Red Harvest wrote:Y'know, if you make 1 red balloon, you'll need to make 98 more.
And, one by one, let them go...
Prison bus turned out very well... but, maybe make a stencil for the lettering? Or get one of those stencils used in drafting?
'Grats on the WW feature. 'Tis a fine looking paint job.
Indeed, German 80s pop fans!
Cheers for feedback. I'd ultimately like to replace the writing with suitable letraset, which is a general modelling experiment goal.
As for WW, many thanks, although that kind of exposure always results in the slightly disappointing dip in Paintjob ratings, ironically
shasolenzabi wrote:Collection is looking very well fleshed out and striking to look at!
Dr H wrote:
Red Harvest wrote: Y'know, if you make 1 red balloon, you'll need to make 98 more.
And, one by one, let them go... ...
They all float...
Good progress, Graven'.
Indeed, we all float down here.
Speaking of which. Managed to get a very badly painted Arkham Knight Harley Quinn for a steal. 48hrs in dettol and clean as a whistle!
Placed it on the counter top.
Caught it with my sleeve.
Harley disappears down overflow, and because it's a cast porcelain Belfast sink there is literally no way to recover the mini without destroying the sink.
One of my mates happens to have a spare, and is giving it to me on the understanding that he can mock me at every available opportunity and I buy him a token sandwich.
Sigh.
Anyway, as a result, the riddles feel all the more fitting:
Obviously sewer grates have yet to be added. I'm now thinking that I might not do them both as balloons. Maybe a sailboat, or maybe a Help! speech bubble, or just Where's Harley? chalked onto the ground. Thoughts?
And the present got a handle:
Still needs a bit of smoothing.
I'd planned to use this for Loot, but I'm thinking now this will do for a Contraband objective, as you never know what you get. For Loot, I'm now thinking a sack with SWAG / $ written on it.
Having my semi-regular debate of what to paint from the shelf of primes, input welcome:
U-Wing
TWD survivors
Harley's gang
Rick Flag
Trinity Superman
Fire barrel
Probably other stuff too...
Viktor von Domm wrote:oh...that package is a truly nice one...the bow and the crank especially!!!
Are you saying I've got a... Nice package?
Gitsplitta wrote:I'm in the mood for some Star Wars... so how about the U-wing?
Nice work on the objectives graven.
U-Wing it is. I'll get on that later.
Meantime, more on the objectives:
Just using some brass offcuts. I'm not overly fond of the new flagstone bases - or at least, not for DC stuff - but the cut slottabase to give me a kerb has merit I think
My vote goes to any outstanding League members, challenge yourself to have the full team done by the time the movie comes,out! I see Flash there, do you have Lantern yet?
Viktor von Domm wrote:Is that Ash on the last pic? With the boom stick and the chainsaw fist...I think the choice then is rather obvious...
Gitsplitta wrote:Ash... or the figure like Ash painted as Ash. Did I mention Ash?
So that'll be Ash then? Fair enough flesh tones blocked in, not much to show yet, but I'm on it.
Paradigm wrote:My vote goes to any outstanding League members, challenge yourself to have the full team done by the time the movie comes,out! I see Flash there, do you have Lantern yet?
Nope, no Lantern. It's one of the early dcumg figs so I'm missing it along with Shazam! Black Adam and Sinestro.
Flesh on Comic Flash done. His suit is going to melt my head - red, but yellow lined. Debating starting with orange and working in opposite directions. Also, not sure whether to do kid flash as classic, CW/Rebirth (TV style basically), or New Flash (Wally in Red/white suit). Any thoughts on either connundrum appreciated.
So what have I done in the meantime? Well, finished those walkers and Survivors:
And a bit more work on my kitbash Michonne:
On the DC front, decided to start blocking in Starfire, whom I'd forgotten about:
Some experiments on horse flesh tones:
And a bit more on my Pennywise themed riddles for my joker crew:
Question, on the eyes in the sewer, should I add question marks on either the path above or road below? The balloon will probably get one (although It, too, could have ? on the base also).
Busy weekend, looking after nephew, but hopefully will get a bit of time later on for more progress and some Ash time Later
Graven
Walking Dead figs look like the real thing, walkers all gone to hell , survivors looking like they are about to have a final showdown. If I had my choice what to paint next it would be the new Batman.
As for Theo's remark, made me cough up my drink laughing so hard.
Yorkright wrote: Walking Dead figs look like the real thing, walkers all gone to hell , survivors looking like they are about to have a final showdown. If I had my choice what to paint next it would be the new Batman.
As for Theo's remark, made me cough up my drink laughing so hard.
GiraffeX wrote:All looking good Graven, its nice to see some progress on mounted WW, looking forward to seeing her finished.
You and me both watching the movie just now for inspiration.
Theophony wrote: wouldn’t of forgotten Starfire if you kept her scandalous suit....just saying.
Also “mounted Wonder Woman”....where’s my wife? I seam to be in a mood
sinner
Yorkright wrote: Walking Dead figs look like the real thing, walkers all gone to hell , survivors looking like they are about to have a final showdown. If I had my choice what to paint next it would be the new Batman.
As for Theo's remark, made me cough up my drink laughing so hard.
Thanks I've gone for pretty grimy so that's good to hear yeah he's a cheeky chap. Rebirth bats is in the mix, if I'm wet blending purple anyway for Starfire I may do the lining of the batcape.
As for Theo's remark, made me cough up my drink laughing so hard.
jobs a good’un then.
A little progress, finished the joker objectives, joke in the box loot/contraband and Pennywise themed riddles to go with my Titan Pennywise and commemorate AK Harley's trip down the drain.
And some close-ups:
On a separate note, wrote a thing.
https://bigcomicpage.com/2017/10/29/continuity-crossovers-and-doomsday-clocks-keeping-track-of-dc-rebirth/ So, kind of on a whim, I wrote a piece about the last year and half of DC comics, the new Rebirth era and its various crossovers. If you have any interest in such things, and wondered how on earth (this or any other) to keep track, do please have a read, maybe even a like, a comment or a share!
Cheers chaps
Graven
Yorkright wrote: They are all superb, but I agree with Gitz that present is really special.
Red Harvest wrote:Agreed. The "gift" box wins this round.
Wow, thanks guys. Lot of love for that box !
Bits and pieces done and WIP.
Finished Michonne:
And with her pets.
Fire barrel for BMG and general use:
Decided to lay down a yellow base for Flash and Kid Flash
Looks so... reverse!
Continuing to lay down colours on Starfire, and did the lining of Bat cape.
I decided as an experiment to do the outside of the cape the same also, and I'm going to use thin black washes over it.
A funny Hallowe'en this year. Small person taking the whole thing too seriously with exorcist level vomit. Tough day.
No trick or treaters (guisers, as they call them hereabouts) either, weirdly. Boys had party at scouts, Palpatine and Julius Caesar (deceased) very successful.
Anyway on we go. Ash is ongoing, btw, pics soon.
Best,
Graven
To be honest, you could definitely get away with really dark purple rather than actual black. That'd help the model keep its visual identity and probably look very cool indeed.
Whew, I had 3 pages of catching up to do. It's been a while. I wish I had the organisation to post that often I especially like the package that looks great.
Paradigm wrote:To be honest, you could definitely get away with really dark purple rather than actual black. That'd help the model keep its visual identity and probably look very cool indeed.
Yorkright wrote: I agree with Para, keep the cloak purple with some dark shading.
Red Harvest wrote:Purple. Can't ever go wrong with purple.
The love for Batman's purple cape is pretty overwhelming! I do like a cape. Blame Gitsplitta for getting me to learn how to do them
So, cape and cowl, here is Rebirth Batman:
I shaded the deepest recess with VJ black green ink. I used smoke to shade a lot of the recessed grey and I like how that works, though not sure if it's clear from the pics.
TerrainWalker wrote:Whew, I had 3 pages of catching up to do. It's been a while. I wish I had the organisation to post that often I especially like the package that looks great.
Rebel scum is quite nice as well
kestral wrote:Nice stuff - that box with the crank on the side is perfect! I vote for 99 red balloons - surely they love the Joker in Germany?
I really need to do something else along the lines of these for Loot and Medical Supplies, do the set for Joker (well maybe not LexCorp); maybe a Smilex canister for Titan?
And onwards: my Rebirth Starfire.
So much green stuff.
Curse you tiny Knight Models lady faces!
Better than 80s pornstar bikini, anyway.
On other projects, a High Court Lady WIP, made on a whim using a Helldorado miniature and green stuff:
I don't have the Parliament of Owls set, so this means I can proxy her in for the official High Court Lady. And it's fun.
Progress (well a bit) on Ash and his chums too:
Just to prove I'm getting on with them!
Yorkright wrote: You are a machine Graven, these are all very well done.
Cheers mate. Machine has stalled, however.
Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Looking great, graven. You've done so much stuff, it's amazing.
Thanks bud.
Andromeda Strain plus lots of family stuff meant not much done over the weekend.
Did have an excellent game of Xwing with the boys. Eldest getting right into scum even though younger flying Rey/Finn & Poe consistently tales out IG88, Dengar and the Z95.
Now gearing up for eldest's birthday. Cake a-coming...
However, was idly playing with green stuff and made this Loot objective:
It will say $WAG on it.
This and list building for our escalation BMG campaign got me thinking - thinking terrible thoughts, in fact. I've been struggling with how to paint my remaining goons for Harley, and I've just hired 2 for my gang. I've also bought the Sexy Costume equipment as it has useful in-game ability (Disarray - it's a debuff effect to a model in 4"). But the thing is this: it's equipment for a henchman. Emphasis, that is on henchMAN as there are no henchWOMEN models. Now I'd thought about using White Rabbit (think bunny girl) as a proxy, then joked with a mate about making Borgon (big fat bearded hammer wielding henchman) in a Bikini.
And then I thought to myself, well, actually, this is a Joker crew, so let's make it funny. What if Harley's goons have to wear her idea of a Sexy Costume? And of course the first goon I hired is Lumberjack, which made me think of Monty Python, and so...
:O
Need to complete the detail around the back and front cups, plus fatty overspill.
Ugh.
That'll replace the whale in me nightmares!
This then got me thinking generally about the rest of them:
Worker, in the middle, is going to get assless chaps a la Miley Cyrus I think.
Yikes.
Not so sure about the other two. Bragg, the guy with the gun, maybe tight shorts and vest combo? Or maybe (oh lord) just a thong?! Lot of GS work that.
Not sure about the third guy at all, though his pose is rather coquettish. Any suggestions?
This also, tangentially, deals neatly with my colour scheme dilemma, because I'm going to use the colours of the Gang of Harleys from the comic:
So that's where I am. Sorely tempted to strip the Kid Flash I've started and redo him in his Impulse colours, also. Anyway, stuff progresses.
Gitsplitta wrote:Cool beans graven. Way to use your imagination!
My imagination is a very twisted place it seems...
Yorkright wrote: Wait, you responded saying the machine has stalled and I see all of these wonderful Harley ideas, pffft. The machine is running on overdrive.
Lol cheers
So here's where they are now:
Chaps, Bra, Neglige, tiny shorts and tank top, thigh-highs and cut-offs, and mini-skirt.
Colour options are Orange, Purple, Pink, Green, Light Blue and White, I think in that order.
Also repainted my Kid Flash as Impulse, and am much happier:
Obviously just colour blocking but still. The model now makes sense in my head, however. Re-read the Flash classic 'Terminal Velocity' to get into a better headspace with painting Flash stuff. I hate you all
Dr H wrote: Purple-y cloak works on the bat.
Good finish to Doomsday's base. *sings*...I work all day, and I sleep all night.../singing
Yeah, I like how the purple turned out. Thanks, Doomsday is going to rock the battlefield too. About time my kids got a serious challenge, they're too used to beating up Lex Luthor. Still lack a good mid-level villain for them to tackle Lumberjack was the key to getting my head around this whole business. I've added more gs layers, smoothing etc. I wonder whether Chencho (guy with the baseball bat behind his back, and now a mini skirt) needs a couple of pom-poms on his hat. Or maybe on the one with the wrench?
Meanwhile, progress on Impulse.
Vaelljo Model Air white is really interesting stuff to work with. Very crisp - almost too crisp - after 3 layers over an ochre base (washed with sepia between layers). Still, getting there. Now it's the red needs attention. Started on the lightning effect on the base, feels less ridiculous.
And, some actual progress on Flash himself:
Obviously a very early wip; still, whoever decided to make the lightining lines on his suit indented rather raised deserves shot. I'm still not sure about the flash on Flash that I've kept, but I can always trim and repaint once done if not convinced.
I have realised that I actually now own all the BMG models from the first release that I "want" - not just need. Which is really satisfying.
Hopefully I can get them painted before the 2nd Edition stuff arrives Best,
graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Then I decided just to go for it:
By no means finished but now properly crackling with speed force!
Llamahead wrote:Flash is looking good glad it spreads to the base makes it seem more powerful
That was the theory. Hope it works in the end!
Yorkright wrote: Wasn't too sure about the base till you added the lightning flashes on his uniform, gives him more of a sense of movement now.
Yeah it just wasn't quite right then. He's getting there. I suspect a blood letter wash next followed by thin white through the centre of allthedamnlighting
But, meanwhile, a bit of a distraction. A mate asked me to do him some scatter terrain, and being inspired by the incredbile work of Joshua Smith (micro-scale artist), I decided to pimp my dumpster:
On the subject of scatter terrain, acquired some of these tiny soda cans from the eldest's birthday shindig: Dr H is going to have a play with some of them, and see what falls out Anyone else want one?
Better shot of WIP Batfleck, with Superman at base colour level: Really happy with the very pale grey batsuit. Black cloak and he might be done.
On the Justice League theme (no idea when I'll get to see it, but never mind ), more on WW horse:
And, colours blocked in on the Gang of Harleys: Only way I could "see" them was if I just got on and blocked them in roughly. Broadly speaking, really happy with that. Now I can actually focus on painting them all individually, starting with Lumberjack/Bolly Quinn (purple) and Chencho/Harley Queens (pink).
