Tuesday, March 29, 2011
Haven't Posted Since When?!?
Wow... It HAS been a long time since I've posted here. Ouch. I really need to work on that. I've been very busy with going back to school to get my degree, so I haven't felt as if I had a lot of relevant stuff to post regarding miniatures. There's always more homework than I feel that I have a lot of time to complete, but I have been trying to work on a few minis here and there. Not so much that is of earth-shattering brilliance, but a few works to keep metal and plastic people, in various states of prep/prime/painted-ness, scattered across my workbench at all times.
It is apparent that Games Day Chicago will be happening again this year, after a brief vacation from the Windy City, and GenCon Indy will also be arriving soon. I hope to be able to attend both of those events, and perhaps have an entry or two worthy of some slight notoriety from the judges. I'll just have to see how things work out in those regards. I'm slightly disappointed that I won't be able to make it to Adepticon this year, and participate in the first ever Crystal Brush competition. Unfortunately, there was a conflicting event on the schedule, and I had already agreed to it before I had noted the date of Adepticon on the calendar. Ah well, perhaps next year... That would also give me some additional time to prepare a few entries that might be worthy of the awesome competition present there at Adepticon.
So-- How are YOU GUYS doing? ;-)
Kent
It is apparent that Games Day Chicago will be happening again this year, after a brief vacation from the Windy City, and GenCon Indy will also be arriving soon. I hope to be able to attend both of those events, and perhaps have an entry or two worthy of some slight notoriety from the judges. I'll just have to see how things work out in those regards. I'm slightly disappointed that I won't be able to make it to Adepticon this year, and participate in the first ever Crystal Brush competition. Unfortunately, there was a conflicting event on the schedule, and I had already agreed to it before I had noted the date of Adepticon on the calendar. Ah well, perhaps next year... That would also give me some additional time to prepare a few entries that might be worthy of the awesome competition present there at Adepticon.
So-- How are YOU GUYS doing? ;-)
Kent
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Halloween!
Here's my recent entry into Reaper's Halloween Painting Contest, up on their forums.
For a bit of shameless self-promotion, I encourage my friends to go out to the forums and vote for their favorite piece. (I won't lie, I hope that MINE is their favorite.)
This particular mini is Reaper mini #02869 Elise the Witch, sculpted by the exceptionally talented Werner Klocke. A really fun figure to paint, as I feel that it basically has two characters in one small form, Elise and the jack-o-lantern on which she is perched. Very simple in its execution, the figure left a lot of places for me to embellish with my own style. It took a little bit of work to figure out that the clumps of material at her base were leaves, but when I looked very closely, I could actually distinguish each individual leaf in the small piles around the base! This year, in Reaper's Painting Competition on their forums, Elise is a VERY popular figure. It's no wonder that it's so popular, as it is an absolutely beautiful sculpt.
I'll update this post later when they have the voting available.
Friday, September 11, 2009
Okay, I'm starting to look at my WH40K army again...
It seems that there are mulitple forces in the universe pushing me towards actually playing the 5th edition of Warhammer 40,000. (What?!? You mean there's a GAME to go with all of these figures??? Brilliant!) This post on Games Workshop's blog is just a bit more compelling to me. Amongst the blog pics, there is this low-res pic of the new Space Wolves sprue that I have been eagerly anticipating.
Of course, this get me a bit more inspired to dust off my old Space Wolves and get more units painted up! I just hope there's a minimal duplication of the items that were present on the previous Space Wolves sprue. I have enough of those older sprues sitting around that I can cull pieces/parts from those, but I want to be able to combine them with NEW components.
Of course, this get me a bit more inspired to dust off my old Space Wolves and get more units painted up! I just hope there's a minimal duplication of the items that were present on the previous Space Wolves sprue. I have enough of those older sprues sitting around that I can cull pieces/parts from those, but I want to be able to combine them with NEW components.
Labels: WH40k
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
A couple of quotes from my regular gaming group
"It's not broken-- It's a conversion."
"It's not badly glued, it's jointed."
"It's not badly glued, it's jointed."
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
GF9 Magnetic Basing System Review
A while back, I purchased a bag of GF9 Magnetic Basing System, specifically 25mm Round bases w/ insert, item number GF9 04125. Gale Force 9 also produces a similar product for square bases of various sizes. These are discs of plastic and a magnetic rubber component, glued together prior to being laser cut, accompanied by a flexible sheet to which the magnets will ahere. As I was at GenCon, I saw their demonstration of the magnet strength holding a Games Workshop plastic Ogre to the wall of their display booth. Not bad for a magnet of that size, but I wondered about the strength as appropriate for a 25mm base holding a 25-30mm metal model.
First notes-- The instruction sheet specifically mentions the use of cyanocrylate glue (superglue), and discourage the use of PVA glue. It specifically says that PVA glue will eventually peel away from the textured plastic of the topside of these bases. Ouch. That kinda sucks, as I usually use a PVA glue to attach preliminary coats of sand and gravel to the base. Perhaps if I give the top of the base a thin coat of Super Glue (not the gel I normally use for attaching components), then let it dry, that dried surface might provide more tooth for the PVA to attach to...
