tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45349431514838187492024-03-15T18:09:22.656-07:00A Girls Guide to Gaming GeekeryWelcome to my little niche of the blogosphere. This is where I can ramble about being a girl gamer and the amusement that comes with it ^_^Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.comBlogger73125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-88375734912788880622014-05-17T12:47:00.001-07:002014-05-17T12:54:36.100-07:00A Galleon sets sail ^_^Its been quite a while since I posted >.< Between moving from Arizona to Tennessee, and all the packing, move hassles, my health issues, and then Papa passing away shortly after we got here, it's been difficult getting back into the hobby side of things. Making it more difficult was not having any space to work, the garage I had been promised as a work area, was(still is) packed to the gills with stuff thats not mine and will take alot of time to work through.<br />
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So, I had to replan and turn my bedroom into a mini studio. Which is annoying since it meant giving up closet space for clothes, but I can keep those in another room. <br />
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So, with the tools I was able to bring with, and what I've scraped up on bargain shopping on Amazon( a Makita drill and impact driver set for 100$- worth thier weight in gold) and a table saw off Craigslist for 50$ I'm slowly getting some tables and shelves built.<br />
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But, I decided its been too long since I built something. And sure I have several kits I could have built, 40k tanks and a couple Warmachine Jacks. But those aren't exactly challenging. So I splurged and bought a Colossal off ebay for 81$ with free shipping. Bought it monday night, got it Thursday afternoon, and finished the assembly last night(Saturday). <br />
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Assembly would have taken about 4-6 hours if I had just removed the mold lines and glued/pinned it. But nooo, I had to core out the smoke stacks and throw magnets in it. To be fair though, the coring bits I have are pretty awesome, they're actually for cutting holes in bottles, but they eat through resin and plastic too.</div>
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Magnetizing the crane arm. I knew this appendage would be a monster without buying the 50$ foam to transport it. But, a few magnets, and the jumbo arm can be tucked away. One pair wasn't sufficient to hold the arm, maybe if they had been rectangular bar shaped. Two pair still had the leverage popping the arm off. Three seems almost enough. But I'll probly drop a 4th set on there, I dont want the arm falling off.<br />
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The harpoon is the same problem as the crane-its huge and presents transport issues. So it got magnets rather than the entire arm. The rather ugly metal chain from the winch to the harpoon will get replaced when I can find it(its in one of these boxes) or when I got to Hobby Lobby and spend 2$ to buy some more, the aluminum kind takes paint well enough and wont weigh down the magnet(which actually can support the pewter piece, I jsut dont like how it looks). Since I cut the ugly chain off I also opened up the achor rings on the metal posts on the harpoon, that will make attaching the jewlery chain easier when I ger to that step.</div>
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The waist is socketed for now to facilitate painting, and I might leave it as its quite stable with an 8mm brass tube for a pin that I seem to have actually managed to hit dead center-not always the easiest task but oddly the soft plastic of the PP resin makes it easier since you can push the tip of a drill bit into the spot you mark and your drill wont wander. And while not pictured(because you cant see it) the legs are attached to the hip piece, drilled straight though and pinned with a piece of braided wire. <br />
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Usually I use a dremel for work like this. But its been replaced, this little 12v Makita is just awesome. I got it for home improvement and shop work. But when the dremel was smoking the resin with those coring bits, I tried the Makita and its lower speed and ergonomics gave me alot of control, as the three bored out smokestacks show(the cores are on the left by the yellow files!). One was a bit off center, but thats mostly a learning process on my part. The coring/hole cutter bits are awesome. I got a set of them, and the variety of sizes had one that was always nearly the right size. At first I was using them for the magnet sockets, but getting the center piece out was tedious. So I switched back to regular drill bits and then used my 5$ set of chinese diamond burrs to grind out the socket for the magnet to fit flush, it was easier. </div>
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The other tool that was very handy were the diamond files, the two yellow handle ones are 180 grit and made short work of all the mold lines. Even on the resin. I was concerned after hearing all the bitching and moaning about the PP resin is would just shred and I'd end up needing to sand it with like 1000grit sandpaper to get it smooth. But it seems most of those complaints are just from inept modelers.</div>
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Complaints I do have, is there were ALOT of mold lines. It took over 2 hours to get the mold vents and flashing off. And during the assembly/pinning I was still finding new lines. So probably three hours total. There also were some bubble issues. Not like 'OMG it has the finecaast plague!' but the winch on the upper claw I had to rework a whole corner and it need a line of rivets now. The smokestacks, I just can't get this damn thing to fit flush, which means I'm going to have to spend like another hour or two on assembly essentially sculpting it on, then waiting for the putty to dry. Which delays painting another day. And the stupid smoke stack bit on top of the left arm. That stupid thing doesnt stand a chance without getting pinned as well >.> And since I drilled it out already Im sure as hell not leaving it off...</div>
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I know alot of gamers don't like the idea of spending money on tool before more toys. But some hobbyists will go for tools before toys. I'm glad I did, I've had to wait a while on my minis, but the Makita and the diamond bits made the process so much easier. The diamond bits, the 30 piece set of burrs was 7$ total, works in my dremels and drill, I used 5 or 6 of them just on the Galleon. The Hole cutter set was 12$ I think, for 10 bits, 1/8" to 1/2". Worth every penny. The Makita, I got as a set with an impact driver for 120$ And its the new LiIon model thats really small. It cost alot more than any dremel tool. But I can't use a dremel tool to build a table or hang shelves. The impact driver assembled my work table too. So, they're high mileage tools if you can use them for more than one task.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com37tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-15537373468926314852013-10-25T19:00:00.000-07:002013-10-25T19:00:10.539-07:00Rainbows of spray paint! Where to get your colored spray paint without breaking the bank :)Today on the WGC Facebook group, the topic of colored spray paints, and if a particular gaming labeled brand, was good/worth the cost came up.<br />
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I don't have to hype the colored spray paints. I have multiple airbrushes and can mix and spray any shade I need for a single mini, or a whole car. But sometimes it's just really convenient to grab a can, give it a shake, spray and be done in less that a few minutes. Spray cans are just another tool that have thier place in our tool box, and like every tool sometimes they're the right hammer for the job ^_^ And even with hammers- not all hammers are created equal!<br />
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For those that have read my Primer on Priming article, you might recall that I'm not a fan of anything in a can that costs more that 5$ unless there is a very very good reason to justify that expense. In the case of gaming labeled spray paint and primer, often costing 10-15$, there is NOTHING to justify that. Just a label, the marketing, and its often 'right there' next to the little dudes you just bought, so its convenient. Whats an extra 7-10 bucks for a can of spray to base coat the 500$ of minis you just bought?<br />
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Well, for the average gamer that 7-10$ is probably an hour at work right? And maybe- theres <i>better</i> paint out there for a <i>lower </i>price? And what if I told you there was even <i style="font-weight: bold;">MORE </i>colors? Not just a bland handful of lame Space Marine Scrotum shades, and Goblin and Dwarf colors- but like "Screw Baskin Robbins- we want <b>ALL COLOR FLAVORS!</b>"<br />
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Yep, its true. It really exists. Has for years. And no- its not 'derp buy an airbrush!'<br />
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Heres the 'original' Montana Black paint line courtesy of Blickarts: <a href="http://www.dickblick.com/products/montana-black-spray-paints/">http://www.dickblick.com/products/montana-black-spray-paints/</a><br />
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With that color chart you should be able to match <b>ANY</b> current base coat color from all the major paint ranges, whether its Citadel, P3, Vallejo, whatever. Remember, a base coat doesnt have to be a <i>perfect</i> match, you're still going to go over it with washes, shading techniques, and highlighting for a complete paint job. So, if you get something thats a shade off, its not a big deal. If its too bright you wash it darker, if its too dark you do a quick highlight up, either with dry brushing, or with a zenital spray of white(or other available brighter shade).<br />
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Lots of colors, dense pigments. Just make sure you shake them more than any other can of spray that you've ever used before. That extra pigment means extra shaking. And its worth it. The stuff is intended for 'street art', meaning grafitti and out door applications. <br />
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One of the nice things about Montana sprays is you can get different spray caps to alter the spray pattern.<br />
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Those smaller tips could prevent alot of the common spray paint problems that regular commercial 'one size fits all' nozzles cause in our hobby. Thats one thing the gaming branded spray paints should be doing already- but that 20 cents a can is obviously too important to thier profit margin.<br />
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Still not convinced? Ok, this stuff has some other advantages. Its a pretty durable resin binder, and the solvent carrier dries really fast. And the other benefit- its winter proof. Yep- with the the cold months upon us, you can use this stuff year round, and it works fine- its designed to work outside.<br />
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The valves on them are really nice, so while the cans are 'high pressure' as long as you are light on your finger, you have alot of control.<br />
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So, while it might seem expenisve at around 8$ a can, its cheaper than the game branded crap, and its FAR higher quality paint, in a better can can, with a better valve and spray tip. In short- if you know about this stuff- and still buy a can of game branded spray, you are essentially letting yourself take it in the arse. Be sure to tell your freinds about your preference for spray paint buggery ;)<br />
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Now, Montana also has thier Gold line, which I haven't gotten to use yet. Its ACRYLIC! Meaning you can spray it inside without worrying about fumes, or melting styrofoam terrain pieces, or several other possible benefits like it being flexible (are you reading this cosplay makers?!?) Only main difference is the can work on lower pressure, and theres been complaints of the cans getting plugged up. Once I get some to try out I'll let you guys know how they work.<br />
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Along with Montana, Theres also <a class="" data-reactid=".r[18ji1].[1][4][1]{comment642497839124346_642723452435118}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[1]" href="http://www.dickblick.com/products/mtn-94-spray-paint/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px; line-height: 12.727272033691406px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.dickblick.com/products/mtn-94-spray-paint/</a> and <a class="" data-reactid=".r[18ji1].[1][4][1]{comment642497839124346_642724325768364}.[0].{right}.[0].{left}.[0].[0].[0][3].[0].[1]" href="http://www.dickblick.com/products/plutonium-spray-paint/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #edeff4; color: #3b5998; cursor: pointer; font-family: 'lucida grande', tahoma, verdana, arial, sans-serif; font-size: 10.909090995788574px; line-height: 12.727272033691406px; text-decoration: none;" target="_blank">http://www.dickblick.com/products/plutonium-spray-paint/</a><br />
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Both are high quality artist grade paint lines, and are priced similarly. I haven't gotten to use either brand but havent heard anything bad about either of them.<br />
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Purchasing</h3>
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Now for the shopping part! The links above for Blick Arts give one obvious source. The other is <a href="http://www.jerrysartarama.com/">http://www.jerrysartarama.com/</a></div>
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Both are closely matched price wise, and frequently run discount deals. Better deals are often available if you join the customer loyalty programs they offer. </div>
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Its worth checking thier local store locator links:<a href="http://www.dickblick.com/stores/">http://www.dickblick.com/stores/</a> and <a href="http://www.jerrysartarama.com/Retail-Stores/Store-Index.htm">http://www.jerrysartarama.com/Retail-Stores/Store-Index.htm</a> to see if theres one nearby. Not only does this let you check out the discount shelfs, but there is usually an additional charge for shipping on spray cans when you order online since they can't be shipped through the normal methods. Sometimes this can be worked around with the 'free shipping' deals, but sometimes they're excluded, so read the fine print.</div>
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Sometimes the best option is to get together with your freinds or gaming club, and order several cans. Not only does this help spread out the cost of shipping, you at least get a bunch of peoples grey legions base coated! </div>
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When going in together with a gaming club, do not be tacky and do it in the face of your LGS if they happen to sell the gaming brand paint. Talk to the shop owner first, show them the expanded color selection Montana (or the other brands) offer, and see if they can order the stuff from Montana or Blick as a Vendor so you can buy it right from you LGS. This is the best case scenario, as it gets you good paint, puts painted armies on the tables of your LGS, and puts money into their business which helps gamers keep a place to play.</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-64427939069103673542013-05-12T22:48:00.000-07:002014-09-11T12:57:00.640-07:00Can you smooth out your painting results with an acrylic additive?We all use alot of acrylic paints on our miniatures, acrylic paints are easy, they clean up with water, and most of them dont stink(but some do!). But some recent posts and questions on the various painting forums made me realize alot of people don't know how to get the most out of thier paints.<br />
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Im not talking about getting the last drop out of the bottle, but rather the best performance. Making your paint easy to work with-so you can paint faster, and get better results rather than waste time fighting against your paints limitations.<br />
