supervike's stuff

It's Clobberin' Time! A super quickie.

2011-08-08T15:56:00.000-07:00

Knocked this out in about an hour....It was just a plastic toy from some randomly purchased Marvel toy set. The Thing seemed to be the only one passable for a 28mm, so I gave the rest to my nephews. The harsh lighting really swallowed up any subtle highlighting, he doesn't look quite so monotoned in real life.

Actually, this is 1/2 of the Fantastic Four here. The Thing AND the Invisible Woman. I think I did my best work on her.

The Dog Days of Summer...

2011-08-06T15:22:00.000-07:00

First up, I've been digging Captain America lately. Inspired by the movie, I used a Chronoscope mini and a leftover Shield to create Capt. Rogers in his WW2 Glory days:

I think it worked pretty well. Also, slowly I've been painting up some Cowboys. Looks like the gradient photoshop background I put in ate up a bit of the middle guys arm. Or is that some sort of Active Camo system????

And finally my Avengers Team is assembled! After quite a while of hunting down Knight Models various superheros, I think the mission is a go. Iron Man, Thor, Captain America and The Hulk. I want to try and up my painting for these fellows, so I've been just practicing on other things to help. It aint helping...LOL. Hopefully I can get these guys done before The Avengers movie is in the Theatres....The race is on!

Click on any of the pics for a better view!!!

Thanks for reading.

Conan The Barbarian.

2011-06-23T11:47:00.000-07:00

What is best in life?

"To crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentation of their women. "

So says Conan!

I've been into all things Conan for the past month or so, reading some of the old stories, and rewatching the 1982 classic. When I looked to extend that into my miniature world, I wanted a 'movie' Conan as opposed to the more common Frazetta-esque one. I found the basis over at Hasslefree. Their Wolf character (which I find out now was heavily inspired by Arnie) worked perfect. I had to add some long hair, a headband, filed the sword, added some wrist bands, and viola instant Conan!

I've also gotten a few more Savage Sword of Conan inspired minis that I'll be working on in the near future.

This is the first 'fantasy' miniature I've worked on in ages....most of my interest has all been Sci-Fi or Modernish stuff.

Anyhow, hope you like it!

Wyrd Malifaux (again)

2011-05-13T13:57:00.000-07:00

EDIT! Friday the 13th must be weaving weird magic here! Now, the post that had disappeared, just randomly reappeared. I'm leaving well enough alone!!! Enjoy the double post! LOL

Yikes! What the heck happened?

I posted yesterday with a set of Wyrd Malifaux miniatures, and that post is completely gone. Like it never happened.

Well...I guess I'll try again!

Here's the battlegroup I worked on as a commission. One of the minis was still drying from the Dullcote when I snapped this picture. It ended up being a rush job at the end, so I never really got a chance for decent pictures.

They were actually pretty darn fun to paint. I enjoyed the big Teddy bear much more than I thought I would. I sculpted the little toys for his base as well.

Now, with that under my belt, I'm returning back to some of my own stuff, currently working on the British M-13 Commandos from Grindhouse Games.

I mentioned earlier (before the mysterious deletion) that I've now completed 33 minis this year, which is far and away a better pace than I've had for quite some time.

Apologies to HakoMike for leaving a nice comment only to have it too vanish into the ether.

Wyrd Malifaux

2011-05-12T11:08:00.000-07:00

I've been working on a Malifaux set as a commission. I meant to take good photos, but it ended up being a rush job at the end, as the client wanted to use them for a tournament coming up very soon...So I never got a chance to take a proper pic of them all....just this one:

Click it to make it bigger!

Not the greatest pic, but shows off the goodies pretty well. One was missing from this pic, as that one was drying from the dullcote while I snapped this pic. I kinda liked the way the heart turned out on that lovable Teddy. The heart is just a flat spot, but the client wanted it to look like a heart of ice...The toys on the bears base were all self sculpted...the little duckie being my favorite. I also liked the little girl, Candy, turned out. I went for a 'Wednesday Addams' feel to her.

Anyhow, a couple of things I learned from this commission. One, two weeks isn't enough time for me! Two, I'm probably charging way too little. Still, I enjoyed it and had fun with it, which is the reason I'm into painting miniatures in the first place.

Including these minis, I've now finished 33 minis this year. Quite an achievement for me, as that probably doubles my output in recent years.

So, now I'll be getting back to my own stuff. Working on the Incursion British Commandos, and looking foward to moving more minis from the 'to be painted' pile to the 'completed' pile.

Thanks for reading!

Random Weird Stuff...

2011-03-27T08:01:00.000-07:00

Hola Amigo's!

Couple of strangeness minis here. First up, from Frothers UK, are a couple of Tank-like (Left 4 Dead) zombies.

They are mounted on bases from Fenris.

Next we have some Lovecraftian monstrosities.

The Son of Yog-Sothoth from Tengu Models

And a close-up of Reaper's Star Spawn (don't tell anyone, it's Cthulhu!)

Not sure why, but all of a sudden I'm craving Calamari.

All the minis were painted using a base color, followed by tons of washes. I was really just experimenting with it, as it seems to work well for dead or pulpy skin. Plus, it speeds up the process instead of using the base-shadow- highlight routine. As I figure these are just 'gaming minis' I'm satisfied with the technique.

Spend most of the day yesterday organizing and cleaning my 'hobby room'. It's amazing how much crap accumulates in a short while. Now, if I could only figure out a way to organize my paints, I'd be in better shape.

All kinds of stuff!

2011-02-20T14:56:00.000-08:00

Ah, the dilemma of wanting to show off my little toys....I hate the photography process, just can't seem to get a good feel of it. So, I end up avoiding the pics, which makes for very boring Blogging. I bit the bullet and got some pics taken of stuff I've been working on since the beginning of the year:

First up, a very cool model of Captain America. I'm going to use him for my Incursion setups, thus the WW 2 look.

I've also been working on some Modern Mercanaries I've had around for a while. These are from a company that no longer exists, PlayWar.

And some close-ups of the better ones:

Here's a Werewolf from West Wind and a couple of Nazi Sisters...Both for Incursion.

An Axe Wielding Maniac: A Frothers Zombie Sculpting contest mini.

And Finally, a couple of WORKS IN PROGRESS. Very cool THOR from Knight Models. Obviously a lot of work to do here.

And a Cthulhu-esque fella from Reaper. I've had this one forever, glad I'm finally slapping some paint on it!

Well, that's it for now...Hopefully, I'll keep better track of this with photos from now on...

Bark at the Moon!

2010-11-28T13:28:00.000-08:00

Really taking advantage of my mood to paint, even if it's just to clear off some minis that have been sitting around for far too long.

First up, The Blitzhund from Grindhouse Games:

Next up is another 'Weird War 2' miniature, this one made by West Wind. It's from the Secrets of the Third Reich line, and is called a Jager Wolf. I tried to keep this one a bit more generic, so he can be used as a werewolf in any setting.

It's just nice to start seeing my miniatures in paint, as opposed to looking at me sadly...

Here's a WORK IN PROGRESS as well:

Tentacles R Us!

Very weird and cool Lovecraft inspired 'Son of Yog-Sothoth' by Tengu Models. I've got the Tentacles attached, and need to do some putty work around the joints. A very odd model.

Two updates in a week?

2010-11-21T17:24:00.000-08:00

Hey! Got some more painting done, and put some finishing touches on a few that have been begging for attention.

Right to it! All the pics are clickable, to give a better view!

This is a Grindhouse Games Mini, it's an evil dude called Hans. He seems angry....

He'll be a nice addition to my Incursion games.

This guys' fluff has him as a deep sea diver, so I'll want to add some gloss varnish to make a 'wet' look, but damned if I could find any in my stash. Ah well... Maybe, he's good dry.

Next up is some 'Colonial Marines'. I want to use them for both Space Hulk/Aliens type games, as well as the Marines from Halo, so I gave them a bit of a generic look. These are from the very underated line from EM-4. I wanted to keep the bases simple, so I've tried to hand paint a few panels on them, like the metal decking of a derelict ship.

Here are some Modern Day Marines from TAG. Kind of a boring paintjob here as well.

Here is some scenic elements with a zombie pulling himself out of the ground. Armorcast is the maker of the scenics, and the zed is from Frothers: Both are a nice addition to my zombie games.

And the crawler himself:

And finally a Work In Progress....A few bloodied zeds. The two in the back are Studio Miniatures, the back and to the left is a Hasslefree, the two gals up front are TENGU. I plan on using all these in a zombie diorama I'm making, but want the minis removable for gaming.