So much goodness and creativity on display graven! Really enjoying your work. Eye-candy everywhere. Base colors on Superman and pimp-my-dumpster are really fantastic.
Gitsplitta wrote:So much goodness and creativity on display graven! Really enjoying your work. Eye-candy everywhere. Base colors on Superman and pimp-my-dumpster are really fantastic.
I love that you pick out the random background thing As you may be able to tell, I'm going for a much darker blue with this Supersuit, hence the full purple base (though I have started to shade up with VJ royal blue also)
Llamahead wrote:That dumpster is excellent. Beer Can fuel tanks were a staple of my 28mm scenery.
Yeah I love a beer can fuel tank. I keep thing those new plastic caps you get for 4 packs would be nifty.
youwashock wrote:A machine...
Flash looks awesome. That effect is really working.
I'm really not. But thanks. Yeah, need to get him done though. Damn adhd, wait, look, a squirrel!
Dr H wrote:Nice work all round.
The dumpster does stand out of the crowd though Looking great
*sings* I cut down trees, I eat my lunch, I go to the lavatoreee. On wednesday I go shopping, and have buttered scones for tea. /singing
I know how you like a big lump of terrain.
Lumberjack and the rest of the gang are a priority, actually, because I have a game on Tuesday with the weirdo that planted the seed in my addled brain...
Nothing new today though - eldest's birthday. Much cake, much lego, and (amongst other things) his first miniature that's truly his own, a Mandalorian Fang Figher for X-wing. Let's hope the Old man has taught him well
Anyway, hello again chums, lots of unfinished bits and bobs tackled.
So finished The Flash and Impulse. Very happy with the latter, less so with the former.
But a fun experiment.
Speaking of fun experiments, I now have a counts-as High Court Lady for my Court of Owls:
A singularly monochrome Bat to find out if Superman bleeds...
And the Gang of Harleys, in all their nonsense, are done also!
Yes, there's even a wannabe Harley in the group now They're not my best paintjobs. However, they've very fun.
And added another sack to the swag:
Definitely better.
I've now got the car door for Doomsday's base. I'm thinking orange or even yellow (cab?)?
Then, that leaves just Superman, Wonder Woman, Bat-Mite and Rick Flag!
...
Well, almost.
I picked up an Emperor Blackgate - obscure and not particularly interesting character, but an alternate boss for Penguin that I can convert to Arnie in his slippers! Acquired a Talia Al Ghûl also, which I managed to strip without losing down the drain! Hurrah! Technically means I can now field LexCorp if I wish, or add some unexpected firepower into a Batman list.
Game set for Tuesday, stoked to play against a new, competitive opponent. Going to run Leto joker for the first time, along with the Sexy gang. Let's hope they are truly distracting
In other geeky news, wrote a follow up piece on Green Arrow and Lantern comics in Rebirth over at bigcomicpage.com
And, Monolith games, who are producing the Batman miniature boardgame (same engine as Conan) are letting me in on the pre production stage. Which is a bit exciting
I don't check in for a few days and you have pretty much painted a whole new batch of super heroes, villains and another great piece of terrain. Harlies followers are off the wall, what a great idea Graven, they really look the part if Harlie had her way. Supes and the bat are looking dead on, can't wait to see them finished.
Batmite is fantastic, how you managed to do the batman logo on the tv set is way beyond my eye sight to do it. The riddler symbol is a great addition to Superman.
Gitsplitta wrote:Nice work on the checkerboard... those are tricky to do. The window is really cool too. Interesting effect.
Superman looks fantastic graven.
Well, I've don't know if it's that good yet, I confess I did look at someone's bad moons for inspiration. Cheers about supes was going for a cracked safety glass effect on the window.
Yorkright wrote: Batmite is fantastic, how you managed to do the batman logo on the tv set is way beyond my eye sight to do it. The riddler symbol is a great addition to Superman.
Printed on paper, cut to size and glued & painted over. I'm really pleased with adding the riddles, adds another touch of colour.
youwashock wrote:Batmite looks fantastic. Supes, too. The cab door does look cool. It has a very painterly quality to it. Very illustrative, almost like a 2D painting.
Wow, high praise indeed certainly pleased with it. Here it is now done:
And in situ:
And at a friend's request, Joker objectives:
Gas, titan, Gas, contraband, riddle, ammo, riddle, loot. No joker themed Waynetech, fire barrel, medical or ACE chemicals... Yet. Thoughts?
Got my Emperor Blackgate! Woo! Another one checked off the wishlist. Apart from Reverse Flash (CW), I'm there for BMG, excluding new stuff and (slightly older) stuff that KM are sending me.
Played DCUMG last night, teaching a mate - we'd planned to play BMG but were a bit short of time.
Great game, Justice League bringing Martian Manhunter, Green Lantern, Wonder Woman and Flash to take on LexCorp and Catwoman as they resurrected Doomsday and we wrestled for control of Motherboxes (improvised from deadzone bits)
Personal highlight was Bad Kitty defeating GL's willpower didn't save her from getting pushed off a truck by the Flash sadly (bad barry!) and Wonder Woman and Manhunter carving through lex and co. Doomsday squashed Hal like a bug though.
And finally, as requested, it's time to kick some evil back to death!
Great fun to do. Thanks for hassling me
Might do some terrain and more objective shenanigans Cheers
graven
Camkierhi wrote:You have produced a lot of great work, just keeps getting better bud. Nice seeing the minis in action.
Cheers mate. Yeah, it was a lot of fun, and great meeting up with and playing with another interweb buddy 9 (who it turns out lives just down the road ).
Gitsplitta wrote:Nice pics of your game graven! Cab door really perks that figure up. If his shorts were blue you'd have all the primaries right there!
Lol. Bit too bright and colourful if that were the case.
Wee proud geek dad moment: eldest is spending his birthday loot on XWing ships. More bounty hunters, Bossk in the Hound's Tooth and 4LOM and Zukuss in the Mist Hunter. The old man has taught him well...
Earlier in the week, just as a fun wee thing, my jokerised WayneTech objective:
Succumbed to Knight's Black Friday, mostly to help my mates get free shipping on their Flashpoint Batman promos (I'm a martyr) - resisted urge to get myself one (I'll get a review one, and they're limited stock), just CW Flash and Sinestro at 25% off. Those were my last two wishlist items (want, rather than "need") from the old models so Yay! All good not really interested in Shazam! or Black Adam, just not my thing.
I'm also running low on things to paint, survivors not withstanding. Whilst I am waiting on KM to send me stuff, I may try to tackle the Crime Syndicate. Power Ring in particular I think I'll deviate slightly so he's useable as Green Lantern also. Owlman's going to see a lot of play I suspect, too. My choice of upper middle villains for DCU is so limited that I need something a bit meatier; Lex is just so flimsy.
Busy weekend, so limited paint time. Still, did get somewhere with the wash based black look for Talia :
Finished "Aaron" from Studio Miniatures:
Started on the conversion of Emperor to Viktor Fries, filed down hair (mostly), started slippers:
On the matter of objectives, also did a couple of HQ markers for DCUMG:
Started Shiva for Walking Dead:
Dreading the Stripes...
And steady progress on Wonder Woman.
Just taking my time with her, and enjoying doing so.
Hopefully, BMG Tuesday.
Cheers chaps,
Graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Hmmmmmmm.
It's possible she's done:
c&c?
Just finally got to see the JL movie. Your Superman is right on.However I'm loving me some WW. Oh.. she on a horse.. sorry I misses that. Git is spot on. Horse does look good.
Yorkright wrote: Graven you just keep chugging along, all of the latest work is exceptionally good.
Thanks bud. Don't feel like I've chugged much the last couple of days right enough.
Gitsplitta wrote:Nice work on they horse, they aren't easy to do.
Cheers mate. VJ model air is my new jam
Solar_lion wrote:Just finally got to see the JL movie. Your Superman is right on.However I'm loving me some WW. Oh.. she on a horse.. sorry I misses that. Git is spot on. Horse does look good.
Thanks buddy. Much appreciated. Still not got to see JL
Game fell through, alas. So instead, gave it the cold shoulder:
Really enjoyed doing this, for all that the movie is dire.
The base was an experiment, superglue over pva. Very happy with that result.
And as I say, achievement unlocked - all BMG and DCU minis I own are painted!
Well, sort of. There is a LexCorp heavy trooper but he's incomplete, and there is also the Crime Syndicate stuff my mate has borrowed. But I'll take what victories I can
A few survivors to left do. Wonder if I can be fully painted in 2017?!
So in the absence of BMG stuff to paint, I'm back to survivoring.
Dashboards for TWD painted up:
Nice tidy cards not sure how to paint my BMG ones though.
And progress on the tiger:
Going to try to batter through some Survivors over the weekend, but having a beer or some tonight and a festive weekend ahead. We'll see.
Best
Graven
Lots of good work recently! Missed WW due to the post appending, very nice work! If I were to nitpick, the skirt and boots could perhaps use a bit more shading to really bring out the texture, but that may well be the lighting washing it out.
From what I've seen of TWD (I don't watch it, but my brother does) that tiger is entirely more realistic than the one in the show! Man, they do not have a budget for that thing!
Paradigm wrote:Lots of good work recently! Missed WW due to the post appending, very nice work! If I were to nitpick, the skirt and boots could perhaps use a bit more shading to really bring out the texture, but that may well be the lighting washing it out.
From what I've seen of TWD (I don't watch it, but my brother does) that tiger is entirely more realistic than the one in the show! Man, they do not have a budget for that thing!
Too true. I'm not a huge fan of the show, I preferred the comics, but even that dragged after a while. Good call on WW, particularly the boots.
Gitsplitta wrote:Door is excellent but the tiger just blows me away. Wonderful work graven.
Thanks buddy.
Yorkright wrote: Not sure why you were worried about the stripes on the tiger they came out looking very realistic. Well done Graven.
Thanks, lots of research. One day it's assless chaps, the next Siberian Tigers ...
Slinky wrote:Wow - The tiger stripes look just right! Excellent work!
Thanks mate. Also, Vallejo model air black is my friend. Here Shiva is:
And decided I wanted a joker themed collateral die (has to be a different colour) so repainted one of my regular joker dice:
Still got half a dozen survivors to paint. Turns out my stuff from KM should be shipped on 7th, so hopefully this time next week will be a giant box of goodies (and baddies!) It also gives me target to aim for.
Cheers for the ongoing support!
Graven
Yorkright wrote: If you put in the hours of making sure the tiger stripes were right, how long did you look at assless chaps online...
What can I say, I am a martyr to my cause
Dr H wrote:"A tiger... in Africa DakkaDakka!"
Great work of late, Graven'. Too much to single out anything.
Thanks mate. It's funny, some things I really just wnat to batter through, some I want to spend lots of time on - and with no rhyme or reason in particular.
Clearly, I should paint more animals Thanks, lots of blending.
So, remaining survivors done:
Model Air and washes. Definitely the way forward. Technically, Ezekiel (in the middle) should have 5-pointed stars on his shirt, but I'm not going to ruin it, thankyouverymuchindeed.
And a couple of custom survivors, Scarlet and Katniss:
Bases on all these guys need tidied up, and Katniss's skin tone isn't quite right. But largely done, and will get sorted out with my last couple of zombies, a really skeletal one from the Ezekiel/Shiva booster and George A. Zombero. That's tomorrow's job. Scarlet may at some point get rebased for Street Wars, as she's got quite a 70s vibe with that catsuit.
And, because there's always something else to paint the MVP pimp from Street Wars NYC:
Loved doing this. Really impressed by how Model Air ochre has worked for the jacket (shaded with model air yellow olive). The purple is just layered Druchi Violet. He and Ezekiel have Model Air mahogany for the skin tone, and I'm lovin' it, as they say.
What's next? A thug for Black Mask, which is last of the Xmas presents to do - technically got a fortnight for that, but want to get him out the way, so I can get stuff boxed up. Then, a change of tack, a 3-D printed diner that came missing sections of wall, so I'm going to give it big windows instead. Assuming my stuff from KM doesn't turn up I've got a couple of other dashboards to do, also.
In other news, have finally forced myself to read TWD past issue 100, so now get the whole Negan thing. I've got a bunch of Mantic points kicking about, so will get him that way I reckon (side note - any one got any spare mantic points, I'll happily take them off you )
Later dudes and dudettes,
Graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Got another board sorted:
Failed to successfully make a decent window for my donut store. Need to rethink.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Nice side by side of these two
Finished the accompanying zombie and George:
And the current collection, done!
Guys it's cool. We got this.
OneManNoodles wrote:I forgot to say how nice I think the fur tones on the WIP horse when I saw it two pages back ... but now it's finished, really awesome .
That tiger is really good too.
Thanks mate, much appreciated. With both of them, I wet blended the fur colour with vj flesh which I think really helped!
Gitsplitta wrote:Awesome sauce!
I see you've got Bat-Mite on the brain
Yorkright wrote: Gitz stole my thunder I wanted to say awesome sauce too... Wonderfully painted group Graven.
Cheers mate. So close to having a clear shelf of shame!
Reaper Man 2020 wrote:I love the tiger Graven! I'm tempted by all the Batman etc stuff but I just can't start another system.
Cheers. But remember it's 2 games for the price of one, because pretty much everything (except goons) is usable for DCUMG.
Bits and pieces done. Aiming to clear my whole shelf off. Like WW1, it'll all be over by Xmas Speaking of Xmas, presents! Black Mask goon: Trying a brush destroying technique for gore: blood for the blood god + superglue Yup, that works. Wish I'd wrapped barbed wire round it now...
And WIP on the Studio Minatures version of the Grimes family: Their Richis particularly good but the scale's slightly off for TWD.
Shouldn't even be painting this guy becuase, 6 months on, I'm still waiting for his shoulder cannons... Decided to play with really ramped highlights in places. Liking the effect.
Assembled my last unbuilt models (!), my Street Wars NYC gangs: Black Cobras; not all the models for this have been released yet, but might as well make a start. And the Devils Outcasts (poor dears, they have no knowledge of the apostrophe). Fantastic generic thugs for all sorts of gaming, and my various Penguin gangers can likewise be used to fill out their numbers. These are now all in the garage priming, as the weather's slightly milder the last couple of days.
