Wednesday, October 21, 2009

DE Wips

Lot of WiP pics here...

First off with the Spearmen

There are 2 different units and each unit is comprised of different components. Unit A is comprised of Grave Guard legs + DE torsos and Unit B is comprised of Corsair Bodies + Spears. Both units will get shields. Neither unit is glued to the base (just pinned atm) so some of the models are a touch out of position. Both units still need some GS work / unit filler work.







Next is a WiP shot of the bases I will be using for my first unit of Dark Riders. The plan is to have the Driders hanging onto the Stalagmites and crawling on, over and around them.


Last, but not least, are the beginning WiPs of the work I am doing on the spiders. Just working on the lower body sections atm - adding a carapace type shell and rounding out what was a flat bottom. Any constructive criticism is welcome here as sculpting is still a weak link for me.

Thursday, October 15, 2009

WIP RBT

Small update for early October...

I will post more pics of assembled models soonish...

So I whipped out my RBT in a 3 color minimum. This model has a lot of paint work left to be done and is currently only flat colors. It does give me a chance to decide on my scheme and a chance to show off one of the basing materials I will be using for this project.


Assembly Started

This assembly happened back in August but I'm just now getting around to updating my blog here. Nothing new to see if you are also watching my PLOG over on TWF.

Some Units Based & assembled. Still need to GS some gaps and I may remove the circles on the feet of the Cold One Knight Lizards (undecided atm). Every fig is simply pinned to the base and will be removed so the figs & bases can be painted separately.

The basing material is a stuff called Durhams Water Putty which costs about $8 a can US and I got it at Menards. Mix the stuff up with water and poured it in a cookie sheet. (**Use an old one or you might get smacked!) I waited 24 hours and the stuff was still moist in the middle so I put it in the garage and forgot it for a week. When I checked back later, the stuff was rock hard.

I have some snippers from Sears that will cut anything and I use those to cut it into roughly base sized shapes. I then hack at it with clippers, pliers and then exacto knives. The stuff glues well to plastic, but it does not glue well to itself. I had to insert a pin in the sorc base between the two layers to give the glue something to grab onto.







Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Silence

But not for long...

Wednesday, May 20, 2009

Something Wicked this Way Comes

I was going to build and work on my new army in super secret fashion. But I found after building the ogres I really enjoyed blogging about my army.

So, I will keep a blog here and update my progress as I go. It's not the most well traveled spot on the interwebs anywho. :-)

Dark Elves are my new army of choice. They offer, to me, the ultimate gaming experience in all of Warhammer. The ability to play in all three phases - well. On top of that, the army list can easily be scaled to a maximized list for playing in 0 comp tournies and scaled down for "softer tournaments".

My list starts as what I plan to run at the Core Competency tourney in November in Chicago. It's a 2 day tourney where soft scores + fluff gets you more points than anything. OH yeah, and 40% core is a requirement! This list will be great as it provides me a solid foundation for my Dark Elves and enough spearmen for almost any build. It will be very easy to add units to this army to scale it up in size / power.

The Army List
Lvl 3 DE Sorc
Web of Shadows (Themey but fail item - easily replacable for other tournies)
Focus Familiar
Dark Pegasus

20 Spearmen - Full Command
20 Spearmen - Full Command
20 Spearmen - Full Command

10 Crossbowmen with Shields
10 Crossbowmen with Shields

5 Dark Riders with Musicians and Crossbows

6 Dark Riders with Shields and Full Command
6 Dark Riders with Shields and Full Command

5 Harpies
5 Harpies

6 Cold One Knights with Banner and Musician
6 Shades with Great Weapons
14 Executioners with Full Command

1 Repeater Bolt Thrower

139 -ish models
224x points

As to the models

There will be heavy conversions. Each unit of spearmen will be created using different models with similar elements (spears, banners, etc...). The harpies will be converted around a piece of artwork directly linked to the theme. The crossbowmen will be converted based on some inspiration from German GD painter George Damm.

The big conversions that will set the theme of the army will be for the Dark Riders. I will be converting them all into Driders using Spider Rider Spiders, Beastmen and Dark Elf bits. Below is a very rough conversion test of my ideas just to see how well the bits worked together. I am really happy with the results but foresee a ton of cutting, pinning and sculpting in my future to make these a reality.


As to the Theme
My army will be based around my vision of the Drow that I have in my mind which was largely influenced by all of my AD&D gaming experiences in the 80's. I have never seen a well done entire Drow army and I think it's time.

As to the colors
Skin color for the drow is the most important choice. Lots of the text refers to them as having obisidian skin. R.A.Salvatore & the Drizzt books started depicting drow with a dark purple-gray colored skin.

My skin color will be based on the image from the Super module Queen of the Spiders which was published to contain all of my favorite D&D modules in one series.


See my first attempts at this rough color scheme.



I love the WE sculpts. She has been a ton of fun to paint on so far. So much so that I have decided to paint up a unit for the Chicago Golden Demons.

