Miniature Tim

Grey Knights Progress Update

2012-02-24T07:59:00.001-06:00

I had the opportunity to play in a local Combat Patrol tournament last night, and I took my Grey Knights. A friend of mine I between rounds asked why I hadn't posted an update the army lately. My answer was "Well, the first squad isn't done yet...". His answer?

"So post something in progress, anyway. Show folks that you're actually working on them."

He had a good point.

Besides, it gives me a chance to update the recipe for my gunmetal armor as well! It's a bit more simplified than the last formula, but the end result is still what I wanted.

Gunmetal armor:

Boltgun Metal

2. Liberal washes of Badab Black

Feathering of Boltgun Metal

1:3 ratio of Asurmen Blue to Water glaze in the shaded areas

Highlight of 1:1 Chainmail and Mithril Silver

I've gotten the Gunmetal armor done on these, as well as the reds, which the recipe didn't really change for those. I really like the way the Asurmen Blue glaze gives some depth to the metallic armor. The "white" still needs its final feathering of Menoth White Highlight, then it'll be finished.

I've gotten each heraldic shoulderpad different on these, and I'm a little challenged of how I'll work the rest of the heraldry for the rest of the Knights, considering they all have personalized heraldry. I'll figure something out though.

Short, but sweet update. I'm happy with the progress on them, I just need to step up the pace a bit is all! A lot to get done before Adepticon!

How's everyone else coming along?

- Tim

Batch Painting Blues

2012-02-17T06:52:00.001-06:00

Batch Painting [bach - peyn-ting] noun, verb, whatever

1. The process in which a hobbyist takes a number of like-models, and paints them all in stages, so as to finish said models all at once, instead of one at a time.

2. The preferred method of painting an entire wargaming army, to maintain and retain consistency across the entire force.

3. One of the many possible reasons for Hobby Burn-Out, and why Miniature Tim wants to talk about it.

Yes, I know I only have 28 Foot, 3 Walkers and 1 Vehicle to paint for my Grey Knights. I do, in fact, understand that is a far, FAR lower number of models than what most queue up when batch painting for an army. I just wanted to state that up front. Especially to those of you who have an inclination towards playing and painting horde-style armies. I can fully appreciate the speed that this technique achieves with painting that big block(s) of Skaven, or those 4 full Tactical Squads.

With all that said, I still believe that the batch painting process, while an excellent way to paint a full army, is a pain in my creative and motivational arse. I tend to get beyond excited to get my army painted once I've finished the converting/sculpting/build stages, and then when I hit that first unit to paint, I hit the road block.

Instead of not get anything done, I thought I come up with, and share some ways to avoid that motivational road block that I'm stumbling over myself.

Small Batches

A bit obvious and self explanatory, but still worth mentioning. Instead of painting those 20 Skaven or 10 Marines, take it down to blocks of 5. It will definitely help avoid the over abundance of monotony that comes into play when painting the same shade of fur over 20 models all at once.

Break Up the Monotony

Intersperse smaller, more interesting pieces in between each larger batch of troops. For instance, paint a Tactical Sqaud, then paint a Dreadnought. Paint a Tactical Squad, then paint an HQ choice. It helps, trust me. You could even intersperse a completely different project's model into this concept for some real variety.

Be Realistic with Your Deadlines

As in, don't expect to get 120 Skaven done in 2 months, especially with a wife, full time job and kids, or school, sports and a part time job even! Plan out your 'deadlines' accordingly so that you give yourself some breathing room.

In no way do I mean to sell the Batch Painting process short. it really is an excellent way to get your army done in a very efficient and consistent manner, and I do use it myself! Unfortunately for me, it also lends itself to pushing me into Burn-Out at times.

Anyone else experience this? Is Batch Painting your friend, or a necessary evil?

- Tim

New Carrying Case for Competitions!!

2012-02-10T08:00:00.001-06:00

Back at Adepticon 2010, I took a class by Chris Borer on advanced painting techniques. One of the many things I got from that time, was that many painters who begin competing at a competition level, don't seal their figures with any kind of dull cote spray, because it can alter the meticulous paint job they spent so long achieving.

So how do painters transport their competition figures without damaging them?

I'm sure there are multiple ways to do so, but I will being transporting mine in THIS:

Chris had one similar in the class. Two shelves that slid out so that you never had to reach in and grab at things, but you could carefully pick them up straight. You hold the figures in place with blu-tac so they don't shift. By they stand free of any foam that could possibly rub off that last thin layer of paint!

The concept was great, but it's not like you can just buy these things off the shelf at your local store, so I had one made. I'm lucky enough to have a very good client who employs cabinet makers and carpenters. As a gift to me, the made me my new case. This went above and beyond anything I asked for.

The screw-lock latch, the full-length hinge in back that splits the case in half, the four sliding shelves...this case was a wonderful gift from them and yes, I've thanked them repeatedly! They even went so far as to put black laminate on the outside and white on the shelves. I can't wait to use it for the first time come this Adepticon!

I have seen similar ones floating around the blogosphere, and I thank whomever came up with this stellar idea that I then poached and my client made for me. I had to slap a Miniature Tim decal on it :)

What do you transport your competition figs in?

- Tim

Grey Knights Paint Formulas...and a Lesson Learned

2012-02-07T10:10:00.001-06:00

Be Prepared...

It seems I need to be reminded of that motto from when I was in the Scouts. Why, you ask? Well, I sat down this weekend to get some painting done on my Grey Knights, after some other work I had to finish up Sunday night. I laid down the base coat of a slightly thinned Boltgun Metal and then had some dinner. Afterwards, I went to give the figures a preliminary wash of Badab Black and quickly realized one very important thing...

I didn't have any Badab Black.

After some choice words which my wife promptly reprimanded me for, I decided to share this embarrassing moment in time with you. I also decided to take this opportunity to outline my paint formula for the Grey Knights. I'll list it by major category, then step-by-step.

Power Armor:

Thinned coat of Boltgun Metal

Liberal wash of Badab Black

Feathering of Boltgun Metal on larger plate surfaces

Feathering of Chainmail near the tops of surfaces

1:6, Asurmen Blue:Water ratio to glaze just in select shaded areas

Extreme highlight of Mithril Silver on just the edges that would catch light

Parchment and Cloth:

Thinned coat of Deneb Stone

Liberal, but controlled, wash of Devlan Mud

Feathering of Jack Bone over larger areas

Feathering of Menoth White Base towards the highlights

Extreme highlight of Menoth White Highlight

Reds:

Base coat of Skorne Red (Mechrite Red can be used as well, but I like the depth of color in Skorne Red)

Liberal wash of a 4:1 ratio of Devlan Mud:Badab Black

Very thin feathering of Khador Red Base over major planes

Extreme highlight of 1:1 ratio of Khador Red Base:Khador Red Highlight

Those are the major formulas for the most-used colors on my Grey Knights. I'll go over the force weapons in another tutorial post.

I suppose the ultimate moral of the story here is always take stock of your paints before you start a project and get what you need. On my way home Monday I picked up two pots of Badab Black, and another two pots of Boltgun Metal, as I only had a half of a pot of that left too.

Anyone else make a goofy mistake like this? Please, someone tell me I'm not alone here...

- Tim

Engineer on Mechanical Pegasus, WiP 1

2012-01-31T08:13:00.001-06:00

Yes, yes...I know I should be getting the Grey Knights painted and done, but I just can't leave this project alone. I'll be using this figure as a break in the monotony of painting that army, so I want to get the major converting done on him early.

Besides, a package arrived in the mail for me late last week, and I just can't leave the project alone until I get to play with a new-found hobby resource. In the comments of the concepting post for this project, Fiend Without A Face pointed me in the direction of Hasslefree Miniatures in the UK as a source for steampunk parts...

Unfortunately shipping the watch parts, or steampunk parts as they classify them, that they sell in different increments from the UK would be a bit pricy for me. I will say though, that they have an excellent selection of miniatures and modeling supplies. Gee, yet another UK company I'd love to order from on a regular basis, go figure.

After a brief lament and reconsideration towards buying a few real cheap watches to break apart, I had the brilliant idea to google 'steampunk parts', and see what came up. Yeah, I used my brain, go me. Immediately, a bunch of links from Etsy popped up and I decided to browse their selection. Here's what I ended up buying...

Yup, 10g of random watch parts! This is a happy, happy Miniature Tim. This will not be the only source of gears and cogs for this project though. For the more robust and 'weight bearing' gears, I'll be using Dragon Forge's Gears Set from their Conversion Parts. This is a nice, solid and thicker set of gears that come in 5 different sizes. I'll be able to cut them in half if needed, and even drill through the smaller ones to be able to slide my brass rod wing supports through.

Yes, this does indeed mean that I've made some progress on this project. I've done my shopping, and taken care of everything on my previous list of needs. Last night I sat down with the figure and began plotting out the connection points and main armature for the wings. I'd love to say that I could show you some pictures, but then I realized that if I didn't clean the figure up, and take my time doing it right, it wouldn't get done right. I'd get caught up in the heat of the moment and dig into the modeling to make some serious headway...that I would then have to carefully take apart to clean flash, mold lines and fill gaps.

Yeah...cause that would be fun.

So instead, I took my time to clean this mess of a metal figure properly. Next I'll fill the gaps with some liquid green stuff, and begin piecing the rider together. The wings will come after that, followed by the base.

I'm excited to push myself with this project not only in terms of conversions and construction, but in terms of painting as well. I've got to take my time and do this right, though, or it won't be worth doing at all.

- Tim

The Point of All This

2012-01-24T07:52:00.001-06:00

So I wore my Miniature Tim T-shirt to work the other day, and got asked quite a few questions about it. What is Miniature Tim? What kind of hobby is it? Is it fun? Is it expensive? Do you really play with little army men…etc.

However the question that stood out the most came later in the day when a coworker came over and said, "So I read a few of your blog posts, and I like them and all…but what's the point of it? Why do you do it?"

And you know, It took me a minute to answer him. Not because I didn't know why, but because the reason has evolved over the past 7-8 months.

Why I started...
Originally it was because of the community itself. I was so impressed with the blogging community as a whole, that I wanted to be a part of it. Unfortunately, I wasn't ready for it. I originally started blogging two years ago, and while I had some health problems that made keeping up with a blog difficult, the honest reason I stopped was because I wasn't prepared or had the will to do it. Then a fellow blogger and friend named Skarvald the Troll-Faced at Wolves for the Wolf God dropped a comment about how I should update more often, and it was a shame I wasn't keeping up with the blog. His words stuck with me for almost a year until the next Adepticon (2011), when I got to hang out with the great folks from Dark Future Games again. After that, I decided to invest my time and effort to put out a blog I was proud of, and be a part of a community of some really great people.

Why I keep blogging...
Ahhh...this one is simple. The reasons are many, but they boil down to two main ones; the community, and to become a better hobbyist. I love giving back to a community that has helped foster not just my own hobby, but so many others. I become a better hobbyist by feeding off of your comments, and your very own blogs. I crave feedback and criticism of my work, I've got a thick skin so never be shy in your comments...I just ask that you be constructiveadult mature about it.

There came a point in my answer to him that gave me pause to think, though. The reasons I keep blogging will always be there, but there was something nagging at my brain that told me there was more to it. I finally realized it towards the end of the day antowhee I told him, my thought process went something like this:

I love to write.

I've loved to write since high school and all the journalism I was a part of then and into college. I've been a part of art direction for layout and publication design in my past, and I feel like I've reconnected with a part of my creative life that I hadn't touched in years. I want to keep writing.

Ultimately, it dawned on me...I want to write for a gaming magazine. I love this hobby in all it's forms, and I want to write about it.

Don't get me wrong, I love building, converting, painting, playing, all of it. I'll always write about what I love in this hobby of ours, but this revelation of mine propelled that want to write even further. I've begun researching proper writing techniques to brush up on them, and will be researching submission guidelines and contacts for the magazines that cater to this hobby.

Will it happen? I don't know, but I do know that I am going to work my tail off towards that goal. I've had a two-page spread in Cracked Magazine published of my cartooning, and I've had a novel cover published. I had promised myself I would work to do those two things. I'm telling myself now, that I will work to write and be a part of a hobby-industry magazine in some way, some how.

So tell me, what's the point of all this for you?

- Tim

Project Concepting: Engineer on Mechanical Pegasus

2012-01-17T07:36:00.001-06:00

And so begins a new series in the blog, showcasing just how I get ideas from my head, into reality. I thought it would be interesting to show the concept-to-completion process with my projects this year.

I don't play Empire…heck I barely have played two games of Warhammer Fantasy in my life, for that matter. In fact, I am only just now gathering concepts for my Ogres forces that I'd like to play, for next year! However, with all that said, I have always loved the Empire Engineer on Mechanical Mount figure. Through some outside inspirations, and the fact that I was able to get the model for cheap, I've decided to make this one of my competition pieces this year.

"But wait, Tim, that's a Mechanical Horse he's riding, not a Pegasus…"

I know, I know. That's where the "concepting" comes in. Look below...

This is typically how I start a conversion project. I will grab an image off the interwebz, in this case straight from the GW site itself, and begin sketching out ideas. I used to print the images out, about a half dozen at a time to try different thoughts and ideas, and then compare them to each other. With my recent discovery of a severe dust allergy I have, I've taken to sketching out these ideas on my iPad.

That, and it's just plain fun to do it on the iPad. Maybe it will help justify the cost of the newer model this year to my wife…maybe…hopefully…probably not…moving on.

After I've sketched out enough versions, be they 2 or 20, to get a good idea of how I want the piece to look, I begin to make a shopping list of materials that I might need to accomplish the project. This includes other kits and bitz I want to consider using aside from the core figure. Here's the list I came up with:

Engineer on Mechanical Mount

Plastic General Kit

Cheap Watches to take apart for Gears

Brass rod

Plastic rod

Plastic tube

Plasticard sheets

Strip styrene

Not too long of a grocery list, after all. Keep in mind, this is just a list of possible needs for this project. Not all may be used, and some may be added.

Keep an eye out for more articles similar to this one for a variety of projects this year. I always say that I grow more as a hobbyist and an artist with feedback from outside sources, so why not share the starting points of my ideas more, eh?

- Tim

Grey Knights Display Board - In Progress

2012-01-12T07:26:00.001-06:00

If you've read my reasonings for bringing Grey Knights to Adepticon this year, you know that chief among them is the portability of the army. Small, elite force that is so few models, it actually scares me at times. I've never played a force that numbers this few.

So when you have a small force, do you really need a Display Board for it? Yes, yes you do. But it still must fit my criteria for maximum portability!

So what's my solution?

Enter Battlefoam's X-Board, travel display board. After pricing out the raw materials that I like to use for display board (I really need to do an article or two on that topic in general), the cost comes out to be about a wash between building my own, and this product. Considering I was buying the PACK GO from them anyway a while back, I went ahead and tacked this on to share shipping and try and get a leg up on the construction process.

The X-Board does it's job very well. It's light, breaks down easily and is really solid once put together. I don't care too much for the travel bag that comes with it as it feels cheap, and has no carry strap, but for the price point, I'd rather them cut costs on the bag rather than the display board. I also have a wife who is handy with a sewing machine and said she'd put a strap on for me. That helps.

Knowing me, I can't just paint and flock it, throw on some static grass and be done, right? Right. So now I need to dress this up, without taking away the portability. That means no height. Okay fine, I can get around that by adding detail to the board itself. What details to use? Well, my Grey Knights are based in a sort of urban rubble scenario, so I'll use that! Grab some old Cities of Death terrain bits I've got floating around and start the arranging!

Above is the unprimed result. Some broken pipe work, cork to add a few more small height and CoD broken and fallen walkways. Some mixed ballast to vary the text just that much more and viola! Portable display base! I know the ballast looks a bit patchy, but once it's primed, it will reunify into a much more cohesive design. It'll also be helped by the models once they are placed on it.

This is a pretty down-and-dirty display board for me. I can' twit to put more work into a more scenic, and story-rich board for my Ogres and Salamanders, and Tau!!

What are you toting your models around on?

- Tim

What's in Store for 2012?

2012-01-05T13:22:00.001-06:00

Happy New Ye ... Crap. I'm a little late on that, aren't I? Oh well.

Normally this is the time of year that folks are speaking of resolutions...vowing to to more of 'X', or less of 'Y'. In the hobby world, that tends to mean we like to vow that we're going to get that long-sought after and dreamt-of project done, no matter the cost. Personally, I think that's the worst thing we can do to ourselves and the longevity of our hobby. I wrote and article on how to avoid hobby burn-out, check it out and see what I mean.

So, what do I do, if I don't make hobby resolutions?

Well, I tend to set goals. No, those aren't the same as resolutions. Why not? As I said earlier, resolutions tend to set us up for disappointment at times, and can be discouraging more often than not. Remembered that famous, "I'm going to drop X pounds this year!" resolution? While some of us may be able to keep with them, my point is made. Goals, however, are set with achievability in mind, with realistic aims and expectations.

For instance, last year I had one simple goal for myself...to avoid hobby burn-out and be more productive than I was the year before. See? A little ambiguous as to what the actual end numbers were, and more of a challenge than a vow.

So what do I have in mind for this year?

Grey Knights

Yeah...gotta get that army done for Adepticon. The conversions are done, the models are primed, and I've even gotten some practice games in with them already. Must finish the painting! Also, I'll lump in a painted example of my Inquisitorial Stormtroopers from a few posts back as they are loosely form the same codex, especially considering I feel a little called out in the comments from that post.

Painting Competition Pieces

Last year I painted up one piece and entered the 40k single fig at Golden Demon. My only goal with that figure was to make it off the table and into the case. I did that and I was thrilled. This year? I want to enter both Crystal Brush and Golden Demon, and I want to do it with multiple entries. How many? I'm not going to set that, as that begins to put the pressure on, and as Chris Borer so excellently pointed out in the comments of a previous post, we do this for fun, so I want to have fun doing it! I will say that I want to enter more pieces than last year, and with that being more than one, I should be fine. Yes, expect some concepting posts on these entries soon.

Don't Buy Too Much Crap!

Or in other words, try and avoid the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome as much as possible. That's going to be a little rough for me this year with a rumored, new Tau Codex in the wind. While I did recently come into a large amount of Tau kits as part of a trade, you know they are going to come out with more. I won't even get into the Forge World Heresy-Era kits...

Keep the Blog Going

That's it, simple and to the point. Keep up with the goal of at least one post a week, and enjoy the blog for what it is.

That's it! Will I get more than that done? I don't know, but if I get those things done, I will be very happy and have that sense of accomplishment we all crave when we work hard at something.

What are your goals for this year?

- Tim

Why Don't You Post Rumors, Tim?

2011-12-30T07:52:00.001-06:00

Raise your hand if you have you been paying attention to the interwebz lately, regarding the rumored upcoming releases for 2012 from Games Workshop. Yup, me too.

Now those of you who didn't raise your hands, we'll just pretend that we didn't see your shoulder twitch before you stopped yourself from raising your hand. Next to hobby-related articles and forum posts, rumors are the next most prolific reading material on my daily list of subjects to hit.

But why don't I ever post any rumors?

The answer is fairly simple...it's just not a subject I choose to focus on in my blog. When I started blogging again this year, I decided that I was going to do it right, or at least as "right" as I could. Ron at From the Warp has written articles that I've read on how to write and run a successful blog, and I not only read them multiple times, but I have them bookmarked as well so that I can go back to them when and if I feel I need to.

One of the tenants in those articles is to pick the topic(s) you want to center the focus of your blog on, and focus on them. That doesn't mean you need to have such a narrow focus that you begin to run out of material a dozen articles into the life of your blog. It does mean that you need to focus your energies into what you do and write about well. I model, convert and paint well, and I tend to write well about those topics, or at least I enjoy thinking so. Even though there are many more topics that involve our hobby, rumors and tactics being the two largest, I choose to focus on what I'm best at.

"But Tim, you just said that the next largest topic you enjoy to read about in the hobby, are rumors! Why not then write about and keep up on them in your blog?"

Again, the answer is fairly simple. The are people out there who do a far better, more up to date, and well organized job at it than I even want to try to. The only tang I haven't done is give credit where credit is due concerning this topic. Let's resolve that right now.

Faeit 212: Warhammer 40k News and Rumors

http://natfka.blogspot.com/

This is my first and foremost source for rumors. Natfka runs a great blog, whose topics are primarily News and Rumors, and does it very well. He also runs the Faeit 212 Blog Exchange on his site, which is a great boon to its members and those who aren't for a central source of blogs, not unlike the FTW Blogroll...I still need to contact him to get in on that Exchange.

Warseer Forums

http://www.warseer.com/forums/

If you read Faeit 212, you'll notice that Natfka gives credit where credit is due and always sites his sources. One such source are the Warseer Forums. The reason I choose to go to Faeit 212 first is because I don't have to do any searching, surface or in-depth, to get a compilation of rumors. While folks at Warseer do try and post rumor compilations and organize them as they can, let's be honest, it's still a forum open to posters. Occasionally you need to dig though pages of posts to find the most up-to-date rumors. However, when Natfka posts a rumor that he's found and kept up on at Warseer, he found and kept up on it at Warseer.

Bell of Lost Souls

http://www.belloflostsouls.net/

http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/

BoLS, and their forums also linked above, are my third go-to source for rumors. I've enjoyed the site for years, and they do a good job of posting rumors on their main site, while relying on their forums, the Lounge, to carry the majority of the weight for rumors and people posting said rumors. They are a good mix of Faeit 212 and Warseer, but make no mistake, they also repost rumors that were first posted on Warseer forums to begin with. Again though, they give credit where credit is due to the sources when they are able to.

So there you have it folks, both the reasons why I don't dive into the rumor mill myself, as well as my top sources for my own guilty pleasure of reading and keeping up on said rumor mill. Pay them all a visit if you haven't already and let me know what topics you do and don't cover on your own blog, and why!

And pass along a juicy rumor or three if you've got one...

- Tim

I Hate You, Forge World ... Love, Tim

2011-12-27T07:23:00.001-06:00

Hot on the heels of my love letter to Privateer Press last week, I decided to take a look at what Forge World had cooked up since I looked last...after all, I had a little Christmas money now and it was burning a hole in my pocket.

...and promptly let loose with a veritable diatribe of profanity that I am ashamed to admit to. Why, you ask?

Just look at the above new release from our friends across the pond, then read on.

See, my thing is that I think I've got maybe one more Space Marine army in me. I've done Black Templars, my own DIY Centurions, and working on my Grey Knights for Adepticon next year. I love Marines, and will mostly likely still do one-offs for competitions, but as far as a full-blown army goes, I don't see more than one more on the horizon for me.

Mind you, that could change in the future, but still, let's just go with it and humor me, eh?