Whilst tidying the gargage (read - looking for box of Strathclyde Welsh that are hiding for Saga 2nd Edtion), found this: It was the base I made for a GKKnightley did for me, I think, before I switched back to conventional GW bases. Perfect as a rift marker for DCUMG though - now I just need to make 3 more
I'm a realist - I'm unlikely to actually be fully painted before the year is out, but it's really satisfying to know all my BMG/DCUMG and TWD:AOW - in other words, the games I actually play - is done.
aku-chan wrote:Just realized I've been following your thread for a while but never commented!
Pretty snazzy stuff all over, but that tiger was particularly impressive.
Many thanks, always nice to have a newcomer!
Yorkright wrote: That blood effect is little too close to looking like the actual thing. I may have to steal that idea.
Yeah it does destroy brush though. Used a dead drybrush.
LexCorp Heavy trooper finished, for now:
As are the Grimes:
Have realised Rift markers are 30mm, and I'm out of 30mm lipped bases. Bugger.
Km stuff is delayed till 18th boooooooo
So, donut shop:
Front has had to have a lot of changes. Missing wall replaced with window, "glass" added to other, wall columns cut to size, doors sorted, and a lot of gap filling. Added details like a staff door etc.
Less to do on this side. Flipped a wall to make a hatch. Bit of gap filling. That's it really.
I reckon it'll paint up nice and all, but so much for the was of 3D printing Just motherboxes left to do, really. Well other than Street Wars.
Hey ho
Graven
Ruglud wrote:Always a pleasure dipping into these pages - so much variety and unique characters
That donut shop makes me think of Lard Lad - just need to get a figure to hold the donut aloft...
Spoiler:
Cheers! Yeah I did find myself wondering if I should have a Big Joe statue, or even a Big Joe Kerr...
Yorkright wrote: Mmmm donuts...
One of the guys who goes to our club runs an artisan donut store. If there's any left at the end of the day on a Tuesday he brings them up and gives them away gratis (well, we all throw some extra change in our charity tea fund, but still). Rose and pistachio sooooo good.
Forcing myself to write more. It's good for my sanity. Trying to do one review a week - given that I read at least half a dozen DC comics a week, doesn't seem unreasonable. Current issue of Batman (36) is excellent, btw, really outstanding (and can be read out of the loop, as it were).
Black Cobras and Devil's Outcasts (can't bring myself not to use the apostrophe) are now primed. Outcasts are going to be really simple gang colours, jeans, black jackets, grubby white Ts (matching my street demonz for BMG), but the Cobras will be downright funky, a rainbow of funk no less. Won't get started today though - Trip to Santa, panto and then work night out. Painting cures hangovers, right?
Hola, Got a message from KM, stuff is shipping today. Ridiculous intention was to try to get the shelf clear by the time the order came - and it's within my grasp! So, Strreet Wars NYC gangs: first stage done! Black Cobras: I like these guys, a lot of fun to paint. Again, just done with VJ model air at this stage. Looking forward to getting the other 4 gang members when the KS drops and finishing them off (though they're still playable if I stick Randall "The Saint" in the gang)
And Devil's Outcasts: I'm not sold on the denim cut-off jackets for these guys, I think double-denim is just too samey in and of itself and relative to the Black Cobra colours.Black, military green or mid brown (leather/tan/ochre?) Only one more of these guys due from the KS at least.
In theory, here's what I/you have to look forward to:
Parliament of Owls Grodd Crew Professor Zoom Reverse Flash (TV) Sinestro Arkham Militia set 2 2ed Joker Crew 2ed Batman Crew 2ed Gotham Sirens Crew 2ed Nightwing 2ed Batgirl 2ed Red Hood 2ed Deathstroke Constantine Zatanna Jason Blood/Etrigan Enchantress Knightfall Batman (JP Valley) Flashpoint Batman (Thomas Wayne)
I *think* that's all I don't think my wife's going to be thrilled But it's not like I'm spending money on stuff (well, storage at this point, but shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh...)
And then, as contest prizes, there should also be 2ed starters for Riddler, Freeze, Two-Face and Bane, plus rulebooks, buildings, dice etc. Which is nice Cheers graven
Dr H wrote:Right, what have we had since my last comment... Oh, well none on this page... sigh...
Good work, Graven'. I am watching even if I can't keep up with comments.
Joker-thing on shop puts a smile on my face.
Cheers yeah that Big J keeps everyone smiling
youwashock wrote:In blackest day, in brightest night, Sinestro's paintjob looks real tight.
Thanks. Yellow is almost as hard to photograph as it is paint.
Almost
Gitsplitta wrote:Very nice work graven.
Warboss_Waaazag wrote:Sinestro looks superb. Both models are great. Keep up the good work.
I shall certainly try!
And as I am, quite astonishingly, fully painted, a year in review:
It's been some year. After a very dispiriting work end of year, and then early Jan, I've learned to be a bit more phlegmatic and appreciate that actually, our work life balance is pretty damn good. Kids are great, wife got her Masters and a long-deserved promotion, getting on really well with my parents, and I have all the toys I can eat. Could be a damn sight worse.
So, on to the geek!
January
Spoiler:
Always the post Xmas goodies So started the Suicide Squad boxset with Captain Boomerang:
And the other big Xmas gift, Joker, Burton style, and his mimes:
Gas cannisters
Ledger and clowns
And spesssheeps! Heroes of the Resistance
February
Spoiler:
Februray brought the most notorious model km have produced, Katana
A fab wee model from Wolfsung, as a Joker Ammo Token
and titan Objective
And a custom Gatling Brute
Speaking of which, terrain was very much the thing in February, from kits...
Nightclub: The Pale Moonlight
Red Beam Designs make some very cool things. Didn't stop me from adding disco lights to that
Or customising the Lo Phat restaurant:
Lo Pan sucks
... Through to a massive loer project, SCHREK'S (now that's what I call a Xmas movie!)
March/250
Spoiler:
Crossed the great arbitrary milestone of 250 pages in March; couldn't have got there without all of you lot and your wonderful support!
Continuing with terrain, a particularly unsavoury building:
A police van and suspect container
And as Time Marches forward, Calendar Man
Indeed, painted for the Ides of March!
A very bloody Mr Zsasz:
And a hungry Croc
Diablo, really pushing the osl
Will-shot
And a sad batfleck
After this, though, I decided I really needed to raise my game a bit. I decided that, given that I don't like the KM Cyborg, I could quite reasonably make my own:
But I needed to try to raise my paint game.
So, with more Joker themed stuff:
And to make my Titan Joker a true showpiece:
I was, meanwhile, getting some good Walking Dead action with the kids. Great to find a miniature game we could all do that was fun and fast.
April
Spoiler:
April began with a series of smiles, as All Fools should:
Grin Twins
And a jokermobile
Slipknot, on the other hand was a boring paintjob not done that
But Stan the eyeball guy, Panda Man and the goat priest were enjoyable
Plus arkham inmates
And had more fun with orange for Deathstroke and Ravager, albeit TV styled:
And Arkham Knight in the same colours
By this time, I felt I was getting into the swing of things with the Squad boxset:
And Riddled me a little something too:
Got a big piece of scenery done for a mate's birthday, decided to push my tag game a bit:
And more Walking Dead fun:
And finally, an Ancient Plant for Ivy:
You can tell there were 2 weeks of holiday there!
May
Spoiler:
Ok so May is when, to my mind, things really changed changed. Whilst I continued to rattle out terrain:
(Kids did those barriers, bless the little minions)
And churn out quick corpses and survivors:
I started playing with wet blending properly, especially on cloaks.
This change in style lead to some experiments in June:
June
Spoiler:
Work, or rather exam marking, really got to me. June was very frustrating, in many ways.
Still, fun with crazy osl:
Sniper version of the Arkham Knight
And armoured,CW style Hawkman with much brass etch
And made a tiny chicken Beast Boy for my kids, as they love Teen Titans Go:
And new penguin stuff:
This all built towards a lovely birthday, end of term, and general acceptance of the grinding crud of life.
July
[Spoiler]
With holidays and kids, July was pretty quiet, but very birthday spesssheepsy
Whilst decided to keep up the push on the DCU models
And got the Street Demonz done:
August/10,000
[Spoiler]
In August, hit my 10,000th post. Crikey.
And painted some shiny things:
Lots of edge highlights and cloth work. So, game raised, a bit.
Another conversion, Diggle this time
And continuing the Brave and Bold theme, quick response team:
And the most impossible build ever, the Batpod:
September
Spoiler:
With being back at work, it took a while to get back into the swing of things in September, but had fun with a range of terrain
Plus, repainted my new 52 Harley, one of the first BMG minis I did.
Did Michonne and walkers for a friend:
And finally, to much satisfaction, did my Wonder Woman:
October
[Spoiler]
On the home straight now. More DCU
Lots for Walking Dead
Plus a couple of Z95s for the boy's birthday:
And a U-wing for myself
And lastly some objectives
November, wow.
Spoiler:
Looking at Rebirth Batman, in close proximity to what I was doing only a few months previously, is really gratifying:
Also, more generally, changed my painting slot to half an hour most mornings, once tiny was away to nursery with the wife. A bit of dedicated, focused time.
A friend painted up Doomsday for me, and I did the base (and, actually, I ended up doing fresh highlights etc on the big D because I'm fussy that way)
It's funny, I used to hold the guy up as the best painter I knew, but I found myself looking at it and thinking, I can make that better. I'm not trying to be arrogant, and I can still do rush jobs at times, but especially on these "showpiece" miniatures I feel I've come a long way. Also, my frame of reference has changed - when you look at the work some folk put out on dakka, you inevitably become more critical of what you see physically.
Can't have Doomsday without...
And for that matter
Sticking with supers:
Some other BMG, including objectives and all kinds of conversion nonsense:
And who could forget:
Had time for a couple of guys for walking dead too:
It certainly helped that tiny person also discovered she could watch Sesame Street on the computer next to daddy's desk But more generally, just trying to be focused and productive.
And, December
Spoiler:
Nah. It's just the top of the page!
So last model of 2017 (officially) is, as we've looked back (in a flash, you might say)... Reverse Flash:
So that's it for 2017 officially. There's still the donut shop and a bat-tastic bat-computer to do, though they are more likely to be the first bits of 2018.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Reverse Flash is mini #184 (including objectives, but not scatter terrain or large terrain pieces) which has to be a personal record Thanks for sticking with me guys and gals, no idea what 2018 will bring but I'm sure it'll keep bringing the dakka,
Best as always,
MerryGravenXmas
I am so very impressed at how the quality of your work has progressed throughout this past year (not to mention quantity). You've really made some great strides in both your painting and building. Pat yourself on the back my friend... you've earned it!
Gitsplitta wrote:I am so very impressed at how the quality of your work has progressed throughout this past year (not to mention quantity). You've really made some great strides in both your painting and building. Pat yourself on the back my friend... you've earned it!
Many thanks amigo. You really pushed me, and I have a lot to thank you for!
Yorkright wrote: That is a solid year of great work Graven, I am looking forward to what you do in 2018!
Cheers - me too
Had a massive game of DCUMG Tuesday night, 3 on 3 with each of us spending 30 points (half size teams)
Villains:
Lex Luthor and Lexbots (erithromycin)
General Zod and Lobo (metropolis)
Ultraman, Catwoman and Captain Boomerang (me)
vs
Heroes
Shazam! and Martian Manhunter
Starfire, Cyborg and Supergirl
Superman (Kingdom Come) and Green Lantern
Much fun was had, format worked well, really easy for novice players. Catwoman was, as ever, outstanding, Shazam! really good too (don't own him - typical ) But mostly just a good laugh with mates. Heroes team won, with the Starfire/Cyborg/Supergirl player claiming overall victory with least damage taken.
Wait.
I played Ultraman.
I only play with painted models.
Yup,
#185:
Which means I now have the rest of the Crime Syndicate to do (#186-189)
I also have a replacement AK Harley, who amongst other things will be getting a sewer themed base given her misadventures down the drain
First day of holidays. With no Wi-Fi, hot water and limited accesst to kitchen - but needing to stay home whilst new hot water tank was fitted - played a big epic game of xwing with the boys. Rebels (Ghost, Phantom, B-Wing - younger boy) and Scum (Mist Hunter, Hound's Tooth, protectorate star fighter - older boy) try to intercept a long imperial Gozanti transport and whilst avoiding its TIE fighter squadron.
Great fun, with some fancy flying from the kids
And then eventually blowing up their old dad and splitting the spoils
Much fun!
Yes! Donut shoppe looks fab, good to see your kids enjoy ganging up on poor old dad. I tried to get my kids when they were younger interested into miniature gaming and painting but no luck. They all do enjoy board games and of course video games. Have a great holiday Graven.
Ruglud wrote:Love the donut hut so far and great work this year
I'm planning on getting some more games of x-wing over the holidays especially as I got to see The Last Jedi tonight (which i thought was excellent)
Cheers! Yeah, I really enjoyed it, beautiful filmmaking, though Canto Bight was too long and there's a couple of irksome bits.
Spoiler:
DJ (performance, not character) was weak.
Holdo, despite being awesome was really just character development for Poe. Also "Godspeed" felt incongruous.
Leia - ambivalent about super-Leia - should've flown the damn ship into Snoke's.
No Snoke backstory? Really?!
How the frak did Rey get back on the Falcon?????????
But loved it otherwise.
Taking the wife and boys to see it later. Looking forward to watching the background Xwing still such fun as a game. Eldest got a proper storage bag for his scum for Xmas too...
CommissarKhaine wrote:That's a lovely donut shop! 185 models, you say? *Slinks away, realizing I barely painted 10 or so*
I was just in the zone, especially the last few months.
Dr H wrote:Great showing for the year. Impressive.
Good work on the shop.
Cheers bud. Next for that is neon signage.
Well, that was a merry Xmas indeed! Hope yours, or whatever you celebrate, was good as can be.
