Mysterious Effigy

Now this model was a delight to work on, but not without challenges. This post is going to be a bit of a rambler here, so don't be shy about just looking at the photos and then moving on if you aren't interested in the process.

So this plastic model has no logical place for it's tiny tiny appendages to attach to a base. Not without making it even more fragile. So I dealt with this by putting a pin in under the dress to attach to the base. Getting it centered properly on the base was a bit of a challenge and required a bunch of careful measuring but worked out well in the end. I would highly recommend this method to anyone else attempting this model. This also gave me an easy way to prime it and mount it while painting as well which was invaluable. The pin of course was painted black at the end. One mistake I made was to glue the pin into the base prior to sealing the model. This is a problem since I wanted the base to remain gloss-coated, but wanted to put a final matte seal on the model itself.

I had been intending to paint this model for a while, and to a higher standard than my current stuff. However a bonus opportunity came up to paint it for a facebook group Halloween challenge so it really helped jump-start my muse. I opted for a nice pumpkin-orange dress color and then worked from there. I focused on a triadic color scheme (orange/cyan/purple) to try for a bit of color harmony.
One challenge I faced was the masks. I originally wanted to tint each one of them slightly to reflect the mood that the masks themselves showed. I left this to the very end to decide though and I am sure glad I waited. I feel like adding the tinting could have easily thrown off the whole color balance and made the model just look too busy.

From the Desk: Weekend Roundup #136

Turbo mode...

Not a lot of progress. The last week has been busy with home improvement work. Mysterious Effigy is done and just need to post pictures. Started the 2 Bloodwretches. Widow Weaver wants to be started but isn't yet. Not much else to report unfortunately.

From the Desk: Weekend Roundup #135

I'm sleepy...

Spending a lot of time on this one model. Really enjoying it too. I'm getting close to done, but still a few hours more work left to do.
Also primed the Bloodwretches. Other stuff got done as well. I'm down to 3 remaining Legion models, none of which I'm at all interested in painting of course.

Bolt Thrower (take 2)

Plastic Bolt Thrower from the Legion box. Definitely like the original metal sculpt better. Also doesn't help that I speed painted this one pretty aggressively.

Project Desk Rescue: Why?

As if having the Barcade project wasn't enough, I'm starting this effort to make better use of the space on my desk.

So my painting desk (which occasionally doubles as my work-from-home desk) is a pretty intense little spot in terms of what's packed into it. It's the result of years of evolution of painting and trying to make the space as useful as possible. Lately however I've started to feel like it needs a bit of a focused makeover. There's 4 key spots in particular.

First, my paint rack is overflowing. As visible in the bottom right of this picture, there's a box of extra paints that don't fit on my paint rack anymore. This happened due to acquiring more paints than the rack was originally built for. The rack I have now is one that I built myself, which I'm very proud of. The rack is stained a nice color, and doesn't look like I just glued a bunch of leftover wood together. It took me a decent amount of time to build too so I'm loath to replace it. I need to make a decision as to what to do here.
a factor in this decision is the sheer storage issue. The current rack has capacity for 150 dropper bottles, however I have over 200 dropper bottles now. It also has a top surface for putting things on top of which is always full of stuff that's either reference, or in progress, or just inspiration or utility, and I'm always shuffling stuff on that top surface. It also has a flat open space in front for holding various paint pots, of which is always full and tends to not get touched too much. I also end up putting my brush trays on top of the paints in that lower section when I need more desk space.

Second, my computer just takes up a bunch of space. And the size of my current paint rack is sort of an artifact of the amount of remaining desk space after the computer monitor. Now straight up I'm not replacing my iMac. It's a 2010 model and still performs everything I need, and does it flawlessly. What I really need is to have it on an arm mount so I can shift it around easier. There's a big problem though, which is that the mid-2010 21" iMac that I have has no option to remove the built-in stand.

Third, which isn't really a problem, is my lighting. I unfortunately saw this picture of Mathieu Fontaine's painting desk which includes (among many other badass things) a lighting halo. Now I don't know how practical this will be for my space, but I'm curious to see what it would take to build something similar from a dollar perspective. I really do love my lamp, but there's a potential that this light halo could be both better and cheaper.

And fourth? Well there's just a lot of stuff that ends up on my desk. Some of it could be better organized, such as spare brushes and tools. There's loads of other storage beside and under my desk, but the desk itself follows my 90% rule, which is to say that I try to only keep stuff on it that is getting used 90% of the time that I'm at the desk painting. Lots of things have accumulated on my desk again and I just need to clean it up and figure out how there can be a spot that's routinely dedicated to some amount of spillover junk.

Malifaux Campaign Week 2 (game 2)

Super fast notes.

It's always unfortunate for a neutral model when they flip a black joker against Nekima's attack. Ouch.

Played my second game for week 2. My Neverborn crew against Henry's Gremlins. He outnumbered me and honestly that allowed him to really dominate on the strategy as well as with schemes that required placing scheme markers. In hindsight I probably should have focused my scheme choices better. In the end I had 7 VPs and Henry had 10 VPs. We both accomplished our bounties which meant I completed mine.

