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I've been doing a lot of painting of minis from the Goblinaid charity project recently but as it's coming to an end at the end of the month I've decided to start this P&M blog to show off my greenskins once that happens

Hopefully I can pass on some tips and tricks, show off some neat bits from manufacturers you may not have heard of and generally make it worth your while to read this once in a while


So to start with: To Infinity & Beyond or Orks in Space!

I was browsing ebay as you do when I came across some really neat resin bases for the new GW Ork Stormboyz



http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/261365577626?ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1423.l2648

sold by DCBminiatures they are a set of 5 exhaust plumes each fitting a different one of the rocket packs so I took the plunge and ordered a set, I was impressed by what I received and set to work on a box of Orks



they look good and are stable enough not to be a worry if you're intending to game with them (I realise the actual rules are terrible and nobody actually uses them anymore, but they look cool)

Now having a box of Stormboyz means you get an extra torso front and a few rocket bits so a quick trip to a bits shop for a rear torso/legs and a bit of styrene tube and a few bits from the bits box gave me another Ork (he's clearly a bit slow and hasn't got off the ground yet



I thought I'd try to replicate the exhaust base style myself in greenstuff for the gretchin moulding it over a stiff paperclip wire core



and getting creative with another rocket pack body from a bits seller together with the remaining gretchin head provides the start of a little aircraft



more later

Absolutely love the rocket exhaust bases!! You replicated it very well

thanks,

I haven't quite managed to produce the amount of 'smoke' the resins have but I think what I've done will work well as flames, and the splitting the exhaust to the individual rockets at the top helps the illusion

my textures were made by poking a toothpick just into fresh greenstuff and pulling down and out. As the greenstuff was very freshly mixed it springs back and rounds off the tool marks

Do you use any particular tool to remove fringerprints / unwanted texture from the GS? I have recently tried some clay shapers that Jin recommended, as I feel that my GS is never as smooth as I'd like when I'm done... yours looks very smooth, with the only "texture" being the ridges you've added, which is what I'm trying to achieve.

This might be a more general question since you obviously mentioned the toothpick trick above!

Actually the easiest way I've found to smooth greenstuff is to wait until its partially set (so no longer sticky) and then smooth with a damp/wet finger

either by repeatedly pulling in a single direction so the ridges on your fingertip are effectively acting as a scraper (especially useful in blending GS into a figure)

or by small circular rubbing motions with the tip of your finger

clay shapers (use damp/wet) can do the same, but I've never quite managed the same level of control with them

I wouldn't try to put any detail into it before smoothing it out

I also find working in small sections helps, the above flames trail was done in 3 main parts, plus a little section that was tidied up later as it didn't quite flow right. The moment you start trying to do a lot at once you'll stick your finger in something you've spent 20 mins getting right leaving those frustrating finger prints or rounding off a sharp edge

You can also get really decent straight edges by cutting semi-cured GS with a damp sharp knife.

Don't push down on it, just draw the damp knife along it letting the edge do the work, and once the cut is done the damp blade can be used to polish the surface smooth if you've left any marks on it

EDIT: this is of course all below the level of actually sculpting from scratch where those with a lot more talent than me probably do things differently

Love it, Orlando! Great conversion work, and love that you've got a greenskin thread going.
RiTides: sometimes a wet paint brush can also be used to smooth out fingerprints, though it's inconsistent. I generally use a wet fingertip, myself.

I've done a bit more work on the little flyer, but need to wait for daylight to get a photo

so I'll post a few of the personalities of Mat 'At 'Arry's Mob (Mad Hat harry's mob translated to English, I think you'll see why)

Mad 'at 'arry, da Boss ooz in charge

Pedro and his little mule (Head by Puppetswar)

Gomez (Head by Puppetswar)

Sid the Slaaag (Hat by Foundry)

Dez da Diamond Geeza (Hat by Foundry)

Jake de Snake Eater (Broad-brim hat from Warlord)

Angry Bob (Broad-brim hat from Warlord)

and not yet finished
Thrasher, the enforcer (He used to be da Boss, but 'arry frightens him)

(and yes all the gun barrels will be drilled out before paint, I just hadn't got rounf to it when I took the pics)

And with some daylight a picture of the finished goblinz rocket plane (thanks to a Ju G23 tail plane)

Well after prevaricating about how to paint it up the mini flyer has got some base colour

Awesome stuff so far!

Its sick how many freaking good customized ork armies are out there.

Thanks folks, here's the finished article

Goblinaid interlude

Hopped up on a pumpkin full of goofballs and egged on by the talking mushrooms Zag and Zog began to pop some funky moves (GA25 Jason Wiebe's Gangnam Gobbos for Goblinaid)

The rocket plane is amazing! Your should take a group shot of all your painted goblinaid minis at some point. How many are done and how many are left to go?

