Flame and Ash

I have been very lucky to have had the chance to work on some of the nifty demons from Creature Caster!  When I saw this guy, I knew that I had to try my internal "Balrog" effect on it!

Here's a Facebook Live session where I was working on him:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10213076676925683/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

This was one more example of how handy the Vallejo Fluorescent paints can be!  There is an extra intensity to them which you just don't find in any orange or yellow paint.

I extended the base a little bit once I placed it on the wooden plaque, using a few chunks of sculpey for additional rocks, and a few Secret Weapon skulls to continue the pile.

The Lord of Slaughter is only one of several amazing figures:

https://www.creaturecaster.com/collections/complete-catalog/products/lord-of-slaughter

I will be doing a number of other demons, trying out new techniques and mediums.  In addition, I am creating multi episode painting videos for each of these beasts!  For example, the video for the Lord of Slaughter has episodes which cover the wings, the head and weapons, the torso and finally the base.

Since each miniature comes in pretty defined parts along those lines, it made it much easier to paint those elements separately.  By doing so, it meant that I could get more or the finer details on camera.

Also, making them individual episodes means it is easier to locate the section which you may want to see again, and not have to search through several hours of video!

I will have versions available to the Patreon Patrons once we return from GenCon, where I am going to be painting some of these in the Badger Airbrush booth!  Come and see me there.

Here's a link to the Patreon Page, where the latest new video link was sent to the $5 subscribers earlier today:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Finding a Pearl

As I was gathering up my paints to take to Adepticon this year, I noticed a virtually unused jar or "white".  That is in quotation marks as this "white" was in fact called 'Pearl White'.  It was subsequently set aside, as I didn't think I would really have much use for it.

After using the Vallejo Metal Medium a few times (which is mixed in with regular paint to make it a metallic color) I thought I should revisit this.

I used it on a few resin headlights on my Bolt Action vehicles, which are not provided with the same kind of transparent plastic pieces as a 1/48 scale kit.

Once I saw this big old Wereshark, I thought I might have another possible use!

So I gathered up my usual Reaper Liner paints and Secret Weapon Weathering paints, and started mixing away!  The results were more than I could have expected!

The sheen that is provided is different than that of the Metal Medium... slightly less obvious, but you really notice it when you move the figure around or look at it from various angles.

Even the darkest colors take on a very different look when you mix this Pearl White with them.  The more of the Pearl White you mix, the lighter the color becomes.  Glazing over the top of it can reduce the effect somewhat, but if you put a touch of the Pearl White into that glaze, it won't do so.

It had as much an effect on the darker areas as it did on the 'whites'.  This paint was so effective, I will definitely use this on the other sea creatures that I have.  There are a few Reaper BONES aquatic beasts, and those should be excellent subjects to demonstrate at Reapercon, which is not that far away...

I recorded the painting session in which I painted this, and it has since been turned into a video tutorial.  Earlier today I posted the link to the Patrons on my Patreon page (at the $5 pledge level and above).

You can get in on the experimentation and fun here:

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel

Making a Splash

I absolutely love the RN Estudio Blood Bowl miniatures (there are also non Blood Bowl figures as well!), and this is another great example.

This was painted during a few recent hangouts, and it was very fun.  All of the miniatures from the team are very well sculpted and cast with excellent quality resin... minimal mould lines too!

I have a few other blog posts showing other members of the team:

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2016/03/jurassic-park.html

The purple to turquoise transition is also a favorite.  With all the muscles sculpted into it, there were even more opportunities for those transitions.  All of the details are very sharp, which is very handy!  They are also very "compact" and sturdy for resin figures, which means they are reasonably viable to a rough and tumble game like Blood Bowl!!

The water effects were quite simple, using the Liquitex Heavy Gloss Gel.  It was built up in multiple layers, which allowed me to "extend" the splashes a bit more with each layer applied.

I have done this on a number of figures, and on bases as waterfalls, etc.

