Go on, have a 'Stroke

Deathstroke that is.  Continuing on the theme of assassins that was started with Deadpool, I give you, Deathstroke.  Nothing much to say about this, painted as a commission for Marcus, who then moved away for a bit, leaving it languishing on the painting table.  He is back, and so I cracked on and finished this.

I suspect that the photo doesn't do the black justice.  In any event, I used a new method for painting the black, which I am happy with in person, and so I am going to share, if for no other reason than to record it for my later review.

Step 1 - Paint everything black.  Simple, but obvious

Step 2 - Coat everything with a pot of old Citadel Black Ink.  It gives a fine, deeeeep black to work from

Step 3 - Drybrush the black with Incubi Darkness

Step 4 - Drybrush with Hellion Green.  VERY lightly

Step 5 - Wash with Nuln Oil.

I think I like this considerably more than most of my other techniques for black.

E5 D5 C#5 C Em D5 C#5 C Em

Or, if you rather, the opening chords for Master of Puppets by Metallica.

So, the most recent things on my painting table have been the Collodi set for the Neverborn.  Simple paint jobs, and, if I am honest, I may have rushed the last of the Marionettes since I had become bored and wanted to move onto something else.  I still think that as a group they look good together, and if nothing else, I plan on using the Wicked Dolls with the Dreamer at some point in the near future.

So, the pictures...

In gaming related news, I have spent a lot of my gaming time Demo'ing Malifaux at my FLGS.  This has been as part of the agreement that, as a Henchman for Wyrd, I will also act as one of their community leaders, and try to promote the system and the store.  To that end, we have our first Henchman Hardcore tournament on the 6th June, in the Evening, aiming to give away the prize content that came in the Henchman Intro Pack.

And finally, I have been having a repair and sort of the Malifaux collection.  Everything came out of its case, all of those annoying broken pieces have been glued, and then the whole lot was placed on a big piece of foam board while I sort out safer storage.  Which, I suppose, gives the perfect opportunity for a photo of (almost, there are some models on a different shelf I only just noticed (By some I mean all of my thematic models for Colette and Kirai plus a few extra models) all my finished Malifaux models in one place.

Next I think that, after getting the bug from an intro game, and then watching Deadpool, and Guardians of the Galaxy, I am going to paint some of my Knight models stuff.  Probably starting with the Guardians, and then moving on to my Harley crew for Batman.

Hans

    This weekend, having finished the Harlequins for my main project, I found myself at a loose end.  I knew that I wasn't going to have hours to spend on painting as I'm recently married, had had a tough week at work and therefore would like some time to unwind with the new wife.  However, I did want to get something done, and so there was some rooting through the "stuff waiting to be finished" shelf that sits guilting me above the work desk.

    I cam across Hans, the original metal sculpt for Malifaux.  While I considered starting work on my next commision (Deathstroke) he needed assembly and the weather was not great for undercoating.  My BMG Harley crew are undercoated, but I felt like I needed to dedicate a whole block of time to getting them started, which I didn't have.  So, without further ado, I give you (rather poor photos of, taken on my phone) Hans.

Next month for the ATONLG I will need to paint something extra for the Harlequins.  This will either be the second 2 Skyweavers that I have already, or I may need to get a third Troupe.   After I have both of those completed I will be able to fill my FOC and consider starting to play (probably very short, and one sided) games.

As well as that, I aim to reduce the size of the pile of half finished stuff on the the shelf.  So far, that consists of 

Warmahordes

Stormwall

2 Troll Impalers

Hunter

Malifaux

2 Thunder Archers

Fuhatsu

Lone Swordsman

Undertaker (Forgotten his name)

Vulture

Nicodem

Mature Nephilim

(Just needing Basing)

40K

Striking Scorpion Squad and Exarch

BMG

Harley Quinn

Joker's Daughter

5 Harley Henchmen

Gatling Brute for Harley

I know a few people read this, and so if anyone has any thoughts on which of these they would like to see worked on next, please feel free to comment.

Harlequin Squad 2

So, month 2 of the ATONLG is complete.  This month I went with a second squad of Harlequins to go with the first squad.  The initial squad was assembled, this time with 3 Harlequins Caress' and a Neurodisruptor and Kiss on the Troupe Leader.

Assembled and Undercoated

They were painted in the same colours as the first squad, with the idea being that they could either form a second squad of the Harlequins in transports, or they could join with the original squad in a larger foot based squad.

So in terms of points, for this month I will score myself.

Participation, Preparation, Painting, 1 Post, and Pictures for 9 points.

On the table for the rest of the month will be the start of my Harley Quinn Crew for BMG, along with a Deathstroke commision, and possibly some more work on my Warmachine or Hordes forces.  Any thoughts on whether anyone has anything they would want to see me work on, please feel free to comment.

Wonderland Gang Part 2

So, i finished the other 2 models from the Wonderland Gang for Marcus.  Nothing very much to say about these, except that I am probably more happy with the Hatter than I am with the Rabbit's Outfit, but its not bad, and the only way I could improve it would be to strip it down and start again.

Comments and thoughts still welcome.

Tweedledum and Tweedledee

So, my most recent painting efforts have been directed towards painting Tweedledum and Tweedledee from the Wonderland Gang for BMG.  Nothing very exciting to say about them, except that they are done now, and that they are promised to Marcus, the Manager of the FLGS, along with the rest of the gang, which is in progress.......they are, as with all the work I have done for Marcus, unbased at his request.

Thoughts, comments, ideas all welcome.

Catwoman

So, I finally got round to painting Catwoman.  I should say from the start that this model was a pain in the proverbial, with her left arm falling off more than once, and trying to pose the hand holding the glasses as a bit of a failure.

