Nytmares Come Alive

A long time ago I picked up an exclusive model from Wyrd.  The Nightmare Edition: Lord Chompy Bits.  He's an alternate version of one of their standard leaders, and the model is incredible to both look at and hold.



He stands at almost four inches tall, and is all pewter!  Why has it taken me so long to get this masterpiece built and primed?  Well there are some issues I needed to overcome in order to get to this point.  The first one was what to use for his base.  I didn't want to use just any old base, and I had spent a lot of time looking at different bases as well as trying to come up with ideas.  It wasn't until I came across War Gama's booth at Adepticon that I finally found one I was satisfied with.  So I was ready to go right?  Not quite:



What you're looking at is one of my first two attempts to assemble LCB.  There are two main pieces: the lower half, which only has a tail which was easily attached, and the upper half, which consisted of four different arms, the shoulders,  a front torso, back torso, and the head.  The end result is that balancing the top half on the bottom half resulted in him becoming very top heavy and pitching forward.  I ended up calling on the same friend who helped me assemble my Nicodem Avatar.



I had told my friend of my plight, and he rigged it up so that there's a center pole holding the upper half aloft.  However this left a large gaping hold where the torso should join the pelvis.  With so many pieces on a such a large model there was bound to be some gap issues.



I decided to attack it head on, and ended up putting some grey stuff inside along the join before finally filling out the front.  I needed to add lots of filler where the shoulders topped the torso, and around each of the arms.  Also had a hole in the tail to cover up, as well as some extra support I put in where the tail joined the pelvis.  I think the only area I didn't use grey stuff was the jawline as it still looked natural to me.



The touch ups I put on are ok, and a casual glance won't see them, but lets take a closer look at the main gap:



It's a little rough, but not bad.  I think it'll be less noticeable once it's been painted up.

While I had my greystuff out I decided to make a little gift to thank my friend for helping me out:



Just a simple tophat for him to use as a marker.  The process was a bit simple.  I started with a flat and thin oval which I curled up the sides on to use as the brim, and at the same time I did a flat tipped cone where I put in indentation to give the hat some life/depth.



After letting them dry I made sure that the tip of the cone was flat enough, and then I drilled a hole into it so I could use a pin to help hold it to the base.



After some glue and a couple of hours to let it dry I got out a little more grey stuff and did a little ribbon around the join.  Overall I'm rather pleased with how it turned out, and I'm sure my friend will be delighted to see the results.

Still Running

So I've been a bit quiet the past week or so, but there's been a reason.  I've taken up a new hobby!  In the interest of my personal health I've taken up walking/jogging/running, and what better way to get motivated to move than with zombies?

I've been spending the past couple of weeks using the Zombies, RUN! 5k trainer.  The past several years have seen me try to get an exercise regimine going, but have fallen short.  Yesterday I started my third week, and the trainer keeps increasing in difficulty.  I do feel like I'm getting into the groove of things though as I managed to finally finish up T'wanka!



I've had small bursts of inspiration in between hordes of the shambling dead, but finishing up T'wanka was pretty high on my list.  I tried doing tattoos on this model as well, which is a bit new for me.



So far it's just the same as doing freehand work, but with a different canvas.  I have found that it's easier using my brush with a REALLY fine tip, but this often results in paint drying very quickly.  I've taken to really thinning out the paint to help make things flow easier, and have noticed significant improvements as a result.  The tattoos on T'wanka are close representations to the original character art that was used to create the sculpt.  When I showed the finished work to the artist it was met with great approval.



This was a really fun sculpt to paint.  The original art had green skin with a bluish tint.  I chose greens closer to jade mixed in with turquoise, and for my washes I made sure to mix in a hint of blue to green.  The overall effect came out really I feel.



Now that T'wanka is finished I can look to my next project.  I have a wide field to choose from, and I think I may spend some time doing some quick and dirty paint jobs to get some models looking presentable, or perhaps I'll dip into my Sedition Wars models.  The latest update shows a lot of gorgeous pieces that I'll be getting sometime soon.  I've also been longing to pick up and continue my Babylon Project.  With so many wonderful choices it's a mystery as to what I'll post next!

Lictalor Strongbow

There has been a project I've been meaning to work on for a friend that I just recently finished.  I present to you: Lictalor Strongbow




This is the PC that my friend has played for over a decade (or more) when he has had the opportunity to.  I have run a couple of sessions with this character, and it has been a pleasure of mine to finally bring him to life.

My favorite part about this piece is his cloak.  I was asked to do a forest-style camo, which I believe I have managed to capture pretty well.  The particular style of camo is called A-TACS.



