Rob Dean
We’ll see if I finish anything else today. These two are intended to address a gap in my Song of Blades and Heroes human warband identified last game: I had no ranged weapons.
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HAWKS
Combined blog for the Harford Area Weekly Kriegpielers (HAWKs).
Monthly Archives: December 2013
Well of Chaos: Figure 56 of 265
Chris Palmer
With all that was going on this holiday week, I knew I wouldn’t have time to paint a complicated figure, so I chose the Well of Chaos from the Dungeon Dressing set to work on. I began, as usual, with soaking the figure overnight in some water with a little dish soap added, and then rinsed it and let it dry. I then glued it to a one and a quarter inch fender washer and primed it with Krylon Camouflage with Fusion Flat Black. I then glued it to a tongue depressor for ease of handling during painting.
I began by giving the fountain a heavy drybrushing with Folk Art “Dapple Gray”.
I then drybrushed a little lighter with Folk Art “Gray Green”.
Finally I added some drybrushed highlights with Folk Art “Celadon Green”. I wanted to make the fountain look like it was working, so I decided I would add a stream of water pouring from the spout just below the face and into the pool below. So, I snipped about an inch of a fiber optic strand, from an old Christmas light cover I have, to use as the water stream. I then took the pointy end of an old drawing compass and made a small hole in the pool base of the fountain.
I then finished some minor additions to the painting. First, I added some algae or mossy patches around the basin with Americana “Leaf Green”, then I added some water ripples in the basin by painting some stippled concentric circles with white paint around the hole I stuck in he basin’s bottom. Finally, I painted the base with Duncan’s “Slate Gray”. When this was done and had time to dry, I painted the whole thing in Ceramcoat “Matte Varnish”; and then after it had time to dry, I sprayed it with Testors “Dullcote”. I now glued my section of fiber optic strand into place with super glue, and lastly I painted the bottom of the basin with Cermacoat “Gloss Varnish” to help with the illusion of water.
I’m pleased with how this quick project turned out. I will make a nice scenic detail piece.
Figure 56 of 265: Complete.
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Miscellaneous Hobby Stuff
Buck
No town should be without its “crazy cat lady,” and now, thanks to Chris, my town of Granville that I use for pulp games has one.
Completed “division” of Napoleonic Polish
I recently purchased a large number of painted 10mm Napoleonic figures. I don’t typically purchase painted figures, but this was a really good deal. Most of the figures were Old Glory, which is the manufacturer I’ve been using mostly for this project. They were painted as well or slightly better than I do myself. I have already based, labelled, and flocked the French forces. I have assembled III and V Corps from 1805-7. I now have enough additional French line infantry and artillery for almost an entire third corps. What would be missing is some light cavalry and light infantry. This past weekend I finally got around to pawing through the box of Polish figures and found that I could assemble a small division, consisting of two infantry brigades, a cavalry brigade, and two guns.
Sixteen battalions of Russian grenadiers in progress
This weekend I also dry brushed the base green color on sixteen battalions of Russian grenadiers. That seems like a lot of grenadiers, but it turns out that the Russian VIII corps in 1812 had an entire division of grenadiers. I am painting the VII and VIII Russian corps. Once I complete these infantry, I will have completed both corps. In the painted collection there are enough line infantry to make a third corps, but again, it will be short on guns and cavalry.
Chariot men
In late January JJ is going to be hosting a chariot race game with 54mm Marx recasts. I got six chariots from Ed of Two Hour Wargames. I just started painting them this weekend. I started with the riders, as they will take the longest to paint. The horses and chariots will be mostly spray painting and dry brushing. There is not a lot of detail on these figures, and the detail is not molded very deeply. I find these figures much more difficult to paint than 28mm figures.
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Encounter at Neu Pediev, some delayed pictures
Rob Dean
Some weeks ago we ran a Not Quite Seven Years War game with Ross Macfarlane remoted in…since my battle report continues to be delayed, I thought I’d just go ahead and post a few pictures.
Battle reports are here and here.
