17 - Fistfull of Script

With all my Adepticon projects done I had an open workbench for painting projects and excitement to start something new.  There are a bunch of models that I want to work on, but I thought I would start with painting up some models to represent the player characters in my Through the Breach campaign that I have been running.

I leaned heavily on the western tropes in the introductory session, and Malifaux definitely has a weird west feel to it.  I was trying to figure out what models to use.  Most of what I have lying around are too generic fantasy or to sci-fi.

I then remembered that a friend gave me some old western models a while ago when I was giving Warhammer Wild West a try.  I went through those and found a few that would work well.

I was looking for 2 models with long arms (rifles or shotguns) and one with a pistol.  I was hoping to get a katana on the one with the pistol but did not have one on hand (it can always be added later).

The models are nice a simple, they painted up fairly quickly.

In addition to painting the models I worked on a different project.  I made a small portable airbrush spray-booth.  I used some plywood, a small ventilation/cooling fan, and a furnace filter.  It feels like it has some decent airflow through the filter, I am looking forward to giving it a try.

Kevin

13 - Friendly Neighborhood Spiderman

And all my Adepticon projects are done!  I finished up Spiderman over the weekend.  He was actually the second Marvel model that I started to paint but be got bumped to the back burner.  The web patter was a bit time consuming.

Growing up Spiderman was my favorite superhero.  Part of it probably had to deal with the 90s Spiderman cartoon  and partly because my big brother was a Spiderman fan.

I have not kept up with the comics over the last 15 years (I have been reading predominantly Batman and others from the Bat-family).  Though I should start reading some Spiderman again soon, now were to start?

With all my Adepticon stuff done I am going to start looking at some more "for fun" projects and finishing up a few things I started but did not complete.  But first, it is time to give the hobby desk and room a little spring cleaning!

Kevin

12 - Oh Captains, My Captains

Even though we are social distancing, I am still on the road to Adepticon.   My goal is to finish my last project, a 25 point Avengers team for Marvel Crisis Protocol, by next Tuesday.  For the first time in several months I am really enjoying painting again.  I am looking forward to it each night and trying different things.  For my recent models I am trying to not over highlight as much (I know I am still doing it, adding a highlight where logically there should not be one), but I feel like it is getting better.

I was down to my final three models at the start of the week, Captain America, Captain Marvel and Spiderman.  I decided to work on Captain America first, he looked to be the most intricate and I also wanted to finish Winter Soldier's buddy.

I started by blocking out all the major contours.  I have started to do this step more often and I really do like it.  It helps me see some colour dynamics in addition to limit touch ups later on when apply the first coat of a colour.

I did his shield the same way as Ironman, but completely with a brush.  It would have probably looked better if I airbrushed it but it was already glued down and I did not trust my control with an airbrush yet to not over spray onto the rest of the model. I added a Tim Horton's cup to his base to add a bit of a Canadian twist.

With Captain America done, I moved onto the other Captain, Marvel.  She was relatively quick to paint.  I had done the base-coats of the red and blue last week.  I was then able to finish he off in two sittings.  I played around with some different colours for the blond hair and I am happy how it has turned out.  I used a combination of Citadel Balor Brown, with a Serphim Sepia wash.  Highlights were then done with Balor brown, Scale 75 Sahara Yellow and a final highlight of Scale 75 Tenera Yellow.

One model left, and it is my favorite hero of the bunch, Spiderman.

Kevin

10 - I had a Vision

Even though Adepticon had been cancelled this year, I am still going to try and finish my projects by the end of next week.  It is a grudge thing at this point.  I just have a few Marvel models left to paint up.

I worked on Vision this week.  It was a fun model to paint and allowed me to try out a different pallet then I was used too.  Lots of maroons, and lime greens.  I did some black-lining to show some division between the colours, and I think it gave it a pretty cool comic book look. 

I also took another go at the glowing effect, with his leg phasing through the wall.  I tried highlighting it more, going up to an almost white at points. 

3 more good guys left to paint for the goal, the Captains and a Spider.

Kevin

9 - Back on the Horse

It has been another long break from the blog, and painting for the mater.  I have had a difficult time since October sitting down to paint.  Call it painters block if you will.  After I finished up my Justice League Dark last fall, I started to work on my first ever large size bust.  This was supposed to be Christmas present for a friend.  It was a new medium, and I was trying out some new techniques and styles.  Some parts I really liked and seemed to click, while others were frustrating.  It took a lot longer then I expected and I burned out a little trying to get it done (which I still have yet to do, as soon as I am back from Adepticon!).

That is the thing with trying out something new.  You may not be great at it right away.  It will take some trial and error.  But most importantly, you have to give yourself time to practice it.  I tend to get discouraged if I don't get something quickly (especially if I feel that I don't understand the concepts).  I am trying to relax a bit more, and let myself make errors.  Finish the model and move on to the next and keep trying and experimenting. 

The other hurtle I experienced was the sleep regression of my daughter.  I love my daughter, and our bedtime routine.  We cuddle and read some books, then sing some songs.  But when we changed her bed from a crib to a toddler bed, bedtime became a bit of a struggle.  Some nights bedtime would take and hour and half.  By the end of it, I was physically and emotionally drained.  I could not fathom picking up a brush during those times.  Which in itself was depressing, because I always painted to relax.  But then combining this with the above mentioned self loathing at my skill level, it did not create a good creative environment. 

Luckily, my daughters sleep routine is much better.  I have also made a conscience effort to not be as hard on myself (Hobby wise at least).  So it has been a productive couple weeks, as I rush to get things ready for Adepticon. 

I made a new dicebox/display board for my crew for the Batman tournament.  I also made another box for my Malifaux Death Marshals for the Henchman Hardcore.

Last up was to paint some Marvel models.  I did a quick "one sitting" paint up of Black Widow.  I really like her in the game, but I really do not like this model.  But it was simple and a good entry point to start.

I then wanted to try something new.  I set up my airbrush and painted up Ironman.  I did a basecoat of Scale75 Black metal and then did a zenithal highlight with Heavy metal.  Afterwards I sprayed Citadel Spiritstone Red over the whole model to give it the candy red look.  I then picked out some silver and gold and tried to paint the glowing effect.  This felt good.  I was trying new things, it was not perfect (the candy red coat is really streaky and I still don't like how I paint gold), but I powered through and I am very happy with the results.  I think I have learned new things for the next time I try the glowing effect or the candy red too.

I also finished painting the Winter Soldier.  This was a great example of just pushing though and finishing a model.  I was not liking how he was turning out as I was painting him.  I was try out some Citadel contrast paints over a white/black zenithal.  The model was looking very flat and plain (he is a soldier, he is mostly, grey, black and metal).  But once I painted the face/hair and the arm, I started to get excited about it again.  I got a second wind, fixed up a few things, added some more details.  It is one of my favorite things I have painted in a while now. 

Up next is Vison and some more of the Avengers!     

Kevin