Another recent article of mine addressed the "Collector's" Syndrome, and how I honestly want to catch that bit of hobby bug. Well, recently having finished the Salamaders Heresy novel, as well as their current novels by Nick Kyme, I'm actually excited to make the Salamanders my focus when it comes to a full-blown collection. See, after Grey Knights, the Salamaders was the chapter I was going to start before I changed my mind again, shocker, I know, and went with my Templars of old. So it felt good to come back to them and rediscover my love for that chaoter, in a way. I was, though, going to limit it to a current-timeline themed force, specifically creating characters from Kyme's novels, and just thoroughly enjoying the army.

So much for that idea.

Of course I fell in love with all the older marks of armor Forge World was coming out with, and yes I do even own some of them. I was planning on incorporating them into my force as squad leaders and veterans and whatnot. Then FW came out with the Contemptor Dread, and the Land Raider Proteus. Sigh. Okay, okay, so I can incorporate those too and just enjoy some nice, venerable wargear in my army, right? Nope. Then they had to come out with the Heresy-Era Rhino too. And now the blasted Heresy-Era Predator!

"Come on now, Tim, you has to know that was going to happen..."

Well...yes, yes I did, but that doesn't mean I couldn't pretend for a while. Sigh.

So now it looks like I will be creating a Salamanders force that will span the ages, because of how much I love both the Pre-Heresy pieces FW has released, and how much I love the books and characters by Nick Kyme.

Yes, that also means I'll be trying my hand at converting/sculpting my own Vulcan...well, both of them I suppose!

Anyone else been sucked into something like this lately?

- Tim

Darn You, Privateer Press ... Darn You to Heck

2011-12-23T07:41:00.001-06:00

"But Tim, you love the P3 Formula paint line and sprays..."

So why am I cursing Privateer Press in a very heated, though censored for young age-friendly audiences, way?

For the most simple reason of all...they triggered my "Ooooh, Shiny!" reflex.

Travel back in the with me, if you will, about 3 years. I was looking into possibly starting to play Warmachine and was debating on what faction to start with, as well as saving up for the rule books, etc. I have always liked Steam Punk as a genre, so I figured Steam-Magic-punk would be fun, and the Iron Kingdoms setting fit the bill nicely. A friend at work commissioned me to paint up a Cryx force for him, and I thought I had found the perfect opportunity to test out some of PP's figures while making a little cash on the side.

What I found was the perfect reason to never pick up the game. How? Big effing Cryx Warjacks that were completely metal. Sure I pinned them, with thick brass rod though and not my standard pinning wire, but I also vowed to never put these God-awful and unwieldy figure together ever again.

Then Privateer Press released their new resin/plastic figures, and a little of that former resolve wore away. So I began looking into their converting guidelines, and found them to be so strict as to be off-putting to a heavy converter and modeler, in my opinion. So once more I no up the hat of PP games and tried to not give it another thought. Of course, they began to fix that for me as well with the Warjack kits that have multiple options in one kit...not completely do away with that concern, but help it at least.

Then at Adepticon 2011, PP gave away starter kits, with the resin/plastic figures no less, in the swag bags...Dangit. AND it was Khador, which with some of their figures that I like, was doubly frustrating to that resolve not to start this game. It was then I decided that if I was going to be tempted to try out the Warmachine waters, I'd really do some research into the factions of both Warmachine and Hordes and seriously pick apart the models of each to determine if there was a faction of models that I could live with not converting. Khador fits that bill to some degree, but not enough to break that crumbling wall of resolve for good...

But Circle Orboros did...Dangit. Well, at least their Warbeasts were pretty much all metal and I could try and shore up the breaches on that failing wall of mine, to continue the analogy. So now my chosen faction was pretty much all metal and I could breath a sigh of relief, right?

Sure, right up until I caught sight of the above kit that lets you build their Heavy Warbeasts, the wolves at least, with options all out of one plastic-ish kit. As soon as I saw that kit, my "Ooooh, Shiny!" reflex kicked in and I immediately thought "oh I've got to find the cash to go get that kit...". I've never had that reaction to a PP kit or model before. Yeah, I'm probably doomed to start a Circle force and try and learn the game now, after that reaction.

And that brings me back full circle to my highly censored fit of cursing.

Considering my utter lack of knowledge when it comes to the Warma-Hordes game scene, anyone have any suggestions to start a Circle force with, besides the starter box of course, to get my toes wet with? I like the entire model range for this faction, for the most part, so really this is more about folks would buy for a list. I normally don't deal with lists or tactics in my articles, but I'm a PP game newb, and could use the help.

- Tim

The "Collectors" Syndrome

2011-12-20T07:38:00.001-06:00

Having dove into the deep waters of the "Bandwagon" and "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndromes, I thought we should give proper respect and homage to another, much-loved sickness of our hobby. This particular malady is plagued by symptoms not unlike the other two, and yet is motivated by the desire for a completely different outcome.

If ever there would be a need for a "Hoarders, Hobby Edition" show, this would be it...

Enter, The "Collectors" Syndrome.

Let's revisit my notions of "investing" in our hobby futures once again. Typically when I mention this notion, I mean spending way too much money on hobby purchases that tend to sit idle until I need either the entire kit, or a single part of it for a conversion that I had never planned when I made the purchase in the first place, though without said frivolous purchase, said conversion wouldn't have been possible.

Right. After following that bit of twisted verbiage, I'll beg you to keep following me down the rabbit hole.

Those who are afflicted with the "Collectors" Syndrome invests in their hobby future in a completely different way, with a completely different motivation in mind. Case in point; Big Red and Mkerr from Bell of Lost Souls. Take a gander at just a few pictures of their collections below and tell me these two don't have a bit of the Hobby Bug in their own special way.

Hobbyists like these two gentlemen are the epitome of the "Collectors" Syndrome. These are men that choose a single army/faction, and collect it, build it and paint it until they move on to the next project. What makes them different is that they keep collecting for many of these armies years later! These photos were taken back in 2008, I believe, and I know Big Red has added onto his Death Guard collection since then. Another symptom of this particular syndrome is that collectors typically don't sell their collections either. I mean, just look at these collections...would you sell these if you put the time, blood, sweat and tears into it these?

I wouldn't.

In fact, I can honestly say that I wish I had half their dedication and willpower to devote to each of these time-intensive collections. I keep thinking that maybe my next army project will be the one that captures my inspiration to always want to add to it out of love for the project, not just whether it plays well or not, and continue adding even after I've started another project.

All those who suffer from this "Collectors" Syndrome, sound off here! What motivates you to devote so much time and heart into one project? Open up, and let the healing begin...or if you'd prefer to look at it another way, spread the contagion!

- Tim

(The images of Big Red's and Mkerr's collections I found through Google Images when researching for this article, traced back to BoLS, and snagged because they were perfect illustrations for this...and were used without permission. If there are any problems, please let me know and I'll take them down.)

Converted Inquisitorial Stormtroopers

2011-12-14T07:37:00.001-06:00

Hardly ever am I satisfied with a kit as it is. I'm guessing this isn't a surprise to any of you. So when I went looking for a model to represent Inquisitorial Stormtroopers, I wasn't happy with any out-of-the-box choices I had.

While I love the Kasrkin Stormtrooper models, they are Kasrkins, not Inquisitorial agents. What about the Imperial Guard Stormtrooper models, you say? I find those models a bit lacking in variety of pose and overall aesthetics.

Wonder what I came up with?

Starting with my standard Google search for inspiration, I was struck by this Silver Demon winner from years ago...

I loved the way the las guns were modified, the extra bit of armor added to the abdomen, and the use of the Space Marine Scout legs added that 'special ops' look for me. However, I wasn't looking to create a SWAT team, so I needed to modify this for my own uses.

Here are the parts I used:

Space Marine Scout Legs

Various Bitz from the Space Marine Scout Box

Cadian Torsos

Cadian Arms

Forge World Cadian Rebreather Upgrade Kits

Forge World Inquisitorial Brass Etch

Bolter Clips

Plasticrod

Plasticard

It may seem like a short parts list, but it's pretty unforgiving on your wallet. Each squad of 10 will take 2 Space Marine Scout boxes, 1 Cadian Shoc Troop box, and 1 set of Forge World Upgrades, as well as the Brass Etch. I'm not going to make the old Bolter Clips I used mandatory here, I just happened to have them in my Bitz Box, you can use the bolters from the Scout boxes. (Though this is an excellent endorsement for a well-stocked Bitz Box)

The conversions for the basic figure were fairly straightforward. Trim the belt from the Cadian torsos so that they fit snug against the Scout legs, using the belt from the Scout bit. Trim down the codpiece on the Scout legs to a bit more reasonable size, as well. Those two bits should fit nicely together now. Trim the square-ish piece from the back of the Cadian Torso to make room for the Brass Etched "I", then cut small sliver of plasticard for the added piece of armor placed under the existing flak armor. The arms (not counting the las gun conversion), and the rebreather upgrade kit pieces are fitted as normal.

The Lasgun Conversion is really the only involved part of this conversion. From a basic Lasgun, cut down the barrel and casing to just where the hand will hold it. Once you have one done to the length you like, use this as a template for the rest of your rifles. Trim off any excess detail so you have smooth sides at the front, and smooth down the front end as well. The last major cuts here are to trim off the Lasgun clip, and carefully cut the Boltgun clip in half, widthwise. The reason you trim the Boltgun clip width is so it's thickness doesn't look out of place when glued to the Lasgun body. Drill a hole using your pin vice, to fit your plasticrod, slightly off center towards the top of the gun. Trim said plasticrod to your chosen barrel length, and glue it into your drilled hole. Affix the trimmed magazine to the Lasgun and the conversion is complete!

Below are a few more conversions using other parts of the Cadian Upgrades and other bits and bobs beyond the standard trooper.

All in all, I like what this particular conversion and kit bash yielded...a more spec ops-looking Stormtrooper. One that I feel would be used by and outfitted by the Inquisition.

Let me know your thoughts! Better yet, tell me what you would have, or have, done differently! I'd love to see your Stormtrooper conversions.

- Tim

Tools of the Trade: Outside Opinions and Soundboards

2011-12-09T07:40:00.001-06:00

I don't know about you, but every idea I have for any creative endeavor I pursue is always perfect from the get-go.

Right. And if you believe that, I've got a big, ork-built bridge to sell you.

The first non-physical tools to be covered in this series would be the ones that I honestly don't have any control over! Outside opinions and using other people for soundboards for my ideas are a staple in my toolbox. Considering my article earlier this week, I felt it apt to follow up with this particular topic.

Even beyond feedback for my initial ideas, and even more importantly so I think, would be the work-in-progress soundboards and feedback I ask for and receive. So many times I've finished a piece and felt I knocked it out of the park, so-to-speak, and when I get some reactions to it, I realize I missed something, or a detail was brought to my attention that I overlooked. If I had asked for feedback midway through the project, I could have avoided the mistake and fixed it instead of having a finished piece that now looks wrong to me.

Here are some of the types of folks I go to for feedback on my ideas and works-in-progress:

Friends in the Hobby

This is a no-brainer. We all have a community around us at the local shops we go to. Use it! Don't just cart your stuff out and then pack it up when you're done, ask for people's opinions on your work. See where they may think you could improve! Avoid the 5% that don't know how to give constructive criticism, and focus on the folks who will be honest with you and help you improve your work.

The Pros

You know who I'm talking about. Vincent Hudon, Mattheu Fontaine, Chris Borer, Tom Schladle, Dave Taylor, Joe Orteza, Mike McVey, etc. Oh wait, you think that they won't want to talk to you about your work? Think again. Shove that nervousness back down your throat and ASK THEM. I've yet to meet anyone of the Slayer Sword and Crystal Brush elite that wouldn't answer your question so long as you are polite and respectful. They are hobbyists too, remember?

The Blogging Community

Again, a no-brainer. Why do most of us post our work up on our blogs, after all? Tap into this huge community we've got at our fingertips and just ask. You'll get the feedback you crave.

Wife/Girlfriend/Family Members

In my case, Wife. God only knows how many times I've been painting, or converting and asked her opinion on a pose, or a color scheme or whatnot. Is she a gamer? Nope. An artist? Not that, either. What she is, is an intelligent person who, from an outside perspective, can give me a unique approach to the project and ideas I'm working on.

There have been times that I've been accused of asking for too much feedback, though I'm unsure of how you could ever et too much feedback. The wrong kind of feedback, sure, but too much? Never. This is a tool I tap into regularly, and will not stop doing so.

Who's your Sounding Board for your hobby?

- Tim

Adepticon Cometh

2011-12-06T07:57:00.001-06:00

A friend of mine went up to Chicago this past weekend. In a twisted, evil moment, he sent this image in a text to myself and some of our friends.

Mmmm… Portillo's Italian Beef.

What does this have to do with the hobby, you ask? Well, this is where we eat pretty much every lunch while we're up at Adepticon! Then it hit me…

CRAP! Adepticon is only 4 and a half months away!!!

Why am I panicking, you ask? Or more specifically, "Tim, you've got about 30 Grey Knights to paint, you have no reason to panic."

Well, you'd be right, except for the fact that I'm going to venture into the the waters of what is arguably the most competitive painting competition since Golden Demon, The Crystal Brush. So not only do I have to worry about painting my Grey Knights to at least my typical standard, but I have to plan out and begin my entries for the competition as well. Each entry should take about 80 hours from start to finish, including the building, converting, sculpting, basing and painting. I'm planning to enter at least two pieces intuit he competition.

What are my entries you ask? Good Question!

…I don't know…

See, I'm also planning on entering the Golden Demons in Chicago next year too, so I'm planning entries for that as well. Those are coming to me fairly easily, at least the concepts are. But for the Crystal Brush in April, I'm drawing a blank. Do I stick with my comfort zone and play it safe with GW-based miniatures as a starting point? Do I brave new waters and try out other systems, or manufacturers figures for this? Do I keep it simple, and do the figures I chose justice with just the paint job, or do I flex my converting muscles and increase my time investment as well?

I'm finding myself perusing CoolMiniorNot's store and looking at figures there, and attempting to think outside that safe comfort zone for some entries. I'm even considering some more modern or historical 54mm range figures. Maybe a tribute to the men and women who protect my freedom to paint little plastic army men?

So here's a call to the Blogosphere. Who's going to participate in Crystal Brush at Adepticon? Do you know what you are bringing? Heck, do you know what I should bring?

- Tim

Tools of the Trade: Rotary and Rivets

2011-11-29T07:37:00.001-06:00

Occasionally I'll be updating my "Tools of the Trade" as I add new tools to my toolbox. Or in this case, ones I forgot to add in the first place.

This time around, it's both!

We're going to take a look at a new addition in the form of a Micro Mark hole punch and hammer, as well as the tool I should have never left out, the Rotary Tool.

Rotary tools are an integral part to a converter's arsenal for any sort of major overhaul of a figure, or involved model project. The selection of brands we have to choose from, and the bevy of attachments for said brands are all welcome additions to our choices of tools to make our jobs as hobbyists easier and expand our range of options for conversions and scratch-builds alike.

I've been lucky enough to sample three brands of Rotary Tools; Dremel, Black and Decker, and Craftsman. I've also sampled both corded and cordless versions of the Dremel brand. I've also come to the conclusion that in the end, the brand you purchase is really not all that important. There are a couple features that I think are important, though, and those are variable speed control and comfort. It's got to be comfortable to use, this is a power tool and more at ease you feel with it, the better off you are. Variable speed control is essential for being able to best control the tool for each application you're using it for, be it cutting, smoothing or shaping.

My rotary tool of choice is the Dremel Stylus pictured above. The way you hold it is very similar to a writing implement and helps give you a greater deal of control. It's cordless, so you've got to rely on the charge it carries, so remember to put it back in its cradle when done. It's price point is about 60 dollars, so it's fairly affordable for what you get.

The new tool in the toolbox actually replaces one I already had. The Micro Punch Set that I purchased from Micro Mark, coupled with a hobby hammer, very quickly displaced my previous hole punch set. Recommended by Jeff Wilhelm from Dragon Forge Designs, this tool combination is a huge improvement in creating plasticard discs for use as rivets and other conversion parts. Pick the diameter you want, slide the plasticard in-between the top and bottom plates, pick the appropriate metal rod and a few taps of the hammer later, you have a perfect plastic disc for rivets. It's a touch pricy at 45 dollars, but honestly worth every penny for the job it does.

I've learned when modeling in this hobby, a varied and extensive toolbox and repertoire of techniques to pull from are essential to some amazing conversions.

Add anything new to your toolbox lately?

- Tim

Pushing Around Green Stuff: Barbaric Fur

2011-11-22T06:55:00.001-06:00

Sculpting fur was my first real nose-dive into the wide world of working with Green Stuff. I wanted to match the fur on the Chaos Warrior cloaks, covering the shoulder pads on my old Black Templar army. I was nervous that I'd get it wrong, but I knew the look I wanted for this army, and this was a requirement for that look. So never having worked with green stuff before this venture, I dove into the deep end without any floaties on.

Turns out, I didn't need floaties, and neither do you. Let's get started.

There are many types of fur you could sculpt, but this time we're going to deal with the easiest of the lot, in my opinion, and that's the barbaric, wild fur. Very similar to the techniques behind sculpting chain mail, this is one, simple motion repeated over and over again.

You'll hear me go over the tools needed for this in the video below, but I'll list them as well:

Green stuff

Scalpel-style sculpting tool

Needle tool

Water for lubrication

That's it! Notice I didn't include any sort of glue in the list above? You don't need it at this point, and you won't until the green stuff cures.

Dive into the deep end with me and watch the video below.

Fairly simple, eh? Like I said, its just one simple motion, repeated over and over in a fairly random pattern until you're finished. Let the green stuff cure overnight, and you can pop it off the model for proper gluing before priming and painting. As will all modeling techniques, practice makes perfect, so don't be discouraged if you mangle your green stuff early on, you'll fall into a rhythm quick enough.

Here's a few painted examples of this style of fur. One is a filler I did for the Black Templar Death Wing Belial, and the other is the Inquisitor I took to Golden Demon this past July. The texture lends itself well to painting in techniques, including washes, that help bring out the depth and texture you sculpted.

Sculpting isn't scary, you don't need floaties, and you can work with it so long as you just remember one simple tenet...

All you're doing is just Pushing Around Green Stuff.

- Tim

You do WHAT With Your Time?!

2011-11-18T07:53:00.001-06:00

Everyone raise your hand if you've heard that question before. Now those of you who didn't raise your hand, stop lying and raise yours too.

Honestly, I find it easier to describe what a role-playing game is than describe a miniature, tabletop war-game hobby. All I have to look to do is look at the person questioning me on an RPG and say the magic words "Dungeons and Dragons" and a light goes off in their head. Of course, then I usually have to defend that particular hobby against the claims of cults, satanism and drug use, but that's not the point of this article.

For all of you who struggle to describe this hobby, and time and money sink, of ours, here are some suggestions to get you through that awkward moment.

The Artistic Approach
This is a complex, diversionary answer to that question, most often used on first dates when you actually want that second date. It usually involves and emphasis on descriptors like "Sculpture", and "Acrylic Painting". No mention is ever made of rolling dice or actually playing a game of any sort. At least until said person comes over and you've forgotten to clean up form the last game.

The Historical Approach
If you actually model and play historical battle games, then please move on, you already use this approach in the correct manner, and are completely honest in doing so. The rest of us may use this approach in a professional setting when at our day jobs most times. This involves stealing the historical modeler and gamers perspective to give our plastic-addiction some sort of intellectual spin instead of a fantastical or fictional one.

The Scale Model Approach
This particular answer plays a bit on diverting the questioner's attention from the true answer by likening the hobby to that of a train, car or military scale model hobby. It also often involves specifically mentioning the millimeter scale you work in to further impress and divert at the same time.

The Boardgame Approach
This involves citing one of two games, either Risk or Chess, and likening our hobby to those on just a grander scale. Bringing it into this realm of explanation tends to get a much more positive answer and even may get some fun childhood stories out of the conversation. Typically this approach follows one of the others to help explain the game aspect of the hobby.

The Honest Approach
Always the best policy, right? This is exactly what it sounds like, and you actually take the time to explain the hobby you enjoy so much. This approach actualy takes a bit of all the others, only places them all in the correct context, all in one explanation. Actual examples of models or pictures of them tend to help get across exactly what is involved in making a miniature look amazing, as well as the sheer scale to field an entire army of them from box to completed product. Showing someone the scale figures themselves, then an example of a truly magnificent piece from a pro like Chris Borer, Mathieu Fontaine, Joe Orteza, Tom Schladle, Vincent Hudon, Mike McVay, etc. will also tend to make their eyes open wide at the magnitude of just ow awesome our hobby can be.

Sure this article is a bit on the lighter side of topics, and meant to be fun, but at the same time it's also meant to encourage folks to be proud of your chosen hobby. With the time and money investments involved in any miniature war-game hobby, there's no reason to be anything but proud of it. You'd be surprised at how many positive reactions I get to my hobby at my home church, even, after I've answered their question of "What hobbies do you have?" honestly. Showing them examples as well as my passion for the artistic and competition aspects of the hobby alike even gains the pastime the respect it deserves in the eyes of those who've never even heard of it before.

- Tim

A Matter of Opinion: Primer

2011-11-15T07:52:00.001-06:00

Once again, a comment in a recent article of mine prompted me to express my opinion about something intrinsic to our hobby, primer choice. In "A Matter of Opinion: The Glue that Binds", a poster who shall remain anonymous, *cough* OldSchoolTerminator *cough*, mentioned that I shouldn't even get him and his group started on the opinion of what primer works best.

Now who am I to pass up an opening like that, hmm?

In order to remain focused, this won't include a tutorial on how to prime your models. I'll be limiting this strictly on how I chose the primer I use the most. That doesn't mean I won't pen a tutorial on how to prime in the future, just not in this post. If I don't remain focused on the topic at hand, I'll get off on a tangent, and that won't do us much good, now will it?

I've actually had a good amount of exposure to different primer brands across the hobby spectrum. I even did a test across plastic and metal figures to see what worked best with what about a year ago, the results of which greatly influenced my current primer of choice.

Armory Primers
They have a low price-point, which was the original attractant for me to this line, and I picked up a can of their white spray. After a good 5-minute shake, I tested it out on a spare plastic and a spare metal figure. It snowed them both. Perplexed, because the conditions were fine, I grabbed a plastic cup, gave it another good shake for a few minutes and tried again…yielding the same results on the cup as I did on the figures. Trying not to discount a brand on one bad can, I bought another to try. After giving it a good 5-minute shake, I tried it out on another spare plastic figure. While it didn't snow the figure this time, it did leave this gritty residue that made it seem like very fine sand particles hit the figure at odd places. Fool me once, shame on you, fool me twice, shame on me. I gave this brand a honest try, twice, and will never do so again.

