Not a lizard

I just can't leave it alone. The Hive Tyrant base is mostly done. There's still several tweaks and at least two holes that have to be drilled, but that's all easy stuff.

I need to cut a cleft from the left side to break up the straight line and to counterbalance the two ridges on the other sides; while you can't see it, I also need to finish sealing up several places on the ridges and the underside of the "rock." I'm going to also experiment with adding rough-grain sand to the edges of the rock -- the end result will be basalt in a lava flow, and having some texture implying that the rock is being devoured by lava would be nice. Why rock-in-lava? I want to try lighting techniques on something I can easily remake or reprime before going to town with it on Skarre.

There's the Hive Tyrant. He's about 6 inches tall, so it gives you an idea of how large the base is.

Gatormen came in!

My Gatormen Posse(s) came in! I assembled them post-haste (perhaps a little to post-hasty, as you may see in the photos) and threw some ink on one to get an idea of how I was gonna paint them.

There you go. Note that his belly didn't get a lighter, creamier shade in this initial go; he will, though. I've got this great golden-yellow Vallejo paint I've been meaning to use for a while, and I think this is where it gets to shine.

There's not a lot of space for red on these guys. I'm going to have to shoehorn it in where I can -- the necklace, the poleaxe's bindings. The sides are going to be a brown-green; I'll be starting with the dark P3 brown with a drop of green and working up from there. The back plates will be greener. Apologies for not having paint names -- I'm writing on my lunch break at work and the paints are not immediately available. And I'm too lazy to look the names up online. And where they're mentioned elsewhere in the blog. Not much of an apology, but you're the one who pushed the issue. Happy now?

And there it is -- the glaring flaw. I distinctly remember filing away that ridge on this guy's face on at least four of the six models; either I didn't file so good or I slowly (and temporarily) lost the ability to see metal flash. That's gotta come off; I'm just glad I noticed it before I dashed real paint down on the guy. While I love these dudes, there's one thing I really hate about them -- filing away mold lines is a huge pain in the rear. The lines aren't so bad, especially for a limited-run metal piece, but their detail is so shallow that it goes away real quick. A few errant swipes with the file and suddenly your imposing Gatorman Posse is now a smooth-lizard jazz trio. Scales = manly, a known and scientific fact, but they're very easy to remove from these guys.

Bog Trogs half done, plus some

The Bog Trogs are coming along. I keep learning new things -- I've never done any kind of research on painting techniques before, and Anthony's a walking encyclopedia of "pigment on minis." Between forum trawling and picking Anthony's brain, I've got a ton of new things to try out.

So here's the latest Bog Trog. The turtle shell on his right shell could use a few more details, but it's OK the way it is now. I'm using a lot more washes and glazes than I ever did before; they look great, generally speaking, but they also require more babysitting. Overall, it's still a faster and better paint job than my old base, wash, highlight deal. I'm sure that, in six months, I'll be annoyed with how these look now; in the meantime, they're good to go and I love them. Oh love, how fickle you can be.

And the other side. The binding on his spear is underdone; I'll probably go over it with Citadel's "Scab Red" mixed with "Blood Red" to highlight the individual straps. This guy marks No. 3, which means I'm halfway done with this unit. If I ever end up playing Warhammer again, I think I may tear my eyes out -- that game's got 20 or more dudes to a unit, which is just stupid. I think my biggest WarmaHordes army is 30 models total.

This is No. 4. His green skin is done, while his scales need another coat of highlight (or two, and maybe a wash).

Citadel's "Flesh Wash," which is discontinued, is amazing and will get used all over this guy. It's a great wash, but it's really shiny -- probably why it was discontinued -- but it makes leather, wood and turtle shells look great.

This is the same sculpt as Bog Trog No. 2. If you have a poor memory, that's the one that had things on his belt which were totally unrecognizable. Oddly enough, they're still completely unrecognizable. I'm still going with octopus. At least now I can rest easy -- they're just hard to recognize, not over-primed. Cheers, I guess?

Summore Bog Trogs

The Bog Trogs are coming along -- rather, a Bog Trog is coming along. Several washes later, here's how he's looking:



Yes, that's another not-a-lizard project to the left. I found an old Hive Tyrant in my garage that I'd never attached arms to; I cleaned it, added magnets to it and then took an inventory of the possible weapons and biomorphs it can have. Eventually, it'll all get magnetized, but that's a ways away -- there are way, way too many options in 40K games.

The bronze is done on the legplates; it's not flashy, but it's OK. The skin's been washed / highlighted to about where I want it, and the face is pretty much done.

