A Bull By the Horns

It had been a very long time since I had done this much of a patina on a figure, so I had lots of fun on this guy!

I used the Secret Weapon Weathering paints for all of this figure... the bull, the axe, the armor, and so on.  They are very flexible, as you can go with a lot of glazing, and yet still use them in an opaque manner.

That element of glazing was very key, as most of the detail areas like the filigree were sculpted into the armor.  This meant that the patina would sink down into those areas, and look very natural!

I have used the Secret Weapon paints on a number of my live sessions... everything from tanks to beastmen to Dark Sword figures.

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10212119155668250/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

The Serpent Staff

I will have to call upon the hive mind once again to fill me in on the manufacturer of this figure, but my guess is that it is from Blood Rage or Black Plague.  It is yet another example of how you can still get some fun results from those hard (or soft) plastic board game figures!

I think I have mentioned in previous posts how those two sided emery boards used by model railroad and kit builders are effective at removing most of the brutal mould lines on these figures.  Everything else I have tried to use just tears away at the material, or cuts into it in the case of hobby knives.

So, don't be afraid to snag a few of those emery boards and invest a little extra effort into your board game pieces.  After all, once you paint them and seal them... you have something virtually indestructible! :-)

The Lash

This member of the Escher gang was definitely may favorite of the bunch.  As soon as I saw the power whip, I thought that I could do some fun Object Soucre Lighting!

Since the whip wrapped around the figure, it meant that I could spread out the effect much farther than I normally would be able to do.

I love doing OSL on figures, as it tends to give the eye more of a sense of scale, making them seem larger than just a tiny figure barely over 1 inch tall.  That is why Object Source Lighting is part of the "core set" of Painting Pyramid videos.  Here's a link to one of the sample versions on YouTube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXqIo-UMSr8&t=764s

Here is a link to the original live session where I painted a batch of 5 in oil paints.  I have just secured some more units (this time Dark Elves) which will be the source of many more tutorials and live sessions.

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211936982874044/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I have been posting more links to special Patreon versions of these tutorials, with more coming this month.  Five have been posted thus far, including the Shaded Basecoat and Glazing videos.  

I will also be creating more new versions of the Painting Pyramid videos, which will focus on basing, army painting techniques, oil paints, and much more!  A $5 pledge is all you need to see those full length 100-200 minute tutorials.

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

A Wilder West

This 54mm figure from Knuckleduster Miniatures was a very fun exercise in painting skin tones, eyes and freehand on a larger scale figure.  I don't get to do this very often, which is why I painted it in a Facebook Live Session:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211778560793591/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

There were a few challenges to this piece, since I had to match the character which inspired the sculpt (as you saw in my photo references!).  I also had to choose what portions of each reference that I might use, such as which colors to place and what possible freehand might work well.

You don't want a miniature to simply become a 3D fresco, with so much in the way of designs and images that you forget someone is actually wearing it!

This meant trying to come up with some kind of pattern that fit the era, the color scheme of this particular figure, and did not take away from the face.  The whole point of having a larger scale figure was to be able to do more details on said face...

I chose a simple flower pattern that matched the flowers on the dress and the hair, and restricted that to the wide open areas of the skirt.  I toned it down as much as possible.

You can check out more great figures on the Knuckledusters website, and see what is coming from the recently completed Kickstarter campaign!

If you want to see more live sessions and other videos about painting these bigger figures (as I do!), any contributions to the Patreon Page will go a long way towards making that happen.  As you already know, these figures can be quite expensive!

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

This Ain't no Bull

I think this might be my favorite of the old Confrontation minis.  This is a massive hunk of metal, but I love the pose!  The only other figures I can think of that I enjoyed this much would be the mounted characters (possibly the Lions of Alahan?).

This one was painted entirely in acrylics, while others have been done in oils.  While there were many practical reasons I used these mediums on different figures, I also wanted to show folks that figures painted with oils or acrylics (entirely, that is) look exactly the same.

I thought of this after a few queries and replies to some of my oil painting posts, where folks have said that the figures look different.  However, this was due to an entirely different photo setup rather than any difference of medium.  One batch of oil painted stuff was shot in a massive group shot, while most tend to be individual set ups like this figure.

We are in the early stages of Adepticon right now, so fatigue is already setting in.   It's been no stop prep for this convention for months, and it only accelerated as the date drew nearer and parameters seemed to change by the hour!

Such an Ogre

As I have mentioned many times before, the primary reason that I use the oil paints is that it allows me to work on many more figures at the same time, no matter how large or small!

I had about 15 large scale Mierce Miniatures and other creatures going at the same time as I was painting this big guy.  Since the oils stay wet on the figures as well as the palette, I can take as much time as I need to move from one figure to the next, rotating back around again to the figures that I started with.

