Wow, I don't think I updated this first page all year (2016)... whoops. Sorry about that, though I'm not changing it today either
New year, new challenge! I'm gonna try to do one model for each day of the year! Preferably I'll get some major headway while I'm laid off for the next couple of months, as things will necessarily slow down in the summer. Can I do it?! Stay tuned to find out! I'll upgrade this graphic periodically as I make chunks of progress.
22/365=6%
Holy cow! It looks like an awful lot of work from this perspective! Remember you can click the photo to see it in the gallery and zoom in!
--1/8/2015--
I may stop doing these updates, I only periodically updated them anyway and what with the big 365/365 thing going on that will be update enough for now.
--12/04/14--
Samurai Showdown completed for all intents and purposes, woowoo! I've got some shirts to work on as x-mas gifts so may be slow here for a bit as those are not wargaming related and technically don't belong here on dakka for the most part. Here's a link to the SS gallery:
http://www.dakkadakka.com/gallery/images-70053-44376_Samurai%20Showdown.html
--10/29/14--
Big Mars Attacks! unboxing added. Still working on samurai diorama slowly. Probably a mix of Infinity, Deadzone, and Mars Attacks after that.
--10/12/14--
*Ahem, been a little bit. I've added shots of a 4x4' table, and have started working on the infinity diorama, those marines got finished but not Phil, he'll join the next wave.
--9/29/14--
I've added a couple of shots on page 52 of my mars attacks stuff, 9 minis in total now. Working on 5 more.
--9/27/14--
Around page 50-52 I've added some shots of my battle systems card terrain, bits and pieces of my DZ wave 2 order, and I'm starting work on 11 more Mars Attacks! minis which are now cleaned and primed. I am hopeful that this weekend sees a little paint go down.
--9/15/14--
This is where I deploy all of my miniatures wargaming hobby progress and what-not. You'll see some space marines, though I've really tapered off on those... You'll see a lot of models from Mantic Games, you'll see a lot of Infinity models too especially in the last dozen or so pages. Feel free to jump right ahead to the last page and say 'Hi!', I love all kinds of feedback and comments, or even just banter. I consider this P&M blog my backyard on Dakka, and so far nobody has ever given me cause to tell folks what to say here. Mostly you'll see me get new stuff, or pick old stuff back up, prep it prime it paint it, and often blab about the quality/nature of the items in question. Occasionally I'll put a battle report here if it's casual enough to not warrant going elsewhere. I'm going to work on getting links to a lot of my more interesting work here on the front page, but you can always click my banner or use my portrait and find my gallery, I don't think I've shown anything here that isn't in the gallery. More later, all of this set-up stuff isn't nearly as much fun as actually digging in and painting models!
Below are the original post and the last big update.
Change is coming! This first post is going to get heavily modified (as I get time) to make things easier to find. First off, the biggest news around here is:
Goal complete!
So, with my TODO or DIE list finished up, I'm going to move on to a few smaller projects to kill time before Deadzone arrives. As Deadzone is now supposed to ship in late November, I'm thinking I'll be getting it either the last week of November or very early in December. That gives me the rest of October (and we're only a couple of days in), and the vast majority of November with which to work! I've got to do some housekeeping such as cleaning up my hobby desk, and storing models I'm not likely to use soon... Deadzone is going to take up a LOT of space! Aside from that (and possibly taking a break :p), I intend to paint my Bubblegum Crisis Knight Sabers, and probably some space marines (or a vendetta, something Imperial though). So keep an eye out, my *big list* may be done, but I'll still be updating regularly until Deadzone hits.. and then its crazy town.
As I've decided to go ahead and document my progress building the mantic corporation army set, I've gotten this post switched into a blog! For completeness I'm going to leave this first post mostly intact for the time being.
I may not update constantly, but as things get done, here they shall go. Eventually, once this box is sorted, I'll recondition this blog into a joint corporation/IG nilla/dark angels army blog. There will be much assembly at first and painting should follow once the dust settles. If you're bored what painted marines I've got are linked in my signature.
Hey dakka! I've been debating getting these guys for months and finally decided to go for it. Things may have changed but I know when I first looked into them, there wasn't a boat-load of information or pictures. I'd like to use this space to show you whats in the box, and share my thoughts on it.
Front of box
Spoiler:
Back of box
Spoiler:
The very first thing I noticed when I got the box in the mail was how light it was. I thought to myself, they must have shipped me the 20 marine platoon instead or something. All is well, the box really is just that light. Alot of this comes from the large majority of the models being sprueless resin plastic (i've heard it called restic). Not only did I find everything as advertised on the box, but I found some surprising extras!
Box spilled out on couch:
Spoiler:
I've read that these models can be fiddly or difficult to work with so I grabbed some tools!
Spoiler:
Turns out I only really needed the hobby knife and the sprue cutters (mostly just for the bases). One tip I had heard did come in handy. This restic stuff is really hard, a sharp hobby knife is really important! Brand new sharp.
These guys come off the sprue and have just a hint of mold line. A few bits also have tabs that need cut off.
Spoiler:
If you were going to forget to trim the mold lines on anything, these guys seem pretty forgiving.
I don't know about you, but I was intensely curious as to whether or not the bases matched up with GW's.
Spoiler:
same width
not quite as tall
the heavy weapon team bases are noticeably thinner and aren't quite as wide as the top of a standard GW 60mm base.
They seem to be made out of some sort of fiber/particle board. I doubt one would get too many complaints, but so far these are the most different.
The plastic(restic?) bases come on sprues(almost the only thing that does), and they sent 50, 10 more than you need.. woot! Correct number of "60mm" bases
I've assembled the one marine as seen below. I can understand while people would say they are a bear. The arms go on ball joints and are fairly small so it takes a little finesse to get them in place. I definitely wouldn't warn anyone away, they may not be cake but I wouldn't say hardmode either. I'll have more information soon as I try to do some weapon swaps (and hopefully some magnets).
You get two identical marine sections, as well as one each of veterans, rangers, and heavy weapon teams.
The marine sections come with 10 marines, 3 each of 3 different bodies, heads, and arm sets, as well as a kneeling figure with a pistol and energy fist. Each marine section also comes with a small special weapon sprue including what could easily pass for a flamer, melta gun, and plasma gun.
The heavy weapon pack comes with 6 kneeling figures, 3 sets of arms that attach to the 3 included heavy weapon bodies, and arms for the spotter. There are two options for each heavy weapon, an auto cannon or a laser cannon, which would be stupid easy to magnetize.
The veteran section has the same body layout as the marines, except you trade one standing body for a second one kneeling. The rest of the bits are the same with the addition of the heavy weapon (with two different bits for either auto cannon or laser cannon) and two more special weapon sprues. This means the veterans come with 3 of each type, 9 total!
The rangers section takes the cake. You get the same bodies as a marine section, including the fist and pistol, but the rest is different. The rangers come with "heavy laser rifles" (which would make excellent hellguns/hotshot las) wielded by more armored and imposing arms. There are only 2 types of arm here, unlike marines/vets with 3 poses. There is also an "extra" set of arms, 10 total rifles along with the usual squad leader gear. These guys also get a different set of heads which makes them look even more imposing than the regular marines. In addition to their 3 sprues of special weapons (like the vets), the rangers also have grav-packs which are very low-profile jump packs. Perfect accessory for deepstriking storm troopers, and even better, they fit on the regular torso so there's no obligation to use them.
Managed to update the post with the pictures I meant to add yesterday. I'll add another post later with more assembled minis as I get to them.
I'll leave you with some quick comparison shots. While the corporation marine isn't really any shorter than the cadians, he has more natural proportions. He may look a little anemic next to GW's range of guardsmen, but he makes space marines look bulkier and more superhuman.
Corporation marine in line with some cadians, old metal dark angel, and DV librarian.
Marine in line with two cadians.
Marine with DV librarian and terminator
I was asked to show a ranger and a marine together, so here they are:
The ranger has a more imposing helmet, heavier laser rifle, and beefier shoulder guards.
The ranger also comes with the optional jump/jet/grav pack.
Next to that guardsman again.
Thanks for viewing! I hope to have answered some questions about Mantic's Corporation marines, back with more later as I get some assembled.
--edit: cleaned up the post, added pictures where they were needed.--
So far I'm really happy with the box. Getting double the expected special weapons was a pleasant surprise. Got alot of updating to do
We'll see if my daughter lets me.
Thank you tons! I think I'm definitely going to get these then. Debating whether to get GW 60mm bases for the heavy weapons though. I don't think the net height difference for the models changes anything though because even though the corporation base is shorter the actual model is a bit taller so it pretty much evens out. IMO
I'll add a little to this. Got a 20-pack over the summer to bulk up my Elysian army. Here's a comparison shot with FW Elysians, some kitbashed GW stuff and the Mantic minis.
I think I'm going to put the weapon teams on the included bases. If anyone gives me any guff about them I can just slap them on top of spare 60mm gw bases borrowed from dreads and such.
Wow I knew they were similar to Elysians, but its even closer than I thought, now that I see them together like that.
I hadn't seen the box art until I got this thing out of its shipping box. I like it too, though I think they've come a long way with their enforcers (guys jetpacking down from the top left). I guess those could just be the rangers its kind of hard to tell.
I've been chipping away at getting the first 10 marines assembled, its definitely not as easy as slapping a box of guardsmen together. My first foray into magnets has left me looking into alternative swapping solutions. I've moved on to trying pins with moderate success. The guns are just so thin, its hard to get anything in/on them to stick/socket/etc to the hand. I'll come back with pictures when I have something a little more solid.
First off, thanks to the mods for moving this to P&M blogs!
Rigeld2: the rangers are my favorite. I still love the grunts too though.
I've got more done but for now I'm going to throw down Platoon Infantry Squad 1:
Now that I have a couple of squads under my belt, I can better comment on the quality and condition of the minis. They are a bit tricky to assemble but once you have a good method down for holding/gluing the arms they get pretty easy, and there are only 3-4 points to glue per model so fast too. There aren't any huge mold lines, and the flash is pretty minimal but pretty much every arm has at least a small tab/nub. For as few mold lines as are, this material is pretty hard so they're a bit more difficult to scrape away than those on soft plastic. Fortunately they're pretty manageable, I'll say it again you could just about get away without trimming them at all.
A word on the torsos. The two sets with the left leg forward are pretty good, my favorite is the one with the most twist to it, has yielded my favorite poses. The set with the right leg forward is the most static/boring, and I noticed something about it in conjunction with the arm sets. One or the other set of arms goes on pretty easily, but at least one set just about never fits together properly when used with these legs. Either the socket on the arm, the ball on the torso, one maybe both sides have to be modified, or there will be a gap and you can see the ball on the torso. Can solve it by modifying like I said, or by gluing the left arm down like its being used to open a pouch. Not a big deal, just something I noticed that may prove helpful for someone else assembling the models.
I haven't noticed anything about the bodies or heads, but a few of the laser rifles (the special weapons mostly seem ok) are a tad warped. I've mostly bent them into place with my fingers though I think there are some resin tricks that could do it better. The first heavy weapon I put together is super crooked however.
This is after bending the arms/handles/whatever to just before I thought they would break. The weapon came with the veterans, I'm hoping the other three wont have this lean to them but it may just be the way they're cast. If they come out like this first one, I'll have to do something, either heating and bending or cutting. Probably fairly fixable either where the handles attach or by adjusting the arms a bit.
As I said before magnets just weren't going to work for me for weapon swaps. I've decided that these guys are reasonably priced and it wouldn't hurt to just glue everything and pick up some more when I want options. Once I committed to cutting and gluing the special weapons they ended up looking a lot better imo.
Its not perfect, could use a tiny bit of green stuff but I may just leave it alone. I mount the flamers and plasmas differently, pictures of the flamers to come later.
The magnets wouldn't have been terrible but they were taking up extra time. While their ebay store is going through a large update till the end of February, Hoard_o_bits was selling mantic boxes by the bit and the arms were gettable pretty cheaply. I think magnetizing the shoulders to the torso will be doable, going to try that when I get to the heavy weapon teams as I may not always want to use them, and the army set comes with one or two extra pairs of arms.
Too much work and loss of detail. Not even sure what I was going for on the blob of greenstuff, anything but a blob I guess.
Coming up next time on project dark storm:
a How-To for my bases
"Fireball" PCS Infantry squad 2
Recycled bitz pistols!?
Whats on deck you ask? 3 heavy weapon teams, 10 veterans, and *gasp* a primaris psyker!
Small update this morning, I give you the assembled fireball PCS! While much more modest in size, I think its still fairly obvious that they are flame weapons.
I hoarded several of the lowered face shield heads to give the unit a more distinct look what with it being the platoon's "mini-HQ". If I ever get some extra arm bitz found/ordered I'm going to do something about that energy fist, as a PCS commander could actually take one.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Almost done with infantry squad 2, but here's a quick breakdown of how I do my bases.
The top is made out of:
Spoiler:
You should be able to zoom way in via the gallery.
So like I said, simple. Clip the mini-base off. Trim the rest around the boots. Cut the last off to make the boots proper height. Cut a piece of tiled sheet styrene that's *just* larger than the base. For this size its 6x6 squares. Large blob of hot glue in the base cavity, just not so much you can't slap the new top on smoothly. Cut around the edge so its all flush. This could be done a lot more professionally but its a ruined city so I'm not desirous of perfect shapes. Flip the base over, glue the newly liberated marine onto it, add a bit of rubble. I'm planning on adding a little sand/ballast before priming, but I'll be doing that in batches.
Random project last night, I completed my first "60mm" base, its designed to fit two bases flush. I'll get some pictures of it when I finish IS2.
Still coming soon? IS2 recycled pistols heavy weapon team base
Alright, I was going to update more often this last week or so, but its hard to take pictures around here. I assembled a makeshift light box today and gave it a try. Either it or my lamps need some tweaking/replacing, but its better than nothing and a lot quicker to get set up. If you are having trouble seeing a detail, most of my pictures are way bigger in the gallery so feel free to click 'em.
I'm down to 5 models left to assemble at this stage, and just about have my color scheme picked out.
Infantry squad 2, lascannon team (needs 60mm base converted yet) and plasma.
Infantry squad 3, lascannon team in proper drop-in base, plasma.
a closer look at the heavy weapon team base.
Magnetizing arms and shoulders is infinitely easier than doing so with wrists/hands/guns. Even easier than marines, its almost impossible to mess up the placement of the magnets given the ball and socket joint style.
under the hood: both gunners, second model shown with rifle arms for when he isn't manning a tripod in a weapon team.
WIP Rangers/vets squad 1. I decided to go ahead with the backpacks even if I use them as vets, they add to the minis coolness factor and tbh the helmets look a little funny from behind if there is no grav pack. Two converted "melta guns". The flamer (or tactical flame unit for warpath) and plasma gun (no direct warpath use in current rules) are fairly obvious, the third gun seems intended for melta purposes. I may try to find a hose and fuel canister to add to these to solidify their role as melta stand ins. For warpath I'll probably just distribute the special weapons and blanket them all as TFU as its the only man-portable upgrade the infantry can get.
Spoiler:
WIP Primaris Psyker/Hero. Without extra bitz that fit in the scale this is the best I've come up with so far to represent a primaris. I would like maybe a long coat or just a little something to make him look a bit more authoritative. A nice head would be good too but I kind of see any psykers in this corporation army as being shady secret government operatives rather than flamboyant space-wizards. I like the length of the staff, but I'm going to rummage my bitz box a some more as the head is obviously imperial and doesn't necessarily fit in. Pistol made from bits clipped from the laser rifles on both ends to make conversions for the special weapons. For now I'm planning to spruce him up, but if the rest of the army is painted and he still looks like this, then I'm painting him too. Maybe replace with the corporation commander model later on.
Spoiler:
Last thing I've got tonight is a test model for my scheme. I'm not 100% happy with this model, but having done it and knowing what to do differently on the next one, I think I'm happy with the scheme. That's a pretty big deal for me, it usually takes me 3-4-5 test models before I'm happy and then I usually wig out before the first squad is done. The white is a bit rough but better than my previous attempts, the boots gloves pouches and straps are going to be colored differently. I intend on a lighter grey, left the wash too heavy this time or they'd be right. The red bits on the shoulder are probably squad markings so there will be a red squad, blue squad etc. May implement a line here or there. The eyes and green on the rifle only have the base layer of paint, just wanted to block it in, I usually paint those features in batches.
Corporation Marine/Imperial Guardsman test scheme.
Gotta get the last 5 rangers done and then its time to trim the crap out of those little round bases and get these guys mounted up on their tiles. I'm planning to undercoat white and use the airbrush to cover the bases in grey, the rest is washes and picking out details. Then I'll have to figure out how I want to paint the three imperial vehicles I have laying around, valkdetta, russ and chimera.
Yeah, these guys are a bit harder to work with than GW plastics, but cheaper and I like the truescale and general aesthetic, not to mention the ridiculous difference in price (especially so when you consider the 40 model box and up).
About the only thing I've wanted for while building them is a non power-fist looking sgt arm. You kind of have to make excuses for it when they're guard proxies. And while they're basically mandatory in all but the smallest warpath corporation squads, they aren't really amazing for their cost.
Hoping to have the first ten or so painted by the end of the weekend but we'll see, getting busier.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright at this point I've got the rangers done, though I'm considering hacking one more up for a 4th "meltagun" for running a melta CCS and the option to run 2x 5 man 2 TFU ranger squads for warpath. I'm going to paint those next-to/last so there is time for decidening yet. I've got my first Infantry squad/ marine section primed and based. Going to do the bases separately next time, too much fuss to airbrush around the models legs and such, I'll just temp-glue the marines to nails or what have you.
As for updates with pictures, I've got my scheme hammered out. Had to go through two test models but I think this third marine is at a place I can be happy with.. It's been interesting painting with a white undercoat, almost always go with black, and white seems way less forgiving. Gotta fill in everything and can't touch the model at all, especially in my case since white shows up really hard through the black armor if I accidentally wear the paint off.
This guy is pretty rough, I'm just going for tabletop here so I think I can live with it, though I'm hoping to do a little better with each squad as I get everything down. Note the base is just blocked in with base colors, I've done plenty like this for my marines so I wasn't concerned with highlights and flock just for a proof of concept.
Let the forum auto-correct this one, the further you zoom in the worse it looks, but I think he's alright.
I think this is the most flattering picture, which isn't saying a whole lot but y'know.
I fully intend to go back and redo that stupid eye, I may give my micron pen a try for these, hands a little shaky to get that teeny dot just right.
In my defense, I think the red looks a bit more shaded in person than it does in the pictures. I'm not 100% on the metal coloring for the gun barrel, it seems alright maybe. It got put in after the heavy washes that turned the grey base into sort-of-black so it should mesh a little better on the next painted model.
I think if I can get all 46 guys painted like this without it taking forever, I'll be pretty happy.
Next update? For now we're just looking to power through the first squad. Still have most of the bases to chop up as well.
Are there special weapons with the mantic box that could easily represent plasma/ melta guns? (Could be with a bit of converting). If so how did you do it?
There are 3 kinds of special weapon. One looks lot like a plasma with coils, another has an obvious flamer look. The third doesnt scream melta but it works in a pinch. Ill try to line each up later tonight for pictures.
Right now i have plans to add a fuel canister and tube to the third type but things have been silly busy of late.
Alright finally got around to getting a picture, baby likes to eat my evenings!
The first one looks a lot like a plasma if you ask me. The second is what I would use for a melta. To be more GW-friendly one might add a fuel canister and a tube of some kind, but I think they look ok as is. The last is obviously a flamer.
The weapons look a tad different out of the box, I cut most of them just past the trigger and spliced them onto a laser rifle's stock. They all come with handles but the laser rifle has a weird handle that makes it a little hard to put a more standard (like all 3 special weapons) handle onto it. So I just lopped them off where it looked 'right' and glued them down. Still going to experiment with making the middle gun look more like a melta, but I still say they should pass out of the box.
Thanks for all of your help/ pictures! I'm definitely going to buy this box (sadly not until this summer though). My IG army will get a definite boost coupled with some Manticores I'm planning on buying/ converting one from a chimera (I have one chimera I never use)
Automatically Appended Next Post: I know I just posted.... but man I'm getting excited to buy these guys. Have you had fun painting/ modeling them?
Yeah i have first 10 90% done i just need to finish the bases and update the two test models. I nabbed them for a quick guard project but the load of details is slowing me up a bit. I dont mind though, they look awesome and arent too hard too hard to work with once you get used to them.
Gotten so busy with work starting back up full time, I intended to update this more often.
I like how you have the heavy weapons teams individually removable from the larger bases. They're looking good so far. Get your test guys complete, so I can say more.
I've gotta get myself to do the bases. I'm wishing I had painted the models and bases separately but I need to get over it and get them finished, there can't be more than an hour or two of work to get the first ten table ready.
The removable heavy base was kind of a pain, but I'm pretty happy with how it looks unpainted, can probably make it look a bit better with bits flock and grass too.
I need to focus... Space marines are supposedly my "main project" right now of which these corporation marines were to be a brief distraction. Work started back up and has really nerfed my hobby time.
Of course now that my DA/C:SM army got stalled for a month or two I've come up with a new color scheme I may like more and or is easier. Been meaning to take a picture of the one guy I got more or less done to get some feedback.
And to put things even further out of whack I've gotten a bug to make an inquisimunda warband, necromunda gang (or three, ideas keep coming and I have a friggen mountain of untapped bitz) and I broke down and bought the Baldur's Gate enhanced edition which has kicked off a whole pile of D&D related nostalgia and enthusiasm
I'm a mess, its surprising I ever get anything done at all
I will try to get to work on these bases though, its a pretty minor thing to keep a unit from being done and sealed. And I'll see about posting up my "Brazen Templar" trial marine.
Thank you kindly! I've been really horrible at keeping things updated here... Work has picked up full swing and all that. A good hour's work will see 10 corp marines done, need to get at that.
Alrighty, I've been going a bit nuts over the deadzone kickstarter, trying to figure out exactly what I want to pledge for and so on. Between that and work picking back up full-time overtime etc.. it has been a while since I've made any meaningful Progress to report.
Over the memorial day weekend I managed a couple of days off and on one of them I got myself to finally finish the bases and last little bits on my first ten marines. The eagle eyed among you will notice that two of them retained the earlier test color on their pouches which I may fix later once the whole army set is done, or not. Two of them also need the studs done on their boots, I seem to have missed them in the rush to get done. Be sure to click the images to zoom in a bit if you care to.
The bases need... something. The grey washes out in lower lightning, and the bases are a tad more sparse than I'd like. I'm thinking city battle zone though so I don't want to use vegetation like I'm doing for my space marines, I imagine the city these corporation troopers are walking around in a more recently deserted or still occupied city.
Close up on the sgt, special weapon guy, and marine.
Heavy weapon team aims down field. Need to finish the 60mm socket-base for this team and paint the optional burst laser, as well as the spare magnetized arms.
So, I think they turned out alright. There are a few spots I need to go back and touch up, but I'm happy enough with them for now to move on to the next squad and try to do a little better in some places.
I think I'll come back with an alt scheme for my space marines and hopefully some progress on the next 5-10 corporation marines sooner than later.
For the tiles, you could try what I did; a brown/green mix of washes through some of the crevasses. This gives a dirty, moldy look to it. Of course, if you want a clean aesthetic, a straight black wash might give it some more depth at least.
Other than that, they're coming along nicely. I'm still hovering on the edge when it comes to the Deadzone KS, though I know there's not much time. If they had a Corporation (as opposed Enforcers) faction/starter, I'd probably pick it up.
I'm nuts over the terrain myself. Though I do like the models too especially rebs and enforcers. I plan to all-in dead zone and the just pick up the warpath rulebook and a couple of vehicles whenever the wp kickstarter shows up.
I am pretty sure I did black wash the bases but maybe some thing darker or even a black line via pen.. gonna paint the models and bases separately for squad 2 so I'll have more ease of access.
Hrmm, No work on the current "main project" but here are a few things I've been working on:
Alternate/new/different scheme for some or all of my marines. Something like Brazen Templars maybe.. Its about the same workload as the dark grey, but I get to dip these which should make them extra durable (minwax polyshades).
Arms off! I think the red has a little more depth in person, but oh well, really going for table top here anyway.
WIP terminator hanging out.
The main thing I like about this color scheme compared to the grey is that it pops a lot more from a greater distance. It also works a lot better in lower lighting conditions. The shadow knights tend to lose a lot of definition in dim lighting. The same bases seem to contrast well too. Oh, dont mind the white spots on the base, I stole it from another model and the feet didn't quite line up. Just wanted to hammer out a test model, I think he could have done with some more touch ups but the general idea is there.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Got a hold of the necromunda rules and thought I'd start work on a gang to do in between other projects. Here are the first 9 or so of the initial 11-12 man gang:
Group shot
Boss in the middle with a couple of gangers
Ganger and heavy. Not sure about the chain, just grabbed a free arm for picture time
The juves, not sure about the empire pistol... wanted a stub gun and thats the best I could turn up on short notice. They all have the same bandana head cause its the youngest looking head I could find
So, I figure WoC marauders are pretty much textbook goliath. I think theres a bit more leather and not enough chain. They look a little fantasy and not necromunda just yet. These guys are all still way WIP though. I need some extra bits and bobs for character, and some detail to make them look more like goliath gangers and less like displaced chaos marauders. Fun to work with though, its nice being able to switch up gear from model to model instead of being stuck with the same gun for 7/10 guys.
I think I figured the bases out a little better. Thanks again to my black micron pen, the tiles have a lot more definition.
I've got about half of the next squad off of their integral bases and up on nails, though the WIP won't show anything we haven't already seen.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Man... These look better on my phone. Maybe this holiday season I'll requisition a proper camera
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hmm... Wonder if I can crutch on the micron any harder... the way the white turned out... could almost use it to fill in the black instead of the black wash and repainting several layers of white. Next unit I'll see, i'm sure it won't look as good, but if I can get close it would save much time.
Thanks The painting part has never been a strong point for me so I do what I can. I couldn't find a whole lot on the corporation minis when I was trying to decide if I wanted any, so I've blabbed as much as possible while working through them so there's more for others to consider
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Bit minor, but squad 2 is undercoated. Now to do the bases while they dry and air out!
Bases are done, just need sealing. Too bad the marines that go on top of them won't be so quick. I had an idea to speed up the white, but it didn't pan out, so they're going to be no faster than before. I've been trying to get myself to do a little bit every day, so hopefully progress continues, however slowly.
To the right, the first weapon team is borrowing the finished team base--showing off, as it were. I'll probably give them a base I make later on, trying to match the angle of the tiles, which will be a lot easier for the unfinished marines as I can properly line up their bases before I glue them down...
Bah, monday and tuesday yielded no results. Too tired after work and such. Its been a cool season so far but this week its started to get hot! =\
Got a couple of marines greyed up, then decided to further my amateur airbrushing (and mostly run my tank out of air...) on a rhino. It will be red and bronze like the marine above, so you can guess what the white is for. I've lost my drive to play 40k for the time being, but painting it (especially anything airbrush-friendly) will still serve as a welcome break from rank and file monotony(mo...no...to...even the word itself is monotonous...).
Ignore Mr. Librarian. He is oh so lonely and begging for more paint, but there are so many squeaky wheels and only so much grease!
Next up? More grey marines, followed by a thick black wash or three (to get the black). Then the tedium of working the white back up begins! At least I like the way they look when they're done
Why is it that cutting corners never seems to work? I've been trying to make the white step for my marines a bit easier, and I thought, what's an easy way to do white? Not doing white? To that effect, I tried to like leaving the fatigues grey (from the black wash), but I don't think I can do it. Maybe if I had never seen the white, but I think you'll agree that the mini on the left looks much better (in terms of white/grey to go with the black and red).
So, I guess I'll still be doing the white. This scheme is locked in for better or worse. I think I'm going to muscle through this box-set, but I dunno how many multiple squad forces I wanna do after this. Redundancy/repetition may be good for army lists, but it be drivin me mad.
Since there hasn't been a lot of updating, random mini from my hobby cave: WIP Techmarine(or master of the forge, its w/e)
I want to bulk up the legs, but so far I haven't managed anything I like. I had a different set-up for the servo-harness at first, but I'm going to make mecha tendrils whenever I decide to finish this one.
So, we trudge on slowly. My goal is to have the 46 model set done by x-mas so I have a nice fat "done" pile to help mitigate the unreasonably large load of plastic and restic incoming from the Deadzone kickstarter. Once that hits, I'll either re-purpose this blog, or start another for general unboxing and review. Gonna have to put some paint down quick if I wanna have a chance at that goal though, so onwards!
Ahem, now that we've got that out of our systems... Minor update, but several images and a moderate change to my methods and approach.
The guy on the left is done (save for sealing, I'll still do that in batches), shown by a completed marine for comparison (should look the same, I didn't do anything differently).
Another angle, both the base and the marine were way more fun to paint separate. This will probably give me a bit more brittle of a join to the base (gluing paint together etc) but totally worth it.
This is my entire completed corporation force. Small, but growing, and that's the fun part. New guy is off to the left awaiting reinforcements.
Shadow Knight scouts picking a fight with the corporation? Not sure they saw the guys waiting on the other side of that wall...
So. I have done batch painting, and single models at a time. Both have benefits, but I'm not really in the mood for either at the moment. Painting batches right now, is driving me crazy. Single models have a lot of waste though, so what I've been doing is to more or less paint one model at a time--but have a few others lined up in case I have extra paint or long drying times (and these guys do use a lot of washes). It isn't as fast or efficient as proper batch painting, but it is getting the job done, and keeping me happy.
Sans the out of place librarian, this is my "productivity queue".
Following are some shots of my smurf chariot and a standard bearer. They were going to be a counts as night/goblin army for WHFB years ago, picked up a bunch of snotlings and slapped them on single bases to give them a tiny smurfy look. Obligatory candy cane spears and standard orcs/goblins tomfoolery (one of the wolf riders is being dangled in front of his wolf as 'motivation', etc) aside, I just put this one on the back burner and the pilot light went out long ago. Maybe someday
I think I'm going to start focusing on the painting/modeling aspect of this hobby. I've always enjoyed these parts (I mean c'mon, P&M blog here), but they've always been slanted (tainted even?) by the gaming side of things. Making myself paint several of the same unit "cause its good", or not doing some fun conversions "because it wouldn't be tourney legal" are silly things given how little I actually play. So plan to see some more off-the-beaten-path stuff as we move forward. So I'm going to keep swinging away at these marines, will be trying to update more often, which means more random hobby images!
Well, no random models for this update, but it is only the first half of today's update. I'm on the hunt for supplies today. Yesterday I gave in and did some airbrush shopping, found a badger Sotar 20/20 on amazon for $70something, so I threw in a spare fine and a medium needle to boot. Hoping to get them in soon.
Since the sotar has such a tiny needle (.20 i think) I want to get some airbrush paint so I have less trouble thinning it enough to run through the gun (which is billed for illustrators and ink especially). I've been after airbrush paint for awhile, this was just the push I needed. I want the whole minitaire set but amazon seems to be permanently out, and all of their other airbrush paint seems high (at least vallejo model air, the jury is out on spectratex, i'll know more after a trip to michaels).
So today should see me visiting the "local" (read: nothing closer than an hour away sadface) gamestore and michaels to pick up some paint.
I'm hoping the sotar's fine needle/nozzle give me a narrow enough spray I can start doing more than basecoats. I know a lot of what I need is skill, but a finer brush can't hurt. Even if I can start doing secondary colors, it will help a lot.
I'll be keeping an eye out for the usual bargains, of course, michaels has been known to turn the occasional surprise find.. and the gamestore could step up too.
I should have a couple of images later, 2/10 marine in the second squad is very nearly done, and I've got a lot more models laying around who haven't seen the camera yet.
Long day, was out a lot longer than anticipated. However...
OMG
Supply Drop!
We hit the game store first, and ran into some unexpected(ly awesome!) deals. It was some kind of gamer appreciation day sale, with several tables and shelves sporting 50% off! In addition to things I was already after, I've got some mad deals to brag about
x2 After discount these were just over $30 a piece. I got one to start with, and had to stop back by the store on the way home, too good to pass up! Not only was it marked $65 before the super sale, but its also the special edition of the box with 10 extra revenants (both boxes). Nuts!
Lookit all of that stuff! There are 8 friggen mantic points in there, stickers for the skelemen, a pamphlet/poster for both factions, leaflet of minimum rules to play, 5 dice, and a sheet with stats for the included units to boot!
Holy crap that's a lot of plastic. This is just the one starter set, probably a steal at $75(retail) you can guess why I had to nab a pair!
The box was cracked at the bottom, but all of the sprues and mantic point were intact.
Here's the mantic case cracked open, its rather like an old VHS case without the parts for holding the tape. These guys are plastic, and the lower half is the same as their fantasy dwarf line. Some complain, I'm ok with it. (more on that below)
I'm extremely pleased with this find, it was marked $28 but after the sale it was a measly $14. This is PERFECT for the forge fathers I'll be getting from Deadzone, they have a lot of good units to use in warpath, but no solid units to allow you to field the characters... no longer a problem!
This isn't exactly what I was after, but it will all be useful. Needed white in a dropper, the liquid mask should be quite handy. I've been wanting to try out both model air and pigments so this will give me a bit to play around with.
