Drazhar's Miniworks

Painting with the missis

2012-02-21T05:55:00.000+01:00

Over the weekend, my girlfriend and me sat down to the desk, grabbed our brushes, palettes and paints and got to work. Here is what we have to show for it so far:

Baerwyn, Elf Archer - Reaper


Gerin, Dwarf Warrior - Reaper

Shaedra, Female Paladin - Reaper

Marco Colombo - Games Workshop

A fun, productive weekend it was. We shall do it again for sure. In the meantime, we would love to hear your thoughts on our minis.

Orc boarboyz - bases

2012-02-16T06:10:00.003+01:00

I won't lie, I enjoy making bases. It went from a very routine task to a prominent part of any hobby project and I think it is only proper to treat base making as such.

I'm excited about actually making the miniatures, but that's a bit from now. There are other things I have to focus on at the moment, not the least of which is the color scheme for the boars. Any suggestions?

Of course, don't hesitate to comment on th bases as well. Have a great weekend and see you Tuesday!

Night goblin fanatics - metals

2012-02-14T06:17:00.000+01:00

Ah, another week, another project. Nothing like the feeling of progress, right?

I'm very happy with how the sponging turned out. With big areas like these, a little more attention can go a long way. And it was neither hard nor time-consuming.

The fanatics kit is surprisingly nice. Those are sure going to be fun to paint.

Of shopping and quality control

2012-02-09T12:24:00.001+01:00

Ah, the joys of stable income. Recently I've enjoyed them in earnest, and here is the result:

Also night goblin fanatics, not pictured.

So yeah, I'm going to be a busy little Drazhar in the coming weeks. Bases for these are already done.

And here is a curiosity on just how GW assures the quality of their products:

If you think Finecast is bad...

...what do you say...

...about these?

Seriously, Games Workshop? Seriously? This went to shipping? Or is the quality control just nonexistent?

Product review - brushes by Back-to-Base-ix

2012-02-07T19:19:00.000+01:00

Hello there. Before we start, I'd like to remind you that from February I've moved the updating schedule back to Tuesdays and Thursdays, so if anyone missed me yesterday that is the reason. The updates will of course continue, I just need more time due to working full-time again and some other major commitments. So stay tuned, another unit project for the orcs is upcoming!

Today I'd like to talk about a set of brushes recently released by an Australian company Back-to-Base-ix. I know not many of you know about them, but I sincerely recommend you look at what they offer; some of their products provide an interesting alternative to what we know. What is evident in their entire range is a well-developed thinking process behind their merchandise. They sure have some inventive minds in the land down under. I have more of their products, but today I'll talk about their newest - the Hobby Brushes.

Presentation

The brush set arrives very well packaged in its own shrink-wrap. In addition, each brush is open, in its own, hard plastic tube. The brushes are made from hard, robust aluminium with a plastic handle. They have, of course, natural hair bristles. The set contains all six (more are mentioned to be upcoming), ranging from size 000 to 2 and a small drybrush.

Now, when I say 'open', I actually mean a very distinct feature of the BtB brushes: the work part is tightly screwed into the handle and is able to unscrew and be stored inside the hollow handle, making this line a great product for all of you travelling painters out there. Also, if you have a break from painting, you can just "fold" the brushes and never fear for their safety. Definitely an interesting, original idea and one that is actually useful.

Also, the brushes are not ordered in accordance to numbered size, but rather have quite intuitive names such as "Rank and File" or "Robots and Monsters". If you prefer the numbers they are fairly easy to deduce and also provided on the BtB website.

Putting it into use

While I'm not a showcase-level painter, I applied these brushes (and these alone) to a side project I'm preparing for the Warhammer Battle Reporters forum painting competition. Naturally, it was not a rank-and-file model, but a showcase one, demanding my best. I will of course show it to you, but as of now, on to the brushes.

First of all, these brushes are heavy, heavier than wooden ones. But this is actually a bonus: they lay excellent in the hand and are very-well balanced, making for a tool that is very hand-friendly. One problem I had, however, was a small knurl just where the "work bit" meets the handle. Holding the brush in this place quickly results in a painful knuckle.

This bit does not like your fingers and they do not like it.

Now, as far as actual painting goes, there can be no mistake - these brushes are professional-level tools. They hold their point very, very well. The bristles can handle turning, side strokes and all manner of operation in painting. Having said that, the bristles are rather soft. While this is not a problem with typical work (just load the brush with a lesser amount of paint and you shouldn't have any problems; the softness is actually a good thing as far as brush bristles go), it becomes an issue with the drybrush. These bristles show signs of bending after just four or five fairly modest drybrushings, which, bearing in mind the nature of work, is not very impressive. One solution, on the users' side, is to utilize a dedicated brush restorer. I have the Vallejo one and it seems to be working on the drybrush quite nicely, but I can also see that the brush won't serve me for much longer. In this respect, the Army Painter line of drybrushes is better.

I'll interrupt myself here to give you an example on how well these brushes are made. One of them arrived to me in no working condition: due to a shipping accident (which was truly nobody's fault), the protector of one of the bristles simply slipped off and the brush has been bumped on the bristles quite severely. I dipped it in the brush restorer and after a thorough soak (and a wash with brush soap) the brush held perfect point. As if nothing ever happened to it. It might be due to the restorer's superior abilities, but I think it's more due to the brush' superior quality. Extra kudos for that.

How much is it?
As with any upper-shelf, quality product, you have to expect to pay a premium. These brushes are no exception. The entire set (six brushes) will set you back 49 euros plus shipping from Australia. It might be pricey for a set of brushes, but these babies are definitely, definitely worth it. And of course buying them as a set is a bargain in comparison with buying individual brushes.

Here I have to take my hat off and express my greatest gratitude to the BtB team for sending me the set for testing absolutely free.

How is it useful? Who is it for?
Well, these are really, really good brushes for a price that is affordable. Treated well, they will last you a long, long time (the drybrush aside, but drybrushes are not meant to last gods know how long to begin with). For truly casual painters these are a considerable investment which perhaps can be skipped. If, however, you are a professional painter or, like me, are serious about raising your level, these are a real benefit. I know that brushes do not make a painter, but a craftsman is only as good as his tools.

I sincerely recommend giving the Back-to-Base-ix Hobby Brushes at least a try and grade them at a well deserved five stars out of five.

Savage orcs - completed!

2012-02-02T16:52:00.004+01:00

Here they are, finished and ready for the last bit - detailing. I'm talking about shoulder pads, pouches, maybe some stuff on the bases and so on.

They were an ambitious project and one I really thought I'd finish later rather than sooner. However, I managed to do it in much less time I'd originally envisioned.

With this unit I've also managed to like and appreciate the strip bases, something I've not been that into until now. they are really helpful with units bigger than, say, fifteen models.

Anyhow, here are the orcs. Next up - boar boyz!

Musings of a hobbyist - episode four

2012-01-31T10:07:00.000+01:00

Episode_04_-_January_2012.mp3

For your hearing pleasure. See you on Thursday! Let me just spill some beans and say that I have big plans in the works...

And, as promised. the brushes.

An announcement and an orc

2012-01-30T18:29:00.000+01:00

First of all, I'd like to inform you that, considering me being employed full-time again, I'm moving back to two updates per week. Next update will take place tomorrow, the one after that on Thursday and so on.

Secondly, I'm done with the savage orc unit! That's right, it's finished-ish. Watch this space for full unit photos and a commentary. This development brings the orc army project to the following:

~~Savage orc shaman, second level, Lucky Shrunken Head~~ - DONE!
~~Night goblin big boss with a shield, light armor, great weapon and the Bad Moon Banner~~ - DONE!
~~23 savage orcs wit full command group, two choppas and maybe a big stabba~~ - DONE!
49 night goblins with spears and shields, netters, full command group and hiding two fanatics - started
10 orc boar boyz with full command group, spears and shields
10 squig hoppers
~~A mangler squig team~~ - DONE!

And lastly, here's an orc with a spear, the last one to be added to the mob:

See you folks tomorrow!

Savage orcs - command

2012-01-27T08:57:00.001+01:00

...or rather the rest of it; I've already finished the standard bearer. The horn blower was a very easy build, but then having loads of orc parts makes everything such.

The boss on the other hand:

demanded some clever positioning. I really wanted to make him hold the whip in his both hands, but that proved difficult and would end up looking silly if he was ever to rank up. So only the red jerkin. You'll also notice he's the only one in the unit to wear anything on his head.

The skull on his back will be covered by a shield or a sheathed choppa, definitely something. I don't like it at all, I just wanted the naked chest.

Four orcs left to go on this unit, plus of course doodads like shoulder pads, pouches and so on. But that is just detail work; I'm really relieved to be almost done with these.

Savage orcs with two-handed weapons - first batch

2012-01-25T08:56:00.002+01:00

I know it's not in the army list for these to have two-handers, but as far as modeling goes I think it looks great to have a unit in sort of mixed appearance. Two or three more to add, depending on space and how the ones with two choppas go.

See you on Friday!

The story of how I won't be playing 40k anytime soon

2012-01-23T09:38:00.001+01:00

It's Monday and I have to rant yet again. It's just the kind of guy I am.

I have always been a bit reluctant about Warhammer 40.000, being both a much more fantasy-oriented hobbyist and a shelf space-lacking one. But every now and then there comes a time I look upon the 41st millennium with interest. I don't quite like most of the armies, but I have seriously considered at least a few as my future projects. These were the orks, the Space Wolves, a homebrew Space Marine chapter, the dark eldar and the necrons.

Now, thing is I already have a greenskin project (on the workbench as we speak, in fact), so orks are a no-go. Space Marines, well, everybody and their grandma has Space Marines. they are the most popular of GW products for a reason, but that same reason keeps me from buying them as well. The dark eldar, in the light of circumstances you'll read in a second, became winners of my "If I Ever D 40k Army" contest. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When the previous necron codex had been published, the dark eldar were still stuck with their first edition and their horrible, horrible miniatures. That made necrons a no-brainer. I picked up the codex, but being a humble student at that time I simply could not afford the army itself. But I was simply smitten by their fable, and for me that's a deciding factor in everything that is Warhammer. I know some 40k veterans did not share my view, but I loved the whole backstory about the C'tan, how actually the necrons "work" and why they do what they do. Their sinister, secretive feel and single-minded purpose, the sense of looming danger they present, it was all great. I was hooked and I knew I will be making necrons someday.

So when the new necron codex surfaced along with the new miniatures, as is tradition, I was overjoyed. I wasn't able to pick it up immediately. I did it last Saturday. I did not, for the life of me, like what I saw.

What GW did to the necron fable is, for me, nothing short of a crime. They basically turned a great, well-written race into Tomb Kings in space. It is so blatantly obvious throughout the codex I can’t really understand what thought process went behind the whole project. I know the necron fable was modest, but in my opinion that was what made them so great: they were supposed to be mysterious. That feel of enigmatic, but powerful dread was exactly what made necrons stand out as a definitive faction of the 41st millennium.

And now we have the C’tan not as the shadowy masters behind the necrons, but actually their slaves. Now the necrons are not a single, unified, galaxy-spanning force – now they just have their own separate areas of influence. Now they do not intend to harvest the sapient races and their worlds by the orders of their overlords – they want to get their fleshy bodies back… is this Pinocchio?

Am I butthurt? Maybe so. I had hopes for this army. I still like the miniatures very much (but where are the pariahs?). But as far as the fable goes, I think Matthew Ward has slaughtered it. Royally. He effectively killed what was great and appealing in this whole product. As the old adage goes, better is good's enemy. By comparison, the Vampire Counts fable was left untouched - and it served the army well. Take the hint GW...

So, I think dark eldar might be stepping into the spotlight and onto my workbench. Sometime. Do not expect them sooner than fall or winter of 2012. But expect them.

Thanks for reading and see you on Wednesday.

And now for something completely different...

2012-01-20T14:11:00.000+01:00

...is the miniature I painted a couple of years ago. I remembered about it just now, while I was packing my vampire counts army that I've recently sold. Just thought I'd share.

The model comes from a great range: Dark Age. For some reason it's called Contradiction.

For those of you who haven't heard about Dark Age, it's a post-apocalyptic skirmish game (though not happening on Earth) with excellent models and sometimes a very sick twist. Love it!

Savage orcs with choppas and shields, second batch

2012-01-18T13:15:00.000+01:00

Alright, one orc, but it's a start on a 'regiment' strip base. I've grown to like these now that units of fifty or so models are the norm. Here's how he ranks up with another fellow:

Next up - two-handed weapons!

Product review - Vampire Counts army book

2012-01-16T08:44:00.000+01:00

We didn't have a review in a while, with me all caught up in the savage orcs project, have we? Well, this could not have come at a better time then.

It's always nice to start a new year with a new project and I think I'm not going to be an exception. But I digress. Let's look at the VC book, shall we?

Presentation

The book is hardback, full color, semi-gloss paper. Nothing that has not been seen in the three 'new' army books. A great, high standard presentation; finally GW is truly setting the bar. And it is set high. Nothing to complain about here.

Fable

Or "fluff", as some of you call it. No major changes, some pieces are even reprinted from the previous book. But I mean that in a very positive sense; bearing in mind what they did to Ogres and their great war with these Sky Titans, the vampire counts' fable is decent, solid and held together, so to speak. Not only that, but they actually expanded the story with a major, never before seen bit concerning one of the iconic vampires of the Old World. Not going to post spoilers, but I'll tell you this - that bit of fable seems to be setting the stage for a major player to make his grand return.

As per usual, we also get the timeline and some of the locations like Hel Fenn or the Blood Keep are given descriptions. Nice bits.

Bestiary and the new units

Again, the form is nothing new. However, as was the case with the previous armies in the 8th edition, each unit is given a detailed, concise description and not a small bit of fable. This alone provides a great read.

What is really great and clearly a deep bow to the gamers, not one unit has been dropped from the list! In addition to the mandatory new ones, we get each and every old troop back. What's more, each and every unit in the army list (except one character configuration) is present in miniature at the book's publication. Some miniatures that needed an overhaul (zombies being the prime example) did not yet get it, but still, they are available. Unlike, for instance, the Hierotitan for the Tomb Kings. Very big thumbs up for that.

As far as new units go, some are great, some are not so much (in terms of miniatures). The vargheists, the crypt horrors, black knights and the wight king fall into the first category. all of these are decent sculpts mostly without major nonsense bits. This, however, does not apply to the hexwraiths, which to me are just silly. Neither the models, nor the rules make much sense. I'm not doing to detail it here, have a read and look a the models and you'll see what I mean, hopefully.

The 'major' new realease, the Coven Throne/Mortis Engine is giving me problems to fairly judge. On one hand, I can see the complexity and scale of it, and both are amazing. Game-wise, both are great pieces, not uber-powerful and very much killable, but still packing a decent punch. On the other, the design is simply weird and to my mind not much in style of the vampires, but that's just me.

Magic and magic items

Very decent, solid playtesting must have gone into both of these. It is apparent from the 'tuned down' feel both the Lore of the Vampires and their arsenal of magic items have - both are powerful, deadly if used correctly, but neither holds game-winning potential alone. The same goes for the vampiric powers: they are still present and vampires do in fact get an extra points allowance for the powers alone, but it is a great idea. It makes vampires expensive, powerful and vital in the army - exactly as they should be. This section is possibly the book's best.

Artwork and pictures

Talk about a rose with no thorns...As far as pictures go, nothing to complain about, then again nothing to actually go wrong. All choices are neatly presented, units are shown in several color schemes - all is well. The artwork, however, is possibly the book's weakest bit. Starting just with the cover. If you look at it, the vampire's face makes me think he's shouting "Look at my f***ing bat!! Look at it!!". Inside, there are some brilliant pieces from the previous book, only this time in color - and they look just marvelous in color. However, in the bestiary John Blanche's 'art' rears its head once more and, well, for me it just drags down the artwork's overall level. I know there are people who love Blanche's work, I'm just not one of them.

Army list
Well, it's just that. However, due to the inclusion of all the 'old' units, the vampire army list is very, very extensive, possibly rivaling the orcs' one. Some units have shifted the categories (like the bat swarms and the corpse cart), but all in all, long army lists with plenty of choices are always good.

Summary
The 8th edition Vampire Counts army book is a very good publication. It has its faults, but these are minor and mostly subject to interpretation what exactly does a fault make. What is particularly good is that the overall feel of the army has been kept. The vampires are still the most powerful pieces of the list, they still command hordes of minions. And let's face it, the climate is what's important in this hobby.

I give the Vampire Counts book four and a half out of five stars.

Savage orcs with choppas and shields, first batch

2012-01-13T22:24:00.000+01:00

Don't the black orc weapons look badass? In my book they are one of the most seriously looking of all GW kits. They are meant for hands slightly larger than your normal boyz, but that's not a problem at all. And they look great.

Here's another fella:

Also, the beastmen shields from previous-edition gor herd are a very nice addition to any "feral" army. And they fit like a dream.

More to come, stay tuned!

Savage orcs - WIP standard bearer

2012-01-11T20:10:00.002+01:00

The newest addition to the savage orc unit. He is almost done, like I said previously I will add some shoulder plates and other bits, but that's only after I finish the entire unit.

I love this ogre standard. In general, the ogres and beastmen ranges are a perfect source of bits for orcs, especially the outdated boyz on foot.

I must say this is one of my favorite minis.

Thanks for looking, see you on Friday!

The orc army list

2012-01-09T13:13:00.000+01:00

This is what I'm going for as my first goal for the orc army project. A 1200-ish points worth of greenskins that will be easy enough to bump to 2000 points with a few additions. Here it is:

~~Savage orc shaman, second level, Lucky Shrunken Head~~ - done!

~~Night goblin big boss with a shield, light armor, great weapon and the Bad Moon Banner~~ - done!