Putting the table next to the window in the morning makes photography a little interesting…
Here the Coalition army, Schoeffen-Buschhagen and Wachovia, enter at the left, while the Northern Alliance force enters from the right.
The battle opened with a clash of dragoons, S-B versus Schluesselbrett, in the center of the field.
The Alliance attempted to outflank to their left, but ran into additional Coalition cavalry, which they eventually defeated after an extended series of charges and melees.
One of those melees…
On the Alliance right, their infantry stood off a desperate charge by the Szathmari Hussars.
But eventually Alliance troops moved to occupy the town.
Remnants of the Prince’s Dragoon Guards duel with the remaining Schluesselbrett dragoons, breaking them. It was, however, too late for the Coalition, and they executed an orderly withdrawal to await better circumstances.
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Hobby Stuff for Christmas
Buck
I received a number of hobby-related items for Christmas this year. Above is a pulp pistol my wife found in a catalog. It’s all plastic and has no working parts, but the look is effective.
“Books are secure here, sir.”
My kids got me these really cool book ends that are reminiscent of the old green Army men.
“Hold your position, books!”
My wife also found this really neat coffee mug. I don’t drink coffee, but this is really cute!
Giant, undead, drunken dwarf faces off against wood elf infantry
My buddy, Chris, made this giant dwarf figure for me. It is based for Bear Yourselves Valiantly.
Assortment of magic walls
Chris also made this assortment of magical walls for Bear Yourselves Valiantly.
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Large Fire Elemental: Figure 55 of 265
Chris Palmer
This week I wrapped up a project that I have been working on for a while now; the Large Fire Elemental from the Fire it Up set. It also is marks my completetion of the Fire it Up set. Ever since I saw the illuminated samples Reaper had on display at their booth at Historicon, I have been thinking about how to do this myself. The one thing I didn’t like about the ones I saw at Historicon was the tealight bases, which to my tastes were too tall, and in the case of the Large Fire Elemental, too small in diameter for such a big figure.
So, since last Summer I had been thinking about a way to solve the problems I had with the look of the tealight base. I bought a pack of cheap dollar store tealights, and began to play around them. The first step I tried was to remove the cover from one of the tealights. This was easily accomplished with the tip of a hobby knife blade inserted in between the base and cover of the light. This solved the height problem, but not the base size problem. So I began to ponder ways to expand the base. At first I wanted to use a metal washer, since all my other figures are mounted on washers, but I resigned myself to the fact there was just no way I could use one that I could think of, and still have access to the switch underneath the light. So I next look at plastic bases. I pulled out a large 2.5 inch base I had in my bits box and got the idea of cutting out a circle in the center for the tealight base to fit into. By clipping off the three tiny pegs that act like feet on the bottom of the tealight, the tealight base was a perfect fit for under the large plastic base.
The figure would still not be able to sit flush with the black plastic figure base, but instead would be elevated about a quarter of an inch above it. I felt this was an acceptable amount, and I could build up a small mound with Milliput around the tealight base for the figure to ‘sit’ on.
I now set about working on my plan. First, I did my usual prep to the figure of soaking it overnight in some dish soap and water. Then, I cut a rough circle in the plastic base. I only needed it large enough for the light itself, the battery compartment, and the switch mechanism to fit through. I then drilled a hole up into the underside of the figure. I tried to go as far up as I could without risking poking though the figure.
The next step was to glue the base of the tealight up under the black plastic figure base. I used E-6000 glue for this.
When dry, I then glued the figure over the light, to the top of the bulb-holder/battery compartment. You’ll notice in the photo below that I had to glue a little section of popsicle stick between the figure and the switch compartment, as without the light’s outer housing the switch is not held firmly in place, and this bit of wood, would act as a cover to the switch holder, and prevent the switch from popping out.
I as now ready to build my Milliput mound around the tealight base to hide it, but I was concerned about getting the putty into the switch and other small openings in the tealight base. To fix this I found a small plastic lid I had, and cut it down so it made a nice little housing around the switch. I also glued some bits of cardstock around the tealight base to cover any small openings that the Milliput might get into.
