So I'm not doing myself any favors regarding my 2009 pledge. Yesterday a new figure arrived, Cool Mini or Not's limited edition "Army Brat". The figure is a Werner Klocke sculpt, and, typical of some of his best work, the figure is more than a bit cheesecake. But I really liked Klocke's work, and always a sucker for artificial scarcity, the limited edition aspect made it a must buy for me.
Unfortunately, while I was hoping for the figure to be in the 28mm scale of the Reaper models that he sculpts, it is instead in the much larger 30-32mm scale of Klocke's boutique company, Freebooter Miniatures - far too out of scale with most of my figures for her to even qualify as some sort of Amazon. So, she'll probably just end up being a display model for me, provided my respect for her "limited edition" status doesn't see me keeping her locked away inside her blister packaging. :p
I still have a space marine tactical demi-squad well under way on my painting desk and with any luck I'll be in the black by the end of the weekend (I know, I know, I said that about last week too).
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Wednesday, January 21, 2009
Hammer Time!
The left arm of the Ironclad Dreadnought is done, I think. Based on some CAD artwork that can be found around the net of the Ironclad's seismic hammer, I've gone for a pneumatic type hammer. Rather than the cluster of small heads shown in that concept work, I've gone for a single hydraulic ram.
I've tried to make the ram look well worn, as if it's been smashing vehicles apart of centuries. We'll see how this looks with some paint on it.
As the body of the Ironclad is about to be painted, the seismic hammer arm is being modeled by another AOBR dread.
I've tried to make the ram look well worn, as if it's been smashing vehicles apart of centuries. We'll see how this looks with some paint on it.
As the body of the Ironclad is about to be painted, the seismic hammer arm is being modeled by another AOBR dread.
The 2009 Pledge
Inspired by pacts on miniature hobby sites like The Miniatures Page and The Lead Adventure Forum, I've decided to create a painting pledge for myself for the year. The idea is to begin tackling the mountain of unpainted lead (and plastic) all of us miniature gamers have. For each completed figure, the painter gets a point. For each purchased figure, the painter loses a point. The idea is to end the year with a positive score, with self-shaming to serve as the motivator to paint and the deterrent to purchase.
I've also included points for unpainted figures sold, as my pledge isn't solely to encourage painting, but to start trimming my collection down to only those things that I value enough to spend time on painting. Pre-painted figures (i.e. AT-43) purchased will not count as negatives, but any work I spend on re-painting them will not count as positive points either.
Although a squad of Heavy Gear figures arrived after the start of the new year, I'm going to choose not to include them as I actually ordered them before the holidays. I'm still starting in the negative however, as I placed an order for a pair of Werner Klocke's Freebooter figures last week (btw, service from Freebooter is great, with the package arriving from Germany in half the time I received an order from the Warstore, which itself is always prompt).
With any luck I'll climb back into the positives by the end of this weekend with a demi-squad of space marines finished. Let the shaming begin!
I've also included points for unpainted figures sold, as my pledge isn't solely to encourage painting, but to start trimming my collection down to only those things that I value enough to spend time on painting. Pre-painted figures (i.e. AT-43) purchased will not count as negatives, but any work I spend on re-painting them will not count as positive points either.
Although a squad of Heavy Gear figures arrived after the start of the new year, I'm going to choose not to include them as I actually ordered them before the holidays. I'm still starting in the negative however, as I placed an order for a pair of Werner Klocke's Freebooter figures last week (btw, service from Freebooter is great, with the package arriving from Germany in half the time I received an order from the Warstore, which itself is always prompt).
With any luck I'll climb back into the positives by the end of this weekend with a demi-squad of space marines finished. Let the shaming begin!
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Ironclad
With the month halfway gone and the 500 pt painting competition rapidly approaching, I've spent the past several nights clipping sprues, trimming off mold lines, and assembling figures. While most of the figures have been straightforward builds, I decided I wanted an Ironclad Dreadnought in the force. With a pair of the great new Assault on Black Reach Dreadnoughts at my disposal, I got to work.
This is what the front of the Dread looks like out of the box:
After a bit of trimming and filing, I had cleaned the detail down to a smooth base:
Jumping forward a few steps, I present the finished body of the Ironclad Dreadnought. The reinforced plates on the sarcophagus were trimmed off the armor bits from the Imperial Guard Hellhound. The plates on either side of the torso are made of thick plasticard, trimmed to fit, and the rivets were made by drilling small holes and placing short bits of brass rod in them. A hunter killer missile launcher and a fragmentation launcher round out the body.
The next update will hopefully show a finished seismic hammer on the left arm and a hurricane bolter right arm. The latter bit is just waiting on my order from the Warstore to arrive . . . any day now. :)
This is what the front of the Dread looks like out of the box:
After a bit of trimming and filing, I had cleaned the detail down to a smooth base:
Jumping forward a few steps, I present the finished body of the Ironclad Dreadnought. The reinforced plates on the sarcophagus were trimmed off the armor bits from the Imperial Guard Hellhound. The plates on either side of the torso are made of thick plasticard, trimmed to fit, and the rivets were made by drilling small holes and placing short bits of brass rod in them. A hunter killer missile launcher and a fragmentation launcher round out the body.
The next update will hopefully show a finished seismic hammer on the left arm and a hurricane bolter right arm. The latter bit is just waiting on my order from the Warstore to arrive . . . any day now. :)
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
And I'm back
Disappearing for months on end seems to be endemic to the blogging society, so I won't apologize for being gone so long. But after finishing school, spending a few months in DC, and starting a new job, I've finally settled back down somewhat and have picked my hobby back up again. I have a slew of projects awaiting me, particularly after splurging at GenCon 08, and this blog will continue to feature my progress on them.
Gone, however, will be the random and unrelated ramblings. I'm working on at least one other web presence which will be the home of these other interests and this page will be the home solely of my modeling and gaming projects.
The first project, once again, is my space marines. After not even making a start with the color scheme presented below, a 500 pt painting competition at my local GW store has prompted me to action once again. And, once again, I have a new scheme that has caught my interest. It should allow me to paint them relatively quickly and yet still look sharp on the table.
The working title for the chapter is the "Mithril Drakes" and the logo will be, obviously, a stylized dragon of some sort. For the 500 pt competition, I will be painting up a 5 man tactical squad, a 5 man sniper scout squad, a basic commander, and an ironclad dreadnought. Expect to see pics of these pieces shortly.
Gone, however, will be the random and unrelated ramblings. I'm working on at least one other web presence which will be the home of these other interests and this page will be the home solely of my modeling and gaming projects.
The first project, once again, is my space marines. After not even making a start with the color scheme presented below, a 500 pt painting competition at my local GW store has prompted me to action once again. And, once again, I have a new scheme that has caught my interest. It should allow me to paint them relatively quickly and yet still look sharp on the table.
The working title for the chapter is the "Mithril Drakes" and the logo will be, obviously, a stylized dragon of some sort. For the 500 pt competition, I will be painting up a 5 man tactical squad, a 5 man sniper scout squad, a basic commander, and an ironclad dreadnought. Expect to see pics of these pieces shortly.
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