Jolly Bodgers

GWs 25th Anniversary Marine

2012-02-29T13:48:00.000Z

As I posted on Saturday, I trekked into town to pick up the limited edition Space Marine to celebrate the 25th anniversary of Warhammer 40,000. I've mentioned my concerns about finecast before, and have had some issues with it in the past, so thought i'd post about my experiences this time and give you a little review of the kit.

First off is the presentation box it comes in - nice packaging with the old school Rogue Trader front cover artwork by John Sibbick. I look at it and I am immediately 11 again - back in the days with no grown-up concerns, no exams and just a passion for painting toy soldiers and playing games with my Dad... Good times!

And as if my nauseating nostalgia wasn't enough, the front of the box pops open to reveal some more photos of the painted model. Quite a nice touch for a commemorative piece. (This is magnetised to prevent unwanted flopping)

The guys in Exeter are very good when it comes to their customer service so I felt no compunction about buying model and opening it immediately in store to have a good look at the quality. I'll just add that Toosh and I both purchased this miniature, and they were both of a similar quality.

I opened the box and was pleasantly surprised. The box comes with a sprue of the actual marine (in 5 parts), a lovely Crimson Fist banner, a scenic base and both a 25mm round gaming base and a 60mm round display base. As a whole, I think the quality is on par with the old metal models Games Workshop were putting out before Finecast took over. There are some mould lines, but nothing major, and a small number of tiny bubbles.

It appears, however, that we may have been really lucky! I have read in a few places of people having unacceptable flaws in their models and similar issues with any replacements they have been sent. There have also been issues with how complaints have been handled which is quite out of character for GW... I really hope they get the quality control sorted soon as when Finecast "is good it is very, very good. But when it is bad it is horrid"

I sometimes wonder if we have very quickly forgotten the mould slipped and difficult to fix metal models that we were buying from GW a year ago, and have been spoilt rotten by some of the other resin models on the market. That, combined with the unfortunate name of 'Finecast', has given people massively high expectations, but only time will tell how this turns around!

And now for something completely different... I found something rather exciting in the alternative games shop in Exeter (Clifton Road Games)...! I thought I was going to have to buy this at Adepticon and lug it all the way home

Yummmm!

Getting the colours down

2012-02-27T13:15:00.002Z

So I have really started to get some colours down on the scene itself now.

Ignore the mess, I made the schoolboy error of painting the pipework (as they were metallic) BEFORE painting the wall behind. The pipes will be totally redone :P The following photos should give you an idea of my colour scheme. I am hoping it will contrast nicely with the pinky yellow of the strain as well as the orange accents on Sharro.

The yellow stripe on the corner will be yellow and black hazard stripes, and these will feature in a number of other areas too. The red stripe will follow through all the way round the scene. I am currently thinking about using a mid grey for the door.

In other news, we have actually hit 40 followers! Thanks for your interest guys :)

25 years of Warhammer 40,000

2012-02-25T09:23:00.001Z

Its 40Ks 25th anniversary this year, and I started playing in the Rogue Trader (1st edition) days! Far too long...!

To celebrate this GW have released a new space marine - the crimson fist from the rogue trader cover art! Whilst it's not the prettiest model GW have released, I am grabbed by nostalgia and will have to buy one!!

Actually I am geeking it out and am currently outside the Exeter store waiting for it to open... Oh the shame...! But mail order have sold out and Exeter have just 15 ;-)

I'll post pics later - hopefully the finecast doesn't let me down!

A messy WIP

2012-02-21T11:37:00.001Z

Layers and layers of green over a black undercoat.... why do i do it to myself? I reckon it would have been much easier with an airbrush, but ho-hum!

It's going through the 'messy' stage at the moment... Its going to have a two-toned wall with green at the bottom (nowhere near this saturated by the time I am finished) and a light coloured two-thirds at the top.

At the moment this is a neutral grey but I am more and more tempted to change it to a light khaki brown. I will weather the green in one area to help me decide.

Studio McVey competition over at Platoon Britannica

2012-02-15T13:39:00.001Z

As part of the ongoing 'Best of British' event that we are running over at Platoon Britannica, we have just announced the second painting competition in the series - the McVey McLovin'. In essence, anything by Studio McVey (Sedition Wars or Collectors Series or a mix of the two) is game, and we are pleased to announce that we have managed to get hold of the increasingly rare and now out of production Kara Black models as top prize (the original one with the big gun)!

It would be really great to see what you come up with!

Full details can be found below:

Best of British - McVey McLovin'

14th February - 20th May

For our latest competition, we've gone with the magnificent McVey's. As many of you may know, Mike McVey is one of the giants of our hobby, and his contribution to painting fantasy and sci-fi miniatures has probably done more to get people into the hobby than any other single person - suffice it to say, that he's the creator of some singularly iconic works. Meanwhile, Ali McVey is also one of the loveliest, most humble painters many of us have ever met, and her ongoing dedication to spreading the love is famous (just have a look at the feedback she offers on the McVey forums!). Oh, and did we mention that they make some of the most awesome models in the world?

So, without further ado, the rules for the McVey McLovin!

Categories
Members
Staff
Any member of Platoon Britannica can enter the competition as long as their entry meets the criteria below. As before, we've split out the staff from the competition so that it's impossible for us to win anything other than bragging rights (which I fully deserve).

Entries
You can enter up to two pieces, each of which must follow these guidelines:
Max base size 50 x 50mm.
You can use as many models in your entry as you like, as long as they are mostly McVey.
You're free to use models from other companies, as long as they are from a UK-based company, and the McVey pieces remain in the majority.
You can use models from their collectors' range or Sedition Wars (or mix them up!).
You can enter models you're also entering in the WAMP McVey competition.
On the other hand, anything you entered into the McVey's own competition isn't allowed - we like to see new things! On the plus side, if you didn't manage to finish your piece for that competition, you can always finish it off for ours!
Submitting
You're more than welcome to post up WIP and finished shots (and we'd encourage it!).

