Skyfall

This group shot is comprised of Algroyn units from the Gates of Antares universe.  As you can see, I was experimenting with a few different color schemes!

This post features one of the infantry units, done in an ice theme:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/11/the-ice-warrior.html

I also did a facebook live episode on painting the skimmers, and the freehand involved:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209514481873033/?type=2&theater

To show how I made the bases for the figures, I did this facebook live session:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209658916083798/?type=2&theater

The Algoryn skimmers were the perfect shape for those animal faces!  I have a few other predatory critters that I will be doing, such as birds of prey and a dragon face.

I had a lot of fun with the jungle foliage as well!

You can find these figures on the Warlord Games site here:

https://us-store.warlordgames.com/products/algoryn-starter-army/?utm_campaign=jamiet&utm_medium=click&utm_source=fbba

Here's another video episode on how the C3 Transporter freehand was painted:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209626582475478/?type=2&theater

Stop, Thief!

The adventuring party shows its darker side with this thief from Reaper Miniatures.

I did some basic non metallic metal with a purplish gray, mixed with lighter seafoam green to lighten it.

Just like other members of the party, I used the Green Stuff World leaf punches to create some nice ground cover.  Remember, if you are going to utilize those punches, you always want to have a nice collection of dried, pressed leaves handy!

The First Age

I only painted a few of the First Age Gondor figures, but it was an interesting challenge for the NMM phase.  First, these guys are pretty tiny, and only a few metal surfaces actually show!

Also, they have a lot of dark blue, and that has to be reflected into those metals, along with the ground color and as much sky as possible.  I never played a Gondor army... mostly since it was what I was fighting against most of the time!

I opposed it with my Easterling/Khand alliance, and even my Mordor force.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222544843592?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Leviathan of the East

In the process of evolution, some branches of that tree tend to snap off.  That happened with the multiple turret style tanks that had been developed prior to WW2.

Obvisouly, they tended to be very slow, and the multiple turrets created a very high profile, and made things a wee bit hectic for the crew.  I suppose that the could have worked best as dug in bunkers... but in any case, they are still very fun!

This is the Trenchworx version of the massive T-35.  As with all Trenchworx vehicles, you have excellent casting, and a very helpful instruction sheet!  These are extremely helpful, especially with a more complex kit such as this.

https://trenchworx.com/product/soviet-t-35/

A quick look at the parts shows you what you will be working with.  There is minimal mould line and flash nastiness to deal with, which saves a lot of time.

A closer look at the resin bits...

Now for the assembled tank!  You really get the sense of how giant this was.

I am still pondering a winter appearance for this T-35, since I have seen so many green versions so far.

Given all the vertical surfaces on the T-35, I thought that might be a great way to show some weathering, with streaked whitewash, rust, mud and even some icicles!

For those of you how might be wondering, this is 1/56 scale for Bolt Action.  A penny included for a size comparison.

As with all Trenchworx vehicles, the added luxury of magnetized turrets!  Not having loose turrets bouncing around inside my cases of painted miniatures is always a plus :-)  It even makes some of the final weathering and painting easier.

An added bonus is the magnetized main gun!  They think of everything!  

Some final views of the vehicle prior to the priming phase.  That has since been completed, and I am hoping to paint this in one of my facebook live sessions soon! Stay tuned.

Savage Saurus

My original Saurus cavalry unit was comprised of the old metal and plastic kits.  The Saurus riders were all metal, which certainly made them top heavy!  When the all plastic versions came out, they required far less counter balancing.

Keeping with the same color scheme made them blend in with those original figures nicely, giving the unit a more diverse look.  It did require some shifting of puzzle pieces to get them to fit on the same movement tray however!!

The Ranger

It was pretty funny painting this dark green ranger after painting a number of American and British WW2 vehicles!  I guess I must have had this particular shade of green on my mind!

I didn't get crazy with any freehand this time around... heck, just like all the British tanks that have virtually no markings on them!!

The leaves were done with the Green Stuff world leaf punches, as usual.

Halt!

We return to the front lines with the Warlord Games winter American figures.  This is a metal set which contains 10 sculpts.  There are also a number of support and command sets to complete the army.  

This was my first experience in using oils to paint an entire unit of 'regular' miniatures.  Up to that point, I had only used them on vehicles.  It was a lot of fun to use the oils on infantry figures, and this link shows you some of the steps involved.

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/02/oil-slick.html

There are a number of obvious advantages to the oils, such as the extended drying times.  Another upside to the oils is the ease of initial blending, and the ability to mix right on the figure!

I also used the Secret Weapon Miniatures crushed glass for the snow effects.

Also, the use of oil paints makes getting the muted tones quite easy, since you are already mixing the colors quite frequently.  I will be using the oils on subsequent armies, such as my Italians.  That extended drying time is ideal for working on mass amounts of figures all at once, keeping more consistency in the colors from one to the next.

Being able to come back after a few days to continue painting the figures means that I can be more relaxed in the approach, as the paint on the palette and the figures will still be workable for quite a while.

I will be incorporating more materials in the oil painting process, such as the Mig AMMO OilBrushers.  Stay tuned!