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What limiatations? Well, as soon as you open the top or drop it out of the bottle- its starting to dry. And while a quick drying time is a good point in some aspects- while you're trying to put that paint on the miniature its a nuisance to have it start getting goopy, tacky and even a little chalky.<br />
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Theres a few ways we can work around that, the first, and one people are starting to do more often these days is thinning thier paint. Most paints out of the pot are just too thick. <br />
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But, since we're still dealing with the nonsense era where almost everyone was told priming black was the 'right' way to paint, no one wanted to thin thier paints because 'thinned paint won't provide good coverage over black'. Thats of course mostly nonsense from a few boneheads that primed black and tried to paint Imperial fist space marines(yellow) or White Scars, and then cried about how bad the paints covered. Dont blame the tools when you use them poorly >.<<br />
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However, since we've moved past that-and better techniques have surfaced, like wet blending, thinning your paints is more common than ever. <br />
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But- you can do more than just adding water. To some of you this is going to sound like its either too good to be true, or its 'I already knew about that'. <br />
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Wargaming painters have a severe tendency to have tunnel vision when it comes to what products they will use. If its not sold at the game shop many will act like it doesnt exist. Which, is quite sad since thees an enormous amount of art supply products out there that the gaming paint lines will never sell- yet, theyre incredibly useful.<br />
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And Acrylic Flow Release is one such product. I first found this stuff back in 2003. And at the risk of sounding a bit dramatic, it was like finding a magic potion to add to my paints. At that time I had a few old Citadel pop tops I was still using, a whole batch of still new Vallejo model colors I had ordered from Spain in 01(no one was selling them online back then!). And I think I had 3 GW screw tops that were still sort of working.<br />
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Acrylics Flow Release- also called flow aid or flow enhancer, gets mixed with water, about 10 parts water to one part flow release(and some brands its more/less). And I just use it in a dropper bottle to mix with my Vallejos when I drop them on the pallette.<br />
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And you're wondering what does it do besides make the paint wet? Well, acrylics can get a little rough and chalky when theyre going on sometimes. This stuff- its sort of like adding a lubricant to the paint. It makes it spread, or flow, much smoother. <br />
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If you're thinking about trying any advanced highlighting or shading techniques like wet blending, I'd strongly recommend picking up a bottle of this stuff. It makes your paint alot easier to work with, less frustrating and more fun when you dont have to fight against the limits of the medium!<br />
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If you're just going for a tabletop level paint job, working off of a drybrushed base and maybe some hard edge highlights & washes- this stuff will still improve your results. It can smooth out your drybrushing results well enough that with a little practice it can look more like a wet blend than a drybrush because the color is smooth rather than the usual rough chalky paint appearance you most often see with drybrushing.<br />
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I prefer the Golden Flow Enhancer, but the Liquitex I currently have seems to be doing a decent job(but its mostly been used for making washes lol). The Golden was what I bought in 2003 and was a 4oz bottle I used just for painting, and it lasted through my comission army painting phase- so its probly thinned enough paint to cover 30 or 40 armies, and made several batches of thinning solution I gave to freinds when I saw thier rough results. If you decide to get some of your own you'll find it in your local art supply stores, if you've ever been in there to buy the good stuff like some brush cleaner or a big bottle of matte medium- it will be in the same section.<br />
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If any of you guys have used it, or get some and it helps you out, or gives you some problems, drop a comment a below and let us know about your results :)<br />
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I imagine some people are wondering why I didn't talk about drying retarder as an additive. And thats pretty simple- while it does extend drying times- every drying retarder I have used has had a serious detriment to paint performance when you add enough to actually extend the drying time. It might work great for acrylics being applied on a canvas, but I've had zero luck with it on miniatures- so I categorize it as a performance reducing additive ;)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-18588941902891404432013-05-05T17:51:00.000-07:002013-05-05T17:51:21.521-07:00Primer on Priming Part II- Primary Principals to avoid the dreaded "Runs" "Fuzzes" and "Stickies"In Part I we covered some pointers on what sprays you can use affordably and some simple tricks on how to work around cold and wet weather.<br />
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In this addition, (which I will also add to the original article, I jsut added a new blog post to make sure those that wanted the additional info had a better opportunity to see the fresh post ) I'm going to also go over the more general environmental effects of humidity/dry air, and heat- since summer time should eventually be coming to the northern hemishpere those of us in North America & Europe should shrug off the snow and finally get some sunshine! And hopefully my winter priming tips will help out the blokes down under!<br />
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So, everyone has heard that high humidity causes untold havoc with spray can primers right? That it makes it go on clumpy, or turn 'fuzzy' or all sorts of stuff. I cant even really keep track of all the absurd claims Ive read on the forums over the years.<br />
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What it comes down to, is pretty simple- you have to be smarter than the paint. Almost every single case of bad primer FUBAR is operator error. Yes, bad batches of paint do happen, but its pretty rare, quality control on modern manufactured goods these days is at a reliable standard. So, with the understanding that the spray primer you are using has been stored properly, is of relatively recent purchase, and was shaken thoroughly before use- if theres a problem when it hits the surface- whats the cause? <span style="font-size: large;"> You!</span><br />
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People like to blame thier tools when something doesnt work out right. But lets be honest here- how many cans of that paint have you sprayed? If you were a video game character, and that can of paint was a consumable item you character gained a skill proficiency in- would you even have a basic skill achievement unlocked? Spray Can: 20 Maybe? If you dont use the stuff for DYI purposes or other craft projects maybe not even 20 lol <br />
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Some people might be thinking "How hard can it be? You jsut shake the can, and spray the stuff by pushing the nozzle!" And those steps do seem simple, I mean, they're actually the instructions printed on the cans label right? <br />
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Wait- you guys do read the instructions on the cans right? And realize that different brands have slightly different instructions? Like some only need to be shaken for a minute, some say 3-5 minutes for the first use. Some say hold 12-16 inches away.....some say let dry 10-15 minutes between coats, some only 5 minutes... <br />
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Whats the point? Know your material ;) Since in the first portion of my article I wrote about the Colorplace spray paints, for the rest of my article I will be writing using those as the 'generic' basis for spray paints since they're what I use. (I have used many others, notably Krylons and Rustoleums- so if anyone has questions about a specific type that you already have and need help with, feel free to drop your questions in the comments below). In this example pic is a nice smooth 2 quick, but even layers of black over white styrene. This wasnt the first spray- this was after I had shaken the can- the first spray was for the Streaks pic below lol. But This is the 'base' picture you can compare the others too so you can see whats wrong with them- if you need the comparisons.<br />
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So- lets define the Runs, Fuzzes, Streaks and Stickies for anyone who's not familiar with them yet. And so I dont scare anyone off- they're not scary forms of intestinal distress that result in Nurglings flying out of anyones ass(or other orifices).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KbdVMBhGA/UYb37kLfT1I/AAAAAAAAAlc/1W3oMTTH6q4/s1600/IMG_20130505_161313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KbdVMBhGA/UYb37kLfT1I/AAAAAAAAAlc/1W3oMTTH6q4/s320/IMG_20130505_161313.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Runs</span>- this is what happens when you spray too much paint too close to the surface- it actually pools up and will run down. This is hard to do on infantry minis, so we usually only see it on tanks- usually Rhinos and land raiders that 'Little Timmy' got and very enthusiastically tried to paint(ironically its usually full grown adults that dump a whole can onto a single tank...)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Streaks</span>- you lazy bastard. You didn't shake your paint enough. Know how I can tell? Primers arent supposed to be translucent! That means the pigment didnt get mixed into the thinner, so the stuff that sprayed out came out streaky. It also means you got lucky- the opposite of Streaky- is chunky, and that usually blocks the pickup tube or nozzle and ruins the can of paint. Shake that stuff. Especially if its not the 1$ stuff.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stickies</span>- So lets say you did shake it just right, and you're laying down good even coats. Whats this 'Sticky' deal? Its about you being impatient! Spray on that layer of paint. Go eat a sammich. Go look check out my freinds at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/">http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/</a> just do something for 10 minutes while that paint dries. If you spray another layer of paint, over a layer of wet paint- you get the Stickies. Which is paint that might not ever cure properly. It might take 8 hours to dry all the way. It might still be sticky. If it does dry to the touch, it might still be soft underneath because the stuff inside cant dry right. It usually means you have to strip the paint off and start over. Its closely related to the Runs- but its a little worse- because it shoes you have the skill to put the paint on properly- jsut that you werent patient enough and you FAILED!!. So dont do it. Theres no picture for this one, I didnt see the point of piling up paint on something for a demonstration pic....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">And now the FUZZES</span>!!! Sounds almost cute, like kittehs and teddy bears? Its not really, at least not when its something thats going onto your miniatures and makes their once smooth features look like they are afflicted with some sort of gangrenous or rusty skin affliction!<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">See the fuzzy residue where I rubbed it with my finger? </td></tr>
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You see, the common myth behind the Fuzzing, is that its all about evil humidity. Ive read numerous forum posts on it and its the #1 culprit. And, while I do concede that humidity is a factor, its not the cause of fuzzing. Sorry humidity conspiracy guys. I can recreate Fuzzing, at will, in Arizona, with 15% humidity on any given day. See, I watch the weather alot due to my migraine being triggered by weather fluctuations. And it just struck me as odd that humidity would shut down spray painting so completely, so I researched a few other industries that spray in humid areas- like New Orleans and Seattle- and no reports of complications. Which indicated they just used the stuff different because those where the conditions they were used to. So- thats the key folks. Humidity CHANGES. If you're used to spraying one way- and try to spray that exact same way when the humidity has shot up or down 40%- the results are likely to be considerably different. Its also worth noting- that somtimes the the fuzzing paint wont even stick to the miniatures- when that happens you know for sure its a case of spraying from too far away!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Mechanics of Fuzzing</span>: So what really causes Fuzzing? Simple, really simple. Its dried paint! If you're getting a grainy/gritty finish on your models you are holding your can TOO FAR away from the surface of your minis when spraying them. By the time the paint gets there some of it has already started to dry, it mixes with the paint thats still wet, and it clumps up, forming a rough textured paint. FUZZING!! <br />
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So, why is it worse when its humid? I wondered that too. I even sat down and sprayed paint through the mist from a humidifier to experiment. And talked to a freind thats a chemist. My working hypothesis is that with higher humidity levels, the fuzzing is likely more noticeable because the paint particles bond with some water vapor in the air- this makes the paint 'chunks' of pigment alot larger than the normally are in terms of surface area. Then the fluffier water-saturated 'Fuzzy' pigment pieces adhere to the miniature just like they normally would. But the fuzzing is more pronounced- think of it sort of like breakfast cereal, a normal pigment particle is supposed to be like, a grain of salt- but if it gets fluffed up and instead is like a Rice Crispy because a bunch of them get stuck together- its a little easier to see why the surface of your miniatures get a little rough and lumpy instead of nice and smooth.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So- how do you slay the Fuzzies?</span> We have the technology....we have the knowledge....we have the 1$ spray paint...(I do anyway lol) Its how close you hold the spray can. On humid days you have to adjust, spray closer. Yes, think means you have to also spray faster- if you dont you you will get 'Runs' from spraying too close. But you can spray quick close layers, and let each dry thoroughly. <br />
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You need to practice. Its really that simple. If you only spray prime something once every few months you just are not proficient with one of the tools you use. Primer is the paint layer on which you put all your other work- some of us have a hundred of dollars of vallejo, GW, P3 and Reaper paints on our shelves. We spend hours watching youtube tutorials on how to wet blend, use oil washes, airbrush, highlight and a bunch of other techniques- all of which rely on a layer of primer. <br />
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Practice using some spray cans, it doesnt have to be on miniatures. Its actually better to NOT practice on miniatures until you get good at it. I always tell people to practice on garbage- if you're going to throw it away- and its a plastic material similar to a space marine tank- spray some primer on it before tossing it out.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What should you do if you already have a batch on miniatures that are BeFuzzled? </span>Well, sadly we have limited options here. If they are dry dusty fuzzies- washes tehm off in hte sink with some good dish soap and a gentle brushing- if you're lucky it all comes off and theres nothing left sticking and you jsut learned you hold your spray at least a foor farther away than it needs to be! But, if you have the stuck on clump fuzzies- hopefully they are metal- if so you can grab a cheap brush and try brushing on some paint thinner or mineral spirits. Ive been able to break down the fuzzies on some metals like this before, the thinner can dissolve the fuzz into paint- but be careful- after it gets brushed on and soaks in its sticky just like wet spray paint! Some times the texture smooths out, soetimes it doesnt. You could try that technique on plastic and resin, but you would have to be very cautious about letting the thinner pool in any crevices. And it might just be better to strip the miniatures and start over- if you go that route <a href="http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html">http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html</a> will strip of the Colorplace stuff. And its cheap, also available at walmart- and its not stinky.<br />
