Wargaming Tradecraft: 2013




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Privateer Press Arc Markers

UPDATE! I won't be removing these free templates, but please consider supporting Wargaming Tradecraft by purchasing a physical template to mark your arcs more accurately.

I've been wanting to create a more accurate way of marking the front arcs on my Hordebloods. There's plenty of ways to do it and I'm going to share some ideas as well as provide templates for you to use.

I've done a little trial and error on this already so that you don't have to.


Avoiding Burn Out and Hobbying Again

I've been asked many times, "How do you force yourself to paint again when you're in a slump?"

It's a good question and there are a bunch of reasons why we hit hobby slumps. A "slump" can mean anything from becoming bored with what you're working on, bored with hobbying in general or unable to get painting again due to other things getting in your way. After some revelations of my own, I'm going to finally try and offer some suggestions and tell you what works for me.

Also, worth noting... I may use the word "painting" a lot, but really, that's a term I use as a general reference to the hobby. I could be talking about sculpting green stuff, cleaning mould lines, building terrain and so on.

[Review] Reaper Bones Miniatures


 So about a month ago, my FLGS talked me into trying out one of the plastic Reaper Bones miniatures. I'm glad I did. The following is my review on the quality of the miniatures and what they're like to paint - they're not bad. Certainly not high quality miniatures; I wouldn't recommend them as replacements for Wargaming. The price is perfect, as is the quality, if you're looking for miniatures to use in your various tabletop roleplaying games. Another selling point - no primer required... buuuut, I'll touch on how accurate that is later.

If you got in on the original Bones Kickstarter, then you're well aware of what kind of a deal they offer. If you're interested, there's a Bones II Kickstarter on at the moment, which wraps up at the end of the week.

The other thing I'll be doing, is when I get to painting, I'm going to show more simple and quick steps that anyone can follow to create nice looking models.

Hordebloods: Pandaren Skaldi Bonehammer

Next up, added to the ranks of the Hordebloods, is Skaldi Bonehammer the Pandaren Champion. He was lots of fun to build and paint, so I'm going to detail some of the key areas I worked on.

My apologies for the lack of updates recently. This is another period of life where my job's been wiping me out by the end of the day. Anyone want to pay me copious amounts of money to paint and / or write tutorials?

Coping with Disasters

Sometimes, things happen... out of your control... within your control... either way, they're terrible... I'm not talking about that "1" that shows up at the roll of the dice that determines the outcome of a game. I'm talking about things like... oh I don't know... dropping one of your miniatures on the floor and watching it explode.

Not a huge deal if you're just rushing through painting an army, but more serious if it's something you've been putting a lot of time and effort in to. How do I cope? How do you cope? Let's take a look...

Warmachine: Tactics - LAST DAY

I just wanted to remind you, incase you were waiting.. that today is THE LAST DAY to Kickstart Warnachine Tactics.

You can add on some great stuff, like models and novels as well as in-game rewards exclusive to Kickstarter backers.

So what are you waiting for?




If you want to see what you're paying for...




The models you can add on are limited edition and look BEAUTIFUL. Yes, the characters will be available later, but these sculpts are for the Kickstarter only - they'll actually be breaking the moulds later.



It's on Steam's Greenlight program, but why wait when you can support it now and improve what the game comes with?
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=161130573


They've added all the factions but 1... and we're not far off from that goal:


Hordebloods: Champion #1



I've completed the first shock troop of my Hordeblood infantry. My champions are the backbone of my best lists and always do their job - soaking pain as well as dealing it. For their skin tone, I've gone the Warsong Demon Tainted route. This gives them firey skin with brown shades and yellow highlights.

This fellow is the leader of the unit, but more will follow.

Avoiding tipping and Weighing Bases


 Some models are just down right tippable, either because of some modding you've done or that's just how the model is. (Tyranids, I'm looking at you.) Other models are on the fence - fine in most situations, but tipsy if you start balancing them on terrain. (Lictors, I'm looking at you.) There are some things you can do to avoid tipping.

Glow in the Dark Paint


Another nifty paint you can get is Glow in the Dark. How does this affect gaming? It really doesn't, besides being able to say "This stuff glows in the dark!" Runes, head lights, visors / glasses, HUDs (Heads Up Displays), control surfaces, magic, whatever. It works just like those stickers you had as a kid - leave it under a bright light for a while, turn out the lights, and it glows!