So the paints were all regular price, no big deal there, but its something to work with. We stopped by michaels too, but Amazon has more choice and possibly better prices on the spectratex stuff, so I may just order a couple of bottles of that and try to get them in on the same day as the airbrush. I wasn't expecting to get more than a couple of bottles at the gamestore today, was completely sideswiped by them even having mantic models, and half price no less!
I've already got too many ideas of what to do with this stuff... For now, I'm leaving the second KoW starter box in the shrink wrap, just in case I want to trade it or whatever. Most likely I'll crack it open to get at some specific bits (especially the mantic points) for some conversions. The Steel Warriors are perfect for a starter WP FF army when added to the mob i'll be getting from Deadzone. But I'm not satisfied that I've gotten all of the Forge Fatherly goodness out of my purchases that I can. Since the legs of the steel warriors are the same as those for fantasy (and I've just picked up like... maybe a hunnerd dwarfs?) I'm thinking that maybe some of the spare hands on the steel warriors sprues can be subbed in. I may also try my hand at plasticard/greenstuffing to convert some of the dwarf gunners into steel warriors by modifying the rifles and maybe swapping out pouches for more modern ones in my bitz box.. maybe mess with the armor plates too.
I'm also thinking I may want to take a section or platoon of my (already assembled, but oh well) corporation marines and mod them up in the style of the Z corp. I think that box is just corporation marines with extra zombie and ghoul sprues, all of which are now at my disposal. In addition to letting me try something different, the Z corp may be passable as both extremely shady corporation marines, as well as extra zombies for deadzone and warpath plague armies.
I'm not sure what to do with the rest of the dwarfs and undead. The undead look pretty awesome, a lot skinnier than GW skelies, at least the older kind I have. I'm not a massive fan of dwarves, but they may make a fun side project. Who knows, maybe I'll play D&D again and be glad of having some stout folk around.
Alright that was a lot of text and not a lot of progress. Fear not, soon there will be more painted corporation marines. And maybe some zombie marines... I may do up 5 or all 10 of those steel warriors after I get this batch of marines done, not sure yet. Thanks for reading folks! Hopefully by the weekend I'll be able to overview the Sotar 20/20, with some thoughts on model air, spectra tex, and maybe that liquid mask. But I'll be happy if I can just get a couple of marines on their bases
Small update. All I managed to get done last night was to trim and glue 5 of those steel warriors. Really easy to assemble though the caped legs don't fit the saw bodies that well. I have plenty extra from my dwarfs so I will use the plain legs for all but the thane. I'm happy with his pose, would make two with hammer but I want a 10 man wp squad and those only get the 1 leader.
@Da Boss- thanks! I intend to update as often as I make progress or having something to say.
Speaking of saying something. While I retired my WHFB stuff back in 7th edition (one ago, unless i'm behind the times here), reading up about Kings of War for some insight to my recent Mhorgoth Rising starter boxen has kind of gotten under my skin a little. The modeling flexibility KoW allows with fixed unit sizes and not removing individual casualties.. modeling opportunities abound. Probably going to stay sci-fi for the moment, but who knows, may replace my space marine palette cleanse (is that a pun ) with some ranked up dwarfs or skeletons!
On another note, just got my Sotar's spare needles in so as soon as I get the chance I'll be ready to rock. I'm pretty impressed with Amazon Prime right now. I realize its not hard to get their free shipping, but 2 day guarantee is pretty spiffy. I didn't order my spectra tex 6-color set until sunday night and it still came in tuesday afternoon. The prime instant video selections are just good enough to talk me into it (second season of alphas, one up on netflix), was really on the fence but meh... still way cheaper than cable!
I did play with the sotar a little bit last night, first impression is that it's pretty spiffy. Really didn't get to give it a full test though. And a lot of this whole airbrushing thing is on me, the brush can let me make finer lines, but I still have to be able to use that to an advantage
Ok, I promise something more interesting than rambles next time! Hopefully my little one takes a nap and I'll be able to scrounge together some hobby time with a little spare for posting pictures later.
@adamsouza (oh man now its becoming a reflex with the @)- Thanks! I tell you, I'm frankly somewhat scared of how excited I am getting about ranking up these dwarfs! I don't even really like dwarfs! I mean, I guess I like dwarfs. I'm just not a dwarf person. Err.. that sounds bad somehow. But that is to say, some people really like dwarfs, or elves or what have you, but I'm not one of them. So its odd to get this excited about a project for an army I don't even especially like. Forget the fact that I've got as many skeletons laying around as I just picked up and I could be neck deep in fantasy hobby projects in a snap. Its pretty terrifying because I've been doing a decent job the last little bit of working through these corporation marines, slow, but steady.
Meh, such is life. I'm taking a relaxed approach to hobbying right now, I mean, isn't that the point? Sure I would like to play games with large coherent forces, but relaxing and working on whatever sounds fun helps me enjoy it better. I still wanna get those blasted corporations done before xmas though!
Speaking of ranking up those dwarfs, I can't decide if I'm going to use the mantic bases on top of plasticard, or plasticard on top of the mantic bases (or something of similar thickness). The latter would look better except for the small integral base sticking up and needing to be addressed. I've been cutting those off for warpath, but its a lot of work especially on the cloaked dwarfs, gonna take some thinking. But when I figure it out, I've got enough plasticard on deck to choke a donkey:
Well... this WAS a picture of the cheapest plasticard I've managed to find, but apparently cheap plasticard is not considered a wargaming image so I guess you'll just have to imagine the thin plastic for/yard/garage sale signs at walmart (or anywhere). Mumble Grumble. I'm not 100% sure it shares the exact chemical properties of plasticard (like does it do well with plastic cement, dunno I use superglue for everything), but it serves my purposes well and its less than 2 bucks a sheet!
I've got some of the good stuff from evergreen scale models too, but I tend to save that for proper scratchbuilding etc.
While its still not progress how about a look at that Sotar?
Oooooh so shiney. Methinks this badboy and I are gonna go places.
But what puts the air into that brush, you ask? Wait, you didn't ask? Well I don't care I've got a chip on me shoulder about this one so we're having picture time!
Blurry and poorly lit, but hey, you get the idea.
When I was shopping for air compressors to go with my cheapo airbrush set and replace their equally cheapo included compressor, I could find no reason not to get a big compressor. Noise isn't an issue for me generally so I don't need "silent". I just couldn't fathom spending 100+ dollars on one of those dinky little airbrush compressors, when I could throw just a few more bucks at something way meatier. I fill this thing one time and I can airbrush for an hour. I haven't really clocked it, but its a long time anyway. It isn't terribly clearly marked at such a low pressure, but I can get a steady 10-15 psi out of it if I need to go that low. Not to mention how nice it is never to have to buy canned air again, and be able to fill up my own tires if they get low. Try hooking one of those airbrush compressors up to a blowgun and putting the darts into the wall. Not that that's the best use of a compressor, or my time, but it was funny that once
Ok gonna sneak back downstairs and try to get some actual progress made instead of just taking blurry pictures of my workspace!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Minor success!
Another grunt down, boosh. 12/46, puts me just over 25% of the way. And there may be zombification going down, could spice up the last 5-20 marines!
I didn't have the energy to start another marine, but here are some freshly clipped dwarfs posing on some bits of terrain as I try to sort out some scenic bases. I was surprised at just how small 100x80mm is when you're trying to stuff in a regiment and lots of spiffy terrain details!
If not meant to be, WHY DOG HAVE HANDLE! I should save up bits for a unit of these, dwarf hounders nah, mixing the mutts in will be too much fun.
I can see what people mean when they say watch gluing the dwarfs before you rank them, they're quite wide.
Five dwarfs one little rock and a dead/drunk/sleeping dwarf and the regiment base is half used up. And I thought it was going to be a stretch to make 14 dwarfs fill the base. I'll be lucky to fit 10 at this rate
The way I want to do my scenery, I think i'm going to have to cut the integral bases. Its a pain, but worth it if I can increase the overall quality of the unit by doing it.
This would be more suited to rangers of course, but those are still on the sprue. Note how the throwing mastiff is resting on his chin, bless his grossly oversized chompers!
Playing with height, this may be a little much but it gets the idea across. If I were to use a piece like that, I would carve a cave entrance into it, or something like that.
The piece of terrain is about 2x the size of the regiment tray, but its plaster so it would be way easy to fit it to a tray. Off of the mini-bases, I think this could be a cool look, maybe even with a tunnel entrance/dwarf leaving said entrance...
Anyway, hopefully I get some more paint down on those corporation marines before I get any more dwarfs clipped off their sprues. Or trimmed for mold likes, once that happens I may not be able to resist undercoating them and working out a scheme!
I really really like the modeling opportunities scenic regiment bases open up. Even if I never throw a dice, these will look so much cooler on the shelf than a handful of space marines. I need to work out the actual terrain, but I've got a pet idea I want to work out for the rangers. There would be one dwarf up high somewhat behind cover aiming a crossbow, with 2-3 extra cross bows laid out. The sprue seems to come with some, loaded and ready. It reminds me of some of my favorite scenes in fantasy books, Elminster when he was an outlaw laying out extra crossbows to fire faster etc. Looking forward to working on these way too much!
Here's hoping to get another marine done this week! No promises, but it would be cool, no? As always thanks for watching!
Inspiring stuff with the scenic bases. I would like to try something like that but I feel like I want to keep them on their individual bases so I can use them for other games as well.
I used to want to keep things modular but these dwarfs were cheap and its too hard sometimes to do modular AND awesome. My space marines got magnetized and they don't look as good to me as if I had just posed and glued them. So the dwarfs are definitely a hobby project first this time around.
Yes. That is exactly how I feel about this project. Space marines I was building for gaming, even though I dont play much. These dwarfs are for fun. And if I run into someone who wants to play KoW, I won't complain
Automatically Appended Next Post: Clipped some dwarfs off of their sprues while watching TV, saving the mold line trimming for more concentration, unfamiliar with these models and don't wanna cut myself/them up too much. Clipped their integrated bases off too, its a pain, but it will be worth it in the long run. I still have to trim the left overs from the boots and under the capes (those are a pain, and something like 30 of the dwarfs have that style of leg...).
I think I may end up doing the scenic bases separately (and first), occasionally testing fits with individual dwarf models. Once the display base is done (won't have to be painted though), I'll have to figure out a good method for posing, removing to paint, and then putting the dwarfs back. I plan to make the bases fairly dynamic so this is going to take some tricky planning, at least till I get the hang of it.
Fair bit of work left, but this is technically a side project until I get caught up on my marines.
I did get a little time for the airbrush tonight. I'm still pretty terrible at using one, from mixing paint to getting everything to work out. Still, I haven't done it much yet, and this was a new brush to boot. So far, I really like the Sotar 20/20. The tiny tiny needle is letting me get a lot closer and do a lot more with the airbrush than before. I focused on red tonight, though I think I'll be able to do most of the model once I get more control.
Here you can see the boots and gloves, with some work on the belt pouches.
More of the same.
I like that the sotar is nimble enough to basically paint the whole model, as long as I'm really careful and on top of managing overspray (choosing a good angle from which to spray, and hand masking when that isn't enough). Where this thing can spray a face of a belt pouch without getting paint all over the place, my other brush (and its much larger needle) would be much happier blasting the whole leg in red .
Now, a disclaimer, I probably could have done the red on at least two or three models in the time I spent fooling around with the airbrush tonight. Eventually, I think it's going to make me faster AND add to the things I can do, but for right now using it beyond basecoating is going to be break even at best. I did try that liquid mask out, just put it on the cloth above the boots so I could spray them a bit faster. Haven't gotten around to removing it yet (did this to a different model) so we'll see, could speed things up but one must consider it takes time to apply and dry as well. Really easy to put on (if I did it right) just like painting.
So hopefully a bit more work on the marines tomorrow, I got conned into digging some post holes for a guy after work, no fun . With any luck I'll get some more work done this weekend! Decemberween is fast approaching and I need to clear out some space for the incoming Deadzone!
So as I bake away in the sun today(work outdoors) I've had a disturbing thought. If I really intend to zombify some corporation and still use them with the others, the best way is to make the z-corp basic marines and use my already painted corp as vets. After accounting for the hwt and rangers I think I've actually painted two too many marines now. Going to think about this one...
Automatically Appended Next Post: I may just leave those two intact. They can be the 'lucky' minders to make sure the zombie marines shoot in the right direction. May have to modify their white some. The zombies may have had the same fatigues but they will be so dirty/disheveled I'm gonna use a different base color.
I'm not sure what parts ratio I'm gonna do. If I did 50/50 for some I could get a couple of extra soldiers...I'll leave the painted 2 for last
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hmm now I'm trying to sort out my former plans for the marines so I know which models are zombie fodder.
I had a thought, a quick repaint of the shoulder pads of my two most recent marines and they could replace the heavy weapon team in squad 1. That team could become the first team for my eventual heavy weapon section, forgetting the hwt for the vets (which don't have to be vets at all), sparing a couple more models. I'll probably be able to stretch my marines the more zombie/ghoul parts I use, but I know I'm short of 20 as it is. Lets go find out!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ok, did some reconfiguring, and it looks like I get 15 corporation marines to zombify. I should be able to make plenty of zombies, even if I keep them mostly recognizable as marines. Hoping to come up with 5 more bodies to make it a proper platoon for fun.
After the re-structure I should have the following:
10 corporation marines/vets (10/10 painted)
5 vets incl weapon team (2/5 painted)
5 rangers 2 specials (0/5)
5 rangers 2 specials (0/5)
heavy weapon section (0/3-6)
?20? z corp marines (0/20) needs construction
I'm not a huge fan of vets with weapon teams, but aesthetically it looks pretty cool.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I just managed to get the sprues clipped when the baby awoke. So, may get a little done tonight, but not till she's asleeping.
I got one corporation marine hacked in half and just from some test fitting I can tell this is gonna be a big heavier than my standard modeling projects. I'm going to have to drag out the greenstuff for sure, the parts just aren't set up for each other.
What we're working with. Add a modest (or not so modest) blob of greenstuff and maaaybe some wire, and we'll be ready to get to it!
Hrmm. Now that I've restructured my corporation a bit... I guess I'll finish the 3 marines it takes to make that 5 man vet squad, then I'll see to either the weapon teams or rangers.
First five z-corp marines cobbled together from 4 marines and bits from a zombie and ghoul sprue. Left to right you have: ghoul legs and hand options (head too I think), he's pretty scary, a bit too crouched though but that's just how the ghoul parts are; marine with zombie head and arm, simpler, but a good stock soldier; kneeling marine with energy fist so I guess he's a sgt, think its a ghoul head and a zombie arm, he says to me "I want to has brains, but its comfy down here"; zombie torso rest marine bits, you've got to have a model in a batch that you just don't love as much as the rest, this is him, I don't hate it, but it will never by my favorite; another simple head and arm swap, zombie right arm think its a zombie head.
Looks like somebody forgot to tell SPC rodrigez to say away from Barraks Z at night!
Some of these will need greenstuff touchups, but I'm kind of a minimalist these days-- so those who can avoid it, will.
The base colors on the rest of the vet team are progressing, its not exactly riveting stuff so I gave them a break from the camera. Maybe tonight I'll try to get at least one finished, but its hard to say.
Progress has been light, however, not non-existent. The current 3 marines are about down to white and details, so reasonably close. I've done some thinking about color schemes for the z-corp and steel warriors, and I think I should be able to have them to a good place first try or with just a couple of test models. Five of each are set up on nails ready to be primed, perhaps if the little one takes a nap or after bedtime.
On the virtue of nails (or what have you), while its extra work... I'm really liking my current process. I would readily suggest some kind of mount system to anyone, just to keep from handling the model or even its base. This set-up in particular works for me because I'm branching into using the airbrush more and I just really like having models and their bases separated while working on them. I'll take anything I can get to make the painting process simpler/easier. Obviously you can't use the models in games while they're mounted like this, which could very easily be a problem for someone. For me right now, though, its fine. Heck, its even somewhat of an incentive, gotta get these guys done so I can put them back on their bases and use 'em!
Nothing I'm doing right now warrants a picture on its own, so here's a shot of everything set up on my paint tray. Standard blue insulation foam from Lowes. Holes cut out with a sharpened piece of copper tubing pressed and twisted. Didn't realize it was such a good place to stick all of my nails until fairly recently. It is actually a piece of my current (but still defunct) gaming board, so the underside has a few layers of Elmer's glue and static grass.
I hope to put some more work in tonight where possible, and as long as I don't get drug into anything lengthy on the 4th, I should have that day off as well to put in some more time.
Thanks for viewing! Whats next for Grimdork hobby time? Look forward to Painted Corporation Marine Zombies! Painted Steel Warriors (YELLOW!) Dwarf Bulwarkers scenically displayed! Possibly some fantasy terrain (cause the dwarfs shall demand it!)
Alrighty. Think I'm gonna have to sell my minis, get a boat, and stock up on a heterogeneous mix of animals. I dunno about everywhere else, but my little corner of southern Illinois is getting a boatload (heh) of rain right now. Its crazy weather for July. Anyway, that's given me a day and a half of being rained out from work (can't very well mow yards if they're standing in water now can we!), so I've gotten a little bit of progress. Not much mind you, the baby doesn't stop being demanding just cause its wet outside
So, I finally managed to the the three marines I was working on completed. I'm maintaining my laziness, some things aren't perfect but I'm not likely to change them before the whole run is complete, and possibly not then. They're meant as tabletop, so some bad bits will just have to live on.
The three I just finished. I think I improved my technique for the lenses/visors, and while I didn't execute it perfectly here, I think the next ones will be better still.
The hardened vets of gold team prepare to lay down suppressing fire to cover the advance of green team.
Gold Team secures an alien fortification. That's good intelligence, they overtook the new enemy base before it was even painted!
Thought the blog was lacking that little bit of random. Dug this guy out over the weekend. Early try at blending from years ago. I figured bright wizard, gold team, may as well hang out.
And so that's it for now. Not a whole lot of progress, but something far enough along to take some pictures. Next up will be the first five z-corp, unless I have a chance to get squirrely with the airbrush! Then we'll see some yellow steel warriors!
Here's a shot of what's on deck, cause why not. Looking forward to a slight alteration in my main color scheme, and a palette cleanse (heh) with the yellow space dwarfs.
So, thanks for watching! Be sure to stay tuned for:
Painted zombie marines! Should be really close to my regular marine scheme, but I plan to work in a little brown here and there. Painted Forge Fathers Steel Warriors! I figure, why stop making things harder for myself with white fatigues, lets paint a whole unit of dwarfs Imperial Fists style! Spears! Prepped dwarf bulwarkers! Scenic base of DOOM!
Was going to do zombies first, but got some airbrush time and don't really need it on the zombies so much. So, yellow dwarfs.
The question, how does the black marker pre-shading look? Obviously I would need to control my line a little better if I'm going to do this on all of them, I was just in a hurry to get a concept. Is it too dark/obvious? Is it not enough? Obviously I'll need to do something for the edges, probably white+yellow edge highlights. Would I just be better served by dunking them in dip instead of trying this?
Not sure I can tell the difference anymore, so I guess that answers the question.
Going to sit on these for a while before I decide if I like them. Obviously i'll want to do eyes and such, but we'll see.
The stain is a bit thick in a few places, I really should just do one model and soak up the pools immediately, otherwise it looks bad and tacky if I try to fix it, even a couple of minutes later.
Thanks. The scheme took some tinkering. White is less fun than I'd like but the model just doesn't look right if I change anything.
The shoulder colors just cropped up. The spot was too small for me to freehand and one color army wide seemed lame. And now I can tell them apart so win win.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Zombie Fail!
Got a little time to work after the baby went to sleep. However, I'm not so sure it was time well spent
I put down a couple of layers of a nice pinkish skin-tone, figuring I'd do some light washes of green and brown in an attempt to make it look diseased/rotting/zombific(tm)... Well my vallejo transparent green decided to act like it wasn't so much, even at 1:1 with water. So he's bright green, I guess it looks ok if I were trying out orc schemes. So, I may see what a brown wash does to this, but I'm probably taking it back to formula, as it were.
Further disappointing me is the white. I wasn't sure washing brown and highlighting back to white would work, and it looks like it won't be, at least not the way I'm trying to do it. This brings to light a further complication: the grey straps look kind of bad with the tan-white pants. And brown straps are going to make the grey-black armor look bad.
Right now, I'm seeing two options. There is no middle ground. I can do one or the other, and at this point, I'm not entirely sure which I prefer...
I can stick to the same clean-ish scheme I've been doing, with slight tampering to the flesh tone to make them look more zombific, but otherwise no alteration to the scheme at all.
OR
I can do a completely new scheme for the z-corp.
This new scheme would probably be bleached bone ish khaki fatigues with brown armor, gun would probably be raw metal, red stuff becomes leather stuff. Skin tone same as option A, or I could do a dash more green (tho not so much as above, eesh!). And with that range of colors, I would probably just dip them, not in the dark stuff I used on my forge father test models, more likely about half as dark.
So what do you think loyal readers?
Stick with what's working, a unified force is better than such a mixed bag!
OR
Try the new thing, they just won't look zombific enough in the same scheme!
I wouldn't say I'm torn, but I am indecisive. I'll tweak those forge father test models tomorrow (if I get time) while I mull it over.
Thanks for reading, and please feel free to let me know what you think!
Unfortunately my cell phone (and its camera) are out of reach today, and will be until this evening. There hasn't been a lot of progress to document anyway.
I will say, however, that for as much as I have not been impressed by the spectra tex stuff I've got... the matte top coat I have in that brand seems to work well enough. It could be that any airbrush-ready matte sealer would make me this happy, but I have 8 oz of this stuff so I think I'll be using it for awhile. It looks like any other matte sealer I've used, but the airbrush makes it much easier to get the whole model without globbing it on in places. I don't intend to go back to a can, ever.
I have decided to paint the z-corp in a new scheme, as described above. They just won't look zombific enough in the current corp scheme, so Its time to forge ahead with a new one.
Unfortunately I've had a bit too much panda express and now I'm sleepy...
Hopefully I'll get some time later to snap some pictures, I'll get some random hobby images if there isn't much progress to show!
I can see why you're unhappy with the zombie, but I kinda like the virulent green. Since they're sci fi zombies, it seems okay to me to use really strong colours like that.
When painting them myself, I've had some success with simple flesh tones with a purple wash and some flesh/grey highlights.
I was mostly unhappy that the transparent green wasn't so transparent. But it was more the fact that everything was clashing imo. I may try the hulk green out when I'm doing tan/brown scheme. I don't mind if they're crazy green zombies, really, I just wasn't liking any of the colors together.
I think the green under a medium-strong brown dip may go over well too, I'll have to try it out when I get the chance.
Alright, not a lot of work done, but there are several images for once! Finally got my phone back this morning, so I've been taking extra pictures for the heck of it.
But first, a mission statement. The following image has been added to the first post in the blog and it will be updated there every time I get a model finished. My goal is to fill in the blanks by early december to make room for my massive Deadzone haul. So that makes 15 miniatures to assemble and a total of 36 to paint in 140ish days. Can I do it? I'm sure as hell going to try!
Can we do it!?
Up next is a brown zombie. He was undercoated white and then based "light" brown (I'd like to see their dark ) from spectra tex. You can see how glossy the stuff comes out. As soon as I can get a hold of some more vallejo model air paints, I'm going to retire the spectra tex, or at least relegate it to terrain/experiments.
The armor will stay this color, possibly get a drybrush of bone color. The pants will be that bone/khaki color. Skin requires experiments. Boots pouches straps all leather color, studs and gun boltgun maybe highlighted with mithril but dip may make that moot anyway.
Here are the McDwarfs. The colors look a tad ridiculous pre-dip, but I know I will like the yellow and the red will be much darker as well. Just need to fill in the other details and dunk these stunties.
Another miscellaneous bit, a fortification.
Forge fathers shelter behind the walls of an alien fortification.
This was made from a box of pre-colored (useless to me tan color, also come in white, red, maybe others) Styrofoam blocks. You can hotglue them together which is probably what I'll do in the future. These were secured together with a series of toothpicks. Not sure why I chose that method, given how much I like hot glue. The top platform is of cheap for-sale-sign 'plasticard'. I had it primed black ages ago and thought I'd mix up a little grey from my spectra tex colors (got a lot of them to use up, why waste good/better paints on a whim). It really needs some sand/ballast and a few bits to help define it. It is currently closed on all sides, so it could really use a door. The bricks are pretty neat but, being about the size of a 28mm human, its kind of hard to get a proper sense of scale out of them. Maybe some kind of pre-fab fortification units, dunno. Another tricky bit is that it is really hard to get paint all the way into the crevasses to get rid of the initial color from all angles.
Finally, ever since I got those Mhorgoth's Revenge box sets, I've had fantasy dwarfs and undead on the brain. While I didn't have my camera yesterday, nostalgia did cause me to dig up some of my favorite tomb kings conversions. This ill-fated army never got past the drawing board, with only one model (the chariot) getting any paint past an undercoat. I may do something to correct that, creating a coalition of undead including the mantic range as well as my old gwTK/VC skeletons. This isn't likely to happen too soon. Even though undead lend themselves to dipping extremely well, I have a LOT to do before Deadzone arrives, and so much more to do after that.
Custom screaming skull catapult. I was going to make more but now I have mantic balefires to fill in. All of the bits come from the undead sets, you can see roughly two complete horsies, a bunch of extra skulls, even a couple of arms/spear bits.
Each of the crew was also converted from the TK skeleton cavalry. At the time I was making the army, the unit was complete pants. I cut the legs in several places to give them more viable un-mounted poses, and did some makeshift mummy-wrap to hide the worst joins.
The battleforce(whatever they call them for fantasy) had plenty of then-useless riders, so I made some extra archers out of them as well. These guys look a little awkward (back row) but they add variety to the stock archers and I like them all. The one with the partial crouch on the right is my favorite. The guy in the front is the start of a lichepriest, needs some mummy wrap, but he will probably be relegated to a normal skeleton in time. The guy to his right is a trial for additional TK skeleton tabards. Only made a few.
The next two images are of my eventual plans to salvage my chariots. I only intend to try kings of war in the future, not warhammer again. So I need something to do with my chariots. Dustcrusher over on the mantic forums made an excellent suggestion that I use the chariots in/as filler for Revenant cavalry regiments. I was already planning to convert some revenant cav, but at the mention of regiments my options opened up significantly. I'll need to bulk these out (riders on the loose horses, extra crew on the chariots) to make them look as tough and hitty as normal revenant cav (cool models, just don't want to buy more minis right now). Disregard the non-skeleton elements, my skelehorsies are not on bases at the moment and I could find no 25x50 slottas on hand.
It's the right footprint for 10 knights, and chariots hit hard. Just need to add some more skeletons to make it look like they've got some staying power.
I think they should make convincing cavalry regiments when properly modeled.
In the coming weeks I plan to be hard at work on my current goal. While the Steel Warriors aren't exactly on the master list, think of them as a bonus. Something easy and fun to do to break things up. I haven't forgotten about my dwarf bulwarkers regiment/horde, but they have to stay on the back burner for the time being.
Grimdork hobby time in the near future:
Paint 5 zombies, its going to happen!
Paint 5 rangers, I can't wait!
Forge fathers intermittently.
Random hobby stuff as always, I've got plenty of models laying around you guys haven't seen yet
You've been following along haven't you? How many models have I actually got done since I started painting them regularly. Its not that many. Between being exhausted after work and the baby being pretty time-consuming, there isn't a lot of time
I mean, yeah it sounds doable, its two models a week roughly, but I get distracted easily
And on the chariots, I was glad Dustcrusher suggested that, cause I was at a loss. I think with some extra skeletons added in they should look fighty enough.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Just tack this on, I got the first layer of most of the base colors in on zombie1. I'm finding it a lot easier to layer up bleached bone to be solid than I was white and leaving the recesses (obviously). Also liking the way the leather is shaping up and how things are jiving. Flesh will take some doing, but I'll figure something out that I like. I may not keep one flesh tone either since there are probably as many different races in the corporation armies as we have, and zombies may rot differently (and it lets me experiment without feeling like i have to go back and change stuff ).
The hardest part is going to be picking the right dip. The super dark one I used for the steel warriors is gonna be way too dark. It always is, except for my skaven and those steel warriors (arguably too dark there too). But I've got 2-3 to try not considering that one, I think the next darkest (which is still about half as dark) will be right, but if its not I'll have to back track. Hoping to get this guy ready to dip/dipped tonight, we'll see.
Automatically Appended Next Post: I think this one will get auto-appended so I'll have to update again tomorrow, but I should have a finished zombie by then!
So, I'm fairly happy with the mix of colors, and with the effectiveness of the dip I've chosen. Next down would have been much too much, and the one before not enough. I think this one will do nicely.
I will play around with the skin tone a little more next time, this was tallarn flesh with a black/brown wash before the dip. I'll try some purple and green next time!
I need to decide if that black line down the middle of his armor is helping or hurting. *edit* I have just realized that you cannot see aforementioned black line in the shoddy image, I will correct this tomorrow *edit* The dip is medium-dark, but his armor is preeety dark. Meaning the dip won't add much depth on its own. Does the black line help to do this and should I add one under each armor plate? If it looks better I should because it would take about 10-30 seconds a model. Just not sure if it matches or not.
I noticed I was running out of bases so I've got some on deck.
Obviously the white ones need their little this or that added. Need to replenish my misc rubble bits container after I do these. Got a few more, will cut them out once I need them.
Painted cheering section ftw!
Above is what I call my 'painted model cheering section' and its a little thing I started doing a year or two back. As I work through a project I like to hide all of the models I have that aren't related to the project to both reduce temptation and to alleviate my feelings of crushing model debt. By model debt I mean the large pile of unpainted/unfinished models I have laying about. Seeing what I have accomplished is much more moralizing, especially so when my burning shame is hidden Seriously, I'm going to dump all of my unfinished models out of their shoddy containers and hiding places and make the most awful pile of them for you guys. Then you can share in my shame No time soon though, still no word on if we're moving and I need to keep my surfaces clean to keep forging ahead on this project!
So thats all, nothing too fancy, right? So since all I have to do is stick him on a base and blast him with a little matte sealer, we can be sure I'll be 1/36th complete of my TODO or Die list sometime tomorrow. Of course, as Da Boss so kindly points out, 36 models by christmas isn't overly ambitious (for most people), so if I trend towards making solid progress we'll add some more into the goal. I've got, for all intents and purposes, unlimited toy soldiers to go through before the time is up. It'll be kinda like kickstarter stretch goals . If I get cocky enough, I may even take some requests
Ha ha!
Well, I've just painted my first models after a drought of nearly two years where I painted nothing at all, so I guess depending on your circumstances, 36 could be quite a realistic goal
I dunno how my co-workers with young kids do their jobs, let alone any hobbying!
Yeah, I'm enjoying this blog so it's on my "to watch" list. I keep meaning to do one myself, but to be honest I find the setting up the blog posts themselves and the photography to be really time consuming. Perhaps that should be my ongoing goal.
I also do the cheering section though! My guilty secret is that I go to gaze adoringly at them every morning before work to put me in a good mood! (I also make my girlfriend look at them!) Ditto on keeping the shame hidden in their cases.
Hoping to do more but I'll be glad of 36! Thanks for the comments guys, keepin me going working in this nasty heat. Updates with finished zombie tonight and more as I can. Gotta add to my cheering section!
Been enjoying your Blog grim, lots of interesting projects you got going on. I've never tried dipping, but I've heard using matt varnish afterwards, gets rid of the shine and makes the models look really tasty. Would love to shoot up your lovely zombies with my Forge Fathers
Thanks BmB. The matt varnish on top of the dip is generally what makes it look much better. For stuff like tyranids/aliens you can leave it glossy, but most models benefit from a blast of matt sealer. I'll be doing that to my zombie just as soon as I get over this heat... Wasn't super terrible, just 95 (what's that, 35 or so, for you english folk?), but its humid here and the last couple hours of work were brutal. Been having fun watching your forge fathers progress here and on the mantic boards, keep 'em comin! My zombies would love to get shot up by your lovely Forge Fathers, however you're gonna need some big dakka to get across the pond
I had to be fairly terse earlier as I was just taking a wee break from the heat at work; but I just wanted to say how much I appreciate everyone's comments. Feedback is directly equivalent to motivation Feel free to comment as much as you like!
@Da Boss, the blog posts and picture taking (as horrible as my pictures typically turn out) do take time. But I'm fairly isolated from other hobbyists here in my small town. The closest game stores are an hour away in either direction, and there's just no time to play or mingle. So forums are the only outlet I have for discussion of the hobby. And the blog posts I can usually type up while half-watching the baby/toddler (she walks, not sure when you switch to calling them toddlers lol), so that part isn't so bad.
Think I'm gonna go spend time with baby and wifey, but that zombie is getting based and dusted tonight if it kills me
In other hobby news, I think I've decided to make the heavy weapons section into z-corp as well. There are just too many creative zombie-related modifications you can get away with on those bigger bases. For instance, take the mantic zombie thats bursting out of the ground and is just an upper torso, perfect level for firing the big gun! Add in crawling spotters dragging their guts behind them etc.
I feel that the z-corp models are easier and faster for me to paint up, so if I swap the weapon section into z-corp I'm going to add my steel warriors to the TODO or Die(tm) list for december. The extra bits I'll save making the weapon teams into zombies may also let me eke out an additional 5 corporation marines/vets for filling out the vet team to a section or what have you.