It's good to start clearing these projects up, to make room for the next ones....

Terrible attention span...

2010-11-14T19:35:00.000-08:00

It's been a long time since I blogged and rolled...Well, that sounded better with Led Zep. music in my head....

Anyhow, not sure what the deal is, I just can't seem to see any projects through. I was able to give a quick paint job of a Mega Minis (was Alphaforge and Demonblade) mini. This prehistoric bird was part of the Demonblade line, and the owner at Mega Minis wanted to include it into his newly acquired Star Mogul (now Salvage Crew).

I added a few parts from other models to get the rider a more Sci Fi look in keeping with the Salvage Crew Mephalians. I think he'll make a cool addition to the rosters for the game. I also added some reins (made from paper). I'm just digging the fact I finished it!

I do have about 1/2 dozen zombies 'almost' done, as well as about 1/2 dozen other thing. Apparently, I have the attention span of a...ohh look a squirrel!

This just in!

2010-05-17T17:38:00.000-07:00

A routine traffic report turns up something hideous.

Traffic copter reporter Skip Chandler indicated a snarl in the downtown traffic flow, following the snare, he's found a riot of sorts.

click on the pics for the full photo

These are a bunch of my zombie minis set in the proper setting, an urban nightmare!

The cars are all 1/43 scale, from various sources, the 'scenery' is mostly from the World Works cardstock stuff.

Here's a group shot of the minis I've recently finished up. They are all Griffin Minis.

Sorry about the quality of the pics. I REALLY just don't get the photography thing, and to be honest, it's the most boring part for me. I mean it's fun to post my minis and I want to be able to get feedback and such, but getting a good picture seems harder than having a fun time at the dentist...

Here's a few close up shots....This one was 'Shot through the Heart'....

Here's an old fella that got caught in his robe...

I've got plenty of minis (and believe it or not, some aren't even zombies!) ready to paint, and I am really going to make a concerted effort to not only post more on the ol' blog, but also make a setup so my pictures turn out more like what the minis actually look like.

I'm also going to try and alternate the minis I paint. For instance, zombies this week, maybe sci fi the next. I've even flirted with the idea of Cowboy miniatures.

Anyhow, I hope someone out there is reading this. If not, it's still a nice place to see some sort of progress in my hobby.

Until next time!

Time sure does fly....

2010-04-16T10:35:00.000-07:00

Has it been that long since I've updated?

All I can remember of winter was this:

Lots of shovelling, coffee, repeat, and all of a sudden, it's spring!!!
Well, here's a few pics of my 'Incursion Stuff'.

The APES...The American troops in their armored battle suits.

The Zombies, twisted corpses of brave soldiers mutated by the evil Von X Family

Close up of 'Slugger Murphy' and the poor Russian Sailor/now zed

Got lots more 'in the pipeline'. Many more Zeds, many more Weird War 2 goodies, and my new found love, Ghouls.....I promise it won't take this long for me to update!!

And more Fall Painting...

2009-11-22T14:31:00.000-08:00

Just have really had the urge to paint lately, so I'm taking advantage of the feeling. Nothing earth shattering, but I just feel these are solid paint jobs, and better yet, they shrink my unpainted pile-o-minis!!

Some have been 'almost done' for some time, but for every new mini I'm painting, I'm trying to finish up a partially painted one as well.

First up, Alpha Forge Horror line. This ones a survivor farmer with a shovel, so I made a base to represent him hiding out in the cornfield! (THE PICS ARE ARE CLICKABLE to make them bigger!)

The cornstalks are made from paperclips and some paper.

Here's a Sci Fi guy I decided to do. This one is an Urban Mammoth mini...

Next, I wanted to try a 'monochrome' mini, using very limited colors. I'm going for a 'they are standing in the moonlight' look here...I'm not sure if I achieved it, as it is rather boring. If you look close, you'll notice the vampires eyes are red. (you may have to just imagine that....lol)..

Here is that SLITHER lady I was working on. Not really happy with it at all, but I plodding through and finished it. It's much too cartoony looking....I like the gore on the base.

Here's another Sci-Fi mini...This one was sculpted by Jim Bowen, and is the first in a whole group of these I have. Kinda boring, but I like the 'moodiness'.

But, wait there is more!!

Spinespur puts out some bizarre minis, and this one is no execption...A pig mask wearing butcher dude...Freaky!

Last, but certainly not least, is my favorite from the bunch. The finished APE squad member from the Incursion Game. He is 'Slugger Murphy'. Now with 'decal' attached!!

Hopefully these paint moods will continue! I've got so much more stuff to go!

Still plodding along...

2009-11-09T15:14:00.000-08:00

Heres a few I finished just recently. Both had been on my shelf for some time, in various stages of paint...

The first is a Griffin Zombie Survivor, and the other fella is a EM-4 mini (i think). Nothing overly special, but just adding to my 'done and painted' pile.

Next is a WiP picture of the very cool Incursion APEs from Grindhouse Games:

They are very cool minis. I've got some decals on order and once I apply those, I'll finish him up. Of course, I've got 5 other squad mates to do as well....I can't help it I'm slow!!

Here are a few of the bases I'm going to use for them:

They are made by Fenris and are fantastic quality!

I've put a few layers of flesh tone on the SLITHER lady (see last entry) and hope to be working on that some more as I go.

Thanks for looking!

Twice in One Month!?!

2009-10-30T11:28:00.000-07:00

Wow...Go for months without a post, and now, twice in one month! And with LOTS of stuff.

First up, I've been painting up some A Touch Of Evil boardgame characters for the fellow that runs THE ZOMBIE GAME website. These were kind of a challenge, as they are made of that soft, bendy plastic...The detail is fine as well, so it's hard to exaggerate things like I normally would. Anywho, here they are: CLICK TO SHOW THE WHOLE PIC!

I like the faces on some of them...some were a real challenge.

I also painted up some Hasslefree Adventurers for the same fellow.

These were much more enjoyable to paint and it really shows the advantage of painting metal as opposed to plastic. Hasslefree stuff is pretty amazing!

This is 'Shawn' and 'Dione'.

I liked the way the highway turned out on the Dione figure, but now looking at that green grass, I think I could have used another layer of highlights.

Here is Shawn again, this time with his Slacker buddy Ed (although technically Hasslefree refers to them as Ray and Tony. Below is Ken the cop and Alyx. This is the second time in just a few weeks that I've painted the 'Ray' character. I've already sent these in the post, and it just now occurred to me that I didn't put a drop of blood on any of the figures....For shame!!!

And Now, a very bizarre WIP sculpture I'm working on..

The movie "Slither" is one of my favorite horror flicks. It's campy, funny, creepy, and gross. The grossness doesn't get more so with the character of Brenda...Impregnated by the alien and filled with slimy, mouth seeking tongue worms. Poor gal just can't get enough to eat!!

So, I set out to make my own little Brenda...With an armature of tin foil, some Pro Create and milliput. I'm not much of a scupltor, so keep that in mind....

EEEK!! That's Hideous!! Here is the same mini, now primed, with a Hasslefree mini for scale:

Hopefully...I'll get to painting it tonight or tommorow! Perfect for Halloween.....Let's just hope it doesn't burst while I'm painting.....

Lastly, Heres a zombie Nun and the poor Priest that has to put her out of her misery....

These are made by Griffin Miniatures:

SHOOT DAMMIT SHOOT!!

Until next time!! Happy Halloween!

I still paint!!

2009-10-20T15:29:00.000-07:00

Ha, I wasn't for sure if I could still do it, and after seeing this, maybe the answer is still 'no'...but regardless. I painted a few of the Hasslefree Zombie Hunters up and made this mini-diorama...

The two heros are standing, on a pillar of some sort, proud of all the zombies they've put down, but what is that behind them??? EEK!

The piles o' dead were zombies from Wargame Factory, which quite frankly is about all they are good for. I used a few parts from the GW zombie line as well.

I made this diorama for some good friends of mine from England. They both are horror movie fanatics, and had sent me an awesome zombie book for my birthday. This was my way of saying 'thanks'. The text across the bottom reads, James and Kath, Britians Greatest Zombie Killers. Probably would have looked better without my hackneyed text...but it does make it more personal.

I had fun with this one, and am currently painting some more of the zombie hunters for another online friend.....maybe someday, I'll paint my own stuff....sigh.

