tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-71414247845913810882024-03-18T21:34:05.880-07:00Picturesque RuinsSporadic forays into varied editions of Warhammer, miniature painting, writing and tabletop fantasy gaming.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.comBlogger48125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-14641141851226170022018-04-16T19:38:00.000-07:002018-04-16T19:38:28.774-07:00Under the circling vultures... [...lie the photos]<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>...a painter crawls across the blasted heath. Distracted by mice and shiny pieces of debris he inches slowly forward, box of paints tied to one leg and poorly kept brushes clutched in shaky fist. He opens his other hand and finds a smeared lump of metal and plastic. How long has it been there? Was it the only one? He rolls over and slips the lump into his pocket. He squints in the light and brushes birds away. He does not know how long he has been in the wilderness fending off carrion eaters and being scoured by the elements. Sighing, he rolls back over onto his stomach and begins his crawl again...</i></div>
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<i><br /></i>Yes, well, it's been an interesting year. I lost a job, had a pitch into a deep depression, was re-diagnosed, re-medicated, unemployed, denied employment, uninterviewed for 6 months and finally re-employed. All told I really had lost myself.<br /><br />And that's enough of that.<br /><br />In all of this I have been painting a little and I had started writing quite a number of blog posts in the year and a half since I last posted and they never seemed to eventuate. <br /><br />Here are some photos in vague chronological order. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">A Citadel Samurai, sculpted by Aly Morrison. Painted October or November 2016</td></tr>
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I painted this guy very quickly. A speed aided by the simplicity of the design with the uprights of the the robe and the scabbard and the vast open expanse of the sleeves. This is the first miniature I attempted black lining on- using a thinned down black paint. In photographing this today, I see areas where it needs to be neatened up on the fingers and on the cleavage. The eyes of this guy also needs a little neatening. Aly Morrison sculpts a very cartoony face which makes for a fairly straightforward set of lines. While the scruffiness of my eye lining looks like fierce eyebrows, it's just poor brushwork.<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5e_sD397SzxINdlEBQBh6SwRA77p-PK6d8q_2uYGGeOpDc4K1ZW7_pdLlQvPPTg3MBjI2fis20kH2SQbQrHt6zUWPMHt1gViM6hWZi9vaw7xiNuP1VI226ycUHIXZHOT17aTfOCfN3cO/s1600/Skeleton+Hero+Front+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="721" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC5e_sD397SzxINdlEBQBh6SwRA77p-PK6d8q_2uYGGeOpDc4K1ZW7_pdLlQvPPTg3MBjI2fis20kH2SQbQrHt6zUWPMHt1gViM6hWZi9vaw7xiNuP1VI226ycUHIXZHOT17aTfOCfN3cO/s320/Skeleton+Hero+Front+r.jpg" width="220" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsn7LoPQWJrEnrJ_F5m0Vtdid9YhCbQht1SUSk6oxWDFaJzsH7r32jbhUPXyQMU-amn0rGZ6XmUwQgf-flyv3eLxpsd_zRsX9mGASNmfixk99jqs92ya7WCxEhM6-wEeG782d_PBLwxUpc/s1600/Skeleton+Hero+Back+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="752" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsn7LoPQWJrEnrJ_F5m0Vtdid9YhCbQht1SUSk6oxWDFaJzsH7r32jbhUPXyQMU-amn0rGZ6XmUwQgf-flyv3eLxpsd_zRsX9mGASNmfixk99jqs92ya7WCxEhM6-wEeG782d_PBLwxUpc/s320/Skeleton+Hero+Back+r.jpg" width="211" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHVp10hweikBngvhJJxjAyaa-1j5-WVw2-7l84NFMV8BH-xIi0SZ1DabgaEqrIi6bANk3HBKK5MT33rBqtf7W6zNZGaTAhT5781Mdt8r7e2BI6jm9TaWuFpAmkV-o8eA64mnAEey3xkV/s1600/Armoured+Skeleton+Frontr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="737" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBXHVp10hweikBngvhJJxjAyaa-1j5-WVw2-7l84NFMV8BH-xIi0SZ1DabgaEqrIi6bANk3HBKK5MT33rBqtf7W6zNZGaTAhT5781Mdt8r7e2BI6jm9TaWuFpAmkV-o8eA64mnAEey3xkV/s320/Armoured+Skeleton+Frontr.jpg" width="216" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenQAI06dqAZEaxF5BpfRg_VuHmH0nkxCiulblIshQMh7CFCv-GP5Res8j1ClIVdLNGAPL3q6-mh4LejcNETIoJD1jh1bVLwtp8SOzIG9XB2QHX_oZj3oBrtcck682LSdv5R7CSQWeM1iB/s1600/Armoured+Skeleton+Backr.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="738" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhenQAI06dqAZEaxF5BpfRg_VuHmH0nkxCiulblIshQMh7CFCv-GP5Res8j1ClIVdLNGAPL3q6-mh4LejcNETIoJD1jh1bVLwtp8SOzIG9XB2QHX_oZj3oBrtcck682LSdv5R7CSQWeM1iB/s320/Armoured+Skeleton+Backr.jpg" width="216" /></a></div>
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<i><span style="font-size: x-small;">Skeleton hero (top) and Skeleton with Spear (bottom)</span></i></div>
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Skeletons made by Citadel in the mid to late 80s. I painted these for Christmas 2016. I need to go back and put another highlight on the bone and make the recesses darker. The colours run together a touch. The hero has a lot of stuff going on: odd helm, cutlass, goat feet, flintlock, and the awesome spaulder on the left shoulder (I thought it was a pauldron, it's not- that's what the other skeleton is wearing on it's shoulders.Thanks Google.)</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvEdz2k7MuUidV9-BAkqePFyXXaY2OwUkwYOZQ6fYcOlOwMvK3CIUn7u2YfRSf-wC4l-yPlEGiX6Opsm9etjnzsuy9tRnD0bqgMEk72C9Ti_LQi0rH-LH3sJKhXIPNz4E8dgvMi52zAEy/s1600/The+Heroes+of+Heroquest+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="700" data-original-width="1543" height="289" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhXvEdz2k7MuUidV9-BAkqePFyXXaY2OwUkwYOZQ6fYcOlOwMvK3CIUn7u2YfRSf-wC4l-yPlEGiX6Opsm9etjnzsuy9tRnD0bqgMEk72C9Ti_LQi0rH-LH3sJKhXIPNz4E8dgvMi52zAEy/s640/The+Heroes+of+Heroquest+r.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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Heroquest Adventurers painted in March of 2017. The eyes are shocking. I managed to mangle the same eye on both the wizard and the elf! I want to go back and add another highlight to pants and skin.The miniatures are plastic cast from metal dies for a boardgame. They are consequently a little rough where the two dies met.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjI1TUkeqXL8s2QaeShmildweJHxBOacwO4PCxaVGVaNiq1LlS6CWOl9dZ3yBQUXBUMVxkwfDqfF5H5TL088xW8T-fxGnmZrVmMQhQI-wm2pIv0TWiVkMngpen6fDaG8-crv5f7dNbZP/s1600/Warrior+Woman+Front+2r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="696" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjlxjI1TUkeqXL8s2QaeShmildweJHxBOacwO4PCxaVGVaNiq1LlS6CWOl9dZ3yBQUXBUMVxkwfDqfF5H5TL088xW8T-fxGnmZrVmMQhQI-wm2pIv0TWiVkMngpen6fDaG8-crv5f7dNbZP/s320/Warrior+Woman+Front+2r.jpg" width="228" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_aneRwY21KUUP7s2VSaFdr1EtfcQ75LBJeTVMlgA8YA4iOgrrb-GsF7LNmYWjMzwJ2rkRrJXNyDiCy4f704AtzmWxbxeswXmKnv0ICcRh_tP5WCfCXA0PDymr4DIGE4kWcDSW9eCQ7DU/s1600/Warrior+Woman+Back+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="754" data-original-width="500" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi-_aneRwY21KUUP7s2VSaFdr1EtfcQ75LBJeTVMlgA8YA4iOgrrb-GsF7LNmYWjMzwJ2rkRrJXNyDiCy4f704AtzmWxbxeswXmKnv0ICcRh_tP5WCfCXA0PDymr4DIGE4kWcDSW9eCQ7DU/s320/Warrior+Woman+Back+r.jpg" width="211" /></a> </div>
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<i>Warrior Woman from the Last Chancers.</i></div>
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Painted in June or July 2017. Another one where I did something uncoordinated with the eyes. Something to work on. I did black and dark-brown lining on this one and I quite like the effect.<br /><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6kPYTQ8H-zol-vkvSg1lA_JPR0N1LKqelYsb8yNmAtmaFZS-8nVaSbFGWRUDxzOrxHUK08p69HgkZ4TUUPJW6bCKT3UH2a3MTN7JbvU9E_IG5Ozgoiibzqa-P2UcKKTH84LmQ24TmxG2/s1600/Death+Guard+front+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1164" height="393" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiX6kPYTQ8H-zol-vkvSg1lA_JPR0N1LKqelYsb8yNmAtmaFZS-8nVaSbFGWRUDxzOrxHUK08p69HgkZ4TUUPJW6bCKT3UH2a3MTN7JbvU9E_IG5Ozgoiibzqa-P2UcKKTH84LmQ24TmxG2/s640/Death+Guard+front+r.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Nurgle Deathguard. Grotesque disciples of Disease</i>.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuelYn2Yzde2V4xifV-R562zrXazyRLnqPPTFQJuCZcih9l09_V3F5fU6dVhxemOMYuCCzXzV6_-n54n9558e4rFgObneDbyL-5hqv4LPDQ5uJ_4IfEGsgSpOF3z6_OJEPbTV-NvXwqllB/s1600/death+guard+back+r.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" data-original-height="720" data-original-width="1054" height="436" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhuelYn2Yzde2V4xifV-R562zrXazyRLnqPPTFQJuCZcih9l09_V3F5fU6dVhxemOMYuCCzXzV6_-n54n9558e4rFgObneDbyL-5hqv4LPDQ5uJ_4IfEGsgSpOF3z6_OJEPbTV-NvXwqllB/s640/death+guard+back+r.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Deathguard backsides. Just as beautifully ugly.</i></td></tr>
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First painted minis of 2018: March. Deathguard suit my painting technique to a tee: scruffy, dark and muddled :0) Wonderfully, these were the easy-build miniatures and were simple to snap together. I avoided a headache with making these. Like most of the other minis they need one final highlight and one final shading. The tentacles, teeth and bones desperately need this. I based these before painting them and it made a real difference, psychologically, to be able to put the mini down after painting and say "done."</div>
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Yesterday I painted this little beauty. 'Rowena' from Reaper Miniature's Chronoscope range. I've had this miniature on my list for so long and it was only on a whim that I pulled her out of the box and painted her in two or three hours. I think that I need to paint either her shoes or her gaiters white to differentiate them a bit. The photo doesn't show it very well, but her bodice/overskirt, hat and bracers are a dark blue grey and her skirt is a slate gray. I need to find a way to brighten the green in the lens of her goggles (on the brim of her hat) and on the mask she carries in her right hand. I love how this turned out.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Other projects begun: basing and undercoating a whole bunch of miniatures across time, space and manufacturer. I've also continued constructing my Skitarii, those implacable cyborg martians. On the edges of my interest are matchbox car scale death racers, anthropomorphic adventurers and those darned space elves that I have started three or four blog posts about.<br /><br />Til the next post, make sure you drink from the coffee mug and not the water cup.</div>
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Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-10319038985229990912016-09-26T20:34:00.004-07:002016-09-26T20:34:57.421-07:00Taking a page from Kevin Adams...I split this off from the previous post because, damn it, I'm kinda proud of doing this.<br />
<br />I am a big fan of Kevin Adams, sculptor extraordinaire, who uses left over putty to make little sculpts. And I like that idea, so after playing with putty and filling in bases I used the rest of the putty to make this:<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Demon Frog cares not for your quaint ideas of anatomy.</td></tr>
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I used a sculpting tool, a pick and a scalpel to push and prod and smooth as best I could the rolls and balls of putty. I got a really good idea of how easy sculpting is to do and just how hard it is to do well. No more than 10 minutes of work.<br /><br />It's rough, it's ugly, and I love it. Because it's mine.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-42960325394311336022016-09-26T20:10:00.001-07:002016-09-26T20:10:19.475-07:00Mucking around with green stuff and the graft of constructionMy new plan, and it sounds great to my ears, is to only post when I have done something with miniatures other than buy them.<br />
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Three Saturdays ago (the 10th) I finally got up the guts to open the packet of green stuff putty I bought three years before that.<br />
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There was an unreasonable amount of anxiety about using it. Totally about making mistakes and wasting what seems like an expensive addition to the kit.<br />
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Thankfully, it turned out to be a lot of fun. I'd initially decided to cut the strips apart to prevent further curing. I had no intention of using it, which is obviously the fear and procrastination talking. I ended up with more cut off than I'd expected and decided to play with it all rather than waste it.<br />
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Observations and confirmations:<br />
-It is totally like playing with chewing gum!<br />
-Where the blue and yellow meet in the packet does indeed harden. Exhibit A: all the yellow piecess in the photos are hardened chunks of putty.<br />
-It's hard to mix the two colors thoroughly. That stuff is tough!<br />
- the oil from my forehead and side of my nose does indeed stop green stuff sticking to tools and fingers.<br />