Thanks again so much for reading guys
I'll be tacking on zombie images as soon as I get to it!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Woot. Finally got mister zombie glued down and dusted off. I think he's a tad shiny in some places, but I didn't want to drown out any detail by soaking him in the stuff.
Makes you wonder if he's even got a charged battery in his gun or not, maybe he's pointing it out of habit?
You can see some funky bits around the neck and join of the arm to torso. This is blu-tak or whatever I ended up filling the gaps with. Its a little rough, but this soldier is meant for the table so it shouldn't come up.
I think the grey matter is a little too pink, we'll work on that for the next brains-out zombie I do! I notice the inside part of his shoulder pad is still brown, maybe I'll fix that once I think of a good color to put there. I think I just noticed part of the exposed area is supposed to be bone!! I'll fix that later
He looks a little shiny from this angle. Not sure why, he isn't that shiny in person.
I've added him to the cheering section, however the picture came out poorly so I'll worry about it later! I am pretty excited about this zombie being done. I think he looks good enough for me to continue on and finish the rest of the first five. And as soon as I post this I'm gonna get a soda and clip out some more zombie bits while I watch TV and dream up some new poses.
I've separated the units, if I want to spare 5 more models for a second vets team (or 5 more to bump 1st into a section), I'm going to have to make each weapon section gunner into two zombie marines AND stretch the nine remaining marines into fifteen zombies. So all this means I'll have to split at least six of the marines down the middle (a tricky prospect) or include a couple of mostly zombie parts marines. So far I like the marines with arm/head swaps and the half marine/zombies. I'll try one zombie body/legs maybe with marine head and arms to see if it'll blend in alright.
Good news everyone! 4 more primed zombies! I think if I rough up my dwindling bleached bone and get it into the airbrush (with copious amount of water) I can severely cut the time it takes to do these.
So as soon as I get to sit back down at the hobby desk, 4 more zombies, more zombies converted, a few bases worked out, and maybe some dwarfs finished up!
Thanks for reading!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Tack this on too!
Just realized I didn't take a a shot of my two finished forge fathers on bases yet. It follows below. Future Forge Fathers will have some red and leather, these had too much stay yellow!
DORFS!
I've also updated the main page with a new TODO or DIE graphic, and even filled in 3 slots! Now, by december--the day my deadzone stuff comes in-- I want to get 51 minis painted. Of course, now its 48, but still! This is up from 36. I changed the weapon teams to zombie weapon teams, added in all 10 steel warriors, and added a team of marines/vets that I hope to have left after zombie conversion. Weee!
Your finished Zombie totally rocks Grim, i wouldn't change a thing! Looking forward to seeing the squad. Yeah I'm feeling the heat today, my paints keep drying up real quick. So I've been playing Shadowrun on the Genesis!
I lived in the states for a while, would have loved a game with you mate!
I want to get this Forge Father / Marauder project, Dwarf King's Hold, a small Eldar Force (750 points) and a 40k list for my Forge Fathers done, all before Deadzone hits. And maybe something Fantasyish.
Keep at your projects Grim, want to see much more pics! Which Deadzone faction you looking most forward to?
Thank you thank you . I'm glad of having the scheme down second try, I've abandoned entire projects due to color scheme woes.
I may load up some quasi old school with some baldurs gate. That or I may play through FTL yet again.
Man, BmB, that's a lot bigger of a list than mine! Good luck knocking that all out!
The enforcers will add in nicely for my corporate forces, but the rebs have the most character (followed by marauders). The terrain is probably my favorite faction though! Got 12 battle zones and 14 accy sprues and I wonder if I need more
Automatically Appended Next Post: I had this crazy idea to do one of the cruisers from FTL scaled to fit 28mm models. I was thinking I could cut the hull out of foam or plaster or plasticard or whatever makes it work, and then have the top as a lid, and nestled inside would be the floor plan of the ship made of deadzone tiles!
I'm doing a rough count right now to see how many tiles it would take. If you treat each square in the grid the game uses as one 3" tile (probably close, I guess the FTL squares are at least 5 feet maybe 8-10).... Actually... you know what, they probably are 5 foot tiles and I read deadzone's 3" tile as roughly 3m or 10ft. I was forgetting about half tiles...
Ok sorry for thinking "aloud" there. Lemme get a tape, I need to see if a couple of models sitting on a 1.5x3" half would look.. proper...
Yeah, so, I think treating each of the FTL grid sections as a 1/4 deadzone tile may be the best way to do it. Gives it more a feeling of a cramped ship optimized to be small and efficient, than the much-too-big-ed-ness of having 10 ft per little square in the game.
Having determined that... It looks like the Kestrel Cruiser would be right around 24-26 inches long, with an interior of 22 inches lengthwise and 9 inches across the mid-section. It would need 8 full tiles and 10 half tiles for the floors. For simplicity I'd use full tiles vertically as well, so... It is kind of hard to count without building anything, at least for me. But it looks like upwards of 40 full tiles for the walls with fairly less half-tiles.
So It sounds to me like I could build the interior of this space craft out of two battle zones. That sounds like a challenge! Maybe if I get my TODO or Die list done crazy early, I could get started on the outer hull. I could see using this for small team boarding actions with deadzone rules, as well as slapping the badboy down on a larger deadzone board with ramps leading up to it in some kind of objective mission (capture/sabotage/escape etc).
Hmm food for thought. This one is on the back-burner though for sure!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Spending way too much money on this stinkin hobby stuff! Secured a couple of bits for my airbrush set-up including a quick disconnect. I'll be happy to switch to my lighter airbrush hoses, that big one served its purpose but it is getting annoying to work with. That cost me less than lunch, what really irritated my wallet was picking up a 16 color vallejo model air set as well as another color (what will hopefully be somewhat close to bleached bone, or at least a light tan, so hard to tell online!), and a large (for vallejo) bottle of thinner. I realize you can mix your own, but for the same reasons I'm ordering the model air in the first place I want something easy!
Got some BB sprayed onto the zombies but its just too finicky of a paint to work with, so I'll probably wait for the VMA color to try again. Was going to do more but then I got drawn into researching thinners and figuring out which paints I wanted. Bleeigh!
Meh. Got a little done today. This heat is just getting oppressive. And its a much milder summer than last year, guess I'm just out of shape! Didn't get anything finished, but here's a shot of the WIP zombies, mostly done with cloth and leather, a couple of hard-luck cases need another layer or two, then as long as flesh and metals are agreeable we should be getting close...
Note the wonky brush behind them. Its the same brand and tip size as the last one (which has started to split, despite my best efforts with brush soap and careful use), but the handle is ridiculously thick. I'm not really sure what purpose/benefit the thickness of the handle serves, but its taking me a minute to get used to it
So, only wednesday. Surely I can get these guys done by the weekend? I could finish the rest of the steel warriors in an hour or two as well, really boost my progress, but I may save them for a pick-me-up when I inevitably bog down on the white/details of the next 5 normal corporation minis.
That kestrel project has been haunting my dreams I'm thinking of maybe getting one of those 4'x8'x1" insulation boards we typically make terrain/tables out of and building it from layers of the foam. 3-4 layers the same shape for the middle and then 1-2 layers tapering up and down to finish the shape. I can fill in the gaps or trim the slots down to make the smoother shape of the hull. Could either make the nacelles out of the same body foam layers, or make them separately. I think I would need 1-2 deadzone antenocitis bundles to detail the interior, with most of the items carved into the walls to maximize functional floor space. Alright, that's enough about this one, I'll keep it in the back of my mind for insight, but I've a lot of minis to paint before deadzone arrives, and many many more after that!
Thanks for reading, should have something nicer to look at by the weekend
Zombies are looking real good Grim, but its the weekend, where are these nicer things? Just breaking your balls mate, sure is a steamy weekend, hope you get some chill time!
Haha. The zombies are dipped, all I need to do is dust them off and glue them to bases. Gotta finish two more bases to have enough, but that doesn't take long. If I'm efficient, could probably have a few done tonight after the girls are in bed without having to stay up too much later. Undercoat-basecoat-metals-drybrush, won't take long.
Want to get a little effort put in on the first five rangers today too, but it sounds like we may be taking a trip to a nearby town (model train store, hobby lobby, more money into hobby weeee) here in a bit.
Zombies will be up tomorrow, as early as I get the chance to spray them. Hopefully with some more interesting bits
I should not have fired up FTL to look at the specs for the Kestrel. I'm not too worried about the ship project until my deadzone stuff is here, i can wait. But the game is somewhat addictive to me, one of those things where you just want to do one more jump... but then its a harrowing 5-10 minute ship battle... then you forget you were going to quit... kind of like reading a good book, but more stressful
Fortunately, I played the crap out of when I first got it, and these little spats quickly devolve into ennui, so I should be back to more productive painting mode soon!
Automatically Appended Next Post: They will look better after the sealer if the first zombie is any indication. Not the best photo and oh so shiny atm.
More later, now is time for supply run/ family drive!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Bah. The family drive portion of the evening was alright but the supply run was terrible. I think I'm done with the train store, guy doesn't seem to restock and its cheaper to order online than driving almost an hour out of my way. Hobby lobby was 20 more minutes out and there was nothing we needed so meh. I did get my 1/4" / 1/8" male male adapter and my 1/8" quick disconnect so now I can use my little airbrush hose with my big compressor, small quality of life change but I'll take it!
It's getting late and I'm not looking to pile up sleep-debt, I may go undercoat those bases, but I doubt I'll paint them.
So, I'm pretty happy with the zombies. They aren't breaking the bank in terms of work-load, but I think they will look pretty ok on the table. This puts me at 7/51, roughly 13-14% to the goal. So, still shy for the month, but we've still got a couple of weeks to go. Hopefully I can get the first five rangers done in a week or two, and those forge fathers can be completed pretty quickly whenever I get nervous
Kind of superfluous, but here's the new hose set up for my airbrush. 1/4-1/8 adapter and quick connect are new. Had the hose but couldn't use it before. This is a bit lighter and the quick disconnect lets the set up swivel better. Minor quality of life upgrade, but I'll take it
And his painted cheering section grew four sizes that day...
That's all for now, though I may try to take a few more pictures while the sun is still out, get some better shots of my favorite details. Or some theme/action shots. I think with the advent of my Deadzone stuff, that I want to get into taking some fancier photos especially when I get some of the terrain done. May need something more dedicated than just my phone camera for that, though it will all be happening around xmas so who knows
I should have some hobby time in an hour or two as well, hope to get the rangers clipped and up on nails, and undercoated as well-- if possible. While I wait for things to dry I may dig up some more oddball things to pop up here, maybe some of my accumulated plastic shame, or some neat conversions (if I find any ).
The bases are really dull without extras, the pipes are getting a little on the large side, but I wanted push boundaries around a little bit as the smaller bits from before are kind of underwhelming.
I think unless I just get a huge case of boredom or alt-itis, I should get done ahead of schedule. I'm hoping for this as it will give me time to get a board ready for Deadzone and maybe get started on my ship.
The airbrush and I are still just acquaintances, but I'm trying to work on that. Hopefully when my vallejo model air order comes in and I just have to worry about how to spray, and not as much about if the paint is mixed right, I can get a little better.
Now, off to the basement with me to get to work on these rangers. Silly FTL tried to steal my attention but hobby time is now!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Did somebody say Forge Fathers?
These guys are very nearly done, though they hardly look it. A trip to the minwax and they'll just need matte sealer and a base. Added some color over the first two, though the palette and execution are still simple and rushed. The heat hammer is probably going to need some treatment after the dip. Usually dipping and sealing happen last and directly in order, but I just don't see that hammer holding up, and it doesn't look good anyway. I'll do some looking around and see if my available paints can duplicate a nice heat effect someone else has perfected. Another odd move for me is the eyes. I was going to leave them white, but they're so much bigger than human eyes that it seemed more reasonable to try. Gotta go back and hit the first two. There wasn't much choice on the two gunners, but it was a bit odd of me (who hates painting eyes) to paint what could have been lenses as eyes. Oh well. Will have to be careful the dip doesn't destroy them! I went with grey beards as I wanted them to look like seasoned fighters even if they are just basic infantry.
*edit* minwax visit completed, now I just need to get them onto bases and sealed. Unfortunately there is only one complete base, will have to get a couple done before I can finish the unit. Need to get back to being ahead on those!
I want to get a better shot of this guy, he's become my favorite. From one angle (and far enough away) he looks like a wounded soldier... but... GOTCHA! zombie! Seems like the kind of reveal you'd see in a movie or something.
I was going to take some more shots of interest but I didn't realize they had enough light. This looked too dark to keep when it was on my camera, but it seems fine here. Outside in a tiny makeshift light box, still a little dark. These models look rough up close, fortunately they aren't meant for closeups really.
And here's a step in the right direction. Got these guys off of their mini-bases and primed before the dwarfs distracted me. I had a mind to start on them, but I'm going to wait until my airbrush paint comes in and try to spray more than brush them. Box is within driving distance, so maybe tomorrow. If not, the dwarfs should be done (may have to wait for pictures till I get more bases finished though!)
So this week should see the fabulous first five forge fathers finally finished for reals friends (alliteration!). Also, we should see some work on the rangers. Till then!
Thanks to the warstore I've got my VMA in short order. I'm not happy with my choice of US Sand, it just isn't what I thought, hard to pick colors on the netz... Oh well. I got the building set because they were sold out of the other 2-3 starter set things. Its an interesting array of colors, leaning more towards earthy tones with the olive/interior/camo green, light brown/dark earth/mahogany/black brown. But you still get a lot of staples like white, blue, yellow, a kind of red, and black. And throw in some extras like gun metal, black metal (and I'm dying to see how it looks) and some gloss varnish. I didn't know the set came with gloss varnish till it arrived today, i'm not thrilled about it. Anything I dip will already be shiny and I can just mask before matte sealing, plus I picked up one of GW's 'ardcotes to brush on small areas. I guess if I find an entire model that I want shiny that I also do not intend to dip...
Also got a large bottle of their thinner. I know you can mix your own, but I hear vallejo paints can have trouble with certain things (alcohol or acetone or something) and I think this stuff is a bit milder in terms of putting bad stuff in the air. Hopefully it fixes some of the issues I've had with certain paints.
So, in-depth analysis of a vallejo paint set is kind of dull. But I put in a few extra hours today and am sleepy. Not sure I'm gonna get down to finishing those two bases so I can seal the dwarfs. Maybe if baby sleeps sooner than later!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Better late than never, better short and ugly than good and dead!
Boom 5 forge father steel warriors. Really basic scheme dipped in super dark Bombay mahogany stain. Will do more pics tomorrow but I'm piling up sleep debt as I write this. Mr. Sousa requested space dwarfs and who am I to deny my few watchers!
Thanks! Eyes are hard, thankfully these dwarf eyes are oversized. I'm glad I did eyes instead of lenses though, gives them more character.
I don't get to talk to or discuss stuff with other gamers often so sometimes I blab extra junk up here. I figure folks can read it or just go TLDR and scroll down for more pictures
Of course the blogs origin was in me breaking down and reviewing the corporation army box. I hope to do the same with my massive deadzone hoard when it arrives.
I may bog down a tad in these rangers but I'm hoping to pick up the pace with my new airbrush paints!
Well, I think update #102 today is going to be it before we have to lock in our Deadzone surveys. I think I conned myself into two more battlezones! I have the same number of battlezones and accessory sprues ordered now =\. Or, I will as soon as I finish my survey. Need to send it in again or I'm gonna end up with triple marauders and LSV walker things I dont really want at this point. Spoilered are my thoughts on exactly how to arrange my incoming hoard of scenery tiles and accessory sprues. Just gotta decide how I want to distribute my battlezones...
Spoiler:
4 themes. 14 battlezones. How to split my battlezones?
core worlds/landing pad/fortification/ruins
8/2/2/2, solid set of main tiles with some of each of the others. or 8/3/0/3, solid core, but no fortifications cause I get the defense line already. or 8/3/1/2, solid core, extra landing pad, one fortification just to have it, and enough ruins to do the ruin board below. or 9/2/1/2, extra core BZ because I don't need 3 landing zones, but don't want two forts or three ruins.
I think option 3 is the best. I only "need" 2 landing zones for sure, but extra corner bits and barricades/lasers won't hurt my feelings, especially if I'm only getting one fortification sprue. I could get zero forts, but I'd feel like I'm missing out on the gates and other bits. Four sets of defense lines seems overkill, but I'll need a lot for the blast shields on my space port, maybe I'll use them with the fort BZ as a weaponized bunker protecting the space port. Two ruins should be plenty, and I'm hopefully not overdosing on core worlds at 8.
Construction zone(3bz/5accy): Primarily core worlds, this area will have few complete buildings favoring the paintball/jungle gym style seemingly favored by Jake/the rules. The terrain will vary from high to low, likely having good sniper nests as well as lots of ladders and walkways with fairly high density scatter terrain. The main dominating feature I want to do is a large crane capable of lowering deadzone tiles into place to construct the buildings. Many of the accessory sprue ladders will be used here to help establish vertical play, in both reaching heights and fighting there (ladders turned into railing/walkways).
Warehouse district(3bz/5accy): Primarily core worlds, this area focuses on complete buildings and will be designed with two of its sides intended to face out (with open walls for the buildings for ease of manipulation) when added to other buildings. I may dabble with some kind of easily removable wall sections, we'll see. The buildings will be of reasonably consistent size, probably lower to the ground, and areas between warehouses will have clear fire lanes. Many accessory sprues will be used and large piles of crates/barrels/canisters will also block line of sight, and provide cover in some areas. This board doesn't have a dedicated central feature, though those gates fortification is supposed to have may be implemented.
Ruins/Site Zero(4bz/2accy): Half ruins, half core worlds, this area will have a lot of bombed out buildings. It will be more of a fusion between construction zone and the warehouse district, with intact buildings that still allow LoS (via ruined tile set) and 'clear lanes of fire' that have a lot of scatter terrain. Tall terrain in this section is unlikely, as such structures will have been destroyed. It is possible I will construct a tower and then "knock it over" possibly leaving some of the supporting structure intact with the tower building on its side. Defining feature may be a reasonably clear center of the board where the alien artifact was uncovered (also a great killing field for a single objective game type). When I get to making the floor plan, I will think on how a research facility may have been laid out, as this is most likely where the artifact was unleashed. Less barrels and ladders here, more piles of ruins.
Space Port(4bz/2accy): Half landing pad, half core worlds (or possibly parts of one fortification sprue split with other boards), this area will have two landing pads connected into one large pad meant to accept a small space craft. If things go well and I complete my Kestrel, this is where it will live. The Kestrel will be roughly two feet long, but not nearly as wide, except for the nacelles. One of the core world battlezones will be included inside the ship itself, and will be a useable interior area (we will assume the top of the ship is intact but is electrified/forcefielded to disallow play there). Regardless of the presence of the ship, this section will have a high area (pads, lifted at least 6 inches) and a lower zone underneath the pads. If there is any room left on the 2x2 the fourth battlezone will be included to add reasonable buildings or fortifications to service/protect the spaceport. If absolutely necessary, I will use the third landing pad to make ample room for the ship, otherwise, I'll disperse the angled bits evenly throughout the sectors as required.
I feel these four boards will end up being projects unto themselves, though they will all be designed with connectivity in mind. The space port and warehouse district make sense together, and the ruins will compliment the warehouse and construction sites. The construction zone and warehouse district are the best candidates for being left modular to allow me to have a set of tiles for traveling deadzone activities. The construction and warehouse sectors are most likely to be assembled first given the simpler designs desired. I could generate a lot of themed battles with this arrangement of terrain, but all four sectors should be fine together as well.
I used to be able to sketch stuff, but not so much anymore as far as I can tell. I would draw up some loose plans to display, but I don't think I can do my thoughts justice at this point. We will just have to settle with some more shots of those Steel Warriors from yesterday, and maybe some random hobby odds and ends (its been awhile, hasn't it?). I intend to try to ply the airbrush on the rangers later, but I doubt I'll have enough progress to really warrant picture taking, you guys have seen step by step for the last 15 corporation guys right? May be back to do some bragging on the vallejo model air range and their liquid mask though.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ahem, I think I promised more pictures. I didn't find too much oddball stuff, but I shot quite a few for fun. Still need to get a proper light box (and camera), but time is limited!
DWARF SPAM! Alt positions from the first shot
Jes try somethin!
Seeing eye to eye?
Hold the line!
While I had the camera out, I thought I'd have fun with the painted cheering section. So now, for the foreseeable future, my painted cheering section will include my completed space marines being slowly overtaken by my growing mantic horde! I thought that I would arrange them a bit more dynamically for fun The Emporer's finest seem to have a slight edge with a few vehicles and some terminators, but the rangers are on the way to blow up that backfield!
Spoilered since there are 7 of them and I'm not sure how much people care
Spoiler:
Long shot, shadow knights defending a hill, corporation attacking.
Zombies have broken through to the scouts' lightly defended position!
Will the bottleneck be enough to halt the charge?
Corporation marines advancing. Brave souls to dare the bite of those bolts!
Shadow Knights defending their transport.
These Steel Warriors may have bitten off more then they can chew, but try telling them that!
Battle report style!
I still need to get around to taking some extra shots of random hobby bits, but I figured painted what-nots were better for now
I got the liquid mask down on the rangers, though I may need to add in a bit more. I was going to paint a section up as armor instead of cloth, but now that I've had some time to ponder, I think I'll stick to what I was doing on the regular marines. The section will be easier to paint regardless (the upper arms between gloves and shoulder pads) as its less wavy and cloth-like (hence why I pondered painting it as armor) and should help speed progress along. I'm gonna mask off the white and airbrush the grey and red, as long as it turns out faster. Then I can peel off the mask and finish with washes and details like I've been doing. Hoping to shave time per model down a bit if possible, got used to the easy street of zombies and steel warriors
Should get more painted tomorrow, got some errands instead of work, but should be less exhausted.
Small update. Had some errands out of town and went to the Zoo with wife and baby. Got to stop by a hobby lobby (for about 10 minutes, baby was getting cranky!) and walmart and picked up a few tools and consumables.
Spoiler:
Tools of the trade. 40% off coupon made the clippers $6, so thats nice. Brush was 50% off too so Idunno $2something.
I'm trying out my liquid mask on these rangers. You can maybe just see that I applied it if you squint, its a very light blue-ish color.
It goes on easy, thinner than most GW paints. How well it comes back off remains to be seen as there is some more spraying to do.
And here's what we got done in an hour or so: Thinking about sealing them at this stage and grumbling something about 'not being patriotic' to anyone who complains
Anyways, got the red sprayed on, didn't try to minimize overspray too much due to the mask, but we'll see if that was a mistake. Also tried to use the airbrush to blend the face shield. Minimal success, may just redo it by hand or possibly wait till the project is done and I'm doing guilt-touchups, will make decisions after I've painted the rest of the model and removed the mask (so you can't quite see how well/poorly its blended cause that's mask on top of it ).
In trying to remove the mask from parts of the first ranger, it seems kind of hard. I was really getting frustrated until I rolled up the remnants of the mask I had on my paint palette into a ball and used them to roll up the mask on the model a lot easier. Its very sticky and clings very well to itself, so having a blob of it laying around is quite handy. I think part of the problem is that since it is so thin, it's easy to get areas that are hard to peel off. So I double layered it over the visors, and we'll see if that helps at all. Last airbrushing will be the gray. Not sure if I want to mask the red bits or just be really careful/hand mask with a bit of card, not sure I fully trust the liquid mask yet!
Gah! It's been at least a week! Too tired to check the exact duration. Been trying to work on the models instead of update the blog
So ranger team 1 is done. I swear they took longer than the regular marines for some reason. Note the super-amateur attempt to transition the visors with the airbrush. We'll try to step that up on the next batch.
So.
Sick.
Of.
Painting.
White.
FFS.
I dunno why, but I just hate that step. The liquid mask made things worse too, I'll delve into that next time. Just wanted to pop in to deploy a simple completed image and announce that I'm still in the game. Time permitting, tomorrow I will update the TODO or Die list, and get some more pictures. I've got about 4 zombie marines into acceptable poses and will trim+glue them soon. Hopefully undercoated and working on them by the weekend. More is coming, time permitting
Done! I have a few minutes of touch-ups where I de-nailed the feet and spilled superglue onto the bases, plus matte sealer, but I'm calling it.
Worry not, they look fantastic You are more than excused to call it done!
I have to admit my favorite models are the forge fathers. I don't know why, but I really dig those colors for the "space dwarves"! What colors did you use? I kinda want to steal your paint scheme
Colors used. Vallejo dwarf skin is hard to read and the red is spectra tex.
May switch the red out for VMA Italian red which is my new corp marine boot/leather color. Forgot to include the matte sealer. If you can't get Bombay mahogany locally the darkest army painter may come close? I think if you were going to steal a scheme you should ask blessmybeard for his, they're much nicer.
More later gotta head to work
Automatically Appended Next Post: Quick shot of wip zombies. Now I really gotta go work :p
Oooohh, so is that Bombay mahogany thingy that turns the yellow into dark yellow / brown that looks so awesome? That thing must be made of magic and win
Yes, yes it is. If you scroll up or back a page you can see the dwarfs before dip, basically McDonalds colors. Then the matte sealer. The matte sealer is what makes it look good cause the varnish is high gloss. Sealer also seems to brighten the colors just a teensy bit which also usually helps.
Its also nice because you have a hard coat of polyurethane ANDsealer on top so the models are extra sturdy. The zombies gget the same stuff but much lighter.
I hear good things about army painter if you can't get minwax, not sure how their dark tone compares.
GrimDork wrote: Yes, yes it is. If you scroll up or back a page you can see the dwarfs before dip, basically McDonalds colors. Then the matte sealer. The matte sealer is what makes it look good cause the varnish is high gloss. Sealer also seems to brighten the colors just a teensy bit which also usually helps.
Its also nice because you have a hard coat of polyurethane ANDsealer on top so the models are extra sturdy. The zombies gget the same stuff but much lighter.
I hear good things about army painter if you can't get minwax, not sure how their dark tone compares.
Hum, I have only heard good stuff about the Army Painter's Quickshade.. That dipping shades stuff like a pro I have 4 Forge fathers, I think they can be possible test subjects for the Quickshade
Dipping is pretty awesome. Greatest thing for simpler/tabletop paint jobs since drybrushing and washes It can sometimes take some trial and error to figure out how dark of a dip to go with. That bombay mahogany, for instance, was unusable on my (defunct) tyranid project. The models were bleached bone and a medium red-brown, and you could barely tell the bleached bone apart after dip, had to go up a couple of shades. And of course the lighter ones are barely noticeable and imo aren't dark enough to look like shadows. The army painter stuff is probably a little more rough and ready, user friendly or what have you.
On another note, no progress tonight. Wife has switched jobs into more hours which leaves me with more baby sitting. And I'm just tired. I could get in a good hour now, probably finish the zombie builds, but too sleepy.
No, for now I'm going to relax and catch up on sleep (lost a couple hours 'finishing' those rangers), but not before checking out TDL's P&M blog! Phone doesn't let me see people's sigs and that's where most of you store your wonderful blog links. Half the fun of doing this blog is going and seeing what everyone else is up to
I was more worried about staying up late and being tired today. Don't wanna drop a 50-60 pound block and test my steel toes or drive some kind of heavy equipment into the fence or pool :p!
I'll take it easy a bit, don't wanna burn out and those rangers were pushing it.
Alright time for a proper update. I got some more pics and have a minute to type this out for once
I gotta say, one of the more infuriating things I've experienced lately (aside from traffic in town on fridays ), has to be DROPPING MY NEWLY PAINTED AND SEALED MODELS ONTO THE HARD UNFORGIVING CONCRETE THE MOMENT THEY ARE DONE .... I mean seriously, it happened TWICE for crap's sake. And it happens at least once per batch! I think I dropped one of those last batch of marines or zombies without snapping the base, but he came away with a not-unnoticeable chip that got past the sealer
Anyway, rant done Pictures in exchange for patience!
Everything up to date. It may not be a lot compared to some of you folk, but getting 30 models done is a pretty good accomplishment for me lately
Freshly drafted rangers rank up with the rest
Rangers stand alone!
A couple rangers closer up to give a better view of the visors. I think with a big of practice I can make them smoother and more obvious...
Better angle on the bases, trying different stuff out to see what I like the most
And a bonus shot of the most recent Steel warriors. I needed a shot to update the TDOD list and this one turned out well enough to pop it onto the blog too.
Alright, ran out of pictures! So here's the deal with the rangers. The red is much much brighter. I'm not going to do a side-by-side, but you can tell. The white and 'black' should be about the same. I added more metal to the weapons because they're chunkier than the standard laser rifles and would have looked bad all black. I just realized there are no shots of the backs of the rangers, so I'll get one next time I'm down in the cave. I went with basic metal on the vents because these rangers are walking and their packs only work for deployment so I figure they've had time to cool off (and its a tabletop standard army that I didn't want to bog down for hours trying to come up with something i like ).
State of the project analysis:
Spoiler:
Whoops, left too much black off to the side in paint, makes the picture display smaller, will fix with next zombie batch!
15/51 makes for 29%. So I'm just a bit under 1/3 of the way with 4 months to go. 36 models left. If I manage to push myself to get 15 models a month done, I'll have over a month and a half for a mini project before deadzone arrives. I'll be more comfortable making such claims when I've got more than less of the project behind me There are few things that could potentially bog me down, most prominently apathy towards white, and difficulty finding good zombie poses. I'm still pretty enthusiastic about the project as a whole and you folk popping in to say 'hi' helps a LOT with that. I think I can get ten more marines/rangers out, and painting the dwarfs and zombies can only get easier (more airbrush paints to play with). So as long as I can get all of the zombies put together in short order, I should be good to go. The weapon teams are proving to be a challenge, but I'm getting close to having desirable poses for the gunners, and the spotters aren't an issue.
I've got a few things I would like to do at some point. I may get to them if I can bust out this project, or I may use them as candy/bait to keep painting deadzone. I really, *really* want to make one of those stormwolf/madcat conversions that have been popping up. I have the storm talon and extra weapons/missiles, but I'm not willing to buy the legs, so I'd have to extensively improve my scratchbuilding abilities to manage one of those. I also have a couple of ideas for dreadnought conversions inspired by the Armored Core series of games. Basically, I would take the top half of a dreadnought and add a head, using either a 1/2-2/3 length rhino as a tank legs... and/or replicating one of those awesome quad-leg ACs using scratchbuilding and drop pod parts.
Kind of like this, but with the rhino shortened so the dread doesn't look too small on top. I'd like to reduce the height too, but that seems too hard without significant risk of wasting the rhino etc.
Spoiler:
Then again, maybe I need to play the game again
Even more excited for the quad legs variety. These would both be getting heads added as well as thrusters on the back and shoulder mounted weapons.
Spoiler:
I would be going for something heavier and blockier to match the chunkier dreadnought top, but there's an idea.
And, of course, I may still try to get to work on the Kestrel early too. So there we have some catching up done Hopefully I get these zombies slapped together and get to work painting them by the weekend!
I know the feeling. Remember the Ninja you saw in my blog? I must have dropped her over 4 times so far. 4! I just don't understand it, I swear I'm being careful and next thing I know, BAM.
The Visors already look very good, a bit more layering would make them even better but it's not that necessary. They already look damn good. Only thing I think they are lacking are 2 white dots, one bigger than the other representing reflected light on the upper left (my left, not the model's left) corner (the one with the darker blue).
I see plenty of well-painted minis already, keep up the great work
Tried dots didn't look good. Will look up some more visors and see cause I agree with you. Excited about quad legs but will have to step up my game to do them.
The little one took a decent nap this evening and I managed to get 4/5 of the next zombies trimmed and glued. I also got the first weapon team done, the rightmost two, what do you think? The leftmost zombie still needs posed and glued, he looks too wide-chested, will have to do some modification.
Baby is not napping now and is fairly uninterested in my hobby blog so I better make with the entertaining afore she hides my shoes again!
*edit*
Hmm... I think I may try to put the other two weapon teams together and go nuts painting all 11 at once. The zombies are way simpler than the marines and rangers, and it will help me make a stab at getting done extra early. Worst case, I can just back down and only do the five zombies and leave the teams for later. Good excuse to do up a good batch of bases to get ahead too. Got some ideas for the bases, I want to stretch my tiled plasticard a bit and make things a bit more interesting for Deadzone bases (where I'll be looking for flatter bases due to the handling of LOS). I need some rivets though. Wanna try out these micro beads I've heard tell about. Local walmart is terrible at keeping stocked though, so now we turn to our dear friend Amazon.
But, but, the leftmost zombie looks awesome :( They probably don't have leaders since they are zombies but he looks pretty cool and different!
I dont know about painting 11 at once, for me that's impossible I still can't do "production lines" that well, I die of boredom but if you are up for a challenge, good luck!
I've got the next five zombies glued, and one weapon team. I plan to finish the second and third weapon teams and maybe look into assembling some more zombies. I doubt that I'll paint any more than 11 in one go, but having stuff assembled may speed things up later.
I'd probably have a few more bits cleaned and glued if it weren't for TDL! His Shinobi Kitsune got me looking at infinity models, and looking at models gets me making lists, and I go into this whole downward spiral of making a shopping/build list sometimes taking days before I realize I don't have time for another project I managed this little relapse in just over a day though, still think some of those Nomad remote sputniks and zonds may someday make it to my shelves, may some day try infinity, but not now!