Secondly, the difference between the basing material and the magnetic material is pretty apparent by the touch and texture. It looks and feels almost as if it were an actual sandwich. There is the matter of the resolution of the laser cut circles. On my batch, the circles were not as smooth as I would have liked. In order to fix these issues, I first tried filing the edge of a base, but the difference in material consistency made it a bit difficult to get a smooth edge. I then covered the offending edge with a layer of Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty, which I was later able to sand, file and smooth the finish to something I found more acceptable. I hope that this is a more permanent solution as well.
The problem with this is the fact that I would normally buy these bases with the intent of saving time. By the time I go through such measures to fix the appearance flaws, I've spent more time on each base than if i were to stick a magnet in the bottom of a GW base... These might be ideal basing solutions for some gamers that want to hold their minis to a metal component or affix the included flexible ferrous sheet piece to a movement tray, but sadly, I don't think these will work well for me. IMHO, it's a good idea, but the execution is somewhat lacking. This is a big disappointment to me, but I'd give these a D rating if I were into that type of system with my reviews. I think this is the first product that I'd give such a rating. :-(
First notes-- The instruction sheet specifically mentions the use of cyanocrylate glue (superglue), and discourage the use of PVA glue. It specifically says that PVA glue will eventually peel away from the textured plastic of the topside of these bases. Ouch. That kinda sucks, as I usually use a PVA glue to attach preliminary coats of sand and gravel to the base. Perhaps if I give the top of the base a thin coat of Super Glue (not the gel I normally use for attaching components), then let it dry, that dried surface might provide more tooth for the PVA to attach to...
Secondly, the difference between the basing material and the magnetic material is pretty apparent by the touch and texture. It looks and feels almost as if it were an actual sandwich. There is the matter of the resolution of the laser cut circles. On my batch, the circles were not as smooth as I would have liked. In order to fix these issues, I first tried filing the edge of a base, but the difference in material consistency made it a bit difficult to get a smooth edge. I then covered the offending edge with a layer of Bondo Glazing and Spot Putty, which I was later able to sand, file and smooth the finish to something I found more acceptable. I hope that this is a more permanent solution as well.
The problem with this is the fact that I would normally buy these bases with the intent of saving time. By the time I go through such measures to fix the appearance flaws, I've spent more time on each base than if i were to stick a magnet in the bottom of a GW base... These might be ideal basing solutions for some gamers that want to hold their minis to a metal component or affix the included flexible ferrous sheet piece to a movement tray, but sadly, I don't think these will work well for me. IMHO, it's a good idea, but the execution is somewhat lacking. This is a big disappointment to me, but I'd give these a D rating if I were into that type of system with my reviews. I think this is the first product that I'd give such a rating. :-(
Labels: product reviews
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Games Day '08
Back from Games Day Chicago this year. I had a lot of fun, hanging out with Team North America, along with sharing the space with Team Montreal. I slaved long and hard painting on stuff prior to the event, only to get a single entry completed. Boromir turned out okay, but there are still a few things that I might have done differently with the figure. At least he made the first cut, so that's a good sign in a category that packed with excellent entries.
Now I'm looking at clearing off the paint desk to make room for new projects, and maybe actually complete a few old projects too. I'm scouring through bottles of paint, many of the GW versions are worthless and dried-up. Many of these even have the re-designed bottle lids with the flip-top caps. They suck. I think GW has improved with the bottles for the new Foundation line of paints and the new Citadel Washes, but I'm not going to spend another dime on the older paint pots if I can help it. I feel like it's just throwing that money away. I'll spend my paint money on Reaper Master Series.
Now I'm looking at clearing off the paint desk to make room for new projects, and maybe actually complete a few old projects too. I'm scouring through bottles of paint, many of the GW versions are worthless and dried-up. Many of these even have the re-designed bottle lids with the flip-top caps. They suck. I think GW has improved with the bottles for the new Foundation line of paints and the new Citadel Washes, but I'm not going to spend another dime on the older paint pots if I can help it. I feel like it's just throwing that money away. I'll spend my paint money on Reaper Master Series.
Labels: Games Day
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Reaper Chronoscope Minis
Happy birthday to me! All right, my birthday was a couple of weeks ago... For my birthday, I decided to gift myself with Gale Force 9's 12 piece sculpting set. A very nice kit that includes several tools that have already proven useful in my sculpting endeavors, as I had to try them out right away. Good, well-made tools with a nice little carry case, with 2 extra slots in the carry case for other tools. (Although I already have more than enough sculpting tools in my arsenal to fill the extra slots...) I hope I can manage to keep these tools from walking off from my desktop in the future! I may need to figure out a quick way to mark them as mine.
It should be noted that my regular Thursday evening game group bought me, as a birthday present, a set of GF9's diamond files, with which to clean minis. These are excellent files and I really enjoy them. Although the files are small, they remove material from minis very quickly! I'm surprised! Thanks Jay and Dawn!