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Another thing, when you're priming, whether you decide to go with Black/grey/white, you do not have to completely coat the miniature in a solid layer of primer. Example- a black primed mini does not have to be pitch/solid black all over. If theres still bare metal peeking out in the crevices- thats ok!! If you try to cover every possible surface with a spray you will cover and obscure some fine details. The important parts to prime are the raised areas, especially ones where the miniature will be touched/handled sinces thats where the paint is most likely to get worn off- thats where the primer needs to be to give the paint a foundation to adhere to. As thats what primers job is- to give the paint a way to stick to the miniature. The parts in those recesses- those areas dont get worn down- so they dont need the primer to hold the paint on them. If you're worried about the colors not matching- its not a huge issue- most quality paints- even when thinning your paints, are color fast enough that a layer or two and you wont notice the difference. And add in a wash to shade the recesses, and you're on your way.<br />
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I think this pretty much covers most of the basic 'evils' of Priming. If theres enough interest I might do an advanced priming article. Cover 'Zenital' or two-tone priming for speed painting with washes & glazes, and priming with non standard colors, and where to acquire them. That would mostly be for those in the US, its hard to source things for the European readers, especially since shipping prices have gotten so absurd :/<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-41109872035989968352013-05-04T15:24:00.002-07:002013-05-04T15:36:04.136-07:00May the 4th be with you! Star Wars Day Special: The Mystery of Why Storm Troopers Fail.<br />
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In Old Movie Theaters Far Far Away</div>
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Welcome to this entirely random episode, about our favorite faceless white & black minions: <b>Imperial Stormtroopers</b>!(you must hum the first few bars of the Imperial March everytime Stormtroopers are mentioned!) (And Jawas- and everytime jawas are mentioned Utini!)<br />
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Que the theme music: http://youtu.be/oEuBP1er0gY<br />
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For some of us, like me, we were first introduced to these armored blaster packing ship storming shock troops when they cut through the door of Princess Leias Corellian Corvette, and though the cloud of smoke blaster bolts start flying and the Rebel dudes with the stupid helmets die like a bunch chumps with airsoft pistols trying to fend off a SEAL team. Then you see Darth Vader walk in, and look around like, 'Good job bitches!' And you think whoa! those dudes must be awesome if they hang around that guy! No, bear in mind- I was 4.<br />
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So, fast forward though the droids, the escape pod, whiny kid, desert, uncle is a dick, droid runs off, OMG sand people!!, weird old dude, hologram that Luke pervs on like its the first porn he has ever seen, and then we get to the next key piece of evidence in my Stormtrooper mystery.<br />
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The Jawa Sandcrawler. Obi Wan claimed "These blast points, only Imperial storm troopers are so precise. And these bantha tracks, sand people ride single file to hide thier numbers...."<br />
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Now, we have to scenes, the storming of the corvette, and the pillage of some Jawas(where these all powerful Storm troopers for some reason tried to do a cover up and blame the sand people? WTF?) to validate the Stormtroopers skills and how lethal they're supposed to be. <br />
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So, what happened after the Jawas? Did the slaughter of the Jawas, and maybe even Owen and Baru give all the clone storm troopers some sort of empathic PTSD? They got so rattled that they couldnt fight properly anymore?<br />
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Next song: http://youtu.be/q-i3RUR4eTg<br />
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Heres my theory. The Jawas did it! Everyone thinks theyre just little robed sand rats that scavenge droids and junk. But what if thats just a cover? What if the Jawas are actually just peaceful but powerful latent force users? And when the Storm troopers killed off a whole Sandcrawler community(And why didnt Obi Wan feel THAT disturbance in the Force when it was just a few miles away?) the Jawa mind Ninjas got angry- so angry that they decided to put a big time bad juju machine curse on the whole fucking Empire because some D-bag Stormtroopers used them for target practice when they were looking for some droids. <br />
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Trash compactor shutting off on the detention level? Jawas.<br />
The interrogation droid pumping Leia full of happy drugs. Seriously, she saw her home planet get nuked- never got upset, and then 'arent you a lil short for a storm trooper?' They had that bot pump her full of frikkin combat drugs so she could lead Han, Chewie and Luke off he Deathstar!<br />
Blast doors closing in Vaders face after he killed Obi Wan so Luke could escape-Jawas<br />
Tractor beam turning off so the Falcon could escape? Jawas<br />
Death Stars targeting computer taking FOREVER to target Rebel base- Jawas<br />
Turret defenses on Death Star shutting down- Jawas<br />
Deathstar exhaust port- reversing, and sucking in- so even Luke could land some torpedoes in it- Jawas<br />
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Empire Strikes Back-as the story moves farther away from Tattooine the influence of the Jawas is not as strong- but it is still present!<br />
Giant awesome walking tanks that are blaster proof-tripped by tiny wires- Jawas<br />
Ion Cannon- DUH Thats a fucking Jawa gun! They blasted R2D2 with one- somewhere on Hoth theres Eskimo Jawas scrapping Imperial walker parts and laughing about how mugh they charged the Rebels to buld that Ion cannon back in the day. -Jawas<br />
Lil pigfaced dudes on Bespin- Ughnaughts, theyre Jawas Brothers from another mother. So, while they not part of the Jawa Mind Ninja allaince- the Jawas think kindly of them and spared Bespin from outright destruction, but the Jawa anti Imperial machine curse was spread to Bespin via R2D2<br />
Luke falling down the funslide version of the trash chute- and not the one to an incinerator, or one that was just open at the bottom- Jawas<br />
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Return of The Jedi-<br />
Looking at the utter ridiculousness of the rescue plan for Han, the only way it worked was with the help of the Jawas. Think Luke throwing that skull made the gate crash down on the Rancor? -Jawas<br />
Boba Fett- the most badassed character and bounty hunter in the Star Wars Universe- looks like a fucking clown because none of his gear works right? Jawa machine curse bitches- he's like the grandaddy storm trooper clone so he got EXTRA screwed and dunked like a mandalOreo( <-- a="" actually="" ad="" amuses="" and="" awa="" been="" bitches.="" broken-="" but="" curse="" died="" have="" he="" i="" in="" it="" just="" made="" may="" me="" nbsp="" over="" p="" pit.="" really="" sarlac="" slowly="" survived...="" that="" the="" thousand="" up="" vengeance="" years="">Speeder bikes- aside from making cool noises- riding one in a forest seems like a death wish. You'd think with space ship technology they could put even a basic collision avoidance system on a speeder like that. But then there wouldnt have been a dramatic chase scene...with storm troopers that cant hit anything they shoot at.... -Jawas<br />
On Endor- once again fancy Imperial walkers- tripped with ropes, logs and rocks- this time by spear wielding monkeys- a company of storm troopers again cannot seem to shoot any of them- except by accident. -Jawas<br />
On the half built Death Star...this time the weak point doesnt have a pesky exhaust port. Nope. Just a whole access shaft that a friggin freighter can fly through(Millenium Falcon is a Corellian freighter hull). The engineers that desinged this were on the schedule to be Force choked- but Vaders schedule got backed up. So instead it was firing squad. 3 days later the engineers had not yet starved to death, and the Stormtrooper execution detail was out of ammo. And the tunnel was built. -Jawas <br />
The Super Stardestroyer- we'll just gloss over the fact 2 fighters makin a single pass destroyed thier forward deflector array(Jawas). But then they call to intensify forward firepower- Derp- its a STAR DESTROYER its already got intense forward firepower dumbass. But then he has to say it again. But thats just to make it MORE dramatic when the SUPER BALLSY A-wing pilot goes all Divine Wind and attacks a Super Star Destroyer head on O.o Then somehow he just happen to know where the bridge is, and manages to fly his jacked up A-wing right into it. Jawa Astromech!<br />
Then- the Super Star Destroyer without a Bridge- is now out of control- because unlike Star Trek ships- giant Star Wars ships- have NO ENGINEERING sections or back up bridges- so when all the Storm Troopers ran to the port side escape pods, the ship tilted over from the weight, and crashed into the Death Star. Jawas.<br />
Darth Vaders cybernetics rebooting so he could toss Palpatine down the shaft- Jawas.<br />
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Now- the final mind bender. The Grand Jawa.<br />
I've postulated Jawas are latent Force users.<br />
I will also support this further- becuase all Jedi wear robes right? Jawas wear robes, ergo- Jawas must be Jedi!<br />
No one knows what Jawas look like under their robes- only that they have glowing eyes and that they are short.<br />
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Who else do we know of thats short, wears a robe, uses the Force, and is of an unknown species?<br />
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Yep, for StarWars day- I am stipulating, that Jawas, are young peaceful 'Yodas' that actually won the war for the Rebellion by cursing the Empire. <br />
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And if the Jawas handn't kicked Yoda off Tattooine for being a violent little bastard a several thousand years ago, he might have corrupted all of the Jawas into being a warlike race of mean little sun baked Jedi death machines with tiny light sabers! {{{I had a clever comment here- but theres some sort of editing bot that basically raped it ouut of existance- so- no making fun of Mr Abrams and the future potential of my ideas for a Star Wars movie!}}}<br />
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(I also <span style="font-family: inherit;">think Jaw</span>as sneak into peoples houses at night and infect them with Midi-chlorians haahahah)<br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 23px;">May the 4th be with you! Always! </span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #3a3a3a; font-family: inherit; font-size: x-small;"><span style="line-height: 23px;">(At least until tomorrow when we get to celebrate the Mexicans defaulting on the money they owed to the French a 151 years ago!)</span></span><br />
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<br /><!-----there--><!---i--></-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-38097314031376699462013-05-03T18:41:00.001-07:002017-08-02T09:54:55.745-07:00A Primer, on, priming when the weathers not prime ^_^ And How to avoid the pitfalls of Fuzzing, Running & Stickies!Since I've posted my priming tricks & tips on several G+ and FB posts over the last several weeks, and some people seem to be trapped in a winter that will not end :o, I figured I should just go ahead and do a quick blog post about my priming methods. <br />
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First, so I can just link the blog and save myself from retyping it over & over! And, also so I could attach some pictures and add in some additional details that sometimes get missed when I post it over & over in different spots.<br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R2cjfTow1Hg/UYRjNUIaJGI/AAAAAAAAAfY/2uOV3p1VWUY/s1600/IMG_20130503_164511.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-R2cjfTow1Hg/UYRjNUIaJGI/AAAAAAAAAfY/2uOV3p1VWUY/s320/IMG_20130503_164511.jpg" width="240" /></a>First I'll start off with what I've used to prime 99% of my miniatures since probly 2001. I give you the humble can of Walmart Colorplace Flat Spraypaint. Retail price of roughly 1 dollar. Sometimes .89 cents(stockup! lol) And occasionally Ive seen it as high as a 1.14$.<br />
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This is not the stuff you will paint your car, house or boat with. Its cheap paint, that works fine for scale miniatures, it adheres well to plastic, resin and metal(provided you have prepared them properly by removing any mold release or oily residues!) and like any good primer they have just enough 'tooth' to give some traction and pull the paint off your brush without making the surface look rough.<br />
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Is this stuff 'Better' than the 15$ a can brands from big names we see at the game shops? In my experience- absolutely. Heres why:<br />
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<li>You're not going to treat the Walmart stuff like liquid gold. You're free to experiment and practice with it on the side of a soda can to see how its going to perform before you spray it on your miniatures. The expensive stuff people do not want to 'waste it' like that, so they spray it right on to the minis with not testing whatsoever- and theres quite often poor results.</li>
<li>This is more like a 1-b than a second point. But its about experimenting with the stuff. Its not that the other sprays are bad. The horror stories attributed to many of them are almost always along the lines of "How many cans have you used of that brand?" 'Err, well just that one' Which means they never got to practice with the stuff. No feeling out process, no debugging/troubleshooting. Just bitching about bad results. So its basically almost always operator error- they dont know the product, they bought what was on the shelf because thats what the dude selling them the miniatures told them they were supposed to buy.</li>
<li>Because the game brand primers are 10-15$ a can, sometimes they have an extremely low turnover rate at some shops. Ive seen some shops where cans sat on the shelf for years. Some responsible shop owners will rotate the stock, and get rid of those cans- but many wont. And will sell that old can. Now, imagine that can which has maybe sat there for- lets say only 5 years without ever being shaken...and you only shake it for a minute before spraying it on some minis- think its going to get good smooth results? </li>
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Now we compare it to the Walmart stuff, they aim for having stuff sitting on their shelf for what, less than 30 days at a time for dry goods- so at the worst you can of spray paint might be a few months old. And you can buy a case of them, in a few different shades for the same cost so you can prime your whole army, your friends army, and his two friends armies- and still pick up a decent lunch on the way home with the price difference.<br />
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I know someone is going to make some reply about some game brand being magically formulated to be better for miniatures. And, Im sure it is, they go out and grind up unicorn horns and fairy wings just so that brand of paint works better for our little plastic elves. And that other brand over there uses super nanotech binders to make work better for our space dudes to have extra pew pew lasers! <br />
