Now this is fun to see!

The promised group shots of the Venoms!  I was really itching to see these!

I could not believe how everything fit so comfortably on the Hangar 18 backdrop.

I know I have never had a chance to see everything together like this.

Then I threw in the objective markers...

And then did a "ground level" shot, which was impossible before, since my other backdrops could not cover something as tall as the Archon's venom.

So, I thought, would there be room for the passengers as well?

Sure enough!!!

A little closer.

On the other side.

One more shot... much more to come!!

House of Castellax...

OK, some WIP images of the Mechanicum Castellax.  I showed you the shaded basecoat images a few days ago... now for some glazing!

There's a variety of materials out on the palette (or dvd stack protector in this case!), including Vallejo and Reaper.  The Reaper liner paints are the high pigment, yet very thin paints which are fantastic for creating great dark shades.

The glazes on the metal parts focused mostly on the blue/black mix, but I also tried to work in some browns and more neutral black/gray.

This was done to compliment the much warmer reds and golds of the armor plates.

Keep in mind that once this is complete, I will go back in and add even more color variety in the midtones and lights.

The goal here is to set the deepest dark shades, and plan out where the brightest highlights will eventually be.  Also, I will think about where I will shift the midtones more purple, green, and so on.

I decided to make the ball on the back of the torso be glowing in order to get more interest back there.  I didn't want to rely on weathering alone to break up all that similar color.

The darks, highlights and glowing effect are mostly settled at this point.

I continue to refine the midtones.  By shifting the color on each surface, the metals look less boring, and they also have a bit more shape.

More details are added, including some Mechanicum icons and paint chipping.  Stay tuned for more!!

The Great Skedattle

More from the campaign.  Canadians and Brits vs the Axis, now pushing them out of Caen, and on the run!

Here we see the tally sheet, showing the victory in the first battle, and also the 'pre-battle' record keeping.  That is, the reserve rolls and the all important Victory Event Rolls.

Those really let you do a number on your opponent before the fight even begins.  You can weaken units, and even take away vital command cards!!

Here are my reserves.  More Desert Rats!!!

But once again, it will be the Canadians that bear the brunt of the fight.

This unit of armor was a victim of the Victory Event Roll...

Lots of infantry on the left waiting to chase down the retreating Germans!

The Allies begin by hammering the forward units that are fighting a desperate rear guard action.

Also, nightfall is approaching, and if they can delay the bulk of the Allied forces long enough, they can slip away under the cover of darkness.

However, the Germans begin to evacuate those units, as it is even later in the day than both sides thought!

The fierce Canadians surge forward, rolling into the town to cut off the retreating enemy!

A dreaded Panzer unit drives out into the open to cover the infantry unit heading towards the bridge... and safety.

 The Allies find other enemy units hiding out in the woods, and try to trap them there.  The artillery is no longer viable, since darkness now obscures these units!

The only way to hunt them down is with cold steel!

Meanwhile, enemy units continue to withdraw across the bridge.

Trapped!  The Germans can only fight to the death now!

Run away!  Run away!

Can the Canadians prevent the escape of the rest of the Axis forces so they don't have to face them again?  Or will they link up with other reserve units and launch a counter attack?  Wait and see!

Right to the favorites

For the last of the three Venoms, I decided to snap some images directly with my favorite backdrop!

The base was made with my own "trophy"... it was an unused interior door of the dreaded Forgeworld Storm Eagle kit.  That was the piece that made the hull section explode in my hands as I tried to glue it together.

As with all parts of that kit, nothing fit together.  Attempting to use the interior piece to stabilize it all.. wrapped in rubber bands, covered in glue and green stuff... BOOM!  All over the floor.

Anyway, the alterior purpose for these kinds of bases.  They were much heavier than the Venom on top of them, thus making them far less top heavy.  Not to worry about these guys tipping over!!!

Next up, I will use the giant backdrops to photograph all three of them together, which has never been done!  Yea!

Working in the 'Media'

When I was still in art school, a buddy of mine and I got a tiny dealer's table at a convention in the Congress Hotel in downtown Chicago.  At the time, it was a bit of a run down old Michigan Avenue hotel, in a seeder part of downtown.

We split one tiny table.  And thus, that's how my adult life of selling artwork began.  At a really really small Star Trek Convention!

I had a knack for not only painting portraits... but likenesses as well.  As it turns out, only a few people can achieve them, even though many artists paint very nice portraits.

So, for quite a number of years, I would paint images such as this Babylon Five character.

These are all watercolors.  The idea was to put them in a "movie poster" format, as we were taught in our illustration classes.

Eventually I tried to get more and more humor in the images... like this Trouble With Tribbles painting.  Eventually I would have to give up on them in favor of the Wildlife, Astronomy and Celtic Mythology series, since I saw lots of other "media painters" getting cease and desist orders.

That was a bummer, but I suppose it was all for the best.  I knew that the other genres of painting had far more longevity to them.  Media paintings had a tendency to run hot and cold, depending on what show was popular at the time.

Also, with more and more shows coming out, the fans became more fractured in their interests, making it almost impossible to judge where to go and what to take to a show.

However, I do have half a dozen pieces of artwork that have signatures of the Actors/Actresses who played the characters!!!

Potpourri

A little bit of everything for you tonight.  A touch of Memoir terrain for our next campaign, including a cemetary.

Some gravel, which did double duty to stabilize the green stuff bases for the trees.

With a spot of paint and flock...

And a few quick bridge sections made out of pink foam.  Took just a matter of minutes!

I have also been working very hard on five Castellax Battle-Automata.  Lots of crazy little parts to scrub down.

Finished bridge sections...

The color scheme will be identical to the Krios tank.  Final Shaded Basecoat stage here.

I am doing this to all five... and then some serious glazing and tinting to take place!!