Final pics should be sent to: pbcomps@LIVE.CO.UK
Pics can be any dimensions, but please keep them below 300k.
You can only submit one picture per entry, but composite images are allowed.
Entries close Sunday 20th May, at 7pm.
Judging
We'll put up a gallery of all entries so that they can all be seen in one space.

Judging will be done by a poll, open to all members of Platoon Britannica, running for one week from the time it opens. With that much time, everyone will have a chance to snipe the mod or admin they like the most. And vote on the real competition, of course.

Prizes
As before, there will be prizes for first and second in the Members' competition, with first prize including a fantastic Ltd Edition McVey Kara Black (the one with the mahoosive machine gun). The rest of the prizes will once again be drawn from our enviably huge piles of unpainted models!

The diorama sprayed black

2012-02-14T14:20:00.001Z

Ok, I think I'm at a point where I can start to paint the base!

It feels like a real milestone, and I am looking forward to tackling it. I think I will do it next, even though Sharro and the revenants aren't 100% complete as I can then make sure all of the components come together cohesively.

You can see from this pic that I removed most of the walkway from the top and opened it right up again. I can be so fickle sometimes! I have also attached it to a plasticard box as a plinth to raise it off the ground and give me a place to put some kind of nameplate.

Sharro gets a lick of paint

2012-02-11T23:07:00.001Z

Good evening campers!

Started painting Sharro today... lovely little mini, and very different from the other two models I have painted for this scene. To contrast with the gribbliness of the Strain I have tried to keep this girl really clean and sharp, and also gone for orange as the accent colour rather than the blue of the boys.

Here are a couple of quick WIP shots

New design

2012-02-09T09:08:00.000Z

Just had a bit of a tweak with the blog 'look and feel'. What do you think?

Whilst this is mainly cosmetic, it also gives me the functionality to use drop-down menus across the top (see the Gallery section). I have high hopes to set up some more 'permanent' pages on the blog in addition to what we normally post.

I'll let you know when I add more content.

New pages:

A little progress

2012-02-08T23:48:00.000Z

So, the weekend brought more progress on my diorama. The scene itself is pretty much done (more about that in a moment), and the two Revenants are coming along nicely. I have spent a fair bit of time on the flesh tones of the first one I painted to make it match the other one more closely, and the trousers of the second one to match those of the first!

Here is a quick pic of what they look like together. Still more work to be done, but you get the drift :-D

This photo may be a little overexposed, as the blue is deeper than that, but it shows how the two are much closer in style and quality than before. I am much happier now!

Next up is the base. When I started the scene, it was one revenant vs Sharro, but witht he size of the base, it was brought to my attention that there might not have been enough going on, and that a second Revenant might be in order... so, in light of this I had been planning on making it a two-storey affair, with one of the strain on the top platform. I am now torn between that and having him in the corridor. Putting him on top will require a lot more work to that top section to stop him looking 'plonked' and I am not entirely sure if it will be worth all the effort. If I had designed the scene with two stories in mind from the off, I probably would have done it quite differently.

Here are some comparison pics to show you what I mean.

I'd love to hear your opinions on this - should the second strain be up top or in the corridor?

Strain Revenant - flesh done!

2012-02-02T22:40:00.002Z

Blimey.... February already??

Flesh is done! Made a bit of a faux pas with the trouser colour, but that can be changed... I am thinking of making it blue and yellow like the first revenant I painted. The grey here seems too desaturated for the rest of the model throwing it out of balance. It almost makes it look like I just haven't painted the trousers at all...

A little frustrated...

2012-01-31T16:56:00.002Z

Please endulge me, I need to vent a touch of frustration at the trouble I am having with the third model for my diorama... In stark contrast to the two chunky cyber-zombies, my third protagonist in my vignette is a delicate girly packing a couple of sub-machine guns. Should be a nice contrast to the gnarly bad-guys and be a different POV for the scene.

So all is good with the world, right? Not quite... read on for my tale of woe

The sound resonating round my head today is that stomach-wrenching *snick* of breaking resin...

Lets start at the very beginning (its a very good place to start*)... I always remove the tabs of my models and pin them to their bases. Whether they are plastic, metal or resin they ALWAYS get a pin. This may have been my first mistake. Sharro has tiny ankles, and early on in this build I managed to snap one when inserting a pin to attach her to a pin vice and eventually the vignette.

I removed the pin and drilled deeper into her leg and re-attached the foot. Rinse and repeat, working further up the leg each time it broke.

Not a happy bunny

She is now in pieces on my shelves at home. Damn her skinny ankles...!

*name the song

The second Revenant - much better so far!

2012-01-24T15:30:00.002Z

After the previous attempt, I decided to try something a little different... in fact the reverse of what I did last time. Colour first and then shade!

Toosh reminded me of a really lovely Nurgle Demon painted by Bohun where he really went to town on the colour (he was determined to move away from the stereotypical green Great Unclean One). Using that as inspiration I have gone for oranges and purples for the wounds over a yellow ochre base. So far I am still on the 'colour' stage, but it is already looking much more interesting (to me at least). What do you think?

Learning Curve... a steep one! (AKA the first Revenant)

2012-01-23T14:08:00.003Z

Well, sometimes in the pursuit of that next technique/style you have seen on t'interweb you sometimes leave casualties in the field... That was me this weekend...

