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Photos will be posted tomorrow. The challenge, my 7-year old was asked about what she wanted from Santa. Her reply was "a cool vampire leader." Well taking her to the lgs she pointed the Von Carstein on the Nightmare. Thank God that the store owner is quick-witted and caught on to the discussion of having to borrow the box so I could scan it and email the pic to Ole St Nick. The owner one upped me and stated that since it was not a toy, Santa does not know what Mannfred Von Carstein is. She readily agreed and after conducting an under the table transaction we brought it home on the "condition" that I would bring it back the next day.

I decided to paint it in three pieces then assemble it and do the final touch-ups as needed. I put the Nightmare together and the join-line running along the bottom of the steed was huge. So was the left side between the neck and chest. Also there is a bone spike sticking out of the chest that needed cosmetic work since the fit left enough room to fit Louie Anderson through.

I decided on Milliput since the model is metal. Using a bit of water while mixing it and a small reapplication while sculpting works wonders just as the instructions said it would. I was able to fill in the fissure sized openings rather easily. This was the first time using Milliput and was pretty happy with the results. I gave it a 24hr curing time before I started to file it down. If you do not have the "micro diamond file set" I think that's what the package read, invest in it. Trying to get a normal sized hobby file between that equine's legs to do any work, would be like a man trying to get in between Rosie O'Donell's svelte gams. I kid because I care....

I then sprayed a black primer to the two pieces, and decided to do some damage with the base. More will follow tomorrow w/pics and the continuing saga of the Von Carstein gift wrap OR I have nothing better to do with my time during stay-cation...

please post some pictures. this is a very cute story.

Ok as promised and thank the gods of Chaos for shutterfly, I will post the pics for the 1st post:

The base: GS, and a kit bashed flagellant was the victim of the Count's charge: Nothing out of the ordinary except that the right hind hoof had a nub sticking down. That and the slotted cavalry base forced me to sculpt the base with GS rather than use filler, since it would not have the strength to support the metal model. A bit of sawing and gluing and I got it to look like the goof, I mean brave repentant of Sigmar who tried to hold the line against a Vampire lord, the trampled into the mud effect I was looking for. Not sure if I will have the time tomorrow, but I will post some of the zombies that my daughter and I have completed. The indentations opposite of the victim is the guide for where to mount the figure.

This is a sweet story, ''a cool vampire leader''?

Looking forward to seeing this complete, and who would have guessed that St Nick is a hobbyist?

lol, that's hilarious that the guy on the shop went in on the act.
Awesome work so far. I really dig the base. Milliputy is a decent product, I use it myself except mine is at least 9 years old and very crusted. Its good for glueing metal models together easily, I use it on Necron Wraiths which are notorious for breaking in two.

Anyway, I cant wait to see more. Should be an interesting log.

A Black Ram wrote:This is a sweet story, ''a cool vampire leader''?

Looking forward to seeing this complete, and who would have guessed that St Nick is a hobbyist?

Plenty of sleep when you are taking the old dirt nap....that is what I keep telling myself.


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LordofSteel wrote:lol, that's hilarious that the guy on the shop went in on the act.
Awesome work so far. I really dig the base. Milliputy is a decent product, I use it myself except mine is at least 9 years old and very crusted. Its good for glueing metal models together easily, I use it on Necron Wraiths which are notorious for breaking in two.

Anyway, I cant wait to see more. Should be an interesting log.

Yes, I used the Milliput on the join-lines of the model. Great stuff when you use it per the directions sheet.



Z #3

GS'd the raggedy azz cape.

the headstone is scratch build.

This is Jethro btw.

This is Lu Lu, she was a sturdy gal while alive, working the farm...


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Comments are welcomed. Good and bad, because that way I will know what to improve....

Looking good so far!!!

Love the two zombies!

Thanks for the kind words one and all. If it wasn't for my loving and supportive wife and two wonderful girls I have been blessed with I would not of even attempted this. More to come later.

1st two are a wip of the SB. Sculpted a torn banner to the right side. I will post when finished. The banner was re-touched after our youngest had a little fun with a black paint pot....oh joy.

3rd was my daughter's idea in every way, I just went with the flow.

4th the musician, I will get a few more pics of him because I think he is "the Dude abides"....

Your mud is really.... muddy!!! That's nice!!

Yggdrasil wrote:Your mud is really.... muddy!!! That's nice!!

Thanks. I put them up in the gallery. I am looking for opinions that I can improve on the quality of the models. The mud was water effects mixed w/paint and model snow for added texture. Used Liquidtex high gloss varnish to finish.

Y, seen some of your work, very impressive

Just a thought on LuLu, who's looking hot right now. On the black parts of her scythe/sickle, namely the edge that's sharpened (the bottom curve), you should apply a little botlgun metal or other darker silver. This not only shows the sharpened side but also leaves a glimmer of what the metal originally looked like. I wouldn't go over board with it just a little bit here and there. Take it one step further by dotting mithril silver along the finest edges of the boltgun metal and that blade will look boss. The rust effect looks great now but I think the specks of silver would make it awesome.

Moltar wrote:Just a thought on LuLu, who's looking hot right now. On the black parts of her scythe/sickle, namely the edge that's sharpened (the bottom curve), you should apply a little botlgun metal or other darker silver. This not only shows the sharpened side but also leaves a glimmer of what the metal originally looked like. I wouldn't go over board with it just a little bit here and there. Take it one step further by dotting mithril silver along the finest edges of the boltgun metal and that blade will look boss. The rust effect looks great now but I think the specks of silver would make it awesome.