- and speaking of fingers, you can see my prints all over.<br />
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I had decided to base all the painted Dragon Bait adventurers on lipped bases and wanted this to be a, if not easy, at least a straight forward way to get the measure of green stuff.<br />
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***<br />
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The following day, building on the putty momentum, I tidied and based and constructed a whole bunch of stuff.<br />
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Games Workshop's Skitarii. Two years ago I was in the middle of the deepest dislike for what the company was doing (miniatures, rules, practices, prices; you name it, I disliked it) and they produced these miniatures. <br /><br />"Simon, how would you like radium rifle wielding, steampunk cyborgs from Mars?" <br />"Would I?!!"<br />
<br />Problem one:<br />The instruction booklet made Baby Editor cry. I don't want to see spelling mistakes, nor incorrect images in the instructions. This is the publication that will guide me through putting this product together. It shouldn't have obvious mistakes in it. I am tempted to send a marked up copy back to them with suggested corrections. I'd start with "give it to someone to read and follow" and go from there.<br /><br />Problem Two:<br />Sod me if these aren't some of the fiddliest things I've ever put together. They're small, they're detailed. There are lots of pieces per miniature with lots of points of contact. If the fine bits weren't breaking, the bigger bits weren't fitting and the glue was picking and choosing when it would work.<br /><br />Lesson learned, I hate multi-part kits. The journey is tedious, the destination passable. The irritation is real. And I only have to construct another 50 odd of these beautiful little headaches.<br />
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<br />This beastie was attached to the cover of the surprisingly enjoyable White Dwarf relaunch. Overturning my experience with the Skitarii, this was relatively simple to put together. Probably because it is huge, probably because there has been over two years of learning at the studio where it was designed. I was actually finding myself impressed with how all of the pieces overlapped and worked together to hide mould lines.<br /><br />
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Rebased Eldar pirates and harlequins. I'm switching them to attractive lipped bases.<br /><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">"Would you like to see my scale creep?" smirked the gnome.</span></i><i><span style="font-size: small; text-align: start;">The Slaughter Priest shifted uneasily, thankful that bloodstains hide blushes.</span></i></td></tr>
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These are both manufactured thirty five years apart by the same company. The gnome (sculpted by Michael Perry) is less than an inch from sole of boot to tip of hat. The Slaughter Priest is nearly 3 inches tall. <br />
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More posts as I do more.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-59548103710070232692016-01-26T07:54:00.000-08:002016-01-26T07:54:07.104-08:00More Kevin Adams lovelies and some other ones.Painting has been a-happening.<br />
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I sorted through my lead hillock and discovered I have enough eldar to last a lifetime. And Harlequins. And Eldar Dreadnoughts.<br />
<br />First up is, I haven't a clue. Ral Partha, TSR 1995 it says on the base. Some catalogue diving and google searches and I can't find it. I suspect it's from the Planescape range. I get a Mihali, of Tekumel, vibe off the critter. Initially, I thought it was a dragonkin. It was only when I'd got the greens going that I realised it was more canid. What can I say.<br />
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As I was layering the cloak, I realised that every bloody miniature I've painted recently has some kind of blue on it. I think I need to do more colours.<br />
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Dragon Bait's Gnome Alchemist, from their first campaign. Kevin Adams did a great job on this range. I painted the bulk of this one last year. I think I was waiting to paint her sidekick and didn't take photos then. This line of miniatures has a lot going on detail-wise, I am very pleased with the smoked glasses and the wick on her bomb. I was far more deliberate with the palette of colours and it works, which is something I don't say very often. The photos don't quite get across the pale, scorched look I was trying to get to her face. <br />
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Dragonbait Half-Elf Warrior, Kevin Adams again. The scales are pink, starting with a very dark red and moving through pink to white. In the second Dragon Bait campaign there is an elvish cleric that I want to pair up with this mini.<br />
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And here it is! The first mini I have actually started *this* year. Yes. It is indeed a new year miracle. An impeccable Kevin Adams sculpt for Dragonbait; the elven bard. I made a very deliberate choice to move away from the colour blue and got straight into the purple instead. I realise she isn't finished (and actually, neither is the mihali up the page), I've forgotten to do the metal. I really like the skew-eyed John Blanchian look to her face.</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">John Blanche's frankly amazing interior illustrations for Steve Jackson's Sorcery! gamebooks.</td></tr>
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<br />Now for a comparison shot of 35 odd years of scale creep.<br /><br />
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The miniature in the middle, Lissandra, is from the dawn of the 80s. The flanking miniatures are from 2014. Striking.<br /><br />***<br /><br />May your craft be sharp and the paints stay fluid.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-47297716637911629362016-01-02T20:31:00.000-08:002016-01-02T20:31:42.000-08:002015 sucked and blowed. Some modest 2016 goals.A little bit of bandwagon jumping, with probability of being sucked under the wheels, it's the 2015 year in review!<br /><br />I painted a grand total of about 13 miniatures. Some witch elves, some harlequins and eldar, one COlony 87 civilian and a dungeon adventurer.<div>
<br />I purchased more miniatures than I painted (which is not the hardest thing): the third DragonBait indiegogo campaign, a copy of 3rd edition Talisman with most of the miniatures, some boxes (yikes! Current GW, really!) Skitarri, the Colony 87 kickstarter, plastic skaven and more eldar than I really should have.<br /></div>
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<br />I like what I painted and I like painting, but this was the year of the black dog. The black dog is exhausting. I hate the black dog. It gets on the furniture and pisses on all of my good stuff.<br /><br />***<br /><br />2016 goals.<br /><br />The big one is to paint. Nothing fancy, get the paint on the plastic slash metal.<br /><br />If I want to have a goal, it's to finish the Dark Elf army. Or paint more than I buy.<br /><br />I'm ordering Frostgrave (Osprey), which seems to be a spiritual successor to Mordheim. I'm thinking painting bands for this would be a concrete thing too. </div>
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<br />Playing a game of something would be nice.<br /><br />***<br /><br />May your brushes hold their shape, your mold lines be few and your year good.</div>
Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-38788044201799743012015-12-26T18:04:00.002-08:002015-12-26T18:04:55.654-08:00State of the dark elf forces.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
Christmas at the in-laws and I brought the elves with the intention of magnetising and finishing the bases.</div>
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Here's the state of the army. I laid all of the elves I had from my case out on the coffee table. Did I bring the sand to base them? No. How about shields? Where are they? Ah. <br /><br />Okay. Well, let's glue magnets into the bases.<br /><br />Two mengil witch elves get 2 little magnets each into the base and... uh... shit... they're not sticking to anything. Well, they would were they flush with the edge of the base.<br /><br />New problem needs a solution: how to mount the magnets so they contact the surface properly. Putty perhaps.</div>
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<br />Will I make my deadline? Perhaps. Let's make it a fuzzier goal. Bases, magnets and/or shields?<br /><br />Just relooking at the miniatures I painted 2 years ago and they are dark. Not in tone, but certainly in colour. I may go back over them with some highlights.<br /></div>
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZb-HUI9t2AeqISF1C8OjvK_o_M_jr_Lzpq1QovCHz34GcuKwqy9Q70FfOoPbkzOVSgl2tPj_Bxi1goSkaAqd_EMM9yOI8MFi6lvBBFQgTx7X3YVyA5IECaFT2BPx9DLfgC8_ZhgXGDSm/s1600/DSC06304.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWZb-HUI9t2AeqISF1C8OjvK_o_M_jr_Lzpq1QovCHz34GcuKwqy9Q70FfOoPbkzOVSgl2tPj_Bxi1goSkaAqd_EMM9yOI8MFi6lvBBFQgTx7X3YVyA5IECaFT2BPx9DLfgC8_ZhgXGDSm/s200/DSC06304.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-D3YQHWO4YiifAjzPRKO_RcUTrF7ieDahOXYAfw4QYrzWJZPiez0kLLGJ7vZQVE-kRZn8gJt2jBotoMQgbHPyMUJSh4eyk01fECdhTcL0566MlE2XybpbGqi6L7shQ9HCkWxwaFlvrM_/s1600/DSC06306.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgO-D3YQHWO4YiifAjzPRKO_RcUTrF7ieDahOXYAfw4QYrzWJZPiez0kLLGJ7vZQVE-kRZn8gJt2jBotoMQgbHPyMUJSh4eyk01fECdhTcL0566MlE2XybpbGqi6L7shQ9HCkWxwaFlvrM_/s200/DSC06306.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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6 cold ones (including general) and 7 shades.<br />
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23 Corsairs and 13 warriors.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxP2YTbYFvYaSqj_CsIQwcxIV7gEVLg_W8hsNDam3cwrI_VxB8TgKuYf7uFdQXjdZjdRYfQNKR1sh0LN1VgR8VFZ1Cj8QUC0Dnh7fhmQJ2Chr3omwRepDcWLcQbuvkBF1o5JblTWh6WJ4/s1600/DSC06309.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihxP2YTbYFvYaSqj_CsIQwcxIV7gEVLg_W8hsNDam3cwrI_VxB8TgKuYf7uFdQXjdZjdRYfQNKR1sh0LN1VgR8VFZ1Cj8QUC0Dnh7fhmQJ2Chr3omwRepDcWLcQbuvkBF1o5JblTWh6WJ4/s200/DSC06309.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG_u5SzLyggXFq_pAa4CojdB7YhyphenhyphenL3cpwJU_SdHR8h-MATBEBNMRfst3AXWqN5E1-YgCRL-1QE6wR1d7OY0lvJZ2oR91TT9TxhKmxvgIb0jGDIGBw6MINeGSbpARv5BQEhXUY8KBYNhj7/s1600/DSC06310.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjgG_u5SzLyggXFq_pAa4CojdB7YhyphenhyphenL3cpwJU_SdHR8h-MATBEBNMRfst3AXWqN5E1-YgCRL-1QE6wR1d7OY0lvJZ2oR91TT9TxhKmxvgIb0jGDIGBw6MINeGSbpARv5BQEhXUY8KBYNhj7/s200/DSC06310.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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13 witch elves, 4 characters<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZZGEDVUpX0zerr3R2rv_85YFTK92A0xwIt9mZ0KIa209Zoz5sXa_89UfvZCFROSmb8p4y07hyphenhyphenry-a-rV2M35pyRHlBPhoOGtBM_UwQWGwruPS3YUugFjCo8Be0Ma-m93alFL8I05xOkf/s1600/DSC06311.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBZZGEDVUpX0zerr3R2rv_85YFTK92A0xwIt9mZ0KIa209Zoz5sXa_89UfvZCFROSmb8p4y07hyphenhyphenry-a-rV2M35pyRHlBPhoOGtBM_UwQWGwruPS3YUugFjCo8Be0Ma-m93alFL8I05xOkf/s200/DSC06311.JPG" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31uKc6INoqXJ-RG33t6cEeKkBwm8N2vjMOT0FfoLaS1IEPPx1bvCAdv5OAibURGNYC7ovKhKoba7HyFc1tgID5db-K5sSeMNVMjdX5TzMBvQlQt9Lpa97F9xaFq-H6n6c6Agp_zOXLd2d/s1600/DSC06312.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="150" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj31uKc6INoqXJ-RG33t6cEeKkBwm8N2vjMOT0FfoLaS1IEPPx1bvCAdv5OAibURGNYC7ovKhKoba7HyFc1tgID5db-K5sSeMNVMjdX5TzMBvQlQt9Lpa97F9xaFq-H6n6c6Agp_zOXLd2d/s200/DSC06312.JPG" width="200" /></a><br />
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20 warriors and 25 mengil's manflayers.<br />
<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-86920744049114385322015-12-07T07:02:00.000-08:002015-12-07T07:02:48.146-08:00End year target: dark elves.While sitting at work I have decided that I want to finish some miniatures as the year finishes. It's my biggest point of laziness: I have painted a bunch of miniatures but I haven't varnished or based them.<br />
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It's the dark elves, see. I want to get one of those naff but cool photos of myself taken with my 3rd edition army arrayed before me. To do that requires that I actually have an army I want to be seen with.<br /><br />You know like this:<br /><br /><img src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1wybRH9TgOKDGIqBmaqyn49d6AuKyHdbSTeZsVywYxdZd-Pgfbq1e45c7ex3OetHpBjZiwTqfDuUb3stVU6IwW1ZxfB8TFf6_MAJkzCp9jQfV5M-6n6de6mfBxfVLckINwludgUpFqyys/s1600/ansell.jpg" /><br /><br />I've decided on the base design. I have all the shields. I have the cans.<br /><br />Now to find the will to deal with these and more:<br />
