Archive for the ‘Miniatures’ Category

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From the painting desk #17 – More Colonial Marine specialists

August 30, 2012

It’s a busy time here, with plenty of work. I’ve got a few new projects in the pipeline, and surprisingly this doesn’t even mean I’ve dropped my old ones. The Colonial Marines are still rolling out and they’re slowly moving towards a more generic futuristic army. My latest addition to the force consists of three models from three different manufacturers.

A while back, Paul a.k.a Sho3box commented on how he felt that the Colonial Marines deserved better leadership than that of the inept Lt. Gorman in Aliens.

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Enter this officer from Copplestone Castings. With his simple stance and his hands behind his back, he really looks like he means business. I’m guessing actual combat drops instead of simulated.

Next up is a CM operating a sentry gun. The model is from Woodbine, and I really like the pose, with the trooper sitting on his knees and casually holding his rifle. I painted the laptop’s screen to suggest that it’s being used to control the sentry gun. I like the way his paintjob turned out, and I’m especially happy with the five o’clock shadow I painted on his face. The sentry gun is from the same set, and it’s a very nice piece of hardware as well. It will join my four em4 sentry guns to help my marines dish out loads of automatic, motion tracking death. The laptop’s screen didn’t photograph too well, due to the gloss varnish on the screen.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Speaking of em4, they produce the third model of this trio. I decided that attaching some form of special forces to the Colonial Marine strength would be fun, so I’m currently painting up these troopers in berets. I settled for a black beret with a silver/steel badge, and in my opinion it looks suitably special force-y. What do you think?

Click for a larger version

A fun batch to paint, all were minis that painted up nicely. I ran into a terrible hitch during spray varnishing, as for some reason – humid weather I guess – my Army Painter matt varnish left the models with a horrible, gritty texture and turned all the blacks grey. After some brooding I went back and did a lot of fixing on the minis. The next run with the same can of spray went without a problem, so despite the setback the minis are finally finished.

As always, comments and critique welcome!

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments »

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There Will Be Blood – a gore painting tutorial

August 7, 2012

A lot of miniature painters like to paint blood on their minis. I think most of us have at some point painted that splash of red on a sword blade or something similar – I know I did that with probably the third or something mini I painted back in the roaring 90s. Nowadays I don’t have too many blades to paint, but tend to dabble in zombies, Xenomorphs and all sorts of critters that leave splashes of blood around. Gore is definitely called for. In this tutorial I will show a few quick and simple techniques for painting gore – wounds, blood spatters and the like.

Lately TCR or Tamiya Clear Red has been all the rage in the world of gore painting, and rightfully so. It produces a very nice, realistic effect when used correctly and looks great when properly done. Just google “tamiya clear red blood tutorial” and you’ll see what I mean. Unfortunately the TCR method doesn’t really fit my style of painting, as it results in a very glossy, sticky look whereas I tend to make my miniatures as matte as possible, using gloss for choice bits such as visors or scopes. This is what I do when I need to paint some gore:

Step one – Red base

Take some dark red paint. My choice was Citadel’s Mechrite red, which according to Citadel’s paint conversion chart (pdf link) is currently Mephiston red.

Apply said red paint around wherever you wish to have gore. Remember, sometimes less is more! Painting half of the model red isn’t always the best possible solution.

Click for a larger version

Step two – Brown ink

Paint some brown ink (I used Citadel’s old Brown ink, but any thickish dark brown will do) over the red. Don’t obscure the red completely. It’s more effective if you let the brown pool up in some places for a thicker, coagulated look. Depending on how dirty you want your blood to look, you can stay within the red or slightly overlap its edges.

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Step three – Black ink

Dab some black ink (I used Citadel’s old Black ink) around. Blood tends to be quite dark, especially when it dries and coagulates. For a zombie, more black may be appropriate. At this stage you may already call your gore finished.

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Step four – Red highlight (optional)

At this stage you can add some highlights with the original base color. Especially suitable for wound edges and the like.

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Step five – White (optional)

Gruesome wounds? Add some bone fragments for that little bit of extra. You can give them a light brown inking, depending on how much you want them to stand out.

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Aaaand that’s it. To finish the tutorial off, below are some of my examples. If you end up using this, do send me some pictures!

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Posted in Miniatures, Tutorials, Zombies | 2 Comments »

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From the painting desk #16 – Marine specialists

June 3, 2012

My Colonial Marine force is steadily progressing from being a small group of models to be used in Space Hulk towards being an actual fighting force of troopers, maybe eventually used in one game or another. My fairly relaxed approach to this project has enabled me to use all sorts of minis as USCM, and this post details another such case. This time it’s three different specialists. They’re all straying from the Aliens movie – you don’t see these guys in the film.

First up is a sniper. The model is a Games Workshop Imperial Guard trooper from the Schaeffer’s Last Chancers set. I’ve cut down the barrel way back when I bought them to make it look less like a lasgun. Looking back, I don’t really regret it.

