The Dark Eldar Arrive

Well, here are the first two Dark Eldar I've assembled. Yes, I have the models early. No, I won't tell you my secret.

I got them in the mail yesterday and was all psyched up for my holiday today thinking I could build to my heart's content. Yea, then I woke up feeling like I got kicked in the head by a horse and promptly took myself to the nearest ER. Turns out I have the flu. So, instead of doing lots of work, I only got two models assembled.

The models themselves are fantastic. By GW standards there is very little flash. The legs AND torsos are two parts, but they fit together pretty well. The shoulder guard is probably the only part that looks a little wonky. You can see that in the pictures. The chains, though, look extremely crisp and I'm happy with those. Didn't notice when I was taking the pictures, but a piece of mold line I was cleaning is on the left hand guy's cheek. That's just crap flash and not on the model.

Hopefully as I recover I'll be getting more stuff done. Getting the flu now feels like some sort of divine retribution for my getting the models early. God says, "Yea, you got your models early, now suffer this horrible contagion until the actual release date!"

Red Scorpions

Well, I managed to sneak this in just before the end of the month so I count as having TWO updates for September. (This whole updating in a timely fashion thing is terribly difficult.)

So, as mentioned in my last update, I painted a figure for a guy named Jim on Bartertown for his donate a model army. He knew I painted Red Scorpions so he requested that I do one up for his project. I agreed. It was good because it got me painting some more of my own Red Scorpions as well. While I painted his marine I also managed to finish up two of my own at the same time. So, that's what these pictures are. I didn't take a picture of Jim's marine before I sent it off because it wasn't based and one of the shoulder pads was missing. (per his request as he has special bits of his own to use to finish off the figure.)

And before I go, do you think my Red Scorpions look like the models from the IA books? I think my paint jobs are spot on. I tried to submit the Rhino picture below to Forge World for use on their site and got into a long discussion with one of their customer service guys. He told me my Red Scorpions aren't actually painted according to the fluff. He says the painted examples on the website are correct and the pictures in the IA books are actually *wrong*!! Those are his words, not mine. That got me pretty pissed. If anyone's interested I'll post a review, (transcripts included of course,) of the conversation where the Forge World employee tells me his company can't properly represent their own models.

So, it's been a while since I've updated this blog, but, lo and behold, here is an update! I painted this model for a blind vote painting contest so I didn't post it up here before now even though it's been finished for a few weeks. I managed to get second place in the contest which made me pretty happy. (Who am I kidding? I thought I deserved first! ;) )

Anyways, the premise of the contest was that people would submit models to be painted and contribute $5 per model to the prize pool. From that pile of models individual painters would then submit requests to the organizers for the model(s) they wanted to paint. Once the deadline came around all the models were posted on the website with a poll where visitors could vote for their two favorites. The top 3 painters then had the cash divided up amongst them. It was an interesting format, although I was rather disappointed in the administration of the contest. My big gripe was the picture quality. The set of pictures you see here is what I submitted to the contest, but when the organizer hosted them on ImageShack they became heavily pixelated like they were being viewed on a cruddy old computer monitor.

Now I'm on to paint a couple more Red Scorpions as I agreed to paint one for another gamer's army. Hopefully I'll have some updates to post more quickly this time.

More Trolls. WIPs.

So, more Trollkin. Here are my first three champions for the TGN Battle Challenge. As you can see, there's not a whole lot to see...yet. I figured to help keep me motivated I'll post every couple of days regardless of what state things are in. Also, I thought I might try giving a step-by-step of how I paint my figs.

For these guys the first thing I did was base the skin of the guy on the left, but I decided that was a stupid idea as the metal is far more prominent so I should get that out of the way first. This also has an added benefit as far as cranking up the speed a notch. I'll get to that in a minute.

So my first area to paint is the metal. I used Citadel's chainmail. I like chainmail because later on when I do the wash later it won't totally mute it; so while some people might think boltgun or an equivalent would be better, I pick the slightly brighter color. Next, I tackle the leather with Citadel Foundation color Calthan brown. Again, a good midtone that the wash won't mute too much. Lastly, before the wash, I picked out some pieces of metal to hit with Citadel's Dwarf bronze. This just helps break up the monotony of seeing all the metal done in steel/iron colors.

Once the base coat was done, (which I recommend trying to keep at least somewhat neat as it will save you time later cleaning up misses,) I went in with a wash. I used Citadel Badab black wash and Devlan mud wash in an even 50/50 mix. (I love this mix and I actually keep a bottle of this stuff pre-mixed. It's just that good.) I slathered the wash all over the model. This wash does a good chunk of my shading work for me.

And, that's it for today! Next up will be skin. Oh, and just to be an ass, yes, the models are sitting on my brand new copy of FoW: Mercenaries and the book being used as a backdrop is indeed the new collector's edition of Warhammer Fantasy. (The boys in England got that to me right quick.)

Homesick

So I was trolling around YouTube and I came across the video for Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" and it made me incredibly homesick. Don't ask me why. I don't have any deep seeded connection to Dire Straits. Maybe the whole reflection on American society and our rampant consumerism is what did me in. Then again, Japan has rampant consumerism, but I guess they don't care enough to make scathing, (couched in a catchy pop tune,) social commentary on the phenomenon. So I highly suggest you go over to YouTube and watch Dire Straits. Just because.

Trolls Incoming!

An update! If you are familiar with Tabletop Gaming News you might know they are currently running a Hordes Mk. II Battle Challenge. The basic premise is that you pick a new Hordes army and follow along with the scheduled goals. By the end you should have a fully painted army and a few games under your belt. I don't know if I'll be getting the games in, although I'm going to try converting a friend of mine into a gamer, but I really want to try and use the challenge as motivation to get some stuff painted. So, without further ado, here are my first two Trolls. A pair of Impalers.

So, this is going to be my blog for posting random models I paint. (And believe me, they can tend toward the random.) First, I'll post a few old things and a link to a model I painted over ten years ago that actually won an award!

Just a warning from the get-go, I am horrible at painting armies. I get the urge to paint these grand armies that I write really in depth fluff for and then sort of wander off after I've painted a unit or two. I call my problem MADD. Short for Miniature Attention Deficit Disorder. (My problem has nothing to do with mothers, drinking, driving, or any combination of the above.)

And the promised link to my one and only Golden Demon entry. (The only time I've ever been to a Games Day in fact.)