I'm really pleased with the rocket plane (surprisingly simple too as you could do the wing out of plastic card if you didn't have a bits box to raid)

The decals give it a nice lift too and weathered in pretty well with a little overpainting

as to the goblinaid stuff

I think I've done 32 goblins (plus the wizards familiar from George Fairlamb and the large bust) all of which are sitting on the mantelpiece in the living room at the moment

so 10 to go (and I'll certainly do a group shot then),

3 of them are undercoated, 5 need assembly

(and 2 I've given up on my initial paints and need stripping before I try again)


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Back to the SF Ork and Goblin horde,

I've picked up some neat Soviet Goblin Troopers and their Commanders (these are the store paints, not mine)


5 different heads and bodies, 2 different weapons


3 different heads

you can pick them up direct from the manufacturer, Basicks (http://basicks.eu/shop/index.php?id_category=6&controller=category&id_lang=1) or if you are in the UK Zealot miniatures (http://www.zealotminiatures.co.uk/shop.php#!/~/category/id=8326656&offset=20&sort=normal) where I got mine

Too cool! I love the jumppacks, absolutely amazing.

Those soviet goblins....

You need to paint them before you glue on the guns

(I thought you could get away with it, but no unless you're doing a very rough tabletop standard)

Goblinaid interlude



Jingu Izah Meshaz Pezok, respect his authority or you'll be sentenced to Death (GA11 Steven Marchant's Judge Gob for Goblinaid) (Skull from Kromlech.eu)

I could have tried to be clever here, but thought a classic paint job reflecting the character this is clearly referencing was best

and more goblinaid (it was a good weekend), I'm pleased with how the camo trousers came out



Of all the sports enjoyed by modern Goblinz the most popular is Cricket. Where it all goes wrong is all the playaz want to be batsmen. (GA12 Kev White's Goblin batman for Goblinaid)

Hmmm I sort of had the remains of this kit kicking around after I'd nabbed the tail plane for my grot flyer (I'd picked it up part build which is why felt free to rob parts from it)



so I decided maybe I could use the rest of it for a proppa orky job



so I cut a strip out of the fuselage to get rid of the out of scale windows which also helped bring it down to the right size, trimmed back the wings and reduced the length, and added some jets/rocket pods (not made up my mind yet)

I also added some bitz (ah bitz sites you are indeed useful) in the form of Deff Dread Gunz and lower 'jaw' and a real Ork Bomma cockpit.



and made a pilot out of an Ork boy (really please with the hand pressing the buttons) with a what I think is a stormboy head



The next step is trying to decide what sort of tail to use, and whether I'll go for a single jet at the rear and use the wing mounts as rocket pods, or go for a couple of jets on the wings

Everything is looking great. I especially love how characterful you've made each model with the addition of the little hats. The new plane kit looks like it will be excellent when some ramshackle Orkiness is added to it.

Thanks, I

I'm glad you like the hats as they're lots of fun to find and fit

Me likes..... very nice. Keep it up.

A few more Goblinaid minis I've finished over the past few weeks



Alas poor Yorrik, I knew him well Horatio, but some zogging goblin just nicked his skull to use as a stage prop! (GA37 Andy Foster's Goblinaid sculpt)



He's dandy highwayman who you're too scared to mention
He spends your cash on looking flash and grabbing your attention
(GA03 Sonny Bundgaard's Goblin Highwayman for Goblinaid)

I was really please with the waistcoat on this one


Kev 'o the Green, warrior, poet and artist, no wonder the other Gobbos look at him funny (GA35 Tim Manning's Goblinaid sculpt)



You don't want to know what Wizod the Wizard made his mask out of, but he's really hard to miss having even worse dress sense than most goblins.... That robe with Those shoes, what was he thinking (GA20 Kieran Billings' sculpt for Goblinaid)

Aargh painting bright yellow is a killer, this one was stripped and repainted 3 times in total






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but back to airy-planes as you might call them



We gots da Mech ta put in some more Dakka coz ya can't has to much Dakka

I sez I wanted Rockits, lots and lots ov Rokkits coz dey go Whooosh...... Boom! So da Mech gives me da Rockit pod on da left wiv an even bigga Rockit in da Middle



So I sez dat's not enuf giz anova, but da Mech sez he's got a betta fing, it's an electo-ma-thingamybob-warprift projecta and I's gotta remember to switch it on before I takes off coz ova wize it's gonna suck all da go-juice outa da engine wot he banged inta da plane



I asked im wotz it do but e just siggaz and sez I gotta seez it ta believes it. It's gunna be great

Waaaaargh!

so as my Orky chum told you I've fitted some extra weapons to the plane as well as a tail and started to tidy up the work with a bit of greenstuff. I need to finish the greenstuff work, drill out the barrel on one of the big gunz I'd forgotten about and add the tip to the warp gun then patch up the underside of the cockpit area, at least I can see what this will look like now

Goblinaid interlude



Some say 'she' is an angel, some say 'she' is a devil, whoever you believe the sight of a Goblin nurse certainly makes grown warriors shiver (GA08 Paul Gargon's sculpt for Goblinaid)

The plane is now done (I added some wheels and finished the zappy gun pod) and a flight stand is on order

and painting is in progress



The yellow on the pilot's had does not work so will change but I think the basic colours work (needs shading and weathering obviously)

Some proper work on the pilot now



you can see he's holding the planes control column and pressing buttons madly. (I think the hat works better now too)

Deadeye the Stormboy has now had some colour applied, and is looking rather smart



I've got some new rust and oil effects on order which I'll use to dirty him up when they arrive


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and the Red and Purple Barron is getting closer to completion



I need to shade the red, and finish off the sight bolted onto the sized of the zapper and add rust and grime finish then stick on the flight stand

Des da Diamond Geeza in his classy white hat

There is nothing about this thread I don't like.
Fine waaaghy work!