A joyous Boxing Day to all....

Imagine my surprise when I found out that didn't mean a day long marathon of fisticuffs.

Rather than make updating my blog daily a New Year's Resolution, I decided to start a week earlier. It sort of makes sense when you think about it as I love to talk about the miniature painting hobby. Honestly, I could go on for hours about the hobby and all of its "goings on". Today's post is a quick one, mainly a "workbench" update.

As you can see I finally finished assembling 10 of the viking huscars from Wargames Factory and have even textured the bases of five of them. I can only paint models at one time as I only have one wooden paint stirrer to mount them to. (FYI, you can go to Home Depot and they will give you a handful for free and they are so great for holding squads of troops for painting.) I have also assembled and primered three Germanians from Wargames Factory along with an Askari from Wargames Foundry. The Germanians are for my miniature painting price guide for the three levels of painting I'll be offering for historical plastics (the levels will be similar for plastics except for the level 3 models). The two barechested fellows will be the level 1 and 2 models while the fellow with the horn and fancy staff will be the level 3 model. Trust me, it will all make sense when I show you the painted versions later on in the week.

But in case you are wondering, some painters used a tiered pricing system based upon the paint job's level of detail. Example: A level 1 may consist of blocked out colors and a dip in brown wash. A level 2 may consist of everything level 1 consisted of, but with some additions such as drybrushing and blacking out the eyes. Level 3 is the usual level I paint my personal troop models...eyes dotted, clean highlights and washes, all the little details painted, and possibly a little bit of freehand here and there. Some even go a level beyond 3 for command models and personality models for what they might call a "showcase" level. I myself paint all my RPG models to that level (see any of the photos I've posted for examples).

You should keep one thing in mind when thinking about "paint job levels" is that not all miniatures are the same.

• Plastics up until recently did not have the detail that metal or resin had (and there are some plastics this is still true of).
• Not all metal miniatures are made the same and you will find varying degrees of quality in sculpting and casting.
• There are some models out there a level 3 paint job just can't fix (I'm looking at you Hero Clix).

Let me assure I speak from experience on these points. Personally, I try to steer a customer away from trying to get a substandard model painted up to more than a level 2 because to go much higher isn't really worth the money and more than likely they have another model in their collection that would benefit from a level 3 or higher. In this economy, it is all about getting your customer the most bang for their buck.

Well, that is all for tonight's post. I hope you guys have found it informative and possibly educational. Personally, I'm going to slap a coat of my custom fleshtone base on the Germanians and then crank up Saint's Row 3 and cause some mayhem.

Mike

Happy Holidays to All!

Diane and I are keeping the festivities sort of low key at the homestead this year. With some of the unforseen changes that 2011 brought, we've opted to spend Christmas at home this year with the boys. Monty is asleep on the couch while Bruno sleeps on his dog bed beneath the Christmas tree all while a Firefly (bleh) marathon plays on TV. Diane is cooking up our holiday feast of ham and a variety of other delicious foods while I assemble little plastic vikings at my desk.

If you don't recognize these fine plastic fellows, they are from Wargames Factory's Hammer of the Gods line (at least I think it is a line). I am currently assembling 10 of these guys as a viking raiding party hence their varied weapons and other equipment. I'm still not sold on the spears at the moment as I find them awkward and unwieldly. Not to mention they make ranking up the models a nightmare. True, I could have based them on 40mm square bases but then it would make using the regiment as skirmishers impossible. So with that in mind, I think those spears will get replaced with swords and axes.

As far as the painting for these guys goes I don't know really exactly what my color scheme will be. I do know that I am going to use earthtones and I'm fairly sure that the colors green and red will be used a great deal on the tunics. What I do know with absolute certainty is that I really need to sit down and plan out my color scheme thoroughly as I am painting 10 models rather than just 1 or 2 and they need to look good as a unit as well as individually.

But that sort of brings me to the point of today's post and that is planning your project. I have always been the kind of painter that loves to jump in head first and just start painting. Sounds great, but that route often leads to minis getting thrown in the Pinesol jar because the color scheme didn't work. Just the simple act of putting thought into your color scheme and possibly a little backstory to your models can mean the difference between a nicely painted model and one that will knock your friends' socks off.

An example of a model where I planned out the color scheme and came up with a little bit of back story is my Goblin Boss from GW:

The plan was that I was going to use a classic goblin color scheme with various greens and reds. Furthermore, my plan was also to use a muted palette for this model as to play down the "Christmas Color Scheme" that I so hate about GW's paintjobs. The last bit of my plan was to come up with a little backstory for the models since he is a character model and backstory always seems to make me feel a little more invested in the paint job. For this Goblin Boss, I decided that he was a veteran of many conflicts in the north and had survived a battle with a massive force of Nurgle tainted Marauders but not without becoming slightly tainted. That little tid bit at the end is the main reason why I used very desaturated tones for highlighting his flesh. Just that little something special to make the model unique and personalized.