Fun Fact! Diffused light, like through a cloth in a light box, doesn't really work for charging glow in the dark. Use direct light.

This is purely a "for fun" addition to your models, but it's kinda neat being able to add some character to your army. It's also neat to be able to say things like, "All my magic stuff glows in the dark," or "My underwater 3D game board is bullet proof."

This stuff is also available at most hobby stores for pretty cheap. However, there are a bunch of places online that sell high-end glow in the dark paint and pigments. (powder) It's stronger, brighter and comes in other colours, but it's expensive. Price is high mostly because it's meant for large projects and comes in big containers, but sometimes you can find smaller "tester" kits.

Not to be confused with day-glo stuff... aka, paints and pigments that are so bright (usually neon) that they look intense under normal light. (But don't actually glow)

Object Source Lighting


We're all (hopefully) used to painting miniatures with some kind of light source in mind. Typically, you're using Zenithal Lighting - a generic light shining down on your figure from above. Most of the time, this will be a "white" light source as when you highlight, it's with colours that only lighten your painted area.

What I'm looking at in this article are cases where something on your model is creating an additional light and how it affects your painting. This is called Object Source Lighting, often abbreviated as "OSL".

Crackle Medium does the work for you


Something you can purchase is a "crackle medium" and it does basically what the name says - it's a medium that crackles your paints for you. Lots of uses for something like this and in this tutorial, I've used it on the blade of my Malefic Warlock. Instead of weapons, you could absolutely use it on vehicles and other armour plates, trees, walls, roads even the skin of large creatures - sky's really the limit.

Most hobby stores like Michaels and Hobby Lobby will carry it and it's pretty cheap. From what I've seen, every brand works roughly the same. This is a short post, because really, it's simple stuff.

Hordebloods: Krielstone Warlocks: Malefic Tier 6

For those of you who follow Wargaming Tradecraft on Facebook, (Where I share peeks into what I'm working on and converse with, well, all of you.) you know I've been working on this guy for the last little bit. Here's the final Warlock in my Krielstone Unit! This time, he's inspired by the Malefic Raiment, tier 6. I've also updated my Hordebloods Gallery with a photo of the unit as a whole.

Now, for this post, I'm not going to go into too much detail besides covering some of the steps I took to paint him. The reason for this, is that over the next little bit I'm going to cover a few different techniques used on this miniature.

As usual, I like to start with the based mini, primed black...

[REVIEW] Stamping with Happy Seppuku's Kickstarter


I was recently pointed to a rather interesting Kickstarter by Moe (aka, the local Gaming Guru) of the Windsor Gaming Resource. The company is Happy Seppuku Model Works and they're in the business of creating texture and accent stamps. The idea is that instead of spending $2-10 on textured resin bases, buy some stamps and quickly make them yourself. Being very intrigued, I contacted Happy Seppuku and offered to review their product, which you can read below. Their Kickstarter ENDS THIS WEEK. If you're interested, don't bookmark this to come back later, go take a look now. (If it's ended, you can still get other stamps at their store.)

The following review / tutorial is also useful if you happen to find other objects useful for texturing bases. Some hobby stores / model train stores will carry moulds, but they're usually 3D, while these are flat and better for bases.

My overall impression is this:

This is a great product for hobbyists who are looking for a quick way to make textured bases themselves without going to a whole lot of work. Stamping's a very easy process and the stamps themselves are big enough that every base will look a little unique with accents that offer even more flare. Purchased resin bases will provide better quality but cost quite a bit more. If you don't mind investing the time, imperfections like bubbles and broken details can be repaired with a once over using some kind of shaping tool. The cost of a single reusable texture stamp is about the same as the cost of resin bases for a small unit of troops.

[CHARITY] Headshots Wrap-Up


I've been meaning to post this for a while now.. basically a quick thank you to the Team and Volunteers as well as any of you who might have watched, donated or spread the word during our Headshots from the Heart gaming marathon for Child's Play Charity.

We raised $5,035.71

This puts our total to $7,616.34 from the last two years!