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<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-25499931605668150272015-12-06T17:37:00.000-08:002015-12-06T17:37:00.687-08:00By the hoary hosts of hoggoth: minis!Yes, I read the new Dr Strange comic recently and I probably won't pick up issue 2. It's okay, I guess and that's the problem really. Okay art, okay ideas, okay writing and okay, I was not gripped. Chris Bachalo went from an artist I really enjoyed to an artist I remember really enjoying. Not my cuppa.<br />
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***<br />
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I started this over Thanksgiving. It was a bit of a messy process, I'd tried something new, following a tutorial by Shoshanna Bauer on her <a href="https://www.facebook.com/Shoshiesminis/" target="_blank">facebook</a> page that used colour theory to create a more realistic skin-tone. It was going swimmingly until I ballsed it up a trifle with a poorly timed red-wash. I was able to recover, though I had to abandon the initial plan.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FA19 Citadel Adventurer, sculpted my Michael Perry.</td></tr>
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When I was 8 or so I would run my fingers over advertisements in White Dwarf magazine, usually a single gritty black and white photo or some line drawings of a miniature with line upon line of codes and names underneath. I'd wonder what the miniatures looked like and make strange little plans of which ones sounded like they'd be great to have. These older White Dwarfs have been marked up with ticks and underlines of the minis that grabbed my interest.<br /><br />I don't know if this was one I underlined, but she is certainly one of the ones from those advertisements. A certain visceral memory is summoned up when I paint a miniature like this. There is almost nostalgia, but it is tempered totally by the reality of the piece of lead in my hand. This is not a thing past, not a thing that belongs there. It is as alive now as when it was first cast 30 odd years ago,<br />
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<br /><i>"Join an adventuring party, " Lissandra muttered, "visit distant dungeons, meet interesting creatures, and kill them..." Somehow, a trapdoor and four battles ago the joke had become truth and Lissandra wished she had taken up bookbinding like father wanted. </i></div>
Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-4848004935316086062015-10-14T19:59:00.000-07:002015-10-14T19:59:04.173-07:00Lady Gray, or, a miniature painted, would you believe.Finally. <br />
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Praise be to all the painting gods. Finally. A miniature painted<br />
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Painted, not finished (basing and varnish await) but I'll put it in the achievement column anyway. Doing anything is a win.<br />
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Meet Lady Gray, and her boy, Rocko.<br />
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They are from Jon Boyce's very nifty Colony 87 miniature range of science fiction civilians sculpted by Michael Anderson. They are a mix of baroque and ramshackle. I get a very Dune-ish Harkonnen vibe from this one and her nominal consort (to be painted) which is a good vibe indeed.<br />
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Painting-wise, this was started two or three weeks ago and finished this Sunday gone, and I can't remember how many washes and highlights I daubed. I seemed to be mixing ivory and bone into everything on the wet palette and smearing between colours to get a range for highlighting. About the only certainty was that I wanted to use pink and turquoise (P3 paints have slowly been getting into my kit) for the plating and the robe. Oh, and Rocko had to be largely unclothed.<br /><br />(I notice looking at the photo that I need to add colour to Rocko's booties and there are a few rough spots between Gray's leg and cloak. )<br /><br />I'd had a plan for the hair to be dark. The face changed that. The more I highlighted her face, the sterner she became and the more Thatcherite (ugh) she appeared. I could not soften the face to save my life. Just as well, really...<br /><br />I did attempt makeup. Some very diluted turquoise for the arched eyebrows. Red for the lower lip and a touch of colour on the cheekbones. (New technical thing: I need to get better at using reference.)<br /><br />Enough half arsed paint techneek talk.<br />
<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
***</div>
<br /><br />
<i>It's been the same thing now for ten years. <br />"Mother," he'll say in his squeaky voice "let's go to the zoological garden."<br />By the Emperor, ten years of staring blankly at Desert Devils and stuffed Grinxes and listening to Rocko giggle vacantly has taught Lady Gray to hate. She hates the zoo. She hates the animals. She especially hates the smiles. One day, one day soon, she'll borrow her husbands jokaero things and see what the melting point of teeth actually is...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvu2_qtzuswBeK8PxvZyv8TSyLtWZ-_hVs8m0AhdMpNIFCltWRr2bI0saSDNLbXonkHDT21CN1dPmg3hNg6TEwahsTy5n9SZqjw353cpBDw81xXWWJFdQAtQgaXQPHUGIyNpzrZCQpTK1e/s1600/FullSizeRender.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="211" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvu2_qtzuswBeK8PxvZyv8TSyLtWZ-_hVs8m0AhdMpNIFCltWRr2bI0saSDNLbXonkHDT21CN1dPmg3hNg6TEwahsTy5n9SZqjw353cpBDw81xXWWJFdQAtQgaXQPHUGIyNpzrZCQpTK1e/s320/FullSizeRender.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We are not amused.</td></tr>
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***</div>
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What to paint next? I'll know when I do it,</div>
Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-55770440455142201012015-09-12T19:35:00.000-07:002015-09-12T19:35:16.154-07:00Gnome for the HolidaysWhile deleting draft posts from the page, I discovered this post that I'd started in January and never got to finishing.<br />
<br />
I had got this far: <br />
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<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<i>Christmas Day I painted gnomes, and a halfling with a crazy '70s mustache. First little bastards painted since the end of August.</i></blockquote>
And now I can't remember a damned thing about what steps I took to paint them. Here goes with the addled recollections.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8S0hXlX1UBOea2fLeRkdxi6KvTmHP039-DS_FauxpKYezBTern7l6mU8mnAUtjWh0avq9_Zt4Xh8KBddWLzWrhmKeArtU11xu4MIPiuhgvguw8cvC3tkpfIhbGFdRRpg20R2nrFCrgOM/s1600/DSC05931.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhR8S0hXlX1UBOea2fLeRkdxi6KvTmHP039-DS_FauxpKYezBTern7l6mU8mnAUtjWh0avq9_Zt4Xh8KBddWLzWrhmKeArtU11xu4MIPiuhgvguw8cvC3tkpfIhbGFdRRpg20R2nrFCrgOM/s1600/DSC05931.JPG" width="257" /></a></div>
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This is a great miniature. One of those "ohhhh, I need this... I really need this..." purchases. It's from the Citadel Fantasy Adventurer line, FA34-2 Gnome Warrior Thief. This particular miniature was released in Spring of 1982, a variant/resculpt of the previous Gnome released the year previous.<br /><br />It's a Michael Perry sculpt and it is tiny; just over a half inch to the eyeballs. You wouldn't think it given how much wonderful detail is on this. The smile is what gets me every time. I vaguely recall having a lot of fun painting this. Looking at this photo (and I really need to dig the miniature out to confirm this) I'm quite pleased with how the eye(s) turned out.<br /></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ej_IggU7oMeY7zohrE6Nq5CaJTf36UWKbtFNNBkFfmhbv-voZFMwzkkWb2vJDCxxSPz74AplfwjA-APBwHseyhYGBoqMTeNaNhJPPM3oeJsQGcZF00EoUevufKVMQTFzdYFjKjh4wU29/s1600/DSC05935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="232" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7Ej_IggU7oMeY7zohrE6Nq5CaJTf36UWKbtFNNBkFfmhbv-voZFMwzkkWb2vJDCxxSPz74AplfwjA-APBwHseyhYGBoqMTeNaNhJPPM3oeJsQGcZF00EoUevufKVMQTFzdYFjKjh4wU29/s1600/DSC05935.JPG" width="320" /></a></div>
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More of the fantastic details that help make this a dungeon adventurer.<br /><br />
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This one I need to dig out so I can properly identify the manufacturer. <br /><br />The palette on this one was kept really simple. I painted it in green and white with the intention of contributing it to the Oldhammer warband project. I don't know why I didn't to be honest. It's not a bad paint job for me and it works. I'm particularly happy with the way the wood on the shield turned out. I think it was a base coat of oak that I then dragged a 'clumsy' oak/white mix through to create the idea of grain. Clumsy in that the white and the oak don't quite mix evenly and the brush tip has both colours on it creating a streakiness when drawn down the shield. It's something I'll need to try again as I really like the effect.<br /><br />Also: most excellent facial hair which is hardly ever seen on a halfling miniature.<br /><br />***<br /><br />I have actually painted in the last week. One of John Boyce's Colony 87 miniatures. I'll aim to finish that and do some work on some eldar or dark elves. I'm still fixating on the idea of doing chore-ish squads and units punctuated by some of the odds and sods I have from various kickstarters/indiegogo campaigns and ebay impulse buys.<br /><br />Let's see what the week brings.<br /><br />Till then.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-32227248421937594692015-07-29T16:53:00.002-07:002015-07-29T16:53:21.595-07:00Eulogy for a Games Store, and godawful funks.My favourite local games store, Burdette's, is closing this Friday.<br /><br />I am gutted.<br /><br />Burdette's was a place that I felt comfortable socially. Which is a big thing, given my level of discomfort generally. The owners and the other customers/gamers were all around my age. The atmosphere was family friendly and relaxed. I tried to make it in every week to play Friday Night Magic, which was free of the brash, competitive bullshit that seems to pool in venues with much younger crowds.<br /><br />There are other stores here, and some a little further afield, but right now none that can replace Burdette's.<br /><br />***<br /><br />This has been a year of descent into the depths. Lack of energy, general apathy and black moods have cut into any enthusiasm or motivation to get things done. Paint brushes have been unused, I have developed a lead hillock (not a mountain as such) and my work desk is a slippery slope that sends cats sliding to the floor. I've got 5 blog post openings that I've just not got back to.<br /><br />Things will turn around, I'm almost sure.<br /><br />***<br /><br />Right, here's a link to a great set of miniatures made in the near three decade old Rogue Trader style:<br /><br /><a href="https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/62661939/colony-87-28mm-sci-fi-civilians" target="_blank">Colony 87- 28mm sci-fi civilians</a><br /><br />They are very crisp, very characterful miniatures. If you didn't know about these, look around the kickstarter and keep an eye out. Jon Boyce has put together a very successful kickstarter and is very approachable with any issues (a little damage to a miniature). I've chosen the first one I want to paint and now I need to get to it!<br />
<br />
Now, I'll return to the virtual shadows...Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-84616372052962050732015-02-16T18:55:00.002-08:002015-02-16T19:03:09.317-08:00Dead Computers. My netbook died laat week. Bad memory, I'm forced to assume. <P>
And now my only internet capable device is my nook colour, which is like typing on a brick.<p>
A TOTAL TRAGEDY! I scream from the velvety comfort of my chaise lounge as I fingermash a screen the size of a penguin book.<p>
I've started gaming at a local store. FNM at the moment. It's been a decade since I last played amd I forgt how much fun it can be. I also forgot how frustrating it can be too. The folks I i also played were easy going but they're invested in the game at a much higher level than me. I don't have the money or.the time to really be competitive. Which is okay by me for the most part, playing is the journey. I just need to work on the mana conspiracy, I mean, my shuffling, no, I mean...<p>
***<p>
Yes, well. Painting-wise I undercoated 20 or so dark elves. I've got to face facts that the way to play with these minis is to bite the bullet and play the latest version of the Great Wyrm's games.
<p>
The most recent stuff painted aside from my wife's nails have been a couple of old harlequins. I love the original background for thses guys, the theatre geek in me to be sure, and the original eclectic, electro-clash painting style that went with it. Think cirque de soliel meets commedia del'arte meets grand guinol meets high art new wave punk elves of a dying high decadence empire with flashing blades, acrobatics and the blur of comic speedlines, ONLY COOLER. <p>
Recently, the colour scheme has gone from a wild anything-goesindividualised regalia to a stolid uniform diamond patterned costume. Think of a trajectory like the one from Queen to Lady Gaga. They're both successful in their own right, it's the degree of the influences on each that tell.