I had got myself into a position where I wanted to really go to town on painting models for my small vignette this weekend, so I spent one of my few remaining annual leave days on a day off on friday. The intent was to get to a point by the end of the day where the Strain Revenant that I had prepped was painted. This, however did not really go according to plan...

As I wanted quite a lot of lividity to all the wounds on the revenant, I decided that it would be best to paint in almost a greyscale and then add all the colour afterwards. This may have been a mistake as the glazes I used didnt really sit well over the top of the shading and I didnt get the effect I was looking for. It ended up rather 'muddy' and not as neat as I had hoped.

I will start at the end for anyone who just wants to see where I finished.... after the break I will go into more detail about what I did. This is the revenant NOW:

OK, so you're ready for more of my musings... righty-ho

Front:

Back:

In this set of photos you can see how I built up the shadows first followed by painting in the details (torn flesh, boils etc) and then added colour to the flesh. To me it looks too messy, and I felt I needed to try something different.

This Revenant will have a short visit from Mr Dettol, and I will soon post a WIP of the second Revenant which I started over the weekend using a slightly different technique!

Looking at the previous post

2012-01-17T13:02:00.001Z

Its funny... looking at the photos in the previous post has made me realise that I need to do more to the ceiling/walkway section. It looks far too thin and flimsy... I will put in another layer to the roof below the pipes (thanks Toosh for the idea!) and see how that goes...!

In other news, I started slapping paint on one of the models last night - the Strain Revenant 2 has a flesh tone! And a second Revenant arrived in the post this morning after a super-speedy service from Studio McVey once again!

Photos later

Another weekends work

2012-01-15T23:42:00.000Z

So, another weekend has passed, and I think I have just about finished building by Studio McVey diorama... It is now sprayed black with all of the major points of interest in place. Still more surface detail to go such as trailing cables/chain, toxic waste canisters, fuel drums etc. and a little more tidying up of the edges to make them flat and square, but I am happy with it as it is for now...

Looking forward to starting the painting!

Nearly finished building it...!

2012-01-13T09:10:00.001Z

very nearly there now - some gaps to fill and some more small details to add, but other than that, the build is pretty much done. I should have pics of it primed by the end of the weekend. If I really get myself into gear, I am hoping to have a good few coats of paint on Sharro to show you as well...

SF vignette after the weekends work

2012-01-09T09:48:00.001Z

Here it is after the work over the weekend...
There are a couple of big changes as you can see - the top and the wall/door. It looks a bit of a mess atm due to the mix of primed and unprimed areas (which I hope to remedy this week), but I am pleased with the general composition. After a comment on Platoon Britannica I was a little concerned as to the amount of space in the piece, but now that the door is in, it doesnt seem too large (to my eye at least - what do YOU think?)

I still have more to do in terms of details, but I am really getting to the point where I just need to paint something, so I may well start on the figures very soon! I bloody love the Studio McVey stuff...!

Snosserousses!

2012-01-04T13:43:00.001Z

That may well be a made up word, but who cares! The fact is, I was lucky to receive two "Snosserousses" for Christmas and one of them comes from......

Forged Monkey produce a fantastic Rhino bust and the quality is amazing. I took a couple of shots to show the bagged model, then some close-ups of the model as it is straight out of the bag.

This fella is going to be awesome to paint, so without further ado, I'm off to give him a wash :) Watch this space for an update (very soon I hope!)

T x

The Studio McVey vignette WIP as it stands this morning

2012-01-02T12:20:00.001Z

So, most of the build of the base has been done now, certainly the most difficult sections, and it is now down to the fine details (the fun bit!). I am thinking of putting a room in it, but can't decide whether that will be a positive addition to the scene or whether it will make it too enclosed. The plan would be to have the roof match the floor, but have car body mesh rather than the slip plate to allow some light through.

Anyway, pictures:

And a HAPPY NEW YEAR to you all!

A Belated Merry Christmas! :)

2011-12-30T12:45:00.000Z

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, and that the new year is a good one for you.

Been busy here, but have managed to get some modelling done. First is a lick of paint on my Hasslefree Hustle. I feel like I have stalled somewhat on this, but can't quite put my finger on why. I am still pleased with the composition, but maybe its the similarity between the rusty metal and the orange coveralls that the Grymn are wearing... I have to decide whether the rust changes or the coveralls...

In the meantime (whilst I procrastinate, and possibly run out of time..!), I have started on what I hope to be my main Crystal Brush entry - a small vignette/duel between a Sedition Wars 'Strain' Revenant (space zombie type thing) and one of the Studion McVey ltd edition resin girls, Sharro.

I have a few other pieces that I also want to get done, including another Barbarian, some new techniques I want to try (dayglow paints that I got for Christmas - thanks Toosh!), and a new camera (thanks Mum & Dad!) so I may post some new images of older models just to try it out... maybe a retrospective of what I have done in 2011. Although it will be quite short!

A quick update on last month's charity moustache growing - my team at work managed to raise just over £600 for some great causes! Thank you to all who were able to make a donation in these difficult times, it was most appreciated.

a WIP by Hasslefree Miniatures

2011-11-28T13:18:00.001Z

I seem to have this 'thing' about Kev White sculpts, I just absolutely love what he does and there have been a couple of pieces over on the Forum of Doom recently which have really impressed me. One is a Powered Armoured human:

I think its difficult to top the quality of that sculpt even though Kev feels he needs to "sharpen some details". I'll buy this as soon as its released (and would be really happy if they released him in resin!)

The other is an ED209 style Grymn walker (Grymn are Hasslefree's space dwarves). This one is outrageous:

There is also a version with a detailed interior and pilot on its way:

One thing I'd love to see on this model is some kind of arm option for one (or both) of the shoulder mounts... but maybe that can be something for me to work on personally - it would certainly make it different!

