Malevolent Miniatures

a series of unfortunate events

2012-10-25T21:52:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone! Miss me?
First let me apologize for being absent for a few months. My life has been pretty much flipped upside down and I have finally righted myself.

I suppose I should start with the more recent but very major event, about a month ago my father was diagnosed with prostate cancer. This could be described as a literal round house kick to the face for the family. Its been a bit rough but there is a bit of a light at the end of the tunnel. He has decided to go with a procedure that would require implanting gold seeds in his prostate and long story short he must endure some pretty intense bombardments of radiation. Luckily this has been caught early enough and his success rate is at about 93%. The wound is still pretty raw on this subject but its somewhat pulling the family a bit closer. I'll attempt to keep you all up to date on his status as he progress'.

Another "major" event was the loss of my internet about 3 months ago. Though it could be seen as a lesser problem it still set me into a "depressed" sort of state. You never quite grasp the idea of things you use everyday that have become a natural part of your every day to day routines. Thankfully after battling thru some low points money wise we have managed to bring it back in a way.

A lesser event was the loss of our digital camera. Again a necessary casualty when faced with money issues (along with my x-box...). A simple solution for the time being is to upgrade my phone and or borrow my nieces expensive camera for a few photo sessions.

Then of course there is illness. The worst kind of illness... the summer illness.

Also working full time makes it difficult to get things finished.

So after this post you should hopefully see more progress from me. I will try my hardest to get photos up and to finish my damn commissions.
Thank you to all who have been following, your going to be happy with me soon.

+++Kevin a.k.a. Mr.Malevolent+++

More Raven Guard

2012-08-27T20:38:00.000-07:00

So I've been chipping away at the Raven Guard commission.
I'm actually really enjoying it.
One thing I am not enjoying however, is the results from the camera.
But I have to make do with what I have.
So to begin here are some new pics of the Vanguard Veteran squad (3 out of 5).

I love adding gore!

Here's also a shot of the work desk as I begin working on the two five man Scout squads, finishing up some small work on the last two Vanguard Vets, and working away on Captain Shrike.

And we have the first test mini for my Golden Sisters of Battle color scheme.
Haven't picked out a name for them yet but I really like the scheme.
Still hating this camera.....

So there you have it.
Should be nearing the end of the Raven Guard commission soon, then jumping into 100 Guardsmen and all the while hopefully painting my Sisters of Battle army/ working on Iron Warriors with the new starter box set/ painting some Carcharodons again for Adepticon Team Tourney 2013!
Thanks for looking and C&C is always welcome.

+++Kevin+++

Hidden Surprise and Commission Update

2012-08-13T21:06:00.000-07:00

A hidden surprise

So the wife and I decided the other day to switch our bedroom with our "hobby" room.
The idea being that both of our hobbies needed alot more room and our bedroom is only for sleeping anyways....
Well after we finished moving, I found one of my figure cases I havent opened in a long while.
Low and behold I find Ultramarines!
I started painting a small force of Ultramarines after I played through the video game Space Marine (which I absolutely love).
I'm actually really inspired to jump back into these now that I found them.
Hope you like them as much as I do.

Finished Ultramarine

I was and still am so proud of this first finished Ultramarine I did.

I put so much detail work into him and it was the first time I tried out OSL (objective source lighting) on a model. This was also my first try at a new method for "realistic" snow bases which I still currently use and am using for the current Raven Guard commission I am working on.

W.I.P.

Flamer conversion

Close up of snow bases

The state of the Raven Guard Commission

And here are some pics of my current commission of Raven Guard.

Trying to do something similar to the Ultramarine with OSL.

I've also been closely following the profiles in Imperial Armour Vol 8.

The customer is loving them so far (thank the Emperor).

I have to say I am so thankful for having him as a customer, he has been so uber-patient with me on this project. If only all my customers could be like him haha.

Hope you all like what you see.
I'll be updating again sometime this week (work permitting) as part of my new "Blogging Rules" which includes forcing myself to post up progress of anything and everything I'm working on no matter what.
C&C is always welcome!

+++Kevin+++

Build a Hero: Part 1, something fun

2012-08-02T20:06:00.000-07:00

Bring it on daemon filth!

Hi my name is Kevin and I'm a Grey Knight Grand Master.

I've always been a HUGE "fanboy" of the Grey Knights even way before Ward got his filthy claws on them and I will probably never stop loving them.

A tear in reality is bleeding hordes of daemons onto the planets surface as a gunmetal grey Storm Raven slowly descends upon a nearby clearing.

The ramps lower, and six immense figures stomp towards the gibbering hordes.

There is no sign of hestitaion as they brace for the coming impact.

Just as the two lines meet, a blinding white light blooms from the leader of the figures.

The battle can truly begin.