23 savage orcs wit full command group, two choppas and maybe a big stabba - started

49 night goblins with spears and shields, netters, full command group and hiding two fanatics - started

10 orc boar boyz with full command group, spears and shields

10 squig hoppers

~~A mangler squig team~~ - done!

I like to incorporate as many different unit types into my lists as possible, so I must say I like this list a lot. I have no idea how it will play, but being more of a painter and a collector than a gamer I'm not overly concerned. Still, feedback is appreciated.

Savage orcs - orc casualty

2012-01-07T23:00:00.000+01:00

A little narrative. I think orcs are the perfect army for some narrative pieces in their units, and this fellow from the Empire Archers kit is just great. he will eventually have a buddy in the unit, but that's for another time...

The 2012 to-do list

2012-01-04T13:59:00.001+01:00

As seems to be the trend nowadays... Mind you, these concern not only my WFB hobby!

So, for the new year, I plan to:

Finish the orc army project for 2000-ish points. I'm roughly halfway done as far as the raw model count goes (and this is what, I believe, counts: you don't paint points, you paint miniatures, amirite?)
Make at least one Arcane Fulcrum and a bit of siege equipment for the orcs.
Rebase a 1000-ish point army of Vampire Counts so I can play these as well.
Make loads of stuff for my medieval reenactment: most pressingly, the helmet and the plate gauntlets need much attention. Preferably other bits of armor as well. And a wooden chest for the tent. And a new belt. And boots.
Invest in a new, better airbrush.
Collect every army book and other source material that comes out for WFB in 2012 and write thorough reviews.
Finally get that damned driver's license. I'm telling you, that crap gives me nightmares.
And likely more!

See you on Friday!

Savage orcs - Big Stabba

2012-01-03T00:05:00.001+01:00

It's 99% done. All that remains are some shoulder pads, weapons and the like, but these will be added after I finish the entire mob.

Musings of a hobbyist - episode three

2011-12-30T16:52:00.000+01:00

The last post of the old year folks! Third episode of my podcast, enjoy and happy new year!Episode_03_-_December_2011.mp3

Redone shaman

2011-12-28T16:59:00.001+01:00

Teeny-tiny update today; I redid the shaman on foot. Saying "redid" is actually an overstatement: I've just added some clump foliage to the base and reinforced some joints on this mini. Nothing serious, but still I brought him to the army's overall level methinks.

Here are some detail shots...

...and I will see you Friday!

Savage orcs - Big Stabba WIP

2011-12-26T11:40:00.001+01:00

Hello after the holidays. Usually at this time of year my level of nausea reaches heights unimaginable; this year has been much different, but that's another story.

Hobby-wise, I managed to start the Big Stabba team for the savage orcs. Like so:

The chariot thriller (yep, that's the word for it!) was a bitch to align, in retrospect I'd be much better off having the orcs carry it over their heads.

As of now the green stuff on the other two arms is curing and I will be done with this project come Wednesday. Enjoy!

Happy holidays!

2011-12-19T14:55:00.001+01:00

Let it be known that for the week starting today I will be enjoying my vacation, with as little elctronics as possible.

Updates shall resume next Monday. Happy holidays everybody!

Savage orcs - legs done

2011-12-17T08:28:00.003+01:00

Here they are. Twenty in the photos, but there are three more pairs I left out. So glad to be done with them, such a boring job. Now on to the torsos.

My Hobby Holiday list, part two

2011-12-14T21:29:00.001+01:00

Good evening to my fellow hobbyists. Tonight I'd like to present to you the second part of my holiday wish list. In part one, I focused solely on Games Workshop, so today let's look at other companies and the fans ourselves. After all, we make the hobby just as much a GW does, in my understanding, and having said that we are not without faults.

I received nice feedback on my previous list and I'm glad more people share my views. Sometimes I really think I'm the only one who thinks this and that. Thanks for the support.

So, here it is, Drazhar's Hobby Holiday List, part two.

I would like:

Fanboyism to stop. I think this is the number one reason why the hobby scene sometimes looks like 4chan. If you like GW products, that's great. If you prefer, say, Privateer Press, that's also great. But would you kindly stop that mantra-like chant of "PP is SO MUCH COOLER than GW!!!!oneone"? It's nice if you like it, but don't look down on people who still prefer The Company. Or the other way around. I, for one, have never managed to get to like Rackham products and their aesthetics simply eluded me as far as awesomeness goes. But I've never called these minis "gay" or even "faggy". How can you actually say that about a piece of metal?! This goes for forums and fansites too. Do you prefer BoLS over Warseer? TWF over BoLS? Perfectly fine, but openly declaring the other site's users as inferior is just immature. Nobody likes a fanboy.

Elitism to stop.

Whew. I had to do this.

Now listen very carefully: your hobby is essentially painting and moving toy soldiers on a pretend battlefield, playing a make-believe battle. It does not make it, or you, in any way better than people who prefer to spend their time and money on pimping out their cars. Or skateboarding. Or fencing. Or chess. Or knitting. Or anything else they find enjoyable, fulfilling and relaxing. You are not a member of a "subculture", and in no way a member of the elite. You just have a pretty "closed" hobby.

Do you understand? Great! Now practice it.

Tournaments and their organizers - please make the painting and modeling go hand in hand with actual gameplay when it comes to awarding points to the participants! I realize I might be wrong in assuming they don't, I haven't played in a lot of tournaments, but I have seen many as a spectator and I don't think painting should award like 20% of the overall points. Please promote a holistic, encompassing approach to the hobby. It's not only about winning!

GW bashers - give The Company a chance! Granted, there are better producers out there - Vallejo make better paints, Army Painter makes better primers, GF9 makes better basing products. But don't assume that if it's GW, it has to be bad right away. Sometimes The Company actually does make something that is genuinely good. Don't be so close-minded.

Tournament gamers, and please excuse my French - don't be as big a douchebags as some of you are. I'll refer you to point two of this very list. It's really good that you are able to play well and play to win. Clearly you are a competent gamer. But that does not make you the king of all that is gaming. This in fact applies to the masters of any facet of our hobby. I know winning something at the Golden Demon is extremely prestigious and you should be very proud. That, however, does not give you the right to talk down to anyone. Most of us will never reach your level, do you honestly get off on contempt you give out to people who will probably never achieve your standard? Really?

There we go. I hope at least some of you can agree on at least some of my points.

Let's get back to these savage orcs, shall we?

My Hobby Holiday list, part one

2011-12-12T10:04:00.001+01:00

Hello on a surprisingly warm December morning. Seeing as the holidays are nearly upon us and for some reason it has become customary to celebrate them by giving gifts, I'd like some gifts myself. But mine are not material. I don't like to receive major stuff I haven't worked for and furthermore, the ones on my list would make me much, much more happy than another worthless trinket.

My list comes in two parts, one aimed specifically at Games Workshop (and generally the producers of our hobby materials) and the other, well, you will see.

So here it is, Drazhar's Hobby Holiday Wish List.

I would like:

Games Workshop to start a sensible, honest marketing schemes. We don't want to wait gods know how long for miniatures that have rules published in your army books and codices. I understand the in and out of marketing, raising the demand and whatnot, but what you are doing now is just wrong. I like the 'wave' system you employ in releasing your products, just make these waves come sooner. About every two months seem fine to me - in half a year, we would have the entire army published in miniatures. And by "entire" I mean just that - every single unit in the army list having its miniature available over the course of six months at the very most. What you folks did with the Jabberslythe recently is just rude to your clients.

John Blanche to stop being called an artist. Seriously. And for the love of all that is decent, comparing him to Hieronymus Bosch is... ugh, I can't even find a word for such travesty.

The Company to make more conversion parts. You did great job with, for instance, the Knights of the Blazing Sun packs. You can do it again. Personalizing an army is a great thing ans as the producer I think you should pay more attention to such things. It also has great marketing potential.

GW writers to stop using the phrase "Games Workshop hobby". It's not your property. You have not invented it. You are the potentate of it, that's undeniable, but did you ever hear Bill Gates calling computing "the Microsoft hobby"? Unless, to keep to the digital world, you want to follow the footsteps of Apple and Steve Jobs... please don't.

GW designers to stop with the nonsense in their projects - is the Old World really made of skulls and skulls alone? Does every terrain bit have a winged skull or a hammer chiseled into it? The architecture you come up with is already wacky, over-the-top and the unrealism should stop at that. Going further is just making your buildings look silly. Just look at the Skullvane Manse.

Games Workshop - start talking to your fanbase! And start listening to it! They are the money in your pockets, it's not just nice to talk to them, it's your damn obligation. Don't take any leaves out of the Vatican's book, being closed to 'the people' and doing only what you think is right gets you only mistrust and eventually you will suffer, in one way or another. If your fans agree that, for example, your paints are worse than XYZ, maybe you should look into it. Benchmark, take every opinion into view, be open, attentive and respond to what we, your customers, actually want from you. Stop trying to make us want what you put on sale, start making us a vital part in your decision-making process.

There we go. Part two is upcoming!

Savage orcs - legs, first batch

2011-12-09T18:49:00.001+01:00

Surpised, aren't you? Don't worry, I'm not trolling you in any way, these are actually for my savage orc unit. Just a very... let's say "unorthodox" one.

I went for the 40k ork legs for very simple reasons - they are better cast than the fantasy ones and I got about ten pairs for free. Plus, they will make for a nice contrast with the torsos I have planned.

I have ten pairs finished at the moment. Thirteen to go. Stay tuned.

Savage orcs - bases complete

2011-12-07T15:12:00.001+01:00

...almost. I will add the clump foliage after the miniatures, I find it much better looking in the end.

And a shot from the back:

Expect a varied, mish-mash unit. Definitely don't expect "proper" savage orcs! :)

See you folks Friday, thanks for looking!

Product review - Blood in the Badlands

2011-12-05T09:17:00.001+01:00

Welcome to another week. Holidays are nearly upon us and this release by Games Workshop could not, in a manner of speaking, be coming at a better time. Read on...

What is it?

Blood in the Badlands is a campaign that has been, apparently, played by the GW staff over the course of the current year. It is not a rules expansion the size of, for example, Storm of Magic. That said, it does have notable rules sections, but if you are looking purely for the rules you will be disappointed.

Scenarios and rules aside, it is essentially a very big piece of narrative that could easily appear in several issues of White Dwarf.

How does it look like?

The book is a hardback, a hundred or so full color pages. It's the same format as the new army books, the rulebook or the Storm of Magic book, making for a great look on the shelf. It doesn't have anything in the line of SoM's magic spinner or the like.

What's inside?

After a brief introduction to the publication we get to the description of the Badlands as a region of the Old World. Fable-wise, BitB is a very decent, solid source of information about the region and its places of interest. What is even better, some locations (like the Iron Rock) actually get their own rules in the campaign. A nice touch.

Then come the guidelines for playing the campaign yourselves. The plural here is well justified, as the optimal number of players oscillates in the region of seven to ten. To play the campaign you will need the Mighty Empires expansion (they recommend getting two copies in the book) or some other means of making a modular campaign map.

Sounds more and more like an elaborate commercial, hm? That was my impression as well...

The main body of the book is a report on how the campaign progressed. While nice to read on the toilet or in the bus, I don't think it warrantied such a big section to be devoted to it. I'm not really interested how some other people play. But for those of you who enjoy such things it's a brilliant read. Moreover, it's intermingled here and there with pieces of fiction and bits of background, making the reports quite enjoyable to peruse.

Before the report starts the armies are presented and I must say they don't look half bad. Throughout the book the miniatures painted by the Eavy Metal team are almost nonexistent - all you get are the armies of the involved players. Some color schemes are quite interesting and it's always enjoyable to see miniatures painted by someone other than the "masters".

As for the rules, to start with we get some for playing the campaign as a whole. These are really decent and play quite easily from the looks of it. The only thing that's actually bad is that everything rests on that last battle and the winner takes all - whoever wins that last scenario (and it's batshit crazy!) wins the campaign, which kinda defeats the point of playing for me...

The campaign rules have all kinds of little tasters like changing seasons (each with its own rules), pre-battle events, units gaining experience and so on. All these deepen the campaign play by a fair amount and look pretty darn enjoyable to play with.

We also get quite a few specific scenarios and some of them are very strange. I'm not really in a position to say they are great or terrible, they are just odd. Aside from the last one, which is insane (a seven person game played on two tables simultaneously). You will need the Storm of Magic ruleset to use some of them, however.

The two rules expansions are underground battles and sieges. Both sets are well-written, play very straightforward and clearly were quite thoroughly playtested. The scenarios provided for underground fighting, for instance, use H- or plus sign-shaped battlefields. I'm really curious about how they actually play, but from the looks alone they seem pretty fun.

Siege rules are much more straightforward and, to be honest, much easier to grasp than their previous incarnations. Along the lines set by SoM, you get an extra points allowance for siege equipment (some pieces of which are great, very characterful bits like sallies and undermines). They are designed to play fast and brutal, a trend established by the eighth rules edition and I'm glad GW sticks to it. And siege towers and rams are back - yay!

Who is it for?

Definitely gaming clubs and organized groups of players. The campaign rules are pretty open and there is nothing stopping anybody from adapting them to your own settings. If you can make the hexes for the map (this one is pretty important, the hex shape actually has a point in the rules) you are free to go without purchasing the Mighty Empires kit and I think GW purposefully made it so. The seasons can easily be stretched or condensed (in BitB each season lasts three campaign turns, making for a twelve turn campaign), some scenarios are actually designed to influence others.

Plus, the price tag is bearable as far as GW products go.

As I said before, if you are looking purely for rules, this product actually offers little of them. Siege rules could have easily been published in White Dwarf. But Blood in the Badlands is a clear-cut novelty product, made by fans and for fans. It is purely meant as a curio, a gem for your hobby shelf and a perfect gift for a Warhammer enthusiast, something they would probably not buy themselves.

Because of the above, it is hard for me to give Blood in the Badlands a star score. I can recommend this product as a gift, something to put on your holiday list and to hint to your gift-givers. Otherwise, your money could probably be spent on miniatures.

Unless you are a fan. Then there is no argument. If you are looking purely for anything Warhammer-flavored, you will be satisfied.

Thanks for reading. See you on Wednesday!

Savage orcs - bases WIP

2011-12-02T09:57:00.001+01:00

Hello and welcome to my newest project. Not much to show today, just WIP shots of the bases for my savage orcs. Not all are done, obviously, and the tray is barely assembled. Still lots of work to be done.

Here's a closeup of the strip bases. First time I've used these.

Some resin scenic bases are added. These are from Back to Base-ix, an Australian company. Yes, I have bases from literally the other side of the world.

Big stabba base. I know big stabbas are considered not worth the points, but since I don't plan on playing in any tournaments, this is not an issue. And they are just so characterful.

There you go. Have a great weekend folks!

Musings of a hobbyist - episode two.

2011-11-30T09:49:00.001+01:00

Second episode of my podcast-ish slew of rants. Enjoy! Feedback much appreciated.

Episode 2 - November 2011

Mangler Squigs - done!

2011-11-28T10:54:00.001+01:00

They are finished at last. I really like how all the different colors play along on this piece. I was unsure to the last minute about the blue, but in the end it worked out pretty well.

I know there are manglers being released just days from now, but I must say I like mine better.

From the start I wanted to do something with leftover bits from other projects, and here is the result.

Not bad for leftovers, hm? I'm glad to be done with them nevertheless. On to the savage orcs, finally some proper muscle for this army!

Product review - Kromlech orc parts

2011-11-25T22:05:00.001+01:00

Hello. Before we begin, I'd like to stress that the use of Kromlech-owned images is done without authorization and no challenge to their status or rights is intended.

My camera is simply broken and I was unable to take pictures myself, but I'm really anxious to drop my opinion on these kits by you.

A while ago I picked up some conversion bits from Kromlech, a Polish company specializing in such. Namely, I went after the orc parts. Here's a brief review of what I received.

Bare Orc Torsos

You get six per pack, two of each design. These are suitable for use with both, fantasy and SF miniatures. Don't be fooled by the bullet on the middle one, it can be very easily cut out or even painted as a tooth.

The sculpts are very decent, despite being just bare torsos, there is very convincing musculature. They fit the existing GW orc kits perfectly. As far as fabrication goes, there is one word I can use to make it justice - superb. On the six torsos I received there is literally not a single miscast - no air bubbles, no shrinkage, nothing of the sort. In fact, these are so well-cast there is barely any flash or mold line. Five out of five stars.

Kneeling Orc Legs

Again, intended to use in both settings. You get three pieces in the pack.

The detail on these is incredible. You can see patches, some rough stitching, pockets, cloth creases and the like. Booths are iron-shod, with ankle straps and all manner of great detail. Every belt and boots design is different.

However, on the bits I received there are some miscasts. The "back" ankle (i.e. the lower one, on the kneeling leg) has some minor casting error. While easy to hide, it's still an error, I have to drop a star. Four out of five.

Running Orc Legs

Similarly, fitting fantasy and SF alike, There are no distinguishing details. Three pieces per pack.

And again, I was in awe of the amount of detail on these. Three different poses with boot treads sculpted, pants with flies, pockets, stitches... great, great stuff. They fit both the GW torsos and the Kromlech naked ones like a glove.

As far as casting is concerned, there's nothing special either way - no errors or bubbles, some typical flash. Nothing difficult to remove. Really, not a fault is to be found. Five out of five stars.

Overall

There is nothing more to say than how great these products are. Quality of the sculpts and the casting is very high, but even more importantly, these bits fill a void that desperately needed attention. No other company I know of, including of course The Company, makes such bits for orcs. With these, you can finally break the boredom that orc poses are as GW makes them.

The price is also very decent. Look at Kromlech's Ebay stroe and see for yourselves. Delivery is swift (but I also live in Poland, mind you), packaging is top notch.

And I saved the best for last.

I only purchased the six torsos. One pair of kneeling legs, one pair of running legs and a human head in some sort of samurai-style gas mask were all sent to me free. I shit you not.

