On my plate 4-27-11
-Necromunda: DONE WITH ORLOCKS, rest on hold for now.
-Epic 40,000: Bought Flames of War bases for all vehicles, and started painting the 4th company!
-Warmachine: Menoth starter box after Epic. ON HOLD.
-Azure Flames: Need to convert a stand in for Kor’Sarro Khan, and mod up a Chaplain on Bike. I also need to conceptualize an Honor Guard unit for Perseus. Status: ON HOLD. The Flames are complete enough for now.
-Orks: Need to complete painting all minis, possibly buy one more box of Boys but no more. Status: ON HOLD pending spring. I need warm temperatures outside to do dipping, as I cannot do it indoors due to cares.
-The Saratogan 58th: Need to build most of the minis and paint up at least 1500 points to start learning how to play Guard. Status: ON HOLD. Way too much on my plate to start an army from almost scratch.
Epic Test Model: 4th co. Command Squad
When I start a new painting job, I always do one model to completion first. Here’s my first Epic mini: a Tactical stand with Supreme Commander. The rest of the 4th company to follow!
Orlock Gang finished!
Orlocks finished! Check the Galley link to the right for these same picutres (and any future Necromunda pics) in a static gallery.
Next: EPIC.
On my plate: 4-21-11
-Necromunda: Almost done with Orlock gang, putting on hold afterwards in favor of…
-Epic 40,000: Thanks to Mini Art of War, I found out that Flames of War bases work perfectly for Epic vehicles. Gotta buy some, and start painting Epic Marines.
-Warmachine: After all that, Menoth starter box!
-Azure Flames: Need to convert a stand in for Kor’Sarro Khan, and mod up a Chaplain on Bike. I also need to conceptualize an Honor Guard unit for Perseus. Status: ON HOLD. The Flames are complete enough for now.
-Orks: Need to complete painting all minis, possibly buy one more box of Boys but no more. Status: ON HOLD pending spring. I need warm temperatures outside to do dipping, as I cannot do it indoors due to cares.
-The Saratogan 58th: Need to build most of the minis and paint up at least 1500 points to start learning how to play Guard. Status: ON HOLD. Way too much on my plate to start an army from almost scratch.
Finally able to join Mini Art of War!
The above shot of a ridiculously cool Chaos army is courtesy of Ogre44 of Mini art of war. There’s a new link off to the right. I’ve posted on this blog about them, but it’s time for a recap.
In February I was playing a game of Gothic against John. I met some Epic players who were very nice and directed me to the forums. Sadly the confirmation email system was broken and I couldn’t join. But now I’m registered and looking forward to getting some Epic games on!
…I need to get painting.
Blood Bowl Down Kroxigor Marker
In Blood Bowl, most teams get one large model. (Ogres get three) It’s a huge pain whenever this model gets knocked over, because they are so much taller than other models. It’s even worse for my Kroxigor, as he doesn’t like to lie on his back
Solution: a marker that replaces the Kroxigor when he’s knocked down. The Blood Bowl Kroxigor comes with 2 pewter heads. I puttied the head I didn’t use to a normal base, and painted it with the same scheme as the Kroxigor. Now keeping track of the Kroxigor is easy.
As a bonus, last game my Kroxigor levelled up for the 2nd time, and now knows Block AND Guard! Huzzah!
Focus on Faces
When you look at a mini, the first thing your eye is drawn to is the face (if it has one). Faces are the most important part of a paint job. A good face can make a mediocre paint job seem better, and a bad face can turn the most brilliantly shaded and dynamically lighted model into a strip-and-repaint job.
Even though it can be one of the hardest things to paint, I tend to paint the face first. That way if I completely ruin the miniature, I can start over from a strip quickly.
So, what makes a good face? Shading, detail, good eyes, and composition with the mini.
Shading
Most faces have detail, wrinkles, recessed areas, etc. Unless it’s something like The Blank from Dick Tracy.
Detail and shading here is quite easy. Start with a dark base and gently drybrush a lighter shade. Then, drybrush even more lightly an even lighter shade. This worked well in the below mini, whose face was Scorched Brown with a drybrush of Dark Flesh, and then a very very light drybrush of 50% Dark Flesh and 50% Bronzed Flesh.