I'm pretty beat and afraid I might be fighting off a flu, otherwise I'd do a longer write up. Most of these campaign game reports are likely to get shorter going forward though.

Games this year: 51

Scion of Black Blood

Probably could have done more on this guy. Not the most interesting pose though.

Project Roadrunner's Barcade: Planning

Occasionally this blog will be the destination for other projects than my normal miniatures painting. This new project is one such situation. So for all my followers that don't care about this, sorry. You can merrily skip anything that starts with "Project Roadrunner's Barcade" or are tagged with "barcade".

So what is this? It's pretty simple. My son (who is in 1st grade) wasn't able to join the local coding class due to many factors. So I decided that a project at home was a good alternative. Coincidentally a friend and co-worker had sent me pictures of the bar-top arcade that he built. There's a ton of tutorials online for this so I'm not going to spend a ton of time explaining how we build ours. Instead I'm going to document the details that we need to keep track of and the fun that we're having building it together.

First some links:
This guide is a primary source for details.
This one also though which is linked from this Reddit post.

Today we went ahead and ordered a bunch of parts:
Raspberry Pi 2 with power supply and plastic case and heat sinks
Arcade joysticks and buttons with controller card
19" LCD flat panel monitor
Power cord inlet
Micro SD card

There's a bunch more stuff we'll need eventually, and I'll certainly need tools, but first I want to get the basics together. Our first task once the parts start to arrive will be to assemble the control console I think, which will require wood and tools as well as some electronic assembly. I'm also planning to get some plexiglass cut for key pieces of the cabinet, such as the controls console. There's a local place that I can get that done at a local plastics specialty place.

Updates will be sporadic as we make progress. Wish us luck!

Other less important links:
This place sells pre-cut panels which I may go to if I get sick of doing all the MDF cutting myself.
This is a smaller module version that plugs into the TV. Here's another version

Waldgeists

These were very satisfying models to paint. So quick and easy. I think I actually spent more time making the bases. I really like the look of these. It makes me somewhat eager to paint more swampfiend models now.

Malifaux Mini-Campaign: Weeks 2 and 3

So I forgot to post results from week 2 of the mini-campaign, so here's highlights from weeks 2 and 3:
* I completed my bounty and saved enough scrip to get Pandora for week 3.
* The final VP score overall was 21 (me) to 17 (Lance). The last game is what swung the whole thing.
* The Widow Weaver with a Jetpack is so much awesomeness.
* There were a lot injuries, which is not nearly as bad as I thought it was going to be.
* Have a game with a master in one crew but no master in the other can make for a pretty serious power slide, but not necessarily insurmountable.
* This game continues to be super fun.

We've decided to conclude this mini-campaign now that our 3rd member of our 3-man-meta has returned from vacation. However this side diversion has been really educational in terms of getting more solid on the core rules, our own models, the campaign dynamics.

Games this year: 50

Stitched Together

Most of my gallery posts have been brief, but this pair deserves a little extra attention. These models were amusing to paint mostly because they practically tell a story all by themselves. I spent a lot of time doing little patches of crosshatching in order to imply the canvas fabric to the look of the surface. I then buried that under many layers of thin washes. I was specifically aiming to create a bit more texture to the canvas so that it contrasted well with the metals and especially with the spilling intestines.
Then there was the basing. These represent my first "puppet" models based. I'm hoping that it's self-evident what I did, but here's the explanation. The base is a carved control which then has strings running to the models' arms. The string is actually thin fishing line which I then coated with SWW Amethyst as added some pink highlights to.

From the Desk: Weekend Roundup #134

Technically I'm still on weekend, just long, but here goes...

Lots of progress in the last 2 weeks. My 2 Stitched Togethers and 2 Waldgeists are painted and just need to be put on bases. Speaking of which, I worked out basing schemes for "Puppet" and "Swampfiend" types in Malifaux and not only prototyped them, but also created extra bases for most of my current backlog of remaining Neverborn. In addition to that, I got the Black Blood Scion and Mysterious Effigy primed. And to top it off, I've started painting my Nephilim Bolt Thrower from the Legion battle box.

On a more personal note, I feel like my muse is really strong lately. It's especially comforting given all the stresses in my life right now. Painting has been an important outlet for me to work out frustrations and just get out of my own head.

Hellmouth

Both Hellmouths! Done! I painted the chitin so that it had a different tint on each unit to keep them straight.

Resource: Kuku Kube

If you haven't tried this and wondering how sensitive your eyes are to color, this site is a great way to test it.

Malifaux Mini-Campaign: Week 1

Because sometime you gotta just play an alternate mini-campaign when of your buddies goes on vacation! Super brief notes. Not interesting to anyone!

My starting Arsenal: Widow Weaver, Doppleganger, Black Blood Shaman, 3 Terror Tots. Bounty: Escort Mission.
Lance's starting Arsenal: Datsue Ba, uh some other stuff, and, uh, some bounty.