There can be no other verdict - Kromlech gets five out of five stars from me. I will be returning to them often.

Thanks for reading, have a great weekend!

Mangler squigs - the 'squigs'

2011-11-23T11:35:00.001+01:00

...or rather spiders. Since before the start of this project it has been my intention to use spiders instead of squigs, to reinforce the forest theme and to use the miniatures I already have and not have to buy anything.

I painted the abdomens in a color not to be used anywhere else in the army to make them stand out as a different species of spider. They are supposed to be mangler squigs after all.

I also made the rest of their bodies as understated as possible to make the blue really pop. Once they are put together on the base along the shaman, I think they will look decent.

Now just to base them and the project is done. Time for some rank and file orcs!

On the reasons why I prefer plastics

2011-11-21T16:51:00.001+01:00

Hello and welcome to another week! My camera has hiccups severe enough to warrant a trip to the service, so it's a perfect opportunity to make a rant (like I need one...). Today I want to share with you the reasons why I came to prefer the "new" over the "old".

I'm talking of course about the shift many companies made towards plastic and resin miniatures and accessories, driving more or less away from metal ones. Normally I'm a fan of the old ways and the tried and true, but in this case I found myself drawn more and more away from white metal and embrace the ever more familiar sprues of plastic goodness.

It all began when Games Workshop released their first ever plastic multi-part regiment sets. I was immediately interested (like, I suppose, the most of us) and picked up the Night Goblins and the Orc Warriors sets. These were the times before the Internet became as major a source of communication as it is today, and I've never been a follower of technology, so I had no way of checking upon the quality of these products beforehand.

What I saw gripped me right from the start. There were, for these times, so many options, so many parts, so many possibilities to assemble the miniatures I didn't know where to start. Of course, compared to what we see today these sculpts are quite low quality (and I'm still dying to see new plastic orc boyz...), but back then... Whew.

Moving on.

Why was it such a breakthrough? Because before these products hit, we had blisters containing three or four metal models, normally quite similar to one another. I did not like it at all, not to mention the huge price decrease for a full unit at that time. Twenty orcs in metal would set me back three or four times as much as twenty orcs in plastic. It was a time before I started working full time and such costs would make it simply impossible to enjoy my hobby. All in all, plastics won immediately.

It was also the time I still played games quite often. One of my worst pains were chipped paint, broken off parts and the similar. Plastics provided an immediate solution. They were so light that they would never damage under their own weight and due to their chemical make-up they actually absorb paint, making chips impossible and with good varnish they would stand any rough-and-tumble.

Years passed, more and more plastic kits began to surface. Not all were better: if you remember, for example, skaven Night Runners or the previous dwarf warriors kits you'll see what I mean. Some kits, like the gnoblars, are to this day a huge waste of material and a perfect example of how not to design a sprue. But all things considered, the plastic was becoming a medium of choice.

And I came to notice quality was going on par with quantity. The days of metals being more detailed and better sculpted than the plastics were gradually becoming history. If you managed to observe new waves of plastic kits you'd clearly see the company was in the process of learning the plastic how-to. They even fiddled with the composition of the material itself. But I was still unsure. I still hunted auctions and other second-hand means of acquiring old metal models.

Then the seventh edition hit, and along with it the Battle for Skull Pass set.

This was the final argument in favor of plastic models. What I saw in this kit was a wholly new quality of models, even for plastic ones. I've never suspected that one-piece miniatures could be so detailed. The mass production of this kit also made the models very cheap on the second-hand market.

When it comes to true, multi-part sets, the amount of parts and the way they are assembled takes converting and kitbashing to a whole new level. As a strong supporter of personalized armies these are the things I probably love most about the hobby. You simply cannot achieve this level of possibility with metal models.

As my last point, there's something else. Metal can be stripped and repainted over and over, which is good for learning. You cannot do the same with plastics, not to mention resin. This, in my opinion, makes plastic models actually more demanding: by not being so able to redo my work, I strive to make my models as good as I can on the first go. I can see how such approach can make me a better painter and ultimately a better hobbyist. This is the mindset with which I sat to my orc army and it is my hope I manage to pull it off.

There you have it, I hope you enjoyed. See you on Wednesday when, hopefully, I can show you some actual models.

Mangler squigs - the shaman

2011-11-14T14:47:00.001+01:00

While working on the arachnarok I remembered I'd left the shaman aside and decided to use him on this project. Having spiders instead of squigs gave a green light to adding someone to act as a guide or summoner. A spider whisperer if you will.

While I'm still under the impression of how much detail has been squeezed on such a tiny fellow, I'm not sold on his six eyes and eight limbs. Seeing him in the pictures I was sure the spider legs and the webs are artificially fastened to his back and that would be great. However...

...that's just not the case. You can see the legs literally grow out of the goblin's sides. I don't like this idea, it reeks of John Blanche and his "aesthetics". I was on the verge of cutting these straight out, but then I'd be stuck with the six-eyed head, which alone would look even worse. And I didn't want to lose the great headdress too.

That's it for today. The spiders are halfway done and once they are the whole gang is going to get comfy cozy on their base.

See you folks on Monday, have a great weekend!

Tutorial - brass etch fern

2011-11-14T14:18:00.001+01:00

Hello there. Today I decided to have a look on how brass etch plants work and how you can use them on your bases, terrain and even the miniatures themselves.

What you need

The brass etch, obviously. I'll be discussing fern here.
Floral wire
Superglue
A pin vise or a similar means of holding your fern while you are working on it.
Clippers, pliers and paint.

Step one

Cut lengths of floral wire a bit longer than your plant leaves. You can use any wire you have around, but floral wire or plastic-coated paperclips work best - superglue has much better adhesion to plastic. Leave some wire as a means of holding the whole thing in a pin vise.

While mounted in the pin vise, bend the wire as the leaves tend to bend naturally. The wire is of course your armature. To get it to bend more smoothly, use a round object as a jack, like a bottle, or even a big brush. It all depends on how big your plants are.

Step two

Cut the plants from the frame. Take your time and use a new blade. You want sharpness and no repetition while working with such delicate bits. Use various sizes of the fronds, don't stick to the same on a single bush, it will just look unnatural.

I actually primed the whole frame black before I did any work on it, but this is entirely optional, as you'll be priming the whole frond anyway.

Step three

Glue your fronds to the armature. Take your time and be patient. This is delicate work and it needs to be treated with care.

Don't glue the whole thing at once. Start with the base, let it properly set and see how far your frond goes. Clip your armature just a bit short. This goes a long way in hiding the wire.

If you have a CA glue activator, use it. It works wonders when a strong bond is needed fast.

Step four

Prime and paint! If you have an airbrush, you will never be more grateful to own it than on such projects. If you don't, by the time you get here you'll already know how gentle a thing you're working with, so again, take your time. Use the best varnish you can find!

Step five

Get your fronds out of the pin vise and use the bit you were holding them with as a mounting support. In the following picture, I actually drilled holes in the tree bit and glued the fronds in; the mounting is parallel to the base:

As a final word, don't try to save on quality of your brass etch. This stuff is pricey, but it is pricey for a reason. Get as much bang for your buck as is possible. I can't name any brands for you, but a trip to your local model store will solve your problems if you are unsure.

And look who came to visit while I was shooting these pictures for you:

Thanks for reading, we'll see each other on Friday!

Rebasing the arachnarok, part four - complete

2011-11-14T14:07:00.001+01:00

Welcome to a new week. I know how everyone likes Mondays, so what's better to start a week with a completed project? Something you don't have to work on anymore?

Like so. Here is the finished spider, or rather its base. It's the same spider as before, I've only got one. It's the base that I have been working on I must say I'm happier with this one than the one I've originally made.

I love the Arachnarok Spider kit so much I can't put it into words. Besides being a very nice model, it is a clear statement by GW on how they are going to be making monsters from now on. And I like what I see.

With this version of the base I went for simplicity and natural looks. Hence the fern, the tree bits, lots of flock and of course the water pool. Projects as big as this one benefit immensely from bits and pieces not commonly seen and in my mind water is just that.

I also got hold on Gale Force Nine autumn clump foliage and I must say it works nice, breaking up the coloration of the base with its red and oranges. I know there are GF9 haters out there, but this product is really, really good.

I will also be adding this clump foliage to my other bases to further tie the army together by basing, something I feel has to be done on an army that is by definition as rag-tag and completely lacking organization as the orcs.

So here it is. On to the mangler squigs.

Thanks for looking and leaving feedback. See you on Wednesday!

Mangler Squigs - the base

2011-11-11T12:34:00.001+01:00

Hello again.

Today I want to show you my newest project, the mangler squigs. I know the models proper come out in December, but I started this before I knew they were actually making models for these. Moreover, I figured that I can easily make my own 'count-as' for something so random with the models I already have...

...like the extra trees from the arachnarok kit. For anybody making any kind of forest
project - I sincerely recommend you pick these up from you favorite bits supplier. If you're not a fan of spider webs these can be easily cut away and I can't help thinking they made them like that on purpose. Mine of course still need work.

The tree is airbrushed and glazed. I think I finally managed to find a glaze formula that works. I really need somebody to show me how a glaze is supposed to look like; I'm the kind of person who learns by imitation and observation, much less from instruction.

The base is done with my usual basing scheme for the orcs. And I've just realized there is not a single orc in my army yet...

I also tried some highlighting on the ferns. It was actually more like shading - there is just one color I used here, namely Dark Angels Green. The center of each frond has simply more layers of paint. I find this effect very much to my liking.

That's a wrap for today. My country is actually celebrating Independence Day today and I'm off to celebrating as well. See you on Monday!

On armies and themes

2011-11-10T00:42:00.000+01:00

Welcome. I know it's late, but my day was so terribly idle and discomposed I only brought myself to updating now. I hope you can forgive me.

What I wanted to talk about today were armies and specifically themed armies; and let's face it, who does not do a themed army? Is it even possible to make an army that is a haphazard collection of miniatures from the same army list and still call it a playable force?

To me, theme is put in an army just by the sole fact of using a limited palette of colors throughout the force. It doesn't of course have to end here and it usually does not, but sometimes it's just that: an army is 'themed' by being painted by the same person, using the same techniques and the same style of basing, even if it's just sand and static grass glued to the bases. And this is fine.

Some of us go more or less further. Be it basing (the abundance of resin bases and basing products has made it very tempting to try), or unified color scheme (with armies like the Empire, the high elves, Bretonnia or even the vampire counts it is not only possible, but strongly suggested to make your force coherently dressed), or both, as is most often the case, very many gamers really sit down and think how their force is going to look like and what colors, techniques and materials they're going to need. And this is fine.

Still others really go nuts over their themes. I'm talking about naming their commanders, actually writing pieces of fiction about them or their armies and going insane over the conversions. If such people have the skills to match their plans, what you get in the end are forces that stick in any viewer's mind forever. And this is also fine.

However (you knew something was coming), there are some hobbyists who just can't stick with one fictional world at a time. Who mix Dungeons & Dragons with Warcraft, Middle-Earth with Westeros and the Imperium of Man with Narnia. And that is not at all fine.

Don't you catch my drift? Haven't you ever heard something like

I really wanted to style my dark elf force as the drow from the Underdark!

This is not OK. Warhammer is not a D&D setting nor does it have drow as you know them from Baldur's Gate or whatever. The races in our beloved game are, despite what haters will have you believe, quite well-established as far as fable is concerned and the world really offers plenty of scope to experiment and come up with a them that is purely your own. For the first time since a long time Games Workshop has not only acknowledged the existence of such old gems as Araby, the Kingdoms of Ind, Cathay or Nippon but actually seems to be giving the unexplored parts of the world a nod of approval. There is simply no explanation for such mixing of settings.

Or another gem:

Why don't I make my necron force steampunk-themed? With top hats! And whirlygigs for guns!

Because it's Warhammer 40.000 and it is not a steampunk setting. Nothing in my mind makes an effort less worthy than such things. Want to play steampunk (and with it being SO fashionable and 'in' right now, why wouldn't you? It's not that you by definition engage in escapist hobbies that tend to drift away from concepts of "fashion"... oh wait, you do!)? Then there are so many possibilities! SMOG 1808 is one, with miniatures that regularly put me into gorgeousness-induced coma. Or Dystopian Wars. Just not Warhammer. Warhammer is dark fantasy - and 40k is too by the way, given the literary definition of 'dark fantasy'. It has nothing to do with any other fantasy setting.

"But wait" - I hear the screams. - "Such things only prove how creative some people are"! And I can just answer "no". This is not creativity. This is striving to be "original" at any cost and has nothing to do with creativity. Being creative is being able to make something original and unique, but without breaking certain constraints and guidelines - in our case, the system's setting. Putting top hats on ancient, sinister synthetic life forms does not make for a creative effort. It just makes for a wasted effort. I'm sorry, but that's the harsh truth.

There. I know it was not a pleasant read but at least it has the benefit of being true to what I think. And I suppose I'm entitled to an opinion after being in the hobby for at least fifteen years.

See you on Friday!

Rebasing the arachnarok, part three - water pool and more details

2011-11-07T14:35:00.000+01:00

Welcome!

The rebasing project is going more smoothly than I'd imagined and this is the penultimate update on it. Remember the details I posted last week? Here they are 'applied':

They of course needed to blend into the base more smoothly, but that was minor work in comparison with the whole project. In addition, I was happy to see the pool apparently didn't need more than one or two layers of Still Water to look decent.

I'm thinking about adding some orange clump foliage to the base in very small pieces, to represent fallen leaves and dry scatter.If I manage to get some that is cheap I'll definitely give it a go.

In the meantime, thanks for looking and see you on Wednesday.

Product review - Vallejo Still Water

2011-11-04T10:55:00.002+01:00

It's Friday, Friday, gonna get down on...

Ahem.

Before we start with the review, I'd like to inform my esteemed readers that I'm changing the update schedule for this blog from two updates a week to three. We'll see how it goes, it's just an experiment in motivation and working to deadlines. So, from now on, expect updates on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

I've decided to review the Vallejo Still Water for two reasons: I haven't seen much buzz about it in the blogosphere (and I just had to risk it when I bought it) and I'm using it right now on my arachnarok base. So here it is.

This is our subject. It comes in a 200 ml plastic bottle with an applicator. It ships sealed tight. It's clear, colorless and odorless. From the technical point of view, it's a water-based polyurethane dispersion.

How do you use it?
Quite simple really - you just pour it straight from the bottle onto whatever you want your water to be in. Right? It says so on the bottle, must be true.

It's not.

The hole you get after you cut off the seal is much too big for anything smaller than monster bases. If you want more control over the flow (and you do), apply it with a large sewing needle or a toothpick. The liquid is viscous enough to allow it. I got around the spillages by gluing a syringe needle onto the bottle and it worked perfectly. So far so good.

How exactly does it work?
Firstly, what is very tempting about this product is its simplicity. It's a one-part dispersion, whereas other model water products are mostly two-part resins. Moreover, it says on the bottle that this product "extends and levels by itself". What could be better, right?

Wrong.

While it does level, it does not extend; it's not insulation foam. Quite the contrary, it actually contracts like holy hell, which is the major disadvantage of this product. After it dries, what you get is like a U-shaped basin with recessed center. This, however, is actually an advantage in my book. Look at this picture:

The 'rim' of the pool has already dried and it's crystal clear. Its level is higher than the wet, milky center due to the Still Water's extreme surface tension. Now, when I said "advantage", I meant that when you pour it all over, you instantly get the 'rims' of your water area defined and you're very unlikely to spill it where you don't want it.

And what do you do about the basin shape? Simple - pour another layer! By using multiple thin layers you will eventually get the desired depth in your water.

Secondly, remember to use it after you have varnished your project! Otherwise your water will be matte... And here is another major caveat - if you want a deep water ('deep' meaning more than just some spill on the floor) you simply have to use multiple layers. Now imagine yourself finishing a project, you have only the water left to do. You'll need, say, five layers of VSW and you'll have to wait at least 12-15 hours between each... frustrating, isn't it? And it becomes 24 hours for larger areas, like the one above (it's about seven by five centimeters, 5mm in depth).

How is it useful?
For making puddles, small pools and such there is no better product within this price range. It's not dirt cheap, but in comparison with other water products it has one of the best price-to-quantity relation.

Also, if you're feeling adventurous, VSW can be used as the ultimate gloss varnish (if a very thick one). You can also try it when making things like drool, slime and such - it can be tinted with pigments or paint.

It will not work when you want flowing or choppy water. "Still" is the keyword here. However, it does not dry to a perfectly still, glass-like surface, it retains some very minute 'waves', making the water look more realistic.

Also, when poured onto a perfectly flat and level, non-porous surface like glass pane or a floor tile, it can be peeled off and cut when dry. I've never found any reason to use it like so, but it sure does have potential. Model window panes, maybe?

So, to sum up:

PROS:

Non-toxic, odorless, water-soluble and perfectly removable from clothes and such when still wet;
Decent price;
Ease of use;
Can be tinted with your usual miniature paint;
Can be drilled;
You get a lot of it in the bottle (but you also need a lot);
It doesn't 'go bad', I've had my bottle for at least three years now and it still works perfectly.

CONS:

Extreme shrinkage, you'll need multiple coats to get your water looking right;
Drying time;
It takes a while to get to know exactly how it behaves;
You can't model splashes and such with it, nor any sort of flow;
Sort of 'amateur' product - there are better ones out there, more expensive and more difficult to use, but ultimately yielding better results.

On a final note, keep it out of direct sunlight. I lent mine to a friend who didn't and it turned milky in the bottle. It's not ruined like I'd feared it was, but it takes longer to become transparent on the model. Just a word of warning.

All in all, I don't discourage anyone from getting a go with the Vallejo Still Water. It's not perfect and if you are serious about your water projects, get a two-part clear resin or something by Woodland Scenics. If, however, you are like the most of us and use water areas sparingly on your bases, this is the product for you. VSW falls into the category of "might always come in handy".