I can just picture my character wading into a sea of multi-colored daemons, blessed Nemesis Daemon Hammer rising and falling, smashing aside all before me while setting them on fire with my Incinerator. Plus it doesn't help that I'm currently reading "The Emperors Gift". Damn you Aaron Dembski Bowden!

Equipment:
Grand Master, Master-Crafted Nemesis Daemon Hammer, Incinerator, Blind and Rad grenades, and a trio of servo-skulls.

Ok now the entire idea behind this posting comes from a fellow blogger I follow, HERO's Gaming Blog. Choose a character from any of the 40k Codices available that best represents you and kit them out for battle (of course within the normal legal limitations). More to come as he posts more (he has mentioned that we can actually model the character to represent us on the battlefield). Check out his blog HERE.

+++Kevin+++

Going off the grid

2012-07-16T18:19:00.001-07:00

Well ladies and gentlemen, the time has come....

I will be off the "grid" for a little while.

Outrageous cable/internet bills are going to leave me with no internet for a few days (at most a week).
So once we change over to another cheaper internet provider, I will be back.
I know you'll all miss me.
It'll be ok.
See you when I get back on the grid.

+++Kevin+++

Orks for sale!

2012-07-11T14:52:00.001-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers!

Just letting you all now that I have some Orks up for sale on E-Bay as well as my Necrons.
Let your friends know. Their perfect for anyone beginning the hobby or to add to an existing army.
As long as you live in the United States they are up for grabs to the luckiest bidder.
Check them out and help a hobbyist who's down on his luck.

I also would like to state that I have indeed gotten my old job back!
This job is full time, with a set schedule and I love it.
Basically I deliver auto motive paints to local repair shops and dealerships.
Now I can start putting my commission money back into replenishing my own collections.
Thanks for looking and remember tell your friends about my lots on E-Bay.
Cheers.

+++Kevin+++

Army for sale

2012-07-10T23:42:00.000-07:00

So I decided I'm selling my Necrons.
Yep you read that right, selling them and saying goodbye and glad to see you go... Necrons Army: E-Bay This latest FAQ has left a bitter taste in my mouth. Normally I'm not one to complain about the FAQs but I'm just at a loss for the utter sense of "laziness/generalism" toward everything other then Imperial Guard, Grey Knights and Necrons.
The nerf bat was definitely being used with a heavy hand this time. Now you cannot tell me the original authors of the various Codices are actually handling these at all. You just can't. I mean would Phil Kelly really make Webway Portals so utterly useless now that you cannot even assault out of them the turn you walk out? Or would he generalize all the unique weapons like Djinn Blades and Huskblades as "unusual power weapons with AP3"?
The point behind all of this is the simple fact that I as a hobbyist/player am striving to find that project that will on one hand "tickle my fancy" and on the other, give my player side something with strategy. I found that with Dark Eldar. I had been thinking about them for a long time now and with all thats happened since 6th has dropped, has pointed me right in their direction.

Uhm yeah, he doesn't want to kill you. He wants to eat your soul.

They are some of the most beautiful models GW has released and are backed by one of the most in-depth backgrounds an army could ever ask for. Phil Kelly and Jes Goodwin really out did themselves with this Codex thats for sure. Even with the heavy handed nerf beating they received, I'm jumping right in. Should have a test min up soon.

My next update should be of some pics of my recent Goff Ork army I painted followed by a Kabalite Warrior and maybe even some Raven Guard commission work mixed in for s&g.
Thanks for looking.
Cheers.

Another heretic for the fire

2012-07-02T22:44:00.005-07:00

Hey guys and gals.

Small update again.
Finished the Flamer Bearer Marine (I hear that flamers are quite nasty in assaults) for my Emperor's Children Tactical Squad "Alpha" (still thinking of better names). One day I'll sit down and draw up some sketches of shoulder pad designs so I don't have all blank pads.

The Flamer Bearer

And as always, after I take some pics, I have to go back and tidy up some spots (damn camera)....

Anywho... hope you like him as much as I do.

2 down, 3 to go and then maybe a running Dreadnought as a reward for finishing before my deadline!

Cheers!

+++Kevin+++

Something Heretical and something ancient

2012-07-01T19:24:00.001-07:00

Hello fellow bloggers!

Commission Update: I FINALLY finished the Goff Ork commission. Now onto the Raven Guard commission.

Now for something with a bit of Heresy.
I took over the reins of a motivational thread on Bolter and Chainsword for a "Tale of 20 gamers, a galaxy asunder". Its basically a motivational thread for the 18 Astartes Legions, the Adeptus Custodes and the Sisters of Silence. I chose my favorite Legion, the Emperor's Children.
Basically at the end of every month each person who chooses a Legion/ Imperial Force is to submit a painted 5 man squad or something equivalent (Contemptors, Primarchs, 10 man squads etc.) The idea being, every member shows their work in progress pics as they move along, which helps motivate others to work and finish their projects. Its all positive and I love it.
Here are some pics of my EC so far.

