Green stuff...whats that?!

I did a lot of touchups on 3rd company tactical that I've previously shown.
Added 7 new ones.  Added chapter symbols and flames on the shoulder pads.

BUT...i can't do thier bases...I'm out of green stuff. Don't you think in all the city
of San Antonio, TX that I should be able to find some?   /SIGH

I went into "San Antonio's Gaming Mega Store" and asked for green stuff.
The guy behind the counter says...."What's that?"  REALLY?!

So anyway here they are done and ready for bases.....
Left -

Right -

A couple honor badges -

HOOAAAH!

Drop what you are doing!

Made a few changes to my paints.  No not replacing brands, YET.
My paint pots although brand new from the GW mega - paint set are
all gloopy and just irritating.

In my endeavor to become a better painter, I'm thinning my paints,
blending, shading etc. and the GW paint pot is not friendly to that.

First I got a retarder medium....on the cheap version

Food or medical Grade, I'm not sure which from Walmart pharmacy $3.
Mixed with water 3:1.  And as I'm typing this I just realized that picture...gives
the next one away! LOL!

I got a few dropper bottles...poured my gw pots into them....rinsed that out with
the new solution I just created...poured that into the droppers....added a couple
of stainless bb's for mixing...   VOILA!

Ready to use!

Objectively speaking!

Well, the final part of this months entry to my gaming groups painting challenge are complete.
In recap,  400 pts + 3 objective markers for Sept.  See my other blogs for the
landraider and scouts.

Last night, I was able to complete the objective markers for the Salamanders.

#1  Objective Marker.

Yes, thats a marker!  Aw cmon, be objective!

#2  Battlefield Maintenance

Remember this?  Well it came from....

You just never know when your forces will need repairs!


#3  Finally everyone's ultimate objective is to..well....open a can!

Hopefully the Salamanders can do just that!

It is a game after all right? right?

Wrap up -  Sept goals are complete 13 days early woo hoo!  Next up to get started
on Novembers tasks. 400 more points and a piece of terrain.

Sally forth!

Wet Palette Review / Observations

I like the experience I have had so far using a wet palette.
On a side note however, I may just go to using a retarder as
I still have several issues with the different palettes.

First  Privateer Press' P3 Wet Palette -

In my not even remotely humble opinion -

I like the size of this palette...especially for mobility.  As I am in a truck 24/7 that
is a BIG plus.

I don't like that the paper that comes with this palette / sold for this palette by P3
isn't the exact proper size for the palette.  Reusable and ready to use are big pluses.

I don't like the sponge.  It's too coarse and doesn't flow water well at all to keep the
paper wet.  I will be pulling mine out and replacing it with cut to fit Bounty paper towels.

I don't like the hinged lid.  It doesn't always stay open, gets in the way, and is NOT
water tight.

At $17-19, save your money and buy the papers separately for a different container
or find a cheaper alternative altogether.


On to Masterson's Sta-wet

This palette comes in a variety of sizes.  I believe that the one I have is the smallest.
Caveat that by saying the smallest available at the art center I was at.   It is however,
at the very max for tolerable size for me personally in my limited workspace.

I like the removeable lid.  I don't like that again its not water tight.

I like the sponge.  It is very fine and feeds water under the paper fairly well.
I don't think I will ever change it out unless  I just get crazy results from a paper product.

I don't like paper that has a lot of prep work.  The included paper has to be boiled
and / or prepared separately.  Too much headache and also impossible in my environs.

At $8-9 dollars, a  decent palette.

DO-IT-YOURSELF:

This sandwich container IS water tight. It's lid is removeable.  It's a very manageable
size.  It costs about $1.50.

I will end up padding this with paper towels and using the P3 parchment paper cut to fit
more than likely.

There you have it.  There are many palettes out there beyond these, but you should have a
grasp of how they work and what they cost.  Try one if you like!

Scouts Final Update -

This months progress :

Landraider - complete

Scouts - complete

Objective markers - materials gathering

Now to the scouts...

Before...static grass only - 

After...textured, painted, and minimal grass -

Why does it feel like the objective markers will be more work?  We've got a couple fun ideas!

Stay tuned!

All Ur Bases R Belong.....

Well it was time to rethink the basing on some of the models.
They need to look coherent across the whole force.
ESPECIALLY when we are supposed to display them on a battle board for December.

My turn in for the month of September will be
10 sniper scouts + landraider + 3 objective markers. (410 pts)

landraider - complete
sniper scouts - bases!
objective markers - idea stage

Without adieu heres whats new....

Yesterday I bought a texture sheet from the cake decorating section @ Walmart.

The texture I chose I think will make an excellent base that I can paint as lava bases for the
Salamanders.

Out came the green stuff which I pressed and rolled onto the sheet with the smallest patterns
ie....small bases.  NOTE : use some kind of release.... I didn't and getting them separated was
a minor chore.  Of course I could have used my Instamold which won't stick to green stuff, but hey
isn't this ALL about learning?

Here's what I ended up with.  The air bubbles and imperfections are fine in this case...
it is basalt after all. I drew the bases out on the back.

cut them out and glued them onto the standard bases with superglue.  After trimming
around the edges here is what I had to work with.

Now to paint...I wanted the pattern to match the rest of my force, but the color scheme
definitely needed to be different for the scouts as they are blending into environs other
than lava....per their paint scheme.  So I envisioned higher ground still formed of
built up lava rock but filled in with ash and dirt...and very sparce vegetation.

I based them black.  Then painted a heavy line between the rocks of fortress gray.
Then I drybrushed the tops of the rocks with the same gray.  After a couple of coats
 of gryphon sepia wash....I was scrambling as the color just wasnt quite doing what
I had envisioned.   In hindsight I should have really watered down the gray or used a
lighter color to get the wash to color better.  In any case, using white glue I added fine
sand / dirt along the top of the rocks and stipple dry brushed a little more of the gray
in just to help blend it a little bit.   In the deeper spots where more dirt would have
gathered I chose to add very small patches of static grass just for a little more depth
and feel.  Here's how they came out...not fantastic but a better fit to the overall image
 I will display come December.

See the scouts?!  They are SOOOOO well camoflauged that well....umm
OK, OK! I didn't mount the scouts yet....but for a reason!  I matte coated the bases
just to help hold them all together just a little better and wanted to give them a chance
to dry 100% before attaching the scouts.

Oh and I had just a big enough piece from my first press mold that I can do 1 of my
objective markers with it.  But that's for another day.  We've got miles to burn.

A contest / incentive!

It started 9/1.  This months task is to model and paint 400 pts + 3 objective markers.
For October, its 400 more points + a piece of scenery
For November, its 400 more points + a conversion piece ( more than head or weapon swap )
For December, its the final 300 pts + a 2x2 display board for the army.

In January, all the guys in our group will get together and play our newly painted armies 1v1.
If you don't get 1500 painted....well you start at a disadvantage!

Well as you can see below I've got a decent start, but I really have to decide on my objectives for this
month and really concentrate on getting everything in the army on similar bases.

Another member of my group, who is a very good converter and painter, has decided to blog
his new army as well.  You can watch that here: Deathwing

If I manage to get pictures ahead of time, I'll be sure to share those.  And maybe I can actually attend the monthly check-ins and get some then as well!

I'd say it's good to see almost everyone of our local group joining in the spirit.  There really is no better feeling than bringing to the table a fully painted army....well...maybe by making your opponent remove his when you trounce him :)