Assembling Compressors

The System

There may be some assembly required to get your compressor going. READ the instructions. You don’t want to do something wrong, assemble something backwards, hand tighten something that needs to be reefed down with a tool or crack something you were supposed to hand tighten.

Also in the manual will be a parts list. This will be everything that was supposed to come in the packaging, what they are and what they’re for. Make sure everything is accounted for.

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What to look for when finding a Compressor / Tank

XKCD

You’ll need some sort of air source for your airbrush, and the following will help you pick one out - there are a few options.

If you’re not planning on using the airbrush too much, just buy a tank – you can bring that to a gas station and use their machine for tires to fill it up. (I get about 3 hours give or take from an 8 gallon tank)

If you're looking at airbrushing a reasonable amount, then get a compressor with a tank attached. A small tank will do, to at least regulate the air flow and give your compressor some down time, while a tank under 10 gallons can still be affordable and give you hours of work time before needing to be refilled.

The following article is going to go into details as to why and cover some other features to look for...

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Weekly Update

Last Week at Wargaming Tradecraft

I've begun my airbrushing series... First an overview of what's ahead, then sourcing airbrushes, cleaning them, disassembling them and building a holder.

Also for the gamers, a printable cheat sheet on vehicle damage charts.

The Wargaming Tradecraft Downloads Section is now live! You can reach it from the icon pictured on the left from the main link collection on my blog. (Near the top of the side bar)
This is a link to my public Google Docs files where from time to time I'll upload various hobby documents. Currently there are some colour code sheets, the vehicle damage walkthrough and some custom LARP Character Sheets by moi. I... hope you recognize that icon to represent file storage... otherwise I'm going to feel old.

The Network page has hit 62 blogs! Wow! There's been a lot of great sites who've joined and I've been glad to see many historical mini blogs as well. Still doesn't list the genres, but I do have a plan for the future to resolve that and make browsing it much more powerful.

Last Week in the Community

News

The first batch of Warhammer 40k 6th ed rumours are out from Blood of Kittens, here with some commentary from Dark Future: http://darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com/2011/06/40k-6th-edition-chaos-rumors-and-deep.html

Red has a trailer on his blog from E3 for the new Warmachine video game... nifty
http://f1rst-blood.blogspot.com/2011/06/warmachine-game-plus-my-cygnar.html

Amusingly, Wayland Games, a seller of miniatures, has stopped selling Citadel Finecast (and returning current stock, refunding customers) due to the excessive amount of poor quality in the resin - a 55% failure rate in the 60 blisters they randomly chose. (Check the link for their explanation and pictures of their test minis)
http://www.waylandgames.co.uk/games-workshop/finecast-resin-models/cat_955.html

This leads to the question - Games Workshop had to know their resin was poor quality (as seen in years of Forge World's track record) so why switch?

Tutorials

Ron has a great tutorial on painting a Blood Angels standard bearer http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/heroes-of-armageddon-banner-bearer.html
and blood splatters http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/how-to-paint-blood-splatters.html

A very cool post on using coins http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2011/06/step-by-step-coins-bricks-earth.html

Excellent tutorial on building a cannon http://translate.google.com/translate?sl=auto&tl=en&u=http://warhammermaniaco.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-canon-apocalypsis.html

Tips

A nice lookin Chaos Termie Lord with some painting tips http://darkfuturegaming.blogspot.com/2011/06/commission-completion-chaos-and-grey.html

Gallery

Warpaintguy has a great lookin' killa kan http://warpaintguy.blogspot.com/2011/06/first-killa-kan.html

A very nice and unique style from Volomir http://volomir.blogspot.com/2011/06/wip-death-korps-of-krieg-army-part-4.html

Gaming

Competitive vs WAAC http://www.houseofpaincakes.com/2011/06/when-does-competitive-become-waac.html

Tips for firing and wounding / penetrating http://aychplace.blogspot.com/2011/06/40k-bad-game-and-good-friend.html

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Warhammer 40k Vehicle Damage Order [5th ed]

Loquacious' post over at World of Wonder reminded me I hadn't gotten around to typing up the vehicle damage flow as I said I would so long ago. So, just to show that I can help out in the gaming side of things from time to time, here we go.