Obviously I can do more blending on the figures too, which means that I can be more efficient with the application of colors.  It is possible to just place a few colors onto the surface and then mix those right there.  

It makes it easier to get interesting colors in key areas, like the swords.  I think at one point I just plopped some bright green onto the blades and feathered it in with the rest!

Here's an example... a Facebook Live session:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211515280171740/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I have done a few of these larger style figures on the live sessions.  My goal is to create more permanent videos for YouTube and to place on USB drives.  The more support the Patreon page gets, the more time I will have to do these edited videos.  Those can take a while to film, edit and render!

Thanks for all the support thus far!

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Hive Mind

Time for some images of the Necromunda gang which was painted in good portion with oils.  The initial painting was done in a live session, which you can see here:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211936982874044/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I have a number of blog posts and video tutorials on how I approach Object Source Lighting such as this.  There's a facebook live session, along with a Painting Pyramid video which covers the same subject.  Those are being made available to the Patrons on my patreon page as well.:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pXqIo-UMSr8&t=54s

I have many more live demos on my facebook page, and more videos available to my Patreon Subscribers here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Ides of March

Adepticon is practically here!  At least for us, since we leave early Wednesday morning to do set up and the usual stuff.  I know that a lot of folks will be converging there, so hopefully the travel is not too crazy, and we get to see everybody!

As usual, there will be a lot of stuff going on, and I will be bouncing around all over the place.  My hope is to get to spend more time at Fort Wappel during the day, since a lot less folks tend to be around in the late night hours.  

The oil paints will be there again, which means that I will attempt as many 'spot demos' as I can with them, so that people can be introduced to them.  While I will be bringing just about all of my Bolt Action stuff with me, I will have several other figures too... Reaper, Dark Sword, you name it!

I will also have the Painting Pyramid painting videos on USB drives as usual, with all 53 episodes available.  Just drop by Fort Wappel and see me.

Hope to see everybody there very soon! Safe travels!

Hail the King

Sometimes a sculpt does not have to be incredibly complex to be fun to paint.  While this pose is essentially a simple one, I enjoyed the way the character's head was turned and how he seemed to be surveying the battlefield.

Even the flow of his cloak emphasized additional motion in a potentially static pose.

The armor was strategically placed to allow for a bit of NMM in a key spot to show the difference in texture from the leather and cloth sections.   Again, it doesn't always have to be a very complex figure to be quite interesting!

A Horse of Course

Each time I work with the oil paints, I learn more and more, and each figure has a higher percentage painted via oils.  As you know, the primary reason I have turned to the oils is that the extended drying time allows me to work on more figures at one time.

I know that the trend towards wet pallets is quite a big thing at the moment... but what if the same principle could be applied to the figures as well?

This figure was painted along with dozens of others... from historical WW2 infantry figures, to fantasy monsters, to vehicles.  It is even more effective if the figures are 'grouped' into sets of common colors.  It does not matter what the genre is, the key is to group them together for maximum efficiency.

While speed is the ultimate goal, the side benefits include the ability to blend colors hours if not days after the initial applications!  That's a tremendously powerful tool, and it is also a more relaxed approach.  I often have to remind myself that I have plenty of time to take advantage of wet into wet blending, since I am so used to the more rapid drying time of the acrylic paints.

I have done numerous live sessions on the oil paints... here's an example:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10211987031365225/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

I will be doing more sessions on the oils, as well as new Painting Pyramid videos!  Those will be available to the patrons on my Patreon page:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Bombs Away...

We really enjoy the Bombshell Babes line of figures... all the usual kinds of Patrick Keith sculpting goodness!

Each character is very distinct, and lots of different genres are covered.

Even though this is mostly earth tones, it is still possible to get contrast by staging warm and cool colors very close together.  In this case, the burnt sienna hair color plays off the green of the cloak, and even the blue woad on the face.

This is why I try not to use the term "limited palette" or anything like it, since you are not really restricted in the amount of options and choices that you have,  Even muted colors can still provide contrast and interest.

Bringing the Heat

The Mantic Salamanders offer a few interesting opportunities for some of my favorite things... painting fire, Object Source Lighting, and combining a lot of contrasting colors.

It is helpful that there are a lot of sharp angled shapes in the sculpt, which means that there are a number of ideal highlight points for something like OSL.  This is something to consider as you think about using this method on a miniature.  I can definitely say that there have been other figures where OSL was requested or required for whatever reason, and the figure itself was not exactly suited for it.

Having lots of deep shadow areas make the "light source" appear that might brighter, while a cooler tone for the skink also enhances the fire effect too in terms of how "hot" it looks.

I did a Facebook Live session on how I like to approach fire, OSL, and so on:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10210069480067641/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

He's also available here:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/323135848191