<p>
In the interests of self preservation I painted them black, bone, purple and green with sky blue as a highlight colour. There's no freehanding yet. I want to get them all based and varnished before I start painting on stripes, or checks or other freehand designs.
<p>
I am deeply chagrinned at the lack of photos. I shall thrash the errant knave of a netbook and replace it at earliest opportunity.<p>
***<p>
GIGO:
<p>
The painting guide in the WARLORD 1st edition rulebook, by Reaper, is very well done. It goes into some very different techniques to those demonstrated by Games Warkshop. He book was worth it for this section alone.
<p>
LION RAMPANT and DUX BELLORUM by D. Mersey for Osprey publishing. I'm always on the lokout for intesresting rules that I can chuck my minis into. Lion Rampant is a pretty nifty set of small warband skirmishes set in the middle ages. Dux Bellorum is a dark age Arthurian rules set. I've not read DB yet but both books have a lot of great painted miniaturea from different companies. This is nice. I love seeing photos illustrating rules, and I love that the rules are not tied to a single miniatures line.
<p>
The big difference to my eye, is that LR is one figure = one man, while DBlooks to be one base of 2-3 miniatures representing a much larger number.
<p>
The LR book is very well written with plenty of good examples. The bibliography is good. I also appreciate that the author's voice creates a sspace where you can be as relaxed or as accurate as you like in terms of historicity.
<p>
I have SONG OF BLADES AND HEROES and MUTANTS AND DEATH RAYS from Ganesha games sitting on the pile to read.
<p>
WHITE DWARF I finally brought the new magazine for the harlequins rules and information. I just don't know. I just... This is such a corporate organ now; there are no authors credited, no staff painters named, and no sculptors to be found. I love the harlequin sculpts, and I really want to know who did them. I fear that the answer is now and forever more "Games Workshop."
<p>
I also ponder the 'eavy Metal brand, which has passed from the jokey context of "we listen to heavy metal while painting heavy metal" into something mysterious. What music do you listen to while painting resin and plastic? Synthesiser pop? The sounds of John Blanche and Jes Goodwin crying themselves to sleep? Who knows?
<p>
***
<p>
Would you believe that the above was actually written by the five cats who insist on running over the nook every couple of minutes?
<p>
Until later, take care.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-16619888533047641392014-12-31T15:32:00.000-08:002014-12-31T15:32:14.517-08:00Old Year/New Year<b>2014</b><br />
I'll keep this short 'n sweet.<br />
<br />
<b>The Good: </b>In April, I began painting with a regularity I didn't have previously. My skills improved and I began to take chances with new things. This confidence in what I was doing got through a mental block or five and I was painting miniatures I would never have, could never have, painted previously.<br />
<br />
Personal standouts:<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-49NsVG1eEzAkNkfXNp5GhEPZ_k9jjAdO97U5WOhTM-m3TTTPD5BPmQCZu82zv4e7mv7pcy0NvUKANSugv8oKFvVHGMfdI-q8AGd2QrvyhGpnrLGjxiknnVJDzgb7ZMmHxQCNZBStkOY/s1600/DSC04966.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="display: inline !important; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEge-49NsVG1eEzAkNkfXNp5GhEPZ_k9jjAdO97U5WOhTM-m3TTTPD5BPmQCZu82zv4e7mv7pcy0NvUKANSugv8oKFvVHGMfdI-q8AGd2QrvyhGpnrLGjxiknnVJDzgb7ZMmHxQCNZBStkOY/s1600/DSC04966.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Imperial Dwarf.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU81CamNCVnbeJvA2w5jfD_lYv2dY0llIqGDhNe51w9uvOJ_TPeimYCcV2Enegu5tylqjDWeJz_fy9HDuwAVc0eEYnldgejSpFklRv-2SsNbyQsw0P9IeBa_ofBQWXuN6VUCCxOITHCiEw/s1600/DSC05608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgU81CamNCVnbeJvA2w5jfD_lYv2dY0llIqGDhNe51w9uvOJ_TPeimYCcV2Enegu5tylqjDWeJz_fy9HDuwAVc0eEYnldgejSpFklRv-2SsNbyQsw0P9IeBa_ofBQWXuN6VUCCxOITHCiEw/s1600/DSC05608.JPG" height="146" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Empire Flagellant. </td></tr>
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I received the first Dragon Bait indigogo campaign and fell in love with Kevin Adams' characterful sculpting.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaD0eq8faSeYpo78rJTAwufkugdFoAWpZMg2woyhIMWYbdb95PDJDxiqH8aLTE1m-rz1GBeoF6tg10DeQBqWJJRTl_2EhCr5HG0RdP2YmxbivEXC2-ZzVHIsDs0qqYGsQfXj_kWIjpBw9/s1600/DSC05453.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhTaD0eq8faSeYpo78rJTAwufkugdFoAWpZMg2woyhIMWYbdb95PDJDxiqH8aLTE1m-rz1GBeoF6tg10DeQBqWJJRTl_2EhCr5HG0RdP2YmxbivEXC2-ZzVHIsDs0qqYGsQfXj_kWIjpBw9/s1600/DSC05453.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Purveyor of luggage and scorn.</td></tr>
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<br />
<b>The Bad</b>: I bought two warmahordes starter boxes and discovered the horror of piecing together plastic beasts and warlocks.<br />
<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGtvlL_I6NWtTSBtEs-fVVIVTTzzI8BnC4QeSpUObi4d_LnS7AsWT9uRI0VQwGWxayCgGJdbR36cebJbg9kZQKOD9F2shz5HWgCj0sADP_8gvW8akKDfPCQIQjd_mqNWG3CDJJrB2ppz7/s1600/DSC05033.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinGtvlL_I6NWtTSBtEs-fVVIVTTzzI8BnC4QeSpUObi4d_LnS7AsWT9uRI0VQwGWxayCgGJdbR36cebJbg9kZQKOD9F2shz5HWgCj0sADP_8gvW8akKDfPCQIQjd_mqNWG3CDJJrB2ppz7/s1600/DSC05033.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">They look okay here, but don't breathe they may fall off their legs.<br />
<br />
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<br /></div>
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<b>The Ugly</b>: A change in job and medication caused the horror loss of focus that spun me through a cycle of shortlived interests/obsessions: Crowleyean Magick, Magic the Gathering, American Sign Language, sculpting, puppetry. <b>4 months without painting a miniature.</b> Gah.<br />
<br />
<b>The Very Ugly:</b> Wanting to buy Kevin Adams orcs and Discovering that the current Orcs sold by Games Workshop aren't capable of shutting their mouths (oh, and they're not sculpted by Adams). It's like staring into a Rob Liefield splash page: nothing but grimace.<br />
<br />
<b>Anywho. </b>For the new year I have some goals. In no kind of order.<br />
<br />
<b>1</b> Finish my Dark Elf army<br />
<b>2. </b>Paint more dungeon adventurers.<br />
<b>3.</b> Start my eclectic chaos army.<br />
<b>4.</b> Start painting the 40k Harlequins.<br />
<b>5. </b>Get the orcs I have accumulated constructed and based ready to paint.<br />
<b>6. </b>Press mold shields for the dark elves<br />
<b><br /></b>
<b>7.</b> Start painting with more care. It's going to make for crisper paint jobs. Which leads to:<br />
<b>8. </b>Being more judicious with the army painter washes. This got me over a big hurdle in completion of miniatures, and I could get by on scruffy for a long time. Now is the time to step up the blending<br />
<b>9.</b> Start some conversions/sculpting using green stuff.<br />
<b>10. </b>Make some terrain: medusa cave, ruined gate, hills etc.<br />
<b>11. </b>Do more freehanding<br />
<b>12.</b> construct dungeon tiles out of fimo.<br />
<br />
<b>13.</b> Play warhammer against an honest to Nurgle live opponent.<br />
<b>14</b>. Fingers very crossed to be able attend the next US Oldhammer meet.<br />
<b>15. </b>Try out Lion Rampant, Sword of Blades and Heroes and other rule sets.<br /><br /><b>Pie in the Sky 16.</b> hope to get some of my stuff from NZ. Eldar and Skaven are a calling...<br />
<br />
<i>All of the above is subject to change, correspondence may be entered into, no guarantees etc etc, so on and so forth...</i><br />
<i><br /></i>
<b>Happy New Year!</b>Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-87904729892185563562014-12-27T14:19:00.000-08:002014-12-27T14:25:06.513-08:00Dragon Bait Indiegogo Gnome ChevalierBack in May I supported an Indiegogo campaign for a range of dungeon adventurers bv <a href="http://www.dragon-bait-minis.com/" target="_blank">Dragon Bait Miniatures</a>. The miniatures are sculpted by Kevin Adams and are fantastic, awesome, beautiful and other superlatives that you can all read in posts on this blog.<br />
<br />
Anyway: Dragon Bait have their <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/dragon-baits-second-28mm-fantasy-campaign" target="_blank">second campaign</a> up and running right this second with 16 miniatures in the offing by Tim Prow and David Soderquist. Kevin Adams sculpted a couple of miniatures before he was given a staff job at Foundry.<br />
<br />
And this is one of them:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioZEbZR35i8pQgc-TJyPbJQH0_iEkDeoOO9g-uR6CDlVbcXV7nG8lj-ImqTt5CDozBk5Gito5hGMU2iYLfAz5OQqA0-k0n6GUUjn5pl-6z91P5gmYSPome2CUvypVH64KSC26_IkVCneY/s1600/DSC05927.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgioZEbZR35i8pQgc-TJyPbJQH0_iEkDeoOO9g-uR6CDlVbcXV7nG8lj-ImqTt5CDozBk5Gito5hGMU2iYLfAz5OQqA0-k0n6GUUjn5pl-6z91P5gmYSPome2CUvypVH64KSC26_IkVCneY/s1600/DSC05927.JPG" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Gnome Chevalier.</td></tr>
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Joe Corsaro, the gracious gent in charge of Dragon Bait, sent me the Gnome Chevalier a couple of months back after he'd seen my earlier posts. A very generous out of the blue thing indeed and one that I am thankful for.<br />
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The mini is 3-parts: rider, dog and shield and they fit together very well. The details are crisp: the dog is magnificent in it's stature and anatomy and the rider has a very haughty cast to his features. There was no flash and the mold lines did not cause me any trouble. They are usually something that I miss and then find after I've painted everything but these were either easily removed or simply not there on this mini.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJsISJQ1p3o-7XfbYhGFsO-AEycq9LSKKJyR-20uNWAlLoku_CASR-nFOeIyunU-naYMnsbUwWbJmtjIgWmoET1hot-dUYS1x3PoaOv9f7bbwn43l62dvyMRcIZZ4dFTTqMF9MLP8zXP5/s1600/DSC05911.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhVJsISJQ1p3o-7XfbYhGFsO-AEycq9LSKKJyR-20uNWAlLoku_CASR-nFOeIyunU-naYMnsbUwWbJmtjIgWmoET1hot-dUYS1x3PoaOv9f7bbwn43l62dvyMRcIZZ4dFTTqMF9MLP8zXP5/s1600/DSC05911.JPG" height="244" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Todger!</td></tr>
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Ahem, well. </div>
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The Chevalier will be made available as a $10 add-on to a pledge when the funding reaches $3000. With just over 15 days to go, the funding is just over half way there.</div>
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I'll be backing for the full collection and have no doubt that I will be well pleased with the miniatures. Joe Corsaro created a great first campaign that was fulfilled quickly and totally top-notch, and I'm 100% sure that the second will be the same.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-6220043591778868532014-08-21T13:55:00.001-07:002014-08-21T13:55:48.356-07:00Life in Slow motion... some Dragon Bait... new jobThe last couple of weeks have been in go slow mode. I have been painting (a gnome, a goblin, a samurai, a ninja) and I've repaired some skeletons, cleaned up a horde's beastie and constructed a few more knights.<br /><br />I tidied up my work/miniatures area too. This process gave me a much better idea of what I have. Looks like I can chuck together an Empire army, an orc/goblin army and some skaven, chaos and dwarf/halfling allies.<br />
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***<br />
<br />
Joe Corsaro of <a href="http://www.dragonbaitminis.com/" target="_blank">Dragon Bait Miniatures</a> saw the minis I'd painted and emailed me. He's a great guy with a great company and he has plans in the near future, and I was pinky sworn to keep my trap shut for a little while. <br /><br />He also pointed me to concept artist Mike Burn's <a href="http://www.darkfableminiatures.com/" target="_blank">Dark Fable Miniatures</a> which have a great selection of egyptian themed minis sculpted by Kevin Adams and others.<br /><br />***<br /><br />The big disruption was changing jobs. I've moved from being a fairly loose in-home nanny looking after a toddler and an infant to being one of two lead teachers in a structured, curriculum-based classroom (gads, I have a classroom!) with 8 infants between us to wrangle! It's all part of a new preschool start-up within the church my family attends, it's based heavily in the local community and is aiming to be as diverse as possible. Exciting, stressful, new stuff.<br />
