Cobra Sneaks In

11.15.2023

These minis were primed at the same time as the last minis I posted, and I continued my trend of just painting a couple at a time instead of everything I primed. And again, I think it works better than doing a bigger batch of painting. 2 or 3 minis at a time seems to be my sweet spot. Now if only I can remember that and not think the painting details I'm happy with when painting 2/3 will scale up when I paint 5 or 8.

Still keeping with Reaper minis, this time we have :
John Bishop, Space Marshal. Cyborg robot cowboy of the future past!
General Drake. 2nd time I've painted this one. This time, not green.
Delta Force Commando. I decided Delta Force is Cobra The Enemy.

I don't have too much behind the scene details on these as everything was pretty straight forward. I didn't have high expectations on Delta Force Commando as the sculpt seemed a little "mushy" - the left arm and head seemed to lack details. While it was sitting in the background as I painted the other 2, "Cobra Trooper" popped into my head. Yeah, it seems obvious now. A quick Google led me to use Citadel Kantor Blue for Cobra Blue. Luckily I had Kantor Blue within my 10 boxes of paint. There's not a lot of detail in the paint job - blue base, red mask, black boots, kneepads, gun, and then some greys on other bits just to break things up. I think it works, though.

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Sascha and Hunter

11.07.2023

While I primed a batch of 6 minis, I concentrated on a couple instead of trying a little bit of each one along the way. I ended up concentrating on 2 to start with, so I just stuck with staying on those 2 and going all the way through to completion. It worked out well, especially as I didn't like the bases that I started out with (that came with the minis) so I had my first in-progress base-ectomy... when I thought I was pretty much done.

The 2 minis this time were:
Sascha Dubois, Time Chaser. She chases time. And time waits for no one.
Post Apocalyptic Hunter. Poor guy doesn't even have a name.

I think I've painted each of these before. They felt familiar. Most of what I primed in the overall batch were minis I painted before, and this was to force me to use not-the-first color scheme that came to mind. That gave me an excuse to have fun, yet still try not to get into clown-gaudy. Sascha is a little more colorful that the pics shown on the Reaper website, but that's ok. I pulled out the blue gunmetal Vallejo, and like normal I went a little overboard with it. I think it works, but I should have used it a little less. Most important - she's got some of the best eyes I've done. They actually seem to be looking at her left-hand probably-a-clock.

Nameless PAH stayed muted in his colors. I was on the verge of just using grey-scale for this one, and dark blue seemed like a good alternate color to fit in. I'm not sure why he would have blue sleeves and hood, but it kind of works. Each mini got red lenses on their goggles thanks to a Citadel jewel stone something or other color. I'm so good with remembering details.

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Time for a Random Assortment

10.11.2023

This time, the painting update delves back into the world of more random minis. I wanted to paint something that didn't follow a known color scheme or box art, so from the shelves of random minis I picked a D&D 2-pack and some Reaper minis that looked fun.

The D&D 2-pack was a pair of Revenant. Revenants? I have no idea what a Revenant is, but it looks like it can fit into any generic game since it's not a weaponized mini and looks to instead rely on fisticufs for combat. These minis are on the smaller size of what I normally paint - probably closer to 25mm than 28-30mm. Definitely not as petite as Infinity minis, though. For whatever reason, I decided one would be brown-themed while the other blackish-themed, while both got a splash of color with shirts that I thought were a little Wrath of Khan inspired. I used the included poker-chip bases and build up a little texture with some Tamiya Plastic Putty for something between dirt and smooth rocks. Overall this was just trying some different little things. Nothing exceptional learned or fantastic result, but nothing overtly bad, either.

Over in the realm of Reaper minis was the second Incredible Woman I've painted. The first was about 5 years ago as I tried using greys and black to go a Batman route. This time was more Iron Man inspired. The reds weren't working for me on this one - there's actually 5 layers/shades of red, as I failed at trying to highlight body parts with different shades and then ended up just painting a coat of said shade to try to get back to something normal. To make up for it, I had fun with the base and added some water just because I like water features on a base when I can sneak it in. While this one is a little disappointing as I had higher expectations that how it ended up, I think it turned out better than the 2018 version.

