Live to CRUSH

What’s up fools. I know you were really hoping I would get a pie in the face… not this month. Maybe next month though, I have 3 important characters to paint then (colette, cassandra, kaeris), so it’s going to be a rough one. I did get 2 done for this month though, my second set of performer/mannequins. They match the others roughly, but use black instead of red, and the color locations are swipped around a little. Check em out, and let me know what you think.

As you can see, it’s pretty much the stock dealio. I threw a mask on the performer for the heck of it because I liked that color, and I made that mannequin into a metalquin. I feel like it fits with her rules of basically being a unkillable brick that waddles up the battlefield.

As always, there’s a few more pictures in the gallery.

This month I bring you Lilitu, the other half of the famous “twins” pairing. This model came out fairly well, it look better before I coated it with too much dull coat and gave it a white wash. Just a few pics this month before the unveiling of the entire crew in month 4. Hopefully I will get them all done in time!!!

Apologies for the tiny post but it’s late and grades are due tomorrow and it’s been a helluva week…  But in order to stay afloat (sans pie) I’m posting my submissions for the week.  And again in true fashion 25% of my crew!  Enjoy maybe I will edit this post tomorrow to give a rundown on the models themselves. They deserve it..  But for now:

My dear young maiden clingeth
Unbending, fast and firm
To all the long-held teaching
Of a mother ever true;
As in vampires unmortal
Folk on the Theyse’s portal
Heyduck-like do believe.
But my Christine thou dost dally,
And wilt my loving parry
Till I myself avenging
To a vampire’s health a-drinking
Him toast in pale tockay.

And as softly thou art sleeping
To thee shall I come creeping
And thy life’s blood drain away.
And so shalt thou be trembling
For thus shall I be kissing
And death’s threshold thou’ it be crossing
With fear, in my cold arms.
And last shall I thee question
Compared to such instruction
What are a mother’s charms?

-Ossenfelder

YOU…

….will not pie me in the face!

Got my previous screw ups from last month done and finished. This month I have the executioner and the austringer.

The executioner took most of my life to get done and I’m still not 100% on his chest hair. However, its better than it was and I can only repaint a model so many times. The austringer is just an awful sculpt. There were a lot of places on his coat where the sculptor just left extra material on the mini and I don’t know whats going on! Looks fine now, just saying….lots of weird little nubs and folds where I wouldn’t think there would be. However, I love the idea of the model and I am willing to overlook all the nubs.

Getting only these two done puts me in a tight spot for the last month. I have 3 models to paint: death marshal, watcher, and a desperate mercenary. Its not going to be a pretty month. I plan on forgoing sleep toward the end to get things done.

This week I wanted to throw a little tutorial together on how to create cobblestone bases.  Its actually very easy and creating green stuff bases should not be intimidating to anyone, even beginner modelers.

The first step, which is always the first step of sculpting and creating is getting resource material.  This step is simple:  google up some cobblestone pics and grab a few that you really think are interesting.  For my references I actually used some World Works Games paper terrain.  I thought they did a spectacular job with their cobblestone texture so I decided to model my bases after these.  They also have quite a bit of variety which looks much nicer in my opinion than the straight non-interupted square pattern.

So after you have your resource shots the first thing to do is work up some green stuff.  I usually cut off about 3/4″ and mix it together.  My method of choice is to twist it up, fold it, twist it up some more, and repeat.  Once mixed up I form out a disc and push it onto the base working it out and towards the edge of the circle lip.  After thats complete i decide if it will be one flat layer or if there is anything raised up.  If there are any raised sections just roll out or flatten a piece to size and stick it on top.

The next step is to lightly sketch out your pattern into the green stuff.  I almost use an x-acto knife exclusively for cobblestone bases.  So sketch in the pattern with the knife blade.  At this point you can begin sculpting if the model is glued directly onto the finished cobblestone.  If however, you have a model with a tab that needs to be inserted into the slot, now is a good time to do this.  I simply push straight down into the slot.  I then scrape out the greenstuff from underneath so the base doesn’t end up wobbly and squeeze some glue into the slot with the metal bit.  This will set up quickly and you can get back to sculpting in a few seconds.