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Basic spray paints are all pretty much the same- and that's what the game brand primers are- flat spray paints. Krylon and rustoleum have some fancy stuff, the metallics have some nifty applications(but that's a different article) and theres custom colors from artists lines like Plutonium, Liquitex, and Montana. Montana being a curious company since it has a huge color array and catering mostly to the graffiti type crowd. I haven't picked any of thier stuff up yet, but I hope to eventually. Montana and Liquitex also have an acrylic spraycan which I hope to review- since its indoor safe and next winter could help some of you folks up north with some different options.<br />
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Another useful option for those of us with airbrushes, is Vallejo Surface Primer. I didn't mention this as a main basis of my article, as airbrushes are still just a fringe tool for most wargamers even though they are alot more common than they used to be(10% of us using them vs the 1% it was several years ago!). But- If you are planning on doing a display or competition level piece and you want the highest grade of primer finish possible- an airbrush layer of Vallejo Surface primer is probably going to be the ticket. If you dont have an airbrush yourself and want the super smooth prime this stuff can achieve- its liekly someone at your local shop can help you out. Learn the fine art of bribery, the cake does not have to be a lie.<br />
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And that- brings me to the second portion of my post- the first having gotten alot longer than intended O.o Stupid paint ranting!!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">How do you use the spray paint when its humid or cold outside? Or maybe even raining/snowing a little?</span><br />
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Well, I didnt have the huge snow problem some people did. But it still rains here in the winter ;) And like everyone else I like to keep painting. And even though I'm a nut, and a I stash a bunch of pre-primed squirrels to paint- wait... nevermind, close enough...<br />
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So, even though I always have primed stuff to paint, I inevitably have a mood swing to paint something else. Something thats obviously totally unprimed(and usually unassembled and needs a bunch of converting too).<br />
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What do you do when its like 3 am in the middle of December and you just have to prime something RIGHT then? And its raining?<br />
<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29ly7nvvoBw/UYRjM9WOocI/AAAAAAAAAfU/JQQ92JWpu70/s1600/IMG_20130503_163455.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-29ly7nvvoBw/UYRjM9WOocI/AAAAAAAAAfU/JQQ92JWpu70/s320/IMG_20130503_163455.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
I did some laundry. Yep. A big fat load of laundry. Now before you think- neurotic!- theres a method here!<br />
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I could either try to prime my minis and stand out in the freezing cold and dry them with my heat gun- or- after I put my laundry in the DRIER!!! I could put a box in front of the vent to make a pocket of warm dry air ^_^<br />
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And in that pocket of warm dry air- my genius of winter priming was born. <br />
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For the technical side- get a box big enough to catch the out flowing air, and not tip over. Set it at an angle so you get a little bit of swirling- but you don't want the vent blowing straight into the box- if you try that you get like a crazy vortex- I didn't try spraying paint into that- but I don't imagine the results would have been pleasant unless you want to paint yourself. So, just get some warm air in the box then spray the minis. once you get the paint on them- THEN put them into the full air flow from the vent to dry them. It doesn't take very long. One last tip- when you take your minis outside to do this- don't spray the primer onto cold metal miniatures. That will almost always cause the paint to turn gummy and if it does ever dry it will usually take days(and it usually doesn't ever dry right. If your drier blows lint out the vent(mine doesn't) you might wanna do something about that before putting sticky paint covered minis in front of it. Otherwise- there shouldn't be anyother complications :D<br />
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For me the biggest bonus of this whole method- was I could trick myself into doing some laundry in order to prime like 5 or 10 miniatures. Otherwise it was often 'Its too cold out- I'll do laundry tomorrow!!"<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Here ends part one-</span> I'll edit in dealing with humidity and heat later, but right now Im too hot and I need some tea. Was like 95 frikkin degrees today! O.o<br />
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Added May 5th, 2013<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">In Part I</span> we covered some pointers on what sprays you can use affordably and some simple tricks on how to work around cold and wet weather.<br />
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In this addition, (which I will also add to the original article, I just added a new blog post to make sure those that wanted the additional info had a better opportunity to see the fresh post ) I'm going to also go over the more general environmental effects of humidity/dry air, and heat- since summer time should eventually be coming to the northern hemishpere those of us in North America & Europe should shrug off the snow and finally get some sunshine! And hopefully my winter priming tips will help out the blokes down under!<br />
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So, everyone has heard that high humidity causes untold havoc with spray can primers right? That it makes it go on clumpy, or turn 'fuzzy' or all sorts of stuff. I cant even really keep track of all the absurd claims Ive read on the forums over the years.<br />
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What it comes down to, is pretty simple- you have to be smarter than the paint. Almost every single case of bad primer FUBAR is operator error. Yes, bad batches of paint do happen, but its pretty rare, quality control on modern manufactured goods these days is at a reliable standard. So, with the understanding that the spray primer you are using has been stored properly, is of relatively recent purchase, and was shaken thoroughly before use- if theres a problem when it hits the surface- whats the cause? <span style="font-size: large;"> You!</span><br />
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People like to blame thier tools when something doesnt work out right. But lets be honest here- how many cans of that paint have you sprayed? If you were a video game character, and that can of paint was a consumable item you character gained a skill proficiency in- would you even have a basic skill achievement unlocked? Spray Can: 20 Maybe? If you dont use the stuff for DYI purposes or other craft projects maybe not even 20 lol <br />
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Some people might be thinking "How hard can it be? You jsut shake the can, and spray the stuff by pushing the nozzle!" And those steps do seem simple, I mean, they're actually the instructions printed on the cans label right?<br />
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Wait- you guys do read the instructions on the cans right? And realize that different brands have slightly different instructions? Like some only need to be shaken for a minute, some say 3-5 minutes for the first use. Some say hold 12-16 inches away.....some say let dry 10-15 minutes between coats, some only 5 minutes...<br />
<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1niu9bEOwZk/UYb4C-2X9vI/AAAAAAAAAls/JG2jLVxGuh4/s1600/IMG_20130505_161751.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1niu9bEOwZk/UYb4C-2X9vI/AAAAAAAAAls/JG2jLVxGuh4/s320/IMG_20130505_161751.jpg" width="320" /></a><br />
Whats the point? Know your material ;) Since in the first portion of my article I wrote about the Colorplace spray paints, for the rest of my article I will be writing using those as the 'generic' basis for spray paints since they're what I use. (I have used many others, notably Krylons and Rustoleums- so if anyone has questions about a specific type that you already have and need help with, feel free to drop your questions in the comments below). In this example pic is a nice smooth 2 quick, but even layers of black over white styrene. This wasnt the first spray- this was after I had shaken the can- the first spray was for the Streaks pic below lol. But This is the 'base' picture you can compare the others too so you can see whats wrong with them- if you need the comparisons.<br />
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So- lets define the Runs, Fuzzes, Streaks and Stickies for anyone who's not familiar with them yet. And so I dont scare anyone off- they're not scary forms of intestinal distress that result in Nurglings flying out of anyones ass(or other orifices).<br />
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<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KbdVMBhGA/UYb37kLfT1I/AAAAAAAAAlc/1W3oMTTH6q4/s1600/IMG_20130505_161313.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-V3KbdVMBhGA/UYb37kLfT1I/AAAAAAAAAlc/1W3oMTTH6q4/s320/IMG_20130505_161313.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;">Runs</span>- this is what happens when you spray too much paint too close to the surface- it actually pools up and will run down. This is hard to do on infantry minis, so we usually only see it on tanks- usually Rhinos and land raiders that 'Little Timmy' got and very enthusiastically tried to paint(ironically its usually full grown adults that dump a whole can onto a single tank...)<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GOSsG-hVT2c/UYb4FqrNIJI/AAAAAAAAAl0/LSuvE-PHJeY/s1600/IMG_20130505_161822.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-GOSsG-hVT2c/UYb4FqrNIJI/AAAAAAAAAl0/LSuvE-PHJeY/s320/IMG_20130505_161822.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-size: large;"></span><br />
<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">Streaks</span>- you lazy bastard. You didn't shake your paint enough. Know how I can tell? Primers arent supposed to be translucent! That means the pigment didnt get mixed into the thinner, so the stuff that sprayed out came out streaky. It also means you got lucky- the opposite of Streaky- is chunky, and that usually blocks the pickup tube or nozzle and ruins the can of paint. Shake that stuff. Especially if its not the 1$ stuff.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">Stickies</span>- So lets say you did shake it just right, and you're laying down good even coats. Whats this 'Sticky' deal? Its about you being impatient! Spray on that layer of paint. Go eat a sammich. Go look check out my freinds at the <a href="http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/">http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/</a> just do something for 10 minutes while that paint dries. If you spray another layer of paint, over a layer of wet paint- you get the Stickies. Which is paint that might not ever cure properly. It might take 8 hours to dry all the way. It might still be sticky. If it does dry to the touch, it might still be soft underneath because the stuff inside cant dry right. It usually means you have to strip the paint off and start over. Its closely related to the Runs- but its a little worse- because it shoes you have the skill to put the paint on properly- jsut that you werent patient enough and you FAILED!!. So dont do it. Theres no picture for this one, I didnt see the point of piling up paint on something for a demonstration pic....<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;"><br /></span><span style="font-size: large;">And now the FUZZES</span>!!! Sounds almost cute, like kittehs and teddy bears? Its not really, at least not when its something thats going onto your miniatures and makes their once smooth features look like they are afflicted with some sort of gangrenous or rusty skin affliction!<br />
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOCsiF7g77M/UYb4BtOICrI/AAAAAAAAAlk/4PHY1xIoihQ/s1600/IMG_20130505_161711.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ZOCsiF7g77M/UYb4BtOICrI/AAAAAAAAAlk/4PHY1xIoihQ/s320/IMG_20130505_161711.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="font-size: 13px; text-align: center;">See the fuzzy residue where I rubbed it with my finger? </td></tr>
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You see, the common myth behind the Fuzzing, is that its all about evil humidity. Ive read numerous forum posts on it and its the #1 culprit. And, while I do concede that humidity is a factor, its not the cause of fuzzing. Sorry humidity conspiracy guys. I can recreate Fuzzing, at will, in Arizona, with 15% humidity on any given day. See, I watch the weather alot due to my migraine being triggered by weather fluctuations. And it just struck me as odd that humidity would shut down spray painting so completely, so I researched a few other industries that spray in humid areas- like New Orleans and Seattle- and no reports of complications. Which indicated they just used the stuff different because those where the conditions they were used to. So- thats the key folks. Humidity CHANGES. If you're used to spraying one way- and try to spray that exact same way when the humidity has shot up or down 40%- the results are likely to be considerably different. Its also worth noting- that somtimes the the fuzzing paint wont even stick to the miniatures- when that happens you know for sure its a case of spraying from too far away!<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">The Mechanics of Fuzzing</span>: So what really causes Fuzzing? Simple, really simple. Its dried paint! If you're getting a grainy/gritty finish on your models you are holding your can TOO FAR away from the surface of your minis when spraying them. By the time the paint gets there some of it has already started to dry, it mixes with the paint thats still wet, and it clumps up, forming a rough textured paint. FUZZING!! <br />
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So, why is it worse when its humid? I wondered that too. I even sat down and sprayed paint through the mist from a humidifier to experiment. And talked to a freind thats a chemist. My working hypothesis is that with higher humidity levels, the fuzzing is likely more noticeable because the paint particles bond with some water vapor in the air- this makes the paint 'chunks' of pigment alot larger than the normally are in terms of surface area. Then the fluffier water-saturated 'Fuzzy' pigment pieces adhere to the miniature just like they normally would. But the fuzzing is more pronounced- think of it sort of like breakfast cereal, a normal pigment particle is supposed to be like, a grain of salt- but if it gets fluffed up and instead is like a Rice Crispy because a bunch of them get stuck together- its a little easier to see why the surface of your miniatures get a little rough and lumpy instead of nice and smooth.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">So- how do you slay the Fuzzies?</span> We have the technology....we have the knowledge....we have the 1$ spray paint...(I do anyway lol) Its how close you hold the spray can. On humid days you have to adjust, spray closer. Yes, think means you have to also spray faster- if you dont you you will get 'Runs' from spraying too close. But you can spray quick close layers, and let each dry thoroughly.<br />
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You need to practice. Its really that simple. If you only spray prime something once every few months you just are not proficient with one of the tools you use. Primer is the paint layer on which you put all your other work- some of us have a hundred of dollars of vallejo, GW, P3 and Reaper paints on our shelves. We spend hours watching youtube tutorials on how to wet blend, use oil washes, airbrush, highlight and a bunch of other techniques- all of which rely on a layer of primer. <br />