The next Reaper mini was Jane Porter, Victorian Heroine. This one is definitely the most "meh" of the batch. Generic Indiana Jones style explorers generally end up with some combination of tan/khaki/green, and I found I was quickly going that route. I thought some yellow and red would help break things up. It did break things up, but not really in a good way. This mini was going downhill fast, so I decided to give it a similar base treatment as the D&D Revenant team and call it done without thinking too hard.

The final Reaper mini was Devo Ranks, Cyberist. While I don't know what a Cyberist is, I can figure it out easier than defining a Revenant. I actually had an idea for the color scheme to use on this mini when I initially bought it. The mini reminded me of Robin from the Dark Knight Returns comic. Looking at images form the comic, I don't know why I made that relationship, but I did. I stuck with it, and Devo became Carrie with some punk rock hair. The speed paint yellow I used ended up with too much red in it, but that's ok. I like the way this mini turned out - the end result is pretty darn close to what I originally envisioned. And to help that along - a nice, simple base.

About a week ago, Jerry joined me on a roadtrip to Kennesaw, Georgia and Hobby Town USA. I've been to this store 1 other time, in 2018, and was just amazed at what all they had. I bought models that were mainly 1/48 scale as that is close enough to the scale of the minis I paint - maybe stuff can be used in a game. I bought tanks, humvees, some space stuff, some other military themed things from Tamiya. In that 5 year interim, I put together 1 model (a tank). Lately I've wanted to make a model, but my skills aren't where I think they should be. I've started 2 models in the past year - both A-10 Warthogs, of different scales. On both, in the early stages, they just don't look right. Seams aren't lining up. I don't know the right order to paint vs assemble. Back in the last century, I used to get a model kit from any of a half dozen department stores, and 3 hours after getting home that model would be fully assembled. What happened? Where did my modelling mojo go?

This gave birth to the notion that I need a model(s) to practice on. Something that's ok if I screw it up and toss it. Being me, it also needs to be something I would enjoy putting together, at least on some level. Plus, maybe it'll turn out ok?

There are a couple of places around town that still have models. Hobby Lobby and their bi-weekly 40% off overpriced, mostly car models with a limited variety. Wal-Mart generally has some, but I swear it's the some ~20 kits they used to just have at Christmas. There's also a hobby shop in Huntsville which specializes in R/C cars and also carries an assortment of models. None of these local stores have left me slack-jawed as I walked through. I was spoiled by Kennesaw. Even though I was effectively planning to buy something disposable, a 3½ hour trip to the store to look and shop around, and then another 3½ hour trip back could be fun. As someone who generally maxes out a roadtrip as 2 hrs to Nashville, "could be fun" was stretching it, but I've been trying to talk myself into this for years.

With that long story out of the way, Jerry joined me on my roadtrip and a great many models were purchased. Mostly cars to practice on. I made lots of cars as a kid, but I never put the engines in. Now I want to practice on engine details - and if I screw it up, I'll just glue the hood shut. I also picked up some sci-fi stuff - a Trek model, some 2001 ships. Random supplies - brush-on primer, a couple of colors of Turbo Dork that I could have gotten here in town, some AK Interactive brushes to try out. Now I have stuff to practice on, and then stuff I can practice on with hopes of something good as a result.

While I still have batch of more Reaper minis to be primed for when the painting mood hits, plastic models may also make their way into the blog.

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This counts as the August update

09.07.2020

The past month has not seen me be productive from a hobby standpoint. If I tried to pick a reason for the lack of anything content-worthy over the past month, it would be "lack of artistic gumption". There were some things I started, but decided not to continue/finish. Things I worked on took way too long for the end result. But hobbies are for fun, so I shouldn't be worried that I don't have much to show for August.

I thought I would make a good, old fashioned model - an A-10 Warthog that I picked up no telling how long ago at Hobby Lobby. The last model I made was a tank last year. For the A-10 I started with paint details in the cockpit, and then started to put the body of the plane together. At that point I both wasn't sure what to do next (prime what I had, add more parts, what about painting more details?) AND I just kind of lost interest. I don't remember getting to the point of a hobby project and just saying "eh, I don't really want to do any more." Again, since hobbies are supposed to be for fun, I didn't force it and just decided to put aside what I'd done.