Guitar Pick Gaming Tokens


So I was waiting while having some stuff rung up for work the other day and had a flash of genius - using guitar picks to make custom tokens / counters for your army. Yup, I know, another awesome idea courtesy of Wargaming Tradecraft. You could probably also use this technique for other board and roleplaying games.

Speaking of awesome ideas, I posted a teaser pic to the Wargaming Tradecraft Facebook Page and got some fantastic suggestions on other uses for guitar picks like this. Draconic decorations like scales, armour, shields, molten lava, jewels and stones. I bet you could think of more, but in the mean time, I'm going to use them to make tokens!

A bunch of the steps I'm about to show you are optional and depend on how much effort you want to go through. Technically, you could just buy a bunch of picks, write on them and be done.. but as usual, I'm going to show you how to make them look really nice.

Running War Room ON your PC

You may have seen my previous post where I talked about Using War Room on a PC by remotely accessing your Android phone. Well, I shared this in the Privateer Press forums and thanks to user Bitmatic, was delighted to hear there's a way to install an Android emulator on your PC. This lets anyone, whether they have an Android device or not, to have access to all sorts of fantastic apps - including War Room! You'll still need to purchase the army packs though.

*NOTE* Your War Room account can only be connected to 3 devices. This BlueStacks install will count as one. If you're already connected to 3 accounts, this won't work until you wipe out your old devices.

Also, needless to say, you're probably not going to get Tech Support if you're having problems running War Room through BlueStacks. (Especially considering Tinkerhouse didn't respond to a single support request I sent when War Room first came out)

[COMMUNITY] Stolen Army


Today, one of the guys at our local club in Windsor, Ontario, Canada (border city across from Detroit, Michigan, USA) had his car broken into and his army case was stolen.

The contents were a Warmachine Cryx army (photo below) and any details you might have or publicity you can offer would be greatly appreciated.

As always my email is NPlusPlus [AT] WargamingTradecraft [DOT] com





Thanks,

Water Effects: Creating Waterfalls


To wrap up the Tin Can Tree project, I'm going to demonstrate how to create waterfalls.

In the last two posts I showed how to create a few different types of water effects. Now you know how to create bottomless and moving water as well as clear and even water. (and how to muddy it up)

Water Effects: Clear, Transparent and Tranquil


Continuing the Tin Can Tree project, I'm looking at water effects. Last time I showed how to create Bottomless and Animated Water while today I'm going to look at nice calm transparent water. I'll be using Liquitex Pouring Medium and a couple examples of glue.

The pouring medium will get you the most bang for your buck on a large project, but takes 2-4 weeks to fully dry if it's thick. (You'll see in the following photos that the mediums and gels start foggy white, so be patient about dry times.) The photo on the left is a follow up from about a month after the tree was made.

Plastic and Super Glue you probably already have on hand, but it's really expensive to use a lot of. Try to stick to small projects like bases. Glue will dry clear right away though, something to consider if time's a factor.

Water Effects: Bottomless and Animated


The next few posts of my Tin Can Tree project are some I've been wanting to tackle for a while - water!  Over 3 posts, I'm going to show you how to create bottomless and animated water, (today) clear water and waterfalls. Worth noting is that these techniques could also be used to create other liquids like ooze and blood.

There's been a bit of a delay on getting back on these terrain posts, mostly due to some charity work, bronchitis and an interview, but here we are!

As a starting point, we'll look at opaque water - that means water you can't see through, or bottomless. It's great for adding water effects to tall structures like this tree, where it would be impractical to fill it with water effects. You an also use this method on a thin base to simulate deep water or make it appear like something is submerged and disappearing into the depths!

Interviewed by World of Warcraft Insider


I was contacted recently by Lisa Poisso of WoW Insider, wanting to do an interview thanks to my Hordebloods project. Last week, after a number of emails back and forth, that interview was completed. You can read the whole thing:

Hordebloods Miniatures Customizer has WoW in his Blood
(Also mirrored on my drive)

For the Warcraft enthusiasts, you might enjoy some of her other articles, like her focus on race-only guilds. (For example, Orcs and Tauren)



[CHARITY] Headshots from the Heart LIVE ONLINE



As you're reading this, we're in the process of kicking off a fundraiser to help sick kids. Last year we raised $2,700 for Childs Play - this year the event's just starting and we're well past the half-way mark to beat it!

The full 24 hour event is being streamed online RIGHT NOW.