The beginnings of Squad 1

Vet Sergeant

Converted Flamer bearer

And now for something completely different.

While I have my Emperor's Children I wanted to have another army that I can actually play and play often. Enter the Necrons! I won't go into the whole 6th Edition FAQ and the now super-Necrons debacle I'll just say, I'm glad I chose them to be my primary army. If you're wondering about the Sisters, I'm still interested in them but for now their on the far back burner (sorry girls).

The beginnings of my Warriors

So you'll notice the absence of green rods on the Gauss Flayers.

Yeah I'm not a fan and want to with the inclusion of gardening wire and some good lighting effects, to give them the impression of electricity/arc. I've got 17 more Warriors to "convert", a squad of possibly Deathmarks (if I read right, a roll of 6 to hit/wound lets you choose the target to take the wound with snipers, YAY), an Annhilation Barge and a Ghost Ark.

I'm thinking of either going with a weathered silver and blue electricty or the Kepahk scheme. Decisions...decisions....

Thanks for looking!

Cheers.

+++Kevin+++

Sister of Our Martyred Lady

2012-06-23T18:49:00.001-07:00

Just a quick one today folks.
Decided an all silver army may indeed drive me completely bat crap crazy and so chose to try out a new scheme. I ended up on Our Martyred Lady, mostly black, red cloth and white hair.
Actually I was inspired by the following artwork from Aerion the Faithful.

I just love it.
Now onto pics of my test Sister.

I'm actually ok with this one.

Absolutely loving the red cloth.

Decided I'm going to start using a wet pallet again.

My thinning skills are not doing so well.

Anyways, hope you like her.

Any C&C is always welcome.

Cheers!

On the Warpath!

2012-06-08T22:23:00.002-07:00

Hey guys and gals!
I'm going to "quick-review" a new game and one of its miniatures today!
The game is Warpath, a 28mm(?) science-fiction table top game complete with FREE rules and army lists developed by Mantic Games.

Taking a bit of a break today from commission work (painting a horde of Orks can make you a bit crazy from time to time) so I had just finished one of my fifteen ForgeFathers! What a great feeling of liberation when you tackle a miniature that allows you to explore and just go with your instinct on color selections. Now if you haven't heard of the game and or played it yet I highly suggest you do. They are hot on the heels of GW and have a wide selection of miniatures to choose from (check out their Kings of War game for some Fantasy love). If your concerned about prices and starting a new game let me just say this... they are a HELLUVA lot cheaper then GW! If your an Imperial Guard player I would check out their Corporation models as they look very close to Elysian Drop Troops and are again, much cheaper then a box set of Cadians and yet include more models!

So I grabbed their starter set the Fate of the Forgestar back in March, right after I had returned from my vacation at Disney World and boy was I impressed. For $75.00 you get 61 miniatures (more then AoBR by far)! And what miniatures they are! The amount of detail in the kits was really nice, especially for a younger company like Mantic. Though there isn't much variation in the ForgeFather poses I still enjoyed the kits very much (though the Marauder/Orc kit is FULL of extra bits and bobs to customize but more on them in another post for a later date). Remember, this is a new game (roughly 6 months old by now) and the company has only been around for maybe 2-3 years.

I've gotta say, I absolutely love the helmeted heads of the ForgeFathers. Some of the ForgeFathers head options were a little too Fantasy for my tastes and so I used all the helmets for the head options (other then one "commander" model).

He can take him....

As you can see they are definitely Space Dwarfs! It was just so fun to paint something so much smaller then what I am used to with the GW standard. For being so small they pack quite a bit of detail. Now as you can see the bases are a different size and are actually a type of indentation. What I mean is the base itself has a round indent which you glue the miniature to, as all the miniatures have a small piece of the base they are attached to. This could create a problem if you were to try and use the Corporation models I mentioned earlier as your Elysian Drop Troops, though if you were careful I bet you could cut off the small base and slap them on a GW base no problem.

The game itself is one built on simplicity, which is definitely not a bad thing in this case. Usually when developers like to simplify rules it ends up being a disaster and or making the game bland (5th Edition 40k I'm looking at you). However Alessio Cavatore (lead rules designer) has developed this rule set with such ease without becoming terribly boring. The premise (for now) is simple, destroy your opponent. Your still moving with your ruler , your still rolling dice but its so self contained that after a turn or two you don't even need to keep checking the rulebook. One major difference in this gaming system from 40k is the idea that this game is about the units. There is no crazy uber - Librarian running around pounding the enemy with his OP psychic powers all by himself and then hiding in a unit when the enemy is in charge range. The focus is all on the units and its very refreshing. I'll be writing a battle report very soon just using the contents of the starter set.

Let me know how you all feel about my first Space Dwa..... I mean ForgeFather. Thank you for looking and C&C is always welcome.