I've got to stop fawning about HF minis... too damn good!

Hasslefree vignette

2011-11-26T23:16:00.001Z

Well, I am pretty much there with the 'build' stage of the small Grymn Vignette now... hopefully will have it sprayed up tomorrow and start the painting. There have been a few 'cast' changes since the last photos, but I am pretty happy with the three I've ened up with. It was the guy on the left who kept changing...

Movember

2011-11-18T13:17:00.001Z

Hey guys :)

Its NMovember, and as has become tradition in many places, people are growing moustaches all over the world for the good cause of raising awareness (and hopefully money) about two major men's health issues - testicular and prostate cancer.

I am never one to shy away from facial hair - I am often sporting a bear or sideburns, but never normally just a moustache. This year, with some support from a handful of colleagues (my Mo' Brothers), I have decided to grow a 'tache for charity...

My Movember Page

Any donations will be most welcome... and I won't even object to you laughing at silly pics of me!

Bugle Call

2011-11-16T13:36:00.001Z

Just a quick heads-up to anyone in the vacinity - its Bugle Call this Sunday (20th Nov). This is one of the best model show's I've been to, with some really spectacular models on show and attended by some of my favourite painters from The Basement and WAMP as well as a lot of great traders.

We'll be there with our stand and doing various demos throughout the day (basically painting soldiers and having fun!)

More info here.

Something up my sleeve... the Hasslefree Hustle

2011-11-14T22:02:00.001Z

Something big going on over at Platoon Britannica at the moment. We have just launched the first in a themed set of competitions which we are calling the 'Best of British'. What we are hoping to do is spotlight a different independent British mini company over a series of competitions and events with the shameless yet selfless intent to encourage their support in this time of economic downturn.

Our official statement of intent can be found here!

The first event is called Hasslefree Hustle and as you can imagine, supports Hasslefree Miniatures. Full details can be found here. It is a painting competition with pretty simple rules - paint a model or group of models which fit on (up to) a 50mm x 50mm base and you can use models from other UK-based companies as long as Hasslefree pieces remain in the majority. Closing date: 15th January 2012

I have knocked up a quick concept of what I am hoping to enter into the 'staff' part of the comp - a group of Grymn pressing forward into no-man's-land... The intent will be to cram as much detail onto the small 40mm base as humanly possible... but it leaves me with some questions

1. Camo or coloured armour
2. Weapon glow or muted matte armaments
3. NMM or metallics

Gaaaaaah!

What are you going to do?

Avelonian bust

2011-10-25T02:23:00.002+01:00

This is the bust as it stands now. He needs a little "je ne sais quoi" so I am going to head over to The Basement and see if any of those talented buggers can point me in the right direction! Obviously he needs a plinth and I really want to do something with the helmet that originally came with the model., maybe present it on the plinth...

Fairy Dust(ed)

2011-10-18T22:04:00.000+01:00

Well, its taken much longer than I wanted it too, but my Fairy Wears Boots piece is finally done. Big smiles and big relief. However......this fairy tale isn't quite over. I managed to break her wings (which are extremely delicate by the way) whilst packing her up for Grey Matter. A few choice words were muttered and I'm now going to glue them on with a two part epoxy glue rather than the 'super' variety.

Anyway, whilst I get that task done, here are some pictures, complete with wings intact :D

More WIPS - painting one bust and sculpting another!

2011-10-18T13:58:00.001+01:00

So, next up are a couple more WIPs - the Avelonian bust is heading rapidly to completion (although I keep looking at it wanting to add some kind of freehand), and a Pirate Orc Bust a 'Jolly Bodger' so to speak...

The Avelonian:

The Pirate Orc has been sculpted in my usual 50:50 mix of Super Sculpey firm and regular and has a ball-bearing eye. I used a different technique to stop the sculpey from separating from the armature this time though, and it made a massive difference - I added a procreate core to the armature and before it had cured I started adding the bulk of the sculpey. Then I left it to dry before continuing the sculpt.

This is it now, after the first bake (as you can see, thos one is more GW in style than the last Bonner-esque one):

Domaru complete for now

2011-10-17T13:59:00.001+01:00

I think I have come to the point of completion with the Domaru now - I have made a few subtle tweaks and tidied a few areas, but I think he is now done. I will get a plinth for him sorted out at some point (I have my eye on one from BNS Miniatures) and am still mulling over modifying the rocks on the back, but sometimes you just have to know when to stop...

here he is:

Avelonian Recruit bust - a new WIP

2011-10-11T23:31:00.002+01:00

Made a few changes to the blog recently, most notably the image 'slider' at the top of the home page, and the removal of 'jump breaks' to show the whole post on the home page. I hope you like them, and that there isnt too much 'guff' at the top of the page before you get to the posts! The sliding images will link to the most relevant/important blog posts like recently complete minis or major WIPs.

Model-wise, I have started the Avelonian Recruit bust by Alkemy. Its really nice to try something in a different scale - from the top of his head to the bottom edge of his chest he is almost exactly 40mm tall. A good size for a bust to paint for fun, and this guy seems almost to be painting himself.

I have added some more colour to him tonight, but only some green and a little more leather-work on the strap that is on the left side of his chest (as you look at it). As it stands right now, the green needs darkening, but it makes him look almost like a character from Robin Hood...!

Forgeworld/Warhammer Forge... drool

2011-10-04T14:09:00.000+01:00

This post is just a general musing, and a bit of a 'hats off' moment to GW's premium resin sister company Forgeworld. Since (re-?)opening their Warhammer doors with their 'Warhammer Forge' range, the releases coming from FW have just gone from strength to strength.

