Weekly Workbench 24 July 2017

Finally back at it with the motivation from Historicon.  Decently busy this week, though the project that sucked up the majority of my day on Saturday was building a storage shelf to hold all my work in progress as I tend to have many different projects going at the same time.  Remember to click on the pictures for a bigger view.

Historical:

I completed the mortar team, but forgot to take a picture before bringing it into work so at some point I will have to bring it home and get a photo.  During the long break in between posts though I have been working on building a Normandy beach invasion scene using Battlefront's Flames of War 15mm miniatures.

The scene will include numerous beach obstacles, water for the landing craft to be floating in, and the shingle, sea wall, and concertina wire at the top beyond what you see here.  The miniatures include the LCVP from Old Glory Miniatures, an M4 Sherman DD tank from Battlefront, and a P38 Lightning aircraft (the only Allied aircraft not brought down by friendly fire participating in Operation Overlord). The infantry is from the 29th Infantry Division Assault Company box, which is no longer produced and I picked up from the Game Vault shortly before they closed their doors.  This is my first time painting 15mm which has definitely been a challenge!

I have begun work on my Norse Traders Shop from 4Ground for my SAGA game play.  I love working with the MDF but some of the parts are really delicate and you have to be careful when sliding things together.

I have also started putting together my plastic vikings, here are five bondi who can also double as thugs for Frostgrave, who have been glued and primed (today the humidity finally dropped just below 50% so I could prime the figures I had ready).

Sci-Fi:

No work on any Sci-Fi games this week but I am busy ready the first Beyond the Gates of Antares Anthology - Beyond Antares: Open Signal that I picked up at Historicon.  I will be getting back to my Boromites shortly.

Fantasy:

I tried to convert my Fell Wargs into winter wargs (so that I could share them between Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game and Frostgrave) with not much success as the black is too strong so I will likely strip them and re-prime them in a lighter color.

For Frostgrave I primed my Ice Giant, a gnoll, treasure tokens, and the wizard & apprentices for Young Elementalist, Sigalist, Thaumaturge, Chronomancer, Barbarian Wizard, and Enchanter (L2R, T2B).  The kids will now have a fairly decent choice to pick their own wizard (war bands may have to shared for a while).

I also found a really cool looking runic golem to use as a large construct monster (or golem) from Alternate Armies I would like to get at some point.

I also primed (need a couple of touch ups) all the wall segments I purchased from Stonehouse Miniatures and as soon as we get to Hobby Lobby for some craft paint they will be finished.

To close you out, as I never showed the final product, is my miniature I had custom made by Hero Forge.

Make sure to stop by next week for another update and check out the mid-week tutorial on painting Oin from Thorin's Company!

*All paints and washes are The Army Painter unless otherwise indicated.

Weekly Workbench 26 March 2017

Still not getting as much time as I would like painting each week, kids keeping me busy.  I did manage to get some stuff done and even used some new products.  After watching Next Level Painting's YouTube episode The Best Hobby Products, I purchased a couple of the ones he talked about, or variations thereof.  I picked up Vallejo Brown Earth Texture (26.219), Grey Sand Ground Texture (26.215), and Black Surface Primer (73.602).

New basing supplies!

Historical:

Our mortar team starts digging into the clay mud!

I finished painting Warlord Games' Bolt Action 60mm Medium Mortar Team.  I only used one new color, True Copper for the buttons, sticking with Oak Brown for wood, Leather Brown for leather, and Gun Metal and Black for steel.  I did use the Military Shader wash on the uniform which is lighter than the Green Tone I have used before.  I also used the Mid Brown wash on the rest, and as I found out on the Boromites, it places a red-brown wash over the model.  In this case that was nice, as many of the islands the Marine's fought on during WWII had a red clay soil.  Once all this painting was completed I glued them to the base and added the Vallejo Brown Earth Texture (26.219).  Tomorrow I will finish the basing once the Brown Earth dries completely.

Sci-Fi:

Boromites still figuring out cammo.

For the Warlord Games' Beyond the Gates of Antares Boromites I washed one miniature with Soft Tone and another with Mid Brown.  Neither came out with the dark crevasses I wanted.  Instead, both left the grey relatively untouched and the Mid Brown wash left an additional reddish hue on the equipment.  I think I will have to use a Dark Tone to get the effect I desire.  I also highlighted the skin with Dragon Red to brighten the purplish Vampire Red.

