Log Cabins.

I was reading some folks posts on The Miniatures Page, about their log cabins they made. It inspired me to post some pictures of a log cabin and barn I had made a couple of years ago for AWI Skirmishes in 1/72nd. Unfortunately I didn't take any progress pictures while I was building them so I can only show the end result. I started both buildings with a foam core shell. I marked out on the foam core where I wanted windows and doors to sit. I then proceeded to glue small pieces of doweling which I had purchased at the local craft store. Taking care to leave openings where the doors and windows had been marked. I also left an empty space on the log cabin where I was going to place the chimney. There I glued a block of balsa wood. The next thing I did was to take some teddy bear fur and cut it into rectangles each one the size of one side of the roof. I glued them down on the barn and the cabin and let them dry overnight. The next day I liberally applied some acrylic gloss medium to the teddy bear fur and used an old fine comb to brush the fur in a downward direction wile the medium was wet. Once I was satisfied with the look I set them aside to dry. I then fashioned doors from cereal box card. I embossed the plank lines in the doors using the back of an Xacto knife blade. The cross strips on the doors are more card, The slats on the roof used to hold the thatch down are bamboo skewers split with an Xacto knife and glued down on the teddy bear fur. I cut bases for both buildings from foam core and glued the buildings to them. Once they had dried I coated the bases with Duncan No Fire Snow for ground texture. I also used it on the balsa block on the log cabins Chimney. I Love No Fire Snow. I use it on the all my figure base for ground work, It hides the cast on base of the figure, adds texture and is very durable. Once the snow was dry I took both buildings outside and sprayed them with spray gesso as a primer and sealer. This was an experiment on my part to see if it would work any better than the cheap white primer that I buy at Wal-Mart or Canadian Tire. It worked fine but I found the results where'nt any better than what I already had been using, and it was almost 2/3rds more expensive. Live and Learn. Additionally I found the gesso took much longer to dry than the primer. After the gesso had dried I began to paint the buildings using craft paints. Working from a very dark, almost black brown to lighter browns. The Thatch I painted a dark ocher, working up to a light straw colour. The No Fire Snow groundwork I painted using an ochre coloured tan that I like for a soil colour. Once I had painted all the basic colours I did a wash with Future floor wax and raw umber paint mixed together. This shades everything and gives nice shadows. After that was dry I drybrushed The thatch and the raised areas on the logs to highlight them. I then Painted the chimney dark gray. Once the gray was dry I painted on individual stones with varying shades of light gray and tan. After that I flocked the bases with burnt grass flock and static grass. Then I fabricated split logs from bamboo skewers and dowel. Panted them and glued them down on the cabins base. I also made a saw and an axe from some discard of plastic strip, and found an 1/72nd scale wooden barrel in my bits box. After painting they where also glued down.
Hope you enjoy.
Cheers.
GeorgeD.

YouTube has got Knights.

Here's a really good video to inspire all the all the Medieval gamers out there!! Great eye candy.

Cheers.
George

More Reaper Figures.

I have been painting a number of Reaper miniatures from their Warlord, and Dark Heaven lines. The first two in the photos are from the Warlord Darkspawn army. I really like the way they have done the figures. The have a very ominous beauty too them.The demon figure, Ashakia in the Warlord fluff, was originally a mortal woman, dissatisfied with humanity given imortality in a demonic form. ( theres more to the story than that but nuff said). I wanted to keep somewhat of a "human" look to her so I painted her as I would any normal female figure. For the Witch Queen I wanted her to have a very unearthly pale sort of beauty. I tried using a prurple underoat for the skin gradually adding tones of lighter flesh tones to almost white skin highlights. I am not unhappy with the result, but I am still not sure if it is exactly what I wanted. The final three I painted up for my wife and some friends to use in a " Failed " Rpg campaign I had started running. The campaign lasted all of two sessions, when the party all decided to split up and handle the bad guys individually. They all ended up captured and sold into slavery. All the players where miffed at me except for my wife. Good thing as hers was the only opinion that really mattered. We pretty much ended the campaign by mutual agreement. I think the figures will be used for pc's in another game if I get one started though. The Dwarf I chose because it was a little more slender looking than most Dwarves. The character was supposed to be of mixed Dwarven/ Elvish blood. Everyone in the campaign wanted bright and colourful figures. The dwarven mage wanted a predominantly red scheme. The other two where completely undecided as to what they wanted. I decided that I wanted to incorporate red to greater or lesser degree's to tie in all the characters. For the thief, my friend wanted something that would blend in. I reasoned however that an all black scheme would be a little boring. I figured the gray cloak would blend in a bit better to an urban environment. The blue for the tunic and breeches was still dark if the character needed to blend into shadows. The red bags where my attempt to tie the thief in with the other figures in the group. My wife wanted to play a bard. So I went to town on the colour combinations. Red to visually tie it to the other too. I thought the yellow and blue helped to lighten up the figure more than if I had tried to do her in a monochrome scheme.




I hope you all enjoyed the pictures. Ta for now!
Cheers.
GeorgeD

Dana Murphy

I love Reaper figures. I think that their sculptors are among some of the best on the market. Their large scale figures are a treat to paint. I saw the lovely young Dana in their catalogue and had to paint her. Here are the fruits of my labours


Cheers.
GeorgeD.