While at the FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store), I also noticed a few blisters of the new Chronoscope minis from Reaper. This is Reaper's new line of figures that will encompass all sorts of genre's, including sci-fi, steampunk, historical and basically anything that doesn't fit into their "fantasy" or Warlord lines. As with the Warlord minis, these are tabbed to allow for fitting on round slotted bases, with which these figures are packaged. The bases seem to be a generic round slotted base, but I hope this means that Reaper are considering making the round variant of their plastic bases, as per their 1" square Warlord bases with the small lip around the edge. Of the new line, I managed to snag the mascot "time chaser" of the line and an Indiana Jones-styled adventurer.
Sasha DuBois, time chaser, was sculpted by the wonderful talents of Julie Guthrie and Bob Ridolfi as a single piece mini. She's holding a pocketwatch (perhaps it is actually a "chronoscope"?) and wearing a waistcoat. Unsurprisingly, this is a beautiful sculpt to start the line off with! Because of that, there isn't much more to be said about the figure. I can't wait to actually take the time to paint her.
The second of these minis, Jack 'Dodge' Harrison, is a multi-part figure that includes a choice of 3 different heads and 4 separate arms (2 left, 2 right) holding a variety of weapons. This is a great precedent for this new line! Of the arms, there are two holding pistols, one holding a whip and one holding a machete/sword. I'm slightly disappointed with the whip, as it seems a bit thick for scale. Well sculpted and fairly accurate, but a bit thick compared to the rest of the miniature. Jack was sculpted by Gene Van Horne, and the 3 heads include a variant wearing a fedora meaning that this figure can easily be transformed into everybody's favorite 1940's archaeologist. The other heads include one that has a buzz-cut hairstyle smoking a cigar, and another wearing a pilot's cap. As I recently completed a figure of Dr. Henry Jones Jr., I think my version of "Jack" is likely to undergo a slight bit of conversion, as I have another hero in mind, using the pilot's cap head and possibly a one-eyed dog on the base. (Bonus points to anybody who gets the reference prior to the figure being completed!) I could nitpick about a few details of this, but I think I'll just let that rest for now.
These two figures make me want to go out and get the rest of the Chronoscope line. Already, these minis are tempting me to put down other projects in the works, so that I can put paint on these! I will persevere and work to complete other figures though, with looming deadlines approaching. Still, it makes me think about other purposes that might be met by an adventurer and a time chaser... Hmm....
It should be noted that my regular Thursday evening game group bought me, as a birthday present, a set of GF9's diamond files, with which to clean minis. These are excellent files and I really enjoy them. Although the files are small, they remove material from minis very quickly! I'm surprised! Thanks Jay and Dawn!
While at the FLGS (Friendly Local Gaming Store), I also noticed a few blisters of the new Chronoscope minis from Reaper. This is Reaper's new line of figures that will encompass all sorts of genre's, including sci-fi, steampunk, historical and basically anything that doesn't fit into their "fantasy" or Warlord lines. As with the Warlord minis, these are tabbed to allow for fitting on round slotted bases, with which these figures are packaged. The bases seem to be a generic round slotted base, but I hope this means that Reaper are considering making the round variant of their plastic bases, as per their 1" square Warlord bases with the small lip around the edge. Of the new line, I managed to snag the mascot "time chaser" of the line and an Indiana Jones-styled adventurer.
Sasha DuBois, time chaser, was sculpted by the wonderful talents of Julie Guthrie and Bob Ridolfi as a single piece mini. She's holding a pocketwatch (perhaps it is actually a "chronoscope"?) and wearing a waistcoat. Unsurprisingly, this is a beautiful sculpt to start the line off with! Because of that, there isn't much more to be said about the figure. I can't wait to actually take the time to paint her.
The second of these minis, Jack 'Dodge' Harrison, is a multi-part figure that includes a choice of 3 different heads and 4 separate arms (2 left, 2 right) holding a variety of weapons. This is a great precedent for this new line! Of the arms, there are two holding pistols, one holding a whip and one holding a machete/sword. I'm slightly disappointed with the whip, as it seems a bit thick for scale. Well sculpted and fairly accurate, but a bit thick compared to the rest of the miniature. Jack was sculpted by Gene Van Horne, and the 3 heads include a variant wearing a fedora meaning that this figure can easily be transformed into everybody's favorite 1940's archaeologist. The other heads include one that has a buzz-cut hairstyle smoking a cigar, and another wearing a pilot's cap. As I recently completed a figure of Dr. Henry Jones Jr., I think my version of "Jack" is likely to undergo a slight bit of conversion, as I have another hero in mind, using the pilot's cap head and possibly a one-eyed dog on the base. (Bonus points to anybody who gets the reference prior to the figure being completed!) I could nitpick about a few details of this, but I think I'll just let that rest for now.
These two figures make me want to go out and get the rest of the Chronoscope line. Already, these minis are tempting me to put down other projects in the works, so that I can put paint on these! I will persevere and work to complete other figures though, with looming deadlines approaching. Still, it makes me think about other purposes that might be met by an adventurer and a time chaser... Hmm....
Labels: product reviews