Army Painter Primers
The first time I tried this brand I was trying to save time, and bought their Skeleton Bone colored spray to quicken the painting process on my Centurions vehicles. I also bought their Red color for a Storm Raven. Both times the brand performed admirably, with no snowing of the models, and they both had very consistent coverage on the larger surfaces of the vehicles. I'd consider giving them another try using their white or black for standard figures if given the chance, I just haven't yet. I'm very pleased with their color choices and if you're looking to give yourself a leg up on your base coat color for a quicker, smooth first coat, and they have the color you're wanting to use, then try it out.

GW Chaos Black and Skull White Spray
There's debate back and forth whether these are actual primers, or just paint in a spray can. For the sake of this article, we'll address them as primers because that what I've used them for. These aren't cheap, and the 15 dollars a can price tag is what drove me to try other primers in the first place. Price aside, however, they do the job nicely. Coverage is good, I've never had a problem with snowing a model with them and the new nozzles on them are really very nice. A nice bonus is that you can always touch up the primer with either paint from a pot of the like color from the GW range.

Tamiya
On the recommendation from a friend at the local shop, I decided to give Tamiya a shot. I specifically have used their black primer, and over the course of an Imperial Guard Platoon's worth of plastic models, I was pleased. The coverage was good, and the base coat was nicely even when dry. I did notice some inconsistencies when I primed a metal test figure, though and wasn't thrilled with that result. Considering the product I bought is specifically for plastics, I wasn't surprised. While I did enjoy success with this brand, I prefer a primer that can work on multiple surfaces.

Formula P3
After the epiphany I had with this line's standard paint pots earlier this year, I just had to try out their primer. They didn't disappoint. The coverage was even and nice, and the nozzle they have on the can helps greatly with this. After perhaps two passes, I had the proper amount of primer on the figure, and was pleased with the 'grip' it lent to my paints. The price-point is slightly under GW, and that's always a plus. Again, a bonus is that you can always touch up your primer with the like color from their paint pot range.

So who wins the attention of my wallet and the respect of my brush? Honestly, it tends to be a three-way tie. If I need to quickly give a model a base coat that is a close or similar color to the first coat of paint that will go on it, I go with one of Army Painter's colored sprays. Otherwise, I split my attention and money between GW's Skull White, and P3's White Primer. It just depends on what the local store has on hand when I need to buy a can.

I've heard wild rumors and speculation that some members of our esteemed hobby community enjoy the use of Krylon Primers. While I may scratch my head in a perplexed state at that, who am I to judge? What do you guys use? Speak up!

After all, It's just A Matter of Opinion.

- Tim

The "Bandwagon" Syndrome

2011-11-09T07:44:00.001-06:00

With the release of the new Necron codex and figures, you had to of known this article was coming, right?

After having bought a codex myself this past Saturday, I started looking through it. My first thought was "Ooooh, Shiny!". No seriously, it was. I've already admitted to having that particular Syndrome, so lets not be too surprised over that either. Luckily I got out of my local shop with only having bought the codex.

My second thought though was, "Oh dear Lord, I wonder how many Necron players we're going to see at Adepticon this next year"

Enter, the "Bandwagon" Syndrome.

This particular syndrome is not to be confused with the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome, though it may appear similar in it's symptoms. Both share a love of a new army book or codex, and many times will also include the purchasing of new models. However, while the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome does this for pure lack of willpower and attention span, of which I am guilty of, the "Bandwagon" Syndrome purchases these new books and models for one primary purpose.

Everybody else is buying it, so to remain in the mainstream of the meta, I must therefore purchase it.

Let me follow that up by saying I'm not saying this is something horrible to do. I'm merely stating an observation I've seen, just the same as my own hobby addiction that I'm a victim of!

I can't even say that this particular Syndrome hinges on the competitive gamer in order for it to flourish either. Why? Because with the prolific nature of the interwebz, so many theory- and math-hammered lists are out there, that someone who isn't truly all that competitive in playstyle or by nature will purchase exactly what they need to make "Internet List X", just because they think they should to stay up to date with the game. Sure, a competitive player will happily tear apart and dissect every page of a new codex, but they do it with the intention of seeing if it's indeed better than what they currently are winning with. If it's not, they don't buy it. A player with the "Bandwagon" Syndrome typically doesn't apply that much logic to it, they just go with what the masses say works the best and buys exactly that.

I can honestly say I've never been a victim of this particular Syndrome, and am Happier for it. Yes, I've been accused of being a victim of the "Bandwagon" Syndrome with my current Grey Knights. I argue against that for the simple fact that I wanted to bring a new army to Adepticon 2012, but it had to be a small army so that I could also concentrate on my competitive painting entries for the year. If I hadn't done that, my wife would have had the "Kill the Gamer Husband" Syndrome, and I wouldn't be writing this right now. That, and the Grey Knight plastics caught my attention and were, indeed, Shiny.

So is there a good side to the "Bandwagon" Syndrome? I think so, as ultimately it keeps the game alive. Without people who fall victim to both the "Ooooh, Shiny!" and "Bandwagon" Syndromes, our local game stores and companies who put out the games themselves would lose a good deal of revenue.

Now be honest… Have you ever fallen prey to the "Bandwagon" Syndrome yourself?

- Tim

Grey Knights: Update & Draigo Conversion

2011-11-04T08:00:00.001-05:00

After having finally finished assembling my Paladins for my Grey Knights Army that I'll be bringing to Adepticon next year, I took a look at my list of things to finish and pondered what to build next…

1 Rhino with Forge World doors for my Strike Squad
Convert and build Kaldor Draigo
Convert and build 1 Vindicare Assassin

I was beyond done with stock assembly considering that was the vast majority of this army, as well as the reason I've yet to really update anything until now here, so I decided to break up the last three things to model to mix things up a bit…

First up, Kaldor Draigo!

As I really didn't feel like using the actual Kaldor Draigo figure, potential finecast issues aside, the first thing to do was figure out where I was going to get myself a Storm Shield that would do justice to this Grand Master of the chapter. After diving into my bitz and kits, I came up with two options; the shield that came with the Boarding Maring special event Forge World figure, or the shield that came from Forge World's Inquisitor Hector Rex.

Why am I considering actually parting out expensive Forge World models for one small piece?? Oh.. right, cause that's what I do. Dangit.

My first choice was actually the Boarding Marine's shield. I haven't seen a Draigo conversion that used it yet, and I thought it might look different. unfortunately the proportions just weren't quite there. Back to Hector's Shield! That's okay. He's already in Terminator armor, which makes the swap easier, and I bought him mostly for his servitors anyway. A little clipping and shaving to fit, and the shield works great!

The main body and tabard is, of course, the Justicar's kit pieces form the terminator sprues, as is the sword. Where I used that torso on the Paladins, I trimmed down the flaring collar and on Draigo, I kept it. He's also the only figure in the army without a helmet on.

Swapping the storm bolter was beyond a breeze with the new Grey Knight kits. Again, a little shaving of the forearm and it fit great. I clipped off the drum magazine and shaved it clean, then tacked on a power armor Grey Knight's magazine to the other side.

The back banner was another custom build. I did not want a banner bolted to his back, I just felt that it didn't fit my figure. My Paladins, however, did all have the little back ornamentations that I like, so I just up-sized one for Draigo. Using an old Ravenwing bit for the book, I very carefully drilled up through the binding and slid a plasticrod through it to mount it on the figure. I grabbed a handless-hilt and a spare blade from a power sword to finish the book and sword icon, and bolted it to the back with some very thin plasticard straps, the bolts quickly made by trimming off pieces of plasticrod. After that is was just adding assorted purity seals and other bling to finish it off.

Over all I'm very pleased with the figure. Are my hands itching to do more with him? Of course the are! I REALLY want to sculpt a back cape for him like GW's Draigo has…but I won't. He's done. He's easily identifiable as special, and the Storm Shield very quickly marks him as Draigo.

What does everyone think? Anything you'd do different, speak up in the comments! I love to hear feedback, even on a simple conversion like this. Without constructive criticism, we don't grow!

- Tim

What Inspires You?

2011-11-02T08:02:00.001-05:00

Or more to the point, and the question that was posed to me earlier this week, where do you get your inspiration from?

Good Lord, where DON'T I get inspiration for projects from these days?

Many times I think that I have such a hard time finding inspiration for an army I want to do, not because I don't have sources of inspiration, but because I have so many to choose from! I've started and stopped projects in the past because I've hopped from inspiration to inspiration, and now I tend to over-think an inspiration for an army theme because I want to make sure I can be happy with it after spending hundreds of dollars on it.

Let's take a gander at some of my favorite sources of inspiration.

Historical References

BIG source of inspiration for me here, especially in classical, medieval and ancient histories. Let's take two specific examples; my old Black Templars and my current Centurions.

When a knight of old was either on a personal quest to regain honor, or was dishonored at all, he would frequently cover his shield and coat of arms with a wrap of some sort until said honor was regained. I used this small bit of history as the crux for my Templar army, which I named the Penitent Crusade. Every member of this Templar Crusade had been shamed in a loss that they ran from, except the Emperor's Champion. So every model would have their chapter symbol covered until their honor was restored. The conversions consisted of green stuff cloaks, with fur trim that was sculpted to hide the shoulderpads of each marine, except the Champion. Take a look below of some examples.

The Centurions were born out of a love of ancient art and culture of the Greeks and Romans. It also doesn't hurt that there's enough iconography in the 40K universe for marines to help support that. I really wanted to centralize a Greco-Roman theme, yet keep the war gear distinctly "Marine" in nature. This time there was no huge backstory for the army, just a pure enjoyment of that period and cultures in history.

Black Library Novels

Come on now, who hasn't read some of Abnett's writings and not wanted to build at least one of the 'Ghosts, if not an entire army? Take a gander here at an army Dave Taylor is putting together on commission using that exact source of inspiration. The Black Library novels and books like the Heresy collection are some amazing and iconic sources of inspiration for many of us. Personally, I'm gathering material and notes for a highly detailed Salamanders army inspired from Nick Kyme's novels, and can't wait to get started on them!

Artwork

While I had originally thought to limit this category to purely GW artists, I can't. There are some amazing artists out there that have done some truly spectacular work. Aerion the Faithful is one I know many of you recognize. There are many other artists out thee who have done some stellar GW inspired artwork, just do a Google image search and you're bound to run across them. Forums like the Bolter and Chainsword also house some amazing artists. Of course, then you can dive right back into iconic GW artistry like that of John Blanche, or any of the Black Library artists as well.

Hobbyist-Inspired

By this I mean taking inspiration from other hobbyist's work. Again, this is mainly done through Google searches and the perusal of various forums and their painting and modeling sections. I can't tell you how many times I've seen something and gone "Why didn't I think of that?!". The Ogre Maneater army that was most recently up on GW's site blog is one I can keenly feel that way about.

Mythology

You might think this source of inspiration is a bit redundant for a fantastical setting, especially for fantasy wargames, but there are so many more sources of mythology out there than what have been used so far in published tabletop games. Two distinct examples I can think of off the top of my head would be a Wood Elf army I saw in a past GW Grand Tournament that was themed after the Celtic myth of Herne the Hunter and the Great Hunt, and now my friend Skarvald from over at Wolves for the Wolf God wants to theme his Ogres after Arabian Mythology like Ali Baba and his 40 Gnoblar Thieves.

Okay, there's five different, and massive, sources of inspiration for me when I'm looking to start any project, be it one figure, or an entire army.

What are some sources of inspiration for you?

- Tim

Joint Blog Project: Arabian-Themed Ogres

2011-10-27T08:10:00.001-05:00

Skarvald from over at Wolves for the Wolf God threw out a request to the Blogging community for some help with his Arabian-themed Ogres, specifically relating to some green stuff work that he wanted to accomplish. Instantly my mind started working on not just to figure out how best to sculpt some key thematic pieces, but also how to break down the processes for the sculpts in a manageable way for army-wide production.

After a few emails back and forth, the Arabian-Themed Ogre, Joint Blog Project was born :) Over the next while, Skarvald and I both will be addressing this theme and it's conversion and sculpted components.

Let's dive into 3 key themed conversions for his Ogres.

Turban:
The way I'm seeing this, while it would require work, I don't see it being an overly difficult process. Just one that needs a bit of fine-tuning. Considering there really aren't that many Ogres in a force, I could see this being a staple for each Ogre in the army. Of course, if you leave a few bald with some huge hoop earrings, that would be a nice touch as well.

As far as process goes, I'm looking at building up an inner support of Green Stuff on top of the Ogre's head first to give the turban something to rest on. Then I would roll out a larger flat piece, maybe a 1/16th inch thick, and then let it cure for perhaps 20 minutes to give it a little forgiveness in the wrapping process. After letting it cure a bit, I would cut strips out of it to then coil and layer on top of the support and head on the Ogre. This would even give you the option to have a coil dangle down to the neck and shoulders for variety in the sculpts.

This may or may not work, depending on how thin I roll the GS consistently, as well as just whether or not I like the overall look when wrapped. We may have to dive into actual 'sculpting' of GS for this one, we'll see.

Vests:
Sculpting a vest for an Ogre really is a simple process if you break it down into a pattern, sort of like you would if you were sewing one. Once more, roll out a larger flat piece, maybe a 1/16th inch thick, and then let it cure for perhaps 20 minutes to give it a little forgiveness when cutting the pattern. Cut a piece for the back, with half-moons for part of the arm hole, then two front pieces with half-moons to match to complete the armholes. Once placed on the Ogre, we can then 'sculpt' stitching to bring the pieces together, mirroring the stitching in the Ogre's pants for that rough-made look.

For a little variety, you could also create the sculpted pattern in two halves, fit them to the ogre and 'stitch' them in the back instead of the sides.

Scimitars / Curved Daggers
This would be as simple as creating a variety of patterns from plain plasticard, and then duplicating them. "Sharpen" the blades with your hobby knife and add Ogre embellishments like rivets and the occasional bolted on scrap of metal. Use existing hands that are closed around weapon hilts to secure them to with plastic cement and instant Arabian weaponry!

Press-Molds
Here's another option for the vests at least, if not scabbards for the Scimitars and Curved Daggers. Create one "Master" sculpt, or a few if you want variety, and then use one of the many products out there to create a press-mold for it. Instant Mold is one such product, as is Blu-Stuff, and I've seen good reviews of both. I'll most likely start out with Instant Mold as it's what I have handy, but I may just use this project as an excuse to try out Blu-Stuff!

Skarvald will be sending me some Ogres two work with soon, and I'll begin breaking down the conversions, with a post devoted to each one. I'll also expand my video tutorials with these as well! Give the Wolves for the Wolf God blog some love and check out the first post of the project over there. If you've never visited there before, peruse the archives and say hi!

Let me know what you think of the conversion ideas, and if you have any thoughts of your own! What would you think would be a key element to add to an Arabian-themed force?

- Tim

New Gaming Charity: Celebrity Dreadfleet!

2011-10-25T17:18:00.000-05:00

I'd like to bring everyone's attention to a little something I caught on Dave Taylor's Blog. Looks like Chris Borer and Dave Pauwels, of Golden Demon and Slayer Sword fame, have brought together a whole slew of the miniature painting world celebrities to make an impact and support the Ocean Conservancy!

The full painted fleet of Dreadfleet, along with painted terrain and gaming accessories and the rules signed by all the artists, will be raffled off at Adepticon 2012 in Chicago! Some of the celebrity painters will even demo the game!

Below is a list of the participating artists and their charges, shamelessly swiped from the Charity's Blog.

The Grand Alliance
Jim Wappel                   The Heldenhammer
Chris Borer                    The Seadrake
Mathieu Fontaine          The Flaming Scimitar
Brian Sobb                    Grimnir’s Thunder
Davey Pauwels             The Swordfysh

The Dreadfleet
Cathy Wappel                The Bloody Reaver
Jennifer Haley               Skabrus
Dave Taylor                   The Black Kraken
Kirill Zhilkov                 Curse of Zandri
Joe Orteza                      The Shadewraith

Dennis Smith                 The Sea Monsters

I highly recommend you head over to the blog, located here, and keep tabs on the progress. More importantly, I hope you would give, and give generously to the Charity's benefit.

I'm always excited about our community getting together, celebrity or not, and putting on charity events such as this. Enough of the world sees video gamers, tabletop gamers, and RPG games as odd, or wrong, or outcast as it is, and I'm thrilled to look at them with my head held high, not just because they are wrong in their assumption, but because the community proves it.

Kudos to you, Chris and Dave, for heading this nautical charity excursion, and kudos to those who support them, painter and giver alike!

- Tim

A Matter of Opinion: The Glue that Binds

2011-10-21T07:56:00.001-05:00

Yes folks, that right. There is more than one type of glue out there, and don't let your local GW store tell you any different. No matter how much they want to sell you that pretty little (emphasis on 'little') bottle with their logo on it, shop around and try out a few brands before you pick a favorite!

Or just read this article and take it from my experience on what has and hasn't been able to glue my models, and my fingers, together reliably.

Since this is one of the "A Matter of Opinion" series of articles, please note that the only glue brands and types I'll be offering any opinions on will be ones I've had personal experience with. Lets dive in, shall we?

Super Glue
Insert Brand Name Here. No matter what the brand it is, I don't care for super glue. I do not like the viscosity of it, nor the bonding times associated with it. I would glue my fingers to the model more often than not trying to hold the glued pieces together. You might say that I used too much, I'd say that the glue ran. You could always hasten the bonding time with a little hit of Zip Kicker, but then you've just killed the strength of the bond, in my opinion. Yay, let's make an already brittle bond worse! No, thank you.

Games Workshop Plastic Glue
Credit where credit is due, this isn't a bad product. It does the job it sets out to do, just as well as any other plastic-specific glue out there. I don't care too much for the drying/bonding time on it though, a little long for my tastes. The price point on this little bottle of glue, though is the sticking point (hah-hah) for me. Too much cash for too little product. The brush-tip on the end of it is nice though.

Games Workshop Super Glue
Once more the price point kills it as a contender for me, as does the fact that it's super glue. See above comments on any other brand of super glue.

Super Glue Gel
Once more, Insert Brand Name Here. I like Gel types of super glue and have used many brands through the years. I like the viscosity of them, I like that they do not run and drip all over the place, and I like that they have a certain amount of hold to them even before they set. You don't have to use your fingers like vices 90% of the time, and save a bit of the skin on your fingertips in the process. I will say that if you like the Gel style of super glue, try the Loctite brand in the blue and gray hard bottle.

Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel
God's gift to my hobby. Obviously this is just my opinion, but hey, that's the point of this article, right? I differentiate this from their standard Gel because I honestly believe it bonds better, as I have tried both. This one comes in a blue and black hard bottle. The applicator tip is nice and precise, and even better, you're squeezing the sides of the container, which then pinch an internal tube, giving you much more control over the amount of glue you use, as well as limiting any potential mess. The price is a bit higher than some other Gel brands, but I feel it's worth it, and you do get a decent amount for your money.

Gorilla Glue
Okay fine, I 'll admit I have never personally used this glue on a model myself… For good reason! While Gorilla Glue may be all that and a bag of chips for wood and other household projects, do not use this on your models. And yes, I wouldn't be even including it in this list if I haven't actually been asked about it by someone who shall remain anonymous. Gorilla Glue actually activates with trace water particles in the surfaces your binding it with, which is little to none in most of our cases. Worse than that though, it EXPANDS to fill gaps, pores and holes in said surfaces that it's binding together. We do not like this, Sam, I am.

Testors Model Master Plastic Cement
God's OTHER gift to my hobby. I use this when I don't ever want a model to come apart. You may then be wondering why I would want a plastic model to come apart in the first place. Simple, what if I make a mistake and need to repose? The window to do something like that with this stuff is much narrower, beyond the fact that it sort of melts the plastic together to form that super-strong bond. I mostly use this for basing applications and vehicle construction.

PVA Glue
Yes, I included basic, white glue here because of the variety of applications I use it for. Of course, most of those applications usually have something to do with either basing my figures, or a display base. These include basic flocking, ballast as well as snow applications.

Green Stuff
THIS IS NOT GLUE. It may be tacky before it cures, but it will not form a bond between two surfaces once it cures. Please, just… just don't. Not glue, people, I can't stress that enough.

Just in case you missed it among the listings, my two favorites are the Loctite Super Glue Ultra Gel and the Testors Model Master Plastic Cement. These two are my work horses of choice when it comes to The Glue that Binds. That doesn't mean they have to be yours, or that I'm right and you're wrong, etc. I'd actually enjoy some opinions on what works best for you, and why!

After all, it's only a Matter of Opinion.

- Tim

What Comes First, the List or the Models?

2011-10-18T07:50:00.001-05:00

Recently I answered a friend of mine's question about how I go about starting an army. The article resulted in some comments, of which I am always grateful for, that brought up a bit of an addendum in my mind.

In said article, I placed making an army list before purchasing the models. The simple reason being that it saves me money…and makes my wife breathe a little easier when the dent hits my wallet. However, this was not always the case. I didn't always plan far enough ahead so that I knew what to buy. I used to buy what scratched the hobby-itch and build my army from there.

So which is the better way of thinking?

I think a better way to ask that questions is, "Which way of thinking fits your situation better?" Let's break down each.

Buying the Models First

This used to be my preferred method of going about this wonderful hobby of ours. Footloose and fancy-free, I'd do the research into the armies I liked, and once I found one, I'd just start purchasing the models I liked the best. When I had what I thought was enough to play with, I'd start writing a list, making sure to try and fit in every model or kit I enjoyed the most.

Unfortunately I began to come up against some issues and concerns with this method of collecting. First and foremost was the dollar amount spent, without much of a guideline on just how much to buy! I covered a bit of this in my "Ooooh, Shiney! Syndrome" article. I would get excited about an army, begin to buy into it, and then decide I either wanted to do something different, or just plain get caught up in the next new model released that wasn't a part of my initial interest. Other times while I might not switch armies, I could very well end up with a bevy of very interesting models, but when I went to make a list, I wouldn't include them because I didn't care for how they played rules-wise.

So while this method of army building certainly helped populate my Bitz collection, it also tended to result in over spending. When it was just my wife and I, it wasn't a horrible thing most times, but 5 years ago when we found out we were having a baby boy I had to become much more money-conscious. Boy, did I have pretty much anything I wanted to choose from though, within reason.

Writing the List First

This frame of mind began only recently, to be honest, with my in-progress Grey Knights. Even my Centurions were a buy-first-write-list-later army. This time around, I just didn't have the funds to do that. Come to think of it, I probably won't have the funds to do something like that for quite some time.