The first step to sculpting is to cut your sketch in deeper.  You may have to both cut and pull with the knife and push down with the blade.  Make sure your not dragging too much greenstuff as you draw the knife along your initial sketch lines.  If you are grabbing too much you can push the blade down instead.  Also it is good to note that you should always have a glass of water in which to dip your knife and fingers while your working.  Green stuff does not stick well at all to the water and it will help tremendously in keeping green stuff from sticking where it shouldn’t.


From time to time you will eventually get some finger prints on your work and this is easy to deal with by wetting your fingers and polishing off any finger prints with your finger and some water.  Also don’t be afraid to use the top side of the knife blade, or even the flat side of the blade to smooth or push some texture.  In fact after your cobblestones are cut into the green stuff you should polish down your surface to get rid of any real square or sharp corners on the blocks you have created.  It will look more like worn blocks and thus much more believable.  I use my fingernail to pull away any greenstuff that goes over the lip of the base inside to make it line up perfectly with the inserted circle inside the base.  I think it looks nice this way.  The last thing I add is a few scrapes here and there (small slices with knife blade) and bits of texture here and there.  You will inevitable figure out your own methods.

There it is.  Green Stuff cobblestone bases in a few short minutes.  In fact I believe each of them probably took me about 10 mins a piece.  It may be slower going in the beginning but you get used to it and it really works out well.  When I get these guys finished up I will do a tutorial on how I paint my cobblestone bases.  Please post any questions you may have.  Thanks, and happy green stuffin’.

It has been over 3 years since I started playing Warmachine. My first army was Cygnar mainly because I have a tendency to start with the good guys. With good guys you can bank on a few similar traits in almost all games: good fighting ability, good weapons and good leadership. After about 8 months, I abandoned my usual initial good ways and turned down the comfortable dark path to Cryx.

Great history lesson right, Who cares?!? What does that mean?

It means CYGNAR FOR SALE!

Up for grabs is the whole painted lot! The sale is over on Ebay. The auction includes regular pStryker, Ironclad, Lancer, Charger, Squire, Journeyman Warcaster, Major Katherine Laddermore, and the Black 13th. Also included is the Cygnar 2010 Mark 2 Faction Deck.

Here are some updated pictures for your viewing pleasure:

Bid high and earn my eternal gratitude for giving me the money to start a new secret army!!

Congrats to Cloudfang for Winning the Aethervox’s Avatar Marcus is contest!!!

Here is a link to his winning entry.

Sadly, my entry only merited me an honorable mention. It was the following literary masterpiece.

Marcus the Avatar is the best of the best
He has evolved into more, unlike the rest.

Not quite man, not quite beast
He lives only for the hunt and the feast

A deafening roar proves he is the alpha dog
Master of most: bear, bird, frog, though not hog

Leader of the hunt, professor of old
With McMourning’s niece he broke the mold

Bonded for life, minion and mate
In the woods of Malifaux, what a cheap date!

Using wisps born on aetheric storm
Harnessed to soul, body does transform

Bones snap and remake, even his shillelagh
Increases in mass ever so greatly

Metamorphosis complete, a sphinx of yore
Amalgamation of many, perfection on four

But what really proves this chimera rocks
Despite his rebirth, he retains his dreadlocks

Well played my friend. Now your on the hook to get that crew started!

I had this monstrous two headed rat from the GW Inquisitor range sitting in me bitz box and I says to meself….what can I do with that, ole Nuts? So, I gets me saw out and then some careful like dental work later and I have these two.

Undead Rodents of Unusual Size for Malifaux used as canine remains.

One was sculpted from the base body of the original and the other mostly from scratch. Kinda goofy, but rodents of unusual size often are.

The next addition is an obedient wretch. Made from a gw skaven familiar. I sculpted the head from scratch and it came out…homely. Perfect!

Comments?!