Fantasy:

Wargs on the prowl.

This week I began on Games Workshop's Fell Wargs.  So far I have only gotten to dry brushing the Black base coat with Werewolf Fur and will need at least one or two more fur colors to help bring out longer fur.  In addition I will be painting their fangs, starting with Drake Tooth.

Make sure to stop by next week for another update and check out the mid-week tutorial on painting Ori from Thorin's Company!

*All paints and washes are The Army Painter unless otherwise indicated.

Weekly Workbench 19 March 2017

Not a lot of painting this week but managed to get some done in each genre as well as some organizing done at the desk.  The organization came about with the help of IronHeart Artisans.  With my birthday check from my in-laws I decided on some paint storage options.  I was very happy with their service, I placed an order after hours and 32 minutes after they opened the next morning the package was waiting for mail man to pick it up.  That was on the 16th and I had the package on the 18th.  The pieces went together very easily and with no issues whatsoever.  I cannot recommend them highly enough!  In order to accommodate all the new paint I chose three different products in order to fit around my work space.

IronHeart Artisans' Inverted 72 Dropper Bottle Paint Rack

The largest is the Inverted 72 Dropper Bottle Paint Rack, with six rows of twelve.  This holds the majority of my paint off the desk on the drawers to my right.  This holds my Grays, Blues, Greens, Browns, Yellows, and Whites.

IronHeart Artisans' Inverted 48 Dropper Bottle Paint Rack

The next is the smaller Inverted 48 Dropper Bottle Paint Rack, with four rows of twelve. This fits nicely under the left of my main monitor.  It holds the Reds, Purples & Pinks, Flesh Tones, Metallics, and the nine Effects paints.

IronHeart Artisans' 4 Tier Stepped Paint Rack

The last item was the 4 Tier Stepped Paint Rack, Each tier will hold fifteen standard dropper bottles or ten 10ml Tamiya Color paint bottles. The top tier also has ten spots for paint brushes if you are using ones with small round handles like ProArte.  I placed it under the right side of my main monitor.  This rack holds my eleven ink tones, my Vallejo paints, my Tamiya paints, and some of my glues (the Tamiya Cement hexagon bottle does not fit).

Newly organized work-space thanks to IronHeart Artisans!

This organization is nice, though with all the paint out and accessible I had to get rid of the cup holding my paint brushes and instead placed them laying down in the 100 Yen Daiso container on the left side of my desk.  Now on to the miniatures!

Historical:

Almost ready to launch some fire support!

I continued work on Warlord Games' Bolt Action 60mm Medium Mortar Team. I highlighted the flesh with Elven Flesh and then washed it down with the Flesh Wash.  I went over their web gear with Troll Claws and gaiters with Hemp Rope.  I am looking forward to finishing the painting tomorrow and see how new colors look once washed.

Sci-Fi:

Boromites on the move.

I did not touch the Warlord Games' Beyond the Gates of Antares Ghar Assault Squad member this week and instead focused on my Boromites. Having re-primed them in grey I chose to dry brush them with Vampire Blood and then paint their equipment with Sulfide Ochre.  Next I will wash it all down and then highlight the gear with Phoenix Flames.  Next time I do these though I will make sure not to hit most of the equipment with the red as it takes multiple coats of yellow to cover enough up to proceed to the next step.

Fantasy:

What has it gots in its pockets my Precioussss?

I finished the majority of the painting for Games Workshop's Gollum, just need to do some touch-ups and edge the base.  First I washed the skin with Flesh Wash.  Next the hair was done with Necromancer Cloak, and the eyes with Hardened Carapace. His loin cloth was painted with Leather Brown.  For the stone I painted Hardened Carapace over the grey base and then highlighted with Dark Stone.

3 sided plyo-box, 20 x 24 x 30 inches.

Lastly, for the great group of guys on Tabletop Commanders Forum's Saturday Paint and Chat, here is the plyo-box I was working on during that session.  See you guys next week and do not forget to check out the tutorial on painting Nori this Tuesday!