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Practice using some spray cans, it doesnt have to be on miniatures. Its actually better to NOT practice on miniatures until you get good at it. I always tell people to practice on garbage- if you're going to throw it away- and its a plastic material similar to a space marine tank- spray some primer on it before tossing it out.<br />
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<span style="font-size: large;">What should you do if you already have a batch on miniatures that are BeFuzzled? </span>Well, sadly we have limited options here. If they are dry dusty fuzzies- washes tehm off in hte sink with some good dish soap and a gentle brushing- if you're lucky it all comes off and theres nothing left sticking and you jsut learned you hold your spray at least a foor farther away than it needs to be! But, if you have the stuck on clump fuzzies- hopefully they are metal- if so you can grab a cheap brush and try brushing on some paint thinner or mineral spirits. Ive been able to break down the fuzzies on some metals like this before, the thinner can dissolve the fuzz into paint- but be careful- after it gets brushed on and soaks in its sticky just like wet spray paint! Some times the texture smooths out, soetimes it doesnt. You could try that technique on plastic and resin, but you would have to be very cautious about letting the thinner pool in any crevices. And it might just be better to strip the miniatures and start over- if you go that route <a href="http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html">http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html</a> will strip of the Colorplace stuff. And its cheap, also available at walmart- and its not stinky.<br />
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Another thing, when you're priming, whether you decide to go with Black/grey/white, you do not have to completely coat the miniature in a solid layer of primer. Example- a black primed mini does not have to be pitch/solid black all over. If theres still bare metal peeking out in the crevices- thats ok!! If you try to cover every possible surface with a spray you will cover and obscure some fine details. The important parts to prime are the raised areas, especially ones where the miniature will be touched/handled sinces thats where the paint is most likely to get worn off- thats where the primer needs to be to give the paint a foundation to adhere to. As thats what primers job is- to give the paint a way to stick to the miniature. The parts in those recesses- those areas dont get worn down- so they dont need the primer to hold the paint on them. If you're worried about the colors not matching- its not a huge issue- most quality paints- even when thinning your paints, are color fast enough that a layer or two and you wont notice the difference. And add in a wash to shade the recesses, and you're on your way.<br />
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I think this pretty much covers most of the basic 'evils' of Priming. If theres enough interest I might do an advanced priming article. Cover 'Zenital' or two-tone priming for speed painting with washes & glazes, and priming with non standard colors, and where to acquire them. That would mostly be for those in the US, its hard to source things for the European readers, especially since shipping prices have gotten so absurd :/<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-25949133818728778882013-03-01T06:04:00.000-07:002013-03-01T06:04:13.226-07:00Reclaiming my hobby desk!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-orgiKpiSZos/UTClrIbAXwI/AAAAAAAAAcM/qru1AN4d_KA/s1600/2013-02-25+18-07-57.987.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-orgiKpiSZos/UTClrIbAXwI/AAAAAAAAAcM/qru1AN4d_KA/s320/2013-02-25+18-07-57.987.jpg" width="320" /></a>So, a few years ago I set up my desk with the intent of doing some professional level sculpting projects. I wanted my tools organized and accessible, but out of the way, and I needed to set it up on a zero budget using stuff I already had.<br />
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I had just moved back to my small town house from Phoenix. And in that move the previous room mates had left alot of stuff behind when they left. Including a decent glass topped steel framed desk that I believe is from Ikea- but I cant be sure. Anyhow, The rather hefty tempered glass top would be great as a work top- easy to clean, and perfect for sculpting since you can roll your putty right onto the table top.<br />
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To organize I had some wire cube shelving I had been using as closet storage. And while they aren't designed for supporting tools, with some extra support from zip ties or hose clamps I figured they'd be more than sturdy enough for what I needed them to do- and they were! <br />
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When first set up in 2009 I only envisioned the need to support some lighting and my 2 speakers so I could listen to music and watch netflix or hulu while I painted or sculpted stuff. A simple 4 socket power bar was plenty, it would power a dremel, laptop and a couple lamps.<br />
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But sadly, that wonderful desk fell into disuse for almost 4 years. Why? Well, thats a lengthy story that will be covered in detail in future blog articles- but the short version is that I had a rapid onset of health problems that affected my motor control in my hands(and everything else). When sitting at a desk- and handling sharp things- and you drop a sharp thing- it falls into your legs or feet.<br />
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After dropping a large sharp thing and causing a large bloody mess- I had to accept that it was not safe to handle sharp things while sitting at my desk anymore. So, I gathered up the tools into boxes and did my work on the floor- where dropping things wouldnt hurt the carpet much. And by that time I was dropping the minis quite often as well- it was less damaging for the minis- so it just worked out better.<br />
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Now, nearly 4 years later, the room my really nice desk sits in has mostly been used as a giant closet/catch all room. You know the room- the one when you dont really feel like cleaning you just put everything in there? Ya, that one. <br />
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So- over all this time the health problems that had me stop using the desk havent gone away, in some ways they've gotten worse. I've had to relearn how to paint, how to sculpt, and how to do alot of the little hobby things I used to take for granted. If I didn't already have 10 years of experience before I had these problems I dont know if I could have adapted like I have. Not very many people have to learn how to paint all over again, or sculpt. But my hands just forgot how even though my brain knew. Anyway, the desk.<br />
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Since I've adapted to the problems, and they arent surprises anymore- I decided it was time to save the desk. Unearth it from the monumental pile of stuff on it and around it. I was going to take before and after pics-but the mess was truly embarassing- so the after pics of the desk are what you get ;)<br />
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One of the other reasons for digging it out- is that its actually set up really well for doing video tutorials on miniature work. I've already rigged up a articulated camera boom thats way better than what most of the guys on youtube are using (and its something I hope I can help them fix if they are interested!) so getting close ups and using my camera can be a bit more dynamic since I don't have to stick it on a tripod and leave it. So, to that end, the right side is usually occupied with my laptop and camera mount leaving the middle and left side as work areas.<br />
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I'd be turning out videos already, but our good freind CenturyLink- seems to think that less than lmpbs down load and like .5 mbps upload rates with a bunch of jitter in the line is somehow 'looks fine'. But trying to upload a video to youtube isn't getting much success right now. So, worst case scenario is I cant really get behind video production until after we get moved from Arizona to Tn in the next couple of months.<br />
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-46553203678677955942013-02-04T19:43:00.002-07:002013-02-04T19:43:42.287-07:00Wow, its bigger than I thought it would be O.oIt didn't really do much 'will shrink to fit available space' did it? I didnt think it would be quite so...large.<br />
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Think its too much? I was figuring a bunch of it would get trimmed out and I'd get to move the window around like I did with my Google+ profile.<br />
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If I realized I had more space I coulda crammed in a few more books and minis to make finding Waldo more challenging!<br />
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Anyways- if it seems like its too much dead space to scroll by to read an article lemme know so I can trim it a bit. <br />
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At least with the larger format space opened up now I can more easily arrange articles and tutorials I want to do whether its with pics or vids. Anyways, if anyone cared/noticed let me know if you think the old format was better in any way- I dont think it was, but in case I missed anything different perspectives are always good to have :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-29154813470442041822013-02-03T12:58:00.000-07:002013-02-03T12:58:13.678-07:00Superblog Sunday!Yep. I totally ripped that off/made it up on the spot ;) I hadn't really planned on working on the blog today. But its could and chilly outside(by Arizona standards at least) and its not looking like my ISP has gotten anything fixed to the point where I will be able to manage much of a functioning +Hangout just yet- so my apologies to the +Warmachine and Hordes guys (wtf Google no linky?!) I mentioned that I might start one up today. I can get one going still but it will probably limit me to just text contributions :/<br />
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Anyhow- back to ME! Or at least the blog. Poking around I discovered the format options buried away. So I could finally widen the columns and utilize all the dead space. For years having like a 3 inch frikkin margin has annoyed me but I was never able to find a way to adjust it and it seemed like it was just reserved for ad space. Its kinda stupid that its hidden in the templates section, not in the editor section where you can actually move the columns...<br />
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Anyhow- with the new wide body format- its like going to HDTV all over again! Hello 2005! So, I'll be working on a new banner pic, which is alright I suppose since I needed one for my G+ & youtube page(videos are about a month away while I struggle through video editing!) and this can sort of tie my 'brand' identity together I suppose.<br />
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So, keep an eye out for my new banner pic. It will be a sort of evolution of the old one above. But will have more space to fit in some of my larger nerd swag and gamer themes(future article and vids too!). It will likely take a while to set up, so I might not get it done until later tonight or even tomorrow since theres alot of stress here at home right now.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-3538646160025995452013-01-26T13:17:00.000-07:002013-01-26T13:19:56.478-07:00Compressor build yesterdays(Friday) progress.<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqwaXahuhGk/UQQzBADeTUI/AAAAAAAAAWc/82au9a_qUdc/s1600/IMG_0540.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="background-color: black;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-VqwaXahuhGk/UQQzBADeTUI/AAAAAAAAAWc/82au9a_qUdc/s320/IMG_0540.jpg" width="320" /></span></a></div>
<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">Compressor update!(if anyone actually cares :P) Heres a scale pic so you get an idea of its size. Some seemed to think it was huge- but its about half the size of a soda bottle. Keep in mind the part we're working with is the round black thing. The rest is just the crap its temporarily bolted to :) Its cold and raining today, so I doubt I get to work on it :(</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;"><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">So, With the wiring finally solved on Wednesday on Thursday I was able to pickup a few bitz at Harbor Freight I thought I was going to need. Mostly hose fittings, and a set of star wrenches to undo the mounting bolts holding it to the plate. Ironically- it turned out I didnt need any of it. But- I did score a great deal on a clearance roofers airhose(super light weight, rated 250 psi) 7$ for 25 ft. and got a bottle of compressor oil for 2$. The first thing I wanted to test Thursday morning was to make sure it would work under pressure and actually fill a tank. So I did some temporary fittings, emptied my 5 gallon tank and started filling it. </span><button class="Ug" data-sbxm="1" data-token-entity="@116545426430348189461" oid="116545426430348189461" style="border-bottom-left-radius: 2px; border-bottom-right-radius: 2px; border-top-left-radius: 2px; border-top-right-radius: 2px; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); color: #3366cc; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 1.4; margin: 0px 1px; padding: 0px 1px; vertical-align: baseline; white-space: nowrap;" tabindex="-1"><span class="JI" style="color: #888888;">+</span>Philipp Sury</button><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> mentioned stopping and starting it with it under load- and as that seemed like a prudent suggestion I stopped it at 35 psi, and 70psi. This type of compressor isnt designed for rapid cycling so I did give it a moment before turning it back on and there was no air loss while waiting. Both times it came back on without any issues. And as the pressure loads increased it actually seems to fill faster. The noise level never increased either. Total run time, not counting the stops, to fill the 5gallon tank to 100 psi was about 11 minutes</span><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srYYvaka_m0/UQQyxxv08nI/AAAAAAAAAWE/AMsGNsisPwU/s1600/IMG_0538.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-srYYvaka_m0/UQQyxxv08nI/AAAAAAAAAWE/AMsGNsisPwU/s320/IMG_0538.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div>
<span style="background-color: black;"> <span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;">By comparison, the shop compressor in the pic below can do it in about 5 minutes I think- I've never actually timed it. Even though its outside, and around a corner. I generally turn it on and basically run away because its so damn loud. Dont get me wrong- its a great piece of hardware- years of solid service and all that. But it doesnt really cooperate with my migraines at all. And in case anyone asks- yes, the bird poop is an advanced weathering technique- and no I will not share the secret of how to do it with you. I will however sell you a kit with the ingredients...</span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">Anyways, in the pics are a few of the steps I took pics of. The out flow pipe is actually steel rather than copper- which caught me by surprise. I had to adapt some different bending techniques so it didnt crimp. Luckily I had some extra gas in the torch and a fat socket nearby to give me a radius to bend around. On the plus side- its less likely to get bent in the future from an accidental bump like a copper tube would.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> During the bending I discovered the outer diameter of the tube is nearly the same as the inner diameter of ther quick connect air hose fittings I have laying around. Even for my littler airbrush stuff I try to use mostly standard 1/4" connectors just to make swapping stuff around easier. I went the the process of trimming this fitting on my redneck lathe(aka power drill clamped to a bench and used a hacksaw on the spinning part). But I might instead go with a threaded fitting and put a moisture/oil trap in place- as this is an oil filled compressor I need to keep that in mind and have the filter in line at the compressor or tank before it hits the hose to my brushes.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;">My phone died before I got pics pics more pics, but I got it off the mounting plate, and the wiring cover in place. I'm almost certainly going to have to paint it up to look like some sort of goofy little robot.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black;">Finally- I do not know what the hell is up with the formatting on Blogger today- everytime I try to preview its changing things around. If it does something hideous with the text on the actual post I'll try to fix it.</span><br />
