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I do like the way Gal Gadot-Wonder woman turned out... even with the combat heels. A few strong near white highlights to give the shield and other parts a metallic look, as Paradigm suggested, would do wonders for the mini.

Sorry for the general quiet. Belfast was great but tiny person came down with Hand foot and mouth, so alternately crabbit and very, very awake at 4am (still, there's always Sesame Street parodies on YouTube to keep us both happy).

youwashock wrote:Diana looks great. Nice work.

Ta!

Anpu-adom wrote:Wow, just wow.

I'd love to see your take on Martian Manhunter. I haven't even seen the model though.

As for scatter terrain, fruit cart and newspaper stand. Ripped-up section of road or sidewalk. You could play on some of the trophies from the Batcave. Most would be too small, but there is the Giant Penny, Jason Todd's costume on display, the Giant Joker card, and a Robot T-Rex.

Cheers! I have a t-rex stolen from the kids actually I am thinking about other Batcave bits and bobs generally. I've been meaning to try foamcore for broken concrete, actually, and had quite forgotten.

TerrainWalker wrote:Those phone booths are brilliant - also like the touchups on HQ.


WW looking good as well. I can really see the improvement in painting quality from the earlier days of your blog.

LEDs are ALWAYS a good idea :p

The LEDs are driving me a bit crazy actually. I'm sure I'll figure it out though. Appreciate the feedback very much indeed

shasolenzabi wrote:That is one potent Amazonian you got there!

Yup. Never going to use her BMG though. Need to force myself to use her DCU, I prefer the mounted one in general but this one is cheaper. And, you know, painted.

Red Harvest wrote:I do like the way Gal Gadot-Wonder woman turned out... even with the combat heels. A few strong near white highlights to give the shield and other parts a metallic look, as Paradigm suggested, would do wonders for the mini.

I do need to do those actually. Got distracted.

Played another game of BMG2e last night, running my high speed Harley crew (sorry, no pics ) against an alternative Arrow crew for my mate who had such a negative experience previously. I gave him some advice (some of which he took, some of which he ignored) - and I crushed him. Now, I maintain that had he listened to my (admittedly slightly counter-intuitive) tactical advice he'd have done better; Arrow is a finesse crew and you need to use a couple of fairly complex rules to optimise (small crew to pass tactically, using Scheming [Felicity, essentially, as an upgrade to Oliver] to study your opponent's action counter placement), neither of which he incorporated. But, it doesn't help that I'm running a fairly streamlined, synergistic crew that I know very well, am generally more experienced, and there is a degree of power creep from the early stuff like basic cops (although, again, I did point this out to him, and tried to get him to change his build accordingly). It's a very tricky one as you don't want to put off folk when you're trying to get a scene up and running! Seriously considering switching out Harley for some other crew, as it is of limited fun in that situaiton.

What little painting I have got done hasn't been for me. I did up Studio Miniatures Michonne and Walkers for a horror-loving colleague who has made me loads of parody posters for my classroom:


And started repainting Reverse Flash (TV) for another of my BMG buddies. He was a blob of Yellow and Black; I offered to strip him but my friend just wanted a touch up. I may have done slightly more than was asked:

Pretty happy with how it's going. Lovely model, don't own one myself, so nice to see it in the flesh. Also, he's got a lot better in BMG2e (speedsters, or at least speed force masters, can use speed tokens for regular actions now, which is very potent), so may pick one up at some point.

Martian Manhunter has been prepped and cleaned; he's next, promise!

Cheers, as always,
Graven

I really like the transition in color from the boots through the lower legs. Nicely done.

Love that Michonne! WW looks great too!

Reverse flash uniform looks great. Very nice highlighting effects.

Feeling any better about the batman game yet?

Gitsplitta wrote:I really like the transition in color from the boots through the lower legs. Nicely done.

Cheers. Vallejo smoke blended with Agrax earthshade and thinned out at the top of legs and forearms.

dsteingass wrote:Love that Michonne! WW looks great too!

Cheers, bit more comicy (well) than my usual TWD, especially the eyes. I do love that WW model.

Theophony wrote:Reverse flash uniform looks great. Very nice highlighting effects.
Feeling any better about the batman game yet?

Thanks, I really do need to get myself one
Yes, mostly. I love how much faster the game is to play: around 1 1/2-2 hrs rather than 3-4 hrs. It does help that the rulebook is logical, searchable in pdf form, and generally less nebulous. There are some "good" fluffy rules that are gone - notably, multiple saves for each piece of intervening terrain in ranged combat, which has the odd adjunct of you can now shoot into melee - but it is much more streamlined. I'm stil not 100% sure but my gut instinct that melee would be more deadly (or at least, happen more quickly) seems to be proven correct. Gun heavy crews are still good, but things seem more balanced. Whether that has now gone too far the other way (vid. my Axe-tastic Harley crew) remains to be seen.

So, stuff.
Annoyingly, I found the bases I'd bought aaaaaaages ago for the batpod:

Never mind. Further annoyance is I think I've wrecked the wiring on my LED for barrel; hopefully, halloween will provide. I'm going to make a non-led, OSLy one too, I've decided.