<br />On the plus side I have wrangled some packing foam that looks like it could make some keen ruins.<br /><br />
***<br /><br />
As part of my Naghammahd gaming, I've been trying to locate some dungeon tiles. I've got some hidden in my RPGnow library, it's just a matter of finding them and making sure that they do what I want them to.<br /><br />This week? I'm going to try and finish the gnome, start painting some hordes and get some more of the dark elves cleaned up and based.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-49901897213366189712014-08-12T18:38:00.001-07:002014-08-12T18:38:19.717-07:00Dragon Bait Minis: Half Orc Druid with Pig and Hats.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<i>Harg likes trees. And Boars. They make him happy. Deep forests make him very happy. The trees sing to him. Nancy, the Boar, he likes Harg. Harg takes him places he wouldn't normally see. Like holes in the ground, and fields of the dead. Together they have seen forests across the wastes, and the fungal copses deep underground. They have learnt many songs. They like songs. What they don't like is questions about their hats.</i></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Harg, the Druid and Nancy, the Boar</i></td></tr>
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Ah, skin and fur and eyes. My bete noir. The bulk of the painting I'd done last night, and I wasn't satisfied then and didn't feel better with it this evening before beginning to paint again.<br /><br />Yes, Harg is a very green half-orc. As with the frost giant I painted much earlier this year, I spent a lot of time trying to get the skin right. These are the steps: Dark green base, strong wash, dark green with bone overbrush, cursing and swearing; another dilute AP strong wash; a light brushing of apple green, more cursing, sleep, taking a 10/0 brush and lightly swiping dark green to delineate knees, ankles, calves and elbows. It looks much better.</div>
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The fur was a dark brown with a strong wash, which didn't work well against the boar which was a slate gray with strong wash. The solution was to use the blacker dark wash.</div>
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(Quick note because I'm probably confusing people. For washes I use predominantly the Army Painter (AP) range, so when I talk about a Strong Wash and Dark Wash I'm using rich brown ink and dark black inks.)<br /><br />The boar's snout, tail and ears were built up from a bone base with highlights of bone and flesh.<br /></div>
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There is a backpack that I need to paint and attach, though I think I'll varnish this before doing so. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmuFEyxoilGqUbqF550IIkr2JVRCbUfsZOdr-R5DgyGD97ra_7aCXc93RDTIWZ6-MFRLvIyCXC5SrWlBBG0goC42mFPaoR2ZPD5zMIbZRkPIgPVC6krxR86OO3TlVEU_YflDw01qpzMWD/s1600/DSC05828.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhcmuFEyxoilGqUbqF550IIkr2JVRCbUfsZOdr-R5DgyGD97ra_7aCXc93RDTIWZ6-MFRLvIyCXC5SrWlBBG0goC42mFPaoR2ZPD5zMIbZRkPIgPVC6krxR86OO3TlVEU_YflDw01qpzMWD/s1600/DSC05828.JPG" height="200" width="180" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFiECBuWhFfZ2gLefU8bwAAqYHewoOosdsJOvz3hDar38o8edyu70UOLainlqc8oPmaix8kNSkAu0pLsngUPVMTYboyKk44M3Bme-zvn7Xyhx6b0WjYv8PE6TT8usJVhB3RQgBZP0ZHHb/s1600/DSC05829.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihFiECBuWhFfZ2gLefU8bwAAqYHewoOosdsJOvz3hDar38o8edyu70UOLainlqc8oPmaix8kNSkAu0pLsngUPVMTYboyKk44M3Bme-zvn7Xyhx6b0WjYv8PE6TT8usJVhB3RQgBZP0ZHHb/s1600/DSC05829.JPG" height="200" width="182" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UpyWWgloQbbba_oqnCiWRWxPLsOSuDC5YXa2wEeqR8YKYdjdXvpW_5j_rCLcQ28-5G4x8xAtFU0G8My9bzo3Czj7jkEdExekY2Z_1mc0AkhxZEyDTxhhKnfZUxyDLJXKtXfNZLKG79tv/s1600/DSC05832.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi8UpyWWgloQbbba_oqnCiWRWxPLsOSuDC5YXa2wEeqR8YKYdjdXvpW_5j_rCLcQ28-5G4x8xAtFU0G8My9bzo3Czj7jkEdExekY2Z_1mc0AkhxZEyDTxhhKnfZUxyDLJXKtXfNZLKG79tv/s1600/DSC05832.JPG" height="200" width="147" /></a></div>
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My wife looked at it and said "Whoever made this is fantastic, you can see all the teeth." Good job, Kevin Adams, you have the Carmen Meinhardi-Dale seal of approval!Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-61002589563902040442014-07-29T19:51:00.003-07:002014-07-29T19:51:26.609-07:00The Flagellant<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
This mini I am really, really proud of. Like, stupidly, irrationally proud.</div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81fLRd2oL76m5DOCX9NoCUllq0fgXrDYdZ20kTAdrCTcSj7bp6v8QSUsnesIxA4tP4EXqa3LEmh8JYBmZk4jOyKg9BXEFQY_oQfj2EMrhgZdOPAiOGCO8I-TX5GkryFs7QdpeiLH_UTJ3/s1600/DSC05607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj81fLRd2oL76m5DOCX9NoCUllq0fgXrDYdZ20kTAdrCTcSj7bp6v8QSUsnesIxA4tP4EXqa3LEmh8JYBmZk4jOyKg9BXEFQY_oQfj2EMrhgZdOPAiOGCO8I-TX5GkryFs7QdpeiLH_UTJ3/s1600/DSC05607.JPG" height="296" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>The Empire Flagellant in all his righteous glory.</i></td></tr>
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I don't know who sculpted this, though I suspect it's one or both of the Perry twins. It's an amazing miniature.<br />
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The flagellant is a religious zealot, convinced that the only way to be truly righteous and pure is through abasement and self inflicted pain. They travel the countryside in bands spreading the good word.<br />
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They also do children's parties.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s5yg6WdUGfZMcwgIujDh3KFea2t_E75U1RFKYnoa-gTEOq-EZE9QH4I4HqgZ3RMOT0mEMroLU3n6m_26AahklZxCjOrqqQC5nKocQZ7LeiyoFesGt5vk-CuWR_tRqKcJQcylLtASUMr1/s1600/DSC05608.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6s5yg6WdUGfZMcwgIujDh3KFea2t_E75U1RFKYnoa-gTEOq-EZE9QH4I4HqgZ3RMOT0mEMroLU3n6m_26AahklZxCjOrqqQC5nKocQZ7LeiyoFesGt5vk-CuWR_tRqKcJQcylLtASUMr1/s1600/DSC05608.JPG" height="235" width="320" /></a></div>
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The tide marks on the robes were something I wasn't sure of. It worked. This mini I feel like I stepped a little further with details. I must have painted the eyes a half dozen times trying to get the look right.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5P2PeI7Dlr-m0aeTQfFhMV8hcSEveobbpyuK49aGCHRfeIT_ZpRyab78SHshGpL2xN7De7iUX4NI5Cc19HTHy3_pZCQQUnePu-mXAx9uQhfI8LlTdnG3g0BtlffQe48zTkDIzKRobDTD/s1600/DSC05617.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjD5P2PeI7Dlr-m0aeTQfFhMV8hcSEveobbpyuK49aGCHRfeIT_ZpRyab78SHshGpL2xN7De7iUX4NI5Cc19HTHy3_pZCQQUnePu-mXAx9uQhfI8LlTdnG3g0BtlffQe48zTkDIzKRobDTD/s1600/DSC05617.JPG" height="145" width="200" /></a><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0VqTkM7y_YDsT9ZQgrdh43xp6LOi592vNy2UT0KZ7WAJ57JHv_lwgGQypyPZdVp85bRF92w1BO6-vVUH0c5PGfi6pxHODWUGPDz_EcnxU7qGy8NuFxxP5OGstz8XPN_A1GQFhdeFx-tk/s1600/DSC05627.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjC0VqTkM7y_YDsT9ZQgrdh43xp6LOi592vNy2UT0KZ7WAJ57JHv_lwgGQypyPZdVp85bRF92w1BO6-vVUH0c5PGfi6pxHODWUGPDz_EcnxU7qGy8NuFxxP5OGstz8XPN_A1GQFhdeFx-tk/s1600/DSC05627.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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The scroll on the back is roughly illuminated. I have another 9 I now want to paint.</div>
<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-66525038300672796062014-07-29T19:38:00.000-07:002014-07-29T19:38:58.271-07:00A wizard, a druid and a ranger enter an inn......and the innkeeper says "Is this some kind of joke?"<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR-IzKrgYLcHg5vH5fHNcWxRLS7F0ZjsWUhnVa07MfXD51lFQU67ptNOyVAQPMW8XOEPKESX19kDSMFs_jSdAsK64sgoRYyBgIm6EOj-AhcgdOVUq-KCvt7uHD8AYVNWcTO5XSfmXba4F/s1600/DSC05651.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiGR-IzKrgYLcHg5vH5fHNcWxRLS7F0ZjsWUhnVa07MfXD51lFQU67ptNOyVAQPMW8XOEPKESX19kDSMFs_jSdAsK64sgoRYyBgIm6EOj-AhcgdOVUq-KCvt7uHD8AYVNWcTO5XSfmXba4F/s1600/DSC05651.JPG" height="240" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i>Heartbreaker Wizard, Citadel Flagellant, Reaper Halfling Druid, and Dragon Bait Dwarf Ranger.</i></td></tr>
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This is the result of about 4 hours or so over two days. The stupid wizard lost the top of her staff, the damned thing snapped right off. Cue me scrambling to find my pin vice only to discover that the drill bit I wanted to use doesn't fit the cheap-arsed piece of crap I had on hand. Frustrating.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5UHe-DgrYyexN7dGgjDPB5lM_dyJkq5h-VLXQJ2s8hi2hthuVhQe60VxTIZ-q2VvSJPOhBONIv5LZBCLrmhF6eYgpBKQ0FRO4nKMzH-MLUY014epPB8Yqk7euIUAy1c0hNOmiJuoRhxM/s1600/DSC05597.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEja5UHe-DgrYyexN7dGgjDPB5lM_dyJkq5h-VLXQJ2s8hi2hthuVhQe60VxTIZ-q2VvSJPOhBONIv5LZBCLrmhF6eYgpBKQ0FRO4nKMzH-MLUY014epPB8Yqk7euIUAy1c0hNOmiJuoRhxM/s1600/DSC05597.JPG" height="155" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcox4tDfdlGk-imMaWQL8Zc1EinIQN8OoVKvp1BW39AbMamd7QdD5e5ROfbmw-KrZha2f6cVrbVAAMfC7z4ovl1YzmQO_14uixzig_57ZI0flf2rsnRtFfzG6-PcLx2FpPsTG3SKHR27x/s1600/DSC05637.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMcox4tDfdlGk-imMaWQL8Zc1EinIQN8OoVKvp1BW39AbMamd7QdD5e5ROfbmw-KrZha2f6cVrbVAAMfC7z4ovl1YzmQO_14uixzig_57ZI0flf2rsnRtFfzG6-PcLx2FpPsTG3SKHR27x/s1600/DSC05637.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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This came from Heartbreaker. I'll get the parts that jab me out of the way first.This is a clunky beast. Huge arms, small face, huge hair. Humongous staff. Look at how thick that thing is, she's holding something that is as thick as her arm. And I won't get into how the inside of her robe lacks any kind of detail. Thigh? Knee? She doesn't need those. Just stick the foot in there. </div>
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<br />Dispite these complaints I like this mini in toto. The details are pretty cool, the robe, the necklace and the cord all provide some texture. The staff is a great design which demands some simplicity in the painting. The 'flow' made painting a pleasant job.<br /><br />Painting wise it was straightforward. The hair is an experiment. I wanted it to look like flame flowing from her head. It's rough and would probably work better if she had spiky wild hair.</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtSEJ7zKiRUZUYoB51m7F6-slMnQkeMcPaFICvld5jgAn4We9_gZxA3vauv4HGgM8bBbJNWQXiUbYYdCNovieI9g3ZIIhVLz0lKXJbOr5egcaYIEFSpG-XWNeGIE9Iiq1sA5Xl67if73F/s1600/DSC05602.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQtSEJ7zKiRUZUYoB51m7F6-slMnQkeMcPaFICvld5jgAn4We9_gZxA3vauv4HGgM8bBbJNWQXiUbYYdCNovieI9g3ZIIhVLz0lKXJbOr5egcaYIEFSpG-XWNeGIE9Iiq1sA5Xl67if73F/s1600/DSC05602.JPG" height="148" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAkqx9xJPSbYCjz316k6PP_y_n3QSLGxpHY_4yk7T946FB8KwGqh6BjrOS114S6mbo-xa2GOSwebPjmLf521TAbn3qldIVV3bCjCdjak1MWpcu0U9LwNjcYfsBHk-vH5H43aO74ba1l9O6/s1600/DSC05604.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAkqx9xJPSbYCjz316k6PP_y_n3QSLGxpHY_4yk7T946FB8KwGqh6BjrOS114S6mbo-xa2GOSwebPjmLf521TAbn3qldIVV3bCjCdjak1MWpcu0U9LwNjcYfsBHk-vH5H43aO74ba1l9O6/s1600/DSC05604.JPG" height="147" width="200" /></a></div>
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I won't lie, I totally bought this mini because of the bunny. </div>
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I used so many colours that I was afraid that it wouldn't work at all. Brown red for the fabric and tan for the edging of the jacket, yellow for the scarf, blue for cloak and hat, and purple for the layer under the jacket.<br /><br />The bunny was a slate grey base coat with a wash, and selective white over brushing</div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE7vUQrLGvs74sRKBBFG-Rl4Gw9v1HsBHT86NoQHs4JkJTWN-vJCI3myV3n-4QBqYK4EYL5Bq30lwaAp3UNCdwpS3U0ZYY234RWlSncFXeJAzFNupuGAhvhTZ75lEPVnVkjvSklWgkesp/s1600/DSC05605.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoE7vUQrLGvs74sRKBBFG-Rl4Gw9v1HsBHT86NoQHs4JkJTWN-vJCI3myV3n-4QBqYK4EYL5Bq30lwaAp3UNCdwpS3U0ZYY234RWlSncFXeJAzFNupuGAhvhTZ75lEPVnVkjvSklWgkesp/s1600/DSC05605.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div>
