Stand your Ground!

A few weeks ago, I did a facebook live broadcast to show people how I create the "Bark and Branch" method of basing.  The concept is pretty simple... gather up some pieces of tree bark, some branches, and have at it!

There's a few tidbits of advice and knowledge that are handy to pass along, so I tried to do a number of different bases, some of them quite large!

You can see what a mess is usually left behind.  Again, the materials are not very expensive... in fact, a large portion of them are completely free.

Another goal was to show how this basing style can cross over many genres.  I based sci-fi, steampunk, fantasy and historical figures all in this batch.

To augment the sci-fi look, I added some Secret Weapon Barrels to the Gates of Antares bases.  Once these were painted, it made a fast and easy way to create a convincing sci-fi scene.

You have already seen the painted versions of these:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2017/04/base-camp.html

Now take a look at the whole group!  Some of these figures have already been painted in various demonstrations, including facebook live sessions.  The large creatures from Mierce Miniatures will also be shown live, such as the bird and the large troll on the right.

The blueish Counterblast figures on the left were used as oil painting demonstrations at Adepticon a few weeks ago.

Here's a link to the facebook live basing session:

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

Ice Caster

This wonderful mini from Bombshell Miniatures was so much fun to paint, and it certainly had a strong central theme to follow! :-)

To reflect the Celtic knotwork from the base, I put a quick little design on the cloak, which I also thought would tie into the ice theme.

I used a little bit of the Secret Weapon crushed glass method on the base, which was made with one of the Green Stuff World texture rollers.  Subtle variations in the blues were needed to get separation on the various surfaces.

Some areas had more reddish blues, others tinted more towards teal.  I also tried to balance more grayed down blues with those that were more pure and saturated.

She's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/322479887960?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

All the King's Horses

One of my favorite aspects of the Tomb Kings was converting all the skeletal horses, including those pulling the chariots.  I believe it was either the cover of the new army book or one of the interior illustrations that showed the horses with these scale mail 'blankets'.

I could not resist trying to make those myself!  I even had to create an entire theme/story to go with them :-)

I used tin foil as a base for the green stuff, which could be pressed into a mould (made from the original piece that I sculpted) and then wrapped over the miniature.  This tin foil gave the green stuff critical support as it cured, so I could put the blankets into any position that I wanted, and it would not sag!

I also had a lot of fun with the "demon marble"... so much fun that I even made one of my kickstarter painting videos featuring this technique.  The entire army was painted with this marble effect.

You can get a better view of that here:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/02/the-cries-of-tainted.html

Here's an example of converting the Hierophant on skeletal horse:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2012/07/behold-pale-horse-and-his-name-that-sat.html

One last view of an old favorite!

Reap what you sow

Here's an older figure from Reaper Miniatures, one that had been waiting around for many years, hoping for the right kind of base.

When we first got our Reaper minis, we weren't quite sure what to do with most of the "broccoli bases" that they were standing on.  These days those have more of a corresponding texture to them, but it can still lock you in to a certain theme.

We learned that using a razor saw to free them from the broccoli base presents all kinds of great opportunities to create fantastic new themes for your miniatures.  This Celtic Runes base was made with the Green Stuff World texture rollers, and the leaves were done with the leaf punches from the same company.

He's also here:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/222463920269?ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1558.l2649

True Crusader

This iconic British vehicle is yet another fantastic kit from Rubicon Models.

As you can see by the following image, it has the usual multi-kit function, allowing you to make several different varieties in this single box.

As detailed as the sprues are, the instructions are just as detailed, with a number of helpful highlighted sections.  Those are concentrated in places where options exist for different turrets on variants, etc.

A very generous decal sheet means that you can adapt your vehicle to almost any unit or theatre. 

Here's the sprues, which are always nicely arranged, with pieces that are easy to remove, since there is not a lot of 'tension' exerted on each piece.

It is possible to use the extra pieces to create destroyed vehicle terrain, or even add to other kits as a potential conversion.

Once again, the instructions guide you very efficiently, letting you know when a piece should be put together first, or where your contact points might be.

It doesn't take long to see your new Crusader tank evolve!

I was asked to go with the Crusader 2 variant, with the light gun and armor skirts.

The extra fuel storage was a must, so that I could use the Mig AMMO oil and fuel stains paints :-)

All built, and ready for primer!!

Let the painting process begin!  First, a number of layers of Badger Stynlrez primer were used to create a solid base for painting the subsequent layers of oils.  Since there are now 12 colors of Badger primers, I never had to use any actual paint to get my original base colors!

I was able to try out the new Mig AMMO OilBrushers, which have a fantastic paint consistency.  It is as close to regular acrylic paints as possible.  I discovered that they mix quite well with my other oil products, such as the Wilder paints and Windsor Newton paints.

Here's a link to the facebook live session that was done to experiment with the paints.  It's about 110 minutes long, so check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10209772855572214/?type=2&theater

Wolf Pack

This is one of several "predatory animal" Algoryn skimmers that I painted for Gates of Antares.

These just happen to be the perfect shape to allow for the two eyes on either side of the cockpit, and even the pilot himself has those flat armor plates which make it easier to continue the pattern onto him.  The helmet also has a bit of a crest, so that helps as well!

Several critters are planned, including birds of prey, dragons and so on.

This was painted in a live Facebook session, showing all the materials and principles used to paint it!  Here's a link to the painting video:

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

The wolf pattern was a lot of fun, but the other predators will be also.  I have a few birds of prey, along with dragons and other serpents planned.  Stay tuned!

Base Camp

Here are some finalized images of the bases that you watched live of facebook!

Here's a link:

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

These are all created for the Algoryn skimmers.  Each of them was created with simple tree bark and branches, with a few added touches from Secret Weapon Miniatures

The more obvious add ons are the barrels, but the shell casings are also from Secret Weapon Miniatures.

This large base is from the C3 transporter.

One more shot of the entire set, and then it's on to showing them with the painted minis... stay tuned!