Holiday Update 2

There's something to be said about good music.

Tron: Legacy's  soundtrack was amazing.  Daft Punk has always been a favorite for me, and the soundtrack certainly has their unique sound.  I also enjoyed the scene that featured them - it was a nice strong nod to their work.  I loved this movie.  Especially since I had watched the original Tron just a few days before.  Unfortunately, the original is no longer in production.  I hope when Legacy comes out on DVD, they do a combo pack.  That would be awesome!

 Inception's soundtrack is also great.  I've watched it twice now this vacation, and Hans Zimmer is second only to John Williams, in my opinion.  Hans likes to do bigger, grander themes and isn't afraid to use synthesizers, etc.

As I'm typing this, my Dad and I are watching The Expendables.  The music has been pretty good as well.

Yesterday, some family from my Mom's side stopped by and everyone went out 4-wheelin'.  It was pretty fun.  My cousin and I rode ATVs and my wife and all the parents rode in a pair of Jeeps.  Here's a shot of me on the ATV:

Vroom, vrrom!

My wife got her hands on my Uncle's digital SLR, and being the photography nut she is, came up with some pretty cool shots.  This one was my favorite:

Objects in mirror may be closer than they appear...

That's my Aunt Nancy you can see in the Jeep.  I'm in the lead ATV, and you can sort of see my Cousin behind me.

I know I didn't really talk about my models, but it's been a week, and I figured I needed to post something.  I have gotten a bit done on them, and I'll post some pictures in a few days when I can get a bit more done.  Having lots of family in town was a nice surprise and I spent time with them rather than paint (as is right around the holidays, ya know?).

Anyway - a more model related update in a day or so.

Holiday Update

So, I've set some (hopefully) realistic goals for the holiday.  I'm basically trying to get the 'jacks and solo done this week, and then tackle my two units next week.

I picked up some spray paint at Meijer (a department store), and didn't realize I had picked up an enamel paint.  It didn't do so hot on the first coat, and the second coat went ok, but my second can was mis-labeled and was a gloss.  So, I made a run to Menards (a hardware store), and found a big can of flat black sandable primer.  Oh, so much better.

Here's the primed result.  Sadly, with essentially four coats of paint, some fine detail was lost.  Ah well.  Eventually these will be stripped and painted again.

Once they had a chance to cure (they stop smelling like spray paint when they're done - typically 24 hours), I started basecoating.  I'm attempting to adhere to the speedpainting rules:

1. Do everything of one color at the same time, don't go back and "repair" any mistakes.
2. While on each color, do everything with your biggest brush first, then switch to the smaller brush for detail.  Don't swap brushes on every model.
3. Watch movies while you paint and take lots of small breaks.

With that in mind, I started with the metallics.  I don't have a particular reason, other than I know I want lots of blue, and so I figured if I did my metallics first, then anything that was left could be blue!  I did anything that would be iron or brass in Boltgun Metal.  Then, I did two coats of Dwarf Brass for anything that would be bronze.  Lastly, all my blues got two coats of Enchanted Blue.  There are a few parts I haven't decided on yet, but the lion's share of the basecoating is finally done!  Yay!

You'll notice that the faces and hair on the two human models are done. I wanted to get them done to see how they would come out.  I like the idea that if you mess up the face, you can always just re-spray the model and start again.  That only works though, if you haven't painted anything else on the model.  I think they turned out pretty darn well for how little work went into them:

The faces were a basecoat of Elf Flesh, a Gryphonne Sepia wash, and then a highlight of Elf Flesh. How easy!

There's lots of work to do yet, but this is how I prefer to get models done.  Get paint on everything, and they tidy up the mistakes.

Happy Holidays!

Painting-on-the-go

'Twas the holiday season and all through the land, 

everyone was travelling, models in hand.

Wrapped in bubble wrap and handled with care,

in hopes that quite safely, planes would be in the air.

For those aboard the big planes in the sky,

it's a matter of volume, pack it tight, try, try!

Only a quart of liquid is what the TSA will allow,

That's a tough restriction - I better figure it out now!

First a faction to pick, that'll decide my colors

I have six! Oh dear...  Oh brother...

So what do I choose?  Who gets to go?

Why, the most prepared, they get the vote.

So off it was, to the model case I did fly,

To see what was ready to go - what did I find?

A Cygnar force!  Almost ready and quite strong,

I'm packing them tightly, hoping nothing goes wrong.