The modesty cloth is close to being done, too; it's going to need the tears darkened up a bit. You can see that the fins on the arms and the feet aren't done yet; they're always a bit of frustration on these types of models, because they're very visible while being pretty uninteresting. On the leader of the Bog Trogs, I'm going to play with glazing them to try to get a translucent look, but these regular troopers don't need that level of detail.

You can really see here how much cleaner this Trog is, and it's all thanks to proper priming. The scales will need another layer of lighter green on them, especially on the shoulders; I'm also going to need to make the color gradients on his crest and swept-back whiskers more obvious.

Bog Trogs, agains

I've talked a lot about doing Bog Trogs lately -- so much so that I'd bet some of my readers were rolling their eyes and assuming that I've stopped work on them. Sure, I've got a history of dropping half-finished projects, but that hurts, guys -- it pains me to know that you might think that.

And there you go -- a Bog Trog, about a third done. I really am moving on them, just slowly, like cold syrup. But you know what pancakes would be without syrup? That's right, slightly less delicious. This is the just the base colors -- light washes of Citadel's "Snot Green" on the skin, "Dark Angels Green" on the scales, a glaze of P3's "Battlefield Brown" on the leather, turtle shell and weapon, and some Citadel "Scab Red" on the modesty cloth. I'm still a little confused about fish wearing things over their crotches, but I figure it's some sort of unassailable modeler's tradition, like breasts on snake women and such.

The legplate is going to be bronze, so it gets the black undercoat. I'm going to force myself to do slightly fancier metallics on my next 'jack, but for now, we'll just go the simple route.

You may notice that the items slung on this Bog Trog are recognizable. That's because this trog was stripped of paint and given a single coat of white primer; it's a lot thinner and than the 3ish coats the others got in my aborted zenithal highlighting tryout. That's also the reason why these colors pop a lot more; the single white primer coat is a lot brighter. However, don't think that I'm bashing the technique -- I'm using a lot of the glazing I learned from trying it on this model, and it's working quite well. I'm certain that it was a case of trying to run before learning to crawl -- I'll give the technique a shot again, with airbrushed primer, on my Gatormen or last pair of Bog Trogs.

Speaking of the items slung on the Trogs -- here's a fish. I'm looking forward to trying my hand at nonmetallic metallics on this guy; for the uninitiated, that's mimicking a metallic finish with matte paints. I know it's a swamp fish -- not because I'm any ichthyologist, but because the Trogs live in swamps, natch -- but that don't mean it can't be shiny. The shading on this guy's leg was a wash of "Dark Angels Green" and then Citadel's "Thraka Green."

Finally, here's the other trog, waiting for his time to get some attention. Soon, my friend.

By the by, if you ended up watching "Nerima Daikon Brothers," stop at episode 6 (or so). If you see the guy with the soup bowl pants and hot-pot head, you've gone too far -- it's all downhill once the show decides it needs a plot.

Not a lizard

Been a while since my last update. I've actually been playing Warmachine (gasp, I know), burned through the seven hours of a StarCraft II trial (kinda meh, kinda fun) and took a long look at my Cryx lists. Eight weeks of goofing around with different casters and lists, and it's time to buckle down with a serious army so I know what I'll be painting.

Anyway, further Skarre work:

This is the final dagger. I'd curled what was going to be a snake ornament around the blade, but couldn't get it to look right, so this is the final. The rope is a tiny homage to the whips that Satyxis Raiders use.

My apologies for the fuzzy photo, but every one of them came out of focus. This is the hatch for coal that powers warcaster armor.

And this little guy will be on Skarre's base. He's small -- his body is just a little larger than the hatch on the above photo. I'm patiently waiting for the "Skarre has crabs" jokes from opponents as they point at my Leviathan and Harrower; my witty response will be POW 13, POW 13, POW 13, Sacrificial Strike. Who's laughing now, sucker? Me and my parasites, that's who.

The final treatment -- maybe -- will be an extension on Takaryx, Skarre's sword. It's a little -- anemic, maybe, next to her dagger. Perhaps emasculated.

I'm also considering a cape, but that's going to involve a lot of forethought which I simply may not be capable of. Seriously, I'd have to measure out her warcaster armor, cut a cape that would go around it, green stuff in inevitable gaps and oh my god I'm bleeding from the thought of the work bleeding.

By the way, Nerima Daikon Brothers is on Hulu. It's hilarious, and you should be watching. Warning: it's racy.

Not a lizard

One of my favorite Cryx warcasters -- perhaps my favorite after Goreshade -- is Skarre Ravenmane. In the original version of the game, she was not only a kick-ass lady, but her "Skarre bomb," as her Sacrificial Strike became known, was one of the early game's signature powerful abilities. However, there was one problem -- her model was terrible.