The following is a referenced list of how to handle damaging vehicles.

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Build an Airbrush Holder

 As a bonus, here are a few quick steps to build your own airbrush holder.

It's inexpensive, handy and can fit basically any size of airbrush.

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[UPDATED] Sourcing Airbrushes

I realized I left out a section on rough costs for airbrushes, so I've updated the original article.

When I do an update post like this, I'll only update the original article and not tag or link to the update notice. If you'd like to leave comments, please post them to the original.

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Disassembling Airbrushes

This is my airbrush. There are many like it, But this one is mine.

The airbrush shouldn’t be a mysterious device that you use and treat with an unknown reverence. It’s a tool, like any other, that you should be comfortable with. For this reason, you’re going to want to take the airbrush apart, maybe a few times. Get to know what goes where and what things do.

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Cleaning Airbrushes

Every time you use the airbrush, you’re going to need to clean it thoroughly afterward to prevent paint from drying on and inside it. When you change colours, you’re going to have to clean it a little to a lot, depending on the difference in colours. I can't stress enough that if you don't keep your airbrush clean, (often from not thinning paints enough) you'll be spending more time fighting with it than you do using it.

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What to look for when finding an Airbrush

XKCD

Sourcing
First off, you need to know a few things about actually buying the airbrush. While I won't suggest specific brands, (because I won't promote products I haven't used) these tips should help you find something that works for you.

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Airbrushing Overview and Introduction

·       Over the next month, I’m going to share my airbrushing experiences with you. By no means am I a master, as I’ve only been airbrushing for 3 or 4 months now but, like most things, we all develop our own techniques. These guides are intended to give you a comprehensive understanding of how everything that goes into airbrushing works – from the airbrush itself to compressors and tanks, as well as various paints and thinners. I’m going to look at sourcing supplies, features to look for, setting up and maintaining your tools as well as some examples of using the airbrush and exercises to practice with it.

If you have any questions over the next while, I'll do my best to answer them all, experimenting if need be. Please post in the comments or send me an email and I'll get back to you.

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Weekly Update

Last Week at Wargaming Tradecraft

Things are slowly coming back together for me, and I should be able to get back into the hobby side of things soon. I was able to use comments as blog content with the What Makes a FLGS post. Also a handy tutorial on removing rust.

And now, it's finally here - my series on Airbrushes starts this week! So tune in!

Last Week in the Community

Ron has an excellent article about families and acceptance of our geeky hobbies http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/they-make-fun-of-my-nerd-man-armies.html

Tutorials

A nice step by step of a wave serpent http://masterdarksol.blogspot.com/2011/06/step-by-step-eldar-waveserpent.html

Some creative ork modding http://fischers-design-shop.blogspot.com/2011/06/da-green-knaits.html

Dethtron continues the table build, this week with hills http://www.houseofpaincakes.com/2011/06/gaming-on-budget-run-to-hills.html

Tips

Here's some great modding inspiration http://masteroftheforge.com/2011/06/14/artscale-grey-knight-complete/

I'm throwing this image under "tips" to show a very simple paint scheme that turns out looking very nice and clean: http://chaplain-seraphi.deviantart.com/art/Phoenix-212854508

Gallery

WH40k Star Wars and all full of win http://stugmeister.deviantart.com/art/Wh40K-The-Movie-Scene-66007871

Rather interesting Exodite depiction http://stugmeister.deviantart.com/art/Wh40K-Exodite-Eldar-212080333

Necron superheavy thingmajig http://eal555.deviantart.com/art/Necron-Superheavy-212198882

I like gooooollllllldddd http://n00brevolution.deviantart.com/art/Emperor-of-Mankind-211756447

Did not realize Dreadnoughts could surf http://blazbaros.deviantart.com/art/Even-in-death-I-still-surf-213309909

Gaming

An excellent article on the value of units http://nike40k.blogspot.com/2011/06/40k-theory-properly-valuing-units.html

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Removing Rust and Conditioning Metal

 As many of you are aware, the reason for the lack of posts these days is I'm in the process of recovering after my apartment flooded. A side affect of floods is rust... now, normally you wouldn't get a ton of rust from an overnight flood, buuuut normal powerbars are designed for surges, not water, and they all stayed on. (Except for the powerbar I built for my turtle tank.)

