Land of the Pharaohs

All new from Green Stuff World... yet another fantastic texture roller!  You have seen a number of great textures already, such as the Celtic ruins, Runic Temple and many others.

Instead of putting links to those previous articles that explained some methods for using them, I did a fresh demonstration here.  I was out of the usual grey Extra Firm Sculpey, so I had to use the regular white Sculpey.

This breaks easier than the grey, and is not quite as easy to get an even roll, but it will do for the moment!

Like those previous demonstrations, I have a few materials and tools ready once the sheets have been baked.

To keep things simple, I will put a piece of cork under the thinner sheets.

The cork is broken into shape, and glued in place.

Selecting the piece of Sculpey is more involved, as you want to maximize the effect of the design.  It's also important to think about the footprint of the figure as well, and what that might or might not obscure.

The overhanging bits are cut away for the most part.  It is OK to leave some of that behind, since that overhang can be supported later by adding the glue, rocks, oxide paste, etc.

The second part of the image at the bottom shows that the edges have been chipped away with an exacto knife.  This wears it down and weathers it a little more.  You could also sculpt cracks and other effects with simple carving tools.

Again, I wanted to keep this as simple as possible for the moment!

I usually select a number of different base sizes and shapes, because the designs of these rollers have large and small sections to the patterns.  Square bases let me get more of that design on the base, but there are ways to get more from round bases too.

I have a 'triangle' shape, which only overhangs in a few areas.  Those "open" spots let me get the base into contact with another base, which most game systems seem to have as part of the rules.

When doing a larger or more unusual shaped base, it is nice to have a few levels.  Here the Sculpey sheet is placed directly onto the base as well as on a piece of cork.

This makes the base far more interesting, and prefect for those horses rearing up on their hind legs!

These first few bases were done with thin sheets of Sculpey on cork.  I also have a sheet of texture which is about twice as thick.  Let's see how this looks!

The thickness of this sheet means that I don't need to put the cork underneath.  I also end up with lots of nice broken and chipped pieces for the square style bases.

On the round base, I rested one larger chuck on its side for added interest.

At this stage, the bases are now ready to have some sand and gravel added.  I have also used a variety of the Vallejo oxide paste products for this.

I have my three different grades of sand and gravel, and the extra strong Elmer's glue.

First, all of the open areas are covered with a fair amount of glue, so that I can add the heaviest rocks in the second step.  I always begin with the largest gravel first, so that I can place them exactly where I want, and then 'build' around them, as I do in the third step.

You can see that with each lighter grade that I add, space is still being left for the progressively lighter grades, such as the sand, which was added in the fourth step.

This process is repeated on all of the bases.  Every so often, I put a thin layer of glue over the carved textures, so make them seem like they have some sand blown over the top of them.  As with everything else, it is up to you how much or how little you need.

All of the bases complete!  If you have any skulls, scarabs, broken swords or even snakes, they can be added for an extra touch of ancient desert flavor!  When I put the miniatures on these, I will probably do just that... so stay tuned.

Here's a link:

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

The Hunter

Next up in the Skink series!  Yes, there are a great many of these... because that's just how Skinks roll. :-)

Having the various Hangar 18 foliage tufts and other leafy bits was a definite advantage this time around, as they didn't exist back in the day when I first painted the Lizardmen.

I had to make do with static grass, and plastic aquarium plants.  You have already seen some of the plastic plants, which also got a bit of an update on an earlier post.  Discovering that simple glazes could make those instantly lose that shiny plastic appearance.

I could not resist 'updating' as many of my little guys as possible by adding more of these new foliage tufts and doing those glazes.  My Vallejo glazes worked very well for this, but I am also going to test the AMMO enamel products, which could yield some different effects.

While the acrylic Vallejo products had no trouble sticking to the plastic (my biggest concern), I am guessing that oil based paints will stick even better. Stay tuned!

A strong platform

Next up for the Gates of Antares Isorian army is the Nhamak Light Support Drone platform.  As I have mentioned in the previous Antares posts, this return to sci-fi has also meant a return to some brighter, more saturated color schemes.

This particular return to sci-fi also involves a more 'natural' or organic set of shapes, so there's even more color selection freedom!  This carapice was a great opportunity to try out some different color combos.

As I work through this force, I'm even more glad that I went with the deck plating style of basing.  The neutral gray tones are a perfect method to offset these brighter more saturated colors.  The occasional accents of safety stripes and other markings brings a bit of that warm color down onto the base too.