Weekly event: Forbidden Text
Strategy: Turf War
Deployment: Standard
Available Schemes: A Line In The Sand, Breakthrough, Assassinate, Vendetta, Plant Evidence
Schemes chosen (both of us): Breakthrough, Plant Evidence.
My outcome: Loss, 7 VPs, +4 scrip for 2 Texts. 7 total scrip. Injury to 1 Terror Tot (need to re-flip). Completed bounty challenge 1 time.
Lance's outcome: Win, 8 VPs, +4 scrip for 2 Texts. 8 total scrip. Injury to something.
My aftermath: Hand - 3 Masks. Barter - 13 Tomes.
Lance's aftermath: Hand - 12 Crows/13 Crows. Barter - 9 Masks. Injury - 9 Tomes.

My aftermath and purchases:
Purchase: Jet Pack (5 scrip)
Remaining scrip: 2

Games this year: 48

From the Desk: Weekend Roundup #133

Can't believe how much I've done in the last 2 weeks!

No picture tonight. I finished a pile of stuff, which I won't recap here obviously. Ironically I don't have a lot of stuff in progress. The Widow Weaver and 2 Stitched Togethers are primed and ready for paint, but I haven't started them. I've assembled 2 Waldgeists, Black Blood Scion, and Mysterious Effigy. In general, I'm in a bit of a holding pattern.

Terrain: Sign Post

What it is: A Neverborn sign post, warning intruders.

How I made it: Balsa wood, plastic skulls from some ancient skeleton kit, and a random base from my Secret Weapon Bag-o-Crap. I made sure to put a magnet in the resin base so that I can bring it in my small model transport case and add it to whatever game I happen to be playing at. I also drilled a number of holes in the wood in order to accentuate that it's been at the center of battles. There's even an exposed pin painted to look like a nail.

What I learned: It's amazing how a small piece of terrain like this can get done so quickly. This took me maybe 3 hours total effort and that was just because I was enjoying the project rather than trying to rush through it.

Rules for Malifaux: Severe and Soft Cover.

Malifaux Campaign Week 2 (game 1)

Again, not really sure how to do a proper battle report yet, but here's notes from the first game of week 2.

Additional week 1 cleanup: Gaki Injury flip: 8 Tomes

Weekly event: Swamp Creatures (7 masks)

Game 1:
Strategy: Turf War
Deployment: Flank
Available Schemes: A Line In The Sand, Breakthrough, Protect Territory, Vendetta, Make Them Suffer
Lance Crew: Anna Lovelace, Hannah (Unnerving Aura upgrade), Datsue Ba, Jaakuna Ubume. Schemes: Vendetta, Make Them Suffer.
My Crew: Nekima (Quick Reflexes skill), Lilitu, Lelu (Clockwork Seeker equipment), Iggy. Schemes: Make Them Suffer, Breakthrough.
My outcome: Win, 10 VPs, +2 scrip for 1 Silurid. 8 total scrip. No injuries. Completed bounty challenge 1 time.
Lance's outcome: Loss, 4 VPs, +4 scrip for 2 Silurids, +2 scrip for crew rating difference. 8 total scrip. No injuries.
My aftermath: Hand - 9 Crows/8 Tomes. Barter - 2 Rams.
Lance's aftermath: Hand - 9 Tomes. Barter - Red Joker (+6 Rams).

My aftermath and purchases:
Total scrip prior: 11
Purchase: Metal Plate (3 scrip)
Remaining scrip: 8

Games this year: 47

Terrain: Gallows

What it is: A gallows, for hanging criminals.

How I made it: Loads of coffee stirrers, balsa wood, hot glue, and some twine. Also I painted it using P3 Umbral Umber, P3 Beast Hide (drybrushed), and then P3 Hammerfall Khaki (drybrushed).

What I learned: Originally I tried staining the wood, but there was 2 major problems. First, the stain doesn't really work on coffee stirrers and balsa wood. Second, the stain caused some of the hot glue to detach, which meant a lot of fixing. Also, wood stain smells horrible and takes a long time to properly dry.

Rules for Malifaux: Ht 1 models can walk under unimpeded. Ht 2 models can walk under as severe terrain. Walking up the steps requires no additional cost for climbing, but anywhere else must pay 4" to go up before moving onto the platform. The platform is a vantage point. targeting between above and below the platform is not blocked.

Terrain: Water Tower

What it is: A water tower! Shocker!

How I made it: Lots of balsa wood, wooden dowels, coffee stirrers, popsicle sticks, hot glue, and a single empty food can. I also used some simple craft foam to make the bands around the giant barrel.

What I learned: This actually was inspired mostly by a tutorial or youtube video I'd seen a while. I will say though that I learned using hot glue is much easier for this type of construction that normal glue. Shockingly easier.

Rules for Malifaux: Soft Cover while in the ground area contained by the posts. Beginning a Wk action at the base of the ladder allows for getting to the top in a single 1AP.