Hoping these zombies go even faster with the addition of a couple more of their colors being airbrush-ready now.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Went ahead and stuck the next 5 zombies on nails and primed them. Trying out my new Mahogany VMA for these. Its pretty darn close, and I like the way the paint works on minis much better. Will still try to pay it forward on the zombies but going to go ahead and get some painting done while the iron is hot (or something).
Been doing some counting, the 46 model box came with 50 bases, and the FFIW came with 10. So 60 bases for 60 infantry and 3 weapon teams (came with 4 WT bases too), but I can't seem to find two! I may have to put a couple of zombies on spare gw 25mm bases, but I'd really prefer to find the mantic bases. Will have to do some cleaning and search
Alrighty, small update. Didn't get anything finished, but I did get some pictures while I was working. Mixing VMA white and light brown didn't quite color match bleached bone, but I think it will be close enough once the models have been dipped, and getting to airbrush that step will save a fair amount of time. The paint was still pretty uncooperative though. Something about light tan colors and being gummy even if you thin them properly... Tip dry was a nightmare this time around, but if I thinned the mix any more it would have taken way more passes, and being that I'm going to dip these guys anyway... I also got the first layer of flesh down on a couple of zombies, not much progress, but the baby gets up early
Silly putty is the new liquid mask! This stuff is obviously far chunkier than liquid mask, but for what I'm doing here, it is so very much easier to use and remove.
Not a perfect coat of 'extra light brown', but it should be good enough under the minwax. I really wanted to leave the little silly putty hoods on, look like the scarecrow batman villain or something
Just to prove I'm actually painting them and not only fiddling around with the airbrush That librarian is just a photobombing prankster isn't he?
While I waited for the 'elb' to dry, I tried my hand at making a more interesting urban base. My goal was twofold here: primarily, I needed to conserve my tiled plasticard to ensure I would have enough to finish the project; secondly, I really just wanted to splash in a different look here and there.
I figure my bases are probably best considered as either tiled floor interiors, or some kind of sidewalk. Looking at other urban bases online, and doing some thinking, I decided roadways may be a logical next step. I had some 1mm plasticard (same thickness as the tiled sheet) around for potential future projects, so that got drafted. I have some other ideas for the flat sheet actually, this roadway bit wasn't even on my radar until I googled urban bases earlier this evening. I'll get into those Ideas when and if they come to fruition though
I know that I said I was going to do those slotted bases for all of my weapon teams, but I need the bases for the extra zombies that got generated by the z-corp process, and these zombie weapon teams will never be disbanding to join veteran squads anyway.
The gist of the base is about 1/3ish tiled plasticard, the rest 1mm plain, with a strip of what I'll assume is .3-.5mm card that I get in bulk in the form of for sale signs at walmart serving as a curb or edge to separate the sidewalk and roadway. The green strip is two coats of liquid greenstuff applied between two pieces of masking tape, just so the roadway line would have some substance to it when I went to paint the thing.
Before you holler at me and say the line is too long and or there should be more, I looked it up, and at least in the US those lines are supposed to be 10 feet long and 30 feet apart. I have a sinking feeling that by trying to do it "right", that I'll make it look questionable, so we'll just see how it works out. You may not tell in the pictures, may need paint first, but the plain plasticard has been roughed up with some medium sand-paper to give it a little texture.
Come to think of it, that road line is probably way too close to the sidewalk... I mean, unless its something like a bicycle lane. Nevertheless, it was too large a space to leave alone! I may implement some small scatter bits on this base, but I want to leave the first attempt relatively plain to serve as a base line for future 60mms. I may do a small billboard or advertising post on the next one though
What does this mean for the next 36 or so models in terms of basing? I have almost enough spare/leftover tiled card to do the other two 60mm bases, had it cut out for some space marine bases but they're mothballed atm. But I think I'm going to go ahead and implement the changes on the smaller 25mm bases as well. A base or two of the next ten may be all roadway, a couple of them potentially half and half. It will help tie the bases in with the 60mms as well as the preexisting force.
Finally, remember how I said I was ogling some of the infinity miniatures (how dare you make that implication! I'm married! I simply meant for future hobby projects, you gutter-minds!) before? Well, if I get my TDOD list done in plenty of time, a blister or box or so of those may just be my reward I dunno though, still pretty hyped to try some armored core dreadnought conversions, or to work on the ship to sit in my spaceport sector. Either way, plenty of incentive to keep my butt moving!
Little more painting down. Finished out 5 bases for the wip zombies. Tried to get that infinity thing out of my system a little (can ogle models and use their decidedly awesome infinity army thingy while minding baby, painting modeling not as much =/). I've got a bit more flesh to put down and then its on to leather metal and shoot almost done after that. The bases can be ready in an hour or two as well. May take a minute to figure out what color I want my pavement and road lines, but beyond that the new bases may paint up a tad faster even.
I made one of the road/sidewalk bases plain and smooshed it into some instant mold, going to see if I can get a decent copy of it in green stuff to save a little time on the next batch of models, just one or two and of course with extra bits added, but conserve materials and time as I can.
'Cause, who doesn't love poorly crafted paint how-tos
I notice a couple of air bubbles, any loss of quality will negate the minimal time/materials saved so I'm on the fence as to if this was worth the time, but we'll see.
Oh man, I am so sorry for provoking such an effect! I too suffer from the same, I pretty much made an "oath" to avoid buying new models until most of them are painted, but if I have fun with an Infinity demo I may have to cave-in. Infinity models are far too beautiful.
I leave your blog alone for the week-end and so much work is done Zombies are being painted, bases are being created, keep up the great work! and yeah, that Heavy Weapons team is badass, I have no idea why he would he's grabbing that head like that, I just know he looks cool
An Infinity Starter pack would be a nice reward for a work well done
I feel more like you've done me a service by introducing me, however inadvertently, to infinity. it looks like I was really missing out, & I wish I knew about infinity before I bought all the space marines last year.with all of my incoming dead zone terrain, infinity seems a natual progression.
the zombies are actually pretty close to being done, just need metal and details then dip and bases, probably no more than a couple of hours of work. If things go well today I may get them done, however I'm not banking on it.
**edit**
I don't think I actually like any of the starter boxes for Infinity . Pretty much all of the models in their ranges are quite nice, however only some of them speak to me aesthetically. I hold them to a high standard since they're all so nice, and would only get the ones I really like due to the relatively high cost (of course they are metal, but I like painting plastic and resin plastic just fine).
No, what I would get should I reward myself for maintaining the discipline to finish this army set on time would be along the lines of:
These guys, these guys, or this dude and this lady. I would theoretically want all of them for a future list (models cost enough that I would wanna use them someday and not just get for shiny prettiness ). The custodier and lunokhod would *technically* be valid, but I may decide I wanna paint a couple of robots instead I'll be fishing around on ebay and wargaming sites to see what kind of discount I can manage beyond thewarstore's given 20%, as I'm fairly confident I can get this project done under budget (timewise at least!).
Automatically Appended Next Post: Gah so tired today. The zombies were are so close to being done too...
I think I did a bad thing guys....
Months back, one of my favorite ebay bits sellers had some mantic parts. I was mostly interested in the corp guns/arms at the time for a conversion idea. Checking back on that seller (who had a massive inventory redo, and was out of action for a few months), I discovered that they had a small selection of mantic parts still. I found some stupid things. I will list them, please find it in your hearts to talk me out of spending MORE MONEY ON MODELS!
Forge father steel warriors 10x torsos for 4 bucks. Short 5 heads, only some of the frills, and of course no lower torsos or bases. Do you have ANY idea how many lower dwarf torsos and extra heads I have just laying around wasting my space? So read that above as ten more steel warriors for $4, and as many as I care to get. I'm a little scared. It gets worse.
40 mantic bases for 5 bucks Mantic doesn't charge much for their bases, but these are even cheaper, and a damn easy way to justify getting more forge fathers. Or marines. Or zombies. Oh did I not mention the following?
40 arms for 3 bucks, basically 20 sets. Includes the sgt options. Thats a potential of 20 more heavily zombified marines for only THREE DOLLARS!
They've got some fantasy parts too, including (imo) poorly priced zombie and ghoul parts, but I can't get over the 10 for $4 steel warriors I could be having. They have corporation torsos too, reasonably priced, I *could* get even more zombies (better, more marine-looking ones) if I wanted. They also have 5 stormrage veterans for $10 which turns out to be about half price, just the bits no box, but I don't need that stuff.
I think I can wait on the extra marine parts. If, when I get my deadzone stuff, the plague zombies look like they wanna be combined with marine parts, I'll come back looking.
But 10 steel warriors for $4? And 20 sets of marine arms for $3? I'm thinking that I want to do some corporation/rebs crossover conversions, and those arms would help out, not to mention enabling me to add more zombies. Looks like I can get some more heads for the steel warriors, but only 4 of the good one with some extra goggles. I think maybe I could do some conversions instead...
Looks like this stuff is pretty well in stock so I've got a little time to decide, but man, thats some cheap steel warriors, no?
Gonna go down and salvage what modeling time I can for the night
Just have to de-nail them, glue them to the bases, and blast them with matte sealer. Gotta let them dry for i dunno, at least 8 hours, I'll finish them up tomorrow and get pics if I can help it!
I was curious as to whether or not the mold I made would be good enough: What do you think?
The couple spots that depressed into the green stuff actually look good, little pits in the sidewalk and road, the curb is kind of chewed up a bit but that may look good with paint on it... just a tad more worn down than the others. Even the scratching made it through which is props to instant mold. The bubbles that let the green stuff stick up too far were fairly easy to shave down, and I scratched the roadway up a bit more for good measure. I think I'll make a couple more like this to save time when/if I get a little behind on bases.
Now its time to decide if I have 5-6 more zombies in me, if I need to do the dwarfs for a break, or if I can calm my inner painter and pop out 5 more marines or rangers.
Also, I need to decide how many dwarfs to order! I'm thinking ten for sure, though there could be an argument for 20. At least ten, and the arms, as well as bases. I'll mull over getting more than 10. 20 steel warriors should let me field everything I want to that I'm getting from kickstarter, and the FF are a secondary (tertiary?) project... so I don't want to go nuts
The new base looks even better than the original with so many bullets and fighting going around, there's bound to be some some holes and weathering.
If you want a break from the zombies, I say the remaining 5 FF to complete that step from the "DO OR DIE" list! (But I'm a little biased because I really like the models. )
As always, TDL, thanks for the kind words! I think I will try to make a couple more generic molds like that one as I've got a surplus of greenstuff at the moment, but no so much tiled plasticard and everywhere wants a silly amount to ship it But hey, I've got pictures!
Updated Goal sheet:
Spoiler:
A bit blurry, lookit my painted cheering section go! 35 painted mantic models, I'm excited
ZOMBIE TIME!
I think they turned out alright. They look a bit shiny, may need a second coat of sealer eventually.
Spliced this one together, bit more in focus than any of its component parts.
All ten lined up.
Jetpacks, zombie backs, and some outnumbered space dwarfs!
These guys are just photogenic. Thought I'd get them a shot in the sun while I was at it.
Lighting was reasonable, so the rangers came out to play as well.
So, second batch of zombies down. I've just realized the helmeted zombie needs to have his lenses done. I'm also considering a slight edge highlight for the brown armor, the dip just can't give it enough definition due to the color. I think the 'extra light brown' coloring worked for the clothing, although the skin tone and cloth color are kind of close and in danger of blending together on certain models. I'll give these guys a pass, I'd say they're fairly consistent with the first five, and I did them a bit quicker.
Thinking about assembling the second batch of forge fathers next. I've got two mini modifications I want to take care of for this batch; I want to convert a mjolnir and a dragons breath to round out the squad. I think for the Mjolnir I will do a shoulder mounted rocket launcher look, with a round tube and some pointy missiles sticking out if possible, mounted on some kind of brace/mechanical arm. The dwarf wielding the weapon will have the control looking thing that comes with each of the steel warrior sprues, and either the pistol (though he doesn't get one in the rules) or the pistol arm hacked down and replaced with something (possibly steal a dwarf hand weapon from my other dwarfs). The dragons breath will be a bit more of a modification. I will want to take one of the two gun sculpts and remove the thin-drum ammo canister and replace it with some kind of fuel source, either mounted where the original was, or a tube going to a backpack I'll have to make and add (or possibly steal if I have a bit somewhere...). Then I'll modify the barrel to look more flame-thrower-ish and add the little flame bit to ignite the expelled fuel.
If those conversions go well, I have half a mind to make 5-10 Thorgarim (if I spelled it right...), out of normal dwarfs with the two handed hammer, and then do some modeling to add the occasional goggles and or tech bits to make them match my steel warriors a bit. I realize that they aren't the best unit in the army, but I have the models to potentially make them, and they sound pretty cool. Anyone who's going to bring a massive super-heated hammer to a gunfight has to be a badass, right? If THAT conversion goes well, I may be inclined to try some drakarim. I think I'll get 3-ish packs of dwarf torsos from ebay, that will give me my current 10 steel warriors and 30 more to build or convert into whatever. I figure I would only ever field 2-3 sections of steel warriors to unlock tanks and heroes/monsters. I'm also heavily considering outright stealing some of my marine vehicles and donating them to the cause...
Light Drakkar, anyone?
I could do the landspeeder-into-jeep-slash-buggy conversion we've all seen a couple of times by now, and plop a couple of dwarfs in there I would reduce the amount of the cabin that was visible so all you could potentially see is upper torso and arms, using the thane arms to represent/convert into control sticks and weapon handles. Hailstorm autocannon should be reasonably easy to convert, and the heat cannon may not be so bad either. I could also steal my predators and paint them yellow to become Firewyrms with some modified weapons, land raider could be a heavy drakkar... That is getting a bit ahead though, land raider may be reserved for whatever I end up keeping of my space marines (a 1500-2000 single list, the rest I'm going to try to repurpose or trade/sale/etc).
Oh, could also try to make some stormrage/godhammer vets if the shoulder weapon mount works out
Those new zombies look great as usual Simple but very good looking (oh man, how I love those FF. The camera loves them!)
I like your idea of highlighting the armor: They look mighty fine after the dip, but the browns do look very similar. Some highlighting with the original base color should be enough to make them pop!
Lastly, as much as I would love more and more FF, please remember your "TODO OR DIE" list 20 out of 51 done, you still have plenty to tackle and if you start shooting in all directions, well, you may have to rush near the end. We are already in month 8 of 12, don't forget that, and life can throw us a curve-ball anyday
But do I love the Drakkar idea... Those Jeep Landspeeder conversions always bring me a smile and a Jeep driven by FF, and instead of Imperium symbols, Dwarven ones, that would be GLORIOUS!
But if you ever plan on painting a FF Iron Ancestor, oh yes, screw everything, I want to see one of these bad boys with your paint scheme
Yeah, I agree that I am getting a little cocky for being 20/51. I think I see the 30-35 painted corporation and forget that 15 of them were done prior to the list
I should be on schedule still though, or a bit ahead. Given 2 weeks for each batch of 5 models ( one batch of 6 for the teams) and 6 batches of models, if I stay on track I should be able to finish it all out in 3 months, leaving one for recovery before Deadzone. I may not get as much time as I would like for a side project, but I'm so ridiculously excited for Deadzone I won't really care
I think the only thing that can possibly bog me down (aside from curveballs as you point out) is apathy towards the standard corporation paint scheme. I think I've got ten more in me though, surely! I mostly want to buy the extra forge fathers stuff to have it on hand for future project time. I'm going to get enough forge father stuff via deadzone to have a pretty solid force with just a couple of steel warrior units, let alone any conversions I'm considering.
I *almost* ordered a DZ Iron ancestor, I think they're even in resin instead of resin plastic, but he was the same cost as the normal one and I didn't want to bloat my pledge to even more ridiculous levels If I see one for a bargain somewhere, I'll definitely get it, I like the model... it reminds me a lot of a space marine dreadnought, though it screams dwarf at the top of its vox!
I may have to get one of all of the mechs for DZ, Thornton has been posting cards and stats and I think they could be pretty neat to run in larger skirmishes.
Finally, I may take a break from models for about a week to ten days as I scrabble to put together a cosplay costume of all things! Infinity is going to have a table at Gen Con Indy, and I just realized that I'm close enough that I can totally drive to it. Somehow it just dawned on me where it is after I saw the mantic blog post mentioning it. Anyway... They say they're giving away one of their bootlegger minis to anyone who drops by their table cosplaying one of their characters. I've been scouring their mini range to find something simple enough to make (and that I wouldn't look too ridiculous in) but clothing is far far away from my forte'... Still, it would be ever so nice to get a free infinity model
More on that as I take another look, my eyes are too tired. I think half of the aireadna stuff is basically stander rag-tag soldier/camo look but I wouldn't want to be awarded a mini for not trying
Gonna go snap together that batch of forgefathers if I can help it! More on all of this later
Ahahaha! No kidding. I wish i had the time and talent to put together something cool like a zero or reverend custodier but there's no way. Metros though? What is that a hoodie and grey pants (well at least the HMG guy)? Ezmode. It may have to be my "settling point" as well, as I have no camo or military gear for the other ones. I don't own a kilt, and they probably won't let a sword past the door. Good thing I have excuses to not be a highlander (as many as it would be )
See, it says get a free mini and other gifts while learning to play at their tables, then it mentions the bootleg for cosplay, so maybe there are more than one up for grabs? I need to get signed up for my events, just waiting to see if it wife wants to go or not.
I actually feel pretty lucky to get to go, being here in southern Illinois, stuff is usually too far away, or happens on days I work. Aside from a couple of gamesdays many years ago, this will be about the only thing like this I've found time to go to. So, needless to say, I plan on nerding out quite a lot. I will have with me my trusty droid bionic, and its not so modest (for a camera in a phone) 8mp camera will be working overtime. Hopefully I can still get in on some of of the infinity and mantic events, and find a few more to go to, many pictures will be coming of anything I can get good shots of!
Back to the dwarfs! Got everything cut out, just need to trim and assemble. I may be a mediocre painter, but I can put things together in a jiffy! Hopefully the dragons breath and mjolnir just 'come to me' as I'm working on these.
*EDIT* I just caved and ordered the 20 sets of dwarf torsos, 20 sets of laser rifle arms, 40 round mantic bases, and 15 dwarf heads (including 5 of the good ones from the SW set, and 10 goggles/eyepatches). It will get me 20 more steel warriors (or 10 and conversion fodder for 10 of something else most likely) with proper heads as well as extra laser rifles for zombies and potential deadzone conversions. And enough bases to do any dwarf converting (including 10 hammer guys from normal dwarfs, if I want) and give me some slack if I can't find a few of my awol bases for the current project.
Now go away hobby, you can't have any more of my money unless you cleverly ambush me at gen con!!!
Even more goodies?! Oh, yeah, that looks like one heck of a con!
If your wife is going too, make sure she guards your wallet. If there's starter sets or some deals for those drones you like so much, oh man, I fear someone is gonna cave in
Yeah... It's pretty much guaranteed. If Ronnie Renton or one of the Infinity guys asks me to buy something, I'm probably just going to hand them my wallet. Especially if there are deals or signatures involved!
Part way through a flamer dwarf. Once the baby sleeps I may try to finish it. Having trouble finding a good vented looking bit for the flames to come out of. May make something, but that will take more time so who knows.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hmm. Tinkered with the special weapons for the steel warriors a bit.
The dragons breath I could be ok with. It isn't in the style of the drakkarim, which actually mount the tank under their weapon, but my dwarfs kind of have a more rustic feel to them... maybe they don't have the best equipment forge fathers as a race have access to. Maybe down on their luck or poor clan. I wanted to do a shoulder mounted missile launcher but as you can see, it did not pan out. The actual mantic model is more of a shoulder resting bazooka kind of thing. I have some of the IG missile launchers, or I could make something a little smaller out of plastic tubes. I'll have a look at it tomorrow.
The thing under the barrel is for setting the fuel on fire, something I notice is missing from the dragons breath weapons. I like the muzzles on those, but the one I have may just suffice. Thoughts?
If you are going with the more rustic feel, the muzzle seems a great idea. They already carry the fuel tank like an "ordinary" Flamethrower, so they need that. I would only recommend bending it up a little. Right now it looks like the flame would heat, well, nothing
Something like the good ol' SM stuff:
Other than that, it looks great!
I checked the Mjolnir rocket launcher: That thing is brutal. It looks bigger than the FF carrying it! A simple shoulder mounted launcher really doesn't do it justice.
Two brief notes and I'm off to bed. Too tired to mess around with models tonight
First, going to skip the missile launcher for now. The steel warriors are technically on the list, but they are still a considered a side project. I have enough bits coming in that when I decide to put those together at a later date, I can figure out the mjolnir in a more relaxed setting and make extra to swap with my existing squad. Need to get these dwarfs built and painted so I can keep pushing forward.
Second, at risk of sounding wishy washy, I am going to cancel my gencon indy plans. I got really excited when I realized how (relatively) close I was and what actually went on there, that I just started making plans. Less than two weeks out. Gencon Indy is hugemongous, something like 25k people are supposed to attend. The hotels are going to be booked for miles and none of the events I would like to attend have any tickets left. Sure, I may pick up a free model at the infinity table, but I'd be paying hundreds of dollars to make the trip out there for not much else in terms of gain. I think I could just buy the infinity model and stick to a nice relaxing weekend instead No, I won't attend this year, what I will do is bank my enthusiasm for next year and get everything sorted out months in advance!
On another, third, heretofore unmentioned note; I think I conned a buddy into trying out Infinity. All I had to do was describe it and tell him to check out the site. Going to see about the quick start rules this Sunday. If he actually gets into it, I may have to reschedule some things and add some infinity models to the queue
Alright, just a bit of progress. I wanted to sleep, but I decided to finish prepping and gluing those dwarfs. As an added bonus, I assembled a trial Thorgarim (or however it is) A.K.A. mad hammer space dwarf. Keeping to my lower-tech theme, I decided to use a separate power source with a somewhat cumbersome cable connecting them. The power source for the heat hammer and squad special weapon look very similar, which has sort of morphed to intentional.
Spoiler:
The reason for my clan's near-poverty lies in the conditions of their sector of space. The asteroids and planets within reach have precious, but limited and extremely difficult to extract minerals. The clan stubbornly clings to its ancestral zone, and the rare materials fetch a high price, but sufficient quantities are difficult to extract. Every dwarf is a miner, even the soldiers. When they are not at war, the steel warriors are right next to the brokkirs mining their little hearts out. Their chief bane during this hard existence is an ever growing and ever emboldened infestation of VeerMyn. Since most of their fights occur in their mines, my forge fathers have adapted their weapon systems to better suit that environment. Instead of using dragons breath and spraying volatile burning chemicals and eating away at valuable oxygen, the dwarfs have adapted a heat weapon to disperse in a wide cone, something like a heat shotgun. The Fafnir pattern heat blaster, lovingly given nicknames like the minesweeper, and the hush gun (the superheated wave makes a SHHHH noise, and it leaves little alive to audibly complain in the tight mine tunnels), has come into standard service with my clan.
The large tanks are going to be detailed and painted in such a way as to suggest large batteries, and the hammer will follow suit. Basically its a wide area heat gun, instead of a flame thrower. It can flash boil the flesh off of enemies, but it dissipates too quickly to damage heavier armors.
I imagine the coil near the barrel to be a rapid heat dissipation system to keep the weapon firing more often. Do you guys like the mad hammer dwarf? I couldn't help but use the goggles and mic, makes him look a bit crazy. Hopefully I get the chance to work these over with the airbrush tomorrow. Undercoat white-->yellow-->red with the airbrush and I'll just have a few details left before I can dip 'em.
Looking great as usual Grim! Sorry I've not been around to post, I've got my first professional commission painting Sedition Wars, So I've been swamped with painting other peoples minis Love your zombies and I can't wait to see that flame thrower! I've started playing dreadball (damn mantic!) so now I've got yet another project!
Hey GrimDork, dwarf looks great as usual! The goggles are so big it gives him a crazy buggy-eyed look. Truly something I wouldn't like to encounter in a tight mineshaft
The fluff looks really cool too, but I have a special love for your weapons names. Minesweeper and hush gun? You must have spent some time thinking about it because they sound too good, haha!
(Ah, remember those curveballs I mentioned? I got one myself. Working through all the weekend so my miniature painting deadlines have been shot down with extreme prejudice )
@BMB no worries, I'm going to keep on plugging along even if I'm here all by myself Thanks for the comments and be sure to let me know where to find the results of your first commission when you get it done
@TDL thanks! I'm generally terrible with names, see how both my clan and my corporation force lack them Shame about your curveball, but we will still expect progress soon
@BMB, indeed, I'm always up for seeing more beautiful minis from any game system, I too would like to see them
@GD - Aaahh, I'm sure you'll be able to conjure up a nice name, I too took ages to discover a Dynasty name for my Necrons. Thankfully my curveball is almost done, I'm tired as frak, but I'm hoping I'll be able to update it today!
I got one of those curveballs too, yesterday didn't turn out quite like I planned, and today I got called in for some 'emergency' work, only half a day, but this stuff wears me out especially off-schedule like that.
@TDL Take your time, but I'm sure that troll will look awful nice when he does show up over there
Since my buddy lives out of town, we had to postpone our Infinity match due to the random work, but that gives me more time to prepare. I'm a little torn, I'm able to proxy our starter forces with fully painted models, but I don't have much in the way of suitable terrain. On the one hand, I would like to have something presentable to go with the painted models, giving a more favorable impression of the hobby; on the other hand, I have hundreds of battlezone tiles and over a dozen accessory sprues coming from the deadzone kickstarter... and hastily crafted terrain just isn't going to match up with that.
So, what I'm looking at is either using a bunch of cardboard model boxes and the like as buildings, maybe throwing some barricades together but not bother painting them... wasting little time but presenting poorly; or spending my limited hobby time (with TDOD looming over me the whole time) to make less shoddy training terrain that I will probably still be inclined to throw out (running out of space to put this stuff!) once my deadzone stuff comes in.
Having thusly analyzed things, I think I'm inclined to do the cardboard boxes and get the function of the battlefield situated, while still making time with my deadlines.
Thoughts?
On that note, I'm gonna go see some dwarfs about an undercoat!
*update* Dwarfs sprayed white. Maybe a quick shot of yellow if I'm feeling squirrely tonight!
*TWACK* Thou shall not waste valuable hobby time with the TODO deadline looming on the horizon!
*TWACK*
I'm sure your friend will be able to understand why you don't have ass-kicking terrain for a quick game Painted proxies is already more than enough to sell how awesome miniature gaming is. All you need is that "hasted" terrain so you guys can test the rules and see if you truly enjoy the game
And a sound opinion it is! It is the correct course, I just feel like a bad host not having a fancy battlefield. I'll make up for it tenfold once I get my deadzone tiles Gotta get up early, but going to see about blasting those dwarfs with yellow before I hit snoozemode.
Automatically Appended Next Post: *update* dwarfs sprayed yellow. You guys know what my whip stuff looks like so I'm gonna save the effort of pics. I will say that mad hammer dwarf is growing in me by the day... not sure when I will find the time... but so far these forge fathers have been fun to paint. Something to do with using such a 'hard' color and doing it this easily... like I'm getting away with something. Not sure I could ever paint a good yellow, not the 'right' way.
Oh well, maybe after I get some dead zone done I can break for some more dwarf units.
Gah, baby threw me another curveball last night. Was set to get up early and visit some relatives and baby decided to kill 2-3 hours of sleeping with a massive fit and refusal to go back to sleep about halfway through the night. In and of itself, that isn't so bad, it happens every once and a while... But I am just wrecked today, I have no idea why I'm so tired, I guess cumulative sleep debt is taking its toll. So, not going to do anything modelwise tonight, baby just fell asleep and I'm going to go as well to greedily snooze as much as humanly possible before I return to my usual toil
On another note, my bits came in from Hoard 'O Bitz, one of my favorite ebay bits sellers. It was a tiny envelope, but everything is here, it was just well packed. This means more dwarfs for the future and plenty of guns and arms to help ensure my zombies look the part of their stat line (as marines they should technically all have rifles ).
It would be so easy to put the red down tonight, just six loincloth thingies, but not gonna happen
If the amazon prime continues to honor it's 2day shipping thing, I should have one of those fancy healing cutting mats and some of those new-fangled microbeads to play around with. I hear the caviar thing is all the rage and my poor nails are just so flat!
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Just kidding! Anyway, supposedly they are just about the right size to represent rivets. So you use a tiny drill bit to make a dimple and set the little bead in place and BAM, nice rounded rivet. We'll see. I was planning on implementing some on my next wave of bases for a slightly more industrial section of the city warzone the bases are meant to represent.
Alright, next time will be pictures. Probably not finished dwarfs, but certainly far along WIP shots!
If you're bored in the meantime, be sure to check out TDL's painting Den! There you will find some fantastic necrons, an awesome ninja, a furious Nijal Stormcaller, and other lovely things to admire
I have no idea why I'm so tired, I guess cumulative sleep debt is taking its toll.
Oh boy, do I know the feeling Yesterday after work after I got home, bam, I was falling asleep watching youtube, nevermind painting. I just know if I picked up the brush I would fall asleep.
I like your idea of spicing up your bases with the rivets. That way you give the idea you have an army that's fighting in multiple fronts. Nice touch
@TDL Yeah, if I had tried to heft the airbrush it was going to go tip-down into my desk and I'd be out at least $16 Feeling rather better today, hopefully some work will be done!
I see your P&M blog CIsaac, fancy stuff. Not sure I jive completely with the whole warjacks thing, but you've done some pretty fancy painting on them
The UPS truck gets here a little later in the day (I think) but my amazon order is due in, so hopefully I get to take another crack at some bases with new materials today.
I'm far less exhausted today, so I think I'm gonna traipse on downstairs and fire up the airbrush for the last bit of spraying the dwarfs need. Hopefully by then my stuff will have come in and I'll be able to pop some WIP base pictures here before the night is out.
*edit* wait a second... Traipse means walk wearily or reluctantly? Bah, vocabulary fail! I guess I should have went with meander, huh? Well... I guess. Maybe We'll just settle for wander, huh?
Automatically Appended Next Post: Woooo. My goodies came in! These microbeads are, well, micro! They're super super small. Grains of sand small. May be too small, may be perfect. The cutting mat look ok, kinda stinky but that will fade.
Also, gonna use a regular brush for the red, will take a couple three layers, but the masking for the airbrush would have been at least as much work so meh
BBL with update!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alrighty, I didn't get quite as much done as I had hoped, and I will be turning in soon to try to keep up on my sleep. However, I did some fiddling with bases and the dwarfs don't really have much detailing in general. Leather is a tad less than halfway done, metals flesh and well no I think that's basically it. Maybe a little fancying on the coils for the heat gun and the heat hammer, maybe. Anyway, here are a few pics to keep things from getting too boring.
Boom! Supplies! Its hard to believe there are parts enough for 20 dwarfs in those two packages. Well, I guess there aren't. It's just the front torsos and arms, still, they pack in nicely.
More supplies, these are the microbeads. They are tiny tiny! You can make a better judgement in the next images with the bases, but they are super small. All I know is that I want to walk on a fuggin beach of these things, it would be wonderful. Well or maybe not, I think you may sink in, they displace very easily. One of those sweet glass-bead style volcano beaches though...
The microbeads in action. The round bit is one of the integral mantic bases cut off and flipped over to the smooth side. The way to use the beads seems to be to drill a dimple with the smallest bit you can find, then get some glue into the socket and deploy the bead. Both the small portion of glue and the bead handling were proving problematic until I accidentally discovered probably the ultimate tool for doing this kind of work. That piece of metal is the bare part at the end of a guitar string, I had just cut it off since I wanted the string for the cable look, and the plain piece wasn't useful at the time. Put a tiny wad of poster tack, or anything sticky, even old gum if you're desperate on one end; this is your grabber. The other end is left alone. See that dark spot on my palette? That's a small pool of superglue. Dip the bare end of your new bead-tool into the glue very lightly and even more lightly tap the dimple where you want to put the bead-rivet. Just enough glue should come out, then flip the tool over and very lightly snag a bead with the sticky end. So far the poster tack has been loosing its grip on the bead easily, with the superglue sucking the bead down into place. I'll have to see them painted up, but so far I like these for rivets. I wish there was a size maybe 50% larger, would be good for some things, but for small rivets these are neat.
WIP bases and dwarf just so you know I'm painting them I forgot I had six dwarfs this time, so I've got to add material to the bare one. I wanted to make a better man-hole this time around, and try a couple of things out. I'm not sure what the base with two lines of rivets is supposed to be, perhaps a different pattern would make more sense, just wanted to try something out. Need some scatter junk for the tops of some of them too.
So, like I said, not a whole lot of progress, but steadily pushing forward. Pending weekend plans, I may get the dwarfs done this week, putting me half way to goal.
On another note, I just got in a bluetooth controller and a micro-hdmi cable so I've just turned my phone into a nintendo/psx/nostalgia engine. Expect to hear me ranting about old video games as I take necessary hobby work breaks If I can still play with a controller, I loaded up armored core and couldn't even get through the practice room, something about having so many years of mouse-looking, hard to use those triggers to manually adjust the camera in battle
The beads are tricky, but that little bead-tool thing makes it fairly easy. Just need to paint a few things with them and see if I like the look.