Crushing Glass

I have demonstrated the Secret Weapon Miniatures crushed glass technique a number of times, and it is one that always fascinates me.  Unlike most other snow materials, this is extremely sturdy once it is in place, and it also allows you to do a wide variety of textures.

Depending on your ratio of water effects to crushed glass, you can have a snow that is quite melted to something more fluffy and white.

I have used this on my vehicles as well, which is very handy, as snow will melt in areas that have heat, such as exhaust fans, etc.

I have also combined it with other materials, as I did in this live session:

https://www.facebook.com/james.wappel/videos/vb.1056181987/10212572308356784/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab

Ghost Division: The new PZ 38T Zug

The new Tank Platoon box sets from Warlord Games have been really handy, especially some of the Early War kits like the Panzer 38T Zug.  Since I like to emphasize just how many of the Czech designs were used, this box is perfect!

I was able to make one of the 38T's for our Barbarossa campaign, and another for my France '40 battle reports.  This was done in the markings of the 7th Panzer division... the "Ghost Division".

Here's a link to a live session where this was painted:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v2Z-eAAb1lI

It was featured in my latest battle report, which I am editing now!

http://wappellious.blogspot.com/2018/07/cutting-off-retreat.html

Here's a look at what comes in the box... a number of well marked sprues...

Packed into a nifty box!

The sprues in the kit will allow you to make a few different variants, which you will see later.

These were definitely easier to assemble the older metal and resin versions which this set replaces.  The turret was very easy for a plastic kit in fact!

There's a nice little instruction set that is included, with a number of decent color plates as well.

The instructions were straightforward...

And for my favorite parts... the color plates and the decals!  These quick color guides are a nice start to your color scheme research.  Like some of the 1/48 scale kits I have done recently, there is even a decal guide which is very helpful.

You also get a hefty helping of decals!  I am very happy about this, because I needed several Hungarian markings for other vehicles that I already have put together.  Now I have some Bulgarian and Romanian decals handy to put on wrecked vehicles around Stalingrad and the push into the Balkans

The other new tank platoon boxes have similar sets of decals.  The Char Bis box is the same way, with generous helpings of French and German insignia that will be of great help!

From the Wastes

The latest Mystery Mini is part of another project that involves a number of Mad Max style minis.

This one was a resin/plastic cast, and almost seemed like a "game piece" of some kind.

It was requested that the skin tones not be the usual Ork green, so I tried to utilize purples and more standard skin tones to make it seem like this was more of a mutated human kind of creature.

There's many more of these on the way, so lots of Mystery Minis to identify!!  Stay tuned.

Centurion Snake

I had a lot of fun painting this during the recent all night 24 hour charity broadcast with Gonzo from More Than Dice Podcast!  It's another monstrous infantry from Mierce Miniatures, one of a number of "Snakemen" poses.

Of late I have been emphasizing how simple my approach to Non-Metallic metals is.  The majority of the colors I choose for them (if it is gold, steel, etc.) are what is surrounding the metal surfaces.  In this case, a fair amount of greens, purples and reds.

All of these colors form contrasts with each other, which helps to make the metals look more shiny.  When you have lots of colors reflected in those metals, such as the skin, stone base and even the cloak, the eye becomes more convinced that it is seeing something like metal due to the reflectivity.

This is why my response to the question of purchasing "NMM paint sets" is always to use the colors you already have on your palette!

Something else to keep in mind is that the color harmony works in reverse too.  I used a fair amount of yellow to highlight the reds in the cloak and crest, and even to lighten the green scales!  This means that the "gold" color was not just isolated to the metal sections... it is everywhere else, even on the base.

Since this is becoming a major topic of discussion in my posts and on my Facebook/YouTube live sessions, I will try to create some new NMM tutorials in addition to the original Painting Pyramid versions.

A few of those are already available to my patrons on the Patreon Page!

www.patreon.com/JamesWappel