Either way, when I decided to do Grey Knights, I had limited funds available. I theory-hammered and crunched numbers until I had a tentative list decided on, and bought kits from that list only. Was it a perfect shopping list? Of course not. In fact, I actually have 2 things purchased that will not get used in this list (A Dreadknight and Forge World doors for a Rhino). However, two extraneous purchases is a much better result for my pocketbook than what my average was before. What was that average? Who knows…well, my bank might if I got the records pulled, but I'd rather not give the wife a reason to hang me just yet. Even then, the Forge World doors will not go to waste as I'll be building a Deathwatch Squad and Rhino for a Golden Demon entry for next year.

In the end, I saved oodles of cash by planning out exactly how many of what I'd need, and buying only that. Does this prohibit me from expanding the army? Only in the sense that I'll have to purchase, construct and paint something new if I want that option. Otherwise, no.

And the Winner is…It's a Tie!

Seriously folks, there is no right or wrong answer here. It's all a matter of opinion and what situation you're in at that time. As Lycanthropica mentioned in my earlier post on army building though, pick an army that you will ENJOY spending gobs of money on and playing. You'll be happier in the long run…and you won't have to pay shipping after selling your old army on eBay.

- Tim

The New GW Plastic Kits...A Love/Hate Relationship?

2011-10-13T08:25:00.001-05:00

As most of you know, I'm putting together a Grey Knights force for the Tournament Circuit next year. One of the best things about this army is that I get to play with the newest, as well as some of the most advanced, plastic kits GW has released to-date. As an avid modeler, you would think I'd be excited to dive into these detail-rich new plastics.

So why do I feel like I'm just going through the motions?

Let me start off with saying that new new kits are amazing. GW's quality and detail started soaring with the 'new' Black Templar upgrade sprues, and they just kept getting better as the years have gone on. The sheer amount of detail in the Dark Eldar and the Grey Knight plastics and figures is phenomenal! So why am I complaining?

The problem I have is two-fold.

My issues started the other night after I finished putting together my Grey Knight Strike Squad. The sprues came with a good amount of bling to place where you want, dynamic purity seals, reliquaries, etc. The problem was that the models already had so much plastic bling on them already, there wasn't any room to tastefully place any of the extra stuff.

Yes,, I know I wanted to put together an paint up an army that was on the lighter side of converting and modeling as compared to my Centurions...and yes, the Grey Knights fit this bill perfectly. But that hobbyist itch of mine wanted to convert SOMETHING!!

Then there was the second part of the problem is that even though I wanted to convert something, when the squad was assembled and done and I looked over everything...I was happy with them. It was a strange sort of satisfaction at the completion of a squad that I didn't have to convert to look good to me, that I've never felt before. Heck, I broke one of my personal little rules of "going beyond tabletop quality". I didn't even do a head swap as everything came out of one box! I've NEVER done that.

In the end, I've determined that I love to hate these kits...in the best way possible. I love that I'll have a great looking force on the table with minimal effort. I hate that I didn't do anything to put any sort of personal touch to the infantry models whatsoever. I love the sheer amount of detail and options in these kits that will make my Bitz box stuffed with awesome tidbits for future projects, and I hate that I'm finding so little to put on the assembled models because they already have enough plastic bling on them.

Are the new GW plastic kits the end of the converter? Nah, just gotta use them brains more to advance our modeling and converting skills along with the advances made in these new kits.

- Tim

Grey Knights: 3 Dreadnought Conversions

2011-10-07T07:55:00.001-05:00

"Mr. Owl, how many kits does it take to get to the plasticy center of a dreadnought?"

You've seen that commercial, right? The Tootsie Roll Pop one from way back they keep recycling? I kind of felt like Mr. Owl when my wife asked me how many model kits I really needed to make just three dreadnoughts. She's been around this hobby as an observer for long enough to realize that typically one vehicle kit equals one complete vehicle.

Of course, she also knows me and how overboard I can go with a conversion to get a model to look exactly how I want it to look. So her question had a bit of a dual-meaning to it; literally how many kits was I going to use, and how much would it end up costing!

Lets find out, hmm?

First, I suppose we should get the prerequisite ridicule out of the way...yes, I am fielding three Psyfledreads in my Grey Knights army. Who the heck came up with that nickname for them anyway? Second, they are darn good units for a cheap cost, of course I'm using them.

Back on track, I had a bit of a struggle with these three models as I wanted them to all look very unique, yet at the same time they all have the exact same outfit of weapons. I certainly didn't want to fall back on the Forge World Autocannon arms. While they would have made my work easy, I was trying to avoid spending any more money on them, not to mention they'd all have the same look. What to do?

Yeah, who'm I kidding, you know what I did. I went overboard.

I used 2 Venerable Dreadnought kits, 1 Furioso Kit, 1 Ironclad Kit, Imperial Guard Autocannons and Aegis Defense Line Auto Cannons... Plus a little Dreadknight thrown in. Just for 3 Dreadnoughts.

This guy gave me the most trouble because originally I had his autocannons as actual short autocannons underslung on his fists... It just didn't look right. I was mulling over possible fixes when I saw my Dreadknight and noticed that the gun housings for it's weaponry look slot like over-sized stormbolters. So after some hacking and shaping, as well as relocating the autocannon barrel ends to these, he had two storm-autocannons. A little trimming off of any Blood Angle iconography, and we're set!

The second came together pretty easy, actually. Grabbing the hurricane bolter arm from the Ironclad kit, I closed it off flat, and turned it into a quad-barreled Autocannon. Te ammo feed from the Furioso kit and a half canister of Autocannon ammo, and he was set. I like how he turned out, looking and even angled down in a ready stance.

The final Dreadnought was the most fun for me to work on. I took his inspiration from a mecha off of the original Robotech series, one of the Destroids. I took the magna grapple from the Furioso kit, mounted it on a Venerable it after some creative shaving, and installed Autocannons from the Aegis Defence Line on it. After that it got the shin plates from the Ironclad because it just looked like a walking tank to begin with, and it's arms share origins form both the Ironclad and the Furioso.

There! Three Dreadnoughts with identical statlines, that look like three completely different machines of destruction for the 41st millennium. Yes, yes I know, I could have made this so much easier on myself if I had just ordered Forge World arms, or did the standard fix using the Aegis Defense Line mounts for the arms themselves...

But where's the fun in that?

- Tm

Army Building: What do I do First?

2011-10-04T09:37:00.001-05:00

A friend of mine is new to the hobby, having yet to put together his first army. He's very enthusiastic, has been devouring 40k books like crazy, and has picked the Imperial Fists to be his first major project and completed army. We've brainstormed various conversions for his Fists and he's even bought the vast majority of parts, pieces and bitz to make them happen.

The other day he came up to me after I got to work and asked me something I wasn't quite prepared to answer...

"So Tim, after buying everything I needed for the army... Where do I start? What do I need to do first?"

You just... I mean... You... Crap. No one has ever asked me that before!

You'd think there is a clear-cut answer to that question, but in reality there are so many jumping off points to a project, he's just not sure what to do first. It's a valid question for a newcomer to the hobby, and I'll share where I start my own process when I begin a new army project.

1. Pick an Army.
Yes, I know that this is a no-brainer, but hey, it's where I start! I dive in deep into either making up my own fluff for a DIY Marine chapter, or really reading and researching the other chapters or armies to see who fits my personality, look for inspiration and pick a faction and army I can really get behind and enjoy owning, much less drop hundreds of dollars on.

2. Research the Army's Theme
Once I've got an army picked out, I drag out not just the codex, but any novels and supplements I have to really dig through for inspiration. I also pull up a Google search on the army and go straight to the Image results to get a feel for what other people have done and look for inspiration there.

3. Write the Army List.
Unless you enjoy just making things up on the fly, have a plan going into this of the force you're creating. It'll save you time and money.

4. Concept Conversions and Paint Scheme
I probably spend the longest amount of time in this step, barring the actual assembly and painting of the army. Once I've discovered my inspiration in the previous step, I sketch out some looks I want based on those inspirations, and start digging though my bitz as well as bitz sites and kits to figure out how I'm going to accomplish the look I want. At the same time, I'm coming up with all kinds of different color combinations to see what I want to use, if it's not an already established color scheme.

5. Test Figure
I usually go through at least a half dozen test figures to get the colors and formula right. On paper or computer screen I can be thrilled with a color scheme, and then once I paint up a test fig, I hate it. Really important step here, and if you want more information, see my post of test figures here. And please remember to write your paint formulas down so that you don't have to rediscover them when you're ready to paint the army?

6. Prep for Assembly
This includes everything from clipping sprue, cleaning flash and mold lines, scrubbing resin and drilling for pins and magnets. I do all of this before assembly because it makes the assembly phase of things go so much smoother.

7. Prep Your Bases
Whether it's making your own, simple or complex, or investing in resin bases, prep these as well before assembly. It will save time and allow you to pose your figures custom to each base to get the best combination out of them.

8. Assembly
Everything should be flash and mold line free at this point, as well as your conversions planned out. While that saves you a great amount of time, I make up for that by spending more time on the posing of the figures so that I have a dynamic, unique force. Use your adhesive of choice, and move on to the next step!

9. Paint the Figures and Bases
Follow the color scheme and paint formulas that you came up with for your finalized test figure and go to town! I paint my bases separate from the figures, quite literally, and then pin and glue finished figure to finished base. If you don't have that luxury, and the figures are cemented to the base, I'd recommend painting the figure first, then the base, cleaning up any mistakes to the figure if needed.

10. Dull Cote/Matte Varnish
Protect your army! You're going to be playing with these, handling them, etc. Protect them with a coating of your choice, used judiciously.

11. Play With Your Toys!
Don't let them go to waste on your shelf after buying and putting so much work into a tabletop force. For competition miniatures, sure, but not for an army that you built to play with!

Like I said, everyone has their own order on what to do, and when to do it, but this is my take on things. Where's your process start?

- Tim

How to Avoid Hobby Burn-Out

2011-09-28T19:30:00.001-05:00

We've all done it. Be it because we stayed up until 3 am for three months straight getting an army ready for a tournament, played one system over and over again until we bled plastic, metal and resin, or the latest codex release just irked you so badly it made you throw up your hands and scream "Overpowered!" to the heavens. We've all burnt ourselves out on this wonderful hobby we indulge in at one time or another.

Well if you're like me, you've invested a goodly chunk of change into the hobby, no matter what your game system of choice. Every time in the past that I've gotten burnt out on my hobby, inevitably I look at all my models and kits that I put so much effort into, or have yet to even open, and feel like I'm wasting money every week I'm not playing, modeling or painting.

So how do we avoid hobby burn out?

After Adepticon 2010, I didn't even so much as pick up, put together, paint or even look at a miniature for nearly 3 months. I played one local tournament, and that's about it. Why? Because I had spent the previous 3 months staying up until 3 am nightly trying to finish my Centurions for the aforementioned Adepticon. Heck, I finished my Land Raider and Predator in my hotel room the night before the tournament.

Don't look at me like that, we've all done it.

I was so burned out and sleep deprived that I couldn't bring myself to do anything even relating to the hobby. I took a nice, long break that I thought I needed and figured afterwards, I'd pick up right where I left off. The problem was that I lost all momentum for projects. Heck, I had wanted to bring a whole new army to Adepticon in 2011, and compete in the Crystal Brush competition. Neither of which happened, though I did get more play time in at the local shop as the year went on at least.

Now comes 2011, and I'm desperate to figure out how to not let this happen again. I'm tired of wanting to do so much with my hobby and being too tired of doing it to accomplish anything. This is supposed to be fun, dangit!

Here's what worked for me this year:

Having an army already done I could fall back on.

This was a huge load off my shoulders. While I wanted to bring a new army to Adepticon, I didn't have to. The previous year I didn't even have an army done until the night before the tournament. This time I had something, and didn't need to worry. I just updated the Centurions with some new models, and I was ready to go.

2. Variety is the spice of life

To date do far this year I've completed over a half dozen projects from a single conversion to painting an entire army on commission. And ALL of them have been a different experience, with the exception of the updating of my Centurions. Knowing that as I finish my current project, the next one on the horizon is completely different help keep me motivated.

3. Like-minded friends

Having a group that you not only game with, but also model and paint with helps everyone not only stay motivated, but also increases everyone's skill levels. I can't begin to describe how helpful another pair or more of eyes are when working or trying to figure something out.

4. A new spin on things

I took a class at Adepticon this year taught by Mathieu Fontaine on how to paint at a competition level. Wow, did it ever open my eyes not just on competition painting, but painting period! Even on my choice of brush and some paint brands. My wife had to make me take a week off after Adepticon because I was so eager to try out the new things I learned. Learn and advance your skills, it'll excite and motivate you, I guarantee.

5. This blog

I can't begin to express how the writing of this blog, coupled with the support, creative criticism and comments of all of you have helped me avoid hobby burn-out this year. The vast majority of our community in the blogosphere is a for e to be reckoned with, and for that, I thank you.

In the end, everyone's list and ways to avoid burning themselves out on this hobby, or any hobby for that matter, will be different in some way. My main point here is that it is avoidable, we should want to avoid it, and that we can if we try.

- Tim

Hobbyist or Gamer: Do You Have to Choose?

2011-09-23T08:55:00.001-05:00

Peruse the interwebz and blogs relating to this hobby of ours, and you're bound to come across the great debate of whether or not you should concentrate on playing to win, or concentrate of the story, modeling and painting aspects of the game.

Are you a Hobbyist, or a Gamer? Do you play to win, or do you care more about how your army looks and the story behind it?

My answer to that is a question in and of itself; Why do I have to choose?

As an avid hobbyist, I love the story behind the game, I love the modeling and painting aspects and spend hours upon hours converting. I'm happy to admit I love these things more than playing the game itself at times

And yet, I love to win a game of 40K just like the next guy. In fact, I tweak lists, crunch numbers, and fit in units and upgrades that I know work from either playtesting them or reading gameplay articles from more experienced players. Heck, I love it when I'm on a top table in a local tournament, and would be thrilled to make it a top table at a national level or an invitational!

Does this dichotomy of interests make me weird? Am I at odds with myself? Should I just pick one side of the fence over the other and reconcile myself to the fact that I can never be good at both?

Hell No.

Take a look at the image below of one of the final tally sheets from this past 2011 Adepticon 40K Single Player Tournament.

See places 37 and 38? Brandon Palmer won Players Choice for that beautiful Ork army he brought and I came right after him with my Centurions. We both scored top Sportsmanship points and he got a 44 in Appearance, and I got a 43. Now look at our Battle Points and number of Objectives we scored… Not too impressive in those numbers. But even though we both came away from the games we played in the middle of the road, we both scored places in the top 25% of players in what is arguably the nation's largest independent GT.

Now here's some food for thought… what if we had kept those high Appearance and Sportsmanship scores… AND played well enough to score much better in the the Battles and Objectives? What if I had spent as much time honing our game play skills as much as I have my modeling and painting skills?

"But Tim, you've got to play an uber, interwebz win-at-all-costs list to be at the top tables. There's no room in a list like that for the mild-mannered hobbyist."

"But Tim, a true hobbyist is more concerned about the story and fluff than what unit performs best. There's no room for a competition list in a Hobbyist's collection"

I cry bull!@#$ on BOTH statements and mentalities. Because I want to put together a good, competitive list, I'm not paying enough attention to the story and spirit of the setting? Because I want to put together a great looking army, I'm limited to only what the IP/Canon lawyers say I can use? Again, I say bull!@#$. Use the same brain that you apply to either, for both! Don't limit yourself. This is a game of fantasy and imagination! There is no limit to the imagination!

Can you imagine what kind of contender for Best Overall awards a Hobbyist who pours his heart and soul into his Army's appearance, and knows how to throw down with a competitive list at the same time, would be? Take Brandon's or my Appearance and Sportsmanship scores, and then add on good Battle and Objective scores. Just how high could either of us have gone?

Be a player that YOU want to play against, laugh and have a beer with (age appropriately of course), work your tail off on an army you care about, and then put the same amount of effort into playing like you mean it, or visa-versa. Combine those soft scores and battle scores and you'll be a player that people fear in the standings.

I dare you.

- Tim

Product Review: Battlefoam P.A.C.K. GO

2011-09-19T11:25:00.001-05:00

Among the many things I've learned over the years of attending Adepticon and other GTs, there's one thing that stands out as probably the most practical of them all.

Pack less crap!!!

This coming Adepticon I'm taking my own advice, and planning out a more efficient means of transporting what I need to bring. This includes the army case. Since I'm bringing Grey Knights this time, the P.A.C.K. 720 is a bit much in terms of space. I knew I wanted another Battlefoam product, but wasn't sure which one.

Then I found the P.AC.K. GO video and preview. Guess what arrived on my doorstep last Thursday?

Considering the P.A.C.K. GO was on preorder when I bought it, the wait once it was released was short and sweet. Unfortunately when it arrived, it was pouring rain and I was lucky in that when I opened the box, the water hadn't penetrated it yet. While in no way could Battlefoam could have done anything for that, they could have encased their product in some sort of plastic shipping wrap. This would have protected the bag a bit from the elements. This seems like a small thing, but honestly, it's turned out to be my largest criticism in the whole process.

The bag itself is great. The capacity is right between the 720 and the 432, which is a perfect size, in my opinion. I bought the pluck foam load out which comes with 9 inches (229 mm) of pluck foam, which breaks down to 2x 1.5 inch (38 mm) tray, 1x 2 inch (50 mm) tray and 1x 3 inch (75 mm) tray. A bonus is that the foam trays are interchangeable with the ones from the 720, which is the other one I have, though the trays do fit in 'sideways' like the 432 trays do. A minor annoyance for me, but worth mentioning since it is a review. It's also worth mentioning that this minor annoyance is offset by the fact that, again, the trays from my 720 are interchangeable with the GO.

A few bag dimensions are:
Inside Bag Dimensions - 16W x 9L x 12H" (405W x 229L x 305H mm)
Large Front Pocket Dimensions - 16W x 3L x 13H" (406W x 75L x 330H mm)
Small Front Pocket Dimensions - 12W x 1L x 9H" (305W x 25L x 229H mm)
Side Pocket Dimensions aren't given on the BF site.

Love the front pocket, since it's the perfect size for my iPad, and the larger pocket is perfect for all my books and codexes. The larger side pockets are excellent for any large templates, dice and miscellaneous needs. Honestly though, one of my favorite features are the elastic, mesh side pockets that are great for holding drinks. A final note on the physical dimensions would be that this is a great size for a carry-on for a plane ride. Very well planned there.

The primary carrying method is a backpack style, and it performs admirably. Sure, it's a bit bulky, but not uncomfortable in any way. If you want to carry it by the top handle, the backpack straps fit neatly into a pocket on the back, which could also potentially be used for a codex or pad of paper when the backpack straps are in use. It has a chest cross strap that is fixed with a pinch lock if you want some extra stability, though I don't see myself using it. While I do understand that this is a backpack style case, I do wish there was an option for a shoulder strap. It's not a complaint on my part, more of a "they did so much with this bag, that would have been nice", type of comment.

A final, small feature that I like is that the entire face of the small front pocket is a soft material that takes hook Velcro nicely. Great for me since I work and design at a printer and will be getting a large Miniature Tim patch to place there for personalization and identification.

I'd have to give the P.A.C.K. GO a 4.5 out of 5 starts here overall. I had a couple minor wishes for it, and one small criticism about the packing for the elements for shipping, but other than that, it more than exceeded my expectations for a new carrying case. It's going to be extremely difficult to ever get a 5 out of 5 from me on any product, but Battlefoam came pretty darn close on this one. Go check out the video on this one folks, it's worth a look if you're in the market for a travel-friendly bag.

And no, I didn't receive any compensation for this review... Just an honest review from a consumer. Though Romeo, if you're reading this, I could use another 2 inch pluck foam tray and a 4 inch one ;)

- Tim

Project Grey Knights: From the Ground Up

2011-09-15T11:00:00.001-05:00

So I've taken my Centurions to Adepticon now for two years in a row, and wanted to bring something different to the table this next year. I've got a ton of ideas in my head for future armies. My next huge, army-wide conversion endeavor will most likely be a Tau force. However, since their new codex is rumored to be released sometime late next year, that ambition is a ways off.
So now what to bring?

After already painting an entire Deathwing army on commission, and committing to entering at least three figures into the Crystal Brush competition next year, I didn't want to invest as much time as I did into my Centurions. Considering that my first purchase when I got back into the hobby back in 3rd Ed. was Grey Knights, and that they have the potential for a low model count, they were a logical choice for me!

And no, it doesn't hurt that they have nice new, shiny plastics and a great new Codex.

When I subtitled this "From the Ground Up", I wasn't kidding. The new Grey Knight kits are so great, there's not a ton to do to them when thinking of conversions needed in the army. I'll have my centerpieces that will involve some heavy converting, like my dreadnoughts, but other than that it'll all be about the poses and atmosphere. So when I started the concepts for this army, I also started thinking about their bases and display base.

I wanted to do a more urban theme for the army, something gritty and war-torn. Since I wanted to keep this easy on myself, I went straight to resin bases for my army. Unfortunately after pricing out what I'd need for the bases, and considering other hobby "investments" I want to make in the near future, *cough* Ogres *cough*, I had to reconsider this. So instead I dug around my hobby closet and found five key components to make my bases with; Plasticard, Plastic Rod, Cork, Ballast and Static Grass.

Here are some examples.

Dreadnought Bases

Terminator Bases

Marine Bases

After all are primed and painted, I'll be adding small, key patches of static grass to them. This will break up the ruined urban color scheme with small little pops of color. The display base will then tie into the miniatures' bases using many of the same materials as well as pieces of ruins from the Imperial City plastic kits.

I haven't actually done extensive work on bases like this since my Templars way back in 2006. While it is a time sink to put this much work into bases, it's also refreshing in a way, every base being unique in it's own right. Of course, the flip side of that being that I'm looking forward to my next army as well, if only to take a break and use resin again for both the detail and quality, as well as the convenience!

- Tim

Pushing Around Green Stuff: Chain Mail

2011-09-12T14:41:00.000-05:00

Sculpting your own chain mail for tabards, shirts, and cloaks is honestly one of the easier things to try when getting your toes wet working with green stuff. The two key parts to it are the proper tools and the right technique. Once you've got those two things, you're ready to outfit an army in custom chain mail.

And yes, I'm even venturing into the realm of video tutorials here with this one.

Let's go over the tools you'll need for this project.

Green Stuff
Sharp Hobby Knife (a new blade works best)
Rolling Pin-Like Device
Sculpting/Dental Tools
Burnishing Tools.
Your Lubrication of Choice
First, I'm going to show you how to do this at a greater scale so that the technique is clear, using some Sculpy, and a larger-sized burnishing tool.

