Painting and stuff... yo.

I managed to slap some paint on all of my Bug Hunt corridor set.  It;s just base coating for the most part, and I really need to go back in and do some washes and more detail work.

But... it's playable now.
Here's a storage bin with 2 level one sets plus add-ons.

It still needs work on the exterior walls, and much detail work, but as is it really adds a new dimension to games of Infinity.

Just using a little bit with a friend's terrain complement made the games quite a bit different.

Here is a shot with just a few rooms and some corridors in use with my Ariadna against my friends' Haqqislam force:

Just adding the Cargo room and a wide corridor section off of one long corridor really made for quite cramped CQB style action.

In other news, I also got some work done on my first Kriegsmarine element.  Now I have 5 of them painted, led by Ada the anti-Leviathan sniper.
I managed to utilize my airbrush to get some decent gradients on the armor, and also brought in enamel wash effects for lining, washing and dirt effects.  I think they came out well for my painting ability.

Last but not least,  currently I'm working on more 15mm so that my Federal Infantry have some transport and Mecha support.
2 Khurasan Grav motive APC's with a Highlander mech by Owen Barents to support them on the field.

<--Constituent parts before priming










 And an in-progress shot of all 3.

Base coats and camo laid down, edge highlighting done on the mech and one of the APCs.  I still need to do highlighting on the other, then I can move to doing enamel effects and calling them done.

'Til next time!

I can has terrain?

Ok, work was a little slow today.  I brought my  BHC corridor sections in to put them together since I have a game of Infinity coming up, and would like to use my BHC set for it.

These things take a little while to put together, especially when you find a broken piece and have to put it back together  :(

Last of the 12 sections:

And a box of 12 sections just about ready to play on:

More to come!

Terrain Ho: addendum

So, I've been working on my Bug Hunt Corridors, hereafter referred to as BHC for the last couple of weeks in my spare time.

I have been able to get almost everything base coated and it is looking pretty good.  Last thing on the plate are some endcaps for dead end corridors.

I am still trying to figure out how I want to do weathering. I picked up some black craft paint to try a very diluted wash in for the wall detail, which I'll try on a test piece.  IF it works out decently it will save a ton of time, instead of doing a gloss coat and enamel wash over everything.

Next steps will be assembly of most of the set, washing for detail, painting in fine detail, and final assembly and exterior wall painting.

No pics this time :(

Terrain HO!

An update, not too long removed from the last!

So, I got in my Bug Hunt Corridor terrain from their kickstarter a year and a half ago.  It's been a long wait, but the terrain is awesome.  It is basically a replication of the corridors and rooms from the movie Aliens.

The set is a modular setup that allows you to move sections and rooms around to make your experience different every time you play on it.

Here's an example posted on the Kickstarter page:

I have enough to make a setup similar to this. I have a few extra rooms and options.

I am planning to use my set for multiple systems. Mainly Infinity, but also with Secrets of the Third Reich 1949, Gruntz 28mm, and possibly with 15mm Gruntz.

Inspired by a thread on Data-Sphere, I set out to paint my corridor set in a fashion reminiscent of a used military surplus base, or underground bunker complex, or even a gritty future starship plan.

Exterior walls will be in a camo green, interior walls and decking will be in a light corrosion resistan grey, and the walls and accents are going to be in an industrial green from Liquitex Professional Sprays called Viridian Hue #7.

Here's a straight section with the base colors on it

Same Section with some 28mm models on it

Some of my assembly line production

So far I have 12 straight sections started.  Lots of work to go.

Tankhunter pics, and new stuff in the works.

Yet another lapse in posting.  Life and work and kids and such.

So, I managed to work on some more Ariadna minis for Infinity.  I have almost finished a pair of Tank Hunters for my Kazak forces.  They will find regular use in my vanilla list, as we all the Kazak sectorial coming in the next main book for Infinity.




I need to finish out the bases, and then dull coat both models to kill the shine of the clear coat and enamel washes I've been using. 

In other gaming/hobby news, I have started receiving a large amount of the terrain I was waiting on from Kickstarters.  
My order from Underground Lasers came in 2 weeks ago.  I now have more of their terrain to complement the other utilitarian pre-fab style buildings I had picked up from their first kickstarter.

