A Spirit in the Sky

A new addition joins my Warrior Nation posse.  He is Sky Spirit, and you can see by the next few images that I made some alterations on the base to make it appear a little more in line with my own style.

I used bark and Sand Paste to create the additional texture.

These views also show the texture which was added, and the straw.  That stringy straw like material is very nice for tall grass, or even for some kind of dried underbrush.

Now for the painted results!  

As with most Warrior Nation, his weapon glows blue with energy from the Great Spirit.

I think he will make an excellent wingman for the Great Fire Eagle!

As usual, I didn't want to paint him the same color that I have been seeing.  Brown and white were out... so a crow came to mind.  This was perfect, since I painted Geronimo as a black bear.

This will also set the theme for my warriors as well.  I think I will be doing lots of black warpaint on them.  The moment where a true color scheme coalesces and comes to life is one of my favorite moments in army painting!

Just one more to go!

Here's the next to last Dragoon for you!

I'm still searching for some terrain that will look neat for the group shots. :-)

Le Flamant Rose

All right, now it's time to get the upper floor some wallpaper.  I follow all the same steps that I did on the ground level.

Just as before, completing each wall makes the floor stand out, and gives the eye something more interesting to look at than a simple painted wall.

Am advertisement showing the benefits of inflatable bosoms.

A few pieces of artwork to "set the mood"...

I didn't want to spend a lot of time creating frames for each picture, so I used a few scraps of matboard which had a metallic silver surface.  It was just enough to set the image from the wall... thus avoiding a 'poster' effect.

 I did the same on the lower level.

The sign was also glued to a piece of matboard so that I could attach it to the face of the building.

Open for business!  Well, almost.  There are more things to do, such as the weathering, exterior posters, and one major piece.

Many of the exterior posters are the same as you might see on the other buildings.  The Wanted posters are as visible as possible, showing just how pervasive the presence of the Lawmen is in Wappelville.

One last piece of art, framed by a piece of golden brown pastel paper.  Another classy rug is added.

An RJ-1027 powered sign is a subtle indication of the type of entertainment to be found at the Pink Flamingo.

Lathan's ingenious marquis sign in place! 

This leaves those final touches, mostly weathering powders.  I will use them for the obvious purpose of weathering and aging the roof, walls, posters and more, but to shade things like the balustrades. 

Once I have that phase completed, I will take some finished images.  Furniture will be added to these interiors once I get those brand new kits.  A bed for upstairs, some tables and chairs... stay tuned!!!

Fun at the Flamingo!

There's one building remaining from the 'original' batch of structures comprising Wappelville.  This would be Miss Fannie's establishment, officially known as The Pink Flamingo.  Its also been referred to as "Miss Fannie's House of Horizontal Refreshment".

As you have seen many times, the wood texture is painted in first.  A few simple colors are used... some more red, others more green.  A variation in light and dark shades are essential also.

I apply the colors quickly to the surface, which allows me to mix these colors together on the wood itself.

Each wood surface on the various levels gets the same treatment.

In addition to the first layers of pink on the exterior walls.  I put some paint on the insides of the window frames and the corners.

Some of you might remember from the Funeral Parlor that filling in the corners this way will help hide any gaps that might otherwise emerge when the wallpaper is glued in place.

The pink on the exterior is done in a few layers.  My first layers are more transparent, and somewhat darker.  These will be covered gradually by a few lighter, more opaque layers.

The final layers of light color application bring out individual planks, which give the walls a little more shape.  When you have large walls on buildings such as this, having each panel of wood be the exact same color would be just as boring as making the interior wood floors one shade of brown!

A muted purple was used for the trim.  Eventually, more shading will be added to those elements.  For now, a mostly flat color will do.

The interiors are now ready for some decoration!!!

As I did with the Funeral Parlor, I did some Google searches of Pink Flamingo wallpapers and other images.  I also created a sign in Photoshop.

I completed the pages with some advertisements and Wanted posters..

The ads extolled the virtues of inflatable bodices, cigars and Stetson hats.

A little carpeting on the floor to give an added touch of 'class'.

Now for the wallpaper.  It can be challenging, since you have to get the cutouts just right.  First, I fit the overall piece without gluing it... then I trace the cutout areas.

With each wall that is covered, things really begin to take shape!

All the walls are now covered on the ground floor.  Time to take care of "upstairs".  Tune in for the next episode!!

Carpathian's Creation

The evil, twisted mind of Carpathian knows no bounds... his 'Creations' grow ever more hideous.

This blasphemous piece of work is called Creation 7, from Wild West Exodus.

He is a monstrous opponent, capable of getting additional action points, making him even more deadly.

Should he double those action points, his Swiss Army Knife bag of weapons will likely do a tremendous amount of damage!!!

The hooves return...

The final few Dragoons have been completed, starting with this guy.

Once again, continuing with the green and red Dragoon scheme.

A few more set of single figures, and then the final group shots are coming!

The March of the Thralls

Today we have some group shots of the second set of Thralls.

As usual, seeing these things as a group for the first time is always a revelation.

While I perpetually work in an assembly line fashion, these guys were not done in one massive set of ten or twenty.  Work circumstances dictated otherwise, so there were times where I would complete three at a time, or two, or occasionally just one.

This had a lot to do with what colors were on the palette at the moment, and what other figures I was working on.  For instance, if I was glazing and shading golds, I would be sure to use some of that on these guys.  The same went for black.

If I happened to be doing red glow on a bunch of other figures, that's when I would do the same with the Thralls.  

Keeping the line moving in any way possible is essential to maximum efficiency!