Kennel Club

Here's the last of the Tharn Cavalry!

These could be interesting in a number of other systems... Kings of War in particular.

With the multibasing system, these could make quite the diorama base!

Ready for Winter!!

I was finally able to get some overall group shots of these Legion of Everblight figures.  They are a mix of the older metals and newer plastics.

I think I have mentioned a few times that the metal versions are easier to deal with, even though they are heavier.

The spear quivers were a challenge each time I had to do them.

I believe that these guys are all on 40mm bases.

Now for some metal!

Again, they got to be pretty heavy at times, but the mould lines were in less unusual places.

There was also a difference in the shape of the armor.  There tended to be more variety from one metal mini to the next.

And the whole batch together!!

Check out this sword...

It's interesting to note that miniatures tend to have the most unusual sizes and shapes of swords!  

Some of them can be shapes that are not always the easiest to paint.  This one was certainly a challenge.

Since the surface was so broad, I did have a chance to use many different color combinations across it in order to keep it more interesting.  Lots of muted reddish browns to keep it reflecting the environment around it.

A bit of Powder

This figure was originally used for one of the Painting Pryamid videos that focused on using weathering powders for painting a figure, as opposed to just plain weathering.

Here's a link to a post that showed the process of the video.  What's interesting about using the powders is that all of the colors are going to be much more muted than regular paint.

It's not very easy, but with the use of rubbing alcohol to turn it into a 'paint', and the Secret Weapon fixer, the results were quite interesting!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2013/08/powdering-ones-nose.html

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/221946874484?

Thanksgiving Dinner!!

That time of year is just days away!!! Scary thought, I know.

With each campaign, Raging Heroes likes to create some "urchin" style figures.  Kiddies getting up to lots of mischief!!  And these kids certainly are.

Hmm... I think this could be a very fun mounted general!! :-)

Charging ahead on the hobby horse!!  The exquisite details on these are unbelievable.  Look at the stitching on the cuff of the sleeve.  Every bit of the pose tells quite a story.

And yes, we have quite a story here!  This might even be very fun as some kind of halfling master chef ally for Kings of War... or even Blood Bowl!!

Someone is not quite satisfied with their gruel.

I want more salt!  Or, does she want to cover something in pepper...

I certainly can't wait to paint this amazing set!!

Just don't mess with the kids... the Nuns are gonna get ya otherwise!

Out for Blood

Among the many experiments that I've been conducting in materials for basing, I accidentally stumbled upon a possible idea for making blood drips from weapons.  This would expand upon the technique that I already used for making blood, which involved transparent red paints and Secret Weapon Realistic water.

The additional ingredient would be Liquitex gel medium, which I had gotten to use as a clear water splash material.  Initial tests proved this material to be even more robust than the Vallejo water effects medium, which had a tendency to collapse or shrink.

As a result, several layers needed to be painted to get a desired wave or splash effect.  I was quite surprised at how well the Liquitex gel held its shape!

While flames and other non water techniques are things I have already worked with, the use of blood spatter and 'trails' of cast off blood had not been tried until now.

I ended up using a strand of foliage material, which was very thin, but very strong and rigid.  It attached it to the weapon with a gob of the gel (with paint mixed in for color).  Once that was secure, I started placing additional blobs of water effects (also mixed with paint), and a bit of the gel.

Letting gravity do its work, I was able to create the impression of the blood dripping down!  Success!!

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/221945834468?

This image shows the materials in question. The Liquitex gel medium provided most of the 'body' of the blood, while the Secret Weapon Realistic Water made everything more shiny and transparent.

A stroll in the garden

When I uncovered this unknown miniature from an old batch of RPG figures, I thought that she would be a perfect test for a new kind of foliage that I was able to obtain this week from Hangar 18.

The actual name of the foliage is called Buttercup, but it is one of several colors.

There is also a white, red and a purple version.  While I have used the 'standard' type of flowery foliage (dots of color on top of grass clumps), this product is taller, and it simulates the leafy stems of a flower.

In fact, the height of this foliage allowed me to create the impression that she is reaching out to grab another batch of flowers, matching what I put in her right hand.

The yellow flowers also acted a s very nice color contrast to the blues in her dress.  This has been a new element in my basing... which used to be exclusively about what color marble or tile I used :-)

I think I have about 30 different kinds of foliage, grass, vines, leaves, etc. at this point, and it has massively expanded not just the ability to create little environments for my bases, but to have something which will work hand in hand with the colors of the figure.

These days, I actually "paint to" the colors of my foliage.  I know which one that I'll be using, and I make sure that the colors I paint on the figure include or contrast with such foliage.

Here's a quick picture  of the two products which were used.  The spring leaf foliage on the left was used to fill out the basing, and help the yellow flowers to 'stand".

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/321925210539?