Badass giant mechs, awesome combos and a fairly interesting plot (though a bit heavy on the exposition). I played it to like the last boss years and years ago, but didn't end up finishing it (common with me and RPGslol) then I lost one of the discs. I think I have the isos though so I may load it up emulator style for some mega-nostalgia! Running through at least one armored core game first though :p
In other news, I got the leather done on the dwarfs, now just metal skin and beards before dipping. Woot.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright small update time. I gave myself about an hour tonight after the little one went into snoozemode. She's been getting me up in the middle of the night so I can't risk staying up too late and jeopardizing my precious sleep Anyway, instead of being a good, diligent painter... I decided to let myself get swept up in the current of DZ excitement again. With all of the new beta faction decks, missions, new units to try out, mercs and everything else, I decided that I would need a board... even if I have to play both sides myself! I made a really really shoddy alpha/beta board with buildings in foamcore, but it is just too lame to use. I decided to use plasticard (or something fairly close) to make my own crude tiles and to then quickly build a static 2x2 deadzone board with them. I may give it a quick dusting of grey too, just so it isn't too drab.
To save time, I cut carefully measured out the 3x3 grid onto one sheet of plasticard (good old garage sale signs ftw) and then put the two sheets together with tape.
I used scissors for speed, though some of the edges are a little wavy or warped, ultimately they will be close enough for what this is.
And here you can see the stack of 48 tiles -- not quite 2 BZ, but then again a BZ doesn't get 8 full tiles, there are lots of halves and those I can make out of remaining card -- as well as the left-over card, some sprue and craft sticks for underlying support, and some found items to add interest.
I intend to bust it out Souza-style, implementing some found items to make the board a tad more interesting. So far I've got some spray can lids which may serve as generators or vats or what have you, and the fairly dangerous looking (recently defunct) coffee grinder of doom may have a part to play as well. I'm thinking hot glue with clipped sprue for supports to make the buildingish sections, with sprue or craft stick reinforced bridges here and there. I may make some detritus/barricades as well to add some scatter. The intention is to dust it all with black, and then mix up some gray out of my lesser favored airbrush paints (spectra tex) doing it all rather quickly. Maybe a quick quick drybrush, maybe not.
Preferably, I'll work on my dwarfs the next time I sit down, but sometimes I'm just too out of it to paint. Sometimes I still feel like hobbying in those situations, and coarser stuff like this can always be done when a bit tired.
That is all, be back soon, hopefully with some painted dwarfs, right?
Eh, it happens, sometimes when we try to pick up a brush to paint it's just not worth it or we aren't "in the zone". Usually that's when I get my "clean up and remove mold lines" session or gaming You, you create cool lookin' and easy to store boards for another game.
Btw, did you get to try out Infinity this weekend?
Yes we did. A reasonably short 150 pt game between proxied and modified c army and corregedor starters. I led corregedor to a route of the c army with 4/6 troops remaining. Lack of terrain left his Lt too close to a spitfire that eventually trained him down and his impetuous witch soldier got himself into trouble. My sin eater was positively mean on board control with his beastly mk12 getting full burst on around due to his special rule.
We had fun and I think my buddy wants to get into the game, meaning my deadzone terrain may be seeing a lot of use in the future.
Yeah, I doubt I'll be able to keep from getting at least a starter if my friend buys some actual infinity models. I'm more inclined to proxy right now what with all of warpath minis I've been working on as well as my incoming deadzone goodies... but I doubt I'll be able to say no to a Bakunin starter if my opponent has real infinity models too
Still hoping to put in a little time on those dwarfs tonight but its getting late, we'll see.
Grim dork, I just got micro beads this week also, easiest way I Lund so far is to use an old brush with a good tip, lick the tip of the brush and touch it to the bead. The saliva is tacky enough to hold the bead until you place it in the glue which will hold it tighter. DO NOT LICK THE TIP AGAIN OR HE GLUE WILL STICK H BRUSH O OUR TONGUE. yes I did it, it's funny now, but then not so much. I just slip a little on a small scrap of plastic card and when the brush stops picking up dip it into the spit again. Sounds gross but speed everything up ALOT.
That sounds pretty doable. But, I beg you, for the sake of your tongue; try the wire blue tack tool I mentioned. I haven't done a lot of these yet, but it seemed fairly useable, and there is zero chance of having to give yourself minor tastebudectomies if you get into the groove and forget
I will try it your way though, I have plenty of old brushes, and I plan to do some more work with the beads soon.
In other news, the dwarfs are painted to the point I can dip them (hooray!). I'm tired, but I would love to finish them tomorrow so I think I'm going to go dip them anyway. Tomorrow I can do the bases and wait for the dwarfs to dry, and finally seal.
*Update* All six dwarfs got dipped and cleaned. I don't think I've mentioned it before, but the few minutes after you dip a model are pretty stressful. You've got to go around really quickly and find all of the heavy pools of wood stain (or army painter, I would assume), and siphon them off with something. I use little bits of paper towel rolled up so there's a point on both ends, lets you get into creases where the dip is too thick. But you've got to do this fast, especially on larger and flat surfaces, because the dip sets fast... it doesn't touch dry very quickly at all, but it gets too tacky to work with fairly quickly. Priorities are the flat parts, because the thinner (yet still too thick) dip will dry there the fastest, but the deeper pools in creases are also of concern.
Let's just say that I'm glad when the batch of models are cleaned as well as I could manage, and they're happily drying, awaiting their matte sealer to bring them to the right tone. Since that's where we are now, I'm gonna go read and sleep, with every intention of finishing up the batch tomorrow.
Good (timezone appropriate section of day) folks, and happy hobbying!
Got all 6 dwarfs done, 5 steel warriors, and what may end up being the first of 5-10 Thorgarmin. I'm really happy with the bases, I went back to a simpler and less cluttered look, but primarily its the addition of black. Its hard to express just how much I like the addition of the black (asphalt i guess?). It brings just enough contrast to help make the models and other base colors pop. At least a couple of partial asphalted bases are mandatory for any batch of models I do in this style from now on.
I think I was a little slow cleaning the dip this time around, but overall I'm pleased with the dwarfs. There are a few things here and there that I would like to fix later, like the heat hammer and not-so-glowly heat gun coils, but I'm going to wait until after the TDOD list to go back and look at stuff like that.
This batch of eyes came out pretty well, I'll take some more group and solo shots when I get some time on a nice sunny day, took just a few to get by on early. I'm also happy with the lenses on the Thorgarim, usually these give me a lot of trouble, and the layering is still very rough but I've always had trouble with such small areas. Its one thing that I really like about working on the steel warriors, their eyes, lenses, and several other details are larger than normal.. and it really helps me make them look a bit better than my usual.
Gah, getting a headache =/ I picked up a TV to replace my dying monitor (takes it more than a minute to come on, every time it comes on, seems like it only has a few more ons in it...), but I didn't do enough research and the quality is just unacceptable. I'm gonna have to downgrade the size back to the 22-24" range and make sure its one of those razor sharp led tvs or something, the text on the one I just got is killing my brain, even armored core 1 (ps1 game) looks bad on it! I could just get a monitor, but I want something with HDMI input for my phone to take over. Only problem with the razors/etc is they usually only have one hdmi port =/. Anyway enough off-topic, time for pictures!
New avatar, not so much because it is an incomparable work of art, but cause it looks silly and i like it
More of the same dwarf, I got a lot of shots of him to find a couple that worked.
Last of the mad hammer dwarf on his own, promise!
I noticed this while I was doing the eyes; that helmet, color scheme, and blank white eyes... SCORPION! I may have to get my lawyer out, smell a C&D coming
And here's the only shot of everyone so far. I'm fairly happy with the results, especially in the time it took. I love the black sections of the bases adding contrast. I want to fix the hammer, heat gun coils, fancy up the fuel/power tanks for those weapons, maybe do a little other fixing, but I'm gonna wait on that for now.
I've already got my next 5 corporation marine veterans lined up, two are primed white from before, gotta finish clipping off the mini-bases of the other 3 and get those onto nails to match the first two. I plan to employ the airbrush just as much on these guys as I did on the rangers, but no masking the white, I'm just going to repaint anything I overspray onto. Hopefully I can get those five cranked out well inside of two weeks, but who knows, I tend to drag on that color scheme. After those, its just 16 zombies and 5 more rangers.
Still gotta update the TDOD graphic, but I'm running on my little 15" or something backup monitor and don't feel like it :p Gotta return this poorly researched TV and get something more in line with a proper monitor or my eyes are going to get even worse from all of this squinting!
That mad dwarf looks freakin' crazy. I sure would hate to have that guy staring at me with those buggy eyes of him. I think the hammer could use some brighter and warmer colors to represent the heat but I see you already considered this fix, together with the gun coils.
Scorpion on the other hand just looks awesome
About your TV problems: yes, please do that. It's already bad enough what we do to our eyes when we have a decent monitor, never mind that apparent monstrosity that's causing you discomfort and headaches.
About the HDMI problem, right now I have a TV with 2 HDMI ports (and is wonderful, unlike your... monstrosity), but, before I only had 1 port for both the Xbox360 and PS3, and both of them needed that port. The solution? Something like this:
I figured such a thing existed, just hadn't looked. That looks like my answer.
The hammer, coils, and some other things here and there will get revisited whenever the steel warriors get their own project time. Its tabletop passable now and that's all I have time for. When I devote some more time to the FF, I'll do some research into making the hammers etc look good and hot.
It occurs to me that I haven't painted even a small vehicle over the span of this blog. Mantic doesn't have many, of course. Maybe if I turn up some decent wheels on toy trucks in the dollar store, I'll try my hand at the speeder buggy. Of course, now that marines may be getting less as scout DTS....may have to not use those. We'll see!
Yep, ordered one of those splitters. Very reasonable, maybe 8 something on amazon, so I should have it a day after the hdmi cable itself arrives. Got a new TV, the letters are just the slightest bit off-putting. I know if I got the razer 22" it would be as sharp as I want, but this one is a bit bigger and has some extra (somewhat) desirable features, so I'm gonna give it a few days of evaluation. Probably keep it unless I start getting headaches for no other reason
Now, on to actual business.
New TDOD graphic, updating the first page imminently.
Spoiler:
Feels pretty good to be halfway there. I know there's an odd model keeping it under 50%, but I also did an extra dwarf so nyar!
Doing some calendar math, I've got a little shy of two weeks left for this month, and then September/October/November, so 13-14 weeks remaining before December hits. Given 5 more batches of models and allowing 2 weeks for each, I should only need 10 weeks to get done. I know that I will drag a bit on the marines and rangers, but its entirely possible I could batch paint the last 10 zombies in one go as well. There may also be some time in December before Deadzone arrives, but I'm reserving that time for a break or additional side project action. Hopefully I beat my estimations and have nearly two months to work on something else. As long as I get a couple of weeks of downtime before Deadzone, though, I'll be happy. I'm going to need to clear off my desk for once, and to get all of my models either packed away in storage/travel containers, or prominently displayed to moralize my continued efforts. I may need to get a new bitz container (or three) to temporarily store my Deadzone goodness, we'll see.
On another note...
It totally says "dipping with wood stain" under my portrait.. AND THATS EXACTLY WHAT I'M DOING!!! ...Ahem. Kind of creepy, kind of awesome, you decide
Really feel like I should do some work on the marines, but it was too hot today. Gonna relax with a bit of Armored Core, and see about some more progress tomorrow.
Good, good, get your R&R because we want to see more progress. That "TODO or Die" list is going great and we don't want any slip-ups. We'd hate to see you "Die" before you got the chance of painting other cool stuff besides the list
Yes, dying at this point in the game would be...unfortunate.
Will have a shorter day today, so hopefully I'll have some energy left to paint when I get back from a late start at work.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Bah, energy was spent elsewhere. I did manage to get the marines onto their nails though:
Just to prove that I'm not doing nothing
There is a post on the Mantic Deadzone forums asking how people are going to paint their battlezone tiles. I've been giving it a lot of thought as I have ever so many incoming, and would like to keep the terrain paced with progress on the minis. That said, I would really like to dip the tiles, or at least apply the stain with a brush (they probably won't fit in the can of stain!). This brings up a dilemma though. All of my good woodstains are brown since, well, wood is tan/brown. My bases and game mats are going to be various greys, so grey for buildings seems natural, however... Grey dipped with brown is typically questionable at best. So, either I have to find a earthy tone for my buildings that easily accepts a brown/red-brown tinted stain, or figure something else out. I would really like to dip the tiles as they will ideally be seeing a lot of dis/assembly, and the extra polyurethane shell would be nice (as long as it doesn't make the fit too tight for the clips to work, a little more snug is probably good... but won't go in is bad!).
My only other option (that I've come up with so far) is to try to use the BLACK STAIN OF DEATH ! This is minwax polyshades satin black. I got it originally thinking that it would be the end-all of everything, the ultimate black wash (which makes everything look better). The first poor, (forcibly) brave goblin that got dunked came out pitch black. I had to quickly attack him with paper towels to get any detail to show at all. This stuff is just thick and nasty! Meh, even I am getting tired of me being long-winded.
TLDR: Black stain super strong!
Anyhow, I did quickly throw together a test piece using one of my temporary makeshift deadzone tiles, sprayed it with VMA light grey, then dunked it. Let the stuff drip, slung it around, the thing was totally black. I grabbed a paper towel to try to salvage it a bit and got the following:
I actually kind of like it. Its a bit nasty looking, but possibly in a good way. Now, this is just on a flat piece of plasticard with a few raised details. It will probably nuke the finer details of the deadzone tiles, but on the chance that it does not...
What do you think?
It seems to dark and grimy to be a recently constructed habtainer cityscape look. But I dunno, I guess habtainer cities probably stay up for awhile. The grimy streaks are definitely giving me a necromunda vibe, which may clash with the fancier/cleaner look of most of the new deadzone minis... but maybe not. I will probably try at least a couple of tiles like this when I get them, I think if I were to go back in and paint metal and pick out a few other details, it could look alright.
Feed the mighty decision engine (I guess that means my brain? actually, its pretty bad at making decisions you know!) your thoughts that I may digest them and extrude the truth!
I actually kind of like it. Its a bit nasty looking, but possibly in a good way. Now, this is just on a flat piece of plasticard with a few raised details. It will probably nuke the finer details of the deadzone tiles, but on the chance that it does not...
I honestly believe that the possibility of any detail nuking is good reason enough to believe it's a bad decision. Loss of detail is a
Also, are you more inclined to a clean environment or the dirty look you got? Your bases suggest a city that looks clean and fairly advanced, so that grimy and dark look doesn't really adds up. damaged and stained because of weapons, yes, it's a battle after all, but dirty? Nah, I don't like it.
I tend to agree. I just wonder if there is a tan or brown that will go with my based or deadzone mats. Will probably end up doing a light grey a wash and dry brush. Like my bases, maybe a tad lighter. Maybe I just hit them with two layers of sealer to get them to hold.
Now if I were making a necromunda board... but I'm not, and deadzone and infinity both look good on clean boards.
Good call. I may do my temp dz board like this, but may be too much trouble.
It seems as though I'm in between computers at the moment (more spoilered below, kinda boring though!), so lengthy updates may be slightly less common, and properly edited photos vastly more so. We'll see.
Spoiler:
I've been too busy or apathetic to actually check, but my rig has pretty much stopped responding. It started to not work right after I got that pigtail splitter and plugged all of the hdmi cables up. I know the splitter didn't fry my grahpics card because it doesn't have a power source of its own, although it is entirely possible that I accidentally managed to introduce some static to the card through the hdmi port when messing with that stuff. Its also possible I knocked something loose. I haven't really gone over it well yet, its very possible something is just slightly off and if I tear it down and snap it all back together pretty, the thing may still be fine. If the gfx card (or most anything else, for that matter) is, indeed, fried... I think the computer will get retired. Its only 3 something years old, maybe three and a half. But I really don't feel like replacing parts right now. And a decent gaming card is always expensive (and why get something else, the only reason to have a proper rig is to play games).
Right now, I've got my trusty little eee PC out. Its the original, like when they first came out, so before they were really just another brand of netbook (before netbooks were a thing even?). So suffice it to say, its running xandros which I think is mini-debian, and my linux-fu has gotten pretty weak due to lack of use. It runs the intert00bs though! My peripherals are all plug-n-playing alright for now, so there really isn't much reason to start looking for a new rig. I have tons of PS1 games I can play on the new TV with my phonulator(tm). There are a few things I'll have to live without, but I'd rather just save the money. A spiffy new camera to take better pictures of my incoming deadzone stuff, or perhaps a lightbox and some more airbrush-ready-paints, or that whole 'saving your money cause you may need to fix your car/injury' thing.
The main purpose for this bit of spoiler text is just to explain the temporary lack of luster for my pictures, with one 15" monitor and unfamiliar tools, I may take a little while to get back to editing things properly. Though, the gimp is a linux thing. I could have used it on my windows PC, but maybe this is a good excuse to look into it.
Ahem, but I'm still plugging along just fine on the models end of it. I have been moving a little slowly, but things are getting done. From a comment that I saw on one of the deadzone update pages, it sounds like they're planning to ship in november, likely for a first week of december type of thing. This means no extra wiggle room, I've gotta be done by December 1st 2013, OR DIE TRYING!
AHEM! Anyway, I haven't painted on those marines yet, but I did get the second batch of rangers up on their nails. I also swapped out one of their heavy rifles with another special weapon (initially, was going to have 3 for a IG vet team, but I'm not as worried about that now...and rangers can have 2 specials in a 5 man :p). I also got the first zombie weapon team up on nails as well. Today I managed to get two more zombies, another weapon team, set up. I think I may push to get everything assembled and ready to paint for the last big push to finish the project. I was hesitant to do this before now because it would be demoralizing what with the to do pile being bigger than the done. This is no longer the case, however, and I think having stuff ready to paint can only help. I may undercoat all 10 corp marines, and maybe paint some bits on the rangers extra while painting the marines, same with the zombies. Best to encourage enthusiasm and painting binges where possible at this point!
Oh, I've been working a little on my makeshift/found items terrain as a bit of a procrastination/diversion. I give you, the still very WIP, SPACE LASER TOWER!
As you can see, its just the basic shape, I still need to add a bit of plasticard to make it look more like a laser tower and less like what it is Still, though, it totally spins around and swivels back and forth, very space lasery if you ask me!
And if you can't tell what it is... Its my defunct coffee grinder, which was featured earlier. I tore the heart out of it, and was greeted with some really neat looking guts! My limited electronics experience would seem to suggest electricity being used to do some magnet-like stuff to make the top thing spin and push the choppy bit around to chew up the lil coffee beans. So not only did I get that sweet part up top that I'm pretty sure looks like a sick-ass laser cannon with zero modification, but I got a big gribbly metal thing with bunches of wires going into it, so thats probably going to be some kind of generator or alien artifact for objectives.
I want to dress up the crude mechanism I have holding the (rather heavy, relatively speaking) laser cannon and its mount, and make it look less obvious and more structurally stable. I also need to take care of the holes left by the lever and button on front. It won't fall over easily, but I think I'm gonna glue it down to an old CD for a base anyway. I think I'll work the on button into some kind of entryway, I'm not sure if I imagine it as manned or not, but surely someone has to get into it for maintenance.
With any luck, tomorrow I will get some more zombies assembled, and will start painting my corporation models.
Oh man, sorry to hear that :( that's such bad luck, I did wonder why you were so quiet these last days, you usually post the current status of the project. Well, at least you aren't completely off the Interwebz, nor PS1, so you can still relax, but man, always a bummer :/
Nice looking tower. It almost needs no extra work to make it look like a retro Death Ray Tower 50's vibe I get!
But it's great to see how that bummer didn't discourage you from completing the project! No extra wiggle room, it's the final stretch *insert epic music here*
Ehh I'm sort of mellow these days about that kind of stuff. And now that I think of it... the only reason I stopped using my old rig was persistent heat issues, had to replace its gfx card too. I don't think it would do much gaming, but if its still good and works out, may give me a little more power behind that little 15" monitor by reviving the current rig :p
Will be updating with images today. Gonna have a few hobby hours while baby is being watched. Almost done with all six weapon team zombies, leaving just the last 10 zombie marines to go assembly-wise. Going to use the solid uninterrupted time to put down some under/base coats.
The tower is part of my quick and dirty terrain, though I may keep it for later too, its more than just a cardboard box. Mostly wanna fix up the points where it swivels and the holes in the tower.
I also think I found my reward for completing theTDOD list on time, but more on that when I'm at my computer where its easier to link stuff!
I'm not sure how big of anime fans the folks reading here are, but I've been known to watch a few in my time. One of my favorite shows from back in the day was the later run of bubblegum crisis tokyo 2040. my first search of the internets awarded me with This site. Selling these:
The quality seems a little on the poorer side, but I was thinking to myself how I liked the stats for the infinity Riot Grrls, but didnt like the models at all. 28mm BGC hardsuits would solve all of those problems I still want to fish around for somewhat better sculpts, but they're like 6 pounds for the set which seems pretty snazzy. Need to see if they ship here otherwise I'll have to go to ebay or keep searching. Though, these may be as close as you get without making your own!
I think I can make something out of this without much effort, some kind of generator maybe.
Here we have 5 marines, 5 rangers, and 6 zombie weapon team members all ready for their base/undercoats.
The baby should be getting picked up soonish, which will allow me to get down there and spray those suckers down.
For now though, I'm gonna see about making some food so I don't have to do it later during prime hobby time! Apparently, taco bell's fire sauce still comes in a little glass bottle, so I'm looking forward to some tasty tacos. Painting fuel weee!
Should be back in a couple/few hours with more wips and such.
BUBBLE GUM CRISIS MINIS?! Damn you to the 9 Hells! Here I am doing my best to resist buying more minis and you show me this magnificence! They would look glorious together with my Ghost in the Shell minis!
Oh man, you just gave me yet another miniature site to explore and think "I totally want to paint this!"
Nice to see you are in a full frenzy mode 16 minis ready to paint, tacos for some fuel, IT'S CLOBBERING TIME! err, I mean, PAINTING TIME!
I dunno, I get pretty rough with the brush, it may be clobbering time
And....
GHOST IN THE SHELL MINIS!? Damn you to the abyss! Here *I* was doing my best to buy as little as possible and you hint at such a thing! Speaking of, who makes the aforementioned minis, and are they in 28mm?
Its going to be burritos anyway, i always say tacos but if you roll it up its a burrito by definition i think :p
Automatically Appended Next Post: Of course I could just... Paint one of these blue
Ahem...
Got the next 16 models undercoated.
Gonna kick back for a bit and refuel with another burrito and some mt dew (gotta stop drinking soda =\), while scheming/clipping bits for the last 10 zombie marines. Needed a break and to let it air out a bit downstairs. Think I'll watch an episode of bubblegum crisis too, yay for netflix adding it on!
More to come hopefully. If I get any zombies assembled, here they will go, as well as any not-insignificant painting progress.
Happy Hobbying!
Automatically Appended Next Post: I was gonna update with progress... but I'm too busy working! Thanks to TDL linking that song over at TDLs painting den, I've got Pandora playing a hatsune miku channel which has 100% more dub step stuff than I expected! Its all very poppy and fast, I can't get these done and sleep, but I'm way further already than I expected!
Automatically Appended Next Post: WUT?! UNPOSSIBLE!
They must put audio crack into that j-pop stuff. After listening to TDLs song I switched Pandora from Kamelot radio to hatsune miku radio and you can see the result! Way more dub step and techno than I figured, even got some bass hunter and Lindsey Sterling of all things.
Well... no bases ready as I didn't expect to have a fuggin unit done today! Not only that, but what I consider to be one of two of the harder units left to boot! I'm quite stoked at this point. More later, phone is tiring to type on and such.
The stock color scheme is pretty nice, really. I may just get some of those sputniks instead, I rather like them too. That, and they go in the same list as riot grrls which are solid stats for Knight sabers
Well, I was too tired to paint tonight, was much too hot out today to have any energy left. I did play around with some of my found items terrain though. In attempting to fix my computer, I nabbed both of my old rigs from where I was storing them, but didn't end up needing either. (turns out the gfx card was fine, but the slot it was in no longer was.. go figure ) So now I'm still down 5" of screen real estate on the new main monitor, but there's a small TV on my desk to keep the smaller two screens in line. Its a bit much, but there's no way I'm retiring one of them now! Anyway... I'm getting off-topic as I usually do. While I'm a little hesitant to completely break down my more recently retired computer (been down for a few years, and was almost 5 years old before that) it may still run with a little heat-sink/fan work, and you never know when it could come in handy... I did have no qualms stealing parts with abandon from my 10-ish year old dell. Of course the newer rig has neater bits I could (and may still) salvage, but I found some neat stuff in the old dell.
After carefully removing the guts, this old power supply makes for an interesting building. I may cover some or all of it with plasticard both to help with painting, and to ensure a more uniform look across the project.
This funky thing was sitting over the CPU and its heatsink, and previously included a fan, I think it was meant to help direct heat away from the CPU etc. As to what its going to be... I'm not sure yet. It has a very interesting shape though. Its whispering to me that it should be some kind of access to the underground, maybe a subway entry, or the surface gate to an underground bunker... this one will need some plasticard to look right, possibly a door on front as well.
The two pieces may have a future together, actually. They would need some work to be a proper fit. The green bit actually flips upward, so it could be designed as some kind of garage or vehicle launch area. Thinking on it.
I think I first saw this type of thing when I was browsing a thread about some quick/easy/cheap terrain options over on the infinity forums. Various types of plastic bottle caps, if it wasn't obvious. The thinner (and more abundant) kind come from water bottles, and we go through way too many of those at work, could cover a board with them eventually Anyway, they're meant to be some kind of drum/canister/container. They are the right height to give cover but still allow LOS for shooting. A little hot glue and a strip of plasticard makes for a very easy to handle and place piece of scatter terrain.
Alrighty, out of pictures. Hopefully tomorrow I can get back to painting, I'm definitely ahead of the game now thanks to yesterday's painting frenzy, but I still wanna make steady progress so I can have a break or squeeze in a mini project before DZ.
Ahoy there Grim! Sorry I'm late! I'm always ready to comment on your adventures but today work had other plans for me
It's nice to know your card is still up and running! Minus one expense!
Ah, amazing how your quick/easy/cheap terrain looks damn nice. A bit of extra work and you'll have a cool Infinity table in no time! The idea for drums and cannisters is a genius one. With a bit of paint and some details they'll look like futuristic storage units. The future is round! No more cube-like boxes!
Yeah, I saw the bottle cap trick elsewhere and had to steal it.
Its good I saved that expense, I may have just found another! The minitaire full set is ba k up on amazon for what comes out at $2 a bottle. I don't think I can pass it up.
More later I gotta get home and cool off but not before snapping up that paint before they run out again!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Yep... just ordered the 84 piece minitaire set from amazon. Sigh, I wanted it when I had my tax return, but its almost half off and I never have gotten an entire range of colors in one go. So, had to do it :p
A bit miffed that my amazon prime shipping benefit isn't going to get it here by thursday/friday, they want a couple of extra days for processing which means I'll get it eventually. As long as its before Deadzone shows up! I just hope I jumped onto the wagon before they sold out again, they've been out since august.
Oh well, that bit done, time to cool off... and then see about some more hobby action.
Automatically Appended Next Post: This... is probably going to be awesome.
I like the ecchymose, as in ecchymosis (i think), as in blood leaking into a tissue and making a bruise-like thingy, and its purple.
I'm glad my VMA set has more earthy tones, this one has a lot of bright 40k ish colors like 7ish yellows and reds :p Thats good though, I've never had access to that much variety for a single color. I hear the metals aren't so good, but I've got a couple of VMA metals so that should help.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright small update. Did some tinkering with my gathered bottle caps, did some gluing, and got four pieces undercoated.
Glued my raw materials together, the superglue doesn't hold them too well, had to spot-fix several of them with hot glue later on.
The four constructed pieces with a couple layers of black. They could use another blast of black, and then whatever I want to do... thinking grey. Even if they're metal, I'd expect them to be painted anyway.
Small progress, but something. Hopefully we get some more mild weather, or I get a somewhat productive weekend, I would like to paint the next batch of models.. but I've been too tired.
Got them grey. Now I just need to add some shading, possibly some details, almost done.
Whats with that curiously light grey space marine in the back? Time will tell.
Next piece. Some kind of water treatment equipment maybe. Very much WIP, still got some tinkering.
Gotta get some actual painting done, but this stuff will do for now! I've got a pretty neat idea for using some more of my old computer bits, but more on that as I get the idea fleshed out, don't want to play it up and have it not pan out
Aaahh... here I was thinking I needed a break from work, *BAM*, progress report from GrimDork.
The barrels look good, after some paint I bet they'll look great! I'm burning with curiosity concerning that Space Marine tho
The water treatment / liquid storage / crazy laboratory setup looks pretty darn good! All done with some old plastic containers and straws? You are getting good at this!
But I have to do this: *WHIP CRACK* OI! YE GIT! Just because you had a painting frenzy doesn't mean you can sleep on the job! I haven't seen any miniature painting for too long!
Its Krylon spray can lids, and bendy straws. Little tape, not sure if I'm going to dress it or not... The whole thing is heading towards run down city look, so I may leave it as some kind of patching material.
But but... The barrels ARE painted! They're grey. They don't have to be fancy colors just cause its the future! They'll be getting some shading, possibly some rust or other wear. And the boards on the one piece will be getting a different color, maybe metal, like scavenged bits of sheet metal or something. I like the light grey :p
The marine will probably end up as a test case for enforcer color schemes, I had extra grey in the airbrush and didn't want to completely waste it.
But but... The barrels ARE painted! They're grey. They don't have to be fancy colors just cause its the future! They'll be getting some shading, possibly some rust or other wear. And the boards on the one piece will be getting a different color, maybe metal, like scavenged bits of sheet metal or something. I like the light grey :p
Crappy excuses! I see no barrels on the "TODO OR DIE" image! Only miniatures! *WHIPCRACK* Now, get bak'ta work, ya lazy Git!
Just a friendly poke mate, that terrain is starting to look pretty good
Lol no worries. Friday should be mowing day, its usually easier, may have some energy left to paint small things. I'd just rather get something random done over nothing
Its far too easy to watch a show or bust out some armored core at this point, so I take small hobby victories where I can get them
Starting to run out of bits laying around for easy terrain projects though, so I may be stuck painting models soon Not sure, I had fun painting those marines for once, may even do the rangers next... Things would be in the bag for sure if I did that, zombies paint up much more quickly. Of course I need to make the last ten... but that shouldn't be too hard.
Alrighty, I'm going to earn myself a whipcrack, but no work on the TDOD list today. Gotta get up earlier than usual, and still tired from the relative hotitude of the outdoors.
Did try to shade the barrel stacks a bit, once for the whole piece, and another time or two in the crevasses. Not sure if I like spraying the black ink out of the airbrush or not.
The barrels were boring, so I thought my two types of marines could help liven them up.
The plasticard around the top is to cover the wording and give it a nice smooth surface. May have to do something though, its a bit rough in places. Got them glued in place and the straws glued in as well, although the straw on the right slipped out of position so the whole thing is a little cockeyed. Oh well, its most likely defunct machinery anyway!
And finally, some bases. I just need to add something to the top of the greenstuff base after it cures. Getting tired of not updating the TDOD page, but gotta get bases for them to be done
So we've got friday and the weekend incoming. I've a mind to paint either of my two prepped units if the opportunity presents itself.
I really need to get some more bases done ahead of time, but sometimes I don't feel so creative. What I *really* need to do is figure out how to change the current design/color to match deadzone, which has what looks like a lighter color of concrete and no tiled sidewalks... I could possibly use the tiled card for building interior flooring, though it would get expensive.
The barrels are at the 'good enough' stage, better to get more pieces done than perfect them now. I'll finish the pumps and space laser, then I really want tackle a much larger structure. I'll get it prepped and take a couple of shots before I go into too much detail. There's that small building, too, having trouble deciding how much card to use on it though.
For some reason, honestly inclined towards doing the rangers next. Labor day means 3-day weekend, so hopefully I get a couple of solid painting sessions. I estimate that it took 6-8 hours last Sunday to finish the Marines, so its possible to finish the rangers if I capitalize *every* baby nap. If I get any babysitting, even betterer!
Now... time to work, hopefully I can bank some energy for painting.
Automatically Appended Next Post: For this last batch of models in my original corporation marine scheme (slightly modified with different/new versions of the original colors), I thought I would keep time and take more pictures of the individual stages. More for fun than to learn any lessons or show off anything special.
First layer of grey, thinned out and rebottled for easy airbrushing, I'll have to do this 2-3 times. I have the first two guys on layer 2 now, will take pictures as layers are complete.
I didn't time accurately, probably 30 minutes in so far. I'll stopwatch the rest just for fun
I have the next five bases ready to airbrush, and will be trying to make 5 more soon so these rangers can also get finished faster. Speaking of that, gonna go charge up compressor, though more painting will have to wait till someone is sleeping
Ayup! Also, wife is taking baby to the quasi-local state fair. I would go, but I just can't stand the heat and extra walking around when I'm out in it all day all week for work. I'm much more fun to be around in the spring and fall (winter too, why not)!
Put down another hour and seven minutes while the baby was napping. So I guess we're at an hour and 47 minutes, or 107 total minutes.
