Monday, October 31, 2011

I'm Magnetic!


First off .. Happy Halloween! It's my Favorite Holiday but I'll be happy when it's over this year. It's my daughter's first and I've been crazy busy trying to get it ready. Made her costume (well me and my Mom, when we got to the main body I was all confused) and all the other fun that goes along with the holiday!.. I think my pumpkins turned out awesome this year. Should have some pics up tomorrow of her costume and the pumpkins.

But now back to bidness. I got a little work done in between my sewing duties (mostly when I was ready to scream and tear the sleeves off it). The Libr got a new belt in the form of Green Stuff and attached the book to his belt. I wanted it to look like it was being kicked out and back as he walked forward.

I also magnetized him. I'm using the wings I had made for the first bashed Libr as he's in the re configure corner. So..  he got a magnet on himself and his standard BP. A lot of people ask about applying magnets and they are super simple to use. The one MAJOR concern is polarity. Always mark the magnets before applying. I attack the magnet to my Xacto knife and mark the end of the mag stack with a sharpie. Then I use that dot to keep track of the polarity. Such as, show dot on pack but hide dot on guy. That way I know the mags are all facing the correct way. Remove a magnet mark the next magnet. Also make sure you have a plastic/wood/non magnetic tool to adjust the magnet after it's glued. Metal won't work, it'll just yank the magnet off. The back of a brush or piece of a sprue will work if nothing else is at hand.

1)For Back Packs I use 1/8 x 1/32 Disc Magnets. Cut the nub off his back and file/sand. Then glue the mag on.
2) Drill the BPs out with a 5/32 bit going deep enough that the mag drops into the pack. Glue.
3) Let them dry overnight or at least give them a good amount of time. Rare Earth Magnets are no joke and can easily pull away from the piece it was attached to. When I separate them I usually don't pull straight away either. I sort of turn them 90 degrees and then off ( like opening a door and then pulling ). It's less stress on the smaller mags. (that's for you Josh haha, I'm also adding the mag size chart to the tools page)







Friday, October 28, 2011

Stencils


I've had some questions about what I use for stencils so here's what I use and how. Stencils are pretty simple but figured it might help to show how easy it really is.

How to:

Materials:
  • Transparency Paper
  • Image to use as a Stencil (I've downloaded some off the net and have drawn a few)
  • Xacto Knife
  • 3M Painter's tape
  • Airbrush or Aerosol paint (you can even you a large round brush and apply light dabbed strokes, you'll have to do it thin and apply multiple to keep it looking smooth)
Steps:

1) Draw or print out the design you want to use as a stencil. Remember that you are going to be relying on the negative space of the image.
2) Tape the transparency paper to the printed image and both to the cutting board so they don't move.
3) Cut out a square around the image (it doesn't have to be a square just leave enough extra so you can tape it to what you want to apply the design to) Again, remember you are going to be using the negative space of the image so you will just cut the image out of the trans.
4) Tape the stencil to the area you want it applied to. In this case it's the top of a Rhino. Be sure not to cover the open areas and try to make it as flat as possible so you don't get any bleed over. The flatter and tighter to the surface the cleaner the lines.
5) Spray the stencil - you can use an airbrush or an aerosol spray. Like I was saying above you can also use a large round brush and apply light dabbed layers to keep it smooth.
6) Let the paint dry for a few mins then carefully remove the tape. You're done.




Hope it helps someone out there!

Thursday, October 27, 2011

Die, Die, my Darling ..

I've been debating out posting these guys up because I'm still doing battle with my clear coats. I thought the Khrylon I just picked up was going to do fine but after the first use it's now starting to give that satin sheen. I'm going to move the cleat aerosols into the house to keep them away from ANY moisture and I'm also going to stop at the hobby shop and grab some dull coat.

But moving on, a week or so back I sat down and at the table and felt like painting one of the Krieg. He's almost done other then some highlights and cleaning up the base a bit. And hitting up with some Dull Coat to remove that craptastic sheen. Pretty happy with him otherwise, since I have a good bit of these dudes to get done I'm going to being painting them decently quick. Hopefully, but they are currently back of the line for the time being. Still they are awesome mini's and I love the way they look.



I've some also decided to go with the helm on the Librarian. I'm going to try and cut down the wing for the gun some more to see if I can get it to scale with the gun properly. If not I'll scrap it and go with some seals or something. I also still need to pick up some small chain for him. Most places I've been too it's been too large so I'm going to have to hunt the net today looking for some that fits my idea. I based him and glues him torso on, still need to green stuff his belt and get the rest of him ready. I'm also going to add a WIP section for him as well.