See? Not so hard. Especially considering that all you're doing is making a series of impressions with the burnishing tool, then turning the subject around and making the same series of impressions in the other direction. The only difficult part is making sure you stay consistent with your lines and motions to keep the "chain" consistent.

"Tim, it's all well and good to just do lines of chain on a large, flat surface... How do we apply this technique to the miniatures themselves?". I'm glad you asked. Here, I've got a Guardsman, who originated from a feral world, and we're going to replace the cloth under his flak armor with chain mail.

Two key elements here... Thin and consistent application of the Green Stuff with your modeling tool, and then the appropriate-sized burnishing tool, both well lubricated. After those two, it's the same as the first example.

If you've never worked with Green Stuff before, I hope this has given you a sense of how easy it can be if you just learn and try. I never would have thought that sculpting something as intricate as chain mail on a 28mm figure could honestly break down into this simple of a process... But I remember what Joe Orteza said in a class I took by him.

All you're doing is pushing around Green Stuff.

- Tim

Why Do More than Just Tabletop Quality?

2011-09-08T12:28:00.001-05:00

Ever heard of the "Three Color Minimum" requirements for painting when looking into tournaments? I've seen some armies where that was taken quite literally. Heck, I've seen that recited as a mantra in the past. Luckily for the sake of our eyes, the prevalence of these paint jobs are not the average, and in fact have been in decline for quite a few years now.

So what is the average? That's where a much more common mantra enters into play... Tabletop Quality.

Let me first say that there is nothing wrong with a Tabletop Quality army. The vast majority of them look excellent on the tabletop... Hence the term itself. I'm not trying to preach some elitist opinion that everyone needs to spend 10 hours per fig, I'm just trying to avoid a reinvention of the "Three Color Minimum".

It doesn't take much, so let's dive in.

If we are to go beyond the average, we first need to determine just what "Tabletop Quality" is. I would define it in two parts, the assembly as well as the painting. Assembly-wise, this is a miniature put together straight out of the box, without even so much as a head-swap conversion to it, no mold lines cleaned, no barrels drilled out and in a pose seen on the box it comes in. Painted, while it would have more than three colors on it, there wouldn't be a large effort to pull out a lot of details, usually with an excessive use of washes to get a model done quickly.

We'll tackle the assembly first.

See, I think that the assembly of the miniature also plays into the overall quality, not just the painting. A few very easy steps in this stage and you've already gone a long way to push your army over the average.

Clip sprue carefully.
Use side clippers and even leave a little bit of the sprue attached to the bit to be trimmed off carefully with your hobby knife rather than gouge a chunk out of the bit during clipping.

Trim/Scrape/File all mold lines.
It doesn't take too long folks, and mold lines really show up when paint hits the mini.

Plan a few easy conversions (head swaps, simple kit bash and the like).
Buy a basic marine box and a Blood Angel box, do a few Bitz swaps. That's all I'm talking here. Marines are just an example, plan out the look you want and buy accordingly. Yes, it increases the cost of your army a little, but they will look so much better.

Clean assembly.
No oozing glue, melting details or dislocated joints!!!

Drill your Bolters!
A common axiom among Marine players, but it's meaning applies across the board. Take the time to do that one little detail, drilling the barrels of your bolters for example, and the overall look of the figure will be much more finished.

Painting comes next.

This is where the hard work you put into assembling your army could all go to pot if you aren't careful...

Planning an effective paint scheme.
Yes, this plays a part. If you just start slapping colors around with only a vague idea of where they will go, your army will tend to have a ramshackle look to it... Yes, I'm looking at you too, Orks.

Proper application of Primer.
Brand and color choices aside, please do not over-spray your figure with your primer. Careful, clean application, starting each spray off of the figure and ending off of the figure will give an even coat. Remember, you aren't painting the figure at this stage, you are priming it.

Clean painting.
Yes, this means take your time, use a good brush and quality paints. Speed will come with time and practice.

Tasteful use of washes.
Ahhh, here's the key. See, I love the GW washes for detailing and even tinting at times. But we aren't dipping figs here folks... We're applying a wash to bring out a key detail like cloth or facial features, or to tint a blade, or the like. Be decisive about each application of wash. See this article that Ron wrote at From the Warp. It's a good guide for using washes to bring out details on a fig.

That's it folks. It's not rocket science, and there really aren't that many things to consider even. Take your time, let speed come with practice and you'll be pleased with the outcome.

Whew. That was a lot of text, with very little eye candy. I'll remedy that in the future after toss my soap box back in the garage now.

- Tim

Black Templar Chaplain Conversion

2011-09-04T12:39:00.001-05:00

The Black Templars were really my first true army. The first one I ever built from the ground up and took pride in.

And then I sold it.

Yes, yes I know. Even though the funds from that sale made my Centurions possible, I still regret that decision somewhat. At the same time, though, I really dove into converting head-first with this army. Today I'm showcasing the Chaplain from it.

First we'll play "Name That Bit!". Here they are all, see if you can spot them...

Grey Knight Justicar Legs
Warsmith arm
Chaos Plasma Pistol
Model Boat Chain
MkVIII Sgt. chest
Inquisitor bit 1(the skull reliquary on this chest... Still don't know where that came from)
Coteaz's Hammer
Banner topper
Fantasy Chaos Warrior Head
Jump Pack
Inquisitor Bit 2 (the crux on his back...)
Metal Book from Veteran Marine
Green Stuff
Sprue Bits

I think that about covers it. Though sometimes having an extensive Bitz box is confusion as to things origins (hence the inquisitor bits 1 and 2). Why the heck I used a metal jump pack, I have no idea, but the metal Justicar legs were a great pose for this figure, and also the reason why I bought my jewelers saw.

The base was made of some slate I got from taking a hammer to a slate tile I picked up at the hardware store for a couple bucks, and some Evergreen plasticard tile sheets, with some ballast placed discretely, and static grass for finish.

This model was so much fun to piece together... At the time, which was about 2006, this was the most extensive work I'd ever done to a single figure. Heck, I had never even touched Green Stuff before this army, let alone sculpted full, flowing capes and fur!!

Of course, that's partly my point right there, which I'll expound on at a later date I'm sure. There is nothing daunting about conversions or Green Stuff work, if you just get your feet wet and learn, you can pull off some amazing things. And you'll only get better from there.

- Tim

All Your Basing Techniques...

2011-08-30T12:21:00.001-05:00

...Are belonging to Cast Resin? Ballast and Static Grass? Rocks and Bark from the backyard, or Cork maybe?

With all the options we have available to us in the modern age of the hobby now, what do you use to base your models? Is it really that important that the base your model sits on look good? Does it warrant the price of the more modern, third-party resin bases or are the tried and true methods of yesteryear still classic, and classy, enough to showcase your hard work?

How do you choose?

Lets answer the important question first. Is it important that what your model sits on look good? Yes, not only because the base plays a part in the game itself, but because it's the stage your figure sits on for all to see. It helps tell the story of where that figure, or army, is at that exact moment in time when you plucked them out of their fantastical world, and brought them to life. The base below (and figure above) was from my Centurions army, my Rune Priest.

So what are our options when it comes to basing our miniatures? I'm fond of categorizing things, so we'll shoehorn them into three. The Basics of Basing, Advanced Basing Techniques, and Resin Bases.

The Basics of Basing

Here's where the tried and true methods of yesteryear I mentioned earlier come into play. Ballast and Static Grass are the main components of the basics and honestly yield satisfactory results if the proper time is taken to achieve them. I don't think I need to go into any real detail on how achieve said results, but if anyone needs to know, just ask and I'll happily answer. I do encourage you to check out Ron's post at FtW here though, about keeping your figures from sinking into the basing ballast. A minute's work makes a big difference there. Also, do me a favor and don't forget to clean up the edges of your base with your chosen solid color too. A sloppy edge doesn't do anything justice.

Advanced Basing Techniques

Advanced Techniques are where the storytelling of basing comes into play. Now you're building a scene for your miniature to live in, a snapshot out of it's life. Is the figure plucked from a dying wasteland, war torn with bones bleached on the surface? Maybe a rugged tundra, barren except for the snow on which their war machines tread. Or perhaps a rubble-strewn, gothic cityscape? Obviously I'm giving these examples because I have pictorial representations of them I can use, but you get my point.

The tundra base is an excellent example of building onto the basics. Patient application and painting of a mix of medium and fine ballast are a great start to a base. Building on that with snow effects is a more interesting technique than just static grass and helps set the model into an environment.

The war-torn wasteland base is again a great continuation of the basics. Starting with my mix of ballast sizes again, I incorporated extra plastic skeletons I had into them to further give some life and story into the base. After that I mixed up a dying grass for the static grass as well as placed some tall, dying prairie grass in select areas. Sure I. Had to buy an extra box of skeletons to be able to do this, but it paid off in the end!

The rubble-strewn, gothic cityscape was actually my first foray into some more advanced basing techniques. Consisting of Evergreen Plasticard, the 1/8" tile texture, I shaped each individually and then gouged out cracks with a dremel tool. After that I cut out individual tiles and placed them in pilesand sections, adding a ballast mix in key places to add to the rubble effect. They turned out nicely for a first time diving into a more advanced basing technique, and weren't hard to do at all.

These three examples didn't take much work to do, and add a story-telling element to your figures. Try not to think of this category as separate from the Basics, this is more of the next building block on which you place on top of the last. You have no limitations when it comes to materials with these techniques, just use your imagination! However, if you can't make Ballast and Static Grass look good, then these techniques will not help your situation. Go get the Basics right, then start these.

Resin Bases

Resin Bases are today's sliced bread when it comes to basing your figures. They are easy, convenient and there are so many options and companies to choose from, you could base a dozen armies, and never have to have any of them look the same. The above example is one from my Centurions. I based the entire army with the Ancient Ruins line from Dragon Forge. The look was perfect and buying them saved me a ton of time on top of looking great.

There are quite a few companies out there, good, reputable ones, that provide Resin Bases. Dragon Forge and Secret Weapon Miniatures are just two that I've had a good experience with.

Now if you compare the cost for Resin Bases to Ballast and Static Grass, or even other cheaper methods of Advanced Basing Techniques, then Resin Bases can seem fairly expensive. You typically should expect about $1 for a 25mm base on average. Base a Horde army with those and your wallet might go into shock. However, if you compare the cost versus buying plastic kits to tear apart and use in your basing, the cost margins quickly become much smaller, or even working out to a wash between the two. And that's without taking your time into account for making your own bases in the first place.

Ultimately basing your army well is the most important thing, and how you do it is really up to you. Just take your time with your chosen method and remember that the base is actually a part of the overall model when it's all said and done.

- Tim

The Right Light

2011-08-26T15:36:00.002-05:00

In "Tools of the Trade: Painting", one of the tools I mentioned that I believe is essential for painting miniatures is the right light to paint them by.

"But Tim, isn't light, light? How different can light sources really be? Does it really make a difference?

Take a piece of white paper outside and look at it. Looks white, doesn't it? Now take that same piece of paper inside and look at it next to the lamp by your couch. If you have normal, everyday bulbs in those lamps like most do, it will now take on a bit of a yellow hue. See, even though the color of the paper did not change, in different light the color of the paper looks different.

So how does that affect painting miniatures?

Building on the example above, if the color of the light you are viewing a figure by influences the color white... Then it is going to influence all colors in the same direction. A "warmer" bulb, incandescent is a good example, will give a yellow cast to colors, where a "cooler" bulb, fluorescent bulbs at times, will give a soft blue tint to colors... See the example below.

See the different in the colors of the cast light per bulb type? Now notice that of the three bulbs, two of them are fluorescent, where only one is incandescent? Even the temperature of the bulb on the Kelvin scale matters as to what color and hue of light our eyes will perceive by that type and temperature of bulb. Because the colors we see are directly influenced by type and temperature of light we view them by, it's extremely important we paint by the right kind of light... Considering painting is all based on color!

Now to the meat of the matter. What kind of light SHOULD you paint by?

Daylight. It is the most neutral and color-clean light there is to view anything, or paint anything, by. It shows true color and color interactions without artificial influence on your eyes.

No, I don't think you should be painting outside by the light of the noon sun. Not only am I not able to because I work a 9 to 5 job, I've got some nasty allergies. However, there are daylight-light specific bulbs out there. Ott Lite is a brand of craft and hobby lamps and bulbs that you can easily find at your local craft store. This company specializes in carrying white, or daylight, bulbs and lamps.

Unfortunately for the average hobbyist, they are also priced extremely high. Instead, head to your local hardware store and check out their selection of daylight bulbs, then go find the bargain or sales aisle for their desk, floor or clip-on lamps and match the right size bulb to the proper lamp, I use a nice floor model I found on sale for 40 bucks, and it works great.

A final note for all you aspiring competition painters out there. Your models will always be judged under a light setup using daylight, or white, bulbs. It is imperative you paint by them so that what you are painting is exactly what the judges will be looking at, and judging you by. Nothing is worse for a competition painter than to think you painted one color, and then the judges to physically see a different color than what you think you painted.

I can't endorse purchasing and using the correct light source to paint by enough. Do yourself, your eyes, and your miniatures a favor and paint by the Right Light.

- Tim

Test Figures... Are They Necessary?

2011-08-23T16:40:00.002-05:00

Yes. There, that was a short article, now wasn't it?

Wait...you want the "why" they are necessary? Oh fine, don't just take my word for it. If have to explain myself, we might as well get into specifics as to why I think painting up a test figure for your army concept is important.

The model above was actually my second-to-last test model for the Centurions. The next model is one of the finished models from my actual army.

Pretty different, eh?

We'll over this in three main areas; what I was testing, how I went about testing, and why I moved to the other paint scheme.

What was I testing originally?

Color scheme. Not just of the armor, but of everything. It all has to look good together as this is what your entire project will look like in a nutshell. If you can't be happy with one figure painted in the scheme you think you'll like, you will hate an entire army painted like that. It really is just that simple.

How did I go about testing?

Originally I used the Bolter and Chainsword Marine Painter to concept and narrow down color schemes until I came up with one I liked. It's an amazing resource for Marine and Chaos Marine players. They do have a few other armies represented with a painter application of their own, but keep in mind, it's a power armor forum, so that's where the concentration lies. What do you do if you aren't playing an army with power armor? Go to your local art and craft supply store and buy a color wheel. It will be invaluable for finding a color scheme that plays well with each color involved.

After finding a color scheme I liked, my primary aim was to test different methods for painting a bone color as the main color for the armor. Once I had the recipe down, I then used yet another few models to test variants on that recipe for both consistency and speed.

Next I moved to the accent colors for the figure... Shoulder pad interior and edging colors, eyes, soft armor joints, and even bolter/weapon color choices. Once I was pleased with the overall look, I felt I was ready to begin painting the army.

Why did I move to the current paint scheme?

The bone-primary scheme was one I liked, and still do actually. So why did I change? A good friend of mine looked at the test figure and ask "I thought these were Greco-Roman inspired? Why aren't they wearing bronze armor?".

Dangit.

So I found a good recipe for bronze, altered it a little to fit my tastes and painted one last test figure...which I can't seem to find any more. That aside, I actually really loved the new figure! I still kept the bone color I loved so much, but instead incorporated it into the shoulder pads, as an accent color to break up the bronze.

In the end, all turned out well for the army, but if I hadn't painted up a few test figures for it in the first place, the army could have been over before it truly started... Kind of like my Eldar Army I shelved, where I painted a full squad of Dire Avengers and a squad of Warp Spiders... Then hated them next to each other... Then figured out that the problem was really the Dire Avengers' color scheme, because I liked the Warp Spiders' scheme so much better. This caused no end of frustration for me, and I ended up putting the Eldar on an undetermined leave of absence they have yet to come back from.

Ultimately when you create a test figure, you do so with the knowledge that you may not like what you see as you paint it, and that you are free to change the color scheme as you see fit until you do like what you see. I would rather spend ten dollars on a pack of snap-fit marines, or use the Black Reach ones, to test paint schemes out on, that paint and entire squad full of carefully constructed, and in my case converted, figures, only to hate the way they are painted.

Do yourself, your blood pressure, and your wallet a favor next time you start an army. Paint up a test figure first.

- Tim

The "Oooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome

2011-08-17T11:17:00.001-05:00

We've all done it. Walked into the local shop and saw the new codex, army book or boxed set that just came out, and your hobby A.D.D. kicked in. The next thing you know, you've got a new army, whether you finished the one you were in the middle of or not, using previously mentioned new, shiny codex/army book/boxed set.

Let's not confuse this with "Bandwagon" syndrome... Though similar, the "Oooooh, Shiny!" syndrome refers to anything brand new, whether it is competitive or not.

So how do we avoid this wallet-sucking syndrome? Do we even want to? I mean, just LOOK at the new Ogre models!

If you've read some of my articles, you probably caught the one about "Investing" in your hobby future. I suppose that could have been a bit of a precursor to this article in a way, as I mention that wouldn't have been able to do half of the conversions or have even a fourth of the options I have if I hadn't purchased so many different things over the years. Notice, however, that I never said exactly what motivated all those purchases.

The vast majority of those "investments" were motivated entirely by the "Oooooh, Shiny!" syndrome. Something new came out, like the Red Scorpion upgrade packs from Forge World, or the new Vanguard and Sternguard, or even the Eldar army box when their most recent codex came out, and without even thinking I instantly bought them because they looked amazing. If GW had packaged them in a foil box, I literally could have bought the new shiny thing on the shelves, and it literally would have been shiny!

This is why it's different from the "Bandwagon" syndrome. None of those purchases reflected what was currently hot on the tournament circuit, or the latest theory-hammer that was out there. No, really, look...Eldar. But they were new and shiny!!!

I have since tried to reign in this money-hungry syndrome, but it's a hard habit to break...Current case in point, the new Ogre models soon to be released that I've peppered this post with. (It also gives me a good reason to post some of the models too!) I don't even know how to play Fantasy...but I will now that I've seen the new Ogre models! Even while I currently own a Dwarven force, I just HAVE to have the Ogre models.

So how do I even try and reconcile the future Ogre purchases? I'm committing to learning Fantasy, as well as committing to enter some of the new Ogre models into Golden Demon next year. This way I don't just buy because they are such beautiful sculpts, even though they are, I'm buying with a dual purpose in mind. See? I used the word "purpose". That makes it all better! No, seriously. Stop laughing.

So in the end, do we avoid the "Ooooh, Shiny!" Syndrome? No... At least I don't think we should, otherwise I wouldn't be "investing" into my hobby and bitz box hardly. I just think it needs a little tempering with willpower. Otherwise I'll have a lot of boxed plastic on my shelves. Not that that's an entirely bad thing, mind you.

But my wife would kill me... Let's not forget that.

- Tim

A Matter of Opinion - Paints

2011-08-15T11:39:00.001-05:00

Tools of the Trade: Painting, included pretty much everything I currently have at my disposal at my paint station...except the paints. This was done purposefully as I have what I think people should have as a matter of fact, when painting. Then I have what paints I use, as a matter of personal opinion and, what works for me.

Since I didn't want to leave the topic hanging, we're going to start a new series titled "A Matter of Opinion", and we'll dive right on in with the paints I use, the companies I buy them from, and even a bit of what I'd like to try in the future.

Let's divide the paints into three categories; opaque, metallic and wash.

Opaque

For the longest time, I was a Citadel Paints advocate for this category. Once they released their Foundation line, they were even that much more entrenched in my mind and on my palette. I had tried Vallejo and Reaper (both their standard and their masters series) in the past and while I liked some of the skin tones Reaper had to offer, I wasn't happy with the consistency and pigment concentration of either. Were the Citadel equivalents any better? Not always, but they weren't any worse, I thought, so why change?

The I had the chance this past April to try the P3 Formula paints in a class at Adepticon. I'd heard many good things about them, but I was still reluctant to change from a brand that was tried and true, for me. Given that the paints were supplied and free to use, it was a good opportunity to test them with no investment in money or product.

The week I got back from Adepticon, I spent about 75 dollars on P3 paints.

Does this mean I threw out all my GW paints? No. For this category, I kept ALL of the Foundation paints. They fit into their own little niche for my uses, and I still love them. Their coverage is amazing and they give a solid base for the color and hue you're looking for. But those are basically the only Opaque paints I use from the GW line any more.

Metallics

So in this category, I've got exposure to GW, Reaper and P3 brands.

I of course started with GW and again, had no reason to abandon them as my primary brand for metallic paints. Their consistency is, well, consistent and the mixture of the metallic flakes is a solid one, also they are easy to thin and feather onto a model, without losing their pigmentation and metallic nature.

Reaper metallics have an amazing range of colors and I was eager to try some of them. I specifically tested their golds and bronzes. I my experience, I find that they don't thin well for finer applications, and their pigment and metallic flake consistency, isn't. No, really. I find that they just are not consistent in their performance on the brush. It was very disappointing for me as I was excited about their metallic color range.

P3 metallics... Well, I was again excited to try them after I fell in love with their opaque line. Unfortunately my excitement ended there. I found their metallics weak in their coverage and thinning them for feathering was out of the question.

In the end, GW metallics have proven their worth, and I use them to mix with plaques, I can thin them if I want, and feathering and blending is easy to do.

Washes

Unfortunately, this is where my comparisons end. I purchased the GW washes when they came out and I haven't tried any since. Is it because I think that there isn't any to compare them to? Of course not. Secret Weapon Miniatures puts out a line of washes that have been much lauded by members of the hobby and blogging community, and I look forward to using them. When will I do this? Honestly, I'm not sure. Soon I hope, but that requires funds that are currently allocated elsewhere for the hobby.

Ultimately, folks, what paint brand you choose to use is up to you. I would encourage you to try multiple brands, though, and find what works for you for each application and use. Heck, MiCho (MiCho Miniatures) won a Silver Demon with a project he used LIQUITEX products on! Widen your scope and prospectives, and don't just stick to one brand out of some stubborn loyalty, and you'll be a better painter for it.

After all, it's just a Matter of Opinion.

- Tim

Deathwing, Black Templar Style - Finished!

2011-08-11T11:30:00.001-05:00

Yes, you read that correctly! The Black Templar Deathwing commission has been completed! There wasn't that much left to do after the last update with the HQs and the Dreadnought...

Or so I thought.

Who would have thought that basing a figure that had already been cemented to the base would have been such a time-consuming endeavor? Well, I for one wouldn't have... Of course, I also construct my bases separately from the figures, and paint them both separately as well.

I started out with an old brush, watered down PVA glue and a mixture of fine and medium ballast. After letting it set up, I painted it Charadon Granite, washed it with Badab Black, and lightly brushed it with the highlight mixture I made for the armor of the figures. This helped tie each figure into their base nicely.