Thanks M, I will do. Should I use satin, gloss, or high gloss to varnish those specific parts when I hit them up?

sgt1480 wrote:Y, seen some of your work, very impressive

Hey, feel free to add some comments & thoughts then!!!

sgt1480 wrote:Thanks M, I will do. Should I use satin, gloss, or high gloss to varnish those specific parts when I hit them up?

To me, it should be the less glossy (that should be satin, I guess) for varnishing those parts... A matt finish would be even better (and is in general best for all minis im my opinion), but it seems you don't have some...

Mortan's advice is good, I second him, it should make them look even nicer!

A quick and fun trick is to gently rub the lead of a pencil along the edge of the blade, giving it a dark metal glint. Try it on some sprue first though.

Yggdrasil wrote:

sgt1480 wrote:Y, seen some of your work, very impressive

Hey, feel free to add some comments & thoughts then!!!

sgt1480 wrote:Thanks M, I will do. Should I use satin, gloss, or high gloss to varnish those specific parts when I hit them up?

To me, it should be the less glossy (that should be satin, I guess) for varnishing those parts... A matt finish would be even better (and is in general best for all minis im my opinion), but it seems you don't have some...

Mortan's advice is good, I second him, it should make them look even nicer!

LadyCassandra wrote:A quick and fun trick is to gently rub the lead of a pencil along the edge of the blade, giving it a dark metal glint. Try it on some sprue first though.

Yggdrasil wrote:

sgt1480 wrote:Y, seen some of your work, very impressive

Hey, feel free to add some comments & thoughts then!!!

sgt1480 wrote:Thanks M, I will do. Should I use satin, gloss, or high gloss to varnish those specific parts when I hit them up?

To me, it should be the less glossy (that should be satin, I guess) for varnishing those parts... A matt finish would be even better (and is in general best for all minis im my opinion), but it seems you don't have some...

Mortan's advice is good, I second him, it should make them look even nicer!

@ Y, I have plenty of matte, I just don't use it on metal, blood, gore, eyes, jewels or mouths. I did matte the blade overall. I am just wondering if the effect on the those very small spots are worth giving a glint to. If you look at Lu Lu you can see the only shine you can see is where the open wounds are. I am experimenting on foaming at the mouth and pus laden open sores

@ LC will try that, thank you very much

I wouldn't necessarily add more matte to it. But, I'm not the best person to ask. I don't use any kind of gloss or varnish unless I want something to appear wet. Hopefully my advice will help

More pics of the zombies. You will see the front of the musician and the just completed sb.

Back to the original work. I base coated the base. Each part getting its own different hue over the black undercoat. I did a mop wash of the earthen part of the base with devlan mud. Will start the detailing, layering, blending, straining of my eyes tomorrow. Hope you enjoy, and comments either positive or negative are more than welcome.

This is adorable! I'm currently painting a pink sister of battle for a 7 year old girl as a Christmas gift. She wants to play with my "toys" all the time. Toys = DKOK

littleboyblues wrote:This is adorable! I'm currently painting a pink sister of battle for a 7 year old girl as a Christmas gift. She wants to play with my "toys" all the time. Toys = DKOK

Thanks lbb.
I will be doing some layering and detailing tonight... I am on stay-cation so I have plenty of time along with the honey-do list.


I ask if you like or do not like go to my gallery, vote and comment positive or negative. I still need to know what I need improvements on.... Thank you for your time.

Nearly finished the base. Because I used water effects w/the blood red mix to give it a bit of texture, I have to wait till tomorrow to do final highlights. It will be a bit of pre-GORE and after....comments are very welcome.

Base is finished. I flocked and am still debating whether to flock the sloped areas of the ground. Not sure but the pics will be posted in the end. I am starting the mount going bottom to top. My reasoning is that I want to get the lowest parts of the model done and matte it so I can mount it a s a p. I am rubbing off the primer almost every time I turn the model . The last pictures are of the first round of layers on the legs and hocks. Opinions needed, thanks much.

Great story. And I'm impressed that you've raised your kid so well. All little girls want vampires these days, but they want the kind that sparkle and have enormous hair.

The only real advice I have is to use some dirt or pumice on the ground there. If you use dirt (and not GW dirt for the love of God!) just scoop it out of the yard/driveway/park and put some Elmer's on the base, then sprinkle on. It adds a lot of realism.

Thanks ele! I will do that to the slopes and such. Our dirt is currently under a couple of inches of snow and we have another front coming through as we speak. And looking at your location, thanks for your service!

Now I mounted the mount to the mount! A few touch-ups to blend it a bit better and then the hind legs are done.

epic! you sir are one epic dad!

bigmek35 wrote:epic! you sir are one epic dad!

Why thank you....bm35.

I took a day off last night just to charge the batteries a bit. Plus I work a little better closer to a deadline which is next week Saturday morning. Since I decided on black for the mount I will base the barding and such off of that. I am trying to keep the color scheme simple but the cape will be blue as to tie in with the rest of the army. That is why I am really digging this army, I can use different tones but as long as the base is vermin brown and there is some article worn by each model that is blue, than the rest is a bit of creative license.