This order has a large Microwave antenna array, medical beds and scanners, a large circular information control room desk with chairs, a set of vending machines, tons of traffic control barriers, and a large "train station" building that will do duty as a myriad of buildings for both 15mm and 28mm games.


I also found out that my order from the Bug Hunt Corridors kickstarter finally shipped after almost 1.5 years.   That one man operation was swamped with orders for the kickstarter, but has been plugging away and getting sets out to gamers so he can get set up for retail operations after final deliver of all kickstarter products.  I have to give a shout out to Ken, as he managed to get my order out in time for my birthday this year (July 4th).  So, looks like I'll be working on that stuff as soon as I can to pimp it out for use in Infinity.
I think it will make great starship, hidden underground base, and even above ground modular colony/military base terrain.
I'll try to do a build journal and post pics of everything up here.


Well, back to life.  Hopefully it will work with me and I can get some gaming stuff done and posted!

Kriegsmarine Paintwork

So, I managed to get some paint on one of my Kriegsmarine models a while back, and like how it came out.
I'll be doing the rest of the metal Kriegsmarine models I have for Iron Core/Weird War 2 gaming in this scheme.  Trying to decide if I want to use any unnit/army markings though.  I may just do a simple Iron Cross on one shoulder and a rank marking on the other shoulder or back of the helmet.

One down, 4 more in production, 14 total to do.



Also, I have a ton of 15mm sci-fi to get to, now that I have found a potential opponent near me.  Motivation to get stuff rolling along finally.

Paints!

So, i found a new line of paints and enamel modelling effect washes last year.  They were a brand called AK-Interactive.   I wanted to start picking up more of them, as they are great products; acrylics for paint/air brush, and enamel effects for doing panel washes, filtering, rust, grime etc.

Hard times had hit putting a damper on my hobby time and enthusiasm, but the end of last year brought an upswing and will hopefully put things into a better outlook.

I went to start picking up some more of these paints, and found out the line had been dropped.  Due to infighting amongst the owner and designer of the paint line, the whole line stopped production for a while.

I found out shortly there after that the line was re-introduced as Ammo by Mig Jimenez .
This line of products is amazing.  They are primarily marketed for military and sci-fi scale modelers.

The acrylic line is mainly realistic camoflage colors from world war 2, but has recently started pushing into modern lines of colors (Arab-Israeli war) Cold War, Middle Eastern conflicts.
The enamels are mainly washes and specialized effects.

I picked up some new colors so that I could finish up my Dream Forge Games Kriegsmarine models, and hopefully get to my Leviathan some time in 2014.

I started picking up the Dunklegelb line of paints (WW2 German tank coloring), which is what I'm using on my Kriegsmarine.

I hope to have some painted Kriegsmarine in the near future now that these paints are here.
 

Painted models kill more enemies!

I finished the 4 Infinity models I have been working on.  3 Line Kazaks, and a Scout with AP Sniper rifle.

I had hoped to get more done on my week off work, but life conspired against me.

I did at least manage to get these finished and based, and put together almost all of the remaining Ariadna models for my Infinity collection.

Camoflage can blur a model's lines if overdone at this scale, and I think I did a decent job of showing a jungle pattern without making the models details disappear.
Some people suggested a little bit of color, which I have done with the purple alien vegetation on their bases, and little bright spots on the uniforms.

Here's all 4 finished:

And now a couple of individual shots.  Once again, my older camera just doesn't quite cut it :(  I really need to get a digital camera that will take good macro shots for not a lot of dough.

My cheap Kazak Lt model. She sits in the back and directs most fights from cover, while doing her make-up.








Line Kazaks Front and back:  #1                              



















#2

 Scout with AP Sniper rifle: I also proxy this model as a Kazak Forward Observer.

Next up: Tankhunters, Veteran, SAS, Paras etc. etc.

So. I've been pressed into picking up and playing some Infinity 28mm mini's from Corvus Belli,  with a friend.  I've had some mini's from the Ariadna faction for a while,  but with no time to get out and learn the game until recently, I've had very little impetus to get paint on models.

