32aNZb"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/e32aNZb.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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I've sent off a message to the Robotech Kickstarter as I imagine it's a simple fix. So there's a lot of stuff in the main box, but I also got some extra stuff. There was a plethora of additional/redundant models, which means my collection is going to be pretty awesome to start with:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/xhuYoGa"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/xhuYoGa.jpg?2" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/a6KIoe3"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/a6KIoe3.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a>\<br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/i5aVluU"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/i5aVluU.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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The 76 base box of Robotech retails for about $100 USD, and comes with approx 40 miniatures. The add-on for the kickstarter adds on another 36 miniatures in wave 1 alone (there's more to come in wave 2!). One thing that I'd like to take a moment to point out, and congratulate, Ninja Division & Palladium books on is the inclusion of these:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/1FcCvPN"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/1FcCvPN.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Instructions! Over the past four or five years miniatures companies have been making the switch to plastic. Some companies like Reaper have left their plastics fairly simple, but plenty of others have gone more complex. There's nothing wrong with having a complex assembly, but a lack of instructions can be very frustrating for many hobbyists. I have seen many complaints on the lack of instructions included not just with kickstarters, but with plastic miniatures in general. Companies are starting to get the message and rectify things, but I wanted to give a hearty, "Bravo!" to Palladium and Ninja Division for including these from the get go. <br />
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You may have noticed a couple additional add-ons on top of the main box. I got these to either round out my forces (I'm liking the number four in the case of Robotech) or because I wanted to have a different loadout. One case of this is the Artillery Battlepods:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/zTMY3CD"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/zTMY3CD.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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I got a group of four with the main box, and I have a feeling I'll try to magnatize the weapons, but I wanted the heavy particle cannon. Originally it was going to be included as a bonus, so I picked up an extra set of artillery pods, but it turned out that they could fit it on the sprue so now everyone can have the joy of heavy Particle Projection Cannons!<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/UWUvgup"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/UWUvgup.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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Continuing with my need for groups of four I picked up an additional set of Destroids so I could field up to four <strike>Excalibers</strike> Tomahawks, and four <strike>Raider X's</strike> Defenders. All that is left now is to trade my services for other Robotech miniatures to round out other groups of four as I need at least two more Spartans and two more Gladiators.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-66197918729874546582014-10-29T12:57:00.000-07:002014-10-29T12:57:04.156-07:00A Surprise!So I'm continuing my work on the Zombie Orpheus Entertainment models, and I get an email notification telling me to expect a package from Palladium. Since I haven't ordered anything from them that means it can only be my Robotech miniatures! This means I'll be getting my miniatures before my friend, and have an opportunity to get some of them painted up before the commission comes in. Needless to say I was happily surprised. I still have a couple of pieces to finish up before then though. Expect an unboxing video within the next couple of days!<br />
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Now on to the completed Sir Osric:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/tLD5bml"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/tLD5bml.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/jIbZSxk"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/jIbZSxk.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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There's a lot I like about how he came out. The hair came out really good, and I'm starting to experiment more with shading and highlights. Not sure if you can tell, but I'm making more use of shadows on the face, and have plans to be a bit more ambitious with how apparent it is in the future. I feel very happy with the shading on Osric's tunic. The sunburst turned out to be more tricky than I anticipated, and I would have liked my hands/brushes to have cooperated more. Everything else came together pretty well. The other points I have already<a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2014/10/working-in-seclusion.html" target="_blank"> pointed out</a>. This weekend I hope to finish up Flynn the Fine in his <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2013/05/theres-37-more-of-me-asshole-yea.html" target="_blank">less dead</a> format.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-40645248567618583252014-10-21T12:46:00.000-07:002014-10-21T12:46:10.726-07:00Working in SeclusionComing up for a breath of air, and to share the works I've completed. Work is starting to lighten up a bit and be less tiring with the hire of additional help. As a result I hope to be able to start posting more frequently in the near future. I'm making a concentrated effort to paint during my, "downtime," and would like to share the fruits of my labor. I've been busy focusing on more miniatures from the Hand of Fate kickstarter I mentioned <a href="http://mydnightshobbycorner.blogspot.com/2014/09/wild.html" target="_blank">previously</a>, and I have picked up a couple of other pieces to paint while I wait for Robotech stuff, a commission as well as my own pledge, to come in.<br />