Been off dakka for a few days because of the time of the season. Much consumed on the day itself, of food and wine and rounded off with Dr Who Xmas special and whiskey (maccallan gold from the wife).
Family great, kids great (although right now it's just after half 6 and I've been up since half 3 with tiny :/, who's now asleep on me...), and a fine haul of nerd loot was had:
DC Rivals card game from one of my nerd brothers (not pictured).
Gotham scatter - billboards and street furniture from Metropolis
3 sets of MDF letters, and a beautiful inlaid wooden Batman deck box from erithromycin
Safety behind bars, the prison expansion for Walking Dead from the kids (good choice there boys, much more interesting than Hershel's farm)
Kylo Ren's Upsilon shuttle from the wife (well trained)
Rebel transport (from empire) from the parents (finally trained)
Pretty darn good Not an insurmountable quantity of painting, either
Still slightly frustrated in that I'm waiting for stuff from km. I know I shouldn't be grumpy when it's free stuff but it's meant I've not been able to run my Xmas contests or articles. Grr.
Saw the section of the wife's family we're talking to yesterday, ate a lot of pie. Eldest Nephew (turning 20) is back into GW (admech) now he's at uni and had a good jaw about paint On his model shelf, also found an exorcist vindicator I made him about 6 years ago nice to see it again.
Anyhoo, on with some new and revisited projects.
Current to do list:
12x Rift markers for DCU (6 for me, 6 for a mate) - though I'm a 30mm base short, not that urgent, just mildly irritating.
4x HQ marker bases for DCU - testing my circle cutter to make toppers. 2 for me, 2 for same mate
Kitbash John Stewart Green Lantern: Cyclops's body and Diggle's head, plus an M16 with scratch scope. Mostly cos I found bits and am too tight to buy a Hal Jordan mini (body was a trade for doing the above markers). Gs around neck and of logo will be a bugger however.
AK Harley Quinn with commemorative sewer base Xwing Dashboards - going to give them a starfield look, recycling wrapping paper Double batman dashboard
Plus from Xmas
Survivors and Walkers from prison expansion
Neon signs for donut shop
New Xwing repaints
New scatter
youwashock wrote:Should keep you busy for a week or so.
2018 a-go-go!
CommissarKhaine wrote:So, out of curiosity: how many batmans (batmen?) have you painted by now?
Hmmmmmmm...
Arkham City
Arkham Knight
Rebirth
Dark Knight
Batpod
Adam West
Dawn of Justice
Dark Knight Returns
Plus I now have Arkham Asylum, Knightfall and Flashpoint. Don't own Arkham Origins, modern age or Animated. Tragic, eh?
Here's what will be the prize pool for the giveaway:
5 starters, 2 sets of buildings tokens objectives street furniture dice, Deathstroke and a print rule book.
Not shabby.
i hope you had a merry time with the family!
the family is hopefully all up and well? and your lil missus is developing with top speed too?...i am soooo out of touch shamefully....
but at least hobby wise you fixed this with your report...
i loved your 2017 overview...man...what productivity...and at what a splendid level too....
and of course there is already enough stuff to keep us all waiting, wanting and wooo-ing for the next half year at least...
Viktor von Domm wrote: i hope you had a merry time with the family!
the family is hopefully all up and well? and your lil missus is developing with top speed too?...i am soooo out of touch shamefully....
but at least hobby wise you fixed this with your report...
i loved your 2017 overview...man...what productivity...and at what a splendid level too....
and of course there is already enough stuff to keep us all waiting, wanting and wooo-ing for the next half year at least...
best wishes all around from here!
cheers, vik
Hey buddy! Thrilled to hear from you, glad you're not in a ditch somewhere. Yeah, she's a menace, nearly 2! Boys are lovely, bit mouthy, but such is life.
Yeah, lots of toys for the year ahead!
Best wishes to you and yours buddy.
Looks like you had a very Merry Christmas indeed, between all the loot and some adult beverages looks like you are set to ring in the new year. Looking forward to all the new projects, should keep you busy till... mid March I reckon.
Yorkright wrote: Looks like you had a very Merry Christmas indeed, between all the loot and some adult beverages looks like you are set to ring in the new year. Looking forward to all the new projects, should keep you busy till... mid March I reckon.
I suspect 2018 will be slower. This year will not have an empty shelf of shame any time soon
Excellent. My attempt at internet humor succeeded.
The 2nd 'R' can be a 'Я'. That would be a nice touch. D I E THЯU. Those letters look very useful.
Congrat's on the nice hobby haul. However, the clock is ticking away. Soon it'll be 2019. To work good sir.
The horror! 2018 will not have enough hours in the day! I suspect I will be doing a lot of cleanup and building in January.
the MDF letters are really interesting. I'm going to have to paint them just so they're done this year actually they're a job for 3rd January, once I'm back from visiting my folks and consuming my body weight in meat and alcohol.
Anyway, just to say my contest for 2nd edition BMG is up
https://bigcomicpage.com/2017/12/29/gravens-new-year-giveaway-starters-orders/comment-page-1/#comment Crazy amount of stuff to be won, 5 starters, 2 sets of Set of Buildings, Set of objectives, lampposts, sewers and Dice, and a Print rulebook. Have at it!
Right gang.
2017 has been a fantastic year for us. Started with a knock to my confidence professionally, but bounced back and can honestly say things have never been better. Wife now dissertation/MSc done and now lab manager, kids all fantastic and ever more entertaining, and I'm one of the heads of media education nationally - plus done more geek painting, comic reading and varied writing than ever before. Busy year in a crazy world, but truly hopeful for 2018! So. Happy New Year and all that jazz!
But anyway, annual nerd goals:
To finish from 2017 -
Donut Store (PIP)
John Stewart conversion (WIP)
AK Harley (WIP)
Owlman, Superwoman, Johnny Quick, Power Ring (4, u/b)
Motherbox objectives (4, PIP)
HQ objectives (4, WIP)
Rift markers (12, WIP)
Bat computers (1 WIP, 1 u/b, 1 only in my brain)
X-Wing Dashboards with extensions (2, u/b, primed)
Batman Double Dashboard (1, primed)
2018
Twd Prisoners (4)
Twd walkers (2)
2e Joker Crew (4)
2e Bat Crew (4)
2e Sirens crew (4)
2e Blackgate prisoners (4)
Parliament of Owls (4)
Grodd Crew (4)
Constantine
Enchantress
Zatanna
Flashpoint Batman
Knightfall Batman
Reverse Flash (comic)
Arkham Militia set 2 (2)
Batgirl Rebirth
AK Red Hood
Nightwing Rebirth
Red Son Superman
Kylo Ren's shuttle
Rebel Transport
Red 6 X-Wing
(45)
Hmmmmmmm. That's quite a lot. Should keep me busy... in January Best for the year ahead,
Graven
So very glad things are shaping up so well for you my friend. All I can say is that it's good be along for the ride! Many happy returns to your fine family as well!
Gitsplitta wrote:So very glad things are shaping up so well for you my friend. All I can say is that it's good be along for the ride! Many happy returns to your fine family as well!
Thanks kindly sir. Likewise great seeing you in action.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Some interesting goals, looking forward to all the stuff appearing here over time!
Arkham City Arkham Knight Rebirth Dark Knight Batpod Adam West Dawn of Justice Dark Knight Returns
Do you have a group pic? I know you've painted a few differently, just curious to see the overall effect.
Lol no not as such. Tell you what, when I've done the new 2ed Arkham Asylum Batman, Flashpoint and Knightfall bats I'll do a group pic of them all, ok? Looks like I might even be an Arkham Origins bats also which is great as I don't own one and is a limited model (PITA to get hold of). So he'll be there too :S
Camkierhi wrote:Hey its the 3rd already, you finished that lot yet!
Looking forward to following you this year.
shaddup already Looking forward to seeing your crusty goodness also
Back to school, after NY at parents', so not much done. Ironically, holidays are not good nerd-time for me... Anyway, I'd better get a move on! Big Joe Kerr's Donut DrIvE THRU is done, I reckon And an earlier pic with mini sign for scatter: I could weather / tag it further but I'm happy enough with it for now. Plus I'm out of coloured printer ink I'm a little bit over-excited about all the other stuff in hand so kinda want to see the back of this. Shocking, I know.
Stuff without pics: - The horde of batlings also means that I'm keen to get my various objectives done for DCU. So the 12 rifts (6 for me, 6 for a mate) are now built, along with 4 HQ bases (40mm, 2 each). Annoyinginly, my circle cutter only goes down to 45mm Oh, and some 40mm water markers for destroyed fire hydrants, entirely necessary when your kid likes using Aquaman (water teleportation).
- Working on John Stewart. My original idea, to use Cyclops's arm (having finally sourced one!) cradling an M16, just looked wrong, so I'm back to making one from gs. This is wayyyyyyyyyyy out of my comfort zone. Still, 2018, new skills and that. I've been wanting to try sculpting my own stuff on armatures for a while. I *have* figured out how to make the GL symbol though, using tiny secret weapon brass etch letters (an "O" and two "I"s)
I'm not necessarily doing my 2017 stuff first as such, but I do want things out of the way. Equally, I need to get all the new resins soaped and scrubbed so that they can be built and primed.
I also need to give my whole nerd space an overhaul, it's getting a bit ridiculous. New storage, specifically for DCU, required. I think the pace of new BMG will slow down with the resin reissues of metals, so there's not going to be much new stuff for me for a bit there (I hope, perversely!) after next month - Etrigan, Amazons, Darkseid, Parademons, Steppenwolf and new GCPD set. There's so little old BMG stuff I don't own for my gangs that that case, at least, shouldn't overrun for a while I also need to move my expanding walking dead collection into a slightly bigger case (don't open - dead inside) Ah, the practicalities of nerd life.
That's a lovely piece of terrain you got there! I can why you're willing to move on, it'll be a nice addition to the gaming table.
Lol no not as such. Tell you what, when I've done the new 2ed Arkham Asylum Batman, Flashpoint and Knightfall bats I'll do a group pic of them all, ok? Looks like I might even be an Arkham Origins bats also which is great as I don't own one and is a limited model (PITA to get hold of). So he'll be there too :S
Donut looks good enough to eat, really a great piece Graven you did good man. Will need some pics when you do your next bat rep, close ups of the heroes battling over the donut shop is a must.
CommissarKhaine wrote:That's a lovely piece of terrain you got there! I can why you're willing to move on, it'll be a nice addition to the gaming table.
Lol no not as such. Tell you what, when I've done the new 2ed Arkham Asylum Batman, Flashpoint and Knightfall bats I'll do a group pic of them all, ok? Looks like I might even be an Arkham Origins bats also which is great as I don't own one and is a limited model (PITA to get hold of). So he'll be there too :S
Sounds good to me, thanks
Cheers ! And soon, there will be Batmen. Indeed, it has begun!
Yorkright wrote: Donut looks good enough to eat, really a great piece Graven you did good man. Will need some pics when you do your next bat rep, close ups of the heroes battling over the donut shop is a must.
totally. thanks mate. I have the smaller donut just so it can be thrown
Red Harvest wrote:That donut shop will look splendid on the table. Very good work. And it does not need more weathering/tags/etc. It is great as is.
Glad you agree. I think it's there too.
So, started cleanup of the resins. Man, they are crisp. Minimal mold lines, easy flash. 20 minis or so done in about half an hour. Once I've done the rest I'll post a pic. My only fear is that they remind me somewhat of "FINE"cast in terms of feel, but I've not got any issues with bubbling, miscasting etc. We shall see.
Meanwhile... First finished mini of 2018!
Okay, started in 2017, but still And a close up in at attempt to show the light spotting in the yellow and the brightness of the chest
And first objectives of 2018 also: motherbox markers -
BOOM!
The best thing is that they're easy to see as Activated (flipped up) and who controls them (facing player in question). They aren't on 30mm bases, but the are the right size, and it's not like there is a tournament scene for DCUMG anyway. Other objectives are in for priming. For all that I love BMG, the time efficiency and downright fun of DCU make it more appealing just now.
One other bit of news: off the back of my blog, I've got an actual paid magazine gig, for Initiative Magazine! Monthly piece, pays peanuts, but still, it's toy money and paid for writing about something I love. Got a couple of articles and a great interview lined up so pretty excited, and all that jazz.
Gitsplitta wrote:Love all the new paint work graven and very excited about your writing gig! Great things have small beginnings!
Thanks mate, really chuffed.
Yorkright wrote: Congrats on the writing gig, looking forward to your 2018 projects.
Me too - I think,
youwashock wrote:Love that donut shop. Such a cool piece. And great news on the writing.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Some excellent minis, and gratz on the writing gig!
Cheers matey!
GiraffeX wrote:Looks like you had a really good year Graven, lots more to come I see, looking forward to watching you bash your way through that lot
Yeah, it felt like a turning point actually. Hoping I can sustain a decent paint rate: 10 minis a month or so, average that is. This month is about building, primarily, however.
Llamahead wrote:Whats the magazine about comics or wargaming?
Ah, sorry, gaming. It's part of Figure Painter Magazine but obviously with more :dice:
Ah, a Lazy Sunday! A rare treat, that involved reorganization of stuff. Got a Feldherr case thanks to my favourite autobot, Amazon Prime, so my DCU now all has a home. It fits neatly inside an empty bag I found in the garage too - win! Got my 2nd ed BMG cards and spell cards sleeved up also (sleeving cards, there's something I thought I'd left behind me...) On a more irritating note, discovered my Nightwing is missing a leg damn km and their quality control issues. Thought they'd got past that. I mean I know they'll send me a replacement - though it did take 5 months with the heavy troopers guns...
Repurposed, rebased and repainted (in places) the High Security Henchman from BMG as a High Security Survivor for the prison expansion. He's got a new sculpt in 2nd, inexplicably - it's not like there isn't more than one person in high security in Blackgate - but I might as well use what I've got to hand. It looks like I'm getting a joker half of a suicide Squad boxset as part of a trade so Stan the Eyeball man may also be getting the TWD treatment
Still, the main event today was Star Wars.
Kylo Ren's shuttle It's huge. Like crazy big.
Talking of big... The first transport is away!