So for the upcoming new year, I challenge you all to make a resolution to just take five to ten minutes and put some thought into your new projects. Trust me, it will add a little bit of spice to your work and will help you paint something exceptional.

That is all from me this afternoon. Hopefully I'll have some in progress painting photos later this week as well as some in progress shots of the refitted Paintshop of Horrors site that has been absent for the last three years.

Mike

The Workbench...or what I am painting this week

On the workbench this week I have:

Goliath Ganger with Shotgun.

Originally, I was working on an Escher with a las-rifle but after careful consideration I decided to strip the less that stellar primer job and globbed on paint off of her. Hint: Just because someone gives you a mini with primer and paint on it does not mean you have to work with it. I strip everything and reprimer it myself to avoid any problems such as bad coverage or just bad primer color choice.

As for Mr Biceps here, he was primered with Krylon Gray Primer. It is cheaper than GW primer and it comes in three colors rather than two. I the last couple of years, I have really come to enjoy painting over the gray and white primers from Krylon.

The fleshtone you see here is my special blend that I make from three different fleshtones from various manufacturers: Delta Ceramcoat, Folk Art, and Americana. I used to use only Ceramcoat, but they changed their paints formula (and not for the better) so I had to make some alterations in my mixture. But, besides those three colors, I add Charcoal Gray and Spice Brown to the mix in small quantities. The end result is a more realistic fleshtone (or at least that's how I think it looks). Far too many companies make their fleshtones to orange or too pink. However, everyone has to find a fleshtone that they like whether it is straight from the bottle or a mixture.

As far as the rest of his color scheme, I am probably going to stick close to the Necromunda rule book color scheme but with some more elaborate patterning on the trousers and possibly tattoos. Very iffy on tattoos as if you go to elaborate it muddies the figure, but if you don't go elaborate enough it looks cartoony and crappy. I do know that I am going with a solid color for the hair and NOT the snowcone look I have seen on some Necromunda Goliaths.

Next up is the Illyrian Scout from Reaper.

He is still in what I consider a brainstorming phase. I know I want to use a bright color for his flesh, hence the white primer. However I don't know what color yet. I am leaning towards an orange rust color...sort of like Jar Jar Binks or something. His base is a standard gravel base as I sort of see him as a member of some rag tag interplanetary group of adventurers.

Well, that is it for tonight. Check back again in a few days or so and I should have some serious progress on the Goliath. Haven't decided if he will be auction material or not. I do have extras of certain models for the Goliaths, I just have to check and see if he is one of the extras.

Good Night and Good Painting!

Mike

Gretchin Mekaniak and Sneak Preview!

First up tonight is the Gretchin/Grot Mek!

This one is a flashback to about 1992-1994...or for me about 1995. I think he was one of the Gretchin Assistants for the Shock Attack Gun....or maybe the Scorcha. Whatever it was, I don't have the model he went with anymore...that I know.

But I didn't get to seal him with Dullcote tonight as it was sprinkling outside and the last thing I need is extra moisture....don't want a "frosted' Gretchin.

I went with an Evil Suns meets the Orks from the Space Marine video game. I really like this mini as he isn't as feral as all the new grotz models are....just so many loinclosths and revolvers a man can paint before he hits his limit.

And tonight's sneak preview!

The next project I'm going to be working on is and Escher ganger for Necromunda. I will be auctioning her off as soon as I complete her...I play Goliaths and Redemptionists.

Her base is a custom one off I made with some plasticard and some tiny plastic bits for rivets. I think I'll go with my classic yellow and black hazard lines and rust for the base treatment. I have no idea what her color scheme will end up being...probably go text book with it.

So if you are in the market for some painted Necromunda stuff, stay tuned. Remember, painted minis make a great Christmas present for that wargamer or roleplayer in your life.

So check back later, I'll be painting some Spinespur models for a commission and I'll also be chugging along on more figs for auctions....probably a safe bet some more classic GW stuff will be amongst them...possibly some of the older Devestators (from the 90s) and Genestealer Cultists.

And if you have some spare time, why not follow the Paintshop of Horrors on the Twittah!

My Twitter name...thing...whatever is Chaney_Insaney.

A new photo, a better photo, and a combination of both....