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First up is the renowned Brother Silence (who is not an elf!):<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/TcDWEqG"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/TcDWEqG.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/zsPXXGP"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/zsPXXGP.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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After showing this miniature to a few of my friends I have always heard comments relating to his face. It may be difficult to tell, but (to my eyes at least) the mini was sculpted such that he is performing a martial arts shout. To a lot of people this looks off, but I happen to like it. So many miniatures are stuck with their faces frozen in a very limited number of poses/expressions, and coming across a mini that has a very different expression can add a new layer to the piece. Overall I'm happy with the mini. I keep trying to work with the orange and yellows that I have, but I need to pick up some new ones as I feel limited whenever I have to paint anything near an orange tone.<br />
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Up next is Daphne, and a few issues start to emerge:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/M4gSDW1"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/M4gSDW1.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/fd994Xf"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/fd994Xf.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Again one of the first things commented on with this miniature is the face. Poor Daphne looks like she took too many blows to the face, and is sporting a broken nose. When I was prepping the mini to be primed I was a bit concerned about trying to touch up the nose. I didn't want to leave it like it was, but I was also worried that trying to fix it would break it off. I tried to work around it as best I could, and hope that it's just a defect in my piece and not the mold itself. This is one of the first miniatures in the line that looks different from her movie counterpart. The miniature actually has bracers on her arms, which the character doesn't wear at all during the movie. To compensate I painted the sleeves completely black (like the movie), and just left the bindings painted on for artistic effect. That's my story and I'm sticking to it. The rest of the sculpt holds up pretty well, and that was my only real complaint. The shirt and cape both turned out very well. I mixed up some Reaper Master Series metallics with some of their normal paint in order to get a bit of shimmer working, and the effect was quite successful. Painting blue is something I'm still working at getting. The shading and highlighting is become much more gradual, but it still needs a bit of work to bring out the brighter areas. That being said I'm still very excited to be getting my blending to work out smoother.<br />
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Ok, last one for today is a work in progress of Sir Osric:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/tvkVLbC"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/tvkVLbC.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/yGYuF67"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/yGYuF67.jpg?1" title="source: imgur.com" /></a><br />
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There is a lot that I'm liking about my paint job, but a few issues I have with the miniature itself. The character of Sir Osric the paladin is clean-shaven in the movie, but the miniature itself is sporting a goatee. My guess is that the sculpter put it on because the person playing the character in the movie also has a goatee. The character also carries a shield and wears a cape, neither of which this miniature has. I was tempted to sculpt them myself, but as I haven't seen other miniatures painted up online I've decided to leave it as is for now. Paint-wise I love how his hair has come out, along with his shirt. I feel like I've been hitting the highlights and shading pretty well on this one, and it's been a lot of fun to paint. I still need to hit the boots and shoulder pads with a wash, and then pick out highlights, followed by the gloves, boots, and belt. After that it's just the base. Speaking of bases almost all of the miniatures have a really small footprint, and I have plans to mount them on bases to help stabilize them. Even Brother Silence, who has the biggest footprint out of them all, could stand (pun not intended) to be put on a base. Sir Osric is the worst, and consistently falls over with the slightest provocation.<br />
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I hope to have Sir Osric finished up soon, and then it's on to Flynn The Fine (alive version)!Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-69389761369267640482014-09-13T19:40:00.000-07:002014-09-13T19:40:16.265-07:00Wild!Trying to get back on the horse after being off it for a couple of weeks can be difficult, but still rewarding. Today I sat down to paint up some of my Gamers miniatures I got from the Hands Of Fate Kickstarter. Specifically the male and female Luster pieces:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/cqhMbJ1"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/cqhMbJ1.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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One thing I've noticed about all the Gamers miniatures is that the sculpts are on the simple side. This isn't a bad thing in my own opinion. So many miniatures nowadays have an incredible amount of detail that they are both stunning and intimidating. Finding miniatures that have a simple but straightforward sculpt is very refreshing, and makes for fun painting.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/1lIuI0d"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/1lIuI0d.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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There was pretty much three stages to this pair. Flesh, hair/eyes, and the red. Painting flesh can be interesting in regards to shading and highlights. Usually the more sculpted the flesh the easier it is to paint, which is the case with this pair. I'm happy with how the flesh came out on these pair, and feel it works pretty well.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/hDXzxo8"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/hDXzxo8.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Painting anything close to platinum blonde can be quite annoying. I want to reach for my yellows, but platinum blonde is closer to white, and thus requires really bright shades of white. I ended up settling for something a bit closer, going for more of an idealized blonde. The other rough part was painting up the eyes. Eyes on miniatures is always difficult as they're small, and I had to take several shots at these sets. I think they turned out ok though, but not my best work.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/cqhMbJ1"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/cqhMbJ1.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Finally was the red (and their gold sash). I usually lay down dark layers and go up from there, but the first layer I put down was more of a mid layer, and the highlight was too close. The solution was to go back with the darker layer and again layer up. It ended up working out, and I smoothed things over with a red wash at the end. All in all this pair was pretty simple to paint up, and was both relaxing and casual to paint up.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-44429473671100235402014-09-10T13:45:00.000-07:002014-09-10T13:45:18.667-07:00Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: SundaySo it goes without saying at this point that I need to do these updates in a more timely manner. Work and personal life have been surprisingly busy, and I think I'm just now starting to recover. Onto Sunday then.<br />
