Workbench progress

A Talisman Thief from Citadel Miniatures. I actually have three or four of the older Talisman models on my table to be painted at some point. I'll probably ebay them off as a set when they are done. Actually, it will definitely be getting sold off as it doesn't fit in with my third edition Talisman models at all.

I'll be posting up some shots of the Space Marine guy from Scibor on Sunday...with his sword and badge in place. Once he is done, I'll be moving on to some smaller models (thank goodness) including two from Kabuki...and a resin demoness from "unknown". I swear I've seen the model before, but I can't remember who made her.

Workbench update...

Welcome to another installment of "Hey, You are Taking Forever to Paint One Model". One step closer to completion. All that is left now is his sword and a shield "badge" that goes on his right shoulder pad. 

Here you can see one of my big gripes with the model...the shield. While all that filagree looks really cool before you paint it, unless you are doing NMM it becomes cluttered. You can also see some of the problems with the casting of the model as well....I can understand some mold lines and some bubbles...but there are areas where the detail just sort of trails off into nothingness.

Hopefully, the next shots I'll be posting are of the finished model. Seriously getting tired of this guy and I am ready to move onto something else.

 

Didn't do much painting last week....

The past week has to be one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long, long time. So, it shouldn't at all be surprising that I didn't get any painting done...not even anything painting related. Luckily this week is looking to be a return to my usual schedule (well, not sleep schedule...but work schedule).

This week I shall be refocusing my efforts on the commission work that I have had sitting on my desk for a few months now. Right now the plan is to devote at least 2-3 hours a night and twice that on the weekends...and try and knock this commission out over the next 30 days. 

First step is to finish up that giant Space Marine guy. Then the rest should fall like dominoes.

Workbench update 6/3/2012

Well, it's that time of the week again...workbench update!

First up this an old favorite, the Scibor Sci Fi Knight (or Black Templar Chapter Master). After three months the main body of the model is done. Now all that is left are the accessories...a power sword, a lightning shield, and some various heraldry/shield doodads. Right now, I have the shield mounted on a pin and stuck to an old Exacto knife handle and once that is done the sword will follow. I still have to drill a pin hole for the sword into the hand, but that should be a simple matter. 

I still stand by my statement that the detail on these models is a bit much. The crosses on his shin guards are little more than raised ridges on the armor and hellaciously difficult to paint up nicely. I actually had to line in dark burnt umber into the recessed areas to get more definition. I would really like to see some more definition to the detail and possibly less of it. There is a fine line between richly detailed and gawdy.

The next guy on the bench is a classic GW Thief model from Talisman. Much like the GW models of the 80s, he has some really cartoonish proportions when you compare it models from Ral Partha and Grenadier from that time. I really like the model as it has real character to it which a lot of models from that time did not. Plus, he's a great break from the ultra detailed models in my commission queue (I have two models from Kabuki, an unknown demoness, and two GW models to go on it).

This model, I'm trying to keep the color scheme to 2-3 colors with the fleshtone as the accent color. It is a real simple model and I think overdoing it would ruin the look and feel of the model. I did do the pink nose/5 o'clock shadow treament on the face. I couldn't help it as it really reminded me of some of Rackham's models for Confrontation  (which I also have a ton of to paint).

I looked to see if I had an old plastic hexbase to mount him on to give him that true classic Talisman feel, but I can't find a one in my giant stash of plastic bases. More than likely, he'll end up on a 20mm round slottabase. As he will eventually be an auction model, I want to make sure his base is universal for any sort of RPG/boardgame.

That is all for tonight's installment. Check back regularly throughout the week as I'm sure I'll be posting other random tidbits. And if you like the blog, tell your friends about it...always more room for more viewers.

Paintshop Web Design...thoughts and ruminations

One of the hardest things I've found about setting up the revised site is how to organize the galleries. In the old days, I'd have done it by manufacturer and then by product line...but I really don't feel like doing that now. With the new site, I really want to introduce newer gamers and hobbyists to some of the non mainstream companies and lines (aka other than GW, Reaper, Privateer, etc). But at the same time, I don't want to do like some sites and just dump them into a giant gallery with mixed genres (I have OCD and lack of organization of some type damn near drives me crazy). 

Adding even more to it is I'm trying to go for a more "graphic" approach rather than just a series of links or logos on a black or white background (or parchment as I'm thinking now). What to do...what to do.

Paint Stripping Round 2

Got up early this morning (I have no idea why I was up at 4...I just was) and instead of sitting down and working, I decided to have a little "me" time. Stripped down about 15 Foundry models, although only 8 were deemed ready for the water jar. The other 7 had to go back into the Pine Sol for another couple of days so the paint in some of the recesses will have a chance to loosen up more. 

Thus far, it seems the Street Violence stuff has cleaned off the easiest and fastest...I had two SWAT guys literally shed their coats of paint as soon as I pulled them out of the jar. Still, I'm in the mood to paint historicals and not "near future...or really near future if things keep going the way they are". The Vikings have all that chainmail that traps paint and all the pirates have little fiddly bits in their belts and waist sashes that also traps the paint.

I also took the first batch out of the water jar this morning and they are now bundled up in a nice clean chamois for the next couple of hours. They should be ready to be primered by this evening. Really need to get that Eve model from Kabuki primered up and underway as she is a commission piece. Also found another commission piece in there from back in 2007...probably should do that one some time soon as well.