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Detail for the book. I want to add more to the bird page: draw the beak open and add a musical note or some kind of speech bubble. "Talk to animals" is a useful spell. I have no clue what the other symbol means.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEeQJ2C0LqZWruBQCA8aerP3KhVOHXx2tThB_TrD_eMG7il8szZEXZtg6aF1Mqwzz9okoXR_C7IL21vxKOcvmCIg6QsrtibZzzokgACnpTWpIDnVr5z3oleMtyJY9DYB4M97dpGdNzdxU/s1600/DSC05633.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEicEeQJ2C0LqZWruBQCA8aerP3KhVOHXx2tThB_TrD_eMG7il8szZEXZtg6aF1Mqwzz9okoXR_C7IL21vxKOcvmCIg6QsrtibZzzokgACnpTWpIDnVr5z3oleMtyJY9DYB4M97dpGdNzdxU/s1600/DSC05633.JPG" height="239" width="320" /></a></div>
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It was while painting this dwarf ranger that I realised that I really like Kev Adams ( see the previous post about the halfling barbarian).<br /><br />All of these sculpts are based off another artist's, Mike Burns, <a href="https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/28mm-fantasy-adventurers-from-dragon-bait-miniatures#gallery" target="_blank">designs</a> and Adams did a brilliant job of capturing the design and injecting some of his own sensibility into it.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gKG8KhiAgUbEBuq-8j4PX6ytD5G1xnyk4RCDzQ3xr-2HVsgPsHTAccUtXRH0B07pfclPqilKTSG0jNI4rBx2cYCju9NtzNmmETlLj-cCWtix2eV0M3BZhVrlWl8NhOdNZ_ybnqRKTdHP/s1600/DSC05629.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1gKG8KhiAgUbEBuq-8j4PX6ytD5G1xnyk4RCDzQ3xr-2HVsgPsHTAccUtXRH0B07pfclPqilKTSG0jNI4rBx2cYCju9NtzNmmETlLj-cCWtix2eV0M3BZhVrlWl8NhOdNZ_ybnqRKTdHP/s1600/DSC05629.JPG" height="148" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHU_MY4Uvq-oaBiD6hw31LcFKPjEADHhG74_8P_dObuMJeLvQ0dBfRrZ0cIOIfIj2TnG6Xr0WTwv-pRZ9-gIHHKrlaLGnemKTP2He5IFxAs2wm75Yt4BTnjUMpxBXbjBLUpZBxuu5veY9/s1600/DSC05631.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhYHU_MY4Uvq-oaBiD6hw31LcFKPjEADHhG74_8P_dObuMJeLvQ0dBfRrZ0cIOIfIj2TnG6Xr0WTwv-pRZ9-gIHHKrlaLGnemKTP2He5IFxAs2wm75Yt4BTnjUMpxBXbjBLUpZBxuu5veY9/s1600/DSC05631.JPG" height="146" width="200" /></a></div>
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I really like the way she turned out. I didn't really realise until after I'd painted her that she shares the same colours with the other minis (olive green and white/bone).</div>
Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-8756174506726557232014-07-29T18:36:00.002-07:002014-07-29T18:36:29.211-07:00The Wallis Knight and better photos of Kneenan, the barbarian halfling.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
My reward for winning the previous round of Chico's painting challenge was to choose the theme for the next one. I chose 'heraldry' because: it was something I'd never done; I had some plastic knights; and I wanted to handpaint a shield. Voila. Decision made.</div>
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This is my non-entry. </div>
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywpzCQDjfKbeEedwhgL3U05nArgkrMaqDrdnBhQxUC-ZKNcPw3GgL_iMO1asT_8Y0u6SgtVbNhjwxjqit0LcRyrJZuuXWAOAit49X1KRMsScYpS5oNy3n9Ng-LRMgOaOX1ve5U1Q6GIjG/s1600/DSC05576.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgywpzCQDjfKbeEedwhgL3U05nArgkrMaqDrdnBhQxUC-ZKNcPw3GgL_iMO1asT_8Y0u6SgtVbNhjwxjqit0LcRyrJZuuXWAOAit49X1KRMsScYpS5oNy3n9Ng-LRMgOaOX1ve5U1Q6GIjG/s1600/DSC05576.JPG" height="320" width="218" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Wallis Knight.</td></tr>
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Wallis is my Grandmother's birth name and the family crest is, as shown on the shield, a white lion rampant on a red field. Though it might technically be silver and not white. <br /><br />I made the happy discovery that red is easier to paint over an orange base. It makes for a brighter and warmer colour. I like how much warmer and brighter it makes the final colour. It still takes a couple of coats which is not really a chore when compared to the outcome.<br />
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***<br />
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<i>"I will do the job," </i><i>Kneenan smiled and bit a chunk from the meat in his fist, "and my price will be fair. However be warned."</i><br />
<i>He swallowed his mouthful and spat a stray piece of flesh to the floor at the strangers feet,</i><i> "If I am betrayed I will hew your knee caps from you..."</i><br />
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Here are better photos of the Halfling Barbarian I painted earlier.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0kNU6VKkNVQoOk4cTfbQhWBEfHMJz9XZSXiOu1alB9wY0RzznG8Vr_p5aTU5jS_chSeOU0SApjBbmT1Avr8LGue-ghT8cSx6blkpcDU6SwxLxPMIjKDrAh3F7CpDTbZg6xjNZ0yKWXHR/s1600/DSC05642.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgv0kNU6VKkNVQoOk4cTfbQhWBEfHMJz9XZSXiOu1alB9wY0RzznG8Vr_p5aTU5jS_chSeOU0SApjBbmT1Avr8LGue-ghT8cSx6blkpcDU6SwxLxPMIjKDrAh3F7CpDTbZg6xjNZ0yKWXHR/s1600/DSC05642.JPG" height="235" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The spoon and the chicken leg are wonderful touches.</td></tr>
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I have suddenly realised that I have fallen in love with Kev Adams, the sculpter of this brilliant miniature. It's snuck up on me over painting these things he's sculpted. I've known <i>of</i> him for a long time and I've probably painted his sculpts before (heroquest goblins, I'm looking at you) without realising much of anything.<br />
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Adams has a long history in the miniatures game stretching back to the early-mid 80s doing a lot of work with Games Workshop. I first came across him in the pages of White Dwarf in one of the early <i>'eavy Metal</i>s where he talked painting and sculpting and from his painted goblins and orcs in a sample army list from an upcoming book. He also designed a fantastic piece of bent reality with a device called the snotling pump wagon. Think a<br />
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Consequently, I've spent the last week halfheartedly looking for more of his miniatures online and today I've found my next purchase: <a href="http://otherworldminiatures.co.uk/shop/dab-series-dungeon-adventurers-boxed-sets/dab1-human-male-characters-12/" target="_blank">Human Male Adventurers</a> from Otherworld Miniatures. These look like they are slimmer than the Dragon Bait minis I have been painting, though they all ooze the same character. Kev Adams has done a huge number of miniatures for the company. His <a href="http://otherworldminiatures.co.uk/shop/product-category/pig-faced-orcs/" target="_blank">pig faced orcs</a> are sheer brilliance (look for the fully helmed orc <a href="http://otherworldminiatures.co.uk/shop/pig-faced-orcs/o10-pig-faced-command-pack-ii/" target="_blank">here</a>).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hli45JwLE1PXKEYwjxC1EOlS5EVsxAwoTsbpNfXy7z5GlTKz5Iq8uWj6t_tG1lSrE_l4dgswBkRtZ6bucguTsFfO8EP_3i7YeTNlbYtCEA5OHb6FV9lDYGIF1PUjfVllqHVVuzcfGx2G/s1600/DSC05643.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj3hli45JwLE1PXKEYwjxC1EOlS5EVsxAwoTsbpNfXy7z5GlTKz5Iq8uWj6t_tG1lSrE_l4dgswBkRtZ6bucguTsFfO8EP_3i7YeTNlbYtCEA5OHb6FV9lDYGIF1PUjfVllqHVVuzcfGx2G/s1600/DSC05643.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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Anywho, back to the mini at hand. The loin cloth is orange with a brown wash over it. I drybrushed some white down the back to suggest fox fur. I don't know if it totally works; I need to do a bit of work on fur. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_7JszXUbOOIcTyrm2GB_TuxRYyU4mySTfsc0Knu8lCqgGZ7gHggxL30HvzDNStAzBs35SacyiBcxO4Jfq6mn3O9n5iglavLhHIdkHs6-6kSK-g1Xd3S6PNfxDWjm1Kz9wAUHKADz4SkZ/s1600/DSC05644.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4_7JszXUbOOIcTyrm2GB_TuxRYyU4mySTfsc0Knu8lCqgGZ7gHggxL30HvzDNStAzBs35SacyiBcxO4Jfq6mn3O9n5iglavLhHIdkHs6-6kSK-g1Xd3S6PNfxDWjm1Kz9wAUHKADz4SkZ/s1600/DSC05644.JPG" height="236" width="320" /></a></div>
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Another angle.The tilt on the mouth makes me smile. It's one of those touches that Adams excels at.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-20595384816324807952014-07-23T17:24:00.000-07:002016-02-28T08:31:08.859-08:00Johnny Come Lately Liebster Thingee.Johnathan Marshall at <a href="http://meanderingshade.blogspot.com/" target="_blank">Meandering Shade</a> has nominated me for a Leibster Award, which is more a "How-do-you-do-you-seem-interesting-here-are-some-questions" chain letter thingee than an actual award, but "award" is easier to type. Which is totally neat. I love awards that aren't actually awards and are more low key.<br />
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(As an aside, I've had a breakthrough and now know where the 'create link' button is on blogger.)<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hyphenhyphenJ49tSkVbDraOrkh2277iUTTdEMEeSb9CwWVb8Hqig2bxERLbe6gJDAEzFyNkkyB3QoWKVOmpPoEG8BqpZ_DtKVNpNYla1ydvXnfuKW8dIiEroPHxkh89qle5_Wm0e9mQoJ0tT7ap83/s1600/liebster+award.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="color: #a13131; margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-decoration: none;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6hyphenhyphenJ49tSkVbDraOrkh2277iUTTdEMEeSb9CwWVb8Hqig2bxERLbe6gJDAEzFyNkkyB3QoWKVOmpPoEG8BqpZ_DtKVNpNYla1ydvXnfuKW8dIiEroPHxkh89qle5_Wm0e9mQoJ0tT7ap83/s1600/liebster+award.jpg" style="-webkit-box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; background: rgb(204, 204, 204); border-bottom-left-radius: 0px; border-bottom-right-radius: 0px; border-top-left-radius: 0px; border-top-right-radius: 0px; border: 1px solid rgb(136, 136, 136); box-shadow: rgba(0, 0, 0, 0.2) 0px 0px 0px; padding: 8px; position: relative;" width="320" /></a></div>
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<b style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #343434; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;"><u>Liebster Award Instructions:</u></b><br />
<br style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #343434; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px;" />
<ul style="background-color: #fefefe; color: #343434; font-family: Arial, Tahoma, Helvetica, FreeSans, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18.200000762939453px; list-style-image: initial; list-style-position: initial; margin: 0.5em 0px; padding: 0px 2.5em;">
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Link back to the blogger that nominated you</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Reveal 11 truths about yourself</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Answer the 11 questions written for you by the person that nominated you</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Choose 11 other blogs that have less than 200 followers to be nominated next</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">Write 11 questions for these new nominees to answer</li>
<li style="border: none; margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0.25em 0px;">leave a comment on the nominees blog or message them to make them aware of the nomination</li>
</ul>
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<b style="text-decoration: underline;">11 Truths some related to gaming, some not</b><br />
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1. I suffer from depression. The longer I'm alive, the more I think that depression is the ocean on which my continents of personality form, shift and get swallowed up by.<br />
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2. I used to think space marines were space skaven because of the beakie helmets and I used to think Eldar were some hideous alien creature because of the way the D-cannon crewmember looked like it were peeling it's mask back. I have an un-natural love of Wraithlords because of that one picture with the busted wall and the cigar smoke. WD 100 has a lot to answer for.<br />
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3. Jes Goodwin is my default favourite sculptor because of Skaven and Eldar, my two favourite forces. I have his Saint Celestine in the pile, and I need to make an order for some of the Asgard sculpts of his.<br />
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4. I immigrated from NZ to the US to get married. I met my wife at the end of 2007 and asked her to marry me about 4 months later before we'd ever met.</div>
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5. I am a lousy arguer and debater. I despise conflict and avoid it like the plague.<br />