The image says it all, but to recap: I got the third (and final) layer of grey down and it was acceptably dark to go ahead with the black ink wash. Waiting for that to dry, I undercoated the next 5 bases. Waiting for those both to dry, I put down a coat of red on the boots (they're safe because they only border one thing and its an easy line to walk). I bought myself a little fixing time by putting red too far up one boot (technically, I think those things just under the knee are part of the boots, but I like them being white, and so they are). After that, I got the first full black ink wash down, which goes everywhere but places that will be red (it may work out there too, as a pre-shade, but I didn't want to experiment this late in the game). Then I got the bases basecoated, and went back for a second black wash on the armor. At this point, the armor will be getting another blackwash next, or I may possibly skip that step if its sufficiently dark, maybe a 50/50 with some water if its close.
Then is white, but the nice and thin airbrush paint, as well as having a big block of time coming up to work in peace, means I should get it done. And if the white is done, these guys are in the bag.
I may take a short break for some pictures outside today. Its hot out, oppressively so, but I may brave it for some better lighting.
Will be back shortly, if I get in the zone, I may not come back until these are finished! More likely I'll pop in when I'm taking a food break or something.
Till then, happy hobbying!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alrighty, going to mosey on downstairs and get to work!!
Automatically Appended Next Post: 10 minutes to finish the armor darkening, then about 20 to do the white. I'm not sure it looks as good as the white on some of the other marines, but I think its enough to get by. Dunno if its the different paint, or just me today. Maybe its nothing, too. So another hour and a half to finish the white? I should have time for that, if I have the will
Gonna break things up with some quick errands, but I expect to come back swinging!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Never got back to it! Wife and baby got back earlier than anticipated, and errands ran over (of course). But between tomorrow and monday, I have high hopes of knocking this unit out... and getting all ten up on bases!
There the armor is black, I don't think I uploaded this one before now.
The first guy has his white done, but that's still it so far. I decided to finish the bases and finish the second half of gold squad. As an added bonus, the bases are made for the three zombie weapon teams as well. I still need to add some details to the new additions, but that won't take terribly long, even if I get some crazy ideas :p Anyway:
Gold section team b, get some!
Gold team assembled! Try to overlook the fairly noticeable difference in the red :p
Baby nap 1 is over, we're going to go run some errands. Hopefully, I'll get my sorry but to work on the white after she takes another nap. If I have to, I'll stay up a bit tonight after she's asleep and even though that usually backfires... models still get done
Automatically Appended Next Post: Gah errands and baby have destroyed my energy today. Even after I get her to sleep, I'm not sure I'll get much done. Gotta put my hopes on tomorrow!
I did get the white done on a second ranger, and the second layer of red on all the boots, and the first layer of red on the first ranger. Add another hour total to the project. Or well, 65 minutes, more accurately. Some of that time was counted while I worked on the marines' bases, some of it not, but it doesn't really matter :p
I also got a little work done on my super secret project of doom (tm), but it still needs a lot of work before even the raw form is ready to be considered a WIP. Lets just say that, if I successfully complete this mini-project, my found items terrain collection will massively increase in size
Back tomorrow, or later tonight if I go into some kind of frenzy (very unlikely).
Gold Team looks damn nice, even with some red layers missing and it has been interesting to read how you have been timing your own work. It looks like an interesting exercise.
Well, I'm curious to see that "super secret project of doom (tm)"
Whew... That took longer than I would have liked Add another couple of hours to get the white done, as well as one layer of red everywhere. Also add in 5 more bases ready to paint, and two large bases detailed and now ready to paint as well.
I didn't keep especially close time, but I think its down to +/- 15 minutes.
Oooh, they almost look done. Of course, they tend to look bad until they're finished, just a quality of this scheme.
Aaahhh... Now I won't have to sit on painted models stuck on nails for a week or two like I did those poor marines.
So, at this point, even if I get nothing else done... I'm in a good place. I have bases for these guys, and the next six zombies. The hardest steps are done, just a little metal and the visors remain after the red (and bases).
With any luck, I'll get a bit further, if not finished.
Happy hobbying!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alrighty, throwing in the towel for tonight. At least until the girls are asleep! Red is done up til the last 50/50 blackwash, just need to do metal, visors, and that last little blackwash. Will probably do the bases and weapon team bases at the same time, that should make the zombies go even faster. Its really getting down to crunch time as far as needing those last 10 assembled, huh?
I thought I needed an allen wrench for the super secret project, but now it looks like brute force is more in order... more on that later.
White done, down to metal and blackwash for metal and reds. Don't know why, camera made the red look weird last night =/ I don't think I spent a whole 45 minutes on these, but add it to the count anyway.
Bases undercoated, will probably do the weapon team bases at the same time to get a head start on those.
Minitaire 84 piece paint set came in today.
I'm a little displeased by just getting them all thrown (neatly) into a box without any literature at all, and they're just kind of randomly in there. I'm going to have to make some kind of container/organizer for all of these. I may try a few out on the zombies, but I've gotta finish the rangers first so these are just going to sit around downstairs for a bit.
I may try to sneak down to the painting station after the girls are asleep, I hate losing sleep, but I want those durn rangers finished!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Meh. I went down to paint, but I guess today wore me out more than I had figured. Too tired to focus. Got metal done on one ranger, add 10 minutes I guess?
Spoilered are my initial thoughts on the paint I got today. Bear in mind that I'm somewhat out of it, and haven't had the chance to actually use any of it yet
Spoiler:
I removed the minitaire paints from their container. It seems like there are roughly 10-12 loose groupings. Stuff like yellow, red, blue, and including the ghost tints (12 bottles, most primary/common colors represented at least once) as well as the top coats (flat/satin/gloss) and retarder as one.
Most groups have about 6-8 shades/tones/whatever you art-savvy people call it, each. The grey seemed to have the most, though if you put "light browns" and "browns" together, there are at least 15 there. I counted fleshtones separately as well. Obviously, a lot of my generic categories bleed into eachother. Trollflesh (or skin or whatever) is more blue than green, but its definitely standing in both camps. There is more than one orange, and some of the yellows have green in them. I already mentioned the browns as an extended family as well.
The variety seems good for the kind of painting that I do as a wargaming enthusiast. I could see some lack of interest for historical gamers/painters/etc. I'm glad to not only have certain colors I never picked up (yellow until recently, a lot of the purples/pinks, and an orange that I don't have to mix myself), but a variety for the other colors.
The metals do not look promising. At all. I Hope to be wrong, but the VMA metallics I have don't look spectacular either, so I think its kind of a trend.
The overall state of the paints seems a little weak. I just got these, but there seems to be some settling. I hope I can get them right by just shaking the crap out of them, but I'll get one of those little stirrers/micro egg-beater thingies to stick on my drill and pummel these into shape if I have to. Kind of annoying, but its a fact that I'll have to deal with whether I like it or not
The price was certainly right though... If I can use even half of these paints eventually, I will have my money's worth. $160ish for 84 paints, so roughly $2 each. We're already making money on the cheapest I've found vallejo or GW paints and so on. Then add in the fact that these are 1 ounce, 30ml bottles--almost twice the size of a vallejo bottle-- and I'm getting nearly $7 worth of paint for $2, IF they come out to similar quality.
Anyway, I'll probably try to use some of these on the zombies later on. I usually airbrush their clothes, and I'm not exactly happy with my VMA answer to bleached bone, so maybe I'll find something better.
Of course, I have never considered myself an expert in anything other than my own taste, so take my thoughts with at least two pinches of salt.
More work down tomorrow, hopefully. Till then, happy hobbying!
Yeah, all I need is an hour, probably including the bases. Just gotta find it whist motivated!
I was a tad grumpy last night so the paints got picked on a little bit. But they really did settle somewhat. They're sealed though, I'm sure they'll all be fine save for possibly the metals as I just don't think airbrush metallics usually work out well.
The ghost tints are theoretically one of my favorite parts of the set. They're meant as glazes, I think, but I'm hoping they'll work like washes if you brush them on.
I'll try a couple of things out on the zombies most likely, so I should have a limited report soon
The biggest trouble I've got now is figuring out what to do during October/November while I bask in the glory of my finished minis and wait for deadzone
Well, if you don't have anything you particularly want to paint, you could use that time to go on a terrain building frenzy! Either that, or painting and modding the quick terrain you have into something better!
Terrain is a solid idea...but I'm gonna have so many pretty terrain tiles from deadzone.... its hard to justify doing a lot now.
I could do a lot of things... aside from cleaning my space and prepping which shouldn't take .orr than a week... I could:
Paint some more marines, like a tac squad and rhino or something...
Build and paint as many forge fathers as I can with the time I have...
I could crank out a boat load of bases for deadzone.. but I need to change them some (maybe) but I'm not sure how...
Co old get silly and make some legion of the damned just cause. they are pretty cool...
Could leave it open... just do whatever. Afraid without a goal that I may just drag my feet though...
Got a month to figure it out :p. Would be nice to get some paint down though...
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Wee! I just have to seal them, otherwise done. The picture is not so good, and the reds (and the blue a little bit) look funny, something weird about my phone's camera the last couple of days...
Used the plasma fluid minitaire ghost tint on the visors to blend them a little better. Works as expect, wash/glaze. The bottle itself gave me some trouble, more on that later... gotta sleep.
No progress today, in addition to be exhausted, will be doing wedding anniversary stuff with wife for the rest of the evening.
However, I did put in an order for
and will be anxiously awaiting their arrival! They cost me $17.60, which isn't terrible for four models, not really. Especially since the models were closer to 8-9 something anyway. It was 11 pounds, 6 of it for shipping, but that is understandable... and where else am I gonna get them :p
Maybe I'll start zombies tonight, but I don't know where I'll find some energy, soooo exhausted.
Boom, sealed! And with a picture that doesn't have terrible reds! Score!
Next up...
Zombie hoards!
Thats right, 16 zombies and the TDOD is done! I'll work on updating the graphic sooner or later.
For right now... I'm gonna try and get in on the elder scrolls online beta one last time before they close it up for the night.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Updated the TODO or Die! graphic, spoilered below.
Spoiler:
And since I never put up a shot of gold team 2 finished and on their bases: Boom goes the dy... actually I never got that one. BOOM anyway!
So, like I said, 16 zombies to go. I'll get them done in time, but will I get them done this month!?
Obviously, the Knight Sabers will be high on my list to get done with my potentially "free" two months before Deadzone arrives... but what else? I'm going to stick to models, as I'll have my fill of terrain and more once my shipment arrives. I've had a look at my space marines, a few things come to mind...
*True-scaling a space marine squad. Basically, follow what Alairos did with his chaos zerkers project, and splice in some other true scaling tutorials where necessary... If my enforcers arrive and they're head and shoulders taller than my corp marines, they'll be that much taller than space marines too. I just won't be able to look at the little guys the same way anymore. If I can make them taller... then *maybe* it won't be so bad!
*Make some Legion of the Damned. I hear they've got a points reduction incoming, and I've always fancied making a batch. Perhaps I could do the dynamic repositioning of the legs above while I work in the skeleton parts (cause I'm adding proper bones, and I'm too inept at greenstuff to sculpt them from scratch...)
*I thought about painting some more marines, but I just think the advent of my enforcers is going to destroy any love I have left for normal space marines, sadly or not.. I can't yet tell.
*I could assemble and paint some dwarfs too!
And I dunno, I may still order a couple of Infinity models, but I have so much coming it it seems foolish. We'll see!
Going to be a busy weekend, but I should be able to work on the zombies at least a bit, so I'll be sure to pop in and say hi with some progress!
BTW, ESO was pretty awesome for the roughly 30 minutes I was able to play the beta. There is an NDA and whatnot, but it felt so much more like skyrim than it did a wow clone. And that... is preety awesome.
Well... I didn't get much painting done today. Had the baby all day while wife was off at work, and baby's naps were none too productive for me. I did come up with an easy-ratio almost identical match for bleached bone though. 3 parts minitaire ancient bone and one part mummy. Its still just a tad off from BB, but its so close I couldn't tell after awhile (maybe when it dries). I got one layer down by brush, probably going to take 3 or 4 since its thin (it does go straight into the airbrush if you're so inclined). Going to be more work than I had figured, I guess that's why my second batch ended up being airbrushed BB. May go that route this time, it was bugging me.
The rest of my ill-used time was spent working on the following mini:
He's been around for awhile, but he doesn't look like this any more!
A little "tall-scaling" and some more work in general.
An idea of how tall he is. I think he's pretty close for a first try.
With the coming of my enforcers from deadzone, I think my marines are going to be found depressingly short and wanting of height. This is my first attempt at rectifying that situation. Obviously, there is a lot of work left to do, need to fill in some gaps, smooth some things out, and finish the mechandrites or whatever you call the servo-tentacles. Think I'll post over in P&M looking for ideas for the right tendril, it needs a claw, but I don't have a good plan yet.
So obviously the marine is tall enough now, but how's the pose? I can't tell if he looks like he's slowly walking forward, or if there should be a rock under his foot. I don't care terribly if its a more passive/standing pose, just not sure what I've come up with here :p
With any luck, I'll get some more paint down tomorrow. I do think I'm going to have to clean and finish this guy up though. I've finally got a good selection of red and I'm not afraid to undercoat in white anymore, watch out! Its funny as, originally, I was going to paint all of the stock color characters (tech marines, librarians, chaplains, apothecaries, etc) in the regular SK chapter colors... but now I look forward to doing the red/blue/black/white etc.
Since my poor little blog gets lonely if I don't update it at least every couple of days, here's where I am with the zombie weapon teams:
Not the best picture, really
Anyway, the cloth should be done, I caved and went with the airbrush. After touching up the dark brown for the armor (I didn't bother masking this time), I realized that it is much easier to get the brown looking right over a light undercoat, than it is to get the cloth (and flesh too) to look right over the dark brown. The last 10 zombies will probably be just a bit brighter, as I think I'll undercoat them in either white, or just a full blast of the ancient mummy bone mix. The first guy got his gun painted (they are going to look boring, but its all just metal bits) but I accidentally painted over the shield which I figure should be the same color as the armor. For the corporation regulars, its the same, but not so for the zombie troopers. A couple of coats and it will match the other two once they're painted (properly this time!).
The flesh is decayed (ing?) flesh from minitaire. I tried another but it was way too green (probably good for zombies, but I have 10 finished zombies that are decidedly not green, so y'know) and the jaundice one would be far too yellow (probably good for something down the road though!).
And another shot of that techmarine (master of the forge on his good days?).
I still need a good idea for the servo arm, some kind of grabber or claw on the right tendril... Once the base idea is all blocked in, I'll fill out gaps with greenstuff and possibly some extra bits like pouches or an auspex. I think this is one model I will paint during my break, though with it being the 8th and still so many zombies, I may not have a full two months to work with, we'll see!
That's it for now, hopefully more work on the zombies tomorrow... there really isn't all that much to do before they're ready to dip, just gotta get on it.
Ahoy there! Sorry I have been letting so many juicy updates slipping by, but lately I haven't been commenting at all around here. *uff*, I have to rectify that ASAP!
First of all, it's nice to see so much juicy progress. Zombies being painted with plenty of time to spare, we can cautiously say the "TODO OR DIE" was a success. Not enough to open the champagne, good enough to store it in the fridge
Second, I massively approve of the chosen model. MOAR Space Marines are always nice, and that Master of the Forge kicks ass! I honestly wish I could give a good idea for that tendril, but the only thing I remember is the old Tomb Spyder claw, but I think it's far too big and heavy for that model.
Yeah, I'll check the eBay if I have to. I saw a nice nob power claw tutorial here on dakka, but its too orky. My first plasticard pincher was kind of a miss so I'm hesitant to try again without agood blueprint.
Hoping for more ppaint on zombies later today.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Oh ho! Mantic confirmed in deadzone update 110 that they will be shipping in november. I dunno if that means I'll be seeing my stuff in mid november, or still early december, but its good I'm ahead of schedule!
So, no actual progress, but I've got some new toys to show off! Thanks to Ground Zero Games, I have 4 shiny new BGC Knight Sabers!
I think I spent something like $17ish after shipping (which was slightly over half of it). Worth it, these are cool.
They are single piece white metal models, they have noticeable mold lines, but what doesn't? The package also included a little metal sprue and a little brass etch sheet. The metal bits are the backs for the two that have more complicated back parts, and the brass etch I think are meant for the details off the helmets.
Say...
Did those look small in the picture above?
Like... teeny tiny?
Well... Let's ask some of our friends to help out with some relative sizing!
Several different models, pretty much smaller than everything, barely topping the dwarf! I've got them standing on card to mitigate the difference in bases, btw.
Linna almost gets a pass, shes shorter than the marine but women often are shorter than men... however... she IS supposed to be in powered armor. Maybe it isn't as thick as space marine power armor, but she's still too small for sure.
I think it's going to take both Sylia and Nene to tackle that space marine, and they'd better get the whole gang together for Mr. Tall Scale Techmarine!
So yeah, these are obviously 25mm, possibly on the small side of 25mm. They may pass for infinity models, I hear those are fairly small. I have loose plans to use them in a Bakunin Sectorial army as a Riot Grrls link team. Too bad there weren't five knight sabers!
Also, I thought these were a tad off, perhaps interpreted instead of directly from the show. Then I googled it, they're actually from the 80's show. I know nothing of that show, however these are preeety close to the show I watched (think it was the 1998 one). Anyway, realizing they were from the earlier series explains the differences I noticed. They appear now to be faithful representations of the older show.
So now I gotta decide if I want to paint them in colors for the newer show, or try to match the older one. I think they're the same colors, just slight shifts in tone (nene has a little purple in the old one, new one she's all pink I believe) etc. Oh well, I've got 16 zombies to go before I have to worry about it!
Hopefully I sneak down to hobby cave and get a little work done after baby sleeps. We'll see.
... and I thought the Infinity figures were small ... best of luck once you decide to paint them but they really are going to look good as Infinity figures.
Alright been a couple of days. Things have progressed though.
Mini supply run. The dollar store (actual $1 store, not one of those non-dollar stores) finally had some monster trucks with warhammery tires. Now, of course, that I've got them home... they're a bit large. Almost 2x the normal tires, so not sure they'd work for attack bikes. Possibly for land speeder buggy conversions, but whatever. $3 isn't so much, and I'm sure I'll find a use somewhere. Also got a laser pointer for the games I never play, and stocked up on glue for deadzone.
Here we have a prior WIP shot of the zombies and the "done" shot, right after dipping. I still need to put black on the shoulders and seal them, which should be happening tomorrow. Bases were done earlier in the week so we're effectively down to 10 zombies.
Speaking of 10 zombies, here's the first. Nothing fancy, another soulless shambler for my platoon. Head still needs trimmed and glued in place.
It's a bit early, but I couldn't help prepping the Knight Sabers. Trimmed the mold lines and added the brass etch. Stuff was hard to work with, what with being so tiny and all. The little bits really helped distinguish each of the different hard suits though. Sylia is standing in blue-tack because I've gone ahead and removed her from her integrated base. Going to put these ladies onto the same style bases I've been doing, but in what I would call "heroic" poses. Since they're so darn small, I'm gonna put them up on elements of the terrain to help mitigate it a little bit. Especially Nene, her boring pose makes her even tinier!
If I've still got some energy left in a bit, going to go make some more zombies. For now, going to go finish Trigun: Badlands Rumble. I never knew there was an extra movie for Trigun, couldn't help watching it.
Boosh, zombie weapon teams done. Two shots so you can see all 3 teams. I'll take more pictures (of virtually everything) at some point in the future. These are basically more of the same, and the next 10 should look fairly close, although... they may be a tad lighter since I'll be undercoating with a brighter color.
Updated TDoD graphic:
Spoiler:
So...close...can almost taste it. Shouldn't though, while most paint seems safe, I'm pretty sure something in this models is liable to be toxic!
Next I will be working to get 10 zombies assembled. Well... I'm shooting for five so I can get them primed and ready to paint when I get a chance. But 10 zombies built, 10 bases built, and then everything painted. Then we're done!
@TDL thanks! I think the party will mostly consist of scrambling to finish the Knight Sabers and then getting to work organizing and cleaning. The tech marine may or may not make it at this point.
@General Updates since the last post was kind of short:
I was having "writers" block on the builds for the last zombies, but I've got two well underway, so that seems to be clearing up.
Finally bit the bullet and ordered some windsor and newton series 7 brushes as what I've been using has died, and all too fast at that. Well, the fine detail brush is only hooked, but that's bad enough... The other 2-3 regular duty brushes are all badly hooked and splitting. Can get one to just barely hold its form for a bit, but those new brushes can't get here fast enough!
I have a basic idea for what to do for each of the knight sabers. I want to put a good effort in on them, but they're sooooo small, I'm not sure how fancy I'll be able to get! I'm going to try for a close color match and to make them look as good as I can, but I'm not sure how much room on the models there is for fancier highlights or blending at my skill level.
My marines (except the small painted contingent) are going to get packed unceremoniously into a box which will be sealed and hidden from sight. Every time I read another post regarding the new SM codex I run through my inventory and try to come up with fancy lists... its time consuming and Deadzone must be my next project :p
Dying to pick up a Bakunin Jurisdictional Command Starter box. But as above, gotta focus on Deadzone first, at least for a while.
It isn't fair to force myself to go through *every* *single* *model* that I'm going to get, but I've gotta spend some time on it I think as we get closer and closer to "late november", I'll work on some rosters using the beta rules so I can make a paint queue. Of course, random things will be getting painted like mad, but my soft goal will be to make a very well packed 2x2 gameboard as well as having at least 70 points of each of the initial 4 factions. Probably with a couple of models to swap out. Maybe 100 points... For the campaigns... Just in case. If I get a fair chunk done, I'll probably get my Bakunin starter. That will only further inspire me to do more terrain, as this deadzone stuff looks to be nearly perfect for Infinity...
Speaking of terrain, I finally found a can (large one too) of minwax polyshades Tudor. I think its as close as polyshades come to black that isn't the fully opaque classic black. Going to try it on a light grey marine soon and see whats up. If I could airbrush grey, do metals, dip, seal, and have those scenery tiles to a decent look... would help immensely
I think that catches up my thoughts, next episode of GrimDork Hobby Time should include some posed zombies, although I'm getting senior-itis in the final steps of the project and random things have become wont to wander onto my desk.
Happy Hobbying!
Automatically Appended Next Post: And just for anyone staying up late and reading the blog we have a small update. Two things, somewhat different. First:
Second to last batch of zombies posed out. The rightmost two are glued now, the rest can be changed. The leftmost guy looks very close to the rightmost guy in positioning with the arm and gun almost the same. I don't think you'll notice in a platoon of 20 zombie marines, will just have to overlook it for now, as I like both poses individually.
And then I decided to experiment with my new secret weapon; Minwax Polyshades Tudor (satin, though it barely matters after the topcoat).
I wanted to get this ages ago, but neither my local Lowes nor Walmart had it stocked. Found it in Lowes just the other day. I think its technically brown, but its so dark of a brown that its basically black. And it works like a dirty black wash. Here's a before and after on an AoBR marine who was "inbetween jobs":
Right, so the pictures are glossy and the lighting seems to be a bit different between them, but I think the results are pretty good. For *maybe* half an hour's work, I could definitely slap that marine on a table and not be ashamed of him. I would probably do something other than straight black, or I'd go ahead and edge highlight it... but still, you get the idea. Dirty black wash, model wide, plus extra (fairly thick, relatively speaking) hard shell of protection, for just 5 minutes of work dipping and cleaning. I think with a little work on scheme, this could really seal the deal on my deadzone terrain. Hell, I may look to doing my marines this way. I prefer my darker grey, sure, but I'd prefer having half a company done this way as opposed to 10-20 marines in the current style.
Anyway, gonna read and then try to get some sleep for the coming week. Will try to finish working on those five zombies tomorrow, and maybe I'll get ambitious and put a matte sealer down on that marine just to see how it looks.
Got the mold lines trimmed, things glued into place, and the models mounted. I would have undercoated them, but my compressor was too low to finish the whole unit and I didn't want to chance waking baby by engaging the noisy motor. I matte sealed that grey marine instead, but I didn't bother with a picture... he just didn't look much different for whatever reason.
Yay zombies! I ended up changing the arm's angle for one of the two similarly posed models. I think he looks better than before and less like the other guy. Score.
Hopefully, I get some paint down tomorrow, we'll see!
Yeah... hoping to get these undercoated today but we'll see if that goes down... I like the pose better for the zombie in question. Now I just need to make 5 more. And 10 bases. Probably with extra bits... don't wanna make the deadzone bases too tall since they're considered into los and the infinity bases eventually... those will be of a cleaner city scale too.
Ahem. What I was getting at there... was that I may throw some extra junk/height onto these last 10 bases since deadzone and Infinity will both want cleaner bases.
So, here's what we've got in the progress department:
Five zombies thoroughly coated in "ancient mummy bone". Lets see if this approach works better than starting with mahogany ( I think it will)...
And then I got some shots of that marine after his sealer:
Tudor is a nice dirty black wash (just a hint of brown, really), so I think I could probably use the same grey I always use for my shadow knights. Or, better still, if I can find a super close equivalent (either stock or by mixing, like ancient mummy bone) within my airbrush paints... as then I wouldn't have to do as much mixing/thinning every time I wanted to paint a marine.
I'm still a little torn as to whether or not I would still do the lighter grey edge highlighting before the dip. I think the dip has a bit more volume to it than regular washing and it *kind of* ends up looking like both a wash and soft highlight at the same time (if you did it right, and you are lucky), especially after the top coat goes down. Not edge highlighting is preferable as its quicker, but it would probably still look better if I did do it. May experiment some time in a lull.
Besides, even while the TDoD list is nearly done, space marines aren't even on the back burner at this point! Its all that shiny new 6th ed C:SM's fault. Everyone's posting fancy tactics and combos and making new armies... Gah. Hard to stay off the enthusiasm bandwagon/train when I've probably got 4500 points of space marines moping around waiting for paint (and assembly, in some cases).
Anyways... Now that I've got the airbrushing handled, I should be able to chip away at the various steps and stages as the week rolls on. Gotta remember to get on to making those last bases too or I'll have finished models languishing on nails...
I admit, I don't think I'll ever be tired of seeing SM and there's to me, never enough Space Marines but it all depends: Are you more likely to find a 40k game or another game you still have miniatures left to paint? I would focus on the playable games first
Yep zombies with guns. Only 10 more and I'm out of corporation marines to zombify though. Have plenty of ghouls, zombies, and corporation arms... but deadzone is coming and 26 zombies will have to be enough for now. Unless you count the plague... they're kind of mutant-zombies with guns. Oh and the hard plastic SciFi zombies too... they may be second shipment though. So I guess a little more zombies :p
@TDL I have no local opponents and the closest game stores are an hour away. Playing is barely on my radar right now. Still, I'm more inclined to work on space marines than retouch one ofmy ffantasy armies . If my buddy gets into it... Infinity is actually my most playable game ATM :p
5 zombies painted and dipped. Gonna try to do bases and finish tomorrow but it'll be close.
Proper update tomorrow for now I must sleep!
@LBM yeah I was trying to think of something less lame than my previous handles and that just hit me while reading a post here about something something grim dark. A little lightbulb went on and I rushed to make an account
Rawr! More shots of me, and 4 of my buddies coming soon (tomorrow?). Our lazy creator muttered something lame about needing sleep so you will have to be content with me for now! Say... Got any spare brains? Can I has? Plez?
Heh, caffeine does nothing for me now, its another chemical in my system. I require it, but it doesn't give me a boost :p.
I took the pictures, just figured I'd sleep instead of edit them. I would have had time but my washing machine was acting up and I'll probably spend some time messing with that tonight as well.
I thought I found a minitaire paint that was equivalent to reaper ash grey but after it dried, it was too grey with not enough of a hint of blue. After a black wash its close. I also discovered that ghost tint oil stain has a fair bit of blue in it and is =\= to black ink.
Here's the batch, woot! I think the middle guy is my favorite, with the zombie to his right being second most. The rest are ok, some above, some below, those who have come before.
Here's a shot of the bases, along with some old friends for comparison. I thought I had an analogue for reaper's HD ash grey in the form of Minitaire badger fur, however, the badger fur was all grey with no light hint of blue like the ash grey. I tried a few things and now I have to redo a few of the other bases for the last batch, like I said... oil discharge is NOT a black wash, there's a lot of blue. It has exciting possibilities... but not for this
This guy isn't my favorite, but he's a solid stock zombie marine. With this (and the next) batch, I've tried to give everyone a gun to balance out some of the more feral zombies from earlier batches.
This guy... Derp...derp... oh hey! shoot shoot shoot. He's only trying somewhat, but at least he showed up. Most people just call in sick when they're dead!
This guy isn't bad, I like him. He has kind of a short torso, and (especially at this angle) his left arm looks a little too large/long. Another solid stock zombie, gotta have some standard/basic guys or the cool dudes won't stand out!
This guy, I kinda like. His hair is green... the same green that, if I had it at the time, I probably would have used for the skin on these guys. Thats ok, I like the brownish tint. This guy looks a bit more like he's got some brain cells left, may remember to keep that tactical flame unit loaded with fuel even. Not especially happy with the highlighting on the brown, I rushed it as I didn't intend to highlight these guys manually at all... what with the dipping and such.
Alright so we've already seen this guy. I need to get some more shots of everyone as there are a few details that stand out better from different angles. This is becoming one of my favorite zombie marines so far. I like the ghoul torso with the legs, while the back has a lot of cloth left, the front really looks like it could be the shirt/jacket he was wearing under his armor. I also like the dismembered hand hanging from his face, its actually meant as an army carrying a head, but I saw no reason not to flip it around
And finally, here we have that same grey space marine from before, but now he's had a second shot of matte sealer. I think he looks so, so much better now that most of the shine is gone. I would need to use a darker base grey, but if I end up continuing my Shadow Knights project, I could see using the dip to really accelerate things. I would have to figure out if there would be any edge highlighting or not... the black would still demand it or look too flat, but if I could get enough definition from the dip that I could skip it on the grey... I think if I could do that, and then just seal them and do the eyes afterwards... I may have the wherewithal to get several batches done. I could save the chipping and battle damage for after I had a playable force. Of course, this is all if enforcers don't just kill space marines for me entirely
So, I have to hit them with the airbrush again to undo my experiments, but the next (last!) five bases are built and have probably less than an hour of time in them total, and all that leaves is assembling and painting the last five zombies. I think if I get a few hours this week (and weekend especially) I can get them hammered out and finish the list two whole months early! Which is great since Mantic decided to accelerate their shipping schedule (which is great ). I should have plenty of time for the Knight Sabers and probably that tech marine. It will be a real struggle to keep from ordering the Bakunin Jurisdictional Command starter box in the mean time
More as soon as I get something done, happy hobbying!
Damn it, I spoke too soon. Here are the Zombies I asked about in all their glorious rot and decay.
I really, really like the more tactical one. He really looks like he has some brains left with that "Squad, Hold"-like movement,
It was glorious to see that list being completed as time flew by. I can't wait to see you curse because of how tiny those Knight Sabers are once you try to paint them
It is going to be rough, I already know it! Worse yet... I'm now regretting not getting a second set when I ordered the first! The shipping actually cost a pound more than the models themselves, and now I have learned that if I want to use them as Riot Grrls, it would really be preferable by far to have five! There are only four, of course, but an alt color scheme would have been sufficient.
Now I'm having crazy ideas of getting out my greenstuff and actually trying to sculpt something beyond fur or fill gaps and the like. Pretty sure its beyond my abilities, but I would like to have five There is always using instant mold and press-molding one, but that's kind of the big Taboo of the hobby and I'd rather not dirty my hands when I could face the challenge head on (and likely fail!).
Yes sir! I originally picked up the 46 model army set for just that! Something like 3 platoon infantry squads or 2-3 units of vets. They look ok next to marines, they aren't taller than them, but being skinner helps the marines look tougher by comparison. I can't put them next to normal cadians or catachans though, they just don't look right to me... maybe with forgeworld stuff, it seems a bit more on the true scale.
They even include a variety of weapons that resemble plasma/flamer/melta and include them in bulk for the veterans/rangers. Restic is definitely different to work with, but I really like Corporation Marines.
Of course, without anyone locally to play 40k with... I've just reverted to having a nice collection of painted Mantic figures, however, I think I could fidget them into guardsmen if I had to
Bah. Getting these last five zombies done has been like pulling teeth. Well... not mine... Maye like pulling some other person's teeth. I don't think its end of project apathy or anything, I think maybe I just need to work on something different. Fortunately, zombies are done after this (though I'm not ruling out doing more later, especially mixing in the new deadzone-generated sci-fi zombie sprues!), and I've got them all posed. As usual, a couple of them are glued in place (top center and right), and the rest are just blue-tacked. Gotta trim a few of the bits and go in with the glue, may do that tonight.