Alive and kickin'

2012-06-04T21:43:00.002-07:00

Well it certainly has been a long time since my last update hasn't it?
Last time I was on here I was leaving for Adepticon!
Perhaps I should begin there then.

Adepticon 2012
First, I drove... which my wife and I both agree, will not be happening next year haha.
That drive was just...exhausting (8 1/2 hours).
It was very overwhelming at first, but once it had sunken in that I was in fact really there, I just soaked it all in like a hobby sponge.
I instantly hit it off with my team and I have to say, they are a really great group of guys.
They were so welcoming and hilarious and one thing above all others won me over, they were accepting and very respectful of my wife. +1
The swag bag was pretty nice.

Swag Bag Contents
Legion of Everblight starter set *painting in progress*
Wreck-Age Adepticon only model *painting in progress*
Adepticon robot model *converted to Penitent Engine for SoB*
Couple of bag 'o' bitz
Malifaux rulebook
Green paint sample from Badger Airbrush
Issue of Game Forces monthly #19 *highly recommended*
Tons of business cards and fliers

I'm really happy with the free Legion of Everblight box set (pics coming soon). So much so I went out and bought the LoE book! I'll definitely be trying out Hordes very soon.
I'm also very interested in Wreck-Age, check them out http://www.facebook.com/HyacinthGames.
After a good nights rest came the serious business, the Team Tournament.
I'll post the specifics in another post so for now just know that I won 2 out of 4 games!
Not bad for my first time out.
Unfortunately I couldn't really go crazy with buying miniatures.
Money was tight although my wife allowed me to pick thru a bitz vendor and I walked away with 10 2nd edition Ork Boyz for $5!
I've made the necessary mental note to put aside enough "crazy money" for next year.

Post - Adepticon
Now we come back into the present.
I'm still coming down from the high of being in the presence of so much hobby greatness and the competitive bug which is making me not concentrate on important things like commission work (which is basically my hobby money as I have no job at the moment).
I've been basically a hobby butterfly the last month or so, jumping from Sisters to Lamenters to Necrons.
Currently I'm working on a small Goff Clan Ork army and then its onto a small Ravenguard 1,000 point army.
Let's update you all with some pics shall we?

Goff Ork Commission

Lamenter Marines

The first test model

Sisters of Battle of the Argent Shroud

The test model

The unit so far

Thats it for now.

Hope you guys like everything so far.

I'll have a write up of the rounds I played at Adepticon at a later date.

Cheers!

Adepticon here I come Part 1

2012-04-18T20:46:00.002-07:00

It's finally here.
And boy was last week a pain.
On Saturday April 13th, my wife and I lost an amazing family member.
Debrah Brose, aunt to my wife, had tragically passed.
May she rest in peace.
So amongst the craziness of the past week I will officially be leaving for Adepticon this Friday!
I do not look forward to waking up at four in the morning for the nine hour drive.
To make up for a week of no pics I'm throwing up a few pics of the Carcharodons as it stands.

Librarian Cruviel and the Obliterators

The Obliterators Drop Pod

The Devourers of Tranquility

Tranquility LasPlas Razorback

The Red Bretheren

Red Bretheren LasPlas Razorback

Dreadnought Nikon "The Ancient"

The army so far...

~~The only missing pics are of the three "Corpse Takers" a.k.a. Sanguinary Priests and the objective.~~
+++Added the final pic. You can just make out the objective marker and the Corpse Takers. I'll put up closer pics later+++

Am I happy with them?

Meh. Could be better honestly.

But thats what happens when your rushed because of bad planning and family tragedy....

Once I get caught up on commissions work when I get back and while I work on my Sisters of Battle (Sisters of the Brazen Rose) I might go back over them.

Anyways hope you enjoy.

I'll have more tomorrow.

EASTER GIVEAWAY!!!!

2012-04-04T04:40:00.005-07:00

From a friend at Sippin' On Paint.....

Easter Basket Giveaway

Spring has sprung in my neck of the woods, and that oh so joyous holiday of Easter is fast approaching. To celebrate I thought I would share an Easter basket with one of my lucky followers, but this is no ordinary Easter basket, this basket will be filled not only with normal items of chocolate bunnies, pastel colored eggs and jelly beans, but with all sorts of mini goodies.

Imagine less eggs, and more things you might
actually want.

RULES

You must be a follower of Sippin' On Paint Water by April 8, 2012.

You must leave a comment on this post, 'Easter Basket Giveaway'.

If you win you will have to disclose your address, The Easter Bunny may

know where you live but I don't.

There you have it, very simple, I hope the promises of chocolate and minis is enough to lure you into following. The winner will be announced on Easter Sunday, and hopefully I'll have the basket in the mail the next day. I'll even throw out a bonus way to get your name in the drawing twice, reblog this and I'll see to it that you get a second chance at the prize, want a third chance? Then email me a pic of a mini you have painted like an Easter egg or an Easter egg that you have painted like a mini, IE a Space Marine egg. Just send the email to: cbhollowell at AIM dot COM. If I receive enough submitted images I may make a special post to showcase them in all their pastel glory, good luck and happy Easter, thanks for reading and stay thirsty.

