Rainbows 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.

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!

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?

Well, for the average gamer that 7-10$ is probably an hour at work right?  And maybe- theres better paint out there for a lower price?  And what if I told you there was even MORE colors?   Not just a bland handful of lame Space Marine Scrotum shades,  and Goblin and Dwarf colors-  but like "Screw Baskin Robbins- we want ALL COLOR FLAVORS!"

Yep,  its true.  It really exists.  Has for years.  And no- its not 'derp buy an airbrush!'

Heres the 'original' Montana Black paint line courtesy of Blickarts: http://www.dickblick.com/products/montana-black-spray-paints/

With that color chart you should be able to match ANY 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 perfect 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).

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.  


One of the nice things about Montana sprays is you can get different spray caps to alter the spray pattern.


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.

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.

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.

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 ;)

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.

Along with Montana,   Theres also http://www.dickblick.com/products/mtn-94-spray-paint/   and http://www.dickblick.com/products/plutonium-spray-paint/

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.

Purchasing

Now for the shopping part!  The links above for Blick Arts give one obvious source.   The other is http://www.jerrysartarama.com/

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.   

Its worth checking thier local store locator links:http://www.dickblick.com/stores/  and http://www.jerrysartarama.com/Retail-Stores/Store-Index.htm  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.

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!    

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.

Can 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.

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.

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.

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.

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 >.<

However, since we've moved past that-and better techniques have surfaced,  like wet blending, thinning your paints is more common than ever.

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'.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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!

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.

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.

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 :)

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 ;)

Primer 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.

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!

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.

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?   You!


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  

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?

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...

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.


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).



Runs- 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...)








Streaks- 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.





Stickies- 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 http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/ 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....



And now the FUZZES!!!   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!

See the fuzzy residue where I rubbed it with my finger? 

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!

The Mechanics of Fuzzing:  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!!  

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.


So- how do you slay the Fuzzies?  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.

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.  

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.

What should you do if you already have a batch on miniatures that are BeFuzzled? 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 http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html will strip of the Colorplace stuff.  And its cheap, also available at walmart- and its not stinky.


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.


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 :/

May the 4th be with you! Star Wars Day Special: The Mystery of Why Storm Troopers Fail.

A 

Long 

Time Ago

In Old Movie Theaters Far Far Away

Welcome to this entirely random episode, about our favorite faceless white & black minions: Imperial Stormtroopers!(you must hum the first few bars of the Imperial March everytime Stormtroopers are mentioned!)  (And Jawas- and everytime jawas are mentioned Utini!)

Que the theme music: http://youtu.be/oEuBP1er0gY

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.

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.

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...."

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.

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?

Next song: http://youtu.be/q-i3RUR4eTg

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.


Trash compactor shutting off on the detention level?  Jawas.
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!
Blast doors closing in Vaders face after he killed Obi Wan so Luke could escape-Jawas
Tractor beam turning off so the Falcon could escape? Jawas
Death Stars targeting computer taking FOREVER to target Rebel base- Jawas
Turret defenses on Death Star shutting down- Jawas
Deathstar exhaust port- reversing, and sucking in- so even Luke could land some torpedoes in it- Jawas

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!
Giant awesome walking tanks that are blaster proof-tripped by tiny wires- Jawas
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
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
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

Return of The Jedi-
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
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
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
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
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!
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.
Darth Vaders cybernetics rebooting so he could toss Palpatine down the shaft- Jawas.


Now- the final mind bender.  The Grand Jawa.
I've postulated Jawas are latent Force users.
I will also support this further- becuase all Jedi wear robes right?  Jawas wear robes, ergo- Jawas must be Jedi!
No one knows what Jawas look like under their robes- only that they have glowing eyes and that they are short.

Who else do we know of thats short, wears a robe, uses the Force,  and is of an unknown species?

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.

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!}}}

(I also think Jawas sneak into peoples houses at night and infect them with Midi-chlorians haahahah)

May the 4th be with you! Always!   

(At least until tomorrow when we get to celebrate the Mexicans defaulting on the money they owed to the French a 151 years ago!)

A 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.

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.

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$.

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.

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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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?   

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.

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!  

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.

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.


And that- brings me to the second portion of my post- the first having gotten alot longer than intended O.o  Stupid paint ranting!!

How do you use the spray paint when its humid or cold outside? Or maybe even raining/snowing a little?

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...

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).

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?

I did some laundry.  Yep.  A big fat load of laundry.   Now before you think- neurotic!- theres a method here!

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 ^_^

And in that pocket of warm dry air- my genius of winter priming was born.

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

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!!"


Here ends part one- 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

Added May 5th, 2013

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.

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!

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.

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?   You!


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

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?

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...

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.


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).



Runs- 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...)








Streaks- 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.





Stickies- 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 http://www.facebook.com/groups/WGCconsortium/ 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....



And now the FUZZES!!!   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!

See the fuzzy residue where I rubbed it with my finger? 

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!

The Mechanics of Fuzzing:  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!!

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.


So- how do you slay the Fuzzies?  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.

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.

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.

What should you do if you already have a batch on miniatures that are BeFuzzled? 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 http://mistressofminis.blogspot.com/2012/11/stripping.html will strip of the Colorplace stuff.  And its cheap, also available at walmart- and its not stinky.


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.


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 :/

Reclaiming my hobby desk!

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.

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.

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!  

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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 ;)

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.

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.

Wow, its bigger than I thought it would be O.o

It didn't really do much 'will shrink to fit available space' did it?  I didnt think it would be quite so...large.

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.

If I realized I had more space I coulda crammed in a few more books and minis to make finding Waldo more challenging!

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.

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 :)

Superblog 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 :/

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...

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.

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.

Compressor build yesterdays(Friday) progress.

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 :(

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.  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

 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...

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.

.
 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.

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.

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.


  

First 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.

Any how-  its my first video post- since pics just wouldnt do and I want to get used to talking you guys :)

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 :)

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!

Damn 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!

Sneak previews of upcoming stuff in the next couple of weeks.

Crayons and miniatures!! (Yes really, and its AWESOME!)

Right round baby right round...(rotary tools for our hobby)

Hack your paint!  How to make you paint do more with stuff already in your hobby tool kit!

And:

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!).

You'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.

http://privateerpress.com/content/announcing-the-privateer-press-digital-reader-app

http://privateerpress.com/privateer-press-digital

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.

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!)

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.

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.

Is Privateer the first major gaming company to do this?  I havent heard of any others doing it for more than some PDFs.

2013 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.

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).

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.  

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.

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.

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.  

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 :)

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...).