Update 5-28

I didn't get as much done with painting as I thought I would.  The weather this weekend was incredible and I was more than happy to be out there.  We had friends over Sunday so Saturday became yard-work day.  I built a fire pit and because of it I have at least two more huge projects.  Oh well.

Then I primed the Chaos Warrior but I couldn't stop there so I blocked in the base colors.

I did prepare some DoA stuff too.

I have started attaching them to their bases as well but I didn't take pictures of those.

The Slog

I am getting a bit bogged down on the DoA.  I've gotten to the point were I need to finish the bases to move on.  Normally this would be fine but for this project I decided to use pre-made letters and numbers for the bases which is time consuming.  I know, in the end, they will make the bases easier to read but I don't care for the effort it takes.  Boo-Hoo right?  Hopefully they will make the models look good.

As a distraction I've been practicing glazing on some random models I have.  So far, I'm happy with my progress.  I tried doing non-metallic metal steel, um, that didn't work.  But glazing for other colors seems to be progressing well.

I was also recently gifted a box of Chaos Warriors.  I am working on cleaning up mold lines and coming up with a paint scheme I want to try on them.  I realize through this process I don't care for assembly.  I looked at the model holding the piece together as if assembled and I could easily see that painting certain areas would be very hard, if not impossible.

Speaking of assembly, my next project; the building of my Impact! Middle Kingdom team.  Not all of the models require assembly and that makes me very happy.

The weather forecasts for this area look very good so I will be spending more time outside.  I love being outside for almost any reason.  Even yard work is appealing to me.  Mowing, trimming, weeding, building a fire pit, on and on; it all seems great to me.  This will lower my modeling time but I will still get stuff done.

In the not so distance past I made To Do's for myself.  I think I should do that again so...

To Do by 5-27-14
1.  Letter and paint DoA 6 bases
2.  Highlight DoA bikes
3.  Base DoA apothecary
4.  Prime test Chaos Warrior and Red Cedar Riots players that don't need assembly

That's a lot to do but I think it's doable.  We'll see.

Liebster

Thank you Randroid!  Drinkin' and Modelin' is awesome.  I apologize, I don't know of many blogs or read many for that matter.  I am using the Liebster as a motivation. Because of it, I'll read more and hopefully get some more ideas about how to improve in the hobby and blogging.

I do find the responses to the questions interesting, so I'll give my answers to them.

Q&A here goes.

1. Why did you start blogging? - The intention for this blog was to give myself a reference for my painting and motivation to stay on task.  I intend to post pictures and words about what/how I'm doing something and through that I can look back to what I've done for future reference.  Now I'm very new to painting and have limited to no artistic ability so any method I've tried comes from the advise of painters, reading, or watching videos.  I am constantly at Randroid's ear to pick his brain about how to do something.
2. If you could change one thing about the wargaming hobby, what would it be? - Right now I play Blood Bowl.   When I was in my teens I tried Dungeons and Dragons but didn't take to it.  I have decided to give WHFB a go and will hopefully be doing that soon.  All that is to say that I don't know much about it, so I don't know what I'd change.
3. What is best in life? - This may sound incredibly lame to some out there but this is my honest answer, love.  Family, friends, people, that's what makes the world go around.
4. Do you want to live forever? - Here? No.
5. Fame or fortune? - Definitely fortune.  I don't need people to know what I'm doing, but I want the ability to give freely.  There are so so many good people and good causes that could be advanced in life.  I don't want a mansion (I'll take my little house thank you), I don't need fancy cars, I don't want material things; I want to be a blessing.
   
6. What miniature are you most proud of having painted?  I'm learning so much all the time that it's always the next one.
7. How do you deal with burn out?  I just stop.  The itch will come back in the form of some sort of inspiration.
8. Why is a raven like a writing desk? - Huh?
9. Star Wars or Star Trek? - Meh.  Not much for Sci-Fi.
10. If you could only buy from one miniature company from now on, which one would it be? - Are there any companies who sell minis from all manufactures?  No?  Still that one.
    
11. What is your favorite take out?  Fat kids like food, I'm "not slim."
    

I realize I'm not fulfilling my obligation to "pass it on" but I'll be checking out other blogs and list and hopefully I'll find more.  From what I've seen, this community is awesome, I'm glad to be a part of it.

Something New

I'm taking a short break from my DoA team.  I was recently given some Chaos Warrior models for Warhammer Fantasy Battle.  I'm not painting this team yet but I have been seeking out blogs and videos to get tips on how to paint them.

I have gotten advice from a few friends about how to play them, what goes best where, how many of what to have, what pieces should be in a group, on and on.  I have new questions for them all the time and they have been very helpful and very patient with me.  Thank you's to them.

In seeking out their advice and looking through what I like, I've decided to go with a Nurgle unit,  I have been looking for painting ideas for them and I came across a color scheme and style to paint them.  I found a description of a technique I want to try.  I'm going to give controlled glazing a go.  Randroid from Drinkin' and Modelin' told me about glazing a while ago but I didn't understand correctly.  I think that I do now.

Here is my first attempt at glazing.  I decided to practice on the model's spear in the color I think I want for the Nurgle Warriors armor.

 I didn't pay attention to a particular light source, I was just trying to get a smooth transition.  This one looks like one of those red, white, and blue popsicles.  

The colors I used were:

Base of Vallejo Model Color German Uniform 70.920

Three layers of Citadel Camo Green made into a glaze with acrylic medium, each one slightly smaller than the last.

Two layers of the Camo Green Glaze mixed with Citadel Bleached Bone made into a glaze with acrylic medium, each one slightly smaller than the last.

Two layers of the Bleached Bone Glaze, each one slightly smaller than the last.

Two layers of VMC GU made into a glaze with acrylic medium, each one slightly smaller than the last.

Two layers of the GU glaze mixed with Citadel Liche Purple made into a glaze with acrylic medium, each one slightly smaller than the last.

I did both sides this way and wanted to make the transitions smoother.

 

This photo was taken after doing:

Two layers of the GU glaze over the entire length of the blade

Then I did an extreme edge highlight with the Bleached Bone Glaze.

For a first effort I am pretty happy with it.  I need to get the blend more natural but I think I like the colors.  

Back to work on the DoA but I think I'll continue to take breaks to practice this method.

Update 5-5: More Bikes

Technology hit me.  I base coat 3 and a half more bikes over the weekend and as soon as I went to take the pictures my camera died.  It didn't die die it just needed power.  I did manage one terrible photo but this blog is full of them; so here goes.  Hopefully, I'll remember to take some more pictures soon.

If any of you have seen the show Son's of Anarchy, which this team is based on, you may have seen a bike inside the clubhouse.  I decided to paint up one of the sideline bikes to resemble that bike.  The color of that bike is like a sea foam green.  I don't have that color so I mixed up blue, green and white to make it.  I was happy with how the color turned out.

On a separate note, a friend and I have decided to go in on the Games and Gears brushed that are currently on Kickstarter.  I am looking forward to expanding my brush line beyond the one brush I have.  I paint everything with a size 1 brush from Hobby Lobby.  They wont be delivered until September  I'll try them out then and write a review for how they work for a total novice.