Water + Metal + Electricity = lots of rust.

In normal situations, your tools and bits will rust over time. The rust can happen from moisture in the air, wet / cold climates, leaving things out in the rain, etc.

This is how to clean them.

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Comments On Other Sites Can Be Blog Content

via MichaelHyatt.com

Yesterday's post on "What Makes a FLGS" was done as an example of how you can reuse comments from other blogs / forums on your own. Think about it for a moment - I know I've written some rather lengthy responses on the occasional blog out there, and if it's a topic you're interested in enough to write a few passionate paragraphs about, then maybe it's worth spreading your thoughts on your own blog as well.

Just remember to always include a link back to the original source article so everyone can get involved and see the rest of the conversation.

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What Makes a FLGS

via TheComedyNet.com

Loquacious from World of Wonder has run a series over at House of Paincakes about what makes or breaks a FLGS. The following are my thoughts on the subject matter, and perhaps people here will have some other ideas. I'm leaving links to the original articles so that you can click through and read what other people are talking about on the topics.

I'm a big fan of customer service, something that's lacking in a lot of places that I see... here in Canada, I chalk it up to the fact that it's nearly impossible to get fired and stores rarely make use of their 3 month probationary test period for new hires. But really, when there's so much competition today, with more and more people going online, stores need to become creative and positive about the product they are offering their customers. I'm not just talking about gaming stores, and "product" doesn't refer to strictly physical things - customer service, newsletters, events and other interactions are all a form of "product" that a store needs to be able to offer and give people a reason to stick with them instead of someone else or a faceless online option.

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Weekly Update

Last Week at Wargaming Tradecraft

Not much going on here at the moment, for which I apologize. Another round of tearing the apartment apart commenced to combat mold... this whole flood stuff is getting old - TheWife and I would love to just move on, and yet it keeps jumping in our faces. I'm hoping to get things back to normal in life and here on the blog sometime soon.

Last Week in the Community

Warp Signal has reprinted the notes from the meeting down under in regards to the embargo.
http://warpsignal.wordpress.com/2011/06/06/australia-vs-games-workshop-update-6th-of-june-2011/
It sounds like the guy handling things has a very level head and is a great person to be having discussions with GW.

Busy week it seems for a lot of people. Some great things are going on, so take a look down below...

Charity

News

The Old Gamers Den has posted an excellent letter from MiniWargaming. Pass it On.
http://www.chaos-arts.com/2011/06/open-video-letter-to-games-workshop.html

Tutorials

Painting Mum has a beautiful Tzeentch tutorial http://paintingmum.blogspot.com/2011/06/tzeentch-your-minis-several-photo.html

Ron shows a Flesh Tearer http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/flesh-tearer-painted-using-gw-color.html

Massive Voodoo shows how to create a dry soil effect http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2011/06/earth-dry-soil-effect.html

Nyhil shows how a little can go a long way http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2011/06/08/hobby-for-nothing-riveting/

Ron also looks at painting on details http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/adding-detail-to-other-areas-of-your.html

Dethtron shows us how to make roads http://www.houseofpaincakes.com/2011/06/gaming-on-budget-road-to-nowhere.html

The LeadHead shows off using cork bases http://theleadheadblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/tutorial-custom-cork-bases.html
and a great Wartrukk conversion http://theleadheadblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/wartrukk-conversion.html