Yes, I had to be careful because the figures were already painted... Please, please, please...don't permanently affix your figure to the base until the base is done. Or at least elevate the figure from the base using some plasticard... Handy little tip from Ron at From the Warp I read on Monday on this post.

Of course, this was also my first time diving into the world of snow effects on bases. I'd just like to give a resounding shout of thanks to GreyDeath from The Painting Corps for a tutorial he did on them not too long ago... See link here. Bless you, Sir, for including a video in that tutorial as it did wonders for my understanding of not only the procedure, but also the explanation of what the consistency of the glue to snow effect should be.

I'm not even going to try and explain... Just go and view his video tutorial. credit where credit is due, after all.

The only thing I will add is that once you have the snow/glue mixture on the base, you can just wet the end of the tool you are using to apply the mixture to the base, and smooth the mixture to where you want it to go. Very helpful in that regard.

The humidity is way to high in my neck of the woods to think about dull coating this army right now, so I'm supplying my client with a can of Testors Dull Cote so that when the conditions are more favorable, he can take care of that with little inconvenience.

All in all, I'm very happy with the way this force turned out, and am a little sad to see it leave my hands. At the same time, I can't wait to play against it!

-Tim

Deathwing, Black Templar Style Update 3

2011-08-09T11:35:00.002-05:00

HQs and Dreadnought are done!!

Two of the best things about this commission was that I got to paint one of the new Grey Knight plastics for the first time, before I started my own, and I finally got to paint a conversion I started over 2 years ago. The figure that is being used to count as Belial originally started out as a Lone Wolf for my Centurions. When my friend needed a figure for Belial, and he wanted him with twin lightning claws, I quickly offered up the conversion I never used for him, as I still really wanted to see it hit the tabletop. A few tweaks later, he was ready to lead the Black Templars' version of the Deathwing!

Before and after...

The skull-visage, plumed helm version was the original conversion of the Lone Wolf. The tweaks done basically consisted of removing some of the excess hanging chain, and replacing it with Templars-specific Crusader Seals, adding a Black Templar sword to his gear, and then a more refined head-swap. All serving to tie the figure into the new army better, as well as lessen the savage feel overall.

We went with a bronzed armor for him for a few reasons. One was that I've seen a few paint jobs of High Marshall Helbrecht, with his armor painted in a bronzed effect, and I thought it looked great. The others were to help tie him into the other HQ choice, being a metallic-armored Grey Knight, and help set him apart from the rest.

To tie him into the Templars, since he had no sculpted iconography or Templar Cross on his shoulders, I added freehand onto the knee plates, and his cloak. Since entering the Golden Demons the week prior, I used these last figures in the army to practice my freehand. It was fun and fulfilling at the same time to see this figure finally brought to life.

"Grey Knight" Librarian

The Grey Knight was a blast to paint. Primed white, I gave it a thin, but complete, coat of Boltgun Metal before washing the entire figure with Badab Black. This served as a basis for the shadows, which I then used thinned down Boltgun Metal to feather back up with in areas. Finally thinning some Mithril Silver, I finished the feathering, as well as some discreet edge highlights. After all that, I thinned down some Asurmen Blue and washed/glazed it into select edges and crevices to "blue" the metallics of the armor. The rest of the figure was painted fairly standard...except for the tabard.

We were originally planning for a black tabard on the Grey Knight, with a Templar Cross on it to tie it into the force, but once I had the tabard painted black... I hated it. It was like a black hole between the figure's legs. So I built up the tabard to a Menoth White, gave it a wash with Devlan Mud for depth, and then blended Menoth White Highlight up to the edges. I then mixed a little thinned and lightened khaki to freehand some tasteful scrollwork and a more understated Templar Cross in the corners of the tabard.

The Dreadnought

Originally this came to me with just two arms, magnetized. A missile launcher and an assault cannon. To give him some more options, I offered my friend the use of the right arm kit from a plastic Venerable box, and now instead of just an assault cannon, he's got 4 options that include a TL Lascannon, TL Autocannon (converted from some IG heavy weapons I had and a spare Lascannon arm), Plasma Cannon and then the Assault Cannon. I love the modular nature of that kit... So long as you don't glue anything in, you can slot any of the options you want.

The final update for this army will include the Snow Basing you see here for everyone!

- Tim

The Importance of Good Criticism in Our Hobby

2011-08-05T18:24:00.001-05:00

I had an Art Professor back in college that was known for many things, but one was his brutal art critiques. There were horror stories about critiques in his classes... So when I scheduled my first of many of his classes for the first time during my freshman year, I was terrified. I mean, how was I going to deal with such harsh criticism of my work?

Our first critique came and went... The world didn't end, and my personal view of my art didn't come crashing to a bitter fall. So what did happen? Probably the best and worst thing that ever could have...

He was honest with me.

We're going to take a look at how Good Criticism plays an important part in our hobby, concentrating on three key areas; Giving it, Receiving it, and most importantly Asking for it.

Giving Good Criticism

When someone asks what you think of their conversion, paint job or army list, what's your first reaction? If it's anything but "give an honest, but constructive answer", then remember the lesson of "if you don't have anything nice to say, shut yer yap".

I'm not saying that you want to put on the kid gloves and overlook or completely ignore areas where they might need improvement just because you don't want to hurt their feelings. That's just as bad as saying, "That sucks. what did you do, paint it blind-blind folded?". Sure, it's not overtly insulting, but it is insulting none-the-less. Why? Because they came to you, asking your opinion on their hard work so that they can improve, not for you to treat them like a four year old with his or her coloring book asking if you like it. If their project needs improvement in a particular area or three, be honest with them about it, be constructive in your comments and help them improve.

On the other side of the coin, looking at their project and either brushing it off or making a series of destructive comments, this includes "brutal" honesty even, only serves to demoralize the person who asked you for help, and insures they never do it again. Enough said about that...just don't do it.

Giving good criticism is all about honesty tempered by a helpful attitude. Take the time to analyze their project and give, to the best of your ability, an honest answer to their question. "You could try and tie the figure into the base more by doing 'x'" or "you need to bring the highlights of the model just a step brighter, and remember that the farther down the figure, the more shadows will come into play and your highlights may not be as bright there...", are just two examples of constructive criticism given to me about my recent entry into the Golden Demon by Chris Borer.

Receiving Criticism

Notice I didn't say "Receiving Good Criticism". It's not always going to be good criticism that you get when you ask for it. Some folks just don't know how to be constructive in their comments. Like it or not, you're going to need to have a bit of a thick skin when you ask someone's opinion about your hard work. Be able to shrug off the destructive comments you may receive at times, there are trolls everywhere, especially on the interwebz and its many forums.

At the same time, when you receive good criticism, swallow your pride. You need to be able to look past your own ego to improve your work when you do receive good, constructive criticism. If you can't do that, you won't improve. If you ask someone who knows how to give a constructive critique, then they are showing you respect by taking their time to do so...give them the same respect, open your ears and listen.

Asking for Criticism

I saved the most important point for last, as it also ties into my earlier point about receiving good criticism.

In order to improve your skills at converting, painting, sculpting, playing, etc., you need to swallow your pride, put on your thick skin and ask for constructive criticism. You want to be a better painter? Ask a better painter than you to critique your work and give you their honest opinion about it. Yes, this means that you might hear some things you didn't want to, but again, if this is a constructive critique, then more than likely everything you hear, you need to.

Everyone needs to hear constructive criticism about their work. It's how we improve our skills and take them to the next level. Just take that leap of faith and ask for it.

I had the opportunity to ask a multi Golden Demon and Slayer Sword winner, Chris Borer (Full Borer Miniatures), to critique my entry this year. I took it, and he took time out of his day, to give me an honest and fair, constructive critique. I already knew Chris was a good guy after taking a class from him two years ago. Lord knows how many people wanted his attention during Games Day, among his obligations to the Golden Demon Lounge, his own entry and wants for the day as well as the Heroes of Armageddon table, but he sat with me for near 20 minutes and gave me a top-to-bottom critique of my figure.

Thanks, Chris. Like my son would say, "I had my listening ears on".

- Tim

Games Day and Golden Demon 2011

2011-08-03T09:48:00.000-05:00

What a whirlwind this past Saturday was! My friend, Jason, that came up to Chicago with me made a very telling remark, "Why in God's name don't they make this a two-day event?". While I didn't exactly have a better response than "Well, it's always been this way", I can't really disagree with him...

I will say that this was the most fulfilling Games Day I've ever attended. Why, you ask?

The people. Not the event itself, but the people who I spent time with.

Let's dive into the first reason this was a significant Games Day for me... Heroes of Armageddon. This huge collaboration brought over 32,000 dollars to the Doctors Without Borders foundation, and really showed what our community can do when we get together for an amazing cause. Everyone who donated needs a pat on the back, and everyone who contributed and made this happen in the first place needs a round of applause.

I got to meet both John and Mike from Santa Cruz Warhammer, and Jawaballs himself (Chris) from, well, Jawaballs. (congrats to Mike, btw, for a Silver Demon!) Skarvald the Troll-faced, from Wolves for the Wolf God, tracked me down to say hey, and I had to shake his hand in person for being a huge motivator to me for this Blog. After paying for my Forgeworld, I joined him at the Heroes table... And wow. To say this was an impressive display would be an understatement. The Heroes Banner winning Best Banner for the day just topped off all the incredible work done for this collaboration. I can't wait to see how the community pulls together for next year!

I met Nick Kyme at the Black Library area and was able to talk to him at length about the Salamanders novels, and thank him in person for the sheer detail he puts in them becoming my inspiration for a Salamanders army in the near future... Yes, some of that Forgeworld purchase I mentioned earlier is for said army.

Speaking with Jes Goodwin for a solid 20 minutes about art and inspiration, both in the hobby and out, was beyond a rare treat as well. Sharing images of the Kholek Suneater conversion I did and getting his compliments on it? Geek-tastic. That an artist and sculptor of his caliber, not to mention the sheer history in the hobby and GW, would compliment that conversion was more than I could ask for. Both Nick, Jes, and everyone from Black Library were beyond approachable, willing to chat about anything and spend some serious time with everyone who came up to them. Stand up folks, all.

I got to talk with John Schaffer from GW fame the night before in the lounge at the hotel while he was busy assembling figures for use in the Golden Demon lounge at Games Day. Again, a great guy to talk with and easily approachable, willing to talk hobby or anything else, even though he'd been working all day to set up for the event.

Speaking of Golden Demon... How'd my Inquisitor do, you ask? Well, I made it past the first cut from the table to the standing case!!! I didn't make it any farther than that. Honestly, for only working 4 days, and cramming 22 hours worth of painting into them, I'm pleased for my first showing into the Golden Demons, especially entering the 40K single fig category.

The best part of that was I was able to catch Chris Borer in the Golden Demon Lounge, thank him for the critique of some of my Centurions two years ago, and the advice he gave me then.... AND grab my fig from the case so he could critique my painting now! Chris is a great guy, and when I asked if he had the time to look at the Inquisitor, and give me an honest critique, he took a solid 20 minutes out of his day to sit with me and go over every nuance of the miniature. I asked him to be brutally honest, and he was, and I couldn't have asked for a better critique. I was thrilled with every piece of advice he gave me from sculpting and composition choices, to the painting of the figure itself with color choices and technique. He even complimented me on the face and eyes on the miniature, and said for my first showing in the Golden Demons ever, making it into the case in the hardest category there was a great accomplishment! I seriously couldn't have asked for a better first experience in the Golden Demons.

I know I'm glossing over the wait in line for Forgeworld purchases, the pain in the rear my bank made me go through to authorize purchases for the day, the delay at the airport and not getting home til midnight... But you know why?

Cause I remember the people that made the day so great. Thanks everyone.

- Tim

Games Day Chicago Bound

2011-07-29T09:32:00.001-05:00

A quick roll call to any who are heading up to Chicago for Games Day! I'll be up there, entering my Xenos Inquisitor into the Golden Demon, and hoping to meet anyone who sees me with my shirt on! Of course I'll be wearing a shirt, but I meant the shirt pictured above! A friend and I will both be wearing one... I'm the guy without glasses... who kinda looks a little like the cartoon at the top of the blog... kinda.

I also encourage everyone who attends to visit the Heroes of Armageddon table in the club tables area, and would like to extend my thanks to everyone who donated. It's an amazing sight to see what our community can do when we pull together for a cause like this.

Time to finish packing... See everyone there!

- Tim

Finished Xenos Inquisitor

2011-07-29T09:16:00.000-05:00

So my first competition level figure is finally complete. "Complete" being a bit of a relative term, mind you. There are still quite a few freehand elements I'd love to put into this miniature. However, I also know that I need practice free-handing details on a fig, so rather than mar the finished figure with practice, I'm leaving it be so that it doesn't potentially hurt the overall figure if I do the freehand poorly.

The roller coaster ride of painting this figure took 4 days in total.

Painting Day 3 - 4 hours

Ugh. Getting started painting at 10 pm is never the best way to start out the night, let me tell you. What I accomplished this night was the final highlight on the reds, the face and hood, as well as the gloves, boots and staff.

I ended up glazing the boots with a little thinned Devlan Mud because the blending and highlights came off a little too bright.

The gems on the staff were a bit of a challenge. I think I pulled them off, but I also think they could be better. Believe it or not, the quickest part of the night was the face and eyes. I also used a thinned Devlan Mud here to tint and shade the face, and the eyes only took me two tries!

Painting Day 4 - 8 hours

The Cloak and Base, the last two parts to finish on this.

With the cloak, I painted the interior with it off of him, then once I had the blending to where I wanted it, I glued it on. The red and fur and final highlight on the interior were all painted with the cloak on him. The cloak itself took maybe 2-3 hours. Once I had that done, I figured I'd get to bed earlier than I thought since the base shouldn't take too long.. right? RIGHT?

Nope. The base took from 10 til 3am. Ah well. Total time spent painting him was approximately 22 hours.

As I finished writing this last Wednesday night/Thursday morning, it was 4am, and the pictures were just taken. While removing the figure from it's temporary base, I cut myself, and bled on the staff, which then had to be touched up. So yes, I can honestly say that I bled for this figure.

Painting one single figure for competition has taught me quite a bit. Especially how I'd change painting certain parts, with what kind of painting process, etc. However one thing I can say for sure is that I'm pleased I finished it, and no matter how well or poorly it does, I'm happy with the figure. Would I change something on it even now? Sure I would. But I'm happy with it.

I'll plan a more in-depth post about preparing a figure for competition for the near future.

- Tim

WiP Conversion: Xenos Inquisitor UPDATE 2

2011-07-26T12:55:00.001-05:00

Let me tell you, when people like Chris Borer and Mathieu Fontaine tell you that they can spend 40 hours on average per competition miniature, they weren't kidding!

Currently I'm about 10 - 10.5 hours into the painting of the Ordos Xenos Inquisitor for my Golden Demon entry. If you include the time spent converting and sculpting, as well as the time spent on the base during my vacation, I've got over 20 hours worth of work in him.

Let's see where that's gotten me.

Painting Day 1 - 6 hours

After priming the figure on Saturday, I began painting on Sunday. My main goal was to develop a paint scheme, and get the bulk of the greatcoat done. The coat is a blue-black, with no real black used in it, trimmed in red with "gold" accents. I'm using a variety of paints here from both the P3 and the GW paint lines.

I was happy when I hit the sack finally as not only had I gotten the main cloth parts of the coat finished, but I got everything but the final highlight on the red done, as well as I blocked out and started adding depth to some of the "golds".

Painting Day 2 - 4.5 hours

Why is it that the smaller the piece on a miniature, the longer it takes to actually paint it??? Monday was a lesson in patience, forcing myself to take my time with each piece.

I ended up finishing the hilt and scabbard, as well as put the final blends and highlights on the chest piece golds, the golds on the Eldar trinkets (still need to do the jewel too), the pistol and scabbard, the belt and cord that the Eldar trophies hang from, and block out the leather for the gloves and boots. I also finished the blending and highlights on the shoulder pad, skull on top of it, and freehanded a small Inquisitorial "I" on the forehead of the skull.

I wish I could have gotten more done, but my pesky family wanted to take me out to dinner for my birthday, so I got started late. Silly, caring family, don't they know I have little army men to paint?! I finally had to force myself to go to bed at 2:30 in the morning so I could at least get 4 hours sleep for the night.

Painting Day 3 - ??

That's tonight when I get home after a little stress reliever with some friends. My goal tonight is to finish the main figure completely, leaving only the fur cloak and base for tomorrow. Thank God a friend of mine was able to pick me up a pot of GW's Blazing Orange so I can do the final highlights on the reds. It should be about 2-3 hours of work, hopefully.

I'm getting better at photographing the figure as well... you can tell I adjusted my white balance for the Day 2 shots. I'll get it right :)

- Tim

WiP Conversion: Xenos Inquisitor UPDATE

2011-07-23T20:25:00.001-05:00

Vacation is over, and the Inquisitor build is complete! Above is the bare model and base, awaiting primer.

I ended up spending most of my time on the base, trying to create a story of sorts in his little 28mm environment. So let's dive into that first...

After a post from Ron at From the Warp about cleaning and prepping Resin Bases, it was fresh in my mind that I needed to pay special attention to this process. If I didn't, the entire miniature would get off on the wrong foot, from the ground up, literally! Luckily, Jeff at Dragon Forge has high quality standards and there was very little, if any, mold release on it to start with, and the flashing was virtually non-existent. So I cleaned up the resin base as best as I could, cleaning, filing, scraping and filling the slight gaps. The reason why the gaps still appear like they are there is because I filled them with Loctite Gel.

Done with the prep work, I dove into concepting a story. First, I wanted to break the footprint of the base itself to give it a little more of a scenic feel. Since it is an industrial base, I dug out some plastic rod and guitar string, drilled into the walls of the base and extended some piping and conduit on either side. Not too much, but a small touch.

Then I grabbed one of the backpack ornaments from the new Grey Knight plastics, and trimmed the excess off, giving me a thick Inquisitorial tome that my character was rescuing. I placed this in the base, slightly breaking the top "border" as well to give me a larger scene. I found a skull with a bullet hole in it on a little piece of terrain in my Bitz box, trimmed the terrain features off of it carefully, earning myself a few new nicks in the process, and deposited the previous owner's skull next to the lost artifact.

Hmm... Still not enough... Height! I needed some height. Something to set off this lone figure from the rest. So, what's an Inquisitor without some Servo Skulls?

I grabbed one from the Grey Knights, and one from the Cadian Command box. The Cadian one had these long, flowing conduits already attached, so I cleaned him up and drilled a hole for the longest to slot into, next to the book, the last thing left from the Tome's previous owner, standing vigil still upon it's rediscovery. Not to be out done, my character brought his own pet with him. This skull from the Grey Knights box is a little more vicious looking, and little more of a challenge to pose as well since I didn't want him physically attached to the Inquisitor. Drilling another tiny hole into the base, I dug out my handy Floral Wire and created and armature to hold the Servo Skull in place, hovering dutifully at his master's shoulder. I'll paint the armature pure black to hopefully help it disappear as it's there to only hold up the skull, not be a part of it.

Pinning the Inquisitor to the base, I placed him off-center to give the scene some breathing room in it's composition and took a look. I liked it. Not too overdone, but still, the visual elements of a scene from a story are there. My height is right, and I've even created a visual triangle between the Inquisitor's head and the two skulls floating there. Now to finish the Inquisitor himself.

Keeping a comment from my previous post in mind, I trimmed the Cadian rebreather from it's cabling and tacked it to the figure's face so I could see if I liked it... I didn't, I hated it. Jonathan, thank you for your comment as you were completely right in that it obscured far too much of his face, competition miniature or not. With regards to the brass etch on his chest, I plan to make it more a part of his coat with some detail work with stitching done in the painting stages.

In the end, the only thing I changed about the Inquisitor was to add some cuffs to his coat with a little Green Stuff, detailing button holes with my needle tool after the GS cured for an hour or so.

The last step was to just go back with a fine tooth comb, and an extremely sharp scalpel hobby blade, to remove any last mold lines I found.

Here he is, primed in all his glory and ready for paint. I've got one week.

- Tim

"Investing" in Your Hobby Future...

2011-07-15T09:45:00.001-05:00

This was the first Forgeworld model that I finally assembled, painted and actually used in an army, much less a game of 40K. Note that I didn't say this was the first I ever bought! The first I bought was a Grey Knights Dreadnought... About 7 years ago. That I lost about a year later when I moved.

Losing that Dreadnought didn't really teach me a lesson though, as the next year I bought at least 4 squads of Red Scorpion upgrades, and some various other bits and bobs at a Games Day. Those ended up sitting in my Bitz Box for 3 years before I finally found a use for them

But I DID use them eventually, and for my Centurions even!!!

That got me thinking though, did I "invest" in the future of my hobby, or just waste money?

I haven't "invested" in just Forgeworld models either. You've all seen a picture of my Bitz Box, (and if you haven't, check the archive, it's there) and by my own admission it's not my only Bitz Box, nor does it count the models I have still in box or on sprue. I can't count how much GW product I bought without and real direction in mind. I must have about at least a few hundred dollars worth of models I still have yet to do anything with... Hmmm... Okay, maybe a bit more than that even, considering I have about 1500 points of Eldar still in the box and on sprue. Just don't tell my wife.

After all these years, I've come up with a new policy for myself when I'm considering a purchase for the hobby, model-wise, that I have no specific use for yet. I look to my current inspirations for projects and purchase with that direction in mind. And when I say "inspirations", I mean solid project ideas that I've begun to plan out, not just the next new shiny kit that I want because the models are stellar. At Adepticon earlier this year, I bought a few items from Forgeworld, with two projects in mind; a Raven Guard successor chapter called the Storm Crows, and a Pre-Heresy Alpha Legion army. I also only purchased a few pieces, not enough for entire armies. And while I still have yet to work on those two projects, they are still fresh in my mind, and on my plate, creatively.

While some may say I've wasted money, having all those Bitz allowed me to make some truly unique models for my Centurions, as well as the Inquisitor I posted yesterday. Without the large variety of Bitz to choose from, I wouldn't have been able to accomplish at least 75-80% of what I have finished. Nor would I have the volume of options I currently have available to me when assembling a project.

So that brings us full circle to my earlier question... did I "invest" in my hobby, or just waste money? How have you "invested" in your hobby future?

- Tim

WiP Conversion: Xenos Inquisitor

2011-07-14T08:38:00.001-05:00

I've always been enamored by the Inquisition, particularly the arm of the Ordos Xenos. When the new Grey Knights codex came out, I knew I had to finish a conversion I started quite some time ago.