First up is SWAT Officer Dell.

She's part of my Modern/Zombie Apocalypse collection and brings the count on those models up to a breathtaking 3 models. Yes, I really need to focus on that particular collection as it isn't exactly growing like a weed. Seriously, 3 models in 3 years is not a great ratio.

So for the particulars of the model...she is part of a 6 pack of SWAT officers from Foundry. I actually bought that pack about 10 years ago....and that should give you an indication of my painting backlog. She was base coated with Testor's Flat Black and then highlighted with a mixture of Ceramcoat Charcoal Gray and Ceramcoat Wedgewood Blue. I built up the highlights by simply adding white to the mixture...I think I used Vallejo white simply for the dropper.

The gas mask and the other areas that would have more of a "slick" or "latex" look were highlighted with a mixture of Ceramcoat Payne's Gray and Ceramcoat Wedgewood Blue...which I built up by simply adding more Wedgewood Blue. I never went full on Wedgewood Blue, but that is a matter of personal preference as I prefer a more subtle final highlight.

The green pouches were basecoated with a mixture of Catachan Green and Ceramcoat Charcoal Gray...and the highlight was built up by adding Ceramcoat Quaker Gray which let me achieve a faded color effect.

The lens of her mask was first basecoated with Tausept Ochre and then I shaded (or I think it's degraded) the color with Reaper Saffron Sunset. I added more and more Saffron Sunset to the mixture until I had an almost pure Saffron Sunset.

The base is a standard 30mm lipped base from Privateer Press. I have Reaper lipped bases as well, but the didn't have enough room for all the details I wanted to add on. The recessed area of the base was filled with Milliput and sculpted to resemble a concrete slab with a seam down the middle. I then added some various plastic bits to give a ruined urban look.

Next one up is my Night Goblin Archer from the Battle For Skull Pass box set.

I've posted a couple of photos of him over the summer, but I finally had a chance to take a nice photo of him only recently. For the record, he is a prototype for the rest of my collection....I needed to try out the color scheme and see how it looked before I committed the rest of my army to this particular look.

For the particulars of the model...he was first base coated with Krylon Gray Spray Primer. I didn't want to use black right off the bat as I didn't want to restrict my palette to dark colors only. Yes, we all know those are the colors I'd go back to, but I didn't want to have to go back to them.

The flesh was base coated with a mixture of Gnarloc Green (yes that is a green, don't believe GW's swatches for that one) and Ceramcoat Charcoal Gray. The flesh was then highlighted with pure Gnarloc Green and built up with Ceramcoat Sandstone. This allowed the flesh to not go too yellow or jaundiced. Once the highlighting was complete, I layered on a thin glaze of Privateer Khardic Flesh to the nose and lip areas. I built up the Khardic Flesh gradually until the tip of the nose was completely Khardic Flesh.

The cloak was base coated with Vallejo Black and then highlighted with Charcoal Gray and built it up by adding small amounts of Quaker Gray. I applied many glazes of black to tone down the highlights and help it blend better. Once dry, I freehanded on some red triangles...which was inspired by Jackob Nielsen's Goblin Army.

The bow and leather was base coated with Calthan Brown and then highlighted by adding small amounts of Ceramcoat Sandstone to the mixture. The reds were highlighted by adding Saffron Sunset to Ceramcoat Bright Red.

And finally, Rosie the Chronotech from Reaper Miniatures.

This particular mini was painted waaaaaay back in 2007 and honestly, I couldn't tell you what particular colors were used. I do know that one day I'd like to take another crack at painting her....if nothing else just so I can fix the flesh blends.

And so ends another photo update from me.

Please feel free to go and vote on my models in my Coolminiornot.com gallery. And if you feel up to it, why not leave a comment or two.

I am available for commissions both private or commercial. If that peaks your interest, feel free to message me on Coolminiornot or leave a message in the comments section on the blog....I'd put my email address up but I just finally got all the spam back under control.

So...the Paintshop is back open for business...

So many of you know of the carnage that happened at CCP/White Wolf on Oct. 19 and that I was caught up in it. I won't go into details as you can find those all over the various forums and blogs on the internet.

During my time there over the last 12 years I have started and shut down my commission painting work due to various reasons, the main one being that there just wasn't any time to do any. Well, things have a way of changing and I think it might be time to reopen the Paintshop once again...but this time for good.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be putting together a new site (along with one that showcases my Level Design and Graphic Design skills), with new images and a general pricing guide (it's just a jumping off point for prices as some models may cost more or less).

If you have ever looked at my old site...or have ever had something painted by me, you know what what my painting capabilities are....and they will be even better in just a few weeks as I get back into old painting workflow.