Anyhow, that's that. Hopefully I'll have a few more pics up in the next couple of days. Thanks for reading!!

Getting back in the groove!

2009-09-09T11:53:00.000-07:00

For almost the entire summer, I just kind of let my miniatures and gaming go on the back burner. It's not that it was out of mind completely, but a nice break really helps me get excited to get back into the fold....And so onward and upward!

My latest thing, miniature speaking wise, has been to start assembling, basing, and priming as many miniatures as I can. I think having them 'RTP' (ready to paint) will give me more of an incentive as I move along: Here's a batch of freshly primed minis:

All kinds of goodies in there...Some Wyrd, some Void, some Cobalt, some resin statues, some bases, and I think a few Spugs....Believe me, this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg!

In "hey I wanna play a freakin' game" news, Games Workshop cleverly tricked me into buying the latest incarnation of SPACE HULK.

I thought I was done giving the Evil Empire my hard earned scratch, but I was wrong. Every time I get out, they pull me back in!!! Although I was aware of Space Hulk when it first appeared (back in the 'crazy 80's) I was only into 'fantasy' miniatures. I thought it looked interesting, but had neither the time nor the inclination. Now, having both those abstract qualities, I snapped it up. Some of the folks I speak to on the 'forums' have always waxed poetic about this game, and I was determined not to miss it this go 'round.

Plus the marketing geniuses did this (see pic to the right): That's right....they made it a LIMITED EDITION! You can plainly see that I was left without a choice. While Stocks Last. Smartest marketing move since the guy wrote Wash, rinse, REPEAT on the shampoo bottles.

The thought even occurred to me to buy two. What the hell? I swear they put some sort of magical trance on my cognitive abilities!

Anyhow, let me tell you a little bit about the game. I'm sure there is upteen kazillion reviews of it out there, so I'll add another.

The game is set in the 'dark future' of Games Workshop's Warhammer 40k universe, but is a stand alone game. Deep in space, and after several thousands of years, derelict space faring vessels have morphed and combined (through the magic of the 'warp' dimension) into massive floating relics. These 'Space Hulks' move about in space, mostly in the 'warp', but occasionally find themselves in the real dimension. Not leaving well enough alone, the evil Genestealers have decided these things make great hangouts, and have set up shop there. They breed and hang until the Hulk is close enough to infiltrate an unsuspecting race. Then, the little bastards really get medieval and 'plant their seed' inside a 'host'. The host then takes care of the offspring, and through progressive generations, the Genestealers Hybrids become part of the society...I'm sure there is a point to them doing this, but it's quite possible they are just after Low-Carb recipes. Either way, it's pretty hideous.

Enter the Space Marines!! The Space Marines are the toughest SOB's in the galaxy. They find out about these Space Hulks, and inexplicitly, decide to board the ships. I suppose if they just blew the ships up from a light year away, the game would be pretty boring....Well, the original Space Marines (the toughest of the tough) get their a$$ handed to them by the Genestealers, so on the next encounter, the Marines send in the toughest of the toughest of the toughest of the tough (these dudes are tough!) The Terminators. Terminators have swanky big armor and powerful weapons, and they have the ability to fight the dreaded Genestealers!

This is where our game comes in. One side controls the Terminators, the other the lightning fast Genestealers. Missions and objectives are laid out, and through the use of interlocking 'jigsaw' pieces a game board is created. In a creative use of game mechanics, the Marines move is 'timed'. This represents the confusion and pressure they are under, since if they don't complete their move before the time runs out, the player loses the rest of the turn! The Genestealers can take all the time they need to plan strategies, think about things, and generally torment the Marines.

The gameplay is very easy to pick up, but really is filled with tension and drama. For instance, the Marine player has no idea how many enemies he is up against until line of sight has been established. Before then, the Genestealers move around the board on cardboard counter BLIPS. It represents a radar motion tracker's signal. The Marines KNOW there is something there, but not how many (it can be 1,2 or 3 of the baddies).

Play progresses from there, with the Marines trying to accomplish a goal, and the Genestealers trying to stop them.

The game is incredibly well balanced, and has very good pacing. I've yet to get into some of the more complicated missions, so I hope it holds up to that.

As good and solid as the gameplay is, the quality of the components are what makes this game a good buy. The fantastically detailed board tiles are made of thick card that should hold up to gamer abuse. The counters are made of the same sturdy material and are very well represented.

The little hourglass timer is a let down. Why not have a digital count-down clock with sound effects and giggly-bobs? I can't imagine having something like that custom made would have been overly pricey. A quick check shows you can customer order a timer for the price of $1.35 (provided you order 5000) But GW could have done that easily. It would have been a great value-added feature!

Lastly, the miniatures. Games Workshop does one thing exceedingly well. Great miniatures. They also do great PLASTIC miniatures, and these are proof. Very well sculpted, very well molded. I love the fact that you can just snap them together (as opposed to their Warhammer models that always need to be glued). The Genestealers went together with no problems, the Space Marines I had to do some fiddling with....but all in all, no big deal. I'll probably even paint them, somewhere down the road.

If you buy this game JUST for the miniatures, I could hardly blame you. Compared to their plastic 'box sets' it's really a justified value. But, if you are buying it just for the minis, you are missing out on a fantastically well crafted game. It's quick, brutal, and loads of fun. All in all, I'd say a 9 out of 10.

Hey! I've clambered on for some time, I think I'll shut up for a bit. See you next time, thanks for reading, and hopefully I'll post more soon!

A quick look at the games I want to play and delve more into in the next few weeks/months.

Last Night On Earth....Halloween? Zombies? They go hand in hand!

Tannhauser.....FFG now owns this property, and is making new rules

AT-43....I'm starting to buy into the 'pre painted' fad...

Star Mogul...Space Salvaging never gets old.

When Zombies attack!

2009-02-15T10:39:00.000-08:00

Zombies in all shapes and sizes, plus a few survivors to try and make it through the night.

First up, the survivors.
Poor guys look a bit rough for wear. A grease monkey and a fireman.

But look at what's after them!

Will they make it through the night??
Stay back you devils!!

All these minis are from Griffin Miniatures. Good solid chunky metal miniatures, I've got plenty of these left to paint, so stay tuned!

I also got a the first set of Studio Miniatures zombies, which are a great looking set of minis. I can't wait to start digging into those as well.

I'm notoriously slow at painting, however...

My yearly blog entry....

2009-02-06T11:45:00.000-08:00

Allright, admittedly I don't post here much. Or at all.

But, on the plus side, I am starting to get more antsy to start painting again. I did do these a few months back, nothing super, but fun still:

It is a Alpha Forge Mephalian 'GORT'. A huge beast of Burden used by the strange aliens of Star Mogul. I sculpted some horns on this one, just to give it a different look. It actually ended up looking like a bad 1960's female hair do. Not that there is anything wrong with that!
I'm working on some zombies and hope to have some pics up of those one day. Don't hold your breath.

Last Night on Earth Boardgame Review (and me carrying on).

2008-06-24T06:51:00.000-07:00

ACK! I return, after a several month hiatus. It has been a while. Miniature wise, I really haven't done much painting. I can't seem to muster up the will to do it, and now that summer is here, there are far too many things to do outdoors (even if it's just sitting outside).

Miniature gaming appeal to me. I like the story they tell, which to me, is always of more importance than the actual winner of the game. I like the visceral look and feel of well painted miniatures moving across a tabletop filled with inspiring terrain. Unfortunately, I don't get alot of time to do any gaming. With the miniature games I have had in the past, I've barely even tried them. I do enjoy reading through the rules, but preparing and painting the miniatures is just something that takes me too long. Plus, creating terrain is extremely time consuming (and takes lots of space). Don't get me wrong, I enjoy that as a hobby in and of itself, but it's not conducive to keeping my interest in a game. I'm just not a fast enough or dedicated enough painter to field a fighting force by the time my interest wanes.

That being said, there is something about an all inclusive boardgame that piques my interest. As soon as you can muddle through the rules, you can begin playing. No cleaning mold lines, priming, and then taking weeks to paint a few characters. No building terrain and hoping you'll get a chance to field it all. Just pop the box open, set down the board and start throwing dice .

And I did just that with Flying Frogs Productions boardgame, Last Night On Earth.

As you can see by the box art, LNOE is a survival horror game, with the particular menace of everyones favorite brain eaters, zombies. The game is designed for 2-6 players, with folks playing as either the shambling zombies, or a combination of small town heroes.