To the point that I almost have to buy some....!!

The models I want to highlight today are the new Verminlord, a skaven lord mounted on a rat-beast and a new style of Space Marine Dreadnought. All superb models which look like a real joy to paint

Forgeworld

Here are some pics of the groovy stuff (all taken from the Forgeworld website)

So, what's next...

2011-09-23T13:32:00.001+01:00

The Domaru is now at a stage where it is theoretically complete (just needs a plinth), but I want to put it down for a little while so that I can look at it again with fresh eyes and make sure its been done to the best of my abilities. I want it to be a 'competition standard' mini, and taking that step away from it for a few weeks can make all the difference.

However, I have not been resting on my laurels, but been prepping and working out what to do next. I have a couple of Studio McVey minis that I want to do in a vignette which I have been sketching recently, a handful of Infinity models which I want to paint as a unit, and then something like the Avalonian Recruit bust by Kraken/Figone...

As each piece requires different levels of involvement I am tempted to start them all at once! One is a painting excercise, once is a base building and scene setting and the other is unit painting.

The bust is primed and I have started work on the metals
The McVey minis are cleaned and washed
The ALEPH are waiting patiently whilst I design the scenic base for them

Sketch for the McVey piece

Better pics...

2011-09-20T22:52:00.003+01:00

Here are those better pics of the Domaru - no extra weathering, but the photos are a lot better! (and a picture of how my ideas are formed...)

To Infinity and Beyond! (Domaru)

2011-09-20T08:50:00.000+01:00

Well, I have done some more tidying to some of the lines on the base and straightened the top edge (which was wonky) and then started to add dirt and grime. You will also notice that I have re-attached the arm.... this time with Dev-Con a 2-part epoxy glue which is bloody strong, and slightly flexible so should hold a whole lot better than the superglue I had used before.

More weathering to come, and some better photos too!

On our way to Euro Militaire

2011-09-16T15:29:00.001+01:00

We are now leaving London Kings Cross (after the obligatory sushi fix) and heading down to Folkestone for the show.

Looking forward to seeing lots of shiny new toys and having a good natter with old friends (and maybe a few beers and some good food).

Thoroughly looking forward to it!

- Posted from the high seas

First Post

2011-09-14T13:18:00.003+01:00

Peter has been nagging me to get something posted on the blog, so here it is. I thought I'd kick off with a current project. I first saw the "Fairies wear Boots" model, sculpted by Kev White, on a forum and knew that I wanted to paint her. Needless to say, I was absolutely thrilled when I received an email from Tim at Grey Matter asking me if I would like to paint her for them :)

The cast itself is really nice; light grey resin with only a couple of tiny bubbles that were easily dealt with. She also had a very feint mold line on the inside of her arms, but again, once spotted they were sorted out. Her wings (not shown in these pictures) are cast in clear resin. I'm quite looking forward to seeing how they look on the finished piece.

The pictures here are WIPS, but I only have a few things to finish off, together with the final obligatory tidy up. She's sporting a pair of Cherry Red DM's and her dress is the Goth colour of choice - purple. I always imagined her with stripey thigh-high socks, which I think have come out very well.

I have to say that she is a typical Kev sculpt - I am sure he won't mind me saying that! She is so delicate and very small - he certainly has a keen eye for the ladies ;) I also enjoyed the extensive "research" into Love Hearts - well I had to get them right didn't I?!

I have done some more work since these shots, but I'll probably leave off posting more pictures until she is completed. In the meantime, I hope you like her :D

Toosh x

"Fairies Wear Boots" by Grey Matter Figures
Sculpted by: Kev White

Domaru with added colour

2011-09-12T08:06:00.000+01:00

Managed to get some good painting done yesterday and have really progressed with the Domaru Butai. The base is now pretty much complete, apart from some weathering and maybe some freehand Japanese numbers on the outside.

The Ultramarine Veteran on Ebay!

2011-09-04T23:27:00.000+01:00

Well, I have finally done it - the Ultramarine Veteran is now up on Ebay

Pop over and have a look, and maybe have a sneaky bid whilst you're at it!

Ultramarine Veteran on Ebay

Background colours

2011-09-02T08:18:00.010+01:00

Well, I have started on the base now, and have gone for a blue grey wall with purple shadows to contrast nicely with the warm yellow armour on the miniature. Here is a very quick WIP shot from my phone:

More of my Domaru Butai

2011-08-28T18:41:00.001+01:00

I have attached his weapon now and started working on some object source lighting from his eyes, wrist and part of his gun. Still thoroughly enjoying this model - going to have to start on the base soon

Domaru Butai = Bananaman in Japanese?

2011-08-21T23:28:00.004+01:00

Konichiwa! A week since my last post and my Domaru Butai now has some colour.

I have gone for a yellow and blue scheme on him (I changed my mind from the red and white I mentioned a few posts ago - he's gone from the Marlboro Man to Bananaman...) and am pretty chuffed with how he is turning out so far. Lots and lots of layers, to gradually build up the colour, but it seems to be working. Yellow is usually a bit of a bane of mine (I suspect thats one of the reasons I chose it - just to torture myself) so I thought I'd mention a few of the colours I used in more detail.

I have tried to use a little colour theory here and had a go at shading with a contrasting colour. In this instance, the opposite to yellow on my colour chart is purple, so I started off my base coating most of the armour in GW Foundation Iyanden Darkson, and then added progressively more Vallejo Model Colour (VMC) Purple to the mix. Each stage I would layer on a few more layers getting deeper into the recesses.

Once I got to pure purple, I started working with Reaper Master Series (RMS) Redstone Shadow and applied a number of glazes deep into the shadows. Adding the very dark orange into the deepest shadows here takes me back towards yellow again but should also give me a nice contrast with the dark blue I will be using elsewhere.

