Forum adverts like this one are shown to any user who is not logged in. Join us by filling out a tiny 3 field form and you will get your own, free, dakka user account which gives a good range of benefits to you: No adverts like this in the forums anymore. Times and dates in your local timezone. Full tracking of what you have read so you can skip to your first unread post, easily see what has changed since you last logged in, and easily see what is new at a glance. Email notifications for threads you want to watch closely. Being a part of the oldest wargaming community on the net. If you are already a member then feel free to login now.

The spectator is coming together nicely.
I did not realize how small the table actually was. I mean I knew it was small, but that tiny? Anyway, astonishing work!

It's very, very cool that you share the hobby love by teaching younglins to play and DM. You are very generous to offer awesome looking self made minis. I bet it's rewarding to see the students enjoy their time and learn new skills from such a skilled craftsman and DM.

Edit: Woo! 20 pages, congrats

Congrats, 20 pages of awesome.

 Syro_ wrote:
Thanks Da Boss, I am surprised and happy how the beholder turned out.

I just sent in my LoER #28 contest entry. Here's two pics of it.

Situation is progressing rapidly! Very nice shot, good Syro, got me chuckling. You are getting adept at furniture and voice-bubble-less comics!

@Ezki: Thanks so much Ezki, your kind words mean a lot. Luckily, my students seem to really appreciate what I'm doing and have been inspired by it. Several have asked me advice on how to craft terrain. One student asked me advice on running a game of D&D. One has been striking deals with his parents to get D&D minis for certain amounts of chores and good behavior. And the youngest asked if I could come over to his house to spend a day teaching him how to craft I'm glad what I'm doing seems to be paying off.

@Camkierhi: Thanks Cam! It's hard to believe how fast it's happened. Back when I started, it felt like an eternity before getting to a second page.

@Wirecat: Heh heh, Thansk Wirecat. I'm glad you enjoyed the card game gone wrong pic I set up. it was mostly just to entertain myself, but I'm glad at least one other person enjoyed it.

I have finished the orche jellies. I don't know if it is the gloss varnish or something else, but no matter how I adjusted the lighting, I couldn't get any photos without the glare.


I am very close to finishing the spectator


I have continued work on the flesh golem (while breaking off a hand). Mostly filling missing sections and sculpting stiched on skin sections.


I have also begun painting the nothic I made, but not very far yet.

Aweosme jellies, I love having them so they can split in game the look on players faces the first time that happens is priceless!

Great progress on your scratch builds too. I really respect the way you keep so many projects on the boil with your builds, I am still plotting to use some of the stuff you have done myself, months later! Need to get out of my work rut and get back to having fun with minis. Your stuff is really motivating!

Thanks Da Boss, I'm looking forward to splitting the jellies in combat against them too. And thanks, I do keep a lot of stuff going at once. I assumed it just made me look disorganized and distracted, so I'm glad you put it that way. I'm looking forward to when you do recreate some of the stuff I've done, it will be cool to see what things you change and improve. No rush though, I haven't gotten around to doing the stuff I was going to base off of your stuff either.

Not much to show, but I'm planning the next gift for my students. I'm giving them each three elementals molded from the tangle root elemental from the MtG board games. I saw someone on Youtube mentioning they would be good to use in D&D as many different elemental. I cast three extras for myself that I am painting to show my students examples of using them as an earth elemental, a fire elemental, and the original design as a plant elemental.

Still WIP, but I'm also not planning to paint these to a high standard since I want my students to try the same.

The Whole hoard of cast copies led by one of the originals


Thanks for stopping by

I'm only catching up but that table is awesome. The cards and everything around it not only has precision but also character. Really well done man

Thanks boundless

Here's some more new stuff.

I finally finished my nothic for D&D




I also put together a camp fire for tomorrow's game. It was very quick to make.





Not much different from last time, but I finished painting the three example elementals to show my students


Thanks for stopping by

I like the charred wood effect. I wish I had seen that before I made a campfire last month.

Thanks Josh, that happens to me too.