Running out of good ideas to pose these suckers... Top left is ok, I guess. No love, but I don't hate it, he will get on fine with the other zombies. The middle guy is alright. I may go in and add a bone sticking out of the leg, or just creatively paint it up to resemble gore. The top right though... He's one of my favorites yet I dunno why, something about the quasi-charging position and the one big powered gauntlet left of his "enlisted" days. Bottom left... Least favorite. Possibly of all of the zombies. Just not feeling it, and it took me half an hour to an hour to even get to that point. If I change any of them, it'll be him. May even go to a 'mostly zombie' with just a gun or something. If I don't glue everything and airbrush tonight, I may see about changing him. Bottom right? He looks pretty normal, but note that he *does* have a helmet on... which *could* be interpreted as a way to hide his dead-ness. I'm not really sure, just wanted one normal marine in the bunch. If I ever run the z corp as guardsmen, and I want to use an infantry platoon...If I use the heavy weapon teams inside the units, I can just squish out enough models for the 5 man platoon command squad and two platoon infantry squads. This normal looking fellow would then serve as the platoon commander. That is, of course, on the off chance that three things occur; that I get to play 40k, that I even want to use an IG allied detachment, and that my opponent is ok with the models
I'll try to make some progress on the zombies, or even the knight sabers this weekend. I may lose some time (and or sleep?), however, since my wife was kind enough to pick up a copy of the new space marines codex while she was out of town for work. I don't really like the price of it, and I rarely play... but part of the cost will be recouped in the value as reading material, and much more than that in terms of hours spent making lists (even if I never use them! I've resigned myself to my armchair general fate... for now at least ) But, its basically impossible to get excited about painting space marines if I don't have cool lists for which to build them. The biggest problem will be in choosing which chapter (read: chapter tactics, since I'm hardcore DIY anyway) with which to roll, and especially difficult will be making my marines characterful while still being passable as multiple chapters (at different times, of course).
And she found out for me that, while the gamestore does not carry Infinity at the moment, the store was considering getting Infinity stuff in, starting with the rulebook. The place is still an hour away, but I may be able to sneak out for a quick game of Infinity, I'll have to watch that situation closely
And don't forget, loyal readers ( ), that the Mars Attacks kickstarter will be coming in just over 6 days! I don't think I'll be going crazy over this one, but it looks pretty solid, and there may be a few items within that I'll find too tempting to give a pass.
More later, happy hobbying!
*mini-update* C:SM 6E is in hand, I probably just paid $58 to doom myself into painting at least 1500 points of marines before its over
Glad to know you are still kicking ass. Remember, the only thing between you and working on Infinity / SPESH MAREENS are those 5 zombies, so, DESTROY THEM! ... and when I say destroy, I mean "Paint them as lovely as the previous ones so your list is complete"
Please do enjoy your shiny new codex. I absolutely love it. I have been slowly reading it and enjoying every page.
Kind of like that? I'm more worried about the stuff in the middle, gives me a reason to paint marines and all that
And just for kicks, since I opened the drawer storing them and just had to drag them all out...
I present to you probably the best value I've ever snagged off of eBay!
I've had this stuff for awhile, but I just saw it while going through my storage containers. I came for the speeder, stayed for the ridiculous amount of stuff. I think it was 15, *maybe* $17 after shipping. I felt kind of bad, really, I wouldn't have minded paying more for so much stuff. But, I didn't, and that makes it a stupid value! A fixerupper speeder on ebay was going for around $15 at that time anyway, but look at all of that stuff... Speeder, 4 bikes (one even has a metal chaplain) 4 assault marines (would have to figure out a way to make that work, but still), a full tac squad (in need of some gun swaps but w/e), five metal scouts, a lascannon from LR/razorback, several misc special weapons, and a couple of models (catachan sniper, dark elf w/ xbow) thrown in. That's just silly. Its almost like a mutant special purpose battleforce or something
Of course, they all need a solid bath in LATA, but what an awesome find Stupid deals like that are why I still troll eBay to this day, even though I have more marines than I probably want :p
Got the zombies glued, I did find a better option for the last one. Gonna go mount them on nails and see about a rattle can undercoat. I think I may go back to regular krylon spray priming, its just a lot tougher than my airbrush options, and I'm gonna need durability when I work on the knight sabers and any infinity models for sure.
Stupid marine codex has me rethinking my corporation guys as guardsmen again. All I'd need to do is finish painting my vendetta and decide if/how to use my leman russ and chimera chassis...
Back later with more!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Wee!
Got the zombies primed, and then I had enough time to get the knight sabers on inch long pins (trim them later, easier to handle now) and get them primed as well. Ahh... will be nice to start with a nice flat base, instead of the satin of my airbrush paints. Dunno why they'd make them that way for minis, but oh well. Oh, I also fixed the grey on the two bases that got "messed up", so I just need to finish those as well. Zombies "could" get done this month, but it will probably be early October. The knight sabers are pinned and primed, so they're a bit ahead anyway. Need to think of some nice dramatic bases for them!
Wait, what? All that for 15$?! Now that's what I call doing business! Do give them a LATA bath one of these days, if you don't feel like painting marines I bet you can sell them and make some profit. That way, more money to spend on Infinity! xD
Oh yeah, finish those darn zombies so the list is done!
Oh man, I had to go find that one in the book, that's just awesome :p
I've got the compressor charged up, they're ready for a basecoat once the girls are asleep. I may cave and order some infinity models soon... Knight sabers will be hard to do much detail to... so tiny, won't take long to do even if I try to make them fancy.
May paint marines instead though who knows! With 5 marine squads being more of a thing these days, I may be inclined to paint smaller squads with a tank.
May even basecoat the BGC girls later too, if there's time. I'll have to give the zombies time to dry and such.
Thanks Squall, they've been a fun project, though I must say I'll be happy to soon switch to individual models. Hoping to have the last five done in the next few days.
Pull up a seat and stick around, if you like the zombies you will probably like the plague from deadzone I'll be doing in November/December.
I wanted to get deadzone, but dropped at the end because I wasn't sure about mantic's quality. Since then I've changed my mind and look forward to picking it up at release.
Yeah, the retail box is looking pretty cool. I kind of wonder if/how they'll be selling the other kits too, should be neat to see what they come up with. Especially the battlezones, I may need some more in the future!
I probably went in way, way too heavily for deadzone... but I love the models, the game system seems awesome, and I've been after sci-fi city terrain for years. If I get a big pile of stink I'll just wash my hands of the company, but I really don't see it happening.
As to general progress, I got flesh on a couple of the zombies but it's been a slow day. If the girls don't stay up too late tonight (and I'm not exhausted by that point), I plan to finish the flesh and maybe get a good start on the leather.
Gotta say it, the rattle can undercoat is 100% better than using the airbrush, at least with the paints I have. Its more durable, and the flat finish is rougher and holds paint better. Airbrush is still awesome for basecoats, but I'm gonna stick to krylon for undercoats wherever possible.
As to the direction of things... I think after the BGC girls, I'll probably work on something Imperial. Either I'll finish constructing (easier to do the inside when its apart) my vendetta and paint it in corporation colors, or I'll see about fleshing out my fledgling backburner marines project.
*update* Flesh done, metals blacked, brown 1/3 done. Got a little effort in, but too tired to push to finish them tonight. More later.
Just gotta finish the bases, combine, and seal. Gotta sleep now though! More shots when they're fully finished, as well as a postmortem on the project as a whole including what happened to (or may still happen) some of the side projects I came up with along the way. Hopefully I'll take some more shots of everything as well. Then the first post or two will be getting restructured to make way for the deadzone project thats coming up!
Hey grim, long time no speaksy. Your zombies look killer .Deadzone is looking awesome. Having seen some of the minis in person, they are even better. Goodwork as always mate! "
Thanks everyone! I knew there was a reason I pushed to get those done last night
Been a while BMB, too to hear on deadzone, looking awesome.
@Squall the Knight Sabers are up next, 4 power armored ladies from an anime in the 80s/90s. After them, I may try to work out a method to dip Marines and get them looking like my current guys. Was gonna buy some Infinity, saving that as a reward for deadzone progress.
With any luck, finished zombies tonight. Till then, happy hobbying!
@LBM, I missed out on counter strike and it's various incarnations, but I see what you did thar
Gah no fancier update. Work has left me in a place where I'm not really comfortable sitting in my chair to write out a lengthy update, so I'm gonna try that tomorrow, or the weekend at the latest. I took some pictures, but the cable is in the bedroom with sleeping wife (of course)
Here, at least, is the completed TODO or DIE sheet:
GrimDork wrote: ...Gah no fancier update. Work has left me in a place where I'm not really comfortable sitting in my chair to write out a lengthy update, ...!
I admit, I lol'ed. I blame my dirty mind.
Again, "Congratulations!", it's great to see the sheet 100% complete!
Heh... not sure what you think I do for a living TDL...
Its good to have it all done. Looking forward to some smaller projects for a while. I may even paint my deadzone models one at a time.
Got a sunlight lamp coming so I don't get SAD. Meh, its for painting, hopefully it will let me get closer with the camera without those lines the fluorescent lamp does. Got mars attacks to get in the kick starting mood as well
Thanks da boss! But, pics or it didn't happen! . I may put together some zombies to paint just for the sake of it, and the skeletons are pretty cool too.
Still haven't done anything, waiting on the new lamp for pics. Weekend coming though, so there's that. I've been too busy ogling reaper bones II and now mars attacks kickstarter. Do t plan to throw much at either but both have a lot of interest for me.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Also considering doing 5 more zombies to make a nice round 25 for use as an imperial guard infantry platoon.
Well, nice work here. I've been reading through this P&M on and off for the last 2 days and I've finally gotten to the end. Finishing a project like that is certainly to be congratulated, nevermind 2 1/2 months early! The Guardsmen turned out nicely, but the zombies really look great.
Thanks I made my due date far out in case I hit creative block/burn-out, or if the growing baby/toddler became ever more demanding of my time. All but stopping playing video games and actually focusing helped quite a bit in terms of getting done. I think having a concrete goal looming helped too, but I'm gonna take it a bit slower for awhile, burnout is lame and I've lost interest for months at a time at a few points.
Its actually kind of funny that you point out the zombies being more awesome than the not-guardsmen. I kind of feel the same way, the funny part being that the zombies take less than half the time to paint as opposed to the marines. I did churn out 5 of the marines in one day, so neither set was all *that* labor intensive, but the zombies just take so much less work. Especially the last couple of batches. Spray white, airbrush ancient mummy bone (bleached bone equivalent made out of minitaire ancient bone and mummy colors ), 2-3 thin layers each for skin, armor, leather, then do metal and details. I never timed the zombies but it was fast. The marines took more layers overall, and most of those were slower steps where I had to be careful. But yeah, zombies probably do look cooler so yay for zombies
As to whats next... That's what I've been deciding. I've got nearly two months before Deadzone hits due to its new earlier ship date. What with living in the states, I figure I'm still looking at late late November, or early December... of course, I was originally thinking it would roll in just before Xmas, so definitely ahead of schedule.
Anyway; I have one project determined, and then some wiggle room. First up: Knight Sabers! What's a knight saber you ask?
Spoiler:
Badass heroes/mercenaries (pending iteration of the show) wearing ultra-light form fitting powered armor from the show Bubblegum Crisis (Tokyo 2040). There was a run in the 80s that got cut short, and then a 26 episode series in the 90s or so. One of my favorites from back in the day and I was quite glad when I found these:
From here.
Anyway, those four are next. They are tiny, and while I'm gonna try my best, I'm only gonna be able to do so much with my abilities. That said, it won't take long
Next up will probably be some more shadow knights. They live in my gallery, I'd dump them here but then they'd get excited and I don't wanna get their hopes up I may paint that techmarine, or I may paint a tac/scout squad. I may also finish my storm talon. It is *quite* possible that I'm gonna repaint my vendetta in my corporation colors to go with that detachment. I do have some more forge fathers, got extra bits a while back on eBay due to dirt-cheapness and all that. I may save them for next year when I get the second shipment from Deadzone though, since I'll only *need* more if I want to unlock additional special choices in a Warpath forge fathers army. They do paint up ridiculously fast, so it could happen sooner :p
TLDR? Its in the air Knight sabers and then TBA!
I'm also gonna update this here blog. I think I'm gonna make a P&M showcase thread in which to dump the new pictures I've just got done taking (if they don't suck!) and I'll probably duplicate that post here and make a link directly to it from the front page so newcomers only need to troll the blog if they want to see how things progressed, and not just the results of the effort.
I've gotta crop and touch up some of those aforementioned images now, I'll likely dump them here tonight time permitting. Ooh, yeah I think I'm gonna make myself a snazzy banner out of some of the images too (if they don't suck!), but anyway. BBL Happy hobbying
Alright, I got a little over half of the shots edited and uploaded. I still need a proper light box and a proper camera. The new lamp is alright, but there isn't much difference over the old one. Still worth it, two helps saturate enough light and all that. Spoilering due to many images The rest tomorrow probably:
Spoiler:
First batch of forge father steel warriors.
Second batch of steel warriors.
Steel warrior Thane, and trial kit-bashed DIY Thorgarim.
Green team, my first batch of Mantic Corporation Marines. I like how they turned out, they present well from a distance.
Another shot of green team to show some different details and angles.
Z-corp's finest reanimated soldiers, zombie marines of the Black Platoon reporting!
A mysterious figure leads the Black Platoon, it is obvious that he's from the same original corporate force, but is he a zombie, a minder, or something else entirely?
A few Z-corp team shots:
The first of three heavy weapon teams.
There are more to come, but I'm just too tired to keep uploading. I've still got two more weapon teams, another squad of marines, and two teams of corporation rangers to show off! Check back soon for more Mantic Madness!
Well there were squats in 40k ages ago. These guys have kin in deadzone as well. Beyond that I dunnoz, I know there are more kinds elsewhere.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright, second wave of images incoming:
Spoiler:
Z-corp weapon team 2:
Z-corp weapon team 3:
Now for my second marine squad:
Gold Team 1, including the team leader and heavy laser cannon. The weapon team can detach from their team base and, while they're not painted at the moment, I have a set of arms magnetized to swap the gunner into a normal marine.
Gold team 2 includes two plasma rifles
The full gold squad, ready for action.
I originally got these to use as Guardsmen, but kind of lost interest along the way. Now, in case I want to use them as guardsmen after all, I've pooled the two marine squads into one IG vet squad with 3 plasma guns:
And now, we have the Corporation Rangers! These are the elite marines, sent in ahead to take out key enemy positions and the like. To aid in their task they've been given heavy laser rifles, they're shorter range, but more powerful. They also come with grav packs to allow aerial insertion behind enemy lines. Squad 2 has much better looking visors (IMO), but otherwise they're very similar.
In addition to heavy laser rifles, rangers can also take tactical flame units. I opted to use the third weapon option to represent these as I preferred it to what I think was the actual TFU.
Grav packs. These help give the rangers a distinctive look along with the helmets and different arms.
Squad2:
And just as the two marine teams form up to make an IG vet squad, I can use these to make either two squads of storm troopers (as above) or combine them into a Melta/fireball company command squad:
I think that's it for now. If there are any questions, feel free to ask! I can take more shots any time too should anybody want a different angle on something. Thanks for viewing, votes in the gallery are greatly appreciated, and remember to check out the blog for work in progress and future projects
Got a little work done on Priss. I did the base colors. I got them as close to the pictures I found as I could. I think the grey parts are meant as metallic, but I didn't wanna just slap some silver on there. I think I can do an edge highlight on the blue to make it pop a little more, but I'm hesitant to try blending on something so small. I think the red bands on the legs got a little blue on them, I think I'll have to repaint them pure white and then go back in with the red. Overall, I think I got the colors close, I just need to sort out highlighting/shading them to look good.
Shouldn't take too long to finish this one, just not a lot of area with which to work.
Loved the gigantic sets of pics and my favorite "pack" is the 2nd Ranger Squad. Love their armor, love their style, love their weapons and yes, their visors are much better than the ones in 1st Squad.
Priss is looking lovely so far You are doing a great job painting that tiny, tiny miniature
But concerning what you said, they are a bit of a pain in the a$$ to figure them out:
Spoiler:
They are all metallic but the only big representation of this seems to the gigantic light reflection they do with loads of highlights all around her as shown in the pic. Maybe you can represent this "Shiny-effect" with a varnish other than matt. Satin is already very shiny but doesn't reach the extreme of GW's "'ardcover".
Yeah, I could see highlighting her/them to get that sheen if they were mounted to a display board in a static way, with an obvious light source etc.
I think I'm just going to try my best to lightly edge highlight what I can, with maybe a little extra work on the grey/metal areas to make it a poor mans NMM. That technique is a bit much for me especially to attempt on such a small figure, but I think if I paint those parts straight silver paint they're gonna look tacky as hell.
I just don't think I'll be happy with the high gloss, it would make them shiny, but I think it wouldn't translate well.
I will say that I'm quite impressed with how faithfully these models represent the original series suits, definitely matches up well. But now I see that there's some red above the eye lenses on the helmet? Gasp! I may just have to print a couple of group shots out, looking them up on my phone is proving to be a bother!
And damn! That nice, clear, shot makes me realize I picked the wrong color for part of her armor. Will have to sort that out :p
As always, thanks for the feedback TDL! I'm really looking forward to painting up deadzone, I hope to keep the standard of the Deadzone minis on par or better than those last rangers who had the accumulated experience of the previous marines to refine the scheme.
Yeah, those Zombies came up great. The wash/dip technique works wonders for them. The Forgefathers look good too, but the yellow/ochre of all their weapons and armour makes them kinda blend into one another - not helped I must say by the nature of the sculpts/castings. Your basing certainly makes them look a lot better than standard Mantic plastics though.
Nice work on the fine lines of the Knight Saber. I know nothing about them, but you're doing a great job, especially considering how tiny they are!
@Azazelx thanks. I didn't take my time with the Forgefathers since there wasn't a lot going on there. I'm sure someone else could make them look better, but I just got a set cause it was on sale and would unlock some of my Deadzone specialists for Warpath. May be that I should have painted their guns all metal, or black, or just different, I considered that. I was kind of figuring its a future/space game and the materials in the armor and gun may be similar, or the fact that they were all just painted to coordinate. The blending is something that I'll have to consider in the future though, as I agree.
Priss is done except for her base now, was waiting till she was completely done for more pictures.
Then there was brother-in-law's wedding this weekend. And either the two drinks I had yesterday, or perhaps it was a "don't drink the water" scenario... made me sick lol. Like a low-grade stomach-bug sick. Both ends... etc TMI as it is. So I'm not sure if I'll get anything done today, but I'll work on Priss's base if anything.
OK been about a week or so. Whoops. I've been taking it easy and playing a little Skyrim to relax. I did get a little done though:
Still short, but the base helps a bit!
So there you have Priss, all finished. I decided after working on Priss that I would rather airbrush on the basecoat to get it done quicker and smoother, and then repaint anything that was going to be red (or other misc light colors) white manually. I went over the lines on Priss enough to have to repaint the stripes white again anyway so there wasn't much point to doing the basecoat by hand anymore. Linna is a bit light at the moment, but a coat or three of green ghost tint will hopefully get her into better shape:
WARNING: Varied and random musings to follow, those here simply for pictures may continue on to the next update
And a note about all that stuff I said I was going to go over... Still gonna Just got sidetracked with no little help from two crazy Kickstarter campaigns: Bones 2, and more expensively Mars Attacks. Bones is tugging at the part of me that's always out for a good deal, while simultaneously appealing to my desire to paint more and different models. I'm somewhat torn as I don't currently play D&D and the models would be more or less strictly for painting (and a long time in arriving too!), but the value is growing daily and there are some neat models to be had (would incidentally have more than enough characters for a Kings of War undead army, for instance). Mars Attacks is just beating me over the head with awesome at every front. The game is a lot like deadzone, but simpler and with more random silliness. When you really dig into the models being produced though you can find a lot of synergy with Deadzone (and maybe Infinity). The terrain has some promise, although I'll shortly be swamped with that from deadzone. The truck has a lot of applications as will the incoming wrecked car. And the martians with their various specialist units, flying saucers, and inbound giant stompy robots are just too cool! I said I was done until warpath, but those fiends at mantic have gotten to me again! I'm just waiting for them to sneak out a dwarf kings hold kickstarter after this one... Anyhoo, I've been agonizing over which pledge to keep/increase/whatever so that's taken up some of my forum browsing time :p
WARNING: Shameless plug hawking my old armies, feel free to TLDR
I've also been working on reducing my defunct minis collection. Preferably, I'll find them all a home with other gamers who have more time/interest and will make better use of them. I think the Tyranids tentatively have a home lined up already, but I've still got over 2000 points of vintage 3rd edition dark eldar, 3000ish points of last edition WHFB empire, and 2000ish points of last edition Skaven to find homes And of course I have too many space marines to reasonably finish given the rate at which I paint things. So half to two thirds of those could be getting adopted in the near future too! Anyone interested? I'll be sneaking galleries of those up in the coming months but it will all be shots for prospective buyers and no new hobbying technically.
Hmm what about some of those other projects? Well, the dwarf army is probably dead. I got pretty excited about it for a week or two there, but if anything, those dwarfs may become forge fathers eventually. Eventually, maybe. There just isn't time! I may *may* eventually put together an undead army. I have lots of various undead (loads more if I stick with Bones 2!) and I wouldn't mind working on some of them at some point. Unless my buddy who was showing interest calls me and says he wants to play, my Infinity plans are on hold for now. All the money that I could have spent there has been absorbed by Mantic and possibly Reaper for their kickstarters. I still fully expect to use Infinity as my "complexity plus" rule set to take Deadzone 'to the next level', and I'll pick up some of the models at some point...just maybe not as soon as I had though originally. I think the foam/DZ tiles kestrel is grounded pretty hard. I may revisit the plans some day, but for now I'm going to focus on other things. I do want to get my two imperial flyers painted up though. I've got a Vendetta and Stormtalon that would be great for sitting on my DZ landing pads, as scenery and possibly in some kind of scenario. If I sell off my skaven and or dark eldar the Dark Skaveermdar project (wait... did I even mention that one to you guys ) will necessarily be ended. The last thing I can think of for now is my found items terrain project. I think I will still do some work with plasticard to enhance and stretch out my DZ tiles and accessory sprues, but I probably won't use a whole lot of found items to expand the set initially. I didn't get very far along and a pile of dismantled computer parts that *could* be terrain doesn't HAVE to be. Its not like I wasted a lot of money or even time working in that direction and the Infinity thing has been a slower go than I had initially figured.
In addition to deadzone, you may hear some more of mantics (and possibly others as well) other board games in the near future. I'm trying to instigate a "board game night" with my wife, sister, and my sister's boyfriend. We played munchkin this thursday night and it was fun (when isn't munchkin fun though!), and I'm going to mock up a Mars Attacks board for us to try. It being 1v1 we'll have to do teams, but it should work out. All of this has me looking into Dwarf Kings Hold, Project Pandora, Dreadball, and even wondering what games like Zombiecide may cost retail.
Alright, I think that is quite enough out of me. If I'm not totally exhausted when I move on from here, I may go hack up some skeletons and make a couple of mars attacks disintegration terrain pieces for fun
I intend to, but I will have to unpack sort and shoot everything so people know what they're getting into. And I still have to figure out if the marines and skaven are getting out on the block. I may just store those two. Trying to decide if its worth piecing the armies out or just presenting them as bulk deals too. But yeah, totally gonna do that .
Priss looks great, specially for such a tiny model. Look at that, it's absolutely tiny!
I understand what you mean with old projects. I have some unopened Necron boxes I'm trying to sell but I'm so fething lazy when it comes to this. With watching animes, practice Japanese, and overall spending the weekend with friends (and now I'm back to the painting game), gak, I honestly haven't done a thing. I wish you the best of luck with your possible selling frenzy, it's such a PITA when you just want to use your free time to do cool stuff
Btw, there's a lot of cool board games out there, no need to grab a 1v1 game and do teams
(P.S: One of our FLGS is gonna start selling Infinity I'm hoping to finally get a demo so I can finally decide if I really like it or not )
I'm sure infinity isn't for everyone but it sounds really fun in theory. I know there are tons of cool boardgames, a fact I hope to explore soon, the mantic ones have fun models for me to paint though!
If the nids stay sold I'm not desperate to hock the rest... slow winter project.
Ok, so I lied. I'm *sort of* desperate to hock my extra armies. I kind of let myself go on Bones 2 (not nearly as bad as Deadzone, mind you, but still much more than I had planned for!), and I sill want a decent "get most of what is offered" sized MA pledge. Its ok though, all that means is there will be plenty more random fun stuff for the blog around september (sniped an early bird woo) of next year. Stuff like Khanjira the world breaker, a gargantuan behemoth said to weigh over 4 pounds! Not to mention a boat load of smaller fantasy minis and even a few sci-fi pieces that are likely to tie in well with deadzone. Woot! Borrowed these from the kickstarter page, all I can say is amazing:
HOLY BALLS!
For $35? Are you kidding? I'll take two! That's enough fantasy scenery to cover a 2x2 section of a board with some random bushes or rocks thrown in. Or more than that, I forget fantasy games usually use less terrain
I went to the "Game Day" at the local library. I guess the guy who runs it is a gamer and he and his wife are doing a monthly thing. It was mostly kids playing a myriad of standard/classic/typical board games, although this month they had a couple from the pathfinder society who were running a pathfinder game. It was interesting (got there too late to start, so I just sat in and watched). I don't think I managed any wargaming opponents though. The guy in question does play Miniatures games but along the tune of historical stuff like ww2 and various others. Oh and X-wing, of all things. Oh well, at least there are gamers of some kind here in town .
I haven't been real motivated on my Knight Sabers for whatever reason. I know I was checking bones every few minutes to watch the total soar, and I'm hoping with a little more attention span I'll get the sabers done before deadzone hits. Its not skyrim, although I am clocking a few hours there, just too lazy to get downstairs and crack open the paint. In an attempt to shake things up I'm going to start work on a diorama/terrain feature to use with my eventual mars attacks board game. I'm going to make one or more clusters of skeletons in various un-graceful poses and paint them red and green ala the 90s movie death and heat ray victims Maybe even an iwo jima memorial style flag raising (just not as successful obviously...).
I'm gonna use old GW vampire counts skeletons since they're plain and fairly easy to work with (kind of ugly but meh). I thought about using a few of my kings of war skeletons, but they're completely inextricable from their fantasy/medieval components. They are a really nice set of sprues though! A lot more truescale than the old GW skeles (can't comment on their new set, don't have one), and there's quite a bit of detail on the kits. The double bladed axe with a gem where the blades meet the shaft especially is so cool, as are all of the gnarly evil looking blades of the revenant sprue. Since I haven't got any pictures of progress yet, check those out till I do
Meh Bones is awesome, especially since I paint more than I play lately. I got some of the skeletons cleaned up and ready for posing, but it was late and watching Dredd was easier
Gah Grimdork, why you no post updates! Still been busy with kickstarters =/ Been having "fun" with the rollercoaster that is the MA pledge total (up and down up and down, its kind of wierd... maybe even foul play a bit on the part of some mean spirited not-backers), and I discovered something else fancy to use with my incoming deadzone minis:
Sure, its paper (card, actually, 1.7ish mm too) and not sweet sweet hard plastic like my DZ battlezones... But look at how cool it looks! And those consoles and tables and the like, those would be perfect for use with my DZ tiles, especially since I didn't bother nabbing any of the excellent resin Antenocitis workshop stuff they offered. The only real drag is the ideal pledge level (would cover a 2x2' area, with multiple levels and loads of goodies) is pretty hefty, they said something like 4+ kilograms (which I'm told weigh more than pounds! forsooth!), and the shipping across the pond brings the total pledge into the $150 range so I'm a little iffy on the whole thing. Still... the terrain layouts you could do with that stuff would be super awesome for Deadzone games and Infinity too!
Another thing that got brought up when I was looking at all of that Battle Systems stuff... Do you see the bases they've got their guys on? Maybe? Look close if you don't How cool is that!? I think I'm fairly in love with clear acrylic bases. I just wish I'd made that epiphany *before* I invested all that time to implement custom bases for my warpath stuff. I may still rebase them though... I just love the idea of my guys always looking like they are where they are. Hobby store only has green grass tables? Hey look, my guys are on green grass perfect! My city bases would look funny, but these are the perfect accessory anywhere
So yeah, went ahead and ordered some of these from Litko:
200 something, and some 40mms too for the big stuff in Deadzone. It may or may not be enough, technically, but I'm not going to paint all of my DZ stuff *that* quickly. So I may go ahead and re-base my corporation stuff while I'm waiting. On the fence.
It may be the second week in December now, but we're still only a month or so away from Deadzone madness, getting excited!
Still trying to get myself to work on those skeleton dioramas and Linna, but if nothing else I'm just saving up steam for winter in the Deadzone
Yeah, I'm trying to shift some funds around to afford two strongholds, 2x2' x2 would give me a 2x4' interior, maybe some warehousy stuff outside on one or both sides of it and you'd have a rock solid (and awesome) infinity quasi-interior board. But its kind of expensive (but only cause i've spent so much elsewhere recently ).
On the bases, well my double sweet spot deadzone pledge is gonna have me getting somewhere in the 200 model range, not to mention re-basing my 66 other mantic models. And thats if I don't get the 80 zombies for $45 deal in the DZ kickstarters second survey
Plus, I ordered so many primarily because a.) they came in a 100 pack for $15 so its not exorbitant by any means, and b.) it costs $7 to ship anything from those guys, so I'd rather ship nearly $50 worth of stuff for $7 than $15 worth of stuff for 7 several times
Woohoo, its always nice to have visitors, especially those who have such awesome projects of their own
I think there will probably be more interesting things to come hereabouts, than have already passed, but, its been fun documenting my hobbying nonsense and sharing it with Dakka
Nice call (and find on where to get) those clear Litko bases. I'm really in two minds about stuff like that, though, as I've got a pretty "standard" kind of base I use for my minis, which keeps them all consistent within my collection. The only outliers are the D&D figures that came with the boxed boardgames (Ravenloft, etc) which I've done in dungeon flagstones, and the desert bases my Orks and Tallarns are on.
I was going to do everything (even deadzone) in the same base style I've been doing. But then I saw the clear bases on battle systems. I was in love, it had to be done!
My one reservation is that I've gone ahead with 1.5 mm bases instead of 3mm, which has two potential drawbacks. First, I'm not entirely sure what they'll look like on the table. I'm hoping they're extra dissapeary, but we'll just have to see. And the difference in height is a small issue too. Its only 1.5mm, but certain opponents may get complainy about it. Oh well, I don't have much time to game so I just have to avoid folks like that
Another slight concern, I ordered the bases on the 3rd, and my status for them is still "in production" a full week later. I don't think it should take too long to laser cut 225 bases should it? Probably just some form of back log, they do seem to be a large-ish supplier and all.
As to hobbying in general:
I'll see about popping in for an update later, the most hobbying I've done in the last few days (aside from watching mars attacks and battle systems grow) is to get 10 d8s and 3 d20's from the "local" game store. I also picked up a Knight ForScale (err uhh Garrik the Bold, if you wanna be that way) to try out bones before my kickstarter shipment arrives. I'll try to get him done before deadzone shows up
Certain opponents? Really? I thought that level of bitching was pretty much contained to people who enjoy being nob heads on forums like this. You're also predominantly basing WarPath/DZ models on them, I assume, so things like TLOS should be even less of an issue (and work both ways, even if it were to happen). I mean, I based my Mantic Ogres on GW bases, but that's both out of habit and wanting consistency for that force, since it's largely made up of GW models.
Yeah, I don't anticipate any actual problems, I very rarely play as it is. Its more a concern if I was right in picking the thinner size, and I'm pretty confident it will work out. Gotta show off all of that pretty scenery that should soon be in the mail!
BTW folks be sure to check out Azazelx's blog here on dakka and the proper one standing out on its own. Pretty good stuff... kinda want some of those mantic ogres for myself.
Now... if I can just get the little one situated... got a date with the hot glue gun of destiny if I'm to knock out a passable DZ board in time for tomorrows gaming!
Alrighty, I got a *barely passable* deadzone board knocked out, but it was all I had time for. I cut into our play time printing and cutting out the faction decks and mocking up counters... so we only got in one game. First impression, I'm stoked, this is gonna be awesome I *can not wait* to get my Deadzone stuff and get started. I'm gonna go take some shots of the board and the counts as models we used. I would have taken pics during the game but I was too busy looking up rules and abilities (only got one brief read-through of the rules).
In other news, I'm out of kickstarters except for this one, and my motivation for playing Skyrim is kind of petering out. So barring exhausting work days, I should be hitting the modeling grind stone again soon. And I think I've found the perfect thing to do with my time before deadzone gets here!
I'm going to be participating in Skalk's Junk Pile Modeling Context, see it here. Even if I get put into one of the lesser entrant categories, I do not expect to win. But, it should be fun to give it a go, and its not like I'll be building something so huge it will ruin my storage space. We aren't allowed to post up WiPs on Skalk's page as per contest rules, so you can see what I come up with here first
Gonna see about recovering my hobby situation after playing Deadzone today, hopefully back with some pictures after a bit.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Gah, too tired. Going to read and go to bed instead. Pictures forthcoming. I'm on it. Just... tomorrow or something
Tonight on the pictures if I'm not exhauseted... Mondays have a way about them...
Ehh, I *could* get more mileage out if sky rim, but I'll be glad of extra hobby time instead.
I like terrain a lot, though I'm not particularly good at it . This should be fun. Though, my not-artist status is gonna get me curb-stompped by the vets and those riveter guys for sure
This blog is a bit of an inspiration to me, because you're doing stuff that I could conceivably do with my resources and time. It's helped get me back into painting and stuff in a big way. Unfortunately, I need to work on my photo set up and how I'm finishing my images- so far I'm getting pretty dodgy shots for a lot of work so I am not comfortable committing to a blog here until I can manage better photos. But due to your smashing the goals for your do or die, mine turned out well!