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The second model is a support weapon gunner from Defiance Games. Part of their multi-part UAMC marines, I painted this one up to see how they look like when painted as Colonial Marines. Can’t say I’m disappointed, so the DG marines will definitely be joining my force.

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The third one is a conversion. Not a very complex one though! He was originally an em4 trooper carrying a laser. In my opinion lasers and CMs simply don’t go together, so I chopped down the barrel and added a massive flamer nozzle from GW’s plastic Catachan set. To further enhance the flamer look, I added a small canister from the same plastic flamer to the side of the backpack. I like how it turned out, as it does look like a pretty bad ass heavy flamer.

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Finally, here’s a group shot of all three. I think they work nicely together despite different manufacturers. As I’ve said, uniform basing and …uniform goes a long way.

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Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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Crowdsourcing

May 29, 2012

Crowdsourcing is a process that involves outsourcing tasks to a distributed group of people. This process can occur both online and offline, and the difference between crowdsourcing and ordinary outsourcing is that a task or problem is outsourced to an undefined public rather than a specific body, such as paid employees.

As a blogger, I have approximately two things I need to do: come up with ideas and write the actual posts. Unless I’m feeling particularly blank, the former isn’t usually a problem, and the latter I prefer to do by myself. However, there are times – such as today – when I’m thinking of doing something a bit bigger, and would definitely like some help and feedback. Instead of calling it “politely requesting”, I’m going to get all marketing-trendy and call it “crowdsourcing”.

What do I need it for? I’ve been thinking a long time of doing a Gaming the movie Aliens review. I’ve already covered the main players, the Aliens and the Colonial Marines in their respective reviews. What about the supporting cast? Here’s what I’ve got on an idea level (and what I currently think is needed):

Ripley – There are four or five variants that I know: Leading Edge, Hasslefree, Woodbine, em4 and at a pinch Copplestone.

Bishop – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Burke – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Gorman – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Newt  – Leading Edge, Woodbine and Hasslefree.

Ferro – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Spunkmeyer – Leading Edge and Woodbine.

Colonists  – Various, including Heresy, Hasslefree and Woodbine.

Sentry guns  – Leading Edge, Antenociti, Woodbine, em4.

Power loader – Leading Edge, Prince August, possibly Reviresco.

APC – Leading Edge, upcoming Khurasan, Old Crow, Scotia Grendel…

Alien Queen – Leading Edge, Horrorclix, Konami, ERM.

And now I turn to you. What am I missing, either as categories or models? Feel free to flood me with ideas, I’d rather select from a bunch than run dry. Do note that I’m only talking about Aliens here, not the entire quadrilogy – so Jones the cat and the rest are out I’m afraid. I’m also trying not to get into the whole scenics/terrain thing to keep this somewhat in check.

Dear readers, gimme all your lovin’. It’s much appreciated!

Posted in Editorial, Miniatures, Sci-Fi | 9 Comments »

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Some hasslefree defiance

May 21, 2012

I recently added the Defiance Games UAMC marines to my Colonial Marine review. As I was playing around with assembling the minis, I remembered I had some of Hasslefree‘s wonderful pulse rifles kicking around. These guns are the pick if you’re looking to convert minis to an Aliens setting, so I figured I’d try one out on a DG marine. I did a very quick, rushed job (it’s still in need of putty work and filing), but as you can see, it makes for a very nice Colonial Marine. The size and scale of the HF gun is spot on, and the end result works really well. This combination is definitely worth considering, if you’re looking to make your own on the cheap.

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The more I keep looking at that, the more my inner struggle against laziness increases. While the guns the DG marines sport are nice enough, the HF pulse rifle is a perfect rendition of the Aliens gun. Luckily I only have a few HF pulse rifles left…for now.

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 1 Comment »

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Colonial Marine review updated

May 15, 2012

I just updated the Colonial Marine review with the UAMC Marines from Defiance Games. Go check out the verdict!

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Posted in Miniature reviews, Miniatures, News | Tagged , | 2 Comments »

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All together now

May 14, 2012

Time to get back on the posting horse again, after my trip to Malaysia. I’ve been a bit busy lately, so really needed to stop for a moment and put a post together in order to keep this blog from going dormant.

I was recently asked to do a group shot of the terrain pieces I’ve finished for the Aliens board game, so I quickly rounded up the nine finished pieces and added some Colonial Marines and Aliens for style and scale. Below you can see the set piece of a valiant CM last stand.

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Personally I think the miniatures and terrain pieces go together very nicely. What’s most important to me is that they capture that Aliens feel. Then again, I might just be blind to my own work, what do you think?

Also, I have to mention that I just got a new job as a project expert, working on a project focusing on preventing video gaming and gambling addiction in adolescents. So happy about this, as I actually get to combine my degree (MA in Education) with my interests and get paid to do it!