Initial Impressions:

Today I want to talk a little about my Zuzzy mat.  I ordered this mat a while ago (3 years I think?) and have pretty much been playing on it ever since.  I think it is a great investment and a wonderful product.  Why game stores don’t run these mats is beyond me.  The first thing that atracted me was the slim, sleak low profile-ness of the mat itself.  It is not thick at all so you can slap it down anywhere and also roll it up quickly to transport.  The textures are pretty amazing and the fact that it never causes a model to tip or slide around is fantastic.  This is because the textures themselves are not that deep and the fact that it is all rubber means it gives a little so thus creating a flatter surface when a model is placed upon it.  I HATE HATE HATE wood boards painted with sand!  Or having sand glued upon them and painted.  These chip everything!  And will ruin the edge of your bases easy!  They hurt your hands and elbows if you lean on them and just generally look terrible.  Thank god Zuzzy solves these problems.  Again why most game stores don’t run these makes me crazy!  Also, when I compared these mats to other mat options or terrain building myself I felt Zuzzy was the way to go.

Pricing:

Wow…  cheap and definitely affordable.  At around $50 US for a 4′ x 6′ piece?  And the fact that they will pretty much offer a ton of size options!  I bought a felt battle mat somewhere at some point and it was about the same price for total crap.  This is definitely a bargain.

Playability:

Like I said before the surface offers such a fantastic opportunity for your models.  I have never had a problem playing on it ever.  Maybe if you fold it wrong or let it get all creased (which only really happens if you leave it in a weird position for a while) would it offer a problem when playing.  This i’m sure can be remedied with a little heat, time, and pressure.

Hobby:

Well, you do have to paint it.  Some people may hate this part and I understand.  I however really like the personal custom paint job I gave mine.  It allows you to go in a direction you like and maybe even matches your models bases?  The painting didn’t take that long and wasn’t terribly hard to create a good looking piece. Really is more technique than talent.  It does require buying paint, not a lot, but you do have to get some and brushes too.  (Painting tips below)

My Dislikes:

I disliked the smell when I got it a lot.  But I washed it will a garden hose outside and let it sit there for a couple days.  Virtually no smell anymore at all.  Thank god.  Another problem I have is that it is so textured that its hard to match with other pieces of terrain you may then build.  They have a line of terrain but I don’t care for it that much, it’s really blocky and heavy handed.  I also tried using sample pieces of the rubber to cover terrain bases but the material doesn’t translate well in my opinion to this method.  That is the biggest thing that irks me. The awesomeness of the texture is actually so cool it takes your eyes away from the models when taking photos for battle reports it makes the models hard to pick out.  This mat may also not be the very best for sliding huge movement tray blocks around on (its rubber).   Another thing I dislike is that even though the low profile of the mat is great, it (in my OCD world) needs some type of visual border around the edges to make it a GAME TABLE! If just on the dining room table the edge is weak..  Yeah I know that is a ridiculous dislike but it is a real one for me.  I also easily solved this by building a little 4′x4′ table with a nice small border around it where the mat sits in and everything looks awesome.  The acrylic paint I used was thin but some areas are cracking a little bit.  The rubber is fine still but the paint does have some tiny cracks and I don’t roll mine up ever so I’m wondering if anyone else has cracking problems?  Other than that the mat is killer.  Oh, and it will probably take a year for those guys to actually send you one.  Maybe not a year but in our group alone I think we own 3 or 4 and each one took at least 2 -3 months before we received ours in the mail.

Closing Thoughts:

I would HIGHLY recommend these to any gamer.  I know my dislikes paragraph was pretty big but it really is just a lot of nit picking.  These mats solve so many problems.  They look great, they play great, they are nice to your minis, and they even travel great.  I hope if your planning to buy into a terrain mat you very much consider these.

Painting the Mat:

Well, theres not much to say here.  If you are planning on getting one of these you already play a minis game so you should know how to paint.  The only differences being:  Please don’t use paints that are meant for minis.  Those tiny little jars are way to expensive and small to be practicle for this application.  Go to a crafts or arts store and get some basic low end acrylic paint in larger tubes.  You also need to water down the acrylic and make it thin.  This helps to get the color on without losing detail or creating thick paint that will not flex with the mat.  Use a LOT of dry bushing.  Also do not be afraid to water some paint down a lot to make an ink type wash.  Use bigger cheaper brushes because quality brushes don’t matter here and you will probably ruin them by scrumbling and dry brushing anyways.  Have fun, choose a scheme that you like and matches your armies bases and play on something worthwhile today!… or in 3 months.