Weekly Workbench 12 March 2017

So despite being on leave all week, which one would think would lead to tons of opportunities to paint miniatures I got almost zero painting done until today.  Between building a new lifting platform for the garage gym, spending time with the kids, Cub Scout Pinewood Derby, and starting a new college class I was pretty busy.  I do have a couple of miniature related items though.

Thank You Mom!

Today was my birthday and my wonderful mother kindly gifted me The Army Painter's Veteran Warpainters Upgrade Set! The set includes 82 dropper bottles to include 3 more metallic paints, 4 more washes, and 7 more effects (ranging from primer, to mixing mediums, to Wet Mud, Glistening Blood, and Dry Rust), and a ton new shades of color!

Brushes!

As you can see set came with the Most Wanted Brush Set (The Regiment Brush at about #1, the Insane Detail at a 5/0 or 10/0, and a small dry brush), as well as their Masterclass Brush with Kolinsky Sable hair at 2/0.

Thank You!

 A nice little thank you note was included as well.

All the colors!

Lastly were the 13 boxes of 6 dropper bottles and a 14th with 4 dropper bottles of paint.  I will spare you going through all the different colors in detail but there are a lot more shades which means a lot less mixing on my part!  This will save both time and money in wasted paint!  This evening I did get a chance to break some of them out and try some new ideas.

Nicely laid out.

Historical:

Back to Warlord Games' Bolt Action 60mm Medium Mortar Team I used the new Combat Fatigues color to paint over the uniform of one of the Marines.  I think this looks much more realistic and weather beaten than the standard Army Green I have used in the past.  The Army Green Primer will not go to waste though as it makes a nice undercoat and base for the Combat Fatigues and removes a step in the painting process. In the picture below, the mortar tube, webbing, and gaiters are still in Army Green while the uniform has been painted with Combat Fatigues.

No longer a boot, this Marine has seen some time in the tropics!

Sci-Fi:

With all the new blues received I tried out two of the new colors for use as highlights on Warlord Games' Beyond the Gates of Antares Ghar Assault Squad member.  The lighter shade is Voidshield Blue and the darker color is Viking Blue.  I am leaning towards the Viking Blue but am interested in what you all think.  The lines were really rough here as my grip was shot from my workout and my hands would not stop shaking.  Good thing this is the test model I will likely repaint once I am set on a color scheme!

Voidshield Blue or Viking Blue?

Fantasy:

I think I found a good pale flesh color that would have worked well for my goblins.  Instead I am going to use Drake Tooth with one of the new washes (Flesh Wash or Light Tone) for Games Workshop's Gollum.  Here he is painted in just the Drake Tooth.

What is it my Preciousss?!?

That's it for this week, not a lot of accomplished but plenty of new possibilities!  Now to figure out just where to store all the new paint bottles!   See you Tuesday for the tutorial on painting Dori!

Weekly Workbench 5 March 2017

So not a lot of work done this week.  I pulled one of my traps and it was actually quite painful to hold my brush up to paint, even with resting my elbow on the desk.  That was Tuesday and it is still bothering me so we will see how this week goes.

Historical:

This week I simply finished basing the 12 Bolt Action US Marines I had already painted.  I had initially thought about repainting portions of them but then realized the miniatures were fine for tabletop standard and that is what they were meant for.  For the basing I used Warlord's Battlefields & Basing Summer Grass and some of The Army Painter's Battlefield Jungle Tufts.  I left a decent amount of sand visible on a number of miniatures to show them transitioning from the beach to inland areas.

Sci-Fi:

More work on the Ghar battle-suit for Beyond the Gates of Antares.  I used The Army Painter Gun Metal mixed with Matt Black for the cables and then Gun Metal with a Red Tone wash for all the power nodes and optics on their suit.  I am almost done with the color scheme but need to rethink the highlights and still have some grey primer left.  There is not enough difference with the blues so I might go a lighter shade, go with a red, or just use black, any suggestions?

Fantasy:

I finished basing Gandalf for Games Workshops Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game (eventually they will update their website with the new name).  I used Warlord's Battlefields & Basing Patchy Grass and Patchy Tufts.