I got:
30 Mantic Zombies
20 Mantic Ghouls
40 Mantic Skeletons
2 Balefire Catapults
5 Revenant Cavalry
Morgoth, Vlad, a Banshee, a Wraith, a Revenant King and a "Zombie Hulk" painted and 20 revenants based properly.
The paintjobs are all definitely purely tabletop quality, less even than my usual middling standard, but I'm pretty pleased with myself for getting them done.
Anyway. Sorry to hijack your blog to talk about what I'm doing, but your blog was somehow the direct inspiration for my flurry of activity. So cheers!
Da Boss wrote: This blog is a bit of an inspiration to me, because you're doing stuff that I could conceivably do with my resources and time. It's helped get me back into painting and stuff in a big way. Unfortunately, I need to work on my photo set up and how I'm finishing my images- so far I'm getting pretty dodgy shots for a lot of work so I am not comfortable committing to a blog here until I can manage better photos. But due to your smashing the goals for your do or die, mine turned out well!
I got:
30 Mantic Zombies
20 Mantic Ghouls
40 Mantic Skeletons
2 Balefire Catapults
5 Revenant Cavalry
Morgoth, Vlad, a Banshee, a Wraith, a Revenant King and a "Zombie Hulk" painted and 20 revenants based properly.
The paintjobs are all definitely purely tabletop quality, less even than my usual middling standard, but I'm pretty pleased with myself for getting them done.
Anyway. Sorry to hijack your blog to talk about what I'm doing, but your blog was somehow the direct inspiration for my flurry of activity. So cheers!
Hey, GD, sounds like you have a serious challenger. Are you gonna leave it like that, or are you gonna show who's boss with MOAR painted minis?
@Da Boss, screenshot or it didn't happen Nah, sounds like you've made some nice progress though! I've just been doing the blog here to keep myself motivated and all of you guys chiming in has really helped. That I've, even in some small way, contributed to your own hobby motivation is awesome! And don't worry about talking about your stuff, your stuff is interesting too If you do get some photos, give us a link! My favorite thing to do on dakka is browse through folks' P&M blogs, slowly growing an entertainment/acquaintance network for mutual inspiration and entertainment value
Seeing your undead may prompt me to paint some of my own , I've still got 40 skeletons and revenants from my starter box sets, and one box set worth of ghouls and zombies too. Not to mention all of my GW undeads! I've also got some bones 2 coming that should really help to flesh (relatively speaking...) out my undead character selection
@TDL, Just wait till my deadzone stuff gets here, I plan to paint the everliving hell out of it I may even take a break after painting city terrain and so many individual models to do some undead unit bases
I'll post some hobby related stuff later tonight, *if* the baby goes to sleep at a reasonable hour.
First, here's Garrik the Bold, aka Knight Forscale, the mini reaper uses to show you how big their other minis are. He's actually kind of tall, fairly true scale. Decent mini overall, looking forward to painting him. Also, bones is cool cause hew as $2 instead of $5-7.
Now for the DZ game... Please bear in mind that I chose minis based on size priority and not painted status Also, I drew the grid, and cobbled together the terrain in a couple of hours the night before, so try not to be too harsh
Initial placements, cover cubes, and unit types. I had the plague in the blue corner, my opponent had the enforcers. My mission was careful slaughter, I got a single point (10 to win) for killing any enemy unit, and 1 point for each round I kept my team alive at half strength or better. After the game, I determined that my opponent also had a VP mission (though he got more points for expensive targets).
My deployment closer up. Note the HMG gunner's prime placement on the dismantled space laser tower. The guy chilling out on the bottom left got a crippling mutation and was pretty gimp, so he was hanging back.
Here's what my opponent came up with, not sure I would have done the same, but luck (on both sides) and the flow of the battle cost him the game worse than this initial deployment.
Here are a few more views of our initial deployment:
Target saturation, lots of mutant scum, but only one missile a round.
While the beefy 1st gen charged right up the building in the mid-field, these two 2nd gens swarmed around for a flank attack!
Meanwhile, the crazed mutant 3rd gens made a more cautious advance along the ground level, following the hellhound (mutated with extra claws ) and supported from on high by their HMG 3rd gen. Note how the big guy isn't standing so tall over there?
Here, you can see the effects of the withering hail of lead from the HMG. At this point, it had already claimed the other rocket launcher enforcer by suppressing him to death!
One of the enforcers found a grenade in a loot crate and promptly lobbed it indirectly up at the way-too-close-for-comfort 1st gen. While unscathed, the beastly beast was pinned and would have to spend an action shaking it off before he could get back in the fight. Note how the enforcer captain's eying the beast from his roof, what could this human have planned?
You call it n00b t00b, I call it Pro Pipe! That sneaky enforcer captain used his suit mounted grenade launcher to chuck another grenade at our poor first gen (who at this point, had been pinned by one grenade, and had already been injured by a missile earlier on). The hardy plague beast was unable to resist the knockback effect this time, and went flying into the walkway! Unfortunately (especially for the plague dog below!), the 1st gen's size meant he couldn't stay on the walkway and had to fall to the ground, nearly crushing the poor hellhound beneath him!
Final plague positions
Last stand!
Worry not, retribution was exacted! The hell hound recovered and used its razor claws mutation to injure (and subsequently finish off) one of the rifle enforcers in a deadly rooftop struggle. The other rifle enforcer got eaten by a second gen as they swept left towards the building on which the Enforcer Commander was encamped. The hellhound and 1st gen tried to team up on the enforcer captain but he's really tough to kill! The captain dropped a bomb at his feet killing the hound and pushing the 1st gen back, though this opened him up to a double team by the second gens who finally cut him down! And I'd say in half at that! The final roll saw the captain with one survival success against SEVEN 2nd gen fight successes! There were some exploding d8's I can tell you
The game took longer than it should have, due to inexperience with the rules, but I know I had fun. I'm pretty sure my buddy did too, but we'll just have to see what we end up playing next I really really like the rules for Deadzone, its a fun game. I wanna get some experience so I can better comment on how fast the games can go, and try out some more unit types. I feel like this board had enough scatter terrain to keep people from getting an inordinate amount of clear shots, although I think I would like to inject a little more vertical variance in my boards once I have my actual DZ tiles.
Plague MVP and runners up! I'll explain
I had a lot of good performances this game. The first gen was a terrifyingly horrible monster of doom, which is good, cause he cost more than double anything else I brought. I got a mutation that makes the mutant agile (faster) which helped cancel out his weakness of being slow (can't sprint or climb, moves roughly half as fast as other models can for the most part), so he was really able to rush up and provide some early pressure. And then he just refused to die. He ate at least two rockets and 3-4 grenades and just kept fighting! The hellhound gets an honorable mention for being an excellent target for the razor claws mutation. It didn't make him quite as powerful as a 2nd gen, but he was killy enough to take out a heavy rifle enforcer later in the game ( just over three times the dog's point cost!). Before the mutation, he was taken to fill points and serve as a distraction, but with it, he was a credible threat. And then there's the HMG toting 3rd gen... He suppressed one of the rocket enforcers so hard the enforcer got riddled with bullets behind his cover and fell over dead. I can't remember if he got the second rocket enforcer or not, but he pinned at least two other units over the course of the game, and he has the same cost as the regular grunts My dice ge an honorable mention too. I got 7 successes with those babies twice that game, and both on times I rolled no more than 5 dice to start (if you roll an 8 it "rolls up" and lets you roll another dice!), definitely keeping this in the rotation even when I get my deadzone set.
Enforcer MVP
This guy is hard as nails. Technically he's just as tough as the 1st gen, and arguably a little squishier due to having more armor than toughness (armor is much easier to bypass via weaponry than tough), but his 3+ (on a d8) survival stat makes him near impossible to bring down without a heavily concentrated effort. He can dance around in combat with a dedicated melee unit for days, unable to inflict damage whilst surviving, but super hard to kill. And don't get me started on his friggen grenade launcher. He was punting my guys around like rag dolls with that thing! And he still had an armor piercing rifle had he found the opportunity to use it. He costs almost 3x as much as an enforcer, and they're almost double a standard fighter, but with the right support he can be a monster!
Wheee! So, kind of odd putting up a battle report in my P&M blog, but its fairly incomplete and mostly just there to let you see my hastily built board and choice in proxies I don't think I'm supposed to start building my terrain piece until the 15th, so I'll have to find something else to keep us entertained until then
That terminator must be used even after you have the official models! And he must be named "Cpt. Awesome" because from what I read, wow, now that's a real Chuck Norris!
The game sounded seriously fun, a true "Last Stand" scenario with the humans selling their lives as expensive as they could.
So, I'm curious, was that just "cinematic", or do you really have rules for "fall" damage? Can you do strategies like "If I blow up the bridge, the heavy mutant falls down and maybe kills X"?
There are at least 3 properties that involve a push:frag, blast,knock back. There are indeed rules for falling damage, more per cube fallen, and there was a specific note about large things hitting walkways in the way down but being unable to stay in a square smaller than them. Oh and also for being slammed into wall by explosions and falling onto other models .
Its all very fun writing, especially when you consider that I fully intend to put together at least one board with 4 or more vertical levels and tons of walkways.
At the moment there aren't any rules for destroying terrain... at the moment
Cool battle report! So the Plague get random mutations? Seems like it plays SOMEWHAT like a very streamlined Necromunda.
Here's a link to a showcase thread I put up for my undead, more pictures in my gallery too.
Apologies for the artefacts on some of the images- I think my attempts to fix them in Gimp made a couple worse!
http://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/560734.page
Yeah, there are 8 mutation counters. You randomly draw 3 and must assign them, 2-3 are bad. The mutations are random each game even in campaigns.
I think DZ is more like necro-lite or infinity-lite. Its a great gamewith ttactical depth, but not as many mini-rules or sub actions. I could see some people not digging the simplicity but I think its quite awesome.
Cool stuff BTW, will have to look closer on my PC at home later.
I prefer simple as well, especially when it doesn't weaken gameplay or depth. Just cause there are so many complicated rules in Infinity (which I also consider to be a pretty neat game) doesn't mean another game can't get away with less and still be way fun Hoping to drag my wife into the hobby someventuday, and it will have to be on the lighter side for sure. Maybe I'll get her to try Mars Attacks .
You know, I thought I had heard of some kind of skirmish game that was supposed to be coming out by GW. Maybe just groundless rumors though. I thought the 54mm inquisitor game was neat but it felt kind of like an older archaic RPG system, too complicated and using models that didn't size up with anything, and especially not my overflowing tubs of GW bits =/ So maybe they come out with something, maybe not. I'll have plenty of deadzone terrain to use if they do, and if it doesn't suck I'll definitely wait for it to come out and get some informed opinions on it, after getting the 6th ed rulebook and more recently the SM codex, and kind of regretting both in the long run... looking to be more patient with purchases from GW.
I know, right? Don't worry it'll probably be a other month or two before it happens again.
On the bright side, skills junk pile contest is now underway and my acrylic bases have changed status to ready to ship. Not sure why they didn't just ship them then, but its better than seeing them stuck in production limbo!
Boring stuff:
I forget if I mentioned that I was getting a little antsy about my bases still being "in production", well now they are marked something like "ready to ship" or whatever. So there's that, not sure why they haven't shipped already but who knows, maybe I'll get them later on next week, or surely the week after that. Should be at least a week or two before Deadzone by the most optimistic outlook on that arriving. Wife and I finally got the car situation sorted, so the daily A to B should be less of a hassle, and now we're sizing up another rental house that's got a little more space and a bit more of a yard for Madame Babyington. So depending on when that goes down, hobby stuff may go a bit wonky for a couple of weeks, but after that things should resume normalcy as I'll have pretty much the same space (better here, worse there, overall the same). That shouldn't hit until after x-mas though, and it's still fairly tentative, and really, it's fairly doubtful my activity here will be interrupted very much so it hardly bears mentioning
Pictures:
Choices for the basic size of my junk pile contest entry. Gonna take the 60mm round, I think, for what I have planned.
And here's my pile of junk that I intend to fashion into a smaller, more directiony, pile of junk
My rough idea right now is to use the 60mm base to size a piece of the tiled plasticard to serve as the base of my pile. Then, I'm going to take the large metal-wire-thing slightly to the left of the center and place it towards the back end of the plasticard disk. Then I'm going to take basically everything else and arrange it as if it's been sucked into the hole in the middle of the big bit. Like a portal, or some kind of super magnetic experiment gone horribly wrong. I think I want to cover the back bit with a flat piece, either black, or colored like a glowing portal. If I do the glow, I probably have to do a bunch of fancy OSL on the junk going in, and that's preeeety far out of my comfort zone. Plus, that's more like an objective than a junk pile. If it's inactive, that better supports it's being a junk pile. So we're probably going that way. The difficulty, and fun, of this will be getting everything crammed into the main bit in a way that suggests it was sucked into the portal with incredible force and then the portal lost power mid-vortex. The trick will be in conveying a sense of destruction and movement in that one direction, while staying away from it looking like I just "crammed a bunch of bits into another bit and called it a thing".
A parts list you say? Why not:
Plasticard, .5mm, 1mm, 1mm 1/6" tiled
4 sizes of plastic tube
guitar wire
floral wire
green stuff
microbeads (rivets)
foamcore board
large metal thingy out of a coffee grinder
triangular bit in center, also out of grinder
several small computer bits, a few wires, coil thing, a couple of plugs, a temperature/speed gauge
a couple of unidentified plastic bits (round thing bottom center-ish)
project bricks (prepainted styrofoam blocks up by the greenstuff)
Enough of that. I was going to get started but now I'm too tired Gotta get some sleep before Madame Babyington decides it's time to be up all day =/
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You know, I thought I had heard of some kind of skirmish game that was supposed to be coming out by GW. Maybe just groundless rumors though. I thought the 54mm inquisitor game was neat but it felt kind of like an older archaic RPG system, too complicated and using models that didn't size up with anything, and especially not my overflowing tubs of GW bits =/ So maybe they come out with something, maybe not. I'll have plenty of deadzone terrain to use if they do, and if it doesn't suck I'll definitely wait for it to come out and get some informed opinions on it, after getting the 6th ed rulebook and more recently the SM codex, and kind of regretting both in the long run... looking to be more patient with purchases from GW.
First off, some great stuff in this blog, and it's nice to see mantic getting some coverage. The Corp Zombies are really cool, and the pre-deadzone batrep was cool.
If you're looking for a low model count skirmish game in the 40k setting, check out In The Emperor's Name, it's a free ruleset that also has an online roster calculator. The rules are great fun and very cinematic, and also very interactive. Here's a link to the rules.
http://iten-game.org/downloads
You're looking at around 10 models a side for a 250-300 point game, and it's very fast and fun. Most games I've played have taken around 30-45 mins, even being unfamiliar with the rules. As there are no set 'army lists' for the current edition, you'll need to make your own, and it takes a few trials to get it right (ie not making guardsmen too weak or SM too strong) but you can really set it up how you want, so it's very customisable.
I got into it to get some skirmish experience pre-deadzone, and it's been great fun. You might like it, might not, but I thought I'd suggest it.
Again, cool stuff in this blog, and I'm looking forward to see what you do with Deadzone.
That's pretty interesting Paradigm, In The Emperor's Name, huh? I may give it a look, but I've lost touch with the couple of people I used to play warhammer with, and Deadzone is so close I can taste it, so we'll see
Thanks for the kind words, I'll be filling this space with my work on Skalk's Junk Pile contest, and Deadzone just as soon as it shows up! I would like to do some narrative DZ bat-reps, once I've got some stuff properly painted up, but those would go in the battle reports section if they were done up properly.
Hopefully I get some work done today and can report back later on!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Alright, I heard back from Skalk on my little queries. I think I'm on the right track, just trying to make sure that my junk pile doesn't venture into the mini-diorama (which is not the nature of the contest) territory. It might, but I think the idea is too cool not to try
So will try to work on that today!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Got some work put in on my junk pile. Have some doubts, here are some pictures so you can play along at home:
Alright so, I do like the twisted bits (beams or the like) and the broken pipes and wires and such.
I really wanted to use the bit that's crammed in almost center, but it may be sticking out too far, may need to replace it with some smaller gubbins?
The is more of a blob obstacle than a piece of linear terrain, but it can provide cover for 2-3 models and totally obscure at least one normal 28mm mini, so I think it works as a bit of scatter terrain considering skirmish.
I kind of like that it appears to have sucked up some of the floor, even ripped some cabling out, although that makes it a tad more diorama-y and not just a pile of junk.
I think it needs some other stuff pulled up close but not sucked into the center, as it was shut down or whatever.
What in the *world* am I going to do with the back? Its a funky shape and would be really hard to put a bit of plasticard there to just make it a smooth end. Maybe some kind of hot glue+rubble+sand/ballast mess kind of pouring out the back like the gubbins in the front were getting extruded in a nasty way? Hrmmm. Gotta do something, can't let it stand like that.
I think this would be a nightmare to paint well, but it may be fun too
Somewhat debating putting this one aside and switching to a more linear barricade style junk pile, to better play to the nature of the contest. Not sure.
What do you guys think? I need to finish it so I can get to work painting it (which will probably take awhile).
Looks great, the "back" is screaming stargate style shiny portal to me, like it's some kind of warp device. Sorry not helping. Looking forward to seeing this one, it's got something about it.
Haha, welcome to the blog, its cold here, and the bagels are stale... but we get by
I kind of figured the device was either a gravitic weapon, or like you say, some kind of portal. Since this is a junk pile, I want it to be long since shut down, possibly with some rust and further detritus accumulating. I'm torn between trying to make some kind of slag that's been extruded from the end, or managing a really flat surface. If I were awesome, I'd just perfectly cleanly sever the backs off of everything I stuck in there, just like a closing stargate... but yeah, no.
Thanks for popping by, looking forward to moving on with this myself!
Oooh, if I'm correctly interpreting your piece 'zog off my junk' as your entry, very nice
Maybe it's gravity fed scrap machine. Nice big set of rollers with spikes on or a set of like mining teeth/wheely thingies, jammed up with the ends from the other side!
And yes that's my entry, but I am not shouting about it. Thank you though.
Hehe, that "portal" look seriously cool. It looks like something went seriously wrong and the depressurization is sucking everything: like what happens when someone makes a whole in a spaceship / space station. My poor Isaac died sometimes like that in Dead Space 2
It would be cool to see a human grabbing a rail and doing his best to hold it to stop himself from being sucked in
for what it's worth, here's my two cents:
if ithe machine was supposed to be shut down long ago, why would the things in the mouth still be there? wouldn't they have fallen to the ground when the machine went off? are they jammed in, blocking it (thereby potentially causing the shutdown)? if so, i would suggest moving some of the bits sticking out to more severe angles to really push home the idea that they are wedged in there.
as for the back: "stargate" seems to be a popular idea, and it can be easy to do. there are some things that come packaged with textured clear plastic over the front--i saved a piece years ago that would work pretty well, although it would look more like flowing water than a ripple. another idea would be to use more junk to make it look as if there is machinery back there...especially a big bundle of power cords.
all that said, this piece is totally awesome...and i am glad we are not in the same category.
Oh no no, I liked both ideas s lot . Sorry if the internet made it seem otherwise. Extra junk on the sides sounds good and power cables on the back may be the perfect way to cover up those bits I don't want showing
I do have some reservations about the base, and that's why I included some hot glue along the bottom edges in addition to the initial super glue. The weight pushes straight down and it isn't overly top heavy, so I think its good at this point. But it was a good suggestion, I had to try a couple of times to get it solid.
Thanks for all the comments guys! Will try to finish the build and get some paint on this thing over the weekend.
My clear bases should also be coming in this weekend so perhaps we'll have us a hobby extravaganza!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Clear bases in! Initial images and comments/concerns to follow:
First build using two units of Rangers for contrast, got one with flash and one without.
Here are some shots on different terrain which should show off some of the usefulness of the bases, and let you see them with different lighting.
sorry this one is blurry, will take more shots in the future!
Ok I've gotta go look at a house, but I'll drop some very very initial/limited views when I get back!
Automatically Appended Next Post: Ok that other thing is done. So the craftics #33 seems to work. I'll do a stress test later to see, it says 24 hrs so I'll do the test tomorrow instead of tonight. It reminds me of the old testors plastic cement that I used around 2000 on some of my first models. It stinks, its goopy, there's no way you can possibly put it on your models with the base tube, I was making little pools and using a toothpick to apply it. And the stuff dries really fast. Or well, it cures to the point that it clings to itself and is no longer in a state that I would consider *viable*, in like a minute or so. I can do 1-2 models per blob IFF I have them both prepared and ready.
Another thing, I think these are going to scratch. Super easy. How easy? Really, really easy. Now, I think there's a magic trick for repairing them, but I can't recall off the top of my head what it is. I think it was mentioned on the battle systems kickstarter, maybe in the comments. I'll find it out and report back when I know.
First impressions: I don't have the terrain at this moment to justify these. They look ok on my old green static grass boards, but those are all I've got. My old city bases look way cooler. HOWEVER, once my DZ gets here and I have the DZ mats, the earlier statement will be retracted so hard it has whiplash! This is very much an investment in the future. I think fantasy will still benefit from fancy display bases, but my scifi stuff will *probably* be going onto the clear acrylics. I may do a few more models like some zombie marines and forge fathers to get a broader test case.
Another quick note, you can probably see in the pictures, there's a dark side and a light side to each base due to reflected light, and in just the right circumstance they can flash entirely white (first picture on the grass). Since these are Scifi models, and since you can still see the terrain under the bases at least 75% of the time, I think I can get over this for sure. There may be a better material or thickness or whatever for someone else who can't, however, so I though I'd point it out
So that may sound a bit negative, but I'm just not able to get properly excited about these until I have nice terrain to put them on I'm sure once my deadzone stuff comes in, that these will be the obvious choice.
Hm... they do look good, but my first thought when I saw them on your terrain was "those will get scratched up" - followed by reading you post that they will scratch up easily.
I'm not sure of options. Maybe some cheap "screen protector" plastic like they sell for iPads and other tablets for the bottoms? Though I can see that option getting tedious fast.
i used to work for a company that installed acrylic enclosures. the biggest problems with acrylic are scratching and hazing.
NEVER use ammonia on acrylic. that's a good way to ruin acrylic...
ALWAYS use a microfiber cloth. air (from a can or compressor) can be extremely handy if available, as well. cleaning with a tissue, while soft, can still score any small particles (even flock) into the acrylic.
we sold a product called novus--which, as of 7:29 CST, is available on ebay here:
(my apologies if it's wrong to post a link like this)
it's an excellent investment, as it's useful for a variety of things you probably have (computer case acrylic, LCD/LED monitors and TVs, etc.) Novus 2 (red label) is probably the only one you would need to remove scratches on your bases; 1 is a polish/protectant, and 3 is probably too heavy duty for any damage that is likely to occur to your bases.
if you don't want to spend that kind of money, there are a few alternatives, at least one of which you should have around the house.
brasso (silver polish) and pledge (wood polish spray) can work, but may (and probably will) discolor acrylic over time.
automobile rubbing compound (or a car wax that has rubbing compound in it) can also work, although it may end up being too harsh and cause hazing.
if you thin it with enough water, and have enough time, powder cleaners like Ajax, Comet, or Old Dutch can work, but the will almost certainly haze the acrylic after multiple uses (most of them have a bleaching agent).
but the thing you should have in your house? toothpaste. it depends on what toothpaste you use, and it may take some experimentation to get the ratio of 'how much toothpaste (do i need to thin it with water) and how much pressure', but i have used this method to fix scratched CDs and DVDs, and it worked almost flawlessly (i think i have had one fail in dozens of attempts).
if you try any of these methods, remember to test first before going crazy and doing all the acrylic you have.
Wow GS, that's quite helpful, now I don't even need to search around Thanks
I'm afraid gloss varnish may make them not so see-through, but I may give it a try on a couple of bases to check, I got 200 of them so there are plenty for experimenting
Thanks for commenting guys, always excited to see people around the blog
Got a little more work done but I better get to bed, little one likes to get up early =/
Bases before, I think they look cool and all, of course.
Bases after, they won't look as good on display, but they should look pretty good anywhere.
I'll do some stress testing tomorrow night (or later) after the stuff has had it's 24 hours to a full cure. As it stands, the first batch seemed pretty sturdy, didn't go all out... but I think the force I applied would have broken the weaker of the super glue bonds (I barely had to touch the hammer dwarf and he fell off his base, for instance). The #33 is nasty goopy stuff. It's still oozing out of the tube to where I have to fast draw the cap and immediately put it back on after a bit has fallen out. I managed to do two models at once out of the 4, but it took 3 globs of the stuff. Its pretty tacky too, feels kind of like working with hot glue, likes to leave trailing strands that may add a mini clean up step later on. It's a lot easier to use than superglue beyond that though, its nice and thick so you can pop the model down and pretty much instantly let go of it unless its really inclined to lean. I'm also thinking the bond will be stronger in the long run, but we'll see about that later on.
I also got a little work done on my junk pile project. Something of a fusion of GS's suggestions and my own take:
I wasn't feeling terribly crafty on the junk end, so I only added one piece, though I feel like doing more. I'll wait till i'm in the right creative mood though!
And here's a much better back! The blue plastic will just be painted over to be the same material as the metal shell of the device. An active stargate would have been awesome, but it wouldn't look properly junky, so I'm going with this. The rest of the additions are to suggest some power cabling that's been blown out, possibly what stopped the device in it's tracks.
Still wondering about the skeleton, totally forgot to even check about adding one. Hopefully some more work this weekend
@Azazelx--#1 for protection (think of it like a moisturizer for skin or conditioning liquid like armor-all for leather (or anything in a car interior really) or general cleaning....because you ARE NOT using windex on your LCD/LED monitor or TV, are you? #2 is for very fine scratches (like what Grim is eventually going to have on the bottom of his acrylic bases, unless he never plays with or moves them).
@Grim: the clear bases look neat. not my cuppa, but neat nonetheless, and it would guarantee your bases would match the tabletop. i could see using them for the transparent tau stealth suit models...if i had those. or played tau.
the back looks pretty awesome...i had an idea of a bunch of wires bundled together (THICK power cord bundle) cut with either an axe or chainsword still stuck in either the ground of the back of the portal...maybe too overboard, though.
as for the skeleton hand: how about on the end of one of the bits sticking out of the portal? as if its owner got sucked in and all that remained was a hand and part of a forearm (could always explain it as the metal cut into the bone, but not through, hence it sticking lo these many years)...
Hmm may have to get some of that stuff for sure. Maybe the no. 1 would reduce the need for the no.2. Either way, I'll have to see bow fast these wear and figure out how urgently I need some (probably sooner than later, not that I play much)
I was thinking massive power cables at first. What I ended HP with is where dry fitting and mild inspiration got me. Still wanna add more to the front, and will try next hobby chance I get.
FWIW a friend of mine has those bases for about a year (maybe more) and while he doesn't get to play much, they don't show any scratches at all so far. He's using them for a large 30k force.
I think playing in my deadzone mats and eventually battle systems should lessen the chance of scratches, but I'm sure my man handling will cause some eventually
Tested the bonds this morning, seem at least as strong as the stronger of the super glue bonds I snapped to trade out bases.
You know... I've just had an idea. I haven't got a storage container for these guys yet! Gonna move soon so I better get on it. Anyone interested on a how-i-do-it? Not so presumptuous to call it a tutorial lol.
yeah,
Don't worry too much about the bases getting scratched up.
Unless you love rubbing your minis on everything they will be fine.
Both ArbitorIans tau and my dark eldar have been based on clear bases for over a year now and they still look great.
The real trouble is being tempted to save time and base every new project with clear bases!!
It takes a little getting used to looking at the bases and seeing past them, its a little easier IRL without a single fixed position accentuating the glare on certain bases.
Cool, cheers guys Making me happy about my purchase
i don't know if you did it or not, but if you have a pin vise (or a really small drill bit and a pair of vise grips), you should be able to put little dimples in the bottom of the model's feet (and perhaps on the base?), which should help the bonding process. also, scuffing the acrylic with a mini file, fine sandpaper rolled in a sharp-pointed cone, or a small emory board should help with the bonding.
Yeah, I'll probably have to pin any metal models, as well as using epoxy instead of acrylic cement. I think this stuff is going to bond well enough without any extra tricks, but I'll definitely keep those in mind for when I'm doing tricky joins of smaller parts
I think the clear bases look great, just a shame to see all the work and time that went into your urban bases go down the tubes- because those were some really nice bases!
I'm kind of in the same place I have absolutely *no* idea what I'm going to do with those bases. I could touch them up and donate them to my space marines, but if I even go forward with that project I'd probably just as well give them the CADs (clear acrylic disks, tired of typing it out ) too.
Like I said, once the Deadzone stuff comes in and I've got them on the mat and buildings, I don't think there will be any contest whatsoever. It's just kind of hard to do it now
Now... the little one is asleep so I'm gonna stop typing and head down to the hobby cave to try to get... something... done. I'll either be transferring more models to CADs, working on my junk pile, or possibly even packing up my out-of-use hobby stuff. We're going to move soon, sometime next month we'll be switching to a slightly larger rental house on a slightly quieter street with more than slightly larger yard for Madame Babyington to play in I'll be losing my sweet basement but gaining a small spare bedroom (potentially) and a fairly large amount of garage space, so once the dust clears I should be looking at the same more more hobby area, and a better place to set up a table.
*Ahem, said I'd stop typing. BBL hopefully with something to show for it. Perhaps I'll take a few shots of my custom storage cases, saw a tutorial for them (or something very similar) here on dakka months ago.
Automatically Appended Next Post: The forge fathers courageously volunteered to pioneer the new basing technology (had nothing to do with 'staying ahead of the stinkin humans')
Here's what I make my army transport cases out of, the Plano 4 pistol/xl accessory case:
You can get a short bit of copper tube and sharpen the edges with a dremmel/drill and the right sanding/polishing/grinding bit and cut circles into the egg-carton-like foam. You can fit quite a few dudes:
something like 45ish 25mm bases on the left and then 10 40mm bases on the right. Probably something in the 60s if you did all 25mm.
Here I combined the flat bottom piece (sometimes these are pluck foam, sometimes they are solid, its a toss up) and the second eggshell foam to make a storage solution for some of my vehicles.
Here's a different configuration, I've got some extra large stuff in the bottom that pokes through so I've only got about 30 25mm slots up top.
Bottom fits 3 drop pods and 3 rhinos, plus 30 some models up top, doesn't seem like a bad amount of storage for $12-15 (if you get it from walmart, sporting goods place wants $25 ).
You've just gotta add some of that dense craft foam stuff (think they call it funny foam at hobby lobby) and some kind of glue, I used elmers spray glue although some lightly touched spots do seem to tend to come apart.
Perhaps more later? I did spray paint my junk pile.
Ahem, still here. Been doing holiday stuff and watching the mantic thread(s) go kind of crazy what with the Deadzone shipping starting early.
I also got sucked in by the Miniature Market black friday sales and ordered the awesome corporation Major General, a 5 pack of enforcers to hold me over till my stuff arrives, and some metal forge fathers to get some flamers and heavy weapons into my forge father units (as much as I sort of like the hush gun, the actual flamer dwarf models are pretty slick, and just over $2 a pop for metal was not a bad price).
I managed to get some paint onto my junk pile and Sir Forscale. Just undercoats for now. I started to try the vallejo model air gun metal on the knight... nah. Forget that, I'll brush it on. Took a while to get that nasty sparkly junk out of my airbrush too =/
Then I've gotten a few more models on clear arcylics and did some more posing trying to show off the whole "blending into their terrain" or "look like they belong there" thing.
I think these guys are my favorites and the best of the bunch of white/black/red corporation troops.
Too much flash, but they show a little differently in this lighting so I kept it.
Sometimes the bases are more obvious than at others, but they're still a lot less obvious than big scenic bases.
Found this in the clearance section of a Walmart, its almost the right scale, the skull would fit into one of their helmets. Gonna repaint it someday, the starfish and such can be alien plants
Yar, this here rock'll be a great place to execute me 'flyin dwarf move!
I think the Thane up top is one of the better examples of the base disappearing so far.
Alright that's it from me for now. That MM stuff was 1 day shipping (cause that was the cheapest option some how) and the place is actually within what I consider driving distance so there's a very slim possibility it will go out tomorrow and come in saturday. Otherwise I reckon the beginning/middle of the week (gotta allow for delays, black friday in session and all). Once that stuff comes in I'll be sure to 'unbox' it and get to work afore deadzone arrives.
I was a bit hesitant at first, but the more models I put in them, the more I'm liking the clear acrylics too.
I've gotta do some thinking on the pile, need to paint some things that are metal as if they are... painted metal. So there's not too much silver and copper. Hopefully this weekend.
I'm super excited for Deadzone. I'm gonna get it late enough that an unboxing is probably pointless... but I'm definitely going to do a thorough one anyway. Gonna have to get a new bits container just for this... a big one too
) from spectra tex. You can see how glossy the stuff comes out. As soon as I can get a hold of some more vallejo model air paints, I'm going to retire the spectra tex, or at least relegate it to terrain/experiments.
but they really are going to look good as Infinity figures.