Well done all around! The campfire _is_ very clever- I'm stealing that! Your horde of elementals reminds me of the homunculi in the old movie The Gate!

Thanks Meer_Cat, I hope you do make one too. I haven't heard of that movie, is it worth looking for? When I tried googling it, I got a bunch of Full Metal Alchemist stuff

The Gate is probably a B+ movie- good production values, decent attempt at a serious plot, the two stoners who act as the comic relief are okay. Mild Spoiler: I was surprised and disappointed at the mechanism the director used for the young hero to 'kill' the demon monster thing trying to come through the gate. The role of the young hero was played by the fellow who was the evil protagonist in Blade (the first one)- and even that reference is severely dated now.

For 1987, it wasn't bad. Amazon has copies of it for cheap, but better if you can borrow it from someone, I don't think many folks will want to watch it more than once.

https://www.amazon.com/Gate-Special-Christa-Denton/dp/B002I41KNC/ref=sr_1_1?crid=3H7W5X69KU781&keywords=the+gate+dvd&qid=1554639823&s=movies-tv&sprefix=The+Gate%2Caps%2C168&sr=1-1

Keep up the good work!

Campfires looking very good, Syro, and finished nothic is just as old pictures show 'em! Wonderful!

@Meer_Cat: Thanks Meer_Cat, for the honest review of the movie. 'll see if I can watch it for free online or get it from the library when I have time.

@Wirecat: Thanks Wirecat, I'm glad it shows that I was trying to making the nothic as close to the art as I could

I've been very busy with work, but I did a little crafting tonight.

I've started sculpting a giant rat that will work well in a press-mold. Along with my swarm of rat swarms, I want to be able to give my students giant rats to add to their collection. All these rats seem like good low level adventurer fodder.


I've also done some more work on the flesh golem mini that I'm making to share on Vik's new thread.


Thanks for stopping by

was a bit occupied with work and my leagues entry...boy you are busy^^

the flesh golem is a cool creation ...your way of thinking behind the making is what really gives it life! no pun intended. i especially like the Z´s head ...these heads i also often used for imperial miniatures as that sad look in their faces is often something that can add a ton of character to the usual warmonger faces you get with the standard kits...

also...i need to remember the way you did the campfire...that look is so spot on!!!


as for the rat... have you had a look at LEGO animals? spiders and rats...you can get them often quite dirt cheap...i wonder (as in that is what i have planned for the furure...) to use these as then slightly modified miniatures to use in bulk...?

Thanks Vik, I'm quite a fan the that zombie/corpse head from Warhammer also, so I like to use it a lot. I'm glad you like the flesh golem

As for a description of how I make the fires, it's probably pretty face back now. here's an overview:
once the wood is set up, I paint the burned sections black, followed by little rectangles of grey for ash peeling away.
The flames are just small amount of hot glue squirted out on a flat piece of silicone, that I then repeatedly drag the hot tip of the glue gun through to make all the little flames
I then lift up the flames, attach a few to make them more 3D, and hot glue them on where it looks good.
I don't prime, to keep the flames somewhat seem through, and then start with a light base coat of yellow. I then build up with orange, followed by red with little wet streaks keeping the stuff pretty watered down
I hope that helps.

And wow, I didn't realize how good some of those little lego rats looked, I would have gotten those if I had realized (depending on scale). Luckily, I'm enjoying sculpting my giant rat, and I won't have to feel guilty mass producing them from a mold this way

Missed a few pages, but I really dig that beholder from a couple of pages back. Great job on it and the rest you've done so far!

Grats on 20 pages too!

Thanks Tyranid Horde

sadly I've been so busy with work, and so tired after, I haven't been doing much crafting. It would be good to get back and finish painting that beholder.

GET BACK ON THE HORSE...uh...BEHOLD! ERr.

Hi.

I should work with you on project motivation, I'm soooooooooo in the hole.

--B.

Heh heh, thanks for the encouragement Brian. You know me, I love crafting so much that I keep putting off the painting step. Plus I get side tracked easily.