And it does not matter whether you are miniatures company or a miniature aficionado...I deliver the most awesome top tier paint job you have ever had. Not to mention my sweet custom bases.

So come to the Paintshop and let me paint something for you.

Mike

Imperial Psyker...Day Two

Day Two.

The base is finally constructed. The great thing about Pro Create is that it cures really fast and without light. The flagstones turned out beautifully...the tech box/relay/ thing not so much. The original wasn't very detailed and for some reason the mold didn't pick up on some of the subtler details on it. Still, it does add a nice touch to a simple flagstone base. If I can find a coffee straw, I might make some tubing that leads to the box...if nothing else to make it more plausible. Or I'll just say its a portable personal void shield... still plausible.

You can also see I have some stuff in some smaller push molds. I mixed up way to much kneadatite and luckily I had some bits molds for the excess to go in. Alas, no tubing molds.

I am opting for no servo skull with this one. I figured the base is still sort of "iffy" and I'd hate to waste a good plastic servoskull. I'll be primering grey for this model....while I'm very fond of black primer, this model has a lot of lighter neutral colors. And painting over black takes soooo long.

This week's desktop shot of the week....

After a lot of rambling entries and aborted projects, I cleared my desk off and started over...again.

As you can see, I have once again painstakingly chosen a model that I "really like" and am in the process of prepping him for glory...or utter failure. He will hopefully be accompanied by a Servo Skull. Why...because I like servo skulls. I have some Pro Create putty in a press mold of flagstones I made from a plastic toy. The idea being is that the Psyker is part of a force involved in a prolonged urban conflict/pacification. While the flagstones don't scream Sci Fi....I do think they sort of capture how I picture the gothic architecture in the 40K universe, spcifically the architecture on some of the older and more settled Imperial worlds. My hope is that the finished model will have a lot of character to him while still being viable for use in 40K..

Not in the picture is the giant container of painting failures who are about to meet their maker in a giant jar of Pinesol....scary thing is I have several jars of stuff. I'm kinda terrified to open the older ones from 98 as they were filled with nail polish remover and I know there are some models in there that have dissolved into sludge. I think the one that dissolved was an old Grenadier model though....or maybe one of the Ral Partha models from their Rallidium days.

So wish me luck in that the Psyker doesn't make a return trip to the Pinesol jar.

Starting with a blank slate.....

I cleaned everything off my desk over the weekend...including any half done projects. Those projects were subjected to a withering critique and were found not worthy of continuing...and therefore are now in the big jar of pinesol. Drastic....perhaps, but sometimes you just need a fresh start.

With that in mind, I decided to start everything back off with an old Librarian Terminator from Space Hulk seen below:

Right about now you should drop to your knees and thank your maker plastic model technology has gotten better over the last twenty years. But as he is a classic model, I've been going with classic paint scheme and style. His armor has been given a coat of Enchanted Blue with the exception of his right shoulder pad which has been done up in the Blood Angels style. I'm keeping the effects such as the glows pretty simple....I still think the older models look better with a classic style paint job rather than a fancy one with weathering and excessive glowing. Probably some sort of nostalgia I have for the old days of White Dwarf (when half of it was in B&W and there were tons of 'Eavy Metal photos by Tim Prow, Mike McVey and Fraser Gray (my biggest influences when it comes to painting GW stuff).

Stay tuned as i figure out what a classic base for this guy looks like...as I have no idea.

New paintings....

So...you might have noticed I've painted something. Tonight's subjects are a Chaos Space Marine belonging to the Purge and a Barbarian from Harlequin miniatures (sculpted by Kev Adams...and it ROCKS!). The CSM was originally for a contest on CMON...but there is no way I'll be done on time. The barbarian is for a contest on Beasts of War.

I'm not really big into contests, but I figure entering a couple might get my name back out there since it has sort of fallen off the radar over the last....shudder...ten years. Someone hacking your Ebay and email account can really put a crimp in your online presence. And add on that my site has been AWOL for three years now. But hopefully things will start picking up. And please, if you have any comments on these or any other of the minis I've painted, please leave a comment...or constructive criticism. Feedback is always appreciated.

Trying to get back on the mini painting horse

Inspiration and those who inspire me to be a better painter....

Since I haven't had a chance to do any painting in like two months, I thought I'd take a little bit of time over the next several days to talk about the other painters out there on the web who inspire me to be a better painter. Sure, painting a model for a competition or to post on some website where faceless individuals rate it on a scale from 1 to 10 can inspire one to really push their boundaries. For me however, these guys inspire me to push my boundaries for the simple reason that it looks really friggin' cool and everything else is secondary at the most.