Link to Sippin' on Water http://sippinonpaintwater.blogspot.com/2012/03/easter-basket-giveaway.html?showComment=1333539467994#c7550010726383330458

Desktop shot of the week 04/2/12

2012-04-02T18:52:00.002-07:00

DESKTOP SHOT OF THE WEEK 04/2/12

Yeah its a bit of a mess.....

Hello everyone!

I was inspired by Ron from FTW and decided to start updating every Monday with a "Desktop Shot of the Week"(if time allows me to).
As you can see I have A LOT of things on the desk.
Theres my Grey Knight Terminator, a converted Skaven Warlord, the 25th anniversary Crimson Fist, a few Deathwing Terminators, an old Chaos Lord re-do (more on him later) and of course my Carcharodons.
Adepticon is approaching way too fast and I'm on full throttle getting my Sharks done as fast as possible (while maintaining good quality as always).
I have to say though that my airbrush is a god send.
Hands down one of the best tools I've ever used.
It doesn't do everything but it sure helps when you need to lay down some layers as fast and efficiently as possible.
I'm also waiting on the Razorback kit from Chapter House (about 2 weeks now).
I just realized I have yet to build an objective......
.....and I haven't even started on the bikes.
Maybe I'll just buy a Baal Predator and magnetize the weapons.
Anyways, thanks for looking.
More updates to come later in the week!

+++Kevin+++

Not so grey knights

2012-03-27T18:21:00.001-07:00

Hello everyone!

Something a bit different from my Carcharodons today.
To keep myself from going insane while trying to get my Adepticon army together, I've been sneaking in some work on my Grey Knights.
They will definitely be my "BIG" project (other then my Sisters of Battle) that'll take me a while to finish until 6th drops.
I went for the old Codex: Daemonhunters scheme, which is a blue-metallic.
Can't really explain why but I love that scheme.
Hope you all like what I've done.

+++First Grey Knight with Halberd+++

+++The desert base+++

I'm actually really REALLY happy with this model (though my current camera does it no justice).

Just need to add a bit of desert grass to break up the back of the base...

Now to finish the rest of the squad!

I also plan to make a small diorama at some point after Adepticon, involving a re-imagining of one of my favorite pics from Codex: Daemonhunters (it involves a group of power armored Grey Knights surrounded by Bloodletter-esque daemons).

I've also got that Dreadknight on the sprue staring me down.....

I'm also at this time working on a commission Ork army.

Yeah thats right, four projects (Carcharodons, Grey Knights, Sisters of Battle, and Orks).

Sanity IS for the weak....

The army in general is a basic Goff clan.

I'll be painting the entire army set from the current Assault on Black Reach set.

After that I have a Raven Guard commission for a small 1,000 point force.

Definitely keeping myself busy.

So let me know what you think and thank you for taking the time to look!

C&C are greatly appreciated.

+++Kevin+++

Making progress

2012-03-25T16:38:00.003-07:00

Hey guys and gals.

A small painting update on the Carcharodons.
Basically finished one Marine and the Librarian.
While I was waiting for the wash to dry the Assault Marine I decided to build an Apothecary.
So thats another one to add to the list haha.
I've got fourteen more Assault Marines, an Apothecary, two Razorbacks, a Drop Pod, and a squad of Bikers to finish before Mid-April (the group deadline for pictures).
I'm on a roll right now painting wise, so I should be getting them done fast.
I'm also back to working on my Grey Knights so expect some pics of them soon as well.
Anyways onto the pics I promised....

+++The Libby finished+++

+++Assault Marine 1 finished+++

+++Assault Marine 2 W.I.P.+++

+++Apothecary W.I.P.+++

Hope you all enjoy!
I'll have more as soon as I finish them.

+++Kevin+++

Some things I've been working on.....

2012-02-27T23:40:00.000-08:00

Figured a new post would be better then adding to the recent wall of text haha.

To further endorse the awesomeness of my wife....

She bought me this for Valentines Day, the Display Imperial Space Marine from ForgeWorld shown below.

+++Yeah hes a big 'un.+++

Now I've been wanting one of these for a LONG time (15 years to be exact) and of course now that I have one, I have no idea what to paint him.

I thought about maybe painting him in Carcharodon colors although my version would be a mix of the Rogue Trader scheme with the new scheme. I figured Grey armour with black pads and white faceplates was a bit boring. Throw in the Rogue Trader red stripe down the helmet and you've got something!

I also thought about painting him as a Crimson Fist.

Always been a fan of the Crimson Fists and have been thinking of starting a Crimson Fist army which leads to my next new model....