From there I went to the old stand-by of I Can Paint Some Minis. As the Reaper Chronoscope batch was getting ever smaller, I pulled out a couple of blisters to prime. Of the 6 ladies I saw I was going to paint, I'd painted 4 of them before.

• Jessica Blaze, Smuggler - sci-fi gun toter with an unarmored belly button.
• Bobby Jo, Redneck Princess - copy #2 that I've painted/
• Karla, Anime Heroine - a nurse, which I didn't notice until priming.
• Townsfolk: Ladies of the Night - third set of this trio of ladyfolk one might find along a darkened street corner. Evidently I think my miniscape has certain needs.

The painting was uneventful beyond trying out some new skin tones. I faltered when it came to working on the bases - this is when the lack of inspiration really hit me. Usually I enjoy bases the most, but at this point I was just ready to be done with it all. I tried giving one of the bases a rain/wet/puddle look, but I don't think it works unless you know what it's supposed to be.

6 more minis down on the Completed column. On the Chronoscope side, I think the ones I have left to paint are all duplicates.

On the "what next" front... I don't know. Over the next 6 weeks I'm taking a bootcamp course for Salesforce Developer certification which should eat up a lot of free time. This is one of those things I've been putting off since April so I really need to bare down and study. There's plenty of hobby stuff for me to do, but for the next few weeks I need to find things I can spin up and then put away (when needed) quickly. With that in mind, there's a couple of computer/graphic centered things I can put on the list, but I don't know how well my hobby mood will align with sitting in front of the computer.

I've also been enjoying GTA with Jer. We play a couple of times per week. Sometimes we grind away at missions, other times we do goofy stuff. It's been a good way to get my mind off, well, everything.

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Last of the Cowfolk

07.15.2020

Here are the last remnants of cowfolk, which is really just 1 since not everyone that wears a hat is from the Ancient West.

First up is Jack Harrison, Adventuring Hero. I didn't realize this was Indiana Jones. Even when the assortment of left arms included a whip. Jack here was my first foray into using Citadel's Liquid Green Stuff. I should have watched the linked video first, because my green stuff wasn't liquidy. For whatever reason, it was half-solidified. I did my best to fill in the gaps when attaching the arms, but it didn't work out too well. In the end, I tried to compensate by painting toward a "ripped sleeves" look. I'm not sure how well that works without me pointing it out, but I've always got to try something new to cover up mistakes. There was a gaping hole in the back of his right armpit, which was begging to become a wound.

I also went with a more dirty, grungy, mayhap "trudging through the wild" look. I went back and forth trying to give the sword/machete/big knife a rusted look. In the end I just quit going back and forth and left it in whichever state it was in.

Number 2 was the true last of the western minis, Texas Ranger Female. Experimentation here was to play around with mixing my own colors, and using a Glaze Medium instead of Thinner. From what I've read, this is basically what Citadel's contrast paints are, and I like those contrast paints. Overall, this one turned out pretty good.

Painting progress chart gets to slide 2 to the Painted column of Reaper minis. And, I didn't get anything new to add to the list so overall progress accomplished! Sure, it's only been a week since the last update, but not accruing more stuff to paint in any time frame can be looked at as a fiscal win.

Another 6 Chronoscope minis have already been primed for when the painting mood strikes. These are all duplicates of previously painted minis. Not sure if I'll have the confidence to compare these against my original paintings to see which direction my skills have gone.

The 3D printer has been running the past few days making improved store front signs for the 4Ground mall. I've gotten the sweet spot on the print bed dialed in - how a glass bed bows up ever so slightly I'm afraid to know. Temperature and humidity are mostly cooperating, although 90° and 85% humidity is cutting it close. I went through the boxes of mall stores that I acquired from last years Oct and Black Friday sales - 25 stores in need of signage. I never go overboard, right?

The end of this week will see an announcement from Mantic Games regarding their next Terrain Crate. Preview pics show hospital furniture, store furniture, and some camping stuff. I'm going to look into the store furniture options. Did I mention 25 mall stores?

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