At some point I blocked in some dark blue, just to see how it was looking. This was mainly curiosity, but it also meant that some of the dark colour was already in place so when I come back to it there is less likelihood of me daubing dark blue paint over a lovingly shaded and highlighted yellow suit of armour...!

I then highlighted by adding VMC Light Yellow to the Iyandon Darkson and gradually built up some highlights on the upper edges of the model. Both the shading and the highlighting was done with a zenithal method in mind with a diffuse overhead light source. The last thing I did was glaze a super-thin wash of the VERY old GW yellow ink over all of the armour. This brought all the colours together and smoothed out any rough highlighting. I do intent to re-highlight in Light Yellow and also apply some spot white highlights to some sharp edges to really make it 'pop'.

Here are some more photos:

Domaru Butai - WIP

2011-08-14T22:58:00.001+01:00

The Infinity model I am doing is called 'Domaru Butai' from the Yu Jing faction... I dont know much about it, but its a damn nice model...! Its come together really well apart from the usual issue of trying to line up two arms at three points - both shoulders and one wrist - whilst allowing the arm with the gun to stay detached for painting. faffed with that for ages. But its done now...

Talking of 'done', the base is complete and also ready for a lick of paint. Here are the next set of piccies.

This is the base in all its un-primed glory. Ignore the yellow tape, that's just to stop me losing the removable clear bit of plastic for the window. A big 'Thank You' to Gi6ers for sending me the minty green screen in a bag of other goodies - I think it works really well! Cheers dude!

Click 'Read more' for the primed pics

German Golden Demons

2011-08-13T15:11:00.000+01:00

It was the German Golden in Cologne Germany last weekend, and those great and talented apes at Massive Voodoo did a wicked little video of it. I just wanted to share:

Casting for the first time...

2011-08-11T13:59:00.000+01:00

Time to take the next step in the hobby... I have sculpted an Orc bust that I want to cast, and this week, the casting materials arrived! I ordered it from Sylmasta as they sell complete kits with rubber, resin, release agent etc (and they were also giving away some clear epoxy glue).

Next!

2011-08-08T08:51:00.002+01:00

And now for something completely different... my first Infinity model!

I am trying to do a really high-scifi base with the typical Infinity staples of engraved panel lines and hexagons. The back of the piece will also have a detailed outer section. I am thinking of going quite wacky with my colours on this guy and do a Marlboro style red and white colour scheme - basically a white triangle on a red background over the whole model rather than picking out specific panels which appears to be the traditional way.

If the experience of painting this guy goes well, I am thinking of doing a small Infinity warband...

Vadim one last time

2011-08-03T23:28:00.000+01:00

Actually, scrap that last post, I have fiddled a bit with him and tried to get some better photos.

Gave him a wolf's head tattoo and a crude but very subtle (less so in real life) wolf design on the metal scales on his back.

Vadim, Hasslefree Orc - Finito? (Nope!)

2011-08-01T22:53:00.005+01:00

I think I'm at the end of another project, and had that strange feeling towards the end that I just wanted to get it done. Not entirely sure thats a positive thing, but there you go... I now have a completed Vadim, the Hasslefree Orc.

Part of me still feels he needs some tattoos or warpaint, but I cant decide on a theme or even where to put it... unless anyone has any great ideas, I think I will leave him as is!

Besides, is a model ever truly finished...?

Quick Orc update

2011-07-30T11:43:00.001+01:00

Got a bit more done on the orc this week... he is getting close to completion now, but he needs some kind of fine detail. I am thinking of tattoos or warpaint, but I cant decide which!

On to the pics:

Aargh! Clash of the Titans - Salute Vs Adepticon

2011-07-26T13:31:00.001+01:00

Why, oh why, did they have to be the same weekend...!

After my fortunes at Salute 2011, I won tickets to go over to Adepticon in 2012 to compete in the CoolMiniOrNot Crystal Brush painting competition. 'Fantastic' I hear you say - yes indeed, and I am still mega-chuffed about it. The cloud to the silver lining is that I will be missing my favourite show of the year - Salute! So no defending my title next year, but a chance to compete with some of the best painters in the world...

The only other thing which might prove a downer is that there were a lot of the Platoon Britannica guys and gals who religiously attend Salute talking about heading over to Adepticon next year... I wonder who will win that battle - Salute or Adepticon.

Salute - 21st April 2012, Excel Centre, London Docklands, ENGLAND
Adepticon - 19th-22nd April 2012, Westin Lombard Yorktown Center, Chicago, USA

With the flights paid for, its a bit of a no-brainer for me - Chicago here I come!!

The WAMP Orc

2011-07-24T19:06:00.001+01:00

As I mentioned in my previous post, I did some work on the Orc I am hoping to enter into the WAMP competition. He's looking a little rough atm, but he's getting there slowly...

I had a bit of a crisis once I started painting the metallics. His flesh was too light for the dark, worn metals I had gone for (a blackened steel and bronze) so I have tried to deepen the tone of the flesh, but keeping it fairly desaturated and not loose the brightness of the highlights.

Took a lot of faffing, but here are some pics:

So, Torbay show, the low-down

2011-07-24T18:54:00.002+01:00

So another Torbay show has been and gone - spoke with lots of people and generally ranted and raved about the hobby. I always end up frothing at some point at these events, and yesterday was no different! We had two six foot tables and split the stand between painting and display, and sat doing informal demos all day. Here are a few pics of the stand:

Those are the positives... now for something a little different. Unfortunately, as shows go, there was something missing this year, and this was figures. And traders. There were very few traders this year, and most of them sold exactly the same thing - plastic kits of aircraft. Couldn't even buy hobby staples like superglue, miliput, acrylic paints etc. This was a real shame, as people were talking to us about figures all day, and I am sure there could have been some good sales.