Help us!


  • Spread the word
    • Website
      • Where you can come watch and find all the info
    • Facebook
      • Interact and share with your friends & family what's going on!
    • Twitter
      • Interact and RT!
  • Donate
    • Money
      • Donate a flat rate
    • Pledge
      • Offer a few pennies per headshot kill. (1 penny will be apprx $36)
        Feel free to limit your pledge.
      • Check in Sunday at noon to see what you owe.
    • Auctions
      • Going on throughout the full 24 hours
      • Check the page to know what's being auctioned when and for how long.


I'll be posting updates from the LAN section of the event on my Twitter account, so check in over @InDavesLife.

100% of profits goes to Childs Play... we use their ChipIn! widget and eBay Giving Works so we're not handling the money.

[CHARITY] Headshots from the Heart, ramp up


As you're reading this, I'm with a bunch of friends setting up for tomorrows Headshots from the Heart gaming marathon. Last year we raised $2,700 for Childs Play - this year the event hasn't even started and we're well past the half-way mark to beat it!

The full 24 hour event will be streamed online tomorrow, Saturday 18th 2013 at noon, Eastern Time.

Help us!


  • Spread the word
    • Website
      • Where you can come watch and find all the info
    • Facebook
      • Interact and share with your friends & family what's going on!
    • Twitter
      • Interact and RT!
  • Donate
    • Money
      • Donate a flat rate
    • Pledge
      • Offer a few pennies per headshot kill. (1 penny will be apprx $36)
        Feel free to limit your pledge.
      • Check in Sunday at noon to see what you owe.
    • Auctions
      • Going on throughout the full 24 hours
      • Check the page to know what's being auctioned when and for how long.


I'll be posting updates from the LAN section of the event on my Twitter account, so check in over @InDavesLife.

100% of profits goes to Childs Play... we use their ChipIn! widget and eBay Giving Works so we're not handling the money.

Realistic Moss


The Tin Can Tree project is coming along quite well. Now that the base is all flocked, it's time to add a little more character to the setting.

Imagine you're walking through a forest.
Brown trees surround you.
There's grass and brush underfoot.

What's missing?

All those little things: Leaves, moss and other organic features to fill in the terrain.


There's not actually a ton of stuff to say about this article, but if you continue to read, I'll talk a little and show you more examples of how you can use hobby moss.

It comes down to basically just gluing a bunch of moss around your terrain where it looks goodn while trying to keep realism in mind. You're not just distracting from the basic green of your flock, you're building an overall scene that every little detail adds to.

Hordebloods

http://Hordebloods.WargamingTradecraft.com


As I modify, green stuff and paint my Hordeblood army, I'm attempting to infuse inspirations from the Warcraft universe into the Trollblood aesthetic. I don't want to flat out copy The Horde, because I want these models to still be easily recognizable and usable for gaming.

This post is a place holder for my Hordebloods project. I'll update this section as I complete more models. All completed models are also available on DeviantArt.

The following is a list of all the completed and in progress miniatures of my Hordeblood army. Included with each are which characters from the Warcraft universe acted as inspiration as well as links to final and in progress photos and tutorials.

Flocking Terrain and Bases


So I got to this point by painting with sponges on my Tin Can Tree project. But now, everything is brown and black and needs some perking up.

Whether you're creating terrain or just working on a base for a model, some form of flock will make it look more realistic.

What's flock you ask? Green powder, tea leaves, sand, small rocks, etc - in other words, stuff that looks like grass, forests, deserts, mountains and so on.

[CHARITY] Headshots from the Heart (2nd annual)


You may recall that last year I spent a solid 2.5 months painting some themed miniatures (donated by MiniWarGaming) for charity. Specifically, for Headshots from the Heart. A small group of us put on a 24 hour gaming marathon where we played Borderlands without pause, gave away prizes, auctioned off a bunch of phat lewtz, accepted pledges by the headshot and streamed the entire event online. In the end we raised about $2,700 for Childs Play.

You can tune in Saturday May 18th at 12.30 pm Eastern Time or catch a practice before hand.


This year I'm just volunteering, but you can bet I'm still going to pimp this out on my blog. With the release of Borderlands 2, that's the game that'll be running 24 hours straight... but instead of 4 people the entire time, there's only going to be 3... why? Because people who donate to play in the LAN party won't just get chances to win some cool stuff, they'll also have a chance to join in on the event!