My last step of construction was to build up a mound around the tealight base using Milliput, that would look like a rise in the ground the Elemental was standing on.
I masked the figure with a bit of masking tape and newspaper, and sprayed the base with flat black spray paint. For the figure, I used the same paint scheme that I had used on the Medium Fire Elemental last week. I began by giving the outer edges of the figure, the base, body, and upper arms, a drybrushing with Apple Barrel “Apple Maroon”, and then just inside this, working my way towards the center, and down towards the bottom of the base, I gave it a dry brushing with GW “Blood Red”
Next I did the oranges, doing a drybrush with GW “Blazing Orange” first, again painting just inside the previous color. And then I did a drybrush with Americana “Tangerine”
Now I moved to the yellows. I did a drybrush in the center of the body, around the bottom of the base, the face, bottoms of the arms, and the center of the fireball hands, with GW “Golden Yellow. This was followed by a drybrushing with Apple barrel “Yellow”
My final steps was to add heat highlights with Apple Barrel “Lemon Chiffon” to the very bottom of the figure, the center of its “torso” , the face, and the hands. Then I added a bit of white to the “Lemon Chiffon”” ,and did some small pinpoint highlights on the parts I mentioned above. I didn’t like the fact that this figure had no face, so I gave it some eyes by painting on two smudgy black eye shapes, and then painting inside these with the “Lemon Chiffon” with some white highlights. I also did a mount with a “Lemon Chiffon”and white mix. When all was dry I painted the figure with Ceramcoat “Matte Varnish”, and then flocked the base. I used a bit of dried coffee around the base of the Elemental to represent singed grass, and when the flocking was dry I gave the immediate area around her feet a light drybrushing with black to make it look like burnt grass. Finally, I gave the figure a coat of Testor’s “Dullcote” spray paint.
| The figure as it appears with the tealight turned off. |
| Photographed in a darkened room with the tealight turned on. |
| Photographed in a lit room with the tealight turned on. |
Below is a short video of the figure to show you the flickering effect of the tealight.
I’m really pleased with how this figure turned out. It was a fun project to complete, and makes a nice novelty figure on the table.
Figure 55 of 265: Complete
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Pre-D&D painting
Rob Dean
In anticipation of a holiday revival game, the kids helped me paint a few Bones for characters we’ll be using. I finished the Bathalian on the left while we were at at, but the other three, left to right, were done by me, Norman, and William, respectively, all start to finish since last night.
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Medium Fire Elemental: Figure 54 of 265
Chris Palmer
This week I painted the Medium Fire Elemental from the Fire It Up set. I did my usual prep of soaking it overnight in water with a little dish soap added, and then rinsing and drying. I then glued it using Aleene’s Mighty Tacky Glue to a black-primed 1 inch fender washer. I then glued this to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of white glue.
I wanted this figure to appear as if the source of its heat was coming from its core, so I wanted it to be hottest and brightest in the center and darkest and coolest as you reached the outer edges. To do this effect I had to think of the figure almost two dimensionally, and luckily the sculpt lends itself to that. I began by giving the outer edges of the figure, the wings, body, and upper arms, a drybrushing with Apple Barrel “Apple Maroon”, and then just inside this, working my way towards the center, I gave it a dry brushing with GW “Blood Red”
Next I did the oranges, doing a drybrush with GW “Blazing Orange” first, again painting just inside the previous color. And then I did a drybrush with Americana “Tangerine”
Now I moved to the yellows. I did a drybrush in the center of the body, and the wings, and the bottoms of the arms with GW “Golden Yellow. This was followed by a drybrushing with Apple barrel “Yellow”.
My final steps was to add heat highlights with Apple Barrel “Lemon Chiffon” to her chest, stomach, the raised leg, her brow and nose. I also put two dots of this color in her eyes to give them a focus. Then I added a bit of white to the “Lemon Chiffon”” ,and did some small pinpoint highlights on the parts I mentioned above. When all was dry I painted the figure with Ceramcoat “Matte Varnish”, and then flocked the base. I used a bit of dried coffee around her feet to represent singed grass, and when the flocking was dry I gave the immediate area around her feet a light drybrushing with black to make it look like burnt grass, as reader ‘adeptgamer’ suggested on my previous figure, the Hell Hound. Finally, I gave the figure a coat of Testor’s “Dullcote” spray paint.