Back to figures though, it really seemed like we were the only dedicated figure painters at the show - there wasn't even the usual military modellers there with their 75mm British Guardsmen all at attention in slightly differing uniforms lined up. Again, there were lots of aircraft, a group who had loads of enormous (but cool) garage kits, and even some huge ships, but nothing remotely in the vein of what we do.

We thoroughly enjoyed talking to everyone we saw, but there somehow needs to be more of a draw to a show than having a general natter with old friends and new...

Finishing on a positive, we did get to use our new Vallejo paint case!! I got some painting done on my Hasslefree orc (see blog entry) and Toosh worked an a Darksword Frog :^P

Before the show opens

2011-07-23T09:16:00.002+01:00

We are set up and ready to go!

- Posted from the high seas

Torbay Military Modelling show on Saturday 23rd

2011-07-21T23:07:00.000+01:00

Well, the next Bodgers attendance is nearly upon us - its the Torquay show this weekend! I am hoping to get some photos of the show and some pics of our display and post them up here, but I am usually pretty rubbish at remembering :P

Maybe this blog will give me some motivation!

Zenithal priming?

2011-07-18T21:33:00.000+01:00

I dont know if this will come across so well in these photos, but here are pics of my orc after the zenithal priming.

You can just about see the transitions from grey to white where I have blasted white down from an angle

Straight on to the next project...

2011-07-17T23:50:00.001+01:00

Well, I have been thinking about the model I want to do for the WAMP Hasslefree competition, and I have come to the conclusion that what I really want to do is something fantasy (after my recent sci-fi endeavour). With it being HF, you're pretty well spoilt for choice but I have had my eye on one of their earlier models for quite some time. It is Vadim the orc

He is now prepped, attached to the base and primed. I have gone for a 'zenithal priming' technique for the first time where I have primed grey and then primed white from about a 60 degree angle all round the model. This should give me a good idea for positioning of shadows and highlights but also allow the high spots to be naturally brighter as they have a white undercoat.

I am thinking 'real metallics', lots of leather and dark, oily metals... but only time will tell!

The Ultramarine Veteran - Complete

2011-07-13T22:01:00.001+01:00

Well, I think he's complete...!

He has been a lot of fun to paint, and I like what I have achieved in the relatively short time its taken me (snatched moments build up in the end!). He's the first Space Marine I've painted in a long while, but I don't think he is going to be my last*.

One thing that I am not so sure of is the open space at the back. Now it is painted it feels a lot larger an expanse than when I was building it... I am tempted to add a discarded bolter and some shell casings to that side, but can't decide if its needed...

EDIT: I have now uploaded these pics to CoolMiniOrNot! If you fancy popping over and voting for this guy, you can find him here: http://www.coolminiornot.com/283094

Anyhow, enough waffle, here are some pics:

* I have a lurvely Forgeworld resin one in my drawers

Amazing Duel

2011-07-11T13:52:00.001+01:00

I love a good Duel entry at Golden Demons - its probably my favourite category. I love it even more when people think outside the box... and I don't mean cramming the largest rock possible on top of the 50mm base and slapping a huge monster on there.

Here is an example of something which really floats my boat - a TINY duel by Morbäck:

Everything you need in a tight little diorama - action, movement, direct interaction and great composition all on a base the size of a Euro coin. The painting speaks for itself!

Interesting Competition over on WAMP

2011-07-10T23:06:00.005+01:00

WAMP is one of those wonderful communities where something is ALWAYS going on, and this month its a painting competition sponsored by Hasslefree Miniatures. Its no secret that I love Kev White's stuff, and that I have probably painted more Hasslefree Miniatures over the last 5 years than any other mini company. This, combined with the fact I have been meaning to take part in one of the WAMP competitions for ages kinda makes this a 'must enter' moment.

Details of the WAMP competition

I think I know what I want to do, and I have the model already - something gothic-scifi. A 'Privateer' or 'Rogue Trader' if you will. Proper WIP pics to come!

Ultramarine progress

2011-07-06T23:23:00.004+01:00

Bit more progress on the Ultramarine tonight, got a good lot of paint slapped onto the base and the backpack is on. Lots of weathering to be done on the groundwork yet, and some finer details on the marine himself, but he's getting there.

It is meant to be an alien yet familiar terrain with red mars-esque sand and alien green crystals sticking out of the earth.

Embarrassing photos, glorious moment

2011-07-06T13:38:00.013+01:00

Well, Salute 2011 was a pretty amazing day for me, which resulted in me having to pop up on stage in front of everyone and receive some prizes. Unfortunately as embarassing as that is, its the photos that really make me cringe.

here goes....


Best Fantasy Award	Best in Show

I was pretty shocked...!

Maybe more importantly, here is a pic of my entry taken by the South London Warlords on the day:

Hasslefree Miniatures 'Wolf the Barbarian'

Speed painting

2011-07-06T08:53:00.001+01:00

I'm rubbish at it...

But today I came across an interesting tutorial by Eric Louchard on the Reaper forums (thanks to my mate Gi6ers), and I think it makes a really interesting way of painting so I wanted to share.

http://www.reapermini.com/forum/index.php?/topic/42789-figures-from-the-stone-age/

I think this would be a very good way of painting some of my (well, Tracy's) older Grenadier orcs... might have to give it a go at some point - hack and slash my way through some of my lead mountain!