This view from above gives you a sense of that color contrast.

And now for a few shots of just the platform.  The next set will likely be the command staff, so stay tuned!!

Frost Blade

I don't paint a whole lot of Privateer Press figures, but it is fun to do that when I get the chance.

As you might imagine, this is also part of the massive snow theme project, which combines figures from a number of different companies.  While painting an army in a continuous color scheme is certainly an interesting challenge, keeping a range of colors and theme over radically different styles of figures is quite unique!

I think there have been at least 4-5 different manufacturers in this adventure.  All you can do is try to find the "common ground" in all the figures, be that cloaks, hair, weapons, etc.  Having a distinct basing style with everything is the easiest method, and snow sorta works with everything.

While something this massive is not for everyone, challenging yourself to make a group of five or six unrelated figures work with each other could open up some new ideas and concepts for you!

Darkest Eldar

This "combo kit" Kabal warrior emphasizes the newer kits over the old sets.  Most of the previous figures have prioritized the use of the original, older sprues.

I certainly didn't expect the two kits to come remotely close  to working together, given how far apart in time they were created, and the differences in design.  The technology involved in making the two kits was certainly very different!

The newer versions had the more dynamic poses, and more clearly defined armor sections, as this guy does.  The weapons were much the same, but the massive variety I ended up with was well worth the effort.  Dozens of these Kabal were done this way, and each one was unique.

One last close up look... but stay tuned for many more!!

Pitch perfect

We return to one of my favorite lines of Blood Bowl minis with the original Sukubus team.  While three wonderful new teams have been created since these ladies (Norse, Dark Elf, etc.),  these Demonettes still rule the pitch!

The sculpts have plenty of detail and dynamism in the poses, and each one is unique as well!  Better yet, nearly all of them are in just one piece, such as this figure.  I have no idea how that was possible, especially with the minimal amount of mould lines.

I hope you enjoy seeing these various teams come together, player by player.  The rest of the team can be found in the Sukubus Studios section of the blog, along with previews and reviews of their other races and teams.

Be sure to check out the Sukubus Studio webpage and on facebook to see their latest news, and what's being planned for the future.

Crossing the Rubicon

It's time to take a look at the first of some amazing 1/56 scale kits by Rubicon miniatures.  I suppose that the old "you can't judge a book by it's cover" saying does not apply here, because the incredible packaging is an indicator of the marvels contained within!

As most of you already know, my obsession with trucks as transports and tows, so having another Opel Blitz around suits me just fine. 

The concept behind the Rubicon kits is a combination of gaming and display level figures.  This means that they are supposed to have the look and feel of high level traditional model kits (which can be used for competition dioramas, etc.) but have an ease of construction and durability which you see in more gaming oriented kits.

Working with these sets has shown me they accomplished this goal with great accuracy!

The instructions are a great balance of detail and options, just like the kit.  There are many tidbits of advice and hints on which parts should be assembled first, depending on what your goal is.  A very complete decal sheet is also included.

Amazingly enough, it took only two sprues to provide all these options.  They are not jammed in together so tightly that you have to risk breaking pieces just to remove them.  All too often, I have to cut up the main sprues to be able to get at the parts that I need.  Certainly not an issue here!

Things might look complex off the bat, but the instructions are very easy to follow, and every piece fits together perfectly.

Check out the level of detail on this undercarriage.  I can't wait to get at this with my weathering products!  I think you can also see some of the thought bubbles on the instructions offering the tidbits of advice.

The tires are very well done too. so the crisply rendered treads will be prefect for some nice light colored dust or dried mud!

The bed can be put together in as number of ways, and the cab is a fantastic design which makes paining the driver and crew a snap!

More options!  The truck bed can be completely enclosed, partially opened, or minus the cover completely.

There are stowage sets for both Allied and Axis kits, which I absolutely have to get my hands on!  I'd love to have the bed of a truck filled up with some supplies as an objective or something along those lines.

The shell of the cab pops right off for easy access to the crew.  I'll be painting those first so you can see them.  There are some templates for making windshields and windows, which I will take advantage of!  This way I can splatter some mud on them and possibly some rain effects!

These assembled shots give you a sense of how nice this will be to paint!  The cab is not even glued in place yet!

I have not quite decided which period/theater this will be from.  Since the top comes off so easily, and stays on without needing glue, I may just use it for my Afrika force.  We shall see.

This is only the first of several incredible Rubicon kits, so be sure to stay tuned!!