Weekly/Monthly WIPs

It has been a while since I have posted. But luckily I have a pretty good reason, she is pictured below.

My first child, and boy is she beautiful!!

So now that you all know my excuse back to the painting!! I managed to finish up the contest fig from the last post about 2 hours before we went to the hospital to have the baby.

I'm now at a loss as to what i want to paint next... any suggestions?

I've added a poll to the sidebar, but if you have specific suggestions just use the comments below.

Weekly WIPs

Since I was chastised for not posting I am now going to try to post at least once a week. That does mean that I will have to paint at least that often as well. Hopefully that will not be too much to ask.

First up we have a fig I have been "working" since October started for a painting competition. For this contest if you finish the fig you have a chance of winning so there is no reason for me not to try right?

I only have the base colors on this model so far. I'm going to try to make the rifle with very dark very matte metallic colors since snipers don't generally like anything shiny to give them away.

Any suggestions on how to finish the base? Or what color to do the fur trim?

Finished First Warjack!!

It is amazing how much of a difference a small addition can make to a model. I thought I was pretty much done when I posted my Crusader earlier in the summer. The I made the small addition below and the whole feel of the model changed.

Warcaster Journey

I have been trying to finish up my Warmachine pKreoss battlegroup for some time now. I am always worried that my character figs will not live up to the hype since I am, at best, a tabletop quality painter. I really like how pKreoss turned out though.

Shelf Upgrade

I decided to upgrade the models shelf inside my painting box to further protect my minis from damage during transport. This was of course inspired by fight between my metal Feral Warpwolf and my plastic Repenter and Vanquisher. Needless to say the warpwolf came out on top, literally and figuratively.

You can even turn it upside down!!

It was very simple to do. I used wood glue to fasten down a piece of sheet metal onto the shelf. Then I used super glue to stick some rare earth magnets i had left over from my Warhammer fantasy days to the bottom of my Warmachine models.

Painting Station

Since I have started painting at the Gamer's Asylum in Ogden and I knew I was going to be taking a few road trips this summer I decided to build a portable paint station that can contain all of my paints and tools.

Closed up after painting.

It doesn't hurt that I can clean up the kitchen table after painting sessions at home either.

 Everything In it's place.

Removable shelves!!

Ready to Paint!!

So far i have holes in the bottom shelf to hold my water pot, brush container, wet palette, and acrylic paint bottle for miniature stand.

I'm still planning on making places for individual brushes, hobby knife, snips and lining the top shelf with metal so i can magnetize the miniatures for transport. Can anyone think of anything else they always have in their painting kit?

Vacation Painting

Vacation painting is both frustrating and relaxing at the same time. 

On the one hand you don't have to worry about going to work and/or anyone showing up at your house randomly to interrupt you.

On the other hand you have to make sure that you do all the sight seeing you need to and that you don't become "anti-social" to those you are on vacation with.

I managed to take this jack from 5% finished to 95% finished even while striking that balance.

It was a fun experience to paint and I now know that it is possible for me to finish a 'jack. So hopefully there will be more of them coming and they will be better and better each time.

Past Inspiration

Sometimes when i don't feel like painting new stuff I go back and look at some of my favorites from the past. They are not always the best I've painted, and some of them are pretty beat up, but you can always remember the feeling of accomplishment that comes with a finished model, especially those that taught you something. Here is one of the two models that brought me back to wargaming and painting about 5 years ago.

LoTR Isengard Troll

Mini Exchange

We had a mini exchange in our local area in the month of June. I recieved a Madelyn Corbeau model from the Warmachine line to paint. I will freely admit i was very nervous about this exchange for multiple reasons.

1. I had never done a mini exchange before.
2. I had not painted a model in at least 3-6 months.
3. I had never painted a female model.
4. I had never painted a Privateer Press model before. 
5. The painter I exchanged with is a very good painter.
6. Madelyn doe not have a lot of armor or detail to hide behind.
7. I was trying many new techniques to get the model "Up to snuff."

Wow, that was more reasons than even i realized!! Luckily I did not list them out before jumping in with both feet. Four of the seven concerns I had I will never be able to use again. Hallelujah!

On to the actual painting stuff.

Here is the earliest photo i have of the model.

Before I even started I was looking at her head to plan out the color scheme and managed to twist her head off. Not exactly an auspicious beginning....

But, I kept at it.

And kept at it.

And put the head back on.

I have a buddy at work who was nice enough to try to take some good pictures of it. They are very good pictures... a little too good since I can see every mistake I made. For the sake of constructive critisism I'm including them anyways.

So, what do you think? Let me know.

Building the Lodge

After seeing many blogs from talented friends in the area I have decided to create a blog of my own in the hopes that it will encourage me to try new and challenging projects.

The first few posts will be projects I have worked on in the last few months and then will become a painting and gaming journal of sorts. Hopefully others can use me for inspiration as I have used others.