Dead Eye Jane

This is the second Bombshell sculpt by Patrick Keith that was done as an Adepticon special release.

I will be using it in a special class for the Geek Nation Tours at Adepticon next year.

As usual, the idea is to show the Shaded Basecoat technique, and the glazing techniques too.  This will help to 'free up' your painting, not worrying about endless layers of progressively lighter paint or very specific 'color formulas'.  The concept is to simplify your palette down to 5-7 colors, so that you don't have to perpetually hunt down just the right color for a highlight or mid tone.

You can get a nice view of that in this blog post.  Of course, if you want to see these techniques for yourself, I have them available through my Painting Pyramid video series, which is available on USB drives!  Each episode is 100 minutes long, and it takes you from primer to painted miniature.

There are 53 different episodes to choose from, with basing, color theory, skin tones, metals, and even terrain videos!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/p/using-shaded-basecoat-technique-to.html

The Ancient Past

Here's another one of those very old GW minis, long out of print.  It was a practice piece that I used as a spot demo, and then finished off later.  The idea was to show how the shaded basecoat and glazing technique could still be utilized on something even as ancient as this!

Of course, these 20-25 year old pieces don't have the kind of smooth, well defined lines of toady's minis, so it is very challenging.  Also, there is an additional challenge of attempting to break up these blockier shapes.  This means some fancy color work to try an add extra depth and dimension to the sculpt by making some interesting patterns in the mid tones and darker tones.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222593499218?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Czech Marks

We "Czech off" one more early war vehicle for the German army with the Panzer 35T, manufactured in Czechoslovakia.  This was considered a medium tank at the time, but it soon was passed by the German Panzer series.

You've already seen the 38T, which is another Czech design.  That chassis would continue as a self propelled gun, but this kind of wheel assembly would only live on in Hungarian and Italian tank designs.

I have another blog post that dives into the painting of this vehicle, so here's a link for you!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/07/top-secret.html

The 35 and 38 series comprised a large portion of the German tank forces during the Sickle Stroke advance into the Ardennes, which was a big surprise to the original German player in our group!  In fact, Ronmel himself rode atop a 38T.

While these are not very powerful, you do have the option of picking veteran tanks in both Czech designs.  The points cost is also lower than a Panzer 3 or 4.  This design has proven itself to be quite capable in games, bringing just enough firepower without presenting a large target, which the Panzer 4 would do.

I will shoot some group images of what I have thus far so that you can get a sense of the size comparison.

The Big Guns

This is one of two special sculpts by Patrick Keith for the folks of Geek Nation Tours.

I will be showing the people who are part of the Adepticon tour package a special demo on painting this with my Shaded Basecoat and glazing methods.

The general idea is to give you some flavor in how those techniques work, and how it makes your life a lot easier when it comes to getting lots of figures painted to a high degree at once.

Be sure to check out more of Patrick's amazing work on the Bombshell Miniatures website!!

More details on the Adepticon class to come, so stay tuned...

Heavy Armor

This Reaper figure posed a major challenge in figuring out where I might place emphasis on the lights, darks and colors of the metal surfaces.  I had to try and reflect colors where I could, such as the ground and the robe.

The sections of armor were relatively small and broken up, which meant that the usual effects had to be modified to work in these confined spaces.  I had to rely even more on unusual color placements, especially the purples and greens!

I had thought of doing some freehand on the cloak and shield, but it seemed to be wise to take a pass on those areas, and give the viewer a place to rest their eyes!

The armor is not 'gray' in any area at all.  It is various shades of blue, purple, green, tan, and even reddish pink.  That helped to 'force' the viewer to see potentially shiny metal everywhere :-)

Conversion Corner

When we first started to play Bolt Action, the Axis players were getting confused about the Laffly transports and the two pintle mounted MMG's they carried.  Lines of sight were trickier then in first edition, so to prevent more 'conversations', I thought I would try to put the guns on the vehicle.

I found some extra bits from the British sprues, and mounted them on a piece of poylstyrene tubing.  At that time, it mattered if there was a group of passengers on the transport, so each gun not only swiveled, it could also be removed.

It took a while to determine where these guns should be placed, since the bast majority of photos and drawings are of the WTC 15 Tank Hunter, which showed it on the roof of the cab.  The best locations seemed to be where I have them.