Thanks for reading and see you Monday. Have a great weekend everybody!

Rebasing the arachnarok, part two - base details

2011-11-02T14:43:00.002+01:00

Welcome to the second installment of my spider rebasing project. Today, I'll show you some details I'm adding to the base.

...like such. All of these are form wood elf plastic kits. After reading their newest fable, I thought it would be a nice idea to include some rune stones and the like in my army if it was going to be forest-themed. If ALL forests in the Old World are, supposedly, connected, it would be a nice hat tip to this.

Next, the brass etch fern fronds.

Difficult to work with, flimsy and delicate, but after putting them on the base you can hopefully see they look great. They will also be used on my next project, already in the works. If you give them a go, remember to varnish them and touch them as little as possible.

And lastly...

Cat tails! Nothing in my mind says "water" more than water vegetation. These were easy to make from a paper clip and some putty. Undercoat, paint, varnish, done.

Next time I'll be showing you how exactly have I put these on the base.

Musings of a hobbyist - episode one

2011-10-29T09:29:00.000+02:00

Welcome on a great, warm fall Saturday morning. Today I'm attempting something new. Click on the link, hear me out (it takes about 40 minutes) and that's it.

Musings of a hobbyist - episode one

As I promised, the links:

Micromark's seam scraper

Stahly's Tale of Painters

Feedback is much, much appreciated!

Rebasing the arachnarok, part one

2011-10-26T21:35:00.002+02:00

Hello and welcome!

After doing my article on custom bases and building one for my giant, I haven't been able to shake the thought of rebasing my arachnarok spider as well. When bases of this size are hollow they are bound to be wobbly and very prone to warping. Besides, I knew I could make a base more in keeping with the rest of my army.

Here are some pictures of how I've done so far.

First of all, the milky effect on water will of course be gone by the time it dries, it just takes an awful lot of time. Secondly, this is what I like to call a 'flat' base, meaning all of the materials you simply glue on, like flock or static grass, are in place, but nothing that physically sticks out has been added yet. In this case, I mean fern, pieces of fallen trees, mushrooms and the like. I will most likely also add the odd goblin or some bones; bases of this size need very much material to liven them up.

In my opinion, water is always a nice touch to any large base, also because you don't see water effects on bases very often. Water is hard to do properly (I can only use the Still Water, and it's not very good as well) so few people try it. My pool will be much deeper than it is now, I just have to wait for the previous layer of Still Water to fully dry before adding the next one. It will take a good while, bearing in mind I like to be on the safe side and wait about 24 hours between each layer.

In the meantime, I'm working on other things for the base, like the ferns. I have a sheet of photo-etched ones that I have learned to work with, but once I'm out, I'll buy laser-cut paper ones. The photo-etched ones are ridiculously fragile and working with them taught me whole new depths of the meaning of patience.

I have no idea when I will be finished with this project, I can't even give you folks an estimate, mainly due to the Still Water drying, but after the night goblins it's nice to lay back with a 'relaxed' project like this one. I shall of course document my progress.

Until next time.

P.S.: A hat tip to Stahly of Stahly's Tale of Painters for mentioning my Liquid Green Stuff review in his list of, and I quote: "the best posts from our friends and fellow bloggers from the Tale of Painters Blog Network." Thanks you, my good sir.

Night goblin battle standard

2011-10-23T12:23:00.001+02:00

First of all, please apologize my not posting yesterday. I was preoccupied to say the least.

Secondly, as promised, the night goblin BSB. Brave little big boss waving a big flag.

It's a mini form Battle for Skull Pass, only I don't know which one of the goblin characters it's supposed to represent. I never got the BFSP set, I only managed to get hold of a couple of minis. Well, more than a couple...

The banner is from the multi-part night goblin set and I like it very much. It's tattered, shoddy and perfect for greenskins. Ingame it will represent the Bad Moon Banner of course.

And my favorite piece, the squig. This is the bot that sets an otherwise not very imposing fellow as a character. I love how the squig's skin is stretched by its owner not-so-gentle grip. I've never bought the idea of red squigs; as cave-dwellers I imagine them to be very light-skinned, almost albino. If I ever do a squig herd for the army (and I want to very much), that's how they shall be painted.

That's a wrap folks. See you on Wednesday.

Finally finished night goblins

2011-10-19T14:30:00.000+02:00

They are DONE! Done, done, done!

Full unit of forty little buggers, with a BSB. He needs some touching up still, but that's nothing compared to the unit itself.

That's not him, that's a filler. I liked the arachnarok howdah so much I had to include it somewhere. Two unit fillers are perhaps too much, but what can I do when I like some pieces so much?

And of course the netters. Brilliant idea and decent miniatures to boot.

I still need to add the fanatics, but that's for another time. Right now I'd rather finish the BSB and focus on another project that has nothing to do with night goblins.

Product review - Liquid Green Stuff

2011-10-15T20:10:00.001+02:00

Good evening my avid followers.

When I heard about the "liquid" Green Stuff being released that was all I knew about this product: that something called "liquid GS" was being made available very soon and nothing else. What exactly was it? How was it supposed to work?

Well, I picked up a bottle...a pot... just this Monday and sat down to testing.

As far as packaging is concerned, it's nothing too fancy, just an ordinary paint pot. The lid does not snap and stay open, but I've never been a fan of this, so no minuses here. Concerning its purpose (more on that in a moment), the amount you get for your money - 12 ml - is great.

Don't be fooled bu the "liquid" part. This stuff is not liquid at all. The nearest comparison I'm able to draw is flowy toothpaste or very, very thick, old paint. It can be diluted with water or Vallejo thinner, but you'll have to be extra careful not to overdo it. A teeny-tiny drop should be enough if you just have to dilute it, but I don't recommend doing so. Why?

Because it's a) not supposed to fill any holes larger or any lines wider than a needlepoint and b) it's sandable. The latter is by far one of the great things about the LGS. Just use a very fine sandpaper (we're talking 3000 grain here) or emery board and it will work wonders. You can also wait a second after application and smooth it with a damp brush.

Application can prove tricky and will require a bit of practice, but it's nothing you can't learn after your first few holes and/or lines. I repeat, however, LGS is not intended for any work larger than gap filling and will simply fail at any such use.

When used for its intended purpose, however, it's a great product. When applying it to your miniatures I recommend using a dedicated, robust brush (I've found GW's Small Drybrush to be quite up to the task). You need a brush with bristles stiffer than your average so you can push the LGS into whatever you want filled. The brush is cleaned with water, just like when painting. Just take a second more, LGS is much more viscous than paint.

LGS dries and hardens very quickly - it took about fifteen minutes from application to being able to sand it. For deeper fillings multiple layers can be used, they don't separate or anything of that sort.

Taking all of the above into consideration, I fully recommend gettinge the Liquid Green Stuff and give it four out of five stars. I have to drop one, as GW failed to properly advertise the product and get the fanbase familiar with it prior to the release. Also, the only tutorial from GW so far are three pictures and several sentences in White Dwarf - not adequate in my book.

On the workbench

2011-10-12T17:23:00.000+02:00

Just a tiny update today, I'm swamped with work. On the pictures below you can see how much:

Lots of stuff, all for future projects. The netters finally arrived and I should be done with them by Saturday, making all the rank-and-file night goblins finally finished.

Re-done Bologs

2011-10-08T12:42:00.001+02:00

Hello and welcome to a sunny, if chilly, Saturday afternoon. Today I just want to show you the finished giant mini-project. I call it "mini" because, as you can see, I haven't done any work on Bologs himself (that's his name, Google it if you don't believe me), just his base.

I know he needs a better paint job, and I do see he's chipped here and there. I just can't bring myself to strip him and do it all over again, I just love this model (and his buddy Cachtorr) too much. If you ask me, the Albion Giants set were the best giant models GW has produced. Ever. He's a cyclops carrying a menhir, for gods' sake!

I've added an ogre gutplate to his belly. I think it looks nice and goes with a subtle theme I want this army to have. You can expect more 'nods' to ogres on the coming projects.

Also, I purposefully altered his pose. The original just stands firmly on both legs, balancing the stone above his head. I wanted him to look more dynamic, as if he's just about to lob it.

There it is. I most definitely will be doing Cachtorr some time, but that's a very "sometime" project.

I'm still waiting for the night goblin bits to arrive and I'm beginning to worry the Polish Postal Service blew it yet again. It puts a major snag on my plans, but I guess I'll just do something else in the meantime. Maybe a mangler squig or the night goblin filler?

Anyway, see you on Wednesday.

Non-standard bases: an example.

2011-10-05T15:02:00.000+02:00

You guys remember the giant base we discussed a while ago? Well, here it is finished, just waiting for the occupant.

In case you were wondering, yes, it is magnetized. What you see underneath the base is something I came up with just for working with bases. It's essentially a piece of metal (I got it for free with some mail, don't ask) stuck to some insulation foam for easier holding. I must say it turned out pretty nifty.

I salvaged the tree and the rune stone from the base's previous incarnation that did not live up to the standard I set for it.

I made the mushrooms from some ProCreate and a brass rod. Here are some extreme close-ups...

...and with that I bid you good day. See you on Saturday!

On Games Workshop and the hobby in the recent times

2011-10-01T13:21:00.000+02:00

Welcome again.

Today I'd like to address the recent developments in our lovely fantasy hobby. Just something I've been thinking about lately.

Firstly, the new line of plastic characters. So far, we have seen eight of them and I must say I like where this is going. GW is clearly trying to fill the void (the Chaos sorcerers, the dark elf sorceress, the necromancer) and/or give an alternative to metal models that haven't been Finecast yet (the saurus hero, the Nurgle champion, the banshee). I repeat, I really, really like the direction in which this has been going - plastic, multi-part characters are definitely something I wanted to see for a long time. I hope we will see more of these in the months to come.

Secondly, Finecast. I won't comment on the quality of these, since I haven't yet had the dis/pleasure, but again, I think it to be a step in a very right direction, and not only in terms of material price. My main concern with metal models was the paint chipping and weight. Resin solves both of these problems. It is also much easier to work with as far as preparation is concerned and of course holds detail much better than white metal. I sincerely hope the thick blades, oversized hands and the like are behind us. What GW screwed with Finecast is a very, very lousy time management: they launched it at the very same time of their annual price rise, making most hobbyists believe Finecast is a money-making scheme and nothing more. This was a major blunder on GW's part and would provide much fuel for the haters' furnace if they ever needed any.

Thirdly, Warhammer Forge. All I can say here is "finally". It's about time Warhammer Fantasy ceased to be treated like a 40k offshoot (the joke on top of that being it's just the other way around) and got its proper treatment by Forge World. Aside form the Chaos dwarves I can't say I'm a fan of what they have made so far, but I can see great potential here.

Lastly, the "Mail-Order-Onlies" and the forgotten ones. I'm talking about Dogs of War here, for instance. We have seen a return to White Dwarf being a truly useful hobby magazine and less of a catalog. I'd really like to see an official DoW list published in WD, updated to the 8th edition ruleset, and the entire range brought back. I know there are several regiments to buy from the GW site, but what about Mydas the Mean? The Albion giants? Birdmen of Catrazza? Bronzino's Galloper Guns? Seeing them in resin and available to buy is possibly my greatest hobby dream now. You have the molds, GW. You have the material and as of now some experience in using it. You have the customer demand. Please make it happen.

Right. Done rambling. See you on Wednesday.

Tutorial: non-standard bases using the Modular Movement Tray system

2011-09-28T15:21:00.002+02:00

Hello again.

Before we start, please excuse the quality of the pictures. My camera is at the moment dead and I had to use my phone. Very, very sorry.

Some posts ago I discussed movement trays and confessed my deep love for the Modular Tray system by GW. I firmly believe it to be one of the best products The Company makes. Yes, it's "just" for WFB, but it really, really shines here. Movement trays aside, this system is also very useful for all your non-standard bases: giants, war machines (if you are like me and use bases for them) and things like three-beast chariots. Moreover, I think I'll make these for my regular chariots and maybe even the arachnarok. I like my big models on very solid bases.

So, where do we start? With the materials of course! You will need:

Modular Movement tray system, or rather just the border bits, there are always lefotvers
2mm thick polystyrene
1mm thick polystyrene - optional
a cutting mat with metric measurement - nonessential, but hugely helpful
model putty - any sandable kind will do, this is not critical, but makes the base look much better
a sharp knife
a caliper - I use it, but it is in no way essential, you can just as well use a ruler

Step 1) - decide how big your base should be. Seems fairly obvious. For a giant it's 75x50 mm, for a chariot with three beasts 75x100 mm and 100x100 for one with four (Settra rides one, for example).

Step 2) - find your corners on the cutting mat:

...like so. If you have leftover corner bits, these are hugely helpful - they already have the perfect angle and stuck together they measure exactly 50 mm. If you are left with the straight bits, just cut them at a 45-degree angle. There's no need to be ultra-neat, but it helps.

Step 3) - add the first layer.

Here is where I used the caliper. I blu-tacked the bits to my mat and measured this distance (and of course the length as well, what we need here is the 'lower step' of the border bits):

This is our first 'layer'. Cut your 2 mm polystyrene to these measurements and glue it in. Allow to dry.

Once the glue bonds, you can remove the blu-tac.

Step 4) - add the second layer.

Repeat the above, again with the 2 mm sheet, just now we need the 'upper step' of the borders. The second layer is bigger than the first. See here:

Of course this goes for length as well. Glue on the second layer and press it firmly. Allow to dry.

Step 5) - add the rest of the borders and the final layer if you want.

Measure the gaps between the corner bits and cut the straights to size. Glue them on, allow to dry.

The top of this base is not flush with the borders, it still needs about 1 mm in height. You can leave it at that, but I added a third layer of 1 mm polystyrene.

Step 6) - fill and sand the gaps.

Fairly self-explanatory. I used Vallejo acrylic putty and two grains of sandpaper - 600 and 800. It really gives the borders a smooth, clean look; we want that.

Step 7) - prime, paint, decorate and base the model.

That's it. I know it looks time-consuming, but it really isn't, I made the base above in an hour or so. Bases made like this are very, very solid and rigid, they don't bend or depress like the hollow ones GW makes. 5 millimeters of plastic also give any pins plenty of space to glue into.

Another idea that came to me whilst making this base is that I can also make some depressions and gouges to simulate puddles and such. Something I will definitely try.

Hope this was helpful. See you next time!

Of wolf riders and the joys of painting what you like

2011-09-24T10:54:00.000+02:00

I'm sure you'll agree wolf riders aren't the most useful or hardest-hitting unit a warboss has in his disposal. But to me, they seem like an iconic part of any self-respecting waaagh! Just imagine the sight of goblins raiding way ahead of the approaching force, plundering food, driving away peasants and so on...

I used just five, purely for the sake of character. I don't imagine them to perform miracles of any kind, but what I wanted from them were not miracles, it was the feel. Plus, I really like wolf riders, simple as that.

I used ungor arms on these, which was fine until I started gluing on the heads. They are just too big. If you can, use the crew heads from the arachnarok spider kit, I think they will look much, much better and some dry fitting seems to reinforce this theory.

This is the 'leader' of the pack. I tried to model him as if he was striking the wolf's behind with his spear. Mosh!

I also added some bedrolls and other gubbinz - really wanted to pull off the 'nomad' feel.

I never cease to admire the new plastic kits GW releases. It really, really is an improvement with every one. At least quality-wise. The aesthetics are not sometimes my kettle of fish.

That about wraps it up for the wolfboyz. I'm still waiting for bits to arrive so I can finish the night goblin horde and finally move on to other projects. I am a one-at-a-time kinda guy.

The story of two posts on Facebook

2011-09-21T17:54:00.001+02:00

Hello again on a fine, warm Wednesday afternoon.

I was going to publish a tutorial on non-standard bases, but I got detoured slightly by a very short exchange of posts on Games Workshop Warsaw's Facebook page. As you may or may not know, The Company recently opened its first outlet in Poland. While I was mildly excited about the fact (since I do my shopping either online or in my FLGS, as I don't live in the capital), I do appreciate the whole situation - finally a very decent market is getting its fair treatment by GW.

The poster on GW Warsaw's behalf stated that they will be releasing, and I quote:

"the first Warhammer Army Book released by Games Workshop in Polish".

This is only partially true, as Army Books and Codices (which is the proper plural of the word "codex") had been previously released in Polish. Only the "by GW" bit is actually the truth. They were enthusiastic about it to the point of euphoria, which to my mind is somewhat an over-hype. But I digress.

As is my right, I voiced my opinion. I did not want to be harsh on someone else's playground (and I don't support any GW publications in my mother tongue at all; I'll discuss it in a future post). I said:

"Is there anyone who does not understand English enough to grasp even the army list and the rules? While I do understand the marketing scheme and even support it in a way, I don't understand the hype".

I think I made myself clear.

GW Warsaw responded as if I, as the Polish saying goes, killed their mothers with a pair of socks. I was shocked at the amount of vitriol unleashed. Not that I got offended, but what I was expecting was a good-natured defense of their product. Instead, I got:

"Whomever prefers the English version over the Polish one is free to purchase it"

This is fine so far. Only valid point to make. However, it is immediately followed by:

"Do not deny customers who prefer the Polish version the right to own one."

"Deny"? "Right to"? This is not the Supreme Court guys.

The strong language is completely unnecessary. On top of that, you just missed the point by the size of an adult rhinox. If anyone can point to any bit where I denied anyone the right to anything, I'll be the first to apologize. I understand you want to sell your product as well as possible, but you will not do it behaving like douchebags. The Polish 'localization' of GW products has its history, and it is not a pretty one. Moreover, I respect your right to do whatever you want with your products. Respect my right to have an opinion and if you like to respond, mind that respect. I am a paying, faithful customer.