As for the lewt up for grabs, we've got some amazing sponsors this year... Awesome gaming gear from Steel Series, Steam codes for Torchlight 2 donated by Runic Games, an absolutely beautiful leather mask from FeralCrafter and plenty of other geeky items, like, oh, a baby wyvern skeleton! Y'know what, just go LOOK AT IT ALL. There's a lot of stuff, but they're still accepting more so now's the time to contact them if you'd like to help a good cause.

If you don't have anything monetary to give, you can still help. Tweet this, Facebook it, post it on your own blog and help raise awareness for what's going to be a great time! They've also got banners you can use!

Last year I also posted an article detailing the steps on how you too can stream this sort of event online. I went with the software method and used a professional sound mixer with mics around the room to capture all the audio for the event. We were also prepared incase we had to reset anyones crit counters.

Painting with Sponges


Now that I've got the trees built and gel textured for my Tin Can Tree project it's time to paint them.

Plan A was for Airbrush. heh. Well, that was a bust. Few reasons:
  • My airbrush has a small, gravity fed reservoir. Great for fine detail, tedious in large areas.
  • Paint in an airbrush gets thinned down, many layers are needed to truly bring out colour.
For small details close up, you have a lot of control. Over a large area, noooooot so much. (Unless you take a TON of time) I've included the photo below to show how far I got with the airbrush and where I took it using a sponge. Worth noting, I probably spent significantly less time with the sponge too.

[Community Support] Blood of Kittens vs Battlefoam


Seems to be a week for this kind of stuff... Honestly, I'm not trying to turn into a news site, just a matter of bloggers supporting bloggers.

Apparently Blood of Kittens is tied up in some legal issues with Battlefoam, prompted by opinions and rumours shared by TastyTaste that Battlefoam disagrees with. I'm not going to go into specifics, but you can read the announcement on Blood of Kittens and help support his legal fees. (anything helps)
http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2013/05/01/network-news-battlefoam-v-blood-kittens/
(I didn't see any releases from Battlefoam regarding this, else I'd've linked that too. There was a thread on Dakka, but it was locked.. people are pissed about the locking, I dunno... I see a forum not wanting to get dragged into drama.)

Tasty's built up BoK into quite a gaming network, focusing on many facets of the hobby as well as helping other bloggers get attention. Personally, I think it's unfortunate to see the little guy get pushed around by a bigger company. Sure, he's probably not making friends with some of the stuff he writes, buuuut it's free speech. Deal. Battlefoam also seems to have a history of this kind of action.

Now, before anyone suggests I'm being hypocritical after backing up GW for wanting to protect their IP the other day... this is different. (Plus, I even said there, "I don't fully understand what is and isn't "fair use" and what breaks "news" sites get for posting anything their sources provide them.") This is about free speech. The irony of course is that as Battlefoam tries to strengthen their brand by getting involved in legal action against people talking out against them, it makes me less likely to buy their product due to a) how they're treating a fellow blogger and b) their need to sue rather than stand on their own merits and quality... which is extra unfortunate, because I'm in the market for a higher end case.

Other Interesting Reads:
http://www.popehat.com/2013/05/02/battlefoam-learns-why-legal-threats-can-be-dangerous/
http://plasticlegions.blogspot.ca/2010/09/foam-wars.html

[Update, June 7, 2013]

Tasty posts and update and includes some interesting declarations that could paint a dastardly picture of Battlefoam's business practices.
http://bloodofkittens.com/blog/2013/06/07/network-news-battlefoam-v-blood-kittens-update/

Texturing with Gel


I work with gels ALL the time as they're really useful. They're relatively cheap and can be found in art supply / hobby stores. Some previous examples of where I've used gel are in my posts on Advanced Fire Effects and Making an Earthy Wall.

In this step of my Tin Can Tree project, I'm using Sandy Gel to add texture to the trees. You can do similar things by mixing sand into heavy gel or glue, but you'll get more consistency and shaping out of using sandy gel specifically.

Yes, Bell of Lost Souls and others are down...