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6. I am a pacifist. Sometimes I wake up and wonder if wargaming fits with this pacifism. It does, because fantasy wargaming is fiction. Fiction never hurt anyone. I don't have to tell a bunch of Dark Elf families that mum/dad isn't coming home. I don't see limbs hewn or children cryng because they've been pressganged into fighting. Compared to the real world wargaming is damned civilised.</div>
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7. I am a thin shell of cynical around a big, pulsing, gushy romantic idealist. A big, disappointed idealist, but an idealist none-the-less.</div>
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8. I am a gamer with a writing problem, or is that vice versa? I have written plays and many false starts for novels. Depression has put a crimp on so many things.</div>
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9. I love books. I tend to read deeply with authors, and will devour a whole bunch of their work until I can't handle it anymore. I am stuck firmly in the 'B's with excursions elsewhere. William Burroughs, Borges, Samuel Beckett, JG Ballard, Ray Bradbury. Other writers: Lovecraft, Harold Pinter, Margaret Atwood, Peter Milligan, Alan Moore, Warren Ellis, Calvino, Jane Austen, Dashiel Hammett, Michael Chabon and many others. I'm not a traditional fantasy fan, what interests me is slightly off kilter, slightly weird fictions.</div>
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10. I have worked as a nanny for the last 18 months and will soon begin work in a start-up preschool. I love kids and had decided to do Drama in University instead of early childhood. My life has circled in on itself and I find myself in the job area I'd considered and decided against nearly 20 years ago.</div>
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11. I am a church-going atheist. My wife is Christian, and I am a godless immigrant heathen who is supportive of my wife's beliefs. The church we attend is a progressive, open and affirming congregationalist church where, while I don't share the big belief, I have discovered that my socialist beliefs have some fascinating concordances with what Jesus said and did in the gospels. My lack of belief isn't going to change, but this church is a place where I feel welcome in my difference, and this is something I have never had in any other Christian church.</div>
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<b><u>11 Questions from Meandering Shade.</u></b><br />
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<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What attracted you to your hobby? <br /><br />This is a twofer. What attracted me to RPGs and then miniatures and warhammer was reading White Dwarfs and Fighting Fantasy books that my Mum(!) had bought for herself. Seeing 'Eavy Metal when it started and the full colour ads for Citadel minis with their stat lines and such had huge impact. <br /><br />What attracted me to fantasy? My mum (again!) always read fantastical stories to me and my brother. Stuff like Diana Wynn Jones, the Phantom Toll Booth, the Hobbit etc and something of that stuck. Later, my Dad introduced me to Stephen King and Clive Barker. White Dwarf gave me Lovecraft, 2000AD and so much in the way of art and ideas.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What hobby goal would you like to achieve?<br /><br />Currently: finish my Dark Elf metal army.<br /><br />Long Term: To have as many old 3ed miniature armies as I can with a bunch of scenery for a table. Chaos, Skaven and Dark Elf for certain.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Do you have an interesting/amusing hobby anecdote to share?<br /><br />More an image to share. I accidentally almost-fully sat on a unit of plastic skaven clanrats with spears and when I straightened up a bunch of spears were stuck in my right bum cheek. I looked like a looney tunes character who'd had a run in with a porcupine.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What was the last book you read? <br /><br />Sadly, my depression comes with a lack of reading. I last read 'Gun with Occasional Music' by Johnathan Lethem, in February.<br /> </li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What inspires you most?<br /><br />For the hobby: it's seeing other people's current miniatures and projects (I love the Oldhammer FB page for this), and also going back to the 'source' materials (White Dwarfs, rulesets, catalogues, miniatures) of 25-35 years ago with adult eyes. I love the mingling of my memory of being 7 reading this stuff with the experience of 30 years reading this stuff. It isn't nostalgia, it's something else. I'm finding so much more that I missed the first time round.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What finished piece are you most proud of?<br /><br />I think that the miniatures I have painted for Chico's challenges are all ones that I have been immensely proud of. With the subject selected for me, I've been a little more deliberate in thinking about what I was doing with them. Each challenge I've tried something different technically. Blending, or taking more time with highlights, or using certain combinations of colours.<br /><br />I am most proud of the maruader dwarf. It was the first time I felt mostly in control of the process and deliberate in what I was doing. From the eyes and face to the colours I was going to use. It all fell into place. I would describe my general painting style as loose and scruffy, but this was my cleanest work.<br />:<br /><img height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjTVNSu1OZK2MBKADxsfspDuorbKRh-IllfjQmKonO-UwnuLZgfZQZkr7nYWP4ed51nTUnsutlRL5iU16qKBUdecZqqPYU1HR6z43f-x0e5skjBlAb1_-Bi7N3pImoJQKA1kdAAB3Q3nbdY/s320/DSC04966.JPG" width="320" /></li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Your desert island discs, 5 albums, what are they?<br /><br />Talking Head's Fear of Music, Portishead's Third, A best of David Bowie disc, Dimmer's I Believe You are a Star, Don McGlashan's Wonderful Year.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">How would you spend your days if you didn't have to worry about money/career?<br /><br />Writing. Painting miniatures. Hanging with family. Travelling.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What is your pet peeve?<br /><br />Since coming to the US, it's the lack of foot paths. There's a real dismissal of people who don't drive cars where I am.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">Do you have a favourite historical period?<br /><br />The twentieth century from 1945 to the second before the internet took off. The internet has radically changed how we interact with the world, in a way I don't like. I'm tactile and my memory is visual landmark based and I mourn the shift from paper to pixel. My experience of film, tv and music hasn't changed (which is a function of just how old recording of media is: I imagine that there were a number of people bemoaning the switch from stage and bandstand to screen and speaker). I still watch TV on a screen and listen to music from a speaker. I am simply very attached to the printed paper page.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px 0px 0.25em; padding: 0px;">What fantasy world/setting would you most like to experience first hand?<br /><br />Ha! The sensible part of me says 'None. I don't want to be molested by a Broo, spiked for insulting Tsoylanu nobility, eaten by an Old One, interrogated by an Ordo Inquisitor, or mutated by the wastes of chaos.' <br /><br />But... I would love to experience Glorantha. The way life is infused with myth and magic is fascinating to me. And ducks. Musnt't forget the ducks.</li>
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These things always put me in a bind, I am relatively new to this blogging game (my previous blog was about play writing fergawdsake, ended two years ago, and in the end I think I was the only person viewing it) and I'm generally a Johnny-come-lately and a lot of people have already answered the Liebster award call.<br />
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I'm not a big one for this sort of thing and I'm kind of awkward and I'm going to be backwards about it, I'm just going to post links to people who have answered Liebsters.<br />
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Links to Liebstered Folks:<br />
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Chico at <a href="http://oldhammeronabudget.blogspot.com/2014/04/leibster-award-part-1.html" target="_blank">Oldhammer on a Budget</a><br />
<a href="http://the-responsible-one.blogspot.com/2014/04/liebster-award-its-like-chain-letter.html" target="_blank">The Responsible One's Wargaming Blog</a><br />
Suber at <a href="http://oldschoolworkshop.blogspot.com/2014/03/no-minis-today-but.html" target="_blank">Old School Workshop</a><br />
<a href="http://goblinlee.blogspot.com/2014/05/liebster-award-and-some-chaos.html" target="_blank">Goblin Lee's Miniatures Blog</a><br />
Colin at <a href="http://theleadpile.blogspot.com/2014/03/thankyou-asslessman-or-how-to-get-head.html" target="_blank">The Leadpile</a><br />
<a href="http://fullashtraygaming.blogspot.com/2014/05/today-progress-and-liebstering.html" target="_blank">Infrequent ramblings of a casual wargamer and hobbyist</a><br />
<a href="http://warhammerforadults.blogspot.com/2014/06/zoids-liebsters-and-oxymoron.html" target="_blank">Warhammer for Adults</a><br />
Steve at <a href="http://teasgettingcold.blogspot.com/2014/04/teilen-sie-die-liebe.html" target="_blank">Somewhere the tea's getting cold</a><br />
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Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-90388533045159932852014-07-22T17:00:00.002-07:002014-07-22T17:00:13.083-07:00More Dragonbait Beauties and some Heraldry.This week I'd fully intended to paint some knights and instead painted some other miniatures instead.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGi1oshHNjjjF_e_RtSQpE1Rb3sNkQt-3QUc3c5HKdhhanJvszmzU2PTjVmEPownmIpexaOWwbVqYRG5TVc5W_kGjV5EBplh0KqLo11jOLiC5_0cWfUrRWtldSy5YvA3HaMsB0ZI-tIGUI/s1600/DSC05485.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhGi1oshHNjjjF_e_RtSQpE1Rb3sNkQt-3QUc3c5HKdhhanJvszmzU2PTjVmEPownmIpexaOWwbVqYRG5TVc5W_kGjV5EBplh0KqLo11jOLiC5_0cWfUrRWtldSy5YvA3HaMsB0ZI-tIGUI/s1600/DSC05485.JPG" height="145" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoladYVREDfo2YBtAyg0WijrWug7wtyr2Jm48sIJJ7fJCXbkI74V-fhHohyxSrWwrpuTvrsGdUngyjCVkYC8QkCNDON8LB0VIXPKR_N2_z4N91Ta5xAvM5vzM5PPHD5Q35o4uqhurDU0_/s1600/DSC05487.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgoladYVREDfo2YBtAyg0WijrWug7wtyr2Jm48sIJJ7fJCXbkI74V-fhHohyxSrWwrpuTvrsGdUngyjCVkYC8QkCNDON8LB0VIXPKR_N2_z4N91Ta5xAvM5vzM5PPHD5Q35o4uqhurDU0_/s1600/DSC05487.JPG" height="150" width="200" /></a></div>
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<a href="http://www.dragonbaitminis.com/" target="_blank">Dragon Bait Miniatures </a> (unfortunately, this link takes you to a place holder and contact link) have a bunch of beautiful miniatures. Can I rave enough about painting these? Probably not. They are great with my only complaint being the varying size of the bases from the teeny butler base to the humongous half-orc druid base. This is a minor quibble. Like wishing that your still unbelievably tasty burger had sesame seeds on top.<br /></div>
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I definitely feel more confident in what I am doing with the brush. More in control of the effects that I am trying to achieve and the colours that I am using. I love the way that these miniatures have turned out. I don't know what has changed my perspective to my painting, only that I am certainly the more positive for it. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kfuCqRlUJzn7-MCXKiNKgGzYgh5dJdw1rAvAVreGpmL1knke73kXSdHbg0b55M4zjabKsqUcWJ3eywfPLo_ZWWRLOMlo7V7EUQ71dFLMYvWJHq3E8wABmFsjavtiL-sejAfPh-c-ZvWk/s1600/DSC05489.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh0kfuCqRlUJzn7-MCXKiNKgGzYgh5dJdw1rAvAVreGpmL1knke73kXSdHbg0b55M4zjabKsqUcWJ3eywfPLo_ZWWRLOMlo7V7EUQ71dFLMYvWJHq3E8wABmFsjavtiL-sejAfPh-c-ZvWk/s1600/DSC05489.JPG" height="240" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>She is a cautious one, this halfling. Sling at the ready she scans the nooks and crannies looking for advantage. Maybe financial, maybe tactical but always hers. This is Percivalia, and she is equipped for expertise. Candles, lockpicks, wire cutters and rope and grapple. No tripwire uncut, no chest unopened, no gem unsecreted into a sleeve. If anyone complains they can talk to the knife.</i><br />
