21 - Laying the Foundations

I pivoted a bit this week after working on those larger busts.  I started work on another larger scale figure and broke out the airbrush for it.  I am not great with my airbrush yet.  I am still getting used to the proper mixing ratios and brush control.  So I figured that since I had the airbrush out I might as well practice on something even larger. 

I had some Wild West Exodus terrain that I had primed up, so I picked out one of the buildings.  I really love the terrain from Warcradle,  It is a great combination of classic western with a modern/sci-fi twist.  I also like that the buildings roofs are removable and the interiors are partially finished. 

I chose the Jail to work on.  I grabbed some random browns (mainly older browns that I don't usually use, so if I mess up I don't mind wasting them), and just started to play around with the airbrush.

I was really happy with how the wood turned out. I then did all the metal and details with a brush.  I was trying out a new set of paints for the metals, namely the Metalsmtih paints.  These paints you have to mix your own metallic's to get a bunch of different results.  They worked well, but in retrospect they would have worked better through the airbrush I think (you can see a lot of the brush strokes).  I will try it out on the next one.

Same went with the interior walls.  I should have painted them with the airbrush to get a smoother transition.  It would have taken longer as I would have to have had to do a lot of taping and blocking to ensure that I don't over spray.

To finish off the piece I added some rust to the metal using some brown and orange paint mixed with baking soda.  I then found some Red Dead Redemption 2 wanted posters, shrunk them down and printed them out for the walls.   

Kevin

20 - "Meats Back on the Menu Boys"

I have been working on some non-game related project recently.  It has been very rewarding but also very challenging at the same time.  I started to finish up a late Christmas present for a friend of mine and was able to complete it early in the week.  Once I get the plinth made I will take some pictures.

With the first big project done I moved on to my second attempt at painting a bust.  I picked up this Orc last year at the "Sword and Brush" event.  It is produced by a local company, Mollie's Miniatures.  It is a good sculpt, and a great price.  It was the perfect starting point for trying to paint something other then a miniature for the table top.  I highly recommend them if you are looking for something new to paint.

I had an idea late one night to paint this model up like an Uruk Hai from the Lord of the Rings movies.  These are the big nasty orcs that work for Saurman.  I felt comfortable painting up the reddish/brown skin and it gave me the opportunity to try and freehand paint the white hand symbol.

The area on the area on the model that gave me the most problems was the hair and the beard.  I wanted a dirty grey/black colour.  I made two attempts at it but could not quite get it were I wanted it.  I added a chestnut glazes  at the end that helped (and helped tie it into the skin).

I also tried to make a plinth for this model.  This was my first attempt.  I used some scrap pine I had in the garage.  I think I made it a little too big for this particular bust.  I also have to spend more.time sanding it down and applying the varnish.  All in all I am happy with the first attempt.

Kevin

19 - Who's a Good Boy?

To continue with my Through the Breach campaign prepping,  I got a few more models painted earlier this week.  I needed some smaller robot minions.  I remembered the nice attack dogs from Wild West Exodus that I had built up a while ago. 

I followed the steps for both silver and gold in the Scale 75 "Steampunk in Miniature" book.  I really liked how the gold turned out.  They were basically a trial run for how I was going to try and paint gold on a current larger project.  I was quite happy with the results.

I tried to add some glowing eyes to the dogs, it did not turn out great.  I think I need to do some more research on how to accomplish this technique. 

I have a couple of busts on the go right now.  They are proving to be a lot of fun to paint.   

Kevin