The game has all the flavor of a B movie. Cheesy stereotypes fill the small town of Woodinvale, the game's fictional setting. From the farmer's daughter, to the luckless drifter, all the archtypes you'd expect in a zombie movie are present. The production levels are quite high and that is showcased in all aspects of the game itself.

The game board, which consists of a two-sided 'town square' area and six 'L' shaped add-ons are printed on a very solid cardstock and feature clean and detailed art representing buildings and areas from the town. In fact, all of the game counters, which include everything from a wound marker to the 'old pickup truck' are well done and have a sturdy feel. All should hold up nicely to many gaming sessions. Most of the art uses actual photos of actors playing the roles. This artistic choice adds tremendously to the B movie feel. You can almost hear the bad one liners.

The game packs a bunch(16) of small six sided dice, a music soundtrack CD (more on that later), the playing boards, the cards, and best of all, miniatures! The miniatures are surpisingly well detailed. Let me take that back, they are sculpted by Gael Goumon, a fantastically gifted sculptor that does many of the Wyrd Games minis (among many others), so it's no surprise that they are so intricate. There are eight of the townsfolk/heroes represented, and three seperate zombie sculpts which are duplicated to give you a grand total of fourteen braineaters. The material they use is a soft, rubbery plastic and although I've heard of some people painting the miniatures, I think I'll be satsified leaving them just as is.

Gameplay is relatively straightforward. There is a 'basic' game that allows you to get up to speed with the rules rather quickly. The advanced game throws in more rules, differing scenarios and set-ups that should allow for great replayability and a variety of depth. I admit to only playing through the basic rules set and using the the simplified scenario. The scenario we played is simply to kill 15 zombies before 15 turns end. The turns are ingeniously measured by a 'sun counter' which represents the setting of the sun. Run out of sunlight before you hit your zombie-killing-quota and it's game over for our heroes.

The latest game we played had four of the hapless heroes struggling to stay away from the ever increasing, and slow moving horde. They ran from the high school to the gun shop in an effort to arm themselves, only to have their luck run out as the zombies swarmed. Sally, the high school sweetheart, proved to be a dead aim, killing a zombie almost on every turn in the later stages. Sadly, she was overrun, and eaten when she ran out of ammo and desperately tried to get away. The zombies made quick work of the luckless drifter, Jake Cartright, and put an end to the game with four rounds to go. No word on why the Sheriff and the High School Quarterback were so ineffective, although the horror of seeing poor Sally devoured may have been too much. The zombie death count was a frustrating 13, but our heros couldn't remain composed long enough to finish them off and get the 15 count needed for the win. I am very excited to try out the other scenarios and implementing the advanced rules. That is something I plan on doing in my next gaming sessions.

The game uses a combination of dice rolling and playing special cards. The cards grant things such as health bonuses and guns to the heroes and vicious fighting and movement bonuses for the zombies. Knowing when to play the cards in your hand adds yet another layer of strategy to the wild romp.

A typical game would seem to be from about one to two hours long.

Gamer support can be found from the companies website, as they have several scenarios and rule additions for free download. I'd like to see more of a FAQ on the website, as some of the rules could bear further explaination. A forum, for game fans to discuss ideas, would be a nice addition too, but those really have no bearing on the product at hand.

The soundtrack CD as I mentioned earlier is a clever novelty to throw in. It's well done in the same vein as the rest of the production value, and actually adds a great tension as a backdrop to the game. I highly doubt the music will become a top download on I-TUNES, but that is not what it is designed for. It's background music, to add a creepy ambiance. It has the effect of giving me more 'bang' for my buck, something I truly appreciate.

And it does give me a great bang for my buck. Compare the price of this game, which is roughly 45-50 dollars, to any other form of media entertainment, and I feel I am getting a fantastic deal. As I mentioned earlier, I like games played with miniatures, and realistically it is the boxed boardgame of this sort that is delivering that to me. Tannhauser (see review earlier in this blog) was another recent game to make me realize this. I'm not giving up on traditional tabletop miniatures games, as I'll still most likely paint, but these boardgames are allowing me to game without the guilt of not having my fighting force painted up (or even assembled!)

The game plays out like a movie (albiet a cheesy one), and to be honest, that is what has captured my imagination the most. It is the story, or the simulation of feeling like you are in the story that makes this type of gaming appealling. LNOE has captured the survival horror very nicely, and I am extremely pleased with the product. I highly recommend you try this game.

The company already puts out an expansion set to the original game, called Growing Hunger, which includes four more miniatures representing new heroes and seven more 'red' zombies. The new set also boasts additional rules, game boards, and scenarios and will add great life to the title. As I give LNOE some more playtime, I may give this a go. Also, I noticed a WEB only set of cards and scenario for the original game. I find myself wanting to support companies that put out this quality of a product. Especially when it is a small independant company that obviously shows much passion for what they do. They've managed to put out a solid, entertaining game with high production values and great replayablilty. Plus, you get to eat brains. How can you turn that down?

Iron Painter!

2007-10-17T11:40:00.000-07:00

Over at one of my favorite internet hangouts Wyrd Games http://www.wyrd-games.net/, I started this little painting competition that is blossoming into something pretty cool.

We are now in the '4th' Season of the contest, although that only means we've done three others. There is no real time frame, just whenever it comes about.

Here is basically how it works: I do a signup sheet of interested participants, randomly match them up in one on one pairings, give them two weeks to finish a miniature and upload a picture. At that point a team of impartial judges (not me!) scores each mini in three different categories. I then figure up the results, announce the winners, and redo, until there is a single champion.

The twist is that with the announcement of matchups, I also announce a specific 'theme' ingredient that the painters need to incorporate into their work. Some themes are painting techniques such as NMM (non metallic metals, using non metal paints to represent metal items), some themes are more mundane, such as the 'Green with Envy' theme where painters were required to use green prominently, some are rather esoteric. We had a theme once of "angry". The artist are asked to represent that somehow in their work. Not as easy as it sounds.

Another feature of the contest is it's gruelingly short deadline periods. Two weeks seems like a long time, but to do that consistantly for what could be 4 or 5 rounds really takes its toll. Real life has a way of butting in, and only the toughest painters can scratch their way to victory..thus the name IRON Painter.

Here are some THEME examples:

vincegamer's version of Object Source Lighting (OSL) Object Source Lighting basically means that the miniature is painted with a 'light source'. All highlights and shadows are emphasized to give the illusion the light source is real. So the light you see coming from the candle, and the shadows...all painted on. Vince is a master of theme interpretation, always well done, always clever.

Another Theme from Season One was 'weathered'. Skya (The Champion from Round One) interpreted the theme to show her character in 'weather'...Raining in this account:Skya aka Noel, is a fantastically talented painter, and her ingenious themes and fantastic brushwork makes her a favorite for the latest competition as well.

Here's another, this one from Season Three. The theme was PAINT IT BLACK, a take on the Rolling Stones song, the painters were required to use the color black prominently. This is OrkyDave's vision.

That's just pure genius!!

That's just a small sampling of some of the clever and inspiring painting. Come on over and watch from the sidelines, or get yourself involved in the next one.

The contest started out as just a fun 'community activity' for the denizens of the Wyrd site. To make the contest fun, we ask each participant to pony up with a fee of either 5 dollars, or a miniature to go directly to their victor. Also, during the two week 'paint period' painters are encouraged to show Work In Progress shots, give points, try to bribe judges, and talk good natured 'smack' to their opponents...all in all it makes for quite a spectacle!!

Oddly enough, the past three Iron Painters have been women. A fact not lost on anyone. Skya, Wren, and Cdukino all now can claim to be true IRON PAINTERS! The rest of the contestants have fallen short. Both Wren and Skya have entered the latest version, but there is some stiff competition already. Only time, and judging will tell. The grand prize is a tidy little sum of $100 cash and a gift certificate of $50 to the Wyrd store! Random prizes will also be available.

The Iron Painter is something that has become very popular, and I hope it continues to grow. I am very proud of it, but moreso proud of the people that have made it what it is..

A special thanks to Nathan (frustrated father) for allowing the webspace and judging, EricJ and Ritual for judging and support, and a very long list of helpful and generous painters and contributors. A special thanks to Duende for sending me a spreadsheet to help me with my math...LOL She also sent along oodles of minis to be given away for prizes, as well as competing and brainstorming on how to make it an even better event.

A review of Tannhauser.