...and my traffic is up. Because I'm writing again, or because people are hobbying instead of reading news? Guess we'll never know... I'm not a news site, but there seems to be a lot of rumours circulating at the moment, so I thought I'd do my part to put some of them to rest. Yes, Bell of Lost Souls is down right now, but it's supposedly due to technical problems that are "looking mighty suspicious by the hour." according to their official announcement, which you can read for yourself:
http://www.lounge.belloflostsouls.net/showthread.php?31218-BoLS-FRONTPAGE-STATUS-Official-Announcement

General pointing of fingers seems to be the posting of pics from an unreleased White Dwarf which seems to be the reason Faeit 212 is gone. ( http://www.chillingeffects.org/dmca512c/notice.cgi?NoticeID=928410 ) Tabletop Fix has also announced they'll no longer be covering GW products: http://ttfix.blogspot.ca/2013/04/public-service-announcement_30.html

Now, there's a lot of people pissed off over this, but it's actually one of the areas where I can't help but back GW. Some people are arguing that White Dwarf is just a monthly catalogue that GW wants you to pay for or that other designers post pics of upcoming stuff for free... doesn't matter... point still remains that it's copyrighted / "secret" upcoming works that GW doesn't want leaked until they're ready to display them. You can't really fault them for taking that stuff down. If someone started reposting articles from my blog, you can bet I'd take action.

That said, I don't fully understand what is and isn't "fair use" and what breaks "news" sites get for posting anything their sources provide them.

It does highlight a chilling trend that Google has with taking down data and not providing proper means of responding to take down requests. (Yes, BoLS is supposedly a "tech" problem, but even they seem to be getting a "suspicious" run around" from Google.) Google has even begun denying users the opportunity to respond to take down requests on YouTube and has even admitted that they have agreements with some media partners so that even if a video is taken down mistakenly, they won't re-enable the content.
( http://www.newmediarights.org/copyright/DMCA/youtube_refusing_honor_dmca_counter_notices )

Anyways, I guess BoLS is working on the issue AND looking at getting private hosting where takedown channels must be handled more formally.

[UPDATE]

They're running again, down for about a day, maybe less.. official word is still "technical difficulties".
http://www.belloflostsouls.net/2013/05/bols-returns.html

Building Tin Cans into Trees


This is the base for the Tin Can Tree project.. over the next few weeks you'll see how to turn this into a beautiful forest scene with tall trees, a waterfall and clear waters. This part was provided by the store / our local press ganger.

To begin, all you need is some thin wood, which you can get relatively cheap from most hardware stores. Even press board like MDF (Medium-Density Fibreboard) will work, but can be more susceptible to moisture and warp. Cut it to whatever size you want; large, small, or even a wavy pattern.

The tin cans are just recyclables which end up glued to the base but you could even use pop or juice bottles and really anything you like. Caulk was used to attach the cans to the MDF. It's a strong silicone (rubbery) glue that'll hold heavier duty stuff together. [Read more on Caulk and glues]

There's still plenty of work that needs to be done though, and this post will lead up to just before we actually start painting.

[UPDATED] Just Glue It


This is just a note that I've updated my page talking about glues to include caulk, a heavier duty compound.

Just Glue It

Tin Can Tree Project




Recently, my FLGS held a competition to build some terrain, all entries being donated to the store. Such a great way to get the community involved in helping a store build up it's terrain selection!

We were provided a wooden board with tin cans caulked to it. TheWife grabbed me the large one and I've taken it as an opportunity to do a whole bunch of tutorials I've been wanting to for a while.. specifically, a bunch of water effects stuff, but also opportunities to demonstrate plenty of other handy supplies and techniques.

That's basically the reason for lack of updates recently... building the terrain, putting the pics together and such... I'm also having trouble shifting gears back to minis after this project, compounded with playing a whole bunch of League of Legends with buddies from back home.





Here's what you can expect in the upcoming weeks:



Click on through to see all the final photos.

[Updated] Parents Guide to Tabletop Miniature Wargaming




Recently I was contacted by a games store called Phoenix Games, located in Lake City, Florida, asking if they could use my Parents Guide to Tabletop Miniature Wargaming as something they could hand out to parents in their store.

Honestly, I was both floored and flattered that they'd want to do something like this... I think it's just awesome. Both for parents and young gamers, but also to see material I've created used this way.

Soooo... I did them one up and not only took it as an opportunity to clean up and edit the document, but also created a PDF of it.