And it's got company - Red ten, checking in. Red squad! 2, 3, 5, 10
Top stuff. Ren's shuttle is one of the best designs in SW and you're really helped it with the imposing, looming look. I didn't realise it was so massive either.
Paradigm wrote:Top stuff. Ren's shuttle is one of the best designs in SW and you're really helped it with the imposing, looming look. I didn't realise it was so massive either.
The transport is just great. Lovely texture work.
Cheers, though I have a hankering to paint more tiny spesssheeps now...
Dr H wrote:Nice job on the Doh-nut shop.
Good job on Mr. Big Green Armour.
Orange-clad henchman looks good.
And the ships are great.
And lol at "amazon prime the Autobot"
I live to serve
Gitsplitta wrote:Not a bad day at all graven. Great job on the space ships and I love the re-paint on the prisoner. Excellent work all-round!
Cheers mate.
Back into normal routine.
HQ markers for DCU
Did a couple of extra bases for a mate also. Blue is Hero, Red is Villain. I think I can count that another 2 models off the list And 12 markers wip (6 for me, 6 for same mate)
Hey ho,
graven.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote: Wow. There's so much going on here I'm going to pick up with the Star Wars and stay updated from there.
Excellent weathering on all your ships and the OSL on the transport is done well. Looking forward to seeing what you do next.
Cheers buddy, good to have you back on the dakk. Thanks very much, I do like a filthy rebel Appreciate the osl comment, I was really pleased with it, especially on the middle ventral engine.
On Tuesday I was lucky enough to organise a demo night at my local club with French company Monolith Editions (Mystic Battles, Conan) of their new Batman boardgame, that's hitting Kickstarter on 27th February (yes, I'm an addict, leave me alone). Whilst this is certainly in keeping with the recent industry trend of hybridising Board and Miniature gaming, this feels like it will appeal more successfully to the non-gamer than most, not just because of the IP but it is still recognisably a board game, rather than a small-scale miniature skirmish game on a board (*cough*Shadespire*cough*). That being said, the game comes with 60 miniatures cast in the now-familiar plastic-resin (blue for heroes and red for villains), and having got my hands on some of the initial renders, I can tell you that the quality of the sculpts, and the level of detail is astounding: Riddler's cufflinks, for example, are miniscule question marks. The overtly comic-y aesthetic (especially of Scarecrow, seen here, and of some other models such as Harley Quinn and Alfred) may not appeal to everyone but they attempt to capture the feel of the characters - and with 60 models in the basic game pledge (working out at around £1.50 per miniature), you get a lot of pretty toys for your money. (for demo purposes, we were just using cardstock standees for the models)
The game is for 2-5 players, pitting an Overlord (arch-villain) against the Heroes. The Heroes play co-operatively - well, if they don't, they just lose horribly - and interestingly, there's no set sequence in which they have to do things, beyond alternate Hero/Overlord turns. You could, for example (as we did) sneak Batman along a gantry, then run Red Hood up to grab a gatling gun and pick off some goons, then have Batman hack a computer that he's standing next to. This means that there's a lot of discussion and planning, though not at the expense of time: the game is playable in an hour to an hour and a half. The core mechanics in the game are the use of Gems, which are essentially action points. You can use as many of these as your character has, but you only recover a limited number each turn, so the game is about careful asset management and weighing up risk/rewards. So, to continue our previous example, after Batman has hacked the computer, he might still have some Gems left to parkour down a wall and move elsewhere, but that could leave you short in a subsequent turn.
Gems also provide you with the dice you roll, with the different coloured dice having different averages and number of successes. It's actually much easier to get your head round that than you'd think, as they go yellow-orange-red (worst to best), and with white and black as a safe and risky option respectively. With skills covering melee, ranged, manipulation and intelligence, your various characters can assign their dice as they see fit based on a task, with the ability to spend for rerolls also (but again, you run the risk of running short of gems).
The Overlord player, on the other hand, has a smaller pool of gems overall but one that they can assign to any of their thugs in any ratio, meaning that whilst individually weak swarms of goons still present a threat - as we discovered to our cost:
It's a really fun game. We were really surprised by the emphasis on stealth and co-operation: it's very easy to over commit yourself, partly because the gameplay is so intuitive. Because it's narrative-objective based in any given scenario (here, we were trying to stop Bane blowing up an abandoned Subway station below a hospital), it feels very much like a comic story and, crucially, different enough to other games out there, both of the super/mini variety and of the board/mini variety. Yes, £90 for a basic pledge, £140 with all stretch goals, through to £320 for a full pledge might seem steep - but, as I said, remember that effectively at the basic price you're only paying £20 for a heck of a game, and £1.50 a model for some stunning miniatures, never mind great rules, dice, boards... It won't be to everyone's wallet, but it's an excellent, accessible game from a company with a track record of delivering on their Kickstarters.
Right corrections: base box 140$ (around £103) or all-in 320$ (around £237). 90 will be the number of minis in the base box without SG so more minis at the end with all the SG unlocked during the campaign Lost in translation...
Automatically Appended Next Post: And yes, Kickstarter only
Those revised figures sound a lot more tempting. £100-odd for 90 minis, a game and all that associated jazz is a good deal in and of itself. In terms of SGs, will they be added to the base box level or just to the all-in one?
And while this isn't necessarily the way to think about it, if one were to be looking at this as a way to (massively) expand a BMG collection, how does it stack up? In terms of basic goon/cops are there sufficient numbers/variety of each to use as the core of a BMG gang or are there a lot of duplicate sculpts ect that would make them more difficult to use in BMG in that manner?
Paradigm wrote: Those revised figures sound a lot more tempting. £100-odd for 90 minis, a game and all that associated jazz is a good deal in and of itself. In terms of SGs, will they be added to the base box level or just to the all-in one?
And while this isn't necessarily the way to think about it, if one were to be looking at this as a way to (massively) expand a BMG collection, how does it stack up? In terms of basic goon/cops are there sufficient numbers/variety of each to use as the core of a BMG gang or are there a lot of duplicate sculpts ect that would make them more difficult to use in BMG in that manner?
There will as I understand it be different ways of accessing the stretch goals. Ironically, things became easier when we switched to talking in French. Ah well, allons-y!
The core models have plenty of variety but BMG has very few generic models these days. That being said, some of the sculpts of the generics are just cracking, especially the civilians. There are some monolith sculpts I far prefer - tweedledee and tweedledum notably - and some that we don't have bmg versions of like Man-Bat, OMAC, Cornelius Stirk etc.
On a separate note, I cleaned up my resin Grodd crew. Wow, what a nightmare. Crap mold lines across fur and organic shapes. Glad KM moved to plastic- and, tbh, that monolith have decided to also.
And I've washed the new KM figs. We'll see how they build and prime...
To be honest, generic style doesn't bother me too much, I'm not really a fan of the more specific gang henchmen like the Riddler guys in the spandex suits or everyone working for Joker dressing as a clown ect. So long as the sculpts themselves are decent, and there's a decent variety of weapons that correlate to BMG (really just the old staples of pistols, ARs, shotguns, knives, baseball bats ect) then they serve my purpose, I'd rather have a pool of nice minis to pull various gangs from than have to build 4 or 5 separate crews or chase the 'new stuff' meta. And if there are some duplicates I can always theme the paintjob anyway.
When it comes to the £320 pledge for Mystic Battles this is what I got.
Monoliths miniatures for monopose are honestly some of the nicest out there. Batman does seem to be a pure reskin of their Conan game which I've got but haven't played (I want to rebase the models for use with my fantasy collection). 8 of those models are basically on par with Mortarion in size. Excellent quality on pure production miniatures. Even better they are supporting the games with further scenarios and content on their forum. Batman does intrigue me but I'm probably saving up to go all in on Joan of Arc so I might give this one a pass.
Paradigm wrote:To be honest, generic style doesn't bother me too much, I'm not really a fan of the more specific gang henchmen like the Riddler guys in the spandex suits or everyone working for Joker dressing as a clown ect. So long as the sculpts themselves are decent, and there's a decent variety of weapons that correlate to BMG (really just the old staples of pistols, ARs, shotguns, knives, baseball bats ect) then they serve my purpose, I'd rather have a pool of nice minis to pull various gangs from than have to build 4 or 5 separate crews or chase the 'new stuff' meta. And if there are some duplicates I can always theme the paintjob anyway.
One to keep an eye on then.
Well in that case you're laughing although riddler does get some spandex pals Looking forward to your take on things!
Yorkright wrote: What a great game, do you think it will be available from LGS's in the future?
Nope. KS only. Believe it or not, it's brought the cost right down.
Llamahead wrote:When it comes to the £320 pledge for Mystic Battles this is what I got. Monoliths miniatures for monopose are honestly some of the nicest out there. Batman does seem to be a pure reskin of their Conan game which I've got but haven't played (I want to rebase the models for use with my fantasy collection). 8 of those models are basically on par with Mortarion in size. Excellent quality on pure production miniatures. Even better they are supporting the games with further scenarios and content on their forum. Batman does intrigue me but I'm probably saving up to go all in on Joan of Arc so I might give this one a pass.
That's a lot of stuff. Very nice. Actually, despite appearances it's not just a reskin, there's some other tactical elements particularly the different uses of Intelligence and Manipulation skills to complete missions. Also multi-level terrain is very important in this, with the addition of a character's Parkour rating indicating how easily they can move between levels without using Gems (actions). But yeah, Joan of Arc is hellapretty.
Alpharius wrote:
Yorkright wrote: What a great game, do you think it will be available from LGS's in the future?
Nope, that doesn't appear to be the case here.
Unless I'm mistaken (possible!), this one is "Kickstarter Only".
Of course, success has a way of changing things...
Definitely won't be in stores... in its initial incarnation, anyway. I think as well the £100 price point would be a deal breaker for most folk. For what it's worth, I'm a strong advocate of a cardboard only version of the game (and have had long chats with Monolith about this!)
Quick and rather rushed pic just before I ran out the door this morning, so apologies for quality (or rather, lack thereof): Portals! Well, Rift Markers for DCU. They're pretty much done, a little wash needed on the purple to take the tones back down, and edge tidying. Such fun to do Rest of BMG 2e models in soapy water to remove release agent. Torn as to how to base them, as I actually just want to crack on. Probably just regular rubble bases, a little gravel, maybe a weeeeeeeee bit of scatter (shell casings etc) for the vast majority. Ivy and her plants will be overgrown, I imagine, and I might go for marbled floors for magic users (well Constantine and Zatanna, anyway). We'll see.
In other news, looks like I'm getting a review copy of Wave 4 of Walking Dead - woo! That'll save me a pretty penny. This writing gig is a lark
inmygravenimage wrote: Right corrections: base box 140$ (around £103) or all-in 320$ (around £237). 90 will be the number of minis in the base box without SG so more minis at the end with all the SG unlocked during the campaign Lost in translation...
Automatically Appended Next Post: And yes, Kickstarter only
@grave
Are the minis size wise spot on with BMG by Knight models. Also what is your opinions on going all in on this KS because I probably will just want to know the gossip
Are the minis size wise spot on with BMG by Knight models. Also what is your opinions on going all in on this KS because I probably will just want to know the gossip
Pretty much. I mean there are some inconsistencies within KM generally but yeah, they're basically dead on regardless. Slightly more comic-y aesthetic, so slightly bigger heads I guess?
Hello gang,
Sorry dropped off the map for a couple of days there. Writing articles - turning the above into one for BCP, starting to write a couple for Initiative etc. And y'know work, life etc
But a little something. My rift markers (and pal's) are now done these are also the test for how I'll be basing magic users generally - Zatanna, Constantine and Enchantress in the first instance.
Speaking of Enchantress, that's the spindliest most delicate model I've ever built. Not hard, but terrifying. Really worried about how to keep her intact in the long term. I think gribbly tentacles being summoned is the answer (haven't attached her arms yet - think they'll be towards the ground). Zatanna (and Batgirl for that matter) isn't much better though. Constantine is ok but I've noticed his fingers are miscast he's holding a vial with a spirit emerging. I'm tempted to replace it with a pack of Silk Cut
So here's what's built so far.
I say built, the starter models (coloured) are all one or at most 2 piece. So really based and filled. The resin for Grodd and his crew was fine in the end but it annoys me that you need to remove their base tabs for them to sit on their bases. Just don't cast them with full tabs. FFS.
There's a metal Harley there next to new one (red) and the size is, as you hopefully can see, dead on. Scaling is generally more consistent. Still terrified of the fragility of tiny females.
These guys are waiting on green stuff filling:
And an AzBat and Enchantress, mostly armless, for scale:
I think she'll look good with her arms by her sides (as opposed to how they should be, at 90 degrees to the body). Did some test placement and it should look like she will be drawing power out of the ground.
Knightley wrote:Crikey, she looks very fragile, you'd almost need to put a cage around her as a protective barrier (tentacles would work as you've mentioned)
It is crazy. But here's the (remarkably stable) solution:
Chaos terminators, the gift that just keeps giving. I wonder whether to add another power cable actually out of GS, in keeping with the SS movie gribbly aesthetic - or is it ok? Don't think she needs anything in the other hand.
CommissarKhaine wrote:That's a nice haul . I'm assuming those arms are way too thin to pin?
Oh, yeah, they are wafer thin. About 0.1mm diameter.
Generally, basing stuff is making me scratch my head. I think generally things will end up being painted in the order I figure out what the decoration is going to be. I'm considering breaking up some ~0.2mm resin or plastic into shards, and adding as slabs of broken concrete. I'm going to mix up my basing grit with some assorted gravel from the garage for a bit of variety, too. I found a gs skull mould I made years ago, so I can add some grimdark bits. We'll see. I think I have some (real) carnivorous plant seeds somewhere for Ivy and there's always posters, police tape, newspapers etc. I guess.
Still, Thomas Wayne has a snazzy base, and also I got my Jason Blood/Etrigan!