2007-09-29T15:43:00.000-07:00

Tannhauser is a French boardgame newly translated to English. It is available at the Fantasy Flight Games, sells for just about 60 bucks.

http://www.fantasyflightgames.com/tannhauser.html m/tannhauser.html

I'm rather a novice gamer, so take that into consideration with my review.

I love it.

Should I make my review more detailed? Ok, will do....

First off, the setting is just right for me. It's an 'alternate' universe where the Great War never ended. The forces of the Reich have continually been at war with the forces of the Union for 30 years. It isn't strictly an Alternate WW2 game, I suppose to simply to keep those nasty Nazi's out of it. That makes sense on a global sales scale. (Germany for instance bans any display of a swastika). But, make no mistake, the Reich is filled with characters right out of an Indiana Jones movie.

The gameboard itself is a thick, folding piece of card pre-printed on both sides with different game maps. One map is the first floor of a Keep, while the reverse is of the Crypts below, where the Reich have been up to no good. They have found some 'should've remained buried' secrets. My board is a bit dark, and unless you have good lighting can pose a challenge to see all the glorious detail.

The key feature of the board, is the Pathfinding system. This feature, which basically consists of multi-colored rings or spaces, allows you to determine line of sight, movement and range quickly and easily. There are a few flaws in the system. A few areas are not so easily discernible, but working these kinks out fairly and quickly has not been a problem for us.

Each side, which consists of 5 characters, is kept track of by a very nice 'character' card, with a neat system to easily track wounds and other stats during the course of a game. Each character is allowed 'slots' to carry equipment, weapons, and special items. We've only done limited experimentation swapping around the characters 'kits' but it seems a small kit change can make for quite a difference in game play.

The 10 minatures come pre-painted, and I wasn't disappointed in the quality. Of course, they are not as nicely painted as one could do with a bit of effort , but if I had to paint them, I doubt I would have even played a single game yet. If I had my druthers, I'd have them all painted up like this:

That is the 'Strossentruppen' (affectionately known as Stabby Stabberson in our games) painted up by Spacemunkie, a good friend of mine from Cool Mini Or Not. Damn that dude can paint, but I digress... You can buy unpainted versions of all 10 minis on the French site Take On You. The quality of the pre-paints is more than adequate for our needs though.

The game can be played several different ways, with a story themed 'objective', capture the flag, or our favorite, straight up deathmatch. The difficulty levels simply equate to Easy= 2 reinforcements, Medium=1 reinforcement, and Hard, where reinforcements are shit out of luck. You cannot call in reinforcements (which are always 'troop' types not heroes)until one of your troops die off, so there is never more than 5 characters per side, regardless of the difficulty.

The story mode, while seemingly interesting, hasn't captured enough of our attention yet, so I will have to pass on reviewing that until we log some more time at it. Same goes for the Capture the Flag element. Deathmatch, well...that's pretty much all we want to play. Play is fast and furious, with a decent game taking about 1 hour. Automatic kills are not uncommon, and while it's a bit discouraging, I like the 'realness' it brings. It also makes you think twice before charging into an area. You may not survive the round if you do. There are items such as grenades, smoke grenades, health packs, etc. that can be strewn around the board in 'crates', giving a very nice computer 'first person shooter' feel.

The weaponry seems nicely balanced, although it does favor the Reich for close in fighting, and the Union for a more ranged approach. So, if you are a 'in your face, close and personal' type of player you may want to lean towards the Reich.

The two game boards actually bear this out as well. The Keep game board has lots of tight corners and closed off quarters...which could be why (at least in our games) the Reich dominates the board. The Union only once looked like it was going to win handily, with 'Ozo' left by his self for the Reich. But, the sneaky little bastard kept hiding behind doors, firing his 'ghost bullets' which can track around corners. He ended up killing four of the remaining Union's characters, snatching victory from the proverbial jaws.

The more open-spaced Crypt board has some seriously long ranges which allow Barry Daniel Brown (the heavy gunner black man in the picture to the right) to use that piece of stellar piece of hardware. Oh and a beauty it is. On his full strength, you roll 6 dice to see if you can hit your opponent. A roll of 9 or 10 is an INSTANT KILL, unless your opponent can roll a at least one 10 on his 'shock' roll. The opponent can counter the big gun, because it has to be at least 4 'circles' away to use it....If you can keep him close, he is no where nearly as effective (ie he can't fire!!). But the Crypt level has long stretches of open line of site. Posting Barry along those paths will ensure the enemy doesn't pass through...at least not unscathed.

So as not to favor any one player, we have been playing randomly, letting the roll of the die determine not only which team you'll use, but also which board we will play on. It seems to have worked out, but I do prefer to play as the Union...even though I regularly lose!!

Although the game says it's designed for 2-10, we have only played with 2. Quite frankly, any more than that would have lots of guys sitting on their hands until it got back to their turn. But, on the converse of that, as quickly as it plays, and as easy most of the rules are to grasp, this makes for a perfect beer and pretzel game. Maybe the camaraderie of sharing a frothy brew will make the wait worth it...

The game box is a bit misleading, indicating that there are only 2 10-sided dice included. Mine had a nice compliment of 6. I assume that is just a misprint on the box. The box itself is a lovely piece of work, with solid cardboard and great cover art.

Most excitedly, for me, is the 'future expansion' this game will see. There already is a 'Russian' expansion pack in the works that will introduce new locales (via another gameboard) but also some more characters. Character packs, such as the 'Wolf' mercenary (he can fight for either side) will add some interest to not only the ongoing story, but to some of the tactical decisions you will need to make. Wolf was made available as a promo freebie to buy Tannhauser, either via pre-order, or at Gencon. There are several more in the works.

Support for the game, via Fantasy Flight Games is lacking at the moment. Although there is a nice discussion group on the FFG site, there is not the incredible range of information that is available on the French language site. It's too bad, because there are some errata that needs to be defined more clearly. But, it is still a very new product, and we will see how they respond.

The price, 60 bucks, seems about right. For all the components, boards, cards, etc. I don't feel I overpaid in the slightest. I compare it to the price of a new X-box game, or any other of the 'toys' I find myself wanting. Hopefully new expansions will be a bit cheaper, and the character packs will fall in the 10-15 dollar range, making them an excellent value (all things considered) in my humble opinion.

Another exciting idea is to come up with some home brewed rules. We've a firm enough grasp of the rules to be able to add some features in without killing the balance. I've already started converting over a few minis, and just need to draw up some stats and a proper back story.

So, to sum up, I heartily recommend this game. It has enough ease of play that allowed us to jump right in, but also enough depth to get us excited about future sessions....if we can get past our love for Deathmatch that is.

Ok, here is some art.

2007-09-16T16:33:00.000-07:00

I drew a picture in ink, and then scanned it into the computer and used Photoshop to color it. Now admittedly, I know nothing about photoshop, as the most I've ever done with it was to crop a photo and put in a background.

BUT...it turned out surprisingly cool. For me, at least.

I'm kinda proud of it, but I realize its still amateurish, but hell...I'm a amateur!

A bit of a lull.

2007-09-11T07:25:00.000-07:00

Ok, admittedly I haven't had anything new up in a while. I attended GENCON back in August, and I still haven't gotten settled down enough to work on anything, painting wise.

I have been working on some fiction, dabbling a bit making some gaming rules, and actually playing a game. My brother and I have been giving Tannhauser, a 'alt-WW 2' type board game, a real tryout. So far, we both really have been enjoying it. I've never been into the gaming aspect of the hobby, although it has always intrigued me, and its fun to see that you can do something else with miniatures other than just paint them! I think I've only actually won once, but it hasn't dampened my enthusiasm for it.

GENCON was an absolute blast. I really had no idea it would be so fun. Next time I go, I will plan on participating in more of the events there. This time was just to soak it all in. I did get to meet and hang out with the folks from Alpha Forge, and Wyrd, as well as meeting many of the real life avatars of some of the people I know from the various websites I haunt. So, other than possibly having to sell my extra kidney to pay for my credit card bill, it was worth it.

I've also dug out my pencils and started drawing. I am working on some Alpha Forge inspired art, and having a good time doing that too. I used to draw almost constantly years ago, but it was something I put on the back burner.

Pictures are worth a thousand words so next time I'll include those and not be so damn wordy!

Wyrd Mini

2007-08-05T20:40:00.000-07:00

Funny, I've been a part of the Wyrd site for quite some time, but haven't yet finished a Wyrd mini yet....till now that is. Fits in nicely with the demented stuff I've been painting lately.