They were numerous and pointy; ready to shoot,

based carefully, all matching - how cute!

As I spied them one and all, my fears, they did wane,

I whistled and shouted, calling them all out by name:

Now Charger! Now Lancer! Defender and Squire!

On Gun Mages! on Stormblades! Go Jr and Stryker!

Into the bubble wrap, get into the box,

Pack away, pack away, quick like a fox!

Now the models are packed, and what do I spy?

Why, my case of colorful paints, and then I cry.

Which ones to choose, I can't take them all!

Only a quart of liquids, think!  Stay on the ball.

Default Cygnar scheme, I choose,

So off to the baggie, without a second to loose.

I picked silver and brass, for metallics you see,

A dark blue and a light one, standard colors for me.

Some yellow for the Cygnus, an icon of power

Several washes for shading, they'll save me hours!

So I'm ready to go, I await my flight,

I'll admit that I'm feeling some fright.

What if they take my models, confiscate them - oh dear!

Then I read this thread, and I realized that I have nothing to fear.

Packed away tight and safely out of sight,

Happy Holidays to all, and to all, a Good Night!

Prep Work

So, I've been slacking recently.  I don't have any painting done.  It's ok though.  I've been preparing for the Holiday break.  See, I'll be gone for about 2 weeks, and I plan on painting an army in that time.  I'll be taking my Cygnar models home for the holidays, and painting them up (or trying to).

Poke 'em inna eye!

Over the past few days, I've been building my Cygnar force.  I got to assemble the new(ish) plastic battlebox, and I gotta say, the models look pretty sweet.  I replaced the rod in the Lancer's uh... lance? with aluminum tube since the stock one was bent fairly badly.  I still need to build rivets into it's base, but otherwise it's pretty plain.  I know most weapons have some embellishments, but I just don't have the confidence, nor time to do something fancy.


I may do something with the lance I may not.  /sigh.

You'll notice the shield arm is sticky-tac'd on.  It'll get glued after the body is painted - I don't want to have to figure out how to get a brush in there...



I also magnetized the Heavy 'jack.  It's from the battlebox, so I don't have a Cyclone, but what I do have is...

Ironcla-Defendo-Triumph!

Here's a group shot of the finished Battlebox with the trusty Squire!

Well, aren't we snazzy?

I have bases drying for my ATGM + Dude and Stormblades + UA + Stormgunner.  Aren't they pretty?

They're pretty simple.  I fill in the gap with whatever I can (spare GS, the tabs I've cut off the models, etc) and then score the base with a nice sharp hobby knife.  I cut my thumb twice, so if you're looking to so it exactly how I did, keep that in mind.  I then apply a liberal layer of straight Elmer's White Glue, and cover in a mix of three different ballasts.  I'm using a blend of fine, medium and coarse in order to get a nice rocky rubble feel.  Once that has had about 2 hours to semi-harden, I liberally coat the base with 50/50 glue and water.  It helps seal the rocks together.

So, that's what I've been working on.  Also, my priest is level 84, and growing.  Yay for all the rested XP I got while I worked on models tonight.  Time to do dailies before bed.

I leave you with the other Cygnar posterboy (He and Stryker did Abercrombie ads together, and use the same hair gel), the Journeyman Warcaster!

Huzzah!

What are your Holiday hobby goals?

Small Update, 12-8-2010

So, in my quest to find lists for the armies I like, I've made an Army Lists page, containing lists for my forces, organized by faction, then by 'caster.  I like each faction for what they do best:  Cygnar for shooty, Khador for big 'jacks with big axes, Trolls for in your face fury, Legion for being dragons (reason enough, right?) and Skorne because, well, they have the coolest looking shields in the game (Sword Knights come a close second...).

Anyway, check out the lists and let me know what you think.  That page is a WIP, and is likely to change often as I tweak lists, try lists and paint models.  Hopefully, with each list I'll have a picture of my models, all painted up nice and ready to wage war!

Rawr!

General Update 12-7-2010

Ok, I know it's been too long between posts when my How to Strip Paint Tutorial is back at the top of the "topic with the most hits this week" list.

I'm not dead, I haven't forgotten about my blog, and I haven't given up.  I'm just doing some behind the scenes things, and it's the holiday season.  Which means there's movies to see (this one and this one and this one and this one and this one and... and... and...), video games to check out (mainly this one, though I did install Return to Castle Wolfenstein the other day.  Man, good times!  Brakka brakka!).