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The last day of the con is always the most tiring. Everyone is burnt out, and everyone is preparing for their trip home. I normally don't have much to do on Sunday, but this year I was able to get in on the first official Relic Knights tournament. I had managed to get the last few pieces painted up the night before I was to come out to Gen Con, so here they are starting with Sebastian:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/qt7zQR0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/qt7zQR0.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/0zwEdGR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/0zwEdGR.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Sebastian wasn't actually that difficult, but he took a while due to his massive size and surface area. His Relic stands astride an 80mm base, and for reference I haven't put a model on a base larger than 50mm. I admit that he is a lot of fun to look at, but wherever Sebastian goes he is accompanied by his Cypher, Rook:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/62QFt0a"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/62QFt0a.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/PEnlkcs"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/PEnlkcs.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a> <br />
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This little guy wasn't that hard to paint up actually. Very straightforward and enjoyable, although I still felt the tension being so close to Gen Con when I painted him. Up next is Navarre Hauer:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Ssj2AzX"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Ssj2AzX.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/crKDNux"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/crKDNux.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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This is a model that turned out ok, but I'm not as happy with the sculpt. It looks like there's lots of activity, but he just didn't appeal to me. He was still a good model on the table. The final miniature I painted up is Cordellia Clean, sort of:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/XIVjFH0"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XIVjFH0.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
<a href="http://imgur.com/nROqiRw"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/nROqiRw.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Not bad looking right? What isn't done you ask? Well, when I originally assembled this model I left off the backpack with the intent of painting it separate before gluing it on...and I kinda forgot to do that. Otherwise she looks pretty good to me. I tried out a pink skin tone, and that required mixing up a pink wash. While the result isn't bad, I think I need to try for some darker shardows in the recessed area. I've also been getting a lot of comments on how much I've improved in a short time, and this makes me feel pretty good. My goal currently is to improve my highlights and lighting technique.<br />
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Ok, so how'd the tournament go? We started off with eight people, but people left after the first two (of three). We had a three-way tie for first place, and the point spread landed me in third. My painted miniatures won me a battlemat for Relic Knights, which was cool but I already had one. The guys at SPM were cool enough to let me trade it in, and I used the credit towards my own copy of Super Dungeon Explore! Expect a bunch of Super Dungeon Explore models in upcoming blog posts while I wait for Robotech miniatures to arrive for both myself and my friend (who is commissioning me to paint them).<br />
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Another successful Gen Con completed. Much fun was had, reunited with many friends, and played many games. Gen Con 2015 will you be as good?<br />
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Obligatory swag pic:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/RnQCndR"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/RnQCndR.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a>Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-42133973482889885162014-08-29T14:57:00.000-07:002014-09-10T13:24:06.697-07:00Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: SaturdayYou may have noticed a bit of a delay between my last posts, and well, work has kind of exploded. Not literally of course, but it's been so busy that I've barely gotten enough time to eat let alone blog. So let's get my Gen Con Saturday under way shall we?<br />
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Saturday started off with me waking up at my own pace and deciding to casually head over to the exhibitor's hall with my buddy. Before we even got out of the hotel we came across Luca from the RPG Classic, Chrono Trigger, just after she got her morning cup of coffee.<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/a66BKaw"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/a66BKaw.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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We get to the convention center, and we decide to cut through the events hall to get to the dealer's room. On our way we come across a really awesome cosplay of the sisters Elsa and Anna from Disney's Frozen:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Kz0m4H9"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Kz0m4H9.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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Today is my relaxed day, so I spend time wandering around the exhibitor's hall seeing what I can see. One stop I made was by Palladium's booth to check out the sprues for the upcoming Robotech Tactics RPG miniatures game:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/8po0L7a"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/8po0L7a.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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It was really nice to get a close-up look at these miniatures. I can't wait to get my hands on my own copies. The miniatures look pretty detailed and of high quality.<br />