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<span style="background-color: black; font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 18px;"> </span>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-74371179746011482222013-01-23T18:02:00.000-07:002013-01-23T18:02:09.726-07:00First video post- free compressor build ^_^So, this wasn't on the agenda perse', more of a random inspiration idea that Im currently crusading about on. Im salvaging an old fridge compressor into use as a silent indoor airbush compressor. Theres several vids of them on youtube, and others have done it on various hobby forums over the years.<br />
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Any how- its my first video post- since pics just wouldnt do and I want to get used to talking you guys :)<br />
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So- up to the vid I've yanked the compressor out of old fridge, and banged my head on my keyboard for a couple days trying to figure out how the wiring works because like most modern stuff there seems to be way more than is really necessary. Anyhow- once I stopped overthinking it- it was pretty easy. Tomorrow I'll pick up some oil and basic fittings to give it a test run on filling up a tank :)<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dwuLmY5JGrBf2KBbZGCHplCnSMkaaT4ePWodP-Hv0Z2JCesk8XfDutljnx5U9REP6SkQydLvJEf3guflbc_1w' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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If theres any enthusiasm for recycled and repurposed tooling for our hobby work, drop a comment and let me know if theres anything specific you'd like to see covered :) If I havent already thought of a way to do something, Im always up for a challenge and figuring out ways to save us some cash so we can buy more miniatures!Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-1872074649954760292013-01-16T03:53:00.003-07:002013-01-16T03:53:48.502-07:00Damn migraines! Down, but not out!So, 19 days of migraines! Hopefully that shit is done and over with so I can get down to getting some content generated!<br />
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Sneak previews of upcoming stuff in the next couple of weeks.<br />
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Crayons and miniatures!! (Yes really, and its AWESOME!)<br />
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Right round baby right round...(rotary tools for our hobby)<br />
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Hack your paint! How to make you paint do more with stuff already in your hobby tool kit!<br />
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And:<br />
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Shopping! Its come to my attention most gamers are shitty shoppers. Im going to share some tips with you guys on how to get your hobby supplies at some crazy discounts(if you're willing to get off your ass!).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-54816576218287748382013-01-08T18:00:00.002-07:002013-01-08T18:00:50.916-07:00You're doing it right! Privateer Press.Its always nice to be pleasantly surprised when your favorite game companies do something that makes you remember why you like them in the first place.<br />
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http://privateerpress.com/content/announcing-the-privateer-press-digital-reader-app<br />
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http://privateerpress.com/privateer-press-digital<br />
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Not only are they offering all the MKII books in digital format, they are priced lower than paper versions, and you can update them as errata fixes are made! Anyone familiar with Privateer knows theyre much more prompt about 'patching' their rules when a problem is found than some of the others out there.<br />
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Not to mention the IKRPG books, and all the issues of NQ will be available as well(including subscriptions- no more relying on that pesky mailman!)<br />
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I dont have an e-reader yet, but knowing I wont have to try and force some PDFs to work and I can play the game off a small tablet or reader has me much more motivated to get one.<br />
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Also, it seems they have learned from the mistakes of thier recent past, as some of you may recall the War Room app that was released with much fanfare but kind of fizzled. It was a great attempt, but fell short in the QC department as the programming staff hired really wasn't up to a job of that size. This time however- they went to a reputable professional company with Leeway/Hertz.<br />
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Is Privateer the first major gaming company to do this? I havent heard of any others doing it for more than some PDFs.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-38780079620221541332013-01-01T22:20:00.001-07:002013-01-01T22:20:10.745-07:002013 and what we'll be seeing here on my lil blog ^_^So, 2012 was a rather sparse year in terms of getting much blogging done. My health probs haven't gotten much better, so I still tend to focus on actually painting and converting stuff more than setting up the lighting and all required to get decent pics.<br />
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For those of you that have been following me here, or for the recent subscribers that may have actually read back to the earliest posts I made in this blog, I've had to make many adjustments and adaptations to how I paint and to a lesser extent how I do any of the modeling stuff. Its taken a bit over 3 years, but Im finally getting back to the same level of 'skill' and finished miniatures. I've been able to do that by learning new techniques, some I found online, others I figured out on my own- a sort of invention by necessity process. A big part of that process has been finding the right materials and products(or making them) to simplify things. As lets be honest, many of the products available for the modeling and painting we do have been traditionally a pain in the ass to use(prime example is Green stuff).<br />
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The day after christmas I was chatting with a fellow blogger, I had commented on a youtube vid he had done. I'll let him remain anonymous for now(and he can step forward and accept the blame if he wants ;) ) but it was a rather benifical discussion for me. As he liked the content of my blog and suggested I could do some Youtube vids of my own. I didnt really think anything in my blog was really that great- I mean at best my posts get maybe a dozen replies right? But thats not really how the internet works is it? On a good day the average high quality content forum post will get maybe 1 reply for every 30 or 40 people that view it- and depending on the forums, that reply might just be pointless trolling. So, as the conversation with this fellow continued I realized that if an established video blogger thought I had content that was worthwhile maybe I needed to give it a try. But, that brought up the next hurdle- being that I have about zero equipment to do any sort of decent quality posts. <br />
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I've been using my phone cam for pics for over a year, and while its an 8mp cam, its sitll only working off a celphone sized lens arrangement. Lacking just a HD cam to do some video wouldnt normally be an issue, but those aforementioned health probs have caused a long term lack of income- so I dont have the disposable income to just buy one. Much to my surprise, this guy actually offered to spot me a camera if I would use it to start doing some appropriate vids. This kind of surprised me to be honest, as I still barely know this guy- and yet a random act of kindness transpired.<br />
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So, Im not gonna lie, Im no movie star and generally hate being on camera. But, I can let my minis do thier job and handle the camera time right? When I actually started thinking about what I can offer in terms of sharing knowledge I came up with more than a few ideas, which in turn each sort of spun off a few more of thier own.<br />
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Im not going to be doing lengthy or in depth vid's any time soon- as for stuff like painting theres painters out there with much more skill/talent using traditional methods that are already doing excellent and detailed tutorials. Same for sculpting, terrain making and even making molds and casting. What does that leave me to cover? Alot actually, theres alot of very useful info that can fall between the cracks of the bigger video tutorials, not to mention the stuff I only learned when I had to adjust my techniques to deal with the onset of some disbilities- and info like that might really help others enjoy the hobby alot more. <br />
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So, I'm going to be making vids on stuff like what tools Ive acquired over the years that make various modeling tasks easier, how I paint stuff really fast but still get good results, How to make your hobby budget go a little farther, products you might not be aware of, and one Im surprised that no one else have ever really done much with- recycling household stuff to use for making models, terrain, tools and other 'equipment' that can save us time or money :)<br />
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So keep an eye out, I should actually be getting out some regular content at least a couple times per month. To start off Im going to be focusing on useful content of getting a super polished shiny video, I'll hone my video editing as I go rather than trying to make perfect vids from day one(which would keep me from posting anything while I figure out how to use Vegas...).Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-86032314884374203422012-11-05T18:15:00.001-07:002012-11-05T18:15:27.386-07:00Stripping!Your miniatures you perverts!!<div>
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So, on various forums and conversations I often see alot of confusion about how to simply and effectively strip paint off of minis. Some people swear by toxic concoctions, or that you cant strip plastic only metal, that resin should never be stripped because it will melt or cause a nuclear explosion. In short theres alot of myths that dissuade alot of people from even trying it- or they try a poor method and get bad results and decide stripping doesnt work.</div>
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Well, its easy. It costs a few $$ to get the proper materials, but those materials will be able to strip literally hundreds of miniatures if you do it properly. I've been stripping miniatures, metal, plastic, and resin for over 10 years and have never had any destroyed in the process.</div>
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Some will complain the set up I use is too expensive. If you cant spare 10$, wargaming is obviously not the hobby for you- so feel free to leave now ;)</div>
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So- to start off you need to either go shopping, or raid the kitchen & garage. Your list:</div>
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2 plastic containers of the same size, the disposable tupperware types are perfect.(you can make do with one if you have too)</div>
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1 gallon jug of Superclean. This stuff is the BEST all round stripping agent for ALL the different materials our miniatures are made of- it works safely, is bio degradable, and is concentrated(hence-wear some gloves and eye protection just to be safe). I get it at Walmart for about 7$.</div>
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The above items can be acquired for around 10$ or less.</div>
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Here are the plastic containers I used-they were on sale and less than a dollar each. I generally use the smaller food storage ones, but I needed to strip some tanks so these were perfect(they'll fit 2 land raiders).</div>
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I marked out a series of holes for just one of the containers- the holes need to be at the lowest point of the container since they are drain holes.<br />
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You'll notice I only made small holes-the reasoning for this is is so that the smaller bitz stay in the container. Superclean will break down most CA type glues if soaked for a long period, so heads/hands and other lil bitz wont get lost. This top container is essentially a tray- it holds the minis and will strain out the stripping fluid.<br />
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Once the holes are drilled out, you just stick that container inside the other one(I shouldnt have to specify but- make sure the one WITH the holes is the one INSIDE the one WITHOUT holes) and throw in some minis you want to strip. Most food storage types will fit 20 or 30 infantry pretty easy. In the pic below I fit a chimera, 30 or so marines, and a few misc metal IG. <br />
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Now, just pour in the Superclean until the models are submerged. Some that have hollow spaces inside them will float, dont worry about that too much, just flip them over the next day. Be careful pouring the stuff- go slow so it doesnt splash and if you get any on your hands go wash it off. It wont tear your skin off, but it will dry it out to the extreme- and DO NOT rub your eyes.(just read the warning on the bottle so you know what you're working with)<br />
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After the Superclean is added, put a lid on the top, its water based so it will evaporate if you dont seal it up. I also put a label on the container in case someone else is bumbling about my game room. I find adding a date on the label helps keep track of how long the stuff has been soaking. Stripping is easiest if done patiently, going faster means it takes more effort.<br />
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So, I'll go over the rest of the process in a few days(after these dudes and chimera are ready to scrub). The basics are simple though, you just pull out the top container and let the fluid drain out all the holes we drilled in the bottom. Grab an old toothbrush(stiffer bristles are better!) and head to the kitchen sink, rinse the minis off and start brushing the loose paint away.</div>
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If you're lucky the paint just sloughs right off. But sometimes people use some non standard primers that are more difficult to remove- and they might need to soak more after the brushing.</div>
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If you jsut have a single container, you just skip over the steps for drilling the holes. The downside to single container is that you either have to use something to strain the minis out of the superclean- or you're plucking them out of the fluid. If you do that- vinyl/latex gloves are a good idea- as repeated dipping into the superclean will pull the oils out of your skin and dry it out to the extreme. Basically the next day the skin on your fingers will start peeling off and its not pretty ;)</div>
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The only other warning I can think to add about superclean, is for metal miniatures. In the unlikely event you soak them for a long period of time, like a couple of months, the superclean will start to nibble away the metal. At first its just a mild roughening on the surface, but it left for longer it will start to look like Nurgle has gotten ahold of the miniature. I will note this isn't the fault of the superclean- it will be the fault of the person using it for far too long.</div>
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I've used this method to strip GW plastics, metal minis of just about every make, Privateer Press plastics, home cast Polyurethae resins, and Forgeworld resin models and it hasn't had any ill effects on any of them.</div>