I've also been trading models on Bartertown.com, mainly getting rid of Cryx (since there are now 4 other people who play it at the LGS) in favor of Cygnar, who I've always had a secret love of.  I'm developing a pStryker force that should be fun to play.  Look for a test model soon (I love painting blue).

I'm trying to solidify 35-50 pt lists for my favorite factions that include my favorite models so I can decide on what models to get / trade, etc.  I need to be less packrat, and more tour director.  I don't need every model in a faction...  Just the cool ones, right?  Right.  Yeah.

I've also been spending a lot of time reading and listening to music (watching Glee too.)  I've been enjoying a novel recently published by Jim Butcher, Side Jobs.  It's a collection of short stories that occurred in between Butcher's best selling Dresden Files novels (Storm Front starts off the series).  It's great Urban Fantasy for anyone who enjoys Harry Potter & murder mysteries, but wants something more tangible (explaining the mechanics of the magic), adult (bow-chika-wow-ow) and a bit of Die Hard type kick the good-guy's ass until the very end.

Also on my reading list is Gale Force, book 7 of the Weather Warden Series by Rachel Caine.  This is similar to the Dresden files, but weather oriented.  It's urban fantasy with a strong female lead, and that familiar Die Hard flavor.  Good stuff.  Especially when I have these all in one place on my Kindle (given to me by my wonderful wife for my birthday.  Thanks Honey!).  I'm also looking forward to Indulgence in Death by JD Robb (Nora Roberts) - the latest in a long series (first book here).  Futuristic (but not too far ahead) murder mysteries.  My mom reads these too, they're great.

No, I don't work for Amazon, I just really, really enjoy the Kindle, and reading is a favorite past time.  Amazon is also one of the cheapest way to get a few books.  Just break $25 and you get free shipping.  Not hard to do with a few books and a CD or so.

As far as music goes, Glee: The Music, Volume 4 is a great start.  Their remixes tend to always be as good as, if not better than the original.  The show's pretty great too.  I have a strong music background, having played in the school orchestra from 6-12th grade and worked a musical or two.  Also, anything by Michael Bublé.  The man was born a generation late and could easily out shone Sinatra had he been given the chance.  Give him a listen.  I'm also a huge fan of mashups (DJ Earworm is amazing) and multi-tracking as well as when both happen at once.


So.  There's some non-warmachine-related info about me and what I've been up to lately.  I promise to get back to the regularly scheduled program in  a few.  I'll be getting lots of painting done over the holidays, so stay tuned!

Model Discussion and Holiday Wishlist

So, sometimes I get so caught up in what stuff each faction has, that I forget what the Mercenaries have to offer.  So, I'd like to go through some of my favorite Merc models, and then go into the nifty faction models that I like.

Gorman DeWulfe, Rogue Alchemist

Let's get Dangerous!

He works for lots of factions, namely Khador and Cygnar.  His Black Oil Bomb nullifies a target for a round, dropping essentially their entire stat line by 4.  To have a 2-3 pt model tie up a 8+ pt model for a round is entirely worth it.

An $8, I just haven't ever picked him up.  Plus his model looks awesome.  Darkwing Duck!





Reinholdt, Gobber Speculator

I see you!

Reinholdt has three things he does for an incredible 1 pt.  He allows your caster to measure between any two models in LOS.  He'll reload your weapon for you, giving you one additional ranged attack, disregarding ROF.  He'll also let you use his lucky charm, boosting an attack or damage roll and discarding the lowest.  You can use any of these, each turn.

I want to run a Kara Sloan dual defender type army, and Reinholdt's a must-have for her since she has an amazing rifle with weaponmaster, but it's ROF 1.


Eiryss, Prime and Epic

This chimney's heavy...

I have NQ 14-16, so I'll be getting the Alt sculpt of pEiryss soon.  Both versions of Eiryss are useful, and count as in-faction models for Retribution.  She'll also work for just about every Warmachine faction except Cryx, so she's incredibly versatile.

Her prime version is great at hunting other solos and stripping a warmachine 'caster of any ARM boosting focus.  Her Epic version is better suited for Hordes as she can strip animi and upkeep spells off targets she hits.  She can also shut down arcnodes by simply being near them.



Swamp Gobbers Bellows Crew

Light it up and take a puff, pass it to me now...

These little guys can place a pretty nice could effect that blocks LOS between models on opposite sides.  They are great filler for armies needing that last 1pt.  Especially Cygnar, as they don't really have any 1pt solos except Stormsmiths, who really need to run in trios to get greatest effect.

