Shades' Project Diary

[Shades]

Hi, all,

Some of the other forums I participate in seem to have quietened down, so I thought I'd venture back onto CMON and maybe be more active here. I'm not too keen on posting in the gallery to be scored -- I'd rather engage in dialogue and chit-chat, if folks feel so inclined.

I'm as much a gamer as I am a painter, and my projects shift week-to-week, depending on the next art competition or the next game. I'm currently working on a Malifaux crew (Marcus), but I have a half-dozen other projects that might interject at any given time!

I just finished this leader from the Tharn Bloodtracker unit by Privateer Press, repurposed to be a proxy for Myranda in Marcus' crew.

 

[Bailey03]

Welcome back to CMON! Yeah, the forum is much friendlier than the gallery.

Looking good. I like the subtle variations in the browns and the little splash of color here and there.

 

[Zab]

Lovely - there is lots of very subtle shading on this one and I'm really liking your style. More please

 

[HodRod]

It looks good Shades. Good to see you on CMoN.

 

[Sigmar3]

Hi Shades that's some good looking work there, great base too btw. Glad to hear from another Malifaux fan, I recently got the Hired Swords set from them. Hopefully start them soon, and get my WIP back up and running. Got some things to show finally.
Look forward to seeing some more of your work

 

[Shades]

Thanks for the welcome and the kind words, everyone! David and Hod, it's good to encounter some familiar folks!

On deck is the Cerberus from Avatars of War, to serve as a proxy for the Sabertooth Cerberus. I have some hellhounds from Gamezone, too, which match the AoW model perfectly -- kinda like Cerberus puppies ("when I grow up, I'll have 3 heads instead of only 2..."). I'll use them in the game as Canine Remains.

 

[Shades]

They serve no immediate gaming purpose, but I just had to assemble the awesome Minotaurs from Megalith Games' Godslayer range. They are great models. Dynamic, natural poses; excellent detail and character; and expert engineering, with very few parts to put together, excellent fits, and very few mold lines.

Of course, you can't see them very well here, since I have them upside down!

I'm trying an experiment here, which requires a bit of explanation. Note the container at the upper-left. There, you can see my preferred transport method in action. I don't trust foam, because I fear it will abrade the paint, so I prefer to magnetize my bases by adhering zinc washers or plates to the bottom of the base. Then I use containers and/or movement trays that have magnetic sheet on the bottom. I can fit more models in a given space. Unfortunately, I just learned the hard way that I still need to stuff in some cloth to cushion the models and prevent any shifting. Cojo now has a very noticeable scratch, thanks to some unexpected hard braking on the way over to game night.

When I glue round washers to the bottom of a slotted base, only the slot itself provides any surface area for the glue. For the 40mm bases, that presents way too much wobble. So I tried to think of a way to fill the base and provide more surface area.

Here, I've tried Liquitex modeling paste. I took this picture shortly after filling the bases with the paste and leveling it out with the side of the cardboard box that the models came in. Turns out that the modeling paste shrinks a little bit. Plus, while I knew this particular paste is flexible when it dries, I didn't expect it to be as soft as it turned out to be.

So I added a second layer and finished up the job. Next time, I'm going to try spackling compound. That will be a much cheaper material anyway. I didn't use it this time, since I was worried that it would crumble (which is why I figured the more expensive flexible paste would be worth it). Spackling compound may very well crumble, but it's worth a shot.

In any case, here the minotaurs, threatening me to paint them!

Lastly, you'll notice in the first photo one of my latest acquisitions. A new release for Dystopian Wars -- a mercenary air fleet!

 

[Shades]

For Saga

My buddy, Steve, and I plan to play a big game of Saga to celebrate the 947th anniversary of the Battle of Hastings. Steve has laid out a map and a scenario, and we're getting pumped. This is the motivation I need to start my first set of historical miniatures. I'm going to proxy a band of Celtic warriors by Warlord Games, to use for the Normans (whoever ends up playing them in the game).

The plastic portion of the set is looking good. Renedra manufactures the sprue, and Renedra has a good reputation, from what I've heard. Looks like they get double duty out of the sprue, since it looks like it's basically a sprue for their Celtic infantry. I'll have some new breeches-wearing legs to add to my bits box. Might be good for some pirate conversions down the road.

The sprue offers a good variety of poses, heads, and weapons.

The horses are nice designs, but the casting leaves a little to be desired. The metal gunk on the bottom of the base will require some industrial-strength files to remove all that material. There are significant flash and mold lines (especially on the bottom-left two), and the rumps on the right-most horses show significant pitting. The sword hilts have metal gunk on the inside, which will be pain to remove. Looks like the molds are getting old for these horses. Still, all-in-all, good models for the price, and I'm looking forward to putting them together.

For a friend

This next set of miniatures comes from out of left field. One of my childhood friends, Mark, who introduced me to Basic Dungeons & Dragons, so very long ago, bought into the Kickstarter for the relaunched Metamorphosis Alpha, the 1970's D&D-like sci-fi dungeon crawl. Mark has an odd assortment of old-skool-style miniatures that he's asked me to paint. I rarely paint for other people, and this is one of those special occasions. After all, if it wasn't for Mark, I would have discovered this hobby much later than 1978!

Mark has requested that I paint two males and two females. I will definitely paint the lizardman dude, regardless.

The sculpts hearken to a bygone era. The detail is rough by today's standards, but these would have been sharp models, back in the day. It's going to be challenging to find a painting style that will complement the near-featureless faces.