(Stolen from Privateer Press)

It's very awkward and 2-dimensional. Even that gorgeous paint job and picture taken from the miniature's "good side" can't hide how bad the design is. I sucked it up because Skarre was my go-to girl, but kept my eye out for a replacement miniature. I'd get my chance soon enough.

(Also stolen from Privateer Press)

A few years down the line, Privateer Press released a series of Iron Kingdom role-playing game minis. I ignored most of them, but one of the models in the set was a gun-toting, sword-wielding Satyxis. Color me sold. There were a few immediate problems: that gun and holster on her left hip would have to go -- Skarre wouldn't learn to use a gun until "Superiority"; she'd need a ritual dagger in her left hand; and I'd need warcaster armor on her back.

This is the first go. The gun was clipped off and the area sanded down. In a fit of impatience that I'm going to regret later, I didn't green stuff in the missing portions of her holster's belt, as you can see. I then clipped off a scythe head from an ancient Warhammer Fantasy skeleton arm and pinned it on a paperclip. Next, I twisted her arm out with a pair of pliers and then glued the scythe blade into her hand.

Yes, it's a large blade. It's a miniature game and it's a ritual implement, so you'll have to forgive me.

The base, as you can see, is miserable. It's going to need a major overhaul. Just what I'm going to do, though, I'm not sure yet.

This is the warcaster armor. It's an old Space Marine backpack -- possibly Chaos flavor, but don't quote me on that -- with the vents clipped off and the top trimmed back and sanded down. Green stuff replaced some of the trimmed areas. The vents are skulls from the same Warhammer Fantasy skeleton set. Some green stuff was used to cover up the paperclips.

That's the warcaster armor on the back now. I also put a few green stuff bindings on the dagger, but it's not done yet -- not by a long shot. That blade is way too long to not get some kind of ornamentation; it's also the source of Skarre's signature ability, so it needs to stick out.

I didn't get a good shot of the back. Here's more of the front.

Finally, here's the work I've done so far on the dagger. I'm forcing myself to experiment with green stuff, including different levels of cures; the bindings were sculpted from green stuff that was near the end of its workability. They're not perfect; next time I do something like that, I'm going to make sure the green stuff still has some tack.

Swamp template No. 2, part 4

Sorry for the blurry image. Here's the first layer of water, with swamp muck.


It came out a lot darker than I wanted, and it's much more opaque than I'd hoped, but it's a great effect. I still have another layer of water to put down, and the standing tree isn't done yet. I think this one will end up looking better than the first by a wide margin at this rate.


I think this proved my point! The Envirotex Lite is still wet -- it won't be set enough for me to work it for at least another day -- but it's looking amazing. There's a real sense that the water is disgusting and unpalatable; the creature looks like it's surfacing just slightly.

It's still not as clear as I'd like. In my experimental runs, the Envirotex started cloudy and cleared as it dried, but even if it doesn't clear up at all, that's OK -- this still looks wonderful. Some water effects will add ripples to the beast, and the tall tree will get some gray and then white highlights. I really need to finish some bog trogs before I go and start my next template, but that one's going to be idyllic -- pretty rocks, nice grass, perhaps some catty wampus, and clear water with fish and crawdads (again).

Swamp template No. 2, part 3

The rotting log has been finished, sanded, painted and glued into place. It's a pretty light-duty glue -- when the Envirotex dries, it'll hold the sucker in place far better.

It's just successive layers of brown, each lighter than the last. I think I ended up using two washes and five shades of brown; after it was in place, I added to light touches of green-brown to the part that will be below the water line. Later, I'll be brightening up the top half a little more, moving it toward grey, but that's not going to be until the Envirotex is in place. When that's dry (or mostly dry, depending on if I'm willing to destroy a brush), I'll be adding more green-yellow to the side of the log at the water line, and maybe even have some float on the top of the Envirotex to simulate pond scum.

I ditched the other plants I'd sculpted; I couldn't get them to work right, but my Milliput is acting weird, too. It's crumbling and falling apart; I don't know if it's old or I didn't add enough of the yellow part to the white part. (Milliput's an epoxy -- it has two substances that, when combined, become a workable putty that dries to a sandable finish. It's good for creating detail-light structures or for making cores to build up from; that's because it's easier to work and it's water soluble. However, it cracks very easily and doesn't hold fine shapes like green stuff.) In either case, the plants are next to unworkable and I'm having the damndest time getting branches on them. I'll try again with new sculpts on swamp template No. 3; this tree turned out not bad, so I feel l ought to keep trying to sculpt.

To add a little more to the final swamp, I ended up grabbing an old pewter tree I've had lying around for at least six years -- before I moved down to Orange County -- and I twisted it and bent the branches so it looks forlorn and droopy. It's going to hang over the other elements, but it's thin so it should come out looking OK.

