The Martians have landed

I was Browsing the Miniatures page last night, when I ran across a post by Matakishi about his Silly Scenery page ( Thanks Dude). I was inspired by one of the projects he had there. A hovercar made from a discarded computer mouse. It got me to thinking and I set about to use an old mouse I had to create a Martian walker from H.G. Wells, "War of the Worlds" Here are some pictures of what came from my attempt.





The fuselage is made from the computer mouse and a plastic tub like item from the packaging on a 1/18th scale diecast car. The legs are made from Bic disposable razor handles and evergreen channel and tubing, with the knee joints scrounged from spare road wheels for a 1/72nd scale Tiger tank. The bladelike feet are plastic knives trimmed to fit inside the razor handles. All the other items are from plastic sheet or tubing. I have primed the whole thing grey, and I am trying to decide what colour to paint it. I am thinking a bronze or copper with green in homage to George Pal. Overall the Whole thing stands about 10" tall or 270mm. The funny thing is that I built this but I don't Play Victorian Science fiction. I guess I will have to buy a bunch of colonials to use in a game with this thing, and the two others I hope to build.

Cheers
George

Things are moving along

No pictures yet, but as of this evening I have all the infantry for my Amazons based and primed. That's fifty seven, 28mm scale infantry ready to paint. I will have to do a little research and decide exactly how I want to tackle the paint jobs. I am waffling on whether or not to do warpaint on their bodies, as they are nude. However I don't recall ever seeing any classical sources the showed warriors or Amazons with body paint. I am leaning to the au naturale look. Perhaps the shields and symbols will be sufficient colour. On another note Reaper Miniatures has put a new Sophie figure on their site. Urban legend Sophie. I ordered one this morning, as well as the Celebration Sophie and another miniature. Additionally I ordered the Warlord rulebook to have a gander at it. Well that's all for this time. Seeya soon.

Cheers

George

2005 Holiday Sophie

I have been working on a Holiday Sophie from Reaper Miniatures. The figure is beautifully sculpted and a joy to paint. She was so much fun, that I am going to make her a tradition and paint one every year. I painted her with a combination of Folk Art craft paints and Games Workshop, and Humbrol. I am very pleased especially with the flesh. I painted it a base tone of Folk Art terra cotta. I washed over this with a mix of Future floor wax and a brown/ black ink mix to bring out the details. I then built up the mid tones and highlights gradually by mixing terra cotta and flesh. For the final highlights I used hints of watered down white for the strongest highlights. Her outfit was painted with a dark blue that when washed and highlighted makes a very realistic black.





AS a side note the pictures are getting better, but I am still having trouble with the lighting. Still, its good enough to give you an idea how she looks.

Cheers
George

Nurgle Plague Demon

Still trying to figure out how to use my wife's digital camera. I took some shots of my Great Unclean One. I painted the model last year after having purchased it when it first came out. It sat in it's box for a number of years until I had the itch to paint it. The photos are a bit off. Some of the details you can see in the original are lost in the photos. There is still something I don't quite have the hang of yet. I did the model with a combination of Testors Model master paints, Games Workshop and Folk art paints.







The model came with a few Nurglings. I added to these with a few from my spares box. I based the whole thing on some cold press illustration board. Once I had glued down the Great Unclean One and the Nurglings, I added some plastic scenery bits from an old 40K boxed set I had with painted kitty litter for rubble. The base was flocked with foam model railroad flock ( I need to get more badly but they don't carry it here in my home town). As usual I think the base needs a little more but I am not sure what yet. Well of to work on my next project. Let me know what you all think.

Cheers
George

Winged Victory

I finally have begun my Amazon army project. I have been diligently assembling my Eureka Amazons, and basing them on 30mm fender washers. I also have some of the Maidenhead light feral centaurs as well. I need to texture the bases on all of them and prime before I begin painting. I wanted a large figure as a centre piece to the army. I was going through my stored figures box when I came upon a couple of old 54mm Thunderbolt Mountain miniatures. One was a sea princess, and the other was an archangel and dragon. I scrounged pieces from both kits. Wings spear and shield from the archangel kit, and the princess from the other. I pinned the wings to her back, and filled with some Milliput. Then I bent the arms and hands to receive the spear and shield. The conversion was simple, but I am very satisfied with the result. I mounted the whole thing on a 40mm fender washer, and textured the base with sand and foam flock. The figure was primed with metal primer, then painted with Folk Art paints and some old games workshop colours. I also used washes of Future floor wax mixed with a raw umber colour to bring out some of the details. The Photos below show the results. I am just learning to use my wife's digital camera so the pictures may not be the best. Also, be warned the pictures are large and may take awhile to load.






I might add some extra bits to the base, but I am very happy with my " Winged Victory". Now to get the rest of the army finished.

Cheers
George

and it reared its ugly head!!