You can also paint a medium shade, do an ink wash (light brown or chestnut) and then, if you need to, drybrush the original color over that. GW’s new line of washes make this easy. Scroll back to the top of this post. Daniel was done with Elf Flesh, then a wash of 50% of the old GW Chestnut Ink with 50% water plus a drop of dish soap. Then, Elf Flesh was drybrushed over that.
Detail
Faces usually have a lot of little things on them. Take this for example:
In addition to teh flesh and eyes, I’ve made sure to pick out the interior of the mouth with black and the teeth with white, to make a sharp contrast. I’ve also added a paler flesh color to the scar. Little details make the face more visually interesting. Compare that with this:
The Black Reach plastic Warboss is a great mini, and that tongue BEGS to be painted a nice brilliant pink or pale blue. Leaving it black look bad because it is big enough to see. There is also a lack of attention to the “good eye” on the Warboss’ right side (our left). The shading on the skin looks fine, but the lack of detail makes it look sloppy. If the face had been great, the less-than-perfect paint job on the rest of the mini would be less noticeable.
Good Eyes
The eyes are the windows to the soul, it was once said in the cheesy Fox television series Brimstone. Good eyes can make a mini come alive. Most eyes are too small for colored pupils, and so are usually black in the middle of a white eye. There are two ways to do this. Paint the eye white and put a dot of black in the middle, OR paint the eye black and put white on the outside. I usually do the former, but I’m told the latter is easier.
One tip for good eyes is to make sure the black dot of the eye touches both the top and bottom of the eye. Like this:
Piers above has a very relaxed feeling, as he’s balancing his hammer on his shoulder. His eyes reflect this. He’s not squinting, or wide-eyed. Contrast that with the sergeant on the left in this picture:
Notice the black dot is not touching the top or bottom of the eye. He looks wide-eyed, as if screaming with rage!
You can also have the dot off-center, to make the mini looking in a particular direction. Check out Epic Caine below:
The dot touches the top, but not the bottom. Because Caine’s head is tilted down, he looks like he is looking forward. If he had his head held high, he’d be looking up.
Composition
This means that the colors on the mini work together. Take this mini:
To do this, I mixed 75% Bronzed Flesh with 25% Sunburst Yellow. I then washed it and drybrushed over it, but that hint of yellow makes the skin fit in better with the yellow of the cape. This is a great tip for Space Wolves players. Add Space Wolves Grey to your initial flesh color to make the flesh and the armor seem to go together.
Faces make the model. Do it right.
100th post! A Victory! Ork collection complete!
For my 100th post, I’ll share some thoughts on the first strand: Modeling. One of the biggest parts is choosing your miniatures. The new pewter Ork Kommandos are hideous and I will not have them in my army, except for this model:
I’m not sure I like the Grot’s face, but that Nob is fantastic. Until now I haven’t figured out a way to get this specific model without buying the ugly ones. I just won this model (and no others) on ebay.
Now there is no spot in my Ork army that I feel is not filled. I had Loudmouf Sneakkilla as the upgrade-character nob but I always wanted a regular Nob with a power klaw. Now I’ll have one.
So what do I have for the Orks?
-HQ: Poindexta Smartyskull, Manik Upzindownz, Kajun Gogwurr, Dok Gillgivva, Big Mek with Shokk Attack Gun and Power Klaw, Big Mek with Kustom Force Field, Burna, and Attack Squig.
-Elites: 10 Nobs in Mega Armour, 16 regular Nobz with various weapons and WAAAAGH banner, 15 Lootas, 15 Burnas, Mek with Kustom Mega Blasta, 15 Kommandos with (just ordered) regular Nob and Loudmouf Sneakkilla. 10 Dedicated Nob Bikers with Dok.
-Troops: Loads of Shootas and Sluggas. 20 Grots and 2 Slavers. 4 Trukks.
-Fast Attack: 15 Stormboyz with Rukkstud ‘Andfoot, 10 warbikers with Nob, 3 Deffkoptas with Rokkits, 3 with buzzsaws
-Heavy Support: Fully Modular Battlewagon, fully modular looted chimera, fully modular Deffdread, 3 fully modular Killa Kans, and 8 Flash Gitz with Da Grand Baron Skippy von Peanut Butta.
New Image Gallery
In case you hadn’t noticed, up on the right there’s a new link: Image Galleries. Unfortunately only one is up right now, the Battlefleet Gothic gallery. Check it out.
http://fourstrandshobby.com/battlefleet-gothic-image-gallery/