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Librarian Man ..

A friend of mine asked if I wanted to play a team Tourney that will be coming up this winter and I've been in the process of trying to figure out what army I should bring. The rules don't seem to allow much interaction from each army so that's weighing into my decision. We were originally thinking of using Eldar and DE but if my powers couldn't be cast on his army or get the bonuses (Doom and Fortune) it doesn't really seem worth it. So I think I'm going to go with a pain in the a$$ BA build. The Tourney judges painting so I want to have my army decked out. It's also WYS so I need to figure out the complete build and get to it. That means putting my head down and sticking to BA for awhile instead of hoping around as I so love to do.

But anyway, I started on a new Librarian. The other kit bashed one I made up ran into issues so I've kind of lost interest in him. I've been sitting around thinking about what I want this guy to look like so the night before last I was digging around my bit box and pulled out most of what I liked for him. He's going to be a large mix of parts but want him to look like the librarian he's suppose to be. I also want him to keep all this BA roots.

So far these are the versions of him I like the most (he's currently only held together with blue tac so he's leaning a little in some pics). I'm using the GK back, Force Sword,BP (when he's not using wings which will both be mag'd) and maybe helm. DA from the waist down and book, maybe wing on gun. BA pads, chest maybe head and assorted bits. SM pistol and CC arm.

I'm trying to choose which head I like best. Should I go with the GK visor as he would be the only homie in my army rocking one or should I go with the helmet less guy? And I'd like to do something with his gun to make it stand out a bit. I like the wing on it idea but from his outer side it looks a bit too big to me, but I love the way it looks from the inside (top pic). I'm also going to run some chain over a shoulder or around his waist to the book, maybe if it still looks plain to the gun as well. If I don't use the wing on the gun I'll be using a shoulder wing bit. What do you think?










Tuesday, October 25, 2011

When You're Tired .. just go to bed ..

The other night I was working on spraying my Revenant Legs.. wanted to get the feet and knees sprayed. I started with off white and then blended in Raw Umber to give it a dirty bone look and I was happy with the end result. I should have just stood up and went to bed as I was tired but since I don't have a ton of time anymore I wanted to finish out the shading. I wanted to spray some Trans Black and shadow a few areas. I pull the bottle off the shelf and begin to shake it, the lid was open and black paint flew all over.

At first I just sat there kind of stunned. Thinking you got to be kidding me but it wasn't kidding and I had paint on the wall, the table, the compressor, the floor, right next to the table where my camera was sitting and all over the Rev legs and the Dread's Torso ... 8( .. You can see some of the blending above and below looking wacky as I took thinner to it trying to remove the black as best as possible. It took off the black and the desired colors as well. That sucks..  I'll have to go back and blend the legs as well as the feet again which is a pain as it requires taping. As for the Dread I'll just have to repaint the skull and some of the cables.. Good times.

I'm still annoyed. I know it was my fault and all but damn. I should have just gone to bed.

Monday, October 24, 2011

Updates 10 24

Tools, WIP, Eldar and Blood Angel pages updated.

Images added to galleries.

Getting it done..

Friday I had a stomach bug so stayed home from work. Since I was home chilling I got to work on a bunch of stuff that has been hanging out there.

I finished the Chappy's wings and all the touch ups I wanted to get done on him. I'm pretty happy with him and Glad to have another mini off the painting table. I don't really use them that much but I do love the model. I also used a but if sepia in the wings and I'm really happy with the look. I've tried using blue and shading more black but I think the sepia really gives it the look I was going for. Now I may have to go back and mod the other ones. Bah..



I also finished up the magnet Sang Priest BPs. I was going to blend them a little more but as they are only tabletop it wasn't that big a deal to me. There are a few touch ups I'd like to do but again, they aren't that important, more to have WYS on the board.

More work on the Dread, his left arm is almost done. I also worked a little bit on his right arm and torso but the torso ended up getting jacked up (more on that later). So a little more to be done on the left and arm and then I need to finish it up. I should have put more time into it but I wanted to get the chappy completely done.



I took some pics of some older models while I was moving some mini's around. I really haven't paid that much attention to some of my old guys but it was funny when I noticed my skill progression over the years. I was surprised by some (how rough they looked) and was please by others. The Lock has taken some hits but he's damn near twenty years old. The Banshees are newer but still a ways back and the Rangers are also pretty dated but are still some of my Favs.