I've taken these pictures with my tablet rather than the usual phone.  Its 2 generations older (a Xperia Z tablet rather than the Z3 phone), but I think that I quite like the results, and may try it again, as I can get more stability from the pictures.

When painting the black on Catwoman, there was what appeared to be two different types of material.  The undersuit, which had a definite texture, was initially painted with Army Painter black grey, and then washed with Nuln Oil.  Meanwhile, the raised pads on thighs, shoulders, gloves etc were basecoated with Army Painter Black.  The whole lot was then given a VERY light drybrush with GW dry White, before a second wash, and then the smooth areas had the highlights neatened up with black.  Not a perfect outcome, but one which looks reasonably good to me, and better in the person than in the Photos.

Finally, I decided to take a photo of all three of the "Gotham Sirens", even though I have the wrong version of both Ivy and Harley for them.  The Ivy in the background predates the other two by some time, and it is very obvious that she needs a few chips clearing up in her hair that have occured over time.  Nevertheless, really quite pleased with these.

Any comments, advice, criticism etc gratefully received.

Wonder Woman

Painted Knight Models Wonder Woman as an in joke for the fiance's Maid of Honour.  No work in progress photos, as this sat on a shelf for ages, and then I realised that she was coming down in a few days.  Not unhappy with this at all, although the photos really don't do it justice.

Quite pleased with the base on this, complete with Wonder Woman comic covers that have been printed and added to the base.  Plinth is untreated, as I am not sure what she would want for it.

C&C always welcome

Finished Batpod

So, I've finished the batpod to a level I am happy with.  It looks less high contrast in person than it does in the photos.  i didn't enjoy building this model, and it sat on the "stuff to guilt Dave into painting" shelf for a while, but actually painting the model was a lot less unpleasant than I thought it would be.

A combination of drybrushes and washed for the bike to get the look from the reference photo, and then drybrushing and washes for the batsuit and the cloak was layered up in 5 or six layers.

It's not my favourite model I have ever painted, but it works and the new owner should be happy with it.

Comments and criticism are always welcome.

Work In Progress

So, since the last post, painting has been slowed due to working on the biggest project so far, my wedding.  However, last night I did manage to get some work done on the Batpod.  It looks a little Grey in the photos, and I am waiting to see it in some natural light to make a decision on whether to knock it back with some black washes or not.  Since the photo, the cloak has been finished, and now I just have the belt to paint and it can be called done.

I've also done some work on the Voidweaver.  This is currently in several sub assemblies, including all of the weapons and crew, and the hull is in 2 parts.  I've painted the green half of the hull, and that has been highlighted and shaded.  I tried using masking tape for the central line for the first time, and it seems to have worked.

I'm very pleased with how this has turned out, and just need to get the purple painted to the same style.

Comments and criticism always welcome.

I am......Batman

Or rather, I am not Batman, but I am PAINTING batman, for the FLGS manager.  One of the most annoying models to assemble I have ever had the misfortune of working with, I finally got it together, and undercoated, and there it sat, on the desk, guilting me, for ages.  Until eventually I gave in, and gave the whole thing a drybrush of a very dark grey, just to see what there was more clearly.

Detail revealing grey coat applied, I then went on to find all the images of the Batpod that I could.  The most useful I found was this one, which I have shamelessly stolen from This Website.  It showed me that yes, most of the structure of this is actually metallic, either dirty or shiny variety.


So this is the progress so far.

I'm pretty happy with the bike part, although it may get a little touch up here or there.  Batman himself has simply been re-undercoated in matt black.  This has shown up a few mold lines and casting bits that need cleaning up before I go too much further, but I should be able to do that and then reapply some undercoat.  All in all, I think that there has been reasonable progress now I have finally found the courage to start (and by found the courage I mean that Lisa, the fiance, has heard the store manager tell me he wants it done by a tournament Sunday, and will now encourage me to knuckle down).

In other news, Marcus, FLGS Manager, tells me that he took his Batman team to a tournament, where he was told that if all his models were painted to the standard of his Green Arrow (Which can be found here) then he would have won best painted.  Nice to know that the model was a success.....

Any suggestions on making the Batman on his Pod easier to paint would be gratefully appreciated.

Harlequins Progress so far

So, I decided as part of a sort of "tale of (insert whatever) gamers" project here to start Harlequins as an army for 40k.  I've spoken about how they were my first army, I've waxed lyrical about the nostalgia part of painting them, and I've even shown a test model.  Well, as we come to the end of the first month, I thought that I would show the outcome of the first months work (well, nearly, I have 3 days left)

Troupe Master

This is the Troupe Master for the first unit.  Neuro Disrupter and harlequin caress.

As you can see, the rest of the Troupe stuck pretty much to the test pieces colour scheme, with the green and purple halves with yellow and gold accents and black gloves and shoes.  I've stuck with the bone masks despite some ideas regarding making them a more standout colour, as I think a little the contrast with the red in gems etc works ok.  The Shadow Seer, in contrast, will have a completely black mask, at least for the first one I am painting.

 The work so far on the Skyweavers.  These are almost finished, except for some work on the gemstones, and, of course, the riders, who are in progress as we speak.

So that means that I have to finish the crews for the bikes, and the Shadow Seer to make my 1st months commitment.  When I achieve that, I will then move onto month 2, where I will have to decide if I want a gunship or a transport as my first vehicle, and then add some more Skyweavers.  I also need to do some final work on the Batpod for BMG that I said I would do for the manager of the FLGS.

As ever, I would be most interested to hear thoughts, opinions, ideas etc.