The Sorceress Club

Since group shots are always interesting, I thought I would snap a few of the Sandra Garrity sorceress club!

It's very exclusive, of course.  You must have a fancy cloak, a staff... or at least a glowing dragon spell!

These ladies are all on the original "broccoli bases", which have been covered up with tree bark, oxide paste... sand and gravel.

I tried to keep all of the colors in the same 'family', with variations on the purples, teals, blues, and so on.

The foliage tufts are from Hangar 18 and Gamer's Grass.  Happy 4th of July!!!

The Experiments Continue...

While this is not actually a Bolt Action vehicle, this was an experiment for future German vehicle projects.  This is actually a 20mm, 1/72 scale tank hunter.

I wanted to see how some of my foliage might work in the future on a larger scale vehicle.  I have some Panzer 4's which will get a few different color schemes.

One of these will be a later war type of chia pet scheme.  When I do the "real" tank, there are other types of foliage which I will use on other areas of the tank.  These would be individual leaves that have clustered and piled into areas between the armor skirts, and other horizontal surfaces.

I employed some Secret Weapon weathering powders on this vehicle.  In fact, almost 80% of the surface is covered in them!  I could not find my usual spray on Testors Dullcoate to seal all these pigments, so I had to turn to a last ditch alternative.

I have a few containers of Secret Weapon pigment fixer, which is designed to seal those powders in place.  However, I had only used this material while applying the pigments simultaneously.  In this case, I would be applying it like a wash over the whole thing.  I wasn't sure what would happen... would I literally wipe away the powders that I had been applying, or streak them, etc.?  We would find out.

As it turned out, it went perfectly.  None of the powders were wiped away, and no crazy sheen was created.  Also, the pigment didn't change at all, another concern that I had.

That is a very important piece of knowledge for all the future vehicles and even infantry which I have planned for the future.  

The coin next to the vehicle reveals that this tank must be 1/72 scale.  It was one of the toy tanks that I had discovered at Little Wars last month.  I thought it was just the right kind of experimental subject, and it worked out that way.

So, stay tuned for future blog posts on those German Tanks!!

More Beta Testing

Have you seen Independence Day 2?  I haven't, but you don't have to go to the movies to see an alien invasion of The Sunset Lands... because they're invading the Weird West too!!

This is Beta 2, who provides some serious fire support for a Watcher posse in Wild West Exodus.

In keeping with the rest of the official color schemes, Beta 2 had to almost entirely gray.  To get just a hint of additional colors, I reflected a tiny amount of the sand onto the bottom of the legs.

The deadly green glow is unique to the Watchers, and was done with the usual Vallejo fluorescent paints.

As we approach the 4th of July, we find ourselves in the midst of the Wild West Exodus 4th of July sale.  This is the best time to experiment with a new posse, since the character, light and heavy support miniatures are always the most expensive items.

You only need 1 boss and 1 heavy support, so this is typically the time I went and got myself some major firepower!!

Plaid Warrior

Here's a fun Reaper classic... one that I have painted numerous times over the years.

It's interesting to try working on the same exact figure every now and then, as you can try out new colors and techniques, or even see how long it took you to paint it.  That makes it more of a controlled experiment!

Every so often, I try out a new tartan pattern on him, or a different type of foliage.  I actually prepped all of them at the same time years ago, when I was attempting to set up a Slaine RPG group.

That was definitely a very interesting universe, and a truly unique kind of RPG!  None of the super weapons you see in most games, yet very lethal. It was also devoid of the alignment mechanic which tends to make RPG's very boring for me.  There really is no "good and evil" in that system.  You just exist... but probably not for very long!!  ;-)

Keep on Truckin'

As you already know, my focus with the French army has geared itself towards transports.  Chief among these are the Laffly series, which proved to be quite the all purpose vehicle.  They hauled troops, guns, and more!

I already have a few of the official Bolt Action Laffly trucks, but when I saw the array of vehicles available from Mad Bob's Miniatures (yes, you read that correctly)  I just had to dive in and get some for my own French army!

This is the typical Laffly S20TL.  These have already served me quite well, so adding on with the Mad Bob's versions will add just a tiny bit of variety, making them easier to distinguish from one another on the battlefield.

This W15TCC Tank Hunter was even more vital, as Mad Bob is the only manufacturer I know who is producing it in this scale.  I first learned about the effectiveness of these in Flames of War.

Obviously there are differences between the two systems, but the mobility of a medium anti-tank gun for not so many points is significant to say the least!

I also got a standard set piece 47mm anti-tank gun, but our games have shown how easily that anchored gun is placed at a disadvantage quite often.

While I can use the Laffly trucks as a tow for my artillery, I like the idea of having an anti-tank gun which can move 24 inches on a road and still shoot!

Oh, and let's not forget how nice these are.  Prepping them was very easy, and they have proved to be resilient and strong.

These are just the first to arrive from Mad Bob's vehicle factory.  More will certainly be added.

I also have the Citroen Kegresse P19 VDP, which will make an interesting command vehicle. 

I think I mentioned in my last Bolt Action post about how much I am enjoying trucks in general.  While the tanks are fantastic, and lots of fun, there is a certain sense of realism here.  I have seen tanks on bases and in museums, but not generally driving down my street.

I see trucks of all kinds every day, so this factor makes these more near and dear to me. :-)

This shot has a few of my French troops to give you a sense of the scale, which is the same as the Bolt Action version.

Here is Mad Bob's webstore, showing not just the other French vehicles, but everything else too!!

http://www.madbobminiatures.co.uk/shop/4587330661/France

Rumble in the Jungle!

Let's get back to the Jungle with another wonderful figure from the Lizardman team that RN Estudios sent to me.  The figures were sculpted by Txarli Miniatures.

Here's another Saurus, done in that traditional turquoise color scheme.

This was done with a lot of glazing and tinting over an very light teal color.  Even the darkest purple areas were done by repeated glazes of the Reaper Clear paints... mixing the blue and purple together.

The Reaper clear paints make a fantastic glaze, as you can thin them down with water without worrying that they will break up in consistency... and they dry to a wonderful matte finish.  They also have a lot of pigment, so they leave behind a wonderful tint.

There are a number of colors in that set of clear paints... red. magenta, blue, green, yellow and purple.  I really love them!

I even mix them with other glaze colors from Vallejo and Secret Weapon.

Here's a link to the RN Estudios website, with all of the INCREDIBLE teams to see.  I definitely have to get some more of these!

http://rnestudio.webs.com/

Commanding Presence

I know it's been a while since you have seen some Victoria Miniatures here.  That's been a product of playing other games besides 40k... and not because I don't LOVE these fantastic miniatures.

This one was introduced at Adepticon, and I have wanted to paint it ever since.

I could not resist putting the light next to her, in order to provide a little warm back light to all the muted, cooler colors of the uniform.

The pose is one of my favorites.  Very stern, very much in charge... but still relaxed.  Not every figure needs to be scurrying around with its hair on fire. :-)

Check out more of her fantastic figures right on her website:

http://victoriaminiatures.highwire.com/

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322173139480?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649