The fun part about this? I'll be entering him into the Golden Demons in Chicago this year! It'll be my first foray into the competitive painting arena and I wanted to start small, get my feet wet so-to-speak, and see if I can't feed on any advice and criticisms I hope to receive from you, and by talking up some seasoned vets and the judges at Games Day. We all need to start somewhere, eh?

Let's take a closer look at some work in progress shots and see what you think so far.

I based him off the Tank Commander body from the Bane Blade kit, and worked from there. I shaved down the collar a bit, and used a hooded Wood Elf head to give me a potential Psychic Hood... That should tell you how long ago I started him. Considering how static the figure is, I really wanted to give a contrasting feeling of movement to him somehow, so I decided to sculpt a flowing cloak with a furred trim at the shoulders, whipping around him as if he was the calm in the storm. The cloak is currently not glued to him for painting purposes.

Next up was what to do to about his kit and equipment. I wanted an Inquisitor on the cusp of heresy. One who looks cemented in the Imperium in his basic clothing and kit, but a blurring of the line entering into him as well... Back when you could still Bitz order from GW, I would make random orders of pieces I just thought could be useful in the future... So I have a Commissar's saber and sash on one side of him and a standard issue, holstered pistol on the other. Inquisitorial markings adorn the scabbard of the saber, and the holster made from Forge World brass etch, as well as an armored plate on his chest. Then you begin to see his decent into the seduction of Xenos tech and artifice.

Using a Harlequin Shadowseer, I cannibalized his hand and staff to use for a force weapon, and strung a trophy chain from his scabbard to his holster, with an Eldar Spirit Stone and Dire Avenger rune dangling from it. Kind of handy now considering Inquisitor Valeria's kit, and I'm considering using him as a counts-as version of her.

The base that I'll be using as a starting point for him comes from Dragon Forge in the swag bag from Adepticon 2010. I'll do a bit of converting to it to make it a little more unique, tell a subtle story, but not too much, I don't want to over complicate an already clean, well designed base.

Coming up I still need to do a bit of cleaning up on the cloak, and additional green stuff work to give him cuffs on the long coat, and some trim as well. I'm also going to add a rebreather to him, modified from the Cadian Command Squad box, to help hide some of those more Elvish features.

I'll finish the modeling this coming week while I'm on vacation, and be ready to prime when I get home on the 23rd. That'll give me a week to paint him. Will it be enough time? Who knows, but if I keep putting off entering a painting competition, I'll never do it.

And yes, you read right, I'll be on vacation starting Friday, and will be returning on the 23rd of July! I can't wait, and while I'll miss a couple updates for next week, (no internet where we're going), I'll have an update on this guy ready to post on Saturday when we return!

- Tim

Deathwing, Black Templar Style Update 2

2011-07-13T07:57:00.001-05:00

The Devastators are done! It always surprises me how much more time Terminators take me to do than a powered armor marine does. They aren't that much bigger, and the painting premise is the same, but it usually take me about half again as much time to paint one Terminator as it does to paint one standard marine.

I approached the two Dev Squads armor the same way I did the Terminators, in reference to the black to granite shading, highlighted with the 1/1 ratio of granite and bleached bone mix for the highlight. Once I finished that, I dove into the tabards...

Squad 1

Crap.

My client glued the arms onto the body, blocking the chest details on most of the figures. That tends to complicate things. Oh well, nothing I could do about it except work around it, right? This is why I buy multiple brush sizes. My standard size 0 brush, my workhorse, wasn't the right tool for the job to carefully slide into the small spaces left for me to paint within, but the size 0/3 was!

To interject a small point here, while it is possible to paint under arms glued across a chest or other hard to reach areas covered by parts, you will always save yourself time, and make it easier on yourself, by leaving the arms off of figures that would obscure detail, painting both the torso and the arms separate, then glueing them together. It may take some pinning on your part in the beginning, but you'll be glad you did it in the end.

Squad 2

Moving on once I solved that little dilemma, I based the tabards in the khaki I've been using, giving them a good wash of Devlan Mud before building back up a few of the highlights to help the peaks of the folds stand out a bit. The same technique was done for the red ribbons of cloth flowing down from the skulls and the wax for the seals, using Mechrite Red as the base, washed with Devlan Mud, highlighted with a little blending of Khador Red.

The metallics were done per the standard Boltgun base with a Badab Black wash, which is honestly my current favorite way to make a more matte finish on a gun or chain blade, something that's supposed to look utilitarian.

So far so good on this army, and I'm pleased with the progress. The Dreadnought is currently on the painting table, with Belial and the Librarian all that is left after that. Well, that and the basing.

If painting this army has taught me anything, it's that pure white so rarely belongs on a model, especially these. I'd even go so far as to say even on a White Scars army, but that's another post.

- Tim

Deathwing, Black Templar Style Update

2011-07-11T07:47:00.001-05:00

It's been a few weeks since I first posted about this project, and I wanted to share an update! I've gotten the last three Terminator squads done, and that includes the "Command Squad". The squad that Belial accompanies, really, that also has the Apothecary (shown above) in it.

Using Charadon Granite as the mid-color for my blacks really has paid off, I think. The black has a bit of warmth and life to it that I like. Pre-mixing the highlight also has saved me quite a bit of time and it's nice to have the consistency of a standard paint pot color in a custom mixed color.

On to the updates!

Squad 3

Squad 4

For the above two squads, my main goal was to keep the quality and color consistent. I'm pleased with the way they came out, though I have to admit, at times I think I went a little overboard with the "litanies" painted on their armor. My client was happy with them though, so not too much to complain about. A neat little accomplishment, though, is that I was able to make the paint scheme of each Storm Shield unique. I tried to for that and I'm happy it worked out, as it keeps the feel of pride in the marine's gear.

"Command" Squad

I put a bit more effort into these guys, especially the Banner Sgt. and the Apothecary, pictured below.

I'm very pleased with the way the Apothecary turned out, and had fun with the Banner's freehand. The blending of the cloth of the banner came out better than I expected as well.. Detailed shots below.

Detail of Apothecary

And for O'Shashar, here's a close-up of a Thunderhammer. They were based with Boltgun Metal, and were washed with Badab Black. The handles were painted with Cryx Bane Base, washed with Badab Black, and then key details were picked out using a couple of thin glazes of Gryphonne Sepia.

More to come on these in the near future as the Devastators are at 75% on my worktable, and my deadline is approaching!

-Tim

Tools of the Trade: Painting

2011-07-06T18:30:00.001-05:00

I wanted to conclude this impromptu series with what you might find in my toolbox for the painting aspect of our hobby. More than just brushes play a part in producing a quality paint job on a figure, and we're going to touch on what I think you need to stock your own proverbial toolbox with to get the most out of your hard work and hours of dedication.

Brushes

Let's dive right into the meat of the matter with what brushes to use, and when to use what style.

Below you'll see the basic breakdown of brush tip styles. From top to bottom it goes; Bright, Filbert, Flat and finally Round.

I'll use the Bright and Flat styles for nearly interchangeable purposes such as large flat surfaces on vehicles or anything else I want to lay a smooth, even coat down. I find that using a the Filbert or Round tips can give me a harder time at this on larger surfaces, and quite frankly, just plain take longer to accomplish the same task.

Filbert tip brushes I mostly use only for applying Weathering Powders. Not that they can't be used for other applications, this is just how I choose to use them. I like the more rounded, wide tips for this purpose. They hold a good amount of powder and distribute it nicely.

Round tips should be doing the backbreaking majority of your work when it comes to miniature painting. They are the most versatile of all the tip styles, and offer the most flexibility in uses, and the sharp points are great for detail work.

Let's not leave out the kind of hair that makes up your brush, Kolinsky Sable. The best brand for miniature painting out there right now would be Raphael Series 8404 Kolinsky Red Sable brushes. These are the cadillac of brushes, used by top miniature painters the world over. I just recently purchased a few myself, and while I won't pretend they aren't expensive, they are worth every penny. The must-have is a size 0, Round. This is your workhorse brush. I purchased a few other sizes as well for other uses, but you can do 99% of your work with a size 0 on a 28mm figure.

Now I only buy the Raphael 8404 Series for a few of my Round brushes. For the Bright, Flat and Filbert styles I purchase the Dick Blick Sable brand. They are a more affordable alternative for brushes that you might abuse a little more than the Rounds. Like the Filberts with Weathering Powders.

Brush / Bristle Protectors and a Brush Case

Protect your investment in quality Brushes!!! I can't emphasize this enough. When you buy your brushes, they should come with these little clear plastic tubes that surround the tips. Do not throw these away, and once you clean your brushes after using them, put these back on them. Following that, get a good case to store your brushes in once they are dry. Trust me, after spending a hundred dollars in brushes, spending another few bucks for a case won't kill you.

Lighting

I've talked to multiple painters on this, and all agree on one thing... paint with two lights, using daylight bulbs. The lights should be positioned to either side of you, and above you, both angled down towards your painting station. This will give you a good saturation of light, eliminating any unnecessary shadows that harsh lighting will produce. The daylight bulbs will help you see the color of your paints accurately and not color them with a yellow tint like incandescent bulbs will.

And please, do not go spend your paycheck on specialty "hobby" or "craft" lamps. They are over-inflated in price. Go to your local office supply store and buy them there.

Wet Palette

A Wet Palette will keep your paints moist as the surface your paints rest on is a porous one, and underneath is a medium for holding water. Usually parchment paper, and sponge cloth or paper towels respectively. You can purchase one like the above picture, or make your own! We all know by now I'm lazy when it comes to making my own tools like this, so I bought one. The Painting Corps, however, has a couple GREAT articles on how to make your own, cheaply and effectively. Check them both out here and here. I use this for painting exclusively now, even when I'm not mixing colors as it saves my paint from drying out since I don't care to paint straight from the pot, and it also thins out your paints ever so slightly on it's own.

Paint Station and Storage

A good paint station keeps me organized. I use the new GW one as I just like it, and had a gift card to use up at the time they came out. You don't have to have one if you don't want, I just like it. Paint storage is also one of those tools that is more philosophy than physicality. Just have a good, temperature controlled (not your garage in the summer, or a freezer), place to store your paints in an upright position. It's the "Upright Position" we're paying attention to here. Storing your paints on their side will actually cause them to dry out faster.

Rinse Cups and Water

Before you hang me for actually mentioning Rinse Cups and Water as my final two tools, hear me out. Always use two Rinse Cups. One for standard pigment paints, and one for metallic pigment paints. If you rinse out your brush after using metallic paints in your cup, then start painting with standard pigments and continue to rinse out your brush in the same cup, you'll begin to transfer metallic flakes to your standard pigment paint surfaces.

Water is the last tool for the sole purpose to let you know that I don't use any other tool to thin out my paints or make them flow better. If you do, then that's up to you, but you shouldn't have to, it's as simple as that.

I hope this helps when taking a look at what you need to equip yourself... WAIT!!!

What do you mean I haven't mentioned the paint itself? Oh.. right. I guess I didn't, did I? Yes, that was on purpose. I'll go into paints and primers and sealants in another post. The tools above are pretty tried and true when it comes to needing them. When you begin to dive into paints, then opinions become a strong part of the article and I didn't want to dive into that here.

What do you use when painting? Something in your "Toolbox" that's not in mine? Share!!! That's the only way we improve sometimes.

- Tim

Tools of the Trade: Miniature Photography

2011-07-01T17:57:00.001-05:00

No, I'm not talking about a 28mm scale camera... Though a working model at that size could be cool! I'd make some comment about cameras the size of pens like the old spy movies... But we've already got those. What I'm talking about is how you take pictures of the projects you are proud of.

Let's take a look at some of the ways we can improve the pictures we take of our miniatures and models, and the tools we'll need to do so.

1. Environment

You'd think I'd put lighting at the top of my list, but truthfully, the environment you place the miniature in to begin with makes just as big of a difference to the quality of the photo as the lighting does. Why, you ask? Take a look at the two pictures below. One is a shot of the Kholek Suneater I converted. The other is a shot of a squad leader in my Centurions army. Both are unpainted to keep the comparison consistent.

I took the picture of Kholek on my dining room table, and the squad leader in my portable photo studio. See how busy and distracting the surrounding environment is in the picture of Kholek? Now look at the shot of the squad leader. The background is clean, neutral and devoid of any distracting elements. Which conversion looks more impressive? Personally I think the squad leader looks more impressive, but I know that technically speaking, the Kholek conversion is more involved and detailed than the marine. Unfortunately, woot of the details in the Kholek figure get lost from immediate notice because of the amount of distractions in the picture, where every detail on the marine is easily noticed and even highlighted by the neutral, clean environment it was shot in.

You can achieve this in a variety of ways. The easiest, and cheapest, is to just clear a space on your desk, tape up a clean sheet of paper to the wall at the top, and your desk at the bottom, which can be white or printed with a simple light blue to white gradient depending on your preference. Place two lights, one to either side of the designated area (more on lighting in the next point), and then place your figure on the paper, ready to be photographed. It's important to note that the paper should be curved, not folded, as your securer it to the wall and desk. This will create a seamless background for your figure that will highlight the figure even more without a distracting horizon line. The largest downside to this method is that you have no diffusion for your light sources, so you have to try and use the lowest watt bulbs o can to try and avoid harsh lighting conditions.

The more expensive route would be to purchase a portable photo studio, or photo cube. Usually these will come in kits that include the photo cube itself, a two-sided background, two lights and a mini tripod. They work great as the fabric the cube is made from diffused the light used to illuminate the figure, eliminating harsh lighting and shadows for your pictures. They come in a variety of sizes as well, so be sure if you are purchasing one, pick a size that you will use for the vast majority of your models. Try not to go too big though, as I learned when I bought one that is about 20" square, and when I place a 28mm figure in the center of it, the light diffusion is so great that the figure isn't lit well enough for a good picture. Because of that, I bought a second one that is only 9" square, and the lighting is much better for the smaller figures now.

A more affordable middle ground between the two extremes above would be to make your own photo cube. As I decided to not go this route (I'm lazy, so sue me), I won't pretend to know the best way to go about doing this, so instead I'll give credit to some fellow bloggers and link to a collaborative post at From the Warp, detailing and linking to many different methods of accomplishing this.

FtW Collaborative Post: Photographing Your Minis

2. Lighting

Yes, we've finally made it to tool number two, lighting. When lighting anything, you basically have three common choices; incandescent, fluorescent, and white/daylight. I addition to the type of bulb you use, you then have three ways to project your lighting onto the miniature; direct, reflected, and diffused. You always want to light your subject from multiple and opposite sides for the most consistent lighting possible.
My recommendations are to use white/daylight bulbs, in a diffused lighting method.

White/Daylight bulbs will give you a clean, white light by which to illuminate your figures by, and not change the color of your paint. Used to be that daylight bulbs were hard to come by, but now they are common and purchasable even at your local Walmart.

A diffused lighting method, like in any type of photo cube either bought or homemade, will eliminate harsh shadows, and give a more soft and even light across your subject, showing off every subtle nuance of your figure... To it's benefit or detriment even at times.

3. Camera

Indeed the camera is at the low end of the totem pole in my opinion when it comes to order of importance in this section of the toolbox. My main concerns for a camera for miniature photography are two-fold; megapixel size and macro function. Most digital cameras nowadays are a good enough quality that we don't need to squabble over what brand and make or model are the best, or should you use an SLR or a Point-and-Shoot. All we really need to worry about is the amount of data the camera will capture (megapixels) and whether or not it can take a good shot of a small subject (macro).

I use a Pentax Optio RZ10, pictured above. It's a higher-quality Point-and-Shoot, 14 megapixels and has a standard macro function as well as a 1cm macro function. It's fully programmable as well so if I really feel like being anal, I can set it to take the most optimal picture possible given a controlled environment like my photo cube.

4. Image Software

Whether you use Adobe Photoshop or Google's Picasa, just use whatever you are comfortable with. I'm a Graphic Designer to pay the bills, and I use BOTH of the two I mentioned earlier. Photoshop to get in-depth, and Picasa to just get the job done quickly. Honestly though, this should mainly be used for resizing and cropping as if you don't slack off on the first three tools in this article, you shouldn't have to color correct much, if at all.

I hope this article shined a light on either some empty or neglected parts of your hobby toolbox, and if you've far surpassed me in your own photography, let me know that too!! I could always use a few pointers myself!

- Tim

Tools of the Trade: Modeling

2011-06-27T19:58:00.001-05:00

The more we dive into is hobby, the more we learn not only what we want to do, but what we need to do it with. We're going to be taking a look at what fills my toolbox when it comes to the modeling side of things.

"But Tim, honestly, how many tools do you really need to slap some plastic together?"

Ah, but this article is going to assume that you want to do more than just clip sprue and slap plastic together... You do, right? Of course you do.

My toolbox consists of about 15 or so different tools for modeling, if you include the glue. Let's start out with the basic needs for your tabletop modeler.

Xacto/Hobby knife

Hobby Files

Your Glue of Choice

Pin Vice

Floral Wire

These first 5 are honestly the essentials to any hobbyist's tool box. The first three are pretty self explanatory, but the reasons for the second two are mainly in relation to more complex kits that may require pinning. If you've never used floral wire before, just head to your local craft store and find the silk flowers. It'll be there. You get slot of wire for hardly any money and it lasts you forever... I think I spent three dollars about 6 years ago, and I still have at least half of it left.

The next batch is going to include more involved modeling and conversions.

Dental Tools and Picks
I prefer to use the dental tools because they give me more variety in tool shapes and uses for different applications, and a little searching will land you a set of twelve for about fifteen bucks.

Green Stuff
Okay, so this is fairly self explanatory. Green, grey and brown stuff can all be used for various sculpting, gap filling and for extra security in joins at times.

Jewelers Saw
Ahhh, this thing I love and hate all at the same time. Extremely thin blades make for great, clean cuts that don't waste much material. It was a love-hate relationship with metal figs because I'd break blades left and right, with fine cast out now, maybe I'll get lucky and not break so many.

Strip, Rod and Sheet Styrene (Plasticard)
This is as much a tool as it is a component for modeling. I'll use flat, large pieces for even pressure at times for green stuff, as well as a perfectly flat, non-textured surface for rolling out green stuff as well. Then the various uses for the various sizes and thicknesses are a post in and of itself. The rod styrene in the super thin size is great for tiny rivets.

Hole Punches
God bless whoever made this type of hole punch. Pressure from the back and out pops the positive disc, at sizes from 1/16 to 1/4 inch. Great for rivets of all sizes.

Guitar String
Couple this with a piece of floral wire, and I've never seen an easier way to get power cables... Well, except for the power cables from dragonforge.com

Rare Earth Magnets
Once again, God bless the inventor of these. Talk about adding versatility to your models... These help shave off a bit of cost so that we can turn a Rhino into a Razorback, into a Predator, with complete magnetized options for the turret and side sponsons :)

Burnishing Tools
Mainly used for Green stuff modeling, these make sculpting things like chain mail and purity seals a snap.

Needle Tool
Remember those purity seals? Use this tool to etch in small text into those seals, or any other green stuff-ed surface. Also great for stitching or the like.

Clay Shapers
Wonderful tools for smoothing and pushing around green stuff when filling basic molds, to actually "sculpting" green stuff.

So there you have it. The basics of my hobby toolbox. If anyone has any questions concerning any of these tools, drop me a line! We'll cover my painting essentials in another post.

-Tim

Storm Raven Commission

2011-06-23T07:59:00.001-05:00

Not too long after the Storm Raven kit came out, I got a phone call from a friend while he was playing Magic at one of the local stores...

"Hey Tim! Would you consider painting up a Storm Raven for the Fantasy Shop on commission?"

After a little negotiation and deliberation, I had a new Storm Raven kit delivered to me for assembly and paint. My first thought was, "This is great! I get to experience the new kit and get paid to do it!". Unfortunately my second thought was, "Oh crap! I just agreed to a fairly large project, and Adepticon is right around the corner!". See, I still had a Rhino, Predator and Drop Pod, along with a few other bits, it paint up for the tournament. Thank God I have an understanding wife, otherwise I wouldn't have finished anything before Adepticon.

Considering I was going for a display piece for a shop, I decided on a Blood Angels paint scheme, and also decided that I needed to paint the interior to show off the model to potential buyers. Once those decisions were made, I had to figure out what to assemble first, and to what degree the assembly was going to be before I began priming. After those decisions were made, I primed the interior Skeleton Bone from Army Painter and painted the interior completely.

After the interior was complete, I masked it off with Frisket Film and the primed the exterior Dragon Red, again from Army Painter, in two thin coats to insure both even coverage and consistency in color. To be honest, using the Frisket Film mask was an experiment as I needed something to mask off the fully detailed interior, without taking up any paint, and it worked beautifully. I highly recommend it's use for any masking needs, and am contemplating it's further uses in the future for camo and other detailing.

After priming, it was a fairly standard process for painting the exterior. I did detail the interiors of the cockpit and turret, again for display purposes. The biggest finisher for the exterior would be my use of weathering powders for shading and atmospheric effects.

I'll go into more detailed usage of weathering powders in a later post if anyone is interested. What I will say is that I do recommend playing around with them on old models to get the hang of them before using them on pieces you care about. The learning curve isn't steep, but it's there. The other point I'll make is to shop around. Weathering powders are like paints. Everyone, including yourself, will have preferences towards which brand you want to use. I like using the Bragdon Enterprises brand of these.
www.bragdonent.com/weather.htm

In the end, the Storm Raven came out great, I think. I'm pleased with the results and the local shop was as well! I wish I had some shots of the interior, but I wasn't thinking and delivered the model to the shop before I took some well lit, and better planned, pictures. Ah well, I'll get some eventually.

-Tim

How Many Bitz Does it Take?

2011-06-17T19:24:00.001-05:00

To create the counts-as Wolf Lord for my Centurions, I went a bit overboard when it comes to the sheer amount of parts, pieces and bitz I used to construct him. Or did I? Is there such a thing as too much when it comes to constructing one figure, squad or army?

Lets take a look at the parts list for the Wolf Lord:

Chronus Head
Chronus Tank Commander Body
Crest shaped from a Max Mini bit
Left arm from Inquisitor Coteaz
Left Leg from a Vanguard Marine
Right Leg from a Different Vanguard Marine
Cod piece from plastic marine legs
Backpack from High Marshall Helbrecht
Studded shoulderpad
Chaos Knight Horse
Second Chaos Knight Horse for the other back leg
Holstered Pistol bit
Sheathed sword from Marneus Calgar
Shield made from plasticard and a washer
Winged skull bit
Chapter icon made from plasticard
2 shields from White Scars bike commander
2 marine box purity seals
1 vehicle purity seal
1 forge world purity seal
terminator tabard
terminator honors icon
scroll case
Brass rod
Green stuff

Holy Terra!! That's a total of 27 separate, individual components for this 1 figure when you break it all down.

