To Do List 12-30

Looking back on the last to do list...

To do by 12-29:
1.  Work more on base coating DoA. (did I really expect to do any painting?)
2.  Have a Merry Christmas! (yerp)

I didn't do any painting but I received some painting related gifts that will help me in the future.  I was given some new storage pieces and a gift card to Hobby Lobby (the hobby and craft sections are a favorite when it comes to selfish shopping.)

To do by 1-5:
1.  Watch Michigan State win the Rose Bowl!
2.  Enjoying Michigan State winning the Rose Bowl!
3.  Pray no one is hurt in the riot sure to follow Michigan State winning the Rose Bowl!

Go Green, Go White!

To Do List 12-23

Hard to paint without power.  It was only at the end of the week but it put a damper on a decent week at the brushes.

To do by 12-22:
1.  Work more on base coating. (done)
2.  Assemble some Middle Kingdom players. (nope)
3.  Get caught up on photos and journaling. (yeah)

I have a lot of post started to help me keep up with my blogging/journaling.  The picture part is still a work in progress but we'll keep plugging along when the power gets restored.

To do by 12-29:
1.  Work more on base coating DoA.
2.  Have a Merry Christmas!

Paint Log - Like Liquid White from Fallen Glass

Nothing to cry over.

As I stated before, I am trying to paint the model that will become Bobby Elvis in a white jumpsuit.  I have read and been told a million times white is an extremely difficult color to paint.  So here is my try.

I started all my DoA characters with an undercoat of black primer.  I decided to add some green stuff to the bottom of Bobby’s leg before priming to look like bellbottoms (learning process).  I decided before painting to go with a warm white, brown versus blue, but not too brown.  The first layer of paint was a 1:1 mix of VOW and VBG.  The next layer I added a drop of VOW.  For the third layer I added another drop.  Each layer was thinner than the last.  When I finished this I used a wash of CAE thinned down 5:1 with water.  After this dried I did another later of VOW with VBG at a 5:1 ratio.  At this point I decided to finish up the rest of the base coats before moving on.

 

Putting these pictures on here helps with seeing what is working and what's not.

 

White pants and sleeves coming along.

White probably can use another coat.  But I want to finish basing the remainder of the model first.  Just to see how it looks.

 

At this point the miniature looks quite messy but as detail and more highlighting/shading happen it should clean up.  Any comments and/or suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks

 

To Do List 12-16

My seven day painting plan is to get in a minimum of three hours of work in.  This week I painted around 2 hours.  Thursday night was intended to be me long night but plans changed and it turned into a none night. 

To do by 12-15:

1.  Basecoat three/four DoA members (three semi-done, skin, pants, cuts, and shirts)

While basing the figure that will become Bobby Elvis, I decided to give him a white jumpsuit.  Why not?  It's not like white is that difficult to paint, right?  Right?  Oh...  Not only is this difficult, but it's crazy time consuming too.  Hopefully it will be worth it.

Reading around the blogosphere has told me I should document my painting a little better.  If you write using color combinations and techniques it can help you remember what worked for you and what things it may be worth trying.

Today, I'll just make my new to do list, but I intend on adding more content in the future.

To do by 12-22:
1.  Work more on base coating.
2.  Assemble some Middle Kingdom players.
3.  Get caught up on photos and journaling.
   

To Do List 12-9

No pictures in this post to show my work but I got two of three things done for the week.

To do by 12-8:

1.  Fix Frosty's bottom snow ball. (done)

2.  Finish basing and sealing Sparty and Frosty. (done)

3.  Basecoat two/three DoA member (no time)

Usually I get about thirty minutes each day to hobby, this week that wasn't the case.  One and two on my to do list had to be completed for Jingle Bowl II so I got that done as best I could.  I also decided the flesh on my Yeti was not to my liking.  I added a layer to smooth it out some.  With no tournaments on my horizon until Feb 8th (Dog Bowl II in Kalamazoo, Michigan),  I am turning my attention to the DoA.

Now a JB II report as promised.

I GOT THE LUMP OF COAL TROPHY!  The prestigious award that is only given to the player who showed incredible tenacity and stick-to-it-tiveness to play the game against all odds.  To look their opponents in the eye on the field of fantasy football and not cower before them.  To play through the pain of being slaughtered by not one or two, but four teams.  The Norse of the Red Cedar Riot were destroyed by Chaos Dwarves, Necromantic and Chaos.  In their final game of the tournament the Riot were PITCH CLEARED by a goblin team and there amazing chainsaw wielding Looney!  The chainsaw was directly responsible for three casualties and three knock outs.  The chainsaw kicked back on the Looney two different times but a reroll of the start allowed the goblin to avoid hitting himself, allowing him to cause all sorts of mayhem.