Basing
The basing of the army has been a bit of a challenge. I need to create cavern floor to represent the underdark. I was going to use cork as I could get nice textures with cork and it is both cheap and easy to work with... But I found that I'm not happy with 'pure' cork for a number of reasons, the big one simply being durability. On a suggestion from a friend, I have been messing around with Durhams Water Putty. I initially didn't like this stuff but later found I just hadn't allowed it enough time to thoroughly 'dry/cure' due to the thickness I was creating. This stuff may fit the bill nicely. It is also cheap and easy to work with. I am also playing with some Sculpy on a suggestion from Cathy Wappel. I really like working with this stuff and definitely see me using it a lot in all future projects.

The basing will feature numerous additional elements. Some will be sculpted and some will be generated using green stuff press-moulds. You'll have to tune in later to find out more.

TTFN

Tuesday, May 12, 2009

The Model Selection Process

So, I have been thinking about various ways to pick models. I know I have to pick something I WANT to paint, or the effort just won't happen.

I've been toying with the idea of re-painting some models I have completed for other projects by attempting to add to them to bring them to the next level.

One model in particular sticks out in my mind for this attempt. My WE Horse. A new base, re-paint the armor, mane, hooves and a fidly bit here or there and I have a very nice looking horse. One I think would look nice under the right rider.

That would be this fellar right here.


I'm taking a close look at the ogres I recently completed as well to scour possibilities.

As for new models to start with, I am considering;
Heavily Converted Dark Riders (*A borderline unit as they exit the GW established universe)
Witch Elves
Converted Executioners
Shades
(*Anyone see a theme emerging here....)
An Assasin...

Lots of ideas in my head, I need to get some test painting going.

Monday, May 11, 2009

Raising the Bar

This year has proved to be an interesting one hobby-wise for me on many levels. A solid return to the hobby after too-long spent playing online in the World of Warcraft has been lots of fun.

I spent the first part of the year creating my ogres with Caius for the Team Tournament. At Adepticon, I got to handle most of the Rogue Demon entries and was both blown away and inspired by the talent evidenced on those minis. During the day, I browse tons of websites / blogs and I am in general inspired by the depth of talent in our hobby.

I have been planning on attending the Chicago Games Day and entering my Wood Elf army into Armies on Parade. I don't expect them to be the best painted army in the competition but I do expect them to be very competitive thematically.

I now think it's time I created some entries for the Golden Demon painting contest. I have wanted to enter for quite some time now but I am always very doubtful of my abilities. I think the only way I will ever progress to the next level is to seriously try and compete. So, I begin the process of raising the bar I set for myself and creating at least one entry for the Golden Demons.

I have been scouring the web over the last few days, reading tutorials, reviewing demon winning models, and bookmarking as many preparation-sculpting-painting-basing articles as I can.

I have some ideas of models I would like to use and will begin the selection process shortly. I am both nervous and excited about the prospects of starting down this path and look forward to painting out of my comfort zone. I am going to be fairly transparent on my first attempts and reaching out to as many great painters as I can for advice throughout this process. I will detail my choices and progress here. All comments / advice will be welcomed.

Couple this with a couple of other ongoing hobby projects (Touching up my WE, a New Base for my WE and starting my DE army), and a ton of HoneyDo's around the house and my plate will be quite full.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Adeptcion 2009

Adepticon 2009 is over and what a great weekend it was for me. I headed up there Thursday night with my pal Caius. We managed to arrive right around 10:00 PM and immediately headed to the hall where the WFB tables would be so that we could deliver and set up the terrain that we brought with us.

Friday saw me running the Warhammer Fantasy Escalation tournament. This turned out to be very easy as Marty had most everything accounted for ahead of time and I had a top notch staff scoring composition, painting, data entry and wandering for rules & such.

I met (or re-met as it were) Cathy Wappel and spent a significant time just hanging out with her and talking about painting (Cathy has one a golden demon or two in her day). I also saw some of her WIP's models and it was interesting to see her approach to finished minis..

Saturday was a 'loaf' day but in actuality I spent a good chunk of the day painting miniatures. I had bases to finish on the ogres and the occassional random detail. With the help of Caius, we managed to get it all completed. After that, we headed down to the game hall and played some board games with our buddies from Stevens Point the Rodge & the Bear.

Saturday night I was asked to and got to help judge the Rogue Demon entries. This was an excellent opportunity for me to handle and view up close some amazing miniatures. Very inspiring and I found myself wishing I hadn't been dissuaded from entering.

Sunday brought the Adepticon WFB Team Tourney, the event we had been working towards for the last 3-4 months.

We managed to win 2 of our games and lost 1. 3 Great Games were had although they were very rushed.

Got some pics of the Ogres I used in the Adepticon Team Tourney this year to share.

If you are interested in the thought processes leading to our decisions and lots of WIP photos take a look at the articles we wrote to document our progress. http://www.adepticon.org/modules.php?na ... oAdepticon

We were very pleased when we were told that we swept all 3 Players Choice Categories (Theme, Display and Appearance) by a huge landslide. Something like 72 out of 86 teams voted for us in 1 category. Completely humbling. Thank you to all that voted - my teammate and I create our armies out of the enjoyment of the process. It was a bumpy road for us this year but we managed to get it done (I was painting bases on Saturday @ Adepticon - EEEKS),

There is still quite a bit more work to do to finish these guys up - but they're destined for the shelf for a while. I can always pull em out and do more to em later (Especially the gnoblars - they need some love) but I wanted to get some decent pics to share.