Croak Hunter, part 2

Done with Croak Hunter No. 1. It turned out pretty decently, but it was definitely a learning piece -- the zenithal highlighting worked much better. I'm not going to go whole hog on the technique -- at least, not yet -- but I'll be folding it into my repertoire.

Most of the muddiness has been cleaned up, but it's not a very strong piece, composition-wise. Among the lessons I learned on this mini: If you're going to use a dye technique, rather than a painting technique, you must know what you're about before you put ink to pewter. I'm normally fairly freewheeling when I paint something, adding color and replacing it as it suits me; that's just not an option with this highlighting technique. Luminosity turns to muddy very, very quickly as you add layers of color -- just look at the Croak Hunter's feet and hands if you don't believe me. They used to look like his throat pouch at one time! There's also only two colors in the model (brown and black don't count); Anthony suggested putting blue in the shadows, which I should have. I should have also folded more orange into the model; the eyes and lobster-claw necklace got orange, but nothing else did. It should have been a stronger sub-theme; I may go back and add it to one of the bags at his waist and some of his turtle shells.

The shells look better in this photo than they do in real life, which is funny -- the rest of the model looks better in real life than it does in the photos. There are a handful of examples of the miscues that come with inks on this side -- at the ankles and where the bracers meet the upper arms, for example. If you mis-lay paint, it's really really devastating and a real pain in the rear to clean up. The best solution would be to keep my inks close to their base colors, but that also means buying more paints. There's nothing worse than buying 3 bucks worth of paint for a highlight on one unit. ... That's a lie, there are several million things that are worse, but it'd still break my top, dunno, 500 of crappy things I put up with sometimes.

The spear didn't go so poorly, though. It could probably use another layer of brass color (I generally use whatever gold I can get my hands on -- in this case, Reaper's "Antique Gold" -- mixed with a medium brown.)

There's a lot of "what I may go back and do" on this model, but I just couldn't look at frogs anymore. I have a feeling that the longer I look at it, the more dissatisfied I'm going to be, so off to do another pair of Bog Trogs!

Swamp template No. 2, part 2

The floating log is coming along. The other half is still bare Miliput, and this half needs more roots and more sanding, but what doesn't, yaknowhatimean?



And swamp creature is added to the template. It'll look better with some water, I promise. I hope. I think.

Not a Lizard

The great Menoth cleansing proceeds on schedule. Paladins getting a scrub? Check. Sharing a bath with Exemplars? Oh, check. Is it just me, or is it getting hot in here?

Post-bath relaxing. Paladin cape came off because I can get it on the model better this time; shoulder pad and base came off because Simple Green hates it some crappy super glue bonds.

Croak Hunter, part 1

It seems every faction in WarmaHordes gets its own solo that terrifies the living poop out of the enemy. True to form, the Blindwater Congregation gets the Croak Hunter, a nasty little guy that has stealth, poison on a ranged weapon and punishes opponents that damage him without killing him.



Sharp-eyed viewers may notice the splotchy white base on this guy. It's the same base that showed up on my initial failures on the Bog Trogs; this guy is also an attempt at zenithal highlighting. The difference is that this pass actually worked. I'm not sure why -- probably because this guy is a lighter-colored model all around. Maybe it's just because I need to bang my head against brick walls to get anything done right.

While it looks muddy here, the red-to-green fade is actually quite nice and natural looking. Some additional coats really made the red pop while still having a believable fade into the green. But here, a picture does more than my words:

Yes, there's a lot of brown in his feet still. A little bit of creative mixing will fix that problem; it stems from not having a suitable dark color there yet. I'm quite stunned at how nicely this whole thing turned out, all things considered. I am living in fear of overworking the colors; I feel like there's precious little I could do to make most of the skin look much better.

Here's the backside. The spear and rope is almost done -- quick work, too -- it just needs a highlight coat to fix up some of the muddiness, and a few coats of bronze on the pointy bits, of course. The turtle shells are a bit of a flummox -- I really don't know how to approach them. There's way too much red as it stands in the model now, so that's out, but I'm loathe to introduce another color. Speaking of -- those red bags on his left hip will be toned into dark brown. There's just way too much red on the front right now, and it's throwing off the whole composition.

Finally, there's a significant craftsmanship issue on this model -- grains of sand somehow ended up on the legs and feet. I'm going to fix it in post, so to speak -- it'll get folded into the model as a sort of general muddiness at some point, but I'm annoyed with it. I'm not sure how the grains got onto the legs to begin with, and I'm doubly unsure of how I missed them until I had a layer of green down already.