Hat 1/72 scale 1812 French

I bought a couple of boxes of the Hat #8095 1808-1812 French Infantry, awhile back, with the intent of doing them and some Russians up for skirmishing using Two Hour Wargames "Black Powder Battles". I haven't gotten around to painting all of them. However, I did sit down one evening and paint up a sampling of one of the boxes. Overall, I was very impressed with the figures. The poses where reasonable. None of them where the " Hey Bill " pose that many complain about in other plastic sets. The detail is sharp and the figures are proportioned a little more "Chunky" than a lot of plastics. I think they would go well with metal figures of the same scale. The plastic in this set takes paint well. I think you could apply paint directly to the plastic without a primer. I still used a spray primer regardless. The figures I got where moulded in a sky blue colour. I washed a few up with Dish soap and water and when they where dry I primed them with white Krylon primer. I painted the figures with a combination fo some old Games workshop paints, Folk Art craft paints and Humbrol water based acrylics. I should get off my but and paint up some more and a few Russians so I can start playing with them. Anyway. Enjoy the pics and feel free to comment.




Cheers.
GeorgeD.

Military Models ( A sort of biography)

In addition to war games and RPG's I have had a passion for military models since I was 7 years old or so. I would pour over books with air planes and tanks trying to find the finest details. Then I would try to find a kit or scratch build those details I had seen in the books. My first attempts where pretty awful. I kept at it, and never quit. When I was in my early twenties, many of the lovely young ladies I had befriended would make comments about still playing with toys. I went underground so to speak, but I never lost interest in in modeling. My late twenties saw a lot of those fine young ladies moving away and starting lives elsewhere. I despaired at being a confirmed bachelor. I went through a buying frenzy. After all, I had no girlfriend at the time and no family. What else was I going to spend money on? So it went for a number of years. The kits purchased out numbered the ones built by a wide margin. Later,I met a fine young woman I became engaged too for a few years. I thought that it might be the end of my buying spree. Instead, she encouraged my to indulge my obsession. She would tell me stories of how her father would build models when they where children living in Germany. We saw each other for a long time. Then we broke up. It was a sad day. But we still remain close friends. My buying slowed down somewhat for awhile. Then about a year later I became interested in a long time friend. We moved in with each other and have been happily married with 3 children for nearly 10 years. My wife Dena encouraged me to continue with miniatures and military modeling. In her words, it was less likely that I would be out into trouble with another woman if I was home with her and my hobbies, than if I was out barhopping with the boys. Smart girl. Anyway. What started out as a short post about my tank models has turned into a ramble. Just look at the pictures. I hope you get as much pleasure seeing them as I did building them. About the models. The first is a early model Sherman tank. The kit is by Italeri and is 1/35Th scale. I painted it with Testors water based Model Master paints, and weathered it with a combination of airbrushing, drybrushing and chalk pastels. I used a Tamiya kit for all the extra stowage on the model. and sealed the whole thing with a matt varnish. The second kit is a British Chieftain tank. I built a few years ago, from the Tamiya 1/35Th scale kit. I chose the colour scheme on this one because the history in the kit instructions mentioned that Chieftains with these markings had been used in maneuver's in Canada. Since I lived in Canada that piqued my interest. The model was finished with paints from Testors, Games Workshop, Monogram an Humbrol. The camo was done with an airbrush. It was the first time I had used one and it didn't turn out too badly for a first attempt. Enjoy :)

Cheers.
GeorgeD

Aquarium ornament scenery

I have read numerous posts on The Miniatures Page About using aquarium ornaments and Christmas decorations as war games scenery. This is one beastie I found in a local Pet Smart store and instantly saw the possibilities. I repainted it using craft paints and flocked it using varieties of Woodland Scenic flocks. I am very pleased with the finished results, and plan to use it with my Amazons or Wargames Factory Romans for skirmish battles.

Cheers.
GeorgeD

I am still here

I thought it was about time to get off my bottom and update my Blog. Its been almost 2 years since I posted last and since then i have been working on a lot of projects. None of them to completion however. Since I last posted we also made a move across town, which resulted in a number of my projects being smashed to pieces in transit. One of the foremost being the Martian war machine I made from a computer mouse. I was so heart broken that I haven't had the heart to look at it since the move. It's still my intent to post photos regularly, but it remains to be seen if I will be able to. I am in the process now of looking over some of the items that where destroyed and damaged in the move, to see if their repairable or worth salvaging bits from. I am still working piecemeal on my Amazons, and have started a 28mm American Civil war project using Old Glory miniatures and Perry plastic figures, as well as some Fenlon ACW artillery and crew. I will post photos as I finish some of them. In the meantime I have uploaded some pictures of some Reaper fantasy miniatures I completed a few months back. The pictures are not the best, since I haven't practised with the camera much. However they are a good measure better than the pictures I was taking with my wife's camera. Feel free to comment on the pictures and let me know what you think.

Cheers
GeorgeD

In the Works

It's been awhile since I have updated this Blog. I purchased a new digital camera about two weeks ago, and the pictures so far have been fantastic! I need to play with it for a bit yet, then I will post some more pics here. I finaly finished painting the Martian machine and will post some pictures of the finished product.

Ta Ta for now

George

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