Mind you, I'm not butthurt because they didn't like what I wrote. Being a brutally honest person I'm used to people flinging dung at me because they don't like the truth. What I'm concerned about is the whole manner of their response. While I have always firmly opposed the view of GW as the empire of evil, this is not the tone in which to address their customers. This is, sadly, the typical Polish approach to criticism: if you don't like something, you are wrong, and we will diss you because of it.

You can find the relevant thread here (in Polish). My translation above is accurate, as any Pole viewing this will confirm.

See you folks on Saturday.

P.S.: From today, all my musing and trivia posts, basically anything not directly related to my workbench, will be accompanied by the Cigarette Smoking Man. Because he's awesome.

Night goblins by the hoodful

2011-09-17T15:26:00.001+02:00

Remember the bare plastic movement tray from my last post? Wondering what it was for? Well, lookie here:

Night goblins, forty models game-wise. In reality, there are 35 gobbos, a four-model filler and a big boss, proudly wavin' the Bad Moon Banner. These are of course still to be done...

...as are the netters, for example. Or the fanatics. Yes, this unit will be fully pimped and as viable for actual combat as goblins can be.

I will of course be updating you with my progress. Still more to do than I dare to admit. I'm kinda slowed down by the fact I had to order certain bits via Ebay. But they'll get here, and meanwhile i can focus on something else... watch this space.

On movement trays and how I make them

2011-09-14T22:39:00.000+02:00

Welcome to another Wednesday post. Today, I will be discussing a topic that I feel is a bit understated in the whole industry and blogosphere - the movement trays.

For WFB players, these are a must. There is simply no avoiding the usage of a 'regiment base' - as the trays were known before GW released the multi-model strips and called those Regiment Bases. Moreover, more and more people magnetize their bases and trays become essential. The 'natural' course of action was to make the trays out of metal - specifically steel - to make the magnets do their job. This worked fine for me as well.

Steel is rigid (duh), it can be cut to extremely precise angles and it can take glue just fine (more on that later). But it has its flaws. First and foremost, the availability. I assume few of us have a steel cutter at hand. For 1mm thick steel in "Warhammer-sized" sheets you can either go to your local metalworks, where, depending on people who work there you can get a ridiculously great bargain from the leftovers bin or walk out empty-handed: such small bits are not normally sold and the company might have a minimum order. Alternatively, you can purchase these from dedicated gaming stores, just not a lot of them carry sheet steel for movement trays. And it can be pricey.

On top of that, steel is heavy. It has sharp edges and corners, so filing is necessary to avoid cuts. Learned that the hard way.

An alternative to steel is a substance called ferrous adhesive tape. As the name suggests, it is and adhesive sheet (of various widths) with metal-like capabilities - chiefly magnetism. It's very handy to work with (just cut and stick), it's light (it's essentially fancy plastic) and it's more widely available than proper metal sheets. It's also more expensive, and since it's not at all rigid, you still need some base for your tray to stick the tape to.

I have tried both of the above and neither worked well for me. Long and hard have I resisted the GW Modular Basing Kit before I bought one just of sheer curiosity.

I was pleasantly surprised. The plastic 'bottoms' are very, very strong, 3 mm thick plastic sheets with 20x20 mm grid on one side and 25x25 mm one on the other. And you get two per pack. It's not a great value, to my mind squeezing a third in there wouldn't hurt anyone, but hey, it's GW. You also get the borders, which are sadly a disappointment.

After gluing them to the sheet, they leave very unsightly gaps between the border and the models' bases. It's 2 mm wide per side, meaning your finished tray will be almost half a centimeter too wide. I managed to fix it thusly:

It's just 2 mm thick cardboard, but it does the job nicely. But to make matters worse, the inner edge of the border bits is NOT perfectly perpendicular to the surface - making some sort of filling necessary.

In addition, if you're making a big tray, say twenty models, you need to glue some 0,5 mm of material under it - after adding the borders, the plate doesn't lat flat against the surface.

Not so good now, hm? Bear with me. I think I can convince you how good this product is yet.

First of all, it's very sturdy and lightweight. 'Nuff said. Secondly, and I think here is where this product's hidden strength lies, is its ability to make custom bases for things like war machines, chariots with more than two beasts, giants, the arachnarok and the like. I will be returning to this in the future and I will show you exactly what I mean.

Now, how do I go about making my trays. I do magnetize all my models and to avoid having to stick anything more on the already thick base plate, here is what I did:

I simply drilled through the whole base plate with a 3 mm drill. The plate is 2 mm thick, exactly the height of the magnets I use. To make them align perfectly with the magnets under the bases, I clamped the bases (one at a time) to the tray and carefully marked the spot. To prevent the magnets from falling out of the tray and to give them more material to glue to, I reinforced the tray with a sheet of 0,5 mm polystyrene.

It is a time consuming project at first, but once you get the hang of it, it goes very smoothly. I built the tray above, from cutting the components to painting, in one evening.

That's a wrap. See you on Saturday, when I'll be showing some painted minis!

Along came an arachnarok

2011-09-10T15:03:00.001+02:00

Have you guessed today's sponsor? Of course you did.

The Arachnarok Spider kit is, to my mind, the best product GW has put on the shelves. It is very fun to assemble and paint, it is insanely detailed (and I mean insanely) and it is, well, BIG. I've grown accustomed to big sci-fi models, but fantasy ones of this size are still "new".

I don 't have any WIP shots anymore, but I shall be making another spider in the future and I will document the process. As you can see, I've altered the pose somewhat. What is being proposed by the design doesn't ring well with me - I can't imagine all this huge mass of plastic being held in four tiny places. Hence, the solution:

The eggs in the tree stump in fact conceal a 2,5mm brass rod holding the whole thing much more firmly. I've made a profound use of the airbrush on this little spideress (yes, it's a she!) and i sincerely recommend the model to anybody who wants to start airbrushing as well. You can go as simple (as I did) or as elaborate as you please, the model really offers possibilities for both. Just be careful of some nasty gaps that need to be filled and sanded very, very smoothly. Take your time on them.

The model is not without its flaws, mind you. The carapace can't be properly glued, filled and sanded before attaching it to the main body. This makes the airbrushing somewhat problematic - you have to mask the body very, very well to avoid surprises. Luckily, you can paint the "flesh" before attaching the main carapace. However, I recommend constructing the two smaller pairs of mandibles and the whole head bit on the body, then filling the gaps (they don't fit as well as you might expect), sanding the joints smooth and painting the thing. Here good masking is absolutely crucial.

The goblins and the howdah will probably be your most time-consuming step. Not everything fits perfectly here, good glue and some clever clamps are essential. But most of all the sheer mass of detail can be overwhelming. All these twigs, spider web, string, bones, feathers, shield and, of course, skulls will require time to look decent.

The goblins are probably my favorite bits here. All are very characterful, with very natural poses, well-detailed bits and generally are a big step forward. I purposefully left over the shaman and some other crew...

...plus the upgrades like the flinger for a future project. The only thing left to do here are the tiny spiders, which will go on the base to liven it up a little.

As a final word, thanks to Sigmar of Warhammer Battle Reporters for making the spider a poster child for his latest forum project.

Till next time!

Thought I was dead, didya?

2011-09-07T17:13:00.000+02:00

Well, I kinda was. I'm not gonna apologize for my absence, I had my reasons for it and that is all I can say. I don't generate much traffic anyway, but still, I hope I haven't disappointed any of my readers.

So, what is new. First of all, my other project, the Greenskin Kultur blog, is as of now terminated. I simply don't have enough material for the orcs alone to constitute a completely separate blog. Ironically enough, my current projects are almost exclusively greenskin in nature. But don't fret, everything will be posted here.

Secondly, I really want to have a second shot at blogging, to be disciplined and dedicated enough to post regularly, if not super-frequently.

So, to kick start things, here is a finished hydra. Only recently I managed to add the last two heads and necks.

Next time you'll see some of my current greenskins projects, enjoy!

WIp Hydra, part six.

2010-11-15T14:15:00.000+01:00

Bow to me faithfully!

Aside from the beastmasters, only greenstuffing the necks bit is left to be done.

I know I said three heads previously, but I'm honestly thinking about adding two more, as it in fact should be.

Bits for the beastmasters are in transit and should be arriving shortly. Nothing super-fancy, but still, I have pretty good idea for the handlers.

Until next time.

WIp Hydra, part five

2010-11-09T14:15:00.001+01:00

Is it perseverance? Is it, perhaps, being fed up with this project and the desire to finish it ASAP? I sincerely do not know. But the fact remains that I'm getting closer and closer to finishing the beast.

I've added all the spikes and ridges it needed, which leaves me with only the necks and heads to do. And of course the beastmasters to goad it, but that's another story.

I'm also going to add something to liven up the base a bit. Dont' know what exactly, but definitely something, the base looks kinda dull and static to me at the moment.

Well, there you have it. The necks bit is assembled, primed and I'm starting to paint it momentarily. I'm very happy to be on the final straight with this project and would love to hear your thoughts.

Until next time.

The Unspeakable WIP Cthydra, part four

2010-10-31T18:41:00.000+01:00

Here it is, going together more and more. All the necessary bits and pieces are in a nice littles foil bag on my desk, patiently awaiting their turn to contribute to my most ambitious project to date. Here are the latest pictures form the beastmasters' pens.

I've made a little boo-boo with the tail. It is too low and actually lifts the entire mini. I can't fix it without serious damage to the hydra, so we'll see how it goes.

I've said it before, I'll say it again - the stegadon kit is awesome. It is simply massive. It dominates the collection. I can't think of how imposing it looks with the howdah. Pure power and awe packed into multi-part plastic kit. The only thing missing is the anatomic correctness.

By the time I write this, the larger back plate will also have been finished and glued on. I'm just sitting to the freshly-undercoated smaller plate.

And in case you were puzzled by the post's title, here is the explanation:

I write like
H. P. Lovecraft

I Write Like by Mémoires, journal software. Analyze your writing!

I could not be more proud if I won the Pulitzer. Writing is something I enjoy aside from painting and such praise is just great, even if it comes from a silly piece of code on a silly website.

See you next time.

Tavern Talk - One Army or More?

2010-10-25T08:05:00.000+02:00

And welcome back.

Normally I'm not that interested in the Tavern Talk topics Kuffy sends us. No disrespect mate, it's valuable work you do, but I can't help the feeling lots of issues have been discussed previously. This one, however, is different, different enough to catch my interest and get me to write. Besides, it is my vow to make a conscious effort to update more frequently than I used to, so here it is.

Let me start with quoting the question raised:

As I am sure we all know, when one picks up the game of Warhammer it is followed shortly by a choice of army. This is usually a single army which is then built to make a decent list which will be used a lot. And then to be followed by an expansion to include a few more options for future games. However, who stays with a single army? Once you have played one for a while, does it become boring until you branch out to another? Or, do you stick to a single army? There are merits to having one major army and to having a number of smaller ones. What do have and why?

As most of my esteemed readers know, I own and develop three armies, chronologically Orcs and Goblins, Vampire Counts and Dark Elves. All are sizable, I can safely assume I can field three to four thousand points of each force if I ever bothered to game again, especially per the eighth edition composition rules.

So, was I bored with any of these? No. Was the reason to get the new army the tediousness and wear of another force? I don't think so. So what was it?

It was the idea. A cogent, well established idea for an army, followed by a selection of a force that would fill this concept. With orcs, I pursued a forest theme mixed with liberal use of the color red. With the vampires, I wanted a dark, almost monochromatic color scheme with a prominent inclusion of old, out-of-production miniatures (I'm looking at you, armored skeletons) and "classic undead" feel. With the dark elves, I went for neat and crisp color scheme with unusual colors, lots of conversions and, just for the fun of it, as many plastic models as possible.

And the druchii are just plain kickass awesome. Taking my character and outlook on life into account, if I wasn't a human being, I'd be a druchii. Or a dark eldar.

Now, there are problems with having more than one army. Most notably, if you're planning to have multiple forces, think about whether or not you have the room to accommodate them in your bedroom or study. Secondly, if unlike me you game with them, take into account the transportation of your beloved minions. Is your current carry case up to the task of transporting completely different force? Think skaven vs. ogres. Or Bretonnia vs. the lizardmen. These contain models that tend to be very different in terms of size and shape. Keep it in mind when expanding your collection.

There you go. Thoughts on multiple armies by a multiple-army kinda guy.

And in case you were wondering, yes, I am planning further armies after I finish the ones I have completely.

Until next time.

WIP Hydra, part three...

2010-07-31T10:36:00.000+02:00

...would be here if my compressor didn't break. The hydra is partly assembled, primed, basecoated and has its first highlight on. After that my airbrush compressor broke and as of yet I'm unable to get it fixed (and I'm not going to buy canned air). Aside from not being able to paint, I'm currently going through a break-up with my fiancée for six years. We were supposed to get married in less than a month from today.

I can show you the paint-in-progress pictures of course, though there isn't much to see I'm afraid. If you'd like to see them let me know in the comments. In the meantime, I'll be painting night goblins, so keep your eyes peeled on my other blog.

Until next time.

WIP Hydra, part two

2010-07-15T13:57:00.000+02:00

Here are more shots of the mock-up hydra body. Since the necessary bits arrived just yesterday, I'm able to start painting... on Monday, after I get back from the battle of Tannenberg re-enactment.

Tyranid bits are great, I think I might need more of these armor plates. They fit any scaly monstrosity like a glove.

As previously, it's just blu-tacked together, I'm still toying with the arrangement of the large plates on the beast's back.

See you next week, when I hopefully have painted something...

WIP Hydra - preparing for the 8th edition

2010-07-09T09:55:00.000+02:00

...and welcome back.

First order of business - the hydra for my dark elf army. I have been toying with this project for ages and I thought the dawn of the new edition is a great moment to add this monstrosity to the army. As you can see, I'm going rather unorthodox, partly because I don't like the "official" hydra model, partly due to my love of conversions and partly because the stegadon kit is awesome. You have to give it to GW, every subsequent plastic kit they produce seems to be better than the previous one. I'm dying to see what they come up with after the 8th edition starter kit.

Here's the base, obviously in a very much unfinished state. The only thing I don't like in th stegadon is the ridiculous raised foot. I'm not a good sculptor at all, so I had to go with this tapdancing leg, hence some rocky outcrop to accommodate it...

...like so. Nothing glued yet, aside from the legs themselves. Each comprises of two pieces, I very much approve of the way they are meant to come together. The bands and ropes on the legs will be used as mountings for shields or other decorative elements - druchii like panache and mine are no exception.

The other side. to maintain aesthetic balance the necks will curve to the hydra's left. There will only be three - I know the fable states hydras are five-headed, but I don't quite like it. Three heads are enough to both convey the feel of fantasy and fable and make it intimidating. Besides, with such bulk, I doubt it will need two more heads.

As for the next edition - I'm really looking forward to the thirty- or even more - man regiments and such. This is how I've always pictured Warhammer and I'm very anxious to try it. It's, like, the incentive I needed to start gaming again. Fifty-strong dark elf warriors cohort, anyone?

To wrap things up, you might have noticed I've joined the excellent From The Warp bloggers group - big thanks to Ron Saikowski for having me.

Until next time.

Harpies! Almost done!

2010-02-26T10:08:00.000+01:00

Six o'em, eh? They only need greenstuffing under the armpits (wingpits?), but at the moment I cannot really be assed. I'm sick of harpies.

On another note, a very special "thank you" to one of my readers by the name of Kiwi, for this little tidbit I've found on The Trading Post: "There are other fantastic blogs out there with some absolutely stunning painting/modelling work on them which I could also mention e.g., Drazhars, Noestes etc.(...)" Thanks an awful lot.

The "to do" list and more

2010-02-12T21:00:00.000+01:00

If you look just a little to the down-right from what you are now reading you will see that, aside form changing the layout yet again I've added the To Do list, which is precisely what it sounds like. No fixed deadlines, just what I have yet in store.

Enjoy and comment upon at your leisure!

WIP harpies vol. 2

2010-02-10T17:15:00.004+01:00

Yet more. I'm beginning to get fed up with harpies...

WIP harpies

2010-02-05T20:40:00.001+01:00

Well, not a lot more to say than that really - harpies that are a work-in-progress. Enjoy!

Announcing the "Ten Thousand Druchii" project

2010-01-16T12:23:00.003+01:00

That's right, ten thousand points.

As I am nearly done with the basis of my druchii army (about frigging time too, right?) I feel more and more drawn to having... well, more of them. 10.000 points seems to be a very nice number, and with the current model range it's gonna be pure pleasure. As if Slaanesh kissed me with a mouthful of scotch.

Speaking of finishes, there are only two major pieces (and two minor ones) I need to do, before I can declare the 4000 points druchii army complete. The majors are the harpies and the hydra, the minors: bolt throwers and cold one knights - the riders I mean; I'm switching to the new plastic ones.

The latest addition to the army and the final character needed to be done: a death hag with the Cauldron of Blood.

So, comment away folks, let me hear you! Encouragement, discouragement, death threats, anything is fine!

Kultured, anyone?

2009-08-25T15:38:00.000+02:00

Just to let you know, the Miniworks has spawned a baby. It's a weblog dedicated to my first love in Warhammer and indeed the whole fantasy genre, that green-skinned, omnipresent figure without whom fantasy would not be what it is. Orcs were what brought me to the hobby all these years ago and it's only fitting if I pay them a proper, at least ten-thousand-points-worthy homage.

Without further ado, here is the Greenskin Kultur.

Chariots of... well, not of fire, definitely.

2009-07-31T12:49:00.023+02:00

New stuff!

Well, the crossbowmen are not new, I painted them a while ago, just somehow forgot to actually take pictures. As you can see the three crossbow units in this army have a common theme. The last bit is of course a filler.

And the really new stuff - chariots:

Now, I put more thought into these that could be ascertained form the pictures. I've always imagined chariots to be mark of prestige for the druchii, something not possessed by your average naggarothi next door. No, these are a luxury. Cold ones are too in fact. The army book fluff reinforced my view.