Tips

White armour example, often hard to do http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-UhcPnQaI07s/TevNyhcsyQI/AAAAAAAABIE/PX7xaZvLB3E/s1600/gdf11-38.jpg

Some great ideas and conversions on Nids http://whitemetalgames.blogspot.com/2011/06/white-metal-games-weekend-madness.html

Using another model as an example http://volomir.blogspot.com/2011/06/painting-using-another-model-as.html

Ron discusses creating a mood for an army http://fromthewarp.blogspot.com/2011/06/hobby-focus-creating-mood.html
regarding these guys http://lairofthebreviks.blogspot.com/2011/06/damned-legionnaire-osl-fail.html

Some cool lookin Eldar Guardians http://masterdarksol.blogspot.com/2011/06/converted-eldar-storm-guardians.html

Gallery

some images today via MWC

Eldar!
Ranger http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Y-S2nH2GBnI/TevOEHpOhyI/AAAAAAAABIs/zelWE5YfsI4/s1600/gdf11-50.jpg
The Shadow Hunter http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-Jrym2IpAly4/TevNWTcbY9I/AAAAAAAABG4/uNdItb0A61Q/s1600/gdf11-17.jpg

Wall-E Dwarf http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-vtz19cV7wl4/TevOOpMQl-I/AAAAAAAABJQ/lmOrWgooY8Y/s1600/gdf11-59.jpg

wow http://paintingmum.blogspot.com/2011/06/mounted-lord-of-tzeentch-and-totally.html

More beautiful stuff from Games Day 2011 France http://volomir.blogspot.com/2011/06/golden-demon-france-2011-photos-stand.html
http://volomir.blogspot.com/2011/06/photos-v-encuentro-de-miniaturismo-san_08.html

As always, Massive Voodoo raises the bar http://massivevoodoo.blogspot.com/2011/06/excipio-vexillum-ultramarine-saga.html

more sexy Dark Eldar goodness http://bloodofkittens.com/rantineminor/2011/06/de-lelith-complete.html

Musing

Gaming

Evan talks about differences in metagame http://creativetwilight.com/2011/06/global-vs-local-why-you-should-meta-game-your-local-environment

Thor speaks about recognizing a lost cause http://creativetwilight.com/2011/06/recognizing-a-lost-cause

A decent discussion about fluff http://www.houseofpaincakes.com/2011/06/freedom-of-choice-or-lack-thereof.html

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An Open (Video) Letter to Games Workshop

I was planning on just putting this in my weekly update, but after watching the video (found on Old Gamers Den) I was moved enough to dedicate it's own post. I highly recommend watching it, and passing it on to others.

MiniWarGamaing is an excellent retailer/forum/newsletter and I think you'll agree with me that they seem to know what they're talking about:

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Weekly Update

Last Week at Wargaming Tradecraft

Couple posts about flock this week. First was a tip on using spice racks and the second was how to dry it out.

For those wondering, yes, life gets in the way, but my airbrushing posts are nearing completion!

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Drying Flock, etc

Substrate, aka sand for aquariums,
is sometimes packaged wet or damp.

It's possible that during your journey you'll come across some pretty cool sand, flock and so on that might be wet. (Beach, flooding, aquarium substrate, etc)

I've also picked up bags of small shells that have a lot of moisture in them, which releases once you put it in a smaller container, soaking everything.

Wet flock is bad. Aside from problems gluing, wet flock won't flow or cover nicely and you'd be surprised how quickly you turn terrain into a mouldy mess when you have moisture in a sealed container.

So dry it!

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Spice Rack Flock Container

 Behold! A spice rack!

I've been casually hunting one of these for a while now and, thanks to garage sale season being upon us, I found one! For under $5 I got this wooden rotating spice rack, 40 jars and some sewing supplies for TheWife. If garage sales aren't your thing, dollar stores carry these jars at 3 for a dollar and I see spice racks on sale all the time at mall kitchen supply stores for $15-30.

Click through, and I'll discuss turning all these goodies into containers for flock.

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