JUST BEAT THE DEVIL OUT OF IT

How to wash your brush by Bob Ross.

NEW CIRCLE WARBEAST?

I doubt it. But if those things on the front were POW 21 cannons with a 6″ spray, I would totally buy it.

MENOTH: MARCH AND APRIL

This is what I finished in March and April. Doesn’t look like much but it’s more than I have accomplished in two years since the birth of my son. As you can see, there is a unit of Bastions, two units of Exemplar Knights, and a unit of Cinerators. Also, Epic Kreoss is in there with a Seneschal solo. I bought the lighter colored Knights from a friend so they just needed reattached to bases and touched up. Although I bought the Cinerators and Bastions on eBay already painted, the paint jobs were bad. I repainted them, and finally had to just say “Finished!” at one point because of all the fiddly details and stuff.

I’m certainly not an expert painter. I slap paint, and that’s it. But I enjoy doing it. It gives me time to relax and focus. Takes my mind off of my troubles for awhile. In my line of work, they call it Personal Medicine. An activity that helps to relieve stress and make the problems of the day just melt away.

So that’s about it for now. I managed to get some paint on a few of those Protectorate units. My next big push is to get some of my Warjacks painted. We’ll see what I can get done in June.

Until then, Keep Rollin’ Sixes.

–  the PG formally known as … Big Rich

(Above) Knights Exemplar … dark scheme … very simply done with three color plan. Get them done and on the table.

Getting them done … and ready for the table!

Keep rollin’ sixes!

OLD TIME RELIGION

How to Make Wracks and Influence People (Protectorate Vengeance Review)

How to Make Wracks and Influence People (Protectorate Vengeance Review).

LIKE A WRECKING BALL

I had an extra Kreoss model laying around, so I decided to have a little fun. Try putting this one in your foam. I guess big K got tired of Amon always having the bigger wrecking ball.

 

CONVERTING CINERATORS

It’s no big secret that people are converting their extra Cinerator figures into Bastions. I did a little research on the topic and found some decent blogged articles. The best recommended using bits to do the conversion. The most obvious would be to hit up one of the bitstores online and buy Bastion weapons to use for the conversion. Yeah, but that would mean dropping around $16 plus shipping. So that option was out for me. Then I read about a dude using the weapon from the Devout. Not a bad idea and the models look great. Still, I was too cheap for this route. I decided that buying the weapon hand from the Revenger would be a nice conversion, but again … yeah, cheap. So in the end, I decided that it really didn’t matter to me if the model was holding the weapon in two hands. I ended up pouring through some of my old Warhammer Chaos Warrior bits, and found that they would do an acceptable job. And I used a ribbon from my bitz box to cover the other hand where the shield should go. Works for me.

 

March 19, 2014

WARMACHINE: VENGENCE

From the Privateer Press website, here:

WE WILL HAVE OURS.

 The nations of Khador and Cygnar are still reeling from their defeat at the hands of Cryx’s armies within the Thornwood. Meanwhile, the Protectorate of Menoth’s Northern Crusade seizes the opportunity to push into Umbrey while the besieged elven nation of Ios struggles to repel the skorne invaders at their gates. For Cygnar, a chance to retake the initiative emerges when an unusual Cryxian column is discovered heading south. The newly promoted Lord General Coleman Stryker marches to intercept, unaware of the true danger that awaits him.

WARMACHINE: Vengeance  brings you the next thrilling chapter of the WARMACHINE saga. Answer the call to war with:

• New warcasters, including new epic versions of some of WARMACHINE’s original warcasters.
• Six new character novice warcasters who bring even more arcane support to their armies.
• New units and solos to expand WARMACHINE armies with new strategic possibilities.
• New narrative fiction picking up directly after the harrowing events of WARMACHINE: Colossals.
• A painting and modeling guide to help you prepare your forces for battle.
• Theme Force lists for each new warcaster, which allow you to create armies based on specialized forces found in the WARMACHINE world.

EXACT VENGEANCE AND PUNISH YOUR FOES!

DIRTY BUSINESS

Image via Wikipedia

Steam Technology, whether we are discussing real life 19th century Steam Locomotives or fictional Iron Kingdoms Warjack Technology, is dirty business. The smokebox of a boiler spews steam out of stacks creating a significant amount of smoke, sparks, and hot air. These engines were dirty to be around, and much more so to maintain.

You can help simulate this by weathering your models. You already know about dry brushing and ink washes, but do you know about using oil paints and chalk washes to weather your miniatures?

Oil paints are good for creating patches or streaks of rust for figures or structures. Mostly, you would use darker colors of brown and brown-orange for rust spots and black or brown-black for larger streaked areas to simulate oil leaks or spills. Once you’ve applied the base coat of colors on the model, you can take an old brush with mineral spirits to streak the rust color down the side of the model to simulate age. Again, you can either be very subtle in doing this or just go wild with it. Depends on which faction you are painting and how well maintained the model would normally be: Cryx probably maintains their ‘jacks in a different manner than Cygnar. Keep in mind that it will take about 2 days for the oil paints to dry before you can do anything else with the model. Using a hair dryer or a low heat lamp may help with drying time.

In the same manner, artist’s crayons can be used for creating cool streaking effects, but they are especially useful for highlighting raised surfaces.

I also use Micro Deco Art pens for adding details, marking eyes, and making tattoos. I learned this from a good friend of mine. This was very useful when it came to Retribution models and their tiny details. And yes, there is a bright turquoise marker for those who are interested! You could also use Sharpie markers in the same school of though.

Chalk is also a great way to weather models. You can use chalk dust to lightly sift over buildings to simulate dust and dirt from everyday life. You can also use chalk to simulate mortar lines in textured model brick walls. Rub chalk dust over the model wall allowing the dust to gather in the low places of the model. Then simply take a dry, clean brush and brush away the dust from the higher surfaces of the textured brick wall. The dust should stay in the low places to help simulate the white or gray mortar lines of the brick.

Chalk Washes work well too. Simply use sandpaper to grind down some chalk into a fine dust. Mix this with clean water. I recommend using a small 3 oz cup like the ones sold in the Paper Supplies Isle of your favorite local grocery store. Fill that about half way, and then add the chalk dust to the water. Add about the same amount as would be in a sugar packet. Mix this well. You may have to experiment, adding more or less depending on how deep you wish the color to be in the wash. Then using a clean brush, paint on the wash as you would any other wash. The wash will settle into the low places, joints, and so forth of the model you’re weathering. After you’ve applied a single coat, set the model aside and allow it to air dry. The water will evaporate, leaving the chalk behind to create a grimy, weathered look. (This is really nice to use around smoke stacks and chimneys to simulate ash and smoke stains and markings.) You will likely have to use a clear coat matte sealer to protect the chalked look as it could smear with rough handling.

So that’s about all I have to offer for now. If you feel like trying out any of these little tricks, please check back in with me. Tell me if you liked the effect or if it was a waste of time. Either way, keep learning new skills in your hobby. It keeps things interesting, and fresh.

See you next time, and keep rollin’ sixes!

CUZ MENOTH WILLS IT…?

Being a Daddy keeps me busy and away from my WARMACHINE models. However, I recently became determined to design a “slap it on and get it done” paint scheme for my Protectorate stuff. Some paint is better than no paint, most of the time. I still have some work to do, but trying not to get bogged down in details. I could do that later.

In the last picture, look at the lead Cinerator. My son got a hold of him after I painted him, and chewed on the sword. Nom nom nom.