Hence, I imagined the crew to be composed of a minor noble, not yet powerful enough to command his own troops, but definitely on his way to greatness (or maybe a son or daughter of one of the noble houses, not yet experienced enough to be trusted with command?) plus the chariot driver - definitely not anybody ennobled. A servant, maybe even a slave? Well, you get the point I hope.

So, if the driver is somebody who does physical work on a daily basis (someone has to tend to the cold ones and the machine, right?) he will surely be spending lots of time outdoors and that means a tan (I'm basing this army somewhere on the Copper Desert in Lustria - hence the reddish dirt on the bases). And that is wht I was trying to accomplish on the skins of the drivers. As you see I failed utterly, but I'll lave the comments to you folks and your tender mercies.

Arrrrr matey!

2009-06-30T10:13:00.013+02:00

It's been a while, in fact it has been a busy while. Since finishing the Vampire Counts I've been elbow deep in the druchii project and here are the most immediate results, aside from rebasing of course:

The corsairs plastics are so good and so characterful I just had to have them, despite my firm resolution never again to paint a single seadragon cloak after doing 25 of them on the old metals...

The piece under the champion's foot was originally intended to be a chest with gold, but since I was not able to find a good chest, the high elf headpiece had to suffice. In fact it also served as a test subject for the color scheme of a high elf army I want to make someday. It didn't turn out bad I'd say.

the bits I particularly like about the plastic corsairs are their arms - looking good on their own and also very good for conversion work; scroll down to see just that.

I like the champion's pose I managed to pull off. He does lean to the side a bit, but it's not noticeable when you don't look at him directly en face. Plus, the outstretched arm is awesome, a very good idea for a weapon arm and I see plenty of poses with it. Too bad it's only one per box, but on the other hand it makes the bit quite unique.

I'm not happy about the cloak on this one. Will have to redo it sometime soon.

Speaking of arms, I'm very happy GW released something with such an incredible amount of conversion potential. Gone are the days of swords looking like train tracks in the hands of, say, witch elves or shades. In fact, the shades were another test subject of mine. I'm fully satisfied with the ease of hand swaps I've done and the final product.

Shades are nice for yet another reason - there are five 'poses' of them, well, specimens really. But still, in a unit of five you can have each member unique. Not something we got used to these days.

Right, time is pressing - next up are the crossbowmen (third and final unit) and possibly some bolt throwers, with custom crew even.

Something ends and something begins...

2009-04-24T10:18:00.005+02:00

After, yet again, struggling with the Polish Post I finally got my fell bats couple of weeks ago. They were the last bit my VC army needed (until I decide otherwise, that is, there is always room for more) and with the completion of those five buggers the VC army is finally finished. That said, I am at last able to sit to my druchii army, which I am much more fond of, as it turns out.

And there is quite a workload when it comes to the dark elves. Aside from actually completing the army (of which I am roughly halfway through) there is an ongoing rebasing project, completely independent of the above. All in all, almost twice the work, but hell, it's the kind of work I enjoy, doubly so considering it's the druchii. The specifics are:

2 Reaper bolt throwers
20 spearmen
20 crossbowmen

...need only rebasing. Whereas:

Death Hag on a Cauldron of Blood
10 more crossbowmen
5 harpies
5 shades
2 more Reaper bolt throwers
15 corsairs

...all need actually putting together and painting. Currently the corsairs are on my workbench and I can only utter warm words about the new plastics. Characterful, detailed, but need quite a bit of consideration and attention when ranking up - it's a unit of infantry with flowing cloaks and two hand weapons after all.

In fact, I'm thinking I like the corsair plastics so much I'm considering kitbashing them with warrior plastics to make a twenty-strong unit of spearmen. We'll see how it goes, but judging from some early dry fits they should go together just fine. Similarly, the corsairs' weapons (I'm talking all of them here, swords, daggers, crossbows, even some weird ones) are very decent and just SO much better-looking than for instance metal swords on Shades or Witch Elves. Shades are actually a wonderful unit to convert using the corsairs' arms and this is exactly what I'm working on at the moment.

So, to keep you through to the next update, here are some individual fell bat shots.

The Night of the Badly-Filmed Dead

2009-04-03T10:09:00.002+02:00

My very first movie ever made. It sucks... but see for yourself.

Coaching in black

2009-02-27T09:51:00.008+01:00

How many more bad puns on the Black Coach can be coined?

Anyhow, here is mine and it is finally, after a very painful process, finished. I decided to drop the old version since in the process of actually making the army the whole idea behind it got warped from a vampireless one to a very much vampire one. Well, as per usual, GW is to blame. Who the holy hell is responsible for the present vampire models on the market is beyond me, but her or she should be hung by the ribs.

Why was it so painful to make? Chiefly because I'm tired of this army altogether. Luckily, the completion of the Coach leaves me only with five fell bats to do for the army to be finished and I have already started working on their bases while waiting for the models themselves to arrive - which can take as long or as little time as the Polish Post fancies. Really, this company is Chaos incarnate. It is my solemn belief it is ruled by Tzeentch.

Getting back to the Coach, it would be a damn shame to leave it shut and not show the greatness that is the coffin-bound vampire. So I made the roof and one side removable, and of course the coffin itself is left open as well. Not very practical game-wise perhaps, but firstly, I don't play games with my armies and secondly, it may be used to denote some Wound loss or something similar, so it might turn out to be more practical that I initially thought.

On the coffin itself, I opted for something a tad different than I usually do. I realized how rarely I go for painting some extra effects on my models, so I decided the coffin will be my test field. I went for the marble effect and, well, here is the result. I'm quite happy with it and the way it goes along the rest of the model. The Coach is deliberately done in tender, neutral colors and the coffin with its marble finish and golden filigrees immediately stands out as the most important part of the whole thing. After all, the Coaches are constructed not by vampires themselves, but rather bu their servants after the master's untimely demise. Nevertheless, the Coach has to be the focal point of the army and this is what I wanted to achieve. Here's the roof section itself.

To wrap up, another shot of the whole coach and next time - the fell bats.

Coaching in black

2009-02-27T09:51:00.000+01:00

...and a new header to boot.

2009-01-29T09:46:00.008+01:00

Yep, been playing with the Photoshop lately. The result is to be seen above and on the photos. Took me damn three hours to figure out how to do the gradient on the new stamp. But eventually I did and I'm quite happy with it.

On the painting side of things, here are the latest. The last five Dire Wolves are done. It is my hope I won't have to do another dead canine for another several years. Don't get me wrong, the minis are splendid, but you tend to get bored after your tenth or so, wouldn't you say?

Yes, I definitely need a refreshment. I seem to begin to observe the overwhelming sense of chore while working on the Vampire Counts project. Luckily, the end is very near. Once I finish the Black Coach, the only thing left are the Fell Bats e voila. One largish VC army, well done. And then the new one...

But let's not skip ahead. I was talking about the Black Coach, well, here it is, at least what I've done to it so far.

You might remember me actually doing a Black Coach back in the day... well, all I can say is that I've grown dissatisfied with it. I still hope I'll be able to use it eventually as a second Coach (now that I can actually do it, army list permitting), but for the time being, the 'proper' Coach it is.

It will be opening, showing the coffin inside, which also will be open and the vampire left in plain view. Models like this deserve going a little beyond what's necessary. Even with a lousy paint job like this one.

Speaking of painting, I have to scorn the Vallejo greens. Maybe it is me who is incompetent, but these paints are very difficult to work with. The coverage is erratic at best, the hue gets altered after drying... no, the GW greens are in fact better than Vallejos. Or, again, I can't paint.

Sticking with the Coach, I have to reiterate something that has already been said a million times - it's a bitch to fit on a chariot base, and I mean a bitch with a capital B. I have seen some very creative methods of squeezing it onto the base and I've been considering several. In th end, I chose careful bending. Here's how it looks like. It's not perfect, but it works.

That about wraps it up...

...except it doesn't. As I mentioned earlier, I need a refreshment in my painting regimen, something completely different and preferably something that involves practice in the areas I'm not good in. These include:

greens, reds, yellows
metals (especially colored metals)
bases
painting patterns instead of uniform colors
repetition (e.g. painting lots of models without lowering my standard)

It would be best if my next project included most or all of these. So, what army does? And, more importantly, what army does include these traits AND is interesting for me? I've come up with the following, not in any order:

Space Marines
Orcs, both fantasy and space-faring
High Elves
Dark Eldar (yum!)
Necrons

So, what will it be? After being done rebasing the druchii, what will it be?

New year, new minis

2009-01-05T16:29:00.007+01:00

Namely the skeletons and some vampires! I'm a bit sick, so I'll restrain myself from longer ramblings and just show you the minis.

On the boney lads, I tried the new GW washes and I must say they work quite decently. Well, at least they do what they say they are supposed to be doing. They give a great, matt finish, they really don't pool and they really flow nicely. Sometimes they tend to be a bit too transparent with a single coat, but then they cover thinly enough to make several coats. All in all a good product.

As for the minis themselves, I am in love with the design. These are the skeletons looking as they are supposed to look. They are noticeably smaller than their living counterparts and their equipment is really worn and battle-scarred. Splendid designs, really.

Now, I finally got round to doing the vampires. These are of course the old Blood Dragons; in my opinion one of the best designs on the market. I simply had to have them, they actually look like vampires and not vampirized figments of someone's sick mind.

I realize I've made a blunder on this gentleman's cloak. Vallejo greens are rather difficult to work with and it took one ruined cloak to make me realize this. Trust me, these paints change their tone and opacity as they dry on the mini and this can lead to several problems. My advice is to be quite bold in highlighting - don't skimp on the lighter color, you'll need more liberal amounts than usual to make the highlights really pop out. Don't be afraid of overdoing it - glazing with VGC greens is, on the other hand, a breeze. You will always be able to correct your mistakes.

I tried to do just that on the second, mounted vampire. After all, the count has to look grand.

I also tried my hand at gore effects, something I have never attempted, for reasons unknown. Turned out rather nice, no?

There always was a thought in my head to make my general carry a blood-filled chalice. Well, it's there. In retrospect I'd better have cut away the lance bit, but it adds that bizarre flavor to the whole chalice, makes it clearly an unusual artifact rather than a mundane object.

That about covers it for today. With the skeletons done, there are only three units left to finish the whole army, and I saved the tastiest bits for last. Except for the dire wolves, which I've come to sincerely detest.

Ride or die. Or both.

2008-12-11T08:43:00.010+01:00

It's that time again, the time it'd be proper to update. And there is stuff to see and comment upon!

I'm finally done with the Blood Knights, or, as I like to call them, the Knights of the Blood Keep. While I semi-like the design and the whole idea behind these models, the casts themselves are an awful pain to work with. The amount of flash, miscast and downright error in the manufacturing process is simply ridiculous. At times I wondered how in the hell these models made it into retail sale - I'm talking faces cast so badly not to have any facial details to speak of! I don't have any photos as proof, but please take my word for it - seek alternative models if you include the Blood Knights in your armies (and why wouldn't you?).

When you look at the Blood Knights, it seems that someone had a solid idea on how he or she wanted them to look, but somewhere along the way that idea got warped into what was actually released. I mean, just look at them - they are so much more like Chaos followers than Blood Dragon vampires. Yes, the armor is there, the omnipresent bat wing motifs as well, but still... terribly Chaosy. Not that Chaos is wrong (it is, but only in 40k ) , but this is not a Chaos army to begin with.

Besides, what really ground my gears was that the respective bodies are only supposed to fit on their respective horse models. What you get as a result is every unit looking roughly the same, as the bodies themselves have only minor variation to them. This is fine as long as you only plan on havin a single, five- or six-model-strong unit. But when you want more than one, or are planning something as simple as adding a second rank I have bad news for you.

The thing I did was to order a rank-and-file knight and swap its horse with the trumpeter's one. That way, while still stuck with a duplicate horse in a five-man unit, I preserve some degree of variety. The leftover horse will be used as a mount for my vampire lord.

Whose bright idea was to have the knights wearing arrows on their pauldrons is beyond me...

The models are full-metal, something I used to adore up to a point. When I set the finished five on a metal movement tray I realised just how heavy the unit is. If you ever field the Blood Knights in a unit of more than five or six, I think it'd be wise to make a separate carrying equipment just for them.

Getting back to variety, I'm stumped as to why they would not include more horse models. Just one would do - instead of the prancing pony you see on the left. I guess the idea was to make the model more dynamic... well, it made it more comical, that's for sure.

In fact the only model I'm somewhat satisfied with is the champion. The cloak and the varghulf fur on the shoulder are a very nice touch and they add a bucketful of character. And I'm a sucker for the new VC sword designs - straight, clean, long lines with the occasional decorative pieces just shout "nobility". The Kastellan is no exception.

The only thing tha bothers me about are the weird, cog-shaped pieces around the horse's eyes. They almost look like glasses. Other than that, the champion is a very decent piece. You can full well have him as the general model in smaller games.

Also, if you paint the knights in uniform, drab colors as I did, the champion model bits and pieces you can use to break this uniformity a bit and make the unit that little dot more aesthetic.

On the standard bearer I did some tweaking. First of all, I didn't like the banner (also, it's metal too, so it adds weight to an already weighty model) so I swapped it for the Chaos warriors' one. That required changing the mast as well, but here I was much less sophisticated - it's just a piece of brass rod; interestingly enough, brass rod seems to be a rare commodity in Poland, so rare it took me over two months to find a store that actually sells it in gauges needed for scale modeling... make you own comments on this.

I did a little freehand work on the banner, nothing fancy. I went for simplicity, as I've always envisioned the Blood Dragons to be very down-to-earth, no-nonsense warriors, not at all interested in showoff. Hence the very modest banner, naturally in my army's established color - dark green.

The bases are done according to the theme I preserve in the army. Again, the Walls And Fences plastic kit proves its greatness. I sincerely recommend it, just remove some nonsense bits here and there and you have a very nice base customization resource.

To wrap things up, some shots of the entire unit. See you next time!

Getting there!

2008-11-18T16:42:00.012+01:00

Meaning of course getting towards the end of my VC army project! I have set myself a deadline to finish the army, which is until the end of the year. I know I probably won't be able to manage, due to the amount of work I have and a certain game adequately abbreviated to WoW... but I'm still trying. As evidenced by the following.

My army lacked a vampire battle standard. Moreover, it lacked a good model of such, meaning the new versions of bloodsuckers were right out. No, with this army, I needed something truly great. Luckily, the old Blood Dragon vampires were up to the challenge, which resulted in, for instance, this gentleman.

The banner is of course hand made from scratch, as perhaps evidenced by its less-than-hoped-for quality. The ugliest part has to be the lion figure... well, no decent laser printer, let alone decal paper, was handy at the moment. The streamer is painted on freehand, design being copied from the VC book. I might actually be learning how to paint streamers!

The shaft and cross bar are just lengths of circular brass wire, a material quite hard to get in Poland, believe it or not... Oh, and Typrand's shaft-holding arm comes from the necromancer supplied with the corpse cart.

On the cloak and the skin you can observe my first attempts at glazing. I'm especially happy about the red on the cape.

Of course Typrand needs a unit to lead, and what better than the grave guard? These are some of my favourite minis overall, and definitely THE models that should be used for armored skeletons, if a bit old-fashioned in the design.

The unit is 20 models strong, including Typrand. There are three fillers. I modelled the bases as if the unit is advancing along a road or duct, so signposts are perfect for fillers in my humble opinion. Here they are.

And yet another shots of the unit itself:
Next up are the rebased and redone black knights. With the new rules allowing them for a much broader freedom of movement I felt it was proper to model them as if they really are crossing some obstacle. Here is what I came up with.

Modelling them as ethereal didn't feel right to my mind, so I just made them leap over a fence. The horses and riders' legs are the same as used previously, however all the rest is taken from the splendid Grave Guard and Skeletons plastic sets. I honestly am in awe of these two sprues and the amount of detail put into the models. If GW has to make plastics, this is the way to make them.

Here are some more shots of the unit. Oh, the fences used on my VC are of course from the Walls and Fences set. Also a great resource if you ask me.

The bugger on the last picture is of course another character, formerly a wight lord, now called a wight king in the book. Made the same way as the regular knights, but with a much older horse model.
Next up are the Blood Knights and maybe a sneak peek at the skeletons! Stay tuned.

The Miniworks aren't dead!

2008-07-30T16:47:00.017+02:00

Not by a long shot! The period of inactivity is due only to me being both lazy and overburdened. So without further dudes, here's the material I have held back from you, my dear readers.

First of all, the new edition of Vampire Counts has been upon us for several months now and that means of course new models to paint! While some of us actually scorn the new plastics, I find them quite bearable and paintable. First up, the all-gross, all-delicious Corpse Cart:

I find this piece very much to my liking. It's exactly in the theme I want to pursue on my VC army project: it's a generic undead model, with no hints to the Gothic atmosphere we were treated to in the last edition of the Counts. No that Gothic is bad, what I mean is that the overall feel of the cart reverberates with the feel of my army, and that can't be bad. Besides, it's a treat to paint and assemble. And it looks great even with my moderate paint job.

Now, I have to admit I rushed whilst painting this baby. It's clearly evidenced on the necromancer's face, the bell and some other areas. Mea culpa maxima, I knew rush is a no-no, and I did it anyway. And here I am, with a model I know I could have pulled off much better than I did.

I tried to make the bodies on the carts (not the zombies pulling it) appear as if they'd drowned. Have I managed to? You be the judges. At least one of the viewers agrees so far.

Then there are the Dire Wolves, also a very peculiar, new plastic kit. While painting these I made my first conscious attempt at using glazes properly, which I did on the light beige skin.
As much as I'm reserved towards plastics, the new ones are getting better with every release. The molds hold more detail and the new resin-based material seems to be both agreeable on casting and modeller-friendly as well. The flash on the minis is almost nonexistent in some places, yet the material is quite resilient. If plastics are to dominate Warhammer (and they are), it's great GW makes a conscious effort to improve on these. I'm very much looking forward to the new Dark Elves being released just in a couple of days.