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So I continued my journey and came across a Scout Trooper:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/SgdnKPq"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/SgdnKPq.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I stopped and got a picture as my friend had been disappointed that he hadn't encountered any Storm Troopers at the con so far. I would later find out that he did indeed come across some Storm Troopers, but missed the Scout Trooper.<br />
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Time was ticking down to my 2pm Victoriana demo, but before I left the exhibitors/events hall I caught one of my friends in cosplay and was able to convince her to let me snap a photo:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/XdOQMrp"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/XdOQMrp.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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It was a short rush to get to the demo area, but I arrived in time. Victoriana is a fantasy setting in, shock, Victorian London/Europe, but it makes use of the traditional fantasy races. It's a fun setting that I hope to run a game for some day. I was in for a treat though as my demo was more gothic horror than high fantasy. My group and I were trying to convince a landowner that our claim was legitimate (it wasn't), but it turns out that all the fuss over heritage was for a vampiric/Frankenstein-esq operation.<br />
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As a side-note: this is a reason why I need to blog semi-real time. I've forgotten most of the good details from that game. All I remember is that fun was had, and that I make a bad solicitor.<br />
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After the demo I get back to the hotel and decide to grab dinner at The Ram. On the way we encountered a robotic/moving Dalek:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/q7E3IAP"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/q7E3IAP.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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It was a very impressive feet and a great way to build an appetite. Once we hit The Ram we sat down in the general seating area and caught the end of Star Wars: A New Hope while waiting for our food. Something must've gone wrong, and we ended up suspecting that our order hadn't gotten put in or some other glitch because we were halfway into The Empire Strikes Back by the time our food arrived. We had been joined by two other travelers who had ordered their food and gotten it before we got our meal.<br />
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On our way back, our evening having been cancelled, we passed a guy who looked suspiciously like Nathan Rice (Lodge from the Gamers movies). I commented as such and my friend asked me if I was sure followed by a suggestion that we find out. A quick dash backwards followed by an awkward hello, and it turns out that yes indeed it was him!<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/ozlZ99n"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/ozlZ99n.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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It was a great way to top off our Saturday night, and made the events of our dinner even more worthwhile.<br />
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UPDATE: Forgot to mention that I ran into Andy Dopieralsk, also of Dead Gentleman fame, on our way back to the hotel, but he was in a bit of a hurry to get to an event he was needed at.<br />
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I rounded out the evening by watching Dark Dungeons, which turned out to be hilarious enough to justify buying my own copy the next day.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-46985229855801192422014-08-20T14:20:00.000-07:002014-08-20T14:20:16.123-07:00Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: FridayContinuing from Thursday, I managed to sleep very soundly. I think that dialing back the AC had a significant impact. First up was packing up the car and heading over to the con. I had secured myself a parking pass for the IN Government parking garage the previous evening, and it probably saved me $15-$30. Check-in wouldn't be till later that day and I had to do demos from 9am-2pm. This would be my last stint doing demos for the weekend, and the rest of the con would be mine. Got to see another really awesome Lady Justice cosplay during my shift as well:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/pOVe13m"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/pOVe13m.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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I had a lot of fun demoing Malifaux for the last couple of my shift. They were really picking it up, and we ended up going past my 2pm finish time. This wasn't a big deal since it wasn't affecting my level of compensation. After I finished up with the demo I went and checked in at the Wyrd booth in the exhibitor's hall, and ran into a really awesome War Machine cosplay of Menoth's Kreoss:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/88l5dwV"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/88l5dwV.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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At the Wyrd booth I collected my rewards, and promptly purchased a bunch of Malifaux stuff for me and my friends. I had some troubles with my credit card that I cleared up at the booth, which ate into my free time a bit. I had been given the keys for the new hotel room, and did a quick dash back to meet up with my friend <a href="http://daysofourtrailers.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Thirdpower </a>for his first Gen Con experience. While I waited for him to make it the last few steps to the hotel I spent time taking in the view from our room:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/1RPgQ19"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/1RPgQ19.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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After a bit of time to get my stuff transferred to the hotel room and a few minutes to breathe Thirdpower and I headed to the dealer's hall to browse a bit before it closed. We hit up a few booths to just scratch the surface of the Exhibitor's Hall, but made a point of visiting Jen Page at her booth promoting <a href="http://projectlondonmovie.com/" target="_blank">Project London</a>:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/plBTMGc"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/plBTMGc.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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After that we made a quick jaunt over to Steve Jackson Games' booth where Thirdpower got to chat up OGRE stuff with some of the designers.<br />
