33/100 - Coughing Henry and Dori Walk into a Bar...

I got another two models painted up this week.  After finishing Tiffany last week I was still on a Discworld kick (lets face it, I am always on a Discworld kick), so I started to paint Coughing Henry.  He is the forth and last member of the Canting Crew.  I painted the other three members, Foul Ol'Ron, Arnold Sideways and the Duckman a few years back.  I am going to start on a diorama display box for the crew.  Since I always remember the Canting Crew from the Hogfather book, I am going to do a snowy Anhk-Morpork Hogswatch scene. 

I was also able to finish another Dwarf for my Hobbit project.  This time I went with Dori (not to be confused with the fish).

I have a special project on the go right now.  Hopefully I will have it done by the end of the weekend.  Waiting for things to dry sucks!

Kevin

31/100 - Tiffany Aching

I finished up another model that had been sitting on my painting desk for a few years now, Tiffany Aching from MicroArts Discworld line.  I have been very impressed with these models.  They have so much character.  I would like to paint them all eventually!

Almost twenty years ago I worked part time at a local bookstore.  I was the only male employee and the only person who read science fiction and fantasy.  So I was given that section of the store to care for.  Now back then I had really just started to read as a hobby.  I was mainly reading Dragonlance, R.A Salvatore and some Black Library (GW) stuff.  Mid way through the store's collection sat a few books by an author that I had not read, Terry Pratchett.  In a sea of dark covers depicting warriors and wizards, Pratchett's books always stood out.  The covers were all done by either Josh Kirby or Paul Kidby.  They tended to be very bright with over accentuated cartoony characters (I will always remember the 5th Elephant cover on the shelf).  I picked up a book called Mort and I have been hooked ever since.  No other artist/writer has influenced my life to the extent that Pratchett has.


Originally, I picked up the Wee Free Men because of the cover.  It was a mass of little blue pixies with red hair and wearing kilts.  These were the Nac Mac Feegles.  They are a cross between Braveheart and Fragglerock.  They were kicked out of the fairy world for being drunken and belligerent.  Due to a series of events that do not need explaining at this juncture they have sworn to protect Tiffany. 

Tiffany Aching is the central character to five books, The Wee Free Men, Hat Full of Sky, Wintersmith, I Shall Wear Midnight and the Shepherds Crown (Pratchett's final book before his death).  Tiffany is a young witch.  In the Wee Free Men she is only 9 years old.  She is a young girl that comes from a land that is not known for producing witches.  On the Discworld witches are stereotypical "witchy"; black hats, warts, flying broomsticks etc).  However they are (in most places) respected healers and authority figures, but still a little feared. Over the events of the five books we see Tiffany go from a young child to full witch in her early twenties.  

Over the years my interests changed.  While I still love the Feegles, Tiffany's journey became more captivating to me.  She is a strong young woman.  She asks questions and always wants to learn.  You could argue that her greatest power is how clever she is.  Tiffany does not run away when she is scared.  If she is protecting the ones she loves she will risk her own life and face any challenge.  I really like that Tiffany also does not conform with people just to fit in.  All other witches wear black.  Not Tiffany, she says she will wear black when she is old, but for now (with all that she has seen) she has had enough of darkness (paraphrased from I Shall Wear Midnight).

Tiffany Aching is a great role model for young girls, and also for everyone else.  I started to read the Tiffany books to my daughter.  She is only five months old but I can only hope that some of Tiffany's essence will sink in.  

I only have two Discworld Models left unpainted.  I think one of them is going to get painted next to finish his "crew".  

Kevin

30/100 - Bifur the Dwarf

I finished up the sixth member of Thorin's Company the other day, Bifur.  The hardest part with painting up the Hobbit dwarves was trying to find so many ways to paint brown leather.  I went with a yellowed leather look in contrast to the red leather of the other dwarves I have already finished. 

It was a simple model and I am happy with how it turned out.  I tend to over highlight when I paint but I am really trying to pull back on it with the Hobbit project.  I think I get a little more control each time. 

I am going to take a little bit of a break from what I have been working on the last few months and paint something different.  I have started work on Tiffany Aching model from MicroArt Studios Discworld line.  Hopefully I can make some progress on it soon.

Kevin 

29/100 - Another Caped Crusader

Last Saturday, I was able to attend a beginners' airbrush class by Pat from The Artisan's Edge, hosted by Lords of War Games and Hobbies.  Pat is an amazing painter, and very skilled in the use of airbrushes.  He was great at troubleshooting and helping work through some problems I was having.  The attendance was kept to around 6 people for this class.  So we all got a lot of great one-on-one help. 

I started the class working on some more Spirit Hosts for my Legion of Nagash army.  I ran into some problems while I was working on the white highlights.  Apparently white is a pain in the ass colour to use with either a brush or an airbrush.  The paint kept coming out in blobs.  I originally thought it was because I did not thin the paint enough but it turns out I had the PSI on the compressor too low.

We had learned in the class that when you want to do base-coats or covering a large area you should have the PSI a little higher (around 30).  Then when you are working on more fine details you can drop the PSI low (around 7-10).  Since I was working on some highlights on the ghosts I figured keep the PSI low.

