The forest for the trees

Here was something that I would work on to practice some of the glazing, and test out the new washes from Secret Weapon.  He is an Ultraforge miniature, cast in resin, on a 50mm base.

Ultraforge make a lot of large creatures and demons... you can see them here:

http://www.ultraforgeminiatures.com/?page_id=74

I have already done a WIP post on this guy, which showed some of that glazing and tinting process.  Not only did I test out some of the more 'traditional' washes from Secret Weapon, I also broke out a few of the very bright washes, such as the Fallout wash.

I mixed a lot of those washes in with my opaque paints when I went back in to the middle tones.  That is something that I am trying to bring up as often as possible... not just in the specific glazing video.

Some of the benefits of using the wash to mix with your paints is that the color becomes tinted to what shadow colors are already there.  I am essentially creating colored water to mix with my paint, instead of regular water.

I also mix glaze medium with my colors, but that tends to be used more to keep a paint color active instead of tinting it, since glaze medium extends the drying time of your paint..

Working with bikes...

I don't know how helpful this might be, but here are a few things that I learned working with those new Forgeworld bikes.

Since they don't come with any real instructions, that always complicates things a bit.  In addition, I had never assembled regular bike kits before, and was doing that a little in the dark.  While we were away, I worked on prepping these.  First I had washed all the resin parts and scraped off mould lines, etc.

It took me a while to figure out just which parts belonged where... but even more importantly, which ones should you glue first!  Over the years, there has been more than one occasion where I glue something that should have waited a step or two.

Plus, there are also times where you attach something that would have been far easier to paint and then assemble later.  Lessons such as these are usually learned the hard way.

I learned that the FW front wheels of the bikes are a little harder to get into place.  I almost had to let them move around once the 2 halves of the bike were glued together.

Once they were glued in place, I set the bike upright, and let the front wheel work its way into position.  The glue is allowed to set as I move onto the next one.

Once those have set. I put the rest of the FW pieces on to the bike.  Those two pieces you see under the bike were a bit of a mystery at first.  They are two different sizes, as the end of the forks on the right and left sides are also different sizes.

After those are in place, I had to attach the front mounted bolters.  Fortunately, there was not much distortion in these pieces.  I was very relieved!!

As all those pieces set, I put the legs in place without gluing.  There is no way to get at everything I need to on the bike with the rider in the way!

This let me get the torso and other upper body pieces attached, using the glue/green stuff/glue method.  The handlebars make positioning weapon arms more difficult than I anticipated.

The legs have to be pulled a bit closer to the handlebars to make the arms reach, which might be part of the slight shrinkage that can happen when casting resin parts...

Be sure to leave plenty of room for the power pack when positioning that rear panel!  Again, another hard lesson learned.  I had only done 2 of the bikes at that time, and I was able to move the pieces.

So, from this mass of various grey parts, a squad of White Scar bikes shall emerge!  I know this was not the fanciest post, but I hope that it might save someone a bit of annoyance when they take on these bikes.

Getting lost in the jungle

Here was the other camouflage figure!  Once again, a Viridian from Urban Mammoth

These snipers were just the trick for something trying to hide out in the jungle.  The cloak was also a nice variation from the desert marine.

Just as with the desert camo figure, the 'other' colors, such as the rifle, were mixed with the "resident" greens that surrounded it, making it blend in even more.

And now for the contrast between the two figures.  The settings make such a huge difference!!!

Now you see me, now you don't...

Hopefully these finished images of the figure with its base demonstrates the principles of  camouflage as I see it.  That is, integrating it with the surrounding base.

Spending a lot of effort to paint camo patterns that are not complimented by the base is not terrible fun, as I see it.

To envelop the miniature in a base that is themed to match is not only fun, but very satisfying.

In addition, I tried to make the colors of the "non camo" surfaces match the environment by including some of those colors.  For instance, the grey of the gun was lightened with colors that I had used to highlight the base.  The same went for the boots and pouches.

I have also done a jungle camo figure, which I will show tomorrow!  Stay tuned.

Hiding in plain sight... part one.

Now that the first part of the camouflage set is complete, I wanted to post a few WIP images of the base.  The miniatures are what is being shown on film, but the bases relate to them in a critical way.  That's why I have been showing the steps I used to create them here.

This is the basic shaded basecoat technique to prepare the bases for glazing and shading.  Nothing fancy, just some light tans... some more yellow, others a bit more greyish.

Using Secret Weapon Dark sepia, concrete soft body black and armor wash, I darkened my shadow areas and made more interesting color patterns.

Once everything was considered to be at the level I wanted, I did some work in the middle tones, bringing in more cooler colors... essentially tan mixed with some light seafoam green.

Here are some shots of the painted mini before he was attached to the base.

The finished product will go up tonight!!  Stay tuned...

Trunko and Jeero had a new buddy to share their ride with on the great journey up north...

Minis for the camo...

I just realized that I had not shown the starter box set that contains the camouflage miniatures!

It's been a crazy day...

Just like the Junkers, the Viridians had their own box.

Stat cards and minis all in one handy box.

The snipers were in their own blister, with stat card.

And the minis prior to prepping.  Next up will be the pictures of the painted figs!!

Let's play Pyramid!

Well, when we finally completed the 8 hour drive back from White Bear, there was a box waiting in front of the door.

I thought it was something else at first, until I saw the name, and how heavy it was!  Eight pounds of something...

We opened it up, and started digging!

Not one, but TWO big bags 'o dice...

So this is what 800 dice look like.  I have never, ever, seen so many in one place before!

It did not take long for the Uglies to create a new game for themselves.  They called it Pyramid (actually they called it 'Get more triangle thingies'), but what's in a name?

Looks like Trunko won this round!!

These were much sharper than the sample dice, which was very good when I saw it.  There were all sorts of nice color varieties... some more green, some more purple.  Just like the Painting Pyramid!