Okay yes, I suppose I went a bit over the top with some of his parts. The main body alone is made up of parts from 2 metal blisters and 2 metal vanguard marines, totaling roughly 65-70 dollars. For 5 out of 27 parts. However, now we need to take into consideration my previous post about the Bitz Box. I would say that 80% of the parts needed for this conversion, I had in my Bitz Box already, or in a couple unopened Fantasy boxes. This is why I'm such a huge advocate of keeping every tiny little bit and purity seal you don't use. This one figure alone would have cost me a couple hundred dollars to make if I had to buy everything from scratch.

Back to the question at hand though, "is there such a thing as too much?". My answer would have to be..."maybe". See, I really do think you can just keep piling on the parts and make a figure look like it's carrying the world on it's shoulders... Or at least a battalion box. Certain bitz don't always look good with others, like the shin plates from a dreadnought as terminator shoulder pads. Just my opinion. If you want pre-heresy shoulder pads, make your own (Ron's guide at From the Warp), or buy them (maxmini large shoulder pads). But hey, that's just me.

I also think that you could make a figure with parts from a dozen kits, and make it look good, well balanced and put together. Case in point, see above example.

Ultimately it's going to be up to you to decide if you've gone overboard on a conversion or not. Do the parts and pieces look well balanced together, or do they look like you threw a handful of them into a ziplock bag, squished in some glue and shook it before seeing what falls out?

Don't even get me started on what a full squad of my grey hunters in my Centurions army would have cost to buy it all at one time... And I've got 3 of them in the army!

What's your most extensive conversion you've done?

- Tim

The Bitz Box, a Hobbyist's Best Friend

2011-06-14T18:47:00.001-05:00

What do you do with all the left over plastic bits and bobs that you're left with once you're done assembling whatever kit you are currently working on? I mean, you don't use everything do you?

Would you believe that when I first got back into the hobby, I threw them away sometimes? Yup, that's right. I didn't really know any better at the time, and until I needed one little part for something that I was sure I had, then realized that I had thrown it away. It was then that I decided that come hell or high water, I'd never throw another unused bit away again. Unfortunately this left me with another conundrum... What do I put them all in?

At the suggestion of the local shop manager back then, I was directed towards the storage aisle of the hardware store. I found quite a few options available to me... Drawer units of various sizes, single sided organizers, and cases that have more in common with fishing tackle boxes than anything else I could imagine. (Though don't knock tackle boxes for a Bitz Box, if it works for you, awesome).

What I ended up choosing was the Stanley Double-Sided Parts Organizer.

I chose this one for a few reasons:
1. The latches on the sides were solid. They didn't lock, but they were secure in their fastenings and kept the contents in place without spilling.
2. The sides had removable dividers in some areas, allowing for customizable storage spaces for different sized bits, including bikes, war walkers and even land speeders.
3. It has vertical, stationary drawers that even though the sides flipped up to secure in place, these did not and would keep paint pots vertical if stored in them.
4. The dual sided nature of this case won out over the single sided versions just for sheer storage capacity.
5. The portable nature of this case worked better for me than the more stationary drawer units as I work in a few different areas of the house at times depending on the situation.

In the end, pick one that will work for you and your needs. I personally outgrew my first and have since purchased a second... And may work towards my third by the end of the year. Why am I such an advocate of an organized Bitz Box? It makes modeling and converting honestly just that much easier, and saves me time from hunting though bags or tupperware for specific parts. Throw in the fact that today's plastic kits have more bits than we need or sometimes know what to do with, a Bitz Box is darn near a necessity.
What do you store your spare bolters, mutated arms and power weapons in?

- Tim

Adding Dynamic Movement when Posing Miniatures

2011-06-09T19:50:00.001-05:00

With all the versatility we're seeing in the quality of the plastic kits that are coming out for our favorite hobby, there is an opinion I'm seeing more and more..

"Who needs to convert, when the kits let us have so many different poses?"

Well, I do, dangit! And you should too! Why? Because with just a little effort, you can truly have a unique force that not only will no one else have, but you can really add a sense of dynamic movement to a fig who's standard, static poses we've all seen, all too often.

Take for instance the below examples of some basic poses of a few of my Centurions.

These are some very stock-standard poses, easy to accomplish, but still looking good, right? I've got a few of these in my force, and they are actually a welcome 'break' from converting every fig sometimes. While I'm happy with them, let's face it... anyone and everyone who has owned Space Marines has figs posed like these. They aren't bad poses, but they aren't any different than the guy playing one of the 31,000 flavors of marines out there either.

Now take a look at the next couple examples. (Thank God I had the presence of mind to take WiP shots of everything before I painted em, eh?)

You can see where I was able to give the Power Fist Marine on the left the aggressive, take-all-comers feel to his pose by widening the gap between his arms more than the original surfaces would allow. (Luckily I think I avoided the "Big Hug" pose that doing this can sometimes achieve) On the right, see how I was able to give the Standard Bearer a more dynamic pose using an arm that normally holds a pistol, and an arm that normally holds a power weapon (bolter and banner arms, respectively), some pinning to hold the bolter in place and then the Green Stuff to fill the gaps? The two poses of these models just aren't possible with out-of-the-box assembly.

These basic conversions really don't take much, and they really add some impact and life to your models.
Don't forget! If you want to know the ins and outs about how I accomplish anything, just ask! I'm happy to share and whip up a tutorial if needed :)

- Tim

Kholek Suneater Conversion

2011-06-05T13:34:00.001-05:00

"Any idea how you'd make a Kholek Suneater, Tim?"

That was a question posed to me one day while a few of us were at the local shop in town. The end result of that conversation ended up in a commission to convert said Character from the Warriors of Chaos army book.

What I determined I needed to create this was a Stegadon and a Giant Kit. What my client was able to provide me was exactly that.. a Stegadon and a Giant Kit. Literally. The Stegadon was already put together!! Ack! This posed a slight problem as I was going to be a bit limited in how I worked these two kits together since I lost out on the versatility of being able to work with the Stegadon kit before assembly.
I had originally planned on going very draconic in nature for this conversion, with alterations to the Stegadon to be made accordingly as I built it... Lengthening the tail, resculpting the feet, etc. Unfortunately the fact that I would have to butcher the Stegadon that was provided to even attempt some of those parts of the conversion, and very likely ruin the model, then making me have to replace it, wasn't a risk I wanted to take. Ah well, best laid plans, and all that. Time to change the game plan!

What I ended up deciding was I was going to make the savage, brutal and frankly more blunt nature of the Stegadon the inspiration for a different take on Kholek. I took off the head of the Stegadon with a hobby saw, popped off the horns to be used later and carved out just the front of the head and snout of the beast, to be used as Kholek's head. Then I assembled the upper torso of the Giant, and carved out part of the Stegadon to help fit the GIant Torso to the front, centaur-style. I chose to use the Giant arms that had him dragging a large piece of architecture on a chain behind him to add a bit of motion to the piece, as well as the other arm holding his, erm, lunch. The head was a combination of the Giant's neck, the Stegadon's face and snout, and the horns repositioned.

Now that I had the basic structure of the figure complete, it was time to bring it all together. I sculpted a massive chainmail shirt for Kholek. This both hid the joins in the conversion, as well as gave me a nice basis for the plate armor to be bolted onto! That was created with thin pieces of plasticard cut to shape and layered on, with rivets made from plastic rod in key corners and places along the chest and stomach, back and arms. I also used various shields from the Giant sprue and Marauder horse to use for shoulder armor.

To give the piece it's finishing touches I drilled into parts of the armor and Stegadon back to place arrows that have sank in, obviously to no avail or consequence. I positioned hook flails taken from the Marauder cav kit to continue the savage look and based him on the scenic base that came with the Giant kit.

I'm very pleased with the way Kholek came out. While not exactly like the picture in the army book, nor wielding his hammer from there either, I find him a satisfying interpretation. My client was happy and in the end, that's the main thing that matters in a commission.

Tell me what you think of him!

- Tim

Deathwing, Black Templar Style

2011-06-02T00:53:00.001-05:00

So here starts the beginning of a series of posts on this commission I've taken on in the past month or so. I'll be updating this commission with a post every so often as I complete more and more of the army.

The army itself consists of:
1 Terminator troop squads
1 "command" squad
2 5-man devastator squads
Belial conversion
Librarian in Terminator armor (using a Grey Knight)
1 Dreadnought (with various options for arms)

First thing's first, and that determining the basic color palette. For the majority of the black armor, I wanted to give it a bit more depth than just a line highlight. For the largest areas of plate, I'm using Charadon Granite and blending that to Chaos Black. Then I highlight that with a mix of Bleach Bone and Charadon Granite. Since I didn't want to continually custom mix my highlight, I mixed up an entire paint pot full of this for ease of use as well as consistency's sake.

The white is done with P3's Menoth White Base, built up to Menoth White Highlight. I like this because there is so rarely a pure white to things, and the more yellowed white goes well with the way I'm treating the black armor.

The red is a Mechrite Red base, washed with Devlan Mud, then highlighted with Khador Red Base.
Any parchment or bone is done by using P3's Khaki, washed with Devlan Mud and then highlighted with the Khaki again.

Past that, I'm using Cryx Base, lighted a little, then washed with Badab Black for the soft armor joints, and any metal is simply Boltgun washed with Badab Black. I like the utilitarian look that gives the metallics. Sergeants have lightning claws that are done with Menoth White highlight, blended to a bright green at the tips. I am doing script on the armor plates in some areas, and that is done with Menoth White Highlight as well.

Basing will be done with slate and a mixed size of ballast, with snow effects to help set off the model from the base.

Here's the test model.

First squad complete.

Second squad complete.

Some details on one of the Sergeants.

The deadline for this is July 12th, so plan on seeing a slew of updates as we grow closer to that date!

-Tim

It Lives!

2011-05-31T00:32:00.001-05:00

So today is the day where I say, "Hey Look, I'm back!!' And then make all kinds of happy promises about updating regularly, right? Well.. sort of.

I won't bore anyone with my previous health issues, just suffice it to say I'm finally back on track health-wise. Lately, as in in the past couple months, I've even been able to devote a little more time and energy towards hobby-esque things as my health progresses for the better. In addition to actually working on projects, I've decided to make this Blog more of a priority as well. The goal is to update once a week. If I do it more, then great, but for now, but let's be realistic here. Once a week is a good start.

I have exported most of Tim's Mini's posts over to there as well so that once you relink over to my new home, you can stay there and the archives will be there too. Not that there was much to start with, but still.
This also means that I'll be much more involved in an online sense, and you should be seeing me through the Warseer forums, BoLS Lounge, Dakka, Work in Progress and Bolter and Chainsword. Not to mention the bevy of blogs that ware out there for all of us to peruse and drink in.

In addition to finishing up some additions to the Centurions for this past Adepticon, I've started taking commissions this year. The first was a Kholek conversion, then cam e a Storm Raven for a local shop. Then we enter a dead space for about a month while prepping for Adepticon and after that I took on a Deathwing army ala Black Templars style, which is what I'm currently working on. After that I'll be working on an entire Modular City Scape for a gaming table.

Beyond that, I'll be accepting new commissions! If anyone is interested, just let me know via email and we can work out the details form there.

I'm drafting some future articles on the commissions I mentioned, as well as some in-progress of the current one. In the meantime, take a look at what I brought to table this year to Adepticon, Centurions-Style!

This year I took the Artisan award in the Combat Patrol I entered!
- Tim

The Ressurection Begins...

2011-05-26T19:06:00.000-05:00

Well it's been nearly a year since I posted anything of worth. My life has changed quite as bit since June of 2010 with a bevy of illness plaguing myself, my son being in therapy, surgery starting off this year... it's been a ride, let me tell you.

The good news is that I'll be resurrecting my own little corner of our hobby world with a new Blog. After everything that's happened, I'm starting fresh and hitting the ground running. Here's hoping some of you still remember me, and will be interested in seeing what I have in the works. I'm actually writing ahead to create a log, JUST in case something crops up.. gee with me, that can't happen, right? Right. And GW won't raise their prices this year.

Wait, that already happened. You get my point.

I've set new goals for myself. Achievable ones. Both in this hobby I love, and even my health and life. I'm starting fresh, and I can't wait to take you along for the ride. Check back as I'll have the launch of the new come Monday, May 30th!

Tim

My health apologizes...

2010-07-14T16:32:00.000-05:00

Hey everyone!

I wanted to give a quick shout to anyone still paying attention to my little corner of our hobby world. I literally have two new posts written, and just need to edit some pictures to go along with them for some basics of sculpting tutorials and discussions. My problem? I just got out of the ICU with a severe case of pneumonia in both my lungs. I've actually been fairly sick this past month or so and well, the virus won for a bit apparently.

So everyone has my apologies for the inactivity and i hope you stick around for what I've got planned in the future.

Tim

Manticore, mythical creature, or kick-ass kit?

2010-06-07T21:32:00.000-05:00

So this past weekend, I had the pleasure of grabbing the new Manticore kit from my local shop. Now, unfortunately my wife was out of town all weekend, so that meant very, VERY little hobby work done, but i did get to dissect this awesome new kit from GW.

Suffice It to say, if you haven't figured out that I'm in love with this kit, please take note:

I'm in love with this kit.

From the fact that this uses the new and improved Chimera kit (which is no surprise), to the amazing add-on front hull piece that has a new hatch, not to mention the launching racks for either the rockets, or the death strike, this is a highly detailed kit that any guard player will love to have as a part of their armored force.

Needless to say, this will play a very fun part in the makings of my new army.

New army you say? Why yes, Tim is putting together the makings and preliminary work of a new army that hopefully will do you all proud. Everyone knows what Knight Titan is, yes? Y'all read Mechanicus? Go read it. Maybe you played Epic back in the day?

Either way, know it or not, a Knight Titan is a single-crewed walker the equivalent of a tank. Well, maybe a little more involved than that, but you get the point. Currently, my working list has 7 Knights in it. They will count as 3 Leman Russ tanks, 3 Hydras and yes, 1 Manticore! Then there will be 3 sentinels, 1 Vendetta, 2 infantry platoons and the company command.

I'll be scratch building the legs, torsos and much of the hulls, sentinel cockpits will provide the 'heads', and various parts form leman russ kits aegis defense lines and the manticore kit will give me main weapons, etc.

I'll keep everyone apprised and i swear, pictures will be coming soon!

A new, magic way to Blog

2010-05-11T22:35:00.000-05:00

So here we are, me wanting to try and keep up with my blog, and hopefully a few of you checking back here every so often. Well, yet another week gone by without a new post, much less a pic or two of current projects. To my credit, my wife just had surgery, mother's day weekend was just this past weekend, and so on... Life's been a bit busy. That also means that the hobby has gotten zero attention this past week, and so has the blog, sadly.

However, all that should begin to change! Tim's gotten himself a new, magical way to keep up with the blog!

That's right, I got an iPad.

The good news is that I enjoy using it so far very much and it's a welcome break from being on the computer all day at work, and then not wanting to get on the computer when I get home. It's scary-simple to sync with photos and edit shots, photobucket has an app... Heck, it's just plain fun.

Long story short, keep coming back, folks. More regular posts of at least 1-2 times a week should being to come back. With actual hobby thoughts, articles and pictures!

...tell you what. Here's a topic for you... New IG and Eldar vehicles. Love? Hate? Love/Hate? Toss your thoughts up and we'll discuss :)

Weekend Tournament and other Tournament Topics

2010-04-26T17:51:00.000-05:00

Hmm.. so another post with nothing associated with new Miniature progress or items. I need to fix that. I'll take some shots of my Ordo Xenos Inquisitor and post him up. He still needs some finishing touches, but I love people's opinions, so maybe I can make some other changes too.

I played in a local 40k tournament this past weekend. 1850 points and we had about 18 people show up. Was a nice turnout I think and I got to see some folks I haven't seen in a while :) I ended up losing my first game to a Tau Piranha flying circus, but won my second two versus Tyranids and then Tau. And I took home the Best Painted Category :) Overall I was pleased with how the list played and am getting a better handle on some ways to move my toys on the tabletop. Gee, practice helps, go figure.

I had a rather interesting comment on my last post about soft-scores in tournaments, and thought I'd address that here in context of the local stage, the national one, and then a tournament like Ard Boyz (which I think is it's own beast). I'll address a "Comp" score after everything else.

Local Example:
While there was a Best Painted and a Sportsmanship award both at the local tournament I played in, which I'm MOST happy about in both regards, they didn't play into the overall scoring for First, Second and Third Place. They did and do encourage people to actually paint their stuff, as well as be a decent person to play so I can't and won't really knock 'em, though I do wish that they would have had a part in the overall scoring. Maybe it'll help you be a good opponent rather than ONLY worry about scoring the most kill points you can or that you're measuring down to the 16th of an inch to the objective to contest it.

I'm not saying don't play to win if that's what you want to do, but be good about it. Maybe missing out on first place because you weren't a nice guy will make you think and act a little different next time. a couple points maybe... or even if you just want to use the sportsmanship score as a tie-breaker. Something to make players more conscience of the person across the table is all. It doesn't have to be huge... it's a local tourney after all.

National Tournament: (Using Adepticon as my example)
Adepticon, in my opinion, NEEDS soft-scoring, AND HAS IT. I'm extremely happy to say that the sportsmanship and painting scores factor overall into your score. They have a great system of measuring sportsmanship, and I highly suggest that anyone who hasn't seen it, email the Adepticon Staff and ask for it. Their Judges go around to every army and have a specific way of scoring painting and appearance, as well as the Sportsmanship scoring is on a 1-12 point check-off system per round that asks things from "Did your opponent show up on time to the game?" to "Would you play this person again voluntarily?". Kudos guys, awesome way to measure these things.

Ard Boyz:
This answer's short and sweet. Ard Boyz was made by GW for those folks who just want to play and win. A Painted Army is not required to play in this, so painting scores are a moot point. And as I've never played in an Ard Boyz tournament, I don't know if Sportsmanship is scored or not, so I won't speculate. And while I'm of the opinion that it SHOULD BE (sportsmanship) a scoring factor, I wouldn't go into it expecting one. Heck, look at the name of the tournament folks :P :)

Now this is said about Ard Boyz, with me having played last years Champion at Adepticon and loving every minute of the game cause Darkwynn was just a great guy to play. (HINT... play nice.)

Whew. That was a bit of a play-by-play wasn't it? On to Composition scores:

Unfortunately.... while I wish there was some perfect formula to measure an army's composition, I haven't seen one yet. Not for 40K or Fantasy. The best 40K comp scoring question I've seen is "Does their number of troop slots filled number more than their Elite choices? Their Heavy Choices?" But even that's a bit arbitrary. Playing Steel Legion Guard? It's Fluffy for their entire army to be encased in armor and have a lot of tanks. How are you going to score that? I wish I knew :(

I'll close this by tentatively rescinding my wish for a comp score in tournament scoring, but reinforcing my wish for the painting and appearance, as well as the Sportsmanship award have a place in some way shape or form in all tournaments.

Gaming, Tournaments and Scoring, Oh My!

2010-04-16T10:53:00.000-05:00

All this talk abotu Tournament Scoring, Balanced Lists versus Min-Maxed Lists, and whatnot has been an interesting topic... Since this is a Blog, I've got some thoughts to share, let me know what you think :)

I like to separate my gaming. I LOVE a good, narrative campaign, with rules for tracking your soldiers from beginning to end, with more emphasis on story and fluff than who beat who. At the same time, I enjoy the tournament atmosphere. This gives me the opportunity to take a break from both scenes as I need to.

Now, while I don't specifically attempt to tailor lists towards the goal of being at the top tables, I appreciate those folks at the top tables for their ability to play a tactical game. Tactics including what units to take as well as how to use them. However, I see a NEED for "soft" scoring to play a large part in tournaments. Your Painting, Composition (bring this score back please, organizers) and Sportsmanship SHOULD PLAY A PART IN OVERALL SCORING. This will help encourage people to actually care about those things. And to be honest, while I may appreciate a player or a list at the top tables, I RESPECT a player at a top table who's a good guy, and even if he's tabled me made sure we still BOTH had fun while we played.

My main point is that you can have a good game with the guy or gal across from you, in any environment, with any list played by either person, so long as you each keep in mind the fact that you're playing a game, and the goal for everyone is to have fun in any way. If for you that's taking home Best General in a Tournament, than great! But do so with the dual goal of trying to earn Best Sportsman at the same time.

So I was Reading BoLS this morning...

2010-04-14T12:32:00.000-05:00

I do that when I get into work. I grab something to drink, eat my processed chocolate-covered donuts and pop open BoLS for my morning gaming news fix. Here's how it went:

Hey, Darkwynn's got a post up...

Huh, he's retiring the Leafblower List he created, why?

Well I can see where he's coming from there... oh hey cool! He mentioned our game! Sweet! He linked my Blog!

Wait. He linked my Blog. The Blog I just finished editing photos for and haven't gotten them posted yet... OH CRAP!

So below this post, you'll find a smattering of Photos, highlighting the army and a Link to my Photobucket albums where you can peruse to your heart's content. As the week goes by, I'll highlight a unit and go through some of the conversion and painting techniques used to. And if anyone wants to chime in with questions, I'll happily put that as the priority of the next how-to or QnA post :) As it is, there's 13 images below. Yes, I'm still dialing in my lighting.

Getting back to Darkwynn's post though, (after finishing reading it) while I can understand where he's coming from, especially from the standpoint of someone who's the opposite of the hardcore tournament player, I'd hate to discourage anyone from not doing what they want with their hundreds of dollars they invest in this hobby. These are your toy soldiers, pay for them and do as you will.

Did I have fun getting crushed and tabled by turn 4 by Darkwynn? Heck yeah I did. Why? Cause He's a nice guy who did everything he could to make sure I was having fun while getting crushed. We talked, laughed, shared stories, all while I was putting my toy soldiers away and he wasn't :) Not everyone is like that though, and I applaud him for being who is and was across the table from me.

Can his list be taken down? Sure it could. How? I don't know, but I'd love to get the practice in to find out, talk tactics and see where the dice fall against it again. This is a tactical game folks, with the random element thrown in, please remember that!

Before I ramble on though, remember this is nothing else. Have fun, and make sure your opponent is having fun. Even if you are the Crusher or the Crushee. Otherwise your opponent is liable to take his toys and go home. Or at least to the next table over and play someone else.

Enjoy the photos folks :)

Tim

EDIT: Hmm... Having issues getting photos to show up. I'll explore this, but in the meantime, the photobucket link is below :)

http://s957.photobucket.com/home/Tims_Minis/allalbums