This one by Prince August is pretty good. She's a strong contender.

Progress for Malifaux

Over the weekend, I visited my parents, and I had a fun painting session, slapping on some base colors (finally!) for my Sabertooth Cerebus proxy and its cerebus pups. My folks are a very appreciative audience, and it's a pleasant way to spend some quality time with them.

Painted miniatures do perform better, even ones with only base-coats. On Malifaux Monday, the Cerebus, with assistance from Cojo, was able to take out Izamu the Armor -- no small feat!

 

[Bailey03]

I like the colors on the hounds. And I'm looking forward to seeing you tackle some historical figures. Hopefully it won't be too traumatic an experience. :tongue:

 

[Shades]

Don't worry, David -- I'll also be using them as an Albion army for Warhammer Fantasy, once I build up enough of them!

 

[Shades]

These are the kind of files that make short work of the metal gunk on the bottom of bases. I filed all 10 horses somewhere between 5 and 10 minutes. It would have been double or triple that, just using my usual triangular file. Note the pitting on the rumps of the front two horses.

Here I've used a Milliput slurry to fill in all the pitting on the front two horses' rumps and neck. Unfortunately, it's hard to tell how smooth the final result is until I prime the models. I think there will still be "shallows" and dimples, but this should be good enough for tabletop quality. These models are Celtic Cavalry by Warlord, destined to serve as generic Dark Age cavalry for upcoming games of SAGA.

I also glued metal plates on the underside of the black, plastic bases. The metal plates are slightly larger than the plastic cavalry bases, and the edges of the metal plates are somewhat sharp. So that meant filing the corners and rounding them off. More work than I bargained for, but it will make for some solid game-pieces that will feel good to handle on the tabletop. The metal plates not only add heft, but also serve to transport the miniatures in magnetized containers.

Having based all these horses on individual bases, I finally now understand why the historical players prefer basing multiple models on "stands". You can position the models much more realistically on stands, staggering the front-back positions and varying the distance between models. Much more organic and pleasing to the eye. On the other hand, basing them individually gives me the option to use them in either skirmish games, using the models individually, or in mass-combat games, using the models in rank-and-file formations.


Finally, here's my conversion for Joss, for my Ramos crew in Malifaux. I like the official Wyrd model a lot, but it's only available in the full Ramos set, which I don't need. This model is from the game, Eden, and I outfitted him from various salvaged pieces from my bitz box.

The original model holds a wrench instead of an axe. I kept the wrench handle and epoxied on an axe-head, I think from Confrontation. The cable and counterweight are the usual stand-ins from guitar strings. The other end of the cable emerges from a power-pod on his back, not from out of his head, which is what this camera angle suggests.

I green-stuffed the mohawk. It might need a little tweaking once it's cured a little more.

This guy is a beast in-game. His Pneumatic Fist has one of the most brutal damage stats in the game. I look forward to seeing him on the tabletop.

 

[Shades]

Finally assembled, ready for priming. This shot shows how I used Milliput to create a transition between the integrated base and the third-party cavalry base. My Milliput is probably decades old. One component is crusty and leaves crumbs in the mix, so this application is about all it's good for now.

After priming. A lot of projects in the works!

Top to bottom, L to R:

• Minotaurs from Godslayer (for Warhammer and Mini Mayhem).
• Celtic Cavalry from Warlord (for SAGA).
• Repair work on purchased Dark Elf Black Guard (for Warhammer).
• Repair work on purchased Dark Elf Shades (for Warhammer).
• Various cyberpunk for my friend, Mark (for Metamorphosis Alpha)

 

[Shades]

I was reglueing a shield that came off one of the cavalrymen, and I learned something. This method of priming (multi-tone airbrushing with Vallejo primer) is not very durable. It scratches off very easily.

Maybe this method is really only appropriate for display minis, not gaming minis. I'm hoping once the actual paint and varnish is on, it won't matter too much.

Does anyone have experience using minis in games after priming this way? I'm sure the thin layer from airbrush contributes to the fragility of the priming, but is Vallejo primer inherently less durable than other primers?

 

[Shades]

A decompression painting session, something to unwind after working as staff for NOVA Open and the Capital Palette.

 

[DMcc]

nice!

I just got back from Nova myself. My first time there. I hope to return next year.

I hope to start on some new projects this week.

 

[Shades]

Sweet! If you're coming back, I trust you had a fun time, which is what it's all about. Did you enter anything in the Capital Palette? Take any seminars?

 

[Zab]

Fun little mini there, how quick was that done? Any word on who won the armies and how much was raised yet? Though I helped out with painting I was unable to attend this year and was out of the loop for most of Sunday

 

[Shades]

It's just a WIP at the moment, but it spanned roughly two 1-hour sessions, maybe a little more. I was taking my time, experimenting with different color washes and just relaxing.

NOVA Open will probably post all the results in the next newsletter. I had blinders on and my pants on fire, just trying to operate Capital Palette and support Army Appearance judging. I didn't even have time to take any photos after Friday!

 

[DMcc]

yes it was a good time (other than catching a cold). I didnt take any seminars other than the free grex airbrush seminar in the lounge, which was great. I did enter a few things. I was a finalist in the large fantasy category and that was cool and my friend won gold for the historical category. I have a couple of really nice resin kits that I hope i can do a decent job on. Ill probably post wip pics once I get the courage to start them.

 

[Shades]

I remember seeing you there, Dmcc. I'm sorry we didn't have a chance to chat! We'll have to try again next year. Be sure to point me to your WIP thread when you get started.