Little Grey Men

They're here!!!  Yes indeed, little Grey Men from Wild West Exodus!!

Introducing the Watchers, one of four new factions that were part of the Unfinished Business kickstarter.

Incredibly, everything is 3 months AHEAD of schedule, so all of the kickstarter figures are available for regular pre order now on the Outlaw Miniatures website.

I had a lot of fun painting these guys.  I wanted to stick with the concept art as closely as possible.

Since the figure itself was going to have a variety of greys, mostly on the cooler side of the spectrum, I thought that I could provide some contrast by painting the base with lots of tan, browns, yellows, etc.

Even the Gamer's Grass tufts had to fit this setup.  I had been saving this very light colored version just for these little guys!

More alien invasion ahead, so stay tuned!!!!!!!!!

Angel of the Seas

Time for another experiment!!

Once again, I was able to scrounge up a very old mystery figure that was standing on top of this rock base I had made years ago.  I thought this would be as good a place as any to test out a new technique combining the vallejo/secret weapon glaze colors with the Liquitex Heavy Gel Medium.

In a previous use of the Gel Medium for water, I tried to mix in some 'regular' opaque blueish paint with the Medium to see what would happen.  Unfortunately, I ended up with blue paste which had hardly any transparency to it.  

It is very difficult to tell when you first mix that in with the Gel Medium, since it all very white and opaque anyway before it dries.

I was hoping that if I combined it was something that was already very translucent, I would be able to 'tint' the Gel Medium towards blue, green, etc.

While I had to wait several hours for the results, it all worked out exactly as I had wanted!!!

This opens up all sorts of new possibilities for other types of basing and interactive posing of figures splashing through rivers or swamps.

The most crucial aspect of the test was to see if I could create a style of water that would work with my 1/700 waterline diorama warships.  I think this will be absolutely perfect.  The gel is easy to acquire, so I won't have to worry about running out.

My next test will be to observe what happens when I mix in the fluorescent paints with the Gel Medium.  I might have something that creates lava flows in an instant!!

We shall see..

Leaves of Fury

Here's the third and final Raging Heroes Treekin, with foliage applied!

It's still amazing to see the difference that the foliage made.  These guys have so much motion and action to the poses.  They were dynamic poses to start with, but the leaves seem to enhance that.

Next up.., the group shots!!

Death Charge!

This Reaper Revenant Cavalry figure was the subject for one of my painting videos, All about painting Skeletons!  Of course it was an ideal figure.

The goal of the video was to show how to get more than just drybrushed bone colors dipped in brown.  As you can see in these images, there is a myriad of colors and tones... reds, tans, greens and even purples.

Skeletons can become quite boring unless you entertain yourself (and ultimately the viewer) with these variations.  Pieces such as this one are truly ideal for mixing the various glaze colors (Secret Weapon, Vallejo, etc.) in with my 'regular' paints.

Those semi-transparent shades are meant for the shadow and mid tone areas, where you will be able to get a range of subtle color transitions without having to paint endless layers of progressively lighter colors.

Here's a look at a preview video... this one can be purchased from Kings Hobbies and Games.com:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVDGSWdBUlU

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/321952314212?

A Day at Draxtar, Part Deux

Long long ago, in a galaxy in far off Batavia, I visited Draxtar Games, a very large hobby store.

I remembered how much fun that was, and how many great things could be found in every corner of the building :-)

However, since we only have one vehicle, there was no way I could get out there without my own personal Tardis.  Now that Cathy has rejoined me in the miniature painting, getting out to Draxtar is once again on the menu!!

A link to their facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/DraxtarGames/?fref=ts

The display cases greet you just as you enter...

The rest of the initial view as you walk in.

There's an impressive amount of miniatures and painting supplies to be had.  Even after being raided by hungry orks on the Black Friday sale, I could still pick up a few key paints.

The biggest collection of Reaper minis that I have seen outside of Games Plus!  This will also be very handy. :-)

My favorite part of the store is the Hobby Bar, where you can get lots of work done while also hanging out with friends.  It's a huge stable, that is very solid, so no need to worry about your minis bouncing around in front of you.

There's also a shelf of 'open games', should you ever want to try one out and give it a spin.

Another view of the Hobby area.  That video screen sometimes plays battle reports which were made in the store.  The local Beasts of War film crew produces them, and it would seem that Rich and I may be throwing down for a future episode of Wild West Exodus!!!

A nice selection of well lit game tables, filled with terrain for many different game systems.  This was able to accommodate a good sized Kings of War tournament in November.

Rich vs Rich in Flames of War!

I'm looking forward to making my own Flames of War terrain, along the lines of some larger ruined buildings such as this.  I have all the materials already, and we have already made structures like this for our Memoir '44 games.

Once the Battle of the Rich's was complete, we compared one of the Stuggs with my early war French tanks...

It was also a chance to build some of my French artillery.  I was also testing out some new super glue that could be on the shelves at Draxtar as well.  It has some interesting properties!

Hopefully the next game that Rich and I play of Wild West Exodus will take place at Draxtar, and another Burn In Designs building will be ready for action.  This is the Cantina, and it will be featured on the blog next week!

It's impossible to believe that Christmas is only 8 days away.  YIKES!!!!!!!!!!!!

Happy Holidays to one and all!!

Draconic Elves

Every so often, it's fun to see a few minis side by side.

In this case, a few recent Celtos figures.

While I wasn't trying to match any specific colors, I did gravitate towards a similar scheme for both the skin tones and the golds.

These were among a number of testing ground figures where I experimented with bright seafoam greens in my golds, along with purples and high intensity seinnas.

While the majority of the colors were somewhat muted (mostly mixed together to keep them toned down) I left a few colors of high saturation to pop and create centers of interest.

It was also part of a much broader experiment where I try out all my latest techniques on figures that are more than 10 years old.

Since I am painting so many brand new figures these days from emerging companies, going almost back to the beginning (or at least a significantly earlier period in the development of miniatures) is a great contrast!

I have learned a great deal, as I do in each experiment.

Stay tuned for much more, both the very new, and the less new. :-)

The Unconquered

Here's another mystery mini for you, although I suspect that it is an older Ral Partha figure.  The sculpting reminds me a bit of Copplestone Casting, however.

She is standing on another one of the Bark and Branch bases, which worked out just great for her!

Just as with out Man of Mystery, I was very aware of carrying the colors used on the base right up through the figure!

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/-/221970722065?