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.