This past weekend there was  demo day for the game at an LGS in my metroplex.  I just happened to have the day off, kids had a sitter, and my wife was gone to a music festival with a friend all day.  Great time for some gaming.

I set about getting some miniatures ready, and primed a few to try out a some test camo schemes. 
My minis will be in a Jungle Pattern, as we figure most of the fighting they will be involved in will center on the planet Paradiso, which has a recently released campaign book.
Being an alien jungle planet, I figured I can get away with a little departure from more muted camo schemes, so I'm going to try  to add a few bright splashes of color to simulate the teeming flowers and wildlife on the planet.

Here's a few shots of my test subjects so far:

Above are the Line Kazaks I own, in various stages of paint.
I think the one on the left will be the standard camo for uniforms across my Ariadna force. This will tie the whole collection together. To separate the units along their national identities, I think I'll use differing colors for their armor/web gear.

I also managed to get a few things put together for terrain.  I picked up a couple of cargo container pieces from Underground lasers not too long ago.  They were easy to construct and look to be great for use in Infinity.  I bought 2 of the narrow, and 1 wide cargo containers, which came with some extras in the form of ammo crates.  These make for some great scatter terrain, and can be used on top of the containers for sniper cover.
I broke out my airbrush and my AK Interactive effects to try out on the crates.  I think they came out decent.  I wanted a worn, faded, semi-rusty look.

I hope to have more work done on the Ariadna miniatures soon.  The entire army only has 16 or so models, so I should be able to get them done and go back to other stuff on the never ending mini pile.

Another lull in posting.  :(   At least I'm doing come collecting in the meantime.
I have new terrain from www.undergroundlasers.com that I will be reviewing soon, I hope.  I picked up some very nice laser cut mdf containers from their kickstarter.  But, more on them later.

One piece of equipment I picked up recently was a Badger/Sotar 2020-F Airbrush, as seen here;

This small, unassuming box contains a high end airbrush manufactured by Badger Airbrushes under the Sotar brand name.  These are very high quality, expensive brushes that come with very good warranties.  They can be found on Ebay and Amazon in the $250+ range, up to $400.
I managed to pick one up from Amazon during a sale for $78!  I could not pass that up.
I have not used it yet, as it uses a different size hose adapter than the one found on my Iwata hose and brushes.  Luckily, the adapter can be had for under $5.

This version is the 2020-F (Fine needle) version.  It will do very precise line work, and is good for doing precision lining and detailing.   I plan to work my way up to it after getting more comfortable using my Iwata Neo for everyday use.

Here are the box contents:

It is a very nicely constructed airbush, made from quality materials.  The fit and finish is very good, and the action is smooth as silk.  I can't wait to try it out when I feel my abilities can do it justice.

Just a small update about this.  I'll have more to post in a bit when I get a decent light box set up at home.

Slow, but steady.

More work done with the new techniques.  I started working on the scrap terrain piece, and got some more work done on the Ma.K figure.
I picked up some oil colors today, and moved to doing panel lining and some additional grime.  It came out well, I think. I'll get some pics of that stage after it dries.

Here are a few shots after the rust stage has dried.

And to the left we have a picture of the new terrain piece. I used my airbrush to do the base rust layer, then worn effects, and finally the VAC Dark Yellow final layer.  Then I did the paint chipping and rust/grim work with the AK interactive enamels. I just need to seal it with a dull coat of some kind.

 

Trying my hand at some enhanced paint techniques.

So I made some painting and modelling progress.  
I wanted to practice some new techniques using the AK interactive items I picked up, so I built a small terrain piece using a plastic Coffee container to try on.
I also started work on one of the Ma.K Melusine models I have.  I'm using my Iwata Neos airbrush on these models to make it quicker, and get some practice in.

Here are a few in progress shots.  Again, not the best as I need a new camera and photo booth setup.
First is the primer coat and rust colors on the left.  Not pictured is the coat of AK Interactive Worn Effects fluid.
On the right is the first camo color layer on the Melusine, Vallejo Model Color Neutral Grey.