To start I decided to go from light to dark with my layers.  This way the brighter bits would poke through here and there to create a better blend rather than the other way around which would have made the cloak appear to be brighter.



Before I started painting the cloak I had decided to do five layers.  The base layer would be the brightest, and then I would add two darker brown layers followed by two green layers.  With each progressive layer I'm dabbing on the paint in much the same way I would with drybrushing, but instead of trying for a more even covering I wanted to get larger clusters that were inconsistent.



I did not use a wash at all on this cloak for two reasons.  The first reason is that I wanted it to look a bit rougher and a bit dryer.  The second reason is because I was worried that any wash, even a thin one, would dull the brighter base coat and put it closer to the second layer.



With the third layer you can see how the dabbing effect is coming through nicely.  Like sunlight trying to break through the branches on the trees.  I had thought about doing another layer of dark brown, but felt that what I had so far would work since I still had green to add.



For each of the two colors on the base coat I used a light and a dark shade.  When I added the light green I started to think that I might be close to done, but the green was still light enough that I felt another layer of dark green would really tie it all together.



Once I started putting on this layer I knew I had made the right choice.  At a glance it looks like there are some dark spots that stick out, but when I take a closer look it becomes harder to distinguish them.  This is a great forest cam, and I plan to try this out again for other models I have waiting to be painted.

There's 37 More of Me Asshole! YEA!!!

UPDATE:  Apparently my work has caught the eye of Matt Vancil, who wrote The Gamers: Dorkness Rising.  He is quoted as saying, "The (highly accurate!) painting of a mound of dead bards mini," on my Facebook page, as well as linking to this post.  Thanks Matt!  Welcome to all my new visitors!


Memorial Day 2012 was when I first started this blog.  I had no idea where it would go, and whether or not I'd post with any sort of regularity.  Now that a year has passed I can confidently say I enjoy writing, painting, and posting pics of my work!  My momentum has slowed a bit, and recently I've managed to eek out a post a week.  However this blog still does not feel like a chore, and I lament being unable to paint and post more.  In the time I've started painting I have achieved: painting camo, commissions, gifts, building scenery, working with different paint lines, and working with a wet palette.  It's been a great year, and I look forward to what this year holds as I meet more painters, and learn more tips/tricks!

To celebrate this momentous occasion I have chosen to paint a rather fun piece, the Mound of Dead Bards:



The piece was part of add-ons for a couple of kickstarters by Dead Gentlemen/Zombie Orpheus Entertainment.  You may recall my fondness for these guys when I wrote about meeting them at Gen Con 2012.  The above pic is from a scene in the movie The Gamers: Dorkness Rising, and is a hilarious film to watch if you're a gamer, or if you know gamers.  For more on the in-joke go here.  If you liked that clip I recommend checking them out as well as their Facebook page.  The bard in question is Scott C. Brown, who plays the character of Leo in Dorkness Rising.

Onto the painting!



This is a complicated piece in that there is a LOT going on.  Cloaks, torsos, legs, boots, hands, faces, even a hat!  The first WIP pic shows how scattered everything is, which can make the process drag a bit as it takes time to pic things out and get them painted.



As you can see I've gotten the flesh and hair done, and I believe this pic has the pants done as well.  The torso/sleeves that litter the mound are just about done, and I had to go over them with metallic white and then a wash to try and get a silkier or velvety feel to them.  This piece took a bit of time, but was well worth it!  Here's the mostly finished product:






I say mostly done because the bard's shoulders have a striped ruffle to them, and I got the yellow base down but completely forgot the black bands.  I hadn't realized my mistake until after pics had been taken, uploaded, and edited.  This means I need to go back and finish up that tiny bit, so expect a follow up pic later this week.

Trying New Things.

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

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



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



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

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

Hobby Day!

Today I took a day off of work to sit back and relax.  I ended up having a couple of friends over to work on Malifaux miniatures in all ways shapes and forms.



Just a bunch of the guys working on hobby stuff!  There was so much going on, and much was accomplished.  Both of my friends are getting into the hobby feet first, and today I showed them the simple joy of basing.



Since basing is a requirement for many miniature games at conventions, having your models based is becoming an important factor.  The above picture is about 95% of the models we based, and nearly all of the ones that are in my buddy's collection. 



After basing we kind of split into two camps.  On one side was Grey getting his new Lucas McCabe box cut off the sprue and glued together.



There's only one or two figures left for him to do, and they're looking pretty sweet!

Meanwhile I decided to get some paint on my Fire Gamin.  They're almost done, but I'm saving them for later.  Instead I'd like to focus on Mordequi's (not his real name) Punk Zombie.