I like the way the skin came out and the dirty rusty feel of the base worked well too.

Anyhow, I think I will have to paint something wholesome to help lighten the mood lately!

More Spinespur

2007-07-29T13:57:00.001-07:00

Well, here is that sicko clown I was referring to....with leather thong and honkable nose...I sculpted some hair on him to give him a more bozo-esque look. I kinda like the look of the Whiskey bottle, but my favorite touch is the smiley face knee pads...The right one got a little homage to the Watchmen.

Sounds like GENCON is a go, for sure. I've got the time off work and I have booked a room. I was mentioning this all to my brother, Mike, and he sounded rather interested. So I suggested he come along, which he agreed. I wasn't relishing the idea of going alone, but now with him tagging along, I'm pretty stoked about the whole thing.

Not sure what I will work on next. Maybe just take a break for a while.

Something other than Alpha Forge

2007-07-25T18:02:00.000-07:00

Don't get me wrong, I really dig Alpha Forge minis, but I felt like painting something different for a change. I had just picked up a bunch of these SPINESPUR miniatures recently. They are a bit demented (chainsaw wielding maniac, clown faced thong wearing brutalists, but it makes for fun painting.

Here is HACK, the first I have painted up.

I placed him on a base made by King and Kerr.
A UK based company that makes some pretty cool resin scenery. The pic is clickable to make it bigger. I also have a Pig mask wearing butcher and the above mention Clown Sadist that I am working on. Like I said, demented stuff.

Also, I plan on attending GENCON
Which, from what I understand is the countries biggest 'gaming' convention. The folks from WYRD Minatures and Alpha Forge, among many others, should be there, so it will be nice to put faces to online pseudonyms.

Painting a few.

2007-07-15T14:45:00.001-07:00

Here's a few zombified crew members and a 'death mask'...which is the item that reanimates the fallen crew members. These are being sent out to Alpha Forge, I've got a variety of things to paint up next....I'll just choose whatever strikes my interest the most.

More sculptin'

2007-07-09T19:35:00.000-07:00

Well, just like all my projects, I start with a ton of enthusiasm, but as the ugly truth becomes revealed, I quickly sour on it.

I think I'll plod through just for the practice, however.
I'm not sure what to make of the guy...I kind of like it, but also kind of cringe because parts are so bad....Well, no harm in keeping at it!

Happy Independence Day!

2007-07-05T15:16:00.000-07:00

Hi there everyone! Here is my 'sculpt' I've been working on...it's shaping up more now, and doesn't look so x-rated any longer. The pic is clickable for a better look-see.

The metal armature arms and neck, are much longer than necessary, but I'll cut those off as I go. Better too long than too short! This creature I am working on is meant to be very bulky, and hunched over, much like the guy with the green sword and purple skin from my earlier posts...only bigger and beefier!

I'm also working on some more ALPHA FORGE stuff...always my favorite! No pics though, since I'm inherently lazy.

Blast from the Past.

2007-06-29T18:30:00.000-07:00

Just got a new camera for my birthday/Fathers day, so I thought I'd try a quick shot of my Demobot....The big guy was painted just about a year ago...and helped me win the ALPHA FORGE Paint Contest (oh, past glories...sigh) Anyhow, the pic shows off some of the detail much better than my old camera.

Click on him for a better shot!!

Also, I am again trying my hand at sculpting. I 'd love to spend more time at this, as it is very exciting to build your own figure out of just some putty. This is the beginnings of a monstrous creature I am making. Hopefully, I can make it into something presentable. So far, its just two legs and a strange growth...It is made from a 2 part epoxy putty called Kneadatite, affectionately know as GREEN STUFF (us mini-people are a clever lot). I think I've got some good muscle definition so far.

AH...it just occurred to me that the 'growth' could easily be mistaken for something torrid. First, get your minds out of the gutter, and second, that is the beginnings of the spine...REALLY!! LOL

Another update!

2007-06-06T20:41:00.000-07:00

Maybe its a swing of productivity...Maybe its because this Hydrissian Salvager (see pic below) is the last of my commission work, but I seem to be finding more time in the paint room. All the pictures are clickable to make them a bit bigger.

The Salvager is just a bizarre model all together...Its mechanical, yet strangely buglike. This one got sent off to Alpha Forge this morning.

I've been working with making a few more bases for miniatures. First up is a little sculpt I made from milliput to protray a alien world..The bloody tentacles are breaking through the surface...are they plant or animal?

Today I finished painting up a 'display' base. It was made out milliput and some bits I had for some time. The little wall is something I have had since I was into World War Two models way back in 7th grade (thats 25 years or so!) Anyhow, the base part is just a lid from a jar of peanut butter...You can still see part of the SKIPPY in the bottom pic. The idea is that you could remove the mini for gaming (which I really don't do) and still have a large display base on which to show it off. The mini, obviously isn't painted yet.Well, thanks for looking! I really appreciate the comments I get. For the longest time, I only assumed my Mom or wife were the only ones reading (and I have to force them to...LOL) Until next time.

Is it June Already?

2007-06-03T18:19:00.000-07:00

It's amazing how fast the time seems to go by. June is here already, and already 2007 is at its halfway point.

Still trudging on with some painting: Here is a Mephalian. A very bizarre, almost blind creature, from Alpha Forge:

Also, A Work IN Progress of Sorts. This is the 'Dartwing Attack Bike'...Its missing its rider and the handlebars, but the main body is done. It's a very cool design.

The Mephalian will go towards my Paint Splosh (today is the deadline)...But there is some very steep competition. Witchhunter, one of my favorite painters, has really done some incredible work. Also, another strong contentder, Matakishi puts out his normal high quality, incredible production. Even the Hydrissian Kid pumped out some stellar stuff...And Lots of it! I think I am too damn slow to keep up with those folks...but at least I can say I tried.

Paint Splosh...

2007-05-28T15:34:00.001-07:00

Here are a few minis I finished for the Paint Splosh contest: All Alpha Forge Stuff...as that seems to be all I paint any more!!

Again, sorry for the lackluster pics...I've all but given up on taking good pictures. The top one is called an Asteroid Miner. Poor guy doomed to mine asteroids all day...The other two are part of a Salvage crew...I like how the camo pants came out.

Hello!!

2007-05-21T17:41:00.000-07:00

Hiya....Moving right along, here are 4 of the 'Survivors' of the Zombie Nightmare range. These are urban survivors. I made a mini newspaper for the bum...the Headline reads THE DEAD WALK. I also sculpted a disposed Slurpee drink for the shopper, and have the Gangbanger with some police tape:

Click on it for a better look!

Also, here is a closeup of one of the zombies faces....I wish I could get a better pic. Maybe i need a better camera??

EEK! His eyeball plopped out.

Ok, until next time!!

A few more...

2007-05-06T19:06:00.000-07:00

Hi all! Got a few minis painted over the weekend. I wish I could pick up the pace, but I'm so damn slow.

Anyhow, these are part of the commission I have for Alpha Forge: Zombie goodness! Two of them are 'floating', one is called Stitch-head. Click on the pic for a closer look!

The next one is a work in progess. Its a Hydrissian Scavenger, I am really trying to give it a 'irridescent' look. Still a bit more work to do on it. Its a fiddly model.

Hopefully, I won't get too burnt out of these to start working on my PAINT SPLOSH minis, but at the rate I paint, my outlook is bleak.

Paint Splosh...

2007-05-02T15:28:00.001-07:00

Alpha Forge Games is running a 'Paint Splosh' contest designed to get the minis up and painted, so I have started assembling and priming a bunch.

The contest only runs through May, so I have my work cut out for me.

Also, I still have some commission work to finish up, but it was too nice to stay indoors today, so I worked on the above minis out on the patio. I've tried painting outside, but it just doesn't work.

Check out the others on this thread:

SPRING PAINT SPLOSH

In a hurry...

2007-04-25T18:04:00.000-07:00

In an attempt to get these zombies out the door, I hurriedly took pics...which aren't the best. Sorry. First up are the Rural Survivors...I had fun making the base with the steps, and giving them an all around 'white trashiness'. How can you not love a granny with a chainsaw?

Here's a quickie of the zombies....
I'm working on yet more zombies now, a 'Hydrissian Scavenger Drone' (very squidlike robot) and some Urban Survivors.

PLUS: Rod over at Alpha Forge is having a Spring PAINT SPLOSH contest...the person deemed to spend the most time painting and converting Alpha Forge minis will win 50 bucks in prizes. I figure it's not fair that I count my 'commissioned' paint jobs, so I got to figure a way to paint up some of my own pile o lead.