I need these guys to help me adjust my Trolls army too.



Speaking of which, there are lots of non-mercenary models I need to get to give me a bit of an easier time putting lists together.

Trollblood Whelps

Whelps are hilarious.  Due to the regenerative properties of Trollbloods, of a large enough chunk of one gets blown or cut off in battle, it can actually regenerate into a new troll.  They're stunted and not terribly intelligent, but they love the bigger trolls.  The best part is, since trolls are always hungry, they'll just eat a whelp when they're angry.  In the game, they're the only form of fury management Trolls have.  Since I want to run a beast heavy melee beatstick army (what trolls do best) I'll need some whelps!


Trollblood Fennblades (and UA)

Rawr, our swords are as big as we are!

Tough, reach, vengeance and hard makes these guys the perfect tarpit unit with great offensive capabilities, and medium bases, so they can't be trampled.. Buy the UA, and they get Set Defense and a mini-feat that gives them pathfinder and +2 to charge distance. How awesome!

Plus, they're melee beatsticks.  Win.




Skorne Cyclops Brute

My name... is Gladiator.

I love Skorne shields.  They have so much character!  The Brute is a defensive light warbeast, and since I'd be playing a game with a battlebox based army, my warcaster could use some help on the defensive front.

Morghoul likes to run beast heavy, so substituting this guy for one of the offensive Cyclops Savages is not hard to do.


Following the love of shields...





Skorne Karax

"We fight as a single, impenetrable unit." - Leonidas

Karax are a great tarpit unit for Skorne.  They have shield wall, so they're tough to kill, they have reach, so no much can skinny past them, and they;re relatively cheap points wise.  What else could a 'beast 'caster ask for?

Lastly, they have shields, which is mandatory for me.


Skorne Razorwurm

With the big nose and overbite,
I half expect nerd glasses too...

One of the few non Legion of Everblight models to have Eyeless sight, this beasty is a clean 4 points which takes the Battlebox from 11, to 15 and maintains a Tooth and Claw army.  With this guy, substituting a Savage for a Brute would give me nice Offensive potential with a touch of defense.

If I left both Savages in, added the Brute and this guy and maxed out my Beast Handlers, I'd have a nice little 25pt list.










Khador Widowmakers & Marksman

Reach out and touch someone...

A must have for any Khador player, the Widowmakers are 4 points for some of the best snipers in the game.  ABle to plink for an auto-point a piece, these models can chew through tarpits and other tough infantry, clearing charge lanes for your 'jacks.  The Marksman is pretty great too.

Khador Casters

I'mma get some!

I'd love to run pButcher again, and I understand Strakov helps the slow Khador 'jacks get along, so he sounds fun to play as well.  Plus, both models look great!



Cygnar Warcaster Kara Sloan

No one does a long distance ranged game like the Sniper Princess.  She typically runs with dual Defenders, Reinholdt and a host of other shooty goodness.

Since I want to run a shooty Cygnar army, She's the 'caster for me!

She will also be getting a much needed repose.  Something like this...







Hunter

This guy has an extended control range, so he can be up to 4x his controller's FOCUS away.  He works great with the Journeyman Warcaster solo, who's control range is typically a rather tight 6".  The Hunter makes that 12".  He's a great assassination vector and hard target eliminator, since his gun has Armor Piercing.  Since Jr has 3 FOCUS, that's 1 to upkeep an Arcane Shield on a target, and 2 to the Hunter for a fully boosted Pow 6 AP attack.

Hottness.



Ol' Rowdy



Nothing goes better with Stryker than a healthy dose of his character 'jack, Ol' Rowdy.  A bit expensive on the wallet, but amazing on the battlefield.











Stormclad

If it's near a unit of Stormblades, it gets a free focus.  Stormblades can Marshall a 'jack.  Hmm, I wonder if that's significant...

If you have a Stormblades unit, you want a Stormclad.  He'll play nicely with Stryker and the boys.  He's not a big priority since he doesn't play into the ranged aspect of the game, but when I want to boost Stryker's force to 50 pts, a Stormclad will do nicely coming in at 10 pts.








You can check out my current inventory here.  While the list looks impressive, Legion is really the only faction where I basically have everything I need (except Grotesques and unreleased models).

So, what models are on your Holiday Wish List?  What models will you be buying yourself if you get some disposable income this season?  What lists will you use the models in?