I took a Warlord metal French figure that was loading a gun, and carved away that rifle and the hands.  Using hands from the British sprue, I attempted to make it seem as if he was about to grab the MMG.

The Laffly truck is from Mad Bob's Miniatures, by the way.

Here's the same set with the initial layers of paint, prior to glazing.  It gives you a better sense of how this will all look!

Here's the Mad Bob's Miniatures site, and all the fun stuff that's available!

http://www.madbobminiatures.co.uk/shop/4587330661/France

Ancestral Ground

As most of you know, I love the Green Stuff World texture rollers!  I have done several posts on the various themes, and now we add one more.  This Ancestral ruins set has some of the most intricate and continuous pattern of all the rollers.

I used my gray extra firm sculpey for this task once again.  Here's a post on how that is done:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/12/the-ruins-of-maya.html

I will be making several base sets with this roller for you very soon, so stay tuned!

You will also see me utilizing these fantastic new basing/diorama elements.  This set is Egyptian theme, and I really like them.  I have a number of the BONES figures that need these kinds of terrain bits.  Combined with the Egyptian ruins texture roller, they will make incredible settings for dioramas and bases!!

They are about 35-45mm across, to give you an idea of size.

Even better, I have a new set of materials for my Lizardmen!  These Aztec pieces will be combined with my Aztec roller to make some nifty jungle ruins for my scaley creatures. I can't wait!!

Here's a link to the Green Stuff World site:

http://www.greenstuffworld.com/en/22-textured-rolling-pins

Kick Off

I enjoy all of the Sukubus Studios figures, and they are now up to four teams at this point, making more of those fantastic sculpts for my eager brushes to paint.  

The figures all have stunning details, and they are very sturdy despite how dainty they may look.

Another favorite trait on Sukubus Studios figures would be the one piece nature of the casts.  It amazes me how dynamic these one piece figures can be!  You don't have to deal with many mould lines, and the Badger Airbrush Stynlrez sticks to them very well.

I decided to sculpt a few tentacles on the bases of this Demonette team.

Here's a link to the Sukubus site... be sure to check it out!

http://www.sukubusstudio.com/store

Holding the Line

As some of you already know, I love the figures created by RN Estudios for their Blood Bowl teams, along with a variety of other fantasy figures.

The casts are always very clean and solid, just like this Lizardman figure.

The vast majority of the figures are one piece, and mould lines are minimal.  They are also very easy to prime.  Badger Airbrush Stynlrez primer is outstanding for this purpose.

The base is relatively simple, in keeping with the swamp bases of the rest of the team.  I used some Secret Weapon Miniatures Realistic Water mixed with a touch of greenish brown paint.  A few layers of this combination helped to achieve a 'depth' to the water.

The sharp and precise details not only look great, but they make painting these so much easier!  It allows me to do all kinds of fun glazing techniques, utilizing the details of the figure.

When working on 'fuzzier' casts and sculpts, things get more protracted since I actually have to paint in all those details myself.  

Check out this team and so many other wonderful figures on their site:

http://www.rnestudio.com/

That's it for Fritz!

The British player in our group wanted to have a few trucks as transports, but felt that the usual trucks were on the small size to move ten infantry around on the field. So, he bought himself a few of the Warlord Games Opel Blitz trucks, and sent them to me for modifications...

I made one of them in desert theme, and one for the continent.  On this desert vehicle, I thought it would be fun to "paint out" the Afrika Korps markings.  You can see some of that on the doors, and on the left side of the truck bed. 

That marking was covered with a bit of mischief... a little graffiti which states :That's it for Fritz!"

I was really looking forward to using a few weathering powders to create the dust/sand look.  As per the usual "chess match"  of weathering, you have to think several steps ahead.  That meant painting some areas a touch darker, so that the lighter sand would really show up.

The tarp over the bed was a prime candidate for this!

From the outset, I wanted to have British flags on the trucks as identifiers.  Since control of the skies was not absolute at this stage, it was certainly one way to keep from getting pounced on by your own pilots!

Most of the painting was done with Secret Weapon paints, since I needed them to dry rapidly.  While I love using the oil paints, rapid drying is not one of their advantages :-)

I like to use both mediums, as I continue to learn new techniques and subtle ways to utilize them.

I will post pictures of the other captured Blitz, so stay tuned!!