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With the dealer's hall closing we decided to hit up the Munchkin Tavern which had occupied Tavern on South for a tasty dinner, and then back to the hotel to relax before the evenings event: Late Night Puppet Slam.<br />
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The Late Night Puppet Slam didn't start till 11pm at night, but the evening view from our room was just as cool as the daytime view:<br />
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<a href="http://imgur.com/Mry9jIK"><img src="http://i.imgur.com/Mry9jIK.jpg?1" title="Hosted by imgur.com" /></a><br />
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When we got to the Puppet Show the question was asked as to recording policies. After a few moments of confirming with the artists/puppeteers we were told that recording was fine with additional encouragement to upload the videos. My companion took a short vid and some pics of the show, but I tried to capture as much of it as I could:<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/47HKWI0AGws" width="560"></iframe><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/dQ_ufp3bo3w" width="560"></iframe><br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/0HVwtOxxyfQ" width="560"></iframe><br />
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I had some technical difficulties with my camera towards the end. My phone started to freeze up due to having no free space left to capture everything (that's why the camera starts swinging around at the end. That's me trying to fix the darn thing).<br />
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Following the show we met up with friends and attempted to find a late night snack but turned into more a wandering around downtown Indy before heading back to the room to crash for the night.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7849007755402666608.post-92068107592529917542014-08-19T14:18:00.002-07:002014-08-19T14:18:55.980-07:00Gen Con 2014 Retrospective: ThursdayThat most wonderful of cons has come and gone, and as I sit in reflection upon those wild days spent gaming and walking the floor one thought dominates all: I gotta start doing these blog posts at the con instead of waiting.<br />
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Let's start with the beginning. I got out to Gen Con on Wed, parked in public parking and ended up spending $29 for what amounts to about six or eight hours. During that time I helped assemble some miniatures for Wyrd's display case (there's a funny story about this that I'll come back to in a future post), followed by an overpriced dinner with friends at Dick's Last Resort. That was the most I paid for a couple of beers, and I think next time I'll be more inquisitive as to the average ticket price before I sit down. After that I headed over to the Wyrd meet and greet to pick up my badge, shirts, and hang out with the other volunteers before finally heading back to the hotel to crash.<br />
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My Thursday started off rather early. The hotel I was staying in had some kind of a chemical smell in the room that when combined with arctic levels of AC kept three out of four of us from sleeping. The one guy who got sleep has kids and thus is able to sleep through anything. So barely any sleep and I'm staring down the barrel of a full day. I get cleaned up and hit the con around 9am, waiting to do my initial rush to get the must have items. I picked up a few things from Wyrd's booth for a friend, and grabbed myself some Relic Knight miniatures from Soda Pop Miniatures booth along with the four miniatures from Takoashi University/Tentacle Bento. While I was there I grabbed a shot of some lovely ladies sporting costumes for characters from SPM's Super Dungeon Explore (the two on the left) and Candy, SPM's mascot (the one on the right):<br />
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Got to meet up with plenty of friends I haven't seen in a long time, but this cut my free time short. I did however wander by the booth for <a href="http://mayfairgames.com/bobandangusshow/" target="_blank">The Bob and Angus Show </a>and got my picture with a couple of puppets and their puppeteers:<br />
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The puppetteer you see standing there is Stacy Gordon who is the magic behind Claire O'Brien as well as a few others. You'll hear more about her tomorrow.<br />
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I had to work at the Wyrd booth in the event hall from 2pm to Midnight and the t-shirt I had to wear was back in my car. After a quick run back to get my minis and change I was left with little time to get lunch. I kept changing my mind and ended up getting overpriced con food. It looked delicious but was only ok.<br />
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I think the best time on Thursday was spent doing demos. The first half of my shift, 2pm - 7pm, was spent showing people the ropes in the Malifaux miniatures game, and the second half was spent more sitting around. I was supposed to do demos for Wyrd's board games, but there wasn't that many takers that late at night, and what few stopped by wanted demos for games I was unfamiliar with. The best part was getting to stop people in costume and take pics. The first one I came across was a beautiful Lady Justice cosplay:<br />
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I've started to notice that other people holding my phone to take pics results in more blurry pics. The next two are an amazing cosplay of Rasputina and Molly Squidpidge featuring their new art:<br />
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It was a real treat getting to see those two, Rasputina's milky white eyes were a great touch. The last one I came across was a nice surprise.<br />
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Someone cosplaying as Kitiara from the original Dragonlance Chronicles Trilogy.<br />
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Once my shift was done I headed back to the hotel with my companion. Went to bed exhausted and wondering if I'd get to sleep that night.Mydnighthttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00353239893950238046noreply@blogger.com0