If you're interested in doing the same / similar, I ask you to please send me an email first. You can find my email linked to the right of this webpage or located in the PDF itself.

Take a read of the original article and find the PDF


First trailer for the Warhammer 40k LIVE ACTION Movie!

Guess this explains GW's moves recently... Finally, a full production, multi-million dollar movie from Games Workshop that looks AWESOME.

They've really gone all out on this trailer! Wow! Just wow! It's hi-res, so give it a moment to load. (I had to hit refresh a few times because of how many people are watching it)


(April Fools)

Tabletop Day, Saturday March 30th



So this Saturday, March 30th is Tabletop Day!

What's that mean? Well, basically you can probably go to your FLGS and check out a bunch of gaming activities.

Personally, I'll be over at Hugin and Munin in Windsor, Ontario. They're open from Noon to 10p for the day with tons of great people bringing a wide selection of games. My Hordebloods will be on site, and I'll be bringing some Super Dungeon Explore and Sedition Wars. There's going to be some tester Hordes and Warmachine armies, Blood Bowl, Malifaux, and hopefully some of these games.

You can find plenty of information at the Windsor Gaming Resource on some of the FREE SWAG that's being given away.

A Great Explanation of Games Workshop's Policy Changes (and some of my thoughts)




The 'net is buzzing with news about Games Workshop's new policy changes, how it affects online retailers and how it affects local retailers. Matt over at MiniWarGaming has an excellent video talking in depth and with a level head about these changes. Unfortunately, with it is the news that the MiniWarGaming Store will be closing.

On a personal note, I'll be sad to see them go. Chatting on those forums were what sparked me to start blogging all those years ago. While I haven't bought from them recently, (supporting local instead) I did get a good chunk of my current Hordebloods from them and they were kind enough to help sponsor the models I painted for last years Headshots from the Heart campaign where we raised $2500 for sick kids.


And in the meantime, they're having a sale to clear out their product...

Essentially, the issues can be summed up as:

Another Old Stuff Day, March 2nd 2013



Another Old Stuff Day, which I'm a little late at posting.. (Thanks to Creative Twilight for reminding me) but today I've decided to highlight some of the posts that were quite popular over the years.. essentially taking the choices of some of my most read articles found through googling and bringing them to light for my regular readers.

To read some of the posts I've highlighted previously, take a look at 2012's and 2011's Old Stuff Day posts.

Hordebloods - Mulg the Ancient



Mulg was a really fun project to work on and I learned a bunch from it. It gave me a chance to break out the airbrush and discovered a few new techniques. Colour theory was also something I played with, which I'll follow up in another post. Pinning him was also a little trickier than others.

Translucent (Not quite clear) Paints



In my recent post about Fire Effects, I used some translucent paints to create fire. Now, if you don't want to buy something that fancy, paints and washes can be used as well. In this post, I'll show you some examples of different effects and how they turn out.

It's worth noting that sometimes you might not want it to be translucent. Intense colours are great as a first layer, or in certain areas. Flames lick upward in different patterns, water swirls and muddies up, spells flicker and flash in random ways. The photo to the left shows some examples of this.

But if you want nicely blended and layered colours, here are your options...

Hordebloods - Doomshaper




I need a caster powerful enough to control the beasties that are flocking to my Hordebloods. The paint was really flowing through me, so this'll be the only post on this guy. I've still got some things to show off though, so here we go!

Advanced Fire Effects with Gels & Infernal Pyre Troll [part 3]


In the last post, I showed how I painted the lava effect on my Infernal Pyre Troll. Today I'll show how I create fire effects. This'll be green Fel Fire rather than a red/orange, but the theory is still applicable to your own work.

Sculpting Gel

Basic "gel" is available in normal, Heavy and Super Heavy. (I've used a few and prefer Liquitex.) It's basically a white substance that dries clear and the heavier it is, the more sculptable it is. Great for creating fire, water ripples, etc. I use it all the time, like on my Harlequin Wraithlord.

Translucent Paints

Liquid Fill (Martha Stewart brand) paint is a product I found while wandering a hobby store (Michaels) and it's designed to dry semi-clear. I'm going to write up a larger post on this stuff, because it's pretty cool. Otherwise, regular paints or washes will work as well.