Love their sculpts, though slightly annoyed by Etrigan's tactical skulls/gravestone; I feel obliged to give Jason Blood's base similar decoration. I'm thinking of giving Zatanna something too. Not sure yet, but again, she's insanely fragile (the crossed leg is a separate piece, meaning she's connected to the base by the thinnest of bits of plastic-resin). I'm thinking a plume of smoke rising up from the ground, maybe even curling around her feet, to her hand? I'd use a bent paperclip as an armature of sorts I guess. It's the cage principle again.
I also made a start on a few of the remaining metals (Superwoman, Reverse Flash and Power Ring) too, pics anon. Meanwhile, AzBat has arms and Catwoman has... a cat!
(The hard part wasn't stealing it. The hard part was how she got it up onto the roof.)
I like the cat as a bronze statue, rather than a pet (it's from a Mantic KoW elf sprue, if interested) but I wonder whether I should have gone for a completely flat base to put her on. I don't have any more of the tiled bases but do have one spare plain base. Hmm. Was going to use it for Constantine though, with an Elder Sign on it.
That's pretty much where I'm up to. It's still really all prep work, but that's ok, we've got snow so priming in the garage is kinda out just now anyway. I'm slightly wary of priming the new plastic-resin with car spray also, even though I know it'll be fine.
Adios,
graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Gravel tests :
or ?
Quite the challenge with those arms, nice job fixing the problem. You are going to have quite a lot of choices for heroes and villains when you are finished.
Neither Zatanna nor the enchantress look any more fragile than some of the new Malifaux plastics. I'm thinking of the Smoke and Mirrors crew specifically, since those are the minis I have. Those Malifaux minis are scary fragile though. I'm afraid to play them Without coming up with some sort of protection. I was thinking clear plastic cylinders to 'sleeve' the minis.
It would work. It would look a bit silly, but it would work.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Gravel tests are looking good! And 0.1 mm? yikes! I like how you're protecting the more fragile models, looks very natural.
Cheers, and thanks. Yeah it's pretty terrifying. Not sure what to do with Batgirl yet, I think I'm going running up a slab of metal or something. Need to trawl my DC archive, rake through back issues, see if anything jumps out at me.
youwashock wrote:Loads of progress! Can't wait to see what you do with Zatanna, Etrigan, and Enchantress.
Me too Glowy purple around the base, mostly, I think.
Knightley wrote:Oh man, that arm looks so thin! looks like a great solution however, is there anything inside the tentacle (like a pin) or is it just GS
Cheers. No, it's a plastic Chaos Terminator arm superglued to the base and then gs round the bottom.
Yorkright wrote: Quite the challenge with those arms, nice job fixing the problem. You are going to have quite a lot of choices for heroes and villains when you are finished.
LOL. I'm rapidly approaching the point where I have the entire DCU range... I *may* have a problem.
Red Harvest wrote:Neither Zatanna nor the enchantress look any more fragile than some of the new Malifaux plastics. I'm thinking of the Smoke and Mirrors crew specifically, since those are the minis I have. Those Malifaux minis are scary fragile though. I'm afraid to play them Without coming up with some sort of protection. I was thinking clear plastic cylinders to 'sleeve' the minis.
It would work. It would look a bit silly, but it would work.
I think it's about finding ways to adapt in the basing, genuinely. I had a big falling out with the guy behind Wyrd in its very early days (pre-Malifaux), because I dared to criticise the aesthetic of the orginial Pandora. Sometimes people don't like you speaking your mind Funnily enough I'm picking up one of the Malifaux Nurses (the one with the big needle) to turn into a Nurse Harley. (I'm a very easy going person, but I'm no yes-man, and this has led me to falling out with companies in the past - Wyrd, Decipher, Privateer Press... Maybe it's me?! )
Automatically Appended Next Post: Here's the rest of them rubbled:
And the Batgirl Solution:
Back of the wall is full of bullet holes. It's an old gw gravestone cut down I think.
Onwards!
Graven
Batgirl is lookign good, keeping that dynamic look. And if you're really concerned about you falling out with companies: there's dozens of tips on communicatio and ways to handle conflicts - but remember: sometimes, people just aren't compatible
CommissarKhaine wrote: Batgirl is lookign good, keeping that dynamic look. And if you're really concerned about you falling out with companies: there's dozens of tips on communicatio and ways to handle conflicts - but remember: sometimes, people just aren't compatible
Thanks mate I'm an English, Media and Comms teacher, I should follow my own advice It's actually very different circumstances for each. Privateer incorporated stuff I wrote for an Iron Kingdoms contest (which I won) into canon and gave me no credit whatsoever (still the case, I might add). Decipher just couldn't handle being warned that a second edition of trek ccg was going to kill the game (at the time, I was UK #2 and world #5), and probably the company... which it did. I'm a fan, not a yes man.
Nathan Caroland? Now I'm curious about your critique. I've seen the mini. Heck, I've played against a Pandora crew multiple times, BITD ( When Wyrd did only metal minis.)
CommissarKhaine wrote:Ouch.. Well, at least you can be sure it's not you, it's them
Yeah, that's what it is I just need to keep my big mouth shut sometimes.
Red Harvest wrote:Nathan Caroland? Now I'm curious about your critique. I've seen the mini. Heck, I've played against a Pandora crew multiple times, BITD ( When Wyrd did only metal minis.)
Well it's been a while but as I recall it was the original flagship pandora with box. I think criticism was along the lines of too manga, too cheesecake for my tastes. Didn't like the proportions.
Last couple of bits on the topic of basing for now:
Some bases accessorised further.
Some mesh for wrecked fencing. Some shell cases for he guys with automatic weapons. Jokers got some nice bits, the baton of unfortunate guard, a pair of stiletto heels. Wondered about giving the other guy a chicken. Wakkawakka...
Joker, Harley and the Bats don't have anything else yet. I'm thinking of newspapers etc for them, but am open to ideas.
And Justice League Dark...
Constantine needed his entire hand remade, so decided to lose the spectral floaty skull and just give him a ciggie (there's a packet on the ground too which will OF COURSE be Silk Cut) standing in a pentagram, because he's bloody John Constantine,that's why! And Zatanna has her armature now. I may add another floaty skull in there at the bend.
Later y'all
Graven
Get the album, Excitable Boy, if you don't have it already. One of the best Rock n Roll albums ever. Sadly, my LP disappeared some time ago, so I'm stuck with just the CD. It's not the same. I remember watching what I think was one of his last public appearances on the Letterman Show where he talked about his cancer. Geez, it was over 15 years ago.
Back On Topic: Fishnet stocking will be an interesting challenge. One skull will do for Zatanna.
Gitsplitta wrote:Love that song... listening to cranked up on my headphones. Thanks for posting it graven.
Most welcome. It autoplayed when it came up ther on my thread, and now the kids won't stop singing it
Red Harvest wrote:Get the album, Excitable Boy, if you don't have it already. One of the best Rock n Roll albums ever. Sadly, my LP disappeared some time ago, so I'm stuck with just the CD. It's not the same. I remember watching what I think was one of his last public appearances on the Letterman Show where he talked about his cancer. Geez, it was over 15 years ago.
Back On Topic: Fishnet stocking will be an interesting challenge. One skull will do for Zatanna.
So, so good. That interview's on Youtube too I think, hard stuff.
OT: I think it might be tights, not fishnets... Good advice on skullymcskully.
A very busy few days, partly because of snowpocalypse (seriously, it is pathetic how much chaos 2" of snow causes!), through at my folks' for the weekend (omonomnomnomnom duck pie omonom) and marking mock exams. Sorry, by the way, that I'm mostly lurking on other folks' blogs atm.
Still, a strange notion came to me, off the back of a request. A mate is building a dockyard board and wanted a couple of gangways that would be suitable for two minis to cross/fight on. As it happened, I had some spare Arkham signs lying about (I have a painted set, I don't need more of the same tbh) and had an idea: Leading to this: Result! Add some treadplate and well on the way. He also wants 3 oil barrels, so I'll need to cut some tubing up for that (or possibly marker pen lids, they're pretty good for that). I do like a wee project and I get another (!) Batman out of it, who's going to converted either into Wrath (evil purple batman, closed face mask) or Zurr-en-Ar (crazy multicoloured batman, sword or something).
He's also after a Batgirl, in exchange for his spare Ra's al Ghul (I don't play League in BMG, but he's a villain for DCU that I don't own, and I love the classic 70s look of the model). Now I have a dilemma: I have an unpainted metal, but also one I did when I first got into BMG, and back into painting after all my hand trouble: She's fine, but not great, in terms of painting. She is a nightmare to build, however (metal cape, weird leg positions). He's inexperienced, and would happily take the painted one. Do I bite the bullet and add another unpainted model (a at that) to the shelf of shame?
Other stuff: got my Mantic Point promos! Abraham (with carbine) and Negan (with Lucille!)
And this beast came in the post too - KS Made to Suffer. That's a whole lot of suffering better pics to follow anon. So much good stuff in the set, and it comes with Michonne's Katana as well! Which is great because the promo Michonne card doesn't come with that, and having made my own Michonne I was loathe to buy the booster or use mantic points on the promo Michonne model. Huzzah! So, busily writing articles. I've also been asked by the London Batman group to make some objectives and prizes for their big tournament in March. That's going to weigh heavily on my mind. Lots to think about, plan and do! Anon, Graven
Looks like you got your work cut out for you! On the batgirl: not sure. I'm always emotionally attached to painted models. If you don't have that issue, and you're able to do better, it might be worth it.
CommissarKhaine wrote: Looks like you got your work cut out for you! On the batgirl: not sure. I'm always emotionally attached to painted models. If you don't have that issue, and you're able to do better, it might be worth it.
Likewise, these days I am quite unlikely to sell models I have painted, but sometimes it's for the best in the end
CommissarKhaine wrote:Looks like you got your work cut out for you! On the batgirl: not sure. I'm always emotionally attached to painted models. If you don't have that issue, and you're able to do better, it might be worth it.
I know, and more to come at that
Slinky wrote: Likewise, these days I am quite unlikely to sell models I have painted, but sometimes it's for the best in the end
I'm torn. She was painted up (indeed, converted also) to be the Bargirl of Burnside redesign. However, the new model
youwashock wrote:Send Batgirl on her way. Your friend will appreciate the paintjob, and you get to take another swing at her.
Very true. And I can always do the other one in classic colours. Plan.
Camkierhi wrote:Busy boy aren't we! Good idea on the walkways. Nice haul. And send the girl on her way
Cheers, I have all these mad builder friends that inspire me
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:Solid idea on repurposing those signs into walkways.
Well I had to do something with them, you know.
Bits and pieces. Managed to source a copy of Miles Behind Us, the Hersel's Farm expansion for TWD. Means I have all the core sets for the game. Building the herd... And also, got this fella:
DARKSEID IS quite big.
Got this little lady too:
A malifaux nurse, that just happens to have pigtails. And be identical in scale to BMG. Dr Quinzel, anyone? Was thinking of counts-as Hugo Strange but he's OC/Riddler only. A shame, because he's the only character in the game with Arkham Asylum Dr rule. I'll try her regardless as a counts-as with Wonderland (I've got a nasty crew planned that's Wonderland and LexCorp troopers, all of which are now part of Organised Crime) once they arrive.
Also, for commission work, getting hold of a couple of tournament exclusives, the promo card for Zurr-en-Ar Batman and Monster T (mobster from the SS movie that Joker kills for eyeing up Harley) who's a nightmare to get hold of. Speaking of which, proof of concept pics:
Generator, which will get a Riddler tag on it. Bomb in a Pizza box (good use for square bases ), stack of smilex cannisters (maybe with a balloon attached) and a lump of Kryptonite in a box. Need to a giant Joker playing card sticking out of the ground... and one more. The guy suggested a stack of money, like in DKR, but that's melting my brain. I though maybe a neon HELL- -HERE sign, like in Bats Returns, but I'm open to suggestions?
Played the Firefly Brigands mini board game last night. Lots of fun, neat little mechanics, and I love the way the box and all the counter containers are themselves cardstock terrain. A very nifty idea.
I'm at the stage where I'm out of green stuff and glue. Time to restock!
Later gang,
Graven.
So much done since I checked in last, did you send batgirl along? If so my bet is your next one will be better, great ideas for your objectives also. Seeing all your DC models almost makes me want to take a crack at a few even if I never play the game.
Unfortunately, this weekend has been marred somewhat by the boiler packing in. No hot water, no central heating. Really, really sucks. It's a bit milder this weekend, but still, very poor.
So brunch with friends (one was Anxiety Man, the former pro painter, so have given him the Darkseid as a distraction project), and shortly off to wife's sister for showers and, hopefully, pizza.
Anyway...
Slinky wrote:I think those fuses will look very good when painted up, good idea!
Cheers, yeah, I hope so. Also that the kettle doesn't blow up. They've now got a nozzle top, wondering whether to add a balloon .
Yorkright wrote: So much done since I checked in last, did you send batgirl along? If so my bet is your next one will be better, great ideas for your objectives also. Seeing all your DC models almost makes me want to take a crack at a few even if I never play the game.
I've not sent her yet but intend to. And thanks for the vote of confidence. If you're tempted, I totally recommend DCUMG. It's fun, fast, feels like a classic comic showdown, and you need no more than 4 or 5 models a side. It's great. Pick models and/or characters you like, nothing's overpowered (well except Bat-Mite).
Dr H wrote:Good show, Ol' chap, what.
I tend to have two minds when building models. If I'm building for myself, I get quite attached to them and wouldn't part with them.
If, however, I'm building to sell. I don't get attached to them. I know they'll be leaving once finished.
Adding another mini' to the "to-do" list, not a problem.
Parting with one of "my" mini's, not for all the wonga in the world, personally.
Fair points indeed. I think that genuinely the deal breaker for me is that I know I can do a better paint job now than then.
Hearing lots of horror stories about the new batgirl breaking... Note to self. The new plastic resin is brittle as Serves me right I guess. However, my usual primer works well at least. As glue also, it seems Easy fix, easy pin. Turns out the new plastic pins really well at least!
Got covered in paint goop. Whatever crazy crud the guy used to paint his Ra's (side note - love that my autocorrect knows to include the apostrophe) and has turned to tar in the disinfectant I usually use to strip minis. Alarming.