I also finished painting and basing Radagast.  I found two spiders while painting the base.  I initially thought they were rock outcroppings, weird fungus, or the end of a log until I painted them grey.  I used Warlord's Battlefields & Basing Autumn Grass to show the grass starting to die from the corruption as Radagast flees Rhosgobel.

Lastly, I designed and ordered a miniature from Hero Forge Custom Miniatures.  This is a company that utilizes 3-D printing to make individual miniatures custom ordered.  They have a large and expanding inventory of poses, weapons, armor, genres, clothes, mounts, etc. to make your miniature truly unique.  They have three scales (30mm, 2x, and 4x) and four materials (Premium Plastic, Nylon Plastic, Steel, and Bronze) to chose from.  They are a bit pricey per miniature, especially if you venture outside the plastics and steel at the 30mm range, but nowhere else can you custom design a one off miniature.  I got the premium plastic 30mm and am looking forward to his arrival in 2 - 4 weeks so I can do a review after painting.

Thanks for the visit, leave some comments, and I will see you all on Tuesday for Fili's Tutorial!

Weekly Workbench 26 Feb 2017

So this week I came up with a weekly schedule for myself to help both focus and diversify my work to keep from burn out.  Monday is to work on my historical armies, primarily Bolt Action and soon Test of Honor miniatures when they come out; Tuesday I publish the tutorial posts as I have Cub Scouts that night as well; Wednesday I work on Sci/Fi with a focus on Beyond the Gates of Antares and Doctor Who: Into the Time Vortex; Thursdays is a wash due to other commitments; Friday I delve into Fantasy with a heavy focus on The Hobbit/Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game.  As I usually only have 60 to 90 minutes a night I devout to painting/building the weekend allows me to hit bigger projects or finish things up as I see fit.

Bolt Action:

Monday I dug out my Bolt Action army case and pulled out a Browning .30cal Machine Gun Team Firing and a 60mm Light Mortar Team.  Already primed in Army Painter Army Green Color Primer I did the flesh and eyes.

Bolt Action USMC .30cal MG Team and Medium Mortar Teams

Today, I pulled out some of the figures I had mostly completed about nine months ago and started to base them.  The terrain is done, I will be adding flock and paint as needed next now that the Okinawa sand is sealed.  As happy as I was with these figures I have seen some improvement in my skill and definitely would like to update these, though they are perfectly great for tabletop standard.  I will probably do some highlight on the skin to lighten them up some.

Bolt Action USMC various

Beyond the Gates of Antares:

Ghar Assault Squad member front

Wednesday, I initially broke out my Boromite Work Gang and Boromite Gang Fighters but realized the base coat/primer of The Army Painter Skeleton Bone was too light for the scheme I was now looking to do.  So they went into the jars of Simple Green and I started work on a single Ghar Assault Squad member to figure out a color scheme, settling on Blue and Black.

Ghar Assault Squad member rear

Saturday, I pulled out the Boromites and scrubbed them down, first with an old toothbrush and then with a wire brush wheel on my Dremel. I then proceeded to glue heads back on bodies and bodies onto bases with some Gorilla Super Glue.

Boromite Gang Fighters

Today, I took them outside and primed them with Testor's Model Master Grey Primer.

Boromite Work Gang

Middle Earth Strategy Battle Game:

Radagast front

Friday, I worked some on Radagast and almost completed him today.  I just have some touch ups on the model and finish the hedgehog, staff head, and base.  I think he is coming along nicely, though I do not enjoy the scenic base as much as it is a pain to get to all the parts to paint.

Radagast rear

Today, I added the sand to Gandalf's figure and will likely add the flock when I do the Bolt Action figures as well.

Gandalf

Also today, I primed Gollum, who, while not part of the Escape from Goblin Town set, will be added to the end of the tutorials as you cannot have Goblin Town without Gollum.  The stinker did not take the primer well though and I will have to go back for a second light coat.

Gollum

Lots of different things going on in each genre this week.  I would guess in about two weeks everything will be settled down and I will hopefully be getting single models completed each week or majority portions of a squad size units completed each week.  Hope you enjoyed and remember to click on the pictures for a larger view.  See you Tuesday for Kili's tutorial and feel free to leave some comments.