Nose, meet Grindstone

I haven’t posted hobby stuff in a long, long time.  That’s not just because I’ve been lazy, I just haven’t had the time.  I’ve had a couple opportunities to play but no one else has been able to play at those times.  I’ve also been sick for some of the time and busy for the rest.  I’ve taken my newly diagnosed diabetic cat to the vet many times and that’s contributed to the lack of free time as well.  My wife and I had a garage sale this past weekend and now I can get some stuff done.

On the terrain tip I realized I need to finish up what I have instead of starting anything new.  I used some brown and black spray paint I had laying around the garage to give a base color to some ruins, fencing and wood stuff.

Spray pained base color/primer.

I found a tutorial for using thick cardboard to make up a flagstone look.  I’ve started to make some risers take on that look.  I also added some height to the edges of one elevation change.

My first attempt at a flagstone pattern.

Wood glue for adhesion and water to aid with curling.

I decided one of the elevation changes should have some walls built up.  I'll add some ropes to it to use as rope and hooks.  I like the options it will give.

Built-up about 1/2 inch with some scrap foam blocks.

I will finish up these buildings first then the flagstone.  After this I’ll finish work on the water tower, town walls and watch towers.  This should catch me up on what I’ve started and then I’ll do more.  My goal is to have this stuff finished up by August 1.

Now onto some miniatures.  I need to finish up the witch hunters that are almost done.  After that I will finish up the skaven warband my friend is using.  After that I’m going to show some love to some Blood Bowl teams for a bit.  The next tournament that I’ll be attending is Chaos Cup 2015 in early September.  I think I’ll be playing a different team than I’ve played in the past so I need to get that going.  Also I am painting up a hobgoblin for the CC legacy team, so I need to get going on that.  My goal is to have these things done by September 1.  The Blood Bowl team and player must be done by September 1.

In order to keep up with my non-specific posting goals, I should be posting quite a bit.  I hope to get in plenty of play too.  A friend wants to show me the Star Wars game also so hopefully I can learn that soon too.

This all sounds like a lot to do this summer but I think it’s doable.

The Slog - 2/12/15

You hear that sound of hobby work grinding to a halt?  That was coming from me.  I haven't been able to get much hobby time in.  The only thing I was able to do was do some minor conversions on the Skaven Warband I'm building, work a little on the Dog Bowl III dugouts (which now will be the Dog Bowl IV dugouts), and play three games of Blood Bowl while co-running a tournament.  I played a roster of all skinks and one krox, it was a blast.  I got destroyed but it was so much fun that if the skink roster is a FTLOTG team for Zlurpee Bowl XI, I'm taking it!

Dog Bowl III was a success and my co-conspirator, Randroid, may be planning a second Kalamazoo tournament later this year.  Keep an eye on the Zlurpee Forums for Mid-West tourney news.  I have got a bit of the hobby bug back so, if the wife will allow it, I hope to get back at it tonight!

I think I just added something to my list with this all skink team.  Hmm?  The wheels are churning...

This hopefully ends a few unproductive weeks for me.  Here's hoping.

Update 1/14/15 - Random Thoughts

So, I've been thinking... this blog has become a bit more than a paint log for me.  I used to be huge into playing sports.  I even planned my life to include being a golf professional (not a professional golfer, see the difference).  Things happen in life and the best laid plans don't always pan out.

Anyway for the past 5 years or so I've turned the attention playing sports used to get toward gaming, Blood Bowl specifically.  Some friends asked me if I wanted to play in a local league with them and I decided, reluctantly, to give it a shot.   I started out borrowing a team and playing.  The next thing I know, I'm listening to podcasts about it, reading up on it, and even going to tournaments.  Then I decided I wanted to give painting a shot and bought my first team.  Since then I've painted those Dark Elves (2x), a Slann team (2x), a Khemri team (since stripped), an Undead/Necro team for a friend, a Norse team for a friend, my Dwarfs of Anarchy, and a bunch of sideline figures.  All for BB use.

Because of the fun I've had with Blood Bowl I've met a lot of great people that I wouldn't have met without it.  One of those people has become my go-to whenever I have painting questions and he's the one who asked me to give Mordheim a try.   We played one measly practice game and now I'm super interested.  So much so that I converted up and painted a warband (well... it's almost done) and now I'm hooked on building up some terrain for the game.

I still follow my A's, Bears, Bulls, Blackhawks, and Spartans.  I still enjoy watching golf, boxing, MMA, and occasionally soccer.  But those are things I have to watch now.  I get to actually play, paint, and build with these new hobbies and that has given me a new area to put that attention.

I haven't had much time for building, painting, converting or playing lately but I'm still getting some stuff done and I intend to get that posting done soon too.  I think I"m going to shoot for one update a week but I'll do more if I can.

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.