All in all I’m very pleased with how this figure turned out. I think I’m finally getting the hang of doing the shading for fire on these translucent figures, (and solid figures as well). With my first attempts I was almost afraid to cover the translucency. I also was working under the false impression of fire being darker at he base and lighter at the edges. Which is how we paint most normal figures, with lighter highlights on the outer edges.
Next up, for my Christmas special, I will do the large fire elemental….and this one will be electrified! 🙂
A preview:
Stay tuned…
Figure 54 of 265: Complete
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Completed Three Litko Buildings
Buck
I love the MDF buildings from Litko. A year or so ago, they released six new ones. You can find information about them at http://ift.tt/1bugLFF . The old ones are here: http://ift.tt/1czmHll . I have three of the new ones. They are a bit more expensive, but they are high quality and have clear plastic to put into the windows after finishing construction. These will look great in my town of Granville for my Pulp games.
I put the last three on my Christmas list and hope to assemble them by Historicon, so I can run a couple of Pulp games with my expanded town. I highly recommend these kits for their quality, ease of construction, and final appearance.
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Hell Hound: Figure 53 of 265
Chris Palmer
This week I painted the Hell Hound from the 30 New Bones Set. I began my prep as usual, soaking the figure overnight in some water with a bit of dish soap added. I then gave it a light scrub,with an old soft toothbrush, rinsed it, and let it dry. Afterwards, I primed it black with Krylon with Fusion Camouflage Flat Black. When dry, I glued it with Aleene’s Mighty Tacky glue to a 1.5 inch fender washer. I then glued the washer to a tongue depressor with a couple drops of white glue for a more stable, easy to hold work surface.
My first step was to do a little research in my old D & D Monster Manual to see what color these things were supposed to be.They are described as being rust red to red brown with glowing red eyes and black sooty mouths. So to begin, I painted the body of the dog with Folk Art “Barnyard Red”
I then painted the horn like protuberances on its back and neck with Americana “Buttermilk” Afterwards, I gave the whole thing a wash with Winsor Newton “Peat Brown” ink diluted with some water. When dry, I went back and drybrushed the body with the “Barn Red” again, and then added a little of the “Buttermilk” to the red and gave it a lighter drybrushing to add some light highlights. I also gave the horns some highlighting with the “Buttemilk”. I then painted the eyes with GW “Blood Red” and did light highlights on the cheeks below the eyes, and the brows above, to give the impression the eyes were glowing.
Next I started to work on the flames on the hound’s back. I began by painting them with Apple Barrel “Lemon Chiffon”. I left a little black showing between them to give some separation and depth to them.
Next I painted them with Apple Barrel “Yellow”, leaving some of the “Lemon Chiffon” showing at the base of the flames
I now did a layer of Americana “Tangerine”, again leaving a bit of the two previous colors showing at the flames’ bases.
I followed this with a bit of GW “Blazing Orange”, at the ends of the flames.
And then some of the “Blood Red” on the very ends of the flames.
And finally, Apple Barrel “Apple Maroon” on the very tips of the flame tongues.
Finally, I painted the interior of the mouth, the teeth, and the claws with black, and then painted highlights on the teeth, tongue, and claws with GW “Shadow Grey”, followed by some smaller, lighter, highlights with Apple Barrel “Apple Scotch Blue”. I also went back and added a bit of highlighting with the “Tangerine” and “Yellow” to the horns on the back and neck of the hound, to give the impression of reflected light. Then, after everything had had time to dry, I gave the figure a coat of Ceramcoat “Matte Varnish, and then flocked the base. Afterwards, I sprayed it with Testor’s “Dullcote”.
I’m pleased with how this figure came out. I enjoyed the practice doing effective flames.
Figure 53 of 265: Complete
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