Was still waiting for green stuff. But couldn't resist starting this fella:
Bulking out arm and neck to follow. But the gun is good, I think, and it's clear enough that it's John Stewart. Not sure what to do with the rest of my spare set of Squad joker goons (and indeed Leto) - it was Goat priest's arm used, who's the least useful of them anyway, and another mate wants the rest to make Pyg's Farm Hands. I agree with Batman, Pyg is by far the scariest villain in Gotham. Possibly why I've resisted getting him till now.
Then, green stuff came from Mr Amazon. So started the oil drums
And finished the bridges
Sorry to hear about the boiler. I went through something similar 2 years ago so I understand the anxiety of having no heat or hot water in the middle of winter. I hope things pick up for you quickly and repairs don't run you into the red.
Ach, it's on a service contract at least. Just a pain in the backside. Means house is too cold for Green Stuff to cure properly
Couple more bits and pieces though. Got John Stewart's pose down, and started bulking up the new arm:
And more work on the custom objectives:
Been looking for a use for this Awaken Realms piece for aaaaaaaages, like the idea of it as a Riddle Generator. Joker cards need blood spatter and maybe a HAHAHA on the back.
That joker card seems a bit large. Maybe print a scaled down version?
I have a couple of electric radiators -- the sealed oil filled kind-- just in case my furnace goes out. Something to consider. Careful though, don't get the sort that'll burn down the house. People, sadly, do that.
That use of old fuses is clever. They would fit well on a sci fi themed table too.
Camkierhi wrote:All looking good bud, nice work on the objectives.
Thanks mate. And thanks for the next one
Red Harvest wrote:That joker card seems a bit large. Maybe print a scaled down version?
I have a couple of electric radiators -- the sealed oil filled kind-- just in case my furnace goes out. Something to consider. Careful though, don't get the sort that'll burn down the house. People, sadly, do that.
That use of old fuses is clever. They would fit well on a sci fi themed table too.
Joker card - I don't disagree, but it's for a specific scenario and has to be taller than specific models. Yeah we have 2 large electric radiators, and a gas fire also. But it's a big draughty old victorian house.
Thanks about the fuses. I'd seen them used individually but thought a stack seemed more convincing, somehow.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Objectives are looking good! Hope you manage to get the boiler fixed, I know from experience how much 'fun' that is...
Cheers! Yeah, it's now up and running.
Knightley wrote:Is it just me, or is the head on John Stewart a little off, like a fraction to high from the neck?
You're not wrong. It's because I haven't yet built up the muscles around his neck / \ (not quite Cardassian neck, but certainly thicker.
Gitsplitta wrote:Yes graven... paint a miniature joker card. Right now. Paint monkey-boy, paint! *cracks whip*
Yorkright wrote: Sorry to hear about the home reapairs :-( , nothing worse than the heat or water going out. All your hobbying though looks good!
A little hobbying on a big thing today, made by the mighty Cam:
The diameter of this is the size of my oustretched hand.
Needs some more edge highlighting but it's nearly there. It's aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaages since I've used any metallic paints - don't use them for BMG, which is 95% of my painting. VJ Burnished Copper, wet blend shaded with Tiiny Tin and Brass for highlights. Some Shining Gold should be enough to finish it off, then burned, scratched and scraped along the back,
Other stuff - slogging through priming everything. Priming black, rather than my usual grey, but with zenithal grey instead - at least, that's the theory. I really want to get these commission-things done, so I can get on with my own stuff Later
graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Aaaaaaaaaand done
Prisoner for scale
Nice work on the riddle generator, but what kind of output does it have? A printer? A screen? A speaker? Or does it just generate them for it's own private amusement?
Camkierhi wrote:Excellent work. Generator looks spot on.
Ta. Awaken Realms make some lovely odds and ends.
Red Harvest wrote:It took me a moment to see the question mark. The angle is a bit odd. Which fits. IIRC, the Riddler is a bit odd.
ta! Yeah I wanted it to be... Odd.
Yorkright wrote: Coin looks great, are you putting together a bunch of batcave terrain also?
Eventually. That's a long term plan. I've started one of the Bat Computers also.
Gitsplitta wrote:Nice work on the riddle generator, but what kind of output does it have? A printer? A screen? A speaker? Or does it just generate them for it's own private amusement?
you are a silly man
Another week. Another boiler packing-in incident The pump this time - turns out the whole system will need flushed also, to the tune of nearly £800
Sigh. Anyway.
The objectives continue:
What's in the box?
Needs a LexCorp logo on the side but nearly there.
And started these:
Going to be doing a set of box files from TT Combat's Urban Accessories. Which also come with these cute little buggers... to ruin:
They're going to be substitute robot dolls for joker. I'd been looking for Evil Toys for a while, and as a result am getting a Malifaux Neverborn starter and rules on the cheap. A lot of my mates play and I like the Neverborn part of the aesthetic (other parts notwithstanding). Not going to get sucked in, but ten quid to play a game works for me. For all that I love DC, XWing et al, they're not quick games. Walking dead is fairly concise, but it's not overly crunchy - there's something to be said for a wee fantasy skirmish game. And I have graveyard/ruins aplenty for scenery too.
...
Yeah who am I kidding?! it's going to eat my soul.
Cheers as always for you ceaseless support,
Graven
You realize that the Giant Penny is a 1945 dated, not 1922. Unless you were trying to make it more Two-Face- except that, in every iteration other than The Animated Series, it's from a villain called The Penny Plunderer, early in Bats' career.
What you have there is, rather, a giant Silver Dollar- Two-Face's signature item. Therefore, it ought to have been painted silver, rather than copper.
yeah, like the old Great Objective Swap? I'd forgotten about that, actually. Definitely going to be doing the whole square bases as pizza box thing again, that's for sure.
Very cool objectives Graven. I like how you have so many various things to build and paint for the DC game, in 40K you have to paint so many troops that getting to paint vehicles and characters are a treat.
Camkierhi wrote:Love the pizza box, objectives are looking spot on bud.
The neon sign is looking really promising.
Cheers, here it is now:
Yorkright wrote: Very cool objectives Graven. I like how you have so many various things to build and paint for the DC game, in 40K you have to paint so many troops that getting to paint vehicles and characters are a treat.
Believe me, I have plenty to paint Shame! Shame! Shame!
CommissarKhaine wrote:Looking good! And stealing that pizza box idea for sure
Cheers. Willing to bet you'll do it better than me!
Gitsplitta wrote: I know that bit! (in the pizza box) It's from the downed plane thingy...
Crashed aquila? Maybe. I have a lot of random junk lying about
Couple more rifts:
Oh, and the back of the sign:
Fairly quite otherwise, little one's birthday (2!), wife under the weather. Bonkers weekend ahead too, wife's entire family (she's one of 5) have invited themselves over on Sunday not cool. As an only child, it baffles me.
But, the end is in sight with the terrain project, so we can get on with our own toys! And I'm off Monday Tuesday. The latter is a rare trip to the opening day of Black Panther (mmm isense with deluxe recliners) and the former is me stuck in the house whilst we get underfloor insulation - excuse to get some paint on!
Cheers. Willing to bet you'll do it better than me!
Different mainly, we have a vastly different style when it comes to painting. it's why I love looking at your stuff, it approaches things from a different angle.
Barring Sunday, things are looking good, so I'd suggest not murdering anyone with the good times ahead
Different mainly, we have a vastly different style when it comes to painting. it's why I love looking at your stuff, it approaches things from a different angle.
Barring Sunday, things are looking good, so I'd suggest not murdering anyone with the good times ahead
I do love how everyone expresses their individual style, especially in terrain, it's true.
I get on really well with my wife's siblings (mostly), it's more that we specifically decided not to have a birthday party as we're both wrecked. Sigh.
Dr H wrote:Nice work. Good selection of little terrain-y bits.
Cheers. Need to do the lid for that box. Made a brickwork base for the sign:
So, ended up being off today as #2 son threw up at 0230. Joy. We watched movies, played some King of Tokyo and Pokémon, and I even got some modelling done:
Owlman, reposed and with a razorang. Not at all because I couldn't find his original left arm. Nope.
And John Stewart:
Started on the remaining owls, power ring and Ra's al ghûl
And built a couple more militia, Superwoman and Reverse Flash
Scraped down the mold lines on my walking dead wave 4 stuff. Also gsd Zatanna and built a Nurse Harley and High Court Lady, but they're already in for a prime.
More productive than I expected to be at this point of my time off tbh.
I'm a bit behind so just saw your objectives. I always love it when people make those and yours are no exception. Brilliant idea on the fuses and love the cheesy box haha
Owlman is cool. All these funky pics are making me think I might go in for the Batman KS, hopefully I can stay strong
Yeah, he's fine, cheers.
The monolith stuff is nice, the game cool, but the aesthetic is radically different, much more stylised and comicy.
Dr H wrote:
inmygravenimage wrote:...Cheers. Need to do the lid for that box. ...
And what a nice box it is...
Good work on the modifications.
Cheers old son.
TerrainWalker wrote:I'm a bit behind so just saw your objectives. I always love it when people make those and yours are no exception. Brilliant idea on the fuses and love the cheesy box haha
Thanks, you're an inventive chap yourself! They were a lot of fun.
Well having had a more productive Friday than expected, the rest of my time off was less so with the little one's birthday, and spending time with kids etc (woo Black Panther!); ie no painting :( However, I got the remaining stuff drilled, pinned and assembled: Parliament of Owls, Power Ring and Superwoman, Deathstroke militia, Reverse Flash, and rescue Ra's al Ghûl. Still need to GS gaps. I am not going to miss metal, tbh. Especially with KM's ridiculous tiny arms... However, the collection grows also: I've now added Professor Pyg, SHAZAM! and the Dynamic Duo. Plus Miles Behind Us, the farm expansion for Walking Dead.
Feeling a bit overwhelmed at the moment. Work, life etc. Sure I'll get back in the swing of things but still.
Did manage to get a cracking game of BMG last night. Took the Batpod, Azrael, Alfred and some cops against Emperor Blackgate, Deathstroke and some goons. Great, great fun, and surprisingly a full game in 2hrs flat. The batpod can cover 2/3 of the board in a turn, so is fairly nasty (if a points sink) to say the least. However, the new sewer rules (you can move from one to another as movement) mean that's not as overpowered as it once was. My sniper managed to take out Emperor (to be fair, I knew to target him from the outset) but Deathstroke held out against combined Bat and Az assault despite getting locked down by Bullock with a whistle (cops are able to Halt! you, preventing movement). I won on VPs but wouldn't have fancied Az or Bats' chance if it had gone another turn.
Anyway, on we go - too many toys, not enough time...
Later
Graven
Camkierhi wrote:Glad to hear youngsters OK. These things happen. Still always difficult.
Looking forward to seeing some of these models. Chin up chuck, these are the grind months, you will soon be back up.
Thanks mate. Not really sure where my head is at or why, tbh. Life's pretty good. Hey ho.
The end is finally in sight with the objective project:
GCPD box files, using Mantic accessory bits (TT Combat stuff still hasn't arrived) )
Lead-lined LexCorp box done:
Broken down neon sign, which is detachable from its base:
And further barricade WIP Aiming to finish this by th eend of the weekend, complete with some colour, posters and tags. The guy this is for is so pleased he's going to order some Necromunda scatter further down the line. Woo.
Forgot to post these fun pic from the game the other night:
End of Turn 4 -
End of final Turn (6)
Cross the board, and hopped off
Love all the gritty terrain bits you have built, the graffiti wall is well executed looks like something out of Gotham's back streets and alleys. Having the lid come off the lead lined box is a nice addition to your already great objectives, always enjoy getting a chance to see your DC projects.
Yorkright wrote: Love all the gritty terrain bits you have built, the graffiti wall is well executed looks like something out of Gotham's back streets and alleys. Having the lid come off the lead lined box is a nice addition to your already great objectives, always enjoy getting a chance to see your DC projects.
Many thanks dude. Much appreciated.
TerrainWalker wrote:That neon sign is absolutely gorgeous
Well thanks mate appreciate that. Gitsplitta suggested using brass rid as neon tubes which is an interesting idea also.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Started detailing:
Getting there...
Cheers. They're a lot of fun to do.
Might've started another:
CommissarKhaine wrote:I always love all those little details you add. Lovely work as usual!
Thanks kindly.
Nice weekend. Really quiet. Watched Moana about 6 times because toddlers are obsessive, sorted a lot of lego, ate hotdogs with kimchi, even managed to make a start on some painting for me:
A wall of prison Orange. Honestly I think I just needed to do stuff for me for my sanity.
Got the barricade done and dusted:
And some GCPD file boxes:
Collected objectives:
So, some progress made. The motherboxes are getting there, also.
Feeling a bit more me. Time will tell.
Best
Graven
The objective markers are excellent. I've always liked your weathering technique. Reminds me of WWII dioramas I saw at the VFW with my grandfather when I was a little kid.
TerrainWalker wrote:Love the feeling stacking up a bunch of stuff that's all just finished. Looks really good together
Yeah it's really satisfying, isn't it?! Nice that it looks coherent as a whole also.
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:The objective markers are excellent. I've always liked your weathering technique. Reminds me of WWII dioramas I saw at the VFW with my grandfather when I was a little kid.
Thanks, that's much appreciated and really gratifying, as it's excatly what I aspire to. I'm very heavily influenced by military modelling techniques, always have been, and sometimes that's at odds with non-military gaming aesthetically. It's why I had to push myself so hard with the DCU stuff to get it comic-y, but the Bat stuff can be a bit more grungy and grubby. It's probably why I love painting and modelling scenery so much generally.
And, Motherboxes are now done!
Even shiny magic space boxes need grime, right So I'm finished, right? RIGHT?!...
Nope. That second barricade, remember? And some little bombs, just for fun though. You'll see them soon as I get some more bases.
I've got my little teddy bears also, so they're going to be evil soon. However, I'm very much done with terrain for a bit after this. Gap filling on metals Shazam!, Pyg and Dollotrons to assemble and mould lines off Miles Behind Us for TWD all on the "modelling" agenda. Back to painting actual models for me, now.