I put together my build with the intention of causing a large amount of casualties.  That did happen.  I really should have paid attention to the ball more.  Oh well.  Live and learn.

Here's my list for this week.

To do by 12-15:

1.  Basecoat three/four DoA members (that should keep me plenty busy)

 

 

 

 

To Do List 12-2

It's tourney week!  Jingle Bowl II is upon us and a Norse tournament edition of the Red Cedar Riot will be traveling to the east side of Michigan for some Blood Bowl action. 

I did well on my list from last week so here are the results.

To do by 12-1:
1.  Frosty primed and base coated. (mini finished except for base and sealing)
2.  Snow Troll primed and base coated.  (mini finished except for base and sealing)
3.  Finalize roster for Jingle Bowl II and send it in. (done)

 

Below are some images of my Yeti, Sparty and star player Frosty.  

 

I wanted to make it look like he had a dusting of snow on him.

 Five layers of flesh tones and I think I finally achieved the tone I wanted.

I don't know whether to be happy with my first sculpting effort...

 

... or disappointed with the out come. 

 

 

My roster for Jingle Bowl is designed for casualties.  We shall see if I can achieve the necessary rolls to win some games.  I was able to play one practice game with them and it went well so... this could be ok.

 

To do by 12-8:

1.  Fix Frosty's bottom snow ball.

2.  Finish basing and sealing Sparty and Frosty.

3.  Basecoat two/three DoA members.

 

Next week I'll have a Riot (Norse edition) team shot and a rundown of Jingle Bowl II.

 

 

 



To Do List 11-25

Another week has gone by and I'm happy with the progress.

Well, the time has past on my last list so here's how I did:

To do (11-25):
1.  Strip old treeman model.  (done)
2.  Finish sculpting/mashing Frosty (not done but a lot of progress)
3.  Prime Troll figure to paint as Snow Troll for Jingle Bowl II (oops - forgot)

My hobby set-up is so close to being done.  The lighting is working out great and I've added a self-healing cutting board.  Soon, I'll figure out some different storage ideas and I think I'll be set.

To do by 12-1:
1.  Frosty primed and base coated.
2.  Snow Troll primed and base coated.
3.  Finalize roster for Jingle Bowl II and send it in.

Here are some updates of Otto from DoA, he wasn't on the To Do List this time but I couldn't help but work on him.

He'll be getting some "prison style" eye work and he's not sealed yet.

I like the way the base looks but will be cleaning up the lettering.

The lean is because he's not attached to his base yet.

 

 

I also have this picture of Frosty with a face and some fashionable buttons now.  I'm finishing up the rest of his base and will be making his prone and stunned token shortly.  He's not gonna look professional at all but I don't care about that.  My goal is to make him look "cartoony" and I think that's happening.  He's been a blast to make thus far.

Frosty is almost ready for some primer.

Update 11-22-13

Recently I've been able to set aside roughly 30 minutes a day to work on making miniatures and painting.  At this point I've been able to mash more on Frosty.  Previously, I spoke of some treeman arms I could use.  Here they are:

Arms

 

 

I attached these to an updated Frosty frame and will try to move on from there:

 

Right/Back

 

Left/Front

 

 

I'm currently working on designing a prone/stunned marker for him.  I also need to figure out were to put his arms (they aren't fixed yet) so he can fit well on an occupied pitch.  I'm pleased with how he's turning out.  Long way to go.



To Do List 11-18

Well, the time has past on my last list so here's how I did:

To do (11-17):
1.  Highlight test model for DoA:  Done
2.  Plan out/draw "Frosty":  Done
3.  If weather permits, do priming from last list:  weather didn't permit :(

My set-up is closer to completion!  Thanks to some clearance sales I was able to get some improved lighting.  I know have one architect light and two standard desk lamps.  I got bulbs for all three that mimic natural lighting.  I think just a cutting mat and some organization and my area will be complete.

I also got a bit of a head-start on sculpting Frosty which I had only planned on drawing.  Originally I intended to sculpt the entire model from scratch.  The arms proved to be much harder than I assumed, meaning, the hands would be all but impossible for me.  A friend of mine had an old treeman who had fallen into disrepair (someone had dropped him at some point), I will be using parts from him to make Frosty's arms and hands.  Snowmen often have sticks for arms so this should work.  Because of these changes this has moved from a sculpting task to a Sid-like toy mash-up.

To do by 11-25
1.  Strip old treeman model.
2.  Finish sculpting/mashing Frosty
3.  Prime Troll figure to paint as Snow Troll for Jingle Bowl II

Update 11-15-13

I have been able to get quite a bit done this week and this weekend should be a productive one.

