Friday, September 25, 2009

i just ate 2 fantastic grilled cheeses

and during my little lunch break from painting im going to post some sweet info for those interested. (i told pete to check it)

new rules for warmachine. i think they are technically supposed to be going into effect in january (i think), however hordes mkii rules arent going to be ready at the same time..so who knows when/what is going to happen. for the time being the new rules are in pdf format and they are free. ill take it.

http://privateerpress.com/company/mkii-rules-and-model-info-available-for-pdf-download

forceplanner. ive tried a couple different programs that all seem to do the exact same thing. this one requires no download and is free.

http://www.forceplanner.com/warmachine.html

enjoy!

Saturday, September 12, 2009

just a little bit

i find that when i have a new model to paint, especially when its a model that i have had on my list of things to do for a while, that i am hesitant to start it. not because i dont want to, but because it can feel a little overwhelming. not as though im gonna have a panic attack, but that i feel like it is going to be so much work that i want to put it off.

this happened to me today and i just decided i would paint a little bit before i went to work. just a little...i painted the pants of one of my solos. chippin away at it you know? ill probably be putting finishing highlights on it before i know it!

also,

i put an advert on craigslist like a month ago in the wanted section saying that i wanted warmachine models, preferrably cygnar. lo' and behold i got a couple responses and ive picked up a bunch of stuff for wicked cheap. buddy bought this stuff that he never got around to painting/using and just wanted to get rid of it, and i raked it in for about 45-50% of retail price! its a deal, its a steal, its the sale fo the fucken century!

in other news,

i went to a games store that hosts game nights for all sorts of games, magic the gathering, warhammer, et cetera, and WARMACHINE AND HORDES! it was the warmachine game night and i saw a bunch of action. i did bring my battlegroup, but i didnt play any games. i was more interested in observing the play (seeing if ive been doing things right) and observing the players. although my crack team of scientists are still crunching the numbers, carrying the remainders and whatnot, im pretty sure that i will go back.

and then...

sweet pete and i also played a game together the other night and he seems to be pleased with the gameplay. so much so that he has buckled down and tackled the painting of his heavy 'jack, which he thinks will be completed in the next couple of days!

more updates to come!

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

rock 'em sock 'em robots

hello again. i was just basing one of my models and i thought "hey, i'll make a blog entry about it!".

when you put a lot of time into painting your models, you do so because you want them to look good. but how would your house look if you painted the walls really nicely but left the floors dirty, plain, or even with old paint on them? would it take away from the walls? surely. MINIATURE MODELS ARE EXACTLY THE SAME AS A HOUSE.

so here you go, this is how i make nice simple bases for my models.
(keep in mind that this is just how I do it, and there are surely several other different ways.)

1) complete the painting of your model, including ink washes. MAKE SURE EVERYTHING IS TOTALLY DRY! i learned the hard way that sand will stick to wet ink.

2) using an old brush paint the base with glue. if you want rocks or skulls or whatever do those first and let them dry in place, then put the rest of the glue on. try your best not to get any glue on anybodies feet or shoes, including your own i suppose.

3) sprinkle on your sand. i got mine from the beach. you could find yours beside the curb, buy it, grind up rocks....i dont care. dump off all the excess and let it dry completely. once again i learned this the hard way. if its not dry completely and you screw with it you will make bare patches in the sand. if you do this, you can just fix it in step 5.

4) my sand is really lightly colored so i just add an ink wash to it to color it and darken it up. gryphone sepia is nice and light and still looks like your minis are at the beach, and devlan mud is dark enough to like earth dirt. i use a mix of the two and water it down. once again...let this dry.
also....if i were going to go with painting and drybrushing to achieve specific colors i would do that in this step. (i cant argue with my minis...they like to fight on the beach.)

5) apply glue just like you did in step 2 to areas you want to have grass on. i use "static grass". sometimes i dry brush the grass to lighten or darken it up. you can use whatever you like for grass...flock, old brush bristles to create patches of long dead grass, et cetera.

6) paint black on the outer rim (for warmachine models) to clean up. done.


Sunday, September 6, 2009

Skarlock the Mamlock...

Yeah...X-Men reference...raising my nerd quotient even higher...lol! That's okay if you're a gamer and a comic book fan you're bound to have a nerd quotient of some kind...and who really gives a fuck!?! I love it....

As I reference in my last post, the painting is getting easier...I started my Skarlock today, it was really hard to pick out the color pallet but once I did it was all steam ahead.

Now he isn't finished yet but.....that's okay, he's painted enough that I could use him in a game and I think the detail on this model is as good or better then Denegrah...the difference is that it took me less than a day to get to were he is now...so practice makes perfect and that makes the game better.

Quick recap...I was crapping my pants about a month ago trying to figure out how I was going to finish my Helljack...nevermind my entire battle group! Now I say bring it on! I am having fun and getting really creative with my shadows and highlights...and that is before I have done the inkwashes....

Here is my Skarlock that I started this afternoon...I hope the picture does it justice because I absolutely love it!

My next post will be about the Khador battle group...I bought it for my 10 year old son, he has managed to maintain a high level of interest and engagement in the whole Warmachine game and the painting/building of the models....he is doing a really good job, for a 10 year old, and is about half done his first Khador Jack...awww what the hell...here are the pictures of that as well!

Happy gaming everyone!!!


Enter the Warwitch...

So I finally finished my battlegroup..YEAH!!! SWEET!!!

Actually I finished the last of the models 2 days ago but have been generally lazy about updating the blog. I have to say that the painting is getting a lot easier! Once you get a good feel for the range of the brush and develop the patience to do the details properly it doesn't take long to do an "adequate" job...to do the little extras that make you model look awesome do take longer but hey...not necessary right??

Anyway...I would like to post my finished Denegrah, I think she turned out well and to back up my claim I spent an entire day (on and off) painting and adjusting little details!

Without further ado...enter the Warwitch and her battle group....

Thursday, September 3, 2009

A Jack of Hell Trades...Part II

Hi all...

I know that it has been a while since the blog has been updated. Just to bring everyone up to speed Segrig and I went up to Uncle Wilbur's cottage for a 4 day getaway...to say that we overdid it would be an understatement. Having said that...we had a great time, lots of swimming in the lake and more importantly lots of GAMING!!!!

We finally got a chance to play Warmachine...I have to say I had model envy. Segrig had all his models built and painted while I only had 3 of 5 models completed. That, however, did not stop us from giving it a go!! I have to say I enjoyed playing the game a lot more than I thought I would!!! It is the perfect blend of magic, melee and strategy!

We also played liar's dice, poker and Settler's of Catan..just for fun we debated the definition of the word Fact for an entire afternoon while the rest of the cottage slept!

Getting back to the point of this post...I have finally finished my Helljack...yes the 12 piece monstrosity that I have talked about in previous posts! It was very satisfying to get it done and as my 10 year old son says..."its much more intimidating than a rock!"...the pictures will explain.

As for Warmachine, I would like to say that it is an awesome game and we, Segrig and I, will post more info as we play more often. For now take a look at the ghetto setup we had, the rock reference, and how the Helljack looks now!

Just to leave you with a question/thought...to maintain an upkeep spell does the initial target have to be within the command area? This came up because I cast an upkeep spell through my bonejack, arcnode, and then the bonejack got crushed...can I still pay the upkeep to keep the spell active?? Stay tuned for the answer or post a response!!

Happy Gaming Everyone!!

PS: I hate myself because I find the Party in the USA song catchy!!! In my own defense I have twin girls that are 5 years old that listen to the song all the time! but that is not an excuse...I deserve a punch in the balls, I just cant do it myself lol...it's a party in the USA!!!!