I am referring to life. I have been itching for the last several weeks to post some photos or something here, but it seems that life intrudes and foils my plans on a daily basis. I have wanted to work on painting some Afrika corps Germans and some AWI figures from some plastic sets I purchased. By the time my wife and I get the kids settled I find its almost time for us to go to sleep. So I guess part of the challenge of this or any hobby, is to find a balance between family and your favorite obsession. On a lighter note I ordered some Eureka Amazons last week. I have allways loved the romantic image of Amazons and thought it would be a hoot to field some in a game. Most of the ones I ordered are nude. I just wanted to see the reaction of my opponents when I fielded this force. I wonder if they will be so distracted by the ladies that they will forget to put up a fight. Besides that I will enjoy painting up lot's of tiny naked women.

Cheers

George

Björn Free

I was just browsing another blog that a gentleman named Björn, has set up to showcase the norman army he is working on. If the photos he has posted of the first two figures are any indication, then this will be one very impressive army. After seeing his, I am tempted to order some normans and have a go at them myself. Hmmm. Maybe I should finish some of my other projects first. Man its still pretty tempting though. head on over to Björn's Blog Normans of Stockholm and check out the pics. They are well worth the effort.

George

The Other Half

My Darling wife Dena, has set up a blog of her own. She comments on life in general, and specifically on her main passion (besides me. Blush blush) of doll collecting. She is an avid collector having 200+ dolls. Everything from Mattel's Barbi, to Mel Odoms Gene, the Tonner dolls and more. Her passion for collecting dolls is one reason she understands my obsession with gaming miniatures. Lucky me. She even plays the occasional wargame and RPG with me ( As well as some other games.... Snicker!!) Please check out her blog The Goddess Factor, if your interested in dolls, or if you just want to meet my wife.

cheers

George

Dreamblade

I was just browsing the internet when I ran across a page for Wizard Of The Coasts new collectable minis game "DreamBlade". The whole background concept of several competing factions vying for controll of the " Dreamscape" seems rather interesting. The style of the minis lend themselves well to many different games other than DreamBlade. I could see using them in a fantasy or horror setting easily. The gallery only shows 8 figures, which I hope is only a small selection of the entire range. The sculpting seems well done, and they are painted to a "passable" standard. I will be keeping an eye out for new press about the game and minis until its August release date. I may be adding a whole new category to my miniature collecting obsession. If you wat to find out more check out the DreamBlade site for more info.


George

Free Wargames Rules

One of my favorite sites to frequent on the internet is Pete Jones's Free Wargames Rules. Its a virtual cornicopia of different free rulesets. dont let the fact that their free put you off either. Most, if not all are as well written as their commercial counterparts. There is a multitute of periods and genres covered. From ancients to modern and science fiction. So if your looking to try out a new period. Or your just wanting a way of doing a new trick wth your old dog. This is the place to go. Pete has also added another three rules sets, to the allready extensive list in a mini update today. Go check it out its well worth your time.


George

Its a small world.

There are a few fellow wargamers out there with blogs as well. we have a bit of a disscussion going about it on The Miniatures Page. I figured I would post links to their blogs as well.

anearthing.blogspot.com

chonk34.blogspot.com

pewterpixelwars.blogspot.com

Hope you enjoy

George

Whats a guy to do?

I just got back from shopping with the wife and kids. and I am sitting contemplating what project I should work on. I have a problem with settling on one project at a time and finishing it. So I drift from one to another. It leaves one with the impression that I never finish anything, but I do eventually get things done. Compound this with the fact that having three children under the age of 6 leave me with little time to work on anything. I started a neat little undertaking last night. I am making hedges for WWII skirmish games using green kitchen scrub pads and tongue depressers. The idea I am sure is not new, but the results are satisfying. and a person can do a whole truckload of them in an afternoon. I have also picked up a few packs of cork tiles in 1' X1' squares. Enough in fact to cover a 4' X 6' table. I am thinking that I can use it to simulate desert terain for Crusades skirmishes my wife and I want to play ( yes she games occasionaly too, but she's more of an RPG'er). It can also do double duty as terain for Heavy Gear games as well. I also am waiting for a couple of orders I recently placed. One from Dream Pod 9 . the makers of Heavy Gear. I ordered a box each of specialist gear squads for the northern and southern factions, as well as infantry for each. The other order is from Woodrows Warstore .They have an excelent selection of plastic 1/72nd figures. Thanks to them my collection of 20mm stuff is reaching unmanageable proportions.

George

Getting down to it.

So I finaly broke down and did it. I have been saying for years that I was going to set up a page on the web to showcase my hobbies and ramblings. So here is the begining. What I hope do do on this blog, is to show of some of my painted miniatures and armies, as well as some of the models I have built over the years. I also want to publish some fledgling rulesets I have been putering with, as well as some ideas for other games. There isnt much here now, but as time passes I hope there will be a great deal here to look at. Feel free to look around and comment on what you see. I really appreciate constructive critisism.

George