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , , , , , , | 8 Comments »

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Bursting with joy – Aliens game board update #5

April 21, 2012

Work continues on my Aliens game board pieces. This post showcases one of the larger pieces on the board, a large vent with a hapless colonist who has been used for Xenomorph breeding. He still grasps a pistol, but his arm has been secured into the wall to prevent him from ending his miseries prematurely.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

The item is another case of trash bashing. It consists of a deodorant spray bottle cap, some bug screen, a gadget piece from an old Ral Partha Shadowrun mini, a few decorative beads, electrical conduit tubing and a hefty amound of silicone paste. I gave it my normal paintjob for this project. The metal parts were drybrushed first with Vallejo Oily Steel and then Vallejo Natural Steel. The Alien goo was given a drybrush first with Citadel Codex Grey and then Citadel Fortress Grey. It was then washed over with Citadel Badab Black and given a gloss varnish. The OSL from the red warning lights was simply drybrushed on with Citadel Blood Red. It gave me quite a headache, as I had to repaint it from the start once – you know, the “I’ll just add a little..ARGH! Well, I’ll fix it up with some more…ARGHHH! Just a little more then..ARRRGHG it looks horrible!” syndrome.

The colonist is a chopped up pre-painted plastic mini from the Horrorclix Aliens set. Too large to use with most 28mm miniatures, I’ve been trying to find a use for him as I have several. Here I chopped off his feet, crudely repositioned his arms (the paste handily covers the rough cuts on the shoulders), drilled a hole in his chest and then added some detailing with Procreate putty. The model has a suitably horrified expression as the original model is fittingly enough about the get attacked by a Xenomorph. I gave him Bishop-style blue-grey coveralls as they immediately remind me of Aliens. I think he turned out pretty nice, I guess all that zombie painting has helped with the dead look.

I’m very happy with how the piece turned out. The different parts fit together to form a nice whole. In my opinion, it’s the nicest yet on the board! I really liked constructing this, as it was kind of like a mini diorama. I might add an Alien egg on a separate terrain piece in front of the colonist to complement this one. Comments welcome, as always.

I’m leaving for Malaysia for two weeks tomorrow for some kung fu training, so the blog will be quiet for a while. Fear not, I’ll get back to updating once I’m back here in sweet Finland.

Posted in Miniatures, Scenics, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 5 Comments »

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Blood Bowl-a-rama #13 – Repainting for nothing

April 18, 2012

A few days ago I did something I don’t usually do: a slight repaint on one of my models.

I had this werewolf from West Wind, who I originally painted for my Underworld project (now sadly defunct), and happened to need another werewolf for my Blood Bowl team, the Drakwald Ravens.

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A quick pant and base repaint later, I had a new player, Anti-Christian Wolff. Apart from the base and the pants, I didn’t change the model and the differences apparent are due to photography. This repaint was actually a step back, due to my decision to not highlight the black on the Ravens’ uniform. It does make for a sleek, sporty wolf though.

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Anti-Christian’s debut started out pretty impressive, as he scored what proved to be a winning 2-1 goal against the crafty bourgeoisie dwarves of Blackpit Arsenal. A few turns later a disastrous sequence of dice rolls meant that poor Anti-Christian dropped dead – from heart failure due to the elation from the goal, we concluded.

That’s Blood Bowl for you.

Posted in Blood Bowl, Miniatures, Vampires/Werewolves | Tagged , | 3 Comments »

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From the painting desk #15 – Marine medic

April 2, 2012

After a moment of despair and bafflement  I’m back on the painting track. I’ve decided to keep adding to my Colonial Marine force, slowly expanding it outside the Alien canon and building it more into a generic human scifi army. This means I finally get to paint all sorts of wonderful stuff I’ve collected over the years. Maybe I’ll even find a new use for some old models.

I’m currently working on a group of four minis, who will all join the ranks of my CM force as various specialists. First up is a medic. Unarmed and -armoured, she doesn’t really seem to be geared for combat. The model’s posing still suggests that she’s out in the field, so maybe she’s been called up in an emergency situation or perhaps she’s aiding some civilians.

The miniature itself…well, what can I say. It’s a repaint of a Heroclix Paramedic. This was pretty much what I was working with (pic lifted from eBay):

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While I did strip the model of paint with acetone, I was still left with some gritty, uneven surfaces, flecks of paint etc. Also, I didn’t notice some glaring mould lines until I was far into painting, so I had to go back and scrape them off. To be honest, this was a miniature I just wanted to paint quickly as it had been sitting (with a twin sister) in my miniatures cupboard for ages, so I didn’t do a very thorough job . Some will certainly be bugged by this, for me it was much more important to just finish the mini before I got frustrated by the soft detailing.

I think the model turned out ok. There are problems with it, especially a lack of detail on some parts. For example, a large part of the hair strands have been painted on. The paint coat is very uneven and frankly ugly in some parts, but the varnishing will help a little with this. Below is the medic on her own, as well as with a selection of other Marines. I think she fits in nicely.

Click for a larger version

Click for a larger version

Posted in Miniatures, Sci-Fi | Tagged , , | 8 Comments »

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