I have finished sculpting the giant rat mini I wanted. It's certainly not the best sculpt I've done, but I wanted to make a giant rat that could be used as a master for a single piece mold. A big part of the pose is because of wanting it to be used for a push mold. This will be another thing I mass produce as gifts to grow the miniature collections of the kids who are players in my D&D group. I've trying to start having more of a theme, which is underground/sewers. The greenstuff at the end of the tail was because I crushed the tail with a clamp to hold it in place while it was drying. Before I make the mold, I'm open to C&C to improve it.


Here is the new giant rat, posing with the other rats in my collection: the rat familiar I sculpted on the left and an official D&D cranium rat swarm.


I've also been creating a 90s style pose goblin for the attempt to make a mold of a full goblin rather than the four pieces I'm used to working with. I'll be making a short bow in the goblin's empty hand.


I'm also planning to make a were-rat mini to continue the rat theme. I haven't gotten very far yet, cast an arm holding a sword, cut a tiny crossbow off of a dwarf, and sculpted the tail.


I've also finished the flesh golem, and just need to paint it now.

Giant Rat is a really good job for the press mold. It is such a dungeon staple, you can never really have enough of them!

Thanks Da Boss! I'm glad you like it. Like you said it is a staple for dungeons, which is why I picked it. Let me know if you have any suggestions for other monsters that are really common and I should try to include. I've done goblins, swarms of rats, the giant rat now, wolves, and giant spiders as the main dungeon fodder (plus elementals just because they're cool and easy). I'm planning on Gelatinous cube, and ogre as two large minis for later. Along with the were rat, I'm also considering an ettercap to go with the giant spiders, what do you think?

Exciting news is that I have completely finished the spectator I sculpted. It's hard to believe that it started as a foam ball and a few pieces of wire, I'm very proud of it and I think it's one of the best sculpts that I've done. I'm happy with the paint job also.




I've painted a bit more of the beholder, but still WIP


I've I've started the very beginning of painting the flesh golem


Thanks for stopping by

My first beholder is now officially done. The whole thing is made from a ping pong ball, a marble, some little foam balls, wire, tooth picks, and hot glue.





I have also finished painting up the long waiting dragon cultists I made for the D&D starter campaign.

(Go go power rangers )

I have finished painting the flesh golem I made as well. I'll be posting it to Vik's thread where people share builds and advice for D&D monsters:
https://www.dakkadakka.com/dakkaforum/posts/list/773264.page





The poor apprentice wizard is always being attacked because I like to use him for scale shots

Awesome progress. The beholder is amazing, the hot glue as texture works really well for the sort of otherworldly monster. I think it is a fantastic mini.
The idea of the patchwork Flesh Golem made from all the different parts is also really cool, and the stitching really sells the idea.

Great job on the full spectator sculpt , I think the lips looking like lipstick make it look even more fierce .

Heh heh, it really does look like lipstick Does it remind you of the Joker from Batman?

Both floating eyeballs are very cool...specially the beholder...you're getting very close to the ready made monsters in your work.
The flesh golem looks cool too...though i have to add...he reminds me of that awkward scene in deadpool 2 when pool had his toddler feet...*shudders*

Also...I love and hate your comp entry...who can compete against sucg crisp details???

 Syro_ wrote:
Heh heh, it really does look like lipstick Does it remind you of the Joker from Batman?

Honestly it reminds me of a bad date . Maybe it has an unknown power to see ones worst nightmares and then mentally project that onto whoever looks at it. Kind of like the mirror from Harry Potter if I remember correctly.

@Viktor von Domm: Wow, thanks so much Vik. That is the highest compliment about getting close to the official minis' quality. And oh man, that scene in Deadpool 2 was so weird.
Thanks also about the comp entry, I was also very impressed with yours. I didn't see you posting progress on your own blogs, so I was blown away getting to see it on the voting thread. Turned out beautifully.

@Theophony: Hopefully how you envision a bad date, and not actual experience I was trying to match the official art with the lips pulled back and a lot of gums showing, but I did make it too red. I should probably touch it up, thanks. Maybe sculpt the lips a bit more obviously too.