This model ranks as one of the first he has painted.  I gave a little assistance with the flesh/eyes on the skull, but otherwise it's all his vision.  I really like how he got the colors to go together.  The blend of purple and blue seems to give the model a shimmer/sheen look which is pretty cool!

Overall it was a wonderful way to spend the day.  Painting, hobby stuff, and friends.  A great start to the weekend!

A Little Here, and A Little There

With Thanksgiving having just passed us by some of you may have noticed that nothing went up last week.  The reason for that is due to a combination of lots of driving for work, and lots of work.  In spite of my heavy work load I managed to get in some tidbits of work here and there.  Time to show off what I accomplished.

First, some business.  Let's start with a round of skeletons.



That's another ten down, and only eleven left to go!  Getting closer now!  I also managed to get a bunch of OGRE vehicles done in the Australian Camo.  This one was a bit trickier since I had to go back and re-match some of the colors from my earlier attempt.  The end result was a big improvement in my opinion.



I sat down and ended up doing all the vehicles from that group, which leaves me the infantry to do and I'll be done with that grouping of camo.  Here's what else I did:

A couple of light tanks



A trio of trucks bearing heavy weapons emplacements



And a little bit of fun.



When I first offered to paint these for my friend he told me that he had a turret that had been damaged.  I offered to repair it for him, but he told me that he had already took a soldering iron to the piece, as well as a touch of solder, to make it look damaged.



I put on a touch of black, some dark brown brushed over with metal, and a some splashes of inks/washes to try and give it a burnt/cooked look.  I think the effect worked out nicely.

Some other things I did were to help another friend get some of his models pinned.  Here's the grouping of the before:



I started it one night and finished it a day or two later.  Just in time for him to pick them up and for me to forget to take an after shot.  Maybe after they're painted.

I had assembled the plastic bits together for my Mei Fang box set, but I finally got them on their bases.



The bases are still a work in progress, but I'm using the same motif I use for my Rail Golem.

The other thing I accomplished was assembling my Ten Thunders crew, The Thunder, Box set.



Definitely Asian themed, and you may have noticed that they don't have bases.  I've got some pre-made inserts which are pretty cool, but don't look as good with them on there.  I may have to make up some custom ones to use.  We'll have to see!

The Next Step

After my last post I managed to come across my missing bases.  What this means is that I was able to do a lot of preparations for the coming week.



As awesome as it would be to get all this stuff painted this week, I've got my regular league night for Malifaux as well as a tournament that I'm running on Oct 20th.  However I now have some stuff ready that I can mix up my painting regemine a little more.



What you can see in the above picture are the rest of the wights (upper left), three Malifaux models I plan to paint up as trophies for my tournament this weekend (upper middle, round bases), and the rest of those are OGRE miniatures for my friend.  The infantry and GEV's are going to be done in a German Desert Flektarn pattern, while the trucks, howitzers, and mobile howitzers are going to be done up in Aussie cam (Not pictured: Aussie cam infantry).

Either I'm adjusting to the weather, or getting the OGRE stuff ready to paint has been sparking a bit of inspiration.  With luck I'll catch up in short order.

Preperations

Having finished up my Centauri month I felt the need to prepare for the following, "Month."  Yes I am aware I'm going by some non-traditional calender.  I actually have a few things on my plate this month.  First is a commission for a friend who has been patiently waiting for me to turn some old Warhammer Fantasy Miniatures into something he can display.



He is ok with me not painting to my full ability.  This will be a new experiment for me since whenever I paint a miniature I tend to paint it as though I was going to display it.



I have about sixteen Wights in all to paint, and I hope to get them done in short order.  I also have some Malifaux miniatures to get done, including some of the stuff from the recently released fourth book.



You may recognize those two from an earlier post where I started building terrain.  Well I found some polystyrene strips that were shaped like I-beams at Leisure Hours Hobbies.  They worked perfectly and I plan to make use of them for the rest of my railway Arcanists.

Last but not least I'll have a miscellanious month of Babylon 5 miniatures. 

 

This month the focus will be on Raiders, Civillians, and the Babylon 5 Station itself.  I'm also prepping an Earthforce Hermes Priority Transport since my Earthforce month is going to be chalk full of Earthforce miniatures.



Since all of these pieces are not attached to their bases I plan to sit down before I start on the Babylon 5 miniatures and just paint all of them in one fell swoop.



This will make things easier since I'll be able to focus on the miniatures and just glue them to their bases when I'm done.  Going to be a busy month!