Tonight's site I'd like to mention is Witchhunter.net. While I don't know his actual name, I do know that he totally rocks when it comes to painting little metal men. The photo to the left (from a Wargames Illustrated from way back in 98). Every inch of that model lovingly painted to a high standard.... every barbarian in that howdah is easily an 8 on CMoN.

And you should see the rest of his barbarian army...it is friggin' amazing. Every one of them beautifully painted...literally every mini looks like its a hero model. Here's the kicker...it's a very, very, very small part of what he's painted. I sit here and paint one guy over a period of two months that maybe looks half as good as the minis on his site...and here he is cranking out tons of guys like it was going out of style.

So tonight I raise a toast to the dude behind Witchhunter.net. I don't know your name, but I am in total awe of your work.

Jabber, Jabber, Jabber Jaws?

Dwarf....Pirate...Wereshark...

This is probably one of the coolest minis Reaper has ever done. Ever since I got him, I have been chomping at the bit to paint him...and this weekend I decided to go for it. I'm going all out for this guy...blending and all that other cool stuff...but no NMM. Basically, trying t

o get myself back in gear for painting at the top of my game instead of at gaming levels. I am going back to basics with his base though, a 1 inch metal washer with sand and a couple of small shells. So burned out on fancy diorama styled basing...gonna go back to some good old fashioned catalog styled painting and bases. The other plus is that a metal base make storage so much easier thanks to strips of magnets....once in place they don't move until you move them.

This handsome fellow is one I'm painting for my brochacho Oscar Garza. Yes, that's Captain Stryker being painted up in reds instead of the Cygnar blue. I think Oscar is planning to use him as some sort of fire mage in D&D. Thus far, I have his "skirt" done blended up from a dark red to regular old blood red. The edging on the skirt was done with Citadel Iyanden Darksun mixed with some Ceramcoat Cape Cod Blue. The pants were done with Apple Barrel Pe

wter Gray with a simple black wash over it. The leathers are getting a base coat of Citadel Calthan Brown mixed with Ceramcoat Charoal.

I have no idea what kind of base I'm doing for him. Maybe some sort of scorched earth...or flagstones. Won't really know until I make it.

This suave looking mofo is Arbite #2 which I have been working on off and on for the last three months. I don't get much time to paint, so what time I do have gets spread out amongst many minis. I got around to painting his face and worked on some more of the insignias on his armor.

More stuff....

So I've gotten some time to paint lately

Managed to scrape together a couple of hours here and there over the last two weeks to actually do some painting. And so with no further delay...the photos.

After taking such a long hiatus from painting to concentrate on work and my various other side ventures, I thought it best to sharpen my skills on a very basic model...a Night Goblin archer from the Skull Pass box set.

I went with a classic color scheme inspired by Jakob Nielsen's army from waaaay back in the day. All the colors are GW colors...my main ones being Mecharite Red, Gnarloc Green, Calthan Brown, and Chaos Black. I went for the desaturated look to everything, so a light gray was added to all the colors.

This fella here is the second of a commission job. An Adeptus Arbites, which was heavily converted by the commissioner (might have to get him to convert me some stuff). The fourth time was the charm on the eagle on his shoulder as I was having a hard time replicating the colors I used on the first model. The color on the second models is still a little more desaturated than the first, but its about as close as I can get him. Still I am very happy with the way he is finally coming together. I'm hoping to finish the orangey-gold areas tonight and start on the red areas. And once he is done, I'll primer his friends and get cranking on all three at once.

So...I think it might be time to move onto newer miniature horizons....

So...FYI...GW is going resin AND increasing prices again.

Yeah...22 bucks for Abaddon now. Not even that great of a model by today's standards...and 22 friggin' bucks. And now he'll be resin so if I fuck up, I can't strip the paint off (easily...I hate using Simple Green)...and if I drop him he will shatter into a million bits (I am a clutz).

So...what does all this mean for me. Well, I pretty much have all I need to finish out my Chaos Space Marines, Space Marines, Witch Hunter, Orc and Gobbo, and most of my Space Orks (they are more a labour of love that I only buy what is the coolest)....so I'm pretty much done. But hey I've been a die hard GW fan since 1990...so 20 years was a good run. Sure, I put up with a lot of bullshit....unnecessary line upgrades...gigantic price increases....discontinuing of EVERY SINGLE GAME I had time to play...the list goes on. I was long suffering...but I am just done now.