Check the 'contest' out here http://alphaforgeforum.com/viewtopic.php?p=2303&sid=2f61169249b39568f4ca06d2bd6d37b2#2303

Ok, back to painting now!!

Works in Progress...

2007-03-19T14:43:00.000-07:00

I noticed I haven't really been using this site as a work in progress log of my hobby projects...just one that shows them once I have finished....So, here are a few works in progress..

I've been having zombies on the brain lately...Reading zombie novels (currently World War Z), watching movies with zombies, so naturally, Its time to do some zombie minis!

Firstly, I wanted a 'zombie horde'. When the miniatures are each put on a base, the base itself takes up lots of space...so to make it more claustrophobic, I got the idea of putting several of these plastic minis on one base.

Obviously, there is plenty of work to do on these yet. I probably should have painted them first, but that is such a hassle to try and glue them on after painting. But, I managed to squeeze in 16 zombies on just 5 plastic bases....I think that helps with the HORDE look.

Also, I've been working on Alpha Forge's zombie line. Rod has come out with some really cool and unusual zombies, and a few zombie survivors as well...Here is a WIP of a few of them.

I've got lots of work to do with these yet too...but a few of them are nearing completion. I really like the looks of the farmer with his shovel...and the mutated guy I adorned with a high school lettermans jacket.

I even tried my hand at writing a serialized zombie story. I add a new installment every so often. It's at the Alpha Forge site if you'd care to take a gander. (its on the forum so, you can also see the responses I've had. It's bad enough I subject those folks to my ham-fisted painting, but now I make them read my hackneyed fiction as well....

Click on it to read it.....Zombies in the Country.

I'll try and keep this more up to date from now on....

Notice I said try.

More Roboty goodness.

2007-02-25T13:15:00.000-08:00

Here's yet another Alpha Forge...this one a big tank like fella called the Cyclops. I worked on this guy in between power outages caused by a big ice storm that rolled through. He also marks the last of my 'commission' stuff for now...so maybe I can work on some of my own ever growing pile of pewter..

Yay, new stuff!

2007-02-19T20:01:00.000-08:00

My hand is well on its way to recooperating, so I got busy with some painting here in the last week or so.

I needed to get these done for Rod over at Alpha Forge Games:

First some 'Asteroid Security Drones'. I tried to give them a military look.

Next we have the Asteroid Miner Chief. He is the boss of the 'Asteroid Miner faction' so I decided to give him a bit brighter scheme. Its a very cool mini, and I will have to get one of my own. I also have a much bigger mini, called the Asteroid Mining Cyclops, but didn't quite get him done. I wanted to get these off to Rod, as he needs them for a convention later in the week, I figured 4 were better than none.

Hopefully, I can start working on my own minis again soon...it takes me so long to paint them...mostly because I am the worlds biggest procrastinator. I'll tell you more about that later.

Temporarily out of the game....

2007-01-30T19:11:00.000-08:00

Having surgery on my right hand to hopefully repair carpal tunnel syndrome has kind of put a crimp in my painting plans.

Although at first my hand felt pretty good, I have found myself using it more and more, but now that is really catching up with me. It hasn't even been a week yet since the surgery, and it hurts worse now that at any time since. Maybe that is a sign its healing....maybe thats a sign I need to stop using it. The Doctor has said to not use it for about a month...which is a hard feat to do, especially when I was back to work in less than 4 days. Oh well...I'll try to not use it and see whats what.

I did get some new Asteroid Miners from Alpha Forge and need to get them done for the owner there, but they will have to wait just a bit.

Moving right along...

2007-01-16T19:27:00.000-08:00

Here is a sniper from Alpha Forge....It's a bit boring paint job wise, but I couldn't see a sniper wearing gaudy colors...Anyhow, the second pic looks a bit more harsh, maybe because I left off the photoshopped background. The photoshop kept washing out the fence, which was probably my favorite part of the whole mini....

Next up, I better get done with those Crunch Waffle minis...I kind of let them go onto the back burner. The owner wants them back...eek! Anyhow, I have three of them done, just can't get inspired on the last one...an assassin with a crossbow. I'll have to work up some inspiration quick like....Until next time!

Hmm...

2007-01-10T20:53:00.000-08:00

Well, I had planned on keeping this a bit more up to date, but real life gets in the way.

Here are a couple of the minis that I just finished (they are all from the 'primered' selection below.

The big fella is a Superfigs miniature. The other three are Alpha Forge Minis, although I hadn't noticed it until I took the picture...they have a three stooges quality to them...Larry, Moe, and Curly Nyuk nyuk!

Hallo...

2006-11-17T10:42:00.000-08:00

Here are the two entries I posted for the WYRD Rotten Harvest Contest....not good enough to place or anything, but I got several nice comments...

You can click on them for bigger pics....The top ones are some maniacs called the Twins, produced by The Wargames Foundry. I tried to make the base look like they were in a junkyard. The lower fella is called 'The Cutter'. Very unusual miniature from Jim Bowen. I liked the creepy feel it had to it.

Still working on various minis, but not getting the time I need or want to do that. I kind of gave up on the novel contest, I got 3000 words done, but soon got bored....Oh well.

Ready for Winter....

2006-11-04T13:47:00.000-08:00

I figured there won't be to many days left to go outside and prime minis, so I best get a bunch done while I can.The humans are all Alpha Forge crewmembers. There is a big half assembled Alpha Forge Demo bot in the back (waiting for some more conversion work I am doing) and two SuperFigs! minis. The cool looking robot to the left should be fun to paint. Haven't decided on schemes for any of them.

I did manage to finish and upload two entries to the WYRD Rotten Harvest 2 Contest. They pale in comparision to what else is there, but its fun to compete nonetheless. I can't identify which are mine, per contest rules, until after the judging is complete.

I also finished one of the CRYPTO Critters from Crunch Waffle, the Jack-a-lope. Cute little bugger....I'll take photos when I am finished with the rest of them.

I also decided to enter a crazy 'writers' contest. The month of November is designated National Novel Writers Month. The contest is simply to come up with a 50,000 word novel in 1 month. Doesn't matter what the topic is, if its good, or anything. The goal is to FINISH the novel. I doubt anyone will ever read it, but I am writing one...

So, who knows? By the end of this month, I could be a novelist....

Long time no post!!

2006-10-26T10:50:00.000-07:00

I did manage to finish the Alpha Forge Goodies, and I believe more are on my way...

Here is a quick look at the Asteroid Prefect...Unfortuantely, it lookes more boring that it did in real life....

I also did 4 of the miners....here is a shot of those...sorry these pics are bad, Rod, over at Alpha Forge will do some better ones...

I think you can see the little red solidarity fist I used as the units icon, in the 2nd pic.

Anyhow, I am now working on some terribly strange Crunch Waffle minis, including a Jack-a-lope, A hoop snake, and a flying pig. Part of CW's Crypto critters line.

I also have finished a few minis for the World Of Minis Competetion, I'm not crazy about these as they were rushed, but at least I finished them...

The Thing: Repainted Hero clix and a sci fi warrior called Kurgan, sculpted by my friend Mark Kraggs (klute).

I also have various half realized projects that I would like to move on with...

and hopefully, more frequent updates!!! Thanks for looking!!

Next up...

2006-09-02T12:17:00.000-07:00

Marching on with my next projects....I was going to paint up some random stuff I have, but I have a chance to work on the very cool (and bizarre) Asteroid Miners from Alpha Forge.

They look like this....
I have 4 variations of these that were sent, and I need to get them back to Alpha Forge in 3 weeks or so. PLUS, I have one much bigger fellow, called the Prefect as well.

I just got them, and have started the prelimainary work, cleaning, assembly....Hopefully I can knock one or two of them down during this long holiday weekend.

Appearances on the Web...

2006-08-24T10:55:00.000-07:00

The 'hawaiian Ogre' I referred to below is now on the Crunch Waffle site, in their ON LINE store. Looks like they took a new picture of it too...

Here is the link....
http://www.crunch-waffle.com/gallery/old_magi.htm

Kind of cool to see my little painted version next to Jason Weibe's original sculpt. He has been one of my favorite sculptors for some time, so it really feels like an honor to me.

Here is the picture as well:

Also, the fellow over at Superfigs noticed my 'almost Wolverine' mini I made out of one of their sculpts. I just added some bobby pin claws and gave him a 'x-man-ish' paint job. But he asked for a pic of it and I noticed it was in their gallery now.