Speaking of which, I have also been busy on my druchii (pronounced, according to Mark of Chaos:Battle March, as 'droo-k-eye'). I finally sat down to the Black Guard.

These are one of my most favourite minis in Warhammer. Being both metal and quite well-designed in terms of pose and variety (and awesomely-designed in terms of overall feel to them) I always knew I had to have a unit of the Witch King's finest.

I'm presenting the pictures in a new, collage-like format. How do you like it? Also, I will only be showing one picture per model pose. Quite pointless to show duplicates, you'd agree. The unit is fifteen models strong, with full command group and from what the rumors about the new edition tell, I will be adding a hero, quite possibly a BSB.

I added clump foliage to the base theme to break the brown-tan-gray look. I think it works quite well, and clump foliage is a great material to play with.

I didn't want to make the guard look too black, therefore only their under-robes are black. The ones they wear on their armor are kept in my army's established color. The cloaks of the command group, however, are black. It's a real shame the rank-and-file don't have cloaks... but they are a bitch to rank up anyway.

The drummer is my most favorite of the command group, dunno why. Maybe it's the tattered cloak?

Too bad the entire command group is not bareheaded. It'd make a nice subtheme to the fully armored unit. The drummer and champion are both produced in two options, with or without helms, I wonder why the standard bearer isn't.

I'm not happy about the runes on the banner. Firstly, the color didn't turn out as saturated as I'd like, secondly, it can hardly be seen that the design is actually only a part of a larger whole, as the torn banner would suggest.

The champion is slightly converted. I got no idea how to make his arms properly stick to the body while holding a straight halberd shaft. So I simply dropped his weapon altogether. And I do have a thing for pointing fingers on my minis, mostly leaders.

Currently, I'm working on the last five of the Black Guard. After these, I just might sit to my long-overdue Cryx Battlegroup project. I got a splendid idea for the color theme and bases and I'm quite anxious to try it out.

See you next time!

(Title's gone fishin')

2007-12-02T15:03:00.000+01:00

A lot has happened in the time I was not updating, not in terms of the amount of painted minis, but rather the size of the mini I've been painting. It's a commission piece for my buddy by the alias of Mauler. I was under some pressure whilst painting this piece; it's a commission, it's a centerpiece of the army, it's BIG! Judge for yourselves if I've managed to pull this one off:

As far as my own minis are concerned, all I'm waiting for are the horse skeletons to arrive and I'm all set for starting the Black Coach! It's still about two weeks away, so I think I'll have a well-deserved break from painting. I tried to finish my other zombie regiment before the new year, but I think I can't be assed to sit to them. Anyway, there is stuff to come here - watch this space.

Capo di tutti capi, part two

2007-10-07T17:04:00.001+02:00

Hey there. Without going into pointless apologies and whatnot, I give you the finished general. Feast your eyes while awaiting more. And be prepared for a completely new project taking place very, very soon!

Capo di tutti capi, part one

2007-09-21T12:32:00.000+02:00

You're right, this week's update marks the beginning of of the VC general project. I'm not sure whether this will be fielded as a Blood Dragon count or lord, but definitely as a Blood Dragon and a Lord level character.

While searching for he most appropriate model, I decided to go through well-trodden tracks and use Archaon as the basis for my conversion. Almost everything spoke in favor of this model, it being very imposing, full of character and easy to convert. In fact the only downside was that it has been done before, lots of times even.

I've bought the Archaon, Lord of the End Times kit (is he a Mormon or something?) long before making this update and played with the parts by dry-fitting and examining them thoroughly ever since it arrived. Therefore, I knew exactly what I will be facing when actually completing the model.

I was very impressed by the quality of the sculpt and it was really a shame I wasn't going to use several bits of it, most notably the shield and the uber cool base bit. Here are the components that made it through the selection:

Now, saying that it's easy to convert does not mean it's dead easy, pun not intended. There are some problem areas that I had to tackle before I could assemble and paint the model. These included the Chaos icons on the sword crossbar, the huge Chaos symbol thing on the horse's hindquarters and the spikes on its shoulder, and the star on Archaon's breastplate.

In the process of preparing this mini for assembly I decided to leave the spikes. They're not that bad-looking on an undead model and definitely add a sinister, evil feel to it. The Chaos star, on the other hand, had to go.

First, I filed it down to the skin level (it sticks out in one or two places). Then, I filled the gouge with Vallejo Plastic Putty, a great material for just that kind of work. It comes in a tube and has a very narrow applicator which makes the work one hell lot easier and cleaner. It is also sandable and can be drilled into, albeit gently. It took three or four application-sand-repeat cycles for me to get rid of the star and still it isn't completely gone, but I will be covering it with a set of severed heads hanging from the chainmail tunic. Here is the horse 'after'.

The sword's crossbar, on the other hand, was really easy. I just filed down the three stars from the blade and that was it.

With these alterations taken care of, I could assemble the horse and begin painting it. As it had some nasty gaps in very prominent places, I decided to use green stuff as an adhesive. By squeezing it out of the joints, I could scrape the excess, leaving a very small amount of the putty showing. When working with green stuff and its quantity on the model, less is definitely more. The less GS you use to fill the gaps, the less you'll have to sculpt it and struggle to make it invisible after painting, which sometimes is a pain to do. I was happy to find out I managed to achieve it somehow. Here is the horse (plus some other parts of the model) after assembly and mounted on handy implements, ready to be undercoated and painted.

When waiting for the GS to cure, I handled the base. I had to mount this model on a standard 25x50 mm cavalry base, since no VC character can be mounted on a 50x50 mm monster one unless it rides the zombie dragon and mine doesn't. Using a two-part epoxy resin glue I stuck two rare earth magnets to the underside of the base. I also cut out the holes for the horse to stand in. By using magnets I was able to stick the model to some kind of mount in order to touch it as rarely as possible when painting. Here, I've used a tall, sand-filled jar.

After that, the painting was, citing the Marovingean, like wiping my ass with silk. It's really a pleasure to work on a model that you genuinely enjoy and it is my advice to all the people who try to improve their painting skill - if you can afford it, buy models that you really, really like and turn a blind eye to whether or not you can use them in game. Having fondness of your 'patient' can really give you an incentive to work harder than usual and try something new.

The painting of this piece was no different. I tried to keep it muted and not very outstanding, as it already is a focal point due to its size and pose. For that reason I've also made the base as modest as I could. I won't go into the detail of brands and colors used, but if you'd like to know more, feel free to ask. I will be talking more about paints and painting next week, when I hope to show you the upper partof this mini.

Here is my general's steed finished.

Braaaains...

2007-09-14T15:46:00.000+02:00

Yes, you guessed it, the zombies are making an appearance in today's update.

The idea for the unit came to me after very much pondering, discarding what was considered unfit and generally brain masturbation. I had a major nut to crack when trying to make the zombies both in a winter theme and that bit unorthodox. The frozen river motif sprung up out of the blue really, but was in a way inspired by the zombies from one of my favourite music videos (sincerely recommend the band as a whole too, they rock). The idea of having sombies emerge from the down under was just too cool not to try.

Having said that, I'm not at all happy with how the models turned out, nor had I actually expect to be. Confused? Let me explain.

I've treated this project as a test drive for both my idea for the aquatic zombies and my skills in actually making that idea come to fruition, plus the aptitude of my workshop too. I tried two major things here, the overall unit theme and the magnetized bases, pictured left. To make the magnets (3x3 mm, 1mm thick, rare earth) work, I had to place them directly in contact with the movement tray. The underside of a standard GW base has 2mm of space left. Faced with the choice between using thicker magnets and making my own bases, I went with the latter.

You see, when dealing with plastic minis, too much magnet force could easily mean ruining the mini - they have to be lifted from the tray, right? Now, using a magnet twice the thickness would mean absolute impracticality when it came to gaming. Left with no other option, I set about to making custom bases for the zombies.

I used two thicknesses of polystyrene, 1 mm and 0,5 mm. The former is used to host the magnet in a drillout, the latter covers both the hole and the magnet and forms the surface to which the mini itself is glued.

The unit consists of twenty four models, complete with a musician and a standard bearer. To get across that water emergence thing, I modeled the ranks as literally emerging, starting from the rearmost. To the right, you can see what I mean.

The zombie skintone is not what I aimed at by a longshot, but this is entirely my fault. When I finally substitute my worn GW paints for P3 Formula or Vallejo, I think I'll be able to pull out the color I wanted for these.

The water is made out of Vallejo Still Water polyurethane disperse. I'm not at all happy with this product though; while having the shine and full transparency, it does not look like water at all. Or maybe I can't use it properly.

The movement tray is made out of a 130 mm by 80 mm steel sheet, 1mm in thickness, with balsa sides glued on and textured.

As I already mentioned, this unit is not to be considered a showcase quality in any way - it was a test drive. I have the other 24-strong unit of zombies awaiting its turn, and with the lessons learned on this project, it is my hope that I will be able to make that other one much better.

One of the valuable bits of knowledge I got from making these is the increased familiarity with the P3 Formula metallics. I realize that I scoffed at them some weeks ago, but when putting them to a diligent test, they turned out maybe not awesome, but decent, and much better than the GW ones. In my upcoming project I will put them to much more use and i think I'll be able to say decisively where do I stand on them. For now, look at the musician's bell and decide for yourselves.

This, however, does not apply to ordinary P3 paints, which are just plain great. I used 'Jack Bone and Ryn Flesh on these zombies extensively and have nothing but praise to utter about their performance. Let me just say this - I was able to achieve complete coverage of beige over black with one layer. Really.

As for the next project, I won't spill any beans today, mainly because I have to decide between the general and the Black Coach. Both, however, are going to be very involving projects and it is my intent to make each update a 'step' in finishing these.

Out of the less in-topic announcements, I have added a modest logo to all pictures posted here, mainly due to another case of theft of my work. I've rehosted all images, but haven't really got the time to resize them properly. My bad, you'll have to cope with this until I sit to them.

Righto, off to the next project. And the realization of being that one step closer to digging my teeth into the Cryx Battlegroup makes me work all the more diligently. I hope.

See you next Friday!

Adding some character

2007-09-10T09:47:00.001+02:00

Hello and welcome to Drazhar's Miniworks on this wonderful day. Wonderful, because I've just recovered my hardware from a major virus infection and I'm in the process of bringing it back to shape, which also explains the late update.

Today I want to show you the characters for the Vampire Counts army project, at least these I've made so far. They're still one character short - the general.

I might have told you that I didn't want any vampire models for this army. Of course I will use the rules for vampires, Blood Dragons at that, whenever I actually play a game, but as far as the models themselves go, no vampires.

I've started the character part of this project with the necromancers, partly because of the nice models, partly the ease of their execution. Pictured left is the first of two corpse entertainers I got. Nothing much to comment upon here, the model is quite old and therefore not THAT good, but still quite a decent piece.

I restricted my color palette on these to a very limited set of colors, in fact there are only two major tones - black and dark green, with some neutral colors to break the dark feel. I thought of the necromancers not as some really powerful sorcerers, but rather practitioners still on their way to damnation. This also affected the choice of the models, obviously.

The second wizard is a bit more 'cluttered', but still, to my mind, possessing only a few accessories, which is exactly what I was after here. The model is very characterful, second only, I think, to Heinrich Kemmler in dark and brooding appearance, drooping mustache and all. The only things I don't quite like on it is the staff headpiece and the weird Phrygian cap he wears. Other than that I find the model very much to my liking.

The third, last character, and at the same time the penultimate in the army, is the foot battle standard bearer. Here, there were no choices, I immediately knew what model I was going to use. The older fans surely have guessed by now; presenting - the IVth edition skeleton banner bearer, AKA the bellman, model extraordinaire:

Definitely one of my favorites when it comes to undead minis, with the addition of the oversized, IVth edition style banner pole. Younger gamers might not know that, but in the times of the IVth edition of Warhammer Fantasy Battle there was this weird trend of making the banners and banner poles bigger than their bearers; sometimes this was very characterful, sometimes very awkward. This model falls into the former.

Also, veterans might recognize the banner as being none other than that of Arkhan the Black. Here is its uncolored version, painting is, of course, mine. I have reinforced the paper photocopy with a 0,20 mm polystyrene (yes, apparently they make is that thin) and I sincerely recommend it for any paper banners. They don't rip, but can still be twisted and cut with ease.

These are the characters I have made so far. The general is still not even started, so I won't go into any massive detail about him. All the beans I can spill here is: expect some conversion work and a truly imposing, mounted model.

Now, I'd very much like to show you the zombies come Friday, but that requires some discipline on my side and I don't know if I'll be able to conjure it in equal amounts. Still, keep your fingers crossed. Oh, and GW Space Wolves Grey is possibly the worst paint ever made. Honestly.

Airborne horror

2007-08-31T09:41:00.000+02:00

Today I'm making the update early in the day, lest I be late again... as said last Friday, here are the fell bats.

My bats are, as you see, pretty unorthodox. I told you last time about my thinking phase when working on a mini, well, these are the result. I'm kinda proud of these bats, them being one of my most ambitious projects to date and I'm at least partially happy on how they turned out.

Even before thinking about what exactly did I want for my fell bats I'd known the standard GW bats are out of the question. These minis are not very high-standard, with very oversized heads and generally a poor design. Second of all, I definitely didn't want a 'flying' model - I had the experience of 'flying' bases before, broken lugs and all... besides flying models look terribly cheesy to my mind.

After much pondering, I decided to go with something akin to gargoyles. Having no gargoyle models handy (in fact the only gargoylesque-looking mini I could find distributed in my country was the Reaper Crypt Bat, pictured left)... not at all what I was after. It seems to me that mini designers always tend to forget about proportion when it comes to wings. The pinions always seem to be undersized, looking more of a decoration than capable body part.

I wanted something different. The wings on my gargoyles aren't the right size as well (to be honest, the should be at least twice the size), but I think they at least look right, they convey the feel of being capable of flight. At some point I thought about using the ghoul bodies instead of strigoi vampire ones, but I simply like the strigoi much too much to leave them out of this project. I knew I just had to include these models somewhere in the army and I think I've found a perfect spot.

These models are also curious to me in one more way. On these was the first time I've used the Vallejo Game Inks and the new GW Foundation paints and both turned out to be working very well. The inks - Vallejo ones, forget the GW - are a great way if you want a quick shade, without being too accurate and caring. The Vallejo inks give a matte finish, without that ugly GW sheen, therefore are very well suited to painting masses of rank-and-file models; in fact I'm using them on the zombies I am currently working on.

Now, the pictures above show the bats-gargoyles as they were originally based. Barring the snow (which was the reason for rebasing), I've used ruined columns on the bases to get a feel of the creatures dwelling in some sort of crypt or ruins. The column bits are manufactured by a local hobbyist from dental plaster and are a very decent product. I definitely will be using them in my upcoming Warmachine Cryx project.

I'm not exactly happy with the wings' look. If only I have waited another fortnight or so, I'd know about the upcoming Chaos space Marine Possessed frame, which contains a splendid set of wings. These are a tad smaller than the fell bat wings I've used here, but look much more gruesome and menacing.

Oh, and you can see the redone bases here:

See you next Friday!

Ghost riders in the sky

2007-08-24T11:58:00.000+02:00

Yeeees, I am making an update on Friday as is due, hooray for me.

I decided that today I will show you the black knights. I am proud of how these turned out, if not as happy as I might have been if I had sat to working on them properly and devoted as much time as they deserve. Well, too late to shed useless tears now, let's see the models, shall we?

I don't know about the rest of you, but I like to think my projects thoroughly before I start them. I like to think on how I want the models to look like (or more accurately, what 'feel' I want to achieve on them), then what models exactly I need to buy to achieve that feel. Then, I'm thinking how much conversion work is involved in making my idea come to life and lastly how exactly am I to be original and differentiate my works from what is fashionable/customary/often seen. Only when I have finished this planning stage do I sit to work on the minis themselves.

These black knights were no different. From the start I knew I didn't want to convert them from the imperial Knightly Orders or Bretonnian knights - let's face it, very good as they might look in some people's versions, the idea is so worn-out I definitely wanted to do something else. Secondly, I DID want my rotten cavalry to wear barding (I've even thought of giving them caparisons, but I simply couldn't find a way to make these look good, tried as I have. Besides, I didn't want my knights to look too goth). All in all, I accepted the fact I was left with no models but the GW Black Knights.

However, that didn't mean I wasn't going to pimp them up a notch, even if was only adding the croupieres and peytrals (pieces of barding covering the horses' chest and hindquarters, respectively). You can see on the pics how exactly did they turn out.

I also wanted to model my bases with some sort of a twist. I have never been very good in the base department and one of the things I'd like to achieve on the Vampire Counts project is the improvement of my bases. You have seen the wolves and their bases; on the knights I've had the idea of them riding through a cemetery. In the end it didn't work out as well as I predicted, but I think I'm making progress.

Also, the VC army is going to be fully magnetized. For those of you unfamiliar with the idea, it's essentially adding magnets to the underneath of the models' bases and making the movement trays out of metal sheets. You can see the unfinished tray on the photos.

I've used round, 3mm by 2mm rare earth magnets for the knights, two per model. The force that through the magnet sticks the mini (kudos to Dylan Thomas for inventing possibly the weirdest title for a poem ever) is astounding; I'm even thinking it is too strong... but I'd rather have it a bit too strong than a bit too weak. I could easily have gone with a single magnet if the minis were all plastic, but given the metal rider, a single magnet wasn't strong enough (tested'em).

Some eagle-eyed cherries... readers might notice the unit champion is just a tad different from what GW serves us. It's a 4th edition Skeleton Horseman with Axe model, which I am very fond of. It simply oozes character with its torn chainmail, cut breastplate and all other other nicknacks it possesses. Very creepy. The photo shows him in his pre-rebased state.