I decided my test model for the DoA would be "Big" Otto Denial.  Here he is almost finished, he just needs his bases and some finishing touches (highlights, eyes, cleaning, sealing).

The character that his is based on has some messed up eyes from prison so I'm going to be adding that.  Again, I'm working on my set-up for photos and painting so the pics should improve.

The other project that has gotten some attention is the sculpting of Frosty for Jingle Bowl.  Here are some photos to update what's been done,

Sculpting is crazy hard and I'm starting to regret trying.  But I intend to finish it and see what I can do.

Update 11-14-13

I just wanted to do a quick update on my To Do List from 11-11.  I decided recently to try my extremely inexperienced hand at sculpting.  Why not?  I've never sculpted anything before.  How hard can it be?  Well, I though it would be smart to start with a drawing of the piece I am trying to make.  I'm not an artist so... here if is.

The piece is going to be my rendition of Manny "Frosty" Snow.

 

 

I am trying to sculpt it out of green stuff.  I hope it turns out OK.

To Do List 11-11

Well, the time has past on my last list so here's how I did:This is the breakdown of what I've done.  I still want to improve lighting in my painting area.  I want to improve my set-up but have run into a bit of a time problem.  Set-up thus moves to the new list.

To do:
1.  Prime big guy models.  Nov 8 - built but not primed
2.  Build/Prime Sideline figures for the D.O.A.  Nov 8 - built but not primed
3.  Prime Deathroller pieces.  Nov 8 - not done

Man, I didn't follow my list at all.  I did get quite a bit done but for some reason my wants changed from when I wrote the list to when I had time to work.

To do (11-17):
1.  Highlight test model for DoA.
2.  Plan out/draw "Frosty" (this will be my first attempt at sculpting a model from scratch)
3.  If weather permits, do priming from last list

Update 11-8-13

I've been doing quite a bit of work.  Prepping sideline figs for the Dwarfs of Anarchy, prepping my big guys, setting up my painting area, and starting my test dwarf.  I took a bunch of photos of what I've done and they look like absolute crap.  So I figured I'd just tell you what is going on.

For the DoA I am using some bikes from West Wind Miniatures.  I think they are designed for a game called Roadkill.  I'm using 5 bikes as a representation of the bikes DoA road in on.  A sixth bike will have a rider carrying a chainsaw to represent the team apothecary.  To be used as counters, I have some 25mm bases with parts from mangled bikes, guns, and tools on them.

I have started painting my test model for the DoA.  I chosen to use a black and blue color scheme for the DoA relying heavily on black.  The base colors I've laid down so far are; Citadel Chainmail for the metal pieces, Citadel Ratskin Flesh for the skin, and Vallejo Off White for the eyes.

The three big guys I'm prepping are from Impact! Miniatures.  They are the new Trollcast models for the Middle Kingdom team (not new figures just resin instead of metal).  I assembled them, green stuffed the gaps, and cleaned them.  My intention is for the Ogre to be used with my Michigan State themed human team so I added a plume to the helmet with green stuff but I'm not happy with how it turned out so I'll be working more on it before I post anything here.

Speaking of photos, I don't have my set-up for painting done and I have no idea how to photograph minis.  I have recently read a "How To" by Jim Wapple on photographing miniatures and will be attempting to improve my photography. 

So here are some crappy photos showing my basing so far:

Oh man this pic looks even worse than I thought.



And one bike:

Well...

 

 

It will get better from here, I hope.



To Do List 10-25

This is the breakdown of what I've done.  I still want to improve lighting in my painting area.  I want to improve my set-up but have run into a bit of a time problem.  Set-up thus moves to the new list.

1.  Build a primer board.  Oct 5 - Done
2.  Prime Dwarfs of Anarchy. Oct 24 - Done
3.  Set-up paint area.  Oct 24 - Postponed

Family obligations over the next week and a half will mean the painting stuff takes a break.

The big gaming endeavor for the time being is a Blood Bowl variant, Street Bowl.  Randroid is building a Street Bowl pitch and I'm excited to play on it.  There are many random events in this game and some of them can change your player types.  I have some big guy models from Impact! Miniatures' Middle Kingdom resin team that I want to get ready for the streets.

To do:
1.  Prime big guy models.  Nov 8
2.  Build/Prime Sideline figures for the D.O.A.  Nov 8
3.  Prime Deathroller pieces.  Nov 8

Let's Try This Again - To Do List

I didn't realize just how much time and effort it would take to move.  We aren't close to done but I want to do a to do list for October.  I have worked on my dwarf test model from my first list so that will show up again.  I'm going to have modest goals so I can actually obtain them.  Oh yeah, with the new house comes an area I will turn into my painting area.