Here is that link and pic....http://www.fourcolorfigs.com/gallery.html

Lastly....The nice lady at Queen of Credits
Has me listed in her "FAVORITE ARTISTS" Category. Very cool honor indeed, especially when you look at the caliber of artists she has there. She commissioned a couple of things from me, the first being the Shark-at-law recreation I did for her. I had made this same conversion once before, but send it off to an attorney friend of mine. Queen of Credits, who is also an attorney, wanted a recreation and so she got it. She uses it to intimidate the opposing council!! Good to see my work has some positive effect in the real world. I did another commissioned item but she has told me to keep quiet about it until she posts it on her website...

Here is my page over there!

Thanks for reading (and listening to me brag and prattle on)!!

The Results are In!

2006-08-22T09:28:00.000-07:00

I'd like to happily announce that the results for the Alpha Forge SALVAGE RUN contest are in...

I was selected as the Overall winner! I'm very excited about this, as it was a long project that really paid off nicely in the end. Win or no, I had tremendous amount of fun painting, planning and converting the project.

Here is a pic of the trophy...

I will also recieve a never released model of a spaceship, and 50 dollars in credit on the Alpha Forge on line store...

Very cool. The competition was tough because of the other great entries, and everyone was able to grab some sort of prize. I'm already looking forward to the next contest.

My latest...

2006-08-04T17:12:00.000-07:00

No word on the Alpha Forge Contest winners yet......Hopefully soon.

Here is the latest project I've been working on . It is a mini from Crunch Waffle Enterprises. I was contacted about painting this thing up very quickly so the owner could take a painted version along to the GenCon (a gaming convention). It was really fun to do and I hope the owner likes it. I mailed it off today.

I've Met the Deadline!

2006-07-29T08:08:00.000-07:00

Sorry about not having many updates, but I was feverishly trying to finish this crew up for the Alpha Forge Salvage Run Contest. Here are the pics. First up is the shot of the entire crew, The Desert Rose Salvage Company. I believe all the pics are clickable if you want a bigger view.

Here is the Salvage Dog gun truck. I scratchbuilt a little plow for the front from cardboard and bits of plastic. I made it removeable as well....I also added a bed cover and an exhaust pipe I got from a matchbox car.

Here is the big Demo Bot...This was probably my favorite of the bunch to work on. I really wanted his coloring to be reminisant of a construction vehicle. His hands were like big digger claws, so I mae them rusty and scratched up. I also was attempting to make the light in his eye look like it was bleeping back and forth...
Here is a closeup of the scratchbuilt trailer I made. Its made of some plastic lid I found, and some spare parts from the models. I also made this removeable. All the 'gear' in the back of both the truck and trailer are removeable as well.
Lastly, here is a few shots of the truck and trailer steaming thier way to a salvage find...

2006-07-08T16:35:00.000-07:00

I have had these done for a while, but didn't get a chance to get the pics onto the computer...

These are the 'crew' for the AlphaForge Games contest.

You can click on the pics to get a closer look....

The final stretch is coming now, I have some major painting to do to get those going...

The big robot I showed earlier will need paint, as will a truck with an armed crew...as well as some accessories, like a cutting torch tank and so forth...

Yeesh!

2006-06-28T08:44:00.000-07:00

Time flies when you are having fun, I guess....Ok, we returned from our Northern Minnesota vacation, sunburned and full of fish.

I even managed to finish 2 more of the crew of 5 that has to be done before the 30th. So, in all I have 4/5ths completed and am again pushing the deadline to the max.

The house renovations are taking up my free time...I am either painting walls, or staining wood, instead of painting minis.

I have taken some pics of the minis, but I'll wait until a bit later to publish them. Sorry, no pics again!

Update...but no pics!

2006-06-12T07:48:00.000-07:00

Ok...here it is the 12th of June and I am making some progress. I now have 2 of the 4 "Salvage crew" finished and painted. I finished up 'Oliver Duboise and JR Tannenbaum'. I like how they turned out, but I am sure I will hate them once I photograph them. I'll try and squeeze some time in to get the pics. And just to add to my pressure...Rod over at AlphaForge sent me another crew member as a gift. I had thought I was missing a few pieces of one of the vehicles, and Rod not only sent me the missing pieces, but sent me another crew member...It turns out I was NOT missing the pieces after all, but they just got stuck to the bottom of the box. I apologized and offered to pay, but he would have none of that! What a class act.

Anyhow, here is the 'new' addition to the crew (from the AlphaForge site)I think the one I have has a bit of a different head though...

I'll have to get busy on that one soon. June 30th is bearing down quickly.

In the meantime, the clock is ticking down to our vacation. Also, we have decided to do some remodeling in our house, so I will lose some valuable painting time to that...Maybe I work better under pressure...Or possibly my head will explode...We'll see I guess.

Slow but steady Progress...

2006-06-04T20:28:00.000-07:00

I have got some painting done on one of the crew members this weekend. Not enough progress, considering I really only have 2 weeks to get them done. The Deadline is June 30, but we are leaving on a family vaction June 17th, so I really gotta get moving.

I did get a decent base made for the Demolition-Bot, and got the Bot itself more or less assembled.

Here's the base:Its just primered grey here, but its layers of cork, some sand, and a little coffee stirer that will work as a exposed pipe. I plan on painting it like cement.

Here is the almost assembled Demo-Bot (now with Roboty hands!!) on the base. I have not primered him yet as I have some gap filling to do. Plus I will paint the base seperately before attaching him on.

Hopefully, with the upcoming week I will see at least one of the crew completed.

Humble Beginnings...

2006-05-28T20:09:00.000-07:00

I don't normally get to work on my hobby stuff everyday, too much going on in real life, but this weekend, I did squeeze a bit here and there.

First, is the very cool Demo-bot for the Alpha Forge game...only partially assembled here, but the cleaning of each part (moldlines, filing) does take a while...

He is missing his head, the other arm, some great big roboty hands, and some shielding that goes by each shoulder...He'll get them soon.

Also, and this doesn't look like much, I decided to scratchbuild a "dropship" for the little motley crew I am assembling. Basically, the picture below is just the humble beginnings. Just two pieces of styrofoam inserts, one from a computer box, the other from a printer maintenence kit.
I stuck these together with some 'gorilla glue'. My goal is to build this strictly with junk and things I find, or already have. So far the money total is zero. Let's see if I can keep it that way.

Clutter....

2006-05-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Of course, I may be a bit more productive if I didn't work in such clutter.... Sometimes it takes me a minute just to find the right paint, or a different brush....Although it does look like a complete shambles, there is a bit of organized chaos...I won't even point out the fact that this is just the work table, you should see the rest of the room....eeek!!

Some Progress....

2006-05-27T18:43:00.000-07:00

I have gotten the next four minis prepped and based. They are now primered too, but the pics don't show that.

I added a bit of green stuff to the muzzle of the big guys gun, to represent a blast. The characters are as follows....Oliver Deboise, the overly nervous technical guru. He has began to learn his craft at an alarming rate. The Wardroid (not named yet). With the addition of Oliver's new AI program, this refurbished droid is becoming quite the project. JR Tannenbaum, the biker like expert salvager. Very mysterious past, this very gruff fellow does get the job done. And the heavy hitting do gooder, Rocky Leskow equipped in the HADES battle armor.

Alpha Forge Salvage Run contest.

2006-05-26T17:38:00.000-07:00

Alpha Forge (www.alphaforge.com) has sponsored a painting contest designed to get a fighting force of miniatures painted and ready for battle.

The contest is broken into three seperate entries, each highlighting a certain aspect of the skirmish game Star Mogul. The game is a futuristic battle game within the backdrop of forces fighting for salvaged items left by long gone civilizations. Each player owns a company, and the company comprises of your fighting force.

The first installment of the contest was for the 'Boss and Shareholder' characters of your force.

I entered these two...

The first is Maddie Sanchez, my "boss" the strange lizard like guy to the right is the Hydrissian 'Deeno'. He is the company shareholder and enforcer. The painting was fun, but so far the most enjoyable part has been creating the 'stats' and back story for each character.

The next installment is due by June 30th, and comprises of the companies 'Infantry' forces. I have already started mine, I'll have some WIP shots soon.

Hello...

2006-05-26T17:27:00.000-07:00

I thought I'd start a bit of a Blog, just to keep track of my hobby projects.