Today I received my "Limited Edition" 25th Anniversary Rogue Trader Crimson Fist Captain. *phew*

+++In all his awesome glory!+++

Now with this model I was very skeptical to buy it at first.

I haven't had the best of luck with Finecast lately and dropping $50 with express shipping on something they haven't perfected in producing seemed too much of a risk. However I am glad I bought it.

He's pretty much the most perfect model I have bought from GW in a long time.

I decided to get my full moneys worth out of him and magnetized him so he can be displayed with display base OR be used in an up and coming Crimson Fist army :]

+++The magnets in the base.+++

+++On his gaming base.+++

+++Showing the magnets in his feet.+++

Then we have the progress on my Carcharodons for the Team Tourney of Adepticon 2012, GO WARDENS!!!! (thats my group, The Wardens)

They were so fun to put together. Buying the ForgeWorld Marks of armour was well worth it. They give you so much diversity over the statically plain Tactical Marines kit.

I basically just went nuts on mixing and matching Mk.'s and adding in Death Company bits and some random Assault Marine bits (even some Terminator bits). I feel like I'll be ordering a lot more of these when I get back from the belated honeymoon!

+++Squad 1+++

+++Squad 2+++

+++Squad 3+++

+++Then the Librarian (my favorite)+++

+++And a Chaplain! +++

So there you have it.

One big update after another.

Lots of work to do, and so little time to do it.

April is approaching very fast....

Enjoy and let me know how you feel about anything!

+++Kevin+++

The "belated" honeymoon

2012-02-27T22:25:00.002-08:00

I'M GOING TO DISNEY WORLD!!!!!!!!!!

So finally after almost a year and a half of marriage, the wife and I are going on our belated honeymoon and to where else but the most magical place on earth.... DisneyWorld!
I gotta say I am super excited.
So excited I feel like I did when I was a kid the night before Christmas!
I used to go to DisneyWorld a lot when I was a small lad and many of the things I know and love have changed so I feel as though, like my wife, I am going into this with fresh eyes.
Hell the last time I was there they were just beginning to build the Animal Kingdom.
The tree of life or whatever its called was just a stump base.
So many things have changed and I'm so excited to be able to take it all in with my wife who has never been there or even on a plane for that matter!
I cannot wait to go on the recently renovated Star-Tours as well!!!!
Of course I can't wait to get back on my all time favorite ride, The Haunted Mansion!
Now officially we are packed except of course for my crap....
I know I procrastinate.....
In preparation for the flight and wonderful mornings on our patio, we bought ourselves a pair of Nooks the other day.
I had been planning on going completely digital with my books and this seemed like a good time to jump in and go for it.
I have to say I like the Nook way better then the I-Pad.
For the price of the lowest I-Pad I bought two Nooks, 2 Nook-book covers, and 2 warranty plans that cover anything and everything, even water damage (especially good when your about to travel).
I decided to stock my Nook with a ton of reading material, from the Walking Dead Vol.1 to all the Iron Warrior novels/short stories (I've been on an Iron Warrior kick lately, maybe its because the 6th edition Chaos Codex is slowly coming).
Then out of nowhere today my wife decides to go out and just buy me a Playstation Vita.
Never in a million years would I have seen that coming.
Gotta say I love her so much!
So.......
I leave this Thursday and I won't be back for a complete week.
I definitely need to get away from everything.
I've been a bit angry/slightly depressed since one of my commission projects flopped or more so blew up in my face, in a very bad way.
Long story short..... every client needs a contract from now on.
So I can cover my ass in case a project may take longer then anticipated.
Other then that annoying distraction the projects keep rolling in.
Still have to finish the Lysander Raven Guard model...
Begin work on a Goff Ork warband...
Finish my Carcharodons for Adepticon....
And begin working on a small Raven Guard project....
Just gotta keep rolling along I suppose.
I should have progress pics of my Carcharodons after I return (hopefully started on painting as well).
I have all my troops assembled, along with the Razorbacks (except for the turrets).
I'm just missing a drop pod, a unit of 4 Scout Bikers and a nice Simple Green bath for my Dreadnought.
I'll also be writing a review on some Secret Weapon bases I bought specifically for my Carcharodons so keep your eyes peeled after the 7th.
Hopefully this time with the wife away from the real world for a week should put me back in the mood to work.
See you all after the 7th of March!

+++Kevin+++

Happy Valentines Day!

2012-02-14T09:26:00.000-08:00

Holy crap.
It's already Valentines Day.....
Well I've been keeping busy.
At about 85-90% complete on that Ogre Commission.
What a project that has been.
Between me getting sick constantly and a change in painting techniques this has been a real trial by fire for me.
There was a time during this that I had almost said "I'm done with commissions, this isn't for me"
Well, I dashed that ideas head repeatedly against a stone wall till it died.
Being my first commission its going to be hard, I've never done anything like it before.
I came to the realization that I have to just suck it up and keep forging ahead.