1.  Build a primer board.  Oct 5
2.  Prime Dwarfs of Anarchy. Oct 24
3.  Set-up paint area.  Oct 24

Chaos Cup Legacy Team Entry - Finished

It's been done for a while now but I recently took some pictures so I could put them up here.  All the work I've seen so far on this team looks wonderful and I just hope my contribution look half as good.  Unfortunately scheduling conflicts aren't going to allow me to attend Chaos Cup this year but I am certain there will be many photos of the event and team taken, and I will live vicariously through those.

Front:

Back:

Here it is.  I hope whoever wins the team will enjoy the Chaos Cup 2013 Legacy Team!

Oops

I haven't been keeping up with the posting side of this.  These are the steps I've completed so far, I just haven't put up photos.  Oddly enough I still don't have the photos for these items but they are done.  I will be photographing them shortly so as to post the images on here.

1.  Finish Kroxigor for Lethal Leap - complete (posted)
2.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #10 - complete (not posted)
3.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #12 - complete (not posted)
4.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #13 - complete (not posted)
5.  Chaos Cup 2013 Legacy team.  Dark Elf Lineman #47 - complete (not posted)

Even though I'm ahead of my earlier stated (admittedly modest) schedule, I haven't got the pics done.  Once I get these photos ready, I plan on doing a team shot of the Lethal Leap as well.

Side note -
My wife and I are in the process of finding a new home.  We hope to be in by the end of  September and then I will have my own area for painting and the like.  I am very excited about the prospect of being homeowner's.  Because of this I am moving my test figure date to October 31 for my Dwarfs of Anarchy Blood Bowl Team.  Check out the beginning staged of my theme here.

Chaos Cup Legacy Team Entry - Progress

I have continued work on my dark elf lineman for the 2013 Chaos Cup Legacy Team. 

Bases Colors:  I began by priming the model with a black primer and then covered the whole mini except for the severed head in Vallejo Black Grey.  I then base coated the head in Citadel Elf Flesh and the hair in Citadel Calthon Brown.  I based the gloves, boots, and back of the helmet in a black purple mix I had made up.

Wash:  I coved the dark elf in black wash.  I used a sepia wash on the head.

I added some highlight to help me see the parts better but will do actual highlighting later.  Here is where I'm at.

More to come.

Chaos Cup Legacy Team Entry

For the past two year the Chaos Cup Committee, more specifically Sarge, has organized the creation of a Legacy Team.  This year the team is Dark Elf.  People sign-up for a certain player type and create them.  This year I decided to get involved and have signed-up for a line elf.  The point of the team is to be original and I don't have any experience with modifications of models so I decided to use this opportunity to learn to do some.

A friend of mine work at a GW store a long time ago.  When product came in with errors or was unsellable they got a chance at it.  He had a few odds and ends of old dark eldar parts sitting around in his garage and he gave them to me. I used those pieces, some green stuff, some snipping and some pinning and made my line elf.

Well here it is ready for priming.  I think it turned out ok.

Sideline Figs - BWB

Here are some "Babes" I painted a while back.

I didn't care for the apron so I colored it into the skirts.

Kroxigor

I've been painting and keeping up with my schedule but not posting because I'm not sure how.  So, here goes,

All he wants is a hug.

To Do List...

The following is my to do list for now.  Maybe writing it down will motivate me.

1.  Finish Kroxigor for Lethal Leap - July 8th deadline
2.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #10 - July 8th deadline
3.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #12 - July 8th deadline
4.  Blitzer for Lethal Leap #13 - July 8th deadline
5.  Chaos Cup 2013 Legacy team.  Dark Elf Lineman #47 - August 27 Deadline
6.  Test model for biker dwarfs, Dwarfs of Anarchy - September 30 Deadline

I will keep up with pics and all for these pieces. 

Hello

Until about 5 years ago I never played any table-top games and I only started as a way to hangout with friends more often.  The game my friends were playing was Blood Bowl and I had a blast with it.  To this day it is my only game (Dreadball from Mantic may be added shortly).  About a year and a half ago I decided to try my hand at painting miniatures.  I was given the Warhammer starter painting set with the night gobos and I went from there.

The first team I painted was the 3rd ed. Dark Elf team from Citadel.  I painted them with black, red, white and blue.  And they were terrible but that got me started.  My second team was the Pharaohs of Vihktora from Impact! Miniatures and my third team was the Frog-men from Gaspez Arts.  Thankfully all these teams have been stripped but they started a new hobby for me.

This is going to be a blog to show my progress from team four on.  I've read tons of blogs, watched tons of tutorials, and picked the brains of folks I know that are much better and much more experienced than me.  So let's see where this goes!