From here...I think I'll expand my horizons. Might be time to pick up some Sedition Wars stuff...maybe keep working on that Cryx army (Ed would just love that I'm sure). Heck, maybe even focus on my WW2 stuff... the possibilities are endless. Oh I'm sure I'll pick up the odd plastic kit from GW on Ebay now and then...but not like I used to.

And as a side note, if I'm gonna spend over 20 bucks on a model...I'm just gonna buy some Smart Max or McVey Studios stuff. Yes, they are also expensive...but those models are 54mm and are something new....and not just something that was repackaged and repriced.

...sigh...and another in the Pine Sol jar...

Yep...Mr Super Mutant....totally screwed him up within two hours of painting. Granted, going in the Pinesol isn't tragic...it does point out to me that I am waaaaay out of practice painting. I haven't touched my brushes in weeks due to other commitments and it is really showing. So its time to hit the basics and get my skills back up to par.

So before I hit the hay tonight, I am going to select one of the simplest minis I have and paint it up. Nothing fancy...which probably means some historicals. And hopefully if I remain faithful to my paints and brushes, the gods will once again smile on me....if they existed.

Custom basing....I has it.

This is my new custom base I built over the last couple of nights. And by past couple of nights...I mean 30 minutes here...30 minutes there.

The base itself is a 40mm Warmachine base. This is actually my preferred size of these types of bases as it allows you to really go crazy with the detailing AND it will work for 28mm single models and some of the larger models out there (a SM termie or an Ork Nob would fit on these no problem). Another reason I like these is that a 1.25 washer fits neatly into the recessed area on the base....and that means I have a solid metal template to work from when building the base up.

The raised "concrete" area you see is nothing more than foamcore. I mounted it to a 1.25 washer with sticky tac and proceeded to cut and sand the edges to make them smooth and round. I then mounted the foamcore to the plastic base using Aileen's Tacky Glue. I then sealed the foamcore with a mixture of Durham's Water Putty, Elmer's Glue, and of course water. I made sure it was thin so it would self level when it dried. I covered the entirity of the foamcore with it... which resulted in something that looks like concrete and has a rock hard protective shell so the foamcore won't dissolve when I primer it.

Once I added some bits and skulls from my bits box, I simply primered it with Krylon Grey Primer and now here it sits ready to be painted.

And just what is going to be mounted on this base?

Yep...him. And if you don't recognize what he is...perhaps this will help.

Hello Internet.....

I'm sorry I've been away....but I've been busy with other things.

Tonight's update is custom bases. If you are new to my blog, you might not know how much I hate plain bases for miniatures...hate it hate it hate it. Plain ones just make it look like your army is invading a golf course. The next step up isn't the greatest either...adding gravel and static grass help, but you can always do so much more.

This one is for one of my Adeptus Arbite commisions. Basically, flagstones and a metal plate....for which I still have to find some rivets...probably end up having to use some two part epoxy and then cut small pieces.

On to the next one.

This particlar base is special. Fully custom....a 1.5 inch washer with foamcore mounted on top. I've sealed it with a combination of Durham's Water Putty and Elmer's Glue. The end product is a hard rock like substance.

This is for a Super Mutant model from Reaper. I'm going for a Fallout 3 styled look, so this is only the first step in what is sure to be many.

Next "personal" project for me....

Back in 06, I picked up a bunch of stuff for Urban War/Metropolis. I opted for the Viridian faction as I prefered their look to the other factions.

Now almost five years later, I have decided to paint one up.

I hope to do a sort of step by step or phase by phase tutorial for it...but I make no promises.

Maybe I'll just do a more abstract one....like painting certain types of things...like flesh...or the trenchcoat...or something like that.

Yeah...

Adeptus Arbit part deux

Starting on the second Adeptus Arbite. Much like the first, I painted the crest of the helmet and the right arm first. I generally use the "inside out" approach when I paint complex models like this one. Luckily, I'm pretty neat when I paint so I don't end up having to do a ton of touch ups.

One snag I ran into on this model was the details on the Aquilla were not very good. I don't know what the deal is, but I ended up having to line it with dark burnt umber to get the details to pop. If you remember on the first one, I barely had to do a wash as the details were so clear. But alas, that is one of the snags you run into when you are refurbing an partially painted mini.

Maybe I can throw some orange glazes on it to tone it down a little.

Blast from the past

This is a Shadowrun Decker from Ral Partha/Ironwind Metals. I painted her back in 08 on commission and it was a real joy to paint. Before you rag on my lack of detailing or whatnot....keep in mind she is a true 25mm scale model. It's almost like trying to paint a 20mm model (or one of WEG's Star Wars minis).