However I found out that the pigment in white (and yellow) paint is heavier than other paints and tends to come out blotchy if the PSI is too low.  Pat got me to turn the PSI up to about 15 and the white went on much smoother. 

I wanted to try working on a smaller model while I was in the class.  So I picked my Batman from the resin Batman starter set.  I figured this would be a good model to try out the airbrush on.  If it really did not turn out, I had no plans on using him in a game.  If I use a Batman I like to use Bat-fleck.  I know my luck with rolling dice and Bat-fleck can re-roll combat dice (less chance at a bat-whiff). 

Pat showed me how to highlight the back of the cape.  I then did the front of the cape and the cowl/head (minus the skin) on my own with the airbrush.  I was very happy with the final product.  I then finished the model with a regular brush and paint.  I really like how it turned out, now I feel that I have to use the model in a game soon. 

By the end of the class I felt much more confident using my airbrush, especially when highlighting.  I feel that I am starting to build some control with the brush. 

It is a great class and I highly recommend it.  Keep an eye on the Lords of War Facebook page for the next time Pat will be running it.  If you want to be inspired (or humbled) be sure to check out Pat's work over at The Artisan's Edge.

I am going to finish up another dwarf for my Hobbit project soon, then I think I will turn my attention to some Discworld models that I have had on my desk for a while.

Kevin

28/100 - Gotham Rising

A few months ago I finished upgrading the two buildings that came in the Suicide Squad box.  I had said in the post that I actually made 4 buildings out of the two you get.  The buildings are really nice double sided card.  One side was a run down looking building with graffiti, while the other was side was a little more well kept.




I peeled off one side of the card and glued it to some foam core.  Then I rebuilt them and added some card to the corners to hide the seam.  I made a ledge with some quarter round and designed the roof to look more natural.

A few gargoyles where added to hide the holes from the old roof support.  I then used some fancy wood trim below the roof ledge to help hide the seam.  This trim really makes a difference and is a big improvement from the first buildings.

Cant wait to get these on a table and use them in a game!

Kevin

26/100 - Dwalin has Joined the Group

Every once in a while I'm really excited about a project.  It will be all that I want to work on.  Then somewhere down the line I will finish part of it and I am not happy how it turned out.  This usually kills the momentum for me and the project falls to the back burner.

Painting Balin did this to me.  I was super pumped when I finished Gandalf and Bilbo.  However when I finished Balin I was not happy with the final product.  I was a bit discouraged and less eager to start the next model.

After taking a little break to paint some Age of Sigmar, I got back to the dwarves.  I finished up Dwalin this week and I am very happy with the results.  He was one of my favorite characters from the movie adaptations.

I am thinking that the dwarves will make a good Frostgrave team in the future. 

Kevin

25/100 - Dr. Acula and his Tormented Spirits

Trying something new can be difficult.  It does not go always as planned.  I take comfort in the idea that before someone can get moderately good at something, they tend to suck at it for a while first.  I have been painting models for around twenty years now.  I am generally happy with my level of skill.  However I do feel that I have not evolved in my style or technique in the last few years. 

I recently picked up an air-brush.  There has been a steep learning curve.  The more I use it the better I get but the final results that I have achieved so far I feel are not as good as my old brush methods.  I am not giving up.  I have seen what an airbrush can do once I develop some skill with it.  I am really looking forward to the upcoming class at Lords of War, to say the least. 

But there in lies my dilemma.  What models do you learn on?  I am really enjoying painting some Batman models right now.  I have Supergirl and Rebirth Batgirl sitting on my shelf waiting to go.  I know that at my currently skill level my airbrush results will be sub-par.  I want to paint these model to the best of my ability.  But how do I develop a skill with out experimenting with it?  I could just find some throw-away models that I have no interest in using, but that tends to feel like a waste of time and paint.  I always want to put out my best work on my models, regardless of the project. 

My solution so far is to work on some miniatures for my legion of Death army.  Mainly models that I already have but don't usually use in my games.  I am learning on some Spirit Hosts and Ghouls.  I have a lot of both of these models so if I am not happy with the final result I can still make a full army out of just them.  I wont have to worry about them blending in with my other models if they don't turn out. 

I finished up my first airbrush unit this weekend, a unit of 3 Spirit Hosts.  I used the airbrush to paint the models a few shades of grey.  I then used GW's Waystone Green Technical paint to give them an ethereal look.  I did not thin out the green enough and the result was a too solid coat.  Next time I want to do 2 or 3 really thin layers of the green (as long as I am learning something I dont mind sub-par results lol).  Using a brush I added a little bit of Ulthuan Grey to soften up the green.  The highlighting was too solid so I tried drybrushing it.  I am really rusty at drybrushing, I have not done it in a long time. 

I figured out a few things and know how I want to tweek the next set of ghosts.  Hopefully I am on the upward part of the learning curve. 

I also finished up (by brush, no air) a new hero for my Legion of Death army, a Vampire Lord.  The model is the old vampire counts special character Konrad Von Carstien, but he is just such a nice model I had to use it. 

Next week I am going to jump back to my Hobbit project.  I am also working on a few more buildings for Batman game.  More to come. 

Kevin