I was originally hand painting the skin and it came out... ok....actually it was hideous.

Just way too harsh for skin.

So I decided to jump into airbrushing and see where that would take me.

BAM! The skin looks firkin' amazing, a bit lighter then I had wanted but by the gods does it look good.

Plus it should darken a bit when I hit them with some Purity Seal.

I'm also working on a single Raven Guard Terminator Captain for another customer.

Just a simple black with some changes to veteran colors from white to red.

Should have that knocked out by the end of this week as well.

Expect some pictures of both when I finish them.

Finally on the commission front I have in-coming a commission to paint the contents of the Assault on Black Reach Ork set.

Should be an easy job to knock out before I head to Illinois for Adepticon.

The color scheme is basically Goffs clan, so black and white.

Simple and easy.

Work on the Carcharodons has slowly begun.

Once I have the Ogre commission complete and shipped out I'll begin to assemble the ForgeWorld pieces I have and build the army.

All I have left to buy is a Drop Pod, some assault arms, Las/Plas Turrets for Razrobacks and maybe a Land Raider if I can reasonably fit it into my list.

On that note I bid you a farewell and hope you have an awesome Valentines Day.

+++KEVIN+++

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-24T14:48:00.001-08:00

Yes my precious.....

To whatever you follow... Happy Holidays!

Frost Ogre Update

2011-12-21T17:09:00.000-08:00

I finished the first 5 Ironguts in the "horde" Irongut unit of 15.

The front rank.

Individual shots of front rank (Crusher and Bellower)

More shots of front rank (Standard Bearer and rank and file goons)

So there you have it. One completed rank of 5. It still blows my mind that this unit will be a "horde" in-game. I would not want to meet that on the battlefield thats for sure. Besides this unit I have been chipping away at the Tyrant and the 2 Butchers (the Tyrant in particular was a lot of work thanks to Failcast).

Also, I had gotten the Firebelly and the 4 Sabretusks from the client a few days ago and Finecast fails pretty hard. The Firebellys face is really jacked up, he basically has no eyes and there are so many holes all over the model that I need to fill. His gut pate was victim to the thin-cast I've been hearing about. The robes under the plate (and one half of the gut plate) is so thin you can see through it, making it a bitch to clean up. I told the client and hope he has e-mailed GW for his free replacement but until then I will have at him with some Greenstuff.

As far as the Sabretusks are concerned, 2 out of the 4 came out ok. A set of them look as though when GW was finished pouring the resin they didn't wait and pulled the mold off causing one half of the model to have an extremely rough texture. I would really like to know how this happens because its been a long time since they had started this Finecast business and there is no excuse now.

Don't get me wrong, I like the idea of Fainecast I really do. Doing away with the pewter was the best thing they could have done, but now they seem like they have absolutely no idea what their doing. How are these mess ups even getting out of the building? Is there any kind of quality control anymore?

Ok rant over haha.

Should have another update before or after Christmas which should entail completing another rank and maybe even one of the Butchers and the Tyrant.

Till next time, thank you as always for looking!

+++Kevin+++

Balls! Balls! and more Balls!

2011-12-13T22:36:00.000-08:00

WARNING: Don't be thrown off by the title of this post.
I'm just a HUGE Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson fan (plus Geoff is my hero) and couldn't think of another title...
Anyways, just a bit of randomness and a small update on the Frost Ogres today.

Heres a crappy pic from my phone for you to enjoy!

I've been trudging away at the Frost Ogres commission and man, quite a project it is! I have never held and or seen the Mournfang Cavalry models and dear lord are they IMMENSE! I was completely thrown off when I opened the shipment box a few days ago and held what is in my opinion the largest "cavalry" in the Warhammer game. There was that and just how immensely detailed the Stonehorn kit is. I'm super excited to paint that beast.
I hit a wall so to speak wash wise. I don't know if its the wash itself or the brush I am using to apply it but man is my Asurmen Blue wash going crazy on the first batch of Ironguts. Its just being a complete pain in my ass. It refuses to settle in the recesses or give me a nice even coat over the P3 blue to tone the hue down. I'm working on the first rank of 5 Ironguts and its just fighting me the whole way. Although I am making it work, not much else I can do but maybe ask my wonderful wife to "buy" me a new pot of wash and a large brush.
I'm also considering e-mailing my client and giving the grim news that I may not have this project done by the end of December. Mainly because I refuse to "hurry it up" and or rush to return to him an inferior product. He paid me to do my best at painting his army and damnit I will deliver on that, even if it takes me a week or two more then I originally planned.

+++Kevin+++

P3 review and commission work a go go

2011-12-07T20:33:00.001-08:00

First in this blog entry I would like to discuss P3 paints from Privateer Press. I've never used them before and figured I would throw my two cents in and write a mini review. Then once I finish my review I will show off some commission work (otherwise known as test models).