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Percivalia has a lot of detail that I discovered while painting. What I thought was flash was a throwing knife tucked into a sleeve, cord tying a dagger to her wrist. Her hair is similar to the barbarians: a mix of bone and yellow. This gives a very dirty look when couple with a wash.<br /><br />Her pants were supposed to have neat checks and it turned out to be more a little more onerous on my patience that I had expected. They are rough as guts up close, and one leg is neater than the other. Percevalia needs to choose a better tailor.<br /><br />The candle flame I spent more time on than I intended trying to get a pleasing blend from the 'hot' colour to the 'cooler' colour. I initially had white at the very base, which made the flame look far too hot. I eventually ended up swiping one colour on top of another quickly to get an uneven blend from yellow to red. A (very) small touch of black at the tip to suggest smoke and done.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ3rc78pPlEs3Yr7BRGCVDXI0sEUHoI1RaRqUeNfFEXnEMe2hYnv9NQkd9A0yHqfeeoQgtNIO1l4QOf-pdaWzFpStgkZYporpcfUlAEkfRM_MJbFbg-n6IWx96richOLctbgMbPQM7QZF/s1600/DSC05490.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEinZ3rc78pPlEs3Yr7BRGCVDXI0sEUHoI1RaRqUeNfFEXnEMe2hYnv9NQkd9A0yHqfeeoQgtNIO1l4QOf-pdaWzFpStgkZYporpcfUlAEkfRM_MJbFbg-n6IWx96richOLctbgMbPQM7QZF/s1600/DSC05490.JPG" height="234" width="320" /></a></div>
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The rear view. You can see all the equipment attached to her pack. The checks don't look too bad. I made an attempt (note: "attempt") to angle the checks as they crease behind the knee. I did two runs over the pants, as the wash turned the ivory a golden brown colour. The second run was more slap happy and evened the checks out a lot.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE52uC5hlh3DCJ_veck7Q1E390a7cahj3_c_i-YD3U2AVtRvEZS23s8GOK8GMpjql0WP-07C7MenNBFzqFzbym7LIarh_5BCqokLc4j1s26r2PPPeAk3onCjtU1b1w_1pqf0cw7QMdK80/s1600/DSC05496.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhzE52uC5hlh3DCJ_veck7Q1E390a7cahj3_c_i-YD3U2AVtRvEZS23s8GOK8GMpjql0WP-07C7MenNBFzqFzbym7LIarh_5BCqokLc4j1s26r2PPPeAk3onCjtU1b1w_1pqf0cw7QMdK80/s1600/DSC05496.JPG" height="232" width="320" /></a></div>
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<i>Kneenan, the barbarian. Driving his foes before him, treading the thrones of the world beneath his hairy feet, eating the foods of the world and listening to the lamentations of their chefs.</i><br /><br />I need to get more pictures of this guy as this was the only one in focus that showed some of the detail.. The concept of this figure is incongruously funny, which is the best kind as far as I am concerned. A halfling barbarian? Like Conan? Hell, yeah. The sculpt is brilliance. From the turn of the mouth, to the spoon in the belt and the chicken leg in hand. I am not sure about the blue wristband- I'm thinking I might try to make it look slightly metallic. The colour does tie it to other halflings I have painted, but it doesn't fit in with the other colours yet.<br />
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Oh, and this is the first topless miniature I have painted. To the best of my knowledge.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdA4UE3FUZHiGCdgWAXsiwyBLiuXaitUXOJe6tHNJnGhGvBPlTeVyUvpldq5cN706GA2oJMRKaKziSk_n1NTNGkNz0j3-S7nwgxnx40AkoF1kd8bUsKYprSi5Dx-NXELyu_P3vtiy1oEGF/s1600/DSC05497.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdA4UE3FUZHiGCdgWAXsiwyBLiuXaitUXOJe6tHNJnGhGvBPlTeVyUvpldq5cN706GA2oJMRKaKziSk_n1NTNGkNz0j3-S7nwgxnx40AkoF1kd8bUsKYprSi5Dx-NXELyu_P3vtiy1oEGF/s1600/DSC05497.JPG" height="149" width="200" /></a> <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6ZFDZN5bvFQDLtE5pmVa_P95pdUAJKOxHC_JkN5g2GeI5Q3lH_OPDS5qq-JmrxH4jaBzo94rkazQ6rHD1X3VYAhy1bfpFn6ovJbk11-X_dZE91xs7zyZbz7C6FAQbl8pTKX2_EovsZ_X/s1600/DSC05500.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; display: inline !important; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEin6ZFDZN5bvFQDLtE5pmVa_P95pdUAJKOxHC_JkN5g2GeI5Q3lH_OPDS5qq-JmrxH4jaBzo94rkazQ6rHD1X3VYAhy1bfpFn6ovJbk11-X_dZE91xs7zyZbz7C6FAQbl8pTKX2_EovsZ_X/s1600/DSC05500.JPG" height="146" width="200" /></a></div>
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Another detail laden miniature. This was pretty straight forward and another one of these miniatures where my patience lasted through all of the details. </div>
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The sausages falling out of his pack crack me up. Food motivated much? I don't have much to say about this mini except that there is a lot of detail. I am pleased with how the shield turned out.</div>
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This is the start of my non-entry for Chico's biweekly painty thing. The crest is actually for one of my clans: Wallis. A white lion rampant on a red field, I think is how it's described. <br /><br />I spent 45 minutes squinting and sketching in in black, and swiping with white and edging in red and then rinsing and repeating trying to get the details right. I have to admit that I could spend so much more time on this making it neater and fuller and neater and fuller etc etc<br /><br />It does look good from a distance and is certainly a step up on the yellow sign I daubed on my chaos warrior's shields a couple of months back. I plan on doing two more shields like this (for clan Carlyle and for house Dale).<br /><br />I tip my hat to anyone who can paint beautiful detail on a shield.<br />
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Bugger, this thing is tiny. I like it from a distance :)</div>
<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-62374918893166793902014-07-10T10:45:00.005-07:002014-07-10T10:45:41.620-07:00I won a (small, non-competition) competition :0)To my surprise, my <a href="http://picturesqueruins.blogspot.com/2014/07/thursday-painting-dragonbait-barbarian.html">barbarian</a> won Chico's painting challenge which finished Monday. I will provide no caveats or undermining of myself or my abilities and instead bask in the warm ego-boosting glow of this success.<br />
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<a href="http://oldhammeronabudget.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/challenge-week-alternative-companies.html">Chico's Challenge-week-alternative-companies-Results</a><br />
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There was a wonderful array of miniatures in this round from all over. I would have chosen Richard Legg's Samurai with it's bold colours and careful patterning on the arms.<br />
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My reward is to choose the next round's theme. I'm toying with 'ethereal' or 'sinuous' or 'gravity defying.' I've got a week to decide on a suitably open theme.<br />
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<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-85141373539457650982014-07-04T15:32:00.001-07:002014-07-04T15:32:49.387-07:00Thursday painting: Dragonbait BarbarianMore pretty from Dragon bait, sculpted by Kevin Adams.<br />
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Care taken by myself to try and get some different browns on her. The belt, the wrapping around the wrist, the cords on the boots were undercoated in orange and worked up with tan.<br />
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My first thought was that her face was sculpted too flat. It's a subjective thing, which definitely changed as I painted her flesh. This will be a theme as I paint all of these miniatures, I'm sure. <br /><br />Her eyes are light blue with black pupil. I'm not sure if solid blue works too well on the brown on her face. </div>
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The stoat poking it's snout out of her sack was a sod. I had difficulty making out the detail. From this angle you can see it fine, but from the front and the top? That's a different story. I do need better lighting at night and that was an issue here.<br /><br />Her fur shawl/cloak was a muddle of black, gray and some white highlights. It works okay-ish. Something for me to work on.<br />
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Lots of pretty details and textures to differentiate. The waterskin was a mix of oak brown and red. The sack and pouch were orange based with highlights of varying tans. The leather skirt was oak brown with highlights of leather.<br /><br />The hair clip is a very nice piece of character, something that fits while being out of sync with her torc and armband.<br />
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I am not satisfied by the yellow fringing on the scabbard and the boots- it's a little thin and greenish. A couple more coats probably won't hurt. I think that I will change it to a different colour, maybe a bright purple or red.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-1661606785968376252014-06-30T19:00:00.001-07:002014-06-30T19:00:43.947-07:00Painting Challenge: "Would Sir like some scorn with that drink?"Chico comes through with another challenge (number 7) that gives me a jolt of interest to paint. This time the theme is 'Other companies.' Which is just any other mini manufacturer than Citadel/GW.<br />
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Which means I now have an excuse to paint this supercillious little b'stard from Dragonbait miniatures.<br />
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This is the halfling butler which was an extra given to people who backed Dragonbait Miniature's indiegogo campaign. As I painted this, I was distracting my family with my giggling. I have never had this much fun painting a miniature. There is a lot of character in this sculpt that just thumped me in the funny bone, from the pose to the hair to the expression (the EXPRESSION!) I knew that Kevin Adams was a skilled sculptor but this was the first time that I had really, consciously experienced it.<br /><br />The paint job was simple. <br />Base coats of pale green, red, slate gray (facial hair, foot hair and pony tail), white and pale blue.</div>
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A wash of army painter's strong wash.</div>
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And then touching up with the base coat again. </div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">"Would sir like some phlegm with sir's wine?" </td></tr>
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I spent the most time on the face. I wanted this guy to be a powdered fop stereotype. I worked up the colour on the face to a very pale flesh. Brushed as light as I could some red on the cheeks and drew a line of red on the bottom lip.<br />
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And 'Frederic, butler to the villainous' is born.<br /><br />The kicker for me is that all the way through the campaign and right up until I got the miniatures in my hand, I HATED this miniature. Didn't think much of it at all.<br /><br />I am glad to be 100% wrong.Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7141424784591381088.post-7339243544626419182014-06-16T19:54:00.001-07:002014-06-16T19:54:46.821-07:00Monday Night Painting at the Ceramics Shop: Dark Elf Warrior WomenFinally brought myself around to complete the half-painted Dark Elves I'd had lying in my travel case. These were the ladies that had become a millstone around my neck for the last three months. I'm been a little burnt out on Dark Elves. Still more to be done, but these seven are no longer on the list.<br />
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I didn't realise that white hair on dark elves was the trope for the Dungeons & Dragons Drow until recently. I must have absorbed it some time or other. I'm really thinking I may need to add in another colour. Electrics, perhaps?<br /><br /><br />
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Seven little dark elves all in a row. Rough as guts, and looking pretty all ranked up.<br />
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It took me a moment to work out why I couldn't get them to face the same direction. The mysteries of basing catch me again...</div>
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I love the poses on these two. The knock-knees on the mace-wielder and the tongue on the swordmaiden (which I need to pick out) are nice touches.<br />
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<br />Simon D.http://www.blogger.com/profile/17788037479958489349noreply@blogger.com2