Took all your advice on wonder woman's nmm:

It was so tempting not to add/potentially ruin, but very pleased - used VJ wolf grey to do it.

Thanks for all the advice. Think I'm ready to call her done.

Began pre shade on Martian Manhunter:

The plan is to start him all in a deep purple, wet blending cloak to indigo and clothing to mid blue. The purple will also act as a good base for the red straps and deep shade for the green skin.


And, while I was doing him, I started some other stuff:

Rick Flag, Dr Fate, a Harley Goon, and mounted Wonder Woman.

The paint scheme for these goons is bothering me. The sculpts were what inspired me to go down the mime route with my main joker crew. The official scheme is black with red diamonds. I don't know whether stripey mime will work; I could just go black and red. My hoodie thugs for Ledger are in colourful tops, after all. Any thoughts, gratefully received!

Won't get much done this weekend, Dad's birthday so away at theirs, eating too much and playing board games with the kids. Wife's off out Sunday night once we get back (la-de-da!) so might get to tackle MM then.

Adiós,
Graven

Yep, nailed the NMM on Wonder Woman! Putting on those last extreme highlights is always daunting, but so often it's the thing that really sells the effect. Can't wait to see the mounted version!

Brave man with the NMM. Nicely done.

That extra white layer REALLY hit the mark. Another step towards greatness. The blood on the ground is from some lucky fellow to get beat up by such a pretty woman.

Great job on WW. Looks lovely.
Nice effort on NMM. Keep at it.

Paradigm wrote:Yep, nailed the NMM on Wonder Woman! Putting on those last extreme highlights is always daunting, but so often it's the thing that really sells the effect. Can't wait to see the mounted version!

Thanks mate. She's definitely on the list

Gitsplitta wrote:Brave man with the NMM. Nicely done.

Theophony wrote:That extra white layer REALLY hit the mark. Another step towards greatness. The blood on the ground is from some lucky fellow to get beat up by such a pretty woman.

A Mr Cameron...

Dr H wrote:Great job on WW. Looks lovely.
Nice effort on NMM. Keep at it.

Cheers mucker.

Right so I finally got started on Martian Manhunter:


Yes, very purple, isn't he? Well, violet.

It looks alarming. Then, we start blending blues and blocking in others


Blues on uniform are a shade lighter than cloak for contrast.

And, against a black background


The skin and red have had no shading, they're just over the purple. No ink washes yet on anything, that's next.

And by the same method, replacing the violet with royal purple here's Dr Fate



His blue on his fabric needs to be a further shade lighter. Equally, the inside of his cloak is going to go much darker. Traditionally, his cloak is yellow inside and out but there's a phenomenal illustration in the next issue of Green Arrow (joy of reviewing comics ) where the inside is a night sky / star field. So that's going to be a thing.

Great weekend. Ate too much. Drank some. Dad built lego with kids.

All good
Cheers
Graven

J'onn is looking great! Nice strong colours (thanks to that first coat of purple, I assume). Same for the good Doctor, looking forward to seeing him. You're on your way to a totally awesome Justice League here.

Both are looking great so far. will the symbol that Dr fate is standing on be OSL?

Paradigm wrote:J'onn is looking great! Nice strong colours (thanks to that first coat of purple, I assume). Same for the good Doctor, looking forward to seeing him. You're on your way to a totally awesome Justice League here.

Yeah, the purple's worked a treat. JSA, not JLA Wife's out on Saturday night so me and the boys have got a game planned, them with the League (Superman, Supergirl, Aquaman, some others tbd) and me with villains (again, tbd). Had to cancel my game tonight (trying to sort Tiny's bedtime routine), so good to know I'll get to play at the weekend.

Theophony wrote:Both are looking great so far. will the symbol that Dr fate is standing on be OSL?

Cheers. Probably, aye. It's interesting that in the studio paintjob they've gone with green, rather than yellow as is customary, as it would just be too damn much - so I'm takign that and running with it further.

Anyway, when I dream, I dream of Mars...


Generally happy tthough the highlights on his face make him a bit pouty.

And more work on the Dr:


Although it's by no means there yet, I'm glad I'm doing the starfield for his cloak lining. As it is the contrast of yellow cloth and yellow metal is going to be a nightmare. Still, you can see how the cloak is progressing in the rear pic. I'll probably do his boots, helm and gauntlets along the lines of Diana's boots etc. Otherwise he looks like he's getting ready to do the washing up...

Hey ho,
Graven.

Lovely.

I haven't checked in for a bit and you have done all this wonderful work. Michon and friends are very well done and WW looks as lovely as ever.

Looking good . Is the picture angl3 on Dr. Fate off, or is he twisted at the waist? Also his belt buckle seems really large.....like WWE large. Is that how it is in the comics also? I know that’s not on you as it’s the sculpt, but it almost looks like they made a girdle for him (one too many desserts for the good Dr.), take that off of him and he looks like Marvels the blob.

Liking what you are doing with the star field and the Ankh.

Gitsplitta wrote:Lovely.

Yorkright wrote: I haven't checked in for a bit and you have done all this wonderful work. Michon and friends are very well done and WW looks as lovely as ever.