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Some people might try to argue the SimpleGreen is better, but it is not. Its not as concentrated, so it either takes longer, or for the stubborn cases just wont penetrate the stronger primers. I've been stripping minis for well over 10 years now, Ive tried dozens of products. There are some that work great- but are toxic(brake fluid and nail polish remover for example) and require special disposal and handling- and only work on metals and some plastics. If the point of stripping is to save some money- dont risk melting the minis!</div>
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For those of you outside the US that might not have Superclean available, let me know if you have found something that works. Ive read about Fairypower spray and dettol, but they dont seem to be up to the same level the Superclean is.</div>
Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com13tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-14117735191122599742012-10-13T04:45:00.002-07:002012-10-13T04:45:22.525-07:00First look: WIP sonic blaster sculptSo, heres the first WIP preview of my blasters. The apoxie sculpt is grey so it doesnt have that popping contrast of a green stuff sculpt, but its soooo much easier to shape. And the new clay shapers are definitely making it easier- I havent had to sand anything yet, just some minor filing, mostly on the styrene I used to bulk up the rough shape.<br />
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Theres probably another 3 layers of details I still want to do. Notably a power hose/cable along the bottom from the 'magazine/ area to right under the muzzle. When sculpting parts this small, you basically add one or two little additions- then wait. If you dont you inevitably smash the uncured putty with a finger or thumb. So, its not taking much actual work time, but its a slow process. If I hadn't made the base frame of the weapon out of styrene I'd stick it under a lamp to rush the cure, but I really dont want to melt it :o<br />
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Nothing like a jumbo picture to bring out all the details I havent added yet ;)<br />
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I think the next time I make a scratch weapon Im going to do some sketching first. I tend to just make it up as I go which isnt the most efficient method. But it seems to be working out so far.<br />
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Let me know what you think, and keep in mind this is very WIP.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-38757187560927547322012-10-09T04:27:00.000-07:002012-10-09T04:27:25.145-07:00Rumblings from the warp....After a lengthy hiatus from 40k, soon there shall be an onslaught of renegades and corrupted mutants.<br />
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Dusted off after a lengthy interment, such things as my Nightlords, an Iron Warriors detachment, and the reanimated remnants of my original Black Legion are being reformed into a usable force.<br />
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Its been over 5 years since Ive painted or played any of my chaos marines, the 2007 Champions of Chaos event was the last tournament I played in, and the only games my Night Lords army was ever fielded for.<br />
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Night Lords got a bit of a short stick on this Codex, but the overall codex is good, so they will be the main core of my troops for the time being. As the last time they were fielded they were an all infantry army, theres a large core of troops to work with and troop heavy armies sem like they'll work well in this edition.<br />
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So, my biggest initial project will be a Demon Prince. I wont use the GW plastic kit, and I have a conversion/sculpt I started in 07 but never finished because I pretty much quit 40k. But it will be a fun model to finish, my skillset now is more refined so I can get much better results.<br />
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Once I make sure the Prince I have in mind is legal, and maybe even if it isn't, I'm going to start serious sculpt work as soon as my order of art supplies from Blick arts arrives(hopefully the 10th). I've got a set of silicone clay shapers that should make some of the sculpting much easier.<br />
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Later today I should have the parts gathered, and I'll take some pics of what work is already done and will try to closely follow the progress in case anyone is interested in how the sculpting progresses.<br />
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But, the current plan is for a Khornate Demon Prince, Axe of Blind Rage, Power Armor, mounted on a Juggernaut.<br />
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Now- a monstrous creature cant really ride the existing juggernauts, so, the Prince will BE the juggernaut. Think Demon+Juggernaut+centaur= Juggetaur Demon Prince.<br />
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I think the only other hold up on this plan might be if I decide to scrap the old metal juggernaut and try to find a Bloodcrusher one, the sculpt on those is just so much better. It would save me alot of metal cutting to get the old one to do what I want.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-413432639266146552012-09-11T00:19:00.000-07:002012-09-11T00:19:15.422-07:00So, I've made the frequent disclaimer I pretty much suck at keeping my blog updated. But it does happen on occasion and hopefully those of you still paying attention find it worthwhile :)<br />
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So, most of the summer has been spent working on my Hordes Trollbloods. I worked on learning some new blending techniques since the dire trolls are mostly flesh, the ole dry brushing and washes wasn't really going to bring out the details. So, the dire trolls started with the Earthborn(which I did in Earth tones), the Bomber, Extreme Mauler, Blitzer, and then the baby Mauler. <br />
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By the time I got to the blitzer I had been working on the 2 brush wet blending that Privateer Press has always advocated. Im still getting it down, and it does seem to be a useful technique to have. But Im still going to use my old wash/drybrush/highlight methods I always have, I'll just use whatever gets the result I want the easiest.<br />
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For conversions, I went pretty light on the trolls. The Bombers pygmy torch bearer is mounted with magnets- I had to pin the lil guy at the wrist since he wasn't packed very well and broke while getting shipped to me. The magnets let me take him off when hes in the case. When I get more magnets I'll do the same with the gunner on my blitzer. The Blitzer got the most converting as I actually reposed both arms, the right arm was cut at the shoulder and tilted back to raise the right arm, and the left arm was bent at the elbow bringing it up off the ground. Then the shackle chain got adjust to fit hte new arm position. Its not something most people will notice, but those that know thier trolls probably will :) <br />
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I got all the trolls via trades, and Im realizing Im much more meticulous than most people in terms of assembly and finishing mold lines and seams before I paint anything. I've got the tools to make it easier I guess, the cheapie set of diamond files and dremel bits combined with Apoxie sculpt and some old vallejo acrylic putty makes pretty simple work of smoothing out the lines. Just takes time for the putties to dry.<br />
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If theres any interest I'll gather up the infantry and get pics of them done up as well. Theyre mostly done, just have the min unit of scattergunners/UA, and a full unit of Krielstone bearers/UA left to do. Then I have to decide what I want to do with thier bases. I've never done snowy bases, or anything like a happy spring time forest base. The idea of little flowers on the bases on the dire trolls amuses me ^_^ <br />
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I should also note the stuff in the pics isn't all what I consider complete. I still want to go back and do some wet blending on the Axers. impaler, bouncer, and the Extreme dire troll. I did the regular Trolls first and the learning curve shows on the ones I havent shaded the flesh on with all the techniques.<br />
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Theres a few different pics on my<a href="http://s17.photobucket.com/albums/b91/Isabelles_minis/Trollbloods/"> photobucket account</a>.<br />
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The infantry pics should be showing up there over then next couple weeks :)Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-85020197290614256022012-03-30T15:14:00.003-07:002012-03-30T15:29:16.745-07:00Let slip the Hogs of war!!<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hfPAnE-3Vl4/T3Yy4uqO0mI/AAAAAAAAAMU/LjOod9f-9RQ/s1600/IMG_0195.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-hfPAnE-3Vl4/T3Yy4uqO0mI/AAAAAAAAAMU/LjOod9f-9RQ/s320/IMG_0195.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725819926427390562" /></a><br /><br />So, I tend to get more into painting than blogging. Mostly because when I have the energy to feel creative its more fulfilling to paint up some lil dudes than to post a blog entry that may or may not get any responses ;) So, if you want more updates & such- you guys gotta feed my inner attention whore with compliments. And I wouldnt be averse to bribes either!<div><br /></div><div>Anyhow- heres the first of my Hordes Farrow beasts. I did a bit of converting on each one since I dont think Arkadius would be all that meticulous when making them- nor did I want 3 of the same pose on the table. Some of the posing is very... daring. Particularly the one legged running pose that required drilling through hte length of the entire leg to sink a pin into its body and anchoring it with some hardcore epoxy in the base.</div><div><br /></div><div>If theres enough interest on how I did any of it I can do some posts about the conversions later :)</div><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxvg14OS14E/T3Yy4frCkZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/ndvPToBOmi4/s1600/IMG_0190.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wxvg14OS14E/T3Yy4frCkZI/AAAAAAAAAMI/ndvPToBOmi4/s320/IMG_0190.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725819922404250002" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FN5Lp64Mgd0/T3Yy361udnI/AAAAAAAAAMA/xMMRhfT9cTo/s1600/IMG_0187.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FN5Lp64Mgd0/T3Yy361udnI/AAAAAAAAAMA/xMMRhfT9cTo/s320/IMG_0187.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725819912516957810" /></a><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-885TF09ldy4/T3Yy5N-itqI/AAAAAAAAAMg/o3jwy8UPL6E/s1600/IMG_0203.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-885TF09ldy4/T3Yy5N-itqI/AAAAAAAAAMg/o3jwy8UPL6E/s320/IMG_0203.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725819934834079394" /></a><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9RzGU7ro7Fg/T3Yy5ewzmcI/AAAAAAAAAMw/r40NY0scLpI/s1600/IMG_0207.jpg"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-9RzGU7ro7Fg/T3Yy5ewzmcI/AAAAAAAAAMw/r40NY0scLpI/s320/IMG_0207.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5725819939339868610" /></a><br /><div><br /></div><div>I'll get pics of my minions Warlocks, solos and infantry in a day or two. Right now Im back to painting my Trollbloods!</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-87961025239372602752012-03-09T10:10:00.003-07:002012-03-09T11:09:55.223-07:00Can Reaper do plastic better than GW? Bones!<div><span ><iframe width="560" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6AVo3hT7wuQ" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe></span></div><div><span ><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span>Now, once you get done watching that:</span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><span><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><a href="http://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/bones">http://www.reapermini.com/miniatures/bones</a> </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">3$?!! For a brand new mini that ready to paint, thats pretty damn awesome. How many new mini painters will now get into the hobby because they can afford one or two of these guys every week? Its nice to see some of the manufacturers understand that keeping things affordable wont bankrupt them.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Now- the price point beats GW. Will the Reaper plastic beat Finecast? If the points in the video hold true, with its durability- that could be one up on Finecast. Will you have to check the product in the store to avoid miscasts and bubble infestations? Probably not- it looks like Reaper has invested in the proper tech for the material they are using(not forcing new materials through old tech to save money).</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Next- the poke in the eye. Like the other mini producers using plastic- Reaper is doing so and lowering the sale price- not raising it.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">So, I know my blog is mostly followed by wargamers, and the Reaper lines mostly are aimed at the Tabletop RPG's. But for us painters that play both, lets pick up a couple of these when we see them and find out if Reaper has a win, or just a 'they're ok'.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Its obvious the sculpts aren't in line with the Finecast stuff. But if the material is superior, its just a matter of time before they learn how to cast it better and we see better sculpts. Eventually, one of these companies will hit upon the magic plastic mix that will be easy to work with, durable, and cast crisp detail reliably- and can hopefully become an industry standard rather than a proprietary material :/</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-80517875965413971552012-03-07T16:30:00.003-07:002012-03-07T18:36:28.281-07:00The terrible things people do to nice miniatures!!<a href="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRB5tZsDf_NbNUHaPfNwvd9YPvYdnalpftzInBwALTARMpDS8Pn"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 251px; height: 201px;" src="https://encrypted-tbn1.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcRB5tZsDf_NbNUHaPfNwvd9YPvYdnalpftzInBwALTARMpDS8Pn" border="0" alt="" /></a><br /><br /><br /><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">You know you've seen it yourself, heinous mistreatment of what some of us consider to be small sculptures. Sometimes its the kid at the game shop just tossing his miniatures into a bag without a care. Or the guy assembling that new awesome tank or warjack- and his lack of skill tells him MOAR GLUE!!!! will make the little bitz stick better. Maybe its the guy that sells on ebay, or trades stuff, and is a total moron when it comes to safely packing them.</span></span><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Lets talk about Crimes against miniatures!</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Several months ago I found a smoking deal on ebay. Is was mis-listed, so the usual Warmachine shoppers didnt see it. 78 Retribution infantry. With blurry pics, and no list of what there was. I ended up getting it for 84$ 'including foam carrying case'. I knew it was a bit of a gamble, but hell, at about 1$ per miniature and a carrying case....</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Well, it was a gamble lol. It took 10 days longer to arrive than it should have, the seller seems to have gotten arrested and was in jail, and sent the stuff once he was out on bail. How awesome is that!?</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">So, the 'foam carrying case' seems to have turned into 2 sabol foam trays. ALL of the flimsy little metal elf minis were piled into one tray, a couple handfls of the plucked foam bits thrown on top. Then the second tray placed on top, and wrapped with brown packaging tape. This amazing foam and crunchy pewter sandwich was then placed into a box that was about 5 sizes too large, with nothing to stop it from bouncing around.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hgst9PTyVL4/T1gI-DWxjSI/AAAAAAAAALc/B4J71KbeOx8/s1600/IMG_0163.