Now I received my P3 paint set today (ordered from the Warstore, great site, with awesome deals on everything!) and I am very impressed. I've never used P3 before and with my client wanting a scheme similar to the Horde Trollbloods (just slightly darker) for his Ogres army I figured this would be the chance to try them out. You can't beat $14.00 giving you 6 paints.

Let me first say that P3 paints are ridiculously smooth and cover a hell of a lot better then GW (except for the Cold Steel, that took 4-5 layers working from a black undercoat) and take to thinning with water with relative ease. In fact their so nice you can practically use them straight out of the bottle, though I suggest thinning your paints all the time, makes it less chunky and saves the details in the end. Their bottle design is the best Ive seen next to the dropper model of the Reaper series. Unlike GW paint the P3 paint pot actually stays open, resting the inside "plunger" on the back lip perfectly, allowing you the ease of not having to grow a third arm to mix your paints AND leaving practically no excess paint on the rim. To be quite honest, Im actually enjoying panting miniatures more then I have in a long time. I believe this is due to the relative ease of laying down the coats of the P3 paint even when using on a black undercoat. I don't have to constantly be adding more and more water, or to constantly be re-painting the same spot because the paint just won't "stick".

The paint also works well with paints/washes from other companies like GW or Reaper. The GW washes seem to take to the paint the best, completely surprising me how well they actually work together. At this rate if the Secret Weapon washes do just as good of a job I may stop buying GW paint altogether. I'm always on the look-out for a new set of paint because lets face it, while GW has some good paints like the Foundations and what not, they are not the best out there (and their prices are ridiculous for what you get anyways).

Now will I expand my paint selection with P3? Yes, I definitely will be as soon as possible. Will it completely replace my GW paints? Eh, its hard to tell. Once I expand and get ahold of more paint selections and truly see how the range comes together then I can judge that. However as of now I will be taking every opportunity to buy more of their fabulous paint. Keep up the good work Privateer Press.

Rating: 4/5. I like what I'm seeing but of course I need to get my hands on more to truly get the full picture.

Now onto the commission pics.
My client asked for a color scheme similar to the Frost Giants from Thor. Naturally I sent him some pics of Trollbloods and asked if this was something he wanted. He said yes but he wanted them a bit darker. This leads to the first collage of an Ice Ogre. I like where it was going and right after I finished I knew he probably wouldn't like it. Surprisingly he liked it but wanted it a bit darker.

After a bit of discussion I went back to this figure. I sent a lot of time on it and well I didn't want to just start a new Ogre. There had to be something I could do to him to get him darker. I grabbed some Asurman Blue GW wash and thinned it considerably with water. I haven't sent him this collage yet but I think it definitely got darker and looks less "Smurfish".

I actually really like this "version" a lot. It didn't kill my paint job but gave it just enough of a shadow boost to make it less bright and in your face. I did have to go back over my highlights but it was worth it. Hopefully he'll like this and all I would have to do is give them a nice quick wash after achieving the first scheme. Even if he doesn't like it and I have to go even darker, this will be the scheme for my own Ogre army after I finish his. Frost Ogres here I come!

Thanks for taking the time to look and as always comments and concerns are always welcome!

+++Kevin+++

Small "sick" update

2011-11-27T20:22:00.001-08:00

So it seems I have contracted the Walker virus...
...or Nurgles Rot I can never tell.

I am definitely hurting and have been laid low, severely.
I mean its pretty bad, whole body aches/shivers, fever and raw throat just to name a few. But amongst this most horrible of news I have finally gotten my first commission! If I wasn't so sick I would jump up for joy and squeal like a little school girl. It always seems like the thing you want the most pops up right when your at your lowest so to speak...

No it is to paint an Ogre Kingdoms army (pretty much my favorite Fantasy army, I can't get enough of the fatties :P), roughly 30 foot slogging Ogres (variable units and equipment), some Mournfang and a few beastly plastic kits that I have been biting the bit to get my hands on!!!
Its definitely good timing as I have been slaving away at painting my own brand new Ogres army and I have perfected a very nice simple flesh color. I've been knocking around the idea of airbrushing the base coat of the flesh and maybe even the first washing to speed it up. I definitely HATE base coating flesh especially over a Black undercoat and I need to speed this process up ten fold (not that I will not pour my blood, sweat and tears into this project, I just want to get it to him before the chaotic anarchy that is Christmas hits. Christmas is always a pain but I like that it is coming soon to get my into a fast/organized/groove if this commission thing works out.

Now to finish this I will post up a collage I did of the first 3 Ogres (out of a unit of 9, soon to be a lot larger in the near future) I have painted for myself and I am quite happy with. So please enjoy and let me know what you think.

Thanks for taking the time to check out my stuff and to read my flu induced ranting.
Please excuse me while I moan in pain while watching the encore of the mid season finale of Walking Dead, then Talking Dead, THEN downing a nice dose of NyQuil....

+++Kevin+++