Many thansk amigo

Theophony wrote:Looking good . Is the picture angl3 on Dr. Fate off, or is he twisted at the waist? Also his belt buckle seems really large.....like WWE large. Is that how it is in the comics also? I know that’s not on you as it’s the sculpt, but it almost looks like they made a girdle for him (one too many desserts for the good Dr.), take that off of him and he looks like Marvels the blob.

Liking what you are doing with the star field and the Ankh.

He is indeed. The original pose was all a bit I am DC Space Jesus, and not at all dynamic, so I have reposed him. But maybe not well and yeah, it really is that daft.

Spac3 Jesus landing on a cross with a halo on it

Yup.
Onwards:


Getting there. Can't say I'm finding him an especially enjoyable model to paint, cloak aside. Although I think I have bitten off more than I can chew with the star cloak.


Automatically Appended Next Post:
Did a bit more...







Am now a bit happier.

Fate is turning out very cool. The cape lining is an especially neat touch.

Never a bad thing to experiment. That's how you improve.

Thanks guys. Really appreciate all the feedback - and here he is:






After all that, I rather love it

Cloak really sells it for me and the extra highlights have done wonders for that sculpt.

Good call on the green glow. It is a cool splash of additional color and ties the figure and base together nicely.

He looks great Graven, the green osl on his hands is very subtle and the cloak looks exceptional.

Nice work on both the martian and Fate.
Good effort on all the blending and the star-field (can't help with improvements, not something I've tried yet). Looks like what it is, so

Theophony wrote:Cloak really sells it for me and the extra highlights have done wonders for that sculpt.

Aw, cheers mate.

youwashock wrote:Good call on the green glow. It is a cool splash of additional color and ties the figure and base together nicely.

Cheers. Wasn't convinced but seemed to come together in the end.

Yorkright wrote: He looks great Graven, the green osl on his hands is very subtle and the cloak looks exceptional.

Thanks. I think his left is a little too green so that's reassuring.

Dr H wrote:Nice work on both the martian and Fate.
Good effort on all the blending and the star-field (can't help with improvements, not something I've tried yet). Looks like what it is, so

Ever the supporter! Much appreciated!

Wife was out last night. That means pizza and geeking with the kids.
So a few pics, and thoughts, from a game of DCUMG with my boys: find the motherboxes, Dr Fate, Martian Manhunter, green arrow and Aquaman (them) Vs lex, 3 lex goons, Catwoman, Deadshot, and captain Boomerang (me).
We introduced a rule where, if a hydrant was destroyed, it left 2" of water - this made Aquaman potent, without about being excessively so, and I think we'll keep that house rule.
Other new house rule was that vehicles explode when thrown, doing an extra explosive/X dependent on their size. Interestingly, this made the kids more cautious about throwing stuff. Again, it works without being excessively complex or powerful.
In the end, the heroes managed to wrestle the motherboxes from LexCorp and win the day!
What we did find was with a BMG density of terrain, non-flying/climbing/jumping characters struggle a bit. Deadshot was particularly ineffectual!
New (classic) Boomerang, by comparison, was very interesting - the ricochet ability is a real nuisance. The lex goons are really good for the cost, and at some point that Lex isn't great in combat :/
On the kids' side, Dr Fate really was very potent - he's cheap for what he can do. Martian Manhunter rocks, phasing with his other abilities and strength is awesome. Green Arrow, who I thought would be pretty squishy, was astonishingly effective also. Great at the cheap end. And Aquaman was more balanced, the teleporting offsetting his general lack of mobility.
I really love this game, and the kids are all over it. Great fun!



Shot down the alleyway:


Showdown on the Roof!


Motherbox!


LexCorp assemble!


Heroes unleashed!


Cargo town



Other stuff I've been up to:
Bat-Mite's on the telly!

Very early WIP of the TV for shape, obviously.

Goonies! Well, goons, anyway.

Which is me 100% built!

Also got Flash (comic) and Kid Flash on the go, pics anon. Amusingly, there's a fair bit of flash on Flash, which I'll use as lightning sparks rather than clipping off.

One of my friends is really struggling with mental health issues at the moment. He's an ex eavy metal painter, and he's finding that getting back into painting helps a bit. So, he's doing some stuff for me:


Looks pretty nice. Need to base him obviously. For which I have a plan... A Super-plan
Whilst I could do the stuff myself, I have plenty and it helps him. He's doing the Crime Syndicate of America (evil Earth-3 justice league) for me next. Of course, sneakily, the plan is to get him playing and out of the house he's asked me to order him some stuff too. I do worry I'm enabling him in some ways - he used to be manager of our flgs, after all, and it's a safe space - but, baby steps.

What's next? Oh, too much stuff
Later
Graven

Not to detract from your own work at all, but my god, that Doomsday is phenomenal! Wonderful palette and subtle contrasting textures.

I'm guessing a red cape for the base... You wouldn't be the kind of monster to put an actual dead Superman on the base, would you... would you?!

Yeah, it's very lovely isn't it? I saw the WIPs also, so it's a great reference piece. The fact that I'm getting some models pro painted for free ain't bad either
Just the cape, fear not. And maybe a chest piece...