I did actually try something similar before - washes over a white undercoat - with limited success, but I think this was mainly due to a lack of contrast. 3 colour priming should fix that issue... it may even be an interesting way to paint regiments/units for Ebay.

Certainly something to mull over.

The next step

2011-07-05T12:13:00.001+01:00

Well, the base is pretty much built and and after a bit of filling and sanding, I have attached it to the plinth and sprayed it all black.

Stonking new Hasslefree greens...!

2011-07-01T19:50:00.001+01:00

Well, I was just doing my usual browsing of "the forums" over lunch today and I saw a new thread on the Forum of Doom by Sally from Hasslefree with a couple of new greens. They were both VERY different, one 'modern' civilian and the other something always dear to my heart - a kick-ass barbarian.

I really love Kev's sculpts, and have done since I first discovered Hasslefree when they released their first Libby model and somehow he keep son going from strength to strength maintaining his own style whilst getting more and more detail onto his models. Just look at these two...

The Realm of Atland web comic

2011-07-01T08:26:00.006+01:00

Every once in a while you come across something on the 'Net which really grabs you by the balls and screams "READ ME!" in great big letters... discovering the Realm of Atland was most definitely one of these moments.

I tripped over Atland on a friends recommendation a good while ago now and it never leaves me disappointed.

Its a fantasy world created by the talented artist Nate Piekos whose tongue is lodged firmly in his cheek as he pens this outrageously funny comic strip. Green undead princes, buxom wenches and a fairy with a shady past all greet us in an epic tale of humorous adventure.

Oh, and did I mention buxom wenches?

I did?

Well, I aught to mention them again...

A MUST read!

New pics of my Ultramarine

2011-06-30T18:33:00.001+01:00

Got some better photos of the Marine - turned all the camera settings back to Automatic, switched on Macro mode and 2 second delay, and as they say, "Robert's ya Mother's Brother"! Not perfect, but they'll do

And while I'm at it....

2011-06-29T22:58:00.003+01:00

There are often threads on forums asking people to post their workspace... well, here's ours!

First Space Marine in a long time

2011-06-29T22:07:00.004+01:00

I've been thinking about painting some miniatures to put up on Ebay, but really procrastinating about what to do (as I do)... but I finally settled on a Space Marine veteran of some sort I found in my bits box. I have gone for an Ultramarines colour scheme and based him on a standard GW 25mm round base inset in a 40mm square attached to a plinth...

Its all still pretty WIP, but I have laid down most of the colours on the Marine now, and got the rough layout for the base done, but there is still quite a lot to do. I see his niche in the market being army centrepiece/display model hence the removable base, and an attempt at quick but solid painting rather than an ULTIMATE paint-job... here are some pics:

The base:

And then the bad-boy himself:

I seem to be struggling to get good photos of the Marine - I think I need to work harder on the lighting... These were relatively quick shots taken tonight

Thats it for now - more pics soon!

-Peter

Finecast

2011-06-21T09:11:00.004+01:00

I thought I'd better post something model related...

So why not look at the new Citadel Finecast models from just a plain 'user' perspective. There was a thread over on Platoon Britannica which looked at it in quite some detail - Finecast Thread - or click 'Read More' below to see my thoughts (lots of pics):

Well, back home now with our haul... was an interesting time and we had a VERY good look at pretty much all of the new blisters in the store. What a mixed bag! Oddly, the Lord of the Rings stuff seemed to be a whole lot worse than everything else, and those Gandalf's they keep showing were disgusting...

The rest of the stuff was also very hit and miss. We picked up a number of blisters but had to go through all of the blisters on the shelves to find ones we thought were acceptable. So we got ourselves a Queek Headtaker, a Vampire Lord and a Urien Rackarth.

The pics are a bit grainy, but I must say, they seem to be of a VERY similar quality to what everyone else has posted above.

After speaking with the Manager we decided to gamble on a small box each under the proviso that we would open them in the shop and return/exchange them immediately if they were sub-par. We both went for orcs riding boards - Toosh got the Shaman and I picked up a Gorbad Ironclaw. The Shaman was fine and actually quite an impressive cast (there were issues such as no fur on the back of the boar, but I think that is a problem with the model - a converted plastic kit - rather than the material change). The rider was really good, with the only slight downer being a wad of flash between his legs.

My Gorbad wasnt nearly as good...
The belly of the boar was really thin but also really rough so any clean-up would definitely have ended up with a huge hole - one which I was not really happy to put up with at that price (£30). This was on both sides, and I showed it to the staff member immediately, and to give them their dues, they replaced it immediately and went through all the replacement pieces of the kit with a fine-toothed comb. I think I have ended up with a model I am very happy with.

Overall the quality in the shop ranged from a 4 to a 9/10

QC definitely needs improving, to the point that I think we should all make a concerted effort to write/email GW with our concerns. I think in the long-term it will be a great change for the hobby as the models seem to have a whole lot of potential. The resin is much nicer to work with than metal, and if the quality was monitored more they could have blown me away today. I wouldnt recommend buying FineCast by mail order for a while yet...

Well, thats a start - I did go back and buy some more finecast from the store and again made them open the box. It was a box of Dark Eldar Mandrakes and we went through two boxes to get a perfect 5, but what we do have is now really VERY good!

Peter

Posting Cycles

2011-06-21T08:20:00.004+01:00

Its quite odd - I have been looking at old blogs that I started but never really got off the ground - I think these urges are cyclical... last post on my rambling scrawl was June 2010 and here I am starting another. Ho-hum!

Bodging

2011-06-15T08:16:00.000+01:00

Still trying to work out exactly how I want to set up my new site.

I like the idea of a blog at least for the homepage, but I am now playing with how to integrate it within a 'proper' website with galelries etc, or whether that is even needed these days...!