Here we have the masking work for the camo scheme on the left.  I'm trying to go with a Dark grey pattern breaker/ Night warfare scheme on this guy to see how it looks.  I may make 2 others in this scheme.

On the right we have the Vallejo Air color Dark Blue Grey  top coat.

 Next up we have a couple pictures after removing the paint masks, and doing some light chipping work on the Melusine.  It went surprisingly well.  I could have gone overboard with it, as the paint came off very easily after wetting with a brush and giving it a little time to work it's magic on the Worn Effects fluid.
 I did want to show some wear on this model, but not look like it's been on the Eastern Front for a year or so.


Another couple of shots out of direct sunlight.

After doing the chip work with a flat brush and a toothpick, I went in and added some dark spots with the AK Interactive Chipping Color Acrylic paint.  I didn't want the rust spots to be too stark, but look a bit fresh.

Last, I coated the Melusine with a VMC Satin Varnish coat.  I may pick up a gloss coating to do before the next step, as I heard it works better for the enamel washes than Satin.

Next up will be the AK Interactive Streaking Grime set to give this a nice used look, and some weathering powders I picked up a while ago.

Ada, fini! Plus new painting supplies.

I finished up my first of 5 Ada models.  This is going to be the actual Ada mini if/when the Iron Core rules come out in the future (fingers crossed!!).
I used the included base that is provided with the Dreamforge Models Ada figure.  It has a smaller lip than most of the lipped bases on the market these days, but I was able to work with it.

It's done in a dark earth/turf with a field weed to break it some.   Ada is standing in the footstep of an enemy Leviathan that she is tracking.

I could probably do a little more work on it, but I'm just happy getting something painted and based at this point.
Still need a good lighting/picture setup.  For that matter, probably a better digi-cam.  Old and busted just isn't cutting it any more :(

I also picked up some new paint supplies.  I've decided to try pushing the envelope of my paint skills, and branch out into some enamel/oil techniques used in scale model painting.
I've found some amazing videos on YouTube (look for enamel or oil washing / weathering for models).
I picked up a couple of things from AK Interactive that I hope will help me paint better looking models.

I snagged the Streaking Effects Set to work on my grimy looking effects, and I've seen it used for panel lining and pin washing. 
I also picked up the Worn Effects fluid to try my hand at paint chipping (similar to the Hairspray technique).
And last, I picked up a bottle of Chipping Effect color, which is an acrylic color used to replicate paint chips, as a base color under the final layer of paint.

I'm hoping to start working on my techniques with the new supplies soon, on the 9 Ma.K Melusine models I picked up to use as light mecha for my German forces. 

We'll see how it goes, and if I can update before another month goes by.

Progress despite my schedule!

So, I had a 3 day weekend.  Did this mean I could get half of what I wanted to do done?  Nooooo.
But I did make some progress.

I've almost finished up 3 of my Felid Berserker Suits for Gruntz 15mm.  They are Protolene Ayame suits from Critical Mass Games.  I'm using them as pseudo cyborg suits for fallen, disgraced warriors that were not allowed to die on the field due to cowardice or tactical blunders.
 Some base work and then dull-coat ad they will be done enough for me.

I've also made some progress on my "Ada, small woman with a BIG gun" from Dream Forge Games. I'm near complete on her, just a few touch ups, the basing, and she'll be good to go. 

I'm torn on the splinter camo. I liked the nice, clean look of the dark yellow base coat, but think it would be a bit too bland for an entire force of droptroops.

Test paint for my DFG models.

So, I managed to put together one of the five Ada promo models from the DreamForge Games kickstarter.
I broke out the airbrush and laid down some base coat work, then did a little block work and washing to define lines on the armor.
I think it's coming out well.  Next up will be camo work on the armor, then highlighting, and finally the head and basing.

I'm using Vallejo Air Color Dark Yellow for my droptrooper armor, to tie in with the Crusader armor plating when I get to it. I'll be doing the camo the same as my FJ models (swamp style camo) on this model to see how it looks, although I may decide to go with the ambush style camo that will be on my light and heavy mecha.

I got a box in the mail!

Life keeps giving me lemons to make lemonade with.  I'll keep truckin' along with it.