On a side note. Thanks for listening to me ramble. It's good to have somewhere to vent with the whole mental health thing. Dakka is my therapy... yikes
Was this the Disney Moana, or the Italian one? Don't google that last bit, possibly NSFW. In Italy, the movie is Oceania.
Spring is coming. Always good for the mind, extra daylight.
The collection of objectives is very good. The barricade looks quite functional, but... yes a but... the top of the wire 'fencing' should curl down slightly, so folks don't accidentally stab themselves on it. (I may or may not have done something like that at some point in my gaming career. Nolo Contendere.)
Red Harvest wrote:Was this the Disney Moana, or the Italian one? Don't google that last bit, possibly NSFW. In Italy, the movie is Oceania.
Spring is coming. Always good for the mind, extra daylight.
The collection of objectives is very good. The barricade looks quite functional, but... yes a but... the top of the wire 'fencing' should curl down slightly, so folks don't accidentally stab themselves on it. (I may or may not have done something like that at some point in my gaming career. Nolo Contendere.)
well. Learn something new every day...
And excellent suggestion on the fencing. Fixed on both. Yes, we've all sacrificed bit of ourselves to khorne in pursuit of nerdvana.
CommissarKhaine wrote:Loving all the little details . Nice work as usual! Wish I had the spirit to spend so much time on terrain...
Believe me it's running out
Looking forward to getting back into painting minis. In the meantime, a question: do any of the DC minis I've painted over the last wee while particularly stick in your collective mind as good? Debating whether to enter any in a painting contest. Currently, Lex and Wonder Woman spring to my mind. I might do a fresh one for it - Red Son Superman is tempting - but want your thoughts, if y'all have any to share.
Camkierhi wrote:WW is one of the most stunningly brilliant models I have seen done by anyone in ages bud.
Thanks kindly sir
Lot of love for her; preuming you mean the foot, not mounted, version:
Spoiler:
Red Harvest wrote:Yeah, WW.
Khorne? Hunh? That phony? Old Scratch would kick his ass. Well, trick him into kicking his own ass. "Kick thee behind thee."
Slinky wrote:The nastiest wound I ever gave myself was caused by reaching into a box full of the goblin spearmen from the 4th ed WFB box. Those suckers were sharp!
I have had a fair number of modelling injuries over the years, but my favourite happended to Mabrothrax when he was a gw staffer and, whilst on the phone to me and assembling Tau, superglued both the phone and model to both his hand and face.
aku-chan wrote:I think both Wonder Woman and Lex are competition worthy.
Feeling the love for these guys. I realise I've done 2 version of Lex
Suppose I could enter both.
Interestingly, none of those are even close to my "top rated" models according to Dakka: Blackgate Prisoners, Heatwave, Hawkman, The Acolyte, Sickle, Mr Hoppy and of course Titan Pennywise Joker (can't enter him, entered previously).
It's both annoying and encouraging that I've not painted anything that good in a while. Need to get my game face back on.
Automatically Appended Next Post: So better get barricade 2 done:
Just the set of bombs left!
Graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: In fact, that's quite motivating:
Which means... I'm done!
Great fun to do - but some sense of relief to be finished!
Thanks for all the c&c along the way gang!
Finshed terrain eh?. Nice For models to enter, I second wodner woman
I have had a fair number of modelling injuries over the years, but my favourite happended to Mabrothrax when he was a gw staffer and, whilst on the phone to me and assembling Tau, superglued both the phone and model to both his hand and face.
I may, in fact, have a problem:
So gang, need your advice - not that I'll necessarily follow it to the letter, but being instructed by fellow dakkanauts does tend to prod me a bit. What next? Here's the list of Doom:
Paint queue:
TWD
Safety Behind Bars prisoners and Walkers (started)
BMG/DCU
Primed and preshaded:
Blackgate prisoners (started)
Batman & Arkham Guards
Gotham City Sirens & plants
Owlman & Johnny Quick
Arkham Knight Harley
Nurse Harley
Knightfall Batman
Flashpoint Batman
Batgirl (Rebirth)
Red Son Superman
Primed:
Joker & Arkham Clowns
Enchantress
John Constantine
Jason Blood / Etrigan
Zatanna
Gorilla Grodd Crew
John Stewart
High Court Lady
Modelling/priming queue:
TWD cleanup and priming for
Miles Behind us (Greene Farm expansion)
Filling and priming for BMG/DCU
Deathstroke Militia (2)
Parliament of Owls
Superwoman & Power Ring
Dynamic Duo
Unbuilt
Wonderland gang
Professor Pyg & Dollotrons
Atrocitus
Shazam!
Monster T
Paradigm wrote:John, Jason/Etrigan and Zatanna. Get some JLD going on here!
Love all the recent objective work, incredibly varied and authentic!
Thanks mate. It has been a nice change of pace, but now I need to get back on the paint horse (or something). Yeah, JLD is a good shout. I realised I forgot to include something on Constantine's base - so he's now got an ancient tome on the floor also. Whilst I was doing that, I found a brain in a jar also. I can't decide whether to give it to Professor Pyg or Nurse Harley...
Red Harvest wrote:Get some polyhedral dice. Set up a few tables, and roll. Paint what the dice indicate.
Or work backwards. I dislike having unassembled minis lying about. So I'd say assemble first.
The rolemaster of hobby eh? Knowing my luck I'd roill "leave hobby, go live in cave" Ordinarily, I'd agree with you Red, but I'm feeling a bit overwhelmed by what's there already. I think the unbuilt stuff will stick about for variety for now. I do generally have a rule of not playing with anything unpainted. Maybe I should set up a game and use that to motivate me
Skalk Bloodaxe wrote:
I'm not sure what "Gotham City Sirens & plants" is but if it's terrain I say do that.
Shelf of Shame. I used to a have a thread dedicated to that. Ha.
Gotham city sirens is Catwoman, Harley, Ivy and a couple of plants.
Yeah, seriously considering tensioning renaming my blog
Red Harvest wrote:Actually, I was trolling Paradigm, just a little. Chat we were having in a different thread.
Fair enough. Trolling paradigm is legit
Hoping for a quiet weekend. Doubt I'll get it but still Picked up a Killing Joke joker for a steal; he's the official DCUMG version. Still wish they'd done one with a camera...
So the short term looks like JLD and GCS. I can do that, right?
I quite fancy running Sirens. Ivy has the ability to take any Henchman in the game, regardless of faction or other restrictions, which must surely open up some broken combos...
Paradigm wrote:John, Jason/Etrigan and Zatanna. Get some JLD going on here!
Love all the recent objective work, incredibly varied and authentic!
Thanks mate. It has been a nice change of pace, but now I need to get back on the paint horse (or something). Yeah, JLD is a good shout. I realised I forgot to include something on Constantine's base - so he's now got an ancient tome on the floor also. Whilst I was doing that, I found a brain in a jar also. I can't decide whether to give it to Professor Pyg or Nurse Harley...
Also, who just has a 35mm scale brain in a jar lying around?
Red Harvest wrote:Actually, I was trolling Paradigm, just a little. Chat we were having in a different thread.
You know, I thought it seemed like an odd suggestion! Though to be fair, with the amount of stuff on Graven's shelf a random roll is sure to turn up something interesting!
Also, who just has a 35mm scale brain in a jar lying around?
Surely the question should be who hasn't Actually The Brain is a great idea. I might revisit that.
youwashock wrote:I'll throw another vote at the Sirens. They are sure to look awesome.
There's a pattern emerging...
CommissarKhaine wrote:+1 for the Sirens
This is cos I've started JLD, isn't it?! Sirens next then.
Justice League Dark... Purple:
And The Demon!
Cloak is coming along nicely. Zatanna will get a black wash, I just want a richer less flat base colour first. Debating doing her tights with VJ smoke (not doing fishnets )
And, yeah, new name. More accurate Later
Graven
youwashock wrote:Enog, enog, mrof fo nam, esir eht nomed nagirtE!
JLD looking good.
Zatanna summoning the Demon? Cheeky Cheers
Slinky wrote:Mmm, love your style, it suits these minis down to the ground
How did you do the tights, they are v real-looking?
Thanks. I sometimese feel my grungy style doesn't work for DCU - fine for BMG and its street crud, but not so much solid comic garishness. However, the JLD can be... dark, right? The only one I'm really worried about is Etrigan, hence the fairly bright cloak. I'm unlikely to use these guys in BMG: Magic is just broken as things stand. They're going to live in the DCU box.
Tights are simply done with thinned Vallejo smoke, then lightly wiping away where they'd get caught by the light.
And excitingly, I found Owlman's missing arm! Now why, you may ask, would this matter, as I'd converted him anyway with a Razerang? Well I've currently got a Arkham City Batman missing an arm because of said conversion, so now I can use Owlman's to make him into Zurr-en-Arr, which was the plan for that spare Batman all along. Cos I need another model to paint...
I will second rolling a die to decide what to do...
More accurately, rolling will tell you what you don't want to do:
Roll die,
"Nah, I don't feel like doing that one"
Re-roll die,
"Nah, not that one"
...
Repeat until you get "Yeah, I could probably do that" or similar response.
They are lovely. Delicate. New resin isn't too brittle, either, despite my fears.
M0rdain wrote:The JLD look great, i'm guessing its Constantine on the right, but who is in the middle?
Indeed, and that's Jason Blood, he who is the form of man to the demon Etrigan.
Dr H wrote:Good work.
I will second rolling a die to decide what to do...
More accurately, rolling will tell you what you don't want to do:
Roll die,
"Nah, I don't feel like doing that one"
Re-roll die,
"Nah, not that one"
...
Repeat until you get "Yeah, I could probably do that" or similar response.
Pretty much
CommissarKhaine wrote:Progress is looking good
Cheers mucker. Good to force myself back into the habit.
So, having read this week's issue of The Demon: Hell on Earth (out tomorrow, it's dead good) as an excuse to check my colours, I think Etrigan is nearly done:
Mostly, eyes and a bit of work around the mouth. Not sure about flames/osl? Base?
And the rest of the JLD, who aren't quite as far along:
Skin for them next.
C&C, as always, sought,
After that, it'll be the sirens, assorted vicious plant life, and miscellanous additional Harley Quinns, methinks.
Oh, and further proof that I have serious problem, got the Killing Joke Joker yesterday Later y'all
Graven
Automatically Appended Next Post: Fixed face and osl.
Might even be done!
So we had a snow day!
Not had one in... 8 years?
Poor wife walked to work in the snow hour and half there, bless her. The sense of obligation of hospital staff. Managed to get a lift home at least. Meant I was in charge of the 3 spawn today, taught the boys DC Deckbuilding which they loved.
Anyway.
Got a demo as Overlord (villain) of Monolith Gotham City Chronicles.
Lots of fun was had. Crazy game, it broke Kickstarter in the first hour. Decent, well worth a look.
Got a (very) early 40th present from a mate.
It's full of evil toys! Perfect.
Also. I made a Bat... Man.
Zurr-en-Arr!
And I manages to lay down initial skin tones on Zatanna.
Plus, I think, finish Constantine and Jason Blood.
Not bad is selling yourself short, John and Jason are both looking fantastic. Especially your work on the fabric textures on Constantine's coat and Blood's jacket, really quality stuff.
If you don't mind the criticism, I think Zatanna's blouse and jacket might need a bit more work, the rough look works for Constantine but Zatanna's should possibly be a bit smoother (though it could be that those areas just aren't finish yet, in which case ignore me, I'm being overly picky in any case! )
How was running the Batman game in Bad Guy Mode? Is it still competitive with win conditions you can work towards, or are you more in a GM role where you simply set stuff up for the players working against you?
Paradigm wrote: Not bad is selling yourself short, John and Jason are both looking fantastic. Especially your work on the fabric textures on Constantine's coat and Blood's jacket, really quality stuff.
If you don't mind the criticism, I think Zatanna's blouse and jacket might need a bit more work, the rough look works for Constantine but Zatanna's should possibly be a bit smoother (though it could be that those areas just aren't finish yet, in which case ignore me, I'm being overly picky in any case! )
How was running the Batman game in Bad Guy Mode? Is it still competitive with win conditions you can work towards, or are you more in a GM role where you simply set stuff up for the players working against you?
You're most kind old son. Glad you approve. They were a pleasure to do. I'm all about the muck.
Zatanna c&c gratefully received, she's still WIP. Blouse and gloves are way off still, never mind the jacket which needs a layer of VJ black patina.
Playing as Overlord is fun. I only felt like a GM insofar as I have played, and won, as Catwoman, so was helping the Catwoman player a kot. The scenario doesn't lend itself to heroes who know what they're doing though. I got creamed on the last turn, but the guy running red hood had played both sides of the demo before so knew how to play to win. Still fun - I held them to the last dice roll of the game. Much fun was had, I'm now the only person ever to pull off all of Bane's objectives in the first turn. Which is nice
I honestly think that Zatanna's blouse and gloves ought to be just.. pristine white. Maybe put a very subtle wash on them afterwards, for shadow detail, but she's a professional showman, and probably bleaches her whites.
Anvildude wrote: I honestly think that Zatanna's blouse and gloves ought to be just.. pristine white. Maybe put a very subtle wash on them afterwards, for shadow detail, but she's a professional showman, and probably bleaches her whites.
Those two gents are amazing, you really are pushing the skill level lately. Love the aesthetic. One question, excuse the ignorance, could you make John's tie a bit more colourful, is it meant to be brown, or could it be red, or even black, just to break up the beige.
The lady is looking mighty fine so far, might need some Daz to get those whites clean mind you.
Great to spend the time with the kids, needs to be done, I know you probably did not have much choice, but it is still always worth it. They soon grow up a bit and disappear, even when they are in the same room!
Good to see you getting in some games still too, busy busy boy.
great model, even if it is a bit sucky in-game.
wouldn’t of forgotten Starfire if you kept her scandalous suit....just saying. 
That was the theory. Hope it works in the end!
I'm really not. But thanks. Yeah, need to get him done though. Damn adhd, wait, look, a squirrel!
no Etrigan though 
well. Learn something new every day...