Plooschack was worried about me losing my motivation being the reason behind the update-less Friday. Rest assured Plooschack, the motivation is there, waxing and waning, but present.

A lot of people asked me about the comments publication on this site. I'll restate - all the comments you submit have to go through my approval before they are actually posted. The reason is simple - I don't want every other comment to be concerned with penis enlargement or centerfold pictures. No thanks. If the comment is written in proper English and is relevant to the matter, it will be posted, even if you write death threats or compare my work to solid body waste. Opinions are what make us human and don't let any angst deter you from posting them here.

I'm reviewing the incoming comments usually before making an update, so don't be alarmed if yours isn't handled immediately.

Also, I have another announcement to make. At least one person has posted my works on a site without my knowledge, let alone consent. He didn't plagiarize them claiming they were his own, he just posted them. While this is really fine with me, it would be nice to know about such stuff. Therefore, I've come to the realization that I need a logo to stamp my pictures with. Being a complete retard in Photoshop and even MS Paint (yes!!) it is my plea to people out there who aren't so graphics-editor-challenged: if you can come up with a nice logo for my minis, I'll love you long time. Nothing too fancy or time-consuming, if you have five minutes to spare and can be assed to create something just for the hell of it, please send your brainchildren to me and you'll have my everlasting gratitude and a honorable mention here.

Right, I hope I didn't sound too cheeky. Next week, watch your skies and your hair, the bats are swooping in. See you next Friday!

King of the Hill

2007-08-20T21:38:00.000+02:00

This update is full three days overdue, I know, and I'm terribly sorry. Blame good beer, good computer games and my overwhelming fondness of both. Guilty as charged.

Regardless of the delay, here to present itself before you today is the Dread King, more affectionately known as The Man. It is a very, very old mini, apparently from the Warhammer Quest line. I am not sure of its origins in the least bit and having no time or patience at the moment to browse through the Stuff of Legends, I'd be grateful for any information about this mini's provenience.

The model consists of two elements, the mini itself and the hillock I've carved for it. The former is sadly incomplete, it is missing a pedestal with a grimoire on it. Everything else is there, and it is in my opinion the most characterful undead model GW has ever produced.

Getting the throne to stick together was a pain, as the model I was supplied with (second-hand, bought it online for an amount proportional to my love for it, and that's a lot) had some ridiculous amounts of glue - the nature of which I was unable to ascertain by any means I had handy, it wasn't epoxy, it wasn't cyanoacrylate, it was sticking as the ninth hell - in some strategic spots. The glue blobs were so hard and so resistant to every kind of debonder I possess that I was left with no choice but to actually sand and sometimes even carve them out. Luckily, I managed not to ruin this piece of heavenly cream and got it stuck together.

In the meantime, I was busy ruining the vacuuming I had done in my room earlier by carving the rock out of extruded styrofoam (commonly known by the brand name Styrodur - yes boys and girls, capital letters here, it's a trade mark of BASF). I don't have a hot wire cutter, therefore I had to use one of my favorite tools - my jewellers' saw. My fondness for it comes from the miraculous resilience of its blades; they can be strung with the force that is comparable to this with which piano strings are, yet they still maintain their power when cutting.

After I got it cut, the rest was very easy - glue on the stairs, texture the rock a bit and paint. Lastly, I stuck the finished throne on it and added the snow.

That said, I'm not happy about the way the rock turned out. Looking at it right now, I think I'd be far better off having textured it more.

On the gaming side of things it is a filler. Yes, I can hear you moaning and groaning, and I can relate. I'm not that keen on unit fillers myself. On this baby however, I decided otherwise. Firstly, I love this model so much I just had to include it in the army, period. Secondly, I do also have a unit of grave guard made from the old Armoured Skeleton models, and having no money to order a full twenty-five strong batch of these, I had to have a filler.

Next week - or rather next update, I do hope not to be late again - I'll be showing you either the black knights or the fell bats.

See you next Friday!

In the society of sheep we want to be the wolves

2007-08-10T18:02:00.000+02:00

Today we start with my other project - the Blood Dragon Vampire Counts army. This project is still very much underway, in fact so much I'm unable to give any approximate time of finishing. I think, however, that I'm beginning to finish this and hope to make it really soon.

The army is somewhat themed in a way that it contains no vampire models whatsoever. I do like the GW vampires very much, but I decided to make this force unique and interesting. The inspiration behind the army comes from two main sources, the old Warhammer Armies-The Undead book and Warcraft.

The former was very influential throughout my entire career as a wargamer. Back in the days of the fourth edition of the Warhammer game system things were much different, much more fandom and climate was present in the game (and much fewer children were playing too...). The old army book, published before the undead were divided into Vampire Counts and Khemri, contained so many evocative graphics and so much quality background material it would be really shameful not to use this plethora of inspiration.

If the old Undead book provided the spirit of the army, Warcraft on the other hand provided me with its body - you see, the ultimate nemesis for Azeroth (the world of Warcraft) comes in the form of The Scourge - a massive undead force amassing in the northern, polar regions of the world, but quickly spreading southwards to engulf the whole domain of Azeroth. But this is not what we should be looking at here.

The Warcraft undead were designed in a very generic way, the classic skeletons, zombies and ghouls all present there without any unifying or classifying factor - no colors, no banners, no uniformity to speak of. This was exactly what I wanted. Of course, an unifying factor is needed for an army. For mine, I decided to use a single color - dark green. Otherwise the colors used are neutral and not in any way striking.

Anyway, I know some minis are due, so here they are:
These dire wolves were made form the warhounds of Chaos models. Some heavy conversion work went into the making of these, cutting, sanding and sculpting all in contribution to the effect that is other than uniform, plastic dire wolves GW is forcing upon us.

Here, I cut out the tail and the spike on the wolf's sole (that's right kids, the sole; all canines, felines and similar walk on their fingers only) and glued on the bone parts from the plastic undead horse model - here thanks are due to Robbie B. for supplying the horses. The ribcage in the abdomen area was gouged out with a rotary carbide cutter. i was unable to find a picture of this extension anywhere; it looks like a spherical razor. It is generally used in engraving and is wonderful for cutting out pieces of a mini too.

This one has had its tail, right leg and the top of the head removed and replaced, again, with the horse parts. I don't like the way in which the head turned out, on second thoughts I'm positive I'd be better off with gouging out pieces of the head area and gluing the bones in instead of shaving off the whole head top. Overall, my least favorite of the five.

This, on the other hand, is my beloved. Almost no conversion here, save for adding the bony tail, filing down he spines and sculpting the fur. The model is undead enough as is, with a ruptured stomach and skin peeling off the skull. Lovely!

The warhound used above comes with a second, optional head, which is also splendid in terms of being undead-looking. It would be a terrible waste not to use it, so I did - on the fourth model. This one has a very menacing baying pose and this was fine, but its original head was a pain for me. It sports two sets of horns, which is very nice for a Chaos warhound, but not so much for an undead wolf. Having a spare hornless head, I cut out the horned one and swapped it. The amount of green stuff used here is copious, as was the gap between the head and the body, but overall I'm very pleased with it.

The fourth wolf also didn't have any major conversion work put into it, again cutting down the spines and resculpting the fur did the job.

The last one I don't have the photos of, but it's very similar to the first one, same model, minor differences in conversion.

The bases are made of cork and the well-known baking soda snow mixture, but I will be covering it with the GW Snow Scatter, as it has proved to be a very decent product, which I will show you next time we see. All bases fit to each other:
Some final words... the flesh of the wolves was made using the formula found on the Brushthralls website, under 'Painting Dead Flesh' article. The Thralls are a lovely, very professional bunch of hobbyists and their articles solved many of the problems I've had on various occasions during the pursuit of my hobby.

That's a wrap, if you have any questions in regard to any of my projects please feel free to ask and leave some comments.

See you next Friday!

Noblesse oblige, pt. II

2007-08-03T18:14:00.000+02:00

Second installment of the last part of my dark elf army review. Tonight we take a look at the Rare units as well. Oh, and as promised, I'll show you the harpies.

Always in favor of subtlety and stealth over raw force of arms, Yenlui's army roster has always been quite heavy on scouts and skirmishers. She has been a long time ally of a shades clan residing in the wilderness surrounding her estate. While actually being poachers on a nobleman's land, the shades were dealt with in quite a different way than is prescribed in the Naggaroth law. Instead of wasting precious time and resources in trying to bring the shades before the swift and sure druchii justice, Yenlui struck a deal with them. She agreed to their hunting parties shaving off the number of wild animals in her domain in exchange for regular shipments of conscripts and information. This agreement quickly proved mutually fruitful and the house Yenlui and the shades clan quickly became something akin to allies.

Unconverted Dark Elf Shades models. I never knew GW made no less than five different models for the shades until, by pure coincidence, I got the five I wanted for my army and realized each one is a different sculpt. I was pondering substituting them with the Mengil Manhide's Manflayers, but the price of these is whopping. Besides, these would be proxy models, which is in fact fine as far as rules go (I don't take part in any tournaments, doubtful if I ever will), but not so fine in terms of aesthetics. And I'm an aesthetics Nazi.

Nobody knows - and nobody has ever asked - what prizes did Yenlui promise and to what lengths did she go to lure the harpies of Clar Karond into her domain - and keep them here. For creatures who crave only flesh and blood, the harpies have shown and unheard-of degree of fidelity to Yenlui and are a sight often seen, circling the spires of her mountain manor and screeching menacingly at whatever visiting parties come into her lands. On more than one occasion the harpies were sent after some specific goal, but what that aim was or where it was located, Yenlui has never disclosed.

Again, unconverted GW Dark Elf Harpies models. The minis are not that bad, it is I who screwed the painting and the bases. I was, at the time of working on these, without any paints other than GW ones and highlighting the flesh from codex grey to elf flesh resulted in a paint layer much too thick for my tastes.

The bases were a major screwup on my part. I don't like the way they turned out one bit and once I get back to redoing this army, the harpies are in pole position.

Drazhar, on the other hand, likes his job done easily and surely. To this end, he has ordered the construction of the druchii artillery pride - the reaper bolt throwers. The design for these is no secret in the lands of Naggaroth, however it takes a truly skilled carpenter to choose the right kinds of wood and shape the planks correctly. The process is a costly and time-consuming affair, however the final product is a peerless piece of light artillery, unparalleled in accuracy, range and the ease of maintenance even by its high elf counterpart. Needless to say, Drazhar found a way to get in touch with the right people for the job.

Whomever designed the Reaper Bolt Thrower minis really has a feel for the current dark elf line guidelines. The models are in my opinion splendid, the design really capturing the druchii 'feel'. These babies just have 'wicked and stylish genocide' written all over. Love'em!
That's a wrap - as far as my druchii army project is concerned. As you can see, the army is somewhat themed - no Temple of Khaine units, no Black Guard, no Executioners. Well, I doubt an outcast mercenary army would ever have something in common with the temple of Khaine, let alone king Malekith's personal bodyguard. As for the Executioners, I might include them, just have to figure out a fluffy reason for them being here...

Next week - we start with the Vampire Counts army project. To provide you with some aperitif, it is definitely an unorthodox army in terms of models (no vampires!) and definitely my most ambitious project up to date. As per your requests, I will show some work-in-progress shots of the models. I have no idea about the order in which I will present the pieces, I guess the appearance order makes the most sense; after all the army is still unfinished (but getting there!).

See you next Friday!

Noblesse oblige, pt. I

2007-07-27T18:41:00.000+02:00

As promised, here are the special units included in the army. At this point I have to mention I don't have the pictures of my harpies yet; they will be redone in the near future and it is then that I will shoot proper pictures of them. In the meantime feast your eyes on the following.

Drazhar has always been fully aware of the lack of heavy troops in his host, however the financial burdens that the enlisting of such troops in the army demanded were always impossible to meet. By a very fortunate turn of events, however, Drazhar came unto command of a full regiment of cold one knights.

In one of the battles Drazhar fought after being hired by the house Khaladh, the opposing army's reinforcements included a small contingent of the reptilian cavalry. By a cunning ambush, Yenlui's shades were able to delay the knights to the battlefield just long enough. When the contingent arrived to witness its employer's defeat and its own encirclement by the opposing forces, Drazhar offered the knights a simple deal - fight for him or die. The knights duly chose the former.

These are pure, unconverted, standard GW Dark Elf Cold One Knights models. I was, at the time, unable to get my hands on the splendid dark elf line by Gamezone Minitures, and I'm seriously pondering getting them now, as the quality is, in comparison with GW, unparalleled. Take a look for yourself:

Seriously, GW has a lot to learn - or rather to put into practice - if it wants its mature clientèle back.

Yenlui was not without her own fast attack forces, even before she hired Drazhar. Her troops, however, were composed of two charioteers along with their war machines. Though generally used by Yenlui's tax collectors, the chariots have time and again proved themselves as very capable weapons of war. The combined force of the snarling cold ones and the chariot's own impact, topped by the martial prowess of the charioteers, has seen many a foe put to flight.

Unconverted Dark Elf Chariot model with added polystyrene reins. However, the other chariot is slightly converted, so keep your eyes peeled.

Next week, as the second instalment of the special units coverage, I'll be showing the other chariot, shades and harpies (not done yet, but when you see them you'll see why they need work as well).

Some parishioner announcements... the Cryx Battlegroup faction box has shipped today and I just can't stop fiddling with all the bits and pieces. I have to admit I was skeptical about Warmachine to the very last seconds, but after opening the box and very thoroughly examining the bits my doubts dropped more than Paris Hilton's worth as a human being.

I can't say the same of the uber-hyped P3 paints I've ordered along with the minis... as you might know, good colored metals are something of the Holy Grail of the mini industry. P3 were advertised as being just that, well, I beg to differ. Now, I might be totally wrong here and maybe it's my incompetence as a mini painter talking, but the P3 colored metals (namely Brass Balls, Blighted Gold and Molten Bronze; Rhulic Gold on the other hand turned out slightly better) are not as good as everyone hails them to be. Mind you, I'm not saying they are bad paints, they're just not as great as the ads say. I accept my (huge) margin of error though and will test the paints much more diligently throughout next week.

And what - in the name of Natalia Melnik's long-lost ability to accept points of view beside her own - kind of name is 'Brass Balls' anyway?

The last thing I've purchased is Ziterdes Expert Flock Kit. From the looks of it, it seems a very decent product, if a bit pricey (paid an equivalent to 10 Euros for it...). It consists of, going upwards, fine gravel, a very curious green flock in at least three shades combined and finally tall grass, plus a small bottle of glue. I have always been a big fan of the tall grass thingie and it is my hope that with this kit, topped off with several other bits and pieces, I'll finally be able to do decent bases.

Lastly, thanks for voting in the poll. There are no telling results to speak of yet, but still, I appreciate the feedback. Oh, and thanks to whomever voted for the step-by-guides, I'll try to produce some, not in any foreseeable future though... or maybe...

See you next Friday!

Of mice and men

2007-07-20T12:06:00.001+02:00

Another Friday, another update. Today, it's the core units of my druchii force. Also, look to your right and please spare a minute to vote in the poll (you can choose more than one answer).

The backbone of Drazhar's army consists of the three regiments that stayed true to their lord and left Naggarond with him. These include a twenty-strong block of spear-armed infantry, supported by two units of crossbowmen and two units of light cavalry, five-strong each.

The spearmen have served under Drazhar's command for a considerable amount of time, even before they left Naggarond. Their adventures after turning mercenary have only stimulated their combat prowess. In more than one skirmish, their steel-like resolve - honed by whatever means necessary by their commander, Melarna - has turned the battle in Drazhar's favour. Their banner has been used as a symbol denoting envoy and messengers on those rare occasions Drazhar or Yenlui make use of these.

True to the rightly-established tradition of druchii warfare, Drazhar makes extensive use of repeater crossbows in his army. No less than twenty crossbowmen have been assigned to his force in his days in Naggarond, and these left with him as well. Due to some severe monetary circumstances, the army quartermasters denied the crossbowmen their mail tunics, equipping them only with shields and cuirasses for protection. Their commanders, however, have the right to use whatever spoils of war are included in the crossbowmen share of the plunder.

The models are made of dark elf warriors' torsos, heads and arms plus high elf archers' legs. Yes, I'm a sucker for the kneeling legs too, it's a shame GW doesn't make more sprues containing these, or legs in any other pose than advancing for that matter.

I toyed with the idea of substituting the heads for high elf ones as well, but after making some test models I dropped that; the models looked neither properly druchii, nor properly asur, like a weird cross. Too weird for my tastes.

As I was kinda pressed for cash when making these, I decided to add fillers to the units. This allowed me to both, add commanders made from other models than plastic warriors and make two units using a single Dark Elf Warriors box.

The commanders are the bolt thrower commander and the corsair champion #1, respectively. On the former, I sawed out the scroll he was holding in his right hand and swapped it for a shield. The latter is unconverted.
The cavalry under Drazhar's command is also a very welcome addition to the army, serving as its eyes and ears. They can stay in the field for days on end, scouting out both the countryside and enemy troop movements. On the battlefield they fulfill an equally subtle role, harrying the flanks, disrupting reinforcements, chasing down fleeing or withdrawing units and even kidnapping designated individuals should the need arise.

Model-wise, these are dark elf warriors' upper portions plus glade rider legs. I was also very happy with the then-new wood elf horses, as they look just SO much better.

The other unit is almost identical to the one pictured, the only difference is the color of the wraps on spear shafts - brown as opposed to green; for easy game reference.

Yenlui was not without a helping hand in the military as well. her forces, however, were oriented more towards raiding and pillaging than open battle. Hence, her house's standing force consisted of corsairs and scouts.

These are just unconverted dark elf corsairs. Alright, the standard bearer is made out of and ordinary rank-and-file corsair with an arm swapped for the cold one knights' banner arm. The banner is usually fielded as the Soul Shadows Standard, hence the lack of decorative whatnots on it. The other unit has a musician instead.