We shall repent!

The Grim Dark returns with another Repentia from my Sisters of Battle army.

I do remember one game from years ago when I had a line of twenty of these, led by a Mistress, that marched towards some Chaos marines.  They never did go psycho, which I had counted on to close the gap more rapidly.

I think the idea was to also have Inquisitor Karamazov and some Penitent Engines as well, kind of an all insane army theme :-)

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322456682731?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Panzer Zug II

The tank forces are building for the push through the Ardennes as a PZ 38t joins the Early War PZ 4 and Hanomag.  These experiments in Dunklegrau have taken place a few months apart, which means that the materials used have changed quite a bit.

These vehicle kits are all from the Warlord Games line.  

I had only just started using the Mig AMMO oil products when I painted the PZ4 and the transport.  It's interesting to see how much that has evolved in such a short period of time!

The Czech tank leads the charge.  Another is coming too, a PZ 35t.  It's interesting to think that such vehicles were the majority of the German medium armor at that time, with just a handful of Panzer Fours available.

An early war Panzer 3 is also in the works, which will probably be painted in a Facebook live broadcast.  There's also a few Opel Blitzes to go with these heavier vehicles.

The PZ 38t is the most recent of the group, painted in one of those Facebook live sessions:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209437544229640/?type=2&theater

On that vehicle, I did some experiments painting with weathering powders mixed with rubbing alcohol.  The idea is to turn the powders into a wash to apply it, but then remove most of the pigments once it is dry.

I just discovered some interesting brushes that would make this process a lot easier, so I look forward to experimenting with that!

My plan is to paint one of each type of vehicle and artillery piece that was involved in the France '40 campaign, so go along with all the troops that have been painted, so that I can build the rest of the terrain and begin doing battle reports!

I didn't think that I would have quite this much fun with the Dunklegrau color scheme, but once I read about how that paint job was supposed to work, I thought it would be interesting.  Apparently that concept was that the vehicles would "self camouflage", or literally pick up bits of their environment such as dust, mud, etc.

This would make the tanks blend in to their surroundings, since the tank itself was neutral grey.

The idea was not terribly successful, especially in the desert or in winter!  Plus, the "camo" had a tendency to wash off in heavy rains!

Stay tuned for much more, including those facebook live painting sessions!

Carniverous

It's been a long time since I last posted a Privateer Press mini, so here you go!

I had thought of starting up a Legion of Everblight army years ago, but I didn't want to do the snow treatment that is normally seen.  Wanting to experiment with a reflecting lava theme, I just could not resist trying it on the Carnivean.

Contrasting the cool colors of the skin and neutral grayish browns of the carapice with the fluorescent orange of the lava was a lot of fun!

I tried to incorporate as much purple and green as I could in that carapice, so that the overall colors would not get too boring and static.  Purples also had to be included in the skin tones.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222439221498?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Sideline Assassin

We first started with our miniature painting adventures with Blood Bowl miniatures, and 16 years later that journey continues!  Now of course, we have many exceptional new companies making  fantastic teams like this one from Sukubus Studio.  You have seen several of the demonette figures so far, but you will be see other teams here in the future as well.

The Vakyrie and Dark elf teams are just as wonderful, with easy to paint details on the face, armor, etc.  It makes life a whole lot easier!  Stay tuned for more...

Medic!!!

I think this is one of my favorite figures from the Winter German set from Warlord Games.  Both of the soldiers have great posing, and their is enough detail on the faces to give them some interesting expressions.

As with all limited palette exercises, finding interesting and subtle color changes in the mid tone areas is always a fun challenge!

I couldn't help myself, so some blood spatter had to be put into the snow!

Short on Magic?

I have painted a number of Dwarf characters over the years, mostly in the form of fighters or clerics.  Without a doubt, this Reaper Dwarf wizard is a first for me!

He's a BONES figure (not sure which campaign it's from), which meant I was glad to discover the effectiveness of emery boards in removing mould lines.

I enjoyed how all the vintage wizard features were translated to a Dwarf frame.  The hat, staff, pipe and other details are what you would expect to see in a wizard, but each has a dwarf twist.  This is typified by the staff, which has a distinctly Dwarven look.

I have painted a few dozen BONES figures now, mostly regular 28mm sized characters.  I have painted some ogre sized monsters, but I am still hoping to paint up some of the big beasties!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222438088688?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

Winter is really Hell

After a few facebook live painting sessions, we have the finished version of the Trenchworx M18 Hellcat.

As you saw in the original unboxing post, these kits are very easy to assemble, and they even have magnets for the turrets!  That is a fantastic feature.

This version was winterized to go along with the winter American army for the Bolt Action Battle of the Bulge book which has just been released.

I tried out a number of brand new materials on this vehicle, such as the Wilder oil paints, and the Secret Weapon mud kits.  That involved mixing sand, realistic water and weathering powders.  I also mixed static grass into this to create grass tufts hanging out of the treads.

Here's a link to that live video:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/10209626582475478/?pnref=story

The views from above show some of the variations in the greens, as some areas have a little more blue, while other spots are more yellowish.  Also, you can see the leaves that were added that had been cut with the Green Stuff World leaf cutters.

The stowage was mostly sculpted, although I used a few extra bits from the American Bolt Action sprues too.

One winterized American tank ready to take the field!!!