The color scheme was one the owner of the mini came up with. I was sort of hesitant at first, but it actually turned out pretty cool...although why she has shin guards on her Fuck Me Boots I have no idea.

The rusty pieces are from a 1/72 tank kit that I had laying around.

Back to the beginning (no photos as my phone is charging).

After the last week of painting failures and disasters, I decided to take a few nights off. I worked some extra hours on my freelance graphic design gigs....played some video games....read Ravenor Rogue...really just get my mind off of things. I also used that time to completely clean off my painting desk...or as clean and clear as you can get it. I put away all the possible and potential projects that I'd been messing around with and that had distracted me. I put away all the bottles of paint that had piled up on my desk over the last few weeks. I got rid of all the soda cans, bottles, and cups that seem to just multiply on their own. I wiped the slate clean so that I might once again start fresh as to satisfy my whole OCD thing about having to make a sort of "event" out of things...it sounds crazy, but so does the concept of Spring Cleaning being the only time of year someone does a major cleaning overhaul to their home.

Back on topic...I am starting off with two miniatures...one a commission piece and the other one of mine.

On the commission side of things, I have another Adeptus Arbite...same style of model as teh previous one, although his heavy bolter is belt fed. I had thought about possibly making look more like a sort of heavy autoshotgun...as that would seem totally Arbites to me.

And for me, I am going with a Sardar the Pure from Confrontation. I was never a fan of the Lions of Alahan...they just looked too High Elfy for me....however Sardar was the exception ...OK ...Sardar and Alahel the Messenger...but that's it. But here is the catalog shot of Sardar. Again, this is the Rackham paintjob...not mine. Odds are, I'll probably go with this color scheme though. Sardar will become part of my D&D collection along side the halfling I have done...not much of a collection yet, but give it time.

Well, that's enough for now. Time to go back to sleep for a couple of hours.

Exalted: Chejop Kejak Day Two

So I managed to to get some time to work on some painting...despite spending the majority of my weekend doing freelance. I've gone in and painted in the white areas of his tunic which has had multiple glazes of Chambray Blue. The Cape and the bottom of the tunic were given the same treatment as the area around the shoulders. I had attempted some NMM on the staff...but it looked horrible and cartoony...so I basecoated over it. I've also gone ahead and based the model on it's base. This is one from Reaper which has a smaller area for gravel and is slightly taller than the Privateer bases.

Exalted: Chejop Kejak Day One

Or as I like to call him Porkchop Kojak. Back in 04 I painted him and about 20 other Exalted minis for demo games at Gen Con....in a period of three months. That's pretty rapid fire for me to say the least. And while I did get paid for this large commission, I just never really liked the way the paintjobs turned out. I wasn't being overly perfectionist about it...I didn't get to lavish each model with the love and attention I usually give all my works. No real shading or blending...almost cartoony and cell-shaded when I think about it.

See for yourself, he's the one on the left. Just shitty, shitty, shitty. And after about 7 years of use and abuse around the office, I figured he and his companions were due for a face lift....or a complete strip down to the metal and start all over again.
Behold, the improved Chejop. He's maybe about 20 % done, but he is already head and shoulders above the old one. For starters, I removed his molded on base. Nothing wrong with the old one...it just sucked for gaming...didn't really keep the mini upright. So he'll be getting a nice 30mm lipped base with gravel and flock. Yeah...sort of going with the "popular" base, but honestly they look cool and give a ton of support.
You'll also notice, I based white...for the first time in at least 10 years. Still adding some "fake" shadow in in some areas with diluted black, but still...it's over white this time. I also stuck with a blue-gray to white color scheme. Still haven't decided yet if I am doing the NMM thing with him yet...probably not as I have used the color I use for steel on part of his tunic.

I'm hoping to be 50% along on the next photo.

One down...four to go....

Added the flock to his base and painted all the details this afternoon. Pretty happy with this guy. I don't think he'd rate me over a 7 on CMoN....but still I think he turned out pretty good.

I'm gonna do up a fancier photoshoot for him and his buddies once I finish the entire commission....never set up for just 1....although I did make an exception for Zombie Hitler....

little by little

Been caught up in workingon freelance and yard work over the last few weeks and had no time to paint. I did manage to get a little time today and so I present photos!

First up is the Adeptus Arbit which I've been working on for what seems like forever....and I still have 4 more to go. Today I made time to paint on the metallics. Boltgun Metal base coat with a Dark Burnt Umber wash to shade. I then built back up the basecoat on the raised areas and then highlighted with Chainmail. I added another highlight by mixing some Pearl White into the Chainmail....but only on the very tops of the metal surface. I also painted the bolter shells gold which I intend to highlight with a small amount of chainmail and sort of go for a brass appearance.