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hgst9PTyVL4/T1gI-DWxjSI/AAAAAAAAALc/B4J71KbeOx8/s320/IMG_0163.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717329589092584738" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AVWA0SwGVzU/T1gI-fcq2EI/AAAAAAAAALo/8ll64R832uA/s1600/IMG_0161.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-AVWA0SwGVzU/T1gI-fcq2EI/AAAAAAAAALo/8ll64R832uA/s320/IMG_0161.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717329596633503810" /></a><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARAIey0jy_8/T1gI-61vXEI/AAAAAAAAAL0/WCVppe0vkWE/s1600/IMG_0164.jpg"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ARAIey0jy_8/T1gI-61vXEI/AAAAAAAAAL0/WCVppe0vkWE/s320/IMG_0164.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5717329603986414658" /></a><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">So, If any of you ship stuff frequently, Im sure you can imagine the sort of carnage the poor elves endured.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">ebay wasn't much help, so I decided to just keep the minis. I have an abundance of spare time, and the skills needed to fix them. So I figured it would be good practice and some opportunity for conversions I wouldnt try otherwise.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">But thats just one atrocity I've witnessed over the years. I decided I should just list the myriad of abuses minis sometimes endure.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Glue monkeys. These are the guys that think more glue is always better. Gap filling super glue is how they 'convert' stuff. To most people these 'conversions' often look like the miniature was dipped in glue and rolled through a bitz box. Or they use the thin stuff- and it runs all over the mini, seeping into the crevices and just erasing all the fine details.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">AII's. Assembly impaired individuals. This is were you see stuff like dudes with thier legs on backwards, 2 left arms, backwards heads, 5 guns glued together to make it a 'gatling' bolter... Then the vehicles...GW- spend an extra 13 cents with your chinese printers and give these guys some damn instructions! Tread sections glued on backwards, one backwards and one forward, hull pieces so poorly aligned that the troops inside wouldnt need hatches to get in and out. Crooked seams. Bitz glued in oddball places, like searchlights glue to exhaust stacks and missle pods poking out of the drivers hatch.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Little Johnny. This is the kid seen at the shop, he's probably 9 or 10. He thinks these pricey little miniatures are really cool toys. He never has the right minis at one time to make a playable army- mostly because they just dont survive long enough. His mommy buys him more minis and then leaves him at hte shop while she goes shopping or does her girl stuff. On the upside, sometimes little Johnny outgrows smashing his Rhinos around like hotwheels and turns into an avid gamer. But that only happens if they avoid being strangled when they lay thier little mitts on other peoples miniatures.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">The repainter. This is the guy that paints terrible(but at least he paints them right?), and decides he hates the color he used- so he just paints over it. And over it. Stripping the old paint is either 'too much work' or they just dont know how. But the minis eventually get 4 or 5 layers of heavy paint and end up looking like blobs shaped like guys. The paint fills in all the details and sometimes is bad enough you cant tell what the original miniature was. Like chaos space marines dipped in purple latex house paint. Yes, really. Purple house paint. Dipped in the stuff like a fat kid dipping smores in a chocolate fountain. Except smores in a chocolate fountain are actually tasty and its a good idea.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Im sure there are a myriad of combinations of the types I list above. One heinous abuse is usually like a gateway drug to the rest of them.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">Fortunately, the numerous internet forums with painting and modeling sections have really helped spread the skills and knowledge. Its gone from a dark & obscure skillset to a plethora of information thats available for those willing to look for it. And that, that is what makes it so maddening to see people still doing this sort of stuff.</div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; ">So, fellow gamers- don't condone miniature abuse! When you see it happening, see of the vile offender is willing to learn a better method. Preach the good word of 'Less is more!' when it comes to glue. Teach somebody that feet face toes forward, that space marines have a right AND left arm(possibly including a lesson in right vs left). </div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">Until then, I'll keep up the good fight of trying to </span>resuscitate<span style="font-size: 100%;"> the unfortunate victims and returning them to the tabletop ready to do battle in which they may die- but they get to remain intact ;)</span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span><span style="font-size: 100%;">What Crimes against Miniatures have you witnessed?</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div><div style="font-family: Georgia, serif; font-size: 100%; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; line-height: normal; "><br /></div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-40633439842621993652011-07-01T23:01:00.002-07:002011-07-02T00:11:03.860-07:00Warpath Beta released, and I think I like it ^_^So, for those of us that follow Mantic, we know theyve been doing some good stuff. Theyre putting out decent miniatures at a great price, and while they're not the best minis out there, the dollar value comapred to just about any other game company is really hard to beat.<div><br /></div><div>To date, thier offerings have all been fantasy related. Which makes me a sad nerd girl, because Warmachine is my fantasy game since I dont like playing games with formations. Squares attacking other squares or rectangles just doesnt appeal to me ;)</div><div><br /></div><div>But, now theres Warpath. And between the concept art, and now the Beta rules- Im rather enthused. For now- Im going to talk about my first impressions of the Beta rules.</div><div><br /></div><div>First- 15 pages. Thats a pamphlet folks. Some of us hear that and think 'Hahaha Ive seen this before!'</div><div><br /></div><div>And we have, simplicity has been tried before, many times. And its never been very successful, as many wargamers seem to revel in having overly complex charts and interaction rules to randomly determine whos imaginary little space warrior aliens dies.</div><div><br /></div><div>I've got to thand it to Alessio Cavatore this time- I think he's came up with a nice and elegant game system that addresses the holes in other game systems, and streamlines every aspect of combat.</div><div><br /></div><div>Movement is made very simple. The squads are based around a leader- or which all the models in the squad have to be within 5" of, and within 1" of eachother. So, movement can be very fast- you mover you squad leader, and then move your dudes within the 5" circle. Done. Like Warmachine- there is a Spd on hte statline. A regular advance moves the Spd, and allows the unit to shoot. "At the double" is just what it says, the unit moves twice its speed rating, but doing that prevents shooting. </div><div><br /></div><div>The last move option is Charging. This means the charging unit wont be shooting! But, charges work at twice the Spd and ignores difficult terrain for the distance move(but assaulting into terrain will add a -1 modifier to tha attackers rolls). </div><div><br /></div><div>Next is the shooting phase. On the statlines theres Hit, Fire, and Range. Hit is the base chance a units has to(get this!!) hit their target on a d6 roll. Fire- is how many dice they roll for the unit(bigger squads get more dice). And range, is the maximum range in inches that their weapons will reach. Theres some simple modifiers to the Hit rolls: moving, being 'fragged'(taken lots of hits/damage), cover, and firing at over half your basic range all add a -1 to your Hit number. Nice & simple.</div><div><br /></div><div><div>Melee combat is even easier, you look up the Attack rating, roll that number of dice. Any of those that exceed the Hit rating(remember Hit covers Shooting and Melee!) are then rolled against the units Defense, and any that exceed the Def rating add a wound marker to the target unit.</div></div><div><br /></div><div>Once you determine how many hits you made(whether from shooting or melee)- you roll against the target units Defense rating. Any roll over that- adds a damage marker. These markers are basically cumulative penalty markers that add up for when the squad makes its 'Nerve' check. Nerve checks are basically when you see if the squads sustained too much damage to keep going without penalty, or if they collapse altogether.</div><div><br /></div><div>Weapons upgrades for squads are one of the things I am happiest about. In the army lists it tells you how many BFG's you unit can spend extra points on(bigger squads get more Big Frikkin Guns!!). A model with a BFG- does NOT shoot with hte rest of the squad!!! (Screw you stupid 40k rule!!!) They target and determine LOS on thier own. So, the long standing stupidest rule of 40k, where the bolter guys have to waste thier shooting while the melta gun shoots the tank- or vice versa- doesnt not exist here. Thats how it should be- the points of regular guns is to shoot other troops- the point of heavy weapons is to shoot heavy things. Simple, right?</div><div><br /></div><div>Thats just a rough over view of the 15 page PDF and my initial impressions. Its a nice simple rules set that reduces the level of squad complexity, making the squads an entity on the whole. The combat has less dice rolling, no comparison charts, and only a handful of modifiers which are easy to figure out. The game should roll along quite quickly. The nit picky details of moving what model where, to manipulate wound allocation and line of sight rules aren't going to be present- so that sort of 40k player isnt going to like this kind of set up. But thats fine by me- this seems like a more efficient rules set where shooting and melee are rather well balanced, movement is simple, and it should play pretty quickly as they're suggesting 2 hours for a 2000 point game. The model count should be comparable to 40k, basic troopers seem to cost between 10 and 15 points- with discounts on points cost for the 10 and 20 man units. And with the simpler rules, games should get well past turn 3 or 4 in that time frame. Which makes for a different type of strategy, as the current tourney formats often seem to be focused on 4 turns. Imagine the change in meta if games commonly went to 7 or 8 turns in the same amount of time. </div><div><br /></div><div>Anyhow, if anyone bothers to read this, and want to discuss, drop a comment below and lets start looking at the potential for what could be a very enjoyable game system ^_^</div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div><br /></div><div>The statline includes a units range, number needed to hit, and how many dice it rolls. Theres very simple modifiers for movement, long range, the status of the unit(a damaged unit doesnt shoot as well!)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-49093470455074330262011-06-09T15:51:00.004-07:002011-06-09T16:01:49.710-07:00Bases! Desert base uberness :D<a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5EwRH6FfvZw/TfFOtpmMnFI/AAAAAAAAALU/QV-rBSdqMuk/s1600/IMG_0144.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5EwRH6FfvZw/TfFOtpmMnFI/AAAAAAAAALU/QV-rBSdqMuk/s320/IMG_0144.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5616356756474862674" /></a>So, at last I finally got around to getting my desert/dry lakebed bases worked up. The pic above is just the first test samples. I make my resin bases a bit differently, I dont make a mold for each individual base. <br /><div><br /></div><div>I basically make a 4x6" or larger section of terrain as a foundation for my bases. I sculpt it up with the intention of making a large silicone pour of it. Once thats done, I pour a thin layer of resin into the mold, and then stick the plastic bases onto it. As the resin sets it adheres to the plastic, and the texture of the terrain is not on top of the plastic. This method takes a little more effort to set up. But has a couple of benefits over individually molded bases. First- your bases dont all come out the same. You can add variation by changing up where you set the plastic bases on the resin. Second- it works for multiple sizes of bases. 25, 30, 40, 50, even the big 120's and flier ovals if your original terrain mold is large enough.</div><div><br /></div><div>Now that I can crank these out, I have one less excuse to get to finishing my Tallarn army. So thier might be some movement on the GW front- if I can pry myself away from the Waramchine...</div><div><br /></div><div>Also- if these look like something you might want to use as bases for an army project, feel free to get in touch. Id be happy to work out some trades or even sell some if it helps someone get enthused about thier army :)</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-8822697762748871212011-06-04T22:26:00.004-07:002011-06-04T22:38:19.251-07:00The Khadorks March!<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-092HiJ9mvXo/TesV5-PHjMI/AAAAAAAAAK8/lgAdmlgue-U/s1600/IMG_0136.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-092HiJ9mvXo/TesV5-PHjMI/AAAAAAAAAK8/lgAdmlgue-U/s320/IMG_0136.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614605446150589634" /><br /></a><br />So- heres my first Khadork Destroyer, with a regular Destroyer for comparison. Theres still details I want to add, but all the heavy lifting on the conversion side is done. I had to move quite a bit of metal to get this to turn out the way I envisioned in my head. But a jewlers saw, and dremel stylus made it quick work.<div><br /></div><div>All together it took about 3 or 4 hours to convert up, luckily I wont need more than 3 or 4 of these guys to make an amusing but playable army.</div><br /><br /><br /><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljFcLDpyFFE/TesV6r9pdhI/AAAAAAAAALM/ZthtmiItxxQ/s1600/IMG_0138.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ljFcLDpyFFE/TesV6r9pdhI/AAAAAAAAALM/ZthtmiItxxQ/s320/IMG_0138.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614605458425345554" /></a><br /><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ydQzlTOEDD8/TesV6KE4aSI/AAAAAAAAALE/2sYjqpPKieY/s1600/IMG_0137.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-ydQzlTOEDD8/TesV6KE4aSI/AAAAAAAAALE/2sYjqpPKieY/s320/IMG_0137.jpg" border="0" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5614605449328879906" /></a>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4534943151483818749.post-61365915357589987062011-05-31T16:27:00.002-07:002011-05-31T16:38:40.359-07:00Khador + Orks =.....KHADORKS!!Its no secret I like Warmahordes. To me the minis have more character then the most recent 'Dude in power armor with a big sword and fur/spikes/wings/feathers/gophers'.<div><br /></div><div>But, Warmachine does lag behind a bit in the conversion department. For those of us with hte modelling and sculpting skills- whipping up conversions that people see and say 'Oh thats cool!' is like winning the game.</div><div><br /></div><div>Amongst the 40k conversions I enjoy the most are Orks. Now, Orks have always had a ramshackle appearance, and that just sort of seems to mesh right in with the Steam tech of Warmachine.</div><div><br /></div><div>Then looking at Khador- and its generally unsubtle heavy armor and HUGE axes, not to mention chainsaw thingies and large loud guns....I realized if Orks did inhabit the Iron Kingdoms- they'd mostly want ot be Khadorans!</div><div><br /></div><div>So, I acquired some Khador jacks a while back for cheap. And havent known what to do with them- now I do! I have tons of 40k ork bitz, so, once I get my mercs finished (4 jacks, and 3 solos to paint and base, and about 30 guys to base) I'm going to orkify my Khador, and unleash the Khadorks upon the Iron kingdoms :D</div><div><br /></div><div>So, if anyone out there has some extra khador jacks, notably a juggernaught, berzerkers, man'owars, or any reavers or kommandos- and Karchev- I'd be happy to work out a trade ^_^</div>Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16757589097588823570noreply@blogger.com2