So, I managed a little more work on some 15mm sci-fi stuff, and put some paint on a few more FJ models.  I'm not getting anything painted up like I'd like to though.  Migraines keep interrupting my paint work :(

I did receive some new models that will hopefully get paint on soon, and will be easy to do with my new airbrush.
I contributed to the Dreamforge Games kickstarter back in the fall. Part of my rewards have come in now.

I have here a Leviathan Crusader, several extra bits for customization, and 5 each of the promo figures that were rewards.
This sucker is huge, almost the size of a 40k Warhound Titan.
I'm going to be using it in place of, or alongside, the resin copy I got last year as Weird War 2 German armor.  I think they will be very intimidating on the battlefield!

So, here's hoping I can get anything done this year.  Get thee away migraines!

Wow, Summer ate my brain!

Soooo it's been a while.   Summer took us by storm and I had basically no time to do any gaming or painting.

I did manage to do some trading and selling via game forums.  My 15mm sci-fi forces expanded to a good degree.

I'll take some pics an put up some lists of what I picked up for my Federal and Tigrid forces.

Suffice to say I can put some decent forces together to play Gruntz with now.

My Weird War 2 stuff expanded a bit also.  The Germans and US Paras got backup in the form of infantry and mecha. 

Here is a quick pic of my Tigrid infantry for 15mm Gruntz sci-fi gaming.

I have one commander, 1x 10 full armor squad, and 2x10 unhelmeted squads.
They should form a decent base for Gruntz, with their armor support to follow.

I'll be working on some other stuff soon.  Right after I take care of the major mess with my wife's car being totaled.

Migraines suck. And I got new stuff..

So, I had to fight with a migraine over most of my time off from work this last time around. 

I had wanted to get some painting on my FJ squad done but that didn't really happen. They did have some paint applied, but only some skin tone. I'm working on my meager paint skills, and my skin tones generally suck.
I noticed the US Paras had a very light, almost undead pale looking tone.  Using the Vallejo Bronze Flesh for my FJ's, I'm hoping to give them a bit more life to their look.

I did pick up a few things recently for my renewed gaming interest.

SoTR 1949 saw a squad of US Crow Dogs from Wayland Games arrive in the mail finally. They will add some needed infantry bodies, and bring some more Weird to my tabletop. 

Heavy Gear Blitz saw the addition of a Southern League strike cadre.  An FLGS in my area is going out of business and is having a sale on everything (including fixtures and terrain) in their store.  This was the only HGB thing they had, and it was cheaper than even Ebay so I snatched it up.

General modelling saw the addition of 350!!! rare earth magnets to my supply hoard.  I think I'll be set for a while with those. They're mainly for weapon swap options for my Heavy Gear Blitz models, although I'm sure they will find usage in my other models for turret swaps etc.

The store mentioned above also supplied me with some new Vallejo paints and glazes, some GF9 Arid land and Dried Straw static grass mix, some Litko systems skull markers (for SoTR and Gruntz usage) and a bottle of GW Gryphonne Sepia wash to try out.

I think I might go back and try to pick up some terrain on the cheap.  If I can get it cheaper that the cost of making it, and save time also....  I think I'd rather do that with my limited time to game/paint/build terrain.

On the Boo! Hiss! side of things, the USPS appears to have lost a Long Fang Naga model I bought off Ebay for my HGB force. :(  Waiting to see if it comes in by Saturday, otherwise I'll be getting a refund from the seller. 

Til next time when I hopefully have some progress to show.

Massive German reinforcement!

So, I managed to snag something this past weekend that will be doing double or triple duty for me in different games.
Dream Forge Games released a limited run of their Crusader Leviathan models in 15mm.  I managed to snag one along with some options to change up my model.

It is a huge model for 15mm, and will make a great German/Alien hybrid tech walker for Secrets of the Third Reich 1949 in 28mm.

The following pic is copyright and comes from the DreamForge Games website (used without permission here) so go see their website for more badass pictures of this model! That is a 28mm Sturmtruppen model compared to the 15mm Leviathan!

I'll try to keep a picture log as I build my copy of this massive beast.  I'm hoping it looks good in late war Ambush Camo ;)