All that is left to do now is to go back in and clean up some of the areas where I wasn't to careful with the metallics, add some flock, and seal. Still he has taken a long time.

Next up is "Brains" from Impact's Elfball line. He's a little further along now as I painted the metal areas on his shoulder and elbow pad. All that is left to finish him up is to finish his feet and maybe add some weathering and damage to his shoulder pad...and maybe some dirt and blood around the bottoms of his trousers.

And lastly is the Scion of Illian for Warzone. Why am I painting this guy... he is more or less something I picked up out of my Warzone stuff on a day when I wanted to paint, but didn't feel like painting anything I had on the table. I do that sometimes....

But he is the second miniature in my "Update Warzone color schemes and paintjobs so they don't look so 90's" project. Gone are the days of the bright oranges and reds my friend....and welcome to my desaturated semi military color palette. My hope is that all the "good guy" models will look more serious and brooding...and the "bad guy" models will look sinister and foreboding.

Just a lazy dog dangling Sunday evening....

Some more work on the Arbite....namely finishing up the reds and shanding his right arm and left leg.

Oh, and a little preview of something that I'm painting up for my wife....a Blood Angel Assault Sgt.

More Adeptus Arbite progress....

Here are some more in progress shots...although getting pretty close to the end. I won't be doing any sort of rust or weathering effects.... this is a commission piece and the "commissioner" prefers the old school Mike McVey/Tim Prow GW style from the 90s...a style I love quite a bit. Don't get me wrong, I love to do the realistic styled rust and decay on my models, but after a while it gets old and everyone and their mom is doing it now.

Again, the base color for the yellow areas was made by mixing some Mecharius Orange with Iyanden Darksun. From there I added small amounts of Iyanden Darksun and Bleached Bone. The highlight is pure Bleached Bone but very thinned down. The Heavy Bolter was basecoated with pure Mechanicus Red and was then built up with Blood Red. During the layering of the Red I glazed it with Dark Burnt Umber from Liquitex (it's loaded with pigment and you can thin it way down without seeing pigment grains). I finally edged the Storm Bolter with Apple Barrel Red...and I added a tiny bit of Gehenna Orange from the Warzone paint lines (not from any set in particular...this was when they just had the two giant sets of paint). The pants were basecoated with Adeptus Battlegrey mixed with Chaos Black. I then did a heavy wash of Chaos Black in the recesses of the pants...I was going for a "washed out" black for the cloth rather than full on black. Why? With all that black armor, it just needed something to make it stand out as cloth rather than Ceramite.

My only real "professional" mini painting gigs....

These are some of the ones I was commissioned by the manufacturer to paint up. I think I did these back in 2000 for Holistic Design's Noble Armada space miniature game. Fun job that allowed me to paint little non humanoid things for once.

Progress Report

Okay...if that first blast of profanity didn't chase you off then I invite you to check out some in progress shots of my two main projects at the moment.

This handsome bastard to the left here is the Arbite I've been working on for the last couple of days (technically, about two weeks but since I have only a couple hours a night to paint...it's only been a few days). I've been going in and lining out the highlights on the black plates and I'll begin shading the cloth portions of his uniform shortly.

I also went back in and did a light glaze of Saffron Sunset to tone back the edges of pure Bleached Bone. I am not a fan of really jarring highlights or "extreme highlighting". I try to go for a warm glow type look to objects rather than the HERE IS MY HIGHLIGHT DAMMIT. One of the reasons I like Steve Dean's work so much.

The next guy up is Brains from Impact Miniatures...see keeping to my resolutions. I went with my classic zombie approach....Reaper's Undead Flesh Triad along with a strong Red somewhere on the model. Probably my love of the Vampire Counts creeping out there, but Red looks so good next to the Undead Flesh Triad. The eyes are Necrotite Green mixed with a little white to shade them up to glowing bright green. I then glazed the areas around the eyes with Necrotite Green to get the glow effect. His pants are Adeptus Battle Grey which I haven't even begun to shade yet...but hopefully I'll do that today.

And yes, he is on a teeny little base.

I'm probably going to add him to my Undead Team Roster as just a plain zombie...I really don't feel like trying to come up with a homebrew rule about undead halflings...or undead treemen. Just going the simple proxy route. But with these guys, my pool of undead players just hit about 40ish...and only one painted and one